Place: Lurgan Baptist 6:1:2002

Reading: John 3:14-21

THE GREATEST WORDS EVER SPOKEN

A man was sitting in a train station reading his Bible when a sceptic came by. The sceptic walked past him several times looking annoyed. Finally he stopped and asked, " You don't believe everything in that Book do you ?" The man looked up and replied, " To be perfectly honest with you I must admit that I have found one verse very hard to believe." " Oh, I thought so," said the critic " tell me what is it ?" The man said, " It is

( Jn 3:16 ) For God so loved the world .... life." These my .... are " The Greatest Words Ever Spoken." And like that Christian man in that train station we find them almost unbelievable, for only although this verse consists of only twenty five words it contains a complete survey of the story of God's redemption. Here we have the sum and substance, the cream and essence of the whole of Biblical revelation.

No wonder Martin Luther called it " The Miniature Gospel, The Little Bible." " What," said Luther " can be compared to this wonderful brevity ?" Did you notice that there are twenty five words in this verse and the centre one is Son for God makes His Son the centre of everything. Did you notice that there are ten words in this verse that form five pairs of words ? And in each case the second word comes out of the first. The first pair is God and Son. The Son came out from the Father. The second pair is Loved and Gave. The Giving comes from the Loving. The third pair is World and Whosoever, and out of a World of people comes a company of Whosoevers. The fifth pair is Perish and Everlasting and out of a world of perishing people there come a group who believe and have everlasting life. Now the words of our text are simple, sufficient and sure. These words, " The Greatest Words Ever Spoken," speak of:

(1) THE LOST WHO ARE GOING DOWNWARDS

My .... can you hear the " hiss of hell," in that word

" perish," ? ( Num 16:32-33 ) Do you realise that if you are living without Christ you're perishing ? Every day you're getting closer to the edge, each moment you're coming closer to the abyss ! If you die without Christ you'll perish. ( Matt 8:25 ) You see, the person who does not put his faith in Christ is lost. He will perish.

" Lost," is a word the Bible uses for describing those who are not saved. The Lord Jesus says, " For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." ( Lk 19:10 ) The person " without Christ," is

(a) LOST FROM GOD'S PURPOSE:

Many of you were brought under teaching of the Catechism, do you recall the question, " What is man's chief end ?" The answer, " Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever."

My .... the whole purpose of our existence is to have fellowship with God in time and throughout eternity.

Every one of us here has a capacity to love and a desire to be loved and if we are created in the image of God as we are, then God also has that capacity. Indeed the greatest commandment exhorts us, " thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind." ( Matt 22:37 ) Did God not enjoy fellowship with Adam, until he disobeyed, took of the forbidden fruit and became a sinner ? The result ? Adam and Eve were driven from the Garden of Eden, separated from God because of their sin ! Lost from God's purpose ! Does that describe you this .... ? Do you realise that sin, your sin separates you from a God who is Holy, Righteous and Pure ? Do you recognise that your sin has come between you and God ? That you are lost from God's Purpose ? The unsaved person is:

(b) LOST FROM GOD'S PROVISION:

What does it mean to be a Christian ? Let me give it to you in one word " Satisfied." Christ satisfies believers completely !

1. Christ meets our MATERIAL Needs:

Do you recall David's words ? " The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want." The little girl got mixed up and said, " The Lord is my Shepherd that's all I want."

My .... if you are a Christian you're a child of the King and the King will not let you starve to death. David said,

" I have been young and now am old yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken not his seed begging bread."

( Ps 37:25 )

2. Christ meet our EMOTIONAL Needs:

We are living in days of tremendous tension are we

not ? Some of you are battling all day, the work is accumulating, you're stressed out and this old human body begins to feel the pressure, but if you are Christ's here is God's promise, " Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee." ( Isa 26:3 )

3. Christ meets our SOCIAL Needs:

When I was a teenager, I lived for the weekend, it was Saturday night escapade with my friends. I thought I was having a whale of a time, but then the world's joy does not last. Some of here this .... are afraid to become a Christian because you think the Lord Jesus can't give you a good time. Listen, the Lord will give you new friends, tastes, aspirations, desires and you'll discover that " Every day with Jesus .... day before." But without Christ you're lost from (a) (b) and you are:

(c) LOST FROM GOD'S PROTECTION:

The believer can say with confidence this .... " And we know that all things .... " ( Rom 8:28 ) That is the clear promise of Scripture, but this promise is not to the lost but to them " that love God." David said in ( Ps 27:5 )

" For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion."

