Well, very good morning to you all. What a pleasure and a privilege it is for me to worship God with you here this morning. Greetings from California. And as we were singing the hymns and lifting up praise to Almighty God this morning, I couldn't help but think, just as Pastor Tim was talking about, in our call to worship, I couldn't help but think about the beauty of the unity of the spirit in the bond of Christ that we have. That no matter where we are from, no matter how different our upbringing, no matter the differences in the weather, we can all come together here and pursue Christ and love Christ and be united in heart and mind and soul and spirit in the worship of Christ. And as Pastor Mitch and Nancy picked me up from the airport on Friday night, just as an illustration of how maybe different things are in Southern California, I was telling them that on Friday morning, as my wife and I and our three children were driving to the airport on Friday morning in Los Angeles, there was a slight drizzle in the air. It's not even rain, you would say. It's not coming down. It's not splattering the windshield. It's just making it slightly misty enough on the windshield to use your window wipers every once in a while. And there's a slight drizzle in the air. And we're on the freeway. And we've got these electronic billboards hanging over the freeways in Los Angeles. And they are for up to the minute, really up to the hour. alerts from the highway patrol as we're driving through this slight drizzle on the overhead billboard. It says in bright, flashing letters and words, hazardous weather, caution advised. And we laughed, and I sighed. And Olivia said, it's not even raining. How is this hazardous weather? And you guys here have freezing rain. And it's my first experience with freezing rain. But despite all of our differences, it is a beautiful thing. that we can come together on the Lord's Day and have the privilege of worshiping Christ together and be knit together in love because of our common faith. And so I'm very honored and privileged to be here among you. Thank you for welcoming this cold Californian in your midst and for loving me and spending time with me and being here on the Lord's Day together with me. It is also a tremendous privilege for me to bring the Word of God to you this morning. Before we do that, would you please join me in a word of prayer? Let us pray. Our Father who is in heaven, Lord, as we approach your word this morning, as we open up your word this morning, would you help us, as it were, to remove the sandals from our feet, for we stand on holy ground? Lord, we are so naturally inclined not to do that. We are so naturally inclined to rebel against you, and against your word and against your law and against your gospel. And so Lord, we pray by your spirit, would you come? Would you unharden the hardness of our hearts? Would you give us ears to hear? Would you give us eyes to see that we may behold wondrous things in your law? that we may see and savor the pearl of great price, the Lord Jesus Christ. For we know your promise, that this is the one to whom you will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit and who trembles at your word. Lord, we tremble at your word this morning. It is in the name of Lord Jesus Christ we pray. Amen. What is the most shocking text in the Bible? What is the most shocking passage in the Bible? If you have ever read the Bible, you know that it is filled with some rather surprising texts. A few come to mind. How about Genesis 32, where God wrestles with a man? How about 2 Samuel 6? when Uzzah reaches out to stabilize the ark and then is struck dead for it on the spot. What about Revelation 12, where a woman goes into labor and there is a dragon waiting to consume her baby? And of course, if you're ever talking about the most surprising text in the Bible, you have to mention the last few chapters of Judges. These chapters tell the truly shocking story of a priest who dismembers the dead body of his concubine and sends the parts to the 12 tribes of Israel. These are all eye-opening, jaw-dropping passages. What is on your list of the most shocking text in the Bible? Well, this morning I submit to you that there is one text which is equally as shocking in its own right, and yet it is never mentioned alongside these other passages. It should be listed among the most shocking passages, and perhaps it may even be the most shocking of all. What text is this? Turn with me in your Bibles to John 3, 16. John 3, 16. John 3, 16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life." Now, that is shocking. That single sentence represents one of the most shocking string of words in the Bible. In our day and age, John 3.16 is the most well-known verse of the Bible. It is the most memorized, most widespread, most famous, most recognizable verse in all of Scripture. In popular culture, you see this verse more than you see any other verse. Athletes write this verse on their uniforms or their eye black. People hold up this verse on picket signs on the street. As you drive on the freeways, you see this verse written on billboards hanging over the freeway. Sadly, due to its familiarity, most of America yawns at this text. It is a verse that is so well known that it seemingly no longer holds any impactful meaning. And it is so familiar that it absolutely does not carry any of its original shock value. We as Americans have become so well acquainted with it, it no longer amazes us. Well, this morning I would like to reverse this trend I would