1 00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:12,600 If you had your copy of God's word, go make your way to 1st 2 00:00:12,600 --> 00:00:17,880 John First John chapter 5. Our text will be first John 5 3 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:22,560 verses 6 through 12. Praise God for John and praise 4 00:00:22,560 --> 00:00:25,000 team inquire. I'm so grateful for those who 5 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:28,040 lead us to lift our voices in praise each week. 6 00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:30,760 What a blessing it is to see you all this morning. 7 00:00:30,760 --> 00:00:33,080 If you are a guest among us, I want to give you an extra 8 00:00:33,440 --> 00:00:36,680 special welcome and just want to say thank you for walking in the 9 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:38,840 doors today. I know nobody walks into the 10 00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:41,360 doors by accident. I believe God has something 11 00:00:41,360 --> 00:00:43,440 special for you for each one of us today. 12 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:47,160 And I pray that your heart will be attuned to what that is and 13 00:00:47,160 --> 00:00:50,800 that you'll follow God's lead by faith and whatever He is He 14 00:00:50,800 --> 00:00:55,560 wants to do in your life. Y'all, when Lee Strobel's wife 15 00:00:55,560 --> 00:01:01,200 Leslie became a Christian, he, being an atheist and an 16 00:01:01,200 --> 00:01:06,200 award-winning winning Yale educated journalist, set out to 17 00:01:06,200 --> 00:01:12,560 disprove his wife's new faith. He believed Christianity to be a 18 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:15,760 cult. He saw Christianity as a threat 19 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:20,560 to their marriage, and he saw Christianity as a set of foolish 20 00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:23,160 beliefs. He personally believed in a 21 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:29,000 completely naturalistic explanation for everything, and 22 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:34,440 he saw faith as a crutch. Lee, though, initially planned 23 00:01:34,440 --> 00:01:39,440 to just give a quick weekend to find enough evidence to present 24 00:01:39,440 --> 00:01:42,320 to his wife. The only problem was the 25 00:01:42,320 --> 00:01:47,120 evidence he found compelled him to keep digging. 26 00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:51,120 So then Lee decided that he would approach this whole matter 27 00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:55,680 just like he would a legal case, which led him to spend the next 28 00:01:55,680 --> 00:02:01,360 two years investigating the historical and scientific 29 00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:07,520 evidence for Jesus's life, death, burial and resurrection. 30 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:13,120 Using his journalistic skills, he treated the New Testament 31 00:02:13,720 --> 00:02:18,680 like a historical document and examined every piece of evidence 32 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:23,640 from various sources, including even non biblical sources. 33 00:02:24,720 --> 00:02:29,320 So after a deep and prolonged investigation, Lee concluded 34 00:02:29,720 --> 00:02:35,280 that the evidence pointed powerfully to the truth of 35 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:39,200 Christianity, so much so that he says he found that it would have 36 00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:45,000 taken more faith to remain an atheist than it would to become 37 00:02:45,520 --> 00:02:49,600 a Christian. So on November the 8th of 1981, 38 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:54,560 just shy of 45 years ago, Lee Strobel became a Christian. 39 00:02:55,440 --> 00:02:58,360 By the way, so also did his son and daughter. 40 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:03,400 Also, after their father trusted Christ, they chose to as well. 41 00:03:04,200 --> 00:03:07,480 CS Lewis, in his book that's well known by the name of Mere 42 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:14,400 Christianity, wrote that if Jesus is not who he claimed to 43 00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:19,280 be, then either he is a liar or a lunatic. 44 00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:25,280 Why is that? Because Jesus clearly claimed to 45 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:30,360 be who to be God. And if Jesus is not who he 46 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:33,120 claimed to be, ladies and gentlemen, there's no other 47 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:37,000 choice. Jesus is straight up lying or he 48 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:39,800 is off his rocker. You could put it like this. 49 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:44,800 Jesus is either mad, deceptive, or divine, but those are the 50 00:03:44,840 --> 00:03:51,840 only three options you got. If Jesus is not who he says that 51 00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:54,320 he is, there's no other legitimate option. 52 00:03:54,320 --> 00:03:58,400 The question that John asked and answers for us this morning is 53 00:03:58,400 --> 00:04:00,080 simply this. How do you know? 54 00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:04,760 How do you know that Jesus is true? 55 00:04:05,800 --> 00:04:10,720 How do you know that Jesus is really who he says he is? 56 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:16,120 How do you know that Jesus really is the Son of God? 57 00:04:16,240 --> 00:04:20,839 How do you really know that Jesus is genuine? 58 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:23,520 This is what John is going to write. 59 00:04:23,520 --> 00:04:26,600 To answer, listen to the Word of God in first John 5, beginning 60 00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:33,040 in verse 6. This is he who came by water and 61 00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:41,760 blood, Jesus Christ, not by the water only, but by the water and 62 00:04:41,760 --> 00:04:44,680 the blood. And the Spirit is the one who 63 00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:48,960 testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 64 00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:53,880 For there are three that testify, the Spirit and the 65 00:04:53,880 --> 00:04:58,800 water and the blood, and these three agree. 66 00:04:59,560 --> 00:05:04,280 If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is 67 00:05:04,280 --> 00:05:07,760 greater, for this is the testimony of God, that He is 68 00:05:07,760 --> 00:05:10,960 born concerning His Son. Whoever believes in the Son of 69 00:05:10,960 --> 00:05:13,480 God has the testimony in himself. 