“One Gave All”
John 3:1-16
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
As we think about this 242 anniversary of our independence and the great sacrifices that have been made to preserve and defend our freedoms I can’t help but think of the price that has been and is still being paid on our behalf. Over 1 million Americans have given their lives throughout our history so that we can worship in this place today. One of the most interesting pieces of history is what happened to our founding fathers when they signed the Declaration.
THE SIGNERS by Gary Hildrith
Have you ever wondered what happened to the fifty-six men who signed the Declaration of Independence? This is the price they paid:
Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons in the revolutionary army, another had two sons captured. Nine of the fifty-six fought and died from wounds or hardships resulting from the Revolutionary War.
These men signed, and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor!
What kind of men were they? Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants. Nine were farmers and large plantation owners. All were men of means, well educated. But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty could be death if they were captured.
As I thought about their sacrifice I remembered a phrase that a heard a while back; maybe you’ll remember it too. It is found on a black marble monument at Lakeview Cemetery Windom, MN. To honor veterans and the inscription goes like this: “All gave some, some gave all!” As I was thinking about this I was led to our text for this morning’s message and I modified it for our title: “One Gave All!” I invite you to join me as we mediate on this great text. First, as we read it we see:
I. A Great Sentiment
a. It’s source
The greatest love the world has ever known is the love that our creator God has for the creature that He created in His own image. He is the fountainhead from which this great love flows in fallen humanity. Two thoughts come to mind; He is only one that could love us the way that He does and He is the only one that would love us the way that He does.
b. It’s sort
Often we overlook the small words found in scripture but here we have a very important small word. It is the word “so” Again there are two things. It speaks of both the measure of His love and the manner of His love. We often say “I love you so much,” emphasizing the how much we love a person. Again, sometimes use the word so to indicate how we love, not how much.
The way that He loves
Is as fair as the day
That blesses my way with light
The way that He loves is as
Soft as the breeze
Caressing the trees at night
So tender and precious is He
Contented with Jesus I'll be
The way that He loves
By Elmo Mercer 1958
1 Jn 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
c. It’s scope
His love covers every single human being; everyone who has ever lived or ever will live; everyone, no matter who they are or what they have done. His love is an all-encompassing, inclusive, everlasting, unfailing love. You may feel that no one loves you but you would be wrong, the sovereign God of the universe, the one who created you, who knows your name, loves you for all eternity. His love for you will never diminish; you can’t do anything to make Him love you more or less. His love will never change.
II. A Great Sacrifice
a. It is redemptive
Rom 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
b. It is representative (for us)
2 Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
c. It is radical (life changing)
2 Co 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Saul of Tarsus was born to a devout Jewish family between 5 B.C. and 5 A.D. He was a Pharisee and a Roman citizen which made him an unlikely candidate to convert to Christianity in the early days of the religion. In fact, Saul originally did far more than refuse to convert. Saul was known for actively hunting and persecuting Christians. He was the man who held the coats of the mob that martyred Stephen and later described himself as trying to destroy the young Church. Yet Saul would become one of the most devout and influential Christians in history when he left Jerusalem and set out for Damascus. It was on that long road that he was blinded by a bright light and heard a voice asking one of the most famous questions in Christian history: “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Saul of Tarsus, of course, is better known as the Apostle Paul. As a Roman citizen, Paul was essential in establishing Christianity in Rome, and the story of his conversion to Christianity, from persecutor to apostle, continues to move Christians to this day.
Read more at http://www.beliefnet.com/faiths/christianity/5-famous-christian-conversions.aspx?p=2#dR4UFsYKEW8WsH4Q.99
As of 2008, Billy Graham’s estimated lifetime audience, including radio and television broadcasts, topped 2.2 billion. That means that approximately 2.2 billion people have heard the gospel from Billy Graham’s mouth. That’s hard to wrap your mind around. Billy Graham has shared the gospel with more people than anyone else in history, but do you know who shared the gospel with him? It actually is a series of events that has been traced over the years and starts out with one volunteer Sunday school teacher. Someone shared this story with me years ago, and it impacted me greatly.
