Sharing the Good News of Jesus

you. Please open it up to the Gospel of John, chapter 3. And if you don't have a Bible,

John 3 · chapter mention

we do have a few Bibles in the seats just in front of you there, the black hardcover

book. John chapter 3. This morning we're looking at what I think is the most famous or popular

John 3 · chapter mention

verse in the entire Bible. 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. Not only is it well-known

and well-loved in the church by many of us, but even in the world. If there's one verse that many

people know, this is it. If there's one reference to a verse that they've heard of before, this is the

one. John 3.16. And so we want to look this morning a little bit at how this came to be said.

How did it come to be written? Where does it fit into the story of Jesus, which we've been looking

at through the Gospel of John? We want to consider a little bit of what these words mean.

We want to talk about what comes after these words. What else was said with these words? And then

finally we want to look at how can we share Jesus using these words with people in our lives.

So that's where we're going. So how did we get to these words? If you've been with us for the last

couple weeks, you know that we've been looking at the Jesus conversation with Nicodemus. Nicodemus was

a Pharisee. He was a member of the Jewish ruling council and he came to Jesus to pay him a visit.

And Jesus had a conversation with him. He told Nicodemus that not only he, but everyone

must be born again must be born again if they want to enter into the kingdom of God.

So they kind of talked a little bit about being born again. And then last Sunday we talked about

how this whole story of Nicodemus really goes to show how Jesus knows what's in a man, how he knows

what's going on in our hearts and in our minds. He knew that. Nicodemus, even though he saw the

miracles that he did, did not believe, did not receive his testimony is true.

But Jesus was gracious to Nicodemus. And even though Nicodemus did not receive his testimony and,

and, and believe the words he was saying is true,

Jesus left Nicodemus with a gracious sign to watch for so that he might yet believe in verse 14.

He said this, just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the son of man must be lifted up

that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him. Jesus was pointing to his death when he would

be lifted up on the cross for the salvation of people. He was telling Nicodemus to watch for that,

that he would know that he is the son of man. It's immediately following this, that we come to

this famous verse, 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.

The first thing that I want us to notice is how this kind of follows or comes into this

discussion here. Jesus has said this to Nicodemus. He's, he's made this point, the son of man must be

lifted up so that those who believe in him will have eternal life. And, and I think what's happening

here is kind of a further statement or explanation of, of what that means, of how this applies to all

of us. Maybe one of the first questions we need to think through is whose words are these?

Are these the words of John or are these the words of Jesus? Some of you, as you look in your Bible,

may notice that these words are in red. John 3, 16 is in red. Others may notice that they're not in red,

while others are. There's kind of a bit of a back and forth with scholars there over, you know,

were these words spoken by Jesus or are these just the words of John, the one telling the story,

offering, injecting explanation and clarification into things.

The original manuscripts are, we don't have the original manuscripts of the New Testament,

but the oldest manuscripts that we do have, they don't have red letters. So we, we can't just go

back and look and see. In fact, they didn't even put spaces in between the words or use punctuation.

That's just how they, how they did it. Context just kind of was, was obvious to people. They,

they understood. So there is this question of, are these the words of Jesus or are they the words of

John, the apostle? Some will say, these are the words of Jesus because they just kind of come

right after what Jesus says to Nicodemus. Others point to, they look more, more at the words and,

and the words that are chosen here and say, these are, these are probably the words of John

because similar phrases and words are used in other places in the gospel of John where it's pretty

clear that John is speaking, especially back in chapter one. Phrases like only begotten or one

and only son. Um, Jesus refers to himself as the son of man, but here it's, it's very clear that the

person speaking is referring to him as the son of God. And so some would say that they think it's,

it's John speaking personally, in my opinion, I think it's John. Um, but, uh, either way,

I think what's important for us to know is that these are still the words of Jesus.

Either way. I mean, if Jesus spoke them to Nicodemus, of course they are. Uh, we can see

that clearly, but even if it was John who penned them, they're still the words of Jesus.

Later on in the gospel of John, this is what Jesus will say to his disciples.

