WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:12.220 One of the great things that I've experienced about Ealing already, even just being here a week, is that I've noticed in my brief time that it's made up of so many different people from so many different parts of the world. 00:00:12.220 --> 00:00:27.219 And all of these individuals, many of whom are your friends and your family, maybe just your neighbours, they make up lots of different views about who God is, if there is a God, and what he's like. 00:00:28.359 --> 00:00:36.859 Whether Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, whether spiritual, we've all got friends like that, whether atheist or just apathetic. 00:00:36.859 --> 00:00:42.799 We all have a view of God, but the question is, how do you know who's right? 00:00:44.119 --> 00:00:46.640 With all of these different views, how do you know who's right? 00:00:47.299 --> 00:01:01.379 As Christians, what makes us so certain that while other views claim to be right, that it's only Christianity that is right when it comes to the truth about who God is? 00:01:01.380 --> 00:01:11.280 So the question we're going to be engaging with from this text in 1 John is why the incarnation means that only Christianity can be true. 00:01:12.980 --> 00:01:20.140 By incarnation, what we mean is the idea that God, the God of the universe, became flesh. 00:01:20.140 --> 00:01:33.640 That God became man in the person of Jesus, which is what John is getting at in our text when he says, verse 2, that the life was made manifest in a way that was able to be seen, touched, heard. 00:01:34.280 --> 00:01:37.039 Now this is an idea we're going to come back to again and again. 00:01:38.200 --> 00:01:42.359 Now even as I say, only Christianity can be true. 00:01:44.019 --> 00:01:46.060 There's a weird atmosphere, isn't there? 00:01:46.060 --> 00:01:52.060 I sense a few feathers being ruffled because engaging with the issue of other religions is always tricky. 00:01:53.040 --> 00:02:01.040 We feel like we're stepping on other people's toes and we don't want to make people feel uncomfortable or unnecessarily cause offence. 00:02:02.320 --> 00:02:06.719 Do you know what we do in response to not wanting to unnecessarily cause offence? 00:02:06.879 --> 00:02:08.640 I think it's actually far worse. 00:02:09.740 --> 00:02:13.099 What we do is we flatten out all religion. 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:15.819 We flatten out all spirituality. 00:02:16.060 --> 00:02:19.479 And pretend that there isn't any differences between any of them. 00:02:20.539 --> 00:02:22.719 We make Allah the same as Brahman. 00:02:23.259 --> 00:02:25.340 We make Nirvana the same as heaven. 00:02:25.920 --> 00:02:29.539 And we make all practices of different religions essentially the same. 00:02:30.300 --> 00:02:32.140 You must have heard this. 00:02:32.539 --> 00:02:34.699 Whether it's in coffee shops or around. 00:02:34.960 --> 00:02:37.480 People who say, well, essentially they're all the same. 00:02:38.000 --> 00:02:41.400 It's just different religions emphasize different aspects of God. 00:02:41.400 --> 00:02:45.920 And that brings us to our first heading. 00:02:45.920 --> 00:02:47.360 The first thing we're going to look at. 00:02:48.000 --> 00:02:50.599 Aren't all religions essentially the same? 00:02:52.439 --> 00:02:57.140 Generally people collapse these different views of God into saying that no one really knows. 00:02:57.819 --> 00:02:59.020 So we're all right. 00:02:59.020 --> 00:03:06.380 There's a well-known parable about six blind men and an elephant that illustrates this really well. 00:03:06.700 --> 00:03:09.920 Those unfamiliar with the story, here it goes. 00:03:11.439 --> 00:03:13.800 The six blind men, they encounter an elephant. 00:03:15.379 --> 00:03:19.180 Although in the story no one really knows how they know it's an elephant. 