1 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:07,160 OK, grab your Bible. You can open up to chapter 20 of 2 00:00:07,160 --> 00:00:09,520 the Gospel of John. You're going to begin at the 3 00:00:09,520 --> 00:00:13,120 end, chapter 20. I think it's verse 31, the very 4 00:00:13,120 --> 00:00:17,720 last verse of chapter 20. I'm sure you know this, but text 5 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:21,280 or tone is not, is not well perceived over text. 6 00:00:21,880 --> 00:00:24,320 In in my business. I always used to say, you know, 7 00:00:24,400 --> 00:00:28,040 your first mandate is not to send a WhatsApp or an e-mail. 8 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:32,920 Ideally at least if you could just phone because tone is not 9 00:00:32,920 --> 00:00:35,760 well perceived over text. First prize would be face to 10 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:38,640 face, right? Because what happens is when you 11 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:41,360 get that WhatsApp or you're reading that e-mail, there's 12 00:00:41,360 --> 00:00:46,640 filters and pasts and issues and it's that person and you know, 13 00:00:46,680 --> 00:00:48,440 you've got problems or whatever the case might be. 14 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:53,280 And so face to face is always the easiest body language tone. 15 00:00:53,560 --> 00:00:55,920 It's a whole lot better, dispels a whole lot of fears and 16 00:00:56,120 --> 00:00:57,720 idiosyncrasies and all the rest of it. 17 00:00:58,200 --> 00:01:00,520 And I don't know if you know this, but the same is true about 18 00:01:00,520 --> 00:01:04,000 scripture. When we read Scripture, 19 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:08,120 sometimes it's hard to pick up on tone because you're reading 20 00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:10,160 it through. It's through your past, through 21 00:01:10,160 --> 00:01:13,960 your disappointments, through your church experience or church 22 00:01:13,960 --> 00:01:16,560 hurt. And so in the same way as a 23 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:19,320 WhatsApp or an e-mail, you know face to face is best. 24 00:01:19,320 --> 00:01:22,440 So I want to introduce you to Jesus and allow you to have an 25 00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:26,960 encounter with him so you face to face can see what he thinks 26 00:01:26,960 --> 00:01:30,920 of you, how he handles brokenness, how much he loves 27 00:01:30,920 --> 00:01:33,760 you, how he plots and plans over your future. 28 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:37,120 So we're going to be doing this through the series and John 29 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:40,840 encounters with Jesus. And so we're going to start with 30 00:01:40,840 --> 00:01:43,880 the reason why he wrote it. And this is the very last verse 31 00:01:43,880 --> 00:01:46,680 in John chapter 20. It's so that we could have these 32 00:01:46,680 --> 00:01:51,720 encounters, as Rory said, where it says these signs, these 33 00:01:51,720 --> 00:01:54,480 miracles that what John has written down, it's all written 34 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:58,680 that you may believe. Remember all said 10203080 35 00:01:58,680 --> 00:02:01,680 times. It's 98 times that you may 36 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:04,920 believe. So once you to encounter Jesus, 37 00:02:04,920 --> 00:02:07,640 so you may believe, so you can get past those fears and those 38 00:02:07,640 --> 00:02:10,720 disappointments and doubts so that you can believe that Jesus 39 00:02:10,720 --> 00:02:15,560 is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may 40 00:02:15,560 --> 00:02:19,320 have life in his name. So it's not just a cognitive 41 00:02:19,520 --> 00:02:23,200 understanding, but it's a life changing encounter with Jesus 42 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:27,160 because no one who encounters Jesus ever stays the same. 43 00:02:27,160 --> 00:02:30,240 So we're going to go through the book of John looking at 44 00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:34,040 encounters with Jesus and we'll see a whole mixed bag of these 45 00:02:34,040 --> 00:02:37,400 encounters from Nicodemus. You know, he was one of these 46 00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:42,320 fancy hoity toity and Nicodemus probably used these and thou's 47 00:02:42,760 --> 00:02:44,880 and then you've got the Samaritan women who probably 48 00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:49,480 used opioids and alcohol and you got royal officials and slaves 49 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:52,720 and leaders and lawyers and farmers and Pharisees. 50 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:56,920 Everyone in counting Jesus coming away changed for all 51 00:02:56,920 --> 00:02:59,360 eternity. So this is what we're trusting 52 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:00,720 for. This is what we're looking in. 53 00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:03,960 And This is why the book was written so that you might have 54 00:03:03,960 --> 00:03:11,640 life having believed so in the words of Trevor Noah, you might 55 00:03:11,640 --> 00:03:17,560 be saying even me. Well, let's see, let's go to the 56 00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:20,280 very first page in the 1st chapter in the first encounter 57 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:24,360 and John was which is Jesus encounter with John the Baptist. 