WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.000 As we turn to God's word, let's pray together for a moment. 00:00:05.000 --> 00:00:10.000 Father, as we turn to your word, we just long to hear your voice. 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:14.000 We pray that you'd speak to each one of us and lead us in your ways. 00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:24.000 Today I'd like us to turn back together to the passage which Derek read for us in John chapter 10. 00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:28.000 We can read again verses 9 and 10. 00:00:28.000 --> 00:00:35.000 Jesus said, I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 00:00:35.000 --> 00:00:39.000 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. 00:00:39.000 --> 00:00:45.000 I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 00:00:47.000 --> 00:00:57.000 For many of us today, perhaps more than ever, we are conscious of how precious, beautiful and fragile life is. 00:00:57.000 --> 00:01:01.000 We are so blessed to have life. It's such a privilege. 00:01:01.000 --> 00:01:05.000 It's something that we want to hold on to and protect. 00:01:05.000 --> 00:01:14.000 And I'm sure every one of us would agree that to lose life is horrendous, but to have life is an amazing thing. 00:01:14.000 --> 00:01:22.000 In this verse, before us, verse 10, Jesus tells us that he has come for that very reason. 00:01:22.000 --> 00:01:28.000 He has come so that people might have life. 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:35.000 That's a remarkable statement, but it raises the question, what exactly does he mean? 00:01:35.000 --> 00:01:39.000 What does it mean to have life? 00:01:39.000 --> 00:01:44.000 That's what I want us to think about together today. 00:01:44.000 --> 00:01:50.000 Our initial answer to that question might be to say that life is about staying alive. 00:01:50.000 --> 00:01:53.000 In other words, it's about survival. 00:01:53.000 --> 00:02:02.000 And that, of course, is true. Survival is essential and in many ways, that's very much at the forefront of our minds just now. 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:08.000 That's, of course, why medical care and a healthy lifestyle is so important. 00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:18.000 But at the same time, I think we would all agree that to have life means more than just surviving. 00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:28.000 If you imagine that one day in the future, everyone was locked in pods and connected to machines that kept our bodies alive, 00:02:28.000 --> 00:02:35.000 we would all be surviving, but we wouldn't really have much of a life. 00:02:35.000 --> 00:02:41.000 To have life means more than just being alive. 00:02:41.000 --> 00:02:47.000 So if it's not just about surviving, what does it mean to have life? 00:02:47.000 --> 00:02:52.000 Well, maybe a good way to answer that question is to think of things that ruin life. 00:02:52.000 --> 00:02:58.000 And I want to suggest four, there's many others, I'm sure. 00:02:58.000 --> 00:03:04.000 But we would all, I think, agree that life is ruined by poverty. 00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:08.000 All around us, we see a world that's in desperate need. 00:03:08.000 --> 00:03:16.000 And that doesn't just mean in terms of money, there's desperate needs in terms of health care, education, employment, housing. 00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:27.000 A couple to that is the stigma and shame that people can feel when they're at that kind of lowest rung of society's ladder. 00:03:27.000 --> 00:03:36.000 And as the work of charities like Safe Families emphasised to be in that grip of poverty is a horrible thing. 00:03:36.000 --> 00:03:40.000 And that's why their work is so important. 00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:51.000 We can all picture in our minds, I'm sure, and maybe for many of us, this is all around us, people who live in desperate poverty. 00:03:51.000 --> 00:03:58.000 They might be surviving, but they don't have much of a life. 00:03:58.000 --> 00:04:03.000 Life is also ruined by captivity that can apply in lots of ways. 00:04:03.000 --> 00:04:08.000 Sometimes whole countries can be held captive by oppressive rulers. 00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:11.000 And that can just as easily be true of individuals. 00:04:11.000 --> 00:04:17.000 So some people are bound by their circumstances, they have a lack of opportunity to flourish. 00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:23.000 Others live under the threat of controlling or abusive individuals. 