Three Words: God, Son, and Everlasting Life

Devotional

Day 1: The First Word: God Loved First

God takes the initiative. He is the holy Creator who needs nothing, yet He moved toward us in love when we were unable to reach for Him. If He had waited for us to love Him, we would have died in our sins—but He did not wait. His love knows no borders, no favorite colors, no preferred languages; He sees the child in the alley and the villager in the jungle, and He knows their names. Rest today in this truth: you are seen, known, and pursued by God. Let His first love steady your heart. [38:31]

Romans 5:6–8
When we had no strength and no way to help ourselves, at the appointed time Christ died for the ungodly. People rarely give their lives even for a decent person, though for an unusually good one someone might dare to die. But God put His love on display in this: while we were still in our sin, Christ laid down His life for us.

Reflection: Where are you living as if you must get God’s attention, and what simple practice this week could help you receive—rather than earn—His prior love?

Day 2: The Central Word: Son Given for Us

At the center of God’s love stands the Son. The cross is God’s demonstration: “Behold My Son.” He is not a reward for good behavior; He is the gift we receive with open hands. And wonder of wonders—you are also the Father’s love-gift to the Son, desired to be with Him and see His glory. Today, receive Jesus again with gratitude, not striving, and let thanksgiving be your “amen.” [54:42]

Isaiah 9:6
For us a child arrives; to us a son is given. The weight of authority rests on His shoulders, and His names speak of unfailing wisdom, divine power, everlasting fatherly care, and peace that reigns without end.

Reflection: What is one way you’ve been trying to earn God’s favor, and how could you intentionally open your hands and receive His Son with simple thanks this week?

Day 3: Whoever Believes: Look to Jesus and Live

Believing is not complicated; it is looking away from self to the Savior lifted up for you. Like Israel in the wilderness, we admit the venom in our veins and look where God tells us to look. One look of faith—honest, needy, trusting—and healing begins. “Whoever” means you: the weary, the ashamed, the curious, the stuck. Lift your eyes today and look upon Him who was lifted for your life. [56:45]

John 3:14–15
Just as Moses raised a bronze serpent in the desert so the snake-bitten could look and live, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who trusts in Him will receive life that does not end.

Reflection: Where do you most feel the “venom” of sin or despair right now, and how will you turn your gaze to Jesus in that exact place today—even for one honest minute?

Day 4: The Final Word: Life, Not Perishing

Apart from Christ, we are already perishing—crooked in heart and path—but God’s desire is that none should perish. Two responses to the cross remain: mocking dismissal or humble trust; one leads to dying in sins, the other to “with Me.” Life in Jesus begins now, not someday, and He promises to hold you fast. Let His assurance quiet the fear of judgment and rewrite the story you tell yourself about your future. In Him, the final word for you is life. [01:03:50]

John 10:28
I Myself give My sheep unending life; they will not be destroyed, and no one can tear them out of My hand.

Reflection: What fear about death or judgment quietly follows you, and how could you answer it this week by speaking aloud Jesus’ promise that He gives you eternal life and holds you securely?

Day 5: Hear, Believe, Confess—Share the Good News

The gospel moves through a simple pathway: you hear, your heart believes, and your mouth confesses. Let the clear words of John 3:16 be on your lips as you enter the new year. Share out of love, the way love gave itself for you, and pray for open doors among family, friends, and neighbors. Confess boldly: “I will not perish; I have everlasting life.” Step forward in worship and witness, trusting God to do what only He can do. [01:18:41]

Romans 10:9–10
If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and trust in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. With the heart a person trusts and is made right with God, and with the mouth confession is made, resulting in salvation.

Reflection: Who is one person God has placed on your heart for 2026, and what is one specific, loving step you can take this week to share this good news with them?

Sermon Summary

John 3:16 is presented through three simple, seismic words—God, Son, Life. It begins with God, because everything begins with God. The eternal, self-sufficient Creator did not wait for humanity to climb its way up or awaken to spiritual interest; He moved first. Scripture makes clear that no one seeks God, yet God so loved the world—every nation, language, culture, and unknown street—that He gave. That love is indiscriminate and active, reaching the child in a city alley, the elder steeped in a different religion, the business traveler undone by a simple promise of prayer. Divine love gives; it does not calculate. It compels embodied acts, real invitations, costly worship, and a readiness to bring the good news with tears, courage, and tenderness.

