WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:11.160 Just to say, as I go through this talk, I'm primarily addressing people for whom the Christian faith is perhaps something they haven't yet found is real or they've really engaged with themselves. 00:00:11.800 --> 00:00:13.000 ! 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:44.060 If we could turn, if you've got a Bible, to page 888-889 to John chapter 3, that would be a help too because I'm going to speak from the Bible. 00:00:44.820 --> 00:00:50.320 And again, there may be questions from there, that's great, but unashamedly I'm going to speak from this. 00:00:50.320 --> 00:00:55.280 Christians believe that this book is written by a man, John, but inspired by God. 00:00:55.379 --> 00:00:58.820 So as we look at that again, we're hoping it will address you very deeply. 00:00:59.579 --> 00:01:00.240 Let's pray. 00:01:01.299 --> 00:01:03.100 Father God, thank you so much for the Bible. 00:01:03.240 --> 00:01:04.840 Please help me to speak clearly now. 00:01:05.340 --> 00:01:08.879 And we pray that you'd address each one of us in the very depths of our being. 00:01:09.400 --> 00:01:13.400 And we ask that all of us would leave here with something more to believe and something to do. 00:01:14.180 --> 00:01:14.560 Amen. 00:01:16.740 --> 00:01:21.000 I don't know if you've ever played that game, if I had my life all over again. 00:01:22.039 --> 00:01:25.140 Of course, you won't actually play that game if you're under 30. 00:01:25.280 --> 00:01:27.379 So sorry, it's a terrible introduction if you're under 30. 00:01:27.379 --> 00:01:30.159 If you're under 30, you think you're going to get your act together again. 00:01:30.519 --> 00:01:37.739 But if you're over 30, certainly once you're 40 and you realise you've had half your life and your body starts telling you that. 00:01:37.819 --> 00:01:39.519 So I've now got a furniture problem. 00:01:39.859 --> 00:01:41.579 My chest is in my drawers nowadays. 00:01:41.579 --> 00:01:45.700 And you start to be wistful about the things you haven't had a chance to do. 00:01:46.099 --> 00:01:48.060 So you think, what if I had my life over again? 00:01:48.679 --> 00:01:50.640 Of course, some people don't get this at all. 00:01:51.120 --> 00:01:57.099 I mean, I've spoken to some people and they say, I spoke to one person and they said, if I had my life over again, I'd do exactly what I've done. 00:01:57.539 --> 00:01:59.759 Well, I thought that said a singular lack of imagination. 00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:01.219 What do you want to do them again for? 00:02:01.259 --> 00:02:02.420 You've already done them once. 00:02:02.780 --> 00:02:04.319 Don't you want some new experiences? 00:02:04.319 --> 00:02:17.139 So, for example, I'd love to have played a season's rugby with the Maoris in the South Island of New Zealand or with the deeply Christian Western Samoans who are known actually as the heaviest tacklers in world rugby. 00:02:17.579 --> 00:02:20.060 Apparently their motto is Acts 20 verse 35. 00:02:20.719 --> 00:02:22.079 It's better to give than receive. 00:02:22.080 --> 00:02:29.600 I'd love to have learned to play the saxophone or the bagpipes or actually married that girl I married to someone else. 00:02:29.900 --> 00:02:30.740 That would have been interesting. 00:02:31.080 --> 00:02:33.420 I'd always dreamed of being two foot from her at the altar and I was. 00:02:33.660 --> 00:02:35.900 Trouble is, I was at mid-off, not square legs. 00:02:36.000 --> 00:02:36.960 That was the end of that. 00:02:37.420 --> 00:02:39.580 But, or played golf at Augusta. 00:02:40.300 --> 00:02:43.060 Or, well, of course, it's a game. 00:02:43.860 --> 00:02:45.480 You can't start a game, can you? 00:02:45.700 --> 00:02:47.380 It's just a game as you look back. 00:02:47.379 --> 00:03:00.199 But, you know, ladies and gentlemen, as we come this evening, the funny thing is that when it comes to the Christian faith, unless you do start again, you never make it. 00:03:00.780 --> 00:03:01.479 Did you know that? 00:03:01.900 --> 00:03:05.159 I wonder if you noticed that in John 3 in the Bible reading we have. 00:03:05.400 --> 00:03:08.240 It's so uncompromising, abrupt and clear from Jesus. 00:03:08.579 --> 00:03:09.859 You have to start again. 00:03:10.060 --> 00:03:10.379 Have a look. 00:03:10.419 --> 00:03:12.259 Can we see verse 3 as we look down? 00:03:12.319 --> 00:03:13.460 What do you make about this? 00:03:13.919 --> 00:03:14.680 Just extraordinary. 00:03:14.879 --> 00:03:15.919 Jesus answered him, 00:03:15.919 --> 00:03:20.780 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one's born again, he can't see the kingdom of God. 00:03:21.259 --> 00:03:22.979 Then it comes again in verse 5. 00:03:23.079 --> 00:03:24.000 Do you see verse 5? 00:03:24.560 --> 00:03:25.239 Jesus answered, 00:03:25.359 --> 00:03:31.139 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 00:03:31.179 --> 00:03:32.099 You've got to start again. 00:03:32.519 --> 00:03:35.699 And again in verse 7, Jesus says it again three times. 00:03:36.339 --> 00:03:39.879 Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again. 00:03:40.939 --> 00:03:42.479 I mean, it's categoric. 00:03:42.479 --> 00:03:46.379 Unless you're born again, you can't start the Christian faith. 00:03:46.439 --> 00:03:48.299 Just like unless there's rain, there are no crops. 00:03:49.120 --> 00:03:50.539 He's quite categoric here. 00:03:50.839 --> 00:03:55.299 A person cannot become a Christian unless he or she is born again. 00:03:56.060 --> 00:03:58.379 Now, they can't enter the Christian life unless they've got that. 00:03:58.459 --> 00:04:01.219 Now, can I say, this is fundamental to Christianity. 00:04:01.219 --> 00:04:09.199 When the trouble is, an awful lot of people think that the phrase born again was invented by Donald Trump to get more votes off the Southern Baptists. 00:04:09.500 --> 00:04:10.740 That's the problem, isn't it? 00:04:10.979 --> 00:04:13.639 They think it's some sort of, you know, thing that's cooked up. 00:04:13.699 --> 00:04:15.659 It's got such bad PR, this phrase. 00:04:15.659 --> 00:04:31.459 So I just want to say that it's here in the Bible and it's not about some narrow, emotional, cultic, fringe type of Christianity, which people like my dear mother, who's now passed away, used to dismiss by saying, well, I'm a Christian but not one of those born again types. 00:04:31.560 --> 00:04:36.620 I mean, in fact, this sermon is dedicated to my mother as a sort of refute to that comment. 00:04:37.199 --> 00:04:39.620 Mum would always say, well, I'm not one of those born again types. 00:04:39.720 --> 00:04:41.860 And I'd say, this is the only type you can be. 00:04:41.860 --> 00:04:49.860 So this necessity of new birth is in the original articles of every single Protestant church. 00:04:50.000 --> 00:04:52.040 It's embedded in all the original creeds. 00:04:52.439 --> 00:04:53.500 It's not negotiable. 00:04:54.080 --> 00:04:57.800 So as we hear this phrase born again, ladies and gentlemen, it's not weird. 00:04:58.000 --> 00:04:58.939 It's not strange. 00:04:59.080 --> 00:04:59.960 It's not new. 00:05:00.120 --> 00:05:01.540 It's not loony fringe. 00:05:02.100 --> 00:05:02.360 No. 00:05:03.720 --> 00:05:08.300 It's dynamite about a creator God. 00:05:08.300 --> 00:05:11.340 So the God who made that out the window as we look at the lawn and the tree. 00:05:11.860 --> 00:05:14.340 Who breaks into our lives. 00:05:14.580 --> 00:05:16.699 And so often it's our detonated dynamite. 00:05:17.439 --> 00:05:21.639 So please remove any unreflexive prejudice about the phrase. 