00:03:19.180 --> 00:03:23.879 But the first blind man, he touches the trunk of the elephant and says, 00:03:24.439 --> 00:03:26.360 do you know what, an elephant is like a palm tree. 00:03:27.920 --> 00:03:34.200 Another blind man touches its big side and says, well, an elephant's like a rough wall. 00:03:35.219 --> 00:03:39.540 Another feels its tail and another one feels, you know, says it's like rope. 00:03:39.980 --> 00:03:42.540 And a tusk says, well, it's more like a sphere. 00:03:43.760 --> 00:03:46.340 Each comes in contact with a different part of the elephant. 00:03:46.340 --> 00:03:50.060 And it's convinced that their own explanation is correct. 00:03:51.219 --> 00:03:53.340 That all the others are wrong. 00:03:54.580 --> 00:03:59.140 The thing is, none of them realize that they're all experiencing just one part of the same elephant. 00:03:59.699 --> 00:04:02.000 And that none of the explanations are really complete. 00:04:04.219 --> 00:04:10.640 And in the same way, it's argued that different religions are just experiencing different parts of one God. 00:04:10.980 --> 00:04:15.520 But fail to realize that each is just part of the complete truth. 00:04:16.339 --> 00:04:18.399 Do you think that? 00:04:19.679 --> 00:04:20.659 Let's sat here this morning. 00:04:20.779 --> 00:04:21.519 Do you think that? 00:04:21.599 --> 00:04:24.779 That all religions are just different aspects of one God? 00:04:25.479 --> 00:04:28.299 Well, maybe you don't, but maybe people around you do. 00:04:31.579 --> 00:04:35.799 But the problem with that interpretation of this parable offers, 00:04:36.299 --> 00:04:37.759 it's best phrased with a question. 00:04:37.759 --> 00:04:44.539 How does the interpreter know that every religion is just part of the overall idea of God? 00:04:46.339 --> 00:04:50.500 How does the one telling the story know that it's an elephant? 00:04:52.300 --> 00:04:55.500 In order to know this, one would have to be able to see God, 00:04:55.579 --> 00:04:58.539 or in the story, see the elephant in all his fullness, 00:04:58.540 --> 00:05:03.580 to understand how each of the religions reflect just part of the complete picture. 00:05:04.680 --> 00:05:09.500 You see, people who claim that they can dismiss the distinctive claims of Christianity 00:05:09.500 --> 00:05:13.000 by saying they're all the same, 00:05:13.580 --> 00:05:15.580 that's a really arrogant claim. 00:05:15.579 --> 00:05:19.719 It claims to sit above God, 00:05:20.680 --> 00:05:22.319 and everyone else, 00:05:22.479 --> 00:05:25.879 and be able to be the one who can adjudicate who's right and who's wrong. 00:05:26.560 --> 00:05:28.500 But we know that that's not right, is it? 00:05:29.000 --> 00:05:30.620 Who has seen everything, 00:05:31.099 --> 00:05:32.779 and who has seen God himself, 00:05:33.139 --> 00:05:35.199 in order to say who's right and who's wrong? 00:05:35.199 --> 00:05:39.000 The answer is no one. 00:05:40.839 --> 00:05:42.180 The answer is no one. 00:05:42.259 --> 00:05:45.079 No one has the right to say that all religions are the same, 00:05:45.379 --> 00:05:49.159 because it dismisses the blatant contradictions between different religions, 00:05:49.800 --> 00:05:53.039 but also puts the one who's making that claim 00:05:53.039 --> 00:05:55.399 in a position they could never occupy, 00:05:56.399 --> 00:05:57.800 above everything. 00:06:00.099 --> 00:06:01.719 So if we're not all right, 00:06:01.720 --> 00:06:05.780 how do we know which view of God is? 00:06:07.680 --> 00:06:09.960 And that brings us to our second section. 00:06:10.120 --> 00:06:12.340 We can't say that all religions are the same, 00:06:12.660 --> 00:06:14.360 so how do we know who's right? 00:06:15.840 --> 00:06:17.760 If all religions are not the same, 00:06:17.880 --> 00:06:19.000 how can we know who's right? 00:06:19.960 --> 00:06:21.460 It doesn't feel, often, 00:06:21.980 --> 00:06:24.060 in the marketplace of different religions, 00:06:24.220 --> 00:06:25.880 we're just fumbling around in the dark, 00:06:25.980 --> 00:06:28.080 trying to make the best of a bad situation. 00:06:28.960 --> 00:06:30.360 This bit seems a bit right, 00:06:30.400 --> 00:06:31.560 and this bit seems a bit right. 