WEBVTT 00:00:03.690 --> 00:00:11.529 All right, let's pray together. Lord, the work 00:00:11.529 --> 00:00:14.310 you do in our lives, we know comes from your 00:00:14.310 --> 00:00:16.850 spirit. The spirit works in us and changes us 00:00:16.850 --> 00:00:20.350 and not a lot we can do to change ourselves. 00:00:20.570 --> 00:00:25.489 We need you. So we ask you today to take this 00:00:25.489 --> 00:00:27.910 very familiar text and help it come alive to 00:00:27.910 --> 00:00:29.730 us maybe in ways that we didn't even realize. 00:00:32.490 --> 00:00:34.909 We pray directly against the enemy, his servants, 00:00:34.990 --> 00:00:37.810 their works and effects. In the name of Jesus, 00:00:37.890 --> 00:00:42.369 because you are Christ victorious. And we can 00:00:42.369 --> 00:00:45.890 cling to you. We can run to you. We know that 00:00:45.890 --> 00:00:50.990 you love us deeply. And so we run to that today. 00:00:51.189 --> 00:00:54.130 And Lord, help us make sense. Help us to understand. 00:00:54.369 --> 00:00:57.850 And help us to see regeneration, transformation 00:00:57.850 --> 00:01:07.120 in our lives. In your name, amen. Well, you guys 00:01:07.120 --> 00:01:11.180 probably figured out what verse we're in. Today, 00:01:11.340 --> 00:01:14.120 this week, I was having a conversation with one 00:01:14.120 --> 00:01:17.019 of my track athletes, one of the throwers, and 00:01:17.019 --> 00:01:19.760 we've been kind of talking about some spiritual 00:01:19.760 --> 00:01:24.340 things, which has been really cool. And I said, 00:01:24.480 --> 00:01:28.620 do you have a Bible? He goes, yeah. I said, do 00:01:28.620 --> 00:01:31.280 you read it? He goes, a little bit. I said, what's 00:01:31.280 --> 00:01:34.560 the most famous verse in all the Bible? He goes, 00:01:34.599 --> 00:01:38.760 John 3 .16, of course. So today I get to unpack 00:01:38.760 --> 00:01:41.840 the most famous verse in all the Bible. And if 00:01:41.840 --> 00:01:43.760 I can't get this one right, I'm in trouble. So 00:01:43.760 --> 00:01:47.980 a verse that everyone seems to know about in 00:01:47.980 --> 00:01:51.319 the Bible, which is John 3 .16, right? So it's 00:01:51.319 --> 00:01:54.519 all over billboards. It's plastered on pro athletes' 00:01:54.739 --> 00:02:00.560 faces. It's everywhere. And although this verse 00:02:00.560 --> 00:02:02.480 is really important and we're going to spend 00:02:02.480 --> 00:02:05.439 time there, there are other verses around it 00:02:05.439 --> 00:02:09.060 that are incredibly important and that I believe 00:02:09.060 --> 00:02:11.840 will make this verse come alive even more for 00:02:11.840 --> 00:02:15.460 you. And so that's what we get to talk about 00:02:15.460 --> 00:02:20.419 today. You guys ready? Got your Bibles? And so 00:02:20.419 --> 00:02:23.039 really what we're talking about today is this 00:02:23.039 --> 00:02:25.639 concept or this language of what it means to 00:02:25.639 --> 00:02:33.699 be born again. So as we get into chapter 3, in 00:02:33.699 --> 00:02:37.060 our journey through John is that Jesus is going 00:02:37.060 --> 00:02:41.580 to have several encounters with different people. 00:02:42.500 --> 00:02:45.360 This first encounter that we're going to look 00:02:45.360 --> 00:02:49.379 at today is with a guy named Nicodemus. There's 00:02:49.379 --> 00:02:52.219 a lot going on in these 21 verses, and so we're 00:02:52.219 --> 00:02:54.180 just going to jump right in and plow our way 00:02:54.180 --> 00:02:56.879 through it, and it just tells it right out. Now, 00:02:56.939 --> 00:03:02.409 John is a... Very unique. I love John because 00:03:02.409 --> 00:03:06.830 it's a narrative. It tells a story. It's describing 00:03:06.830 --> 00:03:09.530 what happened. It's not necessarily always prescribing 00:03:09.530 --> 00:03:13.550 something. But yet in it are treasures all the 00:03:13.550 --> 00:03:15.650 way through. Like every word just seems to be 00:03:15.650 --> 00:03:18.830 loaded with deep meaning that we are really, 00:03:18.909 --> 00:03:21.509 I believe, that we need to mine those meanings. 00:03:22.490 --> 00:03:26.240 And so Jesus had an agenda. Our John had an agenda 00:03:26.240 --> 00:03:29.300 and he wants to show who Jesus is and how wonderful 00:03:29.300 --> 00:03:32.819 he is because he's calling us to believe in not 00:03:32.819 --> 00:03:36.780 just that he existed, but to believe that your 00:03:36.780 --> 00:03:42.219 roots go deep into who Jesus is. It's not a book 00:03:42.219 --> 00:03:45.159 just for those who don't know Jesus. I believe 00:03:45.159 --> 00:03:48.080 it's a book that if you really are serious about 00:03:48.080 --> 00:03:49.740 it, I don't care how long you walk with Jesus. 00:03:50.400 --> 00:03:52.520 The more you mine it, the more it'll just bring 00:03:52.520 --> 00:03:56.080 depth to your understanding of who Jesus is. 00:03:56.639 --> 00:03:59.800 So John chapter 3 starts off with verse 1. He 00:03:59.800 --> 00:04:03.979 tells the story. This is the man. There was a 00:04:03.979 --> 00:04:07.319 man from the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler 00:04:07.319 --> 00:04:10.020 of the Jews. Now, first thing we come out, we 00:04:10.020 --> 00:04:11.620 just kind of work our way through this. We're 00:04:11.620 --> 00:04:14.159 going to see this man, Nicodemus. Nicodemus was 00:04:14.159 --> 00:04:18.220 a man of high authority. In the religious leadership 00:04:18.220 --> 00:04:21.220 of Israel. And that was pretty important. Somebody 00:04:21.220 --> 00:04:25.560 kind of described it as he was like both a senator 00:04:25.560 --> 00:04:28.139 and a part of the Supreme Court. Like he had 00:04:28.139 --> 00:04:33.399 that kind of power. And so Nicodemus, his name 00:04:33.399 --> 00:04:35.899 actually means, and by the way, Bible names, 00:04:36.019 --> 00:04:38.939 their meanings matter. It's interesting. But 00:04:38.939 --> 00:04:43.699 the meaning or the name Nicodemus means victor 00:04:43.699 --> 00:04:47.129 over the people. Now either that's how he operated 00:04:47.129 --> 00:04:50.149 or his mama really had a high view of him, right? 