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 on chapter 1 on the pew bibles this is page 1063 and my good friend owen dudley edwards my

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 supervisor from my studies he's going to read to us the opening first 18 verses of john chapter 1

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 people visited the louvre museum in paris not only is that the most who visited any museum in 2018

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 that's the most people who have visited any museum in any year in any place and i would suggest that

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 each of those 10.2 million people would have made sure that part of their visit to that museum they

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 would have seen the masterpiece the mona lisa now if you've been to the louvre if you've seen the

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 mona lisa you might share with me the impression i thought it would be bigger it seems to be quite

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 small and the dimensions of mona lisa are roughly 21 inches by 30 inches not a big portrait so if

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 you want to get a good glimpse of it if you can make your way through the crowd of 10.2 million people

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 you want to move closer to that canvas to see the detail the smile etc by contrast a couple years ago

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 there was a display of another piece of artwork this was a a sketch or what was called a cart

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 and the subject was waterloo now this particular sketch was of a different magnitude instead of being

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 30 inches by 21 inches this cartoon was 13 meters by 3 meters so that when you saw wellington in the

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 middle of the sketch he was life-size and the horses were life-size now with a big canvas instead of

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 moving closer a big canvas requires you to take a step back because unless you if you don't take a

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 step back you're not going to appreciate this huge 13 meter canvas that's in front of you

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 now the apostle john is giving us the biggest possible canvas he's painting us the largest possible

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 portrait and he's asking us to take a step back so that we can grasp what he's trying to teach us

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 because he's trying to teach us something about life he's trying to teach us something about eternal

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 life he's trying to teach us something about the meaning of life but in so doing he says the center

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 of his portrait and the subject of his masterpiece is none other than jesus christ and he says this

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 subject has no beginning and this subject has no ending this subject is there throughout all time in all

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 places so as we read in this prologue john who was a fisherman in the first century in the middle east he had

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 a life-changing encounter with the subject of his book you see he's not just telling us something about

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 god he's not just telling us something about jesus he's telling us that which he's seen with his own eyes

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 and that which he's heard with his own ears so the miracles that he relates to us and john gives us

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 seven miraculous signs he was there he was there in cana when the water was turned to wine he was there

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 he could see jesus walk on water and feed the five thousand and he was the one who heard he was the one

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 who heard those seven i am sayings i am the light of the world john heard it i am the way the truth

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 in the life he heard those words i am the good shepherd the good shepherd lays down his life

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 for the sheep jesus is the center of this masterpiece not surprisingly that big canvas of waterloo

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 right in the center was the duke of wellington why because he won the battle he was the hero he was the

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 subject of that particular canvas and you want all eyes to go right to the center of the portrait

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 and jesus is the center of this portrait and jesus is the center of this church it's why we're here

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 and he needs to be the center of our lives now take it from me this is not how we are naturally wired

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 because in one way or another and i'll just speak from experience here we like to be the center of

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 the story now for one day out of the year if it's october the 13th you can forgive me for being the

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 center of the part if there's a party and it's my birthday then i can be the center of the party at

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 least for one day but we like to be the center of the party each day every occasion what does this

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 say to me what does this have to and now that's an important question what does this say to me

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 where can i find myself in this story that's a very important question to ask when you're reading the

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 bible but it's not the most important question to ask because the most important question to ask as

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 you're reading a part of the bible or considering life you ask the question where's jesus in the story

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 and how do i relate to the jesus that i find in this story he's the center you and i are part of the

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 story but we're not the center of the story he is the center of the story and he wants to be the

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 center of your life he wants to be the focus of your prayer he wants to be the object he wants to be

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 the object of your praise and the foundation of your life and with this big canvas as we start the year

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 2019 i'd like us to consider what john wants us to know about this jesus because he's giving us this

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 introduction again you can ask yourself what is it that prompts a fisherman to write such a book what

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 is it that prompts a former businessman who was concerned with the buying and selling of fish

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 what is it that would prompt such a man to write such a book what kind of encounter what kind of person

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 is jesus that prompts this and the other three accounts of his life what is it about jesus what is

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 it about what he said what is it about what he did what is it about how he lived what is it about jesus