70 00:05:13,600 --> 00:05:20,120 Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar because he's not 71 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:24,120 believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning His 72 00:05:24,120 --> 00:05:27,000 Son. And this is the testimony that 73 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:31,920 God gave us eternal life and this life is in His Son. 74 00:05:32,080 --> 00:05:39,080 Whoever has the Son has life. Whoever does not have the Son of 75 00:05:39,080 --> 00:05:45,920 God does not have life. John has urged and he has taught 76 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:49,840 so many things in this little New Testament 5 chapter letter, 77 00:05:50,280 --> 00:05:52,920 and as he's done so, he's not minced words. 78 00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:56,200 If you've been paying attention, John's not pulled any punches. 79 00:05:56,200 --> 00:05:58,720 John's not been beating around any bushes. 80 00:05:58,720 --> 00:06:02,320 He's come straight out and at it and he says things like this 81 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:05,360 y'all, there is light and there is darkness. 82 00:06:05,440 --> 00:06:07,920 There is life and there is death. 83 00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:10,440 There is truth and there is lies. 84 00:06:10,520 --> 00:06:13,320 There is Christ and there is the Antichrist. 85 00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:18,480 This is the language with which John is clarifying the realities 86 00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:22,000 of life and eternity. And you might hear all this and 87 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:24,440 want to say, well, who does John think he is? 88 00:06:26,400 --> 00:06:32,760 Who's he to say such things? How do we know his testimony is 89 00:06:32,760 --> 00:06:34,880 true? How do we know Jesus is true? 90 00:06:34,960 --> 00:06:37,280 How do we know John is trustworthy? 91 00:06:37,280 --> 00:06:42,760 Well, John essentially tells us the basis for his authority in 92 00:06:42,760 --> 00:06:47,600 his teaching in this text we just read, while also answering 93 00:06:47,600 --> 00:06:50,800 the question how do we know that Jesus is true? 94 00:06:51,080 --> 00:06:55,200 John is also answering how do you know that his testimony is 95 00:06:55,200 --> 00:06:57,400 true? The answer to our question is 96 00:06:57,400 --> 00:06:59,080 how do we know that Jesus is true? 97 00:06:59,080 --> 00:07:05,280 John says we have because we have the triple testimony of God 98 00:07:05,400 --> 00:07:09,560 the Father. How do we know that Jesus is 99 00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:13,000 true? Because John says we have the 100 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:15,720 triple testimony of God the Father. 101 00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:17,760 You know, one thing I want you to realize that you may have 102 00:07:17,760 --> 00:07:22,040 never thought about is that the gospel is not just based on 103 00:07:22,040 --> 00:07:25,720 human testimony. Ultimately, the gospel we have 104 00:07:25,720 --> 00:07:31,200 believed as followers of Jesus is based in ultimately divine 105 00:07:31,400 --> 00:07:33,440 testimony. What's fascinating about that 106 00:07:33,440 --> 00:07:36,920 fact, too, is that all things in the Old Testament, God said, 107 00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:39,840 according to principle, were to be established by how many 108 00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:43,760 witnesses? Two or three, and in fact, what 109 00:07:43,760 --> 00:07:46,840 we're going to discover here is that God the Father is following 110 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:50,400 that principle in his own testimony to the truthfulness of 111 00:07:50,400 --> 00:07:54,840 his gospel of his Son and his legitimacy with more than not 112 00:07:54,840 --> 00:07:58,680 just two, but three witnesses, a principle which continues in the 113 00:07:58,680 --> 00:08:01,080 New Testament. So how do we believe in, how do 114 00:08:01,080 --> 00:08:04,480 we know that Jesus is true? We have the testimony of God the 115 00:08:04,480 --> 00:08:05,960 Father. What is that testimony? 116 00:08:05,960 --> 00:08:07,800 Listen closely. Here's the first part of it. 117 00:08:07,800 --> 00:08:11,840 You ready? Number one, God the Father has 118 00:08:11,840 --> 00:08:16,360 witnessed to the truth of His Son with water. 119 00:08:17,400 --> 00:08:22,160 God the Father has witnessed to the truth of His Son with water. 120 00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:25,160 You say, Kyle, what in the world do you mean? 121 00:08:25,440 --> 00:08:29,280 The water is the witness of Jesus's baptism. 122 00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:33,880 I want you to listen to God the Father concerning His Son 123 00:08:33,880 --> 00:08:35,200 through the witness of the water. 124 00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:38,520 This is Matthew chapter 3, verses 13 through 17. 125 00:08:38,520 --> 00:08:42,720 I want you to listen to this. Then Jesus came from Galilee to 126 00:08:42,720 --> 00:08:46,720 the Jordan to John to be baptized by him. 127 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:52,080 John would have prevented him, saying, I need to be baptized by 128 00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:58,160 you, and do you come to me. But Jesus answered him, Let it 129 00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:03,480 be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all 130 00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:07,000 righteousness. Then he consented, and when 131 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:10,160 Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water and 132 00:09:10,160 --> 00:09:14,040 behold, the heavens were open to him, and he saw the Spirit of 133 00:09:14,040 --> 00:09:17,880 God descending on him like a dove and coming to rest on him. 134 00:09:18,200 --> 00:09:23,680 And behold, a voice from heaven said, This is my beloved Son, 135 00:09:23,840 --> 00:09:30,160 with whom I am well pleased. Y'all few places in all of 136 00:09:30,160 --> 00:09:34,880 scripture so clearly clarify the three person nature of the 137 00:09:34,880 --> 00:09:40,720 Godhead, Father, Son and Spirit as clearly as the baptism of 138 00:09:40,880 --> 00:09:42,120 Jesus. So what happens here? 139 00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:45,080 How does God the Father testify through water? 