You and I, we get more than we could have ever expected. It's that beautiful gift of Christmas.

The problem is, as we said last week, is that people don't have joy a lot of times.

Well, my joy, I've lost my joy, I've lost my joy. Let me tell you, Christian, as a Christian, you cannot lose your joy.

Your joy didn't move. You moved away from the joy. You moved away from the joy.

And the reason why some of you wrestle, wrestle with not having true joy, is because you want joy on your terms.

And God says, no, no, no, that's not the way it works. If it's my joy, and the joy that I give you, guess what?

I get to set the terms. I get to set the terms.

So this joy is inexpressible, this inexpressible gift.

And this morning, we're going to talk about the gift of His love. Love as a gift.

And I said this a few weeks ago, but I love Christmas. I love Christmas messages.

But I always hesitate this time of year to try to do a Christmas message, because what can I tell you that you don't already know?

You know about Mary. You know about the star. You know about the manger. You know about the wise men.

You know that half the songs we sing as Christmas carols are theologically incorrect.

You know all these things. Okay?

So what am I going to give you that's, you know, this earth-shattering thing?

But today, we're going to talk about the gift of His love.

And I want to start off just by telling you that God just doesn't want to accept us.

He has been pursuing you your entire life with this amazing love.

He has been pursuing you, and sometimes you don't realize it until it's a kind of down-the-road kind of thing.

But most of us use this term a lot, and that's the love of God.

The love of God.

And we talk about the love of God so much that that term almost becomes pedestrian.

You know, but if you've ever really studied the love of God, God's love within the Scriptures,

it takes your breath away because it's absolutely categorically incomprehensible.

You just really can't.

And we know a little taste of it as a parent, you know, the love that we have for our children.

And maybe you know a little taste of it with those special relationships that you have.

But that doesn't even scratch the surface when you consider God's amazing love.

It's so far beyond anything we could ever imagine.

The love of God.

And so, and we also use this other expression.

I wish we had another expression we could use.

But we also use this one a lot.

The unconditional love of God.

We throw that one around a lot in church as well, too.

But, you know, do you know what that means?

The unconditional love of God.

That means there is nothing, nothing that you or I could ever, ever do to make God stop loving you.

Nothing.

There is nothing you and I could ever do to make Him stop loving you.

Now, probably, this is a, this is a, we're going to look at one verse today.

One verse.

I know you guys are going like, what?

One verse?

Yes.

Just one.

And this is probably the most famous verse in the, in the scripture.

No, it's not Jesus wept.

Okay.

But, you know, you, you see this, this one verse.

Usually it's some Yehu at the end zone of a football game.

He's holding up a sign.

Okay.

Or somebody that's in the, in the, in the home run alley at the baseball game.

Or maybe on the 18th green, somebody's got a sign up.

And he has this one verse.

And what is it?

You guys watch a lot of TV.

That's awesome.

John 3, 16.

And you know, maybe some of you don't know this verse.

Okay.

I, I, I get it.

And I, I even shudder to, to quote it to you.

Because, um, we've learned it.

We've learned it.

But the problem is we blow through it.

We blow through it.

And this is not your typical Christmas verse that you go through on, on Christmas morning.

But it's where we are today because I want you to, to ponder the implications of this verse.

Because it was a statement that Jesus makes to Nicodemus with this religious leader.

And Nicodemus comes up to Jesus and he asked him, man, what does it really mean to have a relationship with God?

What does it really mean?

And Jesus, when, when he, when he's being asked, what's, what does it mean to have a relationship with God?

What Jesus does is he underscores the amazing love of God.

That's where he goes.

He underscores the amazing love of God when he, when he makes this statement.

He says, for God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever would believe in him would not perish, but have everlasting life.

And he says, for God.

Bye-bye.

