[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alpharetta, Georgia. This is the next message in our series on the book of John entitled, Jesus is God.
[0:14] Only Jesus, amen? Take your Bibles if you would and open them to John chapter 10. John chapter 10, and I'm excited today to show you that Jesus clearly makes it plain, I am God.
[0:27] John chapter 10, if you would. I want to start with verse 24. John chapter 10, verse 24. I'm so glad that you're here today, and I'm glad today that you can realize this.
[0:40] You have to believe that Jesus is truly God come in the flesh. There is no salvation out of that. Jesus is God, the only God come in human flesh, and so that's our lesson.
[0:53] That's what the Bible teaches us very clearly today. Read with me in John chapter 10, and verse 24. The Bible said, Then came the Jews round about him and said unto him, How long dost thou make us doubt?
[1:05] If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. Underline that in your Bible. If you are the Christ, tell us plainly. By the way, the very next verse up there, Jesus said, I have told you.
[1:16] I have told you. But now, he's about to really, really make it clear. We're all in the same passage. All in the same chapter. Jesus is God. He is not the least bit embarrassed to make the claim he is God.
[1:29] He states it clearly. He states it plainly. He states it loudly. Look, if you would, in verse 30. The Bible said, I and my Father are one. Would you repeat that with me, please?
[1:40] I and my Father are one. Jesus makes it clear. He and the Father are one. He says it plainly. Jesus makes a plain claim.
[1:51] That he and the Father are one. That he is God. What's that mean? What's it mean for Jesus to say that he and the Father are one? I hope you'll make a couple of notes.
[2:02] If you attend regularly, something will help you know Jesus is God. I hope you'll write that down. This is not a claim that they are the same identical person.
[2:12] That's important. They are one, but they are not the same identical person. There is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. They are three persons, three people, and they are one person.
[2:26] And how do you understand that? You do it by faith. You just accept that God said that. Can you say amen right there? That was a pretty weak amen. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, three persons, all one God, all one person.
[2:41] If that's true, say amen. I hope you know that's true. That is true. You should know that by today. This when he says, I and the Father are one, speaks of unity, not identity.
[2:52] Unity, not identity. Jesus wasn't God the Father on earth. He was God the Son here on earth. Jesus was claiming to be God.
[3:03] That can't be a clear declaration of who he is. Jesus is God. But I want you to write this down somewhere. Jesus is equal to God, but he is separate from God the Father.
[3:15] They are not the same person. That's the Pentecostal oneness doctrine that gives the idea that God is just a manifestation as the Father. And another time he manifests himself as the Son.
[3:27] And another time he manifests himself as the Holy Spirit. And that is not biblically true. There are three persons. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Could you say that with me?
[3:37] Let's just make sure we got that. There is God the Father, God the, and God the, and by the way, they've all shown up, all three at the same time. Back in the book of Genesis, when God was creating the world, he said, let us make man in our image.
[3:51] That's a little bit confusing since there's only one God, but there wasn't us. But that's because there's God the Father. Help me. God the Father. God the, and God the, and by the way, when Jesus was getting baptized, if you recall, the Son was in the water, the Father was in heaven, and like a dove, the Holy Spirit, something like a dove, appeared there.
[4:11] So there was God in heaven, Jesus in the water, and the Holy Spirit there. Three people, all at the same time, all doing different things. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.
[4:21] Can I get that from you? The Trinity is God the Father, God the, God the, and by the way, they are three people. They are the same essence, but they're not the same person, though all three are one.
[4:35] And you need to know that, because Jesus is God, and he makes it clear. I and my Father are one. I and my Father are one. How do we know God?
[4:45] We know God through Jesus. We know God through Jesus. I don't have time to go into everything today, but you know that God's invisible, and Jesus is the, he is God in the flesh where I can see God.
[4:58] And when you have seen Jesus, you have seen the Father. That's what Jesus tells Philip in John chapter 14. We have forgiveness of sin in him, in Jesus, because the death of Jesus Christ had infinite merit.
[5:12] He died for all so that all could be saved. Jesus died. We have victory over circumstances because Jesus has victory over circumstances, and if we're born again, we're in him.
