1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:12,000 This is our final Sunday of Advent. We've spent the last three weeks looking at three different aspects that Jesus brings with him. 2 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:20,000 It's the same themes that we look at every single year. However, the point is not that we understand these things, 3 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:32,000 but the point is that we understand that these things didn't stop when Jesus left the earth, but rather they should continue to be seen by us as his followers. 4 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:40,000 We are to be the hope, we are to be the peace, we are to be the joy that Jesus brought with him in his first coming. 5 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:49,000 We're to bring that to a lost and broken world because when he comes again, he's not bringing those things. 6 00:00:49,000 --> 00:01:00,000 He's going to come finish the war. He's going to come crush Satan. He's going to come bring a lot of destruction with him. 7 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:06,000 But right now, we are to carry the hope and love and joy and peace with him. 8 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:17,000 This morning we're going to look at the love that God shows us through Jesus, and we are going to consider how we can be the love to a world that so desperately needs it. 9 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:23,000 Jeremiah, I don't know where Jeremiah is at. He's going to come and he's going to light our advent candles, 10 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:31,000 and he's going to read our passage this morning out of John chapter 3. The first candle he's going to light is the... 11 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:41,000 Do you know how to do it? There you go, just click it. There you go. Good job, buddy. 12 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:57,000 The candle of hope. Jesus brings us hope with his first coming. Should we have practiced? Good job. 13 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:00,000 Second one, here, you want me to hold your Bible? 14 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:12,000 Second one we're going to light is a candle of peace. You're cracking me up, dude. 15 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:18,000 There you go, candle of peace. Jesus brings us peace. We are to be the peace to the world around us. 16 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:24,000 The candle of joy. We talked about last week. God fills us with joy. We are to be the joy to others and bring others. 17 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:33,000 And finally, the candle today of love. We're going to experience God's love and we are to take that love to the world around us. 18 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:41,000 Come on up here. He's going to read John chapter 3. If you're willing and able, if you'll stand as we honor the Lord's word together, 19 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:44,000 He's going to start here in verse 13. 20 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:54,000 No one has ascended into heaven except he who has descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses slithered up the serpent in the wilderness, 21 00:02:54,000 --> 00:03:01,000 so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, 22 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:08,000 that whoever believes in him so not pairs but have eternal life. For God to not send his son into the world to condemn the world, 23 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:18,000 but in order that the world might be saved through him, whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever believes, who does not believe is condemned already because he is not, 24 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:22,000 because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 25 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:29,000 Amen. Let's pray. Father, thank you for Jeremiah. Thank you for his friendship. Thank you for his willingness to dishonor you today as he reads your word. 26 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:34,000 I pray, Father, this familiar passage will seep into our hearts today. I pray that we will understand the gospel. 27 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:40,000 I pray that we will understand the words that Jesus spoke to Nicodemus. And so we give you this time. Pray you speak through your text. 28 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:46,000 Your name you pray. Amen. Thanks, buddy. 29 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:56,000 So, John chapter three, here we are. We just read one of the most famous passages in the Bible. I don't know about you, but I memorized that when I was a kid. 30 00:03:56,000 --> 00:04:06,000 I memorized it in the King James version. So even though as I'm reading this, I still miss, do it because I know it in the King James. It's that well known to me. 31 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:17,000 But earlier in this chapter, Jesus has confronted Nicodemus with the momentous announcement that he even, he must be born again. 32 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:25,000 Although he is a respected leader, although he's a really moral man, even a religious man, he is still lost. 33 00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:34,000 Jesus is still talking to Nehemiah. He is responding to the question that Nehemiah asks him in verse nine. How can this be? 34 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:43,000 How are you supposed to be born again? What Nicodemus really wants to know is how does this new birth happen? 35 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:48,000 And so Jesus answers with an illustration that Nicodemus would never forget. 36 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:57,000 Jesus ends his conversation with Nicodemus by telling him three things about salvation. The first is a picture of salvation. 37 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:02,000 He gives Nicodemus this picture in verses 14 and 15. It says, 38 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:10,000 And as Moses lifted up the servant and the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 39 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:18,000 And so Jesus is using an event from Israel's history to illustrate his teaching. 40 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:23,000 Jesus calls to mind a scene that we can read about in Numbers chapter 21. 