What precious promises we have in the Word of God but there is a qualification, they are for those who belong to Christ, for the lost cannot claim these promises ! My .... are you lost spiritually ? Are you separated from God because of your sin ? Lost to (a) (b) (c) (1)

(2) THE LOVE THAT IS REACHING OUTWARDS

" For God so loved the world .... " My .... do you feel unloved ? Do you feel unwanted ? Do you dread the thought of meeting God ? Are you troubled about the prospect ? Well, here God tells us in black and white that He loves us, not our sins but our souls ! Bishop Taylor Smith used to say, that the heart of the Gospel lies in three short sentences. (1) God is: ( Ps 46:1 )

(2) God is Love: ( 1 Jn 4:18 ) (3) God loves you:

( 3:16 ) " For God," that is the SOURCE of Love:

" So loved," that is the FACT of Love: " the world," that is the OBJECT of Love: " that He gave," that is the ACT of Love: " His .... Son," that is the GIFT of Love: " that whosoever believeth in Him," that is the MESSAGE of Love: " should not perish .... life," that is the FRUIT of Love: My .... God so loved because God is love ! Now when we think of love we think of:

(a) HUMAN LOVE:

1. There is the Love of a FATHER:

Addison said, " Surely there is no kind of affection so purely angelic as the love of a father to a daughter. Yet the love of a father is not the measuring stick for God's love.

2. There is the Love of a MOTHER:

Surely, a mother's love for her child is a picture of God's love for us. No ! A mother's love is not a measuring stick for God's love.

3. There is the Love of a Couple:

Husband and wife, who are so devoted to each other.

Is that a picture of God's love for us ? No ! All this is Human Love, but Christ is speaking here about:

(b) DIVINE LOVE:

For God's love surpasses all human love ! " For God so loved .... what ? The home, the city, the country ! No. The world ! My .... have you grasp this ? " For God so loved the world .... Do you see it ? All colours, conditions, climes, classes, characters, companies .... the world. A world of Angels ! No ! A world of Saints !

No ! A world of sinners ! Yes ! Oh, the wonder of it all just to think that God loves me. Do you believe that ? Have you grasp that ? Have you allowed this truth to pierce your soul ? God loves me, my sin He cannot love, but my soul He does ! An American tourist who was visiting Seville, in Spain got lost sightseeing in the city and could not find his way back to his hotel.

Stopping a woman on the street he asked her the way to the hotel and she replied, " Find the street of the Love of God, follow it and it will take you straight to your hotel." My .... do you realise that God loves you ? Have you made this discovery, that you are loved by God ? For that is the road that leads to pardon, and peace and forgiveness ! The Greatest words ever Spoken, (1) (2)

(3) THE LORD WHO IS LIFTED UPWARDS

" For God so loved that He gave His .... Son .... "

Did you notice ( 3:14 ) " As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness .... lifted up."

(a) CHRIST WAS LIFTED UP ON A TREE:

Peter's testimony was " Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree." ( 1 Pet 2:24 ) Paul's testimony was, " Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law being made a curse for us, for it is written cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree."

( Gal 3:13 ) My .... 2000 years ago, God took ever sin we have committed and all we will ever commit in our lifetime and laid those sins on His perfect Son, the Lord Jesus. Isaiah says, " All we like sheep .... and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all." ( Is 53:6 ) There are two ALLS in that Scripture, one has reference to ALL the people, the other has reference to ALL the Iniquity. You see, ALL the iniquities of ALL the people were laid on Jesus Christ, and while the Lord Jesus was bearing our sins in His own body, God punished Him in our place to pay the debt we owe.