00:05:21.980 --> 00:05:22.879 It's not crazy. 00:05:23.080 --> 00:05:23.819 It's not an option. 00:05:23.980 --> 00:05:24.639 It's a necessity. 00:05:25.660 --> 00:05:32.939 And there could be nobody who was more shocked that he had to be born again than the man here in our passage. 00:05:33.040 --> 00:05:34.580 Can we see chapter 3, verse 1? 00:05:35.540 --> 00:05:36.460 Utterly shocked. 00:05:36.780 --> 00:05:37.759 Do we see verse 1? 00:05:37.759 --> 00:05:43.860 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 00:05:44.480 --> 00:05:45.819 A man of the Pharisees. 00:05:46.920 --> 00:05:53.539 You see, this man had supposedly all the right credentials to be accepted by God from the start. 00:05:54.079 --> 00:05:55.560 He's so much to commend him. 00:05:56.079 --> 00:05:58.099 And I mean, surely he doesn't have to start over. 00:05:58.360 --> 00:05:59.939 First of all, he's a disciplined man. 00:05:59.980 --> 00:06:00.819 He's a Pharisee. 00:06:01.420 --> 00:06:06.800 So these were lay people who were so disgusted by the professional religious, they said, we'll do it right. 00:06:07.339 --> 00:06:12.240 They were absolute fanatics in terms of getting things right, in terms of how they lived. 00:06:12.800 --> 00:06:16.800 He was an able man, do you see, on the Jewish ruling council, verse 1. 00:06:17.079 --> 00:06:18.039 He was a learned man. 00:06:18.120 --> 00:06:20.240 Look how he's described by Jesus in verse 10. 00:06:20.500 --> 00:06:24.639 Do we see what Jesus says about him? 00:06:25.199 --> 00:06:28.939 Jesus answered him, are you the teacher of Israel? 00:06:29.060 --> 00:06:30.560 And yet you don't understand these things. 00:06:30.639 --> 00:06:31.719 He's Israel's teacher. 00:06:32.539 --> 00:06:34.599 And he's even, and I love this about him. 00:06:35.079 --> 00:06:36.219 He's an open man. 00:06:36.919 --> 00:06:38.439 He comes to Jesus with a question. 00:06:38.560 --> 00:06:40.079 You know, I was at theological college. 00:06:40.240 --> 00:06:41.379 I guess Paul would say the same. 00:06:41.620 --> 00:06:45.579 There were some people, you know, we're 25, but they'd stopped asking questions. 00:06:45.779 --> 00:06:46.719 They just answered them. 00:06:47.300 --> 00:06:49.099 So they plateaued at 25. 00:06:49.099 --> 00:06:50.779 They didn't have questions to ask. 00:06:51.439 --> 00:06:52.659 We've all got questions. 00:06:53.360 --> 00:06:55.439 COVID, Ukraine, we've got questions. 00:06:56.220 --> 00:06:59.340 But some people said, no, I was at college with, I mean, I pity their congregations. 00:06:59.439 --> 00:07:00.380 I just answer questions. 00:07:00.439 --> 00:07:01.060 I don't ask them. 00:07:01.900 --> 00:07:04.200 But this man comes with a question. 00:07:05.040 --> 00:07:06.220 So he's disciplined. 00:07:06.420 --> 00:07:07.040 He's able. 00:07:07.220 --> 00:07:07.820 He's learned. 00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:08.700 He's open. 00:07:09.080 --> 00:07:10.120 He's law and order. 00:07:10.620 --> 00:07:14.340 He'd have been a Bible reader, a faithful husband, a church leader. 00:07:14.900 --> 00:07:18.640 You don't get, you don't get more moral than the Pharisees. 00:07:18.639 --> 00:07:24.180 And so there's no one more moral, legalistic, upright and rotarian than this man. 00:07:24.500 --> 00:07:26.719 He's the model of middle class respectability. 00:07:27.219 --> 00:07:33.199 And so he would have been deeply shaken when Jesus comes along and says to him, you, Nicodemus, 00:07:33.919 --> 00:07:35.199 you need to be born again. 00:07:35.199 --> 00:07:46.139 In other words, Jesus comes along and he draws a separating line between Nicodemus and real relationship with God. 00:07:47.599 --> 00:07:50.019 He says, you're not in that relationship, Nicodemus. 00:07:50.019 --> 00:07:57.539 Now, actually, when someone said to me that I needed to be born again, I was so self-centered and self-obsessed. 00:07:57.819 --> 00:07:59.379 I remember thinking, well, I bet I do. 00:07:59.919 --> 00:08:01.599 I could thoroughly relate to Tennyson. 00:08:01.740 --> 00:08:07.079 He said, oh, that a man would emerge in me that the man I am would cease to be. 00:08:08.079 --> 00:08:10.139 I mean, I was in such a shambles. 00:08:10.219 --> 00:08:12.599 It never occurred to me that I didn't need to be born again. 00:08:13.079 --> 00:08:16.500 But this is such a thoroughly fine man, ladies and gentlemen, this man. 00:08:16.500 --> 00:08:23.220 Now, he's a good man and he'd have been shaken when Jesus says to him, you, Nicodemus, you need to be born again. 00:08:23.360 --> 00:08:24.879 So do you see what he does in verse 6? 00:08:25.439 --> 00:08:27.800 He jumps straight back at him in verse 6. 00:08:28.600 --> 00:08:33.419 And he says to Jesus, that which is born of the flesh is of the flesh. 00:08:33.779 --> 00:08:34.980 And that which is born of the spirit. 00:08:35.220 --> 00:08:36.759 Sorry, verse 4, I mean, verse 4. 00:08:37.100 --> 00:08:40.580 Nicodemus said to him, how can a man be born when he's old? 00:08:41.159 --> 00:08:44.419 Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born? 00:08:44.419 --> 00:08:49.659 Or, verse 4, to which Jesus, sorry, now answers verse 6, don't muck about. 00:08:50.139 --> 00:08:52.439 I'm not talking about physical things. 00:08:52.699 --> 00:08:55.559 I'm not talking about you being born physically in your mother's womb. 00:08:56.179 --> 00:08:59.179 I'm talking, Nicodemus, about spiritual things. 00:08:59.740 --> 00:09:01.279 Yes, you need to be born physically. 00:09:01.379 --> 00:09:02.579 But verse 6, here we are. 00:09:03.019 --> 00:09:04.659 But flesh gives birth to flesh. 00:09:05.319 --> 00:09:07.059 But you also need to be born spiritually. 00:09:07.219 --> 00:09:08.879 The spirit gives birth to the spirit. 00:09:08.879 --> 00:09:17.820 And Nicodemus, all your religious credentials, disciplined, religious, able, learned, moral, they're not good enough. 00:09:18.559 --> 00:09:22.759 All your religious performing, it's not good enough, Nicodemus. 00:09:24.039 --> 00:09:26.500 And, gosh, here's the brutal thing again. 00:09:26.600 --> 00:09:28.340 Do come to Hope that's flawed and ask it. 00:09:28.899 --> 00:09:30.080 And they won't save you. 00:09:30.159 --> 00:09:32.200 Do we see as we look down from verse 36? 00:09:32.200 --> 00:09:35.020 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. 00:09:35.100 --> 00:09:37.960 Whoever does not abate the Son shall not see life. 00:09:38.160 --> 00:09:40.940 But God's wrath remains on them. 00:09:41.900 --> 00:09:43.400 They won't save you from hell. 00:09:44.040 --> 00:09:47.320 All your performing, they're not good enough. 00:09:47.720 --> 00:09:48.520 It's not good enough. 00:09:48.840 --> 00:09:52.400 And can I say, we can therefore conclude from the words of Jesus, 00:09:52.399 --> 00:09:56.259 that if a thoroughly good man like this needs to be born again, 00:09:56.679 --> 00:10:01.879 then, ladies and gentlemen, we can be absolutely sure that you need to be born again, 00:10:02.419 --> 00:10:03.919 and I need to be born again. 00:10:04.919 --> 00:10:05.980 And here we go. 00:10:06.679 --> 00:10:09.579 And so does the kind Hindu and the gentle Buddhist, 00:10:10.159 --> 00:10:12.939 and the moral atheist, and the fine Muslim. 00:10:13.639 --> 00:10:16.500 Whatever your cultural or religious background, 00:10:17.299 --> 00:10:20.720 Jesus insists you need to be born again. 00:10:20.720 --> 00:10:23.420 And of course the question now comes, 00:10:24.019 --> 00:10:24.660 why? 00:10:26.259 --> 00:10:26.820 Why? 00:10:28.000 --> 00:10:29.279 I mean, here's Jesus. 