[5:23] We have victory over death because Jesus arose from the dead, and we are in him. So we have victory over all of that. It is Jesus who is God and making it clear.
[5:35] Look at verse 32, if you would. Jesus is going to say, clearly, I am God. He's going to prove his divinity. Look at verse 32. Jesus answered them, many good works have I showed you from my Father.
[5:47] For which of these good works, for which of these works, or those works, do you stone me? For which one of the works I've done, do you stone me? You see, they were calling into question that Jesus had done good works.
[5:59] No one could deny that Jesus had done good works. Verse 33, the Jews answered him saying, for a good work, we stone thee not. For a good work, we stone thee not.
[6:11] But for blasphemy, for mocking God, for acting like you could be God, for acting like a man sitting right here in front of us that we're looking at, you claim you're God, that's blasphemy, that's hideous, that's horrible.
[6:26] And it would be if it weren't true. But Jesus and the Father are one. Can you say amen? Jesus was God on earth right there in front of them.
[6:37] And look at verse 33. Read it with me. Verse 33, the Jews answered him. He's saying, for a good work, we stone thee not. But for blasphemy, because thou, you, being a man, you are a man.
[6:49] We see you, touch you, feel you, hear you. You make yourself, make us thyself God. He did a lot of good works. Just in the book of John, you have watched these good works that he did.
[7:00] He turned water into wine in John chapter 2. He healed a nobleman's son in John chapter 4. He healed a man who'd been lame for 38 years in John chapter 5. He fed 5,000 with five loaves in John chapter 6.
[7:13] He healed a man that was born blind in John chapter 9. And he claims, my works do prove who I am. My works do prove who I am. Look at verse 32. Jesus answered them, many good works have I showed you from my Father.
[7:30] Look at your Bible. Put that, mark that in your Bible. I did a lot of good works. But all the good works I did, I never claimed I did them. I never claimed they were me doing them. I did them from my Father. Circle that in your Bible.
[7:41] From my Father. And for which of these good works do you stone me? For which of these good works do you stone me? The works I do that come from my Father. Jesus was working the works of his Father.
[7:52] He was showing them the Father. Jesus says they should determine if these are the works of God. Y'all need to figure out, are these the works of God? Look at verse 37. Got your Bible?
[8:02] John chapter 10 verse 37. If I do not the works of my Father, then don't believe me. Look at that. You see that? He said, you've been watching me. You've been seeing what I've been doing. If I'm not doing God's work, and if these miracles don't come from God, then don't believe me.
[8:17] Verse 38. But if I do, but if I do, though you believe not me, believe the works. If you don't, if I am doing them, you better believe the works that you may know.
[8:30] And believe that the Father is in me, and I in him. You know what he said? He said, my works tell you something. I wish you'd look at verse 38. I wish you'd mark it. Here's what he said. My works are telling you something.
[8:41] Look at verse 38. Though you believe not me, believe the works. Put a circle around that. Believe the works. Believe the works. Believe the miracles. Believe what you see me do. You saw me feed 5,000 men, not counting women and children.
[8:54] You saw me heal a guy that had been lame for 38 years. You saw me turn water into wine. You saw all these things. Everybody knows all I'm doing. And by the way, John hadn't even recorded everything. Because when John gets through writing the book, he goes, I'd have recorded it all.
[9:05] But the world wouldn't have held the book if I'd have done it. And here's what he says. Look at it. That you may know. That you may know and believe that the Father's in me and I in him.
[9:19] Nobody can talk like that. That is utterly ridiculous unless you're Jesus. He said, the works tell you he's in me and I in him.
[9:30] The Father and I are one. I am God. I am God. Go with me if you would down to verse 34.
[9:43] In verse 34, Jesus answered them, is it not written in your law? I said, ye are gods. If he called them gods into whom the word of God came, the scripture cannot be broken.
[9:55] Now we should just write this down real quickly. Because today I want to establish two things extremely clearly for you in your heart and your mind. The first thing I want to establish for you is that Jesus is God.
