Loving Like Jesus: A Picture of Love

April 20, 2014

Loving Like Jesus

A Picture of Love

John 3:1-21

(Advance Slide #1)

Introduction

A soldier was serving overseas received a ‘Dear John’ letter.

• Not only did the girl want to cut off the relationship, she also asked for her picture back.
• She said that she needed it for her new engagement photo for the local paper.
• He was upset but his fellow soldiers came to his rescue.
• They went around and collect all pictures of girlfriends and sent them to her with this note.
• “Find your picture and return the rest. For the life of me I can’t remember which one you were.”

There is a lot of power in a picture.

• They can say a lot, they are expressions of how much someone is loved.
• We have them on our walls, desks, and even in our wallets.

(Advance Slide #2)

John 3:16 is a picture or a snapshot of God’s love towards us.

• Think about it: it’s short, it’s simple, it’s to the point.

(Advance Slide #3)

• What does it mean for us?
• In Ephesians 2:1-13 we read of our life of transgression before Christ.
• Because of Christ mercy, loved us when we were dead, and saved us!
• So, what does it mean for us?
• We can build our life on Jesus!
• We now have hope!

Once we were at a distance from God, but Christ’s blood brings us near the Father.

This is how we learn how much God loves us!

(Advance Slide #4)

Text

14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:14-16

(Advance Slide #5)

Not only does this passage tell us how much God loved us, it also tells us why we need this love.

• But it doesn’t seem to make sense.
• A snake; being lifted up!
• What is Jesus talking about here.

(Advance Slide #6)

This can be found in Numbers 21:5-9

• Israel was rebelling against God.
• They were bickering and complaining, and their rebellion angered God.

• God had to get the attention of the Israelites.

5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” 6 Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. 7 And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live. Numbers 21:5-9

(Advance Slide #7)

What was Jesus telling Nicodemus?

• They had sinned against God...their sin poisoned them and destroyed their lives.
• We see the same things still today.

If that is the problem is there a solution?

• Yes, and it involved Jesus being ‘lifted up’ on the cross.
• Notice how Israel was healed?
• “And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.” vs. 9
• They had to look upon the serpent.
• There would also need to be faith that they would be healed.

Lesson

(Advance Slide #8)

What is Jesus saying?

• Ok, let’s go back here...Israel’s sin had poisoned/destroyed them.
• Sin does the same thing today!
• They only way for them to be healed was for this bronze serpent to be lifted up.

• The only way for there to be healing from our sin is for Him to be lifted up on the cross.
• This is an AWESOME picture of God’s love!

(Advance Slide #9)

In fact, this is the only way that we can love Jesus the way that He loved.

• We lift Him up in our lives, so that those who are healing can see Him in us!

Why stress this?

• People don’t lift Jesus up!
• We all know friends/family/coworkers who are struggling with something Drugs/alcohol, sexual sins, marriage problems, pride, doubt, greed…
• What do we do?
• There are wonderful programs that help people with these things.

(Advance Slide #10)

• When are we going to make Jesus a part of the conversation?

I can stand up here all day long and try to convince you that Jesus should be a part of the solution.

(Advance Slide #11)

• I (we) have to be convinced of it!
• Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” John 6:68-69
• We have to be convinced...of what?
• ONLY Jesus, ONLY His words, ONLY His way, and ONLY His blood can make us whole!
• Only through baptism and the blood of Jesus (John 3:5) can the poison of sin be removed and our destroyed lives be rebuilt.

This is the message we need to be telling people!

(Advance Slide #12)

• “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life”
• We cannot make people moral, but we can get people to see the love of God in Jesus so that they want to be moral.

Conclusion

God left us with this beautiful picture.

(Advance Slide #13)

• A picture of His love on the cross.

The message for this picture is as follows:

• “What every you have done, whatever you have become, it doesn’t matter...come to me”