Do You Now Believe? -[John 16:25-33]

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Well, please open your Bibles to John chapter 16 as we conclude
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John 16, and I thought
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I Would ask a few questions, and then I'll answer them during the course of this But how can you how can you tell and I'll wait for the microphone
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I guess Thank you. I really don't know how I did that oh
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You do I think it was my I'm gonna blame the desk. You know let's just go with that My desk turned it on It works
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How can you tell if someone's a believer? How do you know? That someone is or is not a believer.
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What is it based on their profession of faith? Somebody says they're a believer. Do you just take them at their word?
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Is it because of the fullness of the content of their profession? You know when they go to explain the inerrancy of Scripture you go
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I'd never really fully grasped it until you explained it. Do you you know do you need something profound from them?
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What if they tell you they believe in the deity of Christ is that enough to convince you that they're a believer?
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Then let's contrast that a little bit how many sins can a person commit and still be a
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Christian? Do you have a little like chalkboard where you keep chicken scratches and when they get to 490 70 times 70 you go?
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You're done you're smoked can a
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Christian fall apart Can they stumble so badly you just go
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I I can't even see how that person can be a Christian Can they just fall away so fully that it just seems like there's no way that that person could be a believer
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I think we're gonna see a little bit today
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That as bad as you know we think our own sins are or the sins of others If you're running around trying to calculate the sins of others
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No matter how bad those sins are There's hope Because your confession of faith your profession of faith your testimony is not what secures your salvation
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What secures your salvation is the finished and perfect work of the
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Lord Jesus Christ? This morning we're gonna look at really the final words of his earthly ministry in terms of his teaching ministry
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So let me read that John chapter 16 verses 25 to 33
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I have said these things to you in figures of speech The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech
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But will tell you plainly about the father in that day You will ask in my name and I do not say to you that I will ask the father on your behalf
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For the father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.
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I Came from the father and have come into the world and now I am leaving the world and going to the father his disciples said ah
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Now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you
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This is why we believe that you came from God Jesus answered them
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Do you now believe? behold The hour is coming indeed.
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It has come When you will be scattered Each to his own home and will leave me alone
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Yet, I am not alone for the father is with me I have said these these things to you that in me you may have peace in the world
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You will have tribulation but take hearts I have overcome the world
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Now last week We were looking forward with joy to the resurrection just considering the joy of Christ as he looked forward to it and This morning we were looking at the conclusion of what many considered be the greatest teaching of our
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Lord's earthly ministry the upper room discourse Some people say that the greatest sermon was a sermon on the mount and maybe it was
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But what makes this this upper room discourse such great teaching because it's more interactive not really necessarily a sermon is
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When you think about it, he's giving the final instructions to his disciples and these things are what is going to help
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Propel them through these next three days which are going to be I'd venture to say the hardest days of their life their lives
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He is preparing his dear friends and disciples for his arrest execution and resurrection and this morning
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Last week. I had three C's this morning. I have four D's next week. It could be five F's I'm just going right down the report card four
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D's They're just kind of like signposts and we you know, we'll know that when we have to heat up the corndogs
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Four D's that really will help just kind of mark the the the intercourse here between the two of them between the
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Disciples and the Lord so that we can kind of fix our minds where we are
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But the main point here this morning is this We're going to see I think in my mind the single clearest
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Statements of the gospel in all of the Gospel of John. I think it's amazing
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Reflected on it on Facebook. I just cannot I'm just I highlighted it in my Bible Which has entirely no markings in it because this is just the one
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I have at the church a little secret But I'm like I've got to underline that that is the greatest verse ever.
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It's wonderful And what we're going to see is really him Not only preparing them but also declaring his ultimate victory
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Jesus declaring his victory So first first D dialogue plainly
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Want to say, you know something like he speaks plainly or dialoguing. Did you know dialoguing isn't a word
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I found out? Dialogue plainly verse 25 I have said these things to you in figures of speech
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The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech, but will tell you plainly about the father
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Now when he says these things it's basically Everything that he's been talking about it's everything that he said during this entire evening from chapter 13 on And a lot of things he said have been veiled not easy to understand.