41 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:34,000 In this passage, the people of Israel, they're journeying through the wilderness and have recently traveled from the Mount Orr area to, 42 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:41,000 that's near the Red Sea, to the borders of Edom, which is where Petra is located. 43 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:47,000 It is without a doubt some of the most inhospitable territory on the face of this earth. 44 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:58,000 The Bible says that because of the difficulty of the journey, the people of Israel have become discouraged and they began to complain about, 45 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:08,000 against God, they began to complain about Moses, because of their grumbling and because of their murmuring and because they weren't content, 46 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:19,000 because they didn't worship God anymore but started worshiping other things, God in response to that attitude sends poisonous snakes into their midst 47 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:24,000 and many of the people are bitten and die from the snake bites. 48 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:31,000 Then the people repented and they cry out, we've sinned, we've messed up. 49 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:36,000 Then the Lord offered salvation through a very strange means. 50 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:44,000 He commanded Moses to make the image of a serpent from bronze and hang it from a pole. 51 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:47,000 That's a weird image to me. 52 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:57,000 The people who were bitten and the people who were dying could be healed only by lifting up their eyes to the serpent that was on this pole. 53 00:06:57,000 --> 00:07:00,000 They would be saved by inactive faith. 54 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:04,000 Those who looked up to the serpent were saved. 55 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:12,000 It certainly goes without saying that the remedy proposed by God through Moses sounds utterly absurd. 56 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:14,000 It's a weird story. 57 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:17,000 The tales of this analogy though are remarkable. 58 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:21,000 First, this is a story of sin and its consequences. 59 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:28,000 Nicodemus understood that it was sin that had brought the judgment of God upon the people. 60 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:32,000 It was a result of their sin that they were dying. 61 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:34,000 I mean, that shouldn't surprise any of us. 62 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:40,000 If you do something bad, there are going to be negative consequences that follow. 63 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:45,000 Not necessarily immediately, but eventually you will have to deal with your choices. 64 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:49,000 When my kids were younger, maybe some of you can relate to this. 65 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:56,000 They would sneak food into their rooms, which they knew was against the rules. 66 00:07:56,000 --> 00:08:00,000 Mainly because if you leave it in there, it attracts ants and all kinds of other things. 67 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:02,000 We didn't want that in the house. 68 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:08,000 At the same time, we tell our kids often at least once a week, hey, go clean your rooms. 69 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:14,000 You would think that that would be a great opportunity and a great time to maybe get rid of the wrappers 70 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:17,000 and all the food that they have accumulated in the room. 71 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:20,000 But nope, that's not how their brain works. 72 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:23,000 They pick up the bare minimum, right? 73 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:25,000 So it looks like the room is clean. 74 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:32,000 And then mama goes in there one day and realizes that they just been throwing things in the closet, 75 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:37,000 throwing things under the bed, and so she goes into cleaning mode. 76 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:44,000 I don't know how it is at your house, but when mama goes into cleaning mode, you better watch out. 77 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:50,000 Those are the days I tend to work a little later than usual. 78 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:58,000 So in the midst of cleaning, she will find the week's worth of food that have been in there, 79 00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:01,000 and there's some punishment for that. 80 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:06,000 But there's also punishment because the rooms haven't been cleaned the way they are supposed to. 81 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:10,000 Now here's why there are multiple wrappers in the room. 82 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:13,000 Here's why there's not just one, but there's multiple. 83 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:17,000 Because they didn't get caught the first time. 84 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:25,000 Because they didn't get caught the first time, they got more comfortable with their sin, forgetting that there are going to be consequences. 85 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:33,000 So here is Jesus is here with Nicodemus reminding him that sin has consequences. 86 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:41,000 Second, the only people who were saved by looking at the bronze serpent were those who acknowledged that they were dying. 87 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:48,000 These were people who were perishing because of their sin and they knew it. 88 00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:54,000 I believe this is step one for anybody that's going through recovery. 89 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:59,000 The first thing you have to do is realize that you have a problem and realize that you need some help. 90 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:04,000 You can't fix anything where you're not realizing that there is a problem. 