58 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:28,880 Now the moniker being the Baptist, you know, he's going 59 00:03:28,880 --> 00:03:32,040 around baptizing, he's at the Jordan River and he's was he 60 00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:35,400 baptizing people he's encountered. 61 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:38,680 Now these officials that have been sent down a delegation come 62 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:42,080 to investigate to make sure that this guy is not, you know, 63 00:03:42,360 --> 00:03:44,080 rocking the apple cart, so to speak. 64 00:03:44,440 --> 00:03:48,040 And they just can't seem to get a grip on what what it is he's 65 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:49,360 doing and why it is that he's there. 66 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:51,520 And so verse 22, he gives a little bit of an answer. 67 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:54,720 They say to him, who are you give us an answer to take back 68 00:03:54,720 --> 00:03:57,600 to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself? 69 00:03:58,120 --> 00:04:00,520 And John replied, in the words of Isaiah, the prophets, I am 70 00:04:00,520 --> 00:04:04,920 the voice of one calling in the wilderness, prepare the way for 71 00:04:04,920 --> 00:04:08,080 the Lord. Then not goes on to say in verse 72 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:10,160 29. The next day, John saw Jesus 73 00:04:10,160 --> 00:04:14,440 coming toward him and said, Behold the Lamb of God who takes 74 00:04:14,440 --> 00:04:17,480 away the sin of the world. That's that's John's first, 75 00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:21,200 that's the first encounter. Behold the Lamb of God who takes 76 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:24,120 away the sin of the world. And I look at them, I wonder, 77 00:04:24,120 --> 00:04:27,040 like, how did John know? How did John know? 78 00:04:28,040 --> 00:04:30,840 How did John know and no one else know that that Jesus would 79 00:04:30,840 --> 00:04:33,160 be the Lamb of God? It took away the Sinner of the 80 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:34,520 world. How did he know? 81 00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:36,640 Well, the Bible says there he was prepared. 82 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:39,480 He was sent to prepare the way of the Lord. 83 00:04:39,480 --> 00:04:41,280 And what we're going to see through the book of John is 84 00:04:41,280 --> 00:04:43,720 you're going to meet some people who have an encounter with Jesus 85 00:04:43,720 --> 00:04:45,360 who are prepared for that encounter. 86 00:04:46,360 --> 00:04:49,040 As we all said a little earlier, you know, you, you might think 87 00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:53,200 you just came to church to make mom happy, but actually God is 88 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:57,400 preparing an encounter for you. And when it comes to being 89 00:04:57,400 --> 00:05:00,120 prepared, you'll see throughout the book of John somewhat 90 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:02,720 prepared. Some not so much, but John 91 00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:04,640 himself was prepared. I was, I was sitting with a 92 00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:06,880 couple. We were preparing for their 93 00:05:07,080 --> 00:05:10,560 their wedding day. And what we normally do is a few 94 00:05:10,960 --> 00:05:14,720 weeks before we sit and just chat about marriage and what's 95 00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:17,080 expected of the husband and the wife and all the rest of it. 96 00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:19,520 But while we're having this conversation, I'm starting to 97 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:22,280 pick up on the fact that there is no relational reality when it 98 00:05:22,280 --> 00:05:24,560 comes to their relationship with God. 99 00:05:25,520 --> 00:05:28,320 It seems like they're cat man, Sir, but that's about it. 100 00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:29,960 There's there's no relational reality. 101 00:05:29,960 --> 00:05:32,440 And I'm, I'm asking questions, trying to be nice about it. 102 00:05:32,440 --> 00:05:34,840 And eventually I've figured, you know what, I'm going to pull an 103 00:05:34,840 --> 00:05:38,520 RT Kendall on them. And this is what RT always loves 104 00:05:38,520 --> 00:05:39,760 to say. Actually, he would stand like 105 00:05:39,760 --> 00:05:43,880 this and he would say, if you were to die today and you might, 106 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:48,280 and if you were to stand in front of your heavenly Father 107 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:53,120 and you will, and he was to ask you, why should I let you into 108 00:05:53,120 --> 00:05:55,080 my heaven? What would you say? 109 00:05:55,080 --> 00:05:59,160 So I pulled this RT on the the couple and I said, if you died 110 00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:02,080 and might and if you stand before God and you will, and he 111 00:06:02,080 --> 00:06:04,920 had to say to you, why should I let you into my heaven? 112 00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:08,400 What would you say? And then I added my own little 113 00:06:08,400 --> 00:06:10,640 caveat. There's only one right answer. 