WEBVTT 00:00:01.159 --> 00:00:05.400 Okay, have a seat. Hey, good morning. Isn't that 00:00:05.400 --> 00:00:07.139 going to be a fun text to go through? You guys 00:00:07.139 --> 00:00:10.740 ready? I'm going to eat some flesh, and yeah, 00:00:10.800 --> 00:00:13.060 we'll get through that in a minute. Hey, glad 00:00:13.060 --> 00:00:15.500 you're here. If you're new with us, we're serious 00:00:15.500 --> 00:00:17.460 about those Bibles in the back. Feel free to 00:00:17.460 --> 00:00:19.199 take one of those. There's a place for you to 00:00:19.199 --> 00:00:22.920 write in the sides. Yeah, so that's for you. 00:00:23.039 --> 00:00:24.980 Don't be afraid to jump up and grab one if you 00:00:24.980 --> 00:00:31.920 don't have it. At Radiant, from the very beginning 00:00:31.920 --> 00:00:36.579 of our church, we have desired and hoped that 00:00:36.579 --> 00:00:45.179 you wouldn't just come here, slide in, slide 00:00:45.179 --> 00:00:47.640 out, that you wouldn't just come here and kind 00:00:47.640 --> 00:00:51.079 of put on a false face, act like you got it all 00:00:51.079 --> 00:00:55.259 together. But what we're really hoping for is 00:00:55.259 --> 00:00:59.280 authenticity. We want you to be real. and honest 00:00:59.280 --> 00:01:05.900 with where you're at, and honest with God. Because 00:01:05.900 --> 00:01:09.000 here's what I know about doing this job for a 00:01:09.000 --> 00:01:11.019 lot of years. We're all messed up, including 00:01:11.019 --> 00:01:14.760 me, right? And we're all in desperate need of 00:01:14.760 --> 00:01:19.219 a Savior. And so one of the things we're inviting 00:01:19.219 --> 00:01:23.099 you to as a church is to get your eyes off yourself 00:01:23.099 --> 00:01:25.620 maybe for a minute and to begin to get your eyes 00:01:25.620 --> 00:01:29.739 on Jesus. to come to Jesus, and that we believe 00:01:29.739 --> 00:01:34.739 that as your vertical relationship with God deepens 00:01:34.739 --> 00:01:37.159 and grows, it will affect the horizontal relationship 00:01:37.159 --> 00:01:39.659 you have with each other. And so we call ourselves 00:01:39.659 --> 00:01:43.439 a family because God has called us to that. We 00:01:43.439 --> 00:01:46.299 call ourselves servants because Jesus served 00:01:46.299 --> 00:01:49.900 and modeled it for us. We call ourselves missionaries 00:01:49.900 --> 00:01:56.019 because he's sending us. to be a radiant reflection 00:01:56.019 --> 00:01:59.200 of him so we're not here to do a show for you 00:01:59.200 --> 00:02:01.099 we're not here to and we say this all the time 00:02:01.099 --> 00:02:04.659 in our church that the the church is not sunday 00:02:04.659 --> 00:02:06.420 morning the church is all week long you're the 00:02:06.420 --> 00:02:08.780 church we want to live that out we do gather 00:02:08.780 --> 00:02:11.719 together every week but we when we gather we 00:02:11.719 --> 00:02:16.139 want you to come and be real and be honest with 00:02:16.139 --> 00:02:20.520 you starting with yourself and your how you see 00:02:20.520 --> 00:02:23.669 yourself A lot of times what I've experienced 00:02:23.669 --> 00:02:26.650 in churches and been a part of and struggled 00:02:26.650 --> 00:02:30.050 with myself is that you walk into the church 00:02:30.050 --> 00:02:31.490 and you're like, oh, I better get my best stuff 00:02:31.490 --> 00:02:35.689 on. I better look really good. Better that nobody 00:02:35.689 --> 00:02:38.610 know what's going on behind the walls. And that 00:02:38.610 --> 00:02:41.370 just doesn't work. And so we want to invite you 00:02:41.370 --> 00:02:44.310 to be real before the Lord. And so what I'm going 00:02:44.310 --> 00:02:46.090 to do is we're going to walk verse by verse. 00:02:46.150 --> 00:02:47.810 Just the way we roll most of the time around 00:02:47.810 --> 00:02:49.949 here is just walk right through God's word. He 00:02:49.949 --> 00:02:52.199 sets the outline. And we're going to pray and 00:02:52.199 --> 00:02:55.060 ask the Holy Spirit to do a work in our hearts. 00:02:55.159 --> 00:02:57.439 And I don't know where you're at. I know that 00:02:57.439 --> 00:02:58.840 every one of us in this room are in different 00:02:58.840 --> 00:03:03.180 places, including me. And so we need Jesus to 00:03:03.180 --> 00:03:06.240 meet us. We need the Spirit of God to work in 00:03:06.240 --> 00:03:08.379 our hearts. Will you guys pray with me right 00:03:08.379 --> 00:03:11.259 now? I don't know where you're at, but maybe 00:03:11.259 --> 00:03:13.979 you just need to open your hands up before the 00:03:13.979 --> 00:03:16.259 Lord and say, God, I just come before you and 00:03:16.259 --> 00:03:19.000 I give all my stuff to you right now. So let's 00:03:19.000 --> 00:03:24.939 pray. Lord, we come before you as just, if we're 00:03:24.939 --> 00:03:31.080 really honest, really broken, confused many times, 00:03:31.199 --> 00:03:34.039 trying to figure out this world, figure out this 00:03:34.039 --> 00:03:37.300 life that we live. And so we come before you 00:03:37.300 --> 00:03:40.039 because we do know that you are the Savior of 00:03:40.039 --> 00:03:43.479 the world. And you're calling us to make you 00:03:43.479 --> 00:03:48.569 Lord over everything. And so we just ask that 00:03:48.569 --> 00:03:51.810 you help us by your spirit to do that, but also 00:03:51.810 --> 00:03:55.669 help us to understand even today at a deeper 00:03:55.669 --> 00:04:00.830 level what it means to be your follower. Love 00:04:00.830 --> 00:04:05.449 you, Jesus. Amen. All right. You can turn to 00:04:05.449 --> 00:04:06.969 John chapter 6. We're going to be there. But 00:04:06.969 --> 00:04:09.710 this is going on our third week in John chapter 00:04:09.710 --> 00:04:13.139 6. I could easily do four weeks. I'm not. This 00:04:13.139 --> 00:04:15.599 is going to wrap it up this week. There is so 00:04:15.599 --> 00:04:20.000 much in here. And if you love to study your Bible, 00:04:20.079 --> 00:04:22.779 you're going to say, oh, he missed things because 00:04:22.779 --> 00:04:25.920 there's so much in here. You remember when we 00:04:25.920 --> 00:04:27.779 went through Romans and every week in Romans, 00:04:27.899 --> 00:04:29.699 I kept saying, this is so difficult. There's 00:04:29.699 --> 00:04:32.819 so much packed in a small amount. John 6 is that 00:04:32.819 --> 00:04:34.899 way, has been that way. It felt like I was studying 00:04:34.899 --> 00:04:38.500 Romans all over. But John 6 is incredibly important. 