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 that makes someone want to write a story want to give a biography wants to give an account such as this

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 well with you i'd like to notice just a few things because we've got a lot in these short 18 verses

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 first of all john wants to tell us this that jesus had no beginning and yet he became

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 you may think those two things are hard hard to understand maybe philosophically hard to understand

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 if he has no beginning how can he become if he has no start how can he become something because

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 isn't he always something well the answer is yes he always is god he always was god he always

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 will be god so in that sense he has no starting point i mentioned october 13th october 13th the year

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 was 1966 that's my starting point and each one of us has a starting point the day we were born

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 now we celebrated a few weeks ago christmas we celebrated the birth of jesus we don't believe

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 that he was born on the 25th of december that's a side issue but we believe that jesus became a

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 human being that he was born into this world and yet we believe that he had no beginning

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 in the beginning john says was the word and the word was with god and the word was god so there we

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 have the beginning the start and there was jesus he precedes the beginning the beginning of time the

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 beginning of history the beginning of the human experience he was there for far beyond far before

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 that and yet we're told in verse 14 the word became flesh one of the early leaders of the church one of

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 the early writers of the church put it this way remaining what he was he became what he was not

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 now this is a profound mystery how is it that god how is it that one person can be fully god

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 and fully human that's a mystery i cannot explain to you but it's a mystery that the bible presents to

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 us profoundly clearly and powerfully that jesus christ is fully god no beginning no end and jesus christ

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 became a human being he was born he lived he died he rose again he ascended into heaven

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 so for a 33 year period he dwelled on earth and yet he has no beginning he has no end he always is

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 he was the source of all that we have he's the creator we're part of the creation he created all

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 things were told through him all things were made without him nothing was made that has been made in

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 him was life and that life was the light of men so he's the creator and he's the source of life and

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 he's the source of light now in the bible we have darkness portrayed and darkness is symbolic

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 darkness symbolizes ignorance we don't get it darkness symbolizes sin we do what we're not meant to do we

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 don't do what we're meant to do and darkness also symbolizes despair and jesus shines the light

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 he shines the light of knowledge he shines the light of purity he shines the light of hope into

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 the dark world so he's the there in the beginning he's god he's the creator of all things he's the

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 light of this dark world he's the source of life in all of its fullness and john gives us this testimony

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 this powerful testimony in verse 14 he says the word became flesh made his dwelling among us we have

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 seen his glory john saw the glory of god in jesus christ the glory of the only god from all eternity

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 he saw god in the flesh he said i've seen it we've seen it we've seen god we've seen the glory of god

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 in jesus and in verse 18 he says there's something else he says no one has ever seen god but god the one

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 and only who is at the father's side has made him known so when we see jesus john says we see god

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 the invisible god is now visible the glory of god which was previously confined and previously secluded

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 is now on full display in jesus christ so john is not seeking to explain that which is inexplicable

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 that jesus has no beginning and yet he became a human being but he wants you and i to know this is a fact

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 that jesus christ is a fully formed human being just like us and jesus christ is god in all of his fullness

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 so we have a powerful a personal a compassionate a knowing savior who understands us and who understands

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 god because he's one of us and he's god that's a profound mystery but that's the profound testimony

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 that john gives to us john wants to share what he has seen john wants to tell what he has experienced

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 and this brings us to our second point that there is no comparison to jesus no one compares to jesus

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 and yet we have the ability to speak of him and to point to him so the incomparable jesus

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 is testified by ordinary people the incomparable jesus there's a message about him that's delivered

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 we see this delivered by a man called john in verse 6 this is john the baptist there came a man who was

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 sent from god his name was john he came as a witness to testify concerning that light so that through him

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 all men might believe so that jesus is the center of the canvas jesus is the center of the story and yet

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 these other characters are there and they have a significant and an important role to play but theirs

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 is not a primary role they have a supporting role so john the baptist came to testify he came as a witness

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 he came as a signpost in verse 15 he says john testifies concerning him he cries out saying this was he

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 of whom i said he who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me john must decrease jesus

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 must increase john the signpost you don't dwell on the signpost you follow where the signpost is leading

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 you and john would later say in john one behold the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world