[10:07] Jesus is God. Look at the verse that's on the wall that you've been, Brother Trent's been trying to get you to memorize all along. But these are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
[10:18] That believing you might have life through his name. Jesus is God. He is the Son of God. He is the Messiah. He is the Christ. He is Jesus come. But the second thing is that the Bible is the word of God and can be fully and completely trusted.
[10:36] And so right here in the middle of the discussion, Jesus immediately says, you guys know the book, don't you? You guys are people of the book, aren't you? So let's go see what the Bible says. And he quotes an Old Testament thing that you asked me a question about last Sunday night.
[10:49] And I said you'd get an answer this morning. Look at what the Bible says in John chapter 10, verse 34. Jesus answered, is it not written in your law? And their law, by the way, was the Old Testament.
[11:00] That's a way of saying, wasn't it written in the Old Testament? And I said, you, ye are gods. If he called them gods unto whom the word of God came and the scripture can't be broken.
[11:11] And then he's going to go on to say, certainly I can say who I am. But look, if you would, it's Psalm chapter 82, verse 6. That's what Jesus is quoting. Psalm chapter 82 and verse 6.
[11:21] Jesus said, I have said, you, ye are gods and all of you are children of the most high. He was quoting an Old Testament scripture.
[11:32] The word God was being referred to in Psalm chapter 82. And you need to go study it. It's referring to judges. Judges like the legal system. And you got the Supreme Court and you got the Georgia Supreme Court and the appellate court and the United States Supreme Court.
[11:47] The court, they were being referred to as judges. And that was a reference to the power and influence that God had allowed them to have in their society. If you read the passage, God's talking to the judges.
[12:00] And he says, you guys need to judge right. You need to realize that you're little g-gods. You have big shot authority. You have lots of power. Just like they would have in our country in the Supreme Court. The judges can make big decisions.
[12:12] They hold the power of life and death in their hands. And that was a term they used. And he was referring to them as gods, little gods, little g-gods. They were judges. And they were being given instructions about how to judge.
[12:24] These judges acted as judges making decisions on behalf of God. How much more does Jesus have a right to use the word God if a judge has been called that in the Old Testament?
[12:35] He said, even in your own Bible, if you know your Bible, they use the term gods referring to judges. And he said, if I want to tell you that I'm the son of God, and you've seen all the works I've done, and I'm telling you, I and the Father are one.
[12:48] I'm telling you we're the same. I'm telling you he's in me, and I'm in him. And I'm telling you, if you don't believe me, you can't have eternal life. He said, I can say that as much as any of them could ever say it.
[13:01] Jesus had not only done good works, great works, but he even had biblical precedence in using the words that he did. And Jesus is God.
[13:12] He said, I've done nothing wrong, just the works of my Father. And for which of these do you all want to judge me? You guys have been watching me. We're getting close to the end of his life now.
[13:24] He's had three years or better of ministry. He said, you tell me what I've done wrong. I've only done the words, works of my Father. I didn't even do anything wrong in my words when I said that about God.
[13:35] He said, fact is, if you knew your Bible and knew Psalms 82.6, you knew the words already been used. Similar to how I use it. They reject Jesus as God because of their sin, not the lack of evidence.
[13:47] They reject Jesus as God because of their sin, not the lack of evidence. I'd like to just stop for a second and tell you this. If today you have a problem believing that Jesus is God, if today you have a problem accepting that Jesus is 100% God, fully God.
[14:04] In the Bible, it says that if you have a problem accepting that today, it is not the evidence. It's not what the Bible says. It's not clear Bible teaching. It is you rebel about anybody being able to say they're God.
[14:17] And Jesus is God. It is not a lack of evidence. The Jehovah's Witnesses want to rebel against that. The Mormons want to rebel against that. Everybody wants to rebel against that. Jesus is not a God.
[14:28] He is the Son of God. He is God in human flesh. People should throw off their rebellion and become his disciples. Jesus has spoken plainly.
[14:40] He has said, I am God. The Father and I are one. He is equal to God. But before I leave that, let me give you just three little things about believing real quickly. Three little things.