00:06:32.300 --> 00:06:35.120 Because we're kind of trapped in this world, 00:06:35.820 --> 00:06:39.320 and we can't get outside the world to find out who's out there. 00:06:40.280 --> 00:06:43.700 We're trapped by the laws of physics and chemistry and biology 00:06:43.700 --> 00:06:45.660 and all the other constraints on mankind. 00:06:45.900 --> 00:06:48.880 We can't get outside of ourselves to see in. 00:06:50.360 --> 00:06:52.360 In order to grasp our situation, 00:06:52.520 --> 00:06:54.860 as we fumble around to make different claims about God, 00:06:55.120 --> 00:06:56.640 I'm going to use another illustration, 00:06:56.639 --> 00:07:00.439 so park your elephant and your six blind men over here, 00:07:00.740 --> 00:07:01.839 and come with me, 00:07:02.680 --> 00:07:04.560 and I want you to imagine for a moment, 00:07:04.879 --> 00:07:06.060 that sat in this room, 00:07:07.099 --> 00:07:08.360 everything goes black. 00:07:08.360 --> 00:07:10.420 just momentarily, 00:07:11.100 --> 00:07:12.759 but when the light returns, 00:07:12.759 --> 00:07:14.960 you find that you've got no memory 00:07:14.960 --> 00:07:17.259 of how you got into this room, 00:07:17.520 --> 00:07:19.600 and no memory of what's outside. 00:07:19.600 --> 00:07:22.120 And as you look around the room, 00:07:22.320 --> 00:07:24.280 you see that the windows are all blocked, 00:07:24.500 --> 00:07:25.500 and the doors are locked. 00:07:26.040 --> 00:07:27.100 There's no way in, 00:07:27.200 --> 00:07:28.300 and there's no way out. 00:07:28.300 --> 00:07:30.939 The question is, 00:07:31.259 --> 00:07:32.319 how would you know 00:07:32.319 --> 00:07:35.000 if there was anything or anyone outside the room? 00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:38.900 How would you know? 00:07:39.120 --> 00:07:40.740 You have no memory or knowledge 00:07:40.740 --> 00:07:41.900 of anything outside the room. 00:07:42.639 --> 00:07:44.100 So we'd do our best 00:07:44.100 --> 00:07:45.939 with what we could from inside the room 00:07:45.939 --> 00:07:46.800 to figure it out. 00:07:48.819 --> 00:07:50.920 We'd have those that claim 00:07:50.920 --> 00:07:52.439 there is nothing outside the room. 00:07:53.199 --> 00:07:54.360 We'd have those who imagine 00:07:54.360 --> 00:07:56.400 fantastical things outside the room. 00:07:56.399 --> 00:07:59.659 You'd have the poets among us 00:07:59.659 --> 00:08:01.299 start writing great odes 00:08:01.299 --> 00:08:03.620 about the arrangement of the chairs 00:08:03.620 --> 00:08:06.039 and the green blinds at the back. 00:08:06.620 --> 00:08:08.139 You'd have the geography lovers 00:08:08.139 --> 00:08:10.399 measuring the distance of the room 00:08:10.399 --> 00:08:12.399 and undulations in this wooden floor. 00:08:13.299 --> 00:08:14.839 You'd have the physicists among us 00:08:14.839 --> 00:08:15.799 dropping chairs 00:08:15.799 --> 00:08:17.579 to make sure that gravity was here. 00:08:18.539 --> 00:08:19.919 You'd have the philosophers 00:08:19.919 --> 00:08:21.919 contemplating what was outside the room 00:08:21.919 --> 00:08:23.859 and the sociologists among us 00:08:23.859 --> 00:08:25.519 just monitoring the groupings 00:08:25.519 --> 00:08:26.620 of how we're arranged. 00:08:27.879 --> 00:08:28.659 But ultimately, 00:08:28.839 --> 00:08:30.120 left to our own devices, 00:08:30.459 --> 00:08:32.720 we could explore this locked room 00:08:32.720 --> 00:08:34.480 but we could never know 00:08:34.480 --> 00:08:35.519 if there was anyone 00:08:35.519 --> 00:08:36.939 or anything outside the room. 00:08:40.199 --> 00:08:42.079 That's like us in this world, isn't it? 00:08:42.779 --> 00:08:44.659 We can explore this world, 00:08:44.919 --> 00:08:46.600 we can contemplate this world, 00:08:46.740 --> 00:08:48.120 but we could never know 00:08:48.120 --> 00:08:50.259 if there was anyone outside this world. 00:08:50.259 --> 00:08:53.659 But it doesn't stop us, does it? 00:08:53.960 --> 00:08:54.779 You have people saying 00:08:54.779 --> 00:08:56.179 that science has got rid of God, 00:08:56.279 --> 00:08:57.240 but how could it 00:08:57.240 --> 00:08:59.080 when it can't test 00:08:59.080 --> 00:09:00.299 what's outside the world 00:09:00.299 --> 00:09:01.600 and it can't test 00:09:01.600 --> 00:09:02.600 what it can't comprehend? 