00:04:50.290 --> 00:04:54.050 Like victor over the people. He was a member 00:04:54.050 --> 00:04:57.990 of the Sanhedrin, this ruling body of Jewish 00:04:57.990 --> 00:05:06.069 people. So Nick was kind of a big deal. And he 00:05:06.069 --> 00:05:09.529 was supposed to know this Bible really well, 00:05:09.629 --> 00:05:12.850 better than anyone else. That was his job because 00:05:12.850 --> 00:05:16.939 it was through the Old Testament. that you that's 00:05:16.939 --> 00:05:19.420 how they ruled they had to judge it they had 00:05:19.420 --> 00:05:21.540 to look down they i mean this is the kind of 00:05:21.540 --> 00:05:26.120 guy that definitely 100 he had to know the first 00:05:26.120 --> 00:05:28.220 five books of the bible not just know it he had 00:05:28.220 --> 00:05:30.939 to have it totally memorized and many people 00:05:30.939 --> 00:05:33.579 speculate the majority of the old testament memorized 00:05:33.579 --> 00:05:37.160 like this was a serious this was a big this was 00:05:37.160 --> 00:05:41.660 a smart dude a very powerful dude And so he comes 00:05:41.660 --> 00:05:45.139 and we hear this. He comes to Jesus. Now, then 00:05:45.139 --> 00:05:48.939 he says, verse two, this man came to him at night 00:05:48.939 --> 00:05:53.759 and said, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher 00:05:53.759 --> 00:05:58.500 who has come from God. For no one can perform 00:05:58.500 --> 00:06:03.439 these signs you do unless God was with him. So 00:06:03.439 --> 00:06:06.399 Nicodemus shows up at night. So funny how many 00:06:06.399 --> 00:06:09.889 people. I heard this statement from, including 00:06:09.889 --> 00:06:12.029 my own dad comes up to me yesterday at the track 00:06:12.029 --> 00:06:14.050 meet and goes, hey, I guess you, you know, I 00:06:14.050 --> 00:06:17.569 heard that Nicodemus was really the original 00:06:17.569 --> 00:06:24.490 Nick at night. Now for an 83 -year -old man to 00:06:24.490 --> 00:06:26.990 get that, who doesn't even watch cartoons anymore, 00:06:27.089 --> 00:06:29.009 that's pretty darn good right there. I was like, 00:06:29.050 --> 00:06:31.029 okay, I'll say it in front of everybody. Nick 00:06:31.029 --> 00:06:32.550 at night, the original Nick at night. Nick and 00:06:32.550 --> 00:06:35.790 Nicodemus shows up at night. And he wants to 00:06:35.790 --> 00:06:38.410 have a conversation with Jesus. And we don't 00:06:38.410 --> 00:06:40.129 know why he shows up at night. There's a lot 00:06:40.129 --> 00:06:42.449 of speculation of why he does that. Maybe he's 00:06:42.449 --> 00:06:45.769 undercover. Maybe he doesn't want the rest of 00:06:45.769 --> 00:06:48.310 the ruling class to know that he's talking to 00:06:48.310 --> 00:06:52.290 Jesus. I don't know. The point is we don't know. 00:06:52.490 --> 00:06:56.189 But John tells us it's in the evening. He's going 00:06:56.189 --> 00:06:58.329 to have this in -depth conversation with Jesus. 00:06:58.470 --> 00:07:01.209 He's got a bunch of questions. And he addresses 00:07:01.209 --> 00:07:03.959 Jesus, though. in a very interesting way at this 00:07:03.959 --> 00:07:07.899 point, he respectfully calls him rabbi, which 00:07:07.899 --> 00:07:10.199 is a term of honor. It's almost like he says, 00:07:10.319 --> 00:07:14.680 we're equals. Let's have a conversation. So there's 00:07:14.680 --> 00:07:16.779 not like, it's not like a lot of those encounters 00:07:16.779 --> 00:07:19.000 with the Pharisees or the Sadducees that come 00:07:19.000 --> 00:07:21.560 in and they're drilling Jesus. They're trying 00:07:21.560 --> 00:07:24.720 to trick Jesus. Nicodemus comes at it in a sense 00:07:24.720 --> 00:07:28.660 of, I want to know. And then here's some words 00:07:28.660 --> 00:07:31.079 you can underline. Underline the words, we know. 00:07:32.269 --> 00:07:35.910 He is speaking to Jesus on behalf of himself, 00:07:36.209 --> 00:07:42.569 but at least a few others in his world. We know 00:07:42.569 --> 00:07:46.629 that there's something different about you. We 00:07:46.629 --> 00:07:52.230 know you come from God. Close. But we also know 00:07:52.230 --> 00:07:55.209 that he is God, don't we? He doesn't quite get 00:07:55.209 --> 00:07:57.949 it, but he knows there's something up with Jesus. 00:07:58.759 --> 00:08:03.540 He's noticing him because of the signs. Now, 00:08:03.579 --> 00:08:06.540 we know in John chapter 20, later on, we've talked 00:08:06.540 --> 00:08:11.259 about this already, but in John chapter 20, sorry 00:08:11.259 --> 00:08:14.920 guys, John tells us that there were a lot of 00:08:14.920 --> 00:08:19.100 signs in the miracles that were happening. And 00:08:19.100 --> 00:08:23.420 those miracles were to bring attention to who 00:08:23.420 --> 00:08:27.040 Jesus was and the glory of God, right? They've 00:08:27.040 --> 00:08:29.060 been watching this, and he's doing things. He's 00:08:29.060 --> 00:08:34.059 like, eh, that's not normal. And he doesn't say, 00:08:34.139 --> 00:08:36.000 oh, they're coming from another power. He says, 00:08:36.019 --> 00:08:39.240 these are definitely things that come from God. 00:08:40.399 --> 00:08:44.080 And Nicodemus wants to be near Jesus, and he 00:08:44.080 --> 00:08:48.220 wants to understand Jesus. I love that picture. 00:08:48.360 --> 00:08:51.100 I don't care where you're at right now, but do 00:08:51.100 --> 00:08:53.500 you want to be near Jesus and understand Jesus? 00:08:54.320 --> 00:09:01.830 And so Nicodemus... Goes to Jesus. And Jesus 00:09:01.830 --> 00:09:04.750 is going to respond to Nicodemus, not in a way 00:09:04.750 --> 00:09:06.789 that you would think. In fact, this just shows 00:09:06.789 --> 00:09:10.590 us that Jesus knows what's in our hearts. He 00:09:10.590 --> 00:09:12.549 knows what's in our minds. Because look what 00:09:12.549 --> 00:09:14.990 he says. He comes to Jesus. You're a good teacher. 