00:04:23.000 --> 00:04:28.000 And other people are captive in the grip of addiction. 00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:37.000 For anyone who's held captive like that, they might be surviving, but they don't have much of a life. 00:04:37.000 --> 00:04:40.000 Life's also ruined by isolation. 00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:48.000 Of course, there's times in life when we maybe want to and enjoy being on our own, but for the vast majority of people, 00:04:48.000 --> 00:04:55.000 for the vast majority of the time to be isolated and lonely is horrible. 00:04:55.000 --> 00:05:01.000 We've all probably felt that more over these past few weeks than maybe we've felt in a long time, 00:05:01.000 --> 00:05:09.000 but we must never forget that for many people, self-isolation is just what every day is like. 00:05:09.000 --> 00:05:19.000 To have no friends, no family, to have no one to love and no one to love us in return is a horrible situation to be in. 00:05:19.000 --> 00:05:27.000 For someone who's isolated like that, they might be surviving, but they don't have much of a life. 00:05:27.000 --> 00:05:31.000 So life's ruined by poverty, by captivity, by isolation. 00:05:31.000 --> 00:05:34.000 It's also ruined by despair. 00:05:34.000 --> 00:05:40.000 By that, I mean the fact that having life is not just about having physical stuff around us. 00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:42.000 We might have all the materials that we need. 00:05:42.000 --> 00:05:45.000 We might have endless opportunities at our fingertips. 00:05:45.000 --> 00:05:52.000 We might be surrounded by other people in our lives, either in real life or on social media, 00:05:52.000 --> 00:05:56.000 and yet still we can feel totally lost. 00:05:56.000 --> 00:05:59.000 Our minds are in despair. 00:05:59.000 --> 00:06:01.000 We struggle to find meaning in the world. 00:06:01.000 --> 00:06:07.000 We're burdened by regret, and we don't know who or what to trust. 00:06:07.000 --> 00:06:09.000 Physically, we might be surviving. 00:06:09.000 --> 00:06:20.000 In fact, physically, we might have everything, but if our minds are in despair, then we don't have much of a life. 00:06:20.000 --> 00:06:33.000 And the seriousness of all these four things that we're highlighting here is reinforced by the fact that people whose lives are ruined in these ways 00:06:33.000 --> 00:06:41.000 can often easily come to the tragic conclusion that life is just not worth having. 00:06:41.000 --> 00:06:48.000 So to have life is definitely more than just surviving. 00:06:48.000 --> 00:06:56.000 And to summarise this, I want us to use a wee diagram that you should be able to see on your screens. 00:06:56.000 --> 00:07:00.000 You've maybe read the book or seen the film, The Life of Pi. 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:10.000 Well, here is the Pi of Life, which I hope explains the strange sermon title that we have this week. 00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:18.000 It's got five sections, all of which summarise what we need to have life. 00:07:18.000 --> 00:07:25.000 So as we've been saying, you need health to survive, but that's just one section of the Pi. 00:07:25.000 --> 00:07:30.000 Instead of poverty, we need provision to enjoy. 00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:36.000 Instead of captivity, we need freedom to thrive. 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:42.000 Instead of isolation, we need a community to be part of. 00:07:42.000 --> 00:07:49.000 And instead of despair, we need truth and meaning to live for. 00:07:49.000 --> 00:07:52.000 That's the Pi of life. 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:57.000 And to have life is to have all five of these parts. 00:07:57.000 --> 00:08:01.000 In other words, to have life is not just to survive. 00:08:01.000 --> 00:08:05.000 To have life is to thrive. 00:08:05.000 --> 00:08:13.000 Now, you may very well be thinking, what on earth has any of this got to do with John chapter 10? 00:08:13.000 --> 00:08:25.000 Well, what I hope we'll see is that John 10 tells us that the person who understands this better than anyone is Jesus. 00:08:25.000 --> 00:08:30.000 Jesus knows that to have life is much more than just to survive. 00:08:30.000 --> 00:08:34.000 Jesus knows that we need every section of the Pi. 00:08:34.000 --> 00:08:44.000 In fact, Jesus' mission, the reason he has come is to give us life in all of these areas. 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:49.000 And he explains that by giving us a very simple picture. 