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There have been a lot of figures of speech and when we think that Think about his figures of speech and the way he's been speaking in veiled language
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Even things as basic as they don't understand the plot that's going on They don't know that Judas is running to the
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Jewish leadership to betray him Only maybe Peter and John know that They don't have a any kind of sense of how much in the dark they really are
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They also don't understand that he's about to be arrested crucified and then raised on the third day Even though he's made numerous statements about this.
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Well, how can they not know that? It's because he's used veil language. He never said I'm about to be arrested
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Hey in a couple hours You know, the Jewish leaders are coming for me and Judas is gonna be at the head of them and they're gonna arrest me
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He didn't tell him that he didn't say I'm about to be crucified within a few hours He told them that he was going to die told them he was going to leave them
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He used a lot of language like that, but he didn't he wasn't specific about and clear about what was going to happen
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But they should have known that the arrest was coming if you just think about the number of times that we've said how he escaped being
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Detained arrested Glommed on to by the Jewish authorities. It's been a number of times that that's happened and Even though the sayings of our
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Lord were difficult to understand oftentimes The disciples would have no excuse not to believe that Jesus is fully
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God They really wouldn't Except they're not firm in their faith
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There's a phrase that comes to my mind where they say we believe and then they say what Lord help
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Our unbelief right they believed but they didn't believe as much as they should have They needed help in their unbelief
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These men had stayed with Jesus Even when thousands departed at the end of John chapter 6
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John 6 68 and 69 7 and Peter answered him Lord to whom shall we go?
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You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed and have come to know that you are the
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Holy One of God They got that but they questioned him constantly
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Well, why was he speaking in figures of speech? Why did he do that so often?
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Hendrickson says this he says until the man of sorrows has actually Suffered and died on the cross and until he is risen this cross cannot be fully revealed
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These are when we think about the the disciples. We're thinking New Testament. Well the truth is they're still living what?
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In the Old Testament under the old economy. It's not until Jesus suffers dies and is raised
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For the dead that we begin the new covenant So they're just Old Testament Saints still looking forward to the cross and not fully understanding it
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And we know the disciples could not handle the fullness of it yet in John 16 verse 12
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Jesus said this I still have many things to say to you, but you
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Cannot bear them now. It's not I don't want to tell you You cannot bear them now.
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They couldn't handle it They needed the fullness of the Holy Spirit they needed basically post
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Pentecost Holy Spirit power To handle the things that he was going to say to them.
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So he uses veiled language kind of to Protect them as much as anything else
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But when the helper the Holy Spirit arrived That was the hour that he's talking about.
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That's the hour that he's referring to the hour of Pentecost And when we think about the
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Apostles as we see them in the book of Acts and the rest of the New Testament These look like transformed men.
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These look like different men. I mean sure there are stumbles I think of Peter being confronted by Paul when he succumbs to the
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Judaizing influence, right But these are not the same these weak and frail men in the upper room are not the same men
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We're going to see in the rest of the New Testament and yet these men propelled by the
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Holy Spirit would be the very foundation of the church You know when I was in law enforcement
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The Sheriff's Academy we had a little song that we would sing, you know, 18 weeks blah blah blah blah blah 18 weeks in the
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Academy And then later on we would go through several weeks of patrol training
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I think it was another six weeks of patrol training and Then when you went out to a patrol station you had six months with a training officer and you think that's a lot of training
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Right. I mean we're talking about I don't know. How long is that? That's about seven or eight nine months ten months of training and yet when push came to shove when people got into Fights or when there was some kind of need for deadly force some deputies panicked
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Some didn't answer the call These men these disciples had been through a three -year training period
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Every day with Jesus side -by -side eating with him living with him listening to him all the time
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They heard all the sermons. They heard all the prayers They were disciples in every sense of the word when we talk about life on life.
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It was life on life And yet after three plus years they were not giants of the faith
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Because they were not yet empowered by the Holy Spirit We're gonna see them crumble fail after the resurrection
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They Paul and a few others would explain the gospel in Clear and precise ways in ways that they could not do at this point.