This is on the evening of his betrayal. He says to his disciples, which included John,

you also must testify for you have been with me from the beginning. And then if we go down a little

further in that passage to chapter 16, verse 12, Jesus says this, he says, I have much more to say

to you more than you can now bear. But when he, the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all

the truth. He will not speak on his own. He will speak only what he hears and he will tell you what

is yet to come. He, the Holy spirit will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he

will make known to you. All that belongs to the father is mine. That is why I said the spirit will

receive from me what he will make known to you. Now there's a lot in there and those words certainly

would take more time for us to really digest and think through. But the gist of what Jesus is saying

is that you, John and other disciples, you must testify about me, but you won't be doing that

alone. The Holy spirit, I will send him and he will speak to you the words that you are to speak

to others. And the words that the spirit gives you to speak, where will he get those from?

He will get them from me. He will speak only what he hears from me. And so there's a bit of a chain

there. But at the end of all of this, the words of John are the words of Jesus given through the Holy

spirit to whoever will listen. So, you know, as we come back to John three 16 here in one sense,

either way, these are the word, the words of God. They carry the same weight and authority

as, as God's word, even if John is the one who said them and wrote them.

Now let's not miss how, how this, how these words connect to what has been said before this

conversation with Nicodemus. Jesus has been talking to Nicodemus and, and this is what he said to

Nicodemus, just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness. So the son of man must be lifted up

that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him. And then what, what I think John is doing

here is he's, he's kind of springboarding off of that and giving an explanation. This is what Jesus

is talking about as he says this, he, he kind of pulls some of the very same words out for God. So love

the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes there's that everyone who believes

part again in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. So this is us kind of getting the,

the big picture view from John. This is what Jesus was talking about when he spoke to Nicodemus,

when he said that he must be lifted up so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.

This is what he's talking about. And we might, uh, just notice that word. So for a moment,

just one little word. I mean, oftentimes it's traditionally been preached, you know, God for

God love the world so much that he gave his one and only son. Um, the truth is that word is,

it's not an intensifying word. It's a connecting word. It's, it's the same word that's used up in verse,

uh, either 14 or 15, just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness. So the son of man must be

lifted up. So we might even look at it as for, for so God loved the world that he gave his one and only

son, or as some translations have it in this way, in this manner, God loved the world.

He's drawing a parallel between what Jesus said and applying it to the world, to the bigger picture.

And so let's just take a moment to, to, to go back and look at what Jesus said about how he must be

lifted up. As we do, we'll notice that there are similarities and differences.

Jesus was referring to the, the story in the old Testament when the Israelites, they were grumbling

and complaining against God. They were saying it'd be better if we die, uh, if went back to Egypt,

then die here in the wilderness. And God decided to give them what they truly deserved. And he sent

venomous snakes among them. The snakes bit many of the Israelites and many of the Israelites died.

Those who had not died, they cried out to the Lord for help, for grace, for mercy. And God in his

mercy gave them a way to be saved. We talked about this a couple Sundays back and at the Lord's table,

that way was lifting up a bronze snake on a pole. And whoever had been bitten could just look up to

that snake on the pole and they would be cured instantly. They'd be spared from death.

Jesus is saying that what he has come to do is, is like that. What happened back there is,

is like an analogy of what is about to happen with him. And there's some similarities.

There. The people back then were facing death because of their sins against God. In the same way,

we also are facing death because of our sins against God. God in his love and his mercy back then,

he gave a way for them to be saved. Here in the present time, as Jesus is speaking,

God is giving a way for people to be saved. In both cases, this way is, is through something that

is lifted up on a wooden pole or a wooden cross. And it's a matter of life and death, but there are

some big differences here. If we look back to that old story, it's about the children of Israel,

people. But John makes it clear here for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son.

He applies it not just to, not just to the, the particular people that it happened to back in

the story, but this is for the world. Back then in the old Testament, it was a snake of bronze made by

Moses that was lifted up on the pole. But the provision of God here in front of Nicodemus that

is here, that has come into the world now is from God. It is the son of God. It is Jesus.