00:08:49.000 --> 00:08:55.000 He said to them again, truly, truly I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 00:08:55.000 --> 00:09:00.000 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:10.000 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:15.000 Jesus gives us this beautiful image of sheep and pasture. 00:09:15.000 --> 00:09:24.000 And then in order to tell us why he has come, he draws a contrast between himself and the thief. 00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:29.000 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. 00:09:29.000 --> 00:09:35.000 I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 00:09:35.000 --> 00:09:42.000 That contrast sets before us the two great forces at work across the whole Bible. 00:09:42.000 --> 00:09:45.000 In fact, they're at work across the whole of history. 00:09:45.000 --> 00:09:54.000 The thief is ultimately pointing us to sin, to the power of darkness, to the kingdom of evil. 00:09:54.000 --> 00:10:00.000 And that thief's goal is to steal, kill and destroy. 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:04.000 In contrast to the thief is Jesus. 00:10:04.000 --> 00:10:07.000 He has come as the light of the world. 00:10:07.000 --> 00:10:10.000 He's come as the king of God's kingdom. 00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:15.000 His goal is to give us life. 00:10:15.000 --> 00:10:23.000 And these contrasting goals, the goal that the thief has and the goal that Jesus has, are clearly seen 00:10:23.000 --> 00:10:26.000 in each section of our pie. 00:10:26.000 --> 00:10:30.000 And I want us to look at that in turn together. 00:10:30.000 --> 00:10:37.000 So our first section of the pie is that we need health to survive. 00:10:37.000 --> 00:10:41.000 In Jesus's image, the thief doesn't just come to steal. 00:10:41.000 --> 00:10:46.000 He comes to kill and destroy. 00:10:46.000 --> 00:10:54.000 In other words, at the most basic level, the thief's objective is the non-survival of the sheep. 00:10:54.000 --> 00:11:00.000 And that's reminding us that sin has one great aim. 00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:03.000 Death. 00:11:03.000 --> 00:11:12.000 When the devil persuaded Adam and Eve to sin, that work of killing and destroying humanity began. 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:18.000 And for every human, the life that we now have is a life that's gradually dying. 00:11:18.000 --> 00:11:21.000 We see the reality of that all around us. 00:11:21.000 --> 00:11:26.000 We see it in the weakness and frailty of our own health. 00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:30.000 And in the face of that, we do everything that we can to survive. 00:11:30.000 --> 00:11:37.000 And all around us today, we see people just desperate to make sure that they survive. 00:11:37.000 --> 00:11:47.000 And rightly so. But one thing we know is that the day will come when we won't survive. 00:11:47.000 --> 00:11:53.000 Whether it's through conflict, through disease, through inequality, or through neglect, 00:11:53.000 --> 00:12:03.000 the thief will find a way to kill and destroy by stealing the health that we need to survive. 00:12:03.000 --> 00:12:09.000 Now, this issue is so universal that we've kind of become resigned to it. 00:12:09.000 --> 00:12:14.000 And it seems just inevitable. 00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:28.000 But we must never, ever forget that one of the most fundamental truths of the Bible is that humans are not meant to die. 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:33.000 That might sound astonishing, but it is absolutely true. 00:12:33.000 --> 00:12:40.000 God did not create humans to die. He created them to live. 00:12:40.000 --> 00:12:47.000 Death, therefore, is not natural. Death is an intrusion. Death is an enemy. 00:12:47.000 --> 00:12:52.000 Death is not what God intends for us. 00:12:52.000 --> 00:13:01.000 And today's secular culture all around us would think, Thomas, that's nonsense. 00:13:01.000 --> 00:13:09.000 Death's just part of the big machine that the universe is that we are all part of. 00:13:09.000 --> 00:13:12.000 But the Bible tells us that that's not true. 00:13:12.000 --> 00:13:19.000 And in fact, my heart tells me that that is not true as well. 00:13:19.000 --> 00:13:28.000 Because when someone dies, it absolutely does not feel right. 00:13:28.000 --> 00:13:32.000 It feels utterly wrong. 00:13:32.000 --> 00:13:42.000 And the Bible explains that feeling. Death feels wrong because it is wrong. 00:13:42.000 --> 00:13:49.000 And in contrast to that, Jesus has come so that we might have life. 00:13:49.000 --> 00:13:54.000 In verse nine, he says that anyone who comes to him will be saved. 