Behold The Love Of God!

Introduction
¾  John
3:13-17

A-There are many subjects worthy of our
attention this morning

1- But this one is the heart
of the message, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We recognize
without the resurrection the cross would have  no validity. As Paul said in     1Cor 15:17

If Christ be not risen, then
our faith is worthless, and we are still in our sins,

2- And so it was that glorious 1sst day of the week, when Jesus  broke the bars of death,  and announced to the world that he  was the Son of God, and that ratified
the Old  Rugged   Cross, and gave it all the power
and significant that it has for us today!

B-  We hear so much  bad news today,

1- It was during the black days oof WWII, so much bad news was being
received. But One News Announcer Gabriel Heater would come on the air
each night and announce "There's good news
tonight." It  didn't
matter how many battles had been lost, He'd  always come across, "There's good news tonight."

And  America
would tune in to here the good news.

C- I want
you to know there's good news this morning!

&

1- That's what John chapterr 3 verse 16  is about— As you look at this verse, you recognize that
it has in it all the ingredients of the scheme of redemption  It has been called The golden
text of the Bible,

2- Martin Luther called it ";The Little Bible", because said
he it had all the essential
features of God's response to man, and man's response to grace, that is
necessary for salvation, here and in
the world to come......
"the Little Bible"

I- Turning to our text John 3:16  it is stated   "For
God"

A- That addresses the source
of every blessing James 1:17

Every good
and perfect gift cometh down from above is from above, and cometh down from the
Father of lights with whom is no variableness neither shadow of turning.

1- It smacks something of Genesis 1:1 "In the
beginning God."

>     He announces there the creation of the world  and of man,

2- But here  we're beginning
to see  "re-creation"  in John 3:16. God is the platform, the
ground of our salvation. He is First cause,

B- "For
God so loved "¾

Here we see the
love of God attested,

1-  1st John 4:8 asserts that

8He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God
is love.

C- We see
His love manifested on every hand.

1- God's love is manifested in Crreation,  in the giving of His word. - In the
establishment of the Church, and in so many ways. But the supreme and superlative
manifestation of God's love is His gift of the "only begotten
Son"

<

&     9In
this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only
begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.  1 John 4:9

D- 1 John
3:1 exhorts us to “ Behold, the
love  of the Father “
—

1-  That is contemplate God’s
love,   admire it and reciprocate
it.  The Son was given to take away
sins, to break the barrier that separates God and man. —

Behold the love of
the Father—

4- A most magnificence passage of scripture: Romans
5:6-8

6For
when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the
ungodly.  7For scarcely
for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would
even dare to die. 8But God commendeth his love toward us, in
that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

D- A
parent can ask their child, ?How much do you love me?"

1- The child will respond by flinnging his arms around the parent and
by placing a kiss on the cheek.  When
mankind considers God’s love it point us to the cross of Calvary.

⇚
God’s Love

E- During
the days of Oliver Cromwell, a deserter was sentenced to die.

1- The man's fiancée pled for the staying of the execution, but
to no avail Cromwell stated that when twilight was sounded that evening by the
ringing of the bell, the prisoner would be executed.  The young woman then went outside the
city and sought to persuade the old village sexton not to ring the bell.
Because he was deaf, she could hardly get her message across. She finally
succeeded in doing so only to have him respond that the bell had always sounded
at twilight and this day will be no different.

2- The story reveals that she cliimbed upon into the bell tower and
wrapped her hands around the ball of the bell. When the sexton pulled the cord
below, she muffled the sound of the bell. With the execution waiting to take
place and the bell not ringing, Cromwell sent to ascertain the trouble with the
bell. When the woman was brought into his presence with her hands mangled and
bleeding, he said to her,  "Take this worthless wretch. He's yours, Your love has
redeemed him."

F-  And that is what happened at Calvary, we
were condemned to die—.

<

8But
God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ
died for us.   Thank
God for His unspeakable gift.     (2 Cor  9:15)…

1- To have given one of His many angels would have been extremely
great,  to have given one of many
sons would have been greater,

&     9In
this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his
only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.  1 John 4:9

III- But next "For God SO loved" here is the  MEASUREMENTS OF DIVINE LOVE.

A- The
adverb "SO" suggests the degree, the limits or the measurements of
Divine love.

1-  In Ephesians 3:17-19
we read —

&     17That
Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in
love, 18May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth,
and length, and depth, and height; 19And to know the love of Christ,
which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.

&

B- The
BREADTH of God's love can be seen

1-In that it reaches to men of EVERY RACE, EVERY CULTURE.  Note Hebrews 2;9

&     9But
we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of
death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste
death for every man.

C- The
LENGTH of God's love can be seen

1- In that it transcends from >AGE TO AGE… It is from
everlasting to everlasting.. A meaningful passage regarding our LORD is found in John 13:1 —  which states Jesus loved His
disciples unto the end.

D-  The DEPTH of God's love can be seen

1-  In that it reaches down
to us here in Georgia,  to folks in Tennessee,  those in India and all of history.. It
reaches the most depressed, the most guilt-ridden to all lost  in the slime pits of sin to save
them…   In 1st
Timothy 1:15 Paul declares himself chief of sinners.

