Simplicity of the Gospel Videos


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I want to remind us of the perspective that Jesus, our Savior, had concerning His own death. Because I think it helps us appreciate it a little bit more. His death was 1) Purposeful, 2) Voluntary, 3) Joyful, and 4) Glorious.

Well, first of all, His death was purposeful. He recognized that He was going to die. John 12:27 says, “What shall I say, Father, do not let this hour come upon me. But that is why I came.”

The purpose of his death was also voluntary. It was a voluntary or volitional outpouring of His love, and it showed full and true submission to God, the Father. Romans 5:8, “for God demonstrates his love towards us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” In the garden, Jesus said three times to the Father, “not My will, but Your will be done.” In John 10:17-18 Jesus said, “The Father loves me because I’m willing to give up My life in order that I may receive it back again. No one takes My life away from Me. I give it up of My own free will. I have the right to give it up and I have the right to take it back.This is what my father has commanded me to do.”

His death was purposeful. His death was voluntary. His death was also joyful. Hebrews 12:2 says, “Who, for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and He sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Jesus was fully aware of the pain and the suffering that He would face at the cross, but He had his eyes on the joy, and that joy was purchasing our eternal destiny.

And then finally, Jesus considered death as the path to glory. In John 12:23 He said those words, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to receive great glory.” And this is an amazing verse to me because this is shortly before the passion week. This is shortly before He would go through all of that suffering, the betrayal, the arrest, the scourging, the piercing of his hands and feet, the crown of thorns on his head, and the gathering up the sins of the world that pierced His heart. He didn’t say the time has come for the Son of Man to be tortured and tormented and suffer for the sins of the world. No, He said, “the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” He ignored the suffering and kept his eyes on the glory. And if we can grasp the truth of that verse, it would totally change our perspective of the sufferings in our life.

So this is His perspective of His own death. He was born to die.

Gene Cunningham - May 28, 2022

Believe

When considering the Gospel of John, you may as well start at the first place that you probably would think of, and that is in John Chapter three. John chapter three is often referred to as the most loved gospel text, the best-known gospel text around the world. You know, I've traveled in somewhere over 50 or 60 countries, and I can tell you an interesting thing. No matter where we go, no matter we're in a big city someplace or whether we're in a remote village. Here's an interesting thing that you may not know. The verses that are most popular over here are the same ones that are popular over there. Verses that everyone all over appreciate and rely on are the same: Romans 8:28, Genesis 50:20, Proverbs 3:5-6. Everywhere we go, those same verses are the verses that people know and love. John 3:16, of course, is also known throughout the world. The tragedy is that so few take the time to really understand and believe it. Most people can quote, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Did you know that the word “believe” is used almost 100 times in the Gospel of John? There are 98 times where the answer to "how to have eternal life" is given, and it's given in one word, "BELIEVE." This is the word. It means to trust. The power is not in how strong your faith is. People say, I just don't have strong enough faith. It's not how strong your faith is. It's how strong the object of your faith is. If your faith is in Jesus Christ, who is omnipotent God your faith is strong enough. And it's in that context that Jesus now says, “For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. You know why this verse is so loved? I'll bet you can even guess the most loved Psalm. Anybody know the Psalm that is loved around the world more than any other? Psalm 23. It's a no brainer. What about the greatest parable? There's a parable that is loved, known, and loved all over the world. You can guess, it's "The Prodigal Son." So why Psalm 23? Why The Prodigal Son? Why John 3:16? Because they're all something a little child can understand, right? They're so simple. And they reach the little child that is in us.

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