00:09:03.519 --> 00:09:04.919 And you have all sorts of religions 00:09:04.919 --> 00:09:05.939 and spiritualities 00:09:05.939 --> 00:09:08.100 claiming they have the truth about God 00:09:08.100 --> 00:09:10.000 or how we should live, 00:09:10.100 --> 00:09:11.259 but how can they 00:09:11.259 --> 00:09:12.700 when they're locked in the room, 00:09:13.259 --> 00:09:14.819 when they're trapped in this world? 00:09:14.820 --> 00:09:17.620 We cannot know 00:09:17.620 --> 00:09:21.120 unless, 00:09:21.940 --> 00:09:23.379 unless someone 00:09:23.379 --> 00:09:25.800 came from outside the room 00:09:25.800 --> 00:09:27.760 and came into the room. 00:09:30.280 --> 00:09:32.460 And that's what our passage today is. 00:09:32.940 --> 00:09:34.460 It's taken us a while to get there, 00:09:35.379 --> 00:09:37.140 but our passage today 00:09:37.140 --> 00:09:38.360 tells us 00:09:38.360 --> 00:09:41.160 that someone from outside the room, 00:09:41.440 --> 00:09:43.080 outside of this world, 00:09:43.480 --> 00:09:44.340 stepped in. 00:09:44.820 --> 00:09:45.700 In a way 00:09:45.700 --> 00:09:47.300 that could be seen, 00:09:47.780 --> 00:09:48.940 could be heard, 00:09:49.340 --> 00:09:50.379 could be touched. 00:09:51.180 --> 00:09:52.240 To tell us 00:09:52.240 --> 00:09:53.720 about the outside, 00:09:54.820 --> 00:09:56.680 that's exactly 00:09:56.680 --> 00:09:58.040 what the incarnation is about. 00:09:58.960 --> 00:09:59.840 The incarnation, 00:10:00.260 --> 00:10:01.340 the coming of Jesus, 00:10:01.840 --> 00:10:02.660 means that we're not 00:10:02.660 --> 00:10:04.100 blindly groping around 00:10:04.100 --> 00:10:04.700 in the dark 00:10:04.700 --> 00:10:06.560 trying to figure out 00:10:06.560 --> 00:10:07.980 some conception of God, 00:10:08.460 --> 00:10:10.880 but God has come to us 00:10:10.880 --> 00:10:12.660 to make himself known. 00:10:12.659 --> 00:10:15.419 He has made himself manifest. 00:10:16.679 --> 00:10:17.339 Listen to how 00:10:17.339 --> 00:10:19.179 John 1 puts it 00:10:19.179 --> 00:10:20.360 in verse 18. 00:10:21.439 --> 00:10:22.439 No one 00:10:22.439 --> 00:10:24.039 has ever seen God. 00:10:25.879 --> 00:10:27.360 The only God 00:10:27.360 --> 00:10:28.839 who is at the Father's side, 00:10:29.219 --> 00:10:30.459 He has made him known. 00:10:31.439 --> 00:10:31.759 Or, 00:10:31.939 --> 00:10:34.159 to use the Adam Wilson paraphrase, 00:10:34.159 --> 00:10:36.699 no one has ever been 00:10:36.699 --> 00:10:37.679 outside the room 00:10:37.679 --> 00:10:38.980 or been face to face 00:10:38.980 --> 00:10:39.459 with God 00:10:39.459 --> 00:10:40.579 to know what He's like. 00:10:41.959 --> 00:10:42.480 But, 00:10:42.600 --> 00:10:43.759 the one and only 00:10:43.759 --> 00:10:44.679 Son of God 00:10:44.679 --> 00:10:45.959 who is God, 00:10:46.959 --> 00:10:48.339 has made himself 00:10:48.339 --> 00:10:49.379 known to us. 00:10:51.039 --> 00:10:52.699 He has come into the room 00:10:52.699 --> 00:10:54.319 so that we are 00:10:54.319 --> 00:10:55.159 without question 00:10:55.879 --> 00:10:57.620 of what God is like. 00:10:57.620 --> 00:11:02.000 2,000 years ago, 00:11:02.379 --> 00:11:03.320 in history, 00:11:04.200 --> 00:11:05.259 in a way that could be 00:11:05.259 --> 00:11:05.919 seen, 00:11:06.279 --> 00:11:06.639 heard, 00:11:06.980 --> 00:11:07.399 touched, 00:11:07.720 --> 00:11:09.460 God came into the world. 