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They couldn't explain it They needed the full power of the
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Holy Spirit So first Jesus dialogues plainly with them Secondly, we're going to see the divine love of the
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Father the divine love of the Father look at verses 26 and 27 in that day
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You will ask in my name and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf
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For the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God I have to say when
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I first read that I was just like Head explode, you know, it took took a little work here after Pentecost as I mentioned last week
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They would pray in his name as we do right we pray in the name of Jesus Christ Amen And Jesus says that he's not going to ask the
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Father to give them what they asked for And I read that I'm like what?
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What does that mean? We're praying to the Father and Jesus says I'm not gonna ask the Father to give you what you want
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Well, isn't he like our mediator isn't that what he's supposed to do and the answer is
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That's not his role as mediator When we pray in Jesus name it is because he is our high priest because he is our mediator
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In fact, I want to read just a few verses is this kind of to underscore that Romans 8 34
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Says who is to condemn Christ Jesus is the one who died more than that He was or who was raised who is at the right hand of God who indeed is?
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interceding for us Hebrews 7 25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him since he
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Always lives to make intercession for them Our mediator our intercessor listen to 1st
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John 2 verse 1 My little children I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.
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But if anyone does sin we have an Advocate with the
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Father Jesus Christ the righteous. This is what he does Heard pastor
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Mike say this, you know, I'll cover that sin. I'll cover that sin. Oh, that's what Jesus is doing
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Right, he paid for our sins and as one writer said this does not need to be supplemented by Further this work of intercession does not need to be further
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Supplemented by further intervention on our behalf. In other words, Jesus doesn't have to do anything more Why?
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Why doesn't he have to do anything more? Why doesn't he have to support our requests because here's what he's done
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He's brought us in he's ushered us in he's granted us entree into the throne room of God and we're there not as Unwanted guests as unwelcome guests, but as what as sons and daughters
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Because Jesus Christ has paid for our sins. So when we enter We enter how?
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Meekly mildly, that's not what Hebrew says Hebrew the writer of Hebrews in Hebrews 4 verses 15 and 16
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For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses But one who in every respect has been tempted as we are yet without sin verse 16 let us then with Confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need
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I have a time of need I can enter the throne room of grace It says with confidence, but that word confidence is also translated boldness and it's not with a personal brashness like I Deserve to be here or you have to give me what
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I want You know, I have a magic word that I'm gonna say and father you have to give it to me but it's with boldness that our mediator has paid the price has
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Granted us this entree has put us here so that we can have our prayers answered by the father
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We asked the father because we know the father loves us why
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Because we are in Christ Because we love Christ Jesus does not have to persuade the father to be gracious and kind to us
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Because it is the father's disposition to be loving and generous generous with his children
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John Calvin said this he said we have the heart of God as Soon as we place before him the name of his son.
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All we have to do is we're here because we're in Christ and We have his full attention.
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We have his heart as any good father now some will read verse 27 and And conclude that it is our faith that causes the father to love us right that it says
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Because you have loved me and I have believed that I and have believed that I came from God In other words, our faith is what causes it
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That we maybe did something independently of God to be pleasing to God.
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I Don't want to belabor that But if that's the assumption that you're operating under I'd invite you to talk to me during the
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Providence time because that is wrong We have we can have confidence.
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We can boldly approach the father because of the work of Christ and nothing else Augustine said this he said he talking about God would not have wrought in us
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Something he could love were it not that he loved ourselves us
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Before he wrought us What's he saying? He's saying that God the father before the foundations of the world before anything existed before we even existed
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Chose to love us and then he created us and loved us after he created us
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He caused us to be born again He loves us because of the work he has done in us
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That's why we love Jesus Notice again
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Jesus says he doesn't need to intercede for believers who bring their requests before the father because he already loves you
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Believers are cherished by the father even so Jesus never stops his role as high priest on the basis of his atonement.
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These are two different things Atonement the high priestly work and then us
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Asking the father for things are two different issues entirely Okay, so first we've seen dialogue plainly
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Second D is the divine love of the father and the third one is the declaration of Jesus Look at verse 28 and I just love this verse.
