Participants: John Dinzey
Series Code: ASHF
Program Code: ASHF000056
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00:19 Hello, and welcome to A Sharper Focus
00:21 here on Wednesday night 00:23 at the Thompsonville Seventh-day Adventist Church, 00:25 located on Route 149. 00:27 Just before you get to Route 34, 00:29 you will see us on the left hand side. 00:31 So I invite you, if you are in the local area, 00:33 to join us on Wednesday nights at 7:00pm. 00:36 Also we're here on Saturday morning, 00:38 beginning at 9:00am. 00:40 You are welcomed to worship with us 00:41 and study the Bible. 00:43 And Pastor John Lomacang will be here most of the time, 00:48 and we will be glad to have you 00:49 as part of the family here at Thompsonville. 00:51 Amen? Amen. 00:52 Amen. 00:53 We are going to study the Bible together today. 00:56 It's gonna be a little different 00:58 than normally on Wednesday night, 01:00 when Pastor Lomacang is taking you 01:02 through a series of study, 01:04 how to live a victorious life. 01:06 And so today, 01:08 we're gonna do something different. 01:09 You will not see graphics on the screen today. 01:12 So we invite you to write your text down 01:15 and also to follow along in the Bible. 01:19 And so we're gonna do the old-fashioned way, 01:20 as they say. 01:21 We're gonna look up the scriptures. 01:24 I have a little advantage because I printed some of them. 01:26 So I will be able to find them 01:28 a little quicker than you today. 01:30 So we're gonna study God's Word for the next hour. 01:33 And we welcome your comments to the Sharper Focus program, 01:38 and any suggestions you may have 01:40 for further studies 01:42 during this time that we have together. 01:45 Before we continue, 01:46 we would like to go to the Lord in prayer 01:47 and ask for His blessing because without His blessing, 01:51 we might as well just turn off the lights 01:53 and go home. 01:54 So we need the Lord, 01:56 and we will ask for His presence, 01:57 and we invite you to join us in your homes. 02:00 Let us pray together. 02:02 Our loving Heavenly Father, we come to You in Jesus name. 02:07 And we want to thank You and praise You Lord 02:10 because of Your goodness and mercy to us. 02:14 And, Father, we are going to approach this topic 02:18 knowing that You are infinite in wisdom, 02:22 and You are infinite in love for us. 02:26 We pray that as we study this topic, 02:28 we will understand a little better 02:30 of Your great love for us and Your plan of salvation. 02:34 We pray for a blessing upon all that are present 02:36 here at Thompsonville Seventh-day Adventist Church 02:38 and all those that join us on radio, 02:41 on the internet, television, 02:43 and in any form they may be viewing 02:46 or listening to this program. 02:47 We ask, Father, for Your name to be glorified in all things. 02:51 We pray Father in Jesus name, amen. 02:54 Amen. 02:55 Well, we like to invite you to open your Bibles 02:58 or turn on your device that you may have 03:02 because nowadays we have a time 03:04 when people have the Bible in many different forms, 03:08 printed form, electronic form, 03:10 and they listen to it, and they read it. 03:13 And it's really a tremendous opportunity 03:17 that we have these days to be able to read God's Word, 03:20 study God's Word, 03:22 and we want you to join us in this study. 03:24 Today, we're gonna study a topic 03:26 that normally takes several days to complete. 03:32 We'll try to get as far as we can. 03:34 One of the first sermons that the Lord blessed me 03:37 with was a sermon in John 3:16. 03:41 And it's amazing, 03:43 the blessings I have discovered there, 03:45 as I study this topic 03:47 and amazed to find out that there was more than one sermon. 03:51 You can preach from John 3:16. 03:54 Actually, the Lord has blessed me 03:55 to preach entire week of prayer 03:58 or evangelistic week with this scripture, John 3:16. 04:04 And surely most of you can quote it from memory. 04:08 One of the most popular versions, of course, 04:11 is the King James Version, 04:13 that is people have memorized it in. 04:16 So I would like to invite you now 04:18 to join me in quoting John 3:16. 04:22 How about we start together, on three? 04:24 One, two, three. 04:26 "For God so loved the world, 04:28 that He gave His only begotten Son, 04:31 that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, 04:36 but have everlasting life." 04:39 And so this passage has been the source of inspiration 04:43 for millions of people throughout history. 04:47 And so I invite you to open your Bibles, 04:49 and we're going to take a look at John 3:16, 04:53 section by section, divided into little sections, 04:56 little bite-sized sections 04:57 so that we can study God's Word together. 04:59 So you may wanna keep your finger there. 05:01 Of course, if you know it by memory, 05:03 you will have to keep your finger there. 05:04 But we will be looking at section by section. 05:07 The first part of the scripture is "For God..." 05:11 That's the first section we're gonna take, 05:13 "For God." 05:15 And so this scripture right away is telling us 05:18 that it is a great importance 05:21 because God has mentioned at the very beginning, 05:23 "For God." 05:25 And so as you look at the scenario of this world, 05:29 as you look at history of this world, 05:31 you know that people have tried to create their own gods, 05:36 and there are other people that claim to be God 05:39 or that they can reach the goal to be God. 05:43 And so we're gonna look at the Bible 05:45 to see what it says. 05:46 In fact, today, 05:48 as we are worshiping God today here, 05:51 there are people that are worshiping another God 05:55 to what they understand 05:56 and some are unfortunately worshipping a statue 06:00 of some kind made out of wood, made out of plaster, 06:03 made out of metal, or some kind, 06:06 and on and on. 06:08 But are these real God? 06:10 You see the Bible declares in the very beginning, 06:14 Genesis 1:1, what does it say? 06:17 "In the beginning, 06:18 God created the heavens and the Earth." 06:23 "In the beginning, 06:24 God created the heavens and the Earth." 06:26 So at the very beginning of the Bible, 06:30 God separates Himself from any would be God 06:33 or whoever wants to consider himself God 06:36 because it says, "In the beginning, 06:38 God created." 06:39 No one can claim this power to create. 