WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:27.920 Good morning, church. Today we'll be reading from John chapter 5, verse 30 to 47. And if you're reading from the church Bible, it'll be on 837. Yeah. All right. So John chapter 5, verse 30. Witness to Jesus. Jesus said, I can do anything on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just because I seek not on my own will, but the will of him who sent me. 00:00:27.920 --> 00:00:53.260 If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another one who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. Not that the testimony that I receive is from men, but I say these things so that you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for all while in his light. 00:00:53.259 --> 00:01:05.920 But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. 00:01:05.920 --> 00:01:17.980 And the Father who has sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, and you do not believe the one whom he has sent. 00:01:18.719 --> 00:01:27.640 You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life, and it is they that bear witness about me. Yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. 00:01:27.640 --> 00:01:36.400 I do not receive glory from people, but I know that you do not have the love of God within you. I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me. 00:01:37.000 --> 00:01:46.099 If another come in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? 00:01:46.960 --> 00:01:54.200 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you, Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 00:01:54.200 --> 00:02:02.000 For if you believe Moses, you will believe me, for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words? 00:02:02.340 --> 00:02:04.439 This is the word of God. Thanks. 00:02:05.600 --> 00:02:09.920 Okay, great. Thank you. Let's pray together, and then we will consider these words. 00:02:11.120 --> 00:02:14.800 Father God, we come to your word because we want to hear what you have to say. 00:02:15.080 --> 00:02:19.800 Lord, as Oscar reminded us last week, there are 10,000 voices in our world. 00:02:19.800 --> 00:02:29.040 The voice of our parents, the voice of our bosses, the voice of social media, the voice in our own heads and hearts that sometimes condemn us, sometimes accuse us. 00:02:29.680 --> 00:02:33.820 God, we want to hear your voice. We want to hear and know what you have to say. 00:02:34.660 --> 00:02:40.000 So God, come and speak to us, I pray. Let your word encourage and build up our faith, God. 00:02:40.040 --> 00:02:45.200 And for those of us that are seeking and searching and wondering about faith, Lord, won't you speak to us as well? 00:02:45.520 --> 00:02:48.020 We pray these things in your great name. Amen. 00:02:48.020 --> 00:02:58.340 Amen. So in September 28, the year 2000, a man called David Cam returned home from work one day, 00:02:58.460 --> 00:03:01.680 and he found his wife and his two children had been killed. 00:03:01.980 --> 00:03:05.219 They were shot from gunshot wounds, and they were killed. 00:03:05.480 --> 00:03:08.939 And David Cam believed that his seven-year-old son may still be alive. 00:03:09.040 --> 00:03:13.900 He tried to do CPR on him, but to no avail. His son passed away. 00:03:13.900 --> 00:03:23.280 And so he called 911 frantically, and three days later, he was arrested for the murder of his own family. 00:03:24.060 --> 00:03:32.920 A state forensic analyst claimed that on his T-shirt that he was wearing was blood stains that was consistent with a perpetrator. 00:03:32.919 --> 00:03:40.639 Sorry, the T-shirt he was wearing had been stained with his wife's blood, that it was consistent with that of a perpetrator. 00:03:41.479 --> 00:03:47.119 And so during his trial, the prosecution stated that David Cam had two motives. 00:03:47.239 --> 00:03:51.719 He had a life insurance policy on his wife, and he was apparently having an affair. 00:03:51.719 --> 00:04:01.139 And so in March 17, 2002, 18 months later, he was found guilty and sentenced to 195 years in prison. 00:04:01.599 --> 00:04:02.460 It was 200 years. 00:04:03.120 --> 00:04:08.319 But a few years later, in a court of appeals, overturned the conviction and ordered another trial. 00:04:08.560 --> 00:04:09.639 And so he had a second trial. 00:04:09.740 --> 00:04:16.379 And at that trial, new evidence emerged, which showed that there was another career criminal that was in the area, 00:04:16.660 --> 00:04:19.259 and his DNA was found at the crime scene. 00:04:19.259 --> 00:04:26.680 Well, during a third trial, five years later, in 2009, it was shown that actually the blood expert, 00:04:27.159 --> 00:04:30.939 the blood spatter expert, actually had falsified his own credentials. 00:04:31.599 --> 00:04:39.180 He was not an expert at all, and he had zero history and experience in analyzing blood spatter data. 00:04:40.019 --> 00:04:45.079 Additionally, another forensic expert found further evidence that that same career criminal, 00:04:45.079 --> 00:04:50.659 whose DNA was found at the scene, was actually found on the bodies of the victims. 00:04:51.399 --> 00:04:56.699 And these evidences together, pieced together, put the career criminal as actually the perpetrator. 00:04:57.620 --> 00:05:06.459 And so in 2015, David Cam, after 13 years in prison, was released and exonerated and acquitted of all charges. 00:05:06.459 --> 00:05:09.979 Now, why did I tell you that story? 00:05:10.139 --> 00:05:11.899 These stories are very common, right? 00:05:12.019 --> 00:05:15.120 That people are falsely accused and fairly put away. 00:05:15.819 --> 00:05:19.659 But one of the points is that the evidence is very, very important. 00:05:20.359 --> 00:05:25.319 What we make of evidence and the evidence we find and where we source that evidence is very important. 00:05:26.679 --> 00:05:32.839 Overlooking evidence in a criminal case can be deadly serious and lead to grave injustice. 00:05:32.839 --> 00:05:37.799 David Cam going to prison for 13 years for a crime he did not commit. 00:05:38.659 --> 00:05:44.439 But friends, the Bible tells us that ignoring the evidence about who Jesus Christ is and what he says about himself 00:05:44.439 --> 00:05:49.699 and the claims that he makes can be just as disastrous, just as serious. 00:05:50.539 --> 00:05:56.439 And so in the passage that we're looking at today, it continues from the passage that Oscar helped us look at last week. 00:05:56.699 --> 00:06:00.639 If you were here last week, there was a man, he's a cripple, an invalid. 00:06:00.639 --> 00:06:09.599 He is waiting by a pool of water because there's a superstition in their day that at a certain time of the day or certain time of the year, 00:06:10.060 --> 00:06:11.339 the waters will stir. 00:06:11.539 --> 00:06:14.180 And what that means is that angels are stirring the waters. 00:06:14.639 --> 00:06:19.979 And if you're the first person into the water at that time, God will miraculously heal you. 00:06:20.519 --> 00:06:26.099 And so all the invalids, the paralytics of the day are waiting beside the pools of the water at Bethesda. 00:06:26.100 --> 00:06:29.960 And here is a man, he's been an invalid for 38 years. 00:06:30.320 --> 00:06:31.660 He's waiting by the pools. 00:06:32.060 --> 00:06:37.740 And whenever he sees movement in the water, he tries to get in first as a way of healing himself, 00:06:37.900 --> 00:06:40.120 saving himself, solving his greatest problem. 00:06:40.379 --> 00:06:41.200 But he can't. 00:06:41.960 --> 00:06:42.780 It never works out. 00:06:42.860 --> 00:06:44.000 The timing doesn't work out. 00:06:44.120 --> 00:06:46.840 Someone gets in before him or whatever happens. 00:06:47.060 --> 00:06:50.780 But he's tried everything possible and nothing goes his way. 00:06:50.779 --> 00:06:56.179 And while he's there waiting for maybe a future day where maybe something will go right, 00:06:56.479 --> 00:07:03.139 Jesus walks up to him and doesn't touch him or anything, just with a simple word, speaks to him, it says, be healed. 00:07:03.899 --> 00:07:06.759 And in a moment, his whole life is turned around. 00:07:07.979 --> 00:07:13.799 And the point is that Jesus has the authority and the power to give life and to take life away. 00:07:14.419 --> 00:07:17.339 Jesus has the power and authority to talk to us about sin. 00:07:17.899 --> 00:07:21.099 Jesus has the power and authority to give resurrection life. 00:07:21.699 --> 00:07:22.060 Why? 00:07:22.599 --> 00:07:24.560 Because he claims to be the son of God. 00:07:25.319 --> 00:07:27.699 Jesus says, I and the father are one. 00:07:27.799 --> 00:07:29.139 Look at what he says in verse 19. 