1 00:00:00,640 --> 00:00:03,320 Well, good morning everybody. Why don't you open up your 2 00:00:03,330 --> 00:00:08,270 Bibles and join me in John chapter 5, John 5, If you are 3 00:00:08,280 --> 00:00:11,430 not very familiar with the Bible, this is in the second 4 00:00:11,440 --> 00:00:15,990 part we call the New Testament. There's a grouping of Gospels, 5 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:19,530 Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and it is the last of that 6 00:00:19,540 --> 00:00:22,930 grouping, John chapter 5. We're starting a new series, 7 00:00:22,940 --> 00:00:27,070 probably no for New Years, called Live in the Life. 8 00:00:27,750 --> 00:00:33,290 Are you living the life? Are you, are you living the 9 00:00:33,300 --> 00:00:34,860 life? We're talking about the 10 00:00:34,870 --> 00:00:38,320 Christian life, but this series is not gonna be, we're not gonna 11 00:00:38,330 --> 00:00:40,840 be talking about what we do in the Christian life. 12 00:00:40,890 --> 00:00:43,390 For example, loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and 13 00:00:43,400 --> 00:00:47,140 strength, loving our neighbors, ourselves, not focusing on that. 14 00:00:47,390 --> 00:00:50,960 What we're focusing on is the life that is behind the 15 00:00:50,970 --> 00:00:54,250 Christian life, like what is the engine? 16 00:00:54,260 --> 00:00:58,230 What is, what is, what is it that brings vitality and energy 17 00:00:58,300 --> 00:01:03,430 to us, as Adriana has demonstrated by her, by her 18 00:01:03,500 --> 00:01:08,790 children's message? Are you feeling the life of 19 00:01:08,800 --> 00:01:13,170 Christ in you? Do you feel revitalized? 20 00:01:13,180 --> 00:01:15,690 Are you feeling that that sensing that energy, that 21 00:01:15,700 --> 00:01:18,710 something beyond just your capabilities? 22 00:01:18,980 --> 00:01:23,710 Or maybe you're feeling flat spiritually, maybe cold, maybe 23 00:01:23,720 --> 00:01:28,000 distant from God, unhappy. Maybe maybe they're you're in a 24 00:01:28,010 --> 00:01:31,250 season right now where you're really questioning things, 25 00:01:31,620 --> 00:01:35,370 questioning God, questioning the Bible, questioning matters of 26 00:01:35,380 --> 00:01:37,270 life. And these questions and doubts 27 00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:39,390 that you have are really weighing heavy on you. 28 00:01:39,620 --> 00:01:43,220 Maybe you're lacking motivation for the Christian life. 29 00:01:44,040 --> 00:01:46,690 This series is going to address those things. 30 00:01:46,700 --> 00:01:49,810 It's gonna make all the difference in the world. 31 00:01:51,100 --> 00:01:54,470 You know, we've got through New Year's, so to speak, and many of 32 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:57,810 us have set New Year's resolutions. 33 00:01:59,300 --> 00:02:02,800 Well, that didn't work very well. 34 00:02:08,960 --> 00:02:14,350 But very often these New Year's resolutions fail not because the 35 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:20,630 resolutions themselves are bad, but because we're trying to 36 00:02:20,640 --> 00:02:24,620 accomplish them in our own power, in our own strength. 37 00:02:27,230 --> 00:02:30,700 All right, little wonky, but that'll do. 38 00:02:33,510 --> 00:02:36,410 It's it's because we're missing something. 39 00:02:38,270 --> 00:02:41,900 Today I wanna talk to you about crossing the line. 40 00:02:43,610 --> 00:02:46,580 This is such a significant thing when when I see the words 41 00:02:46,590 --> 00:02:48,820 crossing the line, what comes to your mind? 42 00:02:49,970 --> 00:02:55,300 Maybe you're thinking of a scolding that you've got, like 43 00:02:56,020 --> 00:03:01,300 you have crossed the line, Young man, young woman, you have gone 44 00:03:01,310 --> 00:03:02,960 way too far. You're in trouble. 45 00:03:02,970 --> 00:03:04,930 Maybe that's what that brings up for you. 46 00:03:05,120 --> 00:03:08,720 Others of us, it's like I've crossed the finish line, like I 47 00:03:08,730 --> 00:03:11,600 made it. I got to the end or maybe you're 48 00:03:11,610 --> 00:03:13,870 thinking just in terms of a new year. 49 00:03:13,880 --> 00:03:18,690 We've we've transitioned from 2025 to 2026. 50 00:03:18,700 --> 00:03:22,220 We crossed the line. We're gonna talk today in this, 51 00:03:22,230 --> 00:03:25,190 particularly in this series, but specifically today about 52 00:03:25,200 --> 00:03:29,420 crossing line in terms of our faith, our faith journey, and 53 00:03:29,430 --> 00:03:31,670 how significant this is. And This is why we're gonna be 54 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:36,990 looking at the words of Jesus and John chapter 5. 55 00:03:37,080 --> 00:03:40,950 And we're gonna be looking at verse 24 if you want to find 56 00:03:40,960 --> 00:03:44,040 your place there. And just before we read this 57 00:03:44,110 --> 00:03:49,350 very potent verse, you know, whisper a prayer to the Lord. 58 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:55,390 Father in Heaven, we thank you for the gift of today. 