At the center stands the Son. The middle word of the verse is also the heart of God’s love. The cross is the proof—God demonstrates His love in that while sinners were still sinners, Christ died for them. Isaac on Moriah foreshadows Calvary; yet where Abraham’s knife was stayed, the Father did not spare His own Son. The Son is given as a gift, not a wage. Therefore salvation is received, not achieved: whoever believes. Believing is not vague optimism; it is the look that heals—like Israel gazing upon the bronze serpent, admitting the venom within and turning to the remedy God Himself provided.

The final word is Life. Humanity does not approach Jesus from neutral ground; already perishing, already crooked, we either continue in our orbit of ruin or turn to Christ and live. Perishing is more than fire; it is the horror of being unknown by the One who knows all and being told to depart by the One who is everywhere. Two thieves hung beside Jesus, dividing all history: one mocked and died in his sins; the other entrusted himself to the King and was promised paradise that very day. The word of the cross remains folly to those perishing but the power of God to those being saved. Eternal life is not a vague future—Jesus gives it now, and no one can snatch His people from His hand. The invitation is open: whoever believes. It begins with the God who had no beginning and ends with the life that has no ending.

Key Takeaways

1. God loved first; He initiated. God did not wait for human interest, moral improvement, or spiritual curiosity. In sheer grace He moved toward a world unable and unwilling to move toward Him. The origin of salvation is not human seeking but divine pursuit, which frees weary hearts from the tyranny of self-salvation projects. The gospel rests on God’s initiative, not ours. [38:31]
2. Love gives; salvation is gift. Because love gives, the Father gave the Son. A gift that must be earned ceases to be a gift; it becomes wages. Receiving Christ means open hands, not polished resumes—faith, not leverage. Grace dethrones pride and replaces boasting with gratitude. [54:20]
3. Believing is a healing look. Faith is not complex technique; it is surrendering the self-cure and looking to the crucified One as God’s appointed remedy. Like Israel under the venom, the sinner admits need, looks, and lives. One look to Christ is not superficial; it is decisive, because it trusts the promise of the One who cannot lie. [55:49]
4. The final word is life. We do not decide between two equal options; without Christ we are already perishing. Hell’s deepest terror is not merely fire but forsakenness—“I never knew you.” In Christ, the verdict changes now: “You will be with Me,” and eternal life becomes present possession. [62:06]
5. The cross divides and invites all. One crucified between two men remains the axis of the world—foolishness to some, power to others. The call is open: whoever believes, whoever thirsts, whoever is weary. Grace is both a dividing line and a wide-open door. [64:06]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[27:27] - Travel updates and prayers
[32:26] - Why John 3:16 today
[33:30] - Ten words that frame salvation
[36:37] - Three words: God, Son, Life
[37:23] - God loved first and reached down
[41:42] - Andre’s story: love finds the one
[49:55] - The Son, center of God’s love
[54:20] - Salvation is gift, not reward
[55:49] - Believe: look and live
[57:46] - Life versus perishing explained
[62:06] - Two thieves, two responses
[65:50] - Assurance: the Alaskan’s revelation
[78:11] - Prayer for open gospel doors

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading

- John 3:16

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.

Observation questions

In John 3:16, what does the word “whoever” tell us about the scope of God’s love and invitation?
Notice the verb “have” in “have everlasting life.” What difference does it make that it’s present tense, not future? [59:26]
The message was framed around three words—first word, central word, final word. What are they, and why are they placed that way? [36:37]
At the cross, two men responded to Jesus in two different ways. What did each man say, and what did Jesus say in reply? [01:02:31]

Interpretation questions

If God loved first and did not wait for people to seek Him, how should that shape someone’s view of coming to faith and their ongoing attempts to “be good enough”? [39:05]
If the Son is a gift, not a reward, what attitudes reveal that someone might be trying to earn what God freely gives? What does “open hands” faith look like in real life? [54:20]
Faith as a “healing look” means admitting the venom and turning to God’s remedy. What does admitting the venom look like today, and what makes that turn so hard or so freeing? [55:49]
If perishing is not only fire but forsakenness—hearing “I never knew you”—how does that deepen the urgency to turn to Christ and to share the good news with others? [01:01:01]