[14:51] You see, when we believe, there are like three levels of belief. Because we kind of throw that word around loosely, don't we? You see, I believe in Russia. I've actually been there.
[15:03] I've seen the country. I believe in Russia. I believe there is a Russia. I know about it. You believe what you know to be facts. You believe that two plus two is four. Why? Because it's a fact.
[15:14] You've learned the facts. You know the facts. You believe the fact. Then there's a second kind of believing. We believe in stuff that we don't see too well. And we use that term often when we talk about believing. For example, we believe in America.
[15:26] And we believe in motherhood. And we believe in marriage. And we believe in a lot of good things. But Jesus is calling on you to believe on him. To trust in him. To believe and commit yourself to him.
[15:38] That's what he's calling for us to do. You see, it's not a... All right, I believe Jesus did exist. Because you could be here today. And with all your heart say, I do believe in Jesus. Like I believe in America.
[15:49] And apple pie. But that's not what he's calling on you to do. You could say, I believe in Jesus. Like I do Russia. Or two plus two. Because you're saying with that. That you believe in some facts.
[16:00] But it's not about facts. It's about complete and utter trust. It's about when you step out into something. It's when you... You know, you trust an airplane more than you trust in Jesus. And here's what real salvation works.
[16:11] It is, I'm getting in that airplane. I'm going to trust this airplane to take me off. It is, I believe that Jesus is the only way to go to heaven. He's the only way to satisfy God. He's the only way to have my sins forgiven.
[16:23] And I am trusting what Jesus did on the cross. I believe on Jesus. I trust on Jesus. And I leave everything else behind. It is Jesus. Only Jesus that I trust.
[16:35] Jesus. And only Jesus. The first thing he said was, I'm the son. I'm God the father. I'm God in the flesh. God the father. God the son. And God the Holy Spirit.
[16:45] I'm God in the flesh. I am the Christ. I'm the sent one. I'm the Messiah. I am. They got mad because they said, you are making yourself to be a God. And he ends up saying, well, I am. I am. Because I am.
[16:57] I am. And today I believe with all my heart that no one else could have ever gotten me to the father. I believe that no one else could have ever satisfied God with my sins and a forgiveness that he offers.
[17:09] I believe that no human being, no church, no religion could have ever cleansed me and purified me. But when God came in human flesh, God the son went to the cross and died on the cross. His death on the cross, his shed blood provides infinite salvation.
[17:22] I can be saved. My sins can be forgiven because God died. Jesus, the son, God the son died on the cross. And my sins were paid for.
[17:35] If you believe that, say amen. That's the whole key. Jesus is God. Jesus is God. What are you judging for? He said, look at me. I've done the works and my father's those works.
[17:46] I've done words and the words are even in the Bible. And I don't know what you guys are wanting to gripe and complain about. And he said, and I've done anything. Here's the real question. Are you going to believe? Are you going to believe? He said, if you don't believe me, believe the works.
[18:00] If you don't believe me, believe the works. When you believe the works that you might know. Believe that you might know. The second thing I want to take you to is this. We should write this down somewhere.
[18:11] Where Jesus says the scriptures can't be broken. Jesus says the scriptures can't be broken. And I hope that you'll mark that down.
[18:22] And you have that remark there in your Bible. But Jesus said the scriptures cannot be broken. And that's in verse 35. He said, if he called them gods unto whom the word of God came. And the scripture cannot be broken.
[18:34] Now that's something that we could kind of lightly pass over. Because it's kind of like embedded in the text. And it's kind of like he's just saying he is God. And he just throws that one phrase in. But I just can't go past that.
[18:46] I'll just be honest with you. I just can't skip over that. I want you to know we have the Bible. I want you to know that God's word is true. I want you to go home knowing. That we're not basing this on what Baptists say.
[18:58] We're not basing this on what some theologian said. We're not basing this on what the apostle said. We believe with all of our heart we have the word of God. And you can know what God said.
[19:09] And it is the authority of God. And Jesus said the scripture couldn't be broken. You should not be embarrassed that you carry a Bible. You shouldn't be embarrassed that everything you believe and say is based on the Bible.