114 00:06:11,480 --> 00:06:13,360 And then I saw this couple sort of blinking, blinking, and they 115 00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:15,760 started telling me about their church attendance and how they'd 116 00:06:15,760 --> 00:06:17,720 they'd actually moved out. They were sleeping together, but 117 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:19,640 they'd moved out and they're trying to, they're trying to do 118 00:06:19,640 --> 00:06:23,760 right by God. And so I said, OK, having pulled 119 00:06:23,760 --> 00:06:27,240 an RT, I'm going to pull a Rory. So I grabbed my Bible and I 120 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:29,760 paged the cross to the book of Romans chapter 3. 121 00:06:30,320 --> 00:06:32,880 And I turned it around and I pushed it across the table and 122 00:06:32,880 --> 00:06:35,200 said, read, read Romans 3 verse 10 to me. 123 00:06:35,240 --> 00:06:38,200 And he read, no one is righteous. 124 00:06:38,200 --> 00:06:41,640 No, not one. So I said, do you know what it 125 00:06:41,640 --> 00:06:44,840 means by being righteous? It means being right with God. 126 00:06:45,160 --> 00:06:51,000 No one is right with God. And he sort of started taking 127 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:53,320 this in because that's where our conversation had started was 128 00:06:53,320 --> 00:06:55,320 because his life is a little bit of a mess. 129 00:06:55,840 --> 00:06:59,560 He was under discipline at work and this thing with his fiance. 130 00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:02,400 And so he got the fact that he's not right with God. 131 00:07:02,400 --> 00:07:04,040 But he said to me, but I'm trying really hard. 132 00:07:04,320 --> 00:07:06,560 So I said, OK, cool. Read a little bit further down 133 00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:11,480 verse 23 and he read it all of sinned and fallen short of the 134 00:07:11,480 --> 00:07:13,560 glory of God. So I said, you're in the same 135 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:16,120 package and same position as everybody. 136 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:17,720 So what are we going to do about this? 137 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:21,080 How can I prepare you for when Jesus asks you, why should I let 138 00:07:21,080 --> 00:07:23,560 you into my heaven? So I said, look in my Bible 139 00:07:23,560 --> 00:07:27,920 because right next to Romans 323 and small said Romans 5 verse 8. 140 00:07:27,920 --> 00:07:30,320 So I said, OK, turn to Romans 5 verse 8 and read that to me, 141 00:07:30,640 --> 00:07:35,240 which says, but God showed his love for us and that while we 142 00:07:35,240 --> 00:07:36,880 were still sinners, Christ died for us. 143 00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:37,840 And I said stop, stop, stop, stop. 144 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:40,080 When did he show his love for you? 145 00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:43,480 And he said, wow, because my Bible wow is underlined and 146 00:07:43,480 --> 00:07:47,000 circled and highlighted. While you were still sinners, 147 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:49,320 Christ died for you. Not when. 148 00:07:50,240 --> 00:07:54,040 So you got to realize not when you started coming to church, 149 00:07:54,040 --> 00:07:58,640 not when you got your life sorted out, not when all the you 150 00:07:58,640 --> 00:08:01,080 got all your ducks in the row, not when you were living a 151 00:08:01,080 --> 00:08:03,880 squeaky clean Christian life, But while you were sinners, 152 00:08:03,880 --> 00:08:07,960 Christ died for you. And I could see that things 153 00:08:07,960 --> 00:08:10,480 started ticking over to the point where he asked me the 154 00:08:10,480 --> 00:08:12,440 questions like, what's all this dying about? 155 00:08:13,560 --> 00:08:16,280 Why did Jesus have to die? So I said, well, what's written 156 00:08:16,280 --> 00:08:19,040 there next to you? Romans 5 verse 8 and then small, 157 00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:22,440 I'd written Romans 623. So he said, OK, let's turn to 158 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:25,280 Romans 623. And Romans 623 says for the 159 00:08:25,280 --> 00:08:29,760 wages of sin is death. So that's why Jesus had to die. 160 00:08:29,760 --> 00:08:35,440 Someone had to die and it's not you then it's Jesus comma, but 161 00:08:35,440 --> 00:08:39,840 the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus and this 162 00:08:39,840 --> 00:08:43,240 was just God was setting him up because he asked me the 163 00:08:43,240 --> 00:08:45,400 question. He said free gift. 164 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:49,000 How do I get this free gift? So say, well, what does it say 165 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:52,080 under Romans 623 says why you've written here Romans 10/9. 166 00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:55,040 So let's turn to Romans 10/9. So you turn across the Romans 167 00:08:55,040 --> 00:08:58,120 10/9 and you read if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is 168 00:08:58,120 --> 00:09:00,680 Lord and believe in your heart that God raised them from the 169 00:09:00,680 --> 00:09:04,240 dead, you will be saved. Well, the Scripture says 170 00:09:04,240 --> 00:09:06,600 everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame. 171 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:08,600 So there's a will and there's an everyone. 