00:13:54.000 --> 00:14:03.000 Now, at a very basic level, that word to be saved, to save, means to have health to survive. 00:14:03.000 --> 00:14:06.000 In Greek, the word for health and salvation is the same word. 00:14:06.000 --> 00:14:12.000 In Gaelic, it's the same word for both concepts, salvation and health. 00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:26.000 It's reminding us that in a world where no one can survive on their own, Jesus has come to restore us to the health that God always intended us to have. 00:14:26.000 --> 00:14:34.000 Jesus has come to give us life. 00:14:34.000 --> 00:14:41.000 The second piece of our pie is that we need provision to enjoy. 00:14:41.000 --> 00:14:48.000 Jesus uses a particular word to describe the provision that he has come to give us. 00:14:48.000 --> 00:14:54.000 That word is pasture. 00:14:54.000 --> 00:14:57.000 Now, I think pasture is one of my favorite words. 00:14:57.000 --> 00:15:05.000 I love the countryside, I love grass, I love the color of grass, I love the feel of grass, I love the smell of grass. 00:15:05.000 --> 00:15:18.000 And pasture is just a beautiful word because it conveys the idea of a sheep having a brilliant place to live with everything that they need provided. 00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:23.000 As humans, God has given us a pasture. 00:15:23.000 --> 00:15:28.000 It's called planet earth and it is absolutely amazing. 00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:32.000 The world around us is stunning, an amazing place to live. 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:36.000 And in it, God has provided for all of our needs. 00:15:36.000 --> 00:15:44.000 It's beautiful, it's majestic, it's a wonderful pasture to be in. 00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:47.000 But the thief wants to destroy it. 00:15:47.000 --> 00:15:55.000 And sin has brought a curse into the world that now causes the creation to groan. 00:15:55.000 --> 00:16:01.000 Now there is hostility, brutality and danger in the natural world. 00:16:01.000 --> 00:16:05.000 And on top of that, we humans, we are wrecking our own pasture. 00:16:05.000 --> 00:16:15.000 And the environmental damage that we see around us is all part of the fact that sin has wrecked the pasture that God created for us. 00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:20.000 And again, it's not just the Bible that tells us that that's wrong. 00:16:20.000 --> 00:16:27.000 In our hearts, we know that that kind of damage and abuse of the environment is wrong. 00:16:27.000 --> 00:16:30.000 The thief wants to destroy our pasture. 00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:35.000 But Jesus has come so that we might have life. 00:16:35.000 --> 00:16:40.000 The world around us has been made for us by God. 00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:46.000 And a key part of Jesus' work as saviour is not just to restore us humans. 00:16:46.000 --> 00:16:50.000 It's to restore the world as our pasture. 00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:57.000 And his promise is that there will be our new heavens and our new earth where righteousness dwells. 00:16:57.000 --> 00:17:08.000 That means that heaven is not going to be this kind of floaty sort of experience in clouds where we just sort of drift around in vagueness. 00:17:08.000 --> 00:17:21.000 The new creation will be a renewed universe, a new heavens and new earth, a perfect pasture provided for you. 00:17:21.000 --> 00:17:33.000 And if you want to know what that's going to be like, the best place to get a glimpse of it is to read Genesis 1 and 2 and to read about the Garden of Eden. 00:17:33.000 --> 00:17:39.000 That's where we get a glimpse of what God wants our pasture to be like. 00:17:39.000 --> 00:17:46.000 The only difference is that the new creation will be even better. 00:17:46.000 --> 00:18:00.000 All the blessings of that pasture, all the provision that God makes is for you to enjoy forever. 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:06.000 The third piece in the pie of life is freedom to thrive. 00:18:06.000 --> 00:18:13.000 And that freedom that Jesus wants us to have is described in a beautiful phrase in verse 9. 00:18:13.000 --> 00:18:20.000 Anyone who enters through Jesus will go in and out. 00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:23.000 I think that's an amazing description of freedom. 00:18:23.000 --> 00:18:32.000 The sheep in this pasture are able to go out and come in, explore and return, and they're safe and free to do so. 00:18:32.000 --> 00:18:36.000 And again, that's the opposite of the thief. 