00:09:15.029 --> 00:09:17.809 Let's talk. And Jesus just goes, wham, right 00:09:17.809 --> 00:09:21.009 to the point. Jesus replied, truly I tell you, 00:09:21.090 --> 00:09:24.730 unless somebody is born again, he cannot see 00:09:24.730 --> 00:09:30.129 the kingdom of God. Jesus basically says, Nicodemus, 00:09:30.269 --> 00:09:37.210 what I'm about to tell you is extremely important, 00:09:37.450 --> 00:09:40.350 and it's the straight -up truth. That's what 00:09:40.350 --> 00:09:43.769 the truly, truly word is. It's really important, 00:09:43.990 --> 00:09:45.610 and I'm just going to get right to the point. 00:09:45.649 --> 00:09:51.730 And he says, unless one, anyone, any person is 00:09:51.730 --> 00:09:55.250 born again, he cannot... Get into the kingdom 00:09:55.250 --> 00:09:58.509 of God. He cannot get to heaven. He cannot get 00:09:58.509 --> 00:10:01.590 where you think you want to go. You have to be 00:10:01.590 --> 00:10:06.529 born again. And the words, this word used for 00:10:06.529 --> 00:10:09.850 born again can also be translated born from above. 00:10:10.889 --> 00:10:14.629 It's not just born like, and so Jesus is saying, 00:10:14.690 --> 00:10:19.190 is everyone has a natural birth? A biological 00:10:19.190 --> 00:10:23.289 birth? But in addition to our natural birth, 00:10:23.850 --> 00:10:27.230 Something must happen before you can see the 00:10:27.230 --> 00:10:32.750 kingdom of God. You need a spiritual, supernatural 00:10:32.750 --> 00:10:41.389 birth. Nicodemus goes, I don't get it. I don't 00:10:41.389 --> 00:10:44.429 get it. Look what he says. Look in verse 4. How 00:10:44.429 --> 00:10:48.850 can anyone be born when he's old? Right over 00:10:48.850 --> 00:10:51.610 his head. Remember, before we go any farther, 00:10:51.769 --> 00:10:57.820 who Nicodemus is. what the Bible has been pointing 00:10:57.820 --> 00:11:01.000 to. Like, because it's going to come back up 00:11:01.000 --> 00:11:02.679 again, but he just goes right over and says, 00:11:02.820 --> 00:11:06.080 how can anyone be born when he's old? Nicodemus 00:11:06.080 --> 00:11:09.639 asked. Can he intern to his mother's womb a second 00:11:09.639 --> 00:11:16.139 time and be born? Gross. Just, what? I mean, 00:11:16.179 --> 00:11:23.480 there's some pregnant ladies around here. just 00:11:23.480 --> 00:11:25.240 use that imagery for a minute like it doesn't 00:11:25.240 --> 00:11:27.399 work that way and so he's asked this question 00:11:27.399 --> 00:11:30.779 he's like oh come on what are you talking about 00:11:30.779 --> 00:11:33.200 now so we have this term like born again is something 00:11:33.200 --> 00:11:35.120 that you've probably all heard about but for 00:11:35.120 --> 00:11:40.200 nicodemus that was like excuse me and jesus answers 00:11:40.200 --> 00:11:44.679 again truly i tell you unless someone is born 00:11:44.679 --> 00:11:47.659 of water and the spirit he cannot enter the kingdom 00:11:47.659 --> 00:11:52.559 of god Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh. 00:11:53.179 --> 00:11:55.440 And whatever is born of the spirit is spirit. 00:11:55.840 --> 00:12:00.600 Here's what Jesus is saying. If you are only 00:12:00.600 --> 00:12:07.919 born once, you will die twice. You will have 00:12:07.919 --> 00:12:11.899 a physical death and a spiritual death. But if 00:12:11.899 --> 00:12:17.580 you were born twice, a physical birth and a spiritual 00:12:17.580 --> 00:12:21.669 birth, then you will only experience the physical 00:12:21.669 --> 00:12:26.350 death and you will live eternally with Christ. 00:12:28.889 --> 00:12:33.809 If you don't know Christ, the second death is 00:12:33.809 --> 00:12:37.710 eternal separation from God and you will experience 00:12:37.710 --> 00:12:42.990 the wrath of God forever and ever. This is why 00:12:42.990 --> 00:12:47.460 he says this is a really big deal. I'm going 00:12:47.460 --> 00:12:50.320 to shoot right to the heart. You're a spiritual 00:12:50.320 --> 00:12:56.679 leader. You better get this. Then he goes on, 00:12:56.700 --> 00:13:02.399 verse 7. Do not be amazed that I told you that 00:13:02.399 --> 00:13:05.840 you must be born again. The wind blows where 00:13:05.840 --> 00:13:09.360 it pleases and you hear it sound, but you don't 00:13:09.360 --> 00:13:11.440 know where it comes from or where it is going. 00:13:12.059 --> 00:13:16.649 So it is with everyone born of the Spirit. Okay, 00:13:16.730 --> 00:13:20.309 what's he talking about now? So the word, the 00:13:20.309 --> 00:13:24.149 Greek word for spirit can also mean wind. And 00:13:24.149 --> 00:13:27.769 so what Jesus is, when Jesus uses wind to help 00:13:27.769 --> 00:13:30.169 explain what's going on here, he's like, okay, 00:13:30.210 --> 00:13:31.370 I'm going to give you a metaphor. I'm going to 00:13:31.370 --> 00:13:32.889 give you an illustration that you understand 00:13:32.889 --> 00:13:35.490 that has the same language to it, the same word. 00:13:35.590 --> 00:13:38.669 He says, it's like the wind. You cannot see it, 00:13:38.750 --> 00:13:43.330 but you cannot deny the effects of the wind. 00:13:43.389 --> 00:13:47.409 We live in the Mat -Su Valley. Duh. The valley 00:13:47.409 --> 00:13:54.309 blows. I mean, it just does. You know when it's 00:13:54.309 --> 00:13:58.389 blowing because it affects everything. Spiritual 00:13:58.389 --> 00:14:05.309 rebirth is a work of God. Being born again is 00:14:05.309 --> 00:14:08.710 like our experience with the wind. You can see 00:14:08.710 --> 00:14:13.350 the wind's effects, but you can't see the wind 00:14:13.350 --> 00:14:17.850 itself. Meaning... The effects of the Spirit 00:14:17.850 --> 00:14:21.610 is visible in a person's life. You want to know 00:14:21.610 --> 00:14:23.990 how somebody's saved? You want to know that they're 00:14:23.990 --> 00:14:27.090 a follower of Jesus? The effect, how has it affected 00:14:27.090 --> 00:14:32.009 their life? It's visible in a person's life, 00:14:32.070 --> 00:14:36.690 even though the Spirit you can't see. Transformation, 00:14:36.830 --> 00:14:40.450 regeneration happens. He's talking about the 00:14:40.450 --> 00:14:44.389 change that happens from the inside when you 00:14:44.389 --> 00:14:50.450 meet Jesus. But Nicodemus remained puzzled. Still 00:14:50.450 --> 00:14:54.309 didn't get it. Jesus unpacks a little bit more. 00:14:55.730 --> 00:15:02.090 Look at verse 9. How can this be, asked Nicodemus. 