172 00:09:08,600 --> 00:09:11,480 And I'm busy telling him, listen, you are wanting to know 173 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:14,360 how it is that God would let you into his heaven. 174 00:09:14,360 --> 00:09:17,040 What what is the answer? Well, I've confessed with my 175 00:09:17,040 --> 00:09:19,040 mouth that Jesus is Lord. Believe in my heart. 176 00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:20,960 The Christ was raised from the dead. 177 00:09:20,960 --> 00:09:23,880 I said yes, because what happens is when you believe in that, 178 00:09:24,120 --> 00:09:26,400 then you're no longer believing in your own works. 179 00:09:26,880 --> 00:09:29,400 And I'm trying to prepare him now for this encounter with his 180 00:09:29,400 --> 00:09:32,160 heavenly Father. And I said, read verse 13 of 181 00:09:32,160 --> 00:09:34,480 chapter 10. For everyone who calls on the 182 00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:42,000 name of the Lord will be saved. And in that room across that 183 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:46,040 coffee table, he had a face to face encounter with Jesus. 184 00:09:46,720 --> 00:09:49,240 And his life was never the same. And his fiance's life was never 185 00:09:49,240 --> 00:09:53,160 the same because those who encounter Jesus can't walk away 186 00:09:53,160 --> 00:09:58,640 unchanged. And so he came unprepared but 187 00:09:58,680 --> 00:10:02,400 has had the unbelievable privilege of preparing him for 188 00:10:02,400 --> 00:10:05,440 that moment. Because there is only one 189 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:08,080 answer. And that's the answer that John 190 00:10:08,080 --> 00:10:11,000 gave the Lamb of God. It takes away the sin of the 191 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:13,000 world. I believe in the Lamb of God. 192 00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:14,440 It takes away the sin of the world. 193 00:10:14,640 --> 00:10:16,720 And so through the book of John, we're going to encounter people 194 00:10:16,720 --> 00:10:21,440 like this, like you and me, trying to do really, really well 195 00:10:21,440 --> 00:10:25,520 and get our acts together and love on our wives and say please 196 00:10:25,520 --> 00:10:28,120 and thank you and, and not break the speed limits. 197 00:10:28,120 --> 00:10:31,640 And all the while in our hearts, we're trying to prepare for that 198 00:10:31,640 --> 00:10:34,760 moment when we stand before our heavenly Father and we have to 199 00:10:34,760 --> 00:10:39,240 give an account for our lives. But actually, all that effort 200 00:10:39,520 --> 00:10:41,760 really ends up leaving you unprepared. 201 00:10:43,040 --> 00:10:46,600 And so we want you to have an encounter with Jesus so that 202 00:10:46,600 --> 00:10:49,520 your life will never be the same, so that you'll be prepared 203 00:10:49,520 --> 00:10:52,920 one day when you breathe your last to face your heavenly 204 00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:54,880 Father. And when he asks you, why should 205 00:10:54,880 --> 00:10:58,000 I let you into my heaven, say, because I surrendered my life to 206 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:00,400 the Lamb of God, it takes away the sin of the world. 207 00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:04,240 That's why Jesus came. And that's the first encounter 208 00:11:04,240 --> 00:11:09,360 that we found in the book of John believing rightly. 209 00:11:11,240 --> 00:11:13,040 The world says there are there is no truth. 210 00:11:13,040 --> 00:11:15,040 You have your truth, I have mine. 211 00:11:15,400 --> 00:11:18,880 But there is a believing rightly that the book of John addresses 212 00:11:18,880 --> 00:11:21,960 again and again and again and again and over the weeks while 213 00:11:21,960 --> 00:11:24,880 you come here might be the very first time you ever heard that. 214 00:11:25,400 --> 00:11:28,960 I want to trust with you that God will allow you to become 215 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:31,360 prepared for the day that you breathe your lost. 216 00:11:32,480 --> 00:11:35,000 So we found through John some who are prepared, but we also 217 00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:39,160 found some who are unprepared like Peter, my good friend 218 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:42,640 Peter, as properly unprepared as one can get. 219 00:11:43,120 --> 00:11:46,640 John one verse 40 says Andrew. Now this is just a whole lot of 220 00:11:46,680 --> 00:11:49,240 of word salad. I'll unpackage it in just a bit. 221 00:11:49,240 --> 00:11:52,800 But Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who 222 00:11:52,800 --> 00:11:56,280 heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 223 00:11:56,480 --> 00:11:58,960 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and 224 00:11:58,960 --> 00:12:01,560 tell him we've found the Messiah, that is the Christ and 225 00:12:01,560 --> 00:12:04,280 he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, 226 00:12:04,280 --> 00:12:07,480 you are Simon's son of John. You'll be called Cephas, which 227 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:12,480 then translated means Peter. So one thing I want to draw out 228 00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:15,760 from here, this is the second encounter that we see in the 229 00:12:15,760 --> 00:12:18,480 book of John. What I want to highlight here is 230 00:12:18,480 --> 00:12:20,920 the difference between Andrew and Peter. 231 00:12:22,520 --> 00:12:25,240 So Andrew was Peter's brother. I don't know if you've got a 232 00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:29,120 sibling like these two where it's like black and white. 