For God So Loved the World

Carter, from the historic Times Square Church in New York City.

It's all summed up in one statement in the Bible it says God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might say that's Carter, and from Times Square Church in New York City.

In today's message Carter will remind us there is a love in the heart of God for you that it is so deep so fast so high, so why that are natural minds can never on this side of eternity begin to understand truly what an amazing God we have. Let's join Carter now as he helps explain the meaning of for God so loved the world can understand the meaning of life.

You can find the reason that you were born you find out would like is about. You can find the strength to escape the inescapable in their own strength.

You can find a supernatural life that is not available, even in our best intentions in the strongest of our human efforts. None of us can attain to it the life that God offers to Jesus Christ as a miraculous life. It's a life that causes you to sing the song as David talked about being in the state of his life where it was sinking down into a clay of miry clay that he couldn't get out of, but it's a God raised me up and he set me upon a rock, which means a solid place, a place of firmness, a place that's not insecure and he put a new song in my mouth and he said many people will see this song and would begin to fear God and believe in him.

The song that God offers to those who turn to Christ is not a song that is just song with our models but it's a song that can be seen. It's a change of the entire person. It's a change of our being is something that God does is not something that we do. We don't decide to be godly because none of us have the power to do it. God created us in the beginning. In his own image and in the original text.

That means he created us with the same attributes were not God, but he created us with the characteristics of God. The ability to think and reason and feel and it was godly until sin entered into the human race through the first created man Adam and his wife Eve, and that sin was passed on to all generations and brought upon all people, a death, and inability.

In a sense, to escape our own corruption.

Paul the apostle said it this way, the things I want to do the things that I know are right. I can't find the power to do them.

Even though I know that I should be doing them. There's a law inside of me at work because of the law of death. It's a law of sin and alive death that's at work inside of me causing me to do what I know is wrong to the point sometimes were people despair. They don't know how to get out and Paul said it the way that many people say it in our time, and every other time. Who will deliver me.

How will I ever get free from this body of death.

How will I escape the depression we heard about the monster swallowed me, especially at this time. How will I ever be healed from the heart that is in my heart from the betrayal that I experienced as a child or as a young person or in a relationship or from people that you once trusted returned on you and want to do so deeply in your heart you don't know if you'll ever recover. Will I ever stop being afraid of the dark, destined to jump at every noise that surround me. Why do I have this impending sense of that. I'm in a place that is not safe with it. It's not comfortable why do I hate life the way that is why can't I seemingly find the meaning of life.

Why is it everything that I tries seems to cause me to spiral down deeper into practices that are no I was taught I once believed thwarted the optimism that I once had as a child grow cottages slide through my fingers. How did I become the person that I am today. When did this all happen and how do I get out of this.

I have a sense in my heart that I was born for something more than this, I felt that as a child, even at times I felt God calling me.

It's as if he was walking right beside me but somehow his voice eluded me, and I ended up on another pathway in his voice, although still there is very very distant. I don't even know some people would say how I got here, how do I become the person that I feel in my heart that I was born to be escape this body of death. How does this in the sin being defined as wrong ways of doing things wrong ways of thinking wrong ways of living wrong ways of acting wrong ways of reasoning everything that came into the human race because of the sins of our first parents against a holy God.

How do I escape the borders of this corruption. Now if you and I were God, and the person beside because is three persons in the triune God very distinct but equal to God, and one it's one of the great mysteries of God that is manifested in three persons.

The father the son and the Holy Spirit.

I think that you can be thankful to do and I and the person beside you are not God.

If we work things would be a lot different in this world is not affect his world wouldn't be if you and I and the person beside you were God and we look down at our own creation created in the image, in our own image with the attributes of God completely corrupted God looks down upon the people of this earth and even in our best efforts to be good. He sees corruption all that sin. The Bible says and come short of the glory of God is not one right standing. A righteous, no, not even one among men in our own strength. If you are not the person beside you were God, I'm going to be in India on one of the congregations.

I'll be preaching and I'm told today is going to have child sex slaves in it that I brought the church on Sunday by one of the local ministries. If you and I and the person beside you were God, there'd be some dead people in India who abuse these children due in on the person beside you were God and we look down from heaven and we we witnessed the corruption, the constant corruption the corrupted reasoning of humanity that the fact that people are choosing who should live and who should die based on convenience trying to cover up sin and the consequences of sin look down at the arrogance of Nations trying to govern without God looked down at inhumanity that man commits against man atrocities committed in various names and for various reasons. If you and I the person beside you were God, we would have destroyed this earth by now. But God would be just if he did, he could have done it. When Adam sinned the good of the good.

It just folded it all up because he clapped his hands together and turned to cosmic dust and re-created again of world and more created beings in the image of God and the question.