00:07:29.219 --> 00:07:30.419 If you've got a Bible, he said this. 00:07:31.179 --> 00:07:35.519 Jesus said to him, truly I say to you, I, the son, can do nothing of my own accord, 00:07:35.839 --> 00:07:41.379 but only what I see the father doing, whatever the father does, that the son, I myself do likewise. 00:07:42.379 --> 00:07:44.239 Jesus claims to be the son of God. 00:07:44.239 --> 00:07:46.919 And that has a profoundly important implication. 00:07:47.339 --> 00:07:51.060 It means that Jesus shares the same divine nature with God the father. 00:07:51.739 --> 00:07:54.000 It means that he is one with the father. 00:07:54.279 --> 00:07:57.139 God the father and God the son are not two different gods. 00:07:57.239 --> 00:07:58.000 They're not competing. 00:07:58.419 --> 00:07:59.500 They're not in partnership. 00:08:00.079 --> 00:08:03.620 They are two persons of the same triune God, father and son. 00:08:04.279 --> 00:08:07.579 It means that what Jesus does is what God the father is doing. 00:08:07.859 --> 00:08:10.019 What Jesus says is what God the father says. 00:08:10.019 --> 00:08:19.339 It's kind of like when the crown prince of a country or state or an empire goes on business and visits another country 00:08:19.339 --> 00:08:27.019 and meets with maybe the chief executive or the president and engages in trade negotiations or bilateral agreements. 00:08:27.419 --> 00:08:30.099 The crown prince is not the king, but he represents the crown. 00:08:30.240 --> 00:08:33.259 He has all the authority, all the power of the crown of the throne. 00:08:33.259 --> 00:08:38.340 Jesus, the crown prince, the son of God comes and he speaks for God. 00:08:38.419 --> 00:08:39.159 He acts for God. 00:08:39.259 --> 00:08:40.319 He is God. 00:08:41.120 --> 00:08:43.939 When Jesus speaks, he's not the words of a well-informed prophet. 00:08:44.500 --> 00:08:46.139 These are the words of God himself. 00:08:46.860 --> 00:08:49.200 When Jesus acts, these are not the actions of a mere mortal. 00:08:49.419 --> 00:08:51.360 These are the actions of God himself. 00:08:51.360 --> 00:08:56.159 And in John's gospel, the miracle is never the main thing. 00:08:56.279 --> 00:08:58.019 The miracle leads to the explanation. 00:08:58.320 --> 00:08:59.680 And Jesus does this amazing miracle. 00:08:59.800 --> 00:09:00.580 And what's the explanation? 00:09:01.440 --> 00:09:03.039 Because I am the son of God. 00:09:03.139 --> 00:09:04.259 I am God. 00:09:04.960 --> 00:09:06.139 Now, here's the question. 00:09:06.899 --> 00:09:09.000 Jesus makes this remarkable claim. 00:09:09.840 --> 00:09:11.460 But why should we believe that claim? 00:09:12.120 --> 00:09:14.340 What evidence does he have to back that up? 00:09:15.060 --> 00:09:17.279 What happens if any person came and said, I'm the son of God? 00:09:17.360 --> 00:09:18.019 Should we believe him? 00:09:18.139 --> 00:09:18.860 Where's the evidence? 00:09:18.960 --> 00:09:19.680 Where's the testimony? 00:09:19.679 --> 00:09:23.779 What is it that we should base our belief on? 00:09:24.620 --> 00:09:26.399 Well, C.S. Lewis said this. 00:09:26.819 --> 00:09:31.359 Christianity and the claims of Jesus Christ, if false, are of no importance. 00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:34.299 But if true, are of infinite importance. 00:09:34.779 --> 00:09:37.359 The only thing they cannot be is moderately important. 00:09:37.859 --> 00:09:38.859 That's absolutely right. 00:09:39.639 --> 00:09:41.059 Christianity and the claims of Jesus. 00:09:41.179 --> 00:09:43.219 If they're true, they are infinitely important. 00:09:43.319 --> 00:09:44.979 Because Jesus makes a radical claim. 00:09:45.379 --> 00:09:47.939 If they're not true, they have zero importance whatsoever. 00:09:47.940 --> 00:09:50.440 They cannot be moderately important. 00:09:50.580 --> 00:09:52.020 So what do we do with the claims of Jesus? 00:09:52.860 --> 00:09:54.960 And is there any evidence to back it up? 00:09:55.060 --> 00:09:57.620 Well, in this passage, Jesus is concerned with that. 00:09:57.700 --> 00:09:59.380 He wants us to believe and to see. 00:09:59.500 --> 00:10:01.880 And so he gives us three pieces of evidence. 00:10:02.580 --> 00:10:07.120 And in this passage, what we're going to see is that belief in Jesus is reasonable. 00:10:07.120 --> 00:10:10.179 It's difficult, but it's near. 00:10:10.700 --> 00:10:11.379 It's possible. 00:10:11.480 --> 00:10:13.600 In other words, it's within reach. 00:10:13.720 --> 00:10:14.379 It's within grasp. 00:10:14.440 --> 00:10:15.200 It's close at hand. 00:10:15.600 --> 00:10:16.940 Reasonable, difficult, and near. 00:10:17.039 --> 00:10:18.639 So let's dive in and look at it. 00:10:18.840 --> 00:10:22.440 Firstly, belief in Jesus as the Son of God is reasonable. 00:10:22.659 --> 00:10:26.080 Now, this is in some ways the main point of this passage. 00:10:26.080 --> 00:10:32.340 Many people hear Jesus' claims, and they find it outrageous. 00:10:32.700 --> 00:10:34.580 They think Jesus is blaspheming. 00:10:35.060 --> 00:10:36.740 And so in verse 18, it says here, 00:10:37.160 --> 00:10:40.040 This is why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him. 00:10:40.480 --> 00:10:42.160 Because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, 00:10:42.300 --> 00:10:46.220 but he was even claiming God, his own Father, making himself equal with God. 00:10:46.800 --> 00:10:48.620 And so everybody knows when Jesus says, 00:10:48.720 --> 00:10:51.180 I am the Son and God is my Father, they know what he's saying. 00:10:51.259 --> 00:10:52.480 He's claiming to be God. 00:10:52.840 --> 00:10:53.860 And they don't like it. 00:10:53.860 --> 00:10:54.720 They want to kill him. 00:10:55.480 --> 00:10:59.379 But Jesus wants him to see that these are not the claims of a delusional man. 00:11:00.139 --> 00:11:04.340 These are not the claims of someone who's suffering from excess pride or self-importance. 00:11:05.159 --> 00:11:07.340 Jesus wants that for those who to, 00:11:07.759 --> 00:11:10.500 he wants us to follow the evidence, to follow the science, 00:11:10.580 --> 00:11:12.200 to see where does the evidence lead, 00:11:12.200 --> 00:11:16.779 and to see that it leads to that which is rational, reasonable, and believable. 00:11:17.100 --> 00:11:19.120 So verse 31, look at what Jesus says. 00:11:19.240 --> 00:11:19.560 He says, 00:11:20.080 --> 00:11:22.139 If I alone bear witness about myself, 00:11:22.139 --> 00:11:23.939 my testimony is not true, 00:11:24.319 --> 00:11:26.740 but there is another who bears witness about me, 00:11:27.159 --> 00:11:27.899 God the Father. 00:11:28.799 --> 00:11:29.399 And Jesus is saying, 00:11:29.460 --> 00:11:30.620 Don't just take my word for it, 00:11:30.699 --> 00:11:31.740 follow the evidence. 00:11:31.860 --> 00:11:32.580 Look at what it says. 00:11:32.699 --> 00:11:34.159 Look at what the evidence says. 00:11:34.740 --> 00:11:36.819 And Jesus here gives us three strands of evidence. 00:11:36.960 --> 00:11:37.580 First he says, 00:11:37.919 --> 00:11:38.960 Listen to John the Baptist. 00:11:39.759 --> 00:11:40.740 What is his message? 00:11:41.279 --> 00:11:43.600 You might remember from earlier in John chapter 1, 00:11:44.039 --> 00:11:46.200 crowds of people go to listen to John the Baptist. 00:11:46.419 --> 00:11:48.139 There are thousands of flocking to him. 00:11:48.139 --> 00:11:50.259 And the religious leaders, 00:11:50.379 --> 00:11:50.899 the Pharisees, 00:11:51.000 --> 00:11:52.879 they themselves are pretty impressed with John. 00:11:53.360 --> 00:11:54.899 They send a delegation to him. 00:11:54.980 --> 00:11:55.220 They say, 00:11:55.659 --> 00:11:57.259 John, you must be the Christ. 00:11:57.720 --> 00:11:58.220 Tell us. 00:11:58.519 --> 00:11:59.580 I mean, you're doing these miracles. 00:11:59.779 --> 00:12:00.740 You're so full of God. 00:12:00.840 --> 00:12:01.759 You're full of the Spirit. 00:12:02.299 --> 00:12:03.580 Your teaching is amazing. 00:12:03.939 --> 00:12:05.199 You must be the Christ. 00:12:05.679 --> 00:12:06.120 And John says, 00:12:06.179 --> 00:12:06.779 No, no, no, no. 00:12:06.860 --> 00:12:07.819 I'm not the Christ. 00:12:08.220 --> 00:12:09.539 I'm nothing important. 00:12:09.699 --> 00:12:11.379 I'm just a voice in the wilderness. 00:12:11.559 --> 00:12:13.340 I'm just someone that's calling out. 00:12:13.700 --> 00:12:15.039 But I'll tell you who is the Christ. 