00:04:39.399 --> 00:04:44.800 And what goes on in John 6 is the only part that 00:04:44.800 --> 00:04:47.620 is mentioned, other than the crucifixion and 00:04:47.620 --> 00:04:50.160 resurrection of Jesus, in all four Gospels, because 00:04:50.160 --> 00:04:54.819 it's that big a deal. And so, before we jump 00:04:54.819 --> 00:05:00.519 into the conclusion of John 6, I would like us 00:05:00.519 --> 00:05:02.600 to consider a few questions. I'm not going to 00:05:02.600 --> 00:05:04.620 ask you this morning to respond. I want you just 00:05:04.620 --> 00:05:07.579 to consider this question as we go through. What 00:05:07.579 --> 00:05:11.680 is... a true disciple of Jesus. That's a language 00:05:11.680 --> 00:05:13.540 that the Bible uses all the time. It calls us 00:05:13.540 --> 00:05:16.459 disciples. Be my disciple, right? It's not a 00:05:16.459 --> 00:05:20.160 language you and I use very often, but what is 00:05:20.160 --> 00:05:23.839 a true, not a, what is a true disciple of Jesus? 00:05:23.959 --> 00:05:28.220 What is at the core of being a true disciple 00:05:28.220 --> 00:05:32.819 of Jesus? Well, we discover in the book of John 00:05:32.819 --> 00:05:39.410 that a disciple is someone who believes in Jesus 00:05:39.410 --> 00:05:42.509 and continues to follow him. That's a pretty 00:05:42.509 --> 00:05:45.569 critical point. Someone who believes in Jesus 00:05:45.569 --> 00:05:49.110 and continues to follow him. So at the core of 00:05:49.110 --> 00:05:53.790 a true disciple of Jesus isn't just someone who 00:05:53.790 --> 00:05:57.209 studies his teachings, but someone whose entire 00:05:57.209 --> 00:06:03.149 life is being reformed to mirror his character, 00:06:03.230 --> 00:06:05.689 his mission, and his heart. I'll say that one 00:06:05.689 --> 00:06:07.949 more time. It's really important to understand 00:06:07.949 --> 00:06:11.569 this. Someone who's a disciple of Jesus is someone 00:06:11.569 --> 00:06:16.949 whose entire life is being reformed. That means 00:06:16.949 --> 00:06:22.069 changed because we're all broken. Being reformed 00:06:22.069 --> 00:06:24.829 to mirror. We always say radiant reflections 00:06:24.829 --> 00:06:27.529 around here. You're a radiant reflection of Jesus. 00:06:27.649 --> 00:06:31.430 You're reformed to mirror his character, his 00:06:31.430 --> 00:06:36.220 mission, and his heart. So at the time of Jesus, 00:06:36.319 --> 00:06:39.399 a disciple wasn't just a student trying to pass 00:06:39.399 --> 00:06:43.279 a test. You're not going to UAA as a disciple. 00:06:43.279 --> 00:06:46.540 It's a very different concept. They lived with 00:06:46.540 --> 00:06:50.160 their rabbi, their teacher. They copied their 00:06:50.160 --> 00:06:54.079 exact way of life, mirrored it, followed him 00:06:54.079 --> 00:06:56.639 everywhere. We would kind of think that's weird 00:06:56.639 --> 00:06:58.639 and creepy today, but that's what a disciple 00:06:58.639 --> 00:07:04.550 did. Being a disciple would reshape your entire 00:07:04.550 --> 00:07:08.889 life. I was this way, and now that I'm following 00:07:08.889 --> 00:07:12.589 this teacher, this rabbi, I become like him. 00:07:12.810 --> 00:07:15.970 And in a sense, there was a whole new identity 00:07:15.970 --> 00:07:20.129 that was being formed. Jesus didn't leave the 00:07:20.129 --> 00:07:22.709 definition of being his disciple up for grabs. 00:07:22.709 --> 00:07:25.660 He constantly... It's coming back to what it 00:07:25.660 --> 00:07:28.699 means, which, by the way, applies to us today 00:07:28.699 --> 00:07:33.220 if you call yourself a Christian. He didn't miss 00:07:33.220 --> 00:07:35.079 any. Like, here's just a few of them, right? 00:07:35.220 --> 00:07:37.079 He lays a few of these out, just most of them 00:07:37.079 --> 00:07:40.459 in John chapter, in John. Look at what John 8, 00:07:40.500 --> 00:07:45.199 31 says. Then Jesus said to the Jews who had 00:07:45.199 --> 00:07:49.579 believed in him, if you continue or abide, is 00:07:49.579 --> 00:07:54.639 the word, in my word, you are my disciples. You 00:07:54.639 --> 00:07:57.519 don't just read the words. You soak in them. 00:07:57.660 --> 00:08:00.699 You live in them. You abide in the truth. That's 00:08:00.699 --> 00:08:06.139 what a disciple does. John 13, verse 34 and 35 00:08:06.139 --> 00:08:09.879 says this, I give you a new command. Love one 00:08:09.879 --> 00:08:13.420 another just as I have loved you. How are we 00:08:13.420 --> 00:08:16.360 to love one another? just as i have loved you 00:08:16.360 --> 00:08:19.139 jesus is talking to him you are also to love 00:08:19.139 --> 00:08:22.639 one another but by this i underline that if you 00:08:22.639 --> 00:08:25.480 have it in your bible by this everyone will know 00:08:25.480 --> 00:08:28.680 that you are my disciples if you love one another 00:08:28.680 --> 00:08:33.419 the sacrificial love of jesus begins to come 00:08:33.419 --> 00:08:36.460 out of you and it's showing on other people and 00:08:36.460 --> 00:08:39.379 it reflects it's it's all sudden goes from you 00:08:39.379 --> 00:08:43.610 that vertical affecting the horizontal John 15 00:08:43.610 --> 00:08:48.149 verse 8, my father is glorified by this, that 00:08:48.149 --> 00:08:51.809 you produce much fruit and prove to be my disciples. 00:08:52.029 --> 00:08:55.529 This means that you are being changed by Jesus 00:08:55.529 --> 00:09:00.429 to begin to reflect his love, his patience, his 00:09:00.429 --> 00:09:03.190 kindness, the fruits of the spirit, right? We 00:09:03.190 --> 00:09:05.450 learn about in the Bible, the fruits of your 00:09:05.450 --> 00:09:08.789 life begin to prove that you are a disciple of 00:09:08.789 --> 00:09:12.509 Jesus. If there's no fruit in your life, You 00:09:12.509 --> 00:09:16.090 may not be a follower of Jesus. That's what he's 00:09:16.090 --> 00:09:17.830 saying. There's fruit. It's going to come out 00:09:17.830 --> 00:09:22.269 of you. And that's to really pause to ask the 00:09:22.269 --> 00:09:28.269 question, like, wow, how's my life? In Luke chapter 00:09:28.269 --> 00:09:33.190 9, verse 23, he says this, then he said to them 00:09:33.190 --> 00:09:36.409 all, that's Jesus, if any of you wants to follow 00:09:36.409 --> 00:09:38.990 after, or that's, if anyone wants to be my disciple, 00:09:39.070 --> 00:09:42.629 