the power of his love

notice how he starts

it says God so loved

God so loved the world

and what's important about that

is the one who's doing the loving

God so loved the world

meaning who God loves

who he loves

he has the power to affect their behavior

and change

or maybe put it another way

God can act upon the love that he has

for anyone that he loves

you with me on that

God can act upon the love that he has

for anyone that he loves

let me give you an example

as a parent

if one of my children

came down with

an incurable disease

I would do everything

in my power to make sure

that they got what they needed

so that they would be brought back to health

I would take them to the best doctors

I would do all the research

that I could do

I would put

I would put everything on the table

okay do whatever I could do

to make sure

that they would be healthy again

right

I mean you

anybody who's a parent

you get that

everything's on the table

everything within my power

I would do that

but as much as I love them

as much as I really love them

I have limited resources

as much as I love

I have limited resources

and even though I can put

everything on the table

ultimately

I can't do anything

I can't do anything

to bring about that change

you know

I don't know if you've ever

stopped and really considered

how powerless

you are

to really meet the needs

of the person

that you love

to really meet their needs

the person that you love

God

doesn't have

that problem

God doesn't have that problem

God so loved the world

he so loved the world

the one who loved the world

is omnipotent

the one who loved the world

is omniscient

the one who loved the world

is omnipresent

he's all knowing

he's everywhere all the time

he's all powerful

he can do something

about his love

he can do something

about his love

so there is a power

to his love

it's not just rooted

in sentimentality

okay

there is a power

to the love of God

and he has the ability

to affect change

if you and I

if you today

like I

am in a relationship

with Jesus Christ

there was at some point

where the love of God

arrested you

and brought about

a change

in your life

you are

are you perfect?

no

but you are forever

changed

he has the power

to affect that

second thing

I want you to see

is the intensity

of his love

it says in

it says in the verse

it says

God

so

loved

he

not just grammatically

okay

he

so

loved

do you get that?

he

so

loved

cause and effect

cause and effect

he so loved

that

he so loved

that

he so loved

that

okay

the intensity

that's in this

okay

God was not up there

just weeping

over our condition

oh why are they so broken

oh why are they just

you know

not listening to me

why are they so disobedient

why are they rebelling

why are they refusing

my love

he's not up there

doing that

saying

oh I feel bad

for them

I just feel so bad

no

God

so

loved

the world

he so loved

okay

he so loved

that what

he spared

no expense

he spared

no expense

to demonstrate

the depth

of his love

for us

God

so

loved

the world

don't blow

through this passage

so quickly

he so loved

God

so loved

the world

that's the object

of his love

the object

of his love

and when it says

he so loved

the world

he's not talking

about the dirt

and the trees

and the animals

and the butterflies

and all these other

things

okay

that's not what

he's getting at

when it says

world

it's defined

in context

it has to do

with

individual

even the people that don't want to have anything to do with god god still loves them you had better

believe it so i mean it shows us the the intensity of his of his love right here and so um god doesn't

didn't love the world because the world was so good he loved the world because the world's so bad

he doesn't love you and me because we were so good god didn't get a good deal when he got me

okay that's how some people that live their lives well god's got it going on now he's got me on the

team you should see what i can bring to the table god loved god loved me because i was so bad he loves

us because we're so desperate we are so desperate that's the reason why you can't bargain your way

into heaven that's why the reason why you can't bargain your way into a relationship with god

okay he loves us because he sees that we are helpless we are helpless

so we get the and and the object of his intensity and the object of his power is what the world

we are the object of it all that's humbling that's mind-blowing that's we can go down the line it's it

blows me away it's the gift of his incomprehensible love

the next thing i want you to see is the extent of his love okay god so loved the world so that

so that god so loved the world so that what he gave he gave his only son

the extent of his love marinate on that for a second his only son king jimmy says his his his

only begotten son okay his only be i'm nothing against king james i'm sorry i just said just trying

to see if you're awake this morning come on i know angels awake i hear you and come on angel get

him up man his only begotten son okay the ideas is the only son that he the only one he has

the only one he has okay the point is that is that god hurt himself in order that we might be healthy

and and what i just said is woefully inadequate because theologians have wrangled over this for

cultures okay the grand mystery you know how could this be you know i don't know i don't know but

somehow or another when jesus died on the cross god died too part of it now you figure that out

theologically when jesus died on the cross you know how do you reconcile that it's a great mystery of

but don't you see if they're if it's a holy trinity god the father and the holy spirit and they're all one

and jesus dies on the cross for us part of god dies that do you not see the severity of his love for us

there's there's a severity to this love

it should be earth shaking it should be life stopping the all there's that the severity of his love that

there's only one there's only one who could pay for the sins of the world only one and that was his son

and he and he and he had so he had to give up his darling son his only begotten son he had to hurt

himself in order that we could be healed

i mean when you see that when you see that don't you dare ever say that god doesn't care about you

that is a lie from the pit of hell a lie from the pit of hell he gave up he gave up the riches of

heaven in order that you and i might have a relationship with him and it's as if he shouts