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 so jesus is incomparable and yet john the baptist testifies to this incomparable jesus the second

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 testimony here is from moses so we have the great figure of the old testament remember moses who was

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 called by god to lead the people of god from slavery to freedom it's quite a vivid picture of the gospel

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 isn't it in the old testament captivity slavery bondage freedom and moses was called by god to

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 lead the people of god and not only did moses lead the people of god from egypt to well the wilderness

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 towards the promised land but moses was the instrument through whom god delivered the law

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 so if there's one character in the old testament of primary importance it would be moses

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 and we're told that for the law was given through moses so moses like john the baptist was also a

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 witness also had a testimony because the law testifies or should testify you see the law can't save us

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 meaning that you and i can't do all that the law requires we can't fulfill all that god demands

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 rightly demands but rightly understood the law testifies first of all the law shows us the the

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 problem my problem the law says you shall not covet and we recognize that we do covet we want what

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 belongs to other people we're not content what we have with what we have so the law shows us the

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 problem shows us that we're not right but the law also rightly understood leads us to the one who can

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 make us right it's like a described as a as a school teacher or as one who brings someone to school

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 now jesus is the one who makes us right but rightly understood the law should bring us to jesus because

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 he and only he is the one who kept the law and he and only he is the one who can take those who have

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 broken the law and to forgive us and to restore us and to renew us so in this brief section we have two

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 clear testimonies john the baptist testifies concerning jesus he says that here's the one

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 who is far greater than me moses testifies concerning jesus the law is good the law is intended for our

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 blessing the law is intended to help us but the law cannot save us the law came was given but through

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 moses grace and truth came through jesus christ so there's no comparison between john the baptist and

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 there's no comparison between the law given by through moses and grace and truth which came

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 through jesus christ and the third test of testimony of course is the book itself the author john not john

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 the baptist but john the apostle john the disciple john the brother of james the son of zebedee

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 eyewitness eyewitness earwitness spent three years with jesus and he testifies that what he has seen

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 is true and you see you might say well does that mean he's unbiased absolutely he's completely unbiased

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 because he says this he says jesus did and this is at the end of the gospel jesus did many other

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 miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples which are not recorded in this book but these are written

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 that you may believe that jesus is the christ the son of god and that by believing you may have life

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 in his name we all are biased we all have certain predispositions we all have certain prejudices we all

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 have certain experiences that give us a certain bias now the bible tells us that apart from god and apart

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 from jesus we have a bias against god and a bias against jesus why because we don't see as we should

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 see we don't feel as we should feel we don't think as we should think sin in this world has created a

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 disconnection or a corruption and what we need is to be realigned reconnected that our eyes could be open

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 that our ears could be open that our minds could be renewed that our hearts could be transformed

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 so the apostle john is a biased witness because he says this is what i've seen and this is what i've

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 heard and the conclusions to which i have come there is no other conclusion to come to so not only am i

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 telling you what i saw but i want you to see it too i'm not going to tell you what i believe but i want

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 you to believe it too so in that regard i too am unbiased i have a bias towards jesus i have a bias

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 towards the gospel i have a bias towards towards the the bible because i've seen i've come to know

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 i've come to understand i've come to believe that this is true true for me true for you true for them

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 true for everyone so no one can compare with jesus and yet jesus uses ordinary people to testify

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 concerning him he doesn't need us but he uses us doesn't need the law given by moses but he uses

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 the law and he uses moses doesn't need john the baptist but he uses john the baptist doesn't need

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 john the apostle but he uses john the apostle he doesn't need you or me but he uses ordinary people

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 to achieve his extraordinary purposes third point i just want to mention is that jesus with all of

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 this god becoming a human being the source of light the source of life the creator of all things the one

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 who sustains all things the one through his death and resurrection redeems for himself a people

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 jesus was rejected by the very people who should have welcomed him and yet he invites anyone and

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 everyone to become part of his family he was the light but the bible tells us that men love darkness

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 instead of light why their deeds were evil he was a source of life and his life was rejected in fact

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 his life was taken away from him he was the one who shined light into dark places and one of two

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 things happened either those who wanted that light and wanted that life were attracted to him but those