91 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:12,000 I would contend with you that no one is shocked to their core when divorce papers are filed. 92 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:16,000 There might be some shock that they actually followed through with it, 93 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:23,000 but when you start looking at the situation and you start looking back, there were all these warning signs along the way. 94 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:29,000 And the divorce happens because all the warning signs were ignored. 95 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:37,000 We just learned to live with the red flags and only seek help when things get so broken that they're almost beyond repair. 96 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:42,000 The Israelites had to acknowledge that they were dying. 97 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:50,000 They had to understand they had ignored all the red flags and that they were going through the wilderness. 98 00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:55,000 They just ignored all the warnings, all the red flags that were given to them. 99 00:10:55,000 --> 00:11:02,000 As they were complaining about God who had led them through the Red Sea on dry ground, 100 00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:05,000 forgetting that he had provided all these things for them, 101 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:11,000 they had to come to the realization that they needed some help and they had sinned. 102 00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:15,000 Again, God didn't strike them down the first time they complained. 103 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:19,000 So it became easier to continue to live in sin. 104 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:24,000 It becomes easier to complain and walk in sin when you don't get caught the first time. 105 00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:31,000 But when they got busted, they had to acknowledge the error of their ways. 106 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:34,000 They had to acknowledge that they were dying. 107 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:41,000 Third, we dare not overlook the importance of the look of faith. 108 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:43,000 We have to see the look of faith. 109 00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:50,000 It was by faith that those who were bitten looked at the bronze snake and lived. 110 00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:55,000 Moses lifted up the serpent in the camp and all of those dying Israelites, 111 00:11:55,000 --> 00:12:01,000 all they had to do was look up at the pole and they would be saved. 112 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:06,000 No matter how horribly they were bitten, no matter how many times they had been bitten 113 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:11,000 or how sick they were, the opportunity for salvation was presented before them. 114 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:20,000 Even the most degraded and miserable sinner who looks to Christ will be saved. 115 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:24,000 That is why Jesus used this wonderful illustration with Nicodemus. 116 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:30,000 Salvation didn't come to those who were just religious elite and did everything right. 117 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:35,000 This wasn't the morally superior people that were saved. 118 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:40,000 It was those who had been bitten, those who were complaining, 119 00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:45,000 those who doubted the goodness of God in unpleasant conditions. 120 00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:49,000 It wasn't just looking at the serpent that saved them. 121 00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:57,000 It was looking at the serpent and believing that if they did, they would be healed. 122 00:12:57,000 --> 00:13:02,000 It should be noted that it was not enough to know that salvation was offered. 123 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:05,000 Each man had to look for himself. 124 00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:09,000 Otherwise, God's provision was useless. 125 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:17,000 Jesus is saying that being born again comes through the simple dependence of a look of faith. 126 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:21,000 Not by having perfect faith, but by having a little bit of faith. 127 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:28,000 Even so, Jesus would be lifted up on a cross and all those who look unto him will be saved. 128 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:36,000 I'm sure most of us have a story of what that look of faith was for us. 129 00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:41,000 Salvation comes to those who understand their sin has consequences, 130 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:48,000 who realize they were dying and then calling upon the name of the Lord for them to be saved. 131 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:51,000 We each have one of those if we are in Christ. 132 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:57,000 When you accepted Christ as your Savior, what you were essentially doing 133 00:13:57,000 --> 00:14:00,000 is what many of the Israelites did in the book of Numbers, 134 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:03,000 what they were doing in the wilderness. 135 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:11,000 Looking to something that made no sense and trusting that it would save you. 136 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:15,000 Sometimes, we're running our lives to Christ, doesn't make sense. 137 00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:17,000 Sometimes we need all the answers. 138 00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:21,000 I know many people that needed all the answers before they can trust, 139 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:23,000 but faith isn't about having all the answers. 140 00:14:23,000 --> 00:14:27,000 It's about trusting even when we don't understand. 141 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:30,000 Even when we don't have all the answers. 142 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:32,000 Even when it doesn't make sense. 