out from the annals of history you know it's it it's if god's saying don't you see don't you see

don't you see greater love is no man than a man who would lay his life down for a friend

i have laid my life down for each of you don't you see for he who knew no sin became sin

don't you see in order that we might be made righteous in god through him but god demonstrated

okay his love towards him

i i really don't don't you see what what love there's no there's no illustration i could ever give you that could ever come close to this but i had a long time friend

he had a teenage son that had a kidney issue kidney failure and they had to had to have a kidney transplant and so guess what his dad gets on the horn we're gonna track down somebody

some family history somebody's got to be able to be a match for for my son a donor they go through everything come to find out it's dad

and they said what's good to be a it's good to be a touch and go surgery we're not sure if it's gonna

because you're gonna be at risk dad because you're at such and such age and your son lives out in such and

such and and and then and my friend says you know what i don't care i'm on a plane tomorrow i'm flying out

there and i'm gonna give my son that if i die great but guess what you live son you live and there's not a

parent in this room that wouldn't do something like that for their child not a parent in this room but

that's that that's a that that's where my illustration breaks down because that's a father

doing something for his son okay but there's not a father in this room if i've said bobby

i need you to take i need you to take cedric and i need you to end cedric's life because there's a guy

in the back corner back here has a daughter that needs something you need to sacrifice your son for her

no thanks

i mean i love jesus and all that stuff but i need somebody else to step up to the plate

gotta be somebody in her family but that's exactly that's exactly what god did with jesus

don't you see don't you see as you as you as you look at this you know don't you see how much i love you

then there's the motivation of his love

for god so loved the world that he gave his only son whoever believes in him should not perish

should not perish should not perish you say it should not perish the idea of perishing here is

twofold i think immediately it has to do with do not don't let sin destroy you don't let you know

we were not meant to live a life apart from a relationship with jesus christ

we were not made for that okay and to choose a life apart from a relationship with jesus christ is

to choose to allow sin to destroy you bottom line because he's the only solution to our sin

the only solution try as we might there are no other solutions given where there is no name

given under heaven in which man shall be saved that's amen then the name of jesus okay

and so he came to deliver us from our sins in fact that's what john's going to say a few chapters

later he's going to say behold the lamb of god who comes to what take away the sins of the world

i i i think this is five and a half years for us as a congregation so this is maybe what the fifth

fifth or sixth december we've celebrated in this facility right here so i i say it every every every

december so i'll just go ahead and say it again this year and sometimes it makes people mad but listen

jesus is not the reason for the season sin is the reason for the season

because you and i decided we wanted to go out on our own god sent his only son why

because god so loved the world he so loved us he so loved us

we are perishing because of our sin that none should perish we are perishing because of our sin

and and if there is not an act of forgiveness for our sin through the precious blood of jesus christ

who died on the cross for our sins then guess what we are perishing we're perishing and i don't

mean just this whole you know just this you know regress simply living a worse life no i mean

ultimately eternally perishing

you

you

and he created woman in what his image his image and part of that image is is more than just personality intellect emotion and will it's much more than that part of his images is much more than that i believe that this whole image of god thing god created man to reflect the relationship that the trinity had with each other that inner trinitarian love with god the father god the son

and god the holy spirit and god the holy spirit so he created mankind and he created them to enjoy that relationship and to reflect that relationship in the context of human history and we were united with him in that as he created us and so sin came and it severed that relationship and we went off on our own just as i said

and i really believe that when god and i really believe that when god when it says that god so loved the world that he gave his own holy son that whoever whoever believes in him should not perish