00:12:15.679 --> 00:12:16.919 Jesus who comes after me, 00:12:17.019 --> 00:12:18.279 he's the one that you're looking for. 00:12:18.599 --> 00:12:19.500 Listen to him. 00:12:20.319 --> 00:12:20.980 And so Jesus says, 00:12:21.199 --> 00:12:22.539 You were impressed with John, 00:12:22.699 --> 00:12:24.000 but listen to what John says. 00:12:24.120 --> 00:12:25.559 John told you he's not the Christ. 00:12:25.919 --> 00:12:26.459 I am. 00:12:26.559 --> 00:12:27.419 Listen to John. 00:12:29.219 --> 00:12:31.079 Or look what else what Jesus says. 00:12:31.199 --> 00:12:32.240 Think about my miracles. 00:12:32.759 --> 00:12:33.099 Jesus says, 00:12:33.139 --> 00:12:33.819 Verse 36. 00:12:34.579 --> 00:12:34.860 He says, 00:12:34.919 --> 00:12:36.599 The testimony I have is greater than John. 00:12:37.199 --> 00:12:38.279 John was just a mere mortal. 00:12:39.079 --> 00:12:41.099 The works that the Father has given me to accomplish, 00:12:41.099 --> 00:12:42.399 the very works I'm doing, 00:12:42.399 --> 00:12:45.600 they bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. 00:12:46.480 --> 00:12:47.259 In John's gospel, 00:12:47.639 --> 00:12:49.360 miracles are always called signs. 00:12:49.720 --> 00:12:50.720 There's seven signs. 00:12:51.019 --> 00:12:51.459 Signs. 00:12:51.539 --> 00:12:52.759 And what do signs do? 00:12:53.379 --> 00:12:54.779 Think about you're hiking somewhere 00:12:54.779 --> 00:12:55.779 and you see a signpost. 00:12:55.860 --> 00:12:56.679 What does a signpost do? 00:12:57.039 --> 00:12:57.899 It tells you where to go. 00:12:58.000 --> 00:12:59.220 It points you in the right direction. 00:12:59.319 --> 00:12:59.459 It says, 00:12:59.539 --> 00:13:00.100 Keep on going. 00:13:00.159 --> 00:13:01.000 You're on the right track. 00:13:01.159 --> 00:13:01.659 Or wait, 00:13:01.720 --> 00:13:02.500 you're off track. 00:13:02.759 --> 00:13:03.699 This is the way to go. 00:13:03.779 --> 00:13:04.860 This is where you need to go. 00:13:05.939 --> 00:13:06.620 The miracles, 00:13:06.740 --> 00:13:07.699 the works that Jesus does, 00:13:07.740 --> 00:13:09.779 are like signs pointing in the right direction. 00:13:09.779 --> 00:13:10.879 And what do they do? 00:13:11.259 --> 00:13:15.580 They're telling us that this man is no mere mortal. 00:13:16.759 --> 00:13:18.439 What kind of man touches a leper 00:13:18.439 --> 00:13:21.139 and rather than being condemned or being made unclean, 00:13:22.220 --> 00:13:23.179 heals him perfectly, 00:13:23.299 --> 00:13:24.399 makes him absolutely clean? 00:13:25.000 --> 00:13:26.759 What kind of man says to a paralytic, 00:13:26.960 --> 00:13:27.980 Your sins are forgiven. 00:13:28.159 --> 00:13:30.220 And just to prove to you that I can forgive your sins, 00:13:30.720 --> 00:13:31.200 rise up, 00:13:31.279 --> 00:13:32.539 pick up your mat and walk home. 00:13:33.240 --> 00:13:36.539 What kind of man says to a paralytic 00:13:36.539 --> 00:13:38.139 who's been waiting 38 years 00:13:38.139 --> 00:13:39.139 for the right moment, 00:13:39.179 --> 00:13:40.279 for the waters to be stirred, 00:13:40.740 --> 00:13:41.299 says to him, 00:13:41.720 --> 00:13:43.059 he heals him in an instant 00:13:43.059 --> 00:13:44.220 without even touching him. 00:13:45.240 --> 00:13:45.799 Jesus says, 00:13:45.840 --> 00:13:46.460 Follow the signs. 00:13:46.519 --> 00:13:47.600 Look at what the signs are saying. 00:13:47.679 --> 00:13:48.720 What are the signs telling you? 00:13:49.240 --> 00:13:49.699 And of course, 00:13:49.759 --> 00:13:51.480 the greatest sign is still to come. 00:13:52.059 --> 00:13:53.360 Jesus told us four times, 00:13:53.480 --> 00:13:54.299 There's a day coming 00:13:54.299 --> 00:13:55.179 when I'll be arrested, 00:13:55.340 --> 00:13:56.279 I'll be put on trial, 00:13:56.620 --> 00:13:58.460 I'll be killed and crucified on the cross 00:13:58.460 --> 00:13:59.519 for the sins of the world. 00:13:59.600 --> 00:14:00.340 But don't worry, 00:14:00.600 --> 00:14:01.740 I will rise again. 00:14:02.519 --> 00:14:03.279 And three years later, 00:14:03.279 --> 00:14:03.860 that happens. 00:14:04.839 --> 00:14:07.139 Jesus dies as a substitute for our sins 00:14:07.139 --> 00:14:08.659 and he rises from the grave 00:14:08.659 --> 00:14:09.959 for our justification, 00:14:10.139 --> 00:14:10.679 our acquittal. 00:14:11.480 --> 00:14:11.939 Jesus says, 00:14:12.019 --> 00:14:12.639 Follow the signs. 00:14:12.720 --> 00:14:13.459 What do the signs tell you? 00:14:13.539 --> 00:14:14.919 I am who I said I am. 00:14:15.759 --> 00:14:16.019 Friends, 00:14:16.039 --> 00:14:17.639 if you're a spiritual seeker here today, 00:14:17.879 --> 00:14:18.639 follow the signs. 00:14:18.720 --> 00:14:19.779 What do the miracles tell you? 00:14:20.139 --> 00:14:20.259 Well, 00:14:20.259 --> 00:14:21.159 they tell you about Jesus. 00:14:21.919 --> 00:14:23.379 Jesus is who he said he is. 00:14:23.500 --> 00:14:23.939 Jesus says, 00:14:24.019 --> 00:14:24.839 Examine the evidence. 00:14:25.019 --> 00:14:26.439 Listen to the eyewitness testimony. 00:14:26.980 --> 00:14:28.079 Cross-examine the data. 00:14:29.139 --> 00:14:30.319 Who do you say that I am? 00:14:31.220 --> 00:14:31.600 Jesus, 00:14:31.740 --> 00:14:32.339 the Son of God. 00:14:32.419 --> 00:14:32.819 That's who. 00:14:34.139 --> 00:14:36.039 What kind of man loves people like this? 00:14:36.100 --> 00:14:37.980 What kind of man dies for the sins of the world? 00:14:38.220 --> 00:14:39.480 What kind of man forgives sin? 00:14:40.059 --> 00:14:40.899 And then Jesus says, 00:14:41.039 --> 00:14:41.899 there's another sign. 00:14:42.319 --> 00:14:42.819 The scriptures. 00:14:42.959 --> 00:14:44.480 Look what he says in verse 39. 00:14:44.720 --> 00:14:45.199 He says here, 00:14:45.539 --> 00:14:46.759 You search the scriptures 00:14:46.759 --> 00:14:48.620 because you think that by them 00:14:48.620 --> 00:14:49.799 you will have eternal life. 00:14:50.179 --> 00:14:52.120 Yet it is they that bear witness about me. 00:14:52.419 --> 00:14:53.740 If you had believed Moses, 00:14:53.879 --> 00:14:54.740 you would believe me 00:14:54.740 --> 00:14:56.199 for Moses wrote of me. 00:14:56.399 --> 00:14:57.379 So Jesus says, 00:14:57.759 --> 00:14:58.079 You guys, 00:14:58.179 --> 00:14:59.600 I know you love the Bible. 00:14:59.799 --> 00:15:00.879 You're Old Testament scholars. 00:15:01.019 --> 00:15:01.639 You're Pharisees. 00:15:01.740 --> 00:15:02.600 You study the Bible 00:15:02.600 --> 00:15:03.399 night and day. 00:15:03.800 --> 00:15:05.680 But you're so close to studying the Bible. 00:15:05.759 --> 00:15:07.019 You analyze every word 00:15:07.019 --> 00:15:08.159 and every grammar 00:15:08.159 --> 00:15:09.740 and punctuation mark. 00:15:09.740 --> 00:15:11.220 But you're so close to studying it. 00:15:11.259 --> 00:15:12.480 You can't actually see what it's about. 00:15:13.040 --> 00:15:13.700 Can't you see? 00:15:13.960 --> 00:15:14.740 What are all the sacrifices 00:15:15.300 --> 00:15:16.060 and the temple 00:15:16.060 --> 00:15:16.820 and the worship 00:15:16.820 --> 00:15:17.600 and the priests 00:15:17.600 --> 00:15:18.519 and the offering? 00:15:18.580 --> 00:15:19.420 What are they all about? 00:15:19.920 --> 00:15:21.639 What is the ransom 00:15:21.639 --> 00:15:22.960 and the forgiveness of sin 00:15:22.960 --> 00:15:24.980 and the liberation from Egypt 00:15:24.980 --> 00:15:26.820 and forming a new community? 00:15:26.820 --> 00:15:27.640 What's it about? 00:15:28.180 --> 00:15:29.120 It's about me. 00:15:29.820 --> 00:15:30.460 It's about the fact 00:15:30.460 --> 00:15:31.320 that the Son of God 00:15:31.320 --> 00:15:32.680 has come into the world 00:15:32.680 --> 00:15:34.820 to save us from our sins. 00:15:35.500 --> 00:15:36.140 And Jesus says, 00:15:36.400 --> 00:15:37.120 all of this, 00:15:37.379 --> 00:15:38.840 it points to something. 00:15:39.160 --> 00:15:39.620 Verse 31, 00:15:39.740 --> 00:15:41.280 If I bear witness about myself, 00:15:41.400 --> 00:15:42.620 my testimony is not valid, 00:15:42.900 --> 00:15:44.000 but don't rely on me. 00:15:44.420 --> 00:15:45.460 Rely on the evidence. 00:15:45.600 --> 00:15:46.360 Look at the evidence. 00:15:46.560 --> 00:15:47.480 Examine the evidence. 00:15:48.200 --> 00:15:48.600 Jesus, 00:15:48.760 --> 00:15:50.200 I am the Son of God. 00:15:50.940 --> 00:15:52.260 And C.S. Lewis was still right. 00:15:52.879 --> 00:15:53.740 The claims of Jesus, 00:15:53.840 --> 00:15:54.419 if they're true, 00:15:54.500 --> 00:15:55.600 are infinitely important. 