He is the one who will be lifted up on a cross.

As it pertains to the, the children of Israel and, and that time where the snakes came among them,

when they were bit by the snakes, the venom was, was fatal. It would lead to physical death.

But as John kind of traces out the analogy and helps us see what Jesus is talking about, how this

applies his word that he chooses is perish for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son

that whoever believes in him shall not perish. And when he uses that word, he means more than just

physically die. As he goes on, we see that he's talking about perish in the ultimate sense

as in perish at the final judgment. He's talking about condemnation.

Back in the, with the children of Israel, if they looked to God's provision up there on the pole,

they got to live another day. But in the case of Christ, those who look to him and believe in him

as the provision of God there on the cross, they get to live forever. So there's, there's some

similarities and some differences. And John is helping us see just what Jesus means as he says this.

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.

Now there's some things that John says after this, and we want to look at those for a minute and just see

what, what else does John have to say here? Sometimes we get so focused on verse 16 that we just,

we miss all the stuff that comes right after.

After this, uh, Jesus, uh, John says this,

for God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

These are wonderful words.

In Christ's coming the first time,

it wasn't, uh, a time to do a kingdom cleanup and to set everything to right.

His main purpose in coming in that first time was a rescue mission.

It was to save people.

He goes on in verse 18, whoever believes in him is not condemned,

but whoever does not believe stands condemned already

because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only son.

If there's one thing that's clear in these words,

and maybe before we even get to that, the, the, the first statement is wonderful.

Whoever believes in him is not condemned.

That's a statement of the gospel of the good news of Jesus right there.

Whoever believes in him shall not perish.

They mean the same thing in the ultimate sense.

Whoever looks to the son as the provision of God and believes in him is spared what they deserve.

Judgment.

Or the sentence that we will receive at the final judgment.

But John,

he moves on from there to make very clear just where we stand without faith in Christ.

He says,

whoever does not believe stands condemned already

because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only son.

That's where we stand without Christ.

Literally in, in, in, in the original languages,

having already been condemned.

We, we, we carry that already.

That status.

That's that, that, that, that position before God.

And there's only one way.

To change that, to, to, to get out from under that.

And it's by believing in the name of God's one and only son.

John wants us to be clear.

This is the way he is the way that God has provided.

So that we might be saved.

From there, John goes on to say this.

He says in verse 19,

this is the verdict.

Light has come into the world,

but people loved darkness instead of light

because their deeds were evil.

Everyone who does evil hates the light

and will not come into the light

for fear that their deeds will be exposed.

But whoever lives by the truth

comes into the light

so that it may be seen plainly

that what they have done

has been done in the sight of God.

Now there's a lot in here.

These are, these are deep words.

These are words that are worth taking time

to just meditate on.

I mean, they say a lot

about how things are between God

and between man.

how things are in our world.

John's already taken up the metaphor of light

at the very beginning of his gospel.

And here he does it again.

Light has come into the world.

That light is, is the sun.

It is, it's Jesus.

It's the words that he said.

But people loved darkness

instead of the light.

And they will not come into the light.

Why?

John gives us a couple reasons.

It's really, it's really

just one reason.

Because their deeds were evil.

Jesus, the light of the world,

he, he shines light on our sin.

He exposes it for what it really is.

He brings conviction of it

where he goes.

And because the deeds of,

of men are evil,

we, we don't want them to be seen.

So we move away from the light.

We hate the light.

We want to continue doing those things.

We love those things.

And therefore we hate the light.

This is, this is, this is what's going on

between God and mankind.

This is the dynamic.

The response to Jesus is not always

favorable or positive

because of how he, as the light,

exposes our sin

for what it really is.

Our deeds for what they really are.

Evil.

Deserving of condemnation.

With the rest of our time,

I just want to talk about

how can we use these words of John 3.16

to share the good news of Jesus with others.

Most of us are familiar with these words.

We know what they mean.

And I hope that they've,

they've really touched the hearts

of each one of us in this room.