140 00:09:45,080 --> 00:09:48,960 Well notice here in this baptism when Jesus comes up out of the 141 00:09:48,960 --> 00:09:53,120 water, the Holy Spirit visibly comes down upon him. 142 00:09:53,120 --> 00:09:56,800 Now this is not because Jesus didn't have the Spirit before 143 00:09:56,800 --> 00:10:01,560 baptism, He certainly did. But this was an act of the Holy 144 00:10:01,560 --> 00:10:05,640 Spirit ordained by God the Father to visibly, physically 145 00:10:05,640 --> 00:10:09,560 demonstrate that this beginning of Jesus's ministry was marked 146 00:10:09,560 --> 00:10:13,640 by the blessing, the presence and inauguration of the Holy 147 00:10:13,640 --> 00:10:17,200 Spirit of God joining him to complete what God the Father had 148 00:10:17,200 --> 00:10:20,280 sent the Son to do, the beginning of Jesus's public 149 00:10:20,280 --> 00:10:22,240 ministry. And then when Jesus came up out 150 00:10:22,240 --> 00:10:25,440 of the water, it wasn't just the Holy Spirit physically, visibly 151 00:10:25,440 --> 00:10:29,280 in a way resting upon him, but God the Father audibly said, 152 00:10:29,920 --> 00:10:33,400 this is my son. Now, if you just want something 153 00:10:33,400 --> 00:10:36,080 clear, it doesn't get more clear than that, right? 154 00:10:36,640 --> 00:10:38,360 A witness of a voice from heaven. 155 00:10:38,600 --> 00:10:40,360 This is my son. I just want you to think about 156 00:10:40,360 --> 00:10:43,520 this. God the Father didn't say, hey, 157 00:10:43,520 --> 00:10:47,840 Jesus, you're my son. Jesus already knew that. 158 00:10:48,560 --> 00:10:50,880 God the Father's not saying this for his sake. 159 00:10:51,680 --> 00:10:53,640 He's not saying it for Jesus sake. 160 00:10:53,640 --> 00:10:56,160 You know what? He's who he's talking for. 161 00:10:56,160 --> 00:11:00,360 Whose sake everyone gathered and including us witnessing. 162 00:11:00,360 --> 00:11:04,040 Now years past from the witness of John, he says this is hey 163 00:11:04,040 --> 00:11:07,280 y'all, I'm giving witness that this is my son. 164 00:11:07,280 --> 00:11:09,600 I know it and Jesus know it knows it, and the Holy Spirit 165 00:11:09,600 --> 00:11:12,320 knows it, but I want you to know it. 166 00:11:12,320 --> 00:11:15,960 This is my beloved son, y'all. People often wonder why was 167 00:11:15,960 --> 00:11:20,400 Jesus baptized? Well of course baptism is a 168 00:11:20,480 --> 00:11:24,720 public witness. So baptism is not the moment of 169 00:11:24,720 --> 00:11:27,280 salvation. I know that's the way it sounds 170 00:11:27,280 --> 00:11:29,680 like in country songs. That's just not true, all right? 171 00:11:30,480 --> 00:11:32,320 When you come up out of the water, that's not when all your 172 00:11:32,320 --> 00:11:34,640 sins are washed away, all right? You don't leave them in the 173 00:11:34,640 --> 00:11:38,720 river, all right? So anyway, and talk to country 174 00:11:38,720 --> 00:11:42,760 writers about that. You get saved when by faith you 175 00:11:42,760 --> 00:11:46,280 trust Jesus and you give your life to him, and the blood of 176 00:11:46,320 --> 00:11:48,840 Jesus cleanses you from the inside out. 177 00:11:49,560 --> 00:11:54,440 That's when you get saved. Baptism is a public testimony to 178 00:11:54,440 --> 00:11:57,840 what's happened on the inside. It's a picture of the gospel for 179 00:11:57,840 --> 00:12:00,480 everybody to see here. Jesus as they stood in the 180 00:12:00,480 --> 00:12:02,160 water. Jesus stood and lived a sinless 181 00:12:02,160 --> 00:12:04,280 life in our place. Jesus went to the grave. 182 00:12:04,400 --> 00:12:07,400 That's why we're laid in the grave because we're identifying 183 00:12:07,400 --> 00:12:08,680 and believing in the death of Jesus. 184 00:12:08,680 --> 00:12:11,120 And then guess what? We're too dying to our old way 185 00:12:11,120 --> 00:12:13,160 of life. My old self has been crucified 186 00:12:13,160 --> 00:12:16,320 with Christ, and yet Jesus walked out of the grave to give 187 00:12:16,320 --> 00:12:18,040 me life. So I'm raised out of the water 188 00:12:18,040 --> 00:12:21,280 to live a new life by the power of Jesus with the Holy Spirit 189 00:12:21,280 --> 00:12:24,080 living within me, right? It's a total witness. 190 00:12:24,080 --> 00:12:27,000 It's a public witness. So when Jesus this was baptized, 191 00:12:27,720 --> 00:12:30,200 again, you can think about it, baptism as a public witness. 192 00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:32,920 Why was Jesus baptized? Well, there's no doubt in my 193 00:12:32,920 --> 00:12:34,360 mind. And again, the Bible didn't come 194 00:12:34,360 --> 00:12:37,440 out and say this, but no doubt with what the Father does, it's 195 00:12:37,440 --> 00:12:41,080 another public witness to the identity, to the genuine, to the 196 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:43,200 reality that Jesus is the Son of God. 197 00:12:43,360 --> 00:12:46,520 And the Father putting his seal of public witness of approval on 198 00:12:46,520 --> 00:12:49,880 Jesus in that baptism to fulfill the righteousness of what? 199 00:12:50,080 --> 00:12:54,480 Perhaps that same principle that everything be confirmed by two 200 00:12:54,560 --> 00:12:56,960 or three witnesses and it was the Baptist baptism of Jesus 201 00:12:56,960 --> 00:12:59,320 that God the Father says, hey, y'all, this is when I'm going on 202 00:12:59,320 --> 00:13:01,600 public record. This is my Son and this is the 203 00:13:01,600 --> 00:13:04,200 beginning of His ministry. Watch out and follow Him. 204 00:13:06,040 --> 00:13:08,040 This is my witness. Are you watching? 205 00:13:08,800 --> 00:13:13,200 Are you listening? God the Father has witnessed to 206 00:13:13,200 --> 00:13:17,080 the truth of His Son with water. That's Part 1 #2 God the Father 207 00:13:17,120 --> 00:13:19,600 has witnessed to the truth of His Son with blood. 208 00:13:20,920 --> 00:13:23,640 This is verses 6 through 8. What is the witness of blood? 209 00:13:24,160 --> 00:13:28,440 It is the witness of Jesus's death on the cross. 210 00:13:28,480 --> 00:13:32,800 I want you to listen as I read a portion of this from the same 211 00:13:32,800 --> 00:13:37,680 author, different book, the Gospel of John chapter 19 about 212 00:13:37,680 --> 00:13:40,520 the crucifixion of Jesus. Beginning in verse 28. 213 00:13:40,520 --> 00:13:43,920 It says this. And after this, Jesus, knowing 214 00:13:44,440 --> 00:13:48,360 that all was now finished, said to fulfill the scripture. 215 00:13:48,360 --> 00:13:52,080 I thirst and a jar full of sour wine stood there. 216 00:13:52,080 --> 00:13:55,480 So they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and 217 00:13:55,480 --> 00:13:58,840 held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour 218 00:13:58,840 --> 00:14:02,120 wine, he said, It is finished. And he bowed his head and gave 219 00:14:02,120 --> 00:14:05,680 up his spirit, since it was the day of preparation, and so that 220 00:14:05,680 --> 00:14:08,800 the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath, for 221 00:14:08,800 --> 00:14:12,520 that Sabbath was a high day. The Jews asked Pilate that their 222 00:14:12,520 --> 00:14:15,720 legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. 223 00:14:16,040 --> 00:14:19,800 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the 1st and of the 224 00:14:19,840 --> 00:14:21,720 other who had been crucified with him. 225 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:25,240 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, 226 00:14:26,120 --> 00:14:29,520 they did not break his legs, but one of the soldiers pierced his 227 00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:32,200 side with a spear, and at once there came out blood. 