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 who preferred darkness and who preferred doing things their own way they were repelled by him it's like a

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 magnet magnet is one of two things a magnet attracts or a magnet repels depending on the very the charge or

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 which side of the magnet it is and jesus does two things he attracts people to him and he also repels

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 people from him some will see in him the source of life and the source of eternal life and will find

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 themselves trusting in him for life and for its eternal life others will hear what he has to say and will say

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 i do i do not want what he has to offer i do not like what he has to say i do not need what he all what he is

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 providing and we're told in verse nine that the true light that gives light to every man was coming

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 into the world and like a great author you're thinking here's the here's uh raising our expectations

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 that when this arrival comes that the welcome will be universal why he's created everything he's the source

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 of light he's coming into a place of darkness he's the source of hope he's coming into a place of despair

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 he's the author of life and he's come to give life he was in the world verse 10 and though the world was

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 made through him the world did not recognize him didn't get it didn't see didn't understand

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 back in 1955 disneyland opened its doors in california there's now other branches in different parts of the

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 world but the first disney was in disneyland in anaheim california and it was the dream of walt disney

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 it was his design it was his plan he oversaw its production its construction and ultimately it was his he owned

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 it and the story goes and when and when disneyland opened its doors it was flocked with people

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 let me just imagine one disney and people wanted to go there to see see the rides see the characters to be part of that

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 experience and huge queues for all the rides and one day this older gentleman was walking around with a group of

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 people and they just went right to the front of the line they weren't waiting in the queues

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 so he brought his guests to the front of the line they went on the rides they went through the amusements

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 and at one point one of the exasperated uh guests who had been waiting a long time to go on the rides

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 whether it's small it's a small world or whatever pirates of the caribbean if it was there then

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 cried out and said look who do you think you are do you think you're walt disney

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 uh to which the elderly gentleman replied well yes i am walt disney and the reason why he was

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 treating disneyland as if it was his own because it was his own you know he didn't need to wait in the

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 line it was his place he could go to the front of the line if he wanted to but people didn't recognize him

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 they knew the name but they didn't know what he looked like jesus came into the world and he wasn't

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 recognized people didn't know who he was people didn't figure out what he was about and because they

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 didn't recognize him they didn't receive him they didn't welcome him and not only that that's more a general

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 response but the more specific response was this that he came to the people that had the knowledge

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 of him his own people the jewish people were told that he came to that which was his own but his own

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 did not receive him they had the bible they had the old testament they had the psalms they had the

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 prophets they had the the books of moses they had the predictions they had the prophecies they had the

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 expectation they knew that someone was coming and that someone came they had been praying they had

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 been longing for that day there's a long period of silence when it seemed as if god wasn't doing

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 anything or if god wasn't saying anything then all of a sudden he did and all of a sudden he came

00:24:01.859 --> 00:24:09.599
 but these were the people who by and large said no we do not want this jesus we do not want his life

00:24:09.599 --> 00:24:17.519
 we do not want his death we do not want his resurrection but or and yet in verse 12 yet to all

00:24:17.519 --> 00:24:26.299
 to all who received him and to those who believed in his name so the world that was made through him

00:24:26.299 --> 00:24:33.419
 didn't recognize him his own people who should have anticipated his coming by and large they didn't

00:24:33.420 --> 00:24:41.200
 welcome him but to all who received him to those who believed in his name he gave the right to become

00:24:41.200 --> 00:24:51.880
 i was reminded now about 18 years ago a young man from high school in fife came to edinburgh university

00:24:51.880 --> 00:24:59.420
 17 years old almost 18 and he came to edinburgh with a decided position that he had grown up in a

00:24:59.420 --> 00:25:04.920
 christian home he had grown up in church and he came to university and he wanted nothing to do with

00:25:04.920 --> 00:25:10.940
 church he wanted nothing to do with christianity he had 17 years of that and now he was in edinburgh

00:25:10.940 --> 00:25:20.039
 then lo and behold one sunday morning it's 11 o'clock he's walking past the clue he had been told that

00:25:20.039 --> 00:25:26.120
 there was a church in this locality he was up early went along to see it found himself here in the church

