John chapter 3. Look at verse number 14. John 3 and 14. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. Let's go to the Lord in a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, I pray right now that you'd help us today. Lord, a good number here for the type of weather that's outside, I thank you for them coming. and their faithfulness to be here. Others couldn't be here because of sickness, maybe because of work or whatever, but Lord, there may be some folks watching on the internet right now. God, I pray. Lord, we love to joke, we love to have fun, but Lord, when it comes to this particular time, We ask you Lord to give us seriousness of mind and Lord that we can proclaim thus saith the Lord. Lord get it out like you put it in and Lord we'll thank you now and we'll praise you in Jesus name we pray and all of God's people said amen. John 3 and verse number 16 if we were stripped of the whole Bible and the only verse that we had was John 3.16. There would be enough gospel in John 3.16 to save the whole world. One person said, this is one of the greatest treasures of the Bible. Martin Luther said, I love this text beyond measure. He called it the gospel in a nutshell. Frederick Lehman put it this way, the love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can tell. It goes beyond the highest star and reaches to the lowest hell. The guilty pair bowed down with care. God gave his son to win. His erring child he reconciled and pardoned from his sin. Oh, love of God, how rich and pure, how measureless and strong. It shall forevermore endure the saints' and angels' song. 1 John 3, verse 1 says, Beloved, what manner of love hath the Father bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God? This particular verse, is so deep that the smartest theologian has trouble describing it. But then it's so shallow that the simplest mind can find salvation when he reads it. I remember a story of D.L. Moody in England. And while he was in England, there was a fellow that came by and his name was Henry Morehouse. He said, Mr. Moody, I'm going to be coming to Chicago and I sure would like to preach in your pulpit. And so like a lot of us preachers do, we'll say, well, sure, just call us when you're in town. Hoping they never call, hallelujah. And so this fellow finally called on D.O. Moody, knocked on his door and said, I told you I was coming to town. I want to preach. A young preacher boy. And D.O. Moody took a chance on this young fellow and he got up on that Sunday morning in D.O. Moody's church in Chicago and preached on John 3, 16. He went through the whole Bible and preached from front to back on the love of God, and multitudes of people got saved. He was so moved, D. O. Moody was so moved, he said, I'd like for you to come back and preach tonight. He came back and preached that night. He preached on John 3, 16. And multitudes of people came and got saved by God's marvelous grace. That thing broke out for a week long. Every night the man preached on John 3, 16. He said, I've looked high and low. I can't find a better text. Can't find a better word from the Lord. For God so loved the world. You'll find in John 3, 16, there's 25 words. That means there's 12 words, and then there's 12 words, and then there's one word in the middle. And the one word in the middle is son. It all centers around one person and his name is Jesus Christ. There's ten main words in that particular verse. God loved, world, gave, son, whosoever believeth. perish, have life. Those are 10 main words. And in John 3, you'll see God's plan of salvation. In Genesis chapter 1, you'll see God's plan for creation. And then in Exodus chapter number 12, you will see God's, excuse me, 19 and 20, God's plan of legislation, and he gives us ten commandments, but in John 3, he gives us the plan of salvation of the whole world. D.O. Moody said, if I could go to heaven, and if I could touch my feet on the streets of gold, I would find Gabriel and say, Gabriel, why can't you explain the love of God? And Gabriel would say, for God so loved the world. Kids bring me birthday cards all the time. I've got one here. Brother Eric's daughter, Eric, and Kara brought me this birthday card. And she had it a long time and she did it herself. And she couldn't wait. She couldn't wait to give me this birthday card. And my birthday was back in January. And then last Sunday, I had a couple of kids make these for me, little Bible markers. And it says, God love on the cross. And it's supposed to be a Bible marker. And boy, I like that. And then on my birthday, then on a Wednesday night, the young people, some of the kids back there, they made me a big old birthday card. And it says happy birthday, and they signed their name and some of them, boy, I'm telling you what, you just have to really strain to look and see. And you know what? I'm guilty. I got a drawer back there. These kids, they'll do this and they'll say, hey, I made you something. And sometimes it's a picture of me preaching up there or whatever. And you know, I say, I thank you for that. And then I'm busy. People are wanting to talk after church. I'll stick it in my pocket. And then I get back to my office, I pull it out of my pocket, open the drawer where they all