06:44 "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth." 06:47 And so, to be able to say, "In the beginning, 06:50 God created the heavens and the Earth" 06:52 is to be able to say, He can do it. 06:56 He has done it. 06:57 Anyone that says, 06:59 "Well, I can create the heaven and Earth." 07:00 And so then you will say, "Well, sure, show me." 07:04 And they would be incapable of doing so. 07:06 So in the beginning, 07:08 God created the heavens and the Earth. 07:10 This separates Him from any other would be 07:14 or whoever would make someone a God. 07:18 And so therefore, God is the Creator. 07:23 So this is the God 07:24 that it is talking about in John 3:16. 07:27 Now I invite you to turning your Bibles to Isaiah 43, 07:31 Isaiah 43. 07:33 And we're gonna take a look at a couple of verses there 07:36 in Isaiah. 07:37 So I will be looking at them myself here. 07:41 So in Isaiah 43:10 and 11, 07:45 God makes a powerful declaration. 07:49 Notice the words of verse 10. 07:54 Isaiah 43:10. 07:57 "Ye are my witnesses, 08:01 saith the Lord, 08:02 and my servant whom I have chosen, 08:06 and that ye may know and believe me, 08:09 and understand that I am he, 08:11 before me there was no God formed, 08:16 neither shall there be after me." 08:18 So here is a powerful declaration. 08:21 What does God say? 08:23 Before Me, what, 08:25 there was no God formed. 08:29 And He continues to say 08:31 that neither shall there be after Me. 08:34 And God is covering both grounds 08:38 or both scenarios if you want to call it, 08:42 there's no God before me, there's no God after me. 08:46 And so the next verse says, 08:48 "I, even I, am the Lord, 08:50 and beside me there is no savior." 08:55 So God declares very clearly, 08:59 before Me there was no God formed, 09:02 and after Me, there is no god formed. 09:04 If you continue reading in Isaiah 43, 09:06 you will find another verse 09:08 that says practically the same thing 09:10 that He is the one, 09:13 He is God, and there is no other God. 09:15 Of course, if you have one of those Bibles 09:18 that has the word Lord, 09:21 in L- O-R-D, 09:26 that is trying to tell you that in the original manuscripts, 09:30 this was the word 09:33 that is known as the Tetragrammaton, 09:35 which is the word Jehovah or Yahweh as some people say. 09:39 So the King James translator put in the word, 09:43 the word Lord as a substitute 09:46 because some of them carry the same fear 09:48 of pronouncing God's name as the Jews did. 09:52 So here we have a declaration, 09:53 before Me there was no God formed, 09:55 after me, no God will be formed. 09:58 So anyone that claims that they can eventually advance 10:01 to be a God is saying something 10:05 that is not according to the Bible. 10:08 So this is the God that we're talking about, 10:10 the Creator of the universe, and He is God. 10:14 Now in Psalms 33:6-9, 10:19 we are going to look at some other scriptures 10:21 that help us understand a little more about the God 10:24 that we are talking about, the only true God. 10:28 And besides Him, there is no other God. 10:31 In Psalms 33:6, if I was in a church, 10:34 where we would not be live, 10:36 I will normally ask somebody 10:37 to help me read some of the scriptures. 10:39 But for the sake of those 10:41 that are listening at this time, 10:42 we don't have a roving microphone 10:44 so I will be reading then. 10:45 So Psalms 33:6, 10:48 "By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, 10:54 and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth." 10:59 Verse 7, 11:00 "He gathereth the waters of the sea together 11:02 as an heap, he layeth up the depth 11:05 in storehouses." 11:06 Verse 8, 11:08 "Let all the earth fear the Lord, 11:09 let all the inhabitants of the world 11:11 stand in awe of Him. 11:16 For he spake, and it was done, 11:19 he commanded, and it stood fast." 11:22 And so this is the God that we're talking about. 11:26 He created a world out of nothing. 11:31 He created a world where there was no world. 11:34 He is the Creator. 11:36 And so if you continue reading in the Book of Genesis, 11:39 if you have not done so, 11:40 those who have may be joining us, 11:42 God created us as well. 11:44 We do not come from monkeys. 11:46 We come from the Creator's hands. 11:49 And so I praise the Lord for that. 11:50 And that means, we have a glorious beginning, 11:53 and we're gonna have a glorious future. 11:56 Amen. Praise the Lord. 11:57 And so from the minutest little creature, 12:00 the smallest little atom 12:02 to the mightiest of the creatures, 12:05 God created them. 12:07 And from the most beautiful flower 12:10 to the grandeur of the mountains, 12:13 God created all things. 12:15 And there are things even that, some people say, 12:19 are unaided, I cannot see 12:22 that you need microscopes, 12:24 and you need telescopes to be able to see these things. 12:27 And when you are able to look into a microscope 12:30 and see those minute, tiny creatures 12:34 that your eyes cannot see, 12:36 it is a marvel of creation 12:39 because God is infinite and wisdom. 12:42 And so it is amazing the things that I see... 12:44 I remember that we went with the school here, 12:47 the Thompsonville Christian School 12:49 to one of these creation museums. 12:52 And there they had a microscope and they put on the screen, 12:56 what they were able to see 12:58 and they put just a drop of water 13:01 on a little plastic thing. 13:05 And there, I forget the name of the thing. 13:09 Okay, we'll call it a slide. 13:11 And they put it under microscope 13:12 and now enlarged. 13:14 I forgot how many times, hundreds of times, 13:16 you can see all kinds of little creatures 13:19 swimming in that little drop of water. 13:21 And they said, "We just went to the pond and dipped, 13:25 and this is what we got." 13:26 And there were many little creatures there, 13:28 moving in different directions, 13:30 and it was amazing what we saw. 13:34 And so God created all these things. 13:36 And for those of us that are looking around 13:40 and see some beautiful things, God created them all. 13:44 Unfortunately, 13:45 because of saying there are things 13:46 that we look at that 13:50 caused us to wonder, what happened? 13:52 It is because sin entered into the world. 13:54 Roses now have thorns 13:56 because sin entered into the world. 13:58 Now in the past when Adam and Eve, 14:00 before sin came, 14:02 they were able to walk through the forest, 14:04 the creatures would come to them, 14:05 they were able to go to any of the creatures 14:08 that God made, and they would come to them. 14:10 Now there's the fear of man in the creatures 14:14 because of sin. 14:15 And not only that, 14:17 there are creatures that look at you and say, 14:20 "That looks like something very good to eat." 14:25 And so sin has come into the world 14:27 and changed things. 