if anyone wants to follow after me, Let him deny 00:09:42.629 --> 00:09:46.490 himself, take up his cross daily, and follow 00:09:46.490 --> 00:09:51.669 me. For a disciple of Jesus, it is a daily surrender 00:09:51.669 --> 00:09:56.549 to him. It means putting Jesus' agenda above 00:09:56.549 --> 00:10:00.610 your own ego, above your own comfort, every single 00:10:00.610 --> 00:10:08.049 day. When you become a disciple of Jesus, your 00:10:08.049 --> 00:10:12.159 identity shifts. This is the whole picture of 00:10:12.159 --> 00:10:14.779 baptism, right? Part of the picture of baptism 00:10:14.779 --> 00:10:16.559 is you go into the water, which we're going to 00:10:16.559 --> 00:10:19.960 do on Saturday for many of you in this room, 00:10:20.019 --> 00:10:22.480 but it's a picture of going into the water saying, 00:10:22.659 --> 00:10:25.840 I identify with Christ's death, burial, what 00:10:25.840 --> 00:10:28.299 he did for me, and as I come up out of the water, 00:10:28.419 --> 00:10:31.639 his resurrection, but in coming out of that water, 00:10:31.700 --> 00:10:35.179 I have a new identity in Christ. The old is gone, 00:10:35.259 --> 00:10:39.950 the new has come, the Bible says. It's... It's 00:10:39.950 --> 00:10:44.250 this whole identity shifts from what you do to 00:10:44.250 --> 00:10:48.669 whose you are. What you do many times is how 00:10:48.669 --> 00:10:52.889 we get our identity in this world. But being 00:10:52.889 --> 00:10:55.490 a Christian means it shifts from what you do 00:10:55.490 --> 00:11:00.190 to whose you are. It's an identity based on a 00:11:00.190 --> 00:11:05.169 relationship with Jesus. So Paul says this in 00:11:05.169 --> 00:11:07.330 Galatians 2 .20. I know we'll get to our text 00:11:07.330 --> 00:11:11.059 in a second. He says this, I have been crucified 00:11:11.059 --> 00:11:15.419 with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ 00:11:15.419 --> 00:11:20.179 lives in me. That's the difference. What's it 00:11:20.179 --> 00:11:22.919 mean to be a disciple is that Christ lives within 00:11:22.919 --> 00:11:27.340 you and it changes everything about you, including 00:11:27.340 --> 00:11:30.539 whose you are. So warning, as we jump into six, 00:11:30.639 --> 00:11:32.799 and this is a warning, like I even put in my 00:11:32.799 --> 00:11:34.899 notes, I put warning and I put red around it 00:11:34.899 --> 00:11:38.279 because this is a really big warning. As we jump 00:11:38.279 --> 00:11:42.899 into John 6 today, Jesus tells his disciples, 00:11:43.120 --> 00:11:46.139 what he's going to tell his disciples is really 00:11:46.139 --> 00:11:50.419 hard for them to get their heads around. And 00:11:50.419 --> 00:11:53.980 it very well may be very hard for us. But one 00:11:53.980 --> 00:11:56.120 of the things that I've committed to as a church 00:11:56.120 --> 00:11:58.320 is that there are texts in the scripture that 00:11:58.320 --> 00:12:03.620 are not fun to teach. They're hard. And we're 00:12:03.620 --> 00:12:05.019 not going to miss them. We're going to go right 00:12:05.019 --> 00:12:07.159 through them. And this is one of those texts 00:12:07.159 --> 00:12:09.259 that are a little more difficult. I might not 00:12:09.259 --> 00:12:11.899 want to spend time talking about eating flesh 00:12:11.899 --> 00:12:14.639 and drinking blood. It's just maybe another verse 00:12:14.639 --> 00:12:16.320 I would pick, okay? But we're going to work right 00:12:16.320 --> 00:12:20.080 through it because it's really important. So 00:12:20.080 --> 00:12:24.059 in these verses, Jesus is pointing out the difference 00:12:24.059 --> 00:12:30.059 between a true and a false disciple of Jesus. 00:12:30.240 --> 00:12:32.360 That's what's happening. He's pointing out a 00:12:32.360 --> 00:12:35.320 difference between... A true disciple and a false 00:12:35.320 --> 00:12:37.200 disciple. Okay? So we've talked about what a 00:12:37.200 --> 00:12:40.519 true disciple is. Let's look real briefly at 00:12:40.519 --> 00:12:44.419 a false disciple. A false disciple, another way 00:12:44.419 --> 00:12:47.039 of saying, somebody who thinks they're a follower 00:12:47.039 --> 00:12:51.799 of Jesus but really aren't. Somebody who's embraced 00:12:51.799 --> 00:12:55.940 some of Jesus but they're really not fully in. 00:12:56.159 --> 00:12:58.659 Okay? And the church is full of these, by the 00:12:58.659 --> 00:13:04.850 way. Church general. A false disciple is someone 00:13:04.850 --> 00:13:09.649 who comes to Jesus for reasons other than Jesus. 00:13:11.950 --> 00:13:15.289 You come to Jesus for reasons other than Jesus. 00:13:15.389 --> 00:13:19.370 You come to Jesus to get wealth, to get better, 00:13:19.450 --> 00:13:22.750 to feel well, sickness, whatever it is. You come 00:13:22.750 --> 00:13:26.389 to Jesus to succeed and to prosper. You come 00:13:26.389 --> 00:13:33.600 to Jesus for everything but him. The Bible is 00:13:33.600 --> 00:13:36.679 pretty clear on that, that that's a false disciple. 00:13:37.899 --> 00:13:39.919 So let's get into our text, and we'll see how 00:13:39.919 --> 00:13:44.639 Jesus deals with this question. So if you remember 00:13:44.639 --> 00:13:51.019 in verse 35, and by the way, if you've missed 00:13:51.019 --> 00:13:55.159 this series, we've recorded it twice. I usually 00:13:55.159 --> 00:13:58.080 don't say this very often. Man, it makes a whole 00:13:58.080 --> 00:13:59.860 lot more sense, this text we're about to do, 00:13:59.919 --> 00:14:02.399 if you would attract with the first part of all 00:14:02.399 --> 00:14:04.379 of chapter 6. So go back and listen to it, and 00:14:04.379 --> 00:14:08.379 it'll help you. But Jesus refers to himself as 00:14:08.379 --> 00:14:10.820 the bread of life in verse 35. Now look what 00:14:10.820 --> 00:14:14.139 he says, continues that thought in verse 51. 00:14:14.600 --> 00:14:17.720 Verse 51, he says this, I am the living bread 00:14:17.720 --> 00:14:21.379 that came down from heaven. If anyone eats this 00:14:21.379 --> 00:14:26.080 bread, he will live forever. The bread? that 00:14:26.080 --> 00:14:29.840 I will give for the life of the world is my flesh. 00:14:30.899 --> 00:14:34.220 And that the Jews argued amongst themselves, 00:14:34.320 --> 00:14:38.919 how can this man give us his flesh to eat? Okay, 00:14:39.000 --> 00:14:43.279 so the statement by Jesus is provoking this large 00:14:43.279 --> 00:14:46.279 group of disciples. And that's the way it's referred 00:14:46.279 --> 00:14:51.580 to. These are followers of Jesus. And it's provoked 00:14:51.580 --> 00:14:53.500 them to a place of confusion and controversy. 