go, and I just put it in the drawer, and you know what? The Lord suddenly stops me and says, you knucklehead. Now I don't know if he ever talks to you that way, but some of you he ought to. You knucklehead. I said, what? He said, that kid took time and effort and thinking about you to make this card and you're not gonna read it, you're gonna just put it in a drawer? I said, Lord, forgive me. So I get them cards out and I read them every now and then. Why? Because some of them kids, hey, they thinking of me and hallelujah, I'm glad for it. You say, preacher, why'd you tell us all of that for? It's because Sunday, Sunday after Sunday after Sunday God gives you a Valentine card and says that God so loved the world And we take it and we put it in a drawer never to remember it until next Sunday And we throw it away and we do not consider the love of God how reach how how far the depths of the love of God Yes my friend, I remember as a young boy my dad be preaching and boy I'd listen there and some like kids do you know they're sitting there drawing or coloring or whatever and they're listening they're listening more than you think they are and then I'd reject that I'd say oh no I'll do it some other time I'll do it some other time and then on that one particular day as a 10 year old boy I said God I see myself as a sinner. I see you loving me just like I am. And I see you dying for the sins of the whole world and my sin. Thank the Lord I got saved. Hallelujah. Number one, I want you to see the cause of this great salvation. Notice the first phrase, for God. That's where salvation comes from. It don't come from anywhere else. It don't come from a church. It don't come from a preacher, it don't come from a man that's wearing a dress, and he's got his collar turned around backwards, and they call him father, and he ain't even married, don't even have any kids, and you confess your sins through a knothole to a robe-wearing priest, he can't help you. It says, for God, there's where the salvation comes from. It wasn't man's idea, it was God's idea. And then it says, for God so loved the world. Jesus Christ came to this world and nobody in the Old Testament ever thought that you would hear the phrase, God loves them. In the Old Testament, yes, it's alluded to several places, Psalms and Isaiah and certain places like that. But my friend, the love of God was not bestowed until Jesus Christ stepped on the scene and said, God loved the world. Notice the size of God's love. It says God so loved. That's the size of somebody told me the longest word in the Bible is Nebuchadnezzar. I said, no, the longest word in the Bible is so loved. The size, it's so loved the world. Notice the span of God's love. So loved. God loved you before the world ever was. God loved you when you were unlovable. But God commended his love toward us. And that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. So loved. We have enough love to conceive a child. but not enough love to carry it to full term. We have enough love to clothe and feed our children, but not enough love to save our children's souls. We have enough love to send our kids to different countries in uniform, but we don't have enough love to send them over there as missionaries with the gospel. The world has enough love to surrender to preach, but not enough love to love the brethren. We've got enough love to read and carry our Bibles under arm, but not enough love to obey it. We have enough love to fill our decision card out, but not enough love to keep that decision until the Lord comes and gets us. That's the world's love, and it's the difference in the world's love and God's love. Notice the size, so loved, the span, the scope. Who did he love? The world. I can understand why God would love these little kids. I love sitting over there, him bringing their money. Boy, they just had a smile on their face. I can understand why God would love them. But why God would love some of us and some of those people out in the world, I'll never understand, but God doesn't care. He said, for God so loved the world. There's the cause, but number two, the cost. The cost of salvation. Notice, so loved the world that he gave. creation God spoke this world into existence in six days and then on seventh day he rested But my friend he didn't have to leave heaven to do it But to save the world Hallelujah To speak this world into existence he sat right on his throne and did it all in six days but to save the world. He had to step out of that glory cloud, that glory world, and send his only begotten son to this world. He couldn't do it from up there. He had to come down here and do it. So love the world that he gave. Through the Old Testament, they had animal sacrifices. They'd bring on the temple on Saturdays and boy, they'd bring and they'd kill that animal and it would satisfy for a year. Next year, they'd have to do it over and over and over again. But when Jesus stepped out of that glory world, he came to this world. John the Baptist says, behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. You say, preacher, where'd our sins go? I don't know. But I got an etch-a-sketch up here. And Kayla did this for me, it took her half the night. And you may not can see it, but