14:30 And we are looking for new heavens 14:31 and a new earth, 14:33 and the former things will not be remembered. 14:35 And then it will be returned to the original state. 14:39 Animals will not be afraid of us, 14:40 we will be able to pet the lions 14:43 and put your hand 14:45 or your head inside a crocodile and have no fear. 14:49 At this time, don't do it. 14:53 Now this is the guy that we're talking about. 14:54 If we go back to John 3:16, 14:58 we've taken a look at "For God" and we established 15:01 that we're talking about the Creator God 15:03 that is being discussed in this verse. 15:05 So now let's look at the next two words, 15:07 "For God so loved." 15:10 And this is the God that we are talking about. 15:12 We're not talking about a God 15:13 that created all things and say, 15:15 "Well, I'm done with that. 15:16 I'm going to another direction" 15:18 and completely forgets about His creation. 15:21 God is constantly aware what is going on. 15:26 And He is greatly concerned for us. 15:30 And He hears the faintest cry. 15:34 He even hears those tears inside your mind. 15:41 Your suffering inside your mind that no one else sees, 15:44 God sees them, God understands 15:46 and God is nearby. 15:48 Because of sin, 15:50 it has placed certain limitations, 15:53 if I would say, God can do all things, 15:55 but He has to keep Himself from intervening 15:59 so that people can realize how terrible sin is, 16:03 that it is not something that you would want to keep. 16:07 And so He has to stand back 16:10 and step back and allow things to take their course. 16:14 There are times when He does intervene, 16:16 there are times when He does heal people, 16:18 there are times He does stop cars, 16:20 there are times He stops things from happening, 16:23 people from getting hurt. 16:25 And there are reason for all these things 16:26 that only God knows. 16:28 But know this 16:29 that God loves you 16:31 and wants the very best for you. 16:33 And so as we look at this next part, 16:35 we say God is love, 16:37 but we have to ask ourselves the question 16:40 "What is love?" 16:43 What do you understand is love? 16:45 I am reminded of a story that my father told me many times, 16:48 I don't know if it is that, 16:50 he forgot, he told me the story. 16:53 But to him, 16:55 it was an experience that he remembered. 16:58 And so it was that he grew to a certain age 17:00 where he began to look at girls and say, 17:03 "Hmm, I think I would be interested 17:05 in knowing that person." 17:06 And it came to my grandfather's ear 17:09 that my father was talking to a young lady. 17:14 And he heard about it. 17:16 First time it happened, 17:17 first time it came to his awareness. 17:20 So he said, "Son, come here!" 17:22 My grandfather was very stern and serious individually, 17:25 I'm told. 17:26 I met him once, and I saw that. 17:29 And so he said, "Son, 17:31 I hear that you've been talking to a young lady." 17:34 "Yes, sir." 17:36 And he asked this question, "Do you know what love is?" 17:41 My father was not ready for the question, 17:44 but he gave a wise answer. 17:46 He said, "I don't know." 17:50 My grandfather looked at him and said, 17:53 "You have answered wisely. 17:55 Because you don't know, 17:57 and you may never know your whole life. 17:59 But do this, make sure that you can support yourself 18:04 and someone else before 18:05 you continue in any type of relationship. 18:08 Because if you're going to get involved 18:10 in a relationship with a young lady, 18:11 you should be getting ready for marriage, 18:14 not for anything else." 18:17 And so the question is what is love? 18:19 I have an interesting quote that I found on the internet 18:21 that I would like to read to you. 18:23 And this is the quote, 18:25 "How on earth are you ever going to explain 18:28 in terms of chemistry and physics 18:31 so important of a biological phenomenon 18:34 as first love?" 18:38 You may be surprised to find out 18:39 that it was Albert Einstein that said that. 18:43 How are you gonna explain first love? 18:47 And so philosophers, romanticist, 18:49 songwriters, composers 18:51 of all kinds have tried to explain what love is. 18:54 I remember in my teenage years in a newspaper, 18:58 at least in Chicago area, 18:59 there was a little cartoon that would come out. 19:02 Showing these two cartoon creatures, 19:06 and they would say love is... 19:08 And I don't know if it was every day 19:10 or every week, 19:11 but they had a different thing as to what love is. 19:14 And so, man has not come to the perfect understanding 19:21 as to what love is. 19:23 But I tell you this, 19:24 the Bible helps us understand some things. 19:28 Here's one of the definitions you may find in the dictionary. 19:31 Most dictionaries have some definition very close to this. 19:35 Strong affection for another arising out of kinship 19:39 or personal ties, 19:41 maternal love for a child, 19:44 attraction based on sexual desire, 19:47 which is not really love, 19:49 affection and tenderness felt by lovers, 19:52 on other, it says, affection based on admiration, 19:56 benevolence or common interest. 20:00 And so do we really understand what love is? 20:04 The Bible makes it simple, and simply says, 20:06 "God is love." 20:09 We're gonna look at that text. 20:10 But I would like to invite you to consider this story. 20:15 You may have heard about it. 20:18 There was a man that took the part of the phrase 20:21 that was found in an insane asylum written on the wall. 20:25 And they say, they don't know 20:27 what crime the person committed 20:30 or how that person wound up 20:31 in the insane asylum or the prison. 20:35 But the words of a very famous Christian song 20:39 were written there, or part of the words. 20:42 Later these words were adopted by a person 20:45 by the name of Frederick M. 20:49 Lehman or Lehman, 20:51 L-E-H-M-A-N. 20:52 And he wrote in 1917, 20:55 the words of the song "The Love of God." 20:59 And so I'm gonna read some of the words to you. 21:02 It says, "The love of God is greater far, 21:04 than tongue or pen can ever tell. 21:06 It goes beyond the highest star, 21:09 and reaches to the lowest hell. 21:11 The guilty pair, bowed down with care, 21:14 God gave His Son to win. 21:16 His erring child He reconciled, and pardoned from his sin." 21:21 And then the chorus goes like this. 21:23 "O love of God, how rich and pure! 21:25 How measureless and strong! 