00:15:55.779 --> 00:15:56.480 If they're not true, 00:15:56.539 --> 00:15:57.519 of zero importance, 00:15:57.980 --> 00:15:59.720 they cannot be moderately true. 00:16:01.080 --> 00:16:01.340 Friends, 00:16:01.419 --> 00:16:02.159 do you know why 00:16:02.159 --> 00:16:03.340 you believe what you believe? 00:16:04.480 --> 00:16:05.480 If you're a follower of Jesus, 00:16:05.620 --> 00:16:06.620 why do you believe what you believe? 00:16:06.620 --> 00:16:07.939 Why are you a Christian? 00:16:08.539 --> 00:16:09.860 If you're a spiritual seeker, 00:16:10.000 --> 00:16:10.580 why have you not 00:16:10.580 --> 00:16:11.580 crossed the line of faith? 00:16:12.220 --> 00:16:13.559 What does the evidence say? 00:16:14.240 --> 00:16:15.539 What do you believe? 00:16:16.319 --> 00:16:17.059 Francis Collins 00:16:17.059 --> 00:16:18.620 was a leading scientist 00:16:18.620 --> 00:16:20.220 in the Human Genome Project. 00:16:20.419 --> 00:16:21.399 I'm sure many of you know 00:16:21.399 --> 00:16:22.120 Francis Collins. 00:16:22.960 --> 00:16:24.220 He was the longest serving 00:16:24.220 --> 00:16:25.319 member of, I think, 00:16:25.379 --> 00:16:27.120 the National Institute of Health 00:16:27.120 --> 00:16:27.580 in America. 00:16:28.319 --> 00:16:30.779 And he writes this. 00:16:30.860 --> 00:16:31.700 He tells his story 00:16:31.700 --> 00:16:32.319 and he says this. 00:16:32.639 --> 00:16:33.840 In the home where I grew up, 00:16:33.980 --> 00:16:34.960 faith was not something 00:16:34.960 --> 00:16:36.799 that was talked about very much. 00:16:36.879 --> 00:16:37.460 And I assumed 00:16:37.460 --> 00:16:38.759 that every religious feeling 00:16:38.759 --> 00:16:39.720 that anyone had 00:16:39.720 --> 00:16:41.200 must be on the basis 00:16:41.200 --> 00:16:42.879 of some emotional experience. 00:16:43.240 --> 00:16:43.939 And I wasn't willing 00:16:43.939 --> 00:16:44.779 to trust those. 00:16:45.220 --> 00:16:46.139 Or on the basis 00:16:46.139 --> 00:16:47.919 of some childhood indoctrination, 00:16:48.200 --> 00:16:48.939 which I felt 00:16:48.939 --> 00:16:49.879 I was very fortunate 00:16:49.879 --> 00:16:50.559 to have missed. 00:16:51.059 --> 00:16:51.919 Okay, so he grows up. 00:16:51.919 --> 00:16:53.299 He becomes a medical student 00:16:53.299 --> 00:16:53.839 and he says, 00:16:54.039 --> 00:16:55.039 religious faith, 00:16:55.159 --> 00:16:55.899 no evidence, 00:16:56.019 --> 00:16:56.799 it's either emotion 00:16:56.799 --> 00:16:57.559 or indoctrination, 00:16:57.799 --> 00:16:59.179 but I dodged both of those. 00:16:59.659 --> 00:17:00.399 Okay, I'm okay. 00:17:01.059 --> 00:17:01.559 But one day 00:17:01.559 --> 00:17:02.199 he's in the hospital 00:17:02.199 --> 00:17:03.259 and he's at the bedside 00:17:03.259 --> 00:17:04.460 of an elderly lady 00:17:04.460 --> 00:17:05.559 and she's just gone 00:17:05.559 --> 00:17:06.659 through a painful procedure. 00:17:07.299 --> 00:17:08.039 And she looks at him 00:17:08.039 --> 00:17:08.440 and she says, 00:17:08.500 --> 00:17:08.980 you know doctor, 00:17:09.379 --> 00:17:10.039 all you doctors 00:17:10.039 --> 00:17:11.480 don't really do much 00:17:11.480 --> 00:17:12.079 to help me. 00:17:12.159 --> 00:17:12.920 I'll tell you what really 00:17:12.920 --> 00:17:14.059 helps me in difficult times 00:17:14.059 --> 00:17:14.839 is actually my faith 00:17:14.839 --> 00:17:15.619 in Jesus Christ. 00:17:16.200 --> 00:17:16.940 And she shares her 00:17:16.940 --> 00:17:17.720 testimony with him 00:17:17.720 --> 00:17:19.019 and then she asks him 00:17:19.019 --> 00:17:19.440 this question. 00:17:19.539 --> 00:17:19.860 She says, 00:17:19.940 --> 00:17:20.819 what do you believe, 00:17:20.960 --> 00:17:21.160 doc? 00:17:22.079 --> 00:17:22.460 And he says, 00:17:22.519 --> 00:17:23.460 those five words, 00:17:23.539 --> 00:17:24.960 what do you believe, 00:17:25.100 --> 00:17:25.420 doctor, 00:17:25.920 --> 00:17:26.839 startled him. 00:17:27.620 --> 00:17:28.500 And he goes home 00:17:28.500 --> 00:17:29.400 and this is what he says. 00:17:30.059 --> 00:17:30.480 He says, 00:17:30.519 --> 00:17:30.860 ultimately, 00:17:30.980 --> 00:17:32.160 I had to admit to myself 00:17:32.160 --> 00:17:33.059 that I had arrived 00:17:33.059 --> 00:17:33.720 at an answer 00:17:33.720 --> 00:17:35.579 to the most important issues 00:17:35.579 --> 00:17:36.500 that we humans 00:17:36.500 --> 00:17:37.460 ever deal with. 00:17:37.559 --> 00:17:38.640 Is there a God? 00:17:39.180 --> 00:17:40.100 And I'd arrived there 00:17:40.100 --> 00:17:41.100 without ever really 00:17:41.100 --> 00:17:42.100 looking at the evidence. 00:17:42.500 --> 00:17:43.159 And I was supposed 00:17:43.159 --> 00:17:43.779 to be a scientist. 00:17:44.279 --> 00:17:45.179 If there's one thing 00:17:45.179 --> 00:17:46.179 scientists claim to do, 00:17:46.279 --> 00:17:47.539 it's to arrive at conclusions 00:17:47.539 --> 00:17:48.599 based on evidence. 00:17:49.039 --> 00:17:49.899 And I had not taken 00:17:49.899 --> 00:17:50.959 the trouble to do that. 00:17:51.599 --> 00:17:52.799 And so as a 25 year old, 00:17:53.119 --> 00:17:53.819 a researcher, 00:17:54.000 --> 00:17:54.319 scientist, 00:17:54.480 --> 00:17:55.059 medical doctor, 00:17:55.119 --> 00:17:55.779 he starts to look 00:17:55.779 --> 00:17:56.240 at the evidence. 00:17:56.319 --> 00:17:57.119 And he says he believes 00:17:57.119 --> 00:17:58.519 Jesus was a myth of history, 00:17:58.679 --> 00:17:59.959 but he looks at it 00:17:59.959 --> 00:18:00.519 and he finds 00:18:00.519 --> 00:18:01.159 his veracity, 00:18:01.339 --> 00:18:02.319 her historical documents 00:18:02.319 --> 00:18:03.699 for the life of Jesus 00:18:03.699 --> 00:18:04.819 and then the death of Jesus 00:18:04.819 --> 00:18:05.699 and then the resurrection 00:18:05.699 --> 00:18:06.359 of Jesus. 00:18:06.959 --> 00:18:07.819 And he comes to a place 00:18:07.819 --> 00:18:08.500 of belief 00:18:08.500 --> 00:18:10.039 and follows him. 00:18:10.639 --> 00:18:11.480 Richard Dawkins said, 00:18:11.480 --> 00:18:12.599 faith is belief 00:18:12.599 --> 00:18:13.400 without evidence 00:18:13.400 --> 00:18:14.279 or without reason. 00:18:14.720 --> 00:18:15.360 No friends, 00:18:15.440 --> 00:18:16.039 not at all. 00:18:16.680 --> 00:18:17.680 If you're a person of faith, 00:18:18.200 --> 00:18:19.539 faith is grounding 00:18:19.539 --> 00:18:20.180 your beliefs 00:18:20.180 --> 00:18:20.920 on evidence 00:18:20.920 --> 00:18:21.700 and on reason 00:18:21.700 --> 00:18:23.079 and taking a standard. 00:18:23.240 --> 00:18:24.099 It's putting your weight 00:18:24.099 --> 00:18:25.140 on the evidence 00:18:25.140 --> 00:18:26.059 of who Jesus is 00:18:26.059 --> 00:18:26.599 and what he says 00:18:26.599 --> 00:18:27.220 about himself. 00:18:27.740 --> 00:18:28.160 Friends, 00:18:28.259 --> 00:18:28.920 look at the evidence. 00:18:29.079 --> 00:18:29.400 Look at the 00:18:29.400 --> 00:18:30.160 our testimonies. 00:18:31.019 --> 00:18:31.920 Why do you believe 00:18:31.920 --> 00:18:32.460 what you believe? 00:18:32.640 --> 00:18:33.500 Jesus wants us 00:18:33.500 --> 00:18:34.980 to have a firm certainty 00:18:34.980 --> 00:18:35.700 in our convictions 00:18:35.700 --> 00:18:36.220 and our belief 00:18:36.220 --> 00:18:37.200 and to bank our life 00:18:37.200 --> 00:18:37.740 upon it. 00:18:38.319 --> 00:18:39.360 So belief in Jesus 00:18:39.360 --> 00:18:40.140 is reasonable. 00:18:40.319 --> 00:18:40.759 But secondly, 00:18:40.759 --> 00:18:41.879 that's the longest one. 00:18:42.299 --> 00:18:42.900 Belief in Jesus 00:18:42.900 --> 00:18:43.879 is difficult. 00:18:44.859 --> 00:18:45.059 Now, 00:18:45.299 --> 00:18:46.920 if everything I've said 00:18:46.920 --> 00:18:47.379 is true, 00:18:47.799 --> 00:18:49.519 if there's so much evidence, 00:18:49.619 --> 00:18:51.059 it should be a no-brainer. 00:18:51.180 --> 00:18:51.900 We should all just say, 00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:52.180 okay, 00:18:52.220 --> 00:18:52.660 it's obvious. 00:18:52.859 --> 00:18:53.900 Jesus is who he said he is. 00:18:54.059 --> 00:18:54.960 What's the problem? 00:18:55.720 --> 00:18:56.819 But Jesus concedes 00:18:56.819 --> 00:18:58.700 that data alone 00:18:58.700 --> 00:18:59.660 is not enough 00:18:59.660 --> 00:19:00.500 to convince you 00:19:00.500 --> 00:19:01.200 of the veracity 00:19:01.200 --> 00:19:01.920 of Christ 00:19:01.920 --> 00:19:02.640 and his claims 00:19:02.640 --> 00:19:04.059 because belief in him 00:19:04.059 --> 00:19:04.920 is also difficult. 