00:14:54.750 --> 00:14:56.889 Sometimes Jesus' teachings do that, don't they? 00:14:57.549 --> 00:15:00.889 But it's provoked them. They begin to argue amongst 00:15:00.889 --> 00:15:05.129 themselves. And then Jesus just doesn't try to 00:15:05.129 --> 00:15:07.149 defend it. He just jumps right in the middle 00:15:07.149 --> 00:15:09.470 and he takes it even further. Look what he says 00:15:09.470 --> 00:15:15.529 in verse 53. So Jesus said to them, truly I tell 00:15:15.529 --> 00:15:18.070 you, unless, underline that word by the way, 00:15:18.210 --> 00:15:29.899 unless you eat the flesh. The one who eats my 00:15:29.899 --> 00:15:33.759 flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and 00:15:33.759 --> 00:15:37.159 I will raise him up on the last day. Because 00:15:37.159 --> 00:15:41.100 my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink, 00:15:41.340 --> 00:15:44.620 the one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood 00:15:44.620 --> 00:15:48.620 remains in me, and I in him. Just as the living 00:15:48.620 --> 00:15:52.700 Father sent me, I live because of the Father. 00:15:53.899 --> 00:15:58.440 So the one who feeds on me will live because 00:15:58.440 --> 00:16:01.740 of me. This is the bread that's come down from 00:16:01.740 --> 00:16:05.919 heaven. It's not like the manna your ancestors 00:16:05.919 --> 00:16:10.159 ate and they died. The one who eats this bread 00:16:10.159 --> 00:16:15.360 will live forever. He said these things while 00:16:15.360 --> 00:16:17.799 he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum. 00:16:17.980 --> 00:16:24.450 All right. There's a powerful little word that 00:16:24.450 --> 00:16:27.230 you need to underline. It's in verse 53. It's 00:16:27.230 --> 00:16:31.509 this word, unless. Unless. What Jesus is doing 00:16:31.509 --> 00:16:35.649 in these really strange verses is he's drawing 00:16:35.649 --> 00:16:37.450 a line in the sand. You might want to call it 00:16:37.450 --> 00:16:39.129 that. He's drawing a line in the sand. He says, 00:16:39.210 --> 00:16:44.350 okay, you guys follow me. You guys say you're 00:16:44.350 --> 00:16:47.070 followers of me. I'm going to help you understand 00:16:47.070 --> 00:16:49.429 that. I'm going to draw a line in the sand for 00:16:49.429 --> 00:16:53.559 you to know what truth is. The conditions Jesus 00:16:53.559 --> 00:16:57.679 sets in front of these people, and he sets in 00:16:57.679 --> 00:17:01.200 front of us, he says, look, he says, you have 00:17:01.200 --> 00:17:07.019 to eat my flesh and drink my blood. What? He 00:17:07.019 --> 00:17:09.619 says in verse 53, you can look at that, that 00:17:09.619 --> 00:17:12.720 you might have biological life, like you might 00:17:12.720 --> 00:17:16.119 exist, but real life, eternal life, comes from 00:17:16.119 --> 00:17:20.259 eating his flesh and drinking his blood. Now, 00:17:20.279 --> 00:17:22.619 if that's not strange enough language from Jesus, 00:17:22.700 --> 00:17:25.319 he continues in verse 54, and then he says in 00:17:25.319 --> 00:17:30.700 verse 55 that his body is true food and his blood 00:17:30.700 --> 00:17:36.579 is true drink. 56, those who eat and drink are 00:17:36.579 --> 00:17:41.859 the ones who remain or abide in him. And he says, 00:17:41.880 --> 00:17:45.109 unlike the manna, like normal food, bread that 00:17:45.109 --> 00:17:47.789 I just fed the 5 ,000 with or the manna that 00:17:47.789 --> 00:17:51.349 came down from the sky, that kind of food, it 00:17:51.349 --> 00:17:55.009 doesn't work. It doesn't work. It doesn't give 00:17:55.009 --> 00:17:57.809 eternal life. It means we have a problem on our 00:17:57.809 --> 00:18:00.329 hands. How do you get eternal life? Well, he 00:18:00.329 --> 00:18:02.210 says you have to eat my flesh and drink my blood. 00:18:02.589 --> 00:18:08.210 Maybe to us this sounds pretty weird. Raise your 00:18:08.210 --> 00:18:10.269 hand if it sounds weird. It sounds really weird. 00:18:10.730 --> 00:18:12.329 I'm sorry, I'm the first one to raise my hand. 00:18:12.410 --> 00:18:14.670 It sounds really weird. to have this kind of 00:18:14.670 --> 00:18:18.789 language, all right? But to the Jewish ears of 00:18:18.789 --> 00:18:23.630 that time, it would have been radically, I mean, 00:18:23.650 --> 00:18:27.029 you take our weird, they'd be like, what? And 00:18:27.029 --> 00:18:30.430 here's why. See, the Mosaic law, what they believed 00:18:30.430 --> 00:18:35.490 in that time, prohibited them from eating flesh 00:18:35.490 --> 00:18:39.250 with blood in it. Like, no rare steaks. Cook 00:18:39.250 --> 00:18:42.940 it out. They couldn't even have a steak with 00:18:42.940 --> 00:18:45.539 a little dribble of blood in it because that 00:18:45.539 --> 00:18:48.960 was a no -no. And so to drink blood itself? Are 00:18:48.960 --> 00:18:51.480 you kidding me? So you've got to realize how 00:18:51.480 --> 00:18:55.220 absurd this would sound to them. This would just 00:18:55.220 --> 00:19:01.559 be off the charts. Leviticus 19, if you want 00:19:01.559 --> 00:19:03.940 to go look that up, it talks about that. Leviticus 00:19:03.940 --> 00:19:09.319 19, starting in 26. But in all of this, Jesus... 00:19:09.710 --> 00:19:14.329 He wasn't talking about literal eating. He's 00:19:14.329 --> 00:19:18.569 using a powerful, shocking metaphor for total 00:19:18.569 --> 00:19:23.289 internalization. Meaning, how do you get Jesus? 00:19:24.170 --> 00:19:30.069 How do you get him? This kind of eating or drinking 00:19:30.069 --> 00:19:36.849 means that Jesus is in us and we are in him. 00:19:37.440 --> 00:19:39.180 The Bible uses that term all the time, right? 00:19:39.240 --> 00:19:42.259 If you are in Christ. So he's using a very powerful 00:19:42.259 --> 00:19:45.559 metaphor to help us wrap our heads around this. 00:19:46.480 --> 00:19:50.099 So it's this picture of union with Christ so 00:19:50.099 --> 00:19:54.799 that his life counts for your broken jacked up 00:19:54.799 --> 00:19:57.700 life. His righteous life counts for your broken 00:19:57.700 --> 00:19:59.839 life. That's what he's talking about. There is 00:19:59.839 --> 00:20:04.400 no eternal life except in union with Christ. 