What invites you to open your Bibles to John chapter 3.
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me this morning from John chapter 3 beginning in verse 16,
perhaps in our Our Generation and the last 50 years, maybe
since the work of Billy Graham, John 3:16 has become one of the
most. Well-known verses of scripture,
may this message not get old to us simple though, it may sound
met its profound nature truly impact and shape your life.
Life and mine. So this is a reading from John 3
beginning in verse 16. For God.
So loved the world that he gave his one and only son that
whoever believes in him, shall not perish but have eternal
life. For God did not send his son
into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world
through him, whoever believes in him is not condemned, but
whoever does not believe stands, condemned already, because they
have not believed in the name of God's one and only son.
This is the verdict light has come into the world, but people
loved Darkness, instead of light Light because their deeds were
evil everyone. Who does evil hates the light
and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will
be exposed but whoever lives by the truth comes into the light
so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done.
Has been done in the sight of God.
The backdrop to this story is Jesus is experienced with
Nicodemus in the night. They had a conversation
Nicodemus Found, Jesus and told him right up front.
That everyone knows, you're more than a teacher, you're more than
a great teacher. Because of the things that you
are doing and Jesus cuts to the Chase and tells him.
Truly, I tell you that. No one can see the kingdom of
God, unless Born again. Well, this astonished Nicodemus
who was at that moment thinking, very literally and said, how is
that possible? How could I be born again?
In fact, Nicodemus at that point, probably thought it
impossible that he would crawl into the womb of his mother and
be born again. The such interesting language
that Jesus uses and Jesus says, truly I tell you, he just
doubles down On the point, truly, I tell you that, no one
can enter the kingdom of God. Unless they're born again.
And so that born rebirth experience.
We are all familiar with that moment of creation where we are
astonished at this little creature in the hands of a
mother or father. And there's new life, there's
the Cry of life, and that moment.
And Jesus, Likens a spiritual Rebirth of a person to be like
that, that it's the work of the spirit in a person who has flesh
and bone that somehow they would be born again.
There would be some kind of spiritual work of God that would
make it possible for them to be brought into the kingdom.
Even the family of God, yeah. Jesus goes on to point out that
it seems strange to him that Nicodemus didn't get it.
He said, Nicodemus, you are one of the scholars of the word of
God and yet, you do not understand Heavenly things.
How would you understand them? If you don't understand Earthly
things as well, and then Jesus goes on to explain how this new
birth will be revealed and he points back to a very strange
event. Jesus says, surely I tell you
just as Moses raised the snake on a pole, the son of man will
be raised on a pole and all who look on him in belief shall be
saved. Well, that was a strange moment.
I'm sure for Nicodemus as he tried to contemplate.
What does it mean for the son? Of man, to be raised on a pole?
For this was a strange event, even in the history of Israel.
In the history of Israel, they had had a season and time of
complaint and Rebellion against God and in the Judgment of their
Rebellion against God snakes came through their tents, who
would be Freaked out with a snake in the tent.
Yeah, I'd be freaked out too. They just weren't your average
snake. They were poisonous snakes and
those who were bit were going to die.
And they were dying. And so, Moses inquired what to
do, and God said, fashion a snake.
Raise it on a pole and all who look on it shall be healed.
There shall be saved, weird, right?
That's a weird moment. I'm sure Nicodemus at this
point, could not imagine that the Christ and Messiah of God
would be killed on a cross, that he would be lifted up and that
all who put their faith in this one who was killed and wounded
for them on a cross would live, but have eternal life.
Even for the readers of John's gospel.
This would have been a strange moment, so John provides a
commentary for. Why the son of man was raised up
on a pole and wounded and killed?
He says for God, so loved the world that he gave his one and
only son that all who believe in him shall not perish but have
eternal life. John routes this vision of God's
salvation as a vision of love. God loves the world.
So, he gave his son. God loves not just Israel, not
just your family Nicodemus. Not just the scholarly people of
Israel, not just the faithful followers of the Torah in
Israel, but God loves the world. And this was an important
reading for all of us that somehow God's family picture
included, people that I might not have included in my family
picture. In fact, he would have said,
let's take a picture and they would have just kept coming and
coming and coming to get in the picture.
The picture of God's grace, the picture of God's love the
picture of God's family, all those who had looked Upon Jesus
raised up on the cross lifted up and had believed in faith that
what God was doing at the cross was an expression of his love.
for us for you and for me, You see God when he acted in love,
this is something Nicodemus would know that when God acted
in love and with a vision of love, he accomplished it.
God had promised to Abraham and Sarah.
I'm going to cause you to be a family.
I'm going to cause you to be a nation.
I will bless you. I will make your name great.