Most of you, some of you,

I hope will have it memorized.

If you don't,

today is the day

to, to commit this to memory,

to really soak, soak in these words

and meditate on them

and see what is there.

The glorious good news of Jesus.

This verse is what I like to call

the gospel in a nutshell.

And there are a number of verses like it.

The good news is just kind of laid out

with some of the core essentials

so that we can just hear it all

in one little piece.

But even as we talk about

how to share Christ from these words,

I want to just remind us

that this is just one little piece.

This is just a tiny seed.

This verse.

What is the gospel?

The gospels, it's, it's, it's big.

It's, it's the whole story of Jesus.

He is the good news

right from the start of his story

to, to the end of it.

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John

all together.

That's the gospel.

That's the good news of Jesus.

What the prophets foretold long ago

about this one.

That's the good news of Jesus.

What we see explained

in the New Testament letters

in, in, in revelation.

That's the, that's the future

coming good news of Jesus.

That's the full reach of the gospel.

If we could, we would want to share

all of it with someone.

But sometimes we have a moment

where we may only get

to just share a little bit.

And if that moment comes up,

whether it's a devotional

or a conversation with a friend,

even just an opportunity to pray

or, or, or to speak about Jesus,

this is a wonderful place to go

because a lot of the,

the core pieces of the good news

of Jesus are right here.

And it's a verse that many of us

already know.

And probably the people

that are listening to us,

hopefully they'll have heard it already

and there'll be some familiarity there.

So how do we share the gospel

from John three 16?

This would be my encouragement.

First off, memorize this verse,

commit it to your heart,

and then just take some time

to think through what,

how would I share with a person

just in my own words,

based on some of the,

the key aspects that are here

in this verse,

the place that I would encourage you

to start is with this little phrase

right here,

shall not perish.

If you say these words,

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.

What, what is the person

that you're sharing with thinking about

when you say this?

Shall not perish.

Well, what perish?

What do you mean by perish?

Why would we perish?

This is really the place to start,

I think,

because without this,

the, the,

this is not good news.

It's, it's good for us

to remind people gently

what perish means,

why we need this gift of God's son.

And so what,

what you might do is,

is just remind them of,

of the,

the big story of,

of scripture.

God created the world.

He made everything good.

He created you and me,

but we sinned against him.

We, we rebelled against God.

And because of that,

he said that our,

our punishment will be death.

And so we're,

we're under that sentence.

And,

and someday the Bible tells us

that we're going to face that.

We're going to stand before him

in judgment

and receive what we deserve

for our sins.

And it's,

it's,

it's not even just physical death.

It's more than that.

It's condemnation.

It's,

it's,

it's hell.

It's death in the ultimate sense,

the worst sense.

that's what John means

when he says,

shall not perish.

The next thing to share

is the good news

of what God has done

about this problem

that we have.

We're facing judgment.

We're facing,

getting what we deserve

from God for our sins.

We're on the hook,

but the good news

is simply this.

God gave his son

to fix that

for us.

As you think about

sharing these words

with,

with a friend,

you might want to explain

what does that mean?

What does it mean

that he gave his son?

Gave him to do what?

You might,

if you have time,

go to the Christmas story,

send him into the world

is very much in view here.

But if time is an issue

or if you can't share more

of the story of Jesus,

go straight to the cross.

He gave his son

and then go straight

to the cross.

The gospel summed up

in two words.

Paul does this

in 1 Corinthians.

He says,

it's Christ crucified.

That's the pinnacle moment

where our sin problem

is fixed

at the cross.

Explain that.

What does that,

what did he do there?

What does it,

use you,

do it in your own words.

You know,

there,

there are many metaphors

in scripture.

There's the metaphor

of ransom.

There's the metaphor

of sacrifice,

of substitution.

Just pick it,

explain it in the way

that,

that you feel

most comfortable,

that you understand.

Jesus went to that cross

to,

to,

to receive on himself

the condemnation

that we deserve

so that we could be forgiven

and go free.

That's what it means

that God gave his son.