00:20:04.519 --> 00:20:08.490 Every one of us has one thing. 100 % of us has 00:20:08.490 --> 00:20:10.950 one thing in common. We're all going to face 00:20:10.950 --> 00:20:18.470 death. We're all going to die. And if you want 00:20:18.470 --> 00:20:22.470 eternal life, there has to be, in Christ, there 00:20:22.470 --> 00:20:25.450 has to be union with Christ. And this is really 00:20:25.450 --> 00:20:28.450 important. And so John Piper says, one of the 00:20:28.450 --> 00:20:30.029 quotes he said I thought was interesting, he 00:20:30.029 --> 00:20:37.170 says, so the pervasive, so the pervasive offer 00:20:37.170 --> 00:20:40.009 of this chapter from beginning to end he's talking 00:20:40.009 --> 00:20:43.470 about chapter six anyone who has may have eternal 00:20:43.470 --> 00:20:47.849 life if they will receive jesus and trust in 00:20:47.849 --> 00:20:51.710 jesus and treasure jesus and be satisfied with 00:20:51.710 --> 00:20:57.329 all that god is for them in jesus meaning eat 00:20:57.329 --> 00:21:02.690 him consume him he is what you go to that's the 00:21:02.690 --> 00:21:05.559 metaphor that jesus is rolling with okay So one 00:21:05.559 --> 00:21:08.819 more thing that we need to understand before 00:21:08.819 --> 00:21:12.759 we move on to the response of the disciples is 00:21:12.759 --> 00:21:19.259 in verse 51, Jesus says, the bread that I will 00:21:19.259 --> 00:21:22.660 give for the life of the world. You see that? 00:21:22.960 --> 00:21:26.500 He says, is my flesh. And what does that mean? 00:21:26.599 --> 00:21:29.759 He's pointing to the cross of Christ. He's pointing 00:21:29.759 --> 00:21:32.539 to the cross that he's about ready to go to. 00:21:34.759 --> 00:21:39.259 He's referring to giving his flesh as a sacrifice 00:21:39.259 --> 00:21:43.200 for the whole world. He's talking about his flesh 00:21:43.200 --> 00:21:46.140 and his blood would be given as a substitution 00:21:46.140 --> 00:21:51.700 for you, for the whole world. So Jesus finishes 00:21:51.700 --> 00:21:56.380 speaking with, he just kind of begins to finish 00:21:56.380 --> 00:21:59.579 speaking with no further explanation. He lets 00:21:59.579 --> 00:22:02.039 it just kind of drop on him. Look what he says. 00:22:03.170 --> 00:22:05.630 He's not justifying like, hey, I told you all 00:22:05.630 --> 00:22:08.089 this metaphor. Let me explain all that to you. 00:22:08.690 --> 00:22:11.009 He doesn't. And I think it's important to understand 00:22:11.009 --> 00:22:13.289 that he just kind of drops it and they're like, 00:22:13.369 --> 00:22:16.250 whoa. They're back on their heels. Look what 00:22:16.250 --> 00:22:22.769 he says in verse 60. Therefore, many of his disciples. 00:22:23.029 --> 00:22:27.589 Who? His disciples. These are people who have, 00:22:27.769 --> 00:22:31.880 these are church people. These are people that 00:22:31.880 --> 00:22:34.460 have lived, that are following. He's not trying 00:22:34.460 --> 00:22:36.500 to convince them, are you really the Messiah? 00:22:36.599 --> 00:22:38.519 They're already saying, oh, you're it, you're 00:22:38.519 --> 00:22:40.980 it, you're it. These are his disciples, right? 00:22:42.119 --> 00:22:44.640 Therefore, many of his disciples heard this. 00:22:44.660 --> 00:22:49.519 They said, this teaching is hard. Who can accept 00:22:49.519 --> 00:22:55.759 it? Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples 00:22:55.759 --> 00:22:59.460 were grumbling about this, asked them, does this 00:22:59.460 --> 00:23:04.079 offend you? I love this language. Does this offend 00:23:04.079 --> 00:23:06.220 you? We're going to unpack that. Disciples are 00:23:06.220 --> 00:23:10.279 really stirred up by Jesus' words. And they actually 00:23:10.279 --> 00:23:14.420 have a good point. Like, don't poo -poo the disciples 00:23:14.420 --> 00:23:17.180 on this one. They actually are asking a really 00:23:17.180 --> 00:23:20.059 good question. Like, who can accept this? This 00:23:20.059 --> 00:23:22.980 teaching is really hard. Who can really accept 00:23:22.980 --> 00:23:28.000 this? And just a quick side note on this text. 00:23:28.809 --> 00:23:30.809 I think it's important. We're not going to, we 00:23:30.809 --> 00:23:33.349 could do a whole sermon on this piece. But a 00:23:33.349 --> 00:23:35.549 little side note there, is the majority of the 00:23:35.549 --> 00:23:38.029 scholars that work this over, this text over, 00:23:38.210 --> 00:23:42.549 they do not believe that this is the Lord's Supper, 00:23:42.650 --> 00:23:45.509 that he's referring to communion. Okay, so if 00:23:45.509 --> 00:23:47.390 you've grown up with that background, this is 00:23:47.390 --> 00:23:50.190 not what this is about. Instead, he's addressing 00:23:50.190 --> 00:23:52.849 more like the conversation he had with the woman 00:23:52.849 --> 00:23:56.730 at the well in John 4, where he says that this 00:23:56.730 --> 00:24:00.339 is the living water. that I give? A metaphor 00:24:00.339 --> 00:24:03.240 to represent himself to saying, this is what 00:24:03.240 --> 00:24:07.779 you get? So what teaching is so hard to accept? 00:24:08.500 --> 00:24:11.039 What is it that is so hard to accept that the 00:24:11.039 --> 00:24:13.940 disciples are struggling? He is telling his disciples 00:24:13.940 --> 00:24:17.220 like, so R .C. Sproul says this, he says, he 00:24:17.220 --> 00:24:20.759 told his disciples, you have to come into me, 00:24:20.880 --> 00:24:25.559 be united to me, feast upon me, not just a casual 00:24:25.559 --> 00:24:30.099 relationship with me. But I said he's drawn a 00:24:30.099 --> 00:24:32.819 line in the sand. He says, to be a true disciple 00:24:32.819 --> 00:24:36.220 means you have to come over. And you have to 00:24:36.220 --> 00:24:39.759 begin to realize how important, how central Jesus 00:24:39.759 --> 00:24:44.700 is to everything in your life. Is your relationship 00:24:44.700 --> 00:24:50.599 with Jesus casual? Jesus is not wanting that. 00:24:53.000 --> 00:24:58.059 He wants a deep, feasting kind of relationship. 