228 00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:33,640 And what are some will want to argue? 229 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:36,920 Jesus didn't really die? Ladies and gentlemen, Jesus was 230 00:14:36,920 --> 00:14:42,040 dead and they ensured He was who saw it, has borne witness. 231 00:14:42,400 --> 00:14:45,360 This testimony is true and He knows that He is telling the 232 00:14:45,360 --> 00:14:47,720 truth, that you may also believe for these things took place, 233 00:14:47,720 --> 00:14:50,240 that the Scripture might be fulfilled, that none of His 234 00:14:50,240 --> 00:14:53,040 bones would be broken. That was prophesied hundreds of 235 00:14:53,040 --> 00:14:55,240 years in advance. And again another scripture says 236 00:14:55,240 --> 00:14:58,320 they will look upon whom they have pierced. 237 00:14:58,320 --> 00:15:01,360 So God the Father is not only witness to the genuineness of 238 00:15:01,360 --> 00:15:04,640 His Son with water, but also with blood. 239 00:15:04,920 --> 00:15:09,080 The blood of Jesus began to be shed when Jesus started sweating 240 00:15:09,080 --> 00:15:12,600 drops of blood. The Garden of Gethsemane, a 241 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:17,360 modern day medical term described as hematidrosis with 242 00:15:17,360 --> 00:15:21,880 the sweat glands begin and the capillaries burst under intense 243 00:15:21,880 --> 00:15:25,880 stress and pressure that blood begins to throw to actually flow 244 00:15:26,160 --> 00:15:28,960 through the sweat glands. His blood continued to be shed 245 00:15:28,960 --> 00:15:32,800 as he was beaten, as he was flogged and his back ripped, as 246 00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:36,840 the flesh was torn, and as he was crowned with a with a crown 247 00:15:36,840 --> 00:15:40,080 of thorns. Blood continued to flow from his 248 00:15:40,080 --> 00:15:43,800 hands and his feet as spikes were driven through him to 249 00:15:43,800 --> 00:15:49,880 fasten him to a tree. And then Jesus's blood flowed as 250 00:15:49,880 --> 00:15:55,400 his side was pierced to confirm his physical death and avoiding 251 00:15:55,560 --> 00:15:59,200 the breaking of his bones. By the way, just as scripture 252 00:15:59,560 --> 00:16:03,880 had predicted, the Bible says y'all, the life of the flesh is 253 00:16:03,880 --> 00:16:07,320 in the blood. Leviticus 1711, the life of the 254 00:16:07,320 --> 00:16:10,240 flesh is in the blood. And then it furthermore says in 255 00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:12,920 Hebrews that without the shedding of blood there is no 256 00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:17,000 forgiveness of sins. You see, perfect, full, final, 257 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:20,960 total, complete forgiveness could only be purchased by 258 00:16:20,960 --> 00:16:25,760 perfect blood. Jesus's blood had to be shed for 259 00:16:25,760 --> 00:16:30,120 our sins and the sins of the world to possibly be forgiven 260 00:16:30,280 --> 00:16:34,160 with His blood shed for sinners. No wonder Jesus said just before 261 00:16:34,160 --> 00:16:38,440 He took His last breath, it is finished. 262 00:16:39,200 --> 00:16:42,880 What I started at my baptism with the witness of the Father 263 00:16:42,880 --> 00:16:46,360 by water has now been completed and finished under the witness 264 00:16:46,360 --> 00:16:49,120 of the shedding of Jesus's blood. 265 00:16:49,320 --> 00:16:53,040 God the Father has witnessed to the truth of His Son not just by 266 00:16:53,040 --> 00:16:59,840 water but also by blood #3 God the Father has witnessed to the 267 00:16:59,840 --> 00:17:01,720 truth of His Son by the Holy Spirit. 268 00:17:02,720 --> 00:17:04,280 This is verse 6 through 8 as well. 269 00:17:04,760 --> 00:17:09,240 The Bible says in the Spirit is the one who testifies because 270 00:17:09,240 --> 00:17:12,960 the Spirit is the truth. Y'all if the witness of the 271 00:17:12,960 --> 00:17:17,400 water in the blood wasn't enough, the Holy Spirit of God 272 00:17:17,400 --> 00:17:21,160 himself testifies to the truthfulness of Jesus Christ, 273 00:17:21,160 --> 00:17:24,359 the Son of God. We see that the Holy Spirit was 274 00:17:24,359 --> 00:17:27,480 there testifying at the baptism of Jesus as he descended on 275 00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:30,120 Jesus like a dove. The Holy Spirit was there 276 00:17:30,120 --> 00:17:32,240 testifying in the death of Jesus. 277 00:17:32,240 --> 00:17:35,080 How so? He was confirming what he had 278 00:17:35,080 --> 00:17:38,760 spoken prophetically through the Scriptures hundreds of years in 279 00:17:38,760 --> 00:17:42,400 advance, that not a bone of his body would be broken, but that 280 00:17:42,400 --> 00:17:44,480 he would. If you read Isaiah 53, his 281 00:17:44,480 --> 00:17:46,720 homework this afternoon, you'd read words like this. 282 00:17:46,840 --> 00:17:49,200 He would be smitten by God and afflicted. 283 00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:53,160 He would be pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our 284 00:17:53,160 --> 00:17:56,960 iniquities, pouring out His soul to death, numbered with the 285 00:17:56,960 --> 00:18:00,120 transgressors, that is criminals on his right and on His left, 286 00:18:00,200 --> 00:18:03,240 bearing the sin of many to make intercession for them. 287 00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:05,560 This is the Holy Spirit testifying and the Holy Spirit 288 00:18:05,560 --> 00:18:09,200 continue to testify to the truth to Jesus to this day. 289 00:18:09,200 --> 00:18:12,320 In fact, John chapter 16 verse 13 says it like this. 290 00:18:13,040 --> 00:18:15,960 When the Spirit of truth comes, that is Jesus saying, when He 291 00:18:15,960 --> 00:18:19,480 sends the Holy Spirit after He ascends to the Father, He that 292 00:18:19,480 --> 00:18:22,680 is the Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth. 293 00:18:22,880 --> 00:18:26,000 For He will not speak of His own authority, but whatever He 294 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:31,120 hears, He will speak and declare to you the things that are to 295 00:18:31,120 --> 00:18:33,720 come. He will glorify me, for He will 296 00:18:33,720 --> 00:18:36,200 take what is mine and declare it also to you. 297 00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:39,280 Y'all. One of the primary roles of the 298 00:18:39,280 --> 00:18:42,080 Holy Spirit to this day is testifying to the truth of the 299 00:18:42,080 --> 00:18:44,200 Spirit. I want you to realize if you've 300 00:18:44,200 --> 00:18:47,280 been saved, it's because you've responded to the testimony of 301 00:18:47,280 --> 00:18:50,320 the Holy Spirit. Did you realize that without the 302 00:18:50,320 --> 00:18:53,960 working of the Holy Spirit, nobody's eyes of their heart 303 00:18:53,960 --> 00:18:57,040 would be open to realize the truth of who Jesus is? 304 00:18:57,920 --> 00:19:01,800 It is the Holy Spirit that illuminates for us the identity 305 00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:04,360 and the genuineness and the reality of Jesus. 