233 00:12:29,880 --> 00:12:33,560 So Andrew seemed to be really pursuing the things of God. 234 00:12:34,080 --> 00:12:35,600 Yeah. It would seem like John the 235 00:12:35,600 --> 00:12:39,120 Baptist was his rabbi. So he really had cracked the nod 236 00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:41,040 and sort of gotten one of the best of the best that he was 237 00:12:41,040 --> 00:12:43,800 following after. And in the Engineer E, the only 238 00:12:43,800 --> 00:12:47,920 way you could become a follower of a rabbi was you had to be the 239 00:12:47,920 --> 00:12:49,840 best of the best. And he would take from the cream 240 00:12:49,840 --> 00:12:51,960 of the crop. So you have Andrew, who's there. 241 00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:53,920 He's around ministry and everything like this. 242 00:12:54,120 --> 00:13:00,400 Peter's AWOL, Peter's absence. Peter's uninterested, probably 243 00:13:01,040 --> 00:13:05,040 unqualified in his own mind, he's maybe processed this thing 244 00:13:05,040 --> 00:13:08,520 through like, you know, you just you, you go to church, you eat 245 00:13:08,520 --> 00:13:10,480 your car. I'm I'm going to go fish. 246 00:13:11,480 --> 00:13:14,040 You're probably thinking, you know, keep your rabbi stuffs. 247 00:13:14,040 --> 00:13:16,080 I don't want another ball that I failed. 248 00:13:16,080 --> 00:13:18,560 I don't want another to be another disappointment in 249 00:13:18,560 --> 00:13:20,400 another space. So he's all fishing. 250 00:13:20,640 --> 00:13:22,840 I don't know if you've got that in, in your home. 251 00:13:23,360 --> 00:13:29,000 I had that in my home. My dad's IQ was at Mensa levels 252 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:33,000 and my sister got all of that. I can I can still remember 253 00:13:33,160 --> 00:13:37,040 academic awards evening sitting there. 254 00:13:37,560 --> 00:13:42,400 I remember standard five dates, me right, Remember standard 5. 255 00:13:42,880 --> 00:13:47,720 Like they call her up and it's a book prize for maths and science 256 00:13:48,040 --> 00:13:51,280 and advanced mathematics and World Peace, you know, and 257 00:13:51,280 --> 00:13:53,360 eventually like she needs the wheelbarrows, like squeaky, 258 00:13:53,560 --> 00:13:55,960 squeaky, squeaky, squeaky. So you know, she's like, thank 259 00:13:55,960 --> 00:13:58,280 you, thank you. I'm sitting there on these 260 00:13:58,280 --> 00:14:01,600 squidgy little Gray chairs and I'm praying Lord Jesus, I've 261 00:14:01,600 --> 00:14:04,280 heard of the rapture. If it happens now, you would be 262 00:14:04,280 --> 00:14:07,880 doing me the world in a favour. I just don't want my mom to find 263 00:14:07,880 --> 00:14:09,400 out. I might fail class too. 264 00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:12,160 And this is what's happening here. 265 00:14:12,160 --> 00:14:16,440 You've got Andrew who's like on fire for for the the Kingdom and 266 00:14:16,720 --> 00:14:20,720 he's rooted in his in his Jewish heritage and he's pursuing and 267 00:14:20,720 --> 00:14:22,960 understanding in a relationship with Jesus. 268 00:14:23,040 --> 00:14:25,680 Well with God hasn't yet discovered it's Jesus. 269 00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:28,800 Peter's nowhere to be found. Peter's praying. 270 00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:30,920 Please come back. I might fail class, too. 271 00:14:35,200 --> 00:14:39,200 I don't know if you know the name John Harper that I was 272 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:43,720 reading up about him. He was a Scottish preacher and 273 00:14:44,320 --> 00:14:45,840 he was invited to go preach in America. 274 00:14:45,840 --> 00:14:49,160 But this was in the early 1900s. And so he had to take a ship to 275 00:14:49,160 --> 00:14:52,320 get from Scotland to America to go and preach the gospel there. 276 00:14:52,840 --> 00:14:55,440 Unfortunately, he booked tickets on the Titanic. 277 00:14:56,400 --> 00:15:00,200 And so John Harper's on the ship when it hits the iceberg and 278 00:15:01,160 --> 00:15:05,800 being radically saved and being the evangelist that he was, he's 279 00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:07,880 going around while everyone else was saying women and children 280 00:15:07,880 --> 00:15:10,200 first, women and children first. He's going around saying, no, 281 00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:12,320 women and children and unsaved first. 282 00:15:13,640 --> 00:15:16,600 Ask them, are they saved? If they are, they should get off 283 00:15:16,600 --> 00:15:18,120 and put someone who's unsaved in there. 284 00:15:18,640 --> 00:15:22,240 And he kept saying these people highly likely that they're going 285 00:15:22,240 --> 00:15:23,600 to drown. They're going to stand before 286 00:15:23,600 --> 00:15:26,680 God tonight and have to give an account without an understanding 287 00:15:26,680 --> 00:15:30,000 of the grace of God, without an understanding of the finished 288 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:33,000 work of the cross, without an understanding of this free gift 289 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:35,840 that I read to you from Romans. So he said, please, you've got 290 00:15:35,840 --> 00:15:38,120 to ask these people. Are they saved before you allow 291 00:15:38,120 --> 00:15:42,640 them onto the lifeboats? The Titanic sinks. 292 00:15:42,920 --> 00:15:45,120 Sorry, spoiler alert if you haven't watched the movie. 