00:25:26.119 --> 00:25:34.259
 church and three or four months later came to faith now he showed me a book that i gave him

00:25:34.259 --> 00:25:40.500
 that december before he had become a christian and in that book i wrote the verse john 1 12

00:25:40.500 --> 00:25:46.679
 yet to all who received him to those who believed in his name he gave the right to become children of

00:25:46.679 --> 00:25:52.459
 god it was the lee strobel book the case for christ because in the introduction to that book lee strobel

00:25:52.460 --> 00:25:59.519
 says it's basically like an an equation if you like maths he says if you receive and if you believe

00:25:59.519 --> 00:26:07.200
 then you become think of it receive plus believe equals become and i i like that book and i like

00:26:07.200 --> 00:26:13.039
 that verse so i wrote to my friend alistair dear alistair best wishes for a happy new year it would

00:26:13.039 --> 00:26:19.220
 have been 2001 uh and wish you every blessing well over that christmas break he came to believe

00:26:19.220 --> 00:26:25.779
 himself in this same jesus his desire was to have nothing to do with the gospel his desire was to

00:26:25.779 --> 00:26:30.620
 have nothing to do with jesus but jesus had a different desire and jesus had a different goal

00:26:30.620 --> 00:26:40.319
 but notice these words to all who received him not to some or to most or to a few but to all

00:26:40.319 --> 00:26:47.680
 all different kinds of people and all different kinds of backgrounds receiving jesus welcoming jesus

00:26:47.680 --> 00:26:57.900
 think of the welcome mat in front of a door imagine the negative imagine you go to your family home

00:26:57.900 --> 00:27:04.240
 and for some reason the door is locked for some reason it's bolted you can't even you open it with

00:27:04.240 --> 00:27:09.019
 your key but you knock on the door you know somebody's in and and a member of your family opens a door

00:27:09.019 --> 00:27:15.220
 and the next thing you see the door slam and in your face you think this isn't right this is my family

00:27:15.220 --> 00:27:22.539
 home this is my family this is where i belong that was the experience of jesus but you turn the tables

00:27:22.539 --> 00:27:30.660
 and you say well but for us instead of rejection we were received instead of having a door slammed in

00:27:30.660 --> 00:27:38.539
 our face we're welcomed by jesus into his family to all who received him and to those who believed in

00:27:38.539 --> 00:27:45.019
 his name you see it's not about doing it's not about what you do it's not about what you've done

00:27:45.019 --> 00:27:51.700
 it's not even about what you are convinced you will one day do but it's about trusting in him

00:27:51.700 --> 00:28:00.200
 what he has done what he has provided and what he and who he is because the name and this word

00:28:00.200 --> 00:28:08.159
 believed in his name it really means everything everything about jesus his character his life his identity

00:28:08.160 --> 00:28:15.800
 his work when we believe in his name we we we take him for who he is we take him for what he has done

00:28:15.800 --> 00:28:21.440
 and we basically say jesus i'm going to trust you on this one i'm going to trust you that you've done

00:28:21.440 --> 00:28:27.180
 what is required and i'm going to trust you that you can do what you promise and i'm going to trust you

00:28:27.180 --> 00:28:35.580
 that you can bring to completion all that you have promised to complete and to conclude i mentioned

00:28:35.579 --> 00:28:40.359
 in the children's address that i've got two passports maybe some of you have two passports

00:28:40.359 --> 00:28:45.519
 if you've got two nationalities it's interesting a couple years ago i found out that i have two birth

00:28:45.519 --> 00:28:52.460
 certificates not everybody has two birth certificates the first birth certificate says my name is robert

00:28:52.460 --> 00:28:59.119
 john accurate i was born on the 13th of october 1966 the second birth certificate says i was also born on

00:28:59.119 --> 00:29:06.419
 the 13th of october 1966 but that my name is thomas gilroy that was my original birth certificate

00:29:06.419 --> 00:29:12.799
 the second birth certificate is my legal birth certificate because i was adopted i was brought

00:29:12.799 --> 00:29:20.279
 into a new home a new family my legal status changed my name changed my relationship changed

00:29:20.279 --> 00:29:26.299
 my family changed and if you want proof i've got proof i've got the document it's stamped by the state