306 00:19:04,680 --> 00:19:08,680 You know, the Bible says it is the Holy Spirit that draws us to 307 00:19:08,680 --> 00:19:10,240 Jesus. It is the Holy Spirit that 308 00:19:10,240 --> 00:19:11,520 convicts. If you've ever been under the 309 00:19:11,520 --> 00:19:14,560 conviction of sin, if you're under the conviction of sin 310 00:19:14,560 --> 00:19:18,800 right now, that is the work and the witness of the Holy Spirit. 311 00:19:18,960 --> 00:19:22,280 Then Jesus says to Nicodemus, nobody can be born again unless 312 00:19:22,280 --> 00:19:25,880 by the born again by the Holy Spirit, right? 313 00:19:26,200 --> 00:19:29,240 Salvation is made possible because of the witness of the 314 00:19:29,240 --> 00:19:31,080 Holy Spirit to Jesus that he did. 315 00:19:31,320 --> 00:19:34,480 The days that Jesus walked this earth in the flesh and to this 316 00:19:34,480 --> 00:19:39,080 day as we preach and teach and follow Jesus ourselves, the Holy 317 00:19:39,080 --> 00:19:43,880 Spirit testifies that Jesus was baptized and crucified and that 318 00:19:43,880 --> 00:19:47,160 Spirit continues to this day. The Spirit cannot lie, for the 319 00:19:47,160 --> 00:19:50,600 Spirit is God, the third person of the Trinity, and God does not 320 00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:52,560 lie. What the Spirit says is and 321 00:19:52,560 --> 00:19:57,560 always will be true. And so how do we know Jesus is 322 00:19:57,560 --> 00:20:00,440 true? How do we know Jesus is true? 323 00:20:01,320 --> 00:20:06,560 We have the triple testimony of God the Father, water, blood, 324 00:20:07,120 --> 00:20:09,440 and Spirit. I want to mention a little 325 00:20:09,440 --> 00:20:12,120 something that may sound like a hard right turn. 326 00:20:13,200 --> 00:20:14,960 But this is just where we need to call a little time out. 327 00:20:14,960 --> 00:20:17,600 I want to speak to something that you may see in your Bible 328 00:20:17,920 --> 00:20:20,520 that I want to clarify and just pastorally speak to because 329 00:20:20,520 --> 00:20:23,920 often times this is where our faith can be attacked. 330 00:20:24,400 --> 00:20:28,680 If you have a King James Version Bible in front of you, verse 7 331 00:20:28,680 --> 00:20:30,440 actually reads a little different. 332 00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:33,520 It reads like this. For there are three that bear 333 00:20:33,520 --> 00:20:37,760 record in heaven, the Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost. 334 00:20:37,760 --> 00:20:40,480 And these three are one. And that reads pretty different 335 00:20:40,480 --> 00:20:42,000 than what I just preached, does it not? 336 00:20:42,680 --> 00:20:46,280 Well, what's the deal? Well, y'all, the deal is here is 337 00:20:46,280 --> 00:20:50,520 that that one of the Greek text that the King James Version is 338 00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:54,600 based upon was edited or put together by a man in the 1500s 339 00:20:54,600 --> 00:20:58,920 by the name of Erasmus. All right, But this version that 340 00:20:58,920 --> 00:21:02,800 got included in the King James Bible is based on a Greek 341 00:21:02,800 --> 00:21:07,880 translation that does not go back to the earliest, earliest 342 00:21:07,960 --> 00:21:10,920 early century Greek New Testament documents. 343 00:21:11,120 --> 00:21:13,560 It does. It is in some later 4th century 344 00:21:13,560 --> 00:21:16,840 Latin versions, but it doesn't show up in a Greek manuscript 345 00:21:16,840 --> 00:21:21,760 until like 12/13/14 hundred years after it was originally 346 00:21:22,080 --> 00:21:24,200 written. All right, so it's most of your 347 00:21:24,200 --> 00:21:28,320 more modern Bible translations go back to rely on some of those 348 00:21:28,360 --> 00:21:31,800 earlier Greek manuscripts and therefore read the way that I've 349 00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:33,400 read it, not the way the King James read it. 350 00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:37,080 Most most realize when this first showed up, these different 351 00:21:37,240 --> 00:21:40,640 words, that it was written in the margin of early Greek 352 00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:45,280 manuscripts in the 12th, 13th, 14th century, as if one of the 353 00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:48,160 copyists thought maybe the doctrine of the Trinity needs a 354 00:21:48,160 --> 00:21:49,680 little bit of help. And I'm going to try to write 355 00:21:49,680 --> 00:21:53,000 that in on the margin. And then it got included in some 356 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:56,120 later ones, but this not in the earliest of ones. 357 00:21:56,120 --> 00:21:58,880 Now some people say, well, Oh my goodness, this is this is 358 00:21:58,880 --> 00:22:00,560 evidence the Bible's been tampered with. 359 00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:02,840 The Bible's been changed. We can't trust our Bibles. 360 00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:05,440 Don't buy that for a minute. Why is that? 361 00:22:07,080 --> 00:22:10,840 There is no human document, written document in history with 362 00:22:10,840 --> 00:22:14,800 the level of validity and verification than your Bible. 363 00:22:15,680 --> 00:22:20,000 Thousands, thousands of manuscripts, one after another 364 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:22,560 all the way back to the early centuries that we don't have 365 00:22:22,640 --> 00:22:27,040 anything like that to compare any other human written 366 00:22:27,200 --> 00:22:28,920 document. And here's the real issue. 367 00:22:29,080 --> 00:22:32,320 When something is unique or stands out, we know about it 368 00:22:32,320 --> 00:22:34,400 like a sore thumb because we can go all the way back to the 369 00:22:34,400 --> 00:22:36,840 beginning and compare all the documents and their consistency. 370 00:22:37,040 --> 00:22:39,680 And if a copyist made changes or wrote something in the margin, 371 00:22:39,800 --> 00:22:42,280 it stands out pretty obvious. And now sometimes some 372 00:22:42,280 --> 00:22:44,000 translations may include that and some may not. 373 00:22:44,200 --> 00:22:46,960 But you can study the history of your Bible. 374 00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:49,320 You can see what was in the earliest and what was not. 375 00:22:49,760 --> 00:22:51,720 And some translations make differences on that. 376 00:22:52,040 --> 00:22:54,120 But as I've heard one man say, the problem is not that we don't 377 00:22:54,120 --> 00:22:57,400 have 100% of the Bible. We kind of have 102% because 378 00:22:57,400 --> 00:23:00,120 over years and centuries of translation, sometimes some 379 00:23:00,120 --> 00:23:01,840 people may have written something in here and there, but 380 00:23:01,840 --> 00:23:04,520 we can see what clearly was there and what was not. 381 00:23:04,520 --> 00:23:07,600 We don't have any reason to doubt the truthfulness and 382 00:23:07,600 --> 00:23:09,240 validity of what we have in our Bibles. 