[19:20] You shouldn't let people run you in a corner because you believe the Bible. Jesus didn't. Jesus constantly said stuff. And I'm going to show you some of it from the Bible. Jesus was a frequent Bible quoter.
[19:33] He was a Bible thumper. He read the Bible. He quoted the Bible. He said I got this from the Bible. This comes from the word of God. And some of you are almost embarrassed. You know you got so much money now.
[19:44] You're embarrassed by Bible. You ought not be embarrassed by Bible. It's the only way we know God. Can you say amen right there? Look if you would in your Bible please. Jesus accepted the Old Testament as trustworthy.
[19:57] You can write that down somewhere. Now he didn't have the New Testament written for him already. He knew the Old Testament because it is his word. He knew the New Testament also even though it wasn't written yet because he is God.
[20:09] But at the time he's alive he is quoting and he's going to quote lots of times Old Testament. And in this argument he immediately says, Oh, y'all want to nail my height for saying the word God like that?
[20:21] You want to nail my height for using the word God? Well, can I remind you of Psalms 82.6. Have you read your Bible yet? In Psalms 82.6 the Bible says, I have said ye are gods and all of you are the children of the most high.
[20:36] He immediately quoted scripture. Well, I like that. I think it would be good if you learned to do that. I think it would be good if you learned a new language. Bible language.
[20:47] Learned how to know what God says, where he says it, when he says it, and why he says it. The word of God can't be broken. Jesus said that. Look at 2 Timothy 3.16. 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 16.
[20:58] You ought to know this by heart. But look what the Bible says very clearly. All scripture is given by inspiration of God. All scripture is God breathed.
[21:09] All scripture came from God. All scripture is the word of God. All scripture is from him. It's not man. You'll find that I often say, Moses wrote it down, but it was God who said it.
[21:21] This is the gospel of John. It's doing the writing here. But he's a writer and the author is the Holy Spirit. This is the book of God. In 2 Timothy 3.16, the Bible says, All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.
[21:39] That ought to be very clear to you. We have the word of God. We believe the word of God. We have infallible scriptures. We can trust God that he has spoken clearly.
[21:50] And we have an inerrant, indestructible, inspired book. Jesus quoted the Old Testament and used it as authoritative. I just want you to realize this. Our Savior, our Lord, the founder of our church, the head of the church, regularly used the Bible.
[22:08] And I've only picked a handful of those so I don't bore you today or sound like a college professor with you today. But Jesus always liked to quote the scripture. When he started his ministry, when he first walked into the synagogue that day, he said, Hand me the scroll.
[22:23] And they handed him a scroll. And Isaiah, they handed him Isaiah chapter 61, verses 1 and 2. And he quoted or read those two verses and began his public ministry. That's found in Luke chapter 4, verses 18 and 19.
[22:35] When he got ready to start his ministry, he opened the Bible. He opened the word of God. He quoted the word of God and said, this was talking about me and I'm here now. He was a man of God.
[22:45] He was a man of the Bible. When he was being tempted in Matthew chapter 4, verses 1 through 11, and the devil came to him and the devil was trying to get him to turn rocks into bread. You remember the story, throw himself off the temple.
[22:56] You know what he did? Three times he said, God's word says, but what he was quoting was Deuteronomy. Same book you got. Deuteronomy says, Deuteronomy says, Deuteronomy says, the word of God says, I trust it.
[23:07] I believe it. Why would he quote it if he didn't believe it? He believed the Bible. You ought to believe the Bible. Hey, he believed the Bible. You ought to believe the Bible. Can you say amen right there? I'm really tired of your embarrassment of the scriptures.
[23:19] There ought to be no embarrassment here. He said, I believe the Bible. I believe the Bible. When he cleansed the temple, he quoted the scriptures. Go read Mark 11, 15 through 17. And you'll find he quoted scripture when he did that.
[23:31] He said, my house shall be called a house of prayer. He was quoting Old Testament scripture. He reminded his disciples he's been dead and buried and rose again. And he's walking down the road to Emmaus. And he says to them, hey, boys, Luke chapter 24, 25 through 27.