00:19:05.379 --> 00:19:06.900 For all the eyewitnesses 00:19:06.900 --> 00:19:08.059 that Jesus gives here, 00:19:08.059 --> 00:19:10.099 notice that all of them, 00:19:10.159 --> 00:19:10.679 the Pharisees, 00:19:10.759 --> 00:19:11.500 the religious leaders, 00:19:11.599 --> 00:19:12.460 the people of his day 00:19:12.460 --> 00:19:14.000 stumble over all of them. 00:19:14.559 --> 00:19:15.220 All of them 00:19:15.220 --> 00:19:16.940 trip him up in some ways 00:19:16.940 --> 00:19:18.379 or trip them up. 00:19:18.559 --> 00:19:18.799 Listen, 00:19:18.919 --> 00:19:19.500 John the Baptist, 00:19:19.639 --> 00:19:19.799 right, 00:19:19.839 --> 00:19:20.839 they liked him for a while. 00:19:21.200 --> 00:19:22.200 The crowds went out to him. 00:19:22.299 --> 00:19:23.480 They were all amazed at him. 00:19:23.899 --> 00:19:25.799 But how did John the Baptist's life end? 00:19:26.559 --> 00:19:27.659 He was beheaded, right? 00:19:28.200 --> 00:19:28.539 Eventually, 00:19:28.599 --> 00:19:29.539 his message got a little bit 00:19:29.539 --> 00:19:30.480 too close for home 00:19:30.480 --> 00:19:31.960 and Herod says, 00:19:32.039 --> 00:19:32.619 that's enough 00:19:32.619 --> 00:19:33.419 and beheads him, 00:19:33.480 --> 00:19:34.139 chops off his head 00:19:34.139 --> 00:19:35.460 at one of his lavish parties. 00:19:35.920 --> 00:19:37.039 Or think about the miracles, 00:19:37.180 --> 00:19:38.200 the works that Jesus do. 00:19:38.600 --> 00:19:39.740 Jesus is doing these miracles. 00:19:39.880 --> 00:19:40.700 The crowds love it. 00:19:40.759 --> 00:19:41.360 They're amazed. 00:19:41.740 --> 00:19:42.680 But what do the Pharisees, 00:19:42.759 --> 00:19:43.400 the leaders say? 00:19:43.960 --> 00:19:45.360 They accuse him of witchcraft, 00:19:45.680 --> 00:19:46.500 of demon possession. 00:19:46.700 --> 00:19:47.019 They say, 00:19:47.100 --> 00:19:48.140 by the prince of demons, 00:19:48.220 --> 00:19:49.200 he casts out demons. 00:19:49.779 --> 00:19:50.400 They write it off, 00:19:50.440 --> 00:19:50.539 say, 00:19:50.620 --> 00:19:51.759 you can't trust this guy. 00:19:52.180 --> 00:19:53.259 He's filled with demons 00:19:53.259 --> 00:19:53.660 and witches. 00:19:53.759 --> 00:19:54.380 That's why he does 00:19:54.380 --> 00:19:54.880 these miracles. 00:19:55.779 --> 00:19:56.660 And what about the scriptures? 00:19:57.259 --> 00:19:57.759 Jesus says, 00:19:57.759 --> 00:19:58.480 all the scriptures 00:19:58.480 --> 00:19:59.200 are about me. 00:19:59.740 --> 00:20:00.620 But what do they say? 00:20:00.779 --> 00:20:01.140 Jesus says, 00:20:01.460 --> 00:20:02.400 you search the scriptures 00:20:02.400 --> 00:20:03.340 because you think that 00:20:03.340 --> 00:20:04.720 in them you have life, 00:20:04.720 --> 00:20:05.980 but they bear witness 00:20:05.980 --> 00:20:06.600 about me. 00:20:07.039 --> 00:20:07.980 But you refuse 00:20:07.980 --> 00:20:08.700 to come to me. 00:20:08.960 --> 00:20:09.720 You've decided 00:20:09.720 --> 00:20:10.759 whatever happens, 00:20:10.860 --> 00:20:12.140 you will not come to me 00:20:12.140 --> 00:20:12.759 and believe. 00:20:13.920 --> 00:20:14.759 Now we're going to get into 00:20:14.759 --> 00:20:15.339 this a lot more 00:20:15.339 --> 00:20:16.339 over the next couple of weeks. 00:20:16.519 --> 00:20:17.360 But Jesus is making 00:20:17.360 --> 00:20:18.319 a profound point here. 00:20:19.079 --> 00:20:19.920 Jesus is saying 00:20:19.920 --> 00:20:21.160 that though there is 00:20:21.160 --> 00:20:22.279 more than enough 00:20:22.279 --> 00:20:23.420 evidence, 00:20:23.920 --> 00:20:24.400 testimony, 00:20:25.220 --> 00:20:25.640 veracity, 00:20:25.920 --> 00:20:26.380 data, 00:20:27.019 --> 00:20:27.900 the back of the claims 00:20:27.900 --> 00:20:28.660 that he really is 00:20:28.660 --> 00:20:29.579 who he said he is, 00:20:29.579 --> 00:20:30.939 what Jesus is saying 00:20:30.939 --> 00:20:32.679 here is that 00:20:32.679 --> 00:20:35.619 rational thinking 00:20:35.619 --> 00:20:36.460 is not sufficient 00:20:36.460 --> 00:20:36.859 to learn. 00:20:37.879 --> 00:20:38.699 And the reason is this. 00:20:38.939 --> 00:20:39.699 Samuel Butler 00:20:39.699 --> 00:20:40.939 was an English poet 00:20:40.939 --> 00:20:41.579 and he wrote this. 00:20:41.659 --> 00:20:41.899 He says, 00:20:41.980 --> 00:20:42.960 a man convinced 00:20:42.960 --> 00:20:44.079 against his will 00:20:44.079 --> 00:20:45.480 is of the same 00:20:45.480 --> 00:20:46.419 opinion still. 00:20:46.960 --> 00:20:47.639 You heard that saying? 00:20:47.919 --> 00:20:48.599 A man convinced 00:20:48.599 --> 00:20:49.359 against his will 00:20:49.359 --> 00:20:50.059 is of the same 00:20:50.059 --> 00:20:50.779 opinion still. 00:20:51.000 --> 00:20:51.980 So this is another quote. 00:20:52.059 --> 00:20:52.480 Don't worry about that. 00:20:52.899 --> 00:20:53.379 In other words, 00:20:53.799 --> 00:20:54.779 you can bring someone, 00:20:54.899 --> 00:20:55.919 present all the evidence 00:20:55.919 --> 00:20:56.779 that you want to someone, 00:20:56.859 --> 00:20:57.519 but if they don't want 00:20:57.519 --> 00:20:58.019 to believe it, 00:20:58.079 --> 00:20:58.759 they'll find a reason 00:20:58.759 --> 00:20:59.480 not to believe it. 00:20:59.960 --> 00:21:00.420 I don't know if you've 00:21:00.420 --> 00:21:01.259 ever had a conversation 00:21:01.259 --> 00:21:03.240 with a conspiracy theorist, 00:21:03.319 --> 00:21:03.539 right? 00:21:03.599 --> 00:21:04.480 I struggle with these. 00:21:05.099 --> 00:21:06.420 And they say something 00:21:06.420 --> 00:21:07.680 outrageous and you say, 00:21:07.819 --> 00:21:08.940 but here's the data. 00:21:09.119 --> 00:21:09.879 Look at the data. 00:21:09.960 --> 00:21:10.359 And they'll say, 00:21:10.460 --> 00:21:11.259 that's what they want 00:21:11.259 --> 00:21:11.720 you to believe, 00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:12.299 right? 00:21:13.240 --> 00:21:13.619 It's like, 00:21:13.660 --> 00:21:13.980 it doesn't matter 00:21:13.980 --> 00:21:14.940 what you say, 00:21:15.079 --> 00:21:15.740 they're going to find 00:21:15.740 --> 00:21:17.319 a reason not to believe 00:21:17.319 --> 00:21:18.720 what the evidence is. 00:21:19.440 --> 00:21:20.299 Jesus says that 00:21:20.299 --> 00:21:21.019 actually as humans, 00:21:21.200 --> 00:21:22.279 we have the tendency 00:21:22.279 --> 00:21:23.019 to do the same. 00:21:23.700 --> 00:21:24.220 That you can look 00:21:24.220 --> 00:21:24.619 at the evidence, 00:21:24.839 --> 00:21:26.039 you can physically see 00:21:26.039 --> 00:21:27.680 Jesus risen from the dead. 00:21:27.879 --> 00:21:28.740 You can put your hand 00:21:28.759 --> 00:21:29.759 in his marks. 00:21:29.859 --> 00:21:30.559 And if you don't want 00:21:30.559 --> 00:21:30.819 to believe, 00:21:30.879 --> 00:21:31.759 you'll find a reason 00:21:31.759 --> 00:21:32.420 not to believe. 00:21:33.039 --> 00:21:33.700 The man convinced 00:21:33.700 --> 00:21:34.500 against his will 00:21:34.500 --> 00:21:35.680 is of the same opinion 00:21:35.680 --> 00:21:36.180 still. 00:21:37.039 --> 00:21:37.299 In other words, 00:21:37.299 --> 00:21:37.859 if you don't want to 00:21:37.859 --> 00:21:38.579 accept what's being 00:21:38.579 --> 00:21:39.119 shown to you, 00:21:39.160 --> 00:21:40.379 no matter how persuasive 00:21:40.379 --> 00:21:41.160 or substantial, 00:21:41.480 --> 00:21:42.140 you'll find a way 00:21:42.140 --> 00:21:42.900 of dismissing it. 00:21:43.420 --> 00:21:44.599 Because belief in the 00:21:44.599 --> 00:21:45.440 God of the Bible 00:21:45.440 --> 00:21:46.619 requires more than just 00:21:46.619 --> 00:21:47.900 intellectual understanding 00:21:47.900 --> 00:21:48.720 and acceptance. 00:21:48.879 --> 00:21:49.839 It does require that, 00:21:49.839 --> 00:21:51.259 but it requires 00:21:51.259 --> 00:21:51.839 more than that. 00:21:52.339 --> 00:21:53.359 It requires acceptance 00:21:53.359 --> 00:21:54.299 at a heart level. 