383 00:23:09,360 --> 00:23:12,040 So when someone says like a Mormon or like a Jehovah's 384 00:23:12,040 --> 00:23:14,840 Witnesses or like a Muslim, you can't trust your Bible. 385 00:23:14,840 --> 00:23:20,440 It's been changed. No, no it's not. 386 00:23:22,120 --> 00:23:24,040 And when they maybe point to something like this, you can 387 00:23:24,040 --> 00:23:27,280 say, look, we can walk all the way through and we can see the 388 00:23:27,280 --> 00:23:31,280 tiny minuscule amount of our scripture that has been in any 389 00:23:31,280 --> 00:23:33,840 way debated. And if it has, it stands out 390 00:23:33,840 --> 00:23:35,400 like a sore thumb. We know. 391 00:23:35,400 --> 00:23:38,520 We know what the consistent original was as we can trace 392 00:23:38,520 --> 00:23:41,320 back copies of that. And none of this, none of the 393 00:23:41,320 --> 00:23:44,880 parts of our Bible, y'all, none of the parts where there is some 394 00:23:44,880 --> 00:23:47,840 arguing about have any thing to do with the basic doctrines of 395 00:23:47,840 --> 00:23:52,400 our faith, you need to realize the trustworthiness of the 396 00:23:52,400 --> 00:23:56,520 validity of the Bible. There is no human document in 397 00:23:56,520 --> 00:24:01,000 history that comes close to its faithfulness and reliability. 398 00:24:01,280 --> 00:24:04,120 All right, but you're going to run into the lie, You're going 399 00:24:04,120 --> 00:24:06,920 to run into the attack that you can't trust it, all right? 400 00:24:07,320 --> 00:24:10,680 But it's just not true, y'all. This is the triple testimony of 401 00:24:10,680 --> 00:24:14,080 the Father. So #4 is God the Father's 402 00:24:14,080 --> 00:24:17,160 testimony. God the Father's testimony is 403 00:24:17,160 --> 00:24:19,240 the ultimate testimony. This is verse 9. 404 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:24,000 It says if we receive the testimony of men, the testimony 405 00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:27,440 of God is greater. For this is the testimony of God 406 00:24:27,440 --> 00:24:30,640 that He has borne concerning His Son. 407 00:24:31,040 --> 00:24:34,920 You know, every single day we live our lives based on the 408 00:24:34,920 --> 00:24:37,880 testimony of men and women, do we not? 409 00:24:38,920 --> 00:24:40,920 When's the last time you've asked for a word of mouth 410 00:24:40,920 --> 00:24:44,520 recommendation for a restaurant? When's the last time you've read 411 00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:47,640 online reviews? When's the last time you've read 412 00:24:47,640 --> 00:24:50,440 a social media post? When's the last time you've 413 00:24:50,440 --> 00:24:54,000 typed in directions on your phone or asked a question on 414 00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:56,120 ChatGPT? By the way, somebody put that 415 00:24:56,120 --> 00:24:57,960 in. Whatever answers you're getting 416 00:24:57,960 --> 00:25:01,880 right to formulate the output. World history, balls and 417 00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:05,400 strikes, instant replay in a court of law, instructions on 418 00:25:05,400 --> 00:25:08,880 the medicine bottle. They're all the testimony of 419 00:25:08,880 --> 00:25:14,600 who? Human beings, John says like 420 00:25:14,600 --> 00:25:16,080 this. Which one is greater, the 421 00:25:16,080 --> 00:25:19,120 testimony of man or the testimony of God? 422 00:25:21,240 --> 00:25:23,360 God, of course. And if you've believed and if 423 00:25:23,360 --> 00:25:27,720 you live your life by the testimony of men, have you also 424 00:25:27,720 --> 00:25:32,120 believed the greater testimony, the testimony of of God? 425 00:25:33,320 --> 00:25:39,080 John is not asking you and me to believe based on blind faith. 426 00:25:39,400 --> 00:25:44,240 Some people think that Christianity is this blind faith 427 00:25:44,360 --> 00:25:49,800 leap, like I've got to overcome my rationale or my logic to 428 00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:51,680 believe. John's not saying to believe 429 00:25:51,680 --> 00:25:54,120 based on blind faith. He wants you to realize the 430 00:25:54,120 --> 00:25:56,400 reliability of the evidence for faith. 431 00:25:56,720 --> 00:25:59,800 And, and part of that is not just human testimony, but the 432 00:25:59,920 --> 00:26:04,760 reliable ultimate testimony of God #5 everyone. 433 00:26:05,320 --> 00:26:09,760 Everyone receives or rejects the testimony of God the Father, 434 00:26:11,160 --> 00:26:14,640 including you and me. John's talking about you and me. 435 00:26:14,640 --> 00:26:18,160 Listen, everyone either receives or rejects the testimony of God 436 00:26:18,160 --> 00:26:19,000 the Father. Verse 10. 437 00:26:19,240 --> 00:26:22,640 Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in 438 00:26:22,640 --> 00:26:25,520 himself. Whoever does not believe God has 439 00:26:25,520 --> 00:26:29,040 made him a liar because he has not believed in the testimony 440 00:26:29,040 --> 00:26:31,840 that God has borne concerning His Son. 441 00:26:32,080 --> 00:26:35,720 Those who received the testimony of God the Father have the truth 442 00:26:35,720 --> 00:26:38,200 and the testifier, the Holy Spirit within them. 443 00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:41,480 But whoever rejects the testimony of God the Father 444 00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:43,760 calls God. I want you to hear this clearly. 445 00:26:44,040 --> 00:26:48,200 Whoever rejects the testimony of God the Father literally calls 446 00:26:48,200 --> 00:26:51,440 God a fill in the blank for me, a liar. 447 00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:54,840 Some of you are like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. 448 00:26:56,240 --> 00:26:59,760 I've never said that. I've never claimed that God was 449 00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:03,000 a liar. I don't necessarily want to say 450 00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:05,480 that now. Well, here's what John says. 451 00:27:06,120 --> 00:27:10,200 Whoever does not believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, 452 00:27:10,200 --> 00:27:13,840 which is the testimony of the Holy Spirit of God, calls God 453 00:27:13,840 --> 00:27:18,480 the Father a liar. You say? 454 00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:24,400 Kyle, how's that? People who do not believe may 455 00:27:24,400 --> 00:27:27,640 not mean to call God a liar, but that's exactly what they're 456 00:27:27,640 --> 00:27:29,200 doing. Let me borrow the words from a 457 00:27:29,200 --> 00:27:32,240 preacher of yesteryear by the name of Charles Spurgeon. 