Exploring the Depths of God's Love in John 3:16

i heard about a preacher who studied john 3 16 for all of his whole ministry and intensely studied it so that when he was about to retire he had produced 600 unique outlines on john 3 16. no verse of scripture has been explained as much as john 3 16 and there is no verse of scripture that defies explanation as does that verse i've noticed that a lot of times when young men begin to start preaching they grab hold of john 3 16 and they preach it a lot but if you've been preaching for very long you discover that's not what you do g campbell morgan said that this was a verse of scripture he had never attempted to preach on in all the years of his great preaching he said i've gone around it and around it but it has always been too big for me to tackle when i read it there's nothing else to say if we only knew how to read it we would produce a sense in the ears of our people so that there would be nothing left to preach about and i need to confess that i think it was about at the 15 -year mark when i started preaching i preached on john 3 16 for the first time i remember thinking what in the world would i say about this verse i mean it's so simple and everybody knows it by heart what am i going to add to this truth and then it was almost as if god was reminding me that my job is not to come up with something great and cute and creative but my job is to see what god has done for me and then i'm going to stand up and repeat the simple truth once again so that everyone hears it and understands it whenever you hear the story of god's love it strikes a resounding note in your heart because there's something that's in each of us it's the fact that we've been created in the image of god there's something that's in each of us that somehow maybe it's in the distant recesses of our mind but we know that god loves us then when somebody preaches it it strikes fire god has put within us [00:00:15]

so that there would be nothing left to preach about and i need to confess that i think it was about at the 15 -year mark when i started preaching i preached on john 3 16 for the first time i remember thinking what in the world would i say about this verse i mean it's so simple and everybody knows it by heart what am i going to add to this truth and then it was almost as if god was reminding me that my job is not to come up with something great and cute and creative but my job is to stand up and repeat the simple truth once again so that everyone hears it and understands it whenever you hear the story of god's love it strikes a resounding note in your heart because there's something that's in each of us it's the fact that we've been created in the image of god there's something that's in each of us that somehow maybe it's in the distant recesses of our mind but we know we've been created in the image of god and to me that's what i'm saying that God loves us then when somebody preaches it it strikes fire with this intuitive thing that God has put within us so here from one verse in the Gospel of John the most famous verse in the Bible are seven incredible truths about God's love number one God's love is extravagant for God so loved the world when John wrote these words God was considered to be a tyrant driving men to hell even today heathen religions try to satisfy their gods medicine men and witch doctors go through all kinds of incantations in their attempt to placate God in their minds God is an angry God who's waiting to punish all mankind and you got to do something to talk him out of it and against that backdrop is John 316 we read in John 316, which astounds us and reminds us that God is not a tyrant but God is a God of pure and holy love and the message of the Bible is not that man can satisfy God but that Jesus Christ has satisfied God in our behalf [00:08:39]

God's only begotten son means God's unique son the word only begotten means unique means the only one God had God only had one son his unique his only begotten son the Bible says that Jesus is the image of God and he's the only begotten of the father and this is a love according to John 3 16 that God demonstrates to us by giving us the most expensive gift he could possibly give there is nothing else God could have done that would have exceeded the expense of the gift of his own son he looked around heaven and said what shall I do I need to send this message of love to my creatures and he put his hand upon his son and said this will I do I will send you there to be my message he his only begotten son into this world to pay the price of our sin and to demonstrate his love listen to first John 4 9 in this [00:18:07]

the love of God was manifested toward us in that God sent his only begotten son into the world that we might live through him. In other words, in this, God communicated his love to us. In this, his love is communicated to us, is shared with us. In this, he shares his love with us. And how does he do that? He sends his only begotten son into the world. [00:19:14]

God says, I love the whole world. I love whoever in the world. My love is available. Whoever believes will get my love. So some of you that come to church and you think by just coming to church and hearing about the love of God, that's all you need, then you're wrong. You go to hell knowing about the love of God. You go to heaven receiving the love of God. The love of God is God's plan of salvation for you, and if you will receive that plan, if you will believe it, if you will accept it, you will have it. But God isn't just going to force his love on you. God offers his love. His hands are wide open. The cross is a picture of his extended arms welcoming everyone to the shed blood of the cross. But my friends, you can't have what you don't receive. [00:26:40]

Now listen to John 3 18, just a couple of verses ahead of one that we are talking about. He who believes in him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten son of God. While it is true, my friends, to say that God loves everyone, it is not true to say that everyone receives that love. Only those who believe receive. God's love. is extravagant and extensive and expensive and it's expansive and it's exclusive number six it's exceptional [00:27:01]

To be separated from God is far worse than all the pictures of fire and brimstone you've ever seen about hell. To be separated from God is to be eternally locked in to your unquenchable thirst, your own sin, your own thirsty thirst, your unquenchable thirst. your terrible passions, your appetites, your cravings, your inflamed desires, your fierce longings, your furious hates, your lusts, your white -hot temper, your spine -chilling fear, all of these things will have no relief and no satisfaction and no joy. [00:28:54]

The Bible says that when you go into eternity as a lost person, you carry into eternity all of the unfulfillment of your life, and it's intensified forever and ever and ever. Revelation says it this way. He who is unjust, let him be unjust. He who is filthy, let him be filthy. To perish means to be cut off from God. The word means to be separated forever from the loving God. And the Bible says that when we receive God's love, we will never be separated from God's love. [00:29:47]

When you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, you receive eternal life. And you don't get eternal life after you die. You get eternal life the moment you believe. When you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, you receive eternal life. When does eternal life start for you? The moment you believe. And that means from the moment you believe all the way out into as far as you can imagine in eternity, you are not separated from God. You cannot be separated from him. [00:30:09]

It means it cannot ever end. Listen to Romans 8. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things future, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. What part of this don't we get? John says it, And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. [00:31:05]

When you become a Christian, when you truly put your trust in Jesus Christ, you are given the gift of eternal life. And some of you say, Well, I know somebody who they said they were saved, and now they're not living. you know what that's not my problem and really friend it's not yours either all i know is what the word of god says and the word of god says when i put my trust in christ he gives me the gift of eternal life and how many of you know god's not the kind of god who comes and takes his gift back god is a god who always keeps his promise and when he gives you the gift of eternal life listen to this again and i give unto them and they shall never perish [00:31:43]