00:18:36.000 --> 00:18:40.000 The thief wants to steal our freedom. 00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:52.000 And one of the most deceiving things about sin is that again and again, it promises freedom only to bring us into captivity. 00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:54.000 That's what happened to Adam and Eve. 00:18:54.000 --> 00:19:02.000 They were promised the freedom of being like God only to fall into a horrible captivity. 00:19:02.000 --> 00:19:05.000 And the same thing happens to us. 00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:10.000 On the one hand, our own sinful hearts can trap us. 00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:14.000 So sin promises us comfort through drinking. 00:19:14.000 --> 00:19:17.000 It promises us a thrill through sexual sin. 00:19:17.000 --> 00:19:27.000 It promises us wealth through gambling, admiration through our status, security through having more stuff, self-worth through attention from others. 00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:37.000 But all of these things just leave us enslaved by the constant need to go back for more. 00:19:37.000 --> 00:19:46.000 And then on the other hand, our freedom and our opportunities can be taken away by the selfish actions of others. 00:19:46.000 --> 00:19:54.000 And the inequality that we see in the world around us means that so many basic freedoms have been stolen from people. 00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:58.000 And again, it's not just the Bible that says that that's wrong. 00:19:58.000 --> 00:20:03.000 Your heart will say the same thing. 00:20:03.000 --> 00:20:06.000 Jesus stands in amazing contrast to this. 00:20:06.000 --> 00:20:10.000 He has come to give you life. 00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:18.000 He wants you to go out and to come in and make the most of every opportunity that his pasture gives you. 00:20:18.000 --> 00:20:28.000 That means Jesus wants you to learn and explore and achieve and discover and make and do and work and have a brilliant time doing it. 00:20:28.000 --> 00:20:40.000 That's why laughter and music and sport and gardening and hill walking and eating and reading and learning are all the things that Jesus wants you and me to do. 00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:51.000 But the amazing thing about the gospel is that Jesus isn't saying, do these things just now while you can. 00:20:51.000 --> 00:21:00.000 He's saying in the new creation, you can do these things forever. 00:21:00.000 --> 00:21:07.000 Jesus wants to give us freedom to thrive. 00:21:07.000 --> 00:21:12.000 The fourth part of the pie is a community to be part of. 00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:18.000 At the heart of this whole image that Jesus is presenting before us is the image of a flock. 00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:25.000 It's a great reminder that the life that Jesus wants to give us is not individualistic or solitary. 00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:30.000 It's life that is part of a community. 00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:33.000 The thief wants to destroy that. 00:21:33.000 --> 00:21:41.000 And sin has caused havoc in the relationships between humans throughout the whole of our history. 00:21:41.000 --> 00:21:54.000 If you go back to the beginning of the Bible and read the aftermath of Adam and Eve's sin, read Genesis 4, 5 and 6, the great emphasis is that sin has brought a horrible hostility between humans. 00:21:54.000 --> 00:21:56.000 And we know that that's true. 00:21:56.000 --> 00:22:03.000 We see it everywhere and we know in our hearts that it's wrong. 00:22:03.000 --> 00:22:12.000 Jesus has come to give us life and that life is shared with others as part of a community. 00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:16.000 That's why the Christian life should never be a solitary one. 00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:27.000 That's why when we come to faith in Jesus, we become part of his church, a worldwide community of people who are all brothers and sisters. 00:22:27.000 --> 00:22:36.000 It's a great reminder that the life that Jesus gives is a life of amazing togetherness. 00:22:36.000 --> 00:22:42.000 Death brings horrible separation. 00:22:42.000 --> 00:22:51.000 And there are so many people just now suffering the agony of separation. 00:22:51.000 --> 00:23:02.000 The life that Jesus gives is a life of togetherness and that life is stronger even than death. 