293 00:15:45,600 --> 00:15:52,280 The Titanic sinks and he's and he's busy drifting in the frigid 294 00:15:52,280 --> 00:15:54,800 waters. And the Agaba, the name of 295 00:15:54,800 --> 00:15:57,840 Aquila web says, you know, the unlike the movies, it wasn't 296 00:15:57,840 --> 00:16:00,080 completely flat. There was currents and swells 297 00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:02,480 and everything like it. Aquila says he's now hanging 298 00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:04,840 onto some wreckage and floating in the ocean. 299 00:16:05,200 --> 00:16:08,800 And Mr. Harper gets sort of washed up close to him and he 300 00:16:08,800 --> 00:16:12,040 says the following. He says, Sir, are you saved? 301 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:18,120 Aquila says, no, I said I'm honestly, I'm not saved. 302 00:16:18,120 --> 00:16:21,440 And he went on to list all the disqualifications just like 303 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:24,840 Peter would have in his mind, just like you probably have in 304 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:27,960 your mind all the reasons why, you know, this isn't for me. 305 00:16:27,960 --> 00:16:31,360 I can never attain to some higher religious righteous 306 00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:33,920 standing. And and he shares this with John 307 00:16:33,920 --> 00:16:36,600 Harper. So John says, Acts 1631 says 308 00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:39,040 believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you'll be saved. 309 00:16:40,320 --> 00:16:43,160 And then Aquila says that the oceans then sort of pulled them 310 00:16:43,160 --> 00:16:44,720 away and he was behind a swell again. 311 00:16:44,720 --> 00:16:47,280 And a few minutes later back comes John Harper. 312 00:16:47,640 --> 00:16:49,880 And he says, are you saved now, Sir? 313 00:16:51,920 --> 00:16:55,760 And his answer was no, I can honestly say that I'm not saved. 314 00:16:56,560 --> 00:17:00,840 So John Harper let go of the piece of wood that he was 315 00:17:00,840 --> 00:17:05,440 floating on, gave it to Jack and Rose and he swam across and he 316 00:17:05,440 --> 00:17:07,079 took off his life jacket and he gave it to him. 317 00:17:07,079 --> 00:17:09,920 And he says, you have greater need of this than I do. 318 00:17:11,160 --> 00:17:14,480 Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. 319 00:17:16,839 --> 00:17:19,520 And a few minutes later he went under, never to be seen again. 320 00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:24,079 And the quilt says they're alone in the dark of night with two 321 00:17:24,079 --> 00:17:30,040 miles of water underneath me. I believed, you know, Aquila 322 00:17:30,040 --> 00:17:34,000 Webb had an encounter with Jesus thanks to John Harper. 323 00:17:34,400 --> 00:17:37,760 Peter had an encounter with Jesus thanks to his brother 324 00:17:37,760 --> 00:17:40,480 Andrew. And both of their lives were 325 00:17:40,480 --> 00:17:44,800 never to be the same again. That is our trust for you. 326 00:17:45,240 --> 00:17:48,920 It's my trust for me, even in my relationship with Jesus, a fresh 327 00:17:48,920 --> 00:17:52,040 encounter with him that my life would never be the same again. 328 00:17:52,360 --> 00:17:54,440 I don't know if you know this, but Peter actually was quite a 329 00:17:54,440 --> 00:17:57,680 big deal on the back of this. You know, the Roman Catholic 330 00:17:57,680 --> 00:18:00,680 Church modeled themselves the Pope after Peter. 331 00:18:01,200 --> 00:18:04,840 You know that his first sermon that he preached 3000 people got 332 00:18:04,840 --> 00:18:06,560 saved. You know that if you page to the 333 00:18:06,560 --> 00:18:09,280 end of your Bible, you'll actually find that God used him 334 00:18:09,560 --> 00:18:14,960 to write holy eternal scripture. Doesn't matter how far away from 335 00:18:14,960 --> 00:18:17,640 God you are right now. Doesn't matter how deep in the 336 00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:21,080 weeds your your life could be like Aquila's life, literally a 337 00:18:21,080 --> 00:18:24,440 shipwreck. But one encounter with Jesus and 338 00:18:24,440 --> 00:18:25,680 you will never be the same again. 339 00:18:26,280 --> 00:18:29,520 And John does this again and again and again. 340 00:18:29,520 --> 00:18:32,600 We're trusting that our Heavenly Father will do this again and 341 00:18:32,600 --> 00:18:35,880 again and again through these weeks as we unpack this 342 00:18:35,880 --> 00:18:38,880 magnificent book of John. Because no one encounters Jesus 343 00:18:38,880 --> 00:18:43,880 and stays the same one more and this is what this is one of my 344 00:18:43,880 --> 00:18:45,680 favorites. So we're going to jump ahead and 345 00:18:45,680 --> 00:18:50,160 squeeze it in. This is Nathaniel verse 47 says 346 00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:53,720 when Jesus saw Nathaniel approaching, he said of him here 347 00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:56,520 truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit. 348 00:18:57,200 --> 00:18:59,240 How do you know me? Nathaniel asked. 349 00:18:59,240 --> 00:19:02,400 Now that when he says no, it's not like, hey, I know your name 350 00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:05,040 or gosh, yeah, you're good with names. 351 00:19:05,040 --> 00:19:06,800 I'm I'm terrible with names and faces. 