I think it's so important

as we do share with people

that we remind them

of why he gave his son.

It's one of the best words

in this verse.

Loved.

God loved the world.

That's why he did this.

Because he loves you.

Make it personal.

God loves you.

And so he sent his son

to do what he did

so that you might be spared

what you deserve

on that final day.

from there,

if you have time,

if it fits,

talk about the world.

This may not fit

in every conversation

or you might not need

to go there.

But it's good news

that God has given

the gift of his son

so that anyone

might be saved.

This is not just restricted

to a specific group

of people,

race,

or ethnicity.

ethnicity.

This is for all.

It's not restricted

to those who have

lived a good enough life.

It's for whoever

believes in him.

Maybe the person

you're talking to

feels like they've done

some things that are

just beyond

what God could forgive.

No.

Whoever believes in him

shall not perish

but have eternal life.

then you might take

a moment

to talk about

what it means

to believe in Jesus.

This is really

this is our response.

So,

we start with our problem.

We're destined

to perish.

Then we look at

what God has done

for us

to fix it.

He gave his son

because he loves us.

And what do we need

to do to receive

this gift?

We need to believe

in him.

That Jesus is

that one,

that provision

of God.

If you get the chance,

you might want to explain

what does that mean?

What does it mean

to believe in Jesus?

Even as we've looked

at here in this

conversation

with Nicodemus,

there's been

some discussion

over what does it

mean to believe?

to truly believe.

Nicodemus believed

that Jesus

was a teacher

who came from God,

but he also

did not accept

Jesus' testimony.

So,

what does it mean

to truly believe

in Jesus?

Explain it.

There are many

other places

you could go.

James chapter 2.

James 2 · chapter mention

You could look

at some of what

Paul teaches

in some of his letters

about true faith.

And then finally,

what does all of this

secure for us?

What does believing

in Jesus,

what do we get

from all this?

This is the good news

of the gospel.

We don't get

what we deserve,

which is to perish.

God's judgment

upon us.

We get

eternal life.

life that lasts

forever.

Heaven.

There are many ways

we could describe it.

I would hope

that in a

just a genuine

conversation about

this with someone

that the person

would ask,

well,

what does that mean?

What is heaven about?

You know?

And maybe have

the opportunity

to share a little bit

of what the scriptures

say there.

remember.

So,

I would encourage you

to commit this

verse to memory.

Think about these

key parts in the

verse and just

have it in your

heart,

what you might

say to someone

if you had the

opportunity.

I think that's

very simply what it

means to be prepared,

to be ready to give

an answer

to those who ask

for the hope

that we have in us.

And this is one

easy way to do it.

It's a verse most of

us already know.

And so,

as we do that,

just a couple

words of encouragement.

My encouragement

would be to share

the gospel in

conversation.

Sometimes we kind

of get this feeling

of like,

you know,

if we get that

moment,

then we're just

going to let fly

and it's going to

be a little sermon.

Just share it

naturally in

conversation.

Let there be

opportunity.

How are they

receiving it?

What's the response

on their face?

Even as Jesus

talked to Nicodemus,

he said to him,

you're surprised

by what I'm saying

to you?

You shouldn't be.

You know,

maybe they want

to ask a question

before you're,

you've got through

everything you want

to say.

Let it be natural.

Let it be a

conversation.

Sometimes I think

we kind of feel

like,

you know,

we got to get

the whole thing

out before,

because this is

our chance.

But share it

in conversation.

Let it,

just use your

own words,

be natural.

It's different

if you're giving

a devotion.

I mean,

you might have

the opportunity

to say a whole

bunch and then

talk to people

about it after.

The second thing

I want to encourage

you with is that

we should expect

poor responses.

John has just

said this in here.

Jesus is the

light that has

come into the

world,

but people hate

the light and

will not come

into it because

it exposes the

evil that they're

doing.

This is natural.

This is to be

expected.

So don't let that

discourage you that

people might not

respond favorably.

Jesus has already

told us that.