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I love this verse. I came from the father and have come into the world and now am leaving the world and going to the father and The disciples are
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Well at first I would just know what I said on Facebook. No one else can say this No one else can say this
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There are people who say that we existed before we came here. There was a pre -existence That's rubbish
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Jesus pre -existed as and he tells us that right there. I came from the father. He always existed second person of the
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Trinity No one else can say what he says here This is like a perfect cycle he was beside the father he came down to the earth
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He's leaving the earth and he's going back to the father but the disciples are downcast and worried and This statement by Jesus is a confident statement of absolute victory
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He is So close to the finishing line. It's done He can see it he can feel it it's done in one verse he captures his deity his self -emptying his death burial resurrection and victorious
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Ascension and Throughout this verse he emphasizes really his sovereignty and the voluntary nature of the work that he does
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Look at that. I came I have come I am leaving I am going
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There's no the father forced me out of heaven The spirit dragged me through this life.
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I had no choice. I'm a victim. There's none of that All of this is him Sovereignly choosing to do what he does
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Voluntarily submitting to the will of the father and Then ascending back to heaven.
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So what does it mean to believe in Jesus? Well first he's eternally God He came from the father's side.
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And as I said, he's the only human being who could say such a thing He's also the spotless lamb.
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So he's eternally God. He's the spotless lamb remember John the Baptist says sees him and says behold the lamb who takes away the sin of the world
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He came into this world to do the father's will What was the father's will?
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Well, first of all, it was for him to lay aside Voluntarily the exercise of some of his attributes of deity, right?
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He had to be in the form of a man. He had to be subject to the limitations He got tired. He got hungry all the things that we go through he went through But he had to perfectly obey every aspect of the law so that his death would be a pleasing sacrifice a propitiation and a sufficient sacrifice to Redeem all the chosen of God He had to be a man to die for mankind and he had to be
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God to have sufficient worth to pay an infinite debt that our sins created
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During Pradeep's Sunday school. I couldn't help but think about The the lack of value that we put on our sin
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That it's so grievous that it's so Wicked that it creates such a debt and that only
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Jesus Christ the God -man could pay that debt He's also as Paul writes a kind of firstfruits of The resurrection when he says he's about to leave
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I am leaving right After a sacrificial death
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Jesus would spend three days in the tomb and be raised by the father thus establishing his victory over death and over the grave and Then he would ascend the same way he came or he came down Miraculously, and he went up miraculously right back up into heaven and as we'll see in chapter 17
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He will return to the glory that he once had he was not promoted.
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He did not become enhanced He did not become God This is simply mission accomplished in returning triumphantly to the father's side from whence he came
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So so far we've seen three D's dialogue plainly the divine love of the father the declaration of Jesus and Anybody should be able to preach the gospel from verse 28.
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That is such a powerful powerful verse Final D. The disciples profess faith the disciples profess faith
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Look at verse 29 his disciples said
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Now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative language Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you
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This is why we believe that you came from God The disciples believe that the day the day that he would no longer speak to them in figurative
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Veiled language had come that this is why he was speaking plainly There was nothing mysterious in that statement and they'd heard bits and pieces of it before And so they perfectly accepted what he said.
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So this had to be the time that he was talking about, right? Well, no, but he doesn't Jesus doesn't correct them either
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They would understand in a few days But not yet and all the more in 50 days after the day of Pentecost But this is a pretty good confession by them
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They knew that he knew all things right? He's omniscient. He's God. That's one of his attributes
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He does know all things and they just seen that right? They're talking they're kind of whispering in the corners and whatnot
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He doesn't need to hear them to know what they're thinking. He knows their hearts so they believe in his deity at least for the moment and There are three sub points here to this profession of faith
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First their profession is challenged verse 31 Jesus answered them.
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Do you now believe? It's possible to translate this as not a question most translations do have it as a question
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Why? Because you now believe just the statement of fact really isn't in keeping with what he's about to say because he's about to Do more than just simply challenge them.
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He's about to tell them what's going to happen Even if their faith is genuine
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Isn't enough to sustain them for the next three days and the answer is no Do you now believe which is always a good question, right?
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When did you believe is not as important as do you now believe? Are you believing now?
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second sub point here Their desertion Prophesied look at verse 32 the first part of it behold the hour is coming indeed
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It has come when you will be scattered each to his own home and will leave me alone
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The time of their collective and individual desertion has come They've just professed faith.