00:10:29.420 --> 00:10:31.920 He's drawing this dividing line through humanity. 00:10:32.500 --> 00:10:34.899 It's just the sort of thing we hate today, don't we? 00:10:35.680 --> 00:10:37.120 Why is he doing it? 00:10:38.480 --> 00:10:39.800 Well, the Bible says, 00:10:40.200 --> 00:10:41.460 here's the answer, ladies and gentlemen, 00:10:42.060 --> 00:10:44.740 that all of us have said no to God. 00:10:45.399 --> 00:10:48.600 As God, we don't want him to be God over us. 00:10:48.600 --> 00:10:51.899 And of course, that little word, sin, 00:10:52.659 --> 00:10:54.000 that you've heard of, 00:10:54.120 --> 00:10:56.440 it presses us to put ourselves first. 00:10:57.159 --> 00:10:58.060 It presses us to go, 00:10:58.159 --> 00:10:59.620 God, I know you gave me the world, 00:11:00.240 --> 00:11:01.320 farm, family, friends, 00:11:01.440 --> 00:11:02.659 falling in love, food, fitness, 00:11:02.779 --> 00:11:03.980 but I'll be at the centre, 00:11:04.120 --> 00:11:05.860 and you can be a footnote. 00:11:06.259 --> 00:11:07.840 You can be out in the suburbs. 00:11:09.040 --> 00:11:10.639 And life's about my goals, 00:11:10.779 --> 00:11:11.600 my agenda, my desires. 00:11:12.500 --> 00:11:13.879 I'll be the main character. 00:11:14.019 --> 00:11:15.160 I'm going to push you out. 00:11:15.159 --> 00:11:17.000 And when we do that, 00:11:17.519 --> 00:11:20.939 although it seems to us to be a very small thing, 00:11:21.799 --> 00:11:22.839 it doesn't seem to matter. 00:11:23.519 --> 00:11:25.500 People on the telly on the news are much worse, 00:11:25.579 --> 00:11:25.980 aren't they? 00:11:26.539 --> 00:11:28.659 It seems to us to be a small thing. 00:11:29.179 --> 00:11:30.259 The result of sin, 00:11:30.319 --> 00:11:31.559 here's the issue, ladies and gentlemen, 00:11:32.959 --> 00:11:34.860 is that we die spiritually. 00:11:36.299 --> 00:11:37.299 We die. 00:11:37.299 --> 00:11:40.599 And that's why we need to be born again. 00:11:41.039 --> 00:11:43.259 Because spiritually, 00:11:43.539 --> 00:11:45.159 sin causes us 00:11:45.159 --> 00:11:47.299 to become walking corpses. 00:11:48.199 --> 00:11:50.120 I work near Oxford Street. 00:11:50.240 --> 00:11:52.279 You see people walk up and down Oxford Street. 00:11:52.639 --> 00:11:54.059 They're young, healthy, 00:11:54.399 --> 00:11:55.620 good-looking, slim, 00:11:56.439 --> 00:11:57.539 attractive, 00:11:58.639 --> 00:11:59.819 comical often. 00:12:00.819 --> 00:12:02.539 And yet the Bible says, 00:12:02.759 --> 00:12:03.719 because of sin, 00:12:04.479 --> 00:12:05.379 they're dead. 00:12:05.379 --> 00:12:07.360 That's the problem. 00:12:07.519 --> 00:12:08.439 And that's why 00:12:08.439 --> 00:12:10.360 we need to be born again. 00:12:10.500 --> 00:12:11.679 We're walking corpses. 00:12:12.179 --> 00:12:13.139 That's why there's this 00:12:13.139 --> 00:12:15.000 absolute necessity for it. 00:12:15.320 --> 00:12:15.939 And can you see, 00:12:16.039 --> 00:12:16.620 Jesus says, 00:12:16.980 --> 00:12:17.539 in verse 7, 00:12:17.639 --> 00:12:17.919 he says, 00:12:18.120 --> 00:12:19.759 you must be born again. 00:12:19.860 --> 00:12:20.759 Not that you can be, 00:12:20.820 --> 00:12:21.360 you should be. 00:12:21.439 --> 00:12:22.299 People like to be. 00:12:22.559 --> 00:12:23.500 But you must be. 00:12:23.620 --> 00:12:23.740 So, 00:12:24.139 --> 00:12:25.240 first heading is it comes in. 00:12:25.299 --> 00:12:26.620 So what is new birth? 00:12:27.220 --> 00:12:28.320 What is new birth? 00:12:28.980 --> 00:12:29.220 Well, 00:12:29.399 --> 00:12:29.759 you know, 00:12:29.840 --> 00:12:31.399 what does it mean to be born again? 00:12:31.539 --> 00:12:31.679 Well, 00:12:31.820 --> 00:12:32.379 can I just say, 00:12:32.460 --> 00:12:33.879 the first thing I want to say here 00:12:33.879 --> 00:12:35.480 is what it doesn't mean. 00:12:35.580 --> 00:12:36.679 It doesn't mean 00:12:36.679 --> 00:12:38.100 trying harder, 00:12:38.439 --> 00:12:38.899 spiritually. 00:12:39.840 --> 00:12:40.799 It doesn't mean 00:12:40.799 --> 00:12:42.360 turning over a new leaf. 00:12:43.480 --> 00:12:44.980 Like going back on the diet. 00:12:45.620 --> 00:12:47.279 I'm not talking about that. 00:12:47.639 --> 00:12:48.179 As you can see, 00:12:48.240 --> 00:12:49.179 mine isn't going very well 00:12:49.179 --> 00:12:49.519 at the moment. 00:12:49.620 --> 00:12:50.399 I'll tell you what I did. 00:12:50.779 --> 00:12:51.620 On New Year's Day, 00:12:51.659 --> 00:12:52.500 I made a resolution 00:12:52.500 --> 00:12:53.379 that I could give up 00:12:53.379 --> 00:12:54.220 all puddings 00:12:54.220 --> 00:12:55.379 except on my day off. 00:12:55.840 --> 00:12:57.100 And then on my first day off, 00:12:57.139 --> 00:12:57.820 I had six. 00:12:58.220 --> 00:12:59.519 It was an absolute disaster. 00:12:59.519 --> 00:13:01.279 But I'm not talking about that. 00:13:01.679 --> 00:13:02.860 I'm not talking about that. 00:13:02.899 --> 00:13:03.899 I'm not talking about 00:13:03.899 --> 00:13:05.740 turning over a new leaf. 00:13:06.120 --> 00:13:06.439 No. 00:13:07.559 --> 00:13:08.399 Ladies and gentlemen, 00:13:10.720 --> 00:13:12.699 this is a radical change 00:13:12.699 --> 00:13:13.819 this born again thing. 00:13:14.659 --> 00:13:15.579 That God does. 00:13:17.039 --> 00:13:18.340 It's something God does. 00:13:18.399 --> 00:13:19.559 It's not something I do. 00:13:20.240 --> 00:13:21.539 It's a radical change 00:13:21.539 --> 00:13:22.600 that God does 00:13:22.600 --> 00:13:23.939 by the power 00:13:23.939 --> 00:13:24.879 of his Holy Spirit. 00:13:25.299 --> 00:13:26.100 Can we see that 00:13:26.100 --> 00:13:26.699 in verse 8 00:13:26.699 --> 00:13:27.659 if we look down? 00:13:27.740 --> 00:13:28.500 What do you make of this? 00:13:28.500 --> 00:13:29.480 Hold on to your seats. 00:13:30.139 --> 00:13:30.960 The wind blows 00:13:30.960 --> 00:13:31.700 where it wishes 00:13:31.700 --> 00:13:33.360 and you hear its sound 00:13:33.360 --> 00:13:34.200 but you don't know 00:13:34.200 --> 00:13:34.919 where it comes from 00:13:34.919 --> 00:13:35.740 or where it goes. 00:13:36.139 --> 00:13:37.960 So it is with everyone 00:13:37.960 --> 00:13:39.700 who is born of the Spirit. 00:13:41.320 --> 00:13:43.080 So it's not something I do. 00:13:43.200 --> 00:13:44.360 This is something God does. 00:13:44.460 --> 00:13:45.059 And here's the issue, 00:13:45.159 --> 00:13:45.580 ladies and gentlemen. 00:13:45.679 --> 00:13:46.340 This is the issue. 00:13:46.840 --> 00:13:47.840 It's miraculous. 00:13:48.740 --> 00:13:49.720 Being born again. 00:13:49.860 --> 00:13:50.980 I'm going on here 00:13:50.980 --> 00:13:52.600 about a miracle 00:13:52.600 --> 00:13:54.100 that God does. 00:13:54.179 --> 00:13:55.940 So God brings us back to life 00:13:55.940 --> 00:13:57.039 as new people 00:13:57.039 --> 00:13:58.059 in the Spirit world. 00:13:58.059 --> 00:14:00.119 He radically changes us 00:14:00.119 --> 00:14:00.839 and our thinking. 00:14:01.439 --> 00:14:02.859 So what I'm talking about here, 00:14:03.679 --> 00:14:05.000 gosh, it's so unangriquant, 00:14:05.679 --> 00:14:08.500 is a supernatural act of God 00:14:08.500 --> 00:14:11.519 in which he takes the Holy Spirit 00:14:11.519 --> 00:14:13.839 and implants the Spirit 00:14:13.839 --> 00:14:15.139 in the base of our hearts 00:14:15.139 --> 00:14:16.659 and gives us a heart transplant 00:14:16.659 --> 00:14:18.979 and thereby gives our mind, 00:14:19.419 --> 00:14:21.159 will, emotion, personality 00:14:21.159 --> 00:14:24.000 a whole new direction. 