Cyrus, the great conqueror of Babylon, and the then known world had a general under his authority whose wife was accused of treason. The woman was tried before a tribunal, found guilty and sentenced to death. After the sentence was passed, the general went to Cyrus with this request, " King Cyrus, please let me take her place." Cyrus, in awe at what the general asked, said to his court, " Can we terminate a love as great as this ?" Cyrus relaxed the sentence, and paroled the woman to her husband. As the two left the court, the general said to his wife, " Did you see the kind look in Cyrus's eyes as he pardoned you ? His wife replied, " I only had eyes for the one who loved me enough that he was willing to die for me." My .... Christ was crowned with thorns that you might be crowned with glory, He was stripped of His raiment that you might be robed in righteousness, the Saviour was reviled that you might be blessed, He was cursed that you might cleansed ! " For God so loved the world that He gave .... Son .... " God gave Him up to the spitting: to the scourging: to the slaying. My .... God give, but have you accepted ? (a)

(b) CHRIST WAS LIFTED UP FROM A TOMB:

And the resurrection of the Lord Jesus is a declaration of God that He is satisfied with the payment that Christ made for our sins. ( Rom 1:4 ) You see, when Christ died for us He paid our sin debt on the cross. And God was satisfied with the payment that His Son made. For He raised Him from the dead ! Did Calvary satisfy the just demands of a Holy God ? The answer is simple, look at the Empty Cross, look at the Unoccupied Tomb, look at the Filled Throne, look at the Risen Saviour !

" How do you know Jesus lives to day ?" a sceptic once asked a little boy, " because I spent time with Him this morning." My .... Christ is Alive to save you: He is Able to save you, He is Here to save you ! (a) (b) thats not all

(c) CHRIST WAS LIFTED UP TO A THRONE:

" Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him .... " The Lord Jesus has been lifted up to a throne and " is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."

( Heb 12:2 ) " Lifted up was He to die .... " My .... are these not the Greatest Words Ever Spoken for they speak of (1) (2) (3) and:

(4) THE LIFE THAT IS STRETCHING ONWARDS

" That whosoever .... have everlasting life." I mean how could anything that is so clear get so confused, complicated and clouded. These words are simple, sure and sufficient. If anyone believes in Him ( Christ ) will not perish ( got to hell ) but have everlasting life. Thank God for a lasting salvation. You see, our salvation is as eternal as God Himself. This salvation is lasting because

(a) THE PASSION OF GOD IS LASTING:

In ( Rom 8:35 ) Paul poses the question, " Who shall separate us from the love of Christ ?" My .... nothing, absolutely nothing in the present and nothing that can come in the future, no matter what that thing be may will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus ! A husband may divorce his wife, a wife may destroy her husband, a child may disown his parents, but never, no never will God stop loving His children ! Salvation is lasting because:

(b) THE PROMISES OF GOD ARE LASTING:

Do you see what God promises to those who believe ?

" Everlasting life," That does not just mean length of days. One of Sir Henry Haggard's most popular novels tells of a woman who lengthened her days for two thousand years .... and spent them in misery. My .... Christ offers us not just a mere quantity of days, but life.

Life marked " by joy unspeakable and full of glory." Life that begins on earth and lasts for ever. Oh, have you got this life, abundant life, eternal life ? (a) (b)

(c) THE POWER OF GOD IS LASTING:

Charles Spurgeon once said,

" If it should ever come to pass that

Sheep of God could fall away

Alas, my fickle, feeble soul would fall

Ten thousand times a day."

I think I share his feelings, for I am sure that I could not keep myself for one hour let alone one day. But our salvation is not lasting because of our endurance, its lasting because the power of God is lasting and we are

" Kept by the power of God." ( 1 Pet 1:5 )

The Lord Jesus says, " I gave unto my sheep .... eternal life .... hand." ( Jn 10:28 ) What a glorious thought. I am in the hand of the Lord and He is responsible for my eternal security ! Are you afraid to come to Christ, because you know you will not keep it ? Are you hesitating to take the step because you think it won't last ? My .... don't be worrying, " Will I keep it ?" The Lord will keep you by His wonderful power ! Will you therefore trust Christ today, now ?

" The Greatest Words Ever Spoken." When Felix Mendelssohn the great composer fell in love with the girl that later became his wife, he wrote to his sister Rebecca. He said, " I am more desperately in love than ever I was in my life before and I do not know what to do .... I have not an idea whether she likes me or not and I do not know what to do to make her like me .... when I am away from her I am always sad .... O Rebecca what shall I do." " For God so loved the world

that He gave .... " My .... this includes you ! What will you do in response to love so great ? Will you trust Christ and leave this place the possessor of everlasting life ?