00:21:55.000 --> 00:21:56.019 It requires our hearts 00:21:56.019 --> 00:21:56.539 to say, 00:21:56.660 --> 00:21:57.859 not just I believe 00:21:57.859 --> 00:21:58.879 you are who you say 00:21:58.879 --> 00:21:59.740 you are historically, 00:21:59.900 --> 00:22:00.639 I believe you are 00:22:00.639 --> 00:22:01.740 who you say you are now. 00:22:02.180 --> 00:22:03.200 And that makes a demand 00:22:03.200 --> 00:22:03.639 of us. 00:22:04.059 --> 00:22:04.799 Because it demands 00:22:04.799 --> 00:22:05.480 that we don't just 00:22:05.480 --> 00:22:06.400 believe in him, 00:22:06.619 --> 00:22:07.940 but we worship him. 00:22:08.759 --> 00:22:09.559 And that's hard. 00:22:10.379 --> 00:22:11.139 And that's hard. 00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:12.759 Belief in Jesus 00:22:12.759 --> 00:22:13.619 requires a willingness 00:22:13.619 --> 00:22:14.900 to receive him. 00:22:14.940 --> 00:22:15.359 That's the word 00:22:15.359 --> 00:22:16.319 he keeps on using here. 00:22:16.639 --> 00:22:17.599 Will you receive me? 00:22:17.680 --> 00:22:18.579 Will you receive me? 00:22:19.000 --> 00:22:19.759 Receiving not just 00:22:19.759 --> 00:22:20.879 the facts and the data, 00:22:20.880 --> 00:22:23.140 but receiving Jesus himself. 00:22:24.000 --> 00:22:24.380 And so actually, 00:22:24.480 --> 00:22:25.120 if you look at all 00:22:25.120 --> 00:22:25.860 these evidences 00:22:25.860 --> 00:22:27.780 that Jesus calls upon, 00:22:28.360 --> 00:22:29.020 the fact that 00:22:29.020 --> 00:22:30.060 they don't just say 00:22:30.060 --> 00:22:30.780 that Jesus is 00:22:30.780 --> 00:22:31.600 the divine Messiah, 00:22:32.000 --> 00:22:33.240 they all say something else. 00:22:33.320 --> 00:22:34.180 They say that we are 00:22:34.180 --> 00:22:35.240 sinners and need a savior. 00:22:35.520 --> 00:22:36.620 And that's hard to accept. 00:22:37.420 --> 00:22:38.560 Think about John the Baptist 00:22:38.560 --> 00:22:39.360 tests me, right? 00:22:39.880 --> 00:22:41.040 The people come to John 00:22:41.040 --> 00:22:41.220 and say, 00:22:41.280 --> 00:22:42.180 John, are you the Messiah? 00:22:42.660 --> 00:22:43.000 And he says, 00:22:43.040 --> 00:22:43.340 no, no, no, 00:22:43.340 --> 00:22:44.020 I'm not the Messiah. 00:22:44.440 --> 00:22:45.020 But Jesus, 00:22:45.180 --> 00:22:46.180 the Lamb of God, 00:22:46.280 --> 00:22:46.580 behold, 00:22:46.680 --> 00:22:47.140 the Lamb of God 00:22:47.140 --> 00:22:47.920 who takes away 00:22:47.920 --> 00:22:48.740 the sin of the world. 00:22:49.320 --> 00:22:49.660 John says, 00:22:49.800 --> 00:22:50.380 you don't just need 00:22:50.380 --> 00:22:50.840 a teacher, 00:22:51.140 --> 00:22:51.620 or a preacher 00:22:51.620 --> 00:22:52.120 or a prophet. 00:22:52.500 --> 00:22:53.440 You need a savior, 00:22:53.560 --> 00:22:54.160 someone who can deal 00:22:54.160 --> 00:22:54.780 with your sin. 00:22:55.280 --> 00:22:55.960 And we don't like 00:22:55.960 --> 00:22:56.740 to hear about that. 00:22:57.240 --> 00:22:57.780 Or think about 00:22:57.780 --> 00:22:58.580 the miracles, right? 00:22:58.620 --> 00:22:59.440 What were the miracles 00:22:59.440 --> 00:23:00.020 all about? 00:23:00.520 --> 00:23:01.280 Think about this miracle 00:23:01.280 --> 00:23:02.740 in John chapter 5 here. 00:23:03.160 --> 00:23:03.860 Here's a man, 00:23:04.160 --> 00:23:04.760 he's an invalid, 00:23:05.300 --> 00:23:07.140 he's lying behind the pool. 00:23:07.460 --> 00:23:08.220 Why does Jesus 00:23:08.220 --> 00:23:08.920 do this miracle? 00:23:09.680 --> 00:23:10.440 Jesus is not just 00:23:10.440 --> 00:23:11.260 being compassionate 00:23:11.260 --> 00:23:12.340 or social justice 00:23:12.340 --> 00:23:13.160 or trying to heal 00:23:13.160 --> 00:23:14.180 those that are down and out. 00:23:14.740 --> 00:23:15.660 Jesus comes to man, 00:23:15.720 --> 00:23:15.960 he says, 00:23:16.060 --> 00:23:17.040 you have been trying 00:23:17.040 --> 00:23:17.960 all your life 00:23:17.960 --> 00:23:19.100 to save yourself, 00:23:19.200 --> 00:23:20.100 to help yourself. 00:23:20.699 --> 00:23:21.539 You've got some 00:23:21.539 --> 00:23:22.639 superstitious notion 00:23:22.639 --> 00:23:23.799 that if you can get 00:23:23.799 --> 00:23:24.219 in the waters, 00:23:24.319 --> 00:23:25.339 you can save yourself. 00:23:26.059 --> 00:23:27.240 And Jesus comes to him 00:23:27.240 --> 00:23:27.659 and says, 00:23:27.759 --> 00:23:28.859 I've got another solution. 00:23:29.059 --> 00:23:30.199 With simply a word, 00:23:30.319 --> 00:23:31.159 simply the power 00:23:31.159 --> 00:23:31.980 of my voice, 00:23:32.359 --> 00:23:33.459 I will do for you 00:23:33.459 --> 00:23:34.240 what you've been trying 00:23:34.240 --> 00:23:35.299 to do your whole life 00:23:35.299 --> 00:23:36.179 but are unable to do. 00:23:36.959 --> 00:23:37.839 What's Jesus saying? 00:23:38.299 --> 00:23:39.199 The miracles are saying, 00:23:39.299 --> 00:23:40.119 you need a savior 00:23:40.119 --> 00:23:41.139 and I am he. 00:23:41.699 --> 00:23:42.539 I can do it. 00:23:42.959 --> 00:23:43.419 Well, think about 00:23:43.419 --> 00:23:43.879 the scriptures. 00:23:44.019 --> 00:23:44.839 What are all the scriptures 00:23:44.839 --> 00:23:45.799 saying in the Old Testament? 00:23:46.359 --> 00:23:47.180 They're not just rules 00:23:47.180 --> 00:23:47.879 and regulations 00:23:47.879 --> 00:23:49.379 for how Israel should run. 00:23:49.859 --> 00:23:50.940 These are telling us 00:23:50.940 --> 00:23:52.299 that all of us are sinners 00:23:52.299 --> 00:23:52.980 as Neil said. 00:23:53.399 --> 00:23:54.159 We've all got things 00:23:54.159 --> 00:23:54.619 in our lives 00:23:54.619 --> 00:23:55.539 that we're embarrassed about 00:23:55.539 --> 00:23:56.819 but there is one 00:23:56.819 --> 00:23:58.000 who can deal with it 00:23:58.000 --> 00:23:59.539 and he's come to us. 00:24:00.259 --> 00:24:00.759 Jesus says, 00:24:00.859 --> 00:24:01.619 verse 34 here, 00:24:02.180 --> 00:24:02.799 not the testimony 00:24:02.799 --> 00:24:03.319 that I receive 00:24:03.319 --> 00:24:04.259 from man is important 00:24:04.259 --> 00:24:05.319 but I say these things 00:24:05.319 --> 00:24:06.720 that you may be saved. 00:24:07.680 --> 00:24:09.119 That's why Jesus came 00:24:09.119 --> 00:24:10.299 but we struggle 00:24:10.299 --> 00:24:11.119 to believe that. 00:24:11.119 --> 00:24:13.079 Elders Huxley, 00:24:13.219 --> 00:24:14.039 I think the quote 00:24:14.039 --> 00:24:14.439 is up there, 00:24:14.779 --> 00:24:15.219 Elders Huxley 00:24:15.219 --> 00:24:16.339 was a British philosopher 00:24:16.339 --> 00:24:18.199 in the mid-20th century. 00:24:18.739 --> 00:24:20.899 Very, very brilliant writer 00:24:20.899 --> 00:24:24.079 but he was an atheist 00:24:24.079 --> 00:24:25.219 and he espoused 00:24:25.219 --> 00:24:25.899 the philosophy 00:24:25.899 --> 00:24:26.819 of meaninglessness 00:24:26.819 --> 00:24:28.019 and listen to what he writes. 00:24:28.079 --> 00:24:29.719 He writes this amazing confession 00:24:29.719 --> 00:24:30.319 in his book 00:24:30.319 --> 00:24:31.179 called Ends and Means. 00:24:31.859 --> 00:24:32.500 He says this, 00:24:32.719 --> 00:24:33.659 I had a motive 00:24:33.659 --> 00:24:34.979 for not wanting the world 00:24:34.979 --> 00:24:35.759 to have any meaning 00:24:35.759 --> 00:24:37.419 and consequently assumed 00:24:37.419 --> 00:24:38.219 that it had none 00:24:38.219 --> 00:24:39.599 for myself 00:24:39.599 --> 00:24:40.479 as doubt for most 00:24:40.480 --> 00:24:41.339 of my contemporaries. 00:24:41.779 --> 00:24:42.400 The philosophy 00:24:42.400 --> 00:24:43.259 of meaninglessness 00:24:43.259 --> 00:24:44.279 was essentially 00:24:44.279 --> 00:24:45.620 an instrument of liberation 00:24:45.620 --> 00:24:47.259 from a certain system 00:24:47.259 --> 00:24:47.900 of morality. 00:24:48.599 --> 00:24:50.220 We objected to the morality 00:24:50.220 --> 00:24:51.519 because it interfered 00:24:51.519 --> 00:24:52.099 with our sexual 00:24:52.099 --> 00:24:53.160 and political freedoms. 00:24:53.559 --> 00:24:54.099 He goes on. 00:24:55.799 --> 00:24:56.839 The supporters 00:24:56.839 --> 00:24:58.140 of this moral system 00:24:58.140 --> 00:25:00.259 claimed that it embodied 00:25:00.259 --> 00:25:00.900 the meaning, 00:25:01.019 --> 00:25:01.740 the Christian meaning 00:25:01.740 --> 00:25:02.299 of the world. 00:25:02.960 --> 00:25:04.319 There was one simple method 00:25:04.319 --> 00:25:06.019 for justifying ourselves 00:25:06.019 --> 00:25:07.620 in our erotic revolt. 00:25:07.620 --> 00:25:08.480 We would deny 00:25:08.480 --> 00:25:09.039 that the world 00:25:09.039 --> 00:25:10.259 had any meaning whatsoever. 00:25:11.180 --> 00:25:12.319 It's a remarkable confession. 00:25:12.440 --> 00:25:12.740 He says, 00:25:13.039 --> 00:25:13.259 listen, 00:25:13.339 --> 00:25:14.259 the Christians of our day 00:25:14.259 --> 00:25:14.960 were telling us 00:25:14.960 --> 00:25:15.779 there's meaning in the world, 00:25:15.839 --> 00:25:16.319 there's purpose, 00:25:16.460 --> 00:25:17.599 and if there's a meaning, 00:25:17.700 --> 00:25:18.819 we've got to behave accordingly. 