00:14:24.939 --> 00:14:26.120 It's a miracle 00:14:26.120 --> 00:14:28.219 that God does. 00:14:29.679 --> 00:14:31.059 And so we start to think 00:14:31.059 --> 00:14:31.799 like he thinks 00:14:31.799 --> 00:14:33.159 and then consequently 00:14:33.159 --> 00:14:34.459 in a rather hopeless way 00:14:34.459 --> 00:14:35.740 that we start to long 00:14:35.740 --> 00:14:37.019 to act in his way. 00:14:37.699 --> 00:14:38.579 And I remember speaking 00:14:38.579 --> 00:14:39.579 to a rugby mate 00:14:39.579 --> 00:14:40.679 and I was urging him 00:14:40.679 --> 00:14:41.519 to become a Christian. 00:14:42.199 --> 00:14:43.379 And he said to me, 00:14:43.459 --> 00:14:43.740 he said, 00:14:43.819 --> 00:14:44.179 look, Rico, 00:14:44.379 --> 00:14:45.319 it's no good 00:14:45.319 --> 00:14:46.679 me becoming a Christian. 00:14:46.779 --> 00:14:47.179 He said, 00:14:47.179 --> 00:14:48.919 I'll never keep it up. 00:14:49.000 --> 00:14:49.659 And I looked at him 00:14:49.659 --> 00:14:50.059 and I said, 00:14:50.139 --> 00:14:50.559 listen, Matt, 00:14:50.919 --> 00:14:52.159 given your track record, 00:14:52.639 --> 00:14:53.179 I agree. 00:14:53.279 --> 00:14:54.419 I've been on rugby tours with him. 00:14:54.559 --> 00:14:54.879 I said, 00:14:54.979 --> 00:14:55.319 I said, 00:14:55.379 --> 00:14:56.779 I don't think you will. 00:14:56.919 --> 00:14:57.099 I said, 00:14:57.379 --> 00:14:58.239 what do you think 00:14:58.239 --> 00:14:59.259 you need to happen 00:14:59.259 --> 00:15:00.739 for you to keep going? 00:15:00.879 --> 00:15:01.479 And I'm not kidding. 00:15:01.739 --> 00:15:02.479 He looked at me, 00:15:02.739 --> 00:15:03.639 he shrugged his shoulders 00:15:03.639 --> 00:15:04.199 and he said, 00:15:04.580 --> 00:15:05.740 I think I need a miracle. 00:15:05.840 --> 00:15:06.419 At which point, 00:15:06.699 --> 00:15:08.279 I nearly fell off my stool. 00:15:08.759 --> 00:15:09.879 I nearly fell off my stool 00:15:09.879 --> 00:15:11.179 because that's exactly 00:15:11.179 --> 00:15:12.019 what we're all about, 00:15:12.080 --> 00:15:12.539 I said. 00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:14.159 We're all about a miracle 00:15:14.159 --> 00:15:15.000 in which the person 00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:16.120 looks the same 00:15:16.120 --> 00:15:18.819 but God has caused us 00:15:18.819 --> 00:15:20.699 to leap into the spirit world. 00:15:21.519 --> 00:15:22.120 He's given us 00:15:22.120 --> 00:15:22.980 a heart transplant. 00:15:23.600 --> 00:15:24.679 And can I say again, 00:15:25.120 --> 00:15:26.819 you can't do it yourself. 00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:28.799 This isn't something 00:15:28.799 --> 00:15:29.580 that you do. 00:15:30.740 --> 00:15:31.799 Let me tell you 00:15:31.799 --> 00:15:32.679 what it was like with me. 00:15:32.679 --> 00:15:35.059 Before it happened, 00:15:35.539 --> 00:15:38.059 I really didn't worry 00:15:38.059 --> 00:15:38.719 about God. 00:15:39.219 --> 00:15:40.579 Although I do remember 00:15:40.579 --> 00:15:41.319 praying, 00:15:42.019 --> 00:15:42.500 oh God, 00:15:42.679 --> 00:15:43.779 please help me 00:15:43.779 --> 00:15:45.219 to pass these exams 00:15:45.219 --> 00:15:46.659 and I'll become a vicar. 00:15:47.019 --> 00:15:47.899 I remember praying that 00:15:47.899 --> 00:15:49.019 and here I am. 00:15:49.259 --> 00:15:50.079 Here I am. 00:15:51.559 --> 00:15:53.559 But I didn't care about God 00:15:53.559 --> 00:15:54.620 as long as he looked 00:15:54.620 --> 00:15:55.500 after his bits 00:15:55.500 --> 00:15:56.459 and he left me alone 00:15:56.459 --> 00:15:57.279 to do mine. 00:15:57.779 --> 00:15:58.299 Ladies and gentlemen, 00:15:58.379 --> 00:15:59.339 I didn't care about him. 00:16:00.019 --> 00:16:01.699 But when God changed me, 00:16:01.759 --> 00:16:02.399 ladies and gentlemen, 00:16:02.679 --> 00:16:05.120 I started to love him. 00:16:06.559 --> 00:16:07.399 That's what happened. 00:16:08.059 --> 00:16:09.419 I started to love him. 00:16:09.879 --> 00:16:11.019 I was so glad 00:16:11.019 --> 00:16:12.219 at what he'd done for me. 00:16:12.279 --> 00:16:13.620 It was an amazing change. 00:16:13.939 --> 00:16:14.579 Oh my goodness 00:16:14.579 --> 00:16:15.679 what a lot of change it was. 00:16:16.159 --> 00:16:17.239 I started to love him. 00:16:18.059 --> 00:16:19.339 And before it happened to me, 00:16:19.539 --> 00:16:20.439 I read the Bible 00:16:20.439 --> 00:16:21.199 and honestly, 00:16:21.299 --> 00:16:21.979 I thought it was God 00:16:21.979 --> 00:16:22.239 with you. 00:16:22.739 --> 00:16:23.559 So when I was 00:16:23.559 --> 00:16:24.339 at primary school, 00:16:24.439 --> 00:16:25.579 I used to leaf through 00:16:25.579 --> 00:16:26.899 and look for references 00:16:26.899 --> 00:16:27.379 to rugby 00:16:27.379 --> 00:16:28.219 to try and make it 00:16:28.219 --> 00:16:29.259 more relevant to my life. 00:16:29.259 --> 00:16:30.259 I found a number 00:16:30.259 --> 00:16:30.740 I was reading 00:16:30.740 --> 00:16:31.580 with one to reference 00:16:31.580 --> 00:16:32.600 in John 9 verse 1. 00:16:32.799 --> 00:16:33.299 I don't know about 00:16:33.299 --> 00:16:34.000 blinding birds. 00:16:34.100 --> 00:16:34.740 That was good. 00:16:35.240 --> 00:16:36.919 Another one to foul play 00:16:36.919 --> 00:16:38.740 in Acts 9. 00:16:39.159 --> 00:16:39.980 So Paul and Barnabas 00:16:39.980 --> 00:16:40.700 were sent off. 00:16:41.080 --> 00:16:41.360 But I mean, 00:16:41.419 --> 00:16:41.600 you know, 00:16:41.639 --> 00:16:42.000 basically, 00:16:42.200 --> 00:16:43.259 I just thought 00:16:43.259 --> 00:16:44.299 it was for the birds. 00:16:45.059 --> 00:16:46.039 But afterwards, 00:16:46.639 --> 00:16:47.860 after I'd been born again, 00:16:47.939 --> 00:16:48.759 I'd go to the little 00:16:48.759 --> 00:16:49.620 Christian meeting 00:16:49.620 --> 00:16:51.120 run by the maths teacher, 00:16:51.200 --> 00:16:51.779 Mr. Ash, 00:16:51.779 --> 00:16:53.220 and I'd go along 00:16:53.220 --> 00:16:55.860 and it was like 00:16:55.860 --> 00:16:57.059 my name and address 00:16:57.059 --> 00:16:57.679 was India. 00:16:58.579 --> 00:16:59.720 I couldn't believe it. 00:16:59.740 --> 00:17:00.839 That 15-minute talk 00:17:00.839 --> 00:17:01.620 at the Christian Forum, 00:17:02.000 --> 00:17:03.039 I'd be here 00:17:03.039 --> 00:17:04.000 and it was like 00:17:04.000 --> 00:17:05.559 Jesus was walking 00:17:05.559 --> 00:17:06.599 off the page of Scripture 00:17:06.599 --> 00:17:07.460 and I'm not kidding. 00:17:07.879 --> 00:17:09.319 As the speaker spoke 00:17:09.319 --> 00:17:10.819 and taught a little passage 00:17:10.819 --> 00:17:11.339 of the Bible, 00:17:11.740 --> 00:17:13.319 I'm a 16-year-old schoolboy 00:17:13.319 --> 00:17:14.539 and my heart 00:17:14.539 --> 00:17:16.259 used to burn inside me 00:17:16.259 --> 00:17:17.960 like I knew 00:17:17.960 --> 00:17:18.740 I'd found the meaning 00:17:18.740 --> 00:17:19.200 of life. 00:17:19.200 --> 00:17:21.460 So the Bible 00:17:21.460 --> 00:17:22.200 meant nothing to me 00:17:22.200 --> 00:17:22.860 and suddenly 00:17:22.860 --> 00:17:23.620 it's like it's got 00:17:23.620 --> 00:17:24.600 my name and address in it. 00:17:26.279 --> 00:17:27.380 And before I became 00:17:27.380 --> 00:17:27.799 a Christian, 00:17:28.100 --> 00:17:29.100 I only ever prayed 00:17:29.100 --> 00:17:30.019 when I was in trouble. 00:17:30.440 --> 00:17:31.240 But after God 00:17:31.240 --> 00:17:32.039 changed me, 00:17:32.180 --> 00:17:33.019 I wanted to talk 00:17:33.019 --> 00:17:34.039 to him like a friend. 