[23:45] He said, go find what the scriptures say about me. Go read what the prophets said about me. I'm a man of the book. I'm a man of the book. Do you understand? The God's people ought to be people of the book.
[23:57] Can you say amen right there? Amen. You ought to know the Bible. You ought to believe the Bible. You ought to be ashamed of the Bible. You ought to be studying the Bible. You ought to be able to trust the Bible.
[24:08] How do I know anything I know? I know it from the Bible. Jesus taught that the scripture would never fail or lose their truth and authority. Jesus taught the scriptures would never fail or lose their truth and authority.
[24:19] In Matthew chapter 5, verses 17 and 18, he's preaching. And he says this, 5, 17. Think not that I'm come to destroy the law or the prophets. I'm come not to destroy but to fulfill.
[24:30] He said, you guys think I came to throw 39 books away? You guys think I came to throw the Old Testament in the garbage? You are crazy. I didn't come to destroy anything. I came to fulfill it.
[24:42] And then in verse 18, he said, for verily, for truly, I say to you, I'm telling you the truth. Get this clear. Till heaven and earth pass. One jot or one tittle shall in no way pass from the law.
[24:53] Till all be fulfilled. Jesus said, not even a little bitty, little bitty accent mark. A little bitty dot on an I in our terms will not even fail.
[25:06] My word is the word of God. And my word can be trusted. You can trust the word of God. You can trust the word of God.
[25:17] It cannot be broken. In Jeremiah chapter 23 and verse 29, the Bible says, is not my word like as a fire? Set the Lord in like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces.
[25:28] Could I just say to you that the Bible is awesome? The Bible is powerful. The Bible changes. So many of you, you're witnessing to somebody and they question the Bible and all of a sudden you panic.
[25:42] And you're like, well, so you don't believe the Bible, but I don't know what to do. You know what I say? Just go ahead and quote it to them anyway. Because it's alive and it's quick and it's powerful.
[25:54] That means it's alive and it's powerful and it's able to change hearts. When people want to attack the Bible with me, it would be just like a thief breaks into your house and you're pointing a gun at him.
[26:04] You got a 40 caliber pistol pointed straight at him and the guy looks at you and says, I don't believe that's a real gun. You know, you don't have to discuss it. Just pull the trigger. He'll figure it out. No, this is a real gun.
[26:15] Don't you rob me. It's a real gun. It's made by Ruger. It really is. It's got 15 shots in the clip. Let me explain that to you. You don't do that. You pull the trigger. Say amen. You got the word of God.
[26:26] You got a sword. Sling it. You got a sword. Stab them. You got a sword. Put the Bible to work. It'll do the job. The scriptures, he said, cannot be broken.
[26:38] The scriptures, he said, cannot be broken. You should know that the only way you know God is from the word of God. Anytime anybody attacks the scriptures, could I ask you how you know God? Can I ask you how you know God?
[26:52] You know how you know God? You know him from the word of God. What do you know about God you didn't get from the Bible? What do you know about God you didn't get? How do you know Jesus died on the cross? Bible. How do you know Jesus was a virgin born?
