John 3:16-21

March 16, 2022

16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

18 “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. 19 And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. 20 All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. 21 But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”


John 3:16-21 NLT

  • What does this teach us about God?

    • God loves the world (v16)
    • God have His son, Jesus as a ransom for the sins of manking (v16)
    • Jesus came to save the world, not to condem the world (v17)
    • Jesus is God's only son, there is no other savior (v18)
    • God's light is exposing (v20)
    • God's light is right/true (v21)
    • God wants us to choose Him (v21)

  • What does this teach us about people/ourselves?

    • We have been offerred eternal life by believe in Jesus (v16)
    • Those who believe in Christ will not be judge and those who have rejected Christ have already been judge (v18)
    • We are not the judge (v18)
    • We sometimes choose or even embrace the darkness (v19)
    • We may even fear the light  which keeps us in the darkness (v20)
    • We are all sinners (v20)
    • We can be redeemed by the light (v21)

  • By God's grace, how will you obey?

    • I will fully embrace, get comfortable, and stand firm in the light
    • I will seek accountability with those who have also embraced the light
    • I will be an ambassador of Christ while I am still on earth
    • I will take the light to my friends who are still in the darkness and share the light with them
    • I will not give up on those who are still in the darkness

Prayer: Heavenly Father God, you are all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving, and you showed us this through the plan you instituted from the very beginning. You knew even before you laid the foundations of the earth that mankind would be in need of a savior. A savior that was with you in the beginning, that the world was made through and for. A savior that we need because we have chosen darkness over the light. We are all sinners who have all strayed away from you in one way or another and are all in need of your light. We thank you for shining your light into the darkness. We thank you for sending your only Son, Jesus, into this world, not to judge the world, but to save the world. We thank you for fulfilling your plans and promises that you set in motion from the very beginning. We ask that you would give us the faith to step into the light. We ask that you would receive us with a warm embrace so that we might faithfully walk in obedience, laying the bricks of your kingdom so that you might be glorified on all the earth. Amen.

OVERTIME


Let's talk about the plan. God's plan. A plan that was set in motion from the very beginning. A plan that reverberated throughout history to God's chosen people. A plan that was echoed by the prophets. A plan that was fulfilled in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. A plan that is still in effect today.

  • Set in Motion

    If God's greatest desire is for us to return to Him, have you ever wondered why He let us stray away in the first place? God made us, so why didn't he just make us love Him? Seems like a simple fix, right?!


    While it is true that God could have made humans to love Him and nothing else, the question must be asked: Is that really love? If I built five computers and programmed all of them to love me, adore me,  admire me, praise me, and worship me will I really feel loved, adored, admired, praised or worshipped? No! Love is not love if there's no choice.


    We know God loves us because he chose to make us and live in community with us. He even planted the perfect garden for us all to live in!


    "Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person. Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he placed the man he had made. The Lord God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." Genesis 2:7-9


    Shortly after this God gave mankind one rule:


    “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.” Genesis 2:16-17


    Seems simple enough, right? Man and woman living in perfect harmony with their Creator with everything they could possibly ever need. Just have to follow one role. There's a couple trees in the middle of the garden, one is off-limits, everything else is fair game. Then Adam and Eve followed the one rule forever and walked through the garden in the cool of the day with God forever...


    ...would have been a nice way for the story to end, but, unfortunately, that's not what happened. A talking serpent deceived Adam and Eve and the two broke the one rule that they had been given. At that moment sin had entered the world and life would never be the same.


    God issued a few curses, first to the serpent, then to Eve, then to Adam before he removed them from the garden.


    "Then the Lord God said, “Look, the human beings have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!” ... After sending them out, the Lord God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life." -Genesis 3:22,24


    What exactly is happening here? Upon casting Adam and Eve out of the garden he places a first line of defense (the cherubim) at the gates of the garden, and a second line of defense (a flaming sword) to guard the tree of life. If we look back at the initial commandment we see that the tree of life was not originally off-limits, only the tree of knowledge of good and evil. We also see that these two trees were near each other in the middle of the garden.


    When God discovers that Adam and Eve had eaten from the tree of knowledge of good and evil He was very exclamatory about specifically guarding the way to the tree of life. If God was so worried about Adam and Eve eating of the tree of life AFTER eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, why would he put those two trees near each other in the middle of the garden?