And you will be a blessing. And I will bless those who bless
you and whoever curses you. I will curse and all peoples on
Earth will be blessed through you.
Nicodemus could have accepted very quickly that this Covenant
making God makes Covenant because he chooses to love a
people and he invites them into that Covenant.
This Covenant making God knew that Covenant making required a
cost. and so in each Covenant, God pays the cost for making it.
And in his grace he invited people to enter into it and so
become family with him. Become United with him in his
rule code, his kingdom. but when Isaiah wanted to speak about the
Covenant making God This is what Isaiah says of the servant who's
coming. This is what God.
The Lord says the creator of the heavens, who stretches them out,
who spreads out the Earth with all that Springs from it, who
gives breath to its people and Life to those who walk in it.
I the Lord have called you in righteousness, I will take hold
of your hand. I will keep you and make you to
be a covenant. For the people and a light for
the Gentiles to open eyes that are blind to free captives from
prison and to release from the dungeon, those who sit in
darkness, this is what the Messiah was to be.
This is what God's Gift of Love was to be.
He in himself would be the Covenant.
He would make this Covenant through his own body.
Thus, Jesus is the one raised up on a pole.
God loves the world. And when we look on the cross,
this should be one of the things.
We remember. God loves the world.
And then strangely we can confess, God loves me.
I am loved the movement towards making that confession of I am
loved has to go through. Sometimes a very important
passage way. Because John goes on in this
commentary in John chapter 3. Notice what?
What he says in verse 17, For God did not send his son into
the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through
him, whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does
not believe stands condemned already, because they have not
believed in the name of God's one and only son.
This is the verdict light has come into the world but people
loved Darkness, instead of light because their deeds were evil
everyone. Who does evil hates the light
and will not come into the light.
Light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.
What John doubles down again to announce is that not only does
God love the world but God loves The Condemned.
In the world. God loves The Condemned so he
didn't send Jesus, his son, the Messiah in order to condemn the
world, because the world was already Condemned.
That seems like bad news. And so there must be at some
point and awareness that awakens in the heart and the conscience
by the spirit of God that says, I am Among The Condemned.
I am among those who have been bitten by this snake.
And though I live in the moment, I will die.
I'm too must look Upon Jesus for salvation.
For healing for forgiveness. I too must come to Jesus for.
He only is the one who holds the healing for my soul for my mind.
The writer of Hebrews would say that this Jesus, who died is the
one who makes it possible for us to worship him with a clear
conscience. John would say of him later, he
is the one who cleanses us of all unrighteousness.
But we must recognize that we also stand among those who are
condemned. This might have been a hard
acknowledgement for Nicodemus. For the language that John goes
in describing. This event would be the language
of criminality condemnation here, refers an illegal way to a
legal standing. That one recognizes that I have
come under judgment. I have been assessed, perhaps,
according to the law, and now I had no, my just penalty.
I am condemned. And so, a city manager who comes
to a house that's had a fire is going to examine the house, and
if that house cannot be lived in, it will be determined to be
Condemned unlivable, I can't live here.
And so if God himself comes to look and side the house of your
life and mind and heart, and body, and says this house, I
can't live in this house. It's Condemned.
And this is the assessment that Jesus didn't come to make
because this assessment had already been done this
assessment had been made of humanity.
And yet, this broke God's heart. And so he moves in love.
Because Jesus loves The Condemned even upon the cross.
Jesus, love The Condemned. With two criminals thieves who
had been convicted of their crimes on either side of him,
one made fun of Jesus. And the other Made life with
Jesus. As he says, oh Jesus, when you
come into your paradise, and you come into your kingdom, remember
me? And Jesus says this very day,
you shall be with me in Paradise.
Tim a key points out that the word Paradise here is actually a
reference to the word of garden. This very day, you will be with
me in the garden. Oh, oh, that from the cross.
Jesus would reference the garden, The Garden of even Eden,
the very place where Humanity had rebelled and sought to live
independent of him. And he says, I'm going to take
you back to the garden. Jesus himself, stood Among The
Condemned and was nailed on a cross.
Among The Condemned that he might bring Salvation to The
Condemned. Because Jesus loves the
condemned. Bob ekblad had an incredible
experience where he traveled to Toronto and a time of deep
loneliness and despair in Ministry while he was there.
He visited it at a Prayer Ministry.
And he was invited said, all people who are ministers serving
and churches, would you come forward?
So that we can pray for you and he is like the last thing I
wanted was at that moment for someone to pray for me.
Because I wanted to avoid that moment.
And he said there was one man, making his way down the road,
praying for people. And sometimes people fell over
when they were being prayed for some people just sat down.
He's like, that is not going to happen to me.
And when the man got in front of him, he said the Lord has shown
me something about you. I've seen a picture of you with,
in a circle with people in orange suits jumpsuits.
