God’s Precious Message | Part Two (John 3:16-17)
When I knew I wanted Tammy to be my wife, I was a youth minister making about $250 a week, so I couldn’t really afford a diamond ring. But she and I were on a date one evening when we stopped at a gas station. When I went in the gas station, I found a Ring Pop (a sucker which fits on your finger and looks like a huge diamond ring), and I proposed to Tammy with a Ring Pop.
Do you own something which looks valuable but is actually worthless? Do you ladies have any costume jewelry? Do you have clothing which looks nice but really came from Goodwill? Maybe you have a nice television which works just fine but it’s an off brand. Or you decided to adopt a pet through a shelter rather than pay big bucks for a purebred.
Not living by God’s truth is much like that. The message is precious in its own right, but you will never see the benefits of that message. Learn: “God’s message is precious to you if you obey it.”
Application (John 3:16-17)
How do you apply God’s precious message?
One: Precious Power
“For God.” How important is the Precious Power in your life? Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment, and he replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment” (Matt 22:37-38).
Do you honestly love God with your entire being? What about when God and your family conflict? What about when God and your job conflict? What about when God and your pleasure conflict? Where does God honestly fit in your life?
Two: Precious Passion
“For God so loved.” “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us” (1 Jn 4:11-12). “This commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother” (1 Jn 4:21).
How much do you love your brother? How much do you serve your brother? How much do you pray for your brother? Are you honestly loving your spiritual family?
Three: Precious People
“For God so loved the world.” God’s precious message is for everyone. “Go . . . and make disciples of all nations” (Matt 28:19). “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28).
Do you believe the church is for everybody? Would you be willing to share the gospel with someone who is a different color? What about someone in the country illegally? What about someone who had had a sex change operation? What about someone who had hurt you deeply?
Four: Precious Price
“For God so loved the world that he gave.” God sacrificed for you; you must sacrifice for God: Luke 14:26-27. Your hopes and dreams become secondary to God’s will. Your lifestyle becomes secondary to God’s commands. Your family life takes a backseat to your spiritual life. Your desires become God’s desires.
I know how radical that is. Yet God gave up the most precious gem in all the world for you. What Precious Price will you pay?
Five: Precious Person
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son.” Jesus the Christ suffered and died for you, and you have been clothed with Jesus: “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal 3:27).
Therefore, others should see Jesus when they see you. How much do you live like Jesus? When your friends see you, do they see you or do they see Jesus? When your neighbors see you, do they see you or do they see Jesus? When the server waits on your table, does she see you or does she see Jesus? When the manager at the store refuses your return, does he see you or does he see Jesus?
Six: Precious Profession
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him.”
Believing in Jesus means you trust him. Notice Abraham’s trust: Romans 4:20-21. Further, believing in Jesus means you obey him; again, note Abraham’s example: “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac” (Heb 11:8, 17).
Do you trust in God’s promises? Do you trust him when life gets hard? Do you obey in that trust? How is your obedience to the Lord Jesus?
Seven: Precious Protection
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish.” If you honestly believe in Jesus, you are saved from God’s wrath. Christians “wait for [God’s] Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come” (1 Thess 1:10). In Christ, you never need to worry about God’s wrath, for Jesus delivers you from that wrath.
Because you have been delivered from God’s wrath, you have every reason to face challenges with confidence. You will stand before God’s judgment throne, but you will have Precious Protection as you stand there.
Eight: Precious Paradise
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” When the rich man died, he saw Abraham and Lazarus far off; he asked Abraham to send Lazarus with some water to comfort him. Abraham replied, “Now [Lazarus] is comforted here” (Lk 16:25).
Paul said, “My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better” (Phil 1:23). Those who have died in Christ are better off this morning than we who live. Do you know why I’d be better off dead? I’d be with Jesus. I wouldn’t suffer anymore. I’d never grieve anymore. I’d never shed another tear. I’d never commit another sin. My faith would be turned to sight.
What if you were to die today? Would you be better off dead or alive?
This sermon was originally preached by Dr. Justin Imel, Sr., at Church of Christ Deer Park in Deer Park, Texas.