John 3:14-17 “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
This last week, Pastor Kyle continued in our Sunday sermon series through the book of John. He stated that the greatest love known in the world is only a small fraction compared to the love has towards us ... more than we’ll ever know this side of glory. It was His attribute of love that motivated our heavenly Father to “give” to a fallen world a Savior. Get a glimpse of God’s heart.
Ephesians 2:1-6 “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”
We continue to sin, but God doesn’t wait for us to realize our sins and change. God is unwilling to allow us, who He created and loves to perish without an opportunity for redemption. Just as parents long for connection with their children, so does our heavenly Father. God initiated the action of redemption, forgiveness, restoration and salvation. The reality is that people do not understand is that by sin, we are perishing. Romans 3:23 tells us clearly, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”, yet Romans 5:8 explains that “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” What needs to be understood is the gospel truth of what Romans 6:23 communicates, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Our part is to repent of our sin, then as Romans 10:9-10 declares, “if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Pastor Kyle gives us some life application because we do not always feel excited about everything going on in our life. Bad things happen in life to everyone sometime, but we can choose to love in it and through those situations with the knowledge that good times return. Storms always pass. Keep doing the things that motivate and bring about positive and pleasant living. God “gave”, so we sacrifice to make room for others to know and love the Lord, experiencing the love of God. Catch fire in your heart for the love of God towards others.
Let’s continue Pastor Kyle’s message on God’s love for the world in the next post.
In Christ, Brian
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