00:23:02.000 --> 00:23:18.000 For the Christian, we're part of an amazing community here on earth, but we can also look forward to the day when we will be together forever, when Jesus takes us home. 00:23:18.000 --> 00:23:25.000 He wants us in his community together. 00:23:25.000 --> 00:23:32.000 And then the last part of the pie is that we need truth and meaning in our lives. 00:23:32.000 --> 00:23:47.000 And the final thing that I want to notice from the image is that as well as being together, as well as going in and out and finding pasture, the sheep in Jesus's image also listen. 00:23:47.000 --> 00:24:01.000 The sheep hear his voice. You can see that there in verses three, four, and then in contrast in verse eight, the sheep do not listen to those who are thieves. 00:24:01.000 --> 00:24:09.000 And the key point is that the voice of Jesus is a voice that speaks the truth. 00:24:09.000 --> 00:24:20.000 That's why the sheep follow him. They trust him. What he says is reliable. It gives them direction, truth, and meaning in their lives. 00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:31.000 And I suppose if you think about it, I don't think it's actually possible to live life without listening to a voice. 00:24:31.000 --> 00:24:41.000 We might choose what voice that's going to be, whether it's ourselves or other people or a leader or an ideology or a religion. 00:24:41.000 --> 00:24:50.000 We can choose who we want to listen to, but we cannot escape the fact that we are listening to something or someone. 00:24:50.000 --> 00:25:02.000 The thief wants you to listen to him, but he does that because he wants to destroy you. He wants to lead you down a path of destruction. 00:25:02.000 --> 00:25:11.000 Now, that might be by distracting you. It might be by deceiving you, or it might be by tormenting you to despair. 00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:22.000 The thief has a thousand ways of leading people the wrong way. Jesus wants the opposite. He wants to tell you the truth. 00:25:22.000 --> 00:25:29.000 He wants to give you hope. He wants to lead you home. 00:25:29.000 --> 00:25:34.000 And the disciple Peter recognized this beautifully. 00:25:34.000 --> 00:25:42.000 After Jesus had been teaching, we read that many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 00:25:42.000 --> 00:25:52.000 So Jesus said to the twelve, do you want to go away as well? Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? 00:25:52.000 --> 00:26:01.000 You have the words of eternal life. 00:26:01.000 --> 00:26:08.000 So looking at the pie of life, we see two things. 00:26:08.000 --> 00:26:14.000 We see the work of the thief in the reality of the broken world around us. 00:26:14.000 --> 00:26:22.000 But we also see the hope of the gospel. We see all that Jesus wants us to have. 00:26:22.000 --> 00:26:29.000 And the world that's under the grip of the thief is desperately trying to survive. 00:26:29.000 --> 00:26:35.000 It's destroying its own pasture. It's imprisoning people and denying them freedom. 00:26:35.000 --> 00:26:43.000 It's hostile and aggressive and cruel. And it's full of lies and emptiness. 00:26:43.000 --> 00:26:49.000 The life that Jesus wants you to have is alive and healthy. 00:26:49.000 --> 00:26:54.000 It's enjoying all the beauty of the pasture. It's thriving in the freedom that God gives. 00:26:54.000 --> 00:26:59.000 It's part of a community where we love each other and love being together. 00:26:59.000 --> 00:27:05.000 And it's founded on the unchanging truth of all that God says. 00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:18.000 And in the midst of all that's going on in the world just now, John 10 is reminding us that Jesus has come to give us a life that is amazing. 00:27:18.000 --> 00:27:28.000 But in saying all that and with everything that's going on, it's probably very easy to think, 00:27:28.000 --> 00:27:35.000 surely it's too good to be true. It seems impossible. How can Jesus do all of that? 00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:40.000 How can all that be real? How can it be true that we're not actually meant to die? 00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:46.000 How can it be really true that we're promised eternal life in God's amazing pasture? 00:27:46.000 --> 00:27:52.000 How can we possibly really believe all of this? 00:27:52.000 --> 00:28:03.000 Well, I think that there's only one way that we could prove all of this to be true. 00:28:03.000 --> 00:28:11.000 There's only one way that Jesus can show that he really can give life in this way. 00:28:11.000 --> 00:28:22.000 There's only one way that Jesus can prove that he has destroyed the power of death and that he has defeated this thief. 