00:25:19.220 --> 00:25:19.900 But we didn't want 00:25:19.900 --> 00:25:20.640 to behave accordingly. 00:25:21.019 --> 00:25:21.779 We wanted to do 00:25:21.779 --> 00:25:22.420 whatever we did. 00:25:22.839 --> 00:25:23.200 So, 00:25:23.400 --> 00:25:24.819 we just rejected the premise 00:25:24.819 --> 00:25:25.819 that there is any meaning 00:25:25.819 --> 00:25:26.360 in this world. 00:25:26.799 --> 00:25:27.900 And by rejecting the premise, 00:25:28.460 --> 00:25:29.620 we reject the morality 00:25:29.620 --> 00:25:31.039 that told us how to live. 00:25:32.339 --> 00:25:34.200 Jesus comes to the religious leaders 00:25:34.200 --> 00:25:34.700 and says, 00:25:35.120 --> 00:25:35.980 here's the evidence, 00:25:36.099 --> 00:25:36.720 here's the witness, 00:25:36.819 --> 00:25:37.480 here's the testimony, 00:25:38.019 --> 00:25:38.880 but I know you don't 00:25:38.880 --> 00:25:39.599 want to believe. 00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:40.759 And so you're going to find 00:25:40.759 --> 00:25:41.779 a way to reject it, 00:25:41.839 --> 00:25:42.059 right? 00:25:43.000 --> 00:25:43.819 Belief in Jesus 00:25:43.819 --> 00:25:44.819 is rational, 00:25:44.940 --> 00:25:45.400 it's reasonable, 00:25:45.500 --> 00:25:46.319 but it's hard. 00:25:47.160 --> 00:25:47.460 Friends, 00:25:47.539 --> 00:25:48.559 do you find belief hard? 00:25:49.420 --> 00:25:50.079 Can I confess something? 00:25:50.160 --> 00:25:51.360 I sometimes find it hard. 00:25:52.039 --> 00:25:53.160 Not because intellectually 00:25:53.160 --> 00:25:53.799 it's hard, 00:25:54.279 --> 00:25:55.500 but because I find it hard 00:25:55.500 --> 00:25:56.079 to surrender. 00:25:56.799 --> 00:25:57.620 Sometimes I want to be 00:25:57.620 --> 00:25:58.299 my own God. 00:25:58.460 --> 00:25:59.519 I want to be my own king. 00:26:00.279 --> 00:26:01.039 Sometimes there are things 00:26:01.039 --> 00:26:01.680 that I want to do 00:26:01.680 --> 00:26:02.740 and I know that it's wrong 00:26:02.740 --> 00:26:03.539 and I don't want Jesus 00:26:03.539 --> 00:26:04.400 telling me that it's wrong. 00:26:04.519 --> 00:26:05.780 I sometimes find it hard. 00:26:06.660 --> 00:26:07.820 But the good news of Jesus 00:26:07.820 --> 00:26:09.380 is that he is so for us, 00:26:09.860 --> 00:26:11.380 he so wants us to succeed, 00:26:11.800 --> 00:26:13.300 he wants us to live in freedom, 00:26:13.440 --> 00:26:14.120 to trust him 00:26:14.120 --> 00:26:15.540 and to find life in his name, 00:26:16.040 --> 00:26:17.740 that he comes to us 00:26:17.740 --> 00:26:19.840 that we may experience him 00:26:19.840 --> 00:26:20.480 and freedom. 00:26:20.560 --> 00:26:21.780 And that leads to the third point, 00:26:22.180 --> 00:26:23.420 which is that belief in Jesus 00:26:23.420 --> 00:26:24.600 is near. 00:26:25.100 --> 00:26:26.000 What I mean by near 00:26:26.000 --> 00:26:27.060 is it's not hard, 00:26:27.140 --> 00:26:27.860 it's not impossibly 00:26:27.860 --> 00:26:28.960 to reach or grasp, 00:26:29.080 --> 00:26:30.000 it's within grasp. 00:26:30.980 --> 00:26:32.019 In this passage, 00:26:32.840 --> 00:26:33.500 there are a number of times 00:26:33.500 --> 00:26:34.300 that Jesus says 00:26:34.299 --> 00:26:35.440 the Father has sent me, 00:26:35.500 --> 00:26:36.399 the Father has sent me. 00:26:36.460 --> 00:26:36.859 Or he says, 00:26:36.940 --> 00:26:37.639 I have come, 00:26:37.740 --> 00:26:38.460 I have come. 00:26:39.099 --> 00:26:40.119 Why did Jesus come? 00:26:40.200 --> 00:26:41.379 Why did the Father send him? 00:26:42.019 --> 00:26:43.119 Well, Jesus tells us 00:26:43.119 --> 00:26:44.099 not to accuse us, 00:26:44.180 --> 00:26:45.579 not to point the finger at us, 00:26:45.899 --> 00:26:47.299 but that we may find life 00:26:47.299 --> 00:26:47.919 in his name. 00:26:48.579 --> 00:26:49.399 To many of the Jews 00:26:49.399 --> 00:26:50.200 in the first century, 00:26:50.480 --> 00:26:51.659 belief in God 00:26:51.659 --> 00:26:53.419 or God was kind of distant, 00:26:53.599 --> 00:26:54.500 he was far away, 00:26:54.619 --> 00:26:56.159 he was shrouded in mystery 00:26:56.159 --> 00:26:57.119 behind a veil, 00:26:57.500 --> 00:26:58.839 he was behind a temple court, 00:26:58.919 --> 00:26:59.839 he was behind teaching 00:26:59.839 --> 00:27:00.879 that the religious leaders 00:27:00.879 --> 00:27:01.339 espoused, 00:27:01.440 --> 00:27:02.500 but it was hard to understand. 00:27:02.500 --> 00:27:04.500 And God was hard to grasp 00:27:04.500 --> 00:27:05.799 and if you could somehow 00:27:05.799 --> 00:27:06.880 find your way to God, 00:27:07.180 --> 00:27:07.799 he was scary 00:27:07.799 --> 00:27:08.660 and beyond reach. 00:27:09.240 --> 00:27:10.359 And Jesus comes and says, 00:27:10.500 --> 00:27:12.119 I have come to you 00:27:12.119 --> 00:27:13.519 that you may know me. 00:27:14.119 --> 00:27:14.640 Look what he says 00:27:14.640 --> 00:27:15.420 in verse 37, 00:27:15.859 --> 00:27:17.460 the Father has sent me 00:27:17.460 --> 00:27:19.160 and he has borne witness 00:27:19.160 --> 00:27:19.619 about me. 00:27:19.700 --> 00:27:20.900 His voice you have never heard, 00:27:21.140 --> 00:27:22.460 his form you have never seen. 00:27:22.740 --> 00:27:23.440 Here was a problem. 00:27:24.140 --> 00:27:25.259 God wanted a relationship 00:27:25.259 --> 00:27:26.000 with his people, 00:27:26.200 --> 00:27:27.640 but they couldn't find him, 00:27:27.660 --> 00:27:28.420 they couldn't see him, 00:27:28.440 --> 00:27:29.299 they couldn't touch him. 00:27:29.299 --> 00:27:30.480 Well, how do we know 00:27:30.480 --> 00:27:31.240 where this God is 00:27:31.240 --> 00:27:31.940 or what he's like? 00:27:32.539 --> 00:27:33.519 But Jesus says, 00:27:33.599 --> 00:27:34.819 this God has sent me, 00:27:35.019 --> 00:27:36.259 God the Father has sent me 00:27:36.259 --> 00:27:37.399 that you can see me, 00:27:37.460 --> 00:27:38.419 that you can know me, 00:27:38.559 --> 00:27:39.839 that you can touch me, 00:27:40.319 --> 00:27:41.819 that you can believe in me. 00:27:42.480 --> 00:27:43.180 Verse 36, 00:27:43.619 --> 00:27:44.460 the works the Father 00:27:44.460 --> 00:27:45.639 has given me to accomplish, 00:27:45.919 --> 00:27:47.059 the very works I'm doing, 00:27:47.180 --> 00:27:47.700 bear witness, 00:27:47.839 --> 00:27:49.480 that the Father has sent me. 00:27:49.899 --> 00:27:50.559 Verse 37, 00:27:50.919 --> 00:27:52.059 the Father has sent me 00:27:52.059 --> 00:27:53.220 to himself to bear witness. 00:27:53.680 --> 00:27:54.299 Verse 43, 00:27:54.680 --> 00:27:57.079 I have come in my Father's name. 00:27:57.980 --> 00:27:58.240 Friends, 00:27:58.339 --> 00:27:58.919 Jesus Christ, 00:27:59.019 --> 00:27:59.639 the Son of God, 00:27:59.720 --> 00:28:01.019 was sent by the Father 00:28:01.019 --> 00:28:02.099 and has come to us, 00:28:02.819 --> 00:28:04.039 not with a pointed finger, 00:28:04.119 --> 00:28:04.699 he tells us, 00:28:04.740 --> 00:28:05.899 not to accuse you, 00:28:06.460 --> 00:28:07.960 not to tell us how bad we are, 00:28:08.539 --> 00:28:09.639 how immoral we are, 00:28:10.220 --> 00:28:10.939 not to tell us 00:28:10.939 --> 00:28:11.980 to sort our lives out 00:28:11.980 --> 00:28:13.119 or pick ourselves up. 00:28:13.879 --> 00:28:14.619 Jesus has come 00:28:14.619 --> 00:28:15.199 not to give us 00:28:15.199 --> 00:28:16.679 a new religious standard 00:28:16.679 --> 00:28:18.720 or religious KPIs to meet. 00:28:19.460 --> 00:28:20.419 Jesus has come 00:28:20.419 --> 00:28:22.159 in order that we might know him 00:28:22.159 --> 00:28:23.839 and believe in him 00:28:23.839 --> 00:28:25.439 and find life 00:28:25.440 --> 00:28:26.279 and healing 00:28:26.279 --> 00:28:27.320 and freedom 00:28:27.320 --> 00:28:28.320 and joy. 00:28:28.460 --> 00:28:29.039 Verse 34, 00:28:29.580 --> 00:28:30.080 the testimony, 00:28:30.080 --> 00:28:31.340 not that the testimony 00:28:31.340 --> 00:28:32.440 I receive is from man, 00:28:32.940 --> 00:28:33.980 but I say these things 00:28:33.980 --> 00:28:35.420 that you may be saved. 00:28:36.440 --> 00:28:36.779 Friends, 00:28:36.920 --> 00:28:37.960 Jesus wants us 00:28:37.960 --> 00:28:38.799 to be saved 00:28:38.799 --> 00:28:39.840 and to be liberated 00:28:39.840 --> 00:28:41.360 and to be set free. 00:28:41.840 --> 00:28:42.500 Jesus says 00:28:42.500 --> 00:28:44.960 in verse 39, 00:28:45.180 --> 00:28:46.120 you search the scriptures 00:28:46.120 --> 00:28:46.799 because you think 00:28:46.799 --> 00:28:47.440 that in them 00:28:47.440 --> 00:28:48.259 you'll find life, 00:28:48.620 --> 00:28:49.860 but they bear witness 00:28:49.860 --> 00:28:50.460 about me. 00:28:51.140 --> 00:28:51.920 Jesus wants us 00:28:51.920 --> 00:28:52.700 to find life 00:28:52.700 --> 00:28:54.500 and so he has come 00:28:54.500 --> 00:28:55.700 to us. 00:28:56.360 --> 00:28:57.420 Jesus comes to people 00:28:57.420 --> 00:28:58.120 like the invalid 00:28:58.120 --> 00:28:58.880 at Bethesda. 