00:15:02.710 --> 00:15:06.590 And Jesus flips it. Are you a teacher of Israel? 00:15:07.129 --> 00:15:09.710 And you don't know these things, Jesus replied. 00:15:12.690 --> 00:15:15.850 Jesus now shifts and he goes after Nicodemus' 00:15:15.990 --> 00:15:22.250 ignorance. It was Nicodemus' job to know this. 00:15:23.509 --> 00:15:28.809 To know this Bible. And so he's telling Nicodemus 00:15:28.809 --> 00:15:32.330 that basically with all this knowledge, you still 00:15:32.330 --> 00:15:35.450 don't understand the purpose and what the Old 00:15:35.450 --> 00:15:41.029 Testament is pointing to. You should know this, 00:15:41.090 --> 00:15:45.070 he says. The Old Testament books... had been 00:15:45.070 --> 00:15:48.090 pointing to Jesus and his atoning, the work, 00:15:48.149 --> 00:15:52.929 the need for his atoning work. For a people. 00:15:54.950 --> 00:16:01.210 And so, Jesus continues. Again, that word, verse 00:16:01.210 --> 00:16:05.450 11, truly. He says, real important here. Get 00:16:05.450 --> 00:16:10.850 this, Nicodemus. Truly I tell you, we speak what 00:16:10.850 --> 00:16:14.620 we know and we testify what we have seen. But 00:16:14.620 --> 00:16:19.419 you do not accept our testimony. If I have told 00:16:19.419 --> 00:16:23.259 you about earthly things and you do not believe, 00:16:23.620 --> 00:16:27.120 how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly 00:16:27.120 --> 00:16:31.600 things? No one has ascended into heaven except 00:16:31.600 --> 00:16:35.500 the one who has descended from heaven. And then 00:16:35.500 --> 00:16:38.559 he uses the term that Jesus used more than often 00:16:38.559 --> 00:16:41.500 when he describes himself. He says, the Son of 00:16:41.500 --> 00:16:48.500 Man. Now, here's the main point. Jesus is, he's 00:16:48.500 --> 00:16:53.019 saying, he has authority to speak about eternal 00:16:53.019 --> 00:17:00.120 truths because he knew them and he's seen them 00:17:00.120 --> 00:17:03.200 having come from the presence of God in heaven 00:17:03.200 --> 00:17:09.420 to us. Like he is the authority. It's like he's 00:17:09.420 --> 00:17:12.650 saying, Nicodemus, you're talking. To the one 00:17:12.650 --> 00:17:18.289 who's come down from heaven. You're talking to 00:17:18.289 --> 00:17:23.509 the Son of Man in person. You have been waiting 00:17:23.509 --> 00:17:27.849 your whole life to see the Messiah. Open your 00:17:27.849 --> 00:17:32.769 eyes, he says. I'm right in front of you. That's 00:17:32.769 --> 00:17:38.930 what he's saying. Pray here. Nicodemus was an 00:17:38.930 --> 00:17:41.670 expert in the Old Testament. So what does Jesus 00:17:41.670 --> 00:17:43.849 do? He doesn't beat him up over it. He just takes 00:17:43.849 --> 00:17:46.230 him back to the Old Testament. And one of the 00:17:46.230 --> 00:17:48.349 things about Jesus is amazing. When you go through 00:17:48.349 --> 00:17:50.369 all of the Gospels, Jesus is just constantly 00:17:50.369 --> 00:17:52.769 pointing back. He's constantly pointing back 00:17:52.769 --> 00:17:55.609 to the Old Testament because he needs to show 00:17:55.609 --> 00:17:57.329 you that everything in the Old Testament is pointing 00:17:57.329 --> 00:18:00.930 forward. And so he does. What he does is he says, 00:18:01.029 --> 00:18:02.450 I want to take you back to an Old Testament. 00:18:02.589 --> 00:18:05.769 And this is a text that Nicodemus would have 00:18:05.769 --> 00:18:08.529 known incredibly well. Like probably memorized 00:18:08.529 --> 00:18:14.250 the whole story. Look at verse 14. He says, Just 00:18:14.250 --> 00:18:16.630 as Moses lifted up a snake in the wilderness, 00:18:16.930 --> 00:18:20.730 so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that 00:18:20.730 --> 00:18:23.309 everyone who believes in him may have eternal 00:18:23.309 --> 00:18:24.849 life. You go, what are we talking about in the 00:18:24.849 --> 00:18:28.890 Old Testament? Well, Jesus is talking here about 00:18:28.890 --> 00:18:32.289 an event that took place in Numbers chapter 21. 00:18:32.410 --> 00:18:33.910 And I encourage you, write that down. Go back 00:18:33.910 --> 00:18:35.890 with your regular Bibles and read through this 00:18:35.890 --> 00:18:37.750 story. I'm going to briefly touch on it though. 00:18:38.220 --> 00:18:40.079 Because it's really important. What Jesus is 00:18:40.079 --> 00:18:43.519 talking about here, he says, look, Numbers number 00:18:43.519 --> 00:18:47.539 21. Do you remember that? Nicodemus says, do 00:18:47.539 --> 00:18:50.019 you remember the event? And he goes, yeah, I 00:18:50.019 --> 00:18:51.720 know what you're talking about. I totally know 00:18:51.720 --> 00:18:54.079 this event. And so he begins to tell the story. 00:18:54.180 --> 00:18:55.960 And so let me just share the story briefly with 00:18:55.960 --> 00:18:59.099 you. You go back to Numbers 21, starting in verse 00:18:59.099 --> 00:19:03.019 4, it says this. Then they set out from the mount. 00:19:03.440 --> 00:19:05.299 So the children of Israel there, right? They'd 00:19:05.299 --> 00:19:08.670 just gotten out of Egypt. God had rescued them 00:19:08.670 --> 00:19:13.589 out of Egypt. Then they set out from the Mount 00:19:13.589 --> 00:19:17.769 Hor by way of the Red Sea to bypass the land 00:19:17.769 --> 00:19:22.430 of Idiom. But the people became impatient because 00:19:22.430 --> 00:19:26.390 of the journey. The people spoke against God 00:19:26.390 --> 00:19:30.150 and Moses. Why have you led us out of Egypt to 00:19:30.150 --> 00:19:35.069 die in the wilderness? There is no bread or water, 00:19:35.150 --> 00:19:38.769 and we detest this wretched food. Which is, by 00:19:38.769 --> 00:19:42.309 the way, what? Manna, what God had given them, 00:19:42.349 --> 00:19:46.950 right? Then the Lord sent poisonous snakes among 00:19:46.950 --> 00:19:53.450 the people, and they bit them. And many Israelites 00:19:53.450 --> 00:19:58.049 died. Okay, this is a crazy story. God had delivered 00:19:58.049 --> 00:20:03.240 his people from slavery in