Application questions

Love moves first and moves toward people. Who is an “Andre” in your week—someone overlooked or unknown—whom you can move toward with a simple, embodied act of love? What will you actually do, and when? [41:18]
“Love gives”—sometimes as simply as offering to pray. Who is one person you can tell this week, “I will pray for you,” and then follow up with care? What will your follow-up look like? [47:07]
How will you show love to Jesus in a costly, concrete way—like the woman who poured out worship without waiting to be invited? What act of adoration or obedience will you bring to Him this week? [48:19]
Where do you still try to turn Jesus into a reward for performance—hoping your “good week” earns God’s smile? What practice could help you shift from earning to receiving (for example, daily thanksgiving, open-hands prayer)? [54:20]
What “venom” are you aware of right now—guilt, shame, bitterness, secret sin, self-reliance? How will you take the healing look to Christ today, and what is one concrete step you will take (confession, Scripture promise, accountability)? [56:45]
Eternal life is a present gift. What fear, habit, or decision will you face differently this week because you already “have” life in Christ? Name one step that practices assurance (memorize John 3:16, pray it aloud, share it). [59:26]
The cross both divides and invites. Who around you might mock, and who might be quietly ready to believe? What would sharing John 3:16 with tears, courage, and tenderness look like for you in the next seven days? [01:04:06]

Sermon Clips

And you know that it's God who gives us the example. When you love, you give. When you love, you give. Jesus showed us the same. The Bible says he loved us, his church, and he gave himself for us. It's God who teaches us that. And when we are going to give the gospel to somebody else, it should always be done with love and through love. We love people. That's why we want them to know Jesus. [00:45:05] (31 seconds) #GiveWithLove

When the people admitted, I have a venom in me that I cannot cure myself. But God has said, if I will just look, I will be saved. And so the people who were bitten, they would just simply go outside their tent and look because that's what God told me to do. I trust in him. I believe in him. So I will look upon it. And they were saved. And they were healed. In the same way, Jesus says, look upon me. Just one look can save you. [00:56:23] (34 seconds) #OneLookSaves

In the same way, Jesus says, look upon me. Just one look can save you. Believe that God has so loved you. Believe I came to die for you. Believe that in me you have eternal life. One look of faith. And you will be healed. Do you believe in Jesus? Have you looked upon him in faith? [00:56:50] (25 seconds) #OneLookOfFaith

The Bible in the Old Testament tells us that we are transgressors. And some of the Hebrew word used for that language is where we get the word crooked from. It comes from a shepherd's staff, where at the top of that staff, there's the crook at the end of it. It's bent. It's out of shape. And when we are sinners, we are crooked. We're crooked in the way we think and in the way we walk. And if you just continue walking in a crooked pattern, you're just going to run in circles all your life with no hope in sight. [00:58:33] (33 seconds) #WalkStraight

``The only thing we can do at the cross, we either do nothing at all and we perish, or we choose Jesus. We trust in Jesus. We trust in Jesus. If we ignore Him, we perish. If we put our trust in Him, we have everlasting life. Not one day. Not by and by. We have. That's right now. Eternal or everlasting life. [00:59:06] (28 seconds) #ChooseJesusNow

Have you known the power of God through the cross? Your sin is forgiven. Listen, your life is healed, your mind, your body. A brother here today said he was in prison when he found Jesus. Well, I tell you, brother, we were all in prison before we met Jesus. Imprisoned in our sin, shackled and bound by them. And then suddenly, the chains fell off, and the door flung wide open, and there was the Savior to lead us out. [01:04:24] (26 seconds) #FreedomThroughTheCross

And so this one great sentence which summarizes the whole gospel story as it centers upon Jesus, it begins with God and it ends with everlasting life. It begins with one who had no beginning and it ends with that which has no ending. eternal life. [01:08:00] (27 seconds) #GodToEternalLife

You believe. He came for me. He died for me. He rose again. He saves all who call upon his name, even me. I believe that in my heart. And then Paul says, then you confess with your mouth. You make confession. You say it out loud. You say it to God. I believe. I have received your son. I have eternal life. [01:09:11] (26 seconds) #BelieveAndConfess

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