00:24:58.799 --> 00:25:04.700 He wants a deep, intimate, personal relationship 00:25:04.700 --> 00:25:08.960 with you, not a casual one. I said that there's 00:25:08.960 --> 00:25:10.640 going to be lines in here in this text that are 00:25:10.640 --> 00:25:12.579 hard for us because North American culture says, 00:25:12.640 --> 00:25:17.400 I want Jesus on my terms. And this text does 00:25:17.400 --> 00:25:24.019 not allow that. R .C. Sproul later continues 00:25:24.019 --> 00:25:27.500 on. He says, Jesus declared that religion won't 00:25:27.500 --> 00:25:32.759 do it. Church attendance won't do it. God works 00:25:32.759 --> 00:25:38.700 in and of themselves, good works, I'm sorry, 00:25:38.759 --> 00:25:42.279 good works in among themselves won't do it. The 00:25:42.279 --> 00:25:45.380 only thing that gets us into the kingdom of God 00:25:45.380 --> 00:25:49.720 by which we participate in is the gift of eternal 00:25:49.720 --> 00:25:56.180 life, is union with Christ Jesus. Gotta be union 00:25:56.180 --> 00:26:03.559 with Christ Jesus. So, we have to take all of 00:26:03.559 --> 00:26:07.119 Jesus and ingest him. That's what he's saying. 00:26:07.960 --> 00:26:12.119 All of him. I think in verse 61, the followers 00:26:12.119 --> 00:26:17.019 of Jesus started grumbling about how serious 00:26:17.019 --> 00:26:19.140 Jesus was calling them. This is what they're 00:26:19.140 --> 00:26:22.019 grumbling like, are you kidding me? You want 00:26:22.019 --> 00:26:24.779 me to do, you want me to that kind of follower? 00:26:25.480 --> 00:26:31.190 How? How all? In he wants us to be. Can you believe 00:26:31.190 --> 00:26:38.750 he's asking us to step over that far? So Jesus 00:26:38.750 --> 00:26:43.829 says, does this offend you? My favorite part 00:26:43.829 --> 00:26:45.490 of the whole, like one of my favorite parts of 00:26:45.490 --> 00:26:47.990 this whole section. Does this offend you? Well, 00:26:48.069 --> 00:26:53.869 does what I say and been saying really offend 00:26:53.869 --> 00:26:57.130 you? Like he's not justifying, he's not trying 00:26:57.130 --> 00:26:59.410 to explain it. He just kind of looks and goes, 00:26:59.549 --> 00:27:01.490 so, what I'm saying, that bothers you, huh? But 00:27:01.490 --> 00:27:03.670 here's the thing. This word offend, you and I 00:27:03.670 --> 00:27:06.170 understand the word offend, but this word offend 00:27:06.170 --> 00:27:10.190 is translated, means, when it's translated, it's 00:27:10.190 --> 00:27:13.170 not the way we understand offend. It means give 00:27:13.170 --> 00:27:17.730 up believing. Give up believing. It means fall 00:27:17.730 --> 00:27:21.829 away. Does this, things are hard things I'm saying, 00:27:22.029 --> 00:27:24.690 put you in a place that you're going to give 00:27:24.690 --> 00:27:29.759 up believing? That's what he's saying. So I was 00:27:29.759 --> 00:27:31.819 talking to, you guys remember last week I kind 00:27:31.819 --> 00:27:35.079 of introduced Lauren who was one of the elders 00:27:35.079 --> 00:27:37.160 of Radiant Fairbanks when we started that church. 00:27:37.319 --> 00:27:39.960 He was here visiting and we were kind of just 00:27:39.960 --> 00:27:43.859 talking through like it's been coming up on 20 00:27:43.859 --> 00:27:46.099 years since we started the first Radiant of five 00:27:46.099 --> 00:27:48.339 Radiant churches. I've been doing this for a 00:27:48.339 --> 00:27:50.279 little while. And we were just reflecting back 00:27:50.279 --> 00:27:53.500 on people. I was asking questions. Oh, what's 00:27:53.500 --> 00:27:56.740 so -and -so doing? What's so -and -so? We got 00:27:56.740 --> 00:27:58.539 to this point where he was sharing about a couple 00:27:58.539 --> 00:28:02.339 people that have totally walked away from the 00:28:02.339 --> 00:28:05.660 Lord. Like they've turned. They don't believe. 00:28:08.119 --> 00:28:11.059 These were people that were in leadership in 00:28:11.059 --> 00:28:13.000 our church at one point. And it just broke my 00:28:13.000 --> 00:28:15.359 heart. It was so sad. I just started thinking, 00:28:15.400 --> 00:28:18.400 oh my gosh. Because I look at all you guys, I 00:28:18.400 --> 00:28:22.259 love you guys. I don't want to see anybody walk 00:28:22.259 --> 00:28:26.980 away from Jesus. And I was going back and thinking 00:28:26.980 --> 00:28:29.640 through people this last week, and this was right 00:28:29.640 --> 00:28:31.140 in my mind, and I'm thinking, oh my goodness, 00:28:31.380 --> 00:28:38.380 how sad. And Jesus asks another probing question. 00:28:38.599 --> 00:28:47.180 Look at what he says in verse 62. He says, then 00:28:47.180 --> 00:28:51.539 what if you were to observe the Son of Man ascending 00:28:51.539 --> 00:28:57.460 to where he was before? I think this verse, Jesus 00:28:57.460 --> 00:28:59.859 is trying to help restore their perspective. 00:28:59.980 --> 00:29:04.440 He says, hey, what if right now you saw me rising 00:29:04.440 --> 00:29:10.319 up to glory? And you saw angels come down, and 00:29:10.319 --> 00:29:13.380 man, it was beautiful. Would that offend you? 00:29:14.440 --> 00:29:16.500 Would that offend you when you see me elevated 00:29:16.500 --> 00:29:22.400 up? You're like, yeah. No, of course not. You'd 00:29:22.400 --> 00:29:24.259 be hyped for that, right? You'd be like, whoa. 00:29:24.859 --> 00:29:31.420 Did you see that show? So disciples, take a minute 00:29:31.420 --> 00:29:36.119 and remember, take a minute and remember, disciples, 00:29:36.319 --> 00:29:43.700 who I am and whose life, who gives life. Remember, 00:29:43.799 --> 00:29:45.980 so he's kind of saying, he's like, do you remember, 00:29:46.259 --> 00:29:48.359 do you know who I am? I'm the one that's going 00:29:48.359 --> 00:29:51.539 to go. And you're going to be excited about that. 00:29:51.559 --> 00:29:53.200 Remember who I am and who gives life? Remember 00:29:53.200 --> 00:29:56.640 we talked about it in John chapter 1? Look at 00:29:56.640 --> 00:30:02.559 verse 63. The Spirit is the one who gives life. 00:30:03.299 --> 00:30:05.859 The flesh doesn't help at all. The words that 00:30:05.859 --> 00:30:08.920 I have spoken to you are Spirit and are life. 00:30:09.859 --> 00:30:11.940 He says two things I see in these two verses. 