John 3. Light and Life is in the Son and the Father.

 Lent 4 mid way to Easter---  scripture:  Old Testament: Numbers 21:4-9;  Epistle: Epistle: Ephesians 2:1-10; Gospel: John 3:14-21     Sermon---" The Gospel Still Works"

Charles Spurgeon the famous Reformed Baptist in England said, "  We believe that the work of regeneration, conversion, sanctification,  and faith is not an act of man's free will and power, but of the might efficacious and irrestible grace of God."

I was re-reading my great-grandfather's commentary ( DR. G Campbell Morgan from London) on John, and came across this which I will use as an outline for the message:"Because God so loved He gave-1

and life comes through that Gift-2

and now the Light is shining-3"  ( Morgan on John)

1.  God so loved He gave.

The conversation before this is with Nicodemus , a ruler of the Jews, a Pharisee . He needed to see before he could believe ...there was a new birth needed.

We too need that before we can truly love and then give as does God.  We need a new birth from above....the spiritual birth.  The flesh cannot produce it.

God's character is to give and love when men love darkness rather than the light. 3:19

"Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." I Jn 4:10

4:16 tells us more..." God is love and the one abiding in love abides in God"

2.  Life comes through that gift.

Without life there is no hope...but life here and now gives us hope.

Have we ever been so hopeless that life did not seem worth living?

One of my favorite Easter hymns we can sing in a few weeks is " Because He lives"  One line stands out for me..." life is worth the living just because He lives"

A sermon I wish to quote says it, " We find ourselves today as a nation in the midst of transformation and crisis. Our banks are failing. Our industries are staggering. People are losing their jobs at record rates. No one knows if the government's remedies will work. And our minds are filled with anxious questions: Where do we stand? Will it end soon? Or has it just begun?

It would be easy for us to lose hope and to despair, as did the ancient Israelites. Indeed, today, as in ancient times, there seems to be no end of complaint and blame. Some fault the greed of Wall Street and business leaders for our problems. Others cite irresponsible politicians and world leaders. Yet few are willing to look in the mirror. We all feel the bite of our anxieties. Perhaps we too need a bronze serpent to gaze upon. Perhaps we too need to face our fears and learn once again to live." Rev. Frank Hegedus  ( and this was preached in 2009...how much more we need this today)

3:16 In Him there is eternal life.  

And we get eternal life in one way....the little greek word tells us how....It is the same word in  John 3:15 and 3:16

Believes in Him...the word is be persuaded or pisteuo

"pisteúō (from 4102 /pístis, "faith," derived from 3982 /peíthō, "persuade, be persuaded") – believe (affirm, have confidence); used of persuading oneself (= human believing) and with the sacred significance of being persuaded by the Lord (= faith-believing). Only the context indicates whether 4100 /pisteúō ("believe") is self-serving (without sacred meaning), or the believing that leads to/proceeds from God's inbirthing of faith."  ( biblehub.com)

3. Lastly the Light is shining.

In Him is life and that light is the light of men 1:4 of John.....He created all things and was in the beginning eternally with the Father, the Son is Eternal, and Divine.  He is human too as He was incarnated, became our flesh .  

This is a great mystery but if you deny it you don't have the Son or the Father....don't try and explain it away.  The Trinity is there in the Scriptures ....

Our problem is we try and understand God and His ways and that cannot be done.  We have to receive Him and His Word.  Without faith, we cannot please Him.

Do we have faith in Him and His Son?