00:17:35.480 --> 00:17:35.740 I mean, 00:17:35.779 --> 00:17:36.620 I'd like to wake up 00:17:36.620 --> 00:17:36.940 in the morning 00:17:36.940 --> 00:17:37.519 and sometimes 00:17:37.519 --> 00:17:38.259 of sinful nature 00:17:38.259 --> 00:17:38.640 I wouldn't, 00:17:38.720 --> 00:17:39.600 but so often 00:17:39.600 --> 00:17:40.340 I'd love to just 00:17:40.340 --> 00:17:41.380 get my Bible open 00:17:41.380 --> 00:17:42.420 and talk to Jesus. 00:17:43.759 --> 00:17:44.600 And before I became 00:17:44.600 --> 00:17:44.980 a Christian, 00:17:45.080 --> 00:17:46.200 there were many sins 00:17:46.200 --> 00:17:46.900 and I didn't give 00:17:46.900 --> 00:17:47.960 a fig about them 00:17:47.960 --> 00:17:49.059 as long as I wasn't 00:17:49.059 --> 00:17:49.559 found out. 00:17:49.639 --> 00:17:50.399 But afterwards, 00:17:50.779 --> 00:17:51.779 they really became 00:17:51.779 --> 00:17:52.940 very ugly to me 00:17:52.940 --> 00:17:53.679 as I battled 00:17:53.679 --> 00:17:54.119 and struggled 00:17:54.119 --> 00:17:54.500 with them 00:17:54.500 --> 00:17:55.659 because I knew 00:17:55.659 --> 00:17:56.740 they were upsetting 00:17:56.740 --> 00:17:57.619 to the Lord Jesus. 00:17:58.960 --> 00:17:59.500 And I found 00:17:59.500 --> 00:18:00.200 my conscience 00:18:00.200 --> 00:18:01.119 gave me an absolute 00:18:01.119 --> 00:18:01.559 drilling. 00:18:03.319 --> 00:18:04.980 It was a radical change. 00:18:05.099 --> 00:18:06.299 It was a heart transplant. 00:18:06.519 --> 00:18:08.039 It was being born again. 00:18:08.879 --> 00:18:09.220 And do you know, 00:18:09.279 --> 00:18:10.419 it's not unlike surgery. 00:18:10.879 --> 00:18:11.159 Do you know 00:18:11.159 --> 00:18:12.059 what happens with surgery? 00:18:12.559 --> 00:18:13.579 The anaesthetist comes in. 00:18:13.619 --> 00:18:14.159 Just by the way, 00:18:14.240 --> 00:18:15.279 if you've never had surgery, 00:18:15.399 --> 00:18:16.740 can I honestly recommend it? 00:18:16.779 --> 00:18:17.319 It's marvellous. 00:18:17.319 --> 00:18:18.519 Just pick a bit of your body 00:18:18.519 --> 00:18:19.059 you don't want 00:18:19.059 --> 00:18:20.039 and go and get it sorted out. 00:18:20.200 --> 00:18:20.460 But I mean, 00:18:20.779 --> 00:18:21.919 but someone plunges 00:18:21.919 --> 00:18:22.899 something into your arm 00:18:22.899 --> 00:18:24.039 and the most wonderful 00:18:24.039 --> 00:18:25.559 euphoria sweeps over you. 00:18:25.599 --> 00:18:26.059 Don't you find 00:18:26.059 --> 00:18:26.700 that was surgery? 00:18:27.159 --> 00:18:27.960 And certainly I found, 00:18:28.039 --> 00:18:28.980 I sort of looked up 00:18:28.980 --> 00:18:29.619 and all the nurses 00:18:29.619 --> 00:18:30.700 looked absolutely beautiful 00:18:30.700 --> 00:18:31.679 and they put you 00:18:31.679 --> 00:18:32.220 on a trolley 00:18:32.220 --> 00:18:33.480 and the ceiling floats by 00:18:33.480 --> 00:18:34.839 and the doors swing open 00:18:34.839 --> 00:18:35.500 and you sort of see 00:18:35.500 --> 00:18:36.039 the surgeon 00:18:36.039 --> 00:18:36.919 and the next thing 00:18:36.919 --> 00:18:37.259 they go, 00:18:37.519 --> 00:18:38.899 wake up, 00:18:38.960 --> 00:18:39.419 wake up. 00:18:39.879 --> 00:18:40.720 And in half an hour 00:18:40.720 --> 00:18:41.700 you know they've done something. 00:18:41.819 --> 00:18:42.200 In an hour 00:18:42.200 --> 00:18:43.039 you wish they hadn't. 00:18:43.379 --> 00:18:44.099 In three hours 00:18:44.099 --> 00:18:44.919 you think you're going to die 00:18:44.920 --> 00:18:45.560 and in six hours 00:18:45.560 --> 00:18:46.779 you're afraid you won't die. 00:18:47.720 --> 00:18:48.800 So you see 00:18:48.800 --> 00:18:50.019 all the good work 00:18:50.019 --> 00:18:51.240 has gone on underneath. 00:18:52.240 --> 00:18:53.259 It's gone on underneath. 00:18:54.480 --> 00:18:55.759 But you begin to see 00:18:55.759 --> 00:18:56.720 the evidence of it. 00:18:57.380 --> 00:18:58.380 But what did I do? 00:18:58.460 --> 00:18:58.980 Ladies and gentlemen, 00:18:59.080 --> 00:19:00.440 what I did was this. 00:19:01.420 --> 00:19:02.680 I kept going along 00:19:02.680 --> 00:19:03.720 to the Christian meeting 00:19:03.720 --> 00:19:06.560 and I kept hearing the Bible. 00:19:07.279 --> 00:19:08.279 That's what you do. 00:19:08.279 --> 00:19:10.200 The Bible says 00:19:10.200 --> 00:19:11.119 faith comes by hearing. 00:19:11.279 --> 00:19:12.079 So your job, 00:19:12.779 --> 00:19:14.240 potter along to Hope Explored, 00:19:14.779 --> 00:19:15.460 hear the Bible. 00:19:16.399 --> 00:19:17.980 And as I heard the Bible, 00:19:18.579 --> 00:19:20.279 God did the miracle underneath. 00:19:21.399 --> 00:19:22.440 But your job is 00:19:22.440 --> 00:19:23.940 just to hear the Bible. 00:19:24.119 --> 00:19:25.319 And as God changed me, 00:19:25.879 --> 00:19:26.700 I started to go, 00:19:26.799 --> 00:19:27.000 Rike, 00:19:27.200 --> 00:19:28.379 you've got to stop 00:19:28.379 --> 00:19:30.139 using Jesus as a swear word, 00:19:31.019 --> 00:19:32.180 which you do all the time. 00:19:32.240 --> 00:19:32.759 You've got to stop. 00:19:32.759 --> 00:19:35.980 And I started going, 00:19:36.059 --> 00:19:36.279 do you know, 00:19:36.359 --> 00:19:37.700 he's really the son of God. 00:19:38.680 --> 00:19:40.140 And then I started to go 00:19:40.140 --> 00:19:42.680 and he really died for me. 00:19:43.799 --> 00:19:45.039 And he got through death 00:19:45.039 --> 00:19:46.319 so I can get through death 00:19:46.319 --> 00:19:47.619 so my Godfather's death 00:19:47.619 --> 00:19:48.400 doesn't have to 00:19:48.400 --> 00:19:49.859 overshadow my whole life 00:19:49.859 --> 00:19:50.539 and my whole morale. 00:19:52.619 --> 00:19:54.339 So as I listened to the Bible, 00:19:54.500 --> 00:19:55.500 imperceptibly, 00:19:56.240 --> 00:19:58.359 God made me into a new person. 00:19:59.119 --> 00:20:00.379 And that's why I come along 00:20:00.379 --> 00:20:01.359 to Hope Explored. 00:20:01.359 --> 00:20:03.139 Because it's a miracle 00:20:03.139 --> 00:20:04.059 that God can do. 00:20:05.859 --> 00:20:07.159 So what is the new birth? 00:20:07.259 --> 00:20:08.240 It's a radical change 00:20:08.240 --> 00:20:09.539 that God does by his spirit. 00:20:09.939 --> 00:20:11.000 Who needs the new birth? 00:20:11.199 --> 00:20:11.979 We all do. 00:20:12.479 --> 00:20:13.799 If Nicodemus needs it, 00:20:13.979 --> 00:20:14.959 we all need it. 00:20:16.179 --> 00:20:16.619 Thirdly, 00:20:17.479 --> 00:20:19.379 what is it that God has done 00:20:19.379 --> 00:20:21.179 so that I can be born again? 00:20:21.359 --> 00:20:22.459 I wonder if we can look down again. 00:20:22.519 --> 00:20:23.240 I think it's going to come up 00:20:23.240 --> 00:20:23.799 on the slide, 00:20:24.219 --> 00:20:25.339 the verse. 00:20:25.879 --> 00:20:26.500 Let's have a look. 00:20:26.599 --> 00:20:27.959 John 3, verse 16. 00:20:28.079 --> 00:20:29.159 Can we see as we look down 00:20:29.159 --> 00:20:30.879 this crucial verse 00:20:30.880 --> 00:20:34.240 what has God done? 00:20:35.980 --> 00:20:37.720 For God so loved the world 00:20:37.720 --> 00:20:39.460 that he gave his only son 00:20:39.460 --> 00:20:41.620 that whoever believes in him 00:20:41.620 --> 00:20:42.880 should not perish 00:20:42.880 --> 00:20:45.080 but have eternal life. 00:20:45.660 --> 00:20:46.640 So what did God do? 00:20:46.700 --> 00:20:48.000 Can you see as you look down? 00:20:49.060 --> 00:20:50.200 God loved the world. 00:20:51.540 --> 00:20:53.580 He loved the world. 00:20:53.579 --> 00:20:56.460 And because he loved the world, 00:20:56.579 --> 00:20:57.179 he loved you, 00:20:57.259 --> 00:20:57.939 what did he do? 00:20:58.679 --> 00:21:00.960 He gave his one and only son, 00:21:01.119 --> 00:21:01.419 Jesus. 00:21:02.599 --> 00:21:04.240 So God allowed Jesus 00:21:04.240 --> 00:21:05.619 to die on the cross 00:21:05.619 --> 00:21:07.339 to take the punishment 00:21:07.339 --> 00:21:08.579 which our sins deserve. 