    Did God make a logistical mistake and get lucky? That can't be because we know God makes no mistakes. Perhaps God knew exactly how Adam and Eve would respond when "their eyes were opened" (Gen 2:7), and if God knew how they would react then that means God knew they would fall. If God knew they would fall that means He knew they would need to be redeemed. If God knew mankind would need to be redeemed, then that savior would not exist as a reaction to the fall, but that savior would exist before mankind ever fell.


    "In the beginning the Word already existed.

        The Word was with God,

        and the Word was God.

    He existed in the beginning with God.

    God created everything through him,

        and nothing was created except through him.

    The Word gave life to everything that was created,

        and his life brought light to everyone.

    The light shines in the darkness,

        and the darkness can never extinguish it."


    John 1:1-5

  • Reverberated through History

    What is the Old Testament without the New Testament? A handful of great stories? A book of rules? Words of wisdom? On it's own the Old Testament certainly is a worthwhile read with much to teach, but when coupled with the New Testament it contributes so much more to the story at large.


    There are 39 books that make up the the Old Testament and every single one of them, in some way or another, is designed to point to Jesus. Whether they are books of law, history, prophecy, or poetry, they all, in their own way, point to Christ.


    In the book of Exodus there is a familiar story about Moses pleading with Egypt's Pharoh to "Let my people go!" Moses pleads with Pharoh over and over again as God continues to bring plagues upon Egypt. In his final plea Moses tells Pharoh that the firstborn sons in all of Egypt will die, but Pharoh, once again, refuses to let the Israelites go. The fate of the Egyptians was sealed, but what of the sons of the Israelites? God gave His people some instructions before the final plague went into effect.


    "Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. ... “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt. “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance." -Exodus 12:7, 12-14


    You could also say that by the blood of the lamb you will be saved. Here's what Paul wrote in his letter to the Epehsians, "He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins." (1:7)


    Prior to this Exodus from Egypt, in the Book of Genesis, well before the Israelites found themselves in Egypt, God made a promise to Abram (who's name was later changed to Abraham) that his offspring would be given a land which we refer to as the "Promised Land".


    Fast forward to the book of Joshua and we pick up a story where the Israelites have left Egypt and are on the back end of wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. The time has finally come for the Israelites to cross over the Jordan River into the Promised Land. However, there was one little hiccup, the river was at flood stage!


    "Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away ... The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground." -Joshua 3:15b-16a, 17


    With a powerful river like the Jordan flooding it would be nearly impossible to cross over, but when the Ark of the Covenant, which represents God with His people, approached the edge of the river it dried up and the Israelites were able to cross to the other side with ease!


    This sentiment is echoed in the book of John where Jesus tells us, “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life." (5:24)

  • Echoed by the Prophets

    Sometimes it seems like things aren't going according to plan. In 605 BC Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, besieged Jerusalem and took some Israelites captive (Daniel 1:1-6). The Israelites in exile were surely feeling defeated, dejected, and distant from their God.


    Have you ever felt like God is distant? Maybe you feel like He doesn't hear you or can't fulfill the desires of your heart? The truth is when we stop trusting in God's plan we will inevitably turn to something else for fulfillment. 


    What has that looked like for you? The affirmation of others through likes and retweets? The buzz or high from drugs or alcohol? The acceptance of another through sexual intimacy? Perhaps you've tied your identity to your favorite sports team, your career, or your politically party.


    If this sounds like you then perhaps you can identify with the Israelites that God was speaking to through the prophet Isaiah. When the Israelites were in Babylonian captivity they felt like their God was distant, so they decided to make new gods out of silver and gold. This is what God said to them,


    "Remember the former things long past,

    For I am God, and there is no other;

    I am God, and there is no one like Me,


    Declaring the end from the beginning,

    And from ancient times things which have not been done,

    Saying, ‘My plan will be established,

    And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’;


    Calling a bird of prey from the east,

    The man of My purpose from a distant country.

    Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass.

    I have planned it, I will certainly do it."


    Isaiah 46:9-11 NASB (emphasis added)


    God also spoke through his prophet, Jeremiah, who sent a letter to those who were in exile.


    "This is what the Lord says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11 NLT (emphasis added)


    God is not distant. He has not forgotten you. His plan is still true. His promises are still reliable. His light has not gone out. God knows when we seek fulfillment in or tie our identity to something other than Him we will ultimately be dissatisfied.


    This is why God sent his son, Jesus, the light of the world, into the darkness. Even when our current circumstances lead us to believe that things are spiraling out of control, we can be assured that God is still, and has always been, in control.