143 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:34,000 In the story about the Israelites in Numbers, 144 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:37,000 we don't read that there was a group of people asking 145 00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:42,000 how in the world is looking at that serpent on the pole going to save us? 146 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:44,000 Nobody's asking that question. 147 00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:46,000 They weren't looking for anti-venom. 148 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:48,000 I don't know if they had it out back there. 149 00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:50,000 I don't know if somebody was sucking on their legs trying to get it out or what. 150 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:51,000 I don't know. 151 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:54,000 They weren't looking for a doctor in that moment. 152 00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:56,000 They were simply broken. 153 00:14:56,000 --> 00:15:01,000 They were simply broken to the point where they knew they couldn't do anything else on their own. 154 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:03,000 So they looked up. 155 00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:06,000 In the middle of their pain, 156 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:11,000 with a cloud of fear hovering over them, 157 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:15,000 they looked up and trusted it to be true. 158 00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:18,000 What does your picture of salvation look like? 159 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:22,000 What was your bronze serpent moment? 160 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:26,000 Now as Jesus continues, he not only gives us a picture of salvation, 161 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:30,000 but he gives us the motivation for salvation in verse 16. 162 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:33,000 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only son, 163 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:37,000 that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 164 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:42,000 This is one of the best known verses in the Bible. 165 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:45,000 No doubt because it states the gospel so clearly. 166 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:48,000 It states the gospel so simply. 167 00:15:48,000 --> 00:15:55,000 It summarizes what the Lord Jesus had been teaching Nicodemus concerning the manner in which the new birth is received. 168 00:15:55,000 --> 00:16:00,000 But Jesus is not through turning Nicodemus' world upside down. 169 00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:08,000 Because in verse 16 Nicodemus is told that the love of God extends to the whole world. 170 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:12,000 Now in John's writing the world is not a reference to the physical world. 171 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:14,000 He's not talking about plants are going to be saved. 172 00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:16,000 He's not talking about animals that are going to be saved. 173 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:18,000 We're not going to get into all dogs go to heaven this morning, 174 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:20,000 but that's not what he's talking about. 175 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:23,000 It's not a reference to the physical world. 176 00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:30,000 The world that John is referring to is humanity. 177 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:33,000 The world here includes all of mankind. 178 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:36,000 Yet this does not mean that everyone is going to be saved. 179 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:44,000 A person must receive Christ and receive what Christ has done for him before God will give him eternal life. 180 00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:53,000 The idea that God is concerned with the whole humanity is an idea that Nicodemus would have found shocking. 181 00:16:53,000 --> 00:17:02,000 The idea that God's love extended to those outside of the Jewish faith, Nicodemus would have found insulting if not just shocking. 182 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:07,000 This was an idea that was almost beyond comprehension for the Jews. 183 00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:10,000 Remember the prophet Jonah, remember his book? 184 00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:21,000 He could not conceive that God's love included the Ninevites, who were not only just Gentiles, 185 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:25,000 but were vile and unlovable Gentiles. 186 00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:28,000 Jonah ran because he thought God is going to save him. 187 00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:29,000 Couldn't comprehend it. 188 00:17:29,000 --> 00:17:39,000 The disciples, John and James, they wanted to call down fire from heaven to torch a Samaritan village in Luke chapter 9. 189 00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:50,000 It took a special vision from God to convince Peter that his plan called for including Gentiles into the church in Acts chapter 11. 190 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:59,000 So God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 191 00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:01,000 Notice that word believe. 192 00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:09,000 It's accompanied by that little preposition in which means that we have to believe in Christ. 193 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:15,000 That is we must trust him as the one who took the penalty for our sins. 194 00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:17,000 I mean this is a personal thing. 195 00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:19,000 This is not your parents' faith. 196 00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:21,000 This is your faith. 197 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:22,000 This is your choice. 198 00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:27,000 We must each believe that he died in our place. 