00:11:10.320 --> 00:11:12.080 The world that He had made 00:11:12.080 --> 00:11:13.379 in order to reveal Himself 00:11:13.379 --> 00:11:14.899 to those He had made. 00:11:15.860 --> 00:11:17.799 Knowing we could never find Him 00:11:17.799 --> 00:11:19.220 fumbling around in the room, 00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:21.159 He came to us. 00:11:22.299 --> 00:11:22.480 Do you know what? 00:11:22.480 --> 00:11:23.860 The incarnation is 00:11:23.860 --> 00:11:25.919 God's personal introduction 00:11:25.919 --> 00:11:27.059 to the world He's made. 00:11:28.919 --> 00:11:30.179 The great writer, 00:11:30.299 --> 00:11:30.839 C.S. Lewis, 00:11:31.419 --> 00:11:33.599 he gave this great illustration, 00:11:34.159 --> 00:11:35.879 thinking of it like Hamlet 00:11:35.879 --> 00:11:36.860 bumbling around 00:11:36.860 --> 00:11:38.719 inside one of Shakespeare's plays, 00:11:39.039 --> 00:11:40.339 trying to find Shakespeare. 00:11:41.659 --> 00:11:42.539 But how could Hamlet 00:11:42.539 --> 00:11:44.299 ever know Shakespeare, 00:11:44.639 --> 00:11:45.659 although the world 00:11:45.659 --> 00:11:46.679 that he was in 00:11:46.679 --> 00:11:48.039 would have the strokes 00:11:48.039 --> 00:11:49.120 of Shakespeare's pen 00:11:49.120 --> 00:11:50.079 surrounding him? 00:11:50.799 --> 00:11:52.059 He could never come 00:11:52.059 --> 00:11:53.379 face to face with Shakespeare 00:11:53.379 --> 00:11:54.559 unless Shakespeare 00:11:54.559 --> 00:11:55.379 wrote himself 00:11:55.379 --> 00:11:56.120 into the play. 00:11:57.879 --> 00:11:58.559 And that's what 00:11:58.559 --> 00:11:59.779 the incarnation is. 00:12:00.439 --> 00:12:00.860 The God 00:12:00.860 --> 00:12:01.659 whose fingerprints 00:12:01.659 --> 00:12:03.379 are on every aspect 00:12:03.379 --> 00:12:04.320 of this world 00:12:04.320 --> 00:12:05.679 wrote Himself 00:12:05.679 --> 00:12:06.559 into the script 00:12:06.559 --> 00:12:07.159 of history 00:12:07.159 --> 00:12:08.659 that we might know 00:12:08.659 --> 00:12:09.480 what He's like. 00:12:11.279 --> 00:12:12.960 In each of the four Gospels, 00:12:13.080 --> 00:12:13.559 the Bible, 00:12:14.059 --> 00:12:15.220 in the Bible, 00:12:15.559 --> 00:12:17.059 we're given eyewitness accounts 00:12:17.059 --> 00:12:18.399 to the life of Jesus. 00:12:19.240 --> 00:12:20.299 Accounts of when God 00:12:20.299 --> 00:12:21.360 stepped into the room 00:12:21.360 --> 00:12:22.759 when God wrote Himself 00:12:22.759 --> 00:12:23.440 into history. 00:12:23.440 --> 00:12:23.500 history. 00:12:24.440 --> 00:12:25.360 And if you're familiar 00:12:25.360 --> 00:12:26.220 at all 00:12:26.220 --> 00:12:27.540 with the Gospels, 00:12:28.180 --> 00:12:29.560 then you'll know 00:12:29.560 --> 00:12:30.220 that John, 00:12:30.300 --> 00:12:31.460 who wrote the passage 00:12:31.460 --> 00:12:33.980 that we read earlier, 00:12:34.980 --> 00:12:36.300 and the rest of his followers, 00:12:36.560 --> 00:12:37.340 they were with Him 00:12:37.340 --> 00:12:38.380 at every turn. 00:12:39.960 --> 00:12:40.720 You know, 00:12:40.720 --> 00:12:41.640 the followers of Jesus, 00:12:41.720 --> 00:12:42.540 they ate with Him, 00:12:42.660 --> 00:12:43.460 they prayed with Him, 00:12:43.600 --> 00:12:45.040 they walked down dirt roads 00:12:45.040 --> 00:12:45.420 with Him 00:12:45.420 --> 00:12:47.020 in the hot sunshine. 00:12:47.180 --> 00:12:47.760 They saw Him 00:12:47.760 --> 00:12:48.740 do the miraculous, 00:12:48.740 --> 00:12:49.180 miraculous, 00:12:49.759 --> 00:12:50.460 and they saw Him 00:12:50.460 --> 00:12:51.360 do the very ordinary. 00:12:53.039 --> 00:12:53.980 The followers of Jesus 00:12:53.980 --> 00:12:55.419 were witness to His life, 00:12:55.620 --> 00:12:56.200 His death, 00:12:56.460 --> 00:12:57.940 and even His resurrection. 00:12:59.560 --> 00:13:00.320 They were there 00:13:00.320 --> 00:13:01.299 every step of the way, 00:13:01.740 --> 00:13:02.840 watching, 00:13:03.200 --> 00:13:03.560 hearing, 00:13:03.799 --> 00:13:04.159 touching. 00:13:04.720 --> 00:13:05.840 This man, 00:13:06.480 --> 00:13:08.539 who was also God, 00:13:08.539 --> 00:13:11.339 and they wrote it 00:13:11.339 --> 00:13:12.099 all down. 00:13:12.759 --> 00:13:13.599 They wrote it 00:13:13.599 --> 00:13:14.299 all down 00:13:14.299 --> 00:13:15.799 for people like you 00:13:15.799 --> 00:13:16.179 and me 00:13:16.179 --> 00:13:17.399 to know the truth 00:13:17.399 --> 00:13:18.559 about what God 00:13:18.559 --> 00:13:19.179 is like. 00:13:19.179 --> 00:13:23.779 They left no ambiguity. 