59 00:03:56,220 --> 00:03:58,730 We thank you for this opportunity as we have gathered 60 00:03:58,740 --> 00:04:01,570 with your people to hear Your voice. 61 00:04:02,660 --> 00:04:06,150 So we ask Holy Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on us. 62 00:04:06,220 --> 00:04:09,130 Illuminate this Word and speak it to our hearts. 63 00:04:09,180 --> 00:04:12,640 Awaken us. In the name of Jesus Christ, we 64 00:04:12,650 --> 00:04:14,120 pray. Amen. 65 00:04:17,730 --> 00:04:23,820 John Chapter 5, verse 24. Jesus is this very truly I tell 66 00:04:23,830 --> 00:04:31,400 you, Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has 67 00:04:31,410 --> 00:04:37,030 eternal life and will not be judged, but has crossed over 68 00:04:37,240 --> 00:04:41,990 from death to life. Let me read that one more time. 69 00:04:42,380 --> 00:04:44,580 Very truly, I tell you, Jesus said. 70 00:04:44,740 --> 00:04:51,010 Whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has 71 00:04:51,060 --> 00:04:56,050 eternal life and will not be judged, but has crossed over 72 00:04:56,380 --> 00:05:06,220 from death to life. Have you crossed over from death 73 00:05:07,740 --> 00:05:10,460 to life? It's a very important question 74 00:05:10,470 --> 00:05:12,380 to ask. Have you done that? 75 00:05:12,770 --> 00:05:14,470 Have you crossed over from death to life? 76 00:05:14,510 --> 00:05:18,280 When you get to be about my age and beyond, you're not typically 77 00:05:18,290 --> 00:05:21,920 thinking of moving from death to life, you're thinking of moving 78 00:05:21,930 --> 00:05:26,840 from life to death, right? But Jesus is saying he's 79 00:05:26,850 --> 00:05:31,270 speaking about transitioning from death to life, and he's 80 00:05:31,280 --> 00:05:37,790 speaking to everybody regardless of the age, each one of us 81 00:05:38,260 --> 00:05:43,870 moving from death to life. So the question is, have you 82 00:05:43,880 --> 00:05:49,210 crossed over from death to life? What's he talking about? 83 00:05:49,220 --> 00:05:53,640 So some of you are thinking like, wait, wait a minute, what? 84 00:05:54,940 --> 00:05:58,530 Never heard of this crossing over from from death to life. 85 00:05:58,540 --> 00:06:01,130 It is just not something that that I'm really accustomed to. 86 00:06:01,140 --> 00:06:04,270 Some of us who have grown up in church all of our lives and 87 00:06:04,360 --> 00:06:07,600 would consider ourselves followers of Jesus Christians. 88 00:06:08,280 --> 00:06:12,470 It's like I don't ever remember crossing from death to life. 89 00:06:16,850 --> 00:06:19,280 Christianity is a journey. To be sure. 90 00:06:19,650 --> 00:06:24,180 There is a movement, there is process, but there is a point in 91 00:06:24,190 --> 00:06:28,530 which we cross over from death to life. 92 00:06:28,580 --> 00:06:31,910 Jesus says listen to some of these scriptures first Peter 93 00:06:32,300 --> 00:06:37,340 chapter 2 but you speaking to the church, but you the people 94 00:06:37,350 --> 00:06:41,720 Christians are are chosen people, a royal priesthood, a 95 00:06:41,730 --> 00:06:45,710 holy nation, God's special possession that you may declare 96 00:06:45,720 --> 00:06:49,520 the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his 97 00:06:49,530 --> 00:06:54,900 wonderful light called out of darkness into his wonderful 98 00:06:54,910 --> 00:06:56,690 light. Also Colossians chapter one 99 00:06:56,700 --> 00:07:02,420 verse 13 for he that is God has rescued us from the dominion of 100 00:07:02,430 --> 00:07:06,660 darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of the sun. 101 00:07:06,670 --> 00:07:12,150 He loves moving us from darkness to light, giving us from death 102 00:07:13,910 --> 00:07:16,380 to life. There is a moment. 103 00:07:17,330 --> 00:07:21,380 There is a moment when we become alive. 104 00:07:21,640 --> 00:07:27,080 Where once we were dead, we are now made alive again. 105 00:07:27,170 --> 00:07:32,040 There is a moment spoken of Fusion Chapter 2. 106 00:07:32,770 --> 00:07:34,070 Read through a few scriptures here. 107 00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:38,780 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in 108 00:07:38,790 --> 00:07:45,030 mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our 109 00:07:45,040 --> 00:07:48,570 transgressions. Just just get the weight of this 110 00:07:48,950 --> 00:07:51,750 dead in our transgressions, our sins the way we have. 111 00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:58,320 We have dismiss God failing to love God. 112 00:07:58,330 --> 00:08:03,840 We're dead here and now all of a sudden, in a moment, we are made 113 00:08:03,850 --> 00:08:09,030 alive in Christ. It's a beautiful image described 114 00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:12,380 again Colossians chapter 2, verse 13, when you were dead in 115 00:08:12,390 --> 00:08:16,210 your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh. 116 00:08:16,250 --> 00:08:18,450 We don't usually use that kind of terminology, but it's 117 00:08:18,460 --> 00:08:23,290 essentially meaning my lack of devotion to God, lack of being 118 00:08:23,300 --> 00:08:26,130 set apart for God. When we were dead in your sins, 119 00:08:26,280 --> 00:08:28,710 when you were dead in your sins, and in the uncircumcision of 120 00:08:28,720 --> 00:08:33,460 your heart, God made you alive with Christ. 