whoever believes in him should not perish god is saying i want you back

i want you back

as remember last week what we said life the way it was meant to be lived

life the way it was meant to be lived

remember we talked last week we ended last week we said christian

one of the problems you you're having when this in this life

and really walking in true joy

is you're trying to keep one foot in each world

and that's why you're miserable

that's why you're miserable

you know the truth

but you'll listen to the world too much

but god is saying

i want you back

so there is the gift

the gift of his love

god so loved the world that whoever believes in him should not perish

but

contrast

okay

but

okay

but what's the contrast to perishing

having eternal life

the contrast to perishing is having eternal life

and eternal life does not mean this one dimensional thing that

we are going to live forever after we die

and we're going to be with jesus in glory

with

in the glory of god forever after we live

that's true

that's absolutely true

but i believe that we under preach this

and i believe that we under teach this from the pulpit

but eternal life means a transformed quality of life

in this life

now

in this life now

it means to experience

life the way it was meant to be lived

it means to experience the power

and the presence of god

in context of human history

right now

it means to experience that resilient joy

that we talked about last week

that we spoke about

right here

right now

right here

right now

so many of you have prayed to accept jesus

but you just said

well i'll be joyful when i get to heaven

my gosh you're wasting a lot of time

you're wasting a lot of opportunity

god wants to use you to speak

to live in and through you

and you're like

i'm your vessel

use me lord

for what

for what

i know for what

we were going

we were in fernadina yesterday

and we were driving through fernadina

i was talking with taylor

and uh

they have uh

they're doing all this road work in there

and they have all these uh

these pylons and everything set up

where they're blocking everything off

and every one of them

for for for five miles

says bob's barricade

bob's barricade

and i told taylor

i don't know who bob is

but bob is rolling in some cash man

he came up with an idea

of making barricades

and this man is rich

that's what you get to be

you get to be

bob's barricade

when you refuse

to walk in the joy of the lord

and you know what

in my journey

i don't need any more barricades

so just get out of my way

how many of you need more barricades

in your life

my goodness

right here

and right now

right here

right now

to enjoy

he's going to go on

later

later and say it

and jesus is going to say

in john 10 10

i've come

that you may have life

and have life

what

abundantly

to the full

with the love of god and just have your eyes open to the spiritual opportunities that god's given you

that life full of purpose that meaningful life the purpose that meaningful life that's the birthright of love

oh that'll preach i should have wrote that's a birthright of love amen the birthright of love you got it okay you know god saying don't you get it don't you get it you weren't born to just scrape by you weren't born to just mire in your guilt you weren't born to be imprisoned by your sins you weren't born to be imprisoned by your addictions that's not what

why i why i why i called you why i called you why i called you out of the darkness to continue to sit in the shadows for god so loved the world he so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever would believe in him would not perish but have eternal life and an eternal life that starts right here and right now today right here and right now today

you were born you were born to know the amazing freedom of god's amazing love

for who the son is set free they are free indeed

amen

and the last one is a response

and if you've been following you notice that skipped over the middle part

it's because i'm putting it at the end

but god so loved the world that he gave his only son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life

whosoever believes

whosoever believes

all of this is yours nicodemus

it's all yours

but it's by faith

it's by faith

you can't pay me off

you can't uh

chum up to me and be one of my buds here and follow me around and be one of my chosen 12

i'll i'll rewrite the scriptures and i'll make it 13 sure

that's not the way it works

it's by faith

by grace you have been saved through faith

through faith

and not of yourselves because it is a what

a gift

from god

a gift from god

and not a result of works lest anyone could boast

not a result of works

it's through faith man

that's how we do it nick

it's through faith

that's how you experience all this

and i just but i just want to say that

when it says this

that they believed

all who would believe

believe is not just some

intellectual ascent

okay where you just wink

and you nod

it's so much deeper than that

please hear me on this this morning

it's so much deeper than that

this belief that he's talking about here

has to do with a

a visceral belief

a visceral belief

not just in the intellect

but to believe solely

to believe solely

that jesus christ

is the savior

not not not just the intellect

but to believe

to believe that he alone

bore our sins

to believe that he alone

paid the debt for our sins

to believe that he alone

is the only way to god

he alone

that that's that's the faith

that he's talking about here

and if you believe that way

then this gift of eternal life

it's yours

it's yours

and and and you know

follow follow the logic here

with with me okay

you you might say

well you know what

that sounds so easy

that sounds just too easy

pastor curtis

and it sounds free

who said He has the power to do something about our situation, right?

Only He has the power to do something about our situation.

So, God has the power.

So, okay, the intensity of His love and the extent of His payment, okay,

that He would hurt Himself in order so that we could be healthy.

Do you think that somehow or another, okay,

God would go through all of this,

just sacrificing His only Son,

pouring everything that He had out for us,

showing us a way that we could be free from all this stuff,

and then make Himself hard for us to find?

Some of you, He's been chasing down the highways and byways of life.

And He's brought situations, circumstances, and people in front of your path,

and you still refuse to surrender to Him.

God is a gentleman.

He will not force you to surrender to Him.

But you're part of the W-O-R-L-D in our verse.

He will continue and give you every opportunity.

Every opportunity.

Why would God pay such a price and then play hide-and-seek with us, you know?