00:13:25.419 --> 00:13:27.139 Thousands and thousands 00:13:27.139 --> 00:13:27.819 witnessed, 00:13:28.479 --> 00:13:29.579 marveled at His miracles 00:13:29.579 --> 00:13:30.659 as He healed the sick 00:13:30.659 --> 00:13:31.719 and cared for the weak. 00:13:32.399 --> 00:13:33.419 They were astonished 00:13:33.419 --> 00:13:34.139 at the teaching 00:13:34.139 --> 00:13:35.419 about the rebellion 00:13:35.419 --> 00:13:36.299 of mankind, 00:13:36.959 --> 00:13:37.739 but the grace 00:13:37.739 --> 00:13:38.899 and forgiveness 00:13:38.899 --> 00:13:40.120 that God gives 00:13:40.120 --> 00:13:41.279 to all those 00:13:41.279 --> 00:13:42.159 who return to Him. 00:13:42.919 --> 00:13:43.959 A teaching which 00:13:43.959 --> 00:13:45.079 they'd never heard 00:13:45.079 --> 00:13:46.240 the likeness of before. 00:13:47.439 --> 00:13:48.439 They believed 00:13:48.440 --> 00:13:49.360 and followed Him, 00:13:49.600 --> 00:13:50.720 having seen Him 00:13:50.720 --> 00:13:51.840 physically raised 00:13:51.840 --> 00:13:52.560 from the dead, 00:13:53.700 --> 00:13:54.920 proving all of His claims 00:13:54.920 --> 00:13:56.100 about everlasting life 00:13:56.100 --> 00:13:58.100 and life outside the room 00:13:58.100 --> 00:13:58.680 were true. 00:14:00.980 --> 00:14:01.180 Do you know what? 00:14:01.200 --> 00:14:02.540 God coming into His creation 00:14:02.540 --> 00:14:03.860 in the person of Jesus 00:14:03.860 --> 00:14:07.020 means that He has 00:14:07.020 --> 00:14:07.960 the final word 00:14:07.960 --> 00:14:09.060 on what God is like. 00:14:11.040 --> 00:14:11.340 Do you know what? 00:14:11.640 --> 00:14:12.980 Every other religion 00:14:12.980 --> 00:14:14.880 that challenges Jesus 00:14:14.880 --> 00:14:16.040 is false. 00:14:18.440 --> 00:14:20.580 But the good news is 00:14:20.580 --> 00:14:21.700 that Jesus, 00:14:22.100 --> 00:14:22.880 in Him, 00:14:23.000 --> 00:14:23.800 when we come face 00:14:23.800 --> 00:14:24.840 to face with God, 00:14:26.000 --> 00:14:27.220 we come face to face 00:14:27.220 --> 00:14:27.880 with a God 00:14:27.880 --> 00:14:30.240 that no human imagination 00:14:30.240 --> 00:14:31.900 could ever have come up with. 00:14:34.840 --> 00:14:35.900 A God who is 00:14:35.900 --> 00:14:37.260 infinitely powerful 00:14:37.260 --> 00:14:38.520 yet cares for the people 00:14:38.520 --> 00:14:39.080 He's made. 00:14:39.580 --> 00:14:41.040 A God holy 00:14:41.040 --> 00:14:41.940 and just 00:14:41.940 --> 00:14:43.020 and yet makes a way 00:14:43.020 --> 00:14:44.080 for sinful people 00:14:44.080 --> 00:14:45.140 who deserve justice 00:14:45.140 --> 00:14:45.820 to be forgiven. 00:14:45.820 --> 00:14:48.600 a God that is 00:14:48.600 --> 00:14:49.260 good. 00:14:50.879 --> 00:14:51.660 All religions 00:14:51.660 --> 00:14:53.060 that imagine, 00:14:53.320 --> 00:14:53.560 sorry, 00:14:53.680 --> 00:14:54.440 all other religions 00:14:54.440 --> 00:14:55.440 imagine a God 00:14:55.440 --> 00:14:56.780 that is trivial 00:14:56.780 --> 00:14:57.560 in comparison 00:14:57.560 --> 00:14:58.520 to the God of the Bible. 00:15:00.520 --> 00:15:01.620 To the beauty 00:15:01.620 --> 00:15:02.680 of the true God 00:15:02.680 --> 00:15:03.640 revealed in Jesus. 00:15:05.120 --> 00:15:05.740 And perhaps 00:15:05.740 --> 00:15:07.280 what's most remarkable 00:15:07.280 --> 00:15:09.020 is that He came 00:15:09.020 --> 00:15:10.700 so that people 00:15:10.700 --> 00:15:11.540 like you and me 00:15:11.540 --> 00:15:12.300 could know 00:15:12.300 --> 00:15:13.460 this great God 00:15:13.460 --> 00:15:14.080 personally. 00:15:14.080 --> 00:15:18.520 And that brings us 00:15:18.520 --> 00:15:19.500 to our closing 00:15:19.500 --> 00:15:20.520 point. 00:15:21.720 --> 00:15:22.520 So why does 00:15:22.520 --> 00:15:23.100 all this matter? 