“You can count the apples on the tree, but who can count the apples in a seed?” goes the old aphorism.
So it is with the influence of a single person. Take Edward Kimball, for an example. Never heard of him? Rest assured – most people have never heard of him. Kimball was a Sunday school teacher who not only prayed for the hyper boys in his class but also sought to win each one to the Lord personally. He decided he would be intentional with every single last one of them. Surely he thought about throwing in the towel. If you have ever taught the Bible to young boys, you know that the experience can often be like herding cats. One young man, in particular, didn’t seem to understand what the gospel was about so Kimball went to the shoe store where he was stocking shelves and confronted him in the stock room with the importance of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. That young man was Dwight L. Moody. In the stockroom on that Saturday, he believed the gospel and received Jesus Christ as his Savior. In his lifetime, Moody touched two continents for God, with thousands professing Christ through his ministry. But the story doesn’t end there. Actually that’s where it begins. Under Moody, another man’s heart was touched for God, Wilbur Chapman. Chapman became the evangelist who preached to thousands. One day, a professional ball player had a day off and attended one of Chapman’s meetings, and thus, Billy Sunday was converted. Sunday quit baseball and became part of Chapman’s team. Then, Chapman accepted the pastorate of a large church and Billy Sunday began his own evangelistic crusades. Another young man was converted whose name was Mordecai Ham. He was a scholarly, dignified gentleman who wasn’t above renting a hearse and parading it through the streets advertising his meetings. When Ham came to Charlotte, North Carolina, a sandy-haired, lanky young man, then in high school, vowed that he wouldn’t go hear him preach, but Billy Frank, as he was called by his family, did eventually go. Ham announced that he knew for a fact that a house of ill repute was located across the street from the local high school and that male students were skipping lunch to visit the house across the street. When students decided to go to interrupt the meetings of Mordecai Ham, Billy Frank decided to go see what would happen. That night Billy Frank went and was intrigued by what he heard. Returning another night, he responded to the invitation and was converted. Billy Frank eventually became known as Billy Graham, the evangelist who preached to more people than any other person who ever lived, including the Apostle Paul. You could continue following this trail and see where Graham and all of us started with the ministry of Jesus. Think about how far-reaching Christ’s message has gone. This fascinating chain of events was triggered by a Sunday school teacher’s concern for his boys.
III. A Great Salvation
a. The promise (whosoever)
God’s promise is as wide as His love! Anyone can be saved, no matter who it is. Yet you say, “pastor, you don’t know what I’ve done or where I’ve been and you would be right, but God does know and He wants to say you anyway, in spite of who you are or what you’ve done!
b. The prerequisite (believeth)
We need to understand the biblical concept of belief. It is possible to believe everything that the Bible says about Jesus Christ and not be saved. Many believe the information about Jesus. The Bible declares that, “the devils believe and tremble.” True belief involves making Jesus personally as the object of our belief and the result is transformation. Only this kind of belief will bring about salvation. Assent to a group of facts is not belief. We must assent, agree, accept, acknowledge and affirm the truth about Jesus and believe on Him personally.
Jesus said, “He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son hath not life.”
c. The prospect (eternal life)
I have a question for you this morning. If you receive eternal life when you believe on Jesus at what point does that eternal life begin? The answer is at the moment you believed! Pastor Jack Hyles once wrote that, “When the average person thinks of eternal life, the first thing that would enter into his mind is endless life. Certainly endless life is included in eternal life, but there is far more than endlessness to eternal life. It is not only endless, but it is boundless. It . . . [is] not just long continuation; it means life all the way on, all the way back, all the way up and all the way down . . . Eternal life is more than duration or longevity. It is also a quality of life . . . It is living now in the always . . . What a wonderful thing is eternal life . . . It is boundless, but not only will we have it forever; it is a quality of life that we have now.”
From Damian Phillips’ Sermon: Life Giver #3: Life in the Son