Egypt. They had watched 00:20:03.240 --> 00:20:05.900 and observed plague after plague after plague 00:20:05.900 --> 00:20:09.299 come to the Egyptian people because they were 00:20:09.299 --> 00:20:13.759 saying no against God. And God shows them their 00:20:13.759 --> 00:20:17.180 power. And they saw all of this all the way up 00:20:17.180 --> 00:20:23.039 to the very last sign. I mean, the very last 00:20:23.039 --> 00:20:27.259 curse. plague, which was the doorpost was marked 00:20:27.259 --> 00:20:28.839 with the blood. If you did that, they had to 00:20:28.839 --> 00:20:31.519 kill a lamb to put the doorpost, and then the 00:20:31.519 --> 00:20:34.640 death would come over, and every firstborn child, 00:20:34.940 --> 00:20:38.079 every firstborn creature would die because of 00:20:38.079 --> 00:20:40.059 God's wrath being on them. This is what he's 00:20:40.059 --> 00:20:42.720 talking about. This is what just happened to 00:20:42.720 --> 00:20:47.539 them. But at the same time, God supernaturally 00:20:47.539 --> 00:20:51.119 provided Or rescue for them. Parting the Red 00:20:51.119 --> 00:20:53.039 Sea. And they get there. And then they don't 00:20:53.039 --> 00:20:54.579 have water. God gives them water. They don't 00:20:54.579 --> 00:20:56.660 have bread. So God gives them food called manna. 00:20:57.319 --> 00:21:00.640 Supernaturally. He does all of this. And it's 00:21:00.640 --> 00:21:02.400 one of this, if you read the Old Testament, you're 00:21:02.400 --> 00:21:06.960 like, man, will they ever get it? But the journey 00:21:06.960 --> 00:21:11.880 that they're on is really hard. And in the process 00:21:11.880 --> 00:21:14.619 of their challenges of their life, they took 00:21:14.619 --> 00:21:20.759 their eyes off of God. And his rescue, and they 00:21:20.759 --> 00:21:23.779 put it on to their challenging circumstances. 00:21:25.619 --> 00:21:28.779 Gosh, this is just like the way I operate. Isn't 00:21:28.779 --> 00:21:34.839 it? My life gets rough. I take my gaze off of 00:21:34.839 --> 00:21:38.900 God, and I look at my own belly button, and how 00:21:38.900 --> 00:21:41.720 does it go? It doesn't go well. And this is what's 00:21:41.720 --> 00:21:44.900 happening. After all that they begin to do, what 00:21:44.900 --> 00:21:47.500 do they begin to do? They begin to grumble and 00:21:47.500 --> 00:21:53.000 complain. to God and to Moses. You know that 00:21:53.000 --> 00:21:56.279 the selfishness is just welled up inside of them. 00:21:56.359 --> 00:21:58.559 They've taken their eyes off of this Redeemer, 00:21:58.599 --> 00:22:01.019 the God who's rescued them, and they've looked 00:22:01.019 --> 00:22:03.279 back at their own junk, and they look back at 00:22:03.279 --> 00:22:05.319 their broken world, and the desert they're in, 00:22:05.519 --> 00:22:08.319 and the hardship they're in, and they begin to 00:22:08.319 --> 00:22:17.099 complain. And this was straight up, church, straight 00:22:17.099 --> 00:22:26.900 up. Rebellion, selfishness, and sin. And we've 00:22:26.900 --> 00:22:30.880 got to understand how God sees this. Because 00:22:30.880 --> 00:22:34.579 I think it's real for us today. He looks at Caleb's 00:22:34.579 --> 00:22:37.440 selfishness, he looks at my own rebellion and 00:22:37.440 --> 00:22:44.019 sin, and he hates it. So, what does God do in 00:22:44.019 --> 00:22:46.960 this situation? He sends these infectious... 00:22:48.160 --> 00:22:52.299 And this infestation of snakes, poisonous snakes. 00:22:53.519 --> 00:22:56.660 You got to use your imagination here. Like, snakes 00:22:56.660 --> 00:22:59.579 everywhere. How is that for you? Like, give me 00:22:59.579 --> 00:23:02.539 the creepiest thing ever. And they slide in, 00:23:02.680 --> 00:23:04.940 and then they're tense, and everywhere they go, 00:23:05.079 --> 00:23:07.039 and people are getting bitten by it. And there's 00:23:07.039 --> 00:23:09.940 speculation that the effects of the snake would 00:23:09.940 --> 00:23:12.519 actually create a fire feeling, and fevers would 00:23:12.519 --> 00:23:14.900 come over, and many were dying because these 00:23:14.900 --> 00:23:19.750 snakes were biting them. Who caused that? God 00:23:19.750 --> 00:23:26.529 did. And so you get this picture that God was 00:23:26.529 --> 00:23:29.430 bringing this to them. Can you just picture what 00:23:29.430 --> 00:23:31.529 that must have been like with all these poisonous, 00:23:31.569 --> 00:23:35.289 venomous snakes everywhere? God's discipline 00:23:35.289 --> 00:23:42.289 had its intended effect, though. See, God needed 00:23:42.289 --> 00:23:45.390 to spank them. That's kind of what was happening. 00:23:46.160 --> 00:23:50.759 To get their attention, to say, hey, get back 00:23:50.759 --> 00:23:53.519 to where you belong. And so what did they do? 00:23:53.640 --> 00:23:57.319 They repented. So God gave them a remedy. Look 00:23:57.319 --> 00:24:02.940 at what verse 7 says of Numbers chapter 21. The 00:24:02.940 --> 00:24:06.940 people then came to Moses and said, we have sinned 00:24:06.940 --> 00:24:10.180 by speaking against the Lord and against you. 00:24:10.299 --> 00:24:13.420 Now that's repentance right there. Like he just. 00:24:14.660 --> 00:24:21.799 Oh, we've done it. So, intercede with the Lord 00:24:21.799 --> 00:24:24.660 so that he goes to Moses and they said, intercede 00:24:24.660 --> 00:24:26.900 with the Lord so that he will take the snakes 00:24:26.900 --> 00:24:30.599 away from us. Then Moses interceded for the people. 00:24:30.799 --> 00:24:35.339 Then God said to Moses, take a snake image and 00:24:35.339 --> 00:24:38.559 mount it on a pole. And when everyone has been, 00:24:38.720 --> 00:24:43.579 when anyone who has been bitten looks at it, 00:24:43.950 --> 00:24:49.670 he will recover. So Moses made a bronze snake 00:24:49.670 --> 00:24:54.109 and mounted it on a pole, and when everyone who 00:24:54.109 --> 00:24:58.029 was bitten and had looked upon the bronze snake, 00:24:58.289 --> 00:25:03.650 he recovered. That was God's remedy. Okay? Here's 00:25:03.650 --> 00:25:06.369 this weird snake thing, and he puts it on his 00:25:06.369 --> 00:25:09.589 toes. All right, you sick? Look at it. Look at 00:25:09.589 --> 00:25:13.250 it. And they go, look at it. And they were healed. 