352 00:19:06,800 --> 00:19:09,520 And so you're not saying that when he says, how do you know me 353 00:19:09,520 --> 00:19:12,960 that that would know there's an incredibly intimate, personal, 354 00:19:12,960 --> 00:19:18,760 compassionate and kind knowing. He's like so taken aback that 355 00:19:18,760 --> 00:19:25,000 you would know me. And so Jesus answered, I saw you 356 00:19:25,280 --> 00:19:26,680 my Bible. I've underlined it. 357 00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:30,040 I saw you while you're still under the fig tree before Philip 358 00:19:30,040 --> 00:19:32,280 called you. Take a look at the response. 359 00:19:32,720 --> 00:19:36,680 Nathaniel's heart knowing that Jesus saw him. 360 00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:39,760 Verse 49. Then Nathaniel declared, Rabbi, 361 00:19:39,760 --> 00:19:42,640 you are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel. 362 00:19:42,880 --> 00:19:44,960 So Jesus said you believe because I told you I saw you 363 00:19:44,960 --> 00:19:46,600 under the fig tree. You're going to see a whole lot 364 00:19:46,600 --> 00:19:49,840 more than just that. There's something about being 365 00:19:49,840 --> 00:19:55,520 seen by Jesus. I don't know if you feel unseen. 366 00:19:57,680 --> 00:20:01,720 I don't know if you feel unseen. I came in early. 367 00:20:02,120 --> 00:20:04,240 My daughter is working on the barista team so I was here a 368 00:20:04,480 --> 00:20:07,480 little earlier than usual and it was interesting to see in all 369 00:20:07,480 --> 00:20:09,320 the dark pockets that people sitting. 370 00:20:11,880 --> 00:20:14,320 Maybe you feel unseen. I don't know if you know this, 371 00:20:16,040 --> 00:20:20,880 but the very first time God is given the name is given the name 372 00:20:20,880 --> 00:20:24,840 by Hagar. So Adam and Eve, you know, 373 00:20:24,880 --> 00:20:28,520 Adam's naming the animals and naming their children, and then 374 00:20:28,520 --> 00:20:32,560 the children name their cities and they name their land, and 375 00:20:32,560 --> 00:20:35,960 God introduces himself by name. But there's one moment, the 376 00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:41,960 first moment that God is given a name by us, and that is Hagar in 377 00:20:41,960 --> 00:20:46,240 Genesis 16. And you know what she names him? 378 00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:52,080 Elroy, the God who sees me. It's the first time God is given 379 00:20:52,080 --> 00:20:54,640 a name. And Hagar, if you don't know the 380 00:20:54,640 --> 00:21:00,440 story, Hagar was a slave and she was put in the very unfortunate 381 00:21:00,440 --> 00:21:04,880 position of having to sleep with her Master to give him a child. 382 00:21:04,880 --> 00:21:08,120 And when that child was born, she was ostracized. 383 00:21:08,760 --> 00:21:12,680 She was mocked and belittled, persecuted and abused to the 384 00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:14,400 point that Hagar was eventually kicked out. 385 00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:17,240 She sent away to go and die in the wilderness. 386 00:21:17,680 --> 00:21:19,320 You take your stuffs and just go away. 387 00:21:19,320 --> 00:21:22,160 We don't need you anymore. We've used and abused you. 388 00:21:22,320 --> 00:21:24,920 We've got what we wanted. Now you can go away and die. 389 00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:30,040 And in that place God comes to her in the corners, dark corners 390 00:21:30,040 --> 00:21:31,960 of the church. God comes to her in his 391 00:21:31,960 --> 00:21:36,760 compassion and kindness. And it says Genesis 16. 392 00:21:37,880 --> 00:21:40,640 She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her. 393 00:21:41,040 --> 00:21:49,240 You are El Roy, the God who sees me, Not just the God who sees, 394 00:21:49,960 --> 00:21:56,000 but the God who sees me. And you know, he was so moved by 395 00:21:56,000 --> 00:22:00,240 that that God kept that name for himself because it is true to 396 00:22:00,240 --> 00:22:04,920 character. And all these years later, what 397 00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:07,280 is the first thing Jesus says to Nathaniel? 398 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:14,360 I saw you, I saw you, I've heard you cry, I am concerned. 399 00:22:15,280 --> 00:22:19,880 I've seen you and I've come down and I don't know where you fit 400 00:22:19,880 --> 00:22:22,480 on the spectrum, how far away you might be like Peter. 401 00:22:22,680 --> 00:22:27,160 We're like a rather go and just busy myself at the office then 402 00:22:27,160 --> 00:22:29,280 come anywhere near to this scary God. 403 00:22:30,800 --> 00:22:33,920 Or maybe you sit there with fears and doubts and diagnosis 404 00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:38,200 and you're going like God. Do you even hear? 405 00:22:38,200 --> 00:22:41,600 Do you even know an encounter with this God? 406 00:22:41,600 --> 00:22:45,880 One thing you will realize is he is Elroy, the God who sees me. 407 00:22:47,840 --> 00:22:52,080 And so throughout this incredible book we found those 408 00:22:52,080 --> 00:22:57,600 who are prepared come to church notebook Bible, buy a few people 409 00:22:57,600 --> 00:23:02,440 some extra coffees and everyone by name just like John. 410 00:23:03,640 --> 00:23:06,120 And throughout this book we also find Peters who are unprepared 411 00:23:06,120 --> 00:23:08,880 running away. Your mother has to bribe you to 412 00:23:08,880 --> 00:23:12,240 come to church with her. There's really pretty girls at 3 413 00:23:12,240 --> 00:23:17,560 CR and you come unprepared to encounter the living Christ. 