00:29:26.299 --> 00:29:33.159
 new jersey that says i am legally part of this new family yes the original birth certificates told a

00:29:33.159 --> 00:29:39.759
 different story but my legal birth certificate tells a new story and that's exactly what john is saying

00:29:39.759 --> 00:29:47.919
 here he says all of us have a story we have a past but the question is what about the future what about

00:29:47.919 --> 00:29:55.720
 now are you willing to let god write a new story for your life are you willing to let god change

00:29:55.720 --> 00:30:02.819
 the direction of your life are you willing to become part of his family because the final portion of that

00:30:02.819 --> 00:30:11.079
 verse is this to all who received him to those who believed in his name he gave the right to become

00:30:11.079 --> 00:30:18.779
 children of god when i got this second birth certificate through the mail i was told that this is not a legal

00:30:18.779 --> 00:30:25.640
 document that i cannot use this as a form of identity that i cannot you know get a passport based on that

00:30:25.640 --> 00:30:31.100
 name because it's not my name anymore the document is no longer legal anymore it's a it's a piece of

00:30:31.100 --> 00:30:37.620
 history that's what happens when you become a christian whatever's in the past becomes a piece of history

00:30:37.620 --> 00:30:43.040
 it's no longer relevant it's no longer valid why because you have a new status and a new standing and a new

00:30:43.040 --> 00:30:51.600
 relationship you become a member of his family you become a child of god so think of the big canvas

00:30:51.599 --> 00:30:57.480
 canvas that john is painting at the beginning of that canvas is jesus the middle of the canvas is jesus

00:30:57.480 --> 00:31:04.299
 the end of the canvas is jesus but you and i can be part of that magnificent canvas not only not not just

00:31:04.299 --> 00:31:11.139
 as a bystander we're not just looking in at the at the events we become part of the events we're not

00:31:11.139 --> 00:31:17.279
 looking in at like a big family reunion we're part of the family reunion we're not looking through the

00:31:17.279 --> 00:31:22.200
 window and seeing a beautiful table set with a wonderful meal with lots of seats and lots of

00:31:22.200 --> 00:31:28.720
 people seated we're at the table we're seated at the meal and we're enjoying the food to all who

00:31:28.720 --> 00:31:34.680
 received him to those who believed in his name he gave the right to become children of god

00:31:34.680 --> 00:31:40.299
 if i had a title for today's message i would say the title is simply this is all about jesus

00:31:40.299 --> 00:31:45.599
 it's all about who he is it's all about what he's done it's all about what he is doing it's all about

00:31:45.599 --> 00:31:54.259
 what he is will achieve but i'm asking you are you part of his story is he part not just part of your

00:31:54.259 --> 00:32:01.299
 life is he the center of your life is he the focus of your mind is he the the the basis or the foundation

00:32:01.299 --> 00:32:08.279
 of who you are and what you do because this equation is still true that friend of mine 18 years ago who

00:32:08.279 --> 00:32:15.420
 received jesus and who believed in his name he became a member of the family of god he became a

00:32:15.420 --> 00:32:21.559
 child of god he's still following trusting in jesus and the guarantee is for you as well when you receive

00:32:21.559 --> 00:32:27.279
 jesus on his terms not yours when you believe in his name meaning you're going to trust him for who he is

00:32:27.279 --> 00:32:33.879
 and what he has done then the reality is that you as i you will become a member of his family you will

00:32:33.880 --> 00:32:41.260
 become one of his children and you will be part of his story forever and ever so as i wish you a happy

00:32:41.260 --> 00:32:47.160
 new year i pray that you and i would find ourselves in this big canvas that john is painting for us

00:32:47.160 --> 00:32:53.780
 that we might find ourselves in the story but with jesus firmly at the center of that canvas

00:32:53.779 --> 00:32:56.519
 and firmly at the center of our lives

00:32:56.519 --> 00:32:57.059
 you

00:32:57.059 --> 00:32:57.119
 you

00:32:57.119 --> 00:32:57.619
 you

00:32:57.619 --> 00:32:57.680
 you

00:32:57.680 --> 00:32:57.720
 you