21:28 It shall forevermore endure, the saints' and angels' song. 21:34 When years of time shall pass away 21:36 and earthly thrones and kingdoms fall, 21:38 when men who here refuse to pray, 21:41 or on rocks and hills and mountains call, 21:43 God's love so sure shall still endure. 21:48 God's love so sure shall still endure. 21:51 All measureless and strong, redeeming grace to Adam's race, 21:54 the saints' and angels' song." 21:56 And this what was found on the wall. 22:00 "Could we with ink the ocean fill, 22:04 and were the skies of parchment made, 22:08 were every stalk on earth a quill, 22:10 and every man a scribe by trade, 22:12 to write the love of God above, 22:15 would drain the ocean dry. 22:18 Nor could the scroll contain the whole, 22:22 though stretched from sky to sky." 22:25 And this was on the wall 22:28 inspired the song written in 1917. 22:32 And it is a very, very good song, 22:36 and it's a beautiful song. 22:38 And so what does the Bible say that love is? 22:41 For that I invite you to turn to 1 Corinthians 13. 22:45 Now I said to you that we're gonna try to get 22:46 as far as we can in John 3:16. 22:49 This is part of several studies. 22:51 And so we're gonna kind of compact 22:52 and maybe leave some things out. 22:55 So 1 Corinthians 13, describing what love is 22:58 because we read in John 3:16, that God so loved. 23:02 So we have to try to get some type of understanding 23:05 of what love is so we can try to understand God's love. 23:09 In 1 Corinthians 13, you have these words, 23:12 "Though I speak with the tongues of men 23:14 and of angels, and have not charity," 23:17 the King James Version uses the word charity, 23:19 but it is the word love there, 23:21 "I am become as sounding brass, 23:23 or a tinkling cymbal. 23:24 And though I have the gift of prophecy, 23:27 and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge, 23:29 and though I have all faith, 23:30 so that I could remove mountains, 23:32 and have not love, 23:34 I am nothing. 23:36 And though I bestow all my goods 23:38 to feed the poor, 23:40 and though I give my body to be burned, 23:42 and have not loved, it profits me nothing. 23:46 Love suffers long, and is kind. 23:50 Love envieth not, 23:54 love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up. 23:57 Does not behave itself unseemly, 23:59 seeketh not her own, 24:00 is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil. 24:05 Rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in truth. 24:09 Bears all things, believes all things, 24:11 hopes all things, endures all things. 24:13 Love never fails. 24:15 But whether there be prophecies they shall fail, 24:18 whether there be tongues, they shall cease, 24:21 whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. 24:25 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 24:28 But when that which is perfect is come, 24:29 then that which is in part shall be done away. 24:33 When I was a child, I spake as a child, 24:35 I understood as a child, I thought as a child, 24:38 but when I became a man, I put away childish things." 24:41 And here is a powerful verse. 24:45 "For now we see through a glass, darkly, 24:47 but then face to face. 24:49 Now I know in part, but then I shall know 24:51 even as also I am known. 24:53 And now abideth faith, 24:56 hope, and love, these three, 25:01 but the greatest of these is love." 25:07 You see, hope. 25:11 People carry hope in their heart, 25:13 and it's an unexplainable things. 25:16 Do unexplainable things. 25:18 Wait, they wait, 25:20 they endure, they travel long distances 25:23 because they hope in something. 25:27 And so it says there's faith, there's hope, 25:30 but the greatest of these is love. 25:33 And so do you understand what love is? 25:37 Do we really? 25:40 The greatest revelation of love is God's love. 25:45 It's pure 25:47 and without any strings attached. 25:52 And that's what really love is. 25:55 And so, you may turn in your bibles 26:00 to 1 John 4:8. 26:02 In 1 John 4:8, we have the words 26:07 that summarize what love is, 26:09 and I already quoted, it says, 26:12 "He that loveth not knoweth not God, 26:15 for God is love." 26:19 So God's love is beyond our understanding. 26:22 That's why the Apostle John invites us 26:25 to behold that love. 26:28 So in 1 John 3, 1 John 3, 26:33 I invite you to turn there. 26:34 Also a passage very well known 26:36 by some and may have memorized it. 26:39 The Apostle John that walked with Jesus 26:41 for three and a half years 26:43 and continued to walk with Him after Jesus passed away 26:46 because he continued to pray and study 26:48 and have communion with Jesus such as we can today. 26:52 He said, "Behold, 26:54 what manner of love 26:55 the Father has bestowed upon us, 26:58 that we should be called the Sons of God. 27:02 Therefore the world knows us not because it knew him not." 27:07 And so behold God's love 27:08 and consider His great love for you. 27:12 So we're reading, 27:14 "For God so loved," 27:16 let's go to the next part. 27:18 For God so loved, what or whom? 27:21 The scripture continues to say "The world." 27:24 "For God so loved the world." 27:28 And so what does that mean "God so loved the world"? 27:30 He created the world. 27:32 So He created the world, He loves the world. 27:35 And yes, there are some things 27:37 that you may make and have no interest in. 27:39 I made it but you can have it. 27:43 But God, it says here, 27:46 loves the world, 27:48 and those who live in it. 27:50 And so, in John 31:3, 27:53 I'm sorry, Jeremiah. 27:55 It's Jeremiah that we're looking at. 27:56 We have to turn to the Old Testament. 27:59 We have a powerful message there for us as well. 28:02 In Jeremiah 31:3, 28:05 we have this declaration, 28:07 "The Lord has appeared of old unto me, 28:10 saying, Yea, 28:12 I have loved thee with an everlasting love. 28:16 Therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee." 28:20 And this is the way that God works. 28:24 I have loved thee you. 28:28 So who is it that He loves? 28:29 Yes, God is talking about the world. 28:31 God so loved the world, 28:33 but He's talking about you and I. 28:35 So really, I like to invite you 28:37 to consider putting your name there. 28:40 Yes, it does say the world in the scripture. 