458 00:27:33,360 --> 00:27:37,600 He says the great sin of not believing in the Lord Jesus 459 00:27:37,600 --> 00:27:41,880 Christ is often spoken of very lightly and in a trifling 460 00:27:41,880 --> 00:27:46,440 spirit, as though it were scarcely any sin at all. 461 00:27:46,680 --> 00:27:50,920 Yet according to my text, Spurgeon says that is the Bible. 462 00:27:51,160 --> 00:27:54,360 And indeed, according to the whole tenure of Scripture, 463 00:27:54,880 --> 00:28:00,120 unbelief is the giving of God, the lie. 464 00:28:00,280 --> 00:28:08,280 And what could be worse, Unbelief is handing God 465 00:28:08,440 --> 00:28:13,080 responsibility for the lie. And what could be worse, I love 466 00:28:13,080 --> 00:28:14,720 Charles Spurgeon. He starts meddling right here. 467 00:28:14,720 --> 00:28:16,800 He says stuff like this. He says, listen, what if 468 00:28:16,800 --> 00:28:19,320 somebody says I really want to believe, preacher? 469 00:28:19,320 --> 00:28:23,360 I just can't listen to what he says to that. 470 00:28:24,080 --> 00:28:27,360 He says, oh unbeliever, you have said I cannot believe, but it'd 471 00:28:27,360 --> 00:28:30,000 be more honest if you have just said I won't believe. 472 00:28:31,640 --> 00:28:35,840 The mischief lies there. Your unbelief is your fault, not 473 00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:39,160 your misfortune. It is a disease, but it is also 474 00:28:39,160 --> 00:28:41,480 a crime. It is a terrible source of 475 00:28:41,480 --> 00:28:45,280 misery to you, but it is justly so, for it's an atrocious 476 00:28:45,280 --> 00:28:46,680 offense against the truth of God. 477 00:28:46,880 --> 00:28:49,200 If somebody else might say, Charles Spurgeon says, listen, 478 00:28:49,600 --> 00:28:52,320 I'm trying to believe. I'm not there yet, but I'm going 479 00:28:52,320 --> 00:28:55,200 to keep on trying to which Spurgeon says, does it the Bible 480 00:28:55,200 --> 00:28:59,520 say try to believe or believe? For by your trying, you keep 481 00:28:59,520 --> 00:29:03,800 calling God a liar. And perhaps you've been trying 482 00:29:03,800 --> 00:29:06,560 for years and now it's even worse because you basically said 483 00:29:06,560 --> 00:29:09,520 I've given God day after day and month after month and year after 484 00:29:09,520 --> 00:29:12,080 year and heard his testimony over and over and I'm still 485 00:29:12,080 --> 00:29:21,960 calling him a a liar. God has testified to the truth. 486 00:29:22,560 --> 00:29:26,280 God. God has testified to the truth 487 00:29:26,320 --> 00:29:29,160 of his Son. You either accept it or reject 488 00:29:29,160 --> 00:29:32,040 it. Trying to be neutral is not 489 00:29:32,040 --> 00:29:35,160 being neutral. It's rejecting God's testimony. 490 00:29:35,800 --> 00:29:40,400 6 And finally, the testimony of God the Father is that he gave 491 00:29:40,400 --> 00:29:43,480 us his Son so that we might have life. 492 00:29:43,560 --> 00:29:47,680 This is verse 11 and 12. You know every, every human 493 00:29:47,680 --> 00:29:51,640 being has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. 494 00:29:51,640 --> 00:29:56,840 And the Bible clearly says that the wages are the result of 495 00:29:56,840 --> 00:30:00,040 that. Sin is death, physically and 496 00:30:00,040 --> 00:30:03,720 spiritually. And yet God so loved us so much. 497 00:30:03,720 --> 00:30:06,240 The Bible says this is the most wonderful news in the world, 498 00:30:07,200 --> 00:30:10,960 that He sent his one and only Son, that whoever would believe 499 00:30:10,960 --> 00:30:13,560 on him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 500 00:30:14,400 --> 00:30:17,200 This is why there's only one. There's only one. 501 00:30:17,200 --> 00:30:19,520 Can I say that one more time? There is only one who offers 502 00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:21,960 life. There's only one. 503 00:30:22,160 --> 00:30:26,240 His name is Jesus. And so again, John, I told you, 504 00:30:26,240 --> 00:30:29,160 doesn't mince any words. He doesn't beat around any Bush. 505 00:30:29,920 --> 00:30:33,680 The person who has Jesus has life. 506 00:30:34,560 --> 00:30:38,840 The one who does not have Jesus does not have life. 507 00:30:39,440 --> 00:30:42,720 It's as plain and simple is that if one does not have life in 508 00:30:42,840 --> 00:30:44,160 Jesus, they do not have life at all. 509 00:30:44,160 --> 00:30:46,240 What is eternal life? What is eternal life? 510 00:30:46,960 --> 00:30:48,600 Y'all? It is to be in fellowship with 511 00:30:48,600 --> 00:30:53,160 the triune God, to be in a right relationship with Him and in 512 00:30:53,160 --> 00:30:57,320 fellowship with those who have joined faith in Him and received 513 00:30:57,320 --> 00:31:01,040 salvation, faith in Jesus, fellowship with Jesus and the 514 00:31:01,040 --> 00:31:03,920 Father and the Spirit and all those who trusted him by faith. 515 00:31:04,160 --> 00:31:08,520 I want to be very clear. You cannot reject the Jesus of 516 00:31:08,520 --> 00:31:13,160 the Bible and have eternal life. I want to say that one more 517 00:31:13,160 --> 00:31:17,440 time. You cannot reject the Jesus of 518 00:31:17,440 --> 00:31:22,960 the Bible and have eternal life. All kinds of people are 519 00:31:22,960 --> 00:31:27,640 following a Jesus of their own making, and a Jesus of your own 520 00:31:27,640 --> 00:31:30,880 making is not the Jesus of the Bible and not a Jesus that can 521 00:31:30,880 --> 00:31:33,240 give you eternal life. Let me give you some examples. 522 00:31:33,400 --> 00:31:38,640 Hindus expect or accept Jesus as a little G God along their 523 00:31:38,640 --> 00:31:41,520 pantheon of other gods. They're not following the real 524 00:31:41,640 --> 00:31:44,200 Jesus. New Agers think of Jesus as an 525 00:31:44,200 --> 00:31:48,120 advanced, wonderful human being to follow as an example. 526 00:31:48,640 --> 00:31:52,680 They do not have the real Jesus. Christian Science considers 527 00:31:52,720 --> 00:31:55,680 Jesus to be just another man. None of these and their many 528 00:31:55,680 --> 00:32:01,280 other wrong perspectives match up with what John says Jesus is. 529 00:32:01,280 --> 00:32:04,880 None of these have the sons, so they're none of them have life. 530 00:32:04,880 --> 00:32:08,920 Friends, do not trust in or follow a Jesus of your own 531 00:32:08,920 --> 00:32:12,000 making or one of your imagination. 532 00:32:13,160 --> 00:32:18,120 Trust in the Jesus of the Bible. You cannot be neutral about 533 00:32:18,240 --> 00:32:20,200 Jesus and have life. Believe on him. 534 00:32:20,200 --> 00:32:23,960 He is the one and only way of salvation. 535 00:32:24,960 --> 00:32:28,840 And y'all, when you do listen to me Christians in the room when 536 00:32:28,840 --> 00:32:31,200 you do. John and Jesus both want you to 537 00:32:31,200 --> 00:32:33,240 know that you absolutely have eternal life. 538 00:32:34,200 --> 00:32:37,080 They don't want you going home at night or waking up in the 539 00:32:37,080 --> 00:32:39,160 morning wondering if you're saved. 540 00:32:40,320 --> 00:32:42,320 Once you've trusted Jesus Christ. 