00:15:24.720 --> 00:15:24.920 You know, 00:15:24.940 --> 00:15:25.400 if God has 00:15:25.400 --> 00:15:26.460 personally introduced 00:15:26.460 --> 00:15:26.780 Himself 00:15:26.780 --> 00:15:27.960 so there is no 00:15:27.960 --> 00:15:29.060 ambiguity anymore 00:15:29.060 --> 00:15:30.240 about what God 00:15:30.240 --> 00:15:30.840 is like, 00:15:31.759 --> 00:15:33.220 that expels 00:15:33.220 --> 00:15:34.580 all false religion, 00:15:34.720 --> 00:15:35.480 man-made religion 00:15:35.480 --> 00:15:36.280 just imagining 00:15:36.280 --> 00:15:37.240 what God is like, 00:15:38.320 --> 00:15:40.000 what are we to do? 00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:42.379 we start by asking 00:15:42.379 --> 00:15:43.139 the question 00:15:43.139 --> 00:15:44.440 why the incarnation 00:15:44.440 --> 00:15:45.240 means that only 00:15:45.240 --> 00:15:46.059 Christianity is true 00:15:46.059 --> 00:15:47.019 but I hope you can see 00:15:47.019 --> 00:15:47.480 that the answer 00:15:47.480 --> 00:15:48.039 is simple. 00:15:49.879 --> 00:15:50.539 That if 00:15:50.539 --> 00:15:52.379 Jesus really is 00:15:52.379 --> 00:15:53.320 who He says He is, 00:15:53.720 --> 00:15:54.879 if God has really 00:15:54.879 --> 00:15:56.360 come into His creation 00:15:56.360 --> 00:15:57.440 in order to make it 00:15:57.440 --> 00:15:58.039 beyond doubt 00:15:58.039 --> 00:15:59.059 about who He is 00:15:59.059 --> 00:15:59.759 and what He's like, 00:16:00.679 --> 00:16:01.159 then it means 00:16:01.159 --> 00:16:02.039 any other view 00:16:02.039 --> 00:16:03.179 can't be true. 00:16:03.179 --> 00:16:05.599 But more than that, 00:16:05.819 --> 00:16:06.559 look at those 00:16:06.559 --> 00:16:07.699 three of our passage. 00:16:12.099 --> 00:16:12.500 That 00:16:12.500 --> 00:16:13.659 which we have 00:16:13.659 --> 00:16:14.399 seen 00:16:14.399 --> 00:16:15.259 and heard 00:16:15.259 --> 00:16:16.000 we proclaim 00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:17.199 also to you. 00:16:17.939 --> 00:16:18.379 Why? 00:16:18.519 --> 00:16:19.559 This is the so what? 00:16:19.779 --> 00:16:20.439 This is the 00:16:20.439 --> 00:16:21.719 wake up and listen 00:16:21.719 --> 00:16:22.120 point. 00:16:22.579 --> 00:16:23.399 Why have we gone 00:16:23.399 --> 00:16:24.219 and done all of 00:16:24.219 --> 00:16:24.799 this work? 00:16:25.359 --> 00:16:25.939 Why have we 00:16:25.939 --> 00:16:26.639 said, you know, 00:16:26.699 --> 00:16:28.039 this is who Jesus is? 00:16:28.360 --> 00:16:29.039 Why has He gone 00:16:29.039 --> 00:16:30.439 to great pains 00:16:30.439 --> 00:16:31.959 to write this letter? 00:16:32.620 --> 00:16:33.439 So why has the 00:16:33.439 --> 00:16:34.039 whole Bible 00:16:34.039 --> 00:16:34.719 been recorded? 00:16:36.579 --> 00:16:37.919 Well, this message 00:16:37.919 --> 00:16:39.319 about God 00:16:39.319 --> 00:16:40.319 incarnate 00:16:40.319 --> 00:16:42.179 is so that you 00:16:42.179 --> 00:16:43.439 too may have 00:16:43.439 --> 00:16:44.419 fellowship with us 00:16:44.419 --> 00:16:45.599 and indeed 00:16:45.599 --> 00:16:46.719 our fellowship 00:16:46.719 --> 00:16:47.500 is with, 00:16:48.039 --> 00:16:48.919 here we go, 00:16:49.439 --> 00:16:50.459 with the Father 00:16:50.459 --> 00:16:51.839 and with His Son 00:16:51.839 --> 00:16:52.759 Jesus Christ. 00:16:54.860 --> 00:16:55.360 So what John 00:16:55.360 --> 00:16:56.199 wants us, 00:16:56.299 --> 00:16:56.939 as well as his 00:16:56.939 --> 00:16:57.799 original readers, 00:16:58.039 --> 00:16:58.740 to know that 00:16:58.740 --> 00:17:00.399 God in the flesh 00:17:00.399 --> 00:17:01.539 has come 00:17:01.539 --> 00:17:02.459 so that we 00:17:02.459 --> 00:17:03.620 can know God. 00:17:05.460 --> 00:17:05.980 Now, 00:17:06.139 --> 00:17:06.700 there's a whole 00:17:06.700 --> 00:17:07.319 host of things 00:17:07.319 --> 00:17:07.960 we need to talk 00:17:07.960 --> 00:17:09.059 about because 00:17:09.059 --> 00:17:10.059 Jesus makes a lot 00:17:10.059 --> 00:17:10.700 of claims about 00:17:10.700 --> 00:17:11.659 who we are 00:17:11.659 --> 00:17:12.740 in His world 00:17:12.740 --> 00:17:13.819 and how we've 00:17:13.819 --> 00:17:14.980 rebelled against Him 00:17:14.980 --> 00:17:17.639 and the consequences 00:17:17.639 --> 00:17:18.440 for