And the Lord wants you to know. That he's very thankful.
That you love his prisoners. Does that mean anything to you?
And Bob xlab said, oh yeah, that means something to me and I
think he probably took a step back.
He says I go every week to the prison and I have Bible study
with the prisoners there. And the man said, well, now I'm
going to pray for you. And so we prayed.
Bob experience, the power and the fullness of God's presence
and spirit in that moment, why? Because Jesus loves the
prisoners, Jesus loves the condemned.
Jesus loves any who feel captivated and blinded by their
unknowingness of him. He loves them.
Jesus, loves all of those who have been carried off because of
their sins and put into prison. He loves them.
He loves those two who have acted righteous enough, just
righteous enough not to end up in prison as well in this world.
But who because they have never looked up on him.
And faith will share the same fate.
Jesus loves the condemned. In John, chapter 1, in
introducing, this whole experience of Jesus coming.
John says, out of his fullness, we have all received Grace in
place of Grace already given for the law was given through Moses
but Grace and Truth came through.
Jesus Christ, no one has ever seen God but the one and only
son who is himself. God and is in closest
relationship with the father has made him known.
Jesus comes with Grace and Truth.
Why? Why?
Because he's on a mission of love, a mission of love to love
the whole world and to love The Condemned.
And in his love, he brings Grace Grace, is that warmth of embrace
and welcome? Freely.
And Truth is that piercing light
that brings acknowledgement and recognition.
The truth about me, the truth about God, the truth about our
world. The truth about people But that
Grace and Truth also brings transformation, notice verse 21.
But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light.
So that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has
been done in the sight of God. This is a vision of
transformation. The transformation of those who
have believed in Jesus and have received this grace and this
truth ongoing in their lives. Such that now they walk freely
into the light. They may be able to say once I
was lost, but now I'm found once I was wracked by bitterness, but
now I have joy. Once I had no self-control in my
life, but now I have a measure of control that surprises.
Even me. Now, I know I'm loved and that
Vision of Love is transforming my life.
And this is what Jesus dies. His love transforms people into
Kingdom citizens. The great work of the church.
Is to help the redeemed know who they are in Christ.
The great work of the church today for the church is to help
each other know your identity in Christ.
So that we also could be known by the name.
Of Jesus. People who know the name of
Jesus, become extraordinary, lovers.
They will do strange things in the name of Jesus.
And Gordon tells the story of Father Maximilian Kolbe, who was
a prisoner in Auschwitz in August 1941, a prisoner had
escaped. The camp had tried to flee, his
condemnation It was just unjust, truly.
The Nazis who were running that camp ordered that 10.
Prisoners Must Die by starvation.
And so the ten men were counted out.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten,
And as they were being marched off.
Father, Colby calls out and says, let me take the place of
one. Let me take their place.
For two weeks, father, Colby ministered to.
And led the men who were in that starvation bunker In song in
scripture in encouragement. And finally, two weeks.
The soldiers there even had had enough of him.
And so they put him to death by lethal injection.
He was condemned. Was he?
Or did he live like one who had real life?
A survivor of Auschwitz describe the effect of Colby's actions.
It was an enormous shock to the whole camp.
We became aware that someone Among Us in this spiritual Dark
Night of the Soul was raising the standard of love.
Someone unknown like everyone else tortured and bereft of name
and social standing went to a horrible death, for the sake of
someone, not even related to him.
Therefore it is not true. We cried that humanity is cast
down and trampled in the mud, overcome by oppressors and
overwhelmed by hopelessness. Thousands of prisoners were
convinced the true World continued to exist and that are
torturers. Hers would not be able to
destroy it to say that father Kolb a died for us.
Or for that person's family is too great.
A simplification. His death was the salvation of
thousands. We were stunned by his act,
which became for us, a mighty explosion of light in the dark
camp. Oh, may Jesus be in, you a
mighty explosion of light. He loves you.
Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, we set our
lives before you once again. And we pray that you would cause
your love to rise up in us. Would you pour by your Holy
Spirit your love in our lives? So that we may know that we are
truly your children. May you give courage today to
the person who has been timid to call out and surrender to you.
may they look on you, Heavenly Father, may you give Courage, to
the one who's held their fists up towards you and the cross.
May they surrender to you today and yield so that they may be
brought into your kingdom of light and life and know your
love. O.
Lord, may we not waste the Days of Our Lives.
Instead may we treasure every day as a gift from you because
we experienced the promise of Your Love, though.
We wait for full healing, though.
We wait for this whole world to be restored and set in the
Brilliance of your kingdom. May you give us perseverance
because we are loved by you. We ask this in Jesus name.
Amen. I stand together with those who
are helping with the Lord's Supper come now.