[27:03] Bible. How do you know Jesus died on the cross? Bible. How do you know Jesus rose again? Bible. when anybody attacks the bible they're attacking everything i don't put up with people attacking the bible it's the word of god it's the way i know my father it's the way i know the son it's the way i know the holy spirit it's the way i know what's truth it's the word of god to attack the word of god is to attack god personally because all you know about god is from the word of god by the way god's word has proven itself true always and it always will they can try to disprove it all they want but they never will i love reading the old testament and i love reading the old testament because you see god's word speaking about things long before science ever knew them there's also there's a ton of them i'll only name three or four of them to you real quickly but can i just tell you that that nearly four thousand years ago a guy wearing sandals and a robe walking around in the desert following a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night knew stuff that scientists didn't learn till about three or four hundred years ago and your scientists who denied there was a god were so dumb it took them 37 years 37 hundred years to figure out what god already knew how in the world did an ignorant moses an ignorant preacher how did he know those things egypt didn't know them because they didn't they didn't tell us about it they didn't get it into society they didn't know it scientists didn't know it but moses did how about this the life of the flesh is in the blood you know we figured that out did you know just a couple hundred years ago they bled presidents and everybody else they used to put leeches on them they'd say he's looking a little sick today let's take some more blood and every day they take a little more blood and say boy he's really looking sick let's take some more blood before long he fell over dead they're like i don't know what happened to him we got all the blood out of him man they should have read the bible they'd have found out in the bible that the life's in the blood that's pretty good stuff say amen of course i didn't write down here my favorite one i might i might tell you that one anyway by the way in the old testament it's very clear being unclean is contagious boy you read the old testament you say where'd all these dumb rules come from dumb if they would build that if they did if they followed old testament principles about in the hospitals they'd save a whole lot of lives they said hey if you touch something dead you were you're to wash and you're unclean till the even you went on night time before you touch anything you know why don't you because you got germs on you it didn't say that but that's why because god said hey you're unclean did you know if you if you were if you had a dead animal to die and touch your your your something you were going to eat he said throw it away don't you eat it you know why don't you because god already knew stuff moses is sitting there going i don't know why we got to follow this rule don't make sense to me just a dead animal falling on it but he said there's some reason you're not supposed to keep a uh you're not supposed to keep a clay pot that's got some blood from a dead animal in it he said don't keep it now we all know why because we're smart we finally figured out 3700 years later we finally figured out that god was telling moses be real careful because that'll leave contagions in it that'll leave germs in it and you got to break that pot by the way you got a house and some kind of some kind of stuff starts growing on the wall in your house call the priest the priest is to come and say about get out of the house and he's looking at this stuff see what color it is it's like mold growing you know they you heard about mold hadn't you they figured that out in the last few years moses doing about it 4 000 years ago i don't know how he knew it yeah i do know how he knew it you see he had the word of god see god said moses you'll never figure this out in fact it's all of your human race is going to be working on this for 4 000 years but if you go ahead and write it down you'll be way ahead of time he said go in the house look see what color it is see if it goes away if it goes away hey if it's in there scrape it off and get everybody out of the house and come back in a week or two and see if it's grown back if it's grown back you can scrape it one more time maybe but tell you what if it's grown back you can tear the house out and get everybody away from it that's pretty good stuff you say
[31:05] amen the bible's the word of god the bible's the word of god don't leave food till the next day don't leave food till the next day he taught them that don't you leave that food till the next day you leave that food they say you're liable to get you're liable to get sick keep the food covered and this is my favorite i shouldn't break in here and tell you this one but you know a whole time there's wandering around in the wilderness they all had to carry a shovel with them so every man's walking around you know they got a sword hanging on one side they got a shovel on the other side and you looked and said what are you carrying a shovel for you and here's what the lord said when you go outside the camp you got to do your business i want a latrine to be built dig a hole do your stuff and cover it up because i walk into camp and i don't want to get my foot dirty you said well what in the world is that about i think you know did you know i lived in pru for all those years you know what the majority of the bad diseases you hear about from pru are feces to mouth it is somebody goes to the bathroom doesn't wash their hands when they get through then they cook your food and so you are indirectly getting contaminated he said hey if you unclean to the even dig a hole bury it come back it's the word of god jesus knew that and he never worried about quoting and living out the very word of god he even lived his life on the timetable of the old testament he even lived his life on what god had already said the word of god needs no defending it defends itself you should never even doubt it you should know that jesus believed the old testament was the word of god or he wouldn't have quoted it so much but i would