121 00:08:34,500 --> 00:08:39,580 One second we were dead, the next one we are made alive. 122 00:08:40,860 --> 00:08:42,890 There is a point in which that happens. 123 00:08:42,900 --> 00:08:47,590 Now you, if you consider yourself a follower of Jesus, if 124 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:51,290 you believe yourself to be a Christian, you may not. 125 00:08:51,400 --> 00:08:54,330 As you look back on your life, you may not even be aware of 126 00:08:54,340 --> 00:08:56,490 when that happened. And that's OK. 127 00:08:57,150 --> 00:08:59,900 The the, the, the important thing is that it has happened. 128 00:09:00,130 --> 00:09:03,940 And that's why we're talking about this in this series. 129 00:09:05,830 --> 00:09:11,460 We need to be made alive in Christ in order to live the life 130 00:09:11,510 --> 00:09:15,710 of Christ. We cannot go about trying to 131 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:20,870 live the Christian life without being made alive in Christ. 132 00:09:20,940 --> 00:09:25,030 Those two things are absolutely intertwined. 133 00:09:25,380 --> 00:09:28,570 So the question is, where is that line? 134 00:09:29,020 --> 00:09:33,600 Like where is that? How do I crossover that line? 135 00:09:34,760 --> 00:09:38,190 What happens after I've crossed over that line? 136 00:09:38,360 --> 00:09:41,630 And how do I know that I have crossed over that line? 137 00:09:41,640 --> 00:09:44,960 These are some of the questions that we're going to deal with in 138 00:09:44,970 --> 00:09:47,360 this series. And in order to do that, we 139 00:09:47,370 --> 00:09:50,760 gotta look at the context to begin with of this one verse. 140 00:09:50,770 --> 00:09:53,890 You know, whenever we look at one verse, we never ever just 141 00:09:53,900 --> 00:09:56,830 look at one verse because it's so tempting to RIP it out of its 142 00:09:56,840 --> 00:09:58,490 context. But what is the context here of 143 00:09:58,500 --> 00:10:01,950 this verse? Well, in chapter 5, Jesus heals 144 00:10:01,960 --> 00:10:06,040 somebody. He heals A paralytic, and he 145 00:10:06,050 --> 00:10:10,340 happens to do it on the Sabbath, on the one day of the week where 146 00:10:10,350 --> 00:10:11,820 you're not supposed to do any work. 147 00:10:12,210 --> 00:10:15,500 And so he gets some Flack from the religious authorities. 148 00:10:15,730 --> 00:10:19,440 It's very interesting. They're angry at Jesus. 149 00:10:19,450 --> 00:10:23,040 They even want to kill Jesus because he's actually healing 150 00:10:23,050 --> 00:10:25,430 people on the Sabbath. I mean it sounds ridiculous at 151 00:10:25,440 --> 00:10:28,530 this point, but to them it was like breaking the law, this guy, 152 00:10:29,240 --> 00:10:33,490 but Jesus listen to how Jesus responds to this back up in 153 00:10:33,500 --> 00:10:39,430 verse 17 in his defence. Jesus said to them, My Father is 154 00:10:39,440 --> 00:10:46,680 always at his work to this very day, and I too, I'm working for 155 00:10:46,690 --> 00:10:48,840 this reason. They tried all the more to kill 156 00:10:48,850 --> 00:10:50,960 him. Not only was he breaking the 157 00:10:50,970 --> 00:10:55,460 Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making 158 00:10:55,470 --> 00:11:01,210 himself equal with God. See that Jesus? 159 00:11:01,260 --> 00:11:04,220 Jesus is essentially saying, You know, the God who's sustaining 160 00:11:04,230 --> 00:11:10,510 the universe. I'm one with him, I'm always at 161 00:11:10,520 --> 00:11:14,170 my work. He's making himself equal with 162 00:11:14,180 --> 00:11:17,570 God, so much so that, you know, if you drop down to verse 26 163 00:11:17,580 --> 00:11:21,150 just past our verse, he says for as the Father has life in 164 00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:26,070 himself, so he has granted the Son that is Jesus also to have 165 00:11:26,080 --> 00:11:28,570 life in himself. In other words, we think of God 166 00:11:28,580 --> 00:11:33,430 as the source of life. Jesus says I am to because I and 167 00:11:33,440 --> 00:11:39,620 the Father are one. Now we've got this kickback 168 00:11:39,710 --> 00:11:44,360 that's happening among the religious leaders here, and they 169 00:11:44,370 --> 00:11:50,540 are looking for life, but they're looking for it in terms 170 00:11:50,550 --> 00:11:52,740 of their own religious practices. 171 00:11:53,590 --> 00:11:55,110 They're looking in the wrong place. 