541 00:32:42,640 --> 00:32:46,280 The Bible says if you have Jesus, you have life, and it 542 00:32:46,280 --> 00:32:48,880 says no one can snatch you out of his hand. 543 00:32:49,920 --> 00:32:53,560 Did you realize that our assurance of salvation does not 544 00:32:53,560 --> 00:32:57,560 rest in our performance in what we've done, but in the perfect 545 00:32:57,560 --> 00:32:59,720 performance of what Jesus has done? 546 00:33:00,840 --> 00:33:02,920 Do you see the difference? Because if it rests in your 547 00:33:02,920 --> 00:33:06,360 performance, on a good day you might be like, oh, I got it, I'm 548 00:33:06,360 --> 00:33:09,280 saved. But on a bad day you might be 549 00:33:09,280 --> 00:33:15,960 like, whoa, I don't know, praise God, it's not dependent on your 550 00:33:15,960 --> 00:33:18,680 performance. It is dependent on the 551 00:33:18,680 --> 00:33:22,280 perfection of Jesus who finished what he started. 552 00:33:22,280 --> 00:33:25,520 Y'all? I heard somebody say a man once 553 00:33:25,520 --> 00:33:30,200 came to DL Moody and asked and said he was worried about his 554 00:33:30,280 --> 00:33:31,080 faith. Why? 555 00:33:31,200 --> 00:33:35,320 Because he he told the preacher DLI don't feel saved. 556 00:33:36,160 --> 00:33:38,280 DL looked at him and said, well let me ask you a question. 557 00:33:38,760 --> 00:33:44,000 What made Noah safe on the ark? Was it the ark or was it his 558 00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:50,360 feelings? The man said it was the ark. 559 00:33:51,400 --> 00:33:56,720 He said God's order is facts, faith then feelings, not 560 00:33:56,720 --> 00:34:03,480 feelings, facts, faith. God's order is facts, then 561 00:34:03,480 --> 00:34:07,520 faith, then feelings. Your feelings may come and go. 562 00:34:07,640 --> 00:34:11,520 We rest our lives on the fact of who Jesus is. 563 00:34:11,520 --> 00:34:18,719 If you have Jesus, you have life and no one or no thing can take 564 00:34:18,719 --> 00:34:21,679 it from you. The question is, do you have 565 00:34:21,800 --> 00:34:25,520 Jesus? Have you trusted in the Jesus of 566 00:34:25,719 --> 00:34:28,639 the Bible? God is not calling us to blind 567 00:34:28,639 --> 00:34:30,000 faith. If you're here or you're 568 00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:32,440 watching online wondering about this whole Christian faith, and 569 00:34:32,440 --> 00:34:37,120 God is not calling you to blind faith, Lee Strobel said. 570 00:34:37,120 --> 00:34:40,000 I investigated the evidence and I'd have had more faith to to 571 00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:45,040 believe in a purely merely physical explanation for 572 00:34:45,040 --> 00:34:48,639 everything versus all the evidence that amounted and piled 573 00:34:48,639 --> 00:34:52,159 up to affirm that Jesus is who he says he is. 574 00:34:53,639 --> 00:34:57,040 Have you received? Have you received the testimony 575 00:34:57,040 --> 00:35:00,960 of God, the water, the blood, the Spirit? 576 00:35:00,960 --> 00:35:05,800 How do we know Jesus is true? Because we have the triple 577 00:35:05,800 --> 00:35:10,680 testimony of God the Father. If you're in the room, John and 578 00:35:10,680 --> 00:35:11,880 priest team are coming to the stage. 579 00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:13,440 If you're in the room, listen to me close. 580 00:35:15,200 --> 00:35:17,320 You can't be neutral about Jesus. 581 00:35:18,720 --> 00:35:22,760 There is no neutral. It's receive or reject. 582 00:35:24,040 --> 00:35:27,120 I'm asking you if you've not received Jesus, to not reject 583 00:35:27,120 --> 00:35:31,320 him, but to receive him today. You say, Kyle, how do I do that? 584 00:35:31,840 --> 00:35:35,400 Listen, I want to implore you to step out from where you are so I 585 00:35:35,400 --> 00:35:38,080 can walk with you through that. But right now or in just a 586 00:35:38,080 --> 00:35:41,080 moment, you can step out. As we sing, you can simply tell 587 00:35:41,080 --> 00:35:44,960 me I need to receive Jesus and I'm going to lead you in praying 588 00:35:44,960 --> 00:35:46,760 a prayer. There's no magic words, there's 589 00:35:46,760 --> 00:35:49,520 no magic formula, but I'm going to give you an opportunity just 590 00:35:49,520 --> 00:35:52,440 right here with me to just call on Jesus and ask for forgiveness 591 00:35:52,680 --> 00:35:54,680 and say, Jesus, I want you to be the Lord of my life. 592 00:35:54,680 --> 00:35:57,000 I'm giving my life to you. I'm confessing you as Lord. 593 00:35:58,680 --> 00:36:03,000 Some of you need to do that. Some of you in the room, and you 594 00:36:03,000 --> 00:36:04,320 know what? You've been kind of letting your 595 00:36:04,320 --> 00:36:07,000 assurance of salvation ebb and flow based on a good day or a 596 00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:09,000 bad day. You've been putting feelings 597 00:36:09,120 --> 00:36:13,840 before the facts and you just need to kind of put a marker 598 00:36:13,840 --> 00:36:16,080 down in your life where you said, you know what, I'm going 599 00:36:16,080 --> 00:36:18,800 to believe what the Bible says that if I got Jesus, I have life 600 00:36:18,800 --> 00:36:21,600 and nothing can take that from me and I want to rejoice in 601 00:36:21,600 --> 00:36:23,120 that. I want to stake my life on that. 602 00:36:23,160 --> 00:36:25,840 I'm going to put my joy in that and I'm going to let feelings 603 00:36:25,840 --> 00:36:28,320 follow because I'm going to put facts and then my faith in what 604 00:36:28,320 --> 00:36:30,160 the Bible says. And then I'm going to feel what 605 00:36:30,160 --> 00:36:32,040 happens after that because guess what? 606 00:36:32,040 --> 00:36:35,800 I know what's true and I'm in the art of Jesus Christ. 607 00:36:35,800 --> 00:36:38,840 The waves may Buffett me and the circumstances of my life may be 608 00:36:38,840 --> 00:36:42,240 crazy, but I'm safe in the hands of Jesus. 609 00:36:44,120 --> 00:36:46,280 You've already won. All you got to do is trust Him 610 00:36:46,280 --> 00:36:49,440 to live each day for His glory. I don't know what God wants to 611 00:36:49,440 --> 00:36:51,600 do in your life, but I'm going to ask you to be bold as you 612 00:36:51,600 --> 00:36:52,560 respond. I'm going to pray, then we're 613 00:36:52,560 --> 00:36:53,640 going to stay, and then you come. 614 00:36:53,640 --> 00:36:56,840 Father, I want to pray right now that whatever decisions or 615 00:36:56,840 --> 00:36:58,960 leadership you want to accomplish in the life of any 616 00:36:58,960 --> 00:37:01,400 man, woman, boy or girl in the room that you would be able to 617 00:37:01,400 --> 00:37:05,000 have total freedom to do that by faith, move by your spirit, 618 00:37:05,120 --> 00:37:08,560 witness to Jesus today. Holy Spirit, open blind eyes and 619 00:37:08,560 --> 00:37:11,520 confirm the facts. Father, for people today, 620 00:37:11,680 --> 00:37:14,320 because of your divine testimony, I pray in Jesus name, 621 00:37:14,600 --> 00:37:15,560 Amen. Would you stand with me? 622 00:37:15,560 --> 00:37:18,920 Church family, we're going to sing and you come as we respond 623 00:37:18,920 --> 00:37:19,800 to Jesus this morning.