00:25:15.180 --> 00:25:20.180 So after reminding Nicodemus of this story, Jesus 00:25:20.180 --> 00:25:25.980 says, just like that bronze snake, that's me. 00:25:27.599 --> 00:25:33.339 That's me. Just like in Numbers, we have been 00:25:33.339 --> 00:25:37.640 snake bitten. We have venomous poison in our 00:25:37.640 --> 00:25:42.619 veins. Sin is in us. And we are... all sinners 00:25:42.619 --> 00:25:45.900 in need of saving. We are all snake -bitten. 00:25:47.380 --> 00:25:53.299 And in verse 14, chapter 3, it says, just as 00:25:53.299 --> 00:25:56.099 Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, 00:25:56.440 --> 00:26:01.559 so the Son of Man must be lifted up. What is 00:26:01.559 --> 00:26:04.920 he pointing at? Pointing at his crucifixion. 00:26:07.420 --> 00:26:11.460 Jesus saying, I am the one. Who will be lifted 00:26:11.460 --> 00:26:15.619 up on the cross? God is going to make me, who 00:26:15.619 --> 00:26:21.859 has no sin, to be sin, and anyone who believes 00:26:21.859 --> 00:26:25.960 in me, I will take their sin, their poison, and 00:26:25.960 --> 00:26:31.220 heal them. It's a beautiful story. This is the 00:26:31.220 --> 00:26:34.980 gospel right there. Then he says in verse 15, 00:26:35.220 --> 00:26:40.299 so that everyone who believes in him. We'll have 00:26:40.299 --> 00:26:44.420 eternal life. The only way to get to Jesus is 00:26:44.420 --> 00:26:48.599 to look at Jesus. The only way to get to heaven. 00:26:48.680 --> 00:26:52.799 There is not ultimate roads. There is other religions 00:26:52.799 --> 00:26:56.680 and they do not lead to heaven. Only Jesus is 00:26:56.680 --> 00:27:00.599 the answer. Only Jesus. And our eyes must be 00:27:00.599 --> 00:27:04.480 on him. Without Jesus, without the cross, there 00:27:04.480 --> 00:27:13.839 is no life. We die. We, because of our sin, have 00:27:13.839 --> 00:27:16.839 all been bitten and death and destruction are 00:27:16.839 --> 00:27:19.579 waiting. And it's true for you if you're not 00:27:19.579 --> 00:27:21.799 in Christ. And it's true for every one of our 00:27:21.799 --> 00:27:26.039 friends that don't know Jesus. When I look at 00:27:26.039 --> 00:27:29.279 the kids I'm getting to coach right now, I said 00:27:29.279 --> 00:27:39.160 this week, broke my heart. They have to look 00:27:39.160 --> 00:27:45.940 at Jesus. Because what waits for them if they 00:27:45.940 --> 00:27:54.599 don't is death and destruction. Looking at Jesus, 00:27:54.880 --> 00:27:58.980 putting your faith in Jesus is the cure. That's 00:27:58.980 --> 00:28:04.440 good news. There is hope. Now we get to the most 00:28:04.440 --> 00:28:09.740 famous verse in all the Bible. Verse 16. For 00:28:09.740 --> 00:28:15.170 God... loved the world in this way he gave his 00:28:15.170 --> 00:28:20.150 one and only son so that everyone who believes 00:28:20.150 --> 00:28:24.150 in him will not perish but have eternal life 00:28:24.150 --> 00:28:29.349 now john 3 16 shows us the greatness of god's 00:28:29.349 --> 00:28:33.170 love we sang about it today the greatness of 00:28:33.170 --> 00:28:36.329 love and how how extreme it is that's why it's 00:28:36.329 --> 00:28:40.359 the favorite verse Most of us memorized it, though, 00:28:40.380 --> 00:28:42.440 a little different, didn't we? You're looking 00:28:42.440 --> 00:28:43.960 at that version and going, that's not the way 00:28:43.960 --> 00:28:48.240 I memorized it. Most of us memorized it by using 00:28:48.240 --> 00:28:54.539 the word, so. For God so loved the world. Actually, 00:28:54.640 --> 00:28:58.519 this part of the verse can be understood two 00:28:58.519 --> 00:29:00.259 different ways, two ways. It's kind of complete. 00:29:01.180 --> 00:29:06.380 It can mean God really, really, really, really, 00:29:06.380 --> 00:29:09.579 really loves us. That's kind of what it means. 00:29:09.680 --> 00:29:14.279 He so loved us. He so loved us. It's mind -blowing 00:29:14.279 --> 00:29:18.380 how much he loved us. But then it reveals also 00:29:18.380 --> 00:29:22.339 the intensity of God's love. It's just how massive 00:29:22.339 --> 00:29:25.279 and intense it is. But the CSB version that we're 00:29:25.279 --> 00:29:28.000 using uses the other angle, which is right, and 00:29:28.000 --> 00:29:32.839 says, in this way. Meaning, it's a demonstration 00:29:32.839 --> 00:29:36.519 of his love. So God not only really, really, 00:29:36.519 --> 00:29:39.500 really loves you, but he demonstrated that his 00:29:39.500 --> 00:29:44.259 love for you in this way. The proof of God's 00:29:44.259 --> 00:29:49.839 love for you is that he acted on it. Church, 00:29:50.640 --> 00:29:55.339 look at me. I love you. I've thought about this 00:29:55.339 --> 00:29:59.519 a lot this week. I really love you. God has called 00:29:59.519 --> 00:30:02.230 me to help start this church. I dreamed about 00:30:02.230 --> 00:30:04.250 this church because God placed it in my heart 00:30:04.250 --> 00:30:08.750 to see people come to Jesus. And God changed 00:30:08.750 --> 00:30:10.690 my heart. And as you walk through the door and 00:30:10.690 --> 00:30:12.470 you're part of this community, I really love 00:30:12.470 --> 00:30:18.829 you. I do. And I have two sons, Isaac and Andrew. 00:30:19.529 --> 00:30:21.509 And I'll tell you this. I heard this the other 00:30:21.509 --> 00:30:22.809 day and I was like, this is true for me too. 00:30:22.990 --> 00:30:27.730 I would not sacrifice them for you. I love you, 00:30:27.769 --> 00:30:33.699 but I would not sacrifice my boys for you. But 00:30:33.699 --> 00:30:36.880 because God loved you so much, he sacrificed 00:30:36.880 --> 00:30:44.119 his one and only son. This is crazy, undeserved 00:30:44.119 --> 00:30:49.579 love that only he has. I would do a lot for you, 00:30:49.640 --> 00:30:54.140 but I would not give you my sons. I'm just not 00:30:54.140 --> 00:30:57.440 that lovable. I do have a gooey center, though, 00:30:57.480 --> 00:31:01.769 just so you know. So what do you do with a love 00:31:01.769 --> 00:31:05.829 like that? What do you do with a love like that? 00:31:06.750 --> 00:31:10.789 For God so loved the world. That God in this 00:31:10.789 --> 00:31:13.130 way loved the world. What do you do, church, 00:31:13.150 --> 00:31:22.390 with a love like that? You believe. You believe. 