The question comes to mind is why that why didn't he do it. Why didn't he and why doesn't it. Why does he look seemingly sin go unabated. What why is this wise atrocity happen why there's so many wrongs committed in the world. It's all summed up in one statement in the Bible it says God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. Paul said, who will deliver me from this body of death you want to know why God hasn't destroyed the world and of course the world will destroy itself without the intervention of God. The Bible bears witness to that we have weapons now. I believe that only the hand of God holds us back from destroying ourselves 17 times over as a planet. The only reason God didn't do this is because there's a loving heart of God for you that is so deep it's so fast. It's so hot it's so wide that our natural minds will never on this side of eternity begin to understand God so loved you in your struggle God so loved you in your misunderstanding God so loved you and your misrepresentation for God so loved you when you were abuse of the were the beers are God so loved you when you were doing right in God so loved you when you were doing wrong. God so loved you, that he was not willing to lose you and looking down at his own creation, God was not taken by surprise because the Scripture tells us that he foreknew what was going to happen in this world. God so loved you, that he sent his son Jesus Christ into the world to be nailed to a cross because the price had to be paid for the wrong things that you have done and I have done it. Another good price or we could not be made back into right relationship with God and God so loved you, that he was not willing to lose you. So he took his only son and send them into the world to suffer rejection to be spit on by his own fallen creation to be whipped. And to be bruised, to be misunderstood to be maligned to be called the son of the devil. All of these things and he was willing to endure because he didn't want to lose you.

He saw you he foreknew that you were going to be born. Nothing touches God by surprise, you're not a fluke of the universe, he allowed you to be conceived no matter what the circumstance was that brought you into this world is so loved you the let this world go on and he lets it exist as it is today because he knew you were going to be born, and he knew you would be here and he wanted you back to himself, not just for time, but for all of eternity. God so loved you it was willing to break the power of sin. The power that separates you from God, the power that makes us other than what we were created to be God so loved us that he sent his son to die on the cross to pay the price for all the wrong that we've committed God so loved us that he sent his Holy Spirit. You heard about it. Those are crying out for living relationship with God when sin has been dealt with God's Holy Spirit comes and takes up residency literally inside of you and changes you from the inside out. God so loved doing God so loved me he was willing to give us the power to be the people that we always knew we had been called to be God so loved you, that while his son died of the cross and what is Holy Spirit and come to give us strength to be people that could truly walk in living relationship with him. God the father said while you are down there doing this I am going to prepare a place for those who turn to me through Jesus Christ. In my father's house Jesus and are many mansions I go to prepare a place for you. The more I am, there you may be also. Not only freedom in time but hope forever in eternity with God and all that that represents free from the penalty of death free from the penalty of separation from God and brought into a living relationship with God through faith in that one atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. 2000 years ago.

This is not some religious pipedream were talking to about this is more real than life itself. I sat in the seat of skepticism. Once just like some of you are. I had somebody tell me these truths that I'm trying my best to convey to you and those of the testified and tried to convey to all literally blew smoke in the persons face, figuratively speaking, challenged everything he said that he believed feeling that this had to be too good to be true, it couldn't quite be that easy. Somehow portraying that I was quite happy to be the person I was. Which course was a lie because inwardly I hated myself I hated what I was becoming a hated some of the things I was doing and seemed powerless to stop doing a new us credit for something more than I was becoming.

There's an inner knowledge in my heart that I was created for more than what I had become.

On the off chance that what I was hearing was true. I pulled over on the side of the road May 12, 1978 and I said Lord Jesus if what my friend is telling me is the truth. If this is true if what I'm reading in the Scriptures is right and I read these words in the Gospel of John that I'm reading. If this is true.

If I can be made in right relationship with God of my sin can be forgiven if the patterns of behavior can be broken if I can become another person than the person I'm becoming.

Then I invite you and Jesus to come into my life and be my Lord and Savior. I give my life to. That's all I pray that's all I knew how to pray. I've shared with many here before but I drove to work as a police officer at the time I work my afternoon shift, I went home after midnight.

I slept that night. I didn't feel any different. Nothing in change inside of me. There were no bells was no tingling feeling I didn't feel like loving anybody didn't feel any different, but as God lives.

I woke up the next morning, and when my feet touched the floor. I can't tell you how, but I knew I was a different man.

Something had happened in the God that he didn't destroy the world before I had a chance to receive him as Savior. Thank God that Jesus didn't decide to end it all yesterday because of your denied and you not say the only thing would be ahead of you is an eternal darkness without God in all the anguish and all the sorrow forever. That represents God so loved you elects the world along because God loves you and is not willing to lose anyone that has been created in his image one day. If you have the sense to receive Christ as your Savior. You stand at the throne of God and one day you'll see a lot of considered measurable. It has no beginning and has no and it is no hide has no depth is beyond understanding.

Love some powerful cannot believe that's what make health help because the sooner never received Christ will stand there and see his love and understanding for the first time in his life of our life, only to realize that there to be put away from this presence of God for all of eternity into what the Bible says is an outer darkness so thick you can talk to a place with no place with no way out of place with no comfortable place with nothing but anguish because we make the choice to live without God. When he opened his arms in the cross and offered us eternal life. That's the offer for you.