00:30:12.460 --> 00:30:15.480 First one is that the flesh he's talking about 00:30:15.480 --> 00:30:17.299 here is human flesh. He says your flesh won't 00:30:17.299 --> 00:30:20.470 help you. Your flesh won't help you. You cannot 00:30:20.470 --> 00:30:23.549 get to God on your own. And number two is that 00:30:23.549 --> 00:30:26.650 the Spirit is the one who brings life. The Spirit 00:30:26.650 --> 00:30:30.869 pierces your heart. The Spirit of God makes you 00:30:30.869 --> 00:30:36.369 aware of your need for Jesus. That's what I love 00:30:36.369 --> 00:30:39.470 when I hear a lot of your stories. That there 00:30:39.470 --> 00:30:41.829 was a moment many times where you go, God began 00:30:41.829 --> 00:30:45.390 to pierce my heart. The Spirit of God made it, 00:30:45.410 --> 00:30:47.250 and all of a sudden I began to understand and 00:30:47.250 --> 00:30:51.519 see things differently. You can't do it in your 00:30:51.519 --> 00:30:54.740 own strength. Now Jesus becomes very, turns and 00:30:54.740 --> 00:30:58.119 becomes very blunt with those who are sitting 00:30:58.119 --> 00:30:59.799 there, standing there listening. Look at verse 00:30:59.799 --> 00:31:06.619 64. But there are some among you who do not believe. 00:31:08.420 --> 00:31:10.940 For Jesus knew from the beginning that those, 00:31:10.960 --> 00:31:13.940 beginning those who did not believe and the ones 00:31:13.940 --> 00:31:20.460 who would betray him. He said this. He said, 00:31:20.599 --> 00:31:23.880 this is why I told you that no one can come to 00:31:23.880 --> 00:31:26.960 me unless it is granted to him by the Father. 00:31:27.599 --> 00:31:33.599 Okay, so eventually all the false disciples will 00:31:33.599 --> 00:31:38.099 find some reason to stop believing. Being a disciple 00:31:38.099 --> 00:31:41.000 of Jesus is making a commitment to follow him 00:31:41.000 --> 00:31:44.440 with all of your life for the rest of your life. 00:31:46.920 --> 00:31:51.500 So many of these who are claiming to be Jesus' 00:31:51.640 --> 00:31:56.279 disciples were faced with the decision. By the 00:31:56.279 --> 00:31:58.200 way, this may not be the way to grow a church. 00:31:59.700 --> 00:32:02.400 He just kind of calls them out. Do you remember 00:32:02.400 --> 00:32:04.480 how many people were following Jesus up to this 00:32:04.480 --> 00:32:08.579 point? We don't know exactly how many were in 00:32:08.579 --> 00:32:10.960 this discussion, but we know how many he fed. 00:32:12.079 --> 00:32:17.960 And there are thousands. And many of them, are 00:32:17.960 --> 00:32:21.660 claiming to be disciples of Jesus, and now they're 00:32:21.660 --> 00:32:25.759 faced with the decision, is Jesus truly their 00:32:25.759 --> 00:32:31.079 Savior and Lord? Now look at the saddest verse 00:32:31.079 --> 00:32:38.819 in chapter 6, verse 66. From that moment, many 00:32:38.819 --> 00:32:43.119 of his disciples turned back and no longer accompanied 00:32:43.119 --> 00:32:50.470 him. Can you picture this moment? It would be 00:32:50.470 --> 00:32:57.910 like this. All of you, but just a few, stand 00:32:57.910 --> 00:33:01.190 up, turn around, and walk out that door, and 00:33:01.190 --> 00:33:04.190 I never see you again. You're like, I am done. 00:33:05.609 --> 00:33:09.690 Done believing in Jesus. I'm done with this church. 00:33:09.789 --> 00:33:13.009 I'm out of here. That's exactly what happens. 00:33:17.420 --> 00:33:23.700 It's a really sad moment. People who once were 00:33:23.700 --> 00:33:27.299 super excited about Jesus now move on to other 00:33:27.299 --> 00:33:33.279 things. Now the once large crowd is now 12 guys 00:33:33.279 --> 00:33:38.640 standing there with Jesus. 12 dudes. Jesus says 00:33:38.640 --> 00:33:41.859 to the 12 that are standing there, look what 00:33:41.859 --> 00:33:49.779 he says in verse 67. So Jesus said to the twelve, 00:33:50.000 --> 00:33:58.119 you don't want to go away too, do you? You don't 00:33:58.119 --> 00:34:01.819 want to go away too, do you? He's not begging 00:34:01.819 --> 00:34:07.819 them to stay, is he? Exalting Jesus' commentary, 00:34:07.980 --> 00:34:09.960 one of the commentaries I was looking at said 00:34:09.960 --> 00:34:12.619 this, after watching these false disciples turn 00:34:12.619 --> 00:34:15.420 away, Jesus turns to the twelve and he asks them 00:34:15.420 --> 00:34:18.889 if they want... to leave as well jesus didn't 00:34:18.889 --> 00:34:22.389 ask this question for his sake he wasn't alarmed 00:34:22.389 --> 00:34:26.329 that so many had left jesus knew his disciples 00:34:26.329 --> 00:34:30.409 were his and he was actually preserving them 00:34:30.409 --> 00:34:36.010 this question wasn't intended to assure jesus 00:34:36.010 --> 00:34:39.289 of their commitment to him it was an opportunity 00:34:39.289 --> 00:34:42.929 for the disciples to make a confession of faith 00:34:45.900 --> 00:34:50.099 was saying are you all into now look what peter 00:34:50.099 --> 00:34:52.500 says and this is now and we go from the ugliest 00:34:52.500 --> 00:34:56.019 verse in verse 66 to a really cool section here 00:34:56.019 --> 00:35:01.699 that peter says he responds in verse 68 simon 00:35:01.699 --> 00:35:06.260 peter answered lord to whom will we go you have 00:35:06.260 --> 00:35:09.880 the words of eternal life we have come to believe 00:35:09.880 --> 00:35:18.099 and know That you are the holy one of God. I 00:35:18.099 --> 00:35:22.800 see two parts of Peter's confession here. Number 00:35:22.800 --> 00:35:27.579 one is that Jesus is the only one who has eternal 00:35:27.579 --> 00:35:30.679 life. This is what Peter is saying. We don't 00:35:30.679 --> 00:35:35.420 have anywhere to go. We get it. As hard as it 00:35:35.420 --> 00:35:38.260 is. Watching my friends just leave and turn. 00:35:38.760 --> 00:35:41.920 Watching people walk away from you. to experience 00:35:41.920 --> 00:35:44.639 so much great momentum where the churches seem 00:35:44.639 --> 00:35:47.780 to be exploding and everybody's excited too, 00:35:47.860 --> 00:35:50.699 everybody walking away. Where else would we go? 00:35:50.739 --> 00:35:53.519 Because what we know is that you, Jesus, have 00:35:53.519 --> 00:35:59.679 eternal life. Jesus, you're the only one who 00:35:59.679 --> 00:36:04.719 can save. You're the Savior. And I think the 00:36:04.719 --> 00:36:07.329 second part... It's actually, even as powerful, 00:36:07.449 --> 00:36:10.449 more powerful, he says, Jesus is the Holy One 00:36:10.449 --> 00:36:14.610 of God. Now, this statement is powerful. It comes 00:36:14.610 --> 00:36:16.849 out of Isaiah 6. We won't go into a lot of it 00:36:16.849 --> 00:36:19.769 there. You can go back and read Isaiah 6. But 00:36:19.769 --> 00:36:23.889 it's, Isaiah has this prophet, he experiences 00:36:23.889 --> 00:36:27.969 this vision where he's transported to the throne 00:36:27.969 --> 00:36:33.530 room of God. And he's so blown away. By the awesomeness 00:36:33.530 --> 00:36:37.090 of God that he cries out, woe is me for I am 00:36:37.090 --> 00:36:40.170 ruined. And in it he goes over the Holy One of 00:36:40.170 --> 00:36:41.849 God. It's the way it's referred to with God. 00:36:41.929 --> 00:36:48.690 That he's so holy, so amazing. That all he can 00:36:48.690 --> 00:36:52.650 do is go, woe is me for I'm ruined. I'm a wreck. 