WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:29.980 Thank you. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:59.980 Thank you. 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:29.980 Thank you. 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:32.000 Thank you. 00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:02.000 Thank you. 00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:32.000 Thank you. 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:02.000 Thank you. 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:32.000 Thank you. 00:03:32.000 --> 00:03:34.000 Thank you. 00:03:34.000 --> 00:03:34.000 00:03:34.000 --> 00:03:36.000 Thank you. 00:03:36.000 --> 00:03:38.000 Thank you. 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:44.860 And as the conversation develops, we see Jesus speak about his own death. 00:03:44.860 --> 00:03:49.740 Just have a look at the number 14 there on the sheets. 00:03:51.000 --> 00:03:51.860 Jesus says, 00:03:51.860 --> 00:03:58.180 As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up. 00:03:59.460 --> 00:04:11.980 Now, in John's language, Jesus there is using an illustration based on a story about Moses in the Old Testament to illustrate his own death. 00:04:11.979 --> 00:04:21.480 So, first of all, Jesus speaks about his own death as something that is intentional. 00:04:21.480 --> 00:04:22.480 It's intentional. 00:04:22.480 --> 00:04:22.939 It's intentional. 00:04:22.939 --> 00:04:24.340 Now, I'm going to put that word up. 00:04:25.259 --> 00:04:26.000 It's intentional. 00:04:29.340 --> 00:04:30.400 It's intentional. 00:04:30.600 --> 00:04:31.860 Jesus' death is planned. 00:04:33.259 --> 00:04:37.939 His death is not a blunder or the result of God's vengefulness. 00:04:37.939 --> 00:04:44.540 Jesus himself speaks about his death as something that he knows about and that is planned. 00:04:45.759 --> 00:04:48.459 Jesus knows that he's come to die. 00:04:48.459 --> 00:04:54.939 Now, later in John's book, he records Jesus speaking about himself like a shepherd. 00:04:55.639 --> 00:05:00.680 It's a lovely image of Jesus as a shepherd looking after his people, saving them. 00:05:01.500 --> 00:05:03.620 And he says this in John chapter 10, 00:05:03.680 --> 00:05:10.899 I'm the good shepherd because I lay my life down for my sheep. 00:05:10.899 --> 00:05:11.919 And he goes on to say, 00:05:12.019 --> 00:05:17.199 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. 00:05:17.199 --> 00:05:19.159 So, Jesus says, 00:05:19.379 --> 00:05:25.099 My purpose on earth is to be a shepherd, to protect and save people. 00:05:25.279 --> 00:05:28.539 And in doing that, I will die. 00:05:29.279 --> 00:05:30.800 I will lay my life down. 00:05:31.180 --> 00:05:33.120 In another gospel, Luke's gospel, 00:05:34.079 --> 00:05:40.459 Jesus says many, many times that he must suffer and be rejected and be killed 00:05:40.459 --> 00:05:42.860 and on the third day rise. 00:05:42.860 --> 00:05:50.480 Jesus understood his great mission in life was his death. 00:05:51.600 --> 00:05:53.199 And all through the gospel accounts, 00:05:53.319 --> 00:06:00.020 we actually read about Jesus having this inner compulsion to go and die as a shepherd. 00:06:01.379 --> 00:06:05.560 We see that he could have avoided death on many occasions. 00:06:05.560 --> 00:06:08.780 So, he died in Jerusalem in the south of Israel. 00:06:09.399 --> 00:06:11.519 He could have stayed in the north, in the country. 00:06:12.620 --> 00:06:16.980 But he resolutely went towards Jerusalem where he knew there would be trouble. 00:06:17.860 --> 00:06:19.399 And he knew he would die. 00:06:20.600 --> 00:06:23.639 When other people, when his friends and disciples say to him, 00:06:23.699 --> 00:06:25.259 Jesus, you don't have to die. 00:06:26.120 --> 00:06:28.000 He tells them off for that. 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:33.040 He lays his own life down of his own accord. 00:06:33.160 --> 00:06:34.220 So, that's the first thing. 00:06:34.300 --> 00:06:36.819 Jesus' death is intentional. 00:06:37.519 --> 00:06:38.360 It's intentional. 00:06:39.819 --> 00:06:44.100 God is a loving God, but Jesus died. 00:06:44.300 --> 00:06:46.199 No, it was intentional. 00:06:46.540 --> 00:06:48.199 But secondly, this afternoon, 00:06:49.000 --> 00:06:52.279 Jesus' death was a loving thing. 00:06:53.040 --> 00:06:53.839 It was loving. 00:06:53.839 --> 00:06:55.019 Let me put that up. 00:06:58.000 --> 00:07:01.680 It's a loving thing to do. 00:07:02.199 --> 00:07:05.459 So, looking back at that passage in John's book there, 00:07:05.519 --> 00:07:06.399 we've got printed out, 00:07:06.500 --> 00:07:12.720 just notice the connection between Jesus' death and God's love. 00:07:13.740 --> 00:07:17.180 It's probably one of the most famous verses in the whole of the Bible, isn't it? 00:07:17.199 --> 00:07:18.740 Look at number 16. 00:07:19.420 --> 00:07:23.699 For God so loved the world that he gave his only son. 00:07:23.699 --> 00:07:30.420 Love, and not vengeance or hatred or anger, 00:07:31.360 --> 00:07:33.379 is the motivation for the plan. 00:07:34.699 --> 00:07:38.360 God so loved the world. 00:07:40.039 --> 00:07:43.399 If you've got Sky TV, you may have seen the Discovery Channel. 00:07:44.120 --> 00:07:47.959 And a couple of years ago, the Discovery Channel launched an ad campaign 00:07:47.959 --> 00:07:50.159 to kind of advertise their channel. 00:07:50.560 --> 00:07:55.060 And the advert had two minutes of Discovery Channel shots 00:07:55.060 --> 00:07:57.719 of the Amazon rainforest and the Grand Canyon, 00:07:57.839 --> 00:07:58.739 and it was fantastic. 00:07:59.180 --> 00:08:00.799 And the tagline at the end said, 00:08:00.879 --> 00:08:02.319 The world is just awesome. 00:08:03.199 --> 00:08:04.659 And it had a song which said, 00:08:04.740 --> 00:08:05.759 I love the mountains. 00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:07.779 I love the clear blue skies. 00:08:07.859 --> 00:08:08.719 I love the oceans. 00:08:09.199 --> 00:08:10.339 I love the whole world. 00:08:10.339 --> 00:08:12.139 I love all of its sights and sounds. 00:08:12.319 --> 00:08:13.619 I love giant squids. 00:08:13.979 --> 00:08:15.239 I love it when the air's thin. 00:08:15.339 --> 00:08:16.539 I love the whole world. 00:08:16.859 --> 00:08:18.639 It's such a wonderful place. 00:08:19.500 --> 00:08:20.899 And according to Louis Armstrong, 00:08:21.099 --> 00:08:22.939 it's a wonderful, wonderful world. 00:08:23.560 --> 00:08:26.519 There is lots to love about the world, isn't there? 00:08:26.699 --> 00:08:28.659 It really is an amazing place. 00:08:30.259 --> 00:08:32.720 But the thing is that when we read this passage, 00:08:32.879 --> 00:08:36.019 we start to think in Discovery Channel mode, don't we? 00:08:36.699 --> 00:08:39.559 Where everything has a kind of lens over it. 00:08:40.340 --> 00:08:43.420 So actually, when we read that God loved the world, 00:08:43.540 --> 00:08:45.360 it doesn't surprise us that much. 00:08:46.500 --> 00:08:49.759 That's how we expect God to treat the world. 00:08:51.080 --> 00:08:55.519 That's perhaps how we expect God to treat and feel about us too, isn't it? 00:08:55.540 --> 00:08:56.340 We're good people. 00:08:56.480 --> 00:08:59.420 I know a lot of you here, we're all very nice people. 00:09:00.500 --> 00:09:04.920 That's how we expect each other to feel about us. 00:09:04.919 --> 00:09:11.899 But can I ask you, if people knew all there was to know about you, 00:09:12.719 --> 00:09:15.219 would you still expect them to love you? 00:09:16.459 --> 00:09:20.620 If people knew every single thought that you've had about them, 00:09:21.899 --> 00:09:23.939 everything that you've said in private, 00:09:23.940 --> 00:09:26.800 every moment of anger, 00:09:26.800 --> 00:09:34.400 if all the hidden things of your life were somehow revealed and recorded, 00:09:34.900 --> 00:09:38.420 and we could show them on that screen right now with everybody here, 00:09:38.600 --> 00:09:41.900 what would your expectation be of other people then? 00:09:43.040 --> 00:09:47.300 I've got to say, love is the last thing I would expect you to feel for me. 00:09:47.299 --> 00:09:52.759 Actually, I'm pretty unlovable when you strip away the veneer. 00:09:53.859 --> 00:09:56.019 It would make me feel pretty ashamed. 00:09:58.159 --> 00:10:01.819 And so it's amazing really how we feel like that with other people, 00:10:01.959 --> 00:10:03.059 with the real me. 00:10:03.979 --> 00:10:07.859 We can at all imagine that God would love us 00:10:07.859 --> 00:10:11.199 with all that he knows about us. 00:10:12.199 --> 00:10:16.439 Do you see the shock of what Jesus is saying here? 00:10:17.300 --> 00:10:22.820 Jesus' death was motivated by God's love of the real you. 00:10:23.980 --> 00:10:25.700 God loves the unlovable. 00:10:27.780 --> 00:10:29.520 Now, at this point you may be thinking, 00:10:29.660 --> 00:10:30.740 well, if God loves me, 00:10:30.840 --> 00:10:33.600 he's got a really funny way of showing it, hasn't he? 00:10:34.280 --> 00:10:36.100 And if I say, I love you, 00:10:36.580 --> 00:10:40.420 and then run out onto Uxbridge Road in front of a bus, 00:10:40.980 --> 00:10:42.700 it would just look weird, wouldn't it? 00:10:42.700 --> 00:10:46.200 It would kind of look like a sort of suicidal, unrequited love. 00:10:46.440 --> 00:10:47.560 Wouldn't make sense. 00:10:49.020 --> 00:10:51.960 Well, the third thing that we need to see about Jesus' death, 00:10:52.040 --> 00:10:53.000 it was intentional, 00:10:53.920 --> 00:10:54.980 it was loving, 00:10:55.700 --> 00:10:57.520 because, thirdly, 00:10:57.640 --> 00:10:59.780 it was absolutely necessary. 00:11:00.940 --> 00:11:02.040 It was necessary. 00:11:02.040 --> 00:11:02.100 It was necessary. 00:11:02.100 --> 00:11:10.580 Have a look at the number 14 there. 00:11:11.779 --> 00:11:13.240 Just halfway through there, 00:11:13.320 --> 00:11:14.040 Jesus says, 00:11:14.159 --> 00:11:19.000 So must the Son of Man be lifted up, 00:11:19.740 --> 00:11:22.960 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 00:11:22.960 --> 00:11:27.220 And if you look at the end of verse 17, 00:11:28.220 --> 00:11:29.860 we're given the reason for that. 00:11:31.120 --> 00:11:36.220 In order that the world might be saved through him. 00:11:36.220 --> 00:11:39.720 So John is saying there, isn't he, 00:11:39.759 --> 00:11:41.940 that because Jesus dies, 00:11:42.519 --> 00:11:45.660 we can have life by believing in him. 00:11:46.600 --> 00:11:47.200 But, 00:11:48.139 --> 00:11:50.040 unless Jesus dies, 00:11:50.840 --> 00:11:52.139 there is no life. 00:11:53.500 --> 00:11:55.320 Unless Jesus dies, 00:11:56.000 --> 00:11:57.800 we are in danger. 00:11:57.799 --> 00:11:59.539 We need saving, 00:11:59.859 --> 00:12:00.519 John says. 00:12:01.659 --> 00:12:03.339 Jesus' death is loving, 00:12:03.899 --> 00:12:06.859 because it's absolutely necessary, 00:12:07.519 --> 00:12:08.379 in some way. 00:12:09.759 --> 00:12:10.099 And, you know, 00:12:10.159 --> 00:12:12.279 I think we get a clue about why that is, 00:12:12.339 --> 00:12:14.439 in sentence 18 there. 00:12:15.419 --> 00:12:16.059 John says, 00:12:16.139 --> 00:12:17.500 Whoever believes in him, 00:12:17.899 --> 00:12:19.099 is not condemned. 00:12:20.120 --> 00:12:22.019 But whoever does not believe, 00:12:22.599 --> 00:12:24.079 is condemned already, 00:12:24.080 --> 00:12:28.600 because he's not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 00:12:30.420 --> 00:12:31.920 On the BBC at the moment, 00:12:32.040 --> 00:12:33.200 they're showing a programme, 00:12:33.320 --> 00:12:35.660 a programme about the life of inmates, 00:12:36.200 --> 00:12:37.220 in death row. 00:12:37.540 --> 00:12:39.700 It's called Life and Death Row. 00:12:40.000 --> 00:12:40.820 I don't know if you've seen it. 00:12:40.840 --> 00:12:42.120 It's quite full on actually. 00:12:42.860 --> 00:12:44.520 The BBC gives you a warning. 00:12:44.520 --> 00:12:47.280 This may contain upsetting scenes. 00:12:48.480 --> 00:12:50.480 But without going into too much gore, 00:12:50.620 --> 00:12:52.440 it gives an amazing insight, 00:12:52.440 --> 00:12:54.820 into the lives and families, 00:12:54.940 --> 00:12:56.500 of those people on death row, 00:12:56.580 --> 00:12:58.480 in some of the southern states of America. 00:12:59.660 --> 00:13:00.740 One prison, 00:13:01.140 --> 00:13:01.720 like that, 00:13:01.760 --> 00:13:03.820 is called the San Quentin State Prison. 00:13:04.980 --> 00:13:06.140 And inmates there, 00:13:06.860 --> 00:13:08.800 are sometimes there for years, 00:13:09.200 --> 00:13:10.600 or even decades. 00:13:11.620 --> 00:13:13.560 And their fate is clear, 00:13:13.900 --> 00:13:14.840 at the end of that. 00:13:16.160 --> 00:13:16.940 But you know, 00:13:17.020 --> 00:13:18.640 what is truly bizarre, 00:13:19.180 --> 00:13:20.320 about this place, 00:13:20.400 --> 00:13:21.120 about the prison, 00:13:21.120 --> 00:13:23.200 is that outside, 00:13:23.399 --> 00:13:23.840 prisoners, 00:13:24.240 --> 00:13:26.139 can while away their time, 00:13:26.960 --> 00:13:28.419 until that fateful day, 00:13:28.560 --> 00:13:29.639 playing basketball. 00:13:31.000 --> 00:13:32.039 There are tables, 00:13:32.179 --> 00:13:32.720 with inmates, 00:13:32.840 --> 00:13:34.419 playing games of cards. 00:13:35.480 --> 00:13:36.500 And they're chatting, 00:13:37.560 --> 00:13:39.379 and enjoying their sports. 00:13:39.620 --> 00:13:41.000 It's a bizarre scene. 00:13:41.860 --> 00:13:43.000 Knowing that the day, 00:13:43.100 --> 00:13:44.060 is not far away, 00:13:44.139 --> 00:13:44.980 when they will pay, 00:13:45.100 --> 00:13:46.120 the ultimate price, 00:13:46.820 --> 00:13:47.759 for their crimes. 00:13:47.759 --> 00:13:51.000 But while they may seem, 00:13:51.000 --> 00:13:51.679 as if they've got, 00:13:51.679 --> 00:13:53.059 some semblance of life, 00:13:53.139 --> 00:13:53.659 in their prison, 00:13:53.779 --> 00:13:55.340 they're constantly reminded, 00:13:56.279 --> 00:13:57.419 of who they are. 00:13:58.659 --> 00:13:59.939 So to get into the building, 00:14:00.100 --> 00:14:01.539 to walk back into the building, 00:14:01.679 --> 00:14:02.580 you have to walk, 00:14:02.659 --> 00:14:03.559 past the sign, 00:14:04.139 --> 00:14:04.819 which says, 00:14:05.000 --> 00:14:06.939 East Condemned Block. 00:14:08.139 --> 00:14:09.019 There are signs, 00:14:09.100 --> 00:14:10.460 in the basketball court, 00:14:11.139 --> 00:14:11.659 saying, 00:14:11.899 --> 00:14:12.799 Condemned, 00:14:13.159 --> 00:14:14.279 Exercise Yard. 00:14:14.279 --> 00:14:16.819 Then in the corridors, 00:14:17.839 --> 00:14:18.860 the signs say, 00:14:19.299 --> 00:14:20.699 Condemned Robe. 00:14:21.860 --> 00:14:22.699 And no matter, 00:14:22.860 --> 00:14:24.439 how much basketball you play, 00:14:25.259 --> 00:14:26.079 no matter how many, 00:14:26.079 --> 00:14:27.559 card games you win, 00:14:28.000 --> 00:14:29.059 you cannot forget, 00:14:29.220 --> 00:14:29.899 who you are. 00:14:31.059 --> 00:14:31.919 You're condemned. 00:14:33.139 --> 00:14:34.740 And inmates are reminded of that, 00:14:34.839 --> 00:14:36.059 every single day. 00:14:37.659 --> 00:14:39.199 And John is saying here, 00:14:39.259 --> 00:14:39.959 that that's why, 00:14:40.079 --> 00:14:42.100 Jesus' mission was necessary. 00:14:42.100 --> 00:14:44.740 He's a God of love, 00:14:45.659 --> 00:14:46.580 but, 00:14:46.759 --> 00:14:48.399 he doesn't love everything. 00:14:49.420 --> 00:14:51.560 He doesn't love child abuse, 00:14:52.120 --> 00:14:53.240 or murder, 00:14:53.960 --> 00:14:54.620 for example. 00:14:55.899 --> 00:14:57.580 He doesn't love everything. 00:14:58.580 --> 00:15:00.340 He hates some things. 00:15:01.019 --> 00:15:01.920 And that is good, 00:15:01.960 --> 00:15:02.440 isn't it? 00:15:03.500 --> 00:15:05.200 God would not be a loving God, 00:15:05.240 --> 00:15:06.960 if he said about child abuse, 00:15:07.080 --> 00:15:07.240 you know, 00:15:07.300 --> 00:15:08.240 actually it doesn't matter. 00:15:08.759 --> 00:15:10.259 Let's just sweep it under the carpet. 00:15:10.259 --> 00:15:13.259 He is a loving God, 00:15:13.620 --> 00:15:15.519 but he doesn't love everything. 00:15:16.559 --> 00:15:18.120 He hates wrong things. 00:15:19.000 --> 00:15:21.480 And he does something about those wrong things, 00:15:21.720 --> 00:15:23.419 and the injustice in the world, 00:15:23.899 --> 00:15:25.340 he condemns them. 00:15:26.500 --> 00:15:27.819 He sets a date, 00:15:28.059 --> 00:15:29.279 just like in that prison, 00:15:29.980 --> 00:15:31.860 when those things will be put right, 00:15:32.679 --> 00:15:34.860 when punishment will be dealt out. 00:15:34.860 --> 00:15:37.180 And you know, 00:15:37.240 --> 00:15:38.740 the more we look at ourselves, 00:15:38.980 --> 00:15:40.480 the more we realise, 00:15:41.200 --> 00:15:42.940 that actually we are part, 00:15:43.440 --> 00:15:44.860 of those condemned things. 00:15:46.580 --> 00:15:47.740 He's a God of love, 00:15:47.840 --> 00:15:49.480 but he doesn't love everything. 00:15:50.740 --> 00:15:52.279 He doesn't love pride. 00:15:53.600 --> 00:15:54.840 He doesn't love anger. 00:15:56.019 --> 00:15:57.279 He doesn't love envy. 00:15:58.259 --> 00:15:59.639 He doesn't love cheating. 00:15:59.639 --> 00:16:01.919 He doesn't love lying. 00:16:03.580 --> 00:16:05.100 And the more we go through that list, 00:16:05.199 --> 00:16:07.399 the more it gets quite close to the bone, 00:16:07.500 --> 00:16:08.019 doesn't it? 00:16:08.740 --> 00:16:10.460 It gets quite close to home. 00:16:11.299 --> 00:16:13.860 And it makes me feel pretty ashamed. 00:16:15.779 --> 00:16:16.039 You know, 00:16:16.080 --> 00:16:17.860 the problem is that when Jesus comes, 00:16:17.960 --> 00:16:18.939 we think, don't we, 00:16:18.960 --> 00:16:20.759 that we're kind of morally neutral, 00:16:21.399 --> 00:16:22.980 or that we're good folk. 00:16:24.319 --> 00:16:27.259 But John says that the verdict's already been given, 00:16:27.259 --> 00:16:28.939 even before Jesus comes. 00:16:29.639 --> 00:16:31.600 God is a God of love, 00:16:32.319 --> 00:16:34.199 but he doesn't love everything. 00:16:35.360 --> 00:16:37.519 He condemns all evil, 00:16:38.120 --> 00:16:39.120 and that's a good thing. 00:16:40.620 --> 00:16:41.679 And so that means, 00:16:41.860 --> 00:16:45.139 as well as child abusers and murderers, 00:16:46.139 --> 00:16:48.539 I am also in danger. 00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:52.620 So Jesus comes intentionally. 00:16:53.439 --> 00:16:54.379 It's not a mistake. 00:16:55.000 --> 00:16:56.100 It's the plan. 00:16:56.600 --> 00:16:58.580 And he comes lovingly. 00:16:58.580 --> 00:17:03.360 To bear the weight of my condemnation. 00:17:04.100 --> 00:17:05.299 Of my shame. 00:17:05.960 --> 00:17:07.000 And of your shame. 00:17:07.600 --> 00:17:08.779 He dies on the cross, 00:17:08.880 --> 00:17:09.860 in our place. 00:17:11.360 --> 00:17:14.120 And you remember the end of number 17 there. 00:17:14.700 --> 00:17:18.720 In order that the world might be saved through him. 00:17:18.720 --> 00:17:23.400 Now just notice that there are no other ways, 00:17:23.759 --> 00:17:26.360 of us avoiding that condemnation, 00:17:26.500 --> 00:17:28.039 that I think we know we deserve. 00:17:30.100 --> 00:17:31.420 John 3.16, 00:17:31.660 --> 00:17:32.839 that famous verse, 00:17:33.039 --> 00:17:33.440 says, 00:17:33.600 --> 00:17:36.319 God gives his only son, 00:17:37.460 --> 00:17:39.299 that we should be saved through him. 00:17:40.100 --> 00:17:41.579 There is no other way. 00:17:41.579 --> 00:17:46.899 So I hope we've seen that it's less that God is a loving God, 00:17:47.099 --> 00:17:48.599 but Jesus dies. 00:17:49.439 --> 00:17:53.059 And it's actually all about God being a loving God. 00:17:53.699 --> 00:17:54.259 So, 00:17:54.980 --> 00:17:56.059 Jesus is sent, 00:17:56.539 --> 00:17:57.199 to die. 00:17:58.159 --> 00:17:59.299 It is intentional. 00:17:59.299 --> 00:18:01.599 It was planned by Jesus. 00:18:02.480 --> 00:18:03.299 It was loving. 00:18:04.899 --> 00:18:06.259 Loving the real you. 00:18:07.180 --> 00:18:08.339 And it was necessary. 00:18:09.019 --> 00:18:10.259 Because we're in danger. 00:18:10.419 --> 00:18:11.059 We're condemned. 00:18:12.819 --> 00:18:14.639 Now I've talked for long enough. 00:18:14.740 --> 00:18:16.200 We'll break for a couple of minutes. 00:18:17.039 --> 00:18:18.680 Maybe write down any questions you've got, 00:18:18.680 --> 00:18:21.019 and then we'll open up the floor for questions. 00:18:21.180 --> 00:18:21.620 But actually, 00:18:21.940 --> 00:18:23.019 you do have to think, 00:18:23.039 --> 00:18:23.740 if you need to go, 00:18:23.820 --> 00:18:24.400 that's fine. 00:18:24.880 --> 00:18:26.820 You do have to think about the options. 00:18:27.720 --> 00:18:29.779 And the options of how you respond. 00:18:31.299 --> 00:18:33.240 The one thing that you cannot do, 00:18:33.299 --> 00:18:34.140 is be indifferent, 00:18:35.060 --> 00:18:37.220 to what John is saying here. 00:18:37.980 --> 00:18:39.700 You can't just sit on the fence. 00:18:40.960 --> 00:18:43.160 Your response will either say, 00:18:44.220 --> 00:18:44.539 you know, 00:18:44.580 --> 00:18:46.220 all this is just make-believe. 00:18:47.019 --> 00:18:48.140 None of it's true. 00:18:48.680 --> 00:18:54.500 And Jesus hasn't done anything worth me paying attention to at all. 00:18:56.100 --> 00:18:56.759 Or, 00:18:57.180 --> 00:19:00.740 I can see that Jesus does show me a God, 00:19:01.320 --> 00:19:03.680 who has everything to do with me. 00:19:04.759 --> 00:19:06.680 And he is my only hope, 00:19:07.400 --> 00:19:09.100 in the face of condemnation. 00:19:10.580 --> 00:19:12.519 I'm going to leave us in a short prayer.