28:42 But you can supply your name there 28:44 and say, for God, so loved Mary, 28:47 Rose, Steve, Margaret, 28:51 whatever your name is, for God so loved you. 28:55 And so the rest of the verse, we'll look at in a moment. 28:58 But consider this to help us understand this. 29:02 In Isaiah 49... 29:04 We're very close to Isaiah. 29:05 So I like to invite you to turn there. 29:07 Just turn over a few pages to the left, 29:11 or click in your electronic device 29:14 to find the scripture. 29:15 We're looking at Isaiah 49, 29:18 we're gonna start reading in verse 15. 29:20 Notice these words. 29:22 We're talking about God so loved the world, 29:23 God so loved you. 29:27 Verse 15, "Can a woman forget her sucking child, 29:32 that she should not have compassion 29:35 on the son of her womb?" 29:38 And so it says here, 29:40 "Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget." 29:43 Here, God takes a comparison 29:47 so that we may have... 29:49 The closest thing as you may say, 29:51 that may approach for us to understand a little bit. 29:54 God's love is a mother's love towards her baby. 30:00 Can a woman forget her sucking child, 30:04 that she will not have compassion 30:06 on the son of her womb? 30:07 And then He continues to say, 30:09 they may forget, but I will not forget. 30:13 Notice the next verse, verse 16. 30:16 "Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands, 30:20 thy walls are continually before me." 30:22 So you can consider your name 30:25 is written in God's palm. 30:30 I have loved thee with an everlasting love, 30:32 God says, therefore with loving kindness 30:34 have I drawn thee. 30:35 You know, sometimes people may try to use something else 30:39 to draw people to the Gospel, 30:40 but what really God uses is His love, 30:44 His mercy, His kindness, 30:47 with loving kindness have I drawn thee. 30:49 And so that's why you see the parable of the lost sheep 30:54 that the shepherd goes out to seek for that lost sheep. 30:57 And so Jesus is that good shepherd. 31:00 In another scripture that we can look at, 31:03 to help us understand God's interest in us, 31:06 God's love for us, 31:07 is found in the Book of Psalms 147. 31:11 Psalms 147. 31:14 Psalms 147. 31:16 There in Psalms 147, 31:18 we're just gonna look at two verses, 31:20 Psalms 147:4 and 5. 31:24 And so here in verse 4, 31:26 we have the following words, talking about God. 31:29 "He telleth the number of the stars. 31:33 He calleth them all by their names." 31:37 Isn't that marvelous, to think that God knows... 31:40 How many stars are there, by the way? 31:42 Millions. 31:43 Millions upon millions of stars. 31:45 And the scripture says, 31:47 He telleth the number of the stars 31:49 and He calls them all by name. 31:52 Question, 31:53 if God would take time to count stars 31:57 and give them names, 31:59 would He not know your name? 32:01 Surely, He does. 32:03 Surely, He does because He's very breath 32:05 is in you. 32:07 And so the next verse says, 32:08 "Great is our God and of great power, 32:11 His understanding is infinite." 32:15 So God so loved the world, 32:17 but yes, 32:18 you can put your name there, God loves you. 32:20 Now we turn to the New Testament 32:22 for in the Book of Luke 12. 32:26 The Book of Luke 12, 32:27 and we're going to look at verse 6, 32:30 Luke 12:6. 32:33 Let us begin in verse 6. 32:35 And the question that Jesus asked those 32:39 that were listening, He said, 32:40 "Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, 32:44 and not one of them is forgotten before God? 32:49 But even the very hairs of your head 32:52 are all numbered. 32:55 Fear not therefore, 32:56 you are of more value than many sparrows." 33:02 And so He says, 33:03 not one of them is forgotten before God. 33:05 And then He says, 33:06 you are more value than many sparrows. 33:09 He says, even the very hairs of your head are numbered. 33:12 So if God can know the names of the stars 33:15 and how many hairs are on your head, 33:18 would He not know your name in particular? 33:20 Sure, He will. 33:22 That's why when you read for God so loved the world, 33:25 you can say God so loved me. 33:28 God so loved me. 33:30 So I invite you now to go to John 3:16. 33:33 Let's go to the next couple of words. 33:35 God so loved the world... 33:43 That He gave. 33:44 But wait, there's a story I must tell you 33:47 before we continue that part. 33:51 It is something that is very interesting. 33:54 You see, in a cave in Bracken, Texas, 33:59 there's a cave where there are 34:01 about 20 million bats. 34:06 Not baseball bats, those that fly. 34:10 Twenty million bats zoom in and out of the cave, 34:14 and they look for insects. 34:17 And it is said that every March or April 34:19 the Mexican free-tailed bats 34:21 migrate about 1,000 miles 34:25 from their winter home in Mexico to this cave, 34:28 where they raise their young. 34:31 And soon after they arrived, 34:32 each mother gives birth to one pup. 34:36 They call them pup. 34:38 So each mother has a son or a daughter. 34:41 And as many they say, 34:44 as 500 baby bats live crammed 34:47 into one square foot. 34:51 As many as 500 bats, baby bats. 34:54 So now considering all those things, 34:57 the scientists were wondering, 35:00 "There are about 20 million bats in here. 35:03 All these mothers with their babies?" 35:07 I wonder they start 35:09 if they're feeding their own babies 35:13 because they're going out to get food 35:14 and they're coming back with food for their babies. 35:18 So they put on boots and they put on gear, 35:20 and they went in there. 35:22 And they started catching baby bats 35:24 and the mother bats and tagging them. 35:26 So they can identify, this is the mother, 35:28 this is the baby. 35:30 This is the mother, this is the baby. 35:31 And they tagged them, 35:32 and were they're waiting for the results. 35:35 And they were amazed to find out 35:39 that the mothers looked for her own baby. 35:43 They didn't just randomly say, "Well, here's the baby. 35:45 I'll feed this one. 35:47 Oh, here's the baby, I'll feed this one." 35:48 No, the mothers came avoided other baby bats 35:53 and say, "No, this is mine, this is mine" 35:55 and fed that baby bat. 35:57 It was a rare occurrence and they didn't know why, 36:00 but that was a rare occurrence 36:02 that a mother fed a baby that was not hers. 36:05 But they came with the conclusion, 36:07 the mothers are feeding their own baby pups. 36:11 Now isn't that interesting to you? 36:13 To me it is. 36:15 That if a baby bat, 36:18 the mother has so much interest in her own baby back 36:21 that would bypass millions of other babies 36:25 to find her own, 36:26 wouldn't God be as concerned about you and me? 36:30 Surely He would. 