on that etch-a-sketch, and it's just all over, you got lines all over this thing. That's a picture of your sin. The blackness of your heart. When God died upon the cross, and you accepted him wherever it was, whether it's a church, whether it's a home, in your car, and you realize you as a sinner, lost, dying and going to hell. God says, Hallelujah. White, clean. You say, preacher, where'd they go? I ain't got any idea. Where'd your sins go? I don't have any idea. I just know they're gone. Hallelujah. It's a sketch. He gave his only begotten son He didn't give the cattle on the thousand hills, which he does own. He didn't empty the gold out of heaven's mansions. He gives heaven's best and it's the only begotten Son of God. There was a picture, a painting, Rembrandt painted a painting of the three crosses. Your intention would soon be drawn to the cross in the middle and Jesus and the disfigurement that he had. Then you look at the crowd around and he would have detail about the expressions on their face Then you could see the other two crosses, but if you look real closely in the shadows over there It's hard to see but in this painting it's hard to see over there in the corner almost off the page in the shadows his Rembrandt's very own portrait They asked him, said, why did you put your portrait on that scene of the three crosses? He said, there was a day when I realized that I was there and my sins were nailing him to the cross. He said, I was there with the rest of them. The reason he died was because of me. The cause, the cost, the condition. There is a condition. What that condition is, for God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever. That's a wide open condition. I heard a little girl say this, she said, whosoever means you and me and everybody else. I read about a fella, his name was Mr. Clyde. He was discouraged, defeated, convinced that life wasn't worth living. He was convinced that nobody cared for him. One Sunday evening, he was passing a church where the services were already in progress. The congregation sang. A familiar hymn. Saved by grace alone, this is all my plea. Jesus died for all mankind, and Jesus died for me. His hearing, Mr. Kline's hearing, he's walking outside, his hearing's bad. He really couldn't hear that well. And as they were singing, Jesus died for all mankind, he thought they said, Jesus died for old man Kline. He said, hey, they're singing about me. Jesus died for me. Old man Klein walked into that church, listened to the sermon. He walked the aisle, got saved by God's marvelous grace. Why? Because Jesus died for the world. Whosoever believes in him. You say, preacher, what do you do? Just believe. You say, you gotta be a Baptist? No, you don't have to be a Baptist, just believe. You gotta join a church? No, just believe. You gotta learn a foreign language? No, just believe. You gotta pay a debt? No, just believe. You gotta be a saint? No, just believe. You gotta be baptized? No, just believe. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Notice the cause, the cost, the condition, but number four, the consequences. Salvation it says for God so loved the world. He gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes in him Should not perish Should not perish There's a condition there's the promise of missing hail If you'll believe on him you'll never perish Now I know we got some of our good friends that believe you can save today, lost tomorrow, save today, lost tomorrow, come down here, get saved again, lost tomorrow. But John 3.16 says, never perish. That's the promise of missing hell. Now you say, preacher, what happens if I sin after I get saved? Well, God does the same thing your daddy and mama should have done to you when you disobeyed them. God don't put people in time out. He puts the board of education on the seat of learning. And it's called chastisement. Hebrews chapter 12. Whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth. But I'm telling you this, if you've ever been saved by God's marvelous grace, you will never perish. But if I'm going to miss hell, what do I get? You get everlasting life. never perish, but have everlasting life. Jesus was lifted up on the cross, then he was lifted up out of the tomb, then he was lifted up off of this earth to set at the right hand of God the Father. Then one day he lifted me out of the mire, put me in the choir, and he wants my life to lift him up before a lost and a dying world. One of these days he's coming back, he's gonna lift us up to a mansion in the sky, and we'll have everlasting life. Hallelujah. I read about a story about Billy Graham. Most of you know him. He was going on the French television show over there somewhere. And he was told by the commentator. He said, Mr. Graham, you got two minutes, two minutes to give us best message. That's all we got time for, two minutes. Billy Graham stepped up to the platform and he said, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Yes, my friend, Jesus give you a Valentine card. And inside that card is John 3 and 16. Up here on this altar, there's several cards that I've had some folks make, and every one of them say John 3. And 16, all of them in here, God has a valentine for you. And he wants to