00:21:09.220 --> 00:21:09.679 I don't know, 00:21:09.740 --> 00:21:10.720 perhaps you've seen pictures 00:21:10.720 --> 00:21:12.299 of Jesus hanging on the cross 00:21:12.299 --> 00:21:14.839 and he's there between two thieves. 00:21:14.919 --> 00:21:15.980 You can think of it at Easter. 00:21:15.980 --> 00:21:18.620 And his mother is nearby 00:21:18.620 --> 00:21:20.519 and he cries out on the cross, 00:21:21.079 --> 00:21:22.079 My God, my God, 00:21:22.180 --> 00:21:23.519 why have you forsaken me? 00:21:23.880 --> 00:21:25.140 Now he is forsaken, 00:21:25.460 --> 00:21:27.400 so we need never be forsaken. 00:21:28.220 --> 00:21:29.980 That's what happens at the cross. 00:21:31.120 --> 00:21:34.140 He took the punishment for our sin 00:21:34.140 --> 00:21:36.819 and we deserve that punishment 00:21:36.819 --> 00:21:38.140 but Jesus took it 00:21:38.140 --> 00:21:39.440 so that you and I 00:21:39.440 --> 00:21:40.880 could be right with God. 00:21:41.860 --> 00:21:43.080 So Jesus died 00:21:43.080 --> 00:21:44.020 so that the new birth 00:21:44.020 --> 00:21:44.800 is going to be possible 00:21:44.800 --> 00:21:46.100 because God isn't going to 00:21:46.100 --> 00:21:47.060 send his spirit 00:21:47.060 --> 00:21:48.760 to transform us 00:21:48.760 --> 00:21:49.600 into new people 00:21:49.600 --> 00:21:51.360 without first cleansing us, 00:21:51.840 --> 00:21:52.960 without first doing something 00:21:52.960 --> 00:21:54.780 about our constant rebellion. 00:21:56.580 --> 00:21:58.240 After I'd been in Chile, 00:21:58.440 --> 00:21:59.560 Dad moved to Africa 00:21:59.560 --> 00:22:01.660 and he went to grow tobacco there 00:22:01.660 --> 00:22:03.380 and as a little five-year-old 00:22:03.380 --> 00:22:03.900 in Africa, 00:22:04.020 --> 00:22:04.940 there was no kids' TV 00:22:04.940 --> 00:22:06.020 and I had two hobbies, 00:22:06.680 --> 00:22:07.440 staff collecting 00:22:07.440 --> 00:22:08.300 and butterflies 00:22:08.300 --> 00:22:09.520 and both of them were amazing 00:22:09.519 --> 00:22:11.519 and for those hobbies 00:22:11.519 --> 00:22:12.579 as a little five-year-old, 00:22:12.660 --> 00:22:13.960 I found you needed 00:22:13.960 --> 00:22:14.440 one of these, 00:22:14.519 --> 00:22:15.359 a magnifying glass. 00:22:15.859 --> 00:22:16.779 But I soon found 00:22:16.779 --> 00:22:18.019 as a five-year-old in Africa 00:22:18.019 --> 00:22:19.839 that making little things bigger 00:22:19.839 --> 00:22:21.000 was not the only thing 00:22:21.000 --> 00:22:22.220 a magnifying glass could do. 00:22:22.519 --> 00:22:23.639 I found that if you took 00:22:23.639 --> 00:22:24.960 one of these into the midday sun, 00:22:25.299 --> 00:22:26.480 the possibilities were endless. 00:22:27.200 --> 00:22:28.160 I found that you could 00:22:28.160 --> 00:22:29.220 set alight a leaf 00:22:29.220 --> 00:22:30.619 or a piece of newspaper 00:22:30.619 --> 00:22:32.400 or even the gardener's hut 00:22:32.400 --> 00:22:33.819 and I found best of all 00:22:33.819 --> 00:22:34.700 if you took one of these 00:22:34.700 --> 00:22:35.599 into the midday sun, 00:22:36.139 --> 00:22:37.019 you could scare the little 00:22:37.019 --> 00:22:38.619 daylights out of your twin sister. 00:22:38.619 --> 00:22:40.559 Yeah, that was the parakel 00:22:40.559 --> 00:22:41.219 of ordination 00:22:41.219 --> 00:22:42.219 in the Anglican Church. 00:22:42.339 --> 00:22:43.779 You see, you can take 00:22:43.779 --> 00:22:44.839 a magnifying glass 00:22:44.839 --> 00:22:46.000 and you can focus 00:22:46.000 --> 00:22:47.159 the rays of the sun 00:22:47.159 --> 00:22:48.839 into such a sharp point 00:22:48.839 --> 00:22:49.399 of intensity 00:22:49.399 --> 00:22:50.939 that it burns things. 00:22:51.639 --> 00:22:52.979 Well, imagine if you would 00:22:52.979 --> 00:22:55.239 a massive moral magnifying glass 00:22:55.239 --> 00:22:56.679 the size of this room, 00:22:57.019 --> 00:22:58.259 but through our past, 00:22:58.699 --> 00:23:00.079 not the sun's rays, 00:23:01.039 --> 00:23:02.659 but God's righteous anger 00:23:02.659 --> 00:23:04.500 at the hatred, 00:23:05.219 --> 00:23:05.719 the gossip, 00:23:06.479 --> 00:23:07.619 the self-centeredness, 00:23:07.619 --> 00:23:08.659 the lust, 00:23:09.219 --> 00:23:09.859 the jealousy, 00:23:10.439 --> 00:23:11.079 the godlessness 00:23:11.079 --> 00:23:12.000 in my heart. 00:23:12.619 --> 00:23:13.419 I'm not even talking 00:23:13.419 --> 00:23:14.119 about yours, 00:23:15.119 --> 00:23:15.959 but these myriad 00:23:15.959 --> 00:23:16.819 of things in the way 00:23:16.819 --> 00:23:17.659 which I've shaken 00:23:17.659 --> 00:23:18.759 my fist at God 00:23:18.759 --> 00:23:20.599 and then God's anger 00:23:20.599 --> 00:23:21.399 comes down, 00:23:21.500 --> 00:23:22.239 down, down. 00:23:22.679 --> 00:23:23.539 All my sin 00:23:23.539 --> 00:23:24.179 comes down, 00:23:24.299 --> 00:23:24.919 down, down. 00:23:25.419 --> 00:23:26.739 And it's one man 00:23:26.739 --> 00:23:28.839 on one good Friday 00:23:28.839 --> 00:23:29.559 afternoon 00:23:29.559 --> 00:23:31.059 with such terrible 00:23:31.059 --> 00:23:31.539 intensity 00:23:31.539 --> 00:23:32.619 that he cries out, 00:23:33.039 --> 00:23:33.619 my God, 00:23:33.679 --> 00:23:34.319 my God, 00:23:34.319 --> 00:23:35.939 why have you forsaken me? 00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:36.700 Now that 00:23:36.700 --> 00:23:39.119 is how Jesus rescues me 00:23:39.119 --> 00:23:40.119 from the coming wrath. 00:23:40.759 --> 00:23:42.039 It's no small thing. 00:23:43.639 --> 00:23:44.639 I don't know if you know 00:23:44.639 --> 00:23:45.939 what your name means. 00:23:46.319 --> 00:23:47.240 If there are any Helens here, 00:23:47.299 --> 00:23:47.819 any Helens? 00:23:47.919 --> 00:23:49.279 Helen means bright. 00:23:50.179 --> 00:23:50.819 Any Paul? 00:23:51.059 --> 00:23:51.919 Paul means little. 00:23:52.720 --> 00:23:53.079 John? 00:23:53.740 --> 00:23:55.059 John means the gift of God 00:23:55.059 --> 00:23:56.079 which might be a surprise 00:23:56.079 --> 00:23:57.379 to the person sitting next to you. 00:23:57.900 --> 00:24:00.260 And I'm sure you know this, 00:24:00.380 --> 00:24:01.320 but Jesus, 00:24:01.640 --> 00:24:02.580 we know this at Christmas, 00:24:02.720 --> 00:24:03.120 don't we? 00:24:03.600 --> 00:24:04.800 Jesus means saviour. 00:24:05.900 --> 00:24:07.080 So the first Christmas, 00:24:07.220 --> 00:24:07.960 the angel Gabriel 00:24:07.960 --> 00:24:09.060 said to the Virgin Mary, 00:24:09.620 --> 00:24:10.460 you'll have a son, 00:24:11.040 --> 00:24:12.440 you'll give him the name Jesus 00:24:12.440 --> 00:24:14.380 because he'll save his people 00:24:14.380 --> 00:24:15.220 from their sins. 00:24:16.380 --> 00:24:17.340 So that means 00:24:17.340 --> 00:24:19.500 the name Jesus means 00:24:19.500 --> 00:24:21.780 he died for me. 00:24:22.760 --> 00:24:24.100 Now sometimes on the golf course 00:24:24.100 --> 00:24:25.940 I hear my playing partners 00:24:25.940 --> 00:24:26.940 say it all the time. 00:24:27.380 --> 00:24:28.700 But with whatever tone 00:24:28.700 --> 00:24:29.540 they say it, 00:24:29.740 --> 00:24:31.040 it means the same thing. 00:24:31.980 --> 00:24:32.360 Jesus, 00:24:33.080 --> 00:24:33.880 he died for me. 00:24:34.860 --> 00:24:35.300 Jesus, 00:24:35.740 --> 00:24:36.620 he died for me. 00:24:37.060 --> 00:24:38.040 Let's just try that, 00:24:38.140 --> 00:24:38.260 shall we? 00:24:38.280 --> 00:24:39.180 Don't say it out loud 00:24:39.180 --> 00:24:40.440 because the sort of British 00:24:40.440 --> 00:24:41.580 will find it too embarrassing. 