like to uncover the original meaning of this text. I would like to see it in its original context so that we can understand just how surprising it is and just how amazing it should be. This morning, I'd like us to see five shocking truths about the love of God in John 3.16. Five shocking truths about the love of God in John 3, 16. First, a shocking source. A shocking source. For God so loved. God loved. God loved. Let those two words sink in, if only for a moment. God loved. Those two words should have immediate shock value. Now, if you are not amazed at those two words, then I dare say it is because you do not understand two things. You do not understand the nature of God, and you do not understand the nature of sin. We in America take the love of God for granted. Our first reaction is, well, of course God loves us. What's not to love? America expects God to be merciful. Frankly, God redeeming sinners surprises nobody. Have you ever noticed that when good things happen, the media does not question anything? But when a hurricane comes or tsunami kills people, then the world wants an explanation. Mankind shakes his fist at the heavens and thunders out. How could a loving God do this? We want an explanation, God. Where are you, God? Explain yourself, God. We deserve better than this, God. We expect God to love us. We expect God to love the world. We feel entitled to the love of God. After all, that's what God does. God loves, right? After all, that's what the Bible says. God is love, does it not? True, I grant you that. But do you know what the Bible also says? The Bible also says, our God is a consuming fire. The Bible also says, God is holy, holy, holy. In order for us to see how shockingly great the love of God is, we must first consider the object of His love. We must see how staggeringly sinful we are. We must see how incredibly wicked we are. The amazing part about God's love is not that he himself loves, but that he himself loves us. God loves human beings. That, in and of itself, should shock us. Listen to how scripture describes us in our fallen state. Ephesians 2.1, you were dead in your trespasses and sins. Romans 3.10, there is none righteous, not even one. James 4.4 calls us enemies of God. Romans 8.7 says we were hostile toward God. We human beings were dead, unrighteous sinners in cosmic rebellion against God. We were at war with God. We were hostile towards God. We were enemies with God. That's who we are as fallen, sinful human beings. And because of our sin, we are nothing less than sinners in the hands of an angry God. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. If we are not shocked by John 3.16, it is because we do not fear the wrath of God. It is because we do not see the wrath of God. It is because we do not hear the wrath of God. It is because we do not feel the wrath of God. We do not have a sense of our sin or God's judgment. Romans 9.13 says, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. People are offended when it says that Esau is hated. But that is not the shocking part of that verse. If we really understand who we are as sinners and who God is as God, we would not be amazed that God hated Esau. We would be amazed that God loved Jacob. Oh friends, do you know the God of Scripture? Do you know the God of the Bible? Beware of the God of Scripture. Do not take him lightly. Do not yawn at the God of John 3.16. You do so at your peril. So then, the love of God ought to shock us. It ought to amaze us. It should stagger us that a God this holy could love a people this sinful. It should amaze us that the object of God's wrath is also the object of God's love. One of my friends in seminary told me this true story of one of the greatest displays of the love of God that he has ever seen or ever heard of. He grew up in Taiwan, and when he was in junior high, one of his classmates was killed at a school by an orphan boy. There was an orphan boy who was also in junior high at the time, who killed, who murdered one of his own classmates. And for that, the orphan boy went to prison. while the mother of the deceased boy would go and visit her son's murderer while he was in prison. And she was a Christian. And she would go and preach the gospel to him. Well, after some time, the orphan boy repented. He believed. He trusted in Christ for salvation. And he was saved through the ministry of the mother. After he was released from prison, eventually the mother adopted him as her own son. The mother adopted her own son's murderer as her own son. And this story moved the entire country of Taiwan. It was a powerful testimony of the gospel and of God's love for sinners. You see, when you realize how undeserving we are of God's love, then all of a sudden, God's love becomes amazingly glorious. You see, the shock value of this text matters. How you respond to this verse is one way to tell whether you have been living your life by faith or living your life as a legalistic moralist. A healthy, vibrant Christian who is trusting God, resting in God, basking in God, resting in God, reads John 3.16 and responds, I am amazed that I am a Christian. I am amazed that God loves me. A true Christian is shocked at the love of God. A Christian knows they could never earn the love of God. They're not entitled to the love of God. They could never deserve the love of God. They could never do anything to merit the love of God. Not for a day, not for a week, not for a month, not for a year, not for an eternity. But a legalist approaches this text very differently. A legalist is