36:31 Because these baby bats have limited mental capacity. 36:35 God, His intelligence is beyond our understanding. 36:39 So all these baby bats, 36:41 their own mother was feeding them. 36:43 Isn't that wonderful? 36:45 So God counts the hairs on your head, 36:48 knows you by name, 36:49 and is concerned about every aspect of your life. 36:53 So God so loved the world, but yes, God so loved you. 36:57 And so I invite you to consider His great love for You. 37:00 And so I began to understand this a little better, 37:06 when... 37:07 By the way, they came to the conclusion 37:11 that the mothers were able to identify their babies, 37:15 not only by sight, 37:16 because apparently they may look all alike 37:19 from their babies, 37:20 but most of it was by smell. 37:24 So God knows us in so many ways, 37:27 the color of your eyes, your facial features, 37:30 and your hair, 37:32 every aspect of you He knows. 37:34 He knows your very thoughts. 37:36 And so God is a marvelous loving God 37:40 that loves us all. 37:42 And so I remember as I was saying, 37:46 when our children were still small, 37:51 that we're talking to somebody 37:52 and our children are playing over there 37:54 and suddenly you will hear a sound, 37:55 boom! 37:57 And they're crying. 37:58 And you will know if that's your child or not 38:01 because you recognize your child's cry. 38:03 And in the same manner, 38:05 there's a particular cry that you gave 38:07 that God hears and knows. 38:10 He knows everything there is to know about you, 38:13 and He loves you greatly. 38:14 So God so loved the world 38:16 that He gave His only begotten Son. 38:19 And so let's look at the next part, 38:21 "For God so loved the world that He gave." 38:27 That He gave. 38:28 So when you consider this next part of the passage, 38:31 you have to ask yourself, what is it that He gave? 38:33 We know what the verse says, 38:34 but let's consider it for a moment. 38:36 What has God given you? 38:40 God has given you much to be thankful for. 38:45 Right here, there are many of you 38:46 as I look around, 38:48 you can be grateful that you have eyes to see, 38:51 ears to hear. 38:53 You can smell things. You can hear things. 38:56 You can walk. 38:57 You can use your arms. 38:59 Many things that God has given you 39:01 that you can be grateful for. 39:02 As a matter of fact, 39:04 God just gave you something that we take for granted 39:05 and that is the capacity to breathe, fresh air. 39:10 Even your heartbeat is a gift from God. 39:13 Because as intelligent as you may be, 39:17 and as organized as you may be, 39:19 if God didn't make your heartbeat automatically, 39:23 you may forget. 39:26 But God does some things for us that we're not even aware of. 39:30 And so, God has given us many things. 39:33 Well, there is the sunshine, there's fresh air. 39:37 We mentioned water, it rains and the plants grow. 39:40 And we have food in our homes 39:42 because God is constantly taking care of His children. 39:46 Constantly. 39:47 The Bible says that it rains upon the just 39:49 and the unjust. 39:51 So God loves the world, God loves you. 39:54 And so you have to consider 39:56 that God has given you so many things. 40:00 And in Matthew 6, Matthew 6. 40:04 I invite you to go there, Matthew 6. 40:07 We are quickly running out of time, 40:09 and we're not halfway through that verse here, 40:12 but we'll try to get as far as we can. 40:14 Matthew 6, beginning in verse 26, 40:16 notice the words found there, 40:19 up to verse 30. 40:21 "Behold the fowls of the air, for they sow not, 40:25 neither do they reap, 40:26 nor gather into barns, yet," 40:30 who feeds them? 40:31 "your heavenly Father feedeth them. 40:34 Are ye not much better than they?" 40:37 Why? Of course, you are. 40:38 Verse 27, "Which of you by taking thought 40:41 can add one cubit unto his stature?" 40:44 Now I know that some ladies and some men, 40:47 put on these elevated shoes or high heels 40:49 and they grow a little bit, 40:51 but it's not a permanent growth, 40:53 it's a temporary growth. 40:55 Now verse 28, 40:56 "And why take ye thought for raiment? 40:58 Consider the lilies of the field, 41:00 how they grow, they toil not, 41:02 neither do they spin. 41:03 And yet I say unto you, 41:05 that even Solomon in all his glory 41:09 was not arrayed like one of these. 41:12 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, 41:15 which to day is, 41:17 and tomorrow is cast into the oven, 41:18 shall he not much more clothe you, 41:21 O ye of little faith?" 41:24 We lose much by not having faith in God. 41:29 So Jesus, he's trying to tell us something. 41:32 Don't worry about tomorrow. 41:37 He knows what's happening tomorrow, 41:39 He will take care of you. 41:41 In Psalms 34, and another beautiful Psalm, 41:44 one of my favorite Psalms. 41:46 Psalms 34. 41:49 In Psalms 34, you will have... 41:53 I believe there have been some songs written 41:55 about some of these words. 41:56 Psalms 34, we will begin reading in verse 7. 41:59 Psalms 34:7, notice these words, 42:02 "The angel of the Lord encampeth 42:06 round about them that fear him, 42:08 and delivereth them. 42:10 O taste and see that the Lord is good, 42:15 blessed is the man 42:17 that trusteth in him. 42:18 O fear the Lord, ye his saints, 42:21 for there is no want to them that fear him. 42:25 The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger, 42:28 but they that seek the Lord 42:30 shall not want any good thing." 42:35 Praise the Lord. 42:36 God takes care of His children. 42:39 He tells us that He is the one that feeds the birds. 42:43 And even though some people may think, 42:45 "Well I went to work this morning. 42:47 I worked hard, 42:48 and I earned my daily bread." 42:52 But it is God that gave you strength. 42:54 It is God that kept your heart beating, 42:56 so that you would be alive to be able to work. 42:59 It is God that sustained you 43:01 and strengthened you to have energy. 43:04 It is God involved in each and every aspect of your life, 43:09 so that you can be who you are. 43:13 And so we should be ever grateful for Him. 43:15 For God so loved the world that He gave, 43:17 He is constantly giving, giving, giving to us. 43:23 The young lions do lack and suffer hunger, 43:25 but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. 