As Paul says in

his letter to the

Corinthians,

the message of the

cross is foolishness

to those who are

perishing.

But to us who are

being saved,

it's the power of

God.

Or we could look at

the parable of the

sower and the seed

and the soils.

The problem wasn't

with the seed.

It was with the

soils in how the

response happened.

And so we should

expect that sometimes

we will get a poor

response, that people

will not like what

we say or they

won't buy it or

they'll disagree.

That's okay.

Share it anyway.

And the other side

of this, of course,

is we can expect

that some people

will respond

favorably.

Some people will

be saved.

It'll be a work

of God.

I want to

encourage us

simply to be

courageous.

Fear is often

a thing that just

it gets in the

way.

Yeah, this is

a big deal.

These conversations

aren't always easy.

But be courageous.

Ask a person.

So what do you

believe about this?

Can I share the

good news with

you?

There's the simplest

way to, can I

share what I believe

about Jesus?

The thing that

gives me hope

every day.

Be courageous.

A big factor in

this is simply

setting straight in

our hearts whose

approval we really

value most.

Gods

or

peoples.

if we're constantly craving that approval from our friends and from other people

it's going to be hard to say words that we think they might not like to hear

love deeply in order to share the good news with people we need to love them

deeply sincerely from the heart that we're going to we're going to take a risk we're going to say

it we're going to initiate the conversation we're going to ask the question even though

we don't know how they're going to respond because we care about them

we don't want to see them face what they will face without christ

i want to encourage us all simply simply with this we don't need to be ashamed of christ

he is our savior he has done what needed to be done so that we could be saved and one day he's

going to come back he's going to bust through the clouds with power and great glory

and every word that we have said about him every time we have risked to try to share with someone

about jesus all of those words will be vindicated

as paul said i am not ashamed of the gospel it's the power of god for salvation

to all who believe

i want to encourage us to let go of anxiety paralysis

you guys know what i'm talking about you get that moment where

you're on your own and you're thinking about how might i share this with someone in case it comes up

in the conversation and and you're thinking through i want to say these i want to make sure i i don't leave

this out and we can get so worked up and just worrying about what's going to happen in that actual conversation in that moment if it comes when it comes

and we kind of get paralyzed by that and then we don't end up saying anything at all

we're so worried that this might be my one chance to say it to share it with this person

and if i'm not ready to share it perfectly then i'm not going to take the chance

don't get caught up by that trap don't worry about it

if i could encourage you one thing i've learned from

preaching almost every sunday morning is that

it almost never comes out exactly the way that you planned it

or thought that it would come out

this is the real moment here

and that's okay

maybe you didn't say everything that you planned to say or thought you would say

or even the most important thing you left out

but god can still use

what you did say in that moment

in amazing ways that one simple phrase that you said

that you thought wasn't even the most important thing

could be the one thing that they put their trust in and believe

and that leads them to search out the rest

and understand the rest of the story

and they're born again and they're saved

so don't get caught up in anxiety paralysis

god uses ordinary people like you and me

to share his good news

and to save

and lastly i want to encourage you

just to pray for opportunities

if we're going to go to the work of preparing ourselves

and thinking through

you know john 3 16

what might i say in this conversation

if i could have it with someone

let's pray for opportunities

and let's see how the lord will bring people to us

and

and and be ready to share in those moments

so that's my encouragement with john 3 16

it's a familiar verse

let's put it to work

let's use this good seed that we've been given

let's let's let's sow it

and do it for the glory of christ

let's pray

father in heaven thank you for these words

thank you for the ways that you have worked in our hearts

thank you for the love

that you have shown in sending your son

and giving your son for us

we ask that you would

give us courage

give us boldness

teach us

guide us

help us

in sharing this hope that we have with others

we pray right now and ask

would you give us opportunities

lord we know you've put us in this community for a reason

that you could take us home to heaven right now if you wanted to

so we pray and ask that you would give us those opportunities

do that work in our hearts that needs to be done

so that we'll be ready when they come

to speak for you

we ask this in jesus name

amen

amen

thanks for that josh

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