Scripture:
John 3:14-21 NKJV
[14] And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, [15] that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. [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. [17] For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. [18] “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. [19] And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. [20] For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. [21] But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
Observation:
I know I have said this in the past, but given the verses that have been chosen this morning, I believe it bears repeating. In the Old Testament, there are pictures of Jesus. The first verse that we look at this morning is an example of that, “and as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the son of man be lifted up. This is a picture of the cross in the Old Testament. HE has never kept HIS plan a secret it’s always been right there for all to see. I’m not sure if you are familiar with the story that is being referred to. So I will explain it briefly. Because there is so much in what has been chosen this morning, we could honestly stay here all day if I don’t move quickly. Poisonous serpents had been sent to bite the Israelites, but Moses was instructed by the LORD to make a bronze serpent and place it on a pole lifted high in the air, anyone who had been bitten could look at the serpent and be healed. This reference here in John is evidence that the Old and the New Testament can not be separated. Yes, they are 2 different points in time, but one is a foreshadowing of the other. If you have been around someone who has a solid understanding of the bible for any length of time, you might have heard it said like this the Old Testament is Christ concealed, and the New Testament is Christ revealed. The first describes the second, but in a way the you have to really be looking to see it. Moving on to verse 15, just like when the Israelites would look at the serpent lifted high in the air and believe they were healed those who believe in Jesus Christ and what had been done on the cross would receive healing as well. John had a purpose for his gospel. His desire was to prove without a doubt that Jesus was the very SON of GOD and explain the gospel in such a manner that it could be understood. I believe he did so in verse 16. In one verse, he explains the whole gospel. ” For GOD so loved the world that HE gave HIS only SON that whosoever believes in HIM shall not perish but have everlasting life. He nailed it. That’s the gospel, which is probably why it’s the most memorized verse in the entire Bible. That’s why your Sunday school teacher taught it to you the very first time you went to Sunday school. With that verse, you are armed for not only salvation but to spread the gospel yourself. However, as we move into the verses that follow, we can see how the beautiful picture of salvation gets twisted by those who want to live in the darkness. Verse 17 tells us the reason GOD sent HIS SON into the world. It was not for condemnation but salvation. The grace that flowed in the garden where they arrested HIM before anyone laid a hand on HIM was the same grace that would be so hard to understand that those who loved the darkness would feel like it was condemnation. Just like the bronze serpent, it all came down to one word. That word can be directly tied to the word faith and goes back to the one verse that contains the entire gospel, “For GOD so loved the world that HE gave HIS only SON that whosoever BELIEVES in HIM will have everlasting life. The word “believe” is the key. If you believe in HIM and profess HIM as your LORD and SAVIOR, then what is in the darkness will be brought to light, and you will deal with it but if you don’t want to believe in HIM condemnation will be your lot because you will not be able to deny that your actions are dark. The darkness can not exist where the light is present. It has to go.
Application:
My heart is hurt at times. But honestly, it’s a choice I have made to live for Jesus. I have been at it for quite a few years. Long enough, in fact, that those whom I called friends are not knocking down my door to come over or hang out with me. Once, I honestly gave my life to Jesus. I couldn’t help but want the things that were in my life that didn’t line up with HIS word to be removed. The dark things in my life had to go. As the light increased, every nook and cranny was exposed. Some of it was upsetting if I’m going to be honest because I wanted to hold on to little bits and pieces of who I thought I was. But honestly, that’s not who GOD had made me to be. Inviting Jesus into your life to be your LORD is honestly a decision that you should count the cost on. The Bible says that HE comes to draw a line, and several scriptures support that. Matthew chapter 10 verses 34 through 36 say a lot. When we invite Jesus into the home of our hearts, I believe sometimes we expect HIM to sit on the couch and be a good house guest. As we fetch HIM something to drink out of the fridge. We forget that HE is not a house guest but the LORD of the house. So rather than sitting on the couch as we fetch HIM a drink, HE gets up and looks in the closet where we stuffed everything we didn’t want HIM to see. I honestly don’t believe you can start a relationship with Jesus Christ and not begin the sanctification process. To allow HIM to be the LORD of your life means that HE called the shots. HE gets to look in the closet and see it all. But here is the problem I have run into that was not expected. As my life changed because it was truly giving to Christ. The lives of those around me did not change. Those who called themselves friends started not necessarily wanting to be around me because I could not help but speak the living word of GOD everywhere I went. It was the plumb line for my life. Looking back, I could see how the choice to live a life that glorified Jesus as my LORD drew a line between the light and the dark. Over the past several years, a lot of people have eliminated themselves from my life, not by my choice. Because I love them, but because the light that has been placed inside of me has no choice but to overtake my life. The darkness can not stay where the light has chosen to occupy. Yes, it hurts. I want everyone to know the love of Jesus. Not in the form of condemnation but the grace that looks in the closet and says now what are WE going to do about this mess? WE can’t leave it like this…. how about we hang up the coats and wind up the cord on the vacuum? Do you really need the empty bag of Doritos you stuffed in the corner so I couldn’t see it was trash. My point is this… condemnation does not bring sanctification. GOD’S grace does, and that grace was flowing in the garden before anyone laid a hand on Jesus. When we truly count the cost of Jesus as our LORD, we will see that clinging to what we thought was life is no life at all. The freedom from surrender is priceless. Let Jesus have full authority in your life. It may cost you some people who call themselves friends and family, but what you gain is a whole nother life beyond what you ever thought you could obtain.
Prayer:
Father, it’s up to you now. I have said what I believe you have given me to say. You have given us your SON so that HE can be our LORD. We want HIM to call the shots. We want HIM to have access to the entire house. Not one locked door or hide trash. We know that this could lead to some people who do not want to be around us anymore when the way we live changes. But we want you. We want more of you and less of us. Give us the wisdom to understand your word and apply it to our daily lives. Help us to use speech that does not condemn, but that is seasoned with your grace. We want to live. I’m a manner that brings you the utmost glory not holding on to trash but chasing after what you want for us. Let’s your light shine through us so that others may see it and glorify you. It’s I’m the mighty name of Jesus. we pray, amen.