199 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:34,000 So if it helps you in your Bible for God so love scratch out the world and write your name. 200 00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:37,000 Write the person that you think is unsavable. 201 00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:39,000 Write their name. 202 00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:43,000 That means that you must believe that he died for you. 203 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:46,000 This is a personal thing. 204 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:48,000 There is no need for anyone to perish. 205 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:52,000 A way has been provided by which all can be saved. 206 00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:58,000 But a person must acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal savior. 207 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:02,000 When he does this he has eternal life as a present possession. 208 00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:05,000 Jesus not only gives us a picture of salvation. 209 00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:11,000 He not only gives us the motivation for salvation but third he gives us the necessity for salvation. 210 00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:13,000 In John 3.17 he says, 211 00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:22,000 For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through him. 212 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:31,000 Whoever believes in him is not condemned but whoever does not believe is condemned already because he is not believed in the name of the only son of God. 213 00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:39,000 Now when Jesus came the first time, little baby in the manger, when he came as a first time he didn't come as judge. 214 00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:45,000 He made that very clear to the man who wanted him to give a judgment between himself and his brother. 215 00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:51,000 He said, man who made me judge or divider over you in Luke chapter 12. He didn't come as judge. 216 00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:56,000 He came as savior the first time. 217 00:19:56,000 --> 00:20:00,000 He will come the next time as judge. 218 00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:11,000 But now he says that God did not send him into the world to condemn the world but that through him the world might be saved. 219 00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:17,000 Jesus did not come to condemn an already condemned world. What good would that do? 220 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:21,000 What good would it do to come judge an already condemned world? 221 00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:28,000 He doesn't say that those who refuse the light will be condemned at a future date. 222 00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:34,000 He says that they are already condemned. They are just waiting for their sentence to be carried out. 223 00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:43,000 Now if we were to take a trip to the nearest maximum security prison and we were able to get a tour of death row, 224 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:51,000 you would see inmates who are waiting for the carrying out of their death sentence. 225 00:20:51,000 --> 00:21:01,000 They are not waiting to be condemned. They are already condemned living on borrowed time, just waiting for the sentence that has already been received to be carried out. 226 00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:10,000 That thought that in a very short amount of time they will die for their crimes should send a shiver down their spine. 227 00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:16,000 But there is something even more horrible still. Every day, every single day, 228 00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:27,000 you come into contact with a host of condemned men and women, condemned by their sin because they have never accepted Christ as their savior. 229 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:39,000 They are not condemned to die by lethal injection, but they are still only waiting for the carrying out of a just sentence that their sins demand. 230 00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:52,000 It's a sentence of judgment that people impose upon themselves. The only way to escape that condemnation, the only way to escape that sentence is to believe in Jesus. 231 00:21:52,000 --> 00:22:01,000 In Romans chapter 8, the apostle Paul writes, therefore there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, 232 00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:09,000 as his verse so clearly states, in Christ, in Christ there is no condemnation. 233 00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:17,000 Those who are not in Christ are already condemned. The world is lost. You and I live in a lost world. 234 00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:27,000 Our position is something like a man who is in prison. Ask whether or not he will accept a pardon. 235 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:35,000 That's the gospel. Will we accept the pardon? It's not telling a man that he is on trial. He's already condemned. 236 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:45,000 He is already in prison waiting for execution, but the gospel tells him a pardon is offered to him. That's what the gospel is. 237 00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:56,000 The point is, will you accept the pardon? How wonderfully clear that is. The gospel is to save those who are already lost. 238 00:22:56,000 --> 00:23:04,000 The gospel is to save those who are already condemned. Beginning in verse 19, we are given man's reaction to the light. 239 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:11,000 We're given man's, our reaction to the light, but we're going to save that for Tuesday night. How about that? 240 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:18,000 What we need to understand today is the picture of salvation. 241 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:24,000 We are sinners, and because of the fact that you and I are sinners, there are consequences. 