00:31:22.769 --> 00:31:28.490 You surrender to Jesus. You hope in Jesus. He 00:31:28.490 --> 00:31:33.400 is life to you. Or he's not. That's your choice. 00:31:34.039 --> 00:31:36.000 That's what John is all about. He's like saying, 00:31:36.079 --> 00:31:41.039 look, you see how big he is? Is your life rotating 00:31:41.039 --> 00:31:44.220 around him? Because either you are or you're 00:31:44.220 --> 00:31:46.579 not. There's no in between. Don't play the game. 00:31:49.740 --> 00:31:55.259 Surrender all to this kind of love. So when he's 00:31:55.259 --> 00:31:57.960 talking about eternal life there, see, we'll 00:31:57.960 --> 00:32:00.880 have eternal life. John is... is going to explain 00:32:00.880 --> 00:32:04.559 later in John chapter 17 that eternal life is 00:32:04.559 --> 00:32:10.880 first and foremost. You get him. That's what 00:32:10.880 --> 00:32:12.460 it actually is. That's what he says in John chapter 00:32:12.460 --> 00:32:16.779 17. Yeah, you get to be in paradise forever. 00:32:17.799 --> 00:32:20.380 But at the center of that, even better than that, 00:32:20.440 --> 00:32:25.119 is you get him. I think that's part that's missing 00:32:25.119 --> 00:32:28.980 with a lot of our conversions. Is that we think 00:32:28.980 --> 00:32:31.119 about, I ask Jesus in my heart, I'm going to 00:32:31.119 --> 00:32:36.200 heaven. But we forget the fact that what we actually 00:32:36.200 --> 00:32:39.519 get is Jesus. And so we run around, maybe in 00:32:39.519 --> 00:32:41.220 our faith as we're running around thinking like 00:32:41.220 --> 00:32:47.019 I get out of hell free card. But your personal 00:32:47.019 --> 00:32:49.460 intimate relationship with Jesus just isn't there. 00:32:50.960 --> 00:32:56.079 Because what we get is Jesus. Jesus comes to 00:32:56.079 --> 00:32:59.519 us. Remember I said it's not transactional, but 00:32:59.519 --> 00:33:02.140 it's relational. It's meant to be relational. 00:33:02.220 --> 00:33:08.160 Is your experience with Jesus transactional or 00:33:08.160 --> 00:33:13.319 is it relational? When he's talking about eternity 00:33:13.319 --> 00:33:16.039 here, when you get eternal life, he's talking 00:33:16.039 --> 00:33:24.980 about you get Jesus. He is what you are created 00:33:24.980 --> 00:33:29.309 for. He is the fuel you are meant to live on. 00:33:30.390 --> 00:33:33.329 Jesus is. So this isn't just for somebody who 00:33:33.329 --> 00:33:35.069 doesn't know Jesus yet this morning. Although 00:33:35.069 --> 00:33:37.410 I hope if you don't know Jesus this morning, 00:33:37.430 --> 00:33:39.549 you're hearing how much Jesus loves you. But 00:33:39.549 --> 00:33:42.009 for those in the room that do know Jesus, he 00:33:42.009 --> 00:33:46.529 is the fuel upon which you live your life. That 00:33:46.529 --> 00:33:51.069 you live on. You need him. Now in verse 17, we 00:33:51.069 --> 00:33:55.730 see the reason Jesus came. For God did not send 00:33:55.730 --> 00:33:58.410 his son into the world to condemn the world, 00:33:58.490 --> 00:34:03.730 but to save the world through him. Jesus did 00:34:03.730 --> 00:34:06.970 not show up to condemn you. You were already 00:34:06.970 --> 00:34:14.210 condemned. Sin did that. Your sin condemned you. 00:34:14.969 --> 00:34:18.489 My sin condemned me. And we're all guilty of 00:34:18.489 --> 00:34:25.440 sin, aren't we? Jesus came to save you. Jesus 00:34:25.440 --> 00:34:31.460 came to save you. Here's what we do. Look at 00:34:31.460 --> 00:34:36.300 verse 18. And anyone who believes in him is not 00:34:36.300 --> 00:34:40.940 condemned, but anyone who does not believe is 00:34:40.940 --> 00:34:45.579 already condemned. Because he has not believed 00:34:45.579 --> 00:34:51.420 in the name of the one and only Son of God. This 00:34:51.420 --> 00:34:58.340 is the judgment. The light has come into the 00:34:58.340 --> 00:35:01.300 world and people love darkness rather than light 00:35:01.300 --> 00:35:06.260 because their deeds were evil. For everyone who 00:35:06.260 --> 00:35:14.079 does evil hates the light and avoids it so that 00:35:14.079 --> 00:35:20.840 his deeds may not be exposed. I'm going to pause 00:35:20.840 --> 00:35:25.639 right there. Isn't it crazy when you sin, you 00:35:25.639 --> 00:35:29.460 try to cover it? Push it away into the dark. 00:35:30.260 --> 00:35:31.539 That's what he's talking about here. Because 00:35:31.539 --> 00:35:37.219 when you're a follower of Jesus, you feel the 00:35:37.219 --> 00:35:42.059 shame of that, like of sin. But when you just 00:35:42.059 --> 00:35:43.840 live without Jesus at the center, it's like, 00:35:43.920 --> 00:35:46.199 that's good, it's all right. But I'm just going 00:35:46.199 --> 00:35:48.780 to keep it over here in the dark. And he keeps 00:35:48.780 --> 00:35:51.300 going. He says, but anyone who lives by the truth 00:35:51.300 --> 00:35:54.989 comes to the light. so that his works may be 00:35:54.989 --> 00:35:59.010 shown to be accomplished by God. What does that 00:35:59.010 --> 00:36:00.889 mean? That means basically he says, look, take 00:36:00.889 --> 00:36:07.269 your junk and you bring it to Jesus. Light. And 00:36:07.269 --> 00:36:11.550 it's dealt with by God. So as we close, my question 00:36:11.550 --> 00:36:14.170 is this. Band, you guys can come up. But my question 00:36:14.170 --> 00:36:18.389 is this. What do you do with a God who loves 00:36:18.389 --> 00:36:22.449 you so much? What do you do with a God who loves 00:36:22.449 --> 00:36:27.949 you so much? The way we live our life oftentimes 00:36:27.949 --> 00:36:30.829 is to live our life with ourselves at the center. 