God So Loved The World

Christmas for the World: (Part I)

 

 

“GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD”

 

John 3:16-18

 

John 3:16-18

 

16) "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

 

17) For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

 

18) Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

 

 

            Christmas is celebrated differently in other parts of the world. And it is always interesting to find out some of the unique traditions others have adopted in their celebrations. For sure, Christians wherever they are will consider Christmas as the best time of the year.

            Unfortunately, as far as Christmas is concern, there are still many parts in the world where it is not considered a holy day. In these places, they do not have any idea what this day is all about; I think what is even worse is that many of them have not yet heard about Jesus Christ.  

            I believe this fact reflects our failure in fulfilling our mission to reach the world for Jesus Christ. After more than 2,000 years, there is still a large part of the world that needs to hear about Christ.       

            Because of this truth, I would like to begin a sermon series entitled, “Christmas for the World.” You see, when you examine our text today, there is a special emphasis on the word, “world.” Christ did not just come for a limited number of people. He came for everyone, regardless of gender, race, and age.  I hope our perspective of Christmas celebrations will include its missions piece. Since Christmas is about Christ; then, we should talk about His mission for coming here. Let’s revisit our text:

 

I           THE DEFINITION OF GOD’S LOVE:

 

            With all the attributes of God, His love would probably be one of the easiest for humans to understand because in one way or another we have experienced being the object of someone’s love. Although we need to highlight the fact that God’s love is the highest kind of love. Here are two acceptable definitions for God’s love:

Ø      It is His unselfish concern for the welfare of the person He loves.

Ø      It is His act of seeking the highest good of the person He loves.

 

When God declared His love to the world or to the sinful humanity He also has declared His commitment to do whatever is necessary to provide the help that we need, even if it would take sacrificing His own Son. Remember, we are the object of His everlasting love:

Jeremiah 31:3

 

3) The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.

 

 

            What was this kind of love?

Ø      Unconditional – He loved us despite all our sins and shortcomings.

1 John 4:9-10

 

9) This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10) This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

 

 

Ø      Unending – God’s love will never change and it will continue forever.

Romans 8:35, 38-39

 

35) Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

 

38) For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,

 

39) neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

 

            Our life’s circumstances or our life’s enemies can never cause God to stop loving us. His love will never end. Why does he love us so much? Is it because we are special? Listen to what a church father has said:

 

            “It is not that you have value and therefore God loves you; God loves, and therefore you are valuable.”

 

                                                            - Martin Luther     

 

            Yes, this is the kind of love that we have experienced from God. We should be eternally grateful for His love.

 

II         THE DIRECTION OF GOD’S LOVE:

 

            Our text clearly declares that God love is directed to the world. How do you perceive the world?

In the Bible, there are three usages for the “world”:

Ø      The Physical World

 

Ø      The Worldly System

 

Ø      The People of the World

 

 

Clearly, our main text refers only to all the people of the world. Yes, God loves all the people of the world and because of this, He gave His one and only Son to be the sacrifice for the sins of the world. Although salvation for the world was finished at Calvary , many are still dying without knowing and believing in Christ.  Here is the present status of the world with regards to the Gospel of Christ and Christian Missions:

 

Ø      World C = Those who claim Christ – 33%

Ø      World B = Those who have heard but rejected the Gospel – 42%

Ø      World A = Those who have never heard the Gospel – 25%

 

For the 33% who profess to know Jesus, this statistic includes all Christian groups including the cults. The world A happens to be in the 10/40 window of the world, which is considered the last frontier of missions. The number of these people can easily go as much as 1.7 billion people. Are you aware of the fact that these are the number of people in the world who have not even heard about Jesus Christ? There are so many of them. What is even sadder is when you begin to consider the imbalance with regards to the distribution of resources for missions in the world:

 

Ø      Sending of Missionaries:

 

·        World C – 91%

 

·        World B – 8%

 

·        World A – 1%

 

 

Ø      Bible Language Translations (Bibles)

 

·        World C – 73%

 

·        World B – 24%

 

·        World A – 3%

 

 

Ø      Missions Support (Money)

 

·        World C – 95%

 

·        World B – 4.5%

 

·        World A – 0.5%

 

 

 

Because of the present status of the world, it has been said that every 2.6 seconds there is one who dies who has never heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We cannot ignore what is going on in the world today in relation to the Gospel of Christ. Remember, God loves the world and I’m sure He doesn’t enjoy seeing people perishing in their sins.

2 Peter 3:9

 

9) The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

 

 

III        THE DEMAND OF GOD’S LOVE:

 

            Being the object of God’s unconditional and unending love, we are to respond by returning our love to Him.

1 John 4:19

 

19) We love because he first loved us.

 

 

            When God said, “He loved the world”, He gave His only son as a sacrifice for our sins. If we truly love God, our lives will surely show. One of the things we can show God we love Him is to love the object of His love – the sinful world. Praying for them and telling them what Jesus has done for them is the very least we can do to express to them that we love them because of God.

            Christmas can be a very self –centered celebration. I hope we can move from ourselves and think of the people whom we can reach for Jesus. Remember, Christmas is not just for us, it’s also for the world.