that. 00:17:19.599 --> 00:17:20.579 But the coming 00:17:20.579 --> 00:17:21.399 of God in the 00:17:21.399 --> 00:17:22.180 person of Jesus 00:17:22.180 --> 00:17:23.119 is good news. 00:17:24.299 --> 00:17:24.759 And we're going 00:17:24.759 --> 00:17:25.420 to unpack that 00:17:25.420 --> 00:17:26.659 more because 00:17:26.659 --> 00:17:27.700 Him coming 00:17:27.700 --> 00:17:28.279 is the way 00:17:28.279 --> 00:17:28.840 that it makes 00:17:28.840 --> 00:17:29.640 it possible 00:17:29.640 --> 00:17:30.900 for us to 00:17:30.900 --> 00:17:31.440 have fellowship 00:17:31.440 --> 00:17:31.960 with Him, 00:17:32.500 --> 00:17:33.480 to know God, 00:17:33.620 --> 00:17:34.460 to be friends 00:17:34.460 --> 00:17:35.039 with God. 00:17:37.039 --> 00:17:37.700 And we're going 00:17:37.700 --> 00:17:38.220 to think about 00:17:38.220 --> 00:17:38.700 the life, 00:17:38.819 --> 00:17:39.160 death and 00:17:39.160 --> 00:17:39.600 resurrection 00:17:39.600 --> 00:17:40.660 of Jesus 00:17:40.660 --> 00:17:41.259 in a lot 00:17:41.259 --> 00:17:41.680 more detail 00:17:41.680 --> 00:17:42.380 next time. 00:17:43.240 --> 00:17:43.940 So for now, 00:17:44.779 --> 00:17:45.360 if you're a 00:17:45.360 --> 00:17:45.799 Christian, 00:17:47.140 --> 00:17:48.059 maybe new to 00:17:48.059 --> 00:17:48.580 Christianity, 00:17:49.039 --> 00:17:49.759 and you've never 00:17:49.759 --> 00:17:50.360 read these 00:17:50.360 --> 00:17:51.120 eyewitness accounts 00:17:51.120 --> 00:17:51.640 of Jesus, 00:17:51.640 --> 00:17:52.840 I really want 00:17:52.840 --> 00:17:53.460 to encourage you 00:17:53.460 --> 00:17:54.080 to do so. 00:17:54.280 --> 00:17:54.700 We've got some 00:17:54.700 --> 00:17:55.400 copies of John's 00:17:55.400 --> 00:17:55.960 Gospel at the 00:17:55.960 --> 00:17:56.340 back. 00:17:57.980 --> 00:17:58.920 In those pages, 00:17:59.040 --> 00:17:59.460 you will come 00:17:59.460 --> 00:18:00.300 face to face 00:18:00.300 --> 00:18:00.720 with the God 00:18:00.720 --> 00:18:01.320 who made you. 00:18:04.180 --> 00:18:05.060 And for those 00:18:05.060 --> 00:18:06.160 of you who are 00:18:06.160 --> 00:18:07.280 not Christians, 00:18:08.000 --> 00:18:08.720 but are kind of 00:18:08.720 --> 00:18:09.480 interested in 00:18:09.480 --> 00:18:10.400 thinking about it, 00:18:10.900 --> 00:18:11.600 and maybe this 00:18:11.600 --> 00:18:12.580 talk has sparks 00:18:12.580 --> 00:18:13.400 for questions for 00:18:13.400 --> 00:18:13.680 you, 00:18:14.240 --> 00:18:15.220 I really want to 00:18:15.220 --> 00:18:15.780 encourage you to 00:18:15.780 --> 00:18:16.240 come and ask 00:18:16.240 --> 00:18:16.460 them. 00:18:16.460 --> 00:18:17.819 I remember 00:18:17.819 --> 00:18:18.340 that moment 00:18:18.340 --> 00:18:18.880 when I had 00:18:18.880 --> 00:18:19.579 lots of questions 00:18:19.579 --> 00:18:20.120 about who 00:18:20.120 --> 00:18:20.779 Jesus was, 00:18:21.000 --> 00:18:21.579 and why he 00:18:21.579 --> 00:18:21.920 came. 00:18:22.440 --> 00:18:22.960 And if I 00:18:22.960 --> 00:18:23.519 hadn't asked 00:18:23.519 --> 00:18:24.180 them, I 00:18:24.180 --> 00:18:24.539 wouldn't be 00:18:24.539 --> 00:18:24.980 stood here. 00:18:26.840 --> 00:18:27.620 But I also 00:18:27.620 --> 00:18:28.120 want to encourage 00:18:28.120 --> 00:18:28.519 you to come 00:18:28.519 --> 00:18:29.180 next time. 00:18:29.799 --> 00:18:30.200 We're going to 00:18:30.200 --> 00:18:30.640 be thinking 00:18:30.640 --> 00:18:31.420 about the 00:18:31.420 --> 00:18:32.059 significance, 00:18:32.259 --> 00:18:32.880 why he had 00:18:32.880 --> 00:18:33.720 to come bodily 00:18:33.720 --> 00:18:35.019 and physically, 00:18:35.380 --> 00:18:36.340 and not just 00:18:36.340 --> 00:18:37.220 spiritually and 00:18:37.220 --> 00:18:37.980 abstractly. 00:18:40.519 --> 00:18:41.319 And I want to 00:18:41.319 --> 00:18:41.960 assure you, 00:18:42.160 --> 00:18:42.539 there's even 00:18:42.539 --> 00:18:43.140 better news 00:18:43.140 --> 00:18:43.480 than that. 00:18:44.480 --> 00:18:45.120 Let me just 00:18:45.120 --> 00:18:45.380 pray.