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They love Jesus. That is true. They do love him they do have faith and they're able to say right now that We know that you come from God and they equate him with God But they're about to abandon him
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They're still in the upper room and they'll leave shortly. He's gonna pray and then they'll leave Judas is scheming with the
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Jewish leadership to betray him He will pray for them. Then he'll take their his disciples to the garden where Judas will finish his betrayal
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Let me just read Matthew 26 verse 31 Matthew 26 31 Then Jesus said to them you will all fall away because of me this night
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For it is written I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock will be scattered
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You take out the leader and what happens the followers scatter
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That was the strategy of the Jewish leadership and this is exactly what happened they did in fact return to their own homes in Jerusalem when
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Jesus was arrested all but John and Peter Peter stuck around and saw a little bit of the trial and John was at the crucifixion
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But in spite of the fact that If it let's let's turn to John chapter 20 for a moment
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John chapter 20 and I'm gonna read verses 1 & 2 because this is
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Mary Magdalene finding Jesus But what's interesting is it's part of the fact that the disciples had scattered
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Mary Magdalene is Able to instantly find John and Peter Verses 1 & 2 now on the first day of the week
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Sunday Mary Magdalene came to the tomb Jesus tomb early while it was still dark and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb
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So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple the one whom
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Jesus loved John and Said to them they have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we do not know where they have laid him now listen
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John and Peter weren't hanging out at the church building There was no church building They were at The home most likely of John these men scattered the death of Jesus would shatter the disciples
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They didn't know exactly what to expect they knew it wasn't the kingdom right then but they didn't know what to think of the crucifixion and any idea of Evangelizing a particularly like on the scale of the day of Pentecost Or anything of that sort was far from their minds in fact if you think if you fast -forward to the end of John What does he find them doing?
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fishing Jesus says what they will leave me alone.
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You will leave me alone Again, they believed but that belief would not stop them from abandoning the
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Lord the fact that they had faith would not stop them from Chucking everything and moving on with their lives
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As confident as he is of his own success remember he just Confidently says these are the things that are going to happen
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I'm going to Eventually ascend to the Father His company is he is of their of his success.
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He's also confident of the failure of his disciples His friends will not be there to still the crowds calling for his death when they shout crucify him
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There's nobody in the background Peter and John and everybody James. They're not running around trying to get these people not to crucify
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Jesus They will not be there to help him carry the cross up Calvary John will be there when he is crucified, but we'll be fishing soon enough
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Third sub point Deserted but not alone look again at verse 32 the end of it
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Yet I am not alone for the Father is with me The Father would be with him all the way to the cross even on the cross until the very end right up until My God my
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God, why have you forsaken me the Father would be with him Now I'm just gonna move on to just the promises of the
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Savior here as he concludes in verse 33 the promises of the
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Savior First promises peace I have said these things to you that in me you may have peace
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But Jesus just told them they were going to scatter He's told Peter that he would deny him three times
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But if you recall back in chapter 14, Jesus said this peace I leave with you my peace.
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I give to you not as the world gives do I give to you? Let not your hearts be troubled neither.
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Let them be afraid What kind of peace is he talking about well even the weakest faith the weakest
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Christian Christians who desert the Lord but still believe And they come back by the way, but the weakest faith provides objective peace.
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What do I mean by objective peace? Well objective peace comes in this sense that you were at war with God Romans 5 10 says for if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his
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Son in other words Jesus has reconciled enemies us Every believer and God so that we are no longer enemies.
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He calls us children That's objective peace we have that And it's by grasping that object that objective peace that we also obtain subjective peace when we believe
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Truly grasp and understand and hold on to the fact that we have objective peace.
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Then we also have subjective peace which is peace of mind If we know that we are heaven -bound if we have that confidence the same confidence that Jesus had that our mission as it
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Were is completed not by us, but by Jesus Christ if we know that our home is not here on earth, but in heaven
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Then the circumstances of our lives the disease the death of others
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You know the afflictions that come along they are momentary afflictions There are trials, but they are trials with an end even if that end is death
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Was talking to somebody the other day who said that someone they knew died unexpectedly in their sleep, right?
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But that person was a Christian imagine going to sleep Telling your spouse.
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I love you telling your kids, you know, whatever the familial situation is Telling everybody you love them praying, you know, you've you finish your devotions whatever for the day
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You go to bed content sleeping And you wake up in the presence of Jesus Christ That's pretty good.