00:28:59.480 --> 00:29:00.560 He comes to outsiders 00:29:00.560 --> 00:29:01.200 like the woman 00:29:01.200 --> 00:29:01.759 at the well. 00:29:02.560 --> 00:29:03.740 He comes to seekers 00:29:03.740 --> 00:29:04.380 and skeptics 00:29:04.380 --> 00:29:05.279 like Nicodemus. 00:29:05.779 --> 00:29:06.640 He comes to those 00:29:06.640 --> 00:29:08.340 who carry great guilt. 00:29:08.980 --> 00:29:09.759 He comes to those 00:29:09.759 --> 00:29:10.340 who are paralyzed 00:29:10.340 --> 00:29:11.060 with fear. 00:29:11.779 --> 00:29:12.740 He comes to those 00:29:12.740 --> 00:29:13.940 who are weighed down 00:29:13.940 --> 00:29:14.640 by shame. 00:29:15.460 --> 00:29:16.140 Jesus comes 00:29:16.140 --> 00:29:16.680 and he asks 00:29:16.680 --> 00:29:17.000 and he says, 00:29:17.140 --> 00:29:18.480 I have come to you. 00:29:19.060 --> 00:29:19.920 Will you come to me 00:29:19.920 --> 00:29:20.560 and trust me? 00:29:21.519 --> 00:29:22.519 In the New Testament, 00:29:22.720 --> 00:29:23.200 there's a, 00:29:23.320 --> 00:29:24.340 the Apostle Paul writes this. 00:29:24.400 --> 00:29:24.660 He says, 00:29:24.779 --> 00:29:25.980 do not say in your heart 00:29:25.980 --> 00:29:26.640 who will go up 00:29:26.640 --> 00:29:27.100 to the heavens 00:29:27.100 --> 00:29:27.920 to find God. 00:29:28.400 --> 00:29:29.000 Do not say 00:29:29.000 --> 00:29:29.640 who will go down 00:29:29.640 --> 00:29:30.060 to hell 00:29:30.060 --> 00:29:30.920 to try and atone 00:29:30.920 --> 00:29:31.820 for your own guilt. 00:29:32.360 --> 00:29:32.720 Why? 00:29:33.220 --> 00:29:33.940 Because that is 00:29:33.940 --> 00:29:34.640 to bring Christ down. 00:29:34.720 --> 00:29:34.960 He says, 00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:35.360 in other words, 00:29:35.380 --> 00:29:35.940 you don't need to go 00:29:35.940 --> 00:29:36.900 search for God up there 00:29:36.900 --> 00:29:38.019 or search for God there. 00:29:38.440 --> 00:29:38.779 Rather, 00:29:38.920 --> 00:29:39.360 verse 8, 00:29:39.539 --> 00:29:40.340 what does he say? 00:29:40.680 --> 00:29:42.360 The word is near you. 00:29:43.080 --> 00:29:43.360 Friends, 00:29:43.360 --> 00:29:44.019 you don't need to go 00:29:44.019 --> 00:29:44.940 searching for God. 00:29:45.340 --> 00:29:46.480 God has come to you. 00:29:47.019 --> 00:29:48.140 God has come to us. 00:29:48.680 --> 00:29:49.480 Do not say in your hearts 00:29:49.480 --> 00:29:50.039 who will ascend 00:29:50.039 --> 00:29:50.599 to the heavens 00:29:50.599 --> 00:29:51.220 or who will go 00:29:51.220 --> 00:29:51.960 into the grave. 00:29:52.360 --> 00:29:52.980 What does it say? 00:29:53.140 --> 00:29:54.559 The word is near you. 00:29:54.640 --> 00:29:55.279 It's in your mouth. 00:29:55.360 --> 00:29:56.099 It's in your heart. 00:29:56.519 --> 00:29:58.200 Because if you confess 00:29:58.200 --> 00:29:58.759 with your mouth 00:29:58.759 --> 00:29:59.599 that Jesus is Lord 00:29:59.599 --> 00:30:00.980 and believe in your heart 00:30:00.980 --> 00:30:01.720 that God raised him 00:30:01.720 --> 00:30:02.299 from the dead, 00:30:02.860 --> 00:30:04.480 you too will be saved. 00:30:05.059 --> 00:30:05.339 Friends, 00:30:05.380 --> 00:30:05.880 in this passage, 00:30:06.079 --> 00:30:06.960 Jesus wants us 00:30:06.960 --> 00:30:07.759 to believe in him 00:30:07.759 --> 00:30:08.839 because he wants us 00:30:08.839 --> 00:30:09.599 to find life 00:30:09.599 --> 00:30:10.180 in his name. 00:30:10.700 --> 00:30:11.180 He wants us 00:30:11.180 --> 00:30:11.880 to have certainty 00:30:11.880 --> 00:30:12.559 and conviction 00:30:12.559 --> 00:30:13.180 around the things 00:30:13.180 --> 00:30:13.660 we believe. 00:30:14.079 --> 00:30:14.839 He wants us to know 00:30:14.839 --> 00:30:15.700 why we believe 00:30:15.700 --> 00:30:16.240 what we believe 00:30:16.240 --> 00:30:17.400 so that we can be confident 00:30:17.400 --> 00:30:18.440 and bank our lives 00:30:18.440 --> 00:30:18.780 in it. 00:30:19.620 --> 00:30:20.480 Jesus says that 00:30:20.480 --> 00:30:21.840 faith is not unreasonable. 00:30:22.080 --> 00:30:22.820 It's not a blind 00:30:22.820 --> 00:30:23.500 leap of faith 00:30:23.500 --> 00:30:24.120 into the dark. 00:30:24.780 --> 00:30:25.880 Jesus says all the signs, 00:30:26.000 --> 00:30:26.940 the evidence is there, 00:30:27.040 --> 00:30:27.920 the testimony is there 00:30:27.920 --> 00:30:28.360 for those who are 00:30:28.360 --> 00:30:29.320 willing to receive it. 00:30:29.840 --> 00:30:30.940 But belief is not automatic. 00:30:31.700 --> 00:30:32.940 It requires a heart posture, 00:30:33.660 --> 00:30:34.759 a posture of surrender. 00:30:35.460 --> 00:30:36.100 The posture says, 00:30:36.180 --> 00:30:36.740 okay Jesus, 00:30:36.840 --> 00:30:37.519 I will take you 00:30:37.519 --> 00:30:38.100 at your word. 00:30:38.640 --> 00:30:39.680 Come and have your way. 00:30:40.360 --> 00:30:41.200 God our King 00:30:41.200 --> 00:30:42.060 and God our Savior. 00:30:42.720 --> 00:30:43.360 For this reason 00:30:43.360 --> 00:30:44.640 he came to make known to us 00:30:44.640 --> 00:30:46.259 that we can come to him. 00:30:46.620 --> 00:30:47.480 So why don't we do that now? 00:30:47.540 --> 00:30:48.259 Why don't we come to him 00:30:48.259 --> 00:30:48.620 in prayer 00:30:48.620 --> 00:30:50.460 and ask him to reveal himself 00:30:50.460 --> 00:30:50.920 to us 00:30:50.920 --> 00:30:51.860 and make himself known 00:30:51.860 --> 00:30:53.160 and then we will 00:30:53.160 --> 00:30:54.280 close in reflection. 00:30:54.520 --> 00:30:55.360 Let me pray for us. 00:30:57.360 --> 00:30:57.960 Father God, 00:30:58.000 --> 00:30:59.300 as we come to you, 00:30:59.440 --> 00:30:59.580 Lord, 00:30:59.680 --> 00:30:59.840 we, 00:31:00.740 --> 00:31:01.720 many of us in this room 00:31:01.720 --> 00:31:02.540 have discovered 00:31:02.540 --> 00:31:03.780 the reality 00:31:03.780 --> 00:31:05.000 that Jesus is not just 00:31:05.000 --> 00:31:05.759 a man of history, 00:31:06.120 --> 00:31:07.220 not just a great prophet. 00:31:07.400 --> 00:31:08.220 You are God, 00:31:08.300 --> 00:31:09.000 the Son of God. 00:31:09.640 --> 00:31:10.720 You are the wonderful 00:31:10.720 --> 00:31:11.640 Savior of the Lord. 00:31:11.640 --> 00:31:12.520 And Jesus, 00:31:12.720 --> 00:31:14.540 we know this 00:31:14.539 --> 00:31:15.259 and many of us 00:31:15.259 --> 00:31:16.139 know this and believe it. 00:31:16.180 --> 00:31:16.539 But God, 00:31:16.619 --> 00:31:17.700 we admit that faith 00:31:17.700 --> 00:31:18.899 is still sometimes difficult. 00:31:19.779 --> 00:31:20.180 God, 00:31:20.240 --> 00:31:21.299 maybe at a high level 00:31:21.299 --> 00:31:22.379 we believe that you are 00:31:22.379 --> 00:31:23.000 who you say you are, 00:31:23.099 --> 00:31:24.339 but at a granular level 00:31:24.339 --> 00:31:25.420 and in the day-to-day 00:31:25.420 --> 00:31:26.500 trenches of life 00:31:26.500 --> 00:31:28.159 when you've got to make decisions 00:31:28.159 --> 00:31:29.000 around parenting, 00:31:29.159 --> 00:31:29.659 around money, 00:31:29.799 --> 00:31:30.500 around career, 00:31:30.700 --> 00:31:31.619 around who to date 00:31:31.619 --> 00:31:32.839 and marriage 00:31:32.839 --> 00:31:34.539 and these big things. 00:31:34.799 --> 00:31:35.079 God, 00:31:35.279 --> 00:31:36.379 belief in you is hard. 00:31:37.159 --> 00:31:38.079 Faith in you is hard. 00:31:38.259 --> 00:31:39.339 Surrender is hard. 00:31:40.200 --> 00:31:40.559 God, 00:31:40.559 --> 00:31:41.480 we believe 00:31:41.480 --> 00:31:42.680 but help our unbelief. 00:31:43.379 --> 00:31:44.180 Help us to grow 00:31:44.180 --> 00:31:44.700 in faith, 00:31:44.799 --> 00:31:44.960 God, 00:31:45.000 --> 00:31:45.460 and trust 00:31:45.460 --> 00:31:45.960 and to know 00:31:45.960 --> 00:31:47.120 that you really are 00:31:47.120 --> 00:31:47.960 who you say you are 00:31:47.960 --> 00:31:49.340 and that you really do 00:31:49.340 --> 00:31:50.759 offer life in your name. 00:31:51.480 --> 00:31:52.160 May God help us 00:31:52.160 --> 00:31:53.480 in your name I pray. 00:31:54.400 --> 00:31:54.740 Amen. 00:31:55.180 --> 00:31:55.440 Amen.