43:29 God will make sure that you have 43:31 the basic necessities of life. 43:35 And if you make bad choices 43:38 and you walk out of God's will 43:39 and you want to do things your own way, 43:42 you will lack and suffer hunger. 43:45 But if you follow the Lord, He will take care of you. 43:48 You know, it's a very interesting thing to me 43:50 that, even the people, 43:53 and I am saying this not to be 43:57 little what goes on in Cuba. 43:59 But the people of Cuba, the believers in Christ... 44:03 I was there, 44:04 and I heard this in the year 2001. 44:08 They have gone through some difficult situations. 44:10 And there are difficult situations in many countries, 44:13 so it's not just Cuba. 44:15 But God takes care of His children. 44:17 One of the pastor said, 44:20 "If you believe in the Lord, the Lord will take care of you. 44:23 He will not allow you to suffer hunger." 44:26 And some of the people were a little upset with him, 44:28 but the people that I was listening to, 44:30 "You know, it's true. 44:33 We have seen it happen in our lives. 44:35 There were times when we ran out of beans, 44:38 but somebody had beans. 44:39 And we say, 'Hey, we have rice, 44:41 more than we need, 44:42 you want to trade rice for beans?'" 44:45 And they were able to have the things 44:47 they needed in their home. 44:48 God in some way will take care of you. 44:50 And you can read in the Bible 44:51 that even though 44:53 there was a drought in the land 44:56 and the prophet was out there 44:58 in the middle of nowhere, 45:00 God sent birds to feed them. 45:04 Why? 45:05 I wish I had time to tell one more story 45:06 about the way God takes care of His children, 45:09 but time is escaping us. 45:10 Boy, it's almost too good to pass up. 45:13 I heard this story. 45:14 I think it was Jim Zachary that told it. 45:17 I would dare to tell it. I try to tell it to you. 45:22 This is the way I remember it. 45:24 There was a Christian living in Romania, 45:26 and this Christian was put in jail 45:28 because he believes in God. 45:31 And as he believes in God, 45:33 the authorities captured him and put him in prison. 45:36 And so there was a captain there, 45:38 very upset, he was an atheist 45:40 and he said "Oh, you believe in God? 45:43 We're not gonna feed you. 45:44 Let your God feed you." 45:46 And so this man was put in prison. 45:47 And according to the story, way I remember it, 45:50 this man, He said, "We're not gonna feed you. 45:54 I'll be back in five days." 45:56 And so he thought the man in five days was gonna be, 46:00 "Please, feed me." 46:01 He says, "In five days you are gonna give up 46:03 this God you believe in. 46:04 We're not gonna give you any food." 46:06 And so it is said 46:08 that the man knelt down and prayed, 46:11 and said "Lord, I'm in this prison. 46:15 I'm surrounded by unbelievers, 46:19 and I don't know how, but, Lord, 46:21 give me this day my daily bread." 46:24 According to the story, 46:26 when he was done praying shortly thereafter 46:28 through a hole in the wall, 46:30 a cat started to make its way through 46:33 and squeezed in. 46:35 They have this capacity, 46:36 and he had a piece of bread in his mouth. 46:39 And he came into the cave, 46:41 came by the man, 46:43 and the man saw the bread and took the bread 46:46 and cut off the piece 46:47 that was in the cat's mouth and ate the other part. 46:51 And he said, "Thank you, Lord, for my daily bread." 46:53 The next day, the man prayed again, 46:55 "Lord, I'm hungry again. 46:57 Please, give me this day my daily bread." 47:00 And according to the story, again shortly thereafter 47:03 that cat made his way through, the same cat 47:06 and had another piece of bread in his mouth. 47:08 And again, he took the bread from the cat's mouth 47:11 and cut off the piece of bread that was in his mouth, 47:13 put it aside and ate the bread 47:16 and then played with the cat for a little while, 47:18 and eventually the cat went out again. 47:21 It went like this four days in a row. 47:23 The fifth day comes the captain, 47:25 ready to say, "Okay, 47:27 I've got this man under my control. 47:30 He's gonna be begging me for food. 47:32 He's gonna give up this belief in God." 47:35 And so he walks in. 47:36 "So are you ready to give up your belief in this God 47:39 that does not exist?" 47:42 He said "No, I still believe in God." 47:45 "How can that be? You haven't eaten in four days! 47:48 This is the fifth day." 47:50 He says, "Oh no, God has fed me." 47:52 "Impossible! 47:54 You're locked up in here. 47:55 Have any of the guards given you food?" 47:57 "No." 47:58 "Then how is it that you have eaten?" 48:01 He said, "Well, I prayed to God, 48:03 and He provided food." 48:05 "Impossible!" 48:06 He said, "Yes, look, here's the piece of bread 48:08 from the first day that is left over." 48:10 'Cause he cut off the piece that was in the cats mouth 48:13 and he didn't eat that part. 48:14 "And here's the piece of bread from the second day, 48:16 the third day, the fourth day." 48:18 "Where did you get that bread from?" 48:20 And just then the story is told, 48:22 the cat was making his way through the hole again. 48:25 And he says, "What is this? 48:27 Hey, that's my cat! 48:31 And that's my bread." 48:34 Amen. 48:35 And that captain was amazed that God did this for this man. 48:41 And it is said that this captain 48:43 had a change of heart. 48:44 Praise the Lord. 48:46 You see, 48:47 O taste and see that the Lord is good. 48:49 No good thing will He keep from them 48:52 that serve Him. 48:54 So praise the Lord. 48:55 So the verse says, 48:56 "For God so loved the world that He gave," 48:59 what is it that He gave in this scripture of John 3:16? 49:03 The Bible says, "His only begotten Son." 49:08 Now we may not have time to finish the whole John 3:16, 49:10 but we'll try to get this part done. 49:13 God gave His only begotten Son, 49:17 Jesus Christ. 49:19 So I invite you to first turn to Hebrews 1, 49:22 Hebrews 1. 49:26 In Hebrews 1, 49:29 we're gonna begin reading the verse 1, 49:30 and these are the words that you will find there. 49:35 "God, who at sundry times 49:38 and in divers manners spake in time 49:40 past unto the fathers by the prophets, 49:43 hath in these last days spoken unto us 49:46 by his Son, 49:48 whom he hath appointed heir of all things, 49:51 by whom also he made the worlds. 49:54 Who being the brightness of his glory, 49:57 and the express image of his person, 49:59 and upholding all things by the word of his power, 50:02 when he had by himself purged our sins, 50:05 sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." 