00:36:53.610 --> 00:36:56.210 Now what's he mean by that? He means there is 00:36:56.210 --> 00:36:59.710 nobody that is beyond Jesus. He is God and God 00:36:59.710 --> 00:37:04.800 alone. And what Peter's saying is, I got no other 00:37:04.800 --> 00:37:07.280 thing. I got nothing else to say but that you 00:37:07.280 --> 00:37:10.780 are my Savior, and church, you are my Lord, Jesus. 00:37:10.840 --> 00:37:16.260 You are my Lord. So Peter opens his mouth to 00:37:16.260 --> 00:37:21.539 confess his faith, and he unmistakably declares 00:37:21.539 --> 00:37:27.090 that Jesus alone is his Savior and Lord. Being 00:37:27.090 --> 00:37:30.070 a true disciple of Jesus begins by knowing and 00:37:30.070 --> 00:37:33.030 believing that Jesus is the Holy One of God. 00:37:33.730 --> 00:37:35.969 That's why John opens up with saying, in the 00:37:35.969 --> 00:37:37.630 beginning was the Word, and the Word was with 00:37:37.630 --> 00:37:39.150 God, and the Word was God. What is he saying? 00:37:39.269 --> 00:37:46.010 He's God. And God has come to this earth to bear 00:37:46.010 --> 00:37:50.449 your sins upon himself so that you may have eternal 00:37:50.449 --> 00:37:54.900 life with him. That's beautiful. And Peter goes, 00:37:55.039 --> 00:37:58.559 as hard as this is, it's the only thing I know, 00:37:58.579 --> 00:38:00.380 and I'm going to cling to that. And where else 00:38:00.380 --> 00:38:11.260 would we go, Jesus, but to you? You know, being 00:38:11.260 --> 00:38:14.719 a true disciple of Jesus means that we reject 00:38:14.719 --> 00:38:20.440 anyone else, anything else as our Savior and 00:38:20.440 --> 00:38:25.440 Lord, including ourselves. And we turn to Jesus 00:38:25.440 --> 00:38:32.380 alone. This is why we do public baptisms. And 00:38:32.380 --> 00:38:34.900 why we say in our baptisms, when we get baptized, 00:38:35.219 --> 00:38:37.800 I'll say to those who are getting baptized this 00:38:37.800 --> 00:38:42.159 next week, I'll say, who is Jesus to you? And 00:38:42.159 --> 00:38:47.260 your response needs to be, He is my Savior and 00:38:47.260 --> 00:38:50.849 He is my Lord. And we're taking it that serious. 00:38:50.989 --> 00:38:52.469 And I think that's kind of what part of what 00:38:52.469 --> 00:38:54.190 Peter's going, he's like, he's my Savior, my 00:38:54.190 --> 00:38:59.050 Lord, who else do we have to go to? So as we 00:38:59.050 --> 00:39:05.670 conclude this morning, are you a true disciple 00:39:05.670 --> 00:39:13.789 of Jesus? If not, are you ready to put Jesus 00:39:13.789 --> 00:39:18.820 as your Savior and Lord of your life? If that's 00:39:18.820 --> 00:39:21.380 you today, and you are not yet, you have not 00:39:21.380 --> 00:39:25.860 said, I'm on the outside, I'm looking in, I'm 00:39:25.860 --> 00:39:31.199 curious, and that's good. You can be there. But 00:39:31.199 --> 00:39:36.260 is Jesus really, truly your Savior? Is He truly 00:39:36.260 --> 00:39:39.400 your Lord? And you can live in church your whole 00:39:39.400 --> 00:39:41.880 life and think that He's your Savior, but not 00:39:41.880 --> 00:39:46.489 ever release Lord to Him. And so my question 00:39:46.489 --> 00:39:48.190 to you this morning is, I don't know where you're 00:39:48.190 --> 00:39:52.369 at, I don't know, but are you a true disciple 00:39:52.369 --> 00:39:58.809 of Jesus? Lastly, Jesus is constantly pushing 00:39:58.809 --> 00:40:04.769 his disciples to a deeper and deeper faith. We're 00:40:04.769 --> 00:40:08.329 going to see it right to the very end. Peter, 00:40:08.369 --> 00:40:10.909 that made that awesome declaration, what do we 00:40:10.909 --> 00:40:14.989 know about Peter? He denies Christ. Part of what 00:40:14.989 --> 00:40:17.449 70 and 71, which we don't have time to go into, 00:40:17.590 --> 00:40:21.710 but goes point is that, look, I got you. I got 00:40:21.710 --> 00:40:25.610 you. So even Peter and his struggle with faith 00:40:25.610 --> 00:40:32.329 still comes back. So God's got you if you struggle 00:40:32.329 --> 00:40:34.989 with your faith. But what Jesus wants you to 00:40:34.989 --> 00:40:37.989 do, he wants us at Radiant to do, is to go deeper 00:40:37.989 --> 00:40:40.949 and deeper and deeper into who he is and that 00:40:40.949 --> 00:40:45.480 our faith, our tentacles are down in him. The 00:40:45.480 --> 00:40:48.699 more your faith grows in Jesus, it changes everything. 00:40:50.800 --> 00:40:54.940 This is what he wants for us, guys. Let me pray, 00:40:55.019 --> 00:40:57.480 and then we'll respond and sing this morning. 00:40:58.300 --> 00:41:07.400 Band, you can come up. Search our hearts, Lord. 00:41:10.440 --> 00:41:15.289 Help us see where we're really at with you. This 00:41:15.289 --> 00:41:18.230 is not a works -based thing you have called us 00:41:18.230 --> 00:41:22.050 to. We know that by your grace you have come 00:41:22.050 --> 00:41:27.489 to us, that we do nothing in our own power. And 00:41:27.489 --> 00:41:31.590 so, Jesus, we pray right now that you will break 00:41:31.590 --> 00:41:33.769 into our hearts in deeper levels. For those in 00:41:33.769 --> 00:41:37.469 this room who are disciples of you, that you 00:41:37.469 --> 00:41:41.809 will break into even a deeper level of faith, 00:41:41.889 --> 00:41:45.579 of believing. And making you Lord of our life 00:41:45.579 --> 00:41:47.400 that we'll go deeper with you. And for those 00:41:47.400 --> 00:41:52.360 who are saying, I don't know if I am a true disciple 00:41:52.360 --> 00:41:54.940 of Jesus. Then want to. God, will you break into 00:41:54.940 --> 00:41:57.900 their heart. Know that there is nothing they 00:41:57.900 --> 00:42:00.219 can do to earn you. That you have done everything 00:42:00.219 --> 00:42:07.619 for them. That you come to them and offer yourself. 00:42:09.559 --> 00:42:15.860 And you say, eat. Eat of me. So Lord, will you 00:42:15.860 --> 00:42:18.300 move amongst us? Will your spirit do a work in 00:42:18.300 --> 00:42:21.960 our hearts? In your name we pray. Amen.