242 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:30,000 There's no getting around them. Somebody's going to have to deal with those issues. It's either going to be you. 243 00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:39,000 You're going to have to deal with the consequences of your sin, or someone who takes your place and gives you a pardon, but sin has to be dealt with. 244 00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:47,000 Then we need to understand the motivation for our salvation because the love of God, the love that God has for us, 245 00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:58,000 the love that God has for those who come to church every single week, he didn't just send Jesus to die for a certain group of people. 246 00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:08,000 He didn't just send Jesus to die so that a certain group of people could be saved, but so that everyone who trusts in him can be saved. 247 00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:20,000 That means that even if you are struggling to make it through life because you've been bitten by a snake, salvation is being offered to you. 248 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:31,000 You don't have to wait until you get better. You don't have to do anything except trust that his love for you is all that you need. 249 00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:40,000 And finally, as disciples of Jesus, we have to understand the necessity of salvation. It might sound arrogant. 250 00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:47,000 It might sound arrogant to say that only those who are in Christ will be saved, but that is reality. 251 00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:56,000 No one else is worthy to pay for the consequences of sin, and no one else is willing to lay down their life for you. 252 00:24:56,000 --> 00:25:03,000 All other religions on the face of the earth try to give you the power to earn your salvation. 253 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:12,000 They try to give you a list of things that you should do in order to be viewed correctly by God, but it's impossible. 254 00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:21,000 And far too many people go through life thinking that because they're not robbing banks or murdering people, that makes them good people. 255 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:26,000 And God is going to welcome them into his kingdom. 256 00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:33,000 We have to be a disciple of Jesus by being the love that only comes from him. 257 00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:41,000 We have to understand that necessity. When you love someone, you care about the state of their heart. 258 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:49,000 When you see someone walking in sin, you love them enough, you care for them enough to get them back on the right track. 259 00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:56,000 Or to even get them on the right track. You want them to experience all that God has to offer them. 260 00:25:56,000 --> 00:26:04,000 If you could care less about somebody's eternal salvation, then you don't love them. 261 00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:11,000 Don't say you love someone if you're not willing to share the love that Christ has offered you. 262 00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:14,000 It's amazing to me what love can do. 263 00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:24,000 Now, I don't know how much you know about Philadelphia sports fans, but they are known to be a pretty harsh people. 264 00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:31,000 They will boo their own team if they don't think they're good enough. 265 00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:39,000 It has tough media. It's a hard place to coach. It's especially a hard place to play if you are not winning. 266 00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:51,000 Have you noticed how many coaches they've gone through? Last year, the Philadelphia Phillies signed shortstop Trey Turner to a $300 million deal. 267 00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:59,000 That's a lot of money. He had a great career with the Nationals and the Dodgers leading up to this point, 268 00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:05,000 but he started his first season with the Phillies last year batting 235. 269 00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:11,000 Now, that's better than I can do for sure, but I don't know if you know much about baseball. That's not a good batting average, 270 00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:16,000 especially when you're getting paid $300 million to do that. 271 00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:22,000 When you're paid that much money, there's expectations that come with that. There's a pressure to perform well. 272 00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:28,000 Not only did he struggle batting, he struggled in the field. 273 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:35,000 Now, the shortstop is arguably the most important position in the infield. 274 00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:43,000 And Trey, $300 million Trey, struggled in the field. Many errors, many balls went right past him. 275 00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:47,000 He was in a pretty bad slump. Now, when you're going through a difficult time, 276 00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:54,000 he can really mess with your head. And baseball is a very mental sport. 277 00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:58,000 Then on top of that, you're going through a difficult time. On top of that, you're in Philadelphia, 278 00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:03,000 and your own fans are booing you every time you strike out, every time you miss a ball. 279 00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:06,000 Basically, any time they see you, you're getting booed. 280 00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:13,000 When you don't have the right mindset, it can and it will affect everything that you do. 281 00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:20,000 In the middle of summer last year, enduring Trey's slump, a fan by the name of the Philly captain, 282 00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:29,000 got on his social media and asked anyone that was going to the next game to give Trey a standing ovation. 283 00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:39,000 He said, Trey needs some love right now. Not tough love, not Philly love, but real love because he's in his head too much. 284 00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:45,000 So words spread throughout the city and the message was, let's show him some love. 285 00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:50,000 Trey didn't necessarily deserve it. He was hurting his team more than he was helping it. 286 00:28:50,000 --> 00:29:00,000 He had probably earned the right to be booed, if not even benched, but the city of brotherly love actually tried to live up to that name. 287 00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:09,000 So when Trey came up to bat, when he came onto the field, the entire stadium stood up and gave him a round of applause. 