50:09 So I read this scripture to tell you 50:11 that the Bible says that God is love 50:15 and that Jesus is the express image of the Father. 50:19 And so in Jesus, 50:21 you could see the manifestation of the Father's love for us. 50:27 And it says here that not only that, 50:31 He says He spoke through His Son, 50:33 by whom also He made the worlds. 50:36 So when we read Genesis 1:1 50:38 and it says that in the beginning 50:40 God created the Heaven and the Earth, 50:41 Jesus Christ the Son was involved 50:43 in the creation process. 50:44 If you read John 1:1, it says that... 50:48 I'm gonna have to look it up, 50:51 let's see if memory will remember it. 50:55 "In the beginning was the Word," 50:58 what else does it say? 50:59 "And the Word was with God, 51:02 and the Word was God. 51:05 All things were made by Him 51:07 and without Him was not anything made 51:09 that was made." 51:11 Amen? Amen. 51:13 Amen. 51:14 So this is the Jesus, the only begotten Son 51:16 that we are talking about. 51:18 So in Matthew 1, Matthew 1. 51:22 We'll try to hurry it a little bit. 51:24 In Matthew 1, 51:26 yeah, let us look at verse 21. 51:30 Matthew 1:21. 51:34 "And she" talking about Mary "shall bring forth a son, 51:39 and thou shalt call his name Jesus, 51:43 for he shall save his people 51:46 from their sins." 51:49 Verse 22, "Now all this was done, 51:51 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken, 51:53 by the prophet, saying, behold, 51:56 a virgin shall be with child, 51:59 and shall bring forth a son, 52:00 and they shall call his name Emmanuel, 52:03 which being interpreted is, God with us." 52:06 For God... 52:08 I'm sorry, I was going to my next verse in the list. 52:10 So it says here that a virgin shall be with child. 52:14 Now I'm compacting several messages here 52:19 because we will spend more time on giving the time 52:23 when the promise was given 52:25 and all these other important scriptures. 52:27 But God promised that He would bring the answer 52:31 to the sin problem in Genesis 3:15. 52:35 "And when the fulness of time came, 52:38 God sent forth His Son." 52:40 That's Galatians 4:4. 52:42 In the likeness of sinful flesh, 52:44 to condemn sin in the flesh. 52:46 So Jesus Christ came at the time 52:49 specified by the prophecy. 52:52 And He came, as it says here, 52:55 to be God with us, 52:57 and also it says, to do, what? 53:01 To deliver us from sin. 53:04 Praise the Lord. 53:07 Now I invite you to go to the next verse, 53:09 there's John 3:16, 53:11 there's a verse 17 that follows. 53:13 John 3:17 says, 53:18 "For God sent not his Son into the world 53:22 to condemn the world," 53:25 why did He send Him? 53:27 "But that the world through him might be saved." 53:31 Praise the lord. 53:33 Jesus didn't come to this world 53:35 to be looking for the people 53:38 that would be condemned, 53:41 to be looking for people to put on His list. 53:44 "Okay, you, you're gonna be suffering for your sins. 53:49 You are gonna be suffering." 53:50 No, He came, the Bible says, we're gonna look at that, 53:53 to seek and to save that which was lost. 53:56 He came to bring salvation to the world. 54:00 He came to work out our salvation. 54:02 So verse 17 says, 54:04 "For God sent not his Son into the world 54:06 to condemn the world, 54:08 but that the world through him might be saved." 54:10 Is that good news? Yes. 54:12 So even today Jesus is looking for people, 54:16 not to condemn them, but to save them. 54:20 And we as His children should participate 54:23 and help others learn the message of salvation. 54:29 So if Jesus did not come into the world 54:33 to condemn the world, 54:34 neither should we be condemning the world, 54:37 but should be doing something to bring them 54:40 salvation through Jesus Christ. 54:41 Amen? Amen. 54:43 Amen. 54:44 So as we consider this, 54:46 we also invite you to turn to Romans 3, 54:50 Romans 3. 54:53 Jesus came to seek and to save that which is lost, 54:56 He came to save His people from His sins. 54:59 And in Romans 3:23, 55:03 the bible declares, "For all have sinned, 55:07 and come short of the glory of God." 55:11 All have sinned, 55:13 and come short of the glory of the God. 55:15 And being in this condition of sin, 55:19 we need a Savior, 55:20 and the only Savior is Jesus Christ. 55:24 I'm having to leave some scripture out 55:26 because of lack of time, 55:28 but let's look at 1 John 4:10, 55:34 1 John 4:10. 55:37 There's a big word there in 1 John 4:10. 55:43 It says the following, "Herein is love, 55:48 not that we loved God, but that he loved us, 55:52 and sent his Son to be the propitiation 55:56 for our sins." 55:58 In other words, to describe this, 56:01 He came to offer Himself as a sacrifice for us, 56:04 to atone for our sins, 56:07 to make reconciliation for our sins, 56:10 by offering Himself for us 56:13 because without Him, 56:18 we would experience the other part of John 3:16, 56:23 that we won't have time to go into in this message. 56:26 "For God so loved the world, 56:27 that he gave his only begotten Son, 56:29 that whosoever believeth in him 56:32 should not," what? 56:33 "Perish, 56:35 but have everlasting life." 56:36 So considering this, perhaps the last scripture, 56:40 let's look at it in Romans 5:8, Romans 5:8. 56:46 In Romans 5:8, 56:48 we have the following words, 56:51 "But God commendeth his love toward us, 56:55 in that, while we were yet sinners, 56:58 Christ died for us." 57:02 While we were yet sinners, 57:04 Christ died for us. 57:06 The scripture says that God so loved the world, 57:09 that He gave His only begotten Son, 57:11 that who so ever believeth in Him 57:14 should not perish, but have everlasting life. 57:16 We won't have time to look at the other part, 57:18 but understanding this, no one is excluded. 57:21 It says whosoever. 57:23 So no one is excluded in the world, 57:25 all can come to Jesus 57:26 and find salvation through Him. 57:30 And I praise the Lord for that. 57:32 So if anyone here 57:33 or if anyone that's listening or watching 57:35 wherever you may be, 57:37 Jesus says, if you come to Him, 57:39 He will not cast you out. 57:41 Come to Jesus, He will accept you. 57:43 His love for you is greater than you can imagine. 57:46 And you will find in Him acceptance, forgiveness, 57:51 cleansing 57:52 and what it says in John 3:16. 57:55 If you believe in Him, you will not perish, 57:57 but have everlasting life. 58:00 May God bless you. |
Revised 2019-12-10