172 00:11:55,180 --> 00:11:56,690 And so Jesus is confronting them. 173 00:11:56,700 --> 00:12:00,540 And so later on in the argument, chapter 5, verse 39, Jesus says 174 00:12:00,550 --> 00:12:03,190 this, love this. You study the scriptures 175 00:12:03,200 --> 00:12:07,430 diligently because you think that in them you have eternal 176 00:12:07,440 --> 00:12:09,770 life. You see religious leaders, very 177 00:12:09,780 --> 00:12:13,610 spiritual, very committed, very devoted. 178 00:12:15,070 --> 00:12:18,530 You're studying the scriptures diligently because you think in 179 00:12:18,540 --> 00:12:21,600 them you have eternal life. These are the very scriptures 180 00:12:21,610 --> 00:12:27,800 that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have 181 00:12:27,810 --> 00:12:33,990 life. The Word of God is powerful in 182 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:42,230 the sense that it leads us to the God who is powerful we This 183 00:12:42,240 --> 00:12:47,470 book is absolutely potent because it speaks of the one who 184 00:12:47,580 --> 00:12:51,640 has is his is omnipotent, who has all power. 185 00:12:53,750 --> 00:12:57,280 And Jesus says you're missing the very one that all of these 186 00:12:57,290 --> 00:13:01,300 scriptures are speaking about and I'm standing before you now. 187 00:13:02,900 --> 00:13:06,770 They're totally missed it where the source of life is coming 188 00:13:06,780 --> 00:13:09,970 from. And that's why Jesus said, and 189 00:13:10,560 --> 00:13:13,490 Adriana spoke about that in the children's message in John 190 00:13:13,500 --> 00:13:18,470 chapter 14 verse 6. Jesus says I am the way and the 191 00:13:18,480 --> 00:13:24,150 truth and the life. You are looking for a way to 192 00:13:24,160 --> 00:13:26,450 live. You're what you're looking for a 193 00:13:26,460 --> 00:13:29,920 path to follow. I'm that path, he says. 194 00:13:31,620 --> 00:13:33,910 You think you're, you're searching for truth. 195 00:13:33,920 --> 00:13:37,130 You're looking for a concept. You're looking for an idea. 196 00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:43,920 You're not gonna find it, because the truth is what I am. 197 00:13:43,980 --> 00:13:48,580 I am the truth. The truth is a person, it's not 198 00:13:48,590 --> 00:13:53,480 this impersonal concept and I am holding the whole world together 199 00:13:53,490 --> 00:14:00,200 and This is why I am the life. Don't miss me, don't miss me, 200 00:14:00,210 --> 00:14:03,530 Jesus says. So back to these questions. 201 00:14:03,930 --> 00:14:08,050 Where is the line we're talking about that crossing over from 202 00:14:08,060 --> 00:14:11,690 death into life? Where is that line? 203 00:14:11,840 --> 00:14:17,570 That line is at the point of your relationship with Jesus 204 00:14:17,580 --> 00:14:21,900 Christ. That's the line, that point of 205 00:14:21,910 --> 00:14:25,040 relationship where God himself is his. 206 00:14:25,050 --> 00:14:28,210 Revealing his Christ is more than just an idea, is more than 207 00:14:28,220 --> 00:14:31,310 a concept to us. He becomes personal. 208 00:14:32,560 --> 00:14:35,030 We enter into a personal relation. 209 00:14:35,040 --> 00:14:37,530 We talk about that language, but it's so critical, personal 210 00:14:37,540 --> 00:14:40,650 friendship, personal connection, that all of a sudden I'm 211 00:14:40,660 --> 00:14:43,520 experiencing you. That's the point. 212 00:14:44,290 --> 00:14:50,430 That's where life begins, John 17 verse three. 213 00:14:50,500 --> 00:14:53,220 We come back to this periodically because it's, it's 214 00:14:53,230 --> 00:14:56,510 just a game changer, friends. It's it's, it's actually blowing 215 00:14:56,520 --> 00:14:58,930 up strongholds in the way that we think about eternal life. 216 00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:02,090 But Jesus says this now this is eternal life gives us his 217 00:15:02,100 --> 00:15:06,580 definition. The they know you, the only true 218 00:15:06,590 --> 00:15:09,800 God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 219 00:15:11,840 --> 00:15:14,340 We think of eternal life. There's a lot of things we think 220 00:15:14,350 --> 00:15:18,110 about eternal life, but at its core, eternal life is knowing 221 00:15:18,120 --> 00:15:25,640 God, Dunzo, it's knowing God. It's it's, it's having that 222 00:15:25,650 --> 00:15:27,860 connection. So that knowing is not just 223 00:15:27,870 --> 00:15:30,350 knowing about, it's experiencing God. 224 00:15:30,360 --> 00:15:32,540 That's the the, the, the, the Hebrew word that it comes from. 225 00:15:33,330 --> 00:15:35,770 It's in Greek here, but the background is Hebrew. 226 00:15:35,780 --> 00:15:38,050 Is it? It's an experiential knowledge 227 00:15:39,190 --> 00:15:44,110 of God experiencing that friendship with the Creator of 228 00:15:44,120 --> 00:15:48,210 the universe. Where's the line? 229 00:15:48,300 --> 00:15:50,450 It's at that point of that relationship. 230 00:15:50,500 --> 00:15:53,730 How do you cross that line? How do you cross it? 231 00:15:53,860 --> 00:15:55,510 How does that actually even happen? 232 00:15:56,440 --> 00:16:01,900 Jesus says it's here, there's 24, he says. 233 00:16:01,910 --> 00:16:04,360 Very truly. I tell you, whoever hears my 234 00:16:04,370 --> 00:16:09,810 word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. 235 00:16:12,570 --> 00:16:16,510 First of all, he hears. He hears Remember as a kid. 236 00:16:18,480 --> 00:16:23,010 I'd love to leave the house and go out and play with my friends 237 00:16:23,020 --> 00:16:26,270 and I'd be all over the place, you know, several houses down on 238 00:16:26,280 --> 00:16:30,090 either side. But I could always hear a voice 239 00:16:30,300 --> 00:16:32,650 calling. And it was whenever my mom 240 00:16:32,660 --> 00:16:37,390 called me for dinner, John, dinner time, right? 241 00:16:38,140 --> 00:16:40,170 Her voice just rang through the neighborhood. 242 00:16:40,180 --> 00:16:43,670 I could always hear it. And it was always responsive to 243 00:16:43,680 --> 00:16:47,470 that because I was usually hungry by that time in all my 244 00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:49,810 play, and I would run back and I would experience it. 245 00:16:51,150 --> 00:16:58,600 Crossing from death to life is dependent on hearing the Word of 246 00:16:58,610 --> 00:17:06,220 Christ, not just with our ears, but but with our heart fully 247 00:17:06,230 --> 00:17:08,760 dependent on that, that we need to hear His word. 248 00:17:08,770 --> 00:17:12,300 And notice that He doesn't say hearing the word, my words, but 249 00:17:12,310 --> 00:17:16,599 He says hearing my word. They hear my word. 250 00:17:16,750 --> 00:17:22,170 It's referring to the whole message, his whole message, 251 00:17:22,380 --> 00:17:24,630 which isn't just the things that he said, but the things that he 252 00:17:24,640 --> 00:17:28,130 did, His whole purpose for coming, who he is and what he's 253 00:17:28,140 --> 00:17:31,110 done. He hasn't just come to help us, 254 00:17:31,300 --> 00:17:35,690 but He's come to literally save us, to rescue us from ourselves, 255 00:17:35,700 --> 00:17:41,370 rescue us from death and bring us into life, restoring us, 256 00:17:41,690 --> 00:17:51,590 healing us for all eternity. And this is connected to 257 00:17:51,760 --> 00:17:56,330 whoever, so whoever hears my voice or whoever hears my word 258 00:17:56,680 --> 00:18:03,180 and believes him who sent me, referring to God the Father. 259 00:18:03,470 --> 00:18:07,460 Now, this is so very important. It's not. 260 00:18:07,510 --> 00:18:10,320 He's not saying believing in God in general. 261 00:18:10,790 --> 00:18:12,420 Lots of people say they believe in God. 262 00:18:12,870 --> 00:18:17,560 Now we're talking about specifically the one God who has 263 00:18:17,570 --> 00:18:23,540 sent Jesus Christ, sent his Son into the world to save sinners, 264 00:18:23,730 --> 00:18:29,610 of whom I am. What big, big difference when we 265 00:18:29,620 --> 00:18:34,950 hear that word and we believe it, Meaning I need his saving 266 00:18:34,960 --> 00:18:39,720 help, that's how. That's when we cross the line. 267 00:18:42,940 --> 00:18:48,340 I know that I need Christ, and apart from Him I'm dead. 268 00:18:49,380 --> 00:18:54,160 I'm a dead man without Him and This is why John and one of his 269 00:18:54,170 --> 00:18:58,980 letters, first John chapter 5 verses that verse 12, he says 270 00:18:59,150 --> 00:19:02,740 whoever has the son, referring to Jesus the Son of God. 271 00:19:02,790 --> 00:19:08,440 Whoever has the Son has life. Whoever does not have the Son of 272 00:19:08,450 --> 00:19:12,250 God does not have life. It's just that simple. 273 00:19:13,760 --> 00:19:18,530 It's only through the Son of the living God hearing His Word, 274 00:19:19,690 --> 00:19:22,770 believing it. Are we given life? 275 00:19:26,060 --> 00:19:28,710 So what happens when we get that life? 276 00:19:28,760 --> 00:19:31,750 What happens when we crossover from death to life? 277 00:19:31,800 --> 00:19:35,130 Well, it's important for us to realize that something happens 278 00:19:35,140 --> 00:19:37,060 to us. It's not something that we do 279 00:19:37,750 --> 00:19:40,000 when we crossover. God has done something. 280 00:19:40,010 --> 00:19:45,290 It's all God. And notice the tents here. 281 00:19:46,910 --> 00:19:52,540 Whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has 282 00:19:52,870 --> 00:19:54,450 eternal life. It's done. 283 00:19:56,530 --> 00:20:01,620 They will not be judged, but has crossed over from death to life. 284 00:20:01,630 --> 00:20:04,790 It's it's a, it's a current experience. 285 00:20:05,610 --> 00:20:09,130 As soon as that happens, we're given life, we're given eternal 286 00:20:09,140 --> 00:20:10,840 life. We think of eternal life as 287 00:20:10,850 --> 00:20:14,080 something that's, you know, something that's that's still 288 00:20:14,090 --> 00:20:16,480 coming, and it's coming in its fullness, but it's something 289 00:20:16,490 --> 00:20:18,140 that we're meant to experience even now. 290 00:20:19,020 --> 00:20:26,370 It's the beauty of it all and we will not be judged. 291 00:20:27,940 --> 00:20:32,090 That's good news, right? That is such good news. 292 00:20:33,190 --> 00:20:35,920 Listen to how it's put in. We're gonna go back to 293 00:20:35,930 --> 00:20:39,580 Colossians chapter 2 and finish this this little section. 294 00:20:39,910 --> 00:20:43,200 He says when you were dead in your sins and in uncircumcision 295 00:20:43,210 --> 00:20:46,380 of your heart, God made you alive with Christ. 296 00:20:46,390 --> 00:20:47,630 You know, I was going to describe it. 297 00:20:47,870 --> 00:20:52,630 He forgave us all our sins. Having cancelled the charge of 298 00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:55,890 our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned 299 00:20:55,900 --> 00:21:00,560 us, He has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 300 00:21:01,870 --> 00:21:05,520 All the weight of sin and death that bears down on us has now 301 00:21:05,530 --> 00:21:08,960 been swept away. I love so, so all that 302 00:21:08,970 --> 00:21:12,420 condemnation, it's gone. We're we're completely free of 303 00:21:12,430 --> 00:21:20,180 any condemnation. The message label the way Eugene 304 00:21:20,350 --> 00:21:22,470 Peterson puts Romans 8 verse one and two. 305 00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:26,930 He says this the Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, 306 00:21:26,940 --> 00:21:31,190 has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a faded 307 00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:35,630 lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death. 308 00:21:35,700 --> 00:21:39,900 The Holy Spirit is just swept it all away and given us absolute 309 00:21:40,020 --> 00:21:43,520 freedom. It's such a such a beautiful, 310 00:21:43,670 --> 00:21:47,380 beautiful picture and we see that contrast. 311 00:21:47,600 --> 00:21:52,040 So let's just talk about this contrast def in life. 312 00:21:52,050 --> 00:21:54,870 That's not to say that you people are representing death 313 00:21:54,880 --> 00:21:57,870 and you people represent lives. Just on the platform here, death 314 00:21:58,080 --> 00:21:59,710 and life. Let's talk about death. 315 00:21:59,720 --> 00:22:01,810 What is death? What are we talking about? 316 00:22:02,220 --> 00:22:05,230 It's not that I'm physically dead, but I'm spiritually dead. 317 00:22:05,760 --> 00:22:12,920 I'm cut off from God. I I have no real relationship to 318 00:22:12,930 --> 00:22:15,220 God. I am a Walking Dead man 319 00:22:15,290 --> 00:22:23,310 essentially and sadly even when I get religious I'm no more 320 00:22:23,320 --> 00:22:24,750 alive. I'm still dead. 321 00:22:25,420 --> 00:22:28,490 It's so sad. There are many religious people, 322 00:22:28,560 --> 00:22:33,450 and I know this because I was 1, who are still dead spiritually, 323 00:22:34,690 --> 00:22:39,610 trying so desperately hard to do the right thing, to be good, to 324 00:22:39,620 --> 00:22:43,490 honor God even. But there's no relationship. 325 00:22:43,540 --> 00:22:46,310 They're completely cut off. And so we're doing all this 326 00:22:46,320 --> 00:22:52,560 religious stuff on our own. We're alone in it, and so at 327 00:22:52,570 --> 00:22:54,810 what point am I going to be good enough? 328 00:22:54,820 --> 00:22:58,380 I'm doing all this stuff in order to reach a line so that I 329 00:22:58,390 --> 00:23:01,520 can maybe please God, maybe enter heaven or whatever it is. 330 00:23:01,590 --> 00:23:04,120 How good is good enough? You can never be good enough, 331 00:23:05,400 --> 00:23:08,940 never be good enough. And so we need a gift. 332 00:23:10,020 --> 00:23:14,650 We need to be brought from death to life by God by hearing the 333 00:23:14,660 --> 00:23:19,950 word Jesus and believing it. That's the only way. 334 00:23:23,980 --> 00:23:28,460 So what is life? Life is living in the favor of 335 00:23:28,470 --> 00:23:31,580 God that I've got His approval already. 336 00:23:31,810 --> 00:23:34,880 No matter how hard or not hard I'm working. 337 00:23:35,230 --> 00:23:37,120 I've been given a gift of salvation. 338 00:23:37,130 --> 00:23:39,070 I've been given the gift of eternal life. 339 00:23:39,110 --> 00:23:42,860 Now, if that doesn't motivate you to work hard to love God and 340 00:23:42,870 --> 00:23:46,210 to serve others, we've totally missed the mark. 341 00:23:49,770 --> 00:23:53,990 Pulse point through Romans is is that before you do anything good 342 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:57,310 or bad like you're you're saved if you put your trust in Jesus 343 00:23:57,320 --> 00:24:01,020 Christ and then the attitude will if I'm saved already, then 344 00:24:01,740 --> 00:24:03,610 was this partied up and forget about God. 345 00:24:03,620 --> 00:24:06,750 No, we totally missed it right. If if we've entered into that 346 00:24:06,760 --> 00:24:10,530 relationship already been given life, we will respond. 347 00:24:10,860 --> 00:24:15,390 But it's it's living in the favor of God that he loves me 348 00:24:16,360 --> 00:24:21,760 because he's chosen me and he's given me life and my sins have 349 00:24:21,770 --> 00:24:25,760 been completely forgiven. I have a new orientation, a new 350 00:24:25,830 --> 00:24:28,620 relationship with him. It's like going way back to the 351 00:24:28,630 --> 00:24:32,650 garden before Genesis chapter 3, you know, everything was just 352 00:24:32,660 --> 00:24:36,390 perfect. You know, God walking Adam and 353 00:24:36,400 --> 00:24:38,530 Eve in the cool of the day and they're just enjoying 354 00:24:38,540 --> 00:24:41,090 relationship. Alright, cool. 355 00:24:41,100 --> 00:24:44,530 This kind of cool is is a whole other level, right? 356 00:24:44,690 --> 00:24:47,100 No fig leaves are going to be able to keep you warm in here. 357 00:24:47,140 --> 00:24:49,490 But we're just talking about just chilling with Jesus and 358 00:24:49,500 --> 00:24:50,510 chilling, chilling with the Lord. 359 00:24:51,330 --> 00:24:54,840 This is just such a beauty to that enjoying relationship with 360 00:24:54,850 --> 00:24:58,530 God, experiencing that peace regardless of what's going on. 361 00:24:59,110 --> 00:25:02,000 It is the quality of that relationship, eternal life 362 00:25:02,050 --> 00:25:05,980 that's being spoken about, and it's something that is mediated 363 00:25:05,990 --> 00:25:12,770 by the Holy Spirit. When a when someone hears the 364 00:25:12,780 --> 00:25:18,030 word of Jesus and believes it, we're given the gift of eternal 365 00:25:18,040 --> 00:25:19,430 life. But that eternal life is not 366 00:25:19,440 --> 00:25:21,850 just something you know, it's actually something that happens 367 00:25:21,860 --> 00:25:25,890 inside, that the Holy Spirit enters into us. 368 00:25:26,800 --> 00:25:31,490 And so that the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead is 369 00:25:31,500 --> 00:25:34,180 now living in you if you're someone who's received Jesus 370 00:25:34,190 --> 00:25:37,610 Christ. And that Holy Spirit is a 371 00:25:37,620 --> 00:25:39,420 deposit guarantee in your heritage. 372 00:25:39,430 --> 00:25:41,970 And it's it's guaranteeing that what you're beginning to 373 00:25:41,980 --> 00:25:44,010 experience now you're gonna experience in its fullness when 374 00:25:44,020 --> 00:25:48,950 it comes. And Holy Spirit is our hope of 375 00:25:49,020 --> 00:25:52,480 the hope of glory. It's a little piece of heaven 376 00:25:52,490 --> 00:25:55,840 that's living inside of you. That is the eternal life. 377 00:25:55,850 --> 00:26:02,420 That's how close it is to us. So my whole goal in this series, 378 00:26:02,430 --> 00:26:05,600 just a three-part series, I hope you won't miss any part of it. 379 00:26:05,670 --> 00:26:09,420 My whole goal is that every single one of us here is gonna 380 00:26:09,430 --> 00:26:14,100 cross that line. We'll have crossed that line 381 00:26:14,230 --> 00:26:15,480 now. That's not something that I can 382 00:26:15,490 --> 00:26:17,970 make happen. This is only something that God 383 00:26:17,980 --> 00:26:19,710 does between something between you and God. 384 00:26:20,770 --> 00:26:25,540 But I can lead you up to that moment in which it happens. 385 00:26:28,040 --> 00:26:30,990 Some of us here are sure that we have crossed the line. 386 00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:34,290 And I say praise the living God. We were meant to be sure. 387 00:26:34,600 --> 00:26:38,130 You know, John is in his first letter, he says, you know, I'm 388 00:26:38,140 --> 00:26:41,540 writing to you that you will know that you have eternal life 389 00:26:41,550 --> 00:26:48,200 like we were meant to know it. But maybe we're not experiencing 390 00:26:48,210 --> 00:26:50,780 the fullness of that life. And to some extent, we're never 391 00:26:50,790 --> 00:26:55,650 going to experience the full fullness of it, but we know that 392 00:26:55,660 --> 00:26:59,320 we have Jesus. We know that we're that we're 393 00:26:59,330 --> 00:27:00,590 beginning to experience eternal life. 394 00:27:00,640 --> 00:27:03,050 But there are some days when we really begin to doubt. 395 00:27:03,960 --> 00:27:08,050 Like we feel completely flat. We feel like we have no 396 00:27:08,060 --> 00:27:10,150 motivation. It's like, I wanna take a break 397 00:27:10,160 --> 00:27:11,630 from church. I wanna take a break from you 398 00:27:11,640 --> 00:27:18,710 know what, you know, we, we kind of pull back and that sense is 399 00:27:18,720 --> 00:27:21,520 completely natural. That's what the human nature 400 00:27:21,530 --> 00:27:22,670 does. And there's always a bit of 401 00:27:22,680 --> 00:27:25,780 attention going on there. In this series, we're going to 402 00:27:25,790 --> 00:27:30,270 be looking at how we, what can we do to restore the joy of our 403 00:27:30,280 --> 00:27:33,180 salvation? We're going to do to enjoy Jesus 404 00:27:33,190 --> 00:27:35,760 all the more. So this, I think, is going to be 405 00:27:35,770 --> 00:27:37,790 a great series. Maybe you're here. 406 00:27:37,960 --> 00:27:41,290 Let me know you're here, but you're here and you're and 407 00:27:41,300 --> 00:27:43,330 you're unsure whether you've crossed the line. 408 00:27:43,660 --> 00:27:45,390 I'm just not sure. I'm not confident. 409 00:27:45,400 --> 00:27:48,000 I, I don't know. That's OK. 410 00:27:48,670 --> 00:27:50,700 It's OK. You're in a good place. 411 00:27:50,860 --> 00:27:52,820 This is what what this series is about. 412 00:27:52,830 --> 00:27:56,930 We're gonna talk about this next week, particularly going to meet 413 00:27:56,970 --> 00:27:59,240 Miss next week. Next week we're going to do a 414 00:27:59,250 --> 00:28:01,890 little bit of a spiritual assessment and look at some of 415 00:28:01,900 --> 00:28:07,440 the signs of spiritual death and spiritual life and what we can 416 00:28:07,450 --> 00:28:09,570 do about it. Very important. 417 00:28:10,480 --> 00:28:14,370 Now maybe you are thinking in your mind. 418 00:28:14,380 --> 00:28:17,010 I'm sure that I have not crossed the line. 419 00:28:17,100 --> 00:28:19,490 It's not that I'm sure and that I'm unsure. 420 00:28:19,540 --> 00:28:24,430 I am very sure that I haven't crossed that line yet. 421 00:28:25,660 --> 00:28:29,920 That's OK. All of us were there at one 422 00:28:29,930 --> 00:28:31,600 point. Every single one of us. 423 00:28:31,850 --> 00:28:36,960 No one is born into this world. Cross having crossed that line 424 00:28:37,030 --> 00:28:42,970 just does not happen that way, but just recognizing the fact 425 00:28:43,080 --> 00:28:46,680 that I have not crossed that line that is vital. 426 00:28:47,020 --> 00:28:49,070 It's so important. That's that's the beginning 427 00:28:49,080 --> 00:28:50,450 right there. That's where where it all 428 00:28:50,460 --> 00:28:53,910 starts, recognizing that I need, there's something that I need. 429 00:28:54,990 --> 00:28:58,460 So I have two words for you. 2 words that Jesus spoke of in 430 00:28:58,470 --> 00:29:02,790 verse 24 and that is here and belief. 431 00:29:03,950 --> 00:29:06,920 Hear and believe. Hear this. 432 00:29:07,010 --> 00:29:15,160 Hear the Word of Christ. The most gracious, kind, 433 00:29:15,170 --> 00:29:23,880 compassionate, strong, wise, tender, rich, generous being in 434 00:29:23,890 --> 00:29:29,280 the universe wants to establish a personal friendship with you. 435 00:29:32,790 --> 00:29:35,430 And he's inviting you into that, into that friendship. 436 00:29:37,220 --> 00:29:41,990 And what he has done is he has clothed himself in flesh. 437 00:29:42,060 --> 00:29:47,490 He has entered human history. He's lived the life and done so 438 00:29:47,500 --> 00:29:52,750 perfectly, and then he gave. His life is an offering, a 439 00:29:52,760 --> 00:29:57,150 sacrificial offering that would cover all of our imperfections 440 00:29:58,230 --> 00:30:01,600 and cleanse us from all of our sins, all of our wrongdoing, all 441 00:30:01,610 --> 00:30:09,720 gone. And it's brought us, is inviting 442 00:30:09,730 --> 00:30:12,540 us. He wants to bring us into life. 443 00:30:12,550 --> 00:30:17,240 He's provided everything for us. He just says, believe me, 444 00:30:18,670 --> 00:30:22,270 believe me, here's the invitation. 445 00:30:22,310 --> 00:30:34,670 Come to me, Come to me. Open up your heart to me. 446 00:30:38,900 --> 00:30:45,330 Receive me into your life. Are you hearing the word? 447 00:30:46,290 --> 00:30:48,140 Is Jesus speaking to you right now? 448 00:30:48,150 --> 00:30:52,100 If so, you just turned him and say that's me, Lord, that's me. 449 00:30:52,150 --> 00:30:55,170 I want you. I do want that. 450 00:30:55,940 --> 00:30:57,670 I do wanna have that relationship with you. 451 00:30:57,680 --> 00:31:01,520 If that's you, you just say that in your spirit and you're gonna 452 00:31:01,530 --> 00:31:04,850 be crossing over from death to life. 453 00:31:07,530 --> 00:31:11,620 Let's pray. Let's pray, Father in Heaven, as 454 00:31:11,630 --> 00:31:18,050 we embark in this series, Your desire. 455 00:31:18,600 --> 00:31:24,340 You want more than anything for us to experience the life that 456 00:31:24,350 --> 00:31:28,800 you gave your life for, that we could experience. 457 00:31:29,110 --> 00:31:33,820 And so I pray that none would be lost, that not one would be left 458 00:31:33,830 --> 00:31:37,900 out, that every single one of us would experience your life and 459 00:31:37,910 --> 00:31:41,630 enjoy it to the full. Thank you though. 460 00:31:41,640 --> 00:31:46,910 The evil one has come to steal, kill and destroy. 461 00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:52,230 You have come to give us life, and that's that. 462 00:31:52,240 --> 00:31:56,380 We would have it abundantly. Pour out that abundant life on 463 00:31:56,390 --> 00:32:01,780 us. Lord, move us, shake us, awaken 464 00:32:01,790 --> 00:32:07,080 us and fill us with your life. We pray in Jesus name, hey?