someone who is trying to earn their way to heaven. He's trying to make it to heaven by his own merits. And sometimes, Christians can fall prey to a spirit of legalism. A legalistic person does not recognize the shock value of this verse. A legalist reads John 3.16 and thinks, well, of course God loves me. Of course God loves me. I've done everything God has asked of me. I go to church, I pray the prayers, I read my Bible, I even get the tithe. I lead a good, moral, upright life. Of course God loves me. You see, here's the difference. For the Christian, there is no of course. A Christian thinks, I owe God for his great love towards me. A legalist thinks, God owes me for my great love towards him. How you respond to this verse will tell you a lot about your relationship with God. So friend, I ask you this morning, of what spirit are you? Do you yawn at this verse? Do you yawn at John 3.16? Do you shrug your shoulders at this verse? This is the litmus test. Does John 3.16 still amaze you? Do you have a spirit of wonder at the love of God? Are you amazed that God loves you? How marvelous, how wonderful, and my song will ever be. How marvelous, how wonderful is my Savior's love for me. Behold the wonder of the love of God. Secondly, a shocking scope. A shocking scope. For God so loved the world. The casual American looks at this word world, kosmos in the Greek, and most commonly thinks it must mean every single person who has ever lived. Since God loves the world, then God savingly loves every single person who has ever lived. In other words, everybody goes to heaven. Universalism. Universal salvation for all. Now to be sure, God does love all people in a general way. Psalm 145 verse 9 says, the Lord is good to all, and his mercies are over all his works. In one sense, it is right to say that all of mankind is an object of God's love, for we are created in his image. But does God love all people in such a way that everybody goes to heaven? Not if your name is Judas Iscariot. It is impossible for the word cosmos to mean that God savingly loves every single person who has ever lived. It simply cannot mean that because it is qualified in the very same verse. World is specified, it is defined for us. Cosmos is qualified by the phrase, whoever believes in him. You could translate it like this, God so loved that all the believing ones should not perish. All the believing ones. You see, God may love every single person in a general way, but God loves the believing ones in a particular way. God may love every single person in a common way, But God loves the believing ones in a specific way, a distinguishing way, a deferential way. God does not love all people the same way. The world is so offended by this. But instinctively, we understand this. If I were to say to you, I love all the children in the church, you would say, great. I also love all the children in the church. It is good to love all the little children in the church. They are our precious little ones. But if I said to you, I love all the children in the church exactly the same way that I love my own children, then you'd say, whoa, wait a minute, wait a minute. No, there's something not quite right about that. You see, instinctively, we understand distinguishing love because we practice it. We love those who are our own more than we love those who are not our own. So then, if cosmos does not mean God savingly loves every single person who has ever lived, then what does it mean? Cosmos means that God loves all kinds of people throughout the world. God loves all races, all ethnicities of people from all over the world. God loves not just Jews, but God loves Gentiles. It means that Christ saves people from every tribe, tongue, nation, and people group. Hendrickson calls this love an international love. God so loved internationally. God so loved all over this world. God desired to take some out of the tapestry of humanity and weave them together with his son. Revelation 5-9 gives us a picture of what this looks like in eternity. Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain. And by your blood, you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. This is John 3.16, according to heaven. John 3.16 emphasizes the diversity of God's saving love, not the universality of God's saving love. Salvation is given not to all people without exception. Salvation is given to all believers without distinction. Whether Jew or Gentile, whether black or white, whether Asian or Hispanic, salvation is given to all people, to anyone who believes, to anyone and everyone who believes. The international love of God would have been amazing to Jesus' original audience. Remember, in John 3.16, Jesus has been speaking with Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a Pharisee. And Pharisees, of course, believed that as long as you were an Israelite, you were in the kingdom. As long as you were an Israelite, God saved you. We have Abraham as our father, they would say. To the Pharisees, the love of God is simple. God loves Israel. God does not love Gentiles. Leon Morris says, the Jew was ready enough to think of God as loving Israel, but no passage appears in which any Jewish writer maintains that God loved the world. It is a distinctly Christian idea that God's love is wide enough to embrace all people. His love is not confined to any national group or spiritual elite. The heart of God is not just for Israel. The heart of God is for the nations. This was God's plan all along. Let us trace the unfolding plan of God throughout scripture. In Adam