00:24:41.740 --> 00:24:42.800 But when I say Jesus, 00:24:43.380 --> 00:24:45.780 could you say under your breath, 00:24:45.860 --> 00:24:46.660 he died for me? 00:24:47.300 --> 00:24:48.660 Every time you hear it, 00:24:48.660 --> 00:24:50.360 it means the same thing. 00:24:51.040 --> 00:24:51.460 Jesus, 00:24:51.980 --> 00:24:52.860 he died for me. 00:24:54.040 --> 00:24:54.480 Jesus, 00:24:54.860 --> 00:24:55.820 he died for me. 00:24:56.819 --> 00:24:57.519 And can I say, 00:24:58.279 --> 00:25:02.079 you must be incredibly precious 00:25:02.079 --> 00:25:05.439 that God should send his son 00:25:05.439 --> 00:25:06.700 to die for you. 00:25:08.639 --> 00:25:09.200 I mean, 00:25:09.240 --> 00:25:09.859 it's overwhelming, 00:25:10.079 --> 00:25:10.379 isn't it? 00:25:10.559 --> 00:25:11.599 I've got two little boys, 00:25:11.639 --> 00:25:12.740 I wouldn't let them die for anyone. 00:25:13.519 --> 00:25:14.279 But God says, 00:25:14.339 --> 00:25:14.539 Rico, 00:25:14.599 --> 00:25:15.740 I love you so much, 00:25:16.500 --> 00:25:17.599 I'm sending my son 00:25:17.599 --> 00:25:18.399 to die for you. 00:25:18.400 --> 00:25:20.980 It's an overwhelming thing. 00:25:21.980 --> 00:25:23.180 So let's conclude. 00:25:23.900 --> 00:25:25.360 Who needs the new birth? 00:25:25.840 --> 00:25:26.240 Everybody. 00:25:26.380 --> 00:25:27.340 If Nicodemus does, 00:25:27.420 --> 00:25:28.100 we all need it. 00:25:28.440 --> 00:25:29.100 What is it? 00:25:29.480 --> 00:25:30.720 It's something God does. 00:25:30.780 --> 00:25:31.880 It's not something I do. 00:25:32.440 --> 00:25:33.180 It's a miracle. 00:25:33.860 --> 00:25:35.080 What has God done 00:25:35.080 --> 00:25:36.340 to enable the new birth 00:25:36.340 --> 00:25:36.759 to happen? 00:25:37.180 --> 00:25:38.880 He sent his son to die, 00:25:39.019 --> 00:25:39.880 taking the punishment 00:25:39.880 --> 00:25:40.560 we deserve. 00:25:40.920 --> 00:25:42.400 And then as we close now, 00:25:42.740 --> 00:25:43.420 what has God 00:25:43.420 --> 00:25:44.100 what has to do? 00:25:44.960 --> 00:25:45.240 I mean, 00:25:45.259 --> 00:25:46.200 what are we meant to do? 00:25:46.720 --> 00:25:46.840 Well, 00:25:46.880 --> 00:25:47.200 have a look. 00:25:47.279 --> 00:25:48.480 Do we see as we close now, 00:25:48.720 --> 00:25:49.340 verse 16, 00:25:49.420 --> 00:25:50.039 have a look down. 00:25:51.120 --> 00:25:52.640 For God so loved the world 00:25:52.640 --> 00:25:54.400 that he gave his one and only son 00:25:54.400 --> 00:25:56.080 that whoever believes in him 00:25:56.080 --> 00:25:57.500 should not perish 00:25:57.500 --> 00:25:58.680 but have eternal life. 00:25:59.680 --> 00:25:59.940 Now, 00:26:00.039 --> 00:26:00.980 what does it mean 00:26:00.980 --> 00:26:01.660 to be trustworthy? 00:26:02.140 --> 00:26:03.000 It means 00:26:03.000 --> 00:26:04.200 you keep your word. 00:26:04.980 --> 00:26:05.759 So if I say, 00:26:05.759 --> 00:26:06.420 look at the end, 00:26:06.560 --> 00:26:07.580 first person up to meet me 00:26:07.580 --> 00:26:08.580 gets a £10 note. 00:26:08.880 --> 00:26:09.700 If I'm trustworthy, 00:26:09.900 --> 00:26:10.460 I'll give it to you. 00:26:10.500 --> 00:26:10.740 I'm not, 00:26:10.820 --> 00:26:11.460 so don't bother coming. 00:26:11.860 --> 00:26:12.660 But if I'm trustworthy, 00:26:12.660 --> 00:26:13.740 you keep your word. 00:26:14.560 --> 00:26:14.779 Now, 00:26:14.860 --> 00:26:16.080 what does God's word 00:26:16.080 --> 00:26:17.000 say to us? 00:26:17.740 --> 00:26:18.360 He says, 00:26:18.580 --> 00:26:19.540 you won't perish. 00:26:21.640 --> 00:26:22.860 You won't go to a place 00:26:22.860 --> 00:26:23.380 called hell. 00:26:24.279 --> 00:26:25.500 And Jesus speaks of hell 00:26:25.500 --> 00:26:26.200 again and again. 00:26:26.640 --> 00:26:27.779 He's the theologian of hell. 00:26:28.019 --> 00:26:28.340 He says, 00:26:28.380 --> 00:26:29.200 you won't go there. 00:26:30.100 --> 00:26:30.460 He says, 00:26:30.500 --> 00:26:31.120 if you trust 00:26:31.120 --> 00:26:32.820 what my son has done, 00:26:33.580 --> 00:26:34.060 he said, 00:26:34.060 --> 00:26:34.620 he said, 00:26:34.720 --> 00:26:35.580 I'll forgive you 00:26:35.580 --> 00:26:37.080 and I'll send my spirit. 00:26:38.380 --> 00:26:38.600 Now, 00:26:38.680 --> 00:26:40.160 we put our trust in Christ, 00:26:40.259 --> 00:26:40.740 ladies and gentlemen, 00:26:40.820 --> 00:26:41.720 by making a decision. 00:26:42.079 --> 00:26:42.799 Becoming a Christian 00:26:42.799 --> 00:26:44.120 is not like catching mumps. 00:26:44.460 --> 00:26:45.100 You know what it's like? 00:26:45.220 --> 00:26:46.059 You're a bit sore 00:26:46.059 --> 00:26:46.600 and the next day 00:26:46.600 --> 00:26:47.200 it's all up. 00:26:47.640 --> 00:26:47.759 No, 00:26:47.799 --> 00:26:48.539 becoming a Christian 00:26:48.539 --> 00:26:49.420 is much more like 00:26:49.420 --> 00:26:50.160 getting married. 00:26:50.980 --> 00:26:51.740 You don't wake up 00:26:51.740 --> 00:26:52.920 the day after you've got married 00:26:52.920 --> 00:26:53.799 and look across the bed 00:26:53.799 --> 00:26:54.140 and go, 00:26:54.720 --> 00:26:55.059 oh, 00:26:55.140 --> 00:26:55.360 hello, 00:26:55.880 --> 00:26:56.860 what are you doing here? 00:26:57.140 --> 00:26:57.960 And can I say, 00:26:58.039 --> 00:26:59.319 if it was like that for you, 00:26:59.480 --> 00:27:00.240 you're indeed a great 00:27:00.240 --> 00:27:00.480 enough 00:27:00.480 --> 00:27:01.460 and we continue here. 00:27:01.460 --> 00:27:02.819 No, 00:27:02.819 --> 00:27:02.960 no, 00:27:02.960 --> 00:27:03.019 no, 00:27:03.019 --> 00:27:03.400 no, 00:27:03.400 --> 00:27:03.620 no, 00:27:03.700 --> 00:27:03.900 no. 00:27:04.160 --> 00:27:04.680 When it, 00:27:04.779 --> 00:27:05.120 when it, 00:27:05.340 --> 00:27:05.660 you know, 00:27:05.759 --> 00:27:07.000 when it comes to marriage, 00:27:07.059 --> 00:27:07.180 I mean, 00:27:07.200 --> 00:27:07.940 I did one recently 00:27:07.940 --> 00:27:08.860 and I said to the groom, 00:27:09.319 --> 00:27:09.579 David, 00:27:09.940 --> 00:27:10.340 I said, 00:27:10.500 --> 00:27:10.840 David, 00:27:11.220 --> 00:27:12.460 will you have Alice? 00:27:13.039 --> 00:27:13.860 Do you notice I said, 00:27:13.940 --> 00:27:14.059 Will, 00:27:14.100 --> 00:27:15.000 not how are you feeling? 00:27:15.079 --> 00:27:16.319 He was sweating like a dog. 00:27:16.660 --> 00:27:17.000 I said, 00:27:17.079 --> 00:27:17.360 David, 00:27:17.539 --> 00:27:18.620 what have you made up 00:27:18.620 --> 00:27:19.420 your mind to do 00:27:19.420 --> 00:27:20.460 about this young woman? 00:27:21.000 --> 00:27:21.720 Will you have her 00:27:21.720 --> 00:27:23.120 for your lawful wedded wife, 00:27:23.380 --> 00:27:23.779 for richer, 00:27:23.880 --> 00:27:24.360 for poorer, 00:27:24.799 --> 00:27:25.779 in sickness and health, 00:27:26.039 --> 00:27:26.340 for better, 00:27:26.420 --> 00:27:26.840 for worse? 00:27:27.099 --> 00:27:27.359 Do you know 00:27:27.359 --> 00:27:27.659 what for better, 00:27:27.720 --> 00:27:28.279 for worse means? 00:27:28.799 --> 00:27:29.379 It means whatever 00:27:29.379 --> 00:27:30.299 the in-laws are like. 00:27:30.480 --> 00:27:30.919 That's for better, 00:27:31.039 --> 00:27:31.399 for worse. 