like to throw this one in before i move to the last point and quit many of you will defend the bible but you never read it and you never study it but you go around all the time saying you believe it that's just about as dumb and saying you believe something you've never seen or tasted or done you're here's i believe this bible i never read it have no idea what it says but i believe it he didn't give you a bible to say you believed it i get quite tired of our of our group of people going around saying stuff like this we believe the bible and i want to say well how many times you read it through how much of it you got memorized how much of it you put in practice it's not about how much bible you believe but how much of it you've put into your life many may have even read it but they've never put it into action by the way the bible is our only rule of faith and practice it's the word of god it's by the bible we know him there are kind of three ways i can show you real quickly that we know god the first one we call general revelation because you know you can't really walk outside here with and see a sun and a moon and stars and creation and you can't see a baby born and you can't see animals and you can't see all that without saying there must be somebody bigger than that that's general revelation your creation screams there is a god the fact is in romans chapter 1 and verse 20 he said if you've seen the creation you are without excuse you know there's a god there's a second way the bible reveals that we can know god and that is that god even when they don't have a copy of the bible it is written in their hearts in romans chapter 2 and verse 15 it says it's written in their heart their conscience bearing witness either excusing them or excusing them but the word of god's in our hearts and you go anywhere you want in the world if they've never even had a copy of the bible something inside them screams i'm a sinner and i need god so god has revealed himself in creation god's revealed himself in your conscience but god has revealed himself most specifically in the word of god that he has given us now the problem for the jews was that jesus was clearly claiming to be god it's the last thing i want you to see the problem for the jews was that jesus was clearly proclaiming or claiming to be god look at verse 33 the jews answered him saying for a good work we stone thee not but for blasphemy thou make it thou being a man make us thyself god we're not killing you we're not killing you because you do good works we're not mad at you even though we were
[35:08] mad about you healing the man on the sabbath day and even though we were mad about you doing all this stuff that's really not what we want to pick up a rock and kill you we want to pick up rock and kill you because you're clearly saying i'm god and we know it so i don't know how you read this chapter without realizing everybody but you figured it out everybody but you figured it out he was saying i am god and he was making that clear in john chapter 10 and verse 37 if i do not the works of my father believe me not but if i do though you believe not me believe the works that you may know and believe that the father's in me and i in him he tells him you better believe he tells him you better believe if you don't want to believe me you better believe the works but you better believe you better believe that you may know and believe that the father's in me he claims to be god plainly the word of god teaches us that he is god we've been going through that since john chapter 1 and verse 1 it's been he is god he is god he is god he is god he just really steps forward and says hey in case you hadn't figured out what i've been saying for 10 chapters i and the father are one he's in me and i'm in him if you haven't figured it out i'll make it clear you will decide to believe or you'll continue your rebellion you will decide to believe or you will continue in your rebellion it's not a lack of information that's causing you not to believe but willful intentional rebellion against god you cannot ignore this question you'll either accept or reject you will believe or not believe you'll call him god and you're calling if you don't believe you're calling god his word and his holy spirit a liar now you listen to what i'm going to tell you and i'm through today listen to this you've been coming to church all this time and up here you're saying okay i accept it okay yeah go ahead austin holler all that stuff you want to holler i accept it but i am not going to believe that jesus is the only way i'm not going to believe that jesus is literally god i mean you're stretching it than the apostle said and i'm just not going to quite accept that well let me explain something to you real clearly you can't be neutral you're either in or you're out you either believe or you don't you either trust jesus or you don't you can't halfway trust jesus you can't trust yourself and your works a little bit you trust jesus or you're not saved jesus said boy i hope you believe you better believe if you don't believe the works you don't believe me believe the works that you'll know so this morning i ask you a question do you know that jesus is god in the flesh do you know that jesus died on the cross to pay your sin debt do you know that jesus is the only way to salvation do you know that well let me give you a hint your opinion doesn't matter because the scriptures can't be broken and they already said it the truth is the truth and you can say well i don't think i believe that bible's written a long time ago over 2 000 years ago i'm not sure i could go along with it well the scriptures can't be broken jesus is god father in heaven i ask you to work in hearts to work in lives i pray you'd save people i pray god you'd help christians this morning to not be ashamed of the book and to get into the bible like they never have i pray you'd help us to know that you are the way the only way that no man can come to the father but by you and i pray that you'd help our church to carry the gospel out god show your power show your work and i'll magnify you in all you do you have been listening to austin gardner pastor of vision baptist church for contact information location service times or more audio and video recordings log on to www.visionbaptist.com you