and Eve, God blesses a couple. In Noah, God blesses a family. In Abraham, God blesses a family to bless other families. In Moses, God blesses a nation of families. And in the New Covenant, God blesses a family of nations, such as the international love of God. This was God's plan all along, but Nicodemus couldn't see it. He couldn't see it because he looked down on other people. He looked down upon them. He thought lowly of other people. He couldn't see the love of God for the nations because he looked down on them. Brothers and sisters, do you in any way have the same attitude as Nicodemus? Do you ever look down on other people? Do you ever think to yourself, why would they do that? Why would they think that? Why would they say that? I would never do that. Brothers and sisters, if you believe the gospel, the gospel means you never have a right to look down on anybody else. The gospel says that you are a sinner saved by grace. You are a sinner, which means you are the same as everybody else. Sin is the great equalizer. You are no better off than anybody else. but you are saved by grace. This means that your salvation is a gift. It was given to you. You didn't do anything. You didn't earn this, which means you can never see yourself as superior to anybody else. There is no room for pride with the gospel. There is no room for arrogance with the gospel. There is no room for superiority with the gospel. The gospel should make us inexplicably loving, humble, Thirdly, a shocking statement, a shocking statement. Everything in this verse points to the exclusivity of the gospel. John writes, God so loved the world. Now again, when most casual people read this verse, they think the word so means so much. God loved the world so much that he sent his only son. And since God loves the world so much, this must mean everyone goes to heaven. However, that is not what the word so means. The word so does not mean so much. The word so means in this way or in this manner. How did God love the world? God loved the world like so. God loved the world like this. He loved it in this way, in this manner, in this fashion. You could translate it like this. It is in this specific way that God loved the world. He sent his only son. Therefore, contrary to popular belief, the word so is not universal and all-inclusive. Rather, it's quite the opposite. It is exclusive and particular. God doesn't love the world in any which way you might imagine. God loves the world like so, like this, in this particular way, in this very specific way, in his Son. There's only one way to experience the saving love of God, in this way, in his Son. The word only, again, points to the exclusivity of the gospel. In essence, the word means one of a kind, one and only. God gave his one of a kind Son, his unique Son, his one Son, his only Son. There is only one Son of the Father, and there is only one Savior of the world. There is salvation in no one else. There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Jesus Christ alone is the Savior of the world. So we must understand, that John 3.16 is not actually an invitation to believe. This is not an altar call. This is a statement of fact, a statement of truth, a statement of reality, a definitive statement, a concrete statement. Jesus is saying there is one way to eternal life through the one God who has given his one son. He's stating that as a fact. In a world full of pluralism, we have the definitive statement of exclusivity. In the world full of polytheism, we have the ultimate statement of monotheism. R.C. Sproul points out that some people say, oh, you Christians, you're so narrow-minded. You've got such a narrow-minded view of God's love. If I were God, I wouldn't just send one savior. I'd send 100 saviors, or 1,000 saviors, or a million saviors. If God were truly loving, why did he not send a million saviors? But that is the wrong question. The question is not, why didn't God send more saviors? The question is, why did God even send one? Because he loved. Sproul says, are you one of those that gets angry when you hear there's only one way to God? The question is not, why is there only one? The question is, why should there be one? Why is there one at all? Will God love the world enough to send the only one? Fourthly, a shocking sacrifice. a shocking sacrifice. John writes, for God so loved the world that he gave his only son. In what sense did God give his son? Well, the context gives us the answer. The preceding verses, John 3, 14 and 15, say, and as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the son of man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. Now it is very important to see the overall structure of these verses. Now notice the parallelism between verses 15 and 16. Verse 15. Whoever believes in him may have eternal life. Now look at the end of verse 16. Whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. Do you see the parallel phrases? Do you see the nearly identical wording? These are two lines that give the same idea, two lines which are mutually interpreting. Now, of course, you know that if the last half of the sentences are parallel, so also are the first half. This means that he gave his only son in verse 16 is parallel to the son of man be lifted up in verse 14. God gave his only son when the son of man was lifted up. God gave his only son when the son of man was lifted up on a cross. God gave his son on the cross. God handed his son over to the cross. God gave his son over to death, even death on the cross. Prophet Isaiah gave his