00:27:31.859 --> 00:27:32.419 For better, 00:27:32.519 --> 00:27:33.079 for worse, 00:27:33.480 --> 00:27:34.959 will you forsake all others 00:27:34.959 --> 00:27:36.240 and stay with her? 00:27:36.779 --> 00:27:37.679 And he said, 00:27:37.779 --> 00:27:38.379 I will. 00:27:39.599 --> 00:27:40.179 He said, 00:27:40.220 --> 00:27:41.379 that's what I intend to do. 00:27:42.439 --> 00:27:43.379 And God, 00:27:43.939 --> 00:27:44.699 this evening, 00:27:45.319 --> 00:27:46.359 says to us, 00:27:47.240 --> 00:27:51.619 what do you intend to do 00:27:51.619 --> 00:27:54.119 about the death of my son? 00:27:54.119 --> 00:27:57.979 I've sent my son to die 00:27:57.979 --> 00:28:00.500 and I want to know 00:28:00.500 --> 00:28:03.359 what you intend to do about it. 00:28:05.219 --> 00:28:06.259 Now, ladies and gentlemen, 00:28:07.000 --> 00:28:08.219 I want to tell you 00:28:08.219 --> 00:28:11.219 that that is the most important question 00:28:11.219 --> 00:28:12.639 you will be asked 00:28:12.639 --> 00:28:13.959 in your life. 00:28:17.139 --> 00:28:18.939 What do you intend to do 00:28:18.939 --> 00:28:22.099 about the death of Jesus? 00:28:24.119 --> 00:28:26.699 That's the question. 00:28:28.500 --> 00:28:30.699 Will you put your trust in me today 00:28:30.699 --> 00:28:32.859 and believe that I can make you 00:28:32.859 --> 00:28:33.719 a new person, 00:28:33.839 --> 00:28:34.799 I can forgive you 00:28:34.799 --> 00:28:36.859 and that we can start again together 00:28:36.859 --> 00:28:39.500 and reverse this mess we're in 00:28:39.500 --> 00:28:41.039 and trust Jesus? 00:28:43.039 --> 00:28:44.579 And I'm going to close now. 00:28:44.819 --> 00:28:45.539 I'm going to say, 00:28:45.599 --> 00:28:46.419 if you've got questions, 00:28:46.579 --> 00:28:46.819 brilliant, 00:28:47.039 --> 00:28:47.919 please come and ask them 00:28:47.919 --> 00:28:48.639 at Hope Explored. 00:28:49.179 --> 00:28:50.259 But I've got a prayer 00:28:50.259 --> 00:28:52.659 and it's a prayer 00:28:52.660 --> 00:28:53.580 that says, 00:28:53.720 --> 00:28:53.800 look, 00:28:53.860 --> 00:28:55.500 the new birth hasn't happened to me 00:28:55.500 --> 00:28:57.700 and I want it to 00:28:57.700 --> 00:28:59.840 and I want to start again 00:28:59.840 --> 00:29:02.740 and I want to be made afresh. 00:29:03.279 --> 00:29:04.120 So here's the prayer 00:29:04.120 --> 00:29:04.960 and I think it's coming up 00:29:04.960 --> 00:29:05.740 on the screen. 00:29:05.880 --> 00:29:06.300 Here it is. 00:29:06.380 --> 00:29:06.540 So, 00:29:07.259 --> 00:29:07.940 Heavenly Father, 00:29:08.120 --> 00:29:09.519 I haven't had you 00:29:09.519 --> 00:29:10.860 at the centre of my life 00:29:10.860 --> 00:29:12.680 but from today 00:29:12.680 --> 00:29:14.100 that's what I'd like to happen. 00:29:15.040 --> 00:29:16.700 I ask you to be my Lord. 00:29:16.700 --> 00:29:19.279 Thank you for sending Jesus 00:29:19.279 --> 00:29:20.480 to die for me. 00:29:21.240 --> 00:29:22.420 Please forgive me 00:29:22.420 --> 00:29:24.580 and please send your spirit 00:29:24.580 --> 00:29:27.319 to make me into a new person. 00:29:28.600 --> 00:29:29.120 Amen. 00:29:29.640 --> 00:29:30.100 So, 00:29:30.299 --> 00:29:31.600 I'm going to now pray this 00:29:31.600 --> 00:29:32.980 phrase by phrase 00:29:32.980 --> 00:29:35.400 and if it's right for you, 00:29:36.220 --> 00:29:37.200 why not echo it 00:29:37.200 --> 00:29:38.200 in your own heart? 00:29:38.900 --> 00:29:39.160 So, 00:29:39.360 --> 00:29:40.140 this is a chance 00:29:40.140 --> 00:29:41.200 to become a Christian 00:29:41.200 --> 00:29:43.340 and to respond, 00:29:43.480 --> 00:29:44.059 to believe 00:29:44.059 --> 00:29:45.779 in what God has done 00:29:45.779 --> 00:29:47.059 in sending his son Jesus 00:29:47.059 --> 00:29:49.299 and trust that he'll send his spirit 00:29:49.299 --> 00:29:51.019 to make you a new person. 00:29:51.420 --> 00:29:52.819 Let me say it phrase by phrase 00:29:52.819 --> 00:29:53.240 and again, 00:29:53.319 --> 00:29:54.000 if there are one or two 00:29:54.000 --> 00:29:54.779 for whom it's right, 00:29:55.000 --> 00:29:56.180 if everyone else could bear with me, 00:29:56.259 --> 00:29:57.480 if you're not yet there, 00:29:57.740 --> 00:29:58.259 please again, 00:29:58.360 --> 00:29:59.380 come to Hope Explored 00:29:59.380 --> 00:30:00.920 but for one or two, 00:30:01.080 --> 00:30:01.779 I'm sure 00:30:01.779 --> 00:30:02.980 this is the moment 00:30:02.980 --> 00:30:03.799 to pray this day. 00:30:04.480 --> 00:30:04.720 So, 00:30:04.799 --> 00:30:05.220 let me pray 00:30:05.220 --> 00:30:06.319 and again, 00:30:06.400 --> 00:30:07.039 if it's right for you, 00:30:07.080 --> 00:30:07.759 why not echo it 00:30:07.759 --> 00:30:08.400 in your heart? 00:30:08.580 --> 00:30:09.100 Here it is. 00:30:09.900 --> 00:30:10.759 Heavenly Father, 00:30:11.200 --> 00:30:12.660 do echo it 00:30:12.660 --> 00:30:13.279 in your own heart 00:30:13.279 --> 00:30:13.799 after me. 00:30:13.880 --> 00:30:14.600 Heavenly Father, 00:30:15.279 --> 00:30:16.580 I haven't had you 00:30:16.580 --> 00:30:17.840 at the centre of my life 00:30:17.840 --> 00:30:20.819 but from today, 00:30:21.420 --> 00:30:23.680 that's what I'd like to happen. 00:30:25.200 --> 00:30:27.180 I ask you to be my Lord. 00:30:29.019 --> 00:30:30.799 Thank you for sending Jesus 00:30:30.799 --> 00:30:32.019 to die for me. 00:30:33.720 --> 00:30:34.900 Please forgive me 00:30:34.900 --> 00:30:37.860 and please send your spirit 00:30:37.860 --> 00:30:40.700 to make me into a new person. 00:30:41.200 --> 00:30:43.039 Amen. 00:30:46.660 --> 00:30:47.019 Well, 00:30:47.080 --> 00:30:48.220 it's just a huge privilege 00:30:48.220 --> 00:30:49.180 to speak tonight. 00:30:49.319 --> 00:30:49.940 Thank you very much. 00:30:50.019 --> 00:30:50.559 Post-COVID, 00:30:50.640 --> 00:30:51.559 it's so lovely to have 00:30:51.559 --> 00:30:53.000 real people in front of you, 00:30:53.059 --> 00:30:53.559 I can tell you. 00:30:53.600 --> 00:30:54.420 It's just lovely to come 00:30:54.420 --> 00:30:54.880 to this evening. 00:30:54.880 --> 00:30:55.080 Thank you. 00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:55.519 00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:55.519 00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:55.519 00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:55.519 00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:55.519 00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:55.519 00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:55.519 00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:55.519 00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:55.519 00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:55.519 00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:55.519 00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:55.519 00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:55.519 00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:55.519 00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:55.519 00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:55.519 00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:55.519 00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:55.519 00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:55.519 00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:55.519 00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:55.519 00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:55.519 00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:55.519 00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:55.519 00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:55.519 00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:55.519 00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:55.519 00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:55.519 00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:55.519 00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:55.519 00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:55.519