288 00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:18,000 We love you, Trey. There were signs of support for Trey. Beginning that game in August, Trey went on a 10 game hitting streak. 289 00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:29,000 His batting average climbed to over 370. Home runs started coming. The errors in the field stopped and he even hit two home runs in one inning. 290 00:29:29,000 --> 00:29:37,000 His season was completely turned around and it wasn't because of anything that he had done differently. 291 00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:45,000 He was practicing throughout the season. He was getting in the batting cage. He was doing field work all throughout the season, but it wasn't helping. 292 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:53,000 What turned his season around was a group of people showing him that he was loved, showing him that he was supported. 293 00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:57,000 They even made a documentary about it. I encourage you to watch it. 294 00:29:57,000 --> 00:30:04,000 Love can turn somebody's entire world around. 295 00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:09,000 That's the power of the Holy Spirit that God has put in each and every one of us. 296 00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:20,000 You have a mandate from the Creator of the universe to love the lost world around you. 297 00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:24,000 Tell them to look up. 298 00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:28,000 Give them a round of applause. 299 00:30:28,000 --> 00:30:37,000 Love them well enough to tell them that God saved you when you were at your worst. 300 00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:54,000 If we are to love the world around us, if we are going to say that we love the world around us, 301 00:30:54,000 --> 00:30:57,000 then we need to show it. 302 00:30:57,000 --> 00:31:06,000 Sometimes that's a hard conversation, but the way you love somebody, the way you support somebody, the way you care for somebody, 303 00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:11,000 can completely change the trajectory of their life. 304 00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:18,000 We are supposed as a church, we are called to be disciples who make disciples. 305 00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:22,000 We cannot do that if we don't love people well. 306 00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:25,000 We cannot do that if we keep our mouths shut. 307 00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:28,000 We cannot do that if we cast judgment. 308 00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:33,000 Do you notice verse 17, he didn't send Jesus to condemn the world. 309 00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:35,000 He didn't send Jesus to condemn the world. 310 00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:37,000 The world is already condemned. 311 00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:42,000 But how many of us go through our daily walk with the Lord? 312 00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:46,000 And we want to experience him. 313 00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:54,000 But still we offer so much condemnation to those around us because they don't live their lives the way we want them to. 314 00:31:54,000 --> 00:32:04,000 I'd be willing to bet that we condemn more people every single day than Jesus ever did while he walked his earth. 315 00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:05,000 It's not our responsibility. 316 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:11,000 Our responsibility as disciples of Jesus is to love them well. 317 00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:16,000 And if we haven't loved them well, we need to repent of that today. 318 00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:18,000 So I'm going to pray for us. 319 00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:25,000 I'm going to invite the worship team back up to lead us as we respond to whatever the Lord is calling you to do. 320 00:32:25,000 --> 00:32:30,000 But the challenge to each and every one of us is how are you going to love others? 321 00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:34,000 How are you going to tell people to look up? 322 00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:41,000 How are you going to stand up when somebody's at the worst and give them a round of applause and tell them they're still loved? 323 00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:47,000 Father, I pray right now that as we respond to you, as we sing to you, 324 00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:55,000 as we listen to you, that your voice will be heard in our life. 325 00:32:55,000 --> 00:33:02,000 I pray, Father, for those that are in this room that have never once acknowledged that they are dying, 326 00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:07,000 never once acknowledged that they are condemned, 327 00:33:07,000 --> 00:33:10,000 never understood the necessity for salvation. 328 00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:12,000 I pray, Father, that you speak to them. 329 00:33:12,000 --> 00:33:14,000 I pray that they will call upon your name. 330 00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:20,000 I pray that salvation will come to Cornerstone this morning. 331 00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:24,000 And Father, for those of us that have trusted in you as our Savior, 332 00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:26,000 I pray that we will love others well. 333 00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:33,000 We will love others the way you have loved us, even when they don't deserve it. 334 00:33:33,000 --> 00:33:35,000 And so, Father, I pray that you speak. 335 00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:38,000 I pray that your Holy Spirit will dwell in this room. 336 00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:44,000 I pray that it will convict us and I pray that it will transform us. 337 00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:49,000 As we respond, I pray, Father, that you will move to you. 338 00:33:49,000 --> 00:34:09,000 Turn to me, pray. Amen.