THE PASSION II

JOHN 3:16 “FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON THAT WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH BUT HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE.”

That’s the most famous verse in the Bible. It’s often called the GOSPEL IN A NUTSHELL or CHRISTIANITY SUMMARIZED.

If you were only going to memorize one verse in the entire Bible this would be the one I would recommend – John 3:16 – because it is the gospel – the Good News – summarized. In fact, you can even see the word “gospel” spelled out. Notice the letters “God’s … only …Son…perished… eternal… life “– which spells “gospel.”

This verse explains why God created you, put you on this earth, why Jesus Christ died for you, and how you can have a ticket to heaven. It’s all there.

I want you to notice first of all there are 25 WORDS in this verse – John 3:16. The MIDDLE WORD, THE THIRTEENTH WORD IS THE WORD “SON” talking about Jesus Christ. The FIRST HALF of the verse is ALL ABOUT GOD. “For God so love the word that He gave His only begotten.” Then there’s “Son” in the middle. And the LAST TWELVE WORDS ARE ALL ABOUT MAN. “That whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” That in itself is a picture. Jesus Christ came from heaven to earth to be the bridge between God and man so we could know what God is like.

You need to realize how much God loves you. It all starts with you understanding how amazingly extravagantly God loves you. A lot of people think God is mad at them. GOD IS NOT MAD AT YOU. HE’S MAD ABOUT YOU.

“God is love.” It doesn’t say He has love. It says He is love. It is His nature. It is His essence. “God is love.” The Bible says that He created everything to be objects of His love, including you.

“FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD”. His love is extravagant. It is lavish. It is beyond comprehension. In fact, you will never, ever be able to understand fully how much God loves you because you don’t have the brain capacity. It’d be like an ant trying to understand the Internet.

When Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross with His arms outstretched He was saying to you, “I love you this much! I love you this much! So much it hurts.” Even if you were the only person who had ever lived on earth, Jesus Christ still would have come to earth and died for you. That’s how much He loves you.

Notice – this is very, very important. It’s not what you do that gets you into heaven. It’s what Jesus Christ already did. That’s the only way. It’s not what you do. It’s what Jesus Christ already did.

Let me give you a little quick history in world religions. You can summarize them all in one word – DO. They just have different items on their to do lists. The difference between religion and Jesus Christ and what He said is this: It’s nothing you do. It’s already been done.

Here’s the problem. A lot of people know about Jesus, but they don’t know Him. Many people are going to miss heaven by A FEW MILLIMETRES because they got it in their head but they don’t have it in their heart. They now about Him. They believe He’s the Son of God. But they don’t trust Him with their lives. Jesus died for you so you could have a relationship with Him. God made you for a purpose and the number one part of that purpose is to get to know and love and trust God.

In the movie The Passion of the Christ one of the most graphic scenes is when Pilate, the governor of Judea, walks out in front of an entire mob and he asks the single most important question in history. He asks, “What will you do with Jesus?”

I’m asking you that question right now. What will you do with Jesus? It is the most important question you will ever be asked in your life. It not only determines the rest of your life but where you’ll spend eternity: What will you do with Jesus?

PSALM 34:8 (MES) “OPEN YOUR EYES AND SEE HOW GOOD GOD IS.”

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