perspective of John 3, 16, 700 years earlier. In Isaiah 53 verses 4 and 5, Isaiah wrote, surely our griefs he himself bore, and our sorrows he carried. Yet we ourselves esteemed him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was pierced through for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The chastening for our well-being fell upon him. And by his scourging, we are healed. Brethren, do you hear what this is saying? God so loved the world that he afflicted his only son. God so loved the world that he pierced his only son. God so loved the world that he chastened his only son. God so loved the world that he scourged his only son. Brothers and sisters, do you hear what this is saying? For God so loved the world that he crushed his only son. Oh, brothers and sisters, God so loved you that he crushed his only son for you. God crushed him. God crushed him. God crushed him for you. This sacrifice should be staggering to us. The cost of this sacrifice is unspeakable. Can I speak to you from the heart just for a moment? You people are a warm people. It's a cold place, but you people are warm people. Ever since I have landed here, I have been just absolutely overwhelmed by the generosity, the love, the hospitality of all of you. You've spent time with me. You've sacrificed for me. You've been there with me. And I love you all as brothers and sisters in Christ. I love you all as the family of God. I love you with the love of Christ. And I can feel the love of Christ among you. So I love you all as a family of God. But I could never imagine giving up one of my children for you. I could never imagine giving up one of my girls for you. I could never imagine giving up my son for you. And you are my friends. Just think, when God gave his only son for us, we were not his friends. We were his enemies. This is an unspeakable sacrifice. And it is the price of this sacrifice which speaks to the power of it. The Apostle Paul tells us this sacrifice should give us the utmost confidence that no matter what happens, we will never ever be separated from his love. Romans 838, for I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. One author tells the story of a young Christian in Vietnam. He writes, I was ministering in Vietnam in 1971, and one of my interpreters was Hien Pham, an energetic young Christian. Hien and I traveled the length of the country and became very close friends before I returned home. We did not know if our paths would ever cross again. 17 years later, I received a telephone call. Immediately, I recognized Hien's voice. And he soon told me his story. Shortly after Vietnam fell, Hien was imprisoned on accusations of helping the Americans. His jailers tried to indoctrinate him against democratic ideals in the Christian faith. He was restricted to communist propaganda in French or Vietnamese, and the daily deluge of Marx and Engels began to take its toll. Maybe, he thought, I have been lied to. Maybe God does not exist. So he had determined that when he awakened the next day, he would not pray anymore or think of his faith. The next morning, he was assigned the dreaded chore of cleaning the prison latrines. And as he cleaned out a tin can overflowing with toilet paper, his eyes caught what seemed to be English printed on one piece of paper. He hurriedly grabbed it, washed it, and after his roommates had retired that night, he retrieved the paper and read the words, Romans chapter eight. Trembling, he began to read, and we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him. For I am convinced that nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Hien wept. He knew his Bible and knew that there was not a more relevant passage for one on the verge of surrender. Oh, Christian, are you on the verge of surrender? Have you suffered so long, so deep that you've cried out over and over again, oh Lord, how long? Oh Lord, how long? Have you felt hopeless? Have you experienced such trials that you doubt whether or not God loves you? Do you even love me anymore, God? Well, John 3.16 tells you, doubt no more. Doubt no more. If you ever doubt God's love, look at the cross. Look at Calvary. Look at Golgotha. God's love is not a vague sentimental feeling, but a love of sacrifice, a love of cost. It was a love demonstrated once for all at the cross. It is a love so deep, so wide, so amazing that God would give his only son for us. Fifthly, a shocking salvation. A shocking salvation. Whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. Remember, Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus, who for his whole life has believed that you get to heaven by works, by keeping the law. You earn your way to heaven. But in John 3.16, Jesus takes the entire system of works righteousness and turns it on its head. You don't get to heaven by working. You get to heaven by believing, faith alone in the Son of God. Jesus is telling this self-righteous, top of the top, head of the Pharisees, the teacher of Israel, Nicodemus, with all of your self-righteousness, all of your Phariseeism, all your good works, you will perish. But the worst sinner who believes can have eternal life. And can you imagine Nicodemus's jaw just drop at that moment? In the words of the hymn writer, oh perfect redemption, the purchase of blood to every believer, the promise of God, the vilest offender who truly believes, that moment from Jesus a pardon receives. For those who believe, eternal revelry. For those who do not believe, eternal wrath. For those who believe eternal joy, for those who do not believe