00:36:31.690 --> 00:36:33.670 And we can actually look at what God's done for 00:36:33.670 --> 00:36:35.389 us and we can go, oh yeah, it's all about me 00:36:35.389 --> 00:36:41.070 still. But what do you do when a God who's, it's 00:36:41.070 --> 00:36:44.030 undeserved grace. I have a girl on my throwing 00:36:44.030 --> 00:36:45.530 team whose name is Grace and I tell her every 00:36:45.530 --> 00:36:51.219 day what her name means. Undeserved favor. Getting 00:36:51.219 --> 00:36:54.840 something you don't deserve. What do you do with 00:36:54.840 --> 00:37:03.300 that? John 1 verses 4 and 5 says this. In him, 00:37:03.340 --> 00:37:07.219 as Jesus, was life. And that life was the light 00:37:07.219 --> 00:37:10.539 of men. And that light shines in the darkness. 00:37:11.039 --> 00:37:16.420 And yet the darkness did not overcome it. If 00:37:16.420 --> 00:37:18.300 you are not yet a follower of Jesus and you're 00:37:18.300 --> 00:37:23.679 here this morning. God loves you. Today he is 00:37:23.679 --> 00:37:26.780 calling you out of darkness and into his light. 00:37:27.920 --> 00:37:29.800 And so my encouragement today is right where 00:37:29.800 --> 00:37:33.119 you sit today is just look to Jesus. Confess 00:37:33.119 --> 00:37:36.139 that you're a sinner. Confess that you need him. 00:37:36.199 --> 00:37:37.659 You don't have to understand everything about 00:37:37.659 --> 00:37:44.579 him. But look to him because he's the cure. He's 00:37:44.579 --> 00:37:50.670 the cure. If you're already a follower of Jesus, 00:37:50.769 --> 00:37:54.550 remember that your eyes need to be on Jesus. 00:37:57.130 --> 00:38:00.530 Guard yourself from complaining and from selfishness. 00:38:02.389 --> 00:38:08.730 Remember that you get Jesus himself. That's what 00:38:08.730 --> 00:38:12.050 it means. Like, you get him. You have received 00:38:12.050 --> 00:38:20.699 grace upon grace upon grace upon grace. So my 00:38:20.699 --> 00:38:22.960 encouragement today is reflect on that Jesus. 00:38:23.880 --> 00:38:28.099 Make that the focal point of your life. That's 00:38:28.099 --> 00:38:29.880 what I need to do. It's what you need to do. 00:38:31.900 --> 00:38:35.019 You know, the Bible uses this term, calls the 00:38:35.019 --> 00:38:41.340 church sheep. And that's not a cuddly term. Sheep 00:38:41.340 --> 00:38:44.880 are dumb. Sheep forget. And I was telling, so 00:38:44.880 --> 00:38:46.800 we were talking about this today before the service. 00:38:46.860 --> 00:38:48.940 I was talking to somebody about, who was I talking 00:38:48.940 --> 00:38:51.510 to? We talked about, The sheep have this tendency. 00:38:51.570 --> 00:38:55.730 Oh, yeah. John and I were talking. He was like, 00:38:55.809 --> 00:38:59.170 there's this video of this sheep. You pull them 00:38:59.170 --> 00:39:01.429 out of the trench. He sets them up there. He's 00:39:01.429 --> 00:39:02.809 stuck in this trench. You pull them out and you 00:39:02.809 --> 00:39:07.170 go right back in. Over and over. They're just 00:39:07.170 --> 00:39:12.010 not that bright. And then he says, oh, yeah, 00:39:12.050 --> 00:39:14.730 I'm going to bring sheep in to shepherd my sheep. 00:39:16.170 --> 00:39:22.780 Bad idea. You and I, we are so prone to fall 00:39:22.780 --> 00:39:28.059 into the ditch. And we have to get that through 00:39:28.059 --> 00:39:32.039 our little sheep skulls that our job is to get 00:39:32.039 --> 00:39:35.880 our eyes on Jesus and to stay there because we 00:39:35.880 --> 00:39:38.960 are prone to grumble. We are prone to complain. 00:39:39.320 --> 00:39:43.039 We are prone to sin. Go back to the same old 00:39:43.039 --> 00:39:45.099 patterns over and over just like the children 00:39:45.099 --> 00:39:50.260 of Israel did. But it's different. We have a 00:39:50.260 --> 00:39:54.639 Savior. And we can look to the Savior. I'll close 00:39:54.639 --> 00:39:59.539 with this one thought. My wife is reading chronologically 00:39:59.539 --> 00:40:01.579 through the Bible and we had a conversation yesterday. 00:40:02.219 --> 00:40:04.340 And she was talking about reading through the 00:40:04.340 --> 00:40:07.400 Kings and how depressing it is because they just 00:40:07.400 --> 00:40:10.960 do the same cycle over and over. And I said, 00:40:10.960 --> 00:40:15.039 well, and how they don't end well. They came 00:40:15.039 --> 00:40:16.579 to live their life and pitter out and make stupid 00:40:16.579 --> 00:40:19.940 decisions over and over. And I said to her, I 00:40:19.940 --> 00:40:22.820 said, yeah, that's true. But look at how the 00:40:22.820 --> 00:40:26.260 disciples ended their life. They all ended well. 00:40:27.900 --> 00:40:30.679 The 11 that remained after Jesus rose from the 00:40:30.679 --> 00:40:34.599 dead all ended well. Why? Because of the gospel. 00:40:35.579 --> 00:40:37.820 Because they have a savior and they have the 00:40:37.820 --> 00:40:39.599 empowering of the Holy Spirit and that's something 00:40:39.599 --> 00:40:42.000 different. And you and I get to cling to that. 00:40:43.210 --> 00:40:46.269 You go, okay, this Jesus must be at the center. 00:40:46.349 --> 00:40:49.750 So my encouragement to us today is no matter 00:40:49.750 --> 00:40:51.130 what we're going through, no matter where we're 00:40:51.130 --> 00:40:54.829 at, but get our eyes back on our Savior because 00:40:54.829 --> 00:41:06.070 he so loved you. Pray. I think first and foremost, 00:41:06.130 --> 00:41:10.670 Lord, I need these exact words that we just talked 00:41:10.670 --> 00:41:13.880 about. I need them in my own life. That I need 00:41:13.880 --> 00:41:18.900 to continue to get my eyes off myself and off 00:41:18.900 --> 00:41:23.679 my selfishness and onto my Savior. Thank you 00:41:23.679 --> 00:41:28.699 that in being born again, I don't just get a 00:41:28.699 --> 00:41:33.219 ticket to heaven. I get you. I get you, Jesus. 00:41:34.340 --> 00:41:36.659 And so we run to you. We fix our eyes on you 00:41:36.659 --> 00:41:40.840 today. And help us, Lord, in our time of response. 00:41:42.079 --> 00:41:44.480 If we in this church need to repent, that we 00:41:44.480 --> 00:41:48.800 will do that today. That we will turn from our 00:41:48.800 --> 00:41:52.940 sin in our own ways and run to you in your ways.