I never understand that.

People.

No, I want you to have this, He says.

Don't you see?

Don't you see?

And all you have to do is believe.

Believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ.

And for those of us who are already made that proclamation in our hearts and our lives,

what a great opportunity and what a great time of year

for us to reassess our spiritual walk and reassess some things in our lives.

Am I really embracing the gift of His love?

And by the way, the gift of His love?

It has a name.

And His name is Yeshua.

Jesus of Nazareth.

Jesus the Christ.

Messiah.

Son of David.

The Lamb of God.

King of kings and the Lord of lords.

And I was reading in my quiet time this week.

I don't know why we say quiet time here.

Because my time with the Lord never really is quiet.

You know, I'm just, I'm always talking to Him.

I'm like, Lord, Jesus.

What are you doing here, God?

Yeah.

Maybe it's supposed to be quiet time because I'm supposed to be more quiet than I am.

I don't know.

But I'm just reading.

I never want to teach.

You know how we do a lot of expository teaching through books of the Bible?

It would have to be a Holy Spirit incident for God to tell me to teach through Revelation.

But I love reading through Revelation.

Just because there's so much there.

It's just crazy.

But I love in Revelation 5.

But John says that he's gathered there and the scroll is there.

There's no one worthy.

There's no one worthy that can be found to open up the scroll, to break the seal, and read it.

And he begins to weep.

And the Lord says, don't cry.

For someone is worthy.

His name is Jesus.

He has come.

And he has opened the seal.

And I pray today that he breaks the seal that many of us seem to put in our hearts at times.

He breaks that seal.

You know all the things that we tend to put on our callous lives and our callous hearts at times.

Whether it's being faithful to call to serve, faithful to just be in the fellowship, the blessing of the Bible.

But we praise the Lord Jesus that for God's severe love for the world, that He gave His only, only Son, His only darling Son, that whoever would believe upon Him with a visceral belief would not perish, but have eternal life. Eternal life. Well, what does that mean? Is it, well, how do you deal with the whole,

those He's elected, those He has predestined? I get that. I'm with you on that. You tell me who the elect are, and I won't share the love of God with me. God does not. But it's our job. It's our call. It's the mandate of our lives to go and share about this gift of love.

That has come in the form of God with me. That has come in the form of this beautiful baby that we celebrate this time of year. Worship team, come on up. You do the best job of keeping me from keep talking.

And so we give God the praise and the glory for that. And we pray that there is this morning, that if there's someone here today,

you've never had that assurance, you've never had that assurance in your heart that you've really surrendered your life to the Lord Jesus.

You know what, right where we are this morning, we're going to make it real simple. Maybe that's you this morning.

And so I'm just going to ask you just to, everyone to close your eyes right now this morning.

And if that's you this morning, I just simply want you to pray quietly to yourself.

Father, I come before you today and I admit that I have sinned and I admit that I have fallen short of all you desire for me.

I surrender my heart and my life to the work and the love of the Lord Jesus Christ this day.

And though I may not know all of what that means, I pray that today you would teach me what that means to walk in that obedience.

I thank you for the promise of the word that tells us that who the Son sets free, he is free indeed.

And I trust today in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It's that simple this morning, friend.

It's that easy, but it's not cheap.

It's the most costly thing God could have ever done for each and every one of us.

And so this Christmas season, I pray that we never forget the joy of our salvation.

We never forget those spiritual markers in our lives where we know and we have felt and we have seen the touch of the Lord in our lives.

And we give thanks and praise to the one that the shepherds came and rejoiced over.

To the one that the wise men came and laid gifts at their feet.

To the one that Mary said, who am I that you would choose me, but your will be done to your servant as you have said.

To the one that said, I have come to give them life.

Life in abundance.

Life in abundance.

Life in abundance.

And, Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son that the Son might glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given to him.

And this is eternal life. That they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

I glorify you on earth, having accomplished the work that you have gave me to do.

And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence and the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world.

Yours they were, and you gave them to me.

And they have kept your word.

Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you.

For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them,

and have come to know in truth that I came from you.

And they believe that you have sent me.

Yes, Lord, we believe that you have sent Jesus.

We exalt his name today, and we give thanks and praise in the name of the Father,

in the name of the Son, and the name of the Holy Ghost.

And all God's people said, Amen.

I pray you have a very Merry Christmas.

Let's stand and rejoice in the praise of the Lord this morning.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

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Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

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