&     15This
is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came
into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

E- The
HEIGHT of God's love can be seen

1- In the wonderful height it exaalts mankind. Turn to Eph. 2:4-6

&     4But
God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5Even
when we were dead in sins, hath quickened
us  together with Christ, (by
grace ye are saved;)  6And
hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in
Christ Jesus:

2- And again in Revelation 1:5-6<

&     5….Unto
him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, 6And
hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and
dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

3-   Romans 11:33

&      33O the depth of the riches
both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments,
and his ways past finding out

4- I like the poem extolling the love of God, attributed to a prisoner
just before he was executed.—

Could we with
ink the ocean fill,

And were the
skies of parchment made;

Were every stalk
on earth a quill,

And every man a
scribe by trade;

To write the
love of God above

Would drain the
ocean dry,

Nor could a
scroll contain the whole

Though stretched
from sky to sky

III- But
next notice the Objects of God love
"for God so loved the "WORLD"

A –
First let me say that the word
“world” seems so generic….

Let us write our
names there. “for God so love me Ron Cope and you the reader”

B- How
different is Divine love and human love.

1- Human love is inclined toward<
those who love us. We say, "Wait let me
see if you are worthy of my love" But God's love is more marvelous
when we observe the state man was in, when God loved the world.

C- Love is
wonderful when it is deserved, & given

1- It is more excellent when it iis given and completely
undeserved.  There are many reasons
why we should love God…… However when God loved the world,  there was nothing to attract, and
deserve His love.

2- Notice  how inspiration
describes man   Titus
3:3-7   NKJV

&     3For
we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various
lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.
4But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man
appeared, 5not by works of righteousness which we have done, but
according to His mercy He saved us,

D- I
visited a man a number of years ago who had obeyed the gospel late in life.

1- And after living a reckless annd diabolical life, and he was
struggling  with the idea that God
would not love him enough to forgive him.

2- You see he had this fear. He
had heard too many sermons on the Wrath of God  Heb 10:31 " its a fearful thing
to fall into the hands of a  living
God." He said, "I just have a hard
time thinking that God will forgive me."

3- But right before he died, I viisited with him and his Bible was
opened, and even high-lighted in   Psalms 103:8-17

4- Isn't that beautiful?
God is Love, He's slow to anger¾
He's ready to pardon¾
filled with loving kindness,  toward
each of us; He remembers that we are frail
that our frames are of  dust
…Thank God He's created me, He knows how I function..... he knows my
inadequacies, He knows my weaknesses.....
AND YET¾HE
LOVES ME¾

E- That's the message of the Bible this morning ¾

>

1-     We
read in the New Testament 1 John 4:8 declares that      "God Is
Love." and we sing the song
"God Is Love',

2-     This
love is being extolled John 3:16. He
said

&     "Ron Cope
I want you to know that my Father loves  you and gave His Son to die in your
place."

IV- But
John 3:16 declares the impartiality of God's love as well —

16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life.

A- Our
beautiful text declares God's unwillingness that any should be lost.

1- Peter states God's unwillingneess in the words of

&     9The
Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is
longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all
should come to repentance.
2 Peter 3:9

2- Jesus is pictured in the gospeels with outstretched arms pleading
—  Matt.11:28-30

&     28Come unto me, all ye
that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29Take my
yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall
find rest unto your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is
light.

3- The disciples were to go into all the world and invite all men.
Matthew 28:18-20— God is no respecter of persons. —

&     Acts
10:35   The last words we read in
the Bible are these:

&     17And
the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let
him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life
freely. Rev 22:17

V- Next
the CONDITIONS on which the blessings of God's love are enjoyed.

16For God so loved the
world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life

A-
Contextually  we see that the belief
that brings a blessing is an obedient faith. Notice the verses on either side
of John 3:16

1- John 3:14-15

&     14And as Moses lifted up
the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15That
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

2- The account to which this passsage has reference to is located in
Numbers 21:7-9.  The Israelites had
to believe and look upon the fiery serpent before they were healed and lived.
Theirs  was an obedient faith.

3-  Likewise he says;
"as Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15That
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life."

4-  It is not enough to
merely believe but rather we must believe and obey.  Matthew 7:21

VI-
Finally the blessings of God's love

"SHOULD NOT PERISH
BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE."

A-  The blessings are seen in the statement
should not perish.

1-  Embraced in this
statement is all that is involved in being lost,   HELL is a place of eternal
torment, (Luke 16;19-31).   a
place of eternal punishment,  (Matt
25;46)  a place of tribulation  and anguish, (2 Thess. 1:7-10) a place
where there is no rest, (Rev. 14:10-11)…

2- HELL is depicted as a place whhere memory lives Lu16:19-31,

&     A place of
weeping and gnashing of teeth.  A
place of outer darkness., where the worm dieth not..

B-  But notice the last phrase
of —

BUT HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE

1-  Here is the hope of
God's love.

&
John 14:1-3

C- Are you a Christian?  Have
you obeyed the gospel? Romans 1:16-17

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