say, yes, I loved you. Right there at the cross, that's where I loved you. I loved you more than anybody's ever thought about loving you. It's not a worldly love. Sometimes we say, oh, I'll love you if you'll love me back. Oh no, Jesus said I'll love you even if you don't love me back. It's unconditional love. God's Valentine. You say, preacher, how do you explain it? I can't explain it. It's almost like trying to explain to a blind person the color green. You try to explain it, say, hey, they say, describe the color green for me. Well, you know what grass looks, no, I don't know what grass looks like. And that's why I feel here this morning, trying to describe the love of God. It's hard to do, but I'm just here to tell ya, God so loved the world. Say, preacher, how do you explain it? Well, the only way I know to explain it is a little story I heard. It goes something like this. In the city of Chicago, little homeless boy, Snow cold out on the streets of Chicago cold He's used to sleeping in a cardboard box round in the alley He walked up to a policeman on this cold particular cold night. He said sir. Could you help me? He said I'm looking for a place and I could get in out of this weather tonight. I'm used to sleep I just can't sleep there anymore The policeman said, son, you go right down through town, go past Court Square. There's a little white house on the right hand side. You go up to that house, knock on the door and say, John 3, 16. There'll be a lady that'll answer the door. She'll let you in. That little boy walked up, knocked on that door. The lady come to the door open the door. He said ma'am John 3 16 She said son. Come on in this house out of this weather She took him over there to a split bottom rocker in front of a big old fireplace The boy sat there and got warm he said John 3 16 I Don't understand it But it sure makes a cold boy warm. Later, she came back, said, boy, you hungry? He said, ma'am, I am a little bit. She went in that kitchen. Boy, she fixed him. I'm talking about a meal he ain't never seen before. He ate and ate and ate and ate till he couldn't eat no more. As the lady was cleaning up the kitchen, he said, John, 316. I don't understand it, but it sure makes a hungry boy full. She took him upstairs to a bathroom, big old garden tub. She filled it up with hot water, soapy water. That boy got in there, sitting down there soaking, washing. He ain't seen a bar of soap in a long time. Hazy was sittin' in that tub. He said, John, 316. He said, I don't understand it. This sure does make a dirty boy clean. She got him out of that tub and took him upstairs and in a bedroom, nice king-size bed. He pulled the covers back for him, stuck him in there, covered him up, tucked him in, kissed him on the forehead. He's laying there looking out the window, snow coming down. He said, John 3, 16. I don't understand it, but it sure does make an uncomfortable boy comfortable. The next morning, they got up. The lady took him down to the same kitchen table and said, son, do you know anything about John 3, 16 at all? He said, no, the first time I've ever heard John 3, 16 is a policeman told me to knock on this door and say John 3, 16. She took an old King James Bible. I'm talking about one of them big old family Bibles, hallelujah. Got pictures of all that kind of stuff in them and I'm talking about she took him over to John 3 16 Says for God So loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life And boy begin to cry tear go down his eyes He has Jesus Christ to come in his heart and save him He said back after he prayed, he said, John 3 16. I still don't understand it. But it sure does make a lost boy saved. I have to be honest to you this morning. I've been preaching a good while, but not some of these others. I have to admit to you, John 3 16. I can't explain it. I can't explain it. I'm telling you this. It sure will make a dirty boy clean. It sure will make a hungry person full. It'll make you comfortable when you feel uncomfortable. And it'll make a lost person saved. It'll make them fit for heaven. It'll wash their sins away. Take them to heaven one of these days. Hallelujah for John 3 16. Jesus says, I loved you. And that's where I loved you at. On the cross of Calvary. There's a bunch of cards down here. Some of you might want to think about coming down here and getting you one. Stick it in your Bible. I'm hoping and praying today that somebody will come down here and get one of these cards and won't just throw it in your desk drawer somewhere. but actually look into it and read John 3 16 I have to be honest I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene wondering how he could love me a sinner condemned unclean How marvelous! How wonderful! Blake, you come pick that song out. Won't you stand to your feet? Won't you come today? Step out and come, step out and come. Oh, how marvelous! How wonderful! It's my Savior's love for me. Hallelujah. Say, preacher, I've never been saved. I've done the best I could to tell you. All I can tell you is God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son. that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, have everlasting life. Sing now. Amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene