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 Well, as I noted last Sunday, the first half of this chapter is a summary. I don't think it's

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 all the detail. It's a summary of a conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus, who was a prominent

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 ruler and teacher among the Jews. After witnessing a few of Jesus's miracles in Jerusalem, we see that

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 at the end of chapter two, after seeing them or witnessing them or at least hearing of them,

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 Nicodemus arranged for this low-key, perhaps secret meeting to take place where he could learn

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 about the source of Jesus's power. Because after all, it's not every day that someone comes to town

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 who has the ability to heal the sick and teaches with the kind of authority with which Jesus taught,

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 and Nicodemus, being one who was in pursuit of God in this moment, needed to have this conversation.

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 I believe that he was searching. He's trying to figure out who exactly is Jesus, how is it that

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 he can do these things, and why does that matter, or what implication or application does that have

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 to me personally? I think that's why Nicodemus is coming to Jesus in these moments. And as we saw

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 just a moment ago, as we read through it, Jesus wasted no time with Nicodemus, at least in the

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 summary that's given to us. There's no pleasantries listed here for us. He doesn't even really address

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 what Nicodemus says in the very beginning. Nicodemus says, we know that you must be from God, because who

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 else could do the things that you're doing? And then immediately, what we find in the summary, at least,

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 is Jesus cuts right to the point, and he says, unless you're born again, you can't see the kingdom of God.

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 He doesn't even address at all Nicodemus' statement, or at least not plainly in the beginning.

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 Nicodemus, being one of the Pharisees, as you know, did not consider himself to be a desperate sinner

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 as other men. The Pharisees believed that God would grant eternal life on the basis of their lineage

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 and their commitment to the law, and they were very much dedicated to those things.

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 Nicodemus probably, as far as comparing men to men, Nicodemus probably was as good of a Jew as you

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 could be. Probably very similar to the way Paul described himself before coming to Christ, a Jew of

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 the Jews and an Israelite of all Israelites. Nicodemus perhaps would have certainly fit that

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 description. Even Jesus later says, are you the teacher in Israel? He's not just any rabbi. He's well-respected.

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 He belongs to the Sanhedrin. If anybody was going to earn eternal life, if that was possible, Nicodemus was one.

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 It's not that they were uncommitted people. They were actually very dedicated people.

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 Their problem was they didn't see themselves as sinners, as wicked in and of themselves.

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 And so they believed that God would grant them eternal life on the basis of their Jewish lineage

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 and their commitment to the law. But in the midst of that conversation, Jesus drops this bomb on Nicodemus.

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 And he says, unless you experience a rebirth, a spiritual new birth, you will never see the kingdom of God.

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 And he says it directly in verse 7. He repeats himself in verse 7. He says, do not marvel that I've said to you,

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 you must be born again. And the you there in verse 7 is plural in Greek. He's not just talking about Nicodemus.

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 He's talking about everybody. All of the Sanhedrin, all of the Pharisees, everybody must be born again

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 in order to see the kingdom. And as we study through John chapter 3, you begin to piece it together

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 because it is a bit enigmatic, isn't it? It's a little strange to figure out what exactly was Jesus saying

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 and what does this new birth mean and all of these kinds of things. And we begin to see in the chapter

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 that being born again, this new birth is synonymous in John 3 with repentance of sin and faith in Christ

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 Jesus. The repentance of sin is somewhat shadowy. We find it really in verse 5. Jesus says,

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 truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom

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 of God. And I don't think that when Jesus says born of water, I don't think he's talking about our

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 natural birth. And I don't think that he's talking about baptism either. I think he's using this as an

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 allusion to the washing away, the cleansing of sin that comes through repentance, perhaps even an

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 allusion to what John was preaching. Nicodemus would have been familiar with that at this particular time

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 in biblical history. He would have understood that in this cleansing away. And I think there's an

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 allusion there to repentance. But then as we get to verses 15 and 16 and 17 and 18, we see overwhelmingly

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 this new birth being synonymous with faith, faith specifically in Jesus Christ. But then we see

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 that these things, repentance and faith, are actually an individual's response

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 to the gracious work of God's spirit in their life. So then as we dig into this chapter,

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 it's not that faith and repentance produce the new birth. They don't cause the new birth.

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 They're actually responses to the new birth. And we see that in verse 8. Jesus gives this really

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 helpful illustration. The wind blows where it wishes. You hear its sound, but you do not know where it

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 comes from or where it goes. And then he says, so it is with every person who is born of the spirit,

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 the spirit of God. So like the wind, you can see the effects of God's spirit at work in a person's life.

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 Though you cannot see the spirit himself. He's like the wind. You can step outside and you can

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 feel it on you. You can see it as it rustles the leaves that have fallen from the trees over the last

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 several months. You can see what the wind does. You can see the effects of its work, though you cannot

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 see it, though you cannot understand its movements fully. You don't know where it's coming from and where

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 it's going. And Jesus says, that's how my spirit is at work in our lives. You can't really fully

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 understand its movements. You don't know where it's coming from and where it's going. You can't

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 see the spirit itself. But what you see is the effects of the spirit's work in a person's life

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 when he comes in and he produces this regenerative work, this new birth, and a person is born again.

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 And what immediately is seen as the result of that is repentance from sin and faith in Jesus Christ.

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 That's the lesson that Jesus is teaching Nicodemus. That salvation is not something you do.

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 Salvation is something God does in us. It's his grace. And this is really where Nicodemus had

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 a struggle. Look at verse 9. Nicodemus said to him, how can these things be?

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 How, Jesus, is that possible?

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 Now, Nicodemus was a smart man. He doesn't get where he is politically and religiously and all of

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 those things. He's the teacher of Israel, Jesus says. He doesn't get there without

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 being very intelligent. I don't think that he's misunderstanding Jesus's analogy about being

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 born again. In fact, I even think when Nicodemus responds to Jesus and says, can a man enter into,

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 can an old man enter into his mother's womb again? I think he's just responding to Jesus in the same

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 words that Jesus is using. I think he's using his words to match Jesus's analogy. And he's essentially

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 saying what you're saying isn't possible. Like, it can't just be that. That can't be all there is

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 to this eternal life and kingdom of God. And I think that his response here in verse 9 actually

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 indicates that he does indeed understand the lesson, but he was unwilling to accept it,

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 at least at this moment. And he says, not explain that to me further. He says, I don't think that's

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 possible. I don't think you're right about that. How can that be? So believing that his obedience to

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 the law would gain him eternal life, Nicodemus couldn't see how it was possible for salvation

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 to be entirely by God's grace apart from his own human effort. I think that's what's at play here

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 in this passage. And then in verses 10 through 12, Jesus rebukes the hardness of Nicodemus's heart.

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 We'll look at that a little more in a moment. But then he goes on to wonderfully explain

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 how salvation by grace through faith is possible. And that's what verses 9 through 21 are.

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 Jesus gives this lesson to Nicodemus about being born again. Nicodemus says, how's that even possible?

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 And Jesus says, let me tell you how it's possible. And that's what unfolds. And here's the summary of it.

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 The answer to Nicodemus's question, how is this possible? How can these things be?

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 Is found only in the person and work of Jesus. It's only found in Jesus. He can't understand it apart from him.

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 And Jesus essentially is standing before him saying, Nicodemus, I came, I am here so that this can be possible.

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 Just look to me, listen to me. And then he begins to explain it. And so what I want to do is I want

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 to take the same basic structure that we used last week in verse 16. And I want to explore

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 a little bit more in this broader perspective of how Jesus answered Nicodemus. And I'm going to try

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 to tie that back into Christmas and the Christmas story once again as well. Okay, so we're going to

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 look a little further at the identity of Jesus as the gift of God. We are going to see an illustration

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 that Jesus gives about the call of God to faith. And then we'll, we'll finish it with asking the

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 question of God's love. If his love is so great, why do so many people reject it? Because we find that

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 answer in this passage as well. Okay. So, so let's look through it just quickly together. The first thing

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 is identifying the gift of God, identifying the gift of God. And we're going to find this in verse 13

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 in just, just a moment. So last week, looking at verse 16, we found that the greatest gift ever given

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 was a person, God's only begotten son, John writes. And in fact, the gift of Jesus we discovered is

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 actually the theme of the entire Bible. So after sin brings in suffering and death, God promises that he

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 will send a deliverer to rescue his people. And then we find that the old Testament is full of all of

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 these pictures, like the sacrificial system of reminding of God's promise that he will send a

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 perfect lamb that will atone for the sins of man. And then when we get into the new Testament, we learn

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 that this deliverer who is the gift of John 3 16 is none other than Jesus of Nazareth. So let's look at

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 verse 13 now. And I want to see in this text, how Jesus is actually making that claim that he is that

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 gift. Okay. Verse 13, Jesus says this weird thing. No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended

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 from heaven. And then he adds in the title, the son of man. So no one has ascended into heaven except he

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 who descended from heaven. So Jesus had simplified this gospel mission for Nicodemus by explaining it

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 in the earthly terms of the new birth. But Nicodemus didn't want to accept what Jesus was saying. So in

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 verses 10 to 12, Jesus mildly rebukes him. Look, look with me at verse 10. Jesus answered, are you the

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 teacher of Israel? And yet you do not understand these things? You don't see how this can be?

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 Nicodemus verse 11. Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and bear witness to what

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 we've seen, but you do not receive our testimony. Well, who's the we there? I don't think that he's

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 referring to his disciples yet. We don't really know much about them at this point in John's gospel,

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 at least. I think Jesus is referring perhaps to the Old Testament prophets, the ones that Nicodemus

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 was very familiar with, the ones that Nicodemus would have known, all of these prophecies as he

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 would have studied them himself. But all of those prophecies, Nicodemus had not interpreted right.

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 And Jesus is saying, we speak of the things that we know. We speak of the things that we've seen and

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 that God has made us aware of. And yet you do not, you do not accept those things in verse 12.

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 He says, if I've told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you of

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 heavenly things? So Nicodemus wouldn't accept the most fundamental truths explained in the simplest of

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 terms. He would never come to grips with the deeper heavenly realities for which he was seeking.

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 And Jesus's point in verse 13 was that a man's understanding is only as good as his source of

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 information. A man's understanding is only as good as his source of information. Nicodemus was trying to

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 find all these answers, but he was trying to find them in all the wrong places. And Jesus says,

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 Nicodemus, no man has ascended into heaven so as to learn all of these things and bring them back

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 to communicate to you. But Jesus stood before Nicodemus as the one from heaven who knew these

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 realities, who knew all of these things, had the full knowledge of salvation and had the authority

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 to share it. And Nicodemus is saying, just listen to me, listen to me. None of these men know. I know.

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 I know. And there's three things about Jesus's identity. I think that's revealed in this one

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 verse. And the first one we see is son of God, son of God. The clear implication of Jesus's statement

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 is that he is the one who came from heaven. He's not talking in an abstraction here. He's not talking

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 about some person that is out there that you might be able to gain this knowledge from. He's saying

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 clearly to Nicodemus, no, I have come from heaven. I have come. But Jesus wasn't just any being from

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 heaven. In verse 16, as we studied last week, he referred to himself as God's only son. He wasn't

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 an angel that was delivering a message as others had done in the scriptures. Jesus was claiming to be

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 God, claiming to be one with the father. Last week, we looked at this from Philippians 2.

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 I want you to actually look at this again, except from Matthew chapter one. In fact,

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 turn with me there. It's just a few pages over from where you are. In Matthew chapter one,

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 and I want you to see in the Christmas narrative, the reality of Jesus as the son of God, the son of

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 God. Matthew chapter one, let's start reading at verse 12 and just be patient with me for a second.

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 There's a reason why I want to read all of these names. Okay. Verse 12.

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 After the deportation to Babylon, Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel.

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 Shealtiel, the father of Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel, the father of Abiad. Abiad, the father of Eliakim.

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 And Eliakim, the father of Azor. Azor, the father of Zadok. Zadok, the father of Achim. Achim, the father of Eliad.

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 And Eliad, the father of Eleazar. And Eleazar, the father of Mathen. And Mathen, the father of Jacob.

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 And this is the one I want you to see. And Jacob, the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Christ.

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 Now, do you notice the difference between the way that Matthew describes the direct lineage of Jesus versus everybody else in this paragraph?

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 Really, everybody else in the chapter. Over and over, Matthew says, this man begat this man.

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 And this man begat this man. And so on and so forth. Until he gets all the way down to Joseph.

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 And he says, Jacob begat Joseph, who did not begat Jesus, Matthew says.

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 Joseph was just the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born.

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 Do you see what Matthew is doing? He's going out of his way here to emphasize the fact that Jesus is not the son of Joseph.

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 And then he goes on. We see it again in verse 18. Skip down to that now.

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 Now, the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way.

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 When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, it's an important emphasis,

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 she was found to be with child from the Holy Ghost.

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 And her husband, Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.

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 But as he considered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying,

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 Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

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 She will bear a son. You shall call his name Jesus.

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 He will save his people from their sins.

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 And all of this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet.

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 Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son.

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 And they shall call his name Emmanuel, which means God is with us.

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 And when Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.

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 He took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son and he called his name Jesus.

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 Now, I want you to see all of this here.

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 Six different times, beginning of verse 16, in the lineage verse, and then when we get to verse 18 through 25.

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 Six different times, Matthew emphasizes the fact that Jesus was not the son of Joseph,

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 and that Mary was a virgin when he was born.

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 He's the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.

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 Before they came together, verse 18.

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 With child from the Holy Ghost, verse 18.

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 That which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit, verse 20.

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 Verse 23, behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son.

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 And then you could add in an extra one.

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 They call his name Emmanuel, which is God is with us.

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 Verse 25, knew her not until she had given birth to a son.

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 That is an intimacy, sexually speaking.

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 Matthew goes out of his way in this birth narrative to say,

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 Jesus is from God.

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 Jesus is the son of God.

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 He wasn't a regular man who was endowed with divine qualities.

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 It wasn't that Jesus was born like everyone else is born,

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 and then all of a sudden God said, okay, I'm going to make this man my divine figure.

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 That's not how this happened.

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 Jesus has always been.

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 And the testimony of the scripture is that the Messiah that would come

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 would not just be ordinary like us, even though he is an ordinary man,

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 but that he is God in the flesh.

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 Jesus' explicit claim in the scriptures is that he himself is God.

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 He's one with the Father, a part of the Trinity.

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 But then if Jesus had been born of Joseph, and this is so important,

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 if he had been born of Joseph, he couldn't be our Savior.

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 Because if he was born of Joseph, that means Jesus was in Adam.

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 And every person that's in Adam has a nature of sin and rebellion that must be redeemed.

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 And the Bible is abundantly clear that Jesus was not in Adam.

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 He had no sin.

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 He's the son of God.

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 And we have the hint of that in verse 13 in John chapter 3 when he looks at Nicodemus and he says,

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 listen, no one has ascended into heaven to gain this knowledge except he who has come from heaven.

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 And Nicodemus, that's me.

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 That's me.

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 I'm the son of God.

00:22:39.740 --> 00:22:40.879
 But it's not just son of God.

00:22:40.960 --> 00:22:43.559
 We see another identifying marker in verse 13.

00:22:43.660 --> 00:22:44.920
 We see son of man.

00:22:45.940 --> 00:22:48.359
 Of course, we've talked about this a lot in Mark's gospel,

00:22:48.359 --> 00:22:49.759
 so I'm not going to spend a lot of time here.

00:22:49.879 --> 00:22:54.339
 But we know this was Jesus' favorite designation for himself.

00:22:55.479 --> 00:23:01.339
 In the four gospels, he uses it 81 times at least for himself.

00:23:01.699 --> 00:23:02.439
 Son of man, it's important.

00:23:03.779 --> 00:23:09.519
 And we think this is Jesus connecting himself to the Daniel 7 figure,

00:23:09.519 --> 00:23:16.139
 the Messiah who would rule over all things that God Almighty would give over to him.

00:23:16.140 --> 00:23:21.440
 Not only did Jesus plainly tell Nicodemus that he was the son of God from heaven,

00:23:21.440 --> 00:23:25.720
 but he plainly tells him, I am the Messiah, Nicodemus.

00:23:25.920 --> 00:23:30.580
 I'm the one, the one you've been hoping for, that you've been looking for.

00:23:31.220 --> 00:23:32.180
 That's me.

00:23:32.460 --> 00:23:33.400
 It's a bold claim.

00:23:33.759 --> 00:23:35.160
 It's a bold claim that he's made.

00:23:36.240 --> 00:23:37.700
 But he's not just the son of God.

00:23:38.020 --> 00:23:39.520
 He's not just the son of man.

00:23:39.680 --> 00:23:42.380
 In verse 13, he's the source of truth.

00:23:42.380 --> 00:23:44.460
 He's the source of truth.

00:23:45.180 --> 00:23:49.780
 His whole purpose in revealing his identity to Nicodemus

00:23:49.780 --> 00:23:53.480
 was so that Nicodemus would trust his word.

00:23:54.600 --> 00:23:57.100
 Because Jesus is the son of God,

00:23:57.580 --> 00:23:59.800
 and because he is the son of man,

00:24:00.420 --> 00:24:05.040
 he is the ultimate and final source of truth.

00:24:05.039 --> 00:24:09.500
 And his point was not only that his word can be believed,

00:24:09.759 --> 00:24:11.940
 but that it must be believed.

00:24:12.899 --> 00:24:14.759
 And so he tells Nicodemus,

00:24:15.079 --> 00:24:17.879
 no man can give you this

00:24:17.879 --> 00:24:20.200
 except the one who has come from heaven,

00:24:20.299 --> 00:24:22.079
 the son of God and the son of man,

00:24:22.159 --> 00:24:23.440
 the source of all truth.

00:24:23.599 --> 00:24:26.240
 If you really want to know about eternal life, Nicodemus,

00:24:26.579 --> 00:24:27.379
 look at me.

00:24:27.920 --> 00:24:29.139
 Listen to me.

00:24:29.740 --> 00:24:31.200
 I have that knowledge,

00:24:31.440 --> 00:24:33.079
 and I want to share it with you

00:24:33.079 --> 00:24:34.879
 if you will just listen

00:24:34.879 --> 00:24:36.859
 and if you will open your heart.

00:24:37.659 --> 00:24:39.319
 And of course, Hebrews tells us this.

00:24:40.039 --> 00:24:42.480
 Long ago at many times and in many ways,

00:24:42.980 --> 00:24:45.259
 God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,

00:24:45.740 --> 00:24:47.559
 but in these last days,

00:24:47.659 --> 00:24:50.599
 he has spoken to us by his son,

00:24:51.419 --> 00:24:53.480
 whom he appointed the heir of all things,

00:24:54.099 --> 00:24:56.679
 through whom also he created the world.

00:24:57.619 --> 00:24:59.480
 And of course, we know Jesus' own claim.

00:24:59.480 --> 00:25:02.539
 In John 14, Jesus said,

00:25:03.120 --> 00:25:08.160
 I am the way, the truth, and the life.

00:25:09.480 --> 00:25:14.059
 No man comes to the Father except through me.

00:25:14.420 --> 00:25:16.980
 I'm the way, the truth.

00:25:17.059 --> 00:25:19.500
 If you want truth, you have to look at Jesus.

00:25:20.460 --> 00:25:22.160
 There's no other way to know it.

00:25:22.160 --> 00:25:25.480
 And I just want to remind you,

00:25:26.759 --> 00:25:28.180
 and I know it's a few of us,

00:25:28.220 --> 00:25:29.480
 and I know all of your testimonies,

00:25:29.560 --> 00:25:30.420
 and I know you love the Lord,

00:25:30.500 --> 00:25:31.900
 and I hope I'm not boring you.

00:25:32.900 --> 00:25:35.140
 Maybe I'm arming you with something you can take

00:25:35.140 --> 00:25:36.600
 to the family dinners this week

00:25:36.600 --> 00:25:38.040
 if you have some more of those to go to.

00:25:40.100 --> 00:25:43.759
 It's not possible to be indifferent to Jesus.

00:25:45.140 --> 00:25:46.180
 It's not possible.

00:25:46.180 --> 00:25:51.120
 He can't have been merely a good teacher

00:25:51.120 --> 00:25:54.799
 or a prophet or a moral example.

00:25:56.060 --> 00:25:57.920
 If he was only a teacher,

00:25:58.320 --> 00:26:00.400
 then what he taught was lies.

00:26:01.740 --> 00:26:03.480
 And if he was only a prophet,

00:26:03.759 --> 00:26:06.779
 then you must insist that he was a false prophet.

00:26:08.140 --> 00:26:11.039
 And if you think of him only as a moral example

00:26:11.039 --> 00:26:12.019
 for us to follow,

00:26:12.299 --> 00:26:15.740
 then your idea of morality is hugely perverted.

00:26:16.180 --> 00:26:20.720
 He's either God or he isn't.

00:26:21.420 --> 00:26:24.000
 He's either the Savior or he isn't.

00:26:24.759 --> 00:26:27.440
 He's either the truth or he isn't.

00:26:28.200 --> 00:26:31.980
 And when it comes to our response to him,

00:26:32.580 --> 00:26:35.019
 we either believe and follow him wholly

00:26:35.019 --> 00:26:38.580
 or we deny and reject him completely.

00:26:39.920 --> 00:26:42.220
 And there's too many people that we know

00:26:42.220 --> 00:26:44.820
 in the context in which we live

00:26:44.819 --> 00:26:48.519
 in a Christianity-saturated culture like ours.

00:26:48.919 --> 00:26:50.259
 There are too many people

00:26:50.259 --> 00:26:51.480
 that are indifferent to Jesus.

00:26:51.659 --> 00:26:53.139
 They're trying to be indifferent to him.

00:26:53.339 --> 00:26:54.200
 And you can't be.

00:26:55.019 --> 00:26:55.740
 You can't be.

00:26:56.259 --> 00:26:57.799
 You either follow him wholly

00:26:57.799 --> 00:26:59.859
 or you deny him completely.

00:27:00.200 --> 00:27:01.599
 There's no middle ground there.

00:27:02.439 --> 00:27:03.599
 And I think John 3

00:27:03.599 --> 00:27:05.099
 is just another example of that.

00:27:05.899 --> 00:27:07.899
 So we see identifying the gift of God.

00:27:07.900 --> 00:27:11.100
 Secondly, let's look at illustrating the call of God.

00:27:12.140 --> 00:27:14.160
 Illustrating the call of God.

00:27:15.160 --> 00:27:16.519
 So in verse 16,

00:27:17.060 --> 00:27:18.860
 the call of God was that

00:27:18.860 --> 00:27:22.440
 sinners are to believe in Jesus Christ

00:27:22.440 --> 00:27:23.500
 for eternal life.

00:27:23.500 --> 00:27:28.839
 And there's urgency to that call in verse 16.

00:27:29.599 --> 00:27:31.579
 Because as we continue to follow through,

00:27:31.660 --> 00:27:31.980
 it says,

00:27:32.099 --> 00:27:34.680
 whoever does not believe is condemned already.

00:27:34.799 --> 00:27:36.099
 We stand condemned.

00:27:36.759 --> 00:27:38.779
 So there's urgency to this call.

00:27:39.440 --> 00:27:41.819
 This salvation is made available.

00:27:43.380 --> 00:27:45.440
 Jesus is on this rescue mission.

00:27:45.440 --> 00:27:48.180
 And we learned last week

00:27:48.180 --> 00:27:50.680
 that every person is dead

00:27:50.680 --> 00:27:52.160
 in their trespasses and sin.

00:27:52.259 --> 00:27:53.600
 We desperately need rescue.

00:27:54.160 --> 00:27:56.120
 And Jesus is the promised Savior

00:27:56.120 --> 00:27:57.779
 sent to save us.

00:27:58.400 --> 00:28:00.799
 But his gift must be received by faith.

00:28:01.640 --> 00:28:04.120
 But then Jesus illustrates this call

00:28:04.120 --> 00:28:07.680
 so helpfully in verses 14 and 15.

00:28:07.860 --> 00:28:09.240
 And this is what we cut out last week

00:28:09.240 --> 00:28:10.920
 that we want to spend our time on today.

00:28:11.320 --> 00:28:12.039
 Verse 14,

00:28:12.580 --> 00:28:14.900
 as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,

00:28:15.440 --> 00:28:18.019
 so must the Son of Man be lifted up

00:28:18.019 --> 00:28:20.299
 that whoever believes in him

00:28:20.299 --> 00:28:22.320
 may have eternal life.

00:28:24.100 --> 00:28:24.559
 Remember,

00:28:25.140 --> 00:28:27.519
 these verses are Jesus' response

00:28:27.519 --> 00:28:29.519
 to Nicodemus' question in verse 9.

00:28:29.680 --> 00:28:31.019
 How are these things possible?

00:28:31.380 --> 00:28:33.900
 And Jesus begins by essentially saying,

00:28:34.460 --> 00:28:35.980
 one must believe in who I am.

00:28:36.840 --> 00:28:37.600
 The Son of God,

00:28:37.700 --> 00:28:38.140
 Son of Man,

00:28:38.200 --> 00:28:38.820
 source of truth.

00:28:38.820 --> 00:28:40.380
 You have to believe in who I am.

00:28:41.299 --> 00:28:43.120
 And then he follows that up with,

00:28:43.840 --> 00:28:45.360
 and you need to understand and believe

00:28:45.359 --> 00:28:46.459
 what I've come to do.

00:28:47.099 --> 00:28:49.619
 Except he uses this illustration.

00:28:50.539 --> 00:28:51.939
 It comes from Numbers 21.

00:28:52.039 --> 00:28:52.219
 In fact,

00:28:52.259 --> 00:28:53.139
 why don't you turn there with me

00:28:53.139 --> 00:28:53.740
 in the Old Testament.

00:28:54.219 --> 00:28:55.319
 Numbers chapter 21.

00:28:58.519 --> 00:29:00.159
 Perhaps you remember the story

00:29:00.159 --> 00:29:03.279
 maybe from Sunday school,

00:29:03.659 --> 00:29:04.299
 growing up,

00:29:04.299 --> 00:29:06.939
 or just from your own reading.

00:29:07.459 --> 00:29:08.679
 Numbers chapter 21.

00:29:08.680 --> 00:29:12.560
 And look with me at verse 4.

00:29:13.060 --> 00:29:13.539
 Of course,

00:29:13.580 --> 00:29:14.820
 this is just another example

00:29:14.820 --> 00:29:15.640
 of the many times

00:29:15.640 --> 00:29:17.160
 that the nation of Israel

00:29:17.160 --> 00:29:18.799
 had complained and whined

00:29:18.799 --> 00:29:23.080
 and turned in rebellion

00:29:23.080 --> 00:29:23.900
 from the Lord.

00:29:26.420 --> 00:29:28.080
 And we find this story in verse 4.

00:29:28.500 --> 00:29:29.680
 Numbers 21, verse 4.

00:29:30.680 --> 00:29:31.779
 From Mount Hor,

00:29:32.140 --> 00:29:33.600
 they set out by the way

00:29:33.600 --> 00:29:34.500
 to the Red Sea

00:29:34.500 --> 00:29:36.579
 to go around the land of Edom.

00:29:38.019 --> 00:29:39.000
 And the people

00:29:39.000 --> 00:29:40.759
 became impatient

00:29:40.759 --> 00:29:42.059
 on the way.

00:29:43.019 --> 00:29:44.980
 And the people spoke against God

00:29:44.980 --> 00:29:46.599
 and against Moses.

00:29:47.599 --> 00:29:49.059
 Why have you brought us up

00:29:49.059 --> 00:29:49.680
 out of Egypt

00:29:49.680 --> 00:29:50.980
 to die in the wilderness?

00:29:51.839 --> 00:29:53.160
 For there is no food

00:29:53.160 --> 00:29:53.940
 and no water,

00:29:53.940 --> 00:29:54.960
 and we loathe

00:29:54.960 --> 00:29:56.339
 this worthless food.

00:29:56.559 --> 00:29:57.240
 The worthless food,

00:29:57.640 --> 00:29:58.319
 I'm assuming here,

00:29:58.480 --> 00:30:00.259
 is a reference

00:30:00.259 --> 00:30:01.099
 to the manna

00:30:01.099 --> 00:30:02.000
 that God had sent.

00:30:02.079 --> 00:30:03.459
 The heavenly food

00:30:03.459 --> 00:30:04.759
 that was at one time

00:30:04.759 --> 00:30:05.319
 to the Israelites

00:30:05.319 --> 00:30:05.980
 so wonderful,

00:30:06.139 --> 00:30:07.199
 and now they think

00:30:07.199 --> 00:30:08.740
 it's wonderfully terrible,

00:30:09.480 --> 00:30:10.879
 and they don't want it anymore,

00:30:11.019 --> 00:30:11.819
 and they're complaining.

00:30:12.179 --> 00:30:13.139
 It reminds me that,

00:30:13.199 --> 00:30:13.339
 you know,

00:30:13.379 --> 00:30:14.139
 all the kids sang

00:30:14.139 --> 00:30:15.559
 that song last week,

00:30:15.639 --> 00:30:16.740
 Sing We the Song of Emmanuel,

00:30:17.059 --> 00:30:18.519
 and it's got that phrase in it,

00:30:18.859 --> 00:30:19.639
 lift your voices

00:30:19.639 --> 00:30:20.879
 and now proclaim.

00:30:21.539 --> 00:30:22.500
 And Andy and Amy

00:30:22.500 --> 00:30:23.299
 told me last week

00:30:23.299 --> 00:30:24.559
 that when he gets confused,

00:30:24.659 --> 00:30:25.359
 what she sings there,

00:30:25.459 --> 00:30:26.500
 every time she sings that song

00:30:26.500 --> 00:30:27.279
 is lift your voices

00:30:27.279 --> 00:30:28.279
 and now complain.

00:30:28.679 --> 00:30:29.439
 And that's really

00:30:29.439 --> 00:30:30.240
 what it was like

00:30:30.240 --> 00:30:31.620
 for the Israelites.

00:30:32.240 --> 00:30:33.019
 Every time they lifted

00:30:33.019 --> 00:30:33.599
 their voices

00:30:33.599 --> 00:30:35.579
 underneath Moses' leadership,

00:30:35.759 --> 00:30:36.819
 it was to complain

00:30:36.819 --> 00:30:37.339
 about something.

00:30:37.420 --> 00:30:38.240
 And here they're complaining

00:30:38.240 --> 00:30:39.220
 again about the provision

00:30:39.220 --> 00:30:39.620
 of God.

00:30:39.880 --> 00:30:40.359
 They would rather

00:30:40.359 --> 00:30:41.319
 go back to Egypt

00:30:41.319 --> 00:30:42.559
 than follow God

00:30:42.559 --> 00:30:43.140
 in the wilderness.

00:30:43.880 --> 00:30:44.420
 Verse 6,

00:30:45.240 --> 00:30:46.220
 Then the Lord sent

00:30:46.220 --> 00:30:47.460
 fiery serpents

00:30:47.460 --> 00:30:48.380
 among the people,

00:30:48.980 --> 00:30:50.480
 and they bit the people

00:30:50.480 --> 00:30:52.180
 so that many people

00:30:52.180 --> 00:30:52.980
 of Israel died.

00:30:53.980 --> 00:30:54.960
 And the people came

00:30:54.960 --> 00:30:55.799
 to Moses and said,

00:30:55.900 --> 00:30:56.779
 We have sinned.

00:30:57.240 --> 00:30:58.339
 We've spoken against

00:30:58.339 --> 00:30:59.400
 the Lord and against you.

00:30:59.400 --> 00:31:00.700
 Pray to the Lord

00:31:00.700 --> 00:31:01.980
 that he may take away

00:31:01.980 --> 00:31:03.180
 the serpents from us.

00:31:03.640 --> 00:31:04.759
 So Moses prayed

00:31:04.759 --> 00:31:05.360
 for the people.

00:31:06.300 --> 00:31:07.460
 And the Lord said to Moses,

00:31:07.940 --> 00:31:09.220
 Make a fiery serpent

00:31:09.220 --> 00:31:11.620
 and set it on a pole,

00:31:11.900 --> 00:31:13.640
 and everyone who is bitten,

00:31:14.060 --> 00:31:15.200
 when he sees it,

00:31:15.300 --> 00:31:15.860
 shall live.

00:31:16.860 --> 00:31:18.860
 So Moses made a bronze serpent,

00:31:19.740 --> 00:31:20.759
 set it on a pole,

00:31:21.080 --> 00:31:23.300
 and if a serpent bit anyone,

00:31:23.800 --> 00:31:25.680
 he would look at the bronze serpent

00:31:25.680 --> 00:31:27.220
 and live.

00:31:27.759 --> 00:31:28.680
 Do you remember this story?

00:31:28.680 --> 00:31:32.680
 The story is symbolic

00:31:32.680 --> 00:31:33.920
 of man's rebellion

00:31:33.920 --> 00:31:34.779
 against God.

00:31:36.580 --> 00:31:38.400
 Just as Israel spoke

00:31:38.400 --> 00:31:39.039
 against God

00:31:39.039 --> 00:31:39.820
 in this passage,

00:31:40.080 --> 00:31:41.480
 so have each of us

00:31:41.480 --> 00:31:43.180
 turned against him

00:31:43.180 --> 00:31:45.060
 in our sin and pride.

00:31:46.100 --> 00:31:48.519
 But sin always

00:31:48.519 --> 00:31:51.759
 carries unavoidable consequences

00:31:51.759 --> 00:31:54.559
 because God in his justice

00:31:54.559 --> 00:31:55.940
 must judge it.

00:31:55.940 --> 00:31:57.640
 He must judge sin.

00:31:58.200 --> 00:31:59.740
 And with the nation of Israel,

00:31:59.740 --> 00:32:02.640
 he sent these fiery serpents

00:32:02.640 --> 00:32:04.440
 really to devour them.

00:32:05.400 --> 00:32:06.720
 Many scholars believe

00:32:06.720 --> 00:32:08.019
 they're called fiery serpents

00:32:08.019 --> 00:32:09.379
 because perhaps their venom

00:32:09.379 --> 00:32:11.480
 produced a fever,

00:32:12.279 --> 00:32:14.000
 a burning fever

00:32:14.000 --> 00:32:17.000
 that ultimately led to death.

00:32:17.000 --> 00:32:17.059
 death.

00:32:17.940 --> 00:32:18.779
 And these serpents

00:32:18.779 --> 00:32:19.799
 are emblems

00:32:19.799 --> 00:32:21.279
 of death

00:32:21.279 --> 00:32:22.559
 and sin.

00:32:24.460 --> 00:32:25.480
 Whoever was bitten

00:32:25.480 --> 00:32:26.119
 by one

00:32:26.119 --> 00:32:27.740
 was without

00:32:27.740 --> 00:32:28.700
 any hope at all.

00:32:30.220 --> 00:32:31.000
 There's nothing

00:32:31.000 --> 00:32:31.720
 they could do

00:32:31.720 --> 00:32:32.740
 to escape

00:32:32.740 --> 00:32:33.779
 the grim reality

00:32:33.779 --> 00:32:34.359
 of death

00:32:34.359 --> 00:32:35.839
 once one of these snakes

00:32:35.839 --> 00:32:36.839
 had gotten a hold of them.

00:32:36.839 --> 00:32:39.240
 But though the people

00:32:39.240 --> 00:32:41.459
 faced the divine wrath

00:32:41.459 --> 00:32:42.199
 of God,

00:32:43.279 --> 00:32:45.759
 he provided a way

00:32:45.759 --> 00:32:46.419
 of escape.

00:32:47.419 --> 00:32:48.939
 He provided a way

00:32:48.939 --> 00:32:49.919
 for them to be healed.

00:32:50.179 --> 00:32:51.199
 And he tells Moses,

00:32:51.779 --> 00:32:52.699
 make a snake,

00:32:53.220 --> 00:32:54.179
 put it on a pole,

00:32:54.539 --> 00:32:55.799
 and set it in the middle

00:32:55.799 --> 00:32:56.279
 of the camp.

00:32:56.339 --> 00:32:57.240
 And anyone who's bitten,

00:32:57.459 --> 00:32:58.599
 if they will just look

00:32:58.599 --> 00:33:00.220
 at what I have provided,

00:33:00.439 --> 00:33:02.359
 if they will just cast themselves

00:33:02.359 --> 00:33:03.939
 on my provision,

00:33:03.939 --> 00:33:05.759
 they will be fully healed.

00:33:06.839 --> 00:33:08.220
 But it took the gaze

00:33:08.220 --> 00:33:09.279
 of faith

00:33:09.279 --> 00:33:10.899
 for each of those people.

00:33:12.399 --> 00:33:13.720
 Jesus left no doubt

00:33:13.720 --> 00:33:14.439
 in John 3

00:33:14.439 --> 00:33:15.559
 what the application

00:33:15.559 --> 00:33:16.659
 of this event is.

00:33:16.980 --> 00:33:18.139
 It was a type

00:33:18.139 --> 00:33:19.619
 of what he had come

00:33:19.619 --> 00:33:20.559
 to do for us.

00:33:20.939 --> 00:33:21.819
 And the details

00:33:21.819 --> 00:33:24.179
 are remarkably precise.

00:33:25.199 --> 00:33:26.779
 Just as the bronze serpent

00:33:26.779 --> 00:33:27.599
 was suspended

00:33:27.599 --> 00:33:28.639
 between heaven and earth,

00:33:28.859 --> 00:33:29.899
 so would Jesus

00:33:29.899 --> 00:33:30.399
 eventually,

00:33:30.539 --> 00:33:31.019
 when he made it

00:33:31.019 --> 00:33:31.579
 to Jerusalem

00:33:31.579 --> 00:33:32.559
 for his crucifixion,

00:33:32.559 --> 00:33:33.519
 be suspended

00:33:33.519 --> 00:33:34.279
 on a pole,

00:33:34.439 --> 00:33:35.359
 on a cross

00:33:35.359 --> 00:33:36.819
 between heaven and earth.

00:33:37.799 --> 00:33:38.639
 Even the fact

00:33:38.639 --> 00:33:39.299
 that Moses

00:33:39.299 --> 00:33:40.419
 made this

00:33:40.419 --> 00:33:41.299
 out of bronze

00:33:41.299 --> 00:33:42.000
 is significant

00:33:42.000 --> 00:33:42.899
 instead of using

00:33:42.899 --> 00:33:43.839
 an actual snake.

00:33:44.559 --> 00:33:45.559
 It's significant

00:33:45.559 --> 00:33:46.459
 because Jesus

00:33:46.459 --> 00:33:48.179
 wasn't a real sinner

00:33:48.179 --> 00:33:49.059
 that was put

00:33:49.059 --> 00:33:49.579
 on a cross,

00:33:49.679 --> 00:33:50.879
 but he was made

00:33:50.879 --> 00:33:52.639
 to be sin for us.

00:33:52.879 --> 00:33:53.740
 And as he is

00:33:53.740 --> 00:33:54.519
 hanging on the cross,

00:33:54.679 --> 00:33:56.459
 he bears our sin.

00:33:56.639 --> 00:33:59.519
 He bears our wrath.

00:34:00.159 --> 00:34:01.059
 And we can't miss

00:34:01.059 --> 00:34:02.019
 the role of faith

00:34:02.019 --> 00:34:02.720
 in the healing.

00:34:03.759 --> 00:34:04.759
 The bitten people

00:34:04.759 --> 00:34:05.959
 were as good as dead

00:34:05.960 --> 00:34:06.900
 unless they looked

00:34:06.900 --> 00:34:08.199
 to God's grace

00:34:08.199 --> 00:34:09.099
 in this,

00:34:09.179 --> 00:34:09.960
 his provision.

00:34:10.420 --> 00:34:11.519
 There was no other way

00:34:11.519 --> 00:34:12.619
 for them to receive healing.

00:34:13.619 --> 00:34:14.639
 They had to look

00:34:14.639 --> 00:34:15.480
 at God's provision

00:34:15.480 --> 00:34:16.179
 for life.

00:34:16.780 --> 00:34:17.619
 But to look

00:34:17.619 --> 00:34:18.579
 to God's provision

00:34:18.579 --> 00:34:19.619
 meant they had

00:34:19.619 --> 00:34:20.360
 to abandon

00:34:20.360 --> 00:34:21.900
 all their other hopes

00:34:21.900 --> 00:34:22.599
 of remedies.

00:34:23.920 --> 00:34:24.760
 Perhaps they had

00:34:24.760 --> 00:34:26.119
 gathered whatever

00:34:26.119 --> 00:34:27.179
 hope they could

00:34:27.179 --> 00:34:28.280
 and medicinal things

00:34:28.280 --> 00:34:29.340
 or whatever process

00:34:29.340 --> 00:34:29.940
 they could go through

00:34:29.940 --> 00:34:31.000
 to get rid of this fever,

00:34:31.119 --> 00:34:31.820
 but none of those things

00:34:31.820 --> 00:34:32.320
 were going to work.

00:34:32.320 --> 00:34:33.019
 The only way

00:34:33.019 --> 00:34:33.360
 they were going

00:34:33.360 --> 00:34:33.880
 to get healing

00:34:33.880 --> 00:34:34.720
 was to look

00:34:34.720 --> 00:34:35.280
 at what God

00:34:35.280 --> 00:34:35.960
 had provided

00:34:35.960 --> 00:34:36.660
 in the serpent

00:34:36.660 --> 00:34:37.360
 that was hanging

00:34:37.360 --> 00:34:38.340
 on the pole.

00:34:38.460 --> 00:34:38.980
 But in order

00:34:38.980 --> 00:34:39.500
 to do that,

00:34:39.539 --> 00:34:40.220
 they had to abandon

00:34:40.220 --> 00:34:41.059
 all their other hopes.

00:34:41.840 --> 00:34:42.980
 And is that not exactly

00:34:42.980 --> 00:34:43.720
 what salvation

00:34:43.720 --> 00:34:44.539
 is for us?

00:34:45.519 --> 00:34:46.880
 There's no other way

00:34:46.880 --> 00:34:48.300
 by which we can be saved

00:34:48.300 --> 00:34:49.360
 than through faith

00:34:49.360 --> 00:34:50.820
 in God's gracious provision.

00:34:51.720 --> 00:34:52.760
 And to receive

00:34:52.760 --> 00:34:53.720
 eternal life,

00:34:53.960 --> 00:34:54.860
 you need only

00:34:54.860 --> 00:34:56.000
 look to Jesus.

00:34:56.760 --> 00:34:57.539
 But to look

00:34:57.539 --> 00:34:58.080
 to Jesus

00:34:58.080 --> 00:34:59.080
 means that we must

00:34:59.080 --> 00:34:59.620
 abandon

00:34:59.619 --> 00:35:00.880
 all other

00:35:00.880 --> 00:35:01.880
 potential remedies.

00:35:03.159 --> 00:35:03.799
 Because none

00:35:03.799 --> 00:35:04.819
 of the other ones work.

00:35:05.339 --> 00:35:06.039
 We come to him

00:35:06.039 --> 00:35:06.599
 and him alone.

00:35:07.519 --> 00:35:08.380
 And we gaze

00:35:08.380 --> 00:35:09.079
 at the gracious

00:35:09.079 --> 00:35:10.299
 provision of our God,

00:35:11.000 --> 00:35:11.759
 our Savior,

00:35:11.980 --> 00:35:12.339
 hanging,

00:35:12.980 --> 00:35:14.299
 bearing our sins

00:35:14.299 --> 00:35:15.440
 on the cross.

00:35:16.719 --> 00:35:17.500
 And Kent Hughes

00:35:17.500 --> 00:35:19.279
 is so encouraging here.

00:35:19.339 --> 00:35:19.579
 He says,

00:35:19.659 --> 00:35:21.079
 no matter how horribly

00:35:21.079 --> 00:35:21.779
 they were bitten,

00:35:22.339 --> 00:35:23.739
 no matter how many times

00:35:23.739 --> 00:35:24.599
 they had been bitten,

00:35:24.599 --> 00:35:26.319
 or how sick they were,

00:35:27.099 --> 00:35:28.099
 the opportunity

00:35:28.099 --> 00:35:28.960
 for salvation

00:35:28.960 --> 00:35:29.619
 was there.

00:35:30.840 --> 00:35:32.780
 Even the most degraded

00:35:32.780 --> 00:35:34.320
 and miserable sinner

00:35:34.320 --> 00:35:35.840
 who looks to Christ

00:35:35.840 --> 00:35:37.119
 will be saved.

00:35:37.780 --> 00:35:38.860
 And that's why

00:35:38.860 --> 00:35:39.639
 our Lord used

00:35:39.639 --> 00:35:40.400
 this wonderful

00:35:40.400 --> 00:35:41.500
 illustration.

00:35:42.220 --> 00:35:43.159
 So we've seen

00:35:43.159 --> 00:35:43.840
 the gift of God,

00:35:43.940 --> 00:35:44.599
 that's Christ.

00:35:44.960 --> 00:35:46.280
 We see the call

00:35:46.280 --> 00:35:46.760
 of God,

00:35:47.699 --> 00:35:48.539
 look to Christ

00:35:48.539 --> 00:35:49.059
 in faith,

00:35:49.199 --> 00:35:50.079
 Jesus illustrates

00:35:50.079 --> 00:35:51.220
 that for us.

00:35:51.400 --> 00:35:51.720
 And remember,

00:35:51.800 --> 00:35:52.280
 he's answering

00:35:52.280 --> 00:35:53.260
 Nicodemus' question.

00:35:53.639 --> 00:35:54.019
 Finally,

00:35:54.320 --> 00:35:55.420
 we see ignoring

00:35:55.420 --> 00:35:56.380
 the love of God.

00:35:57.220 --> 00:35:58.059
 Ignoring the love

00:35:58.059 --> 00:35:58.500
 of God.

00:35:58.960 --> 00:36:01.260
 So as we emphasized

00:36:01.260 --> 00:36:02.059
 last week,

00:36:02.720 --> 00:36:03.820
 it wasn't a sense

00:36:03.820 --> 00:36:04.559
 of obligation

00:36:04.559 --> 00:36:05.900
 that motivated God

00:36:05.900 --> 00:36:06.679
 to give his son

00:36:06.679 --> 00:36:07.460
 for our sins,

00:36:07.780 --> 00:36:10.440
 but he gave his son

00:36:10.440 --> 00:36:11.500
 according to the riches

00:36:11.500 --> 00:36:13.800
 of his everlasting love.

00:36:15.019 --> 00:36:16.460
 God loves the world.

00:36:17.780 --> 00:36:18.559
 Jesus died

00:36:18.559 --> 00:36:19.320
 for the sins

00:36:19.320 --> 00:36:19.920
 of the world.

00:36:20.840 --> 00:36:22.019
 And all who come

00:36:22.019 --> 00:36:23.179
 to Christ in faith

00:36:23.179 --> 00:36:24.400
 will receive

00:36:24.400 --> 00:36:25.539
 this precious gift

00:36:25.539 --> 00:36:26.980
 of eternal life.

00:36:26.980 --> 00:36:27.980
 God loves the love.

00:36:27.980 --> 00:36:29.219
 But that begs

00:36:29.219 --> 00:36:29.800
 the question,

00:36:30.400 --> 00:36:32.800
 if that's true,

00:36:33.300 --> 00:36:34.880
 why then

00:36:34.880 --> 00:36:36.019
 do so many people

00:36:36.019 --> 00:36:37.460
 reject it?

00:36:38.460 --> 00:36:40.320
 Why do so many people

00:36:40.320 --> 00:36:40.920
 deny

00:36:40.920 --> 00:36:42.699
 this incredible love?

00:36:43.420 --> 00:36:44.300
 And the answer

00:36:44.300 --> 00:36:45.240
 is in verse 19.

00:36:45.239 --> 00:36:48.539
 this is the judgment.

00:36:50.119 --> 00:36:50.859
 The light

00:36:50.859 --> 00:36:51.279
 has come

00:36:51.279 --> 00:36:51.939
 into the world

00:36:51.939 --> 00:36:53.719
 and people

00:36:53.719 --> 00:36:54.739
 love the darkness

00:36:54.739 --> 00:36:56.139
 rather than

00:36:56.139 --> 00:36:56.719
 the light

00:36:56.719 --> 00:36:58.479
 because their

00:36:58.479 --> 00:36:58.899
 works

00:36:58.899 --> 00:36:59.939
 were evil.

00:37:00.939 --> 00:37:01.819
 For everyone

00:37:01.819 --> 00:37:02.359
 who does

00:37:02.359 --> 00:37:03.299
 wicked things

00:37:03.299 --> 00:37:05.199
 hates the light

00:37:05.199 --> 00:37:06.359
 and does not

00:37:06.359 --> 00:37:07.459
 come to the light

00:37:07.459 --> 00:37:09.399
 lest his works

00:37:09.399 --> 00:37:10.939
 should be exposed.

00:37:10.940 --> 00:37:14.019
 Why do people

00:37:14.019 --> 00:37:14.740
 deny the love

00:37:14.740 --> 00:37:15.139
 of God?

00:37:16.820 --> 00:37:17.559
 Because they

00:37:17.559 --> 00:37:18.480
 love their sin

00:37:18.480 --> 00:37:18.940
 more.

00:37:20.079 --> 00:37:20.760
 Because they

00:37:20.760 --> 00:37:21.599
 love the darkness.

00:37:22.960 --> 00:37:23.700
 Notice the

00:37:23.700 --> 00:37:24.639
 contrast between

00:37:24.639 --> 00:37:25.159
 loves.

00:37:26.880 --> 00:37:27.400
 Verse 16

00:37:27.400 --> 00:37:27.920
 has the love

00:37:27.920 --> 00:37:28.380
 of God.

00:37:29.220 --> 00:37:29.619
 He loves

00:37:29.619 --> 00:37:30.079
 the world

00:37:30.079 --> 00:37:30.920
 so much.

00:37:32.220 --> 00:37:33.039
 This world

00:37:33.039 --> 00:37:33.480
 that he has

00:37:33.480 --> 00:37:33.860
 created

00:37:33.860 --> 00:37:34.360
 that he gives

00:37:34.360 --> 00:37:35.420
 his only son

00:37:35.420 --> 00:37:36.700
 in order

00:37:36.700 --> 00:37:37.320
 that we might

00:37:37.320 --> 00:37:38.360
 have eternal life.

00:37:38.360 --> 00:37:40.420
 But on the

00:37:40.420 --> 00:37:40.880
 other hand

00:37:40.880 --> 00:37:41.500
 the object

00:37:41.500 --> 00:37:42.559
 of our love

00:37:42.559 --> 00:37:43.900
 is the very

00:37:43.900 --> 00:37:44.680
 sin that

00:37:44.680 --> 00:37:45.160
 makes our

00:37:45.160 --> 00:37:45.740
 salvation

00:37:45.740 --> 00:37:46.559
 necessary.

00:37:48.420 --> 00:37:49.360
 In our

00:37:49.360 --> 00:37:49.820
 hearts

00:37:49.820 --> 00:37:51.200
 we want

00:37:51.200 --> 00:37:51.980
 our sin

00:37:51.980 --> 00:37:52.720
 more than

00:37:52.720 --> 00:37:53.260
 we want

00:37:53.260 --> 00:37:53.980
 life.

00:37:54.820 --> 00:37:55.720
 Which is

00:37:55.720 --> 00:37:56.820
 exactly why

00:37:56.820 --> 00:37:57.519
 a new

00:37:57.519 --> 00:37:58.039
 birth

00:37:58.039 --> 00:37:59.460
 is necessary.

00:38:02.260 --> 00:38:03.019
 John

00:38:03.019 --> 00:38:03.780
 often refers

00:38:03.780 --> 00:38:04.320
 to Jesus

00:38:04.320 --> 00:38:05.039
 as the light

00:38:05.039 --> 00:38:05.340
 in his

00:38:05.340 --> 00:38:05.720
 gospel.

00:38:06.640 --> 00:38:07.420
 In this

00:38:07.420 --> 00:38:08.099
 context

00:38:08.099 --> 00:38:08.839
 Jesus

00:38:08.839 --> 00:38:09.400
 is the

00:38:09.400 --> 00:38:09.819
 light

00:38:09.819 --> 00:38:10.259
 that

00:38:10.259 --> 00:38:11.000
 exposes

00:38:11.000 --> 00:38:11.400
 how

00:38:11.400 --> 00:38:12.380
 sinful

00:38:12.380 --> 00:38:12.719
 we

00:38:12.719 --> 00:38:13.059
 truly

00:38:13.059 --> 00:38:13.460
 are.

00:38:14.539 --> 00:38:15.099
 And we

00:38:15.099 --> 00:38:15.619
 don't like

00:38:15.619 --> 00:38:16.059
 that.

00:38:17.059 --> 00:38:17.739
 When we

00:38:17.739 --> 00:38:18.179
 come to

00:38:18.179 --> 00:38:18.619
 Christ

00:38:18.619 --> 00:38:19.839
 we cannot

00:38:19.839 --> 00:38:20.539
 come without

00:38:20.539 --> 00:38:21.279
 acknowledging

00:38:21.279 --> 00:38:22.099
 our

00:38:22.099 --> 00:38:23.000
 wretchedness

00:38:23.000 --> 00:38:24.480
 our

00:38:24.480 --> 00:38:24.980
 inability

00:38:24.980 --> 00:38:26.639
 to do

00:38:26.639 --> 00:38:27.039
 this on

00:38:27.039 --> 00:38:27.599
 our own.

00:38:29.719 --> 00:38:30.779
 And instead

00:38:30.779 --> 00:38:31.219
 of coming

00:38:31.219 --> 00:38:31.619
 to him

00:38:31.619 --> 00:38:32.599
 to be

00:38:32.599 --> 00:38:33.480
 exposed

00:38:33.480 --> 00:38:34.860
 we'd

00:38:34.860 --> 00:38:35.519
 prefer to

00:38:35.519 --> 00:38:36.019
 remain in

00:38:36.019 --> 00:38:36.480
 the darkness.

00:38:36.480 --> 00:38:37.559
 we see

00:38:37.559 --> 00:38:37.920
 this all

00:38:37.920 --> 00:38:38.240
 around

00:38:38.240 --> 00:38:38.659
 us.

00:38:39.659 --> 00:38:40.519
 We sing

00:38:40.519 --> 00:38:40.760
 about

00:38:40.760 --> 00:38:41.179
 this.

00:38:41.920 --> 00:38:42.280
 At

00:38:42.280 --> 00:38:42.760
 Christmas

00:38:42.760 --> 00:38:43.740
 hark the

00:38:43.740 --> 00:38:44.199
 herald angels

00:38:44.199 --> 00:38:44.500
 sing.

00:38:44.940 --> 00:38:45.420
 Hail the

00:38:45.420 --> 00:38:45.940
 heaven born

00:38:45.940 --> 00:38:46.539
 prince of

00:38:46.539 --> 00:38:46.960
 peace.

00:38:47.619 --> 00:38:48.119
 Hail the

00:38:48.119 --> 00:38:48.559
 son of

00:38:48.559 --> 00:38:49.059
 righteousness

00:38:49.059 --> 00:38:50.800
 light and

00:38:50.800 --> 00:38:51.740
 life to

00:38:51.740 --> 00:38:52.139
 all he

00:38:52.139 --> 00:38:52.619
 brings.

00:38:54.260 --> 00:38:55.079
 Mild he

00:38:55.079 --> 00:38:55.599
 lays his

00:38:55.599 --> 00:38:56.380
 glory by.

00:38:56.980 --> 00:38:57.539
 Born that

00:38:57.539 --> 00:38:58.099
 man no

00:38:58.099 --> 00:38:58.619
 more may

00:38:58.619 --> 00:38:59.039
 die.

00:38:59.719 --> 00:39:00.199
 Born to

00:39:00.199 --> 00:39:00.780
 raise the

00:39:00.780 --> 00:39:01.260
 sons of

00:39:01.260 --> 00:39:01.599
 earth.

00:39:02.179 --> 00:39:02.639
 Born to

00:39:02.639 --> 00:39:03.179
 give them

00:39:03.179 --> 00:39:04.059
 second

00:39:04.059 --> 00:39:04.619
 birth.

00:39:06.119 --> 00:39:06.679
 It's

00:39:06.679 --> 00:39:06.940
 this

00:39:06.940 --> 00:39:07.699
 wretchedness

00:39:07.699 --> 00:39:08.179
 and love

00:39:08.179 --> 00:39:08.460
 of the

00:39:08.460 --> 00:39:08.839
 darkness

00:39:08.839 --> 00:39:09.460
 that has

00:39:09.460 --> 00:39:10.000
 so

00:39:10.000 --> 00:39:10.659
 infiltrated

00:39:10.659 --> 00:39:10.899
 our

00:39:10.899 --> 00:39:11.359
 hearts

00:39:11.359 --> 00:39:12.039
 that we

00:39:12.039 --> 00:39:12.379
 would never

00:39:12.379 --> 00:39:12.859
 cry out

00:39:12.859 --> 00:39:13.199
 to God

00:39:13.199 --> 00:39:13.480
 on our

00:39:13.480 --> 00:39:13.719
 own.

00:39:14.019 --> 00:39:14.279
 That's

00:39:14.279 --> 00:39:14.460
 why

00:39:14.460 --> 00:39:14.859
 Jesus

00:39:14.859 --> 00:39:15.219
 tells

00:39:15.219 --> 00:39:15.940
 Nicodemus

00:39:15.940 --> 00:39:17.000
 you need

00:39:17.000 --> 00:39:17.419
 the wind

00:39:17.419 --> 00:39:17.960
 to blow.

00:39:19.419 --> 00:39:20.159
 You need

00:39:20.159 --> 00:39:20.419
 a new

00:39:20.419 --> 00:39:20.879
 birth.

00:39:22.159 --> 00:39:22.940
 You need

00:39:22.940 --> 00:39:23.379
 the grace

00:39:23.379 --> 00:39:23.859
 of God

00:39:23.859 --> 00:39:24.399
 to change

00:39:24.399 --> 00:39:25.000
 your heart.

00:39:27.399 --> 00:39:28.179
 We see

00:39:28.179 --> 00:39:28.619
 this in the

00:39:28.619 --> 00:39:29.279
 Christmas story

00:39:29.279 --> 00:39:29.879
 evidently

00:39:29.879 --> 00:39:30.480
 in the

00:39:30.480 --> 00:39:31.039
 person of

00:39:31.039 --> 00:39:31.319
 King

00:39:31.319 --> 00:39:31.679
 Herod

00:39:31.679 --> 00:39:31.940
 right.

00:39:33.379 --> 00:39:34.639
 He knows

00:39:34.639 --> 00:39:36.819
 based on

00:39:36.819 --> 00:39:37.440
 the testimony

00:39:37.440 --> 00:39:37.980
 of the

00:39:37.980 --> 00:39:38.619
 Magi

00:39:38.619 --> 00:39:39.319
 and on

00:39:39.319 --> 00:39:39.919
 the testimony

00:39:39.919 --> 00:39:40.399
 of the

00:39:40.399 --> 00:39:40.679
 chief

00:39:40.679 --> 00:39:41.039
 priest

00:39:41.039 --> 00:39:41.339
 and the

00:39:41.339 --> 00:39:41.719
 scribes

00:39:41.719 --> 00:39:42.319
 that revealed

00:39:42.319 --> 00:39:42.799
 to him

00:39:42.799 --> 00:39:43.519
 the prophecies

00:39:43.519 --> 00:39:43.779
 of the

00:39:43.779 --> 00:39:44.319
 Old Testament

00:39:44.319 --> 00:39:45.239
 that if

00:39:45.239 --> 00:39:45.859
 this really

00:39:45.859 --> 00:39:46.359
 was the

00:39:46.359 --> 00:39:46.639
 King of

00:39:46.639 --> 00:39:46.980
 the Jews

00:39:46.980 --> 00:39:47.519
 this is

00:39:47.519 --> 00:39:48.059
 the one

00:39:48.059 --> 00:39:48.779
 this is

00:39:48.779 --> 00:39:49.440
 the Messiah

00:39:49.440 --> 00:39:50.259
 he's the

00:39:50.259 --> 00:39:50.919
 one yet

00:39:50.919 --> 00:39:51.440
 what did

00:39:51.440 --> 00:39:52.000
 Herod do

00:39:52.000 --> 00:39:52.299
 with that

00:39:52.299 --> 00:39:52.879
 information

00:39:52.879 --> 00:39:53.759
 he sought

00:39:53.759 --> 00:39:54.440
 to kill

00:39:54.440 --> 00:39:54.759
 him

00:39:54.759 --> 00:39:55.859
 he sought

00:39:55.859 --> 00:39:56.219
 to kill

00:39:56.219 --> 00:39:56.379
 him

00:39:56.379 --> 00:39:56.839
 why

00:39:56.839 --> 00:39:58.559
 because he

00:39:58.559 --> 00:39:59.039
 loved the

00:39:59.039 --> 00:39:59.519
 darkness

00:39:59.519 --> 00:40:01.019
 more than

00:40:01.019 --> 00:40:01.579
 the light

00:40:01.579 --> 00:40:03.360
 and we

00:40:03.360 --> 00:40:03.739
 see this

00:40:03.739 --> 00:40:04.159
 in people

00:40:04.159 --> 00:40:05.840
 around us

00:40:05.840 --> 00:40:07.360
 a couple

00:40:07.360 --> 00:40:07.659
 of nights

00:40:07.659 --> 00:40:07.920
 ago

00:40:07.920 --> 00:40:08.480
 a Christmas

00:40:08.480 --> 00:40:08.860
 Eve night

00:40:08.860 --> 00:40:09.099
 we were

00:40:09.099 --> 00:40:09.340
 at my

00:40:09.340 --> 00:40:09.639
 parents

00:40:09.639 --> 00:40:09.900
 house

00:40:09.900 --> 00:40:10.159
 and

00:40:10.159 --> 00:40:12.880
 somebody

00:40:12.880 --> 00:40:13.239
 had turned

00:40:13.239 --> 00:40:13.719
 on a

00:40:13.719 --> 00:40:14.500
 new show

00:40:14.500 --> 00:40:15.500
 that has

00:40:15.500 --> 00:40:16.079
 Will Smith

00:40:16.079 --> 00:40:16.619
 going around

00:40:16.619 --> 00:40:16.980
 the world

00:40:16.980 --> 00:40:17.759
 and looking

00:40:17.759 --> 00:40:18.239
 at all these

00:40:18.239 --> 00:40:18.779
 natural things

00:40:18.779 --> 00:40:19.299
 like volcanoes

00:40:19.299 --> 00:40:19.739
 and stuff

00:40:19.739 --> 00:40:20.059
 like that

00:40:20.059 --> 00:40:20.860
 and of course

00:40:20.860 --> 00:40:21.119
 that

00:40:21.119 --> 00:40:22.139
 I don't know

00:40:22.139 --> 00:40:22.519
 if you do

00:40:22.519 --> 00:40:23.039
 this but

00:40:23.039 --> 00:40:23.539
 anytime

00:40:23.539 --> 00:40:23.960
 somebody

00:40:23.960 --> 00:40:24.759
 pops up

00:40:24.759 --> 00:40:25.179
 on TV

00:40:25.179 --> 00:40:25.559
 that's

00:40:25.559 --> 00:40:26.279
 famous

00:40:26.279 --> 00:40:27.400
 we usually

00:40:27.400 --> 00:40:27.779
 try to

00:40:27.779 --> 00:40:28.460
 figure out

00:40:28.460 --> 00:40:29.179
 what do

00:40:29.179 --> 00:40:29.579
 they really

00:40:29.579 --> 00:40:30.059
 believe

00:40:30.059 --> 00:40:30.500
 you know

00:40:30.500 --> 00:40:31.019
 and somebody

00:40:31.019 --> 00:40:31.460
 says

00:40:31.460 --> 00:40:31.760
 I wonder

00:40:31.760 --> 00:40:32.019
 if he's

00:40:32.019 --> 00:40:32.420
 a Christian

00:40:32.420 --> 00:40:32.880
 and so

00:40:32.880 --> 00:40:33.699
 my brother

00:40:33.699 --> 00:40:34.000
 in law

00:40:34.000 --> 00:40:34.559
 RJ

00:40:34.559 --> 00:40:35.639
 started

00:40:35.639 --> 00:40:37.260
 looking online

00:40:37.260 --> 00:40:37.659
 to see if he

00:40:37.659 --> 00:40:38.019
 could find

00:40:38.019 --> 00:40:38.460
 what kind

00:40:38.460 --> 00:40:38.980
 of information

00:40:38.980 --> 00:40:39.539
 about Will

00:40:39.539 --> 00:40:39.760
 Smith

00:40:39.760 --> 00:40:40.079
 and what

00:40:40.079 --> 00:40:40.260
 Will

00:40:40.260 --> 00:40:40.420
 Smith

00:40:40.420 --> 00:40:40.800
 believes

00:40:40.800 --> 00:40:41.800
 and apparently

00:40:41.800 --> 00:40:42.360
 based on what

00:40:42.360 --> 00:40:42.960
 he had found

00:40:42.960 --> 00:40:44.280
 he grew up

00:40:44.280 --> 00:40:45.000
 as a Christian

00:40:45.000 --> 00:40:45.900
 and even

00:40:45.900 --> 00:40:46.760
 in a Baptist

00:40:46.760 --> 00:40:47.199
 church

00:40:47.199 --> 00:40:47.760
 of sorts

00:40:47.760 --> 00:40:48.000
 and

00:40:48.000 --> 00:40:49.400
 but as he

00:40:49.400 --> 00:40:49.860
 got older

00:40:49.860 --> 00:40:50.460
 he decided

00:40:50.460 --> 00:40:51.559
 that he

00:40:51.559 --> 00:40:51.940
 believes

00:40:51.940 --> 00:40:52.360
 that there's

00:40:52.360 --> 00:40:52.860
 a God

00:40:52.860 --> 00:40:54.679
 but that

00:40:54.679 --> 00:40:55.679
 he hates

00:40:55.679 --> 00:40:56.280
 organized

00:40:56.280 --> 00:40:56.840
 religion

00:40:56.840 --> 00:40:58.200
 which is

00:40:58.200 --> 00:40:58.680
 really just

00:40:58.680 --> 00:40:59.220
 another way

00:40:59.220 --> 00:40:59.579
 of saying

00:40:59.579 --> 00:40:59.880
 I don't

00:40:59.880 --> 00:41:00.320
 want anyone

00:41:00.320 --> 00:41:00.960
 to tell me

00:41:00.960 --> 00:41:01.600
 what to do

00:41:01.600 --> 00:41:02.200
 I want

00:41:02.200 --> 00:41:02.579
 to do it

00:41:02.579 --> 00:41:02.900
 myself

00:41:02.900 --> 00:41:04.960
 and make

00:41:04.960 --> 00:41:05.420
 up my own

00:41:05.420 --> 00:41:05.880
 mind about

00:41:05.880 --> 00:41:06.120
 how I'm

00:41:06.120 --> 00:41:06.260
 going to

00:41:06.260 --> 00:41:06.559
 live my

00:41:06.559 --> 00:41:06.920
 life

00:41:06.920 --> 00:41:07.360
 and he

00:41:07.360 --> 00:41:07.539
 said

00:41:07.539 --> 00:41:07.820
 what I

00:41:07.820 --> 00:41:08.039
 want to

00:41:08.039 --> 00:41:08.220
 do

00:41:08.220 --> 00:41:08.480
 is I

00:41:08.480 --> 00:41:08.660
 want to

00:41:08.660 --> 00:41:09.019
 find all

00:41:09.019 --> 00:41:09.280
 of these

00:41:09.280 --> 00:41:09.680
 religions

00:41:09.680 --> 00:41:10.000
 and I

00:41:10.000 --> 00:41:10.180
 want to

00:41:10.180 --> 00:41:10.559
 find the

00:41:10.559 --> 00:41:10.940
 things that

00:41:10.940 --> 00:41:11.180
 I like

00:41:11.180 --> 00:41:11.559
 the most

00:41:11.559 --> 00:41:11.960
 about these

00:41:11.960 --> 00:41:12.240
 different

00:41:12.240 --> 00:41:12.640
 religions

00:41:12.640 --> 00:41:12.900
 and I

00:41:12.900 --> 00:41:13.019
 want to

00:41:13.019 --> 00:41:13.300
 bring them

00:41:13.300 --> 00:41:13.539
 together

00:41:13.539 --> 00:41:13.900
 and that's

00:41:13.900 --> 00:41:14.539
 really what

00:41:14.539 --> 00:41:15.300
 my faith

00:41:15.300 --> 00:41:15.420
 is

00:41:15.420 --> 00:41:15.840
 so God

00:41:15.840 --> 00:41:16.579
 is there

00:41:16.579 --> 00:41:17.740
 God

00:41:17.740 --> 00:41:18.460
 is there

00:41:18.460 --> 00:41:19.079
 I don't

00:41:19.079 --> 00:41:19.260
 want to

00:41:19.260 --> 00:41:19.559
 deny

00:41:19.559 --> 00:41:20.200
 that

00:41:20.200 --> 00:41:21.039
 but I'm

00:41:21.039 --> 00:41:21.200
 going to

00:41:21.200 --> 00:41:21.539
 get the

00:41:21.539 --> 00:41:22.139
 best things

00:41:22.139 --> 00:41:22.579
 out of all

00:41:22.579 --> 00:41:23.059
 of these

00:41:23.059 --> 00:41:23.360
 other things

00:41:23.360 --> 00:41:24.219
 that's just

00:41:24.219 --> 00:41:24.820
 another way

00:41:24.820 --> 00:41:25.380
 of saying

00:41:25.380 --> 00:41:26.259
 I don't

00:41:26.259 --> 00:41:26.920
 really know

00:41:26.920 --> 00:41:27.420
 if God

00:41:27.420 --> 00:41:27.840
 is there

00:41:27.840 --> 00:41:29.480
 but if he

00:41:29.480 --> 00:41:30.039
 is and if

00:41:30.039 --> 00:41:30.579
 he's good

00:41:30.579 --> 00:41:32.199
 I'm sure

00:41:32.199 --> 00:41:32.880
 that he

00:41:32.880 --> 00:41:34.300
 will reward

00:41:34.300 --> 00:41:35.179
 nice people

00:41:35.179 --> 00:41:35.679
 who really

00:41:35.679 --> 00:41:35.960
 do their

00:41:35.960 --> 00:41:36.420
 best and

00:41:36.420 --> 00:41:36.779
 try their

00:41:36.779 --> 00:41:37.059
 hardest

00:41:37.059 --> 00:41:37.579
 but it's

00:41:37.579 --> 00:41:37.960
 not really

00:41:37.960 --> 00:41:38.259
 about

00:41:38.259 --> 00:41:39.000
 subscribing

00:41:39.000 --> 00:41:39.980
 to a

00:41:39.980 --> 00:41:40.400
 person

00:41:40.400 --> 00:41:40.719
 or a

00:41:40.719 --> 00:41:40.880
 thing

00:41:40.880 --> 00:41:41.139
 so I'm

00:41:41.139 --> 00:41:41.259
 just

00:41:41.259 --> 00:41:41.460
 going to

00:41:41.460 --> 00:41:41.639
 grab

00:41:41.639 --> 00:41:42.000
 all of

00:41:42.000 --> 00:41:42.139
 these

00:41:42.139 --> 00:41:42.340
 little

00:41:42.340 --> 00:41:42.599
 things

00:41:42.599 --> 00:41:43.019
 what is

00:41:43.019 --> 00:41:43.279
 that all

00:41:43.279 --> 00:41:43.679
 about

00:41:43.679 --> 00:41:44.179
 that's

00:41:44.179 --> 00:41:44.400
 about

00:41:44.400 --> 00:41:44.699
 loving

00:41:44.699 --> 00:41:44.920
 the

00:41:44.920 --> 00:41:45.480
 darkness

00:41:45.480 --> 00:41:47.039
 in

00:41:47.039 --> 00:41:47.460
 Jesus

00:41:47.460 --> 00:41:48.039
 has come

00:41:48.039 --> 00:41:48.559
 the light

00:41:48.559 --> 00:41:49.699
 but men

00:41:49.699 --> 00:41:50.119
 love the

00:41:50.119 --> 00:41:50.619
 darkness

00:41:50.619 --> 00:41:51.519
 rather than

00:41:51.519 --> 00:41:51.960
 the light

00:41:51.960 --> 00:41:52.639
 because their

00:41:52.639 --> 00:41:53.159
 hearts are

00:41:53.159 --> 00:41:53.679
 evil

00:41:53.679 --> 00:41:55.639
 because in

00:41:55.639 --> 00:41:56.159
 them there

00:41:56.159 --> 00:41:57.380
 is depravity

00:41:57.380 --> 00:41:58.360
 and sinfulness

00:41:58.360 --> 00:41:59.179
 and a nature

00:41:59.179 --> 00:42:00.079
 that must be

00:42:00.079 --> 00:42:00.880
 redeemed

00:42:00.880 --> 00:42:01.179
 and they

00:42:01.179 --> 00:42:01.820
 grasp at

00:42:01.820 --> 00:42:02.259
 everything

00:42:02.259 --> 00:42:02.900
 possible

00:42:02.900 --> 00:42:03.619
 except for

00:42:03.619 --> 00:42:04.159
 the one

00:42:04.159 --> 00:42:04.880
 thing

00:42:04.880 --> 00:42:05.759
 that can

00:42:05.759 --> 00:42:06.559
 actually

00:42:06.559 --> 00:42:07.659
 help them

00:42:07.659 --> 00:42:10.059
 they refuse

00:42:10.059 --> 00:42:10.759
 the provision

00:42:10.759 --> 00:42:11.280
 that God

00:42:11.280 --> 00:42:11.800
 has given

00:42:11.800 --> 00:42:13.059
 in order

00:42:13.059 --> 00:42:13.780
 to pursue

00:42:13.780 --> 00:42:14.820
 their own

00:42:14.820 --> 00:42:15.300
 things

00:42:15.300 --> 00:42:16.259
 and God

00:42:16.259 --> 00:42:16.940
 says listen

00:42:16.940 --> 00:42:17.480
 Jesus

00:42:17.480 --> 00:42:17.960
 says listen

00:42:17.960 --> 00:42:18.840
 you've got

00:42:18.840 --> 00:42:19.300
 to be born

00:42:19.300 --> 00:42:19.699
 again

00:42:19.699 --> 00:42:21.059
 and look

00:42:21.059 --> 00:42:21.759
 verse 21

00:42:21.759 --> 00:42:22.159
 we'll finish

00:42:22.159 --> 00:42:22.539
 with this

00:42:22.539 --> 00:42:23.759
 but whoever

00:42:23.759 --> 00:42:24.400
 does what

00:42:24.400 --> 00:42:24.960
 is true

00:42:24.960 --> 00:42:26.840
 comes to

00:42:26.840 --> 00:42:27.360
 the light

00:42:27.360 --> 00:42:28.940
 so that it

00:42:28.940 --> 00:42:29.279
 may be

00:42:29.279 --> 00:42:30.219
 clearly seen

00:42:30.219 --> 00:42:31.519
 that his

00:42:31.519 --> 00:42:32.039
 works

00:42:32.039 --> 00:42:33.019
 have been

00:42:33.019 --> 00:42:33.559
 carried out

00:42:33.559 --> 00:42:34.079
 in God

00:42:34.079 --> 00:42:36.299
 so lest we

00:42:36.299 --> 00:42:37.420
 arrogantly

00:42:37.420 --> 00:42:38.219
 think too much

00:42:38.219 --> 00:42:38.820
 of ourselves

00:42:38.820 --> 00:42:39.440
 as if

00:42:39.440 --> 00:42:41.659
 we did what

00:42:41.659 --> 00:42:42.299
 was necessary

00:42:42.299 --> 00:42:43.039
 and the others

00:42:43.039 --> 00:42:43.360
 didn't

00:42:43.360 --> 00:42:43.699
 we were

00:42:43.699 --> 00:42:44.239
 smarter than

00:42:44.239 --> 00:42:44.480
 them

00:42:44.480 --> 00:42:44.840
 or we were

00:42:44.840 --> 00:42:45.320
 more capable

00:42:45.320 --> 00:42:46.940
 than them

00:42:46.940 --> 00:42:48.980
 we're reminded

00:42:48.980 --> 00:42:49.320
 here in

00:42:49.320 --> 00:42:49.860
 verse 21

00:42:49.860 --> 00:42:50.480
 that coming

00:42:50.480 --> 00:42:50.800
 to the

00:42:50.800 --> 00:42:51.079
 light

00:42:51.079 --> 00:42:51.880
 actually

00:42:51.880 --> 00:42:52.360
 reveals

00:42:52.360 --> 00:42:52.760
 God's

00:42:52.760 --> 00:42:53.139
 work in

00:42:53.139 --> 00:42:53.460
 us

00:42:53.460 --> 00:42:55.519
 the wind

00:42:55.519 --> 00:42:56.220
 has blown

00:42:56.220 --> 00:42:58.519
 and its

00:42:58.519 --> 00:42:59.139
 effects are

00:42:59.139 --> 00:42:59.720
 visible in

00:42:59.720 --> 00:43:00.099
 us

00:43:00.099 --> 00:43:01.480
 and this

00:43:01.480 --> 00:43:02.039
 is a result

00:43:02.039 --> 00:43:02.519
 of God's

00:43:02.519 --> 00:43:02.880
 grace

00:43:02.880 --> 00:43:04.039
 isn't it

00:43:04.039 --> 00:43:06.059
 isn't that

00:43:06.059 --> 00:43:06.380
 why we

00:43:06.380 --> 00:43:07.139
 worship him

00:43:07.139 --> 00:43:09.179
 and we

00:43:09.179 --> 00:43:09.840
 thank him

00:43:09.840 --> 00:43:11.760
 because of

00:43:11.760 --> 00:43:12.380
 his grace

00:43:12.380 --> 00:43:15.619
 so maybe

00:43:15.619 --> 00:43:16.079
 this week

00:43:16.079 --> 00:43:16.340
 if you

00:43:16.340 --> 00:43:16.720
 gather with

00:43:16.720 --> 00:43:17.300
 family once

00:43:17.300 --> 00:43:17.660
 again

00:43:17.660 --> 00:43:18.480
 perhaps for

00:43:18.480 --> 00:43:18.900
 extended

00:43:18.900 --> 00:43:19.360
 Christmas

00:43:19.360 --> 00:43:19.800
 gatherings

00:43:19.800 --> 00:43:20.280
 or maybe

00:43:20.280 --> 00:43:21.820
 maybe for

00:43:21.820 --> 00:43:22.220
 your New

00:43:22.220 --> 00:43:22.539
 Year's

00:43:22.539 --> 00:43:22.880
 gathering

00:43:22.880 --> 00:43:23.400
 if you do

00:43:23.400 --> 00:43:23.660
 something

00:43:23.660 --> 00:43:24.140
 like that

00:43:24.140 --> 00:43:26.500
 maybe

00:43:26.500 --> 00:43:27.180
 maybe a

00:43:27.180 --> 00:43:27.700
 good question

00:43:27.700 --> 00:43:28.420
 to ask

00:43:28.420 --> 00:43:30.559
 is in

00:43:30.559 --> 00:43:31.059
 is the

00:43:31.059 --> 00:43:31.700
 wind blowing

00:43:31.700 --> 00:43:32.079
 in your

00:43:32.079 --> 00:43:32.660
 life today

00:43:32.660 --> 00:43:34.480
 do you

00:43:34.480 --> 00:43:34.920
 hear his

00:43:34.920 --> 00:43:35.460
 voice

00:43:35.460 --> 00:43:37.619
 is he

00:43:37.619 --> 00:43:38.140
 calling

00:43:38.140 --> 00:43:40.980
 believe

00:43:40.980 --> 00:43:41.460
 him

00:43:41.460 --> 00:43:43.099
 follow

00:43:43.099 --> 00:43:43.480
 him