00:28:22.000 --> 00:28:26.000 There's only one way he could do it. 00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:36.000 And that one way would be if Jesus himself had risen from the dead. 00:28:36.000 --> 00:28:44.000 And the amazing thing about the Gospel is that that is exactly what he did. 00:28:44.000 --> 00:28:50.000 And that's why Christianity stands or falls on the truth of the resurrection. 00:28:50.000 --> 00:28:55.000 If Jesus is not risen, then our faith is in vain. 00:28:55.000 --> 00:29:05.000 But if Jesus is risen, then you can have hope and joy and peace because he has come so that you might have life too. 00:29:05.000 --> 00:29:11.000 That's why Christianity is the best news that the world has ever heard. 00:29:11.000 --> 00:29:21.000 The other day I was watching the news and I saw a clip on the BBC News website from Nicola Sturgeon's daily briefing. 00:29:21.000 --> 00:29:28.000 And in the briefing she was being questioned about all the restrictions that they've put on society. 00:29:28.000 --> 00:29:35.000 And the reporter said, you know, are they not a bit draconian and a bit heavy in terms of the restrictions? 00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:41.000 And Nicola defended the actions of the government and rightly so. 00:29:41.000 --> 00:29:43.000 And she said something fascinating. 00:29:43.000 --> 00:29:52.000 She said, what we can't do is bring people back to life. 00:29:52.000 --> 00:29:58.000 And that's true. That's why our situation is so serious. 00:29:58.000 --> 00:30:09.000 But I wish that Jesus could have been at that press briefing because he could have said, that's exactly what I have come to do. 00:30:09.000 --> 00:30:13.000 And that is exactly what Christianity is all about. 00:30:13.000 --> 00:30:18.000 Jesus has come so that you might have life. 00:30:18.000 --> 00:30:24.000 He's come so that you might be safe forever. He's come so that you'd have all that you need. 00:30:24.000 --> 00:30:29.000 He's come so that you can be free to thrive and enjoy God's amazing creation. 00:30:29.000 --> 00:30:34.000 He's come to bring you and be part of an amazing loving community. 00:30:34.000 --> 00:30:41.000 And he's come to give you purpose and peace and meaning forever. 00:30:41.000 --> 00:30:46.000 Jesus wants you to have all of that. 00:30:46.000 --> 00:30:56.000 In fact, as we see at the very end of verse 10, he wants you to have all of that in abundance. 00:30:56.000 --> 00:31:03.000 And that's why everything that we have said today has been a massive understatement. 00:31:03.000 --> 00:31:11.000 All the goodness and blessing and joy of what God is promising us is not just life. 00:31:11.000 --> 00:31:15.000 It's life in abundance. 00:31:15.000 --> 00:31:30.000 And the absolutely incredible thing is that Jesus laid down his own life to make it happen. 00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:37.000 He's the shepherd that lays down his life for the sheep. 00:31:37.000 --> 00:31:44.000 Jesus died so that you might have life. 00:31:44.000 --> 00:31:51.000 And that life gives you and me hope and security and peace and certainty, 00:31:51.000 --> 00:31:56.000 no matter what might happen today or tomorrow in the rest of our lives. 00:31:56.000 --> 00:32:01.000 God is promising us amazing life. 00:32:01.000 --> 00:32:07.000 And he wants to pour out his blessings upon us in abundance. 00:32:07.000 --> 00:32:13.000 And when I say all that, I really hope that you are thinking, 00:32:13.000 --> 00:32:17.000 how do I get into this? 00:32:17.000 --> 00:32:21.000 Well, Jesus gives you the answer. 00:32:21.000 --> 00:32:28.000 He says, I am the door. 00:32:28.000 --> 00:32:39.000 And all you have to do to enter that door is trust him, pray to him and say, Lord Jesus, 00:32:39.000 --> 00:32:45.000 please, may I have life. 00:32:45.000 --> 00:32:51.000 Amen. Let's pray. 00:32:51.000 --> 00:32:57.000 Lord Jesus, we thank you so much for everything that you have done for us. 00:32:57.000 --> 00:33:02.000 Thank you that you are the door and you are the one through whom we can find life. 00:33:02.000 --> 00:33:06.000 Thank you so much that you came to give us life. 00:33:06.000 --> 00:33:14.000 Help us all to see anew today, maybe even for the first time, 00:33:14.000 --> 00:33:20.000 what the gospel is all about and the fact that you've promised to give us life 00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:26.000 that is stronger than any virus, stronger than any circumstances, 00:33:26.000 --> 00:33:29.000 stronger even than death. 00:33:29.000 --> 00:33:34.000 And in your mercy, oh God, may we all find that life. 00:33:34.000 --> 00:33:37.000 Amen.