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Not everybody has that. I'm like, I'd like that. That'd be good be a good way to go but whatever the circumstances of this life are if your mindset is
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My end is fixed Jesus Christ paid it all I'm going to heaven whatever happens in this life is
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Bearable certainly more bearable That's subjective peace that peace of mind that peace that surpasses all understanding
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Again, that doesn't mean that you won't have difficulty. Jesus even says so verse 33 in the world.
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You will have tribulation That's what difficulty is. It's persecution affliction the opposite of everything the
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Lord promises us and And we know that we're going to have difficulty because Jesus told us elsewhere remember in John 15 20
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Remember the word that I said to you a servant is not greater than his master if they persecuted me and they did
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They will also Persecute you the world system is against Christians, but the good news is
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Victory is ours verse 33 this promise of Jesus But take hearts
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I Have overcome the world if we can expect to be treated in a fashion similar to the
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Lord we can also expect to Overcome as he did
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You say what are you saying that? I suddenly have the power to overcome the world that I'm going to conquer the world as Jesus did no
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That's not what I'm saying Jesus is talking about the full measure of his victory.
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He's overcome everything the world could throw at him including death and Jesus says
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I emphatic Have conquered perfect tense one -time event ongoing results
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He has conquered the world That word conquered means to win in the face of obstacles to be victor conquer overcome prevail
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Satan and everything in his power from Herod when he was an infant to the Jewish religious leaders to pilots to the
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Roman soldiers and Everything in between nothing and no one had stopped him from obeying his father and from redeeming his people that's why he came to earth and Believers are like foot soldiers, you know
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Pikemen just holding a spear and they get into a panic and they just charge forward and at the end of the battle
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They open their eyes and they think they're gonna be dead or something horrible is going to have happened to them and they find out
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They're on the winning side they didn't do anything but just kind of close their eyes and just sort of Follow along we did nothing to win this battle
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But the end result is just as if we did because we are in Christ Turn to 1st
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John Chapter 5 Verses 4 and 5
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Because I think the Apostle John really sums it up. Well Again, it's like he was listening and taking notes, you know
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At least mental notes and certainly the Spirit brings this to mind later, but listen to 1st
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John chapter 5 verses 4 and 5 For everyone who has been born of God every believer
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Overcomes the world That's a startling statement
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Because we think we fail. I probably think you know on my deathbed. I'll think I'm a failure.
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Look at all the things I've done wrong But keep reading and this is the victory that has overcome the world our faith again not because the greatness of it
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But because of the object of it Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the
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Son of God if You believe Jesus is the Son of God you overcome the world not because of your efforts
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But because the efforts the finished work of Jesus Christ Now as I did in the opening,
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I want to ask you how strong is your faith? How can you tell if someone is a believer?
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Is it the prophetic their profession of faith, is it the contents of their profession of faith?
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Now again think about this can a Christian fall apart I Think it's pretty clear.
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They can These disciples were Christians and they completely fell apart Can a
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Christian fall into a lifestyle? that appears to be unbelief and And I dare say if you could talk to the disciples if we could meet them right before Jesus appears to them
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There would be very little difference that we would observe between them and the world but they love
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Christ and If you love the Lord Jesus Christ, it's because of the grace of God You may stumble and falter but your salvation
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Wasn't about you in the first place. It wasn't based on your strength. It wasn't based on your ability
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It wasn't based on your faithfulness It was based on Jesus Christ So my question for you is do you now believe are you believing right now in?
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the life death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ Let's pray father
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We thank you for the faithfulness of Christ We thank you that From beginning to end he sovereignly chose to submit himself to you
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To live that perfect life to go to the cross Willingly to suffer in our place
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To die and then be raised on the third day Father we think of these men these disciples we look at them and we we think
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They were so foolish Father forgive us
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For we are just Objects we are as Paul writes in Romans 9
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Clay In your hands that you are free to do with as you will and we see what you did with these men and it is wonderful For each one here who has not yet placed his faith in Christ.
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I pray that today would be the day that they put off Their reliance upon their own goodness and Recognize that the only means of escaping
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Judgment and hell is by faith in Christ and in him alone father for us who believe
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Strengthen our faith help our unbelief Build us refine us