eternal judgment, for those who believe eternal celebration, for those who do not believe eternal condemnation. There is more happiness and horror in this verse than we could ever imagine. There is more gladness and gravity in this verse than we could ever imagine. Those who do not believe will perish. Now, you could translate this word to destroy. Now, to be clear, to destroy does not mean to be annihilated out of existence, as if you cease to exist once you die. If there is anything obvious about the nature of hell in the Bible, it is that hell is eternal conscious torment. That is what this word means. But I would like to look a little bit deeper at this word for a moment. This word perish, or destroy, occurs in something called the middle voice in the Greek. Now, this is a little bit technical, but stick with me. I think it's very important. The main thing to understand is that Greek has three voices. Active, middle, and passive. In English, we have two voices. There's active voice. So in English, active voice, we would say, Billy brushed his sister's teeth. And we have the passive voice. Billy's teeth were brushed. But Greek has a middle voice in which the action is reflexive. The action is performed upon yourself. So the middle voice would be, Billy brushed his own teeth. So if this verb perish or destroy were translated in the active voice, it would read, whoever believes will destroy. That's obviously not the right translation. If it is in the passive voice, it would read, whoever believes will not be destroyed. And this is how most people understand this verse. And that is a theologically correct statement, because God is the one who is carrying out justice. However, this is not what John 3.16 actually emphasizes. In John 3.16, the word perish is given in the middle voice. So it literally reads, whoever believes not will destroy himself. Whoever does not believe will destroy himself. If you do not believe in Jesus, then you destroy yourself. You are personally responsible. You are performing the action upon yourself. John uses the middle voice to tell us that those who do not believe are personally responsible for their final destination. Men are not simply helpless victims of total depravity. No, they chose this for themselves. They do this to themselves. Man is responsible. Unbelievers are responsible for rejecting God. They chose this for themselves. They choose the darkness, and in so doing, they destroy themselves. C.S. Lewis says, the damned are in one sense successful, rebels to the end. The doors of hell are locked on the inside. Hell is a place where the doors are locked from the inside. The Puritan Thomas Brooks says, every unbeliever is a self-tormentor, a self-destroyer. He carries hell and executioner in his own bosom. If you're not a believer here this morning, John 3.16 is telling you that you are personally responsible. You have heard the gospel. You have heard the shocking love of God. And no, if you will not believe, then you rebel not just against the justice of God, you rebel against the wrath of, the love of God. The love of God is amazing, it is wonderful, it is stupendous, but it is because of your sin that you dig in your heels and you say, I will not be loved. I will not be loved. I refuse to be loved. I refuse to be loved by God. God so loved the world, but I will not let God love me. Oh, friend, don't destroy yourself. Don't destroy yourself. You are responsible if you reject the love of God. Flee to his love. Delight in his love, wonder at his love, and don't take it for granted anymore. If you're a believer here this morning, I just want to say, sometimes the simplest truths are the most profound ones. Oh, Christian, you are loved. You are deeply loved by God. That is a simple truth, but that should be a life-changing truth. We tend to judge if it's been a good day or a bad day based on what happened that day. Today's been a good day because things went well at work. Today's been a good day because the kids behaved well. Today's been a good day because I didn't argue with my spouse. Brothers and sisters, a good day has to go beyond these things. Today is a good day because God loves you. And that will never change, no matter what happens. In closing, one of my professors in seminary told me the story of when he pastored a church during the Persian Gulf War. And one of the members of his congregation was an F-16 fighter pilot during the Persian Gulf War. And when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, he was sent into Baghdad. And the pilot showed his pastor the internal video feed of his flight into combat. And you could hear him breathing in his flight. It sounded something like this. And then there was a beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep. And that was a sign that someone had locked in on him, that he had a missile aimed right at him. And then you hear him veer to avoid the missile. And then you could hear him breathing again. And the pastor asked the pilot, What were you thinking in that moment? And the pilot said to this pastor, you know, you'd think I was thinking the most profound thoughts, but all I kept thinking was, Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Brothers and sisters, Jesus loves you, this you know, because John 3.16 tells you so. Let us pray. Our Father who's in heaven, thank you for your marvelous love. Thank you for your wondrous love. Thank you for this love divine, all loves excelling. Thank you for this love which will not let us go. We pray all these things in Jesus' name.