What more could he do he died on the cross he came among many raised daddy walked on water, dissected the binding proved conclusively was the son of God he made a declaration that forgiveness was there and the last words of his mother and father forgive them. That's why Jesus came that we might come back into right relationship with God again. You've heard the story you heard the testimonies.

There's something in your heart that bears witness that this is true this is right.

I don't know how I knew it I knew it I preached another countries prints audiences you've never heard this truth all their lives been raised in some form of religion that falls short of the glory of God.

But the first time there is truth. Tears came every man standing there with a semi-honest heart was able to sing.this is what I've been looking for all my life. I know this is true.

One time in South America with and as I was speaking, tears began to flow those autonomic people in the prisoners in the place, but maybe 80 or 90 don't remember the exact number but all I remember is that tears began to flow, and as it was speaking to me and whispered in my ear because I was just a young Christian. This is the first time.

Most of these men of never heard this truth with all the religious paraphernalia that was on you think they wouldn't give me the time of day, but I began to speak about the love of God, the cross of Jesus Christ the opportunity to receive open to receive life and suddenly the tears came. When I asked people to raise their hands who wanted to receive Christ in a Hindu was in prison. Every one went up in the press did not witness when I get up to speak. I have to trust in the witness of the Holy Spirit, God created you. So God has to be able to speak to your heart. In spite of the feebleness of our attempts to present the living God. He bears witness to what is true and bears witness in your heart you can be forgiven if you have the courage to acknowledge that you can get to heaven without him. You can do it in your own strength. All have sinned. The Scripture makes a conclusive and fallen short of the glory of God. There's only one way into eternal life, and it's through faith in Jesus Christ and what he did for you.

2000 years ago on the cross. There's no other way to change. There's no other way to know the sovereign supernatural change, but to receive Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to come into your life.

Just like helium and the balloon is not that Caesar's wagon describe suddenly your lifted. Suddenly you're able to to fly with everyone else around you is falling. The something different inside of you than that which is inside of every man or woman who doesn't know God. In spite of the best efforts to be good people and some of them are, but it still falls short of the glory of God. A new song comes into the heart of the new bounce in your step a new direction for your life and you are made into the person by the strength of God. The God is always destined you to be. It seems too good to be true doesn't seems too easy to be real. That's what I believed until the day that I had the courage to say Jesus if this is true. If I said if any, took me at that word because I was sincere. If it's true, I'll follow you if it's true, I want to is God if it's true Lord if it's true, I give my life to you if it's true I can be forgiven, changed, and function. I could talk and talked all night about what God is done what I want to suspend what a miracle it spent incredible. It's been, I was stone cold dead inside telling you I could go to a car accident. I could draw truck lines around the bodies in the pavement and go eat my lunch. It didn't bother me at all. Didn't care bro. Strange it.

I started to feel when I started to care about people devoted ticket. I feel a strange compassion in my heart. All of a sudden it was left with her before that there it wasn't me that you begin to know and then one night I went to a halfway house. It's a long story but I went to halfway house to see this motorcycle gang member that apparently given his life to Christ.

I didn't believe it was possible friend of mine told me that happens wind up going there in uniform and worsens sitting there. They were having a service in this halfway house. There was a heavy duty halfway house. A lot of people in done serious time and this was the kind of the waystation of it reintegrating into society, and they were all Christians in this place, and after this their service was over they laid their hands on me and the Holy Spirit came on me and I start to speak with other tongues, this what God promises to devices all operate. I'll give you the power to pray through you and this will shock to me of his ex-cons laid their hands on me and I was filled with the Holy Spirit mean was a Hells Angel form minutes incredible. The kingdom of God and you find yourself loving.

These people find yourself reaching out to people that you have nothing in common with you find yourself in the body of believers called the church of Jesus Christ of every race and culture and nation social standing, and suddenly there's a there's an affection in your heart for these people, which is supernatural.

It's not natural it's given by God and suddenly you get a taste for what God is willing to do in your life and you realize that you no longer bound by the things of the past are no longer governed by former wounds. There is no longer limited by what somebody or yourself is said about your life and suddenly you explode into the supernatural. By faith God begins to use you and your life begins to be a testimony of who he is in the earth because he does what only he can fill in the story that we tell is not about ourselves. The song we sing is not about ourselves is not about a church or religion. It's about Jesus Christ, the son of God, who died and gave his life for us. You find yourself if you turn to Christ tonight doing things you never believed would do associating with people you never thought you would associate with caring about situations that you couldn't get to sense what because God puts his Holy Spirit within you and you changed. I was so intrigued by that thought that I could be changed.

I hope that you're intrigued by this wealth changed into the man into the woman with God destined you to called it sin, but God gives it back and visit back in full measure gives it back with a song withhold in the future. It all starts by just an acknowledgment that I'm a sinner and I need a Savior. I need to be forgiven. I need God to come into my life through his son Jesus Christ. The message today has been brought to you by Carter Conlon from Times Square church.

For more information log onto TSC.NYC that's TSC.NYC plan to be with us next week for a call to the nation with Carter,