414 00:23:18,280 --> 00:23:21,000 Or you might be like Nathaniel where you just like I don't know 415 00:23:21,280 --> 00:23:26,040 if he even knows what I'm going through, but at the very least 416 00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:28,760 you'll find that you're just like Philip. 417 00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:33,160 Take a look at this. This is my my favorite word in 418 00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:38,640 this book is found in verse 43. The next day, Jesus decided to 419 00:23:38,640 --> 00:23:45,200 leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, find that. 420 00:23:45,280 --> 00:23:47,680 Oh, I love that word finding Philip. 421 00:23:47,680 --> 00:23:52,120 He said, follow me. Now, if you've been here a 422 00:23:52,120 --> 00:23:54,640 while, you know, I love words. I'm a bit of a wordsmith. 423 00:23:54,640 --> 00:23:57,760 I suppose it's part of my my advertising background and 424 00:23:57,760 --> 00:24:00,840 copywriting. But finding I went to look at 425 00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:06,760 this word in the Greek and it's the prolonged verb, prolonged 426 00:24:06,760 --> 00:24:09,200 form of the verb. And it doesn't just mean like, 427 00:24:09,280 --> 00:24:14,040 oh, look, I found my phone. It means to search thoroughly, 428 00:24:14,760 --> 00:24:18,160 to inquire after, to enforce discovery. 429 00:24:18,480 --> 00:24:25,920 With relentless pursuit, he relentlessly pursued Philip. 430 00:24:27,600 --> 00:24:29,560 But take a look at the first few words there. 431 00:24:29,640 --> 00:24:32,680 The next day, Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. 432 00:24:34,640 --> 00:24:37,040 In other words, Philip wasn't in Jerusalem. 433 00:24:37,920 --> 00:24:39,720 Philip wasn't anywhere near Jesus. 434 00:24:40,480 --> 00:24:42,920 So Jesus said I I will go and find him. 435 00:24:43,640 --> 00:24:48,520 Hey Hilt, Matthew is in the Carew writing songs for Internet 436 00:24:48,520 --> 00:24:51,520 Girl and I've been praying. Finding Matthew. 437 00:24:51,800 --> 00:24:55,800 Finding Matthew. Jesus went to Galilee to find 438 00:24:55,800 --> 00:25:00,240 Philip. Jesus can walk through the 439 00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:05,080 streets of our city and find those who are running from him, 440 00:25:05,080 --> 00:25:12,720 hiding from him, finding Philip. I've got a picture I want to 441 00:25:12,720 --> 00:25:15,080 show you. It's a picture of. 442 00:25:15,680 --> 00:25:18,800 It's actually my father's favorite plane, but it's a the 443 00:25:18,800 --> 00:25:21,760 carnage of a plane crash in the Amazon jungle. 444 00:25:22,640 --> 00:25:27,640 It's a single prop Cessna. The irony of that plane crash is 445 00:25:27,640 --> 00:25:32,200 it happened on Mayday the 1st of May 2023, but it took them a 446 00:25:32,200 --> 00:25:35,640 week to find it because apparently this this search area 447 00:25:35,640 --> 00:25:38,400 was something like 200 kilometers by 50 kilometers wide 448 00:25:38,720 --> 00:25:41,520 and it was in the thickest, deepest Amazon jungle. 449 00:25:41,520 --> 00:25:43,520 Took them a week just to get to that point. 450 00:25:43,520 --> 00:25:47,520 And when they got there, they found that the pilot and two 451 00:25:47,520 --> 00:25:49,280 adults had passed away on impact. 452 00:25:49,280 --> 00:25:52,560 But when they looked around, they realized actually the 453 00:25:52,560 --> 00:25:56,000 manifest is there are seven people were seven people on that 454 00:25:56,000 --> 00:26:07,200 plane and there were 4 missing aged 13, 9-4 years old and 11 455 00:26:07,200 --> 00:26:12,360 months. And so they called in a couple 456 00:26:12,360 --> 00:26:16,080 hundred special forces to come and search for these children. 457 00:26:16,080 --> 00:26:19,760 They knew they were alive because all four of their little 458 00:26:19,760 --> 00:26:22,120 footprints that were found in the mud, tiny little teeny 459 00:26:22,120 --> 00:26:26,040 little 11 month old had obviously needed a nappy change 460 00:26:26,040 --> 00:26:29,440 because not too far away there was dirty nappy and some left 461 00:26:29,440 --> 00:26:32,800 behind plastics and they searched for them. 462 00:26:32,800 --> 00:26:37,320 Now remember it took a week for them just to find the wreckage. 463 00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:41,080 So these four have been lost in the jungle for a week already 464 00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:46,160 and it took almost another three weeks for them and searching 465 00:26:46,520 --> 00:26:49,680 before they found the kids. But what happened was they got 466 00:26:49,680 --> 00:26:52,760 to a point where one of the guys said, I wonder if they these 467 00:26:52,880 --> 00:26:55,800 children actually want to be saved or rescued. 468 00:26:57,400 --> 00:27:01,040 And he said, like, imagine you've just had a plane crash. 469 00:27:01,320 --> 00:27:05,240 You're terrified. You're in the jungle, snakes and 470 00:27:05,240 --> 00:27:10,560 spiders and tarantulas and lions and tigers, you know, and you 471 00:27:10,560 --> 00:27:12,520 don't know what to do. You don't know how to get home. 472 00:27:13,080 --> 00:27:16,280 And all you see are these baddies with the guns, the 473 00:27:16,280 --> 00:27:18,840 search and rescue team. And So what they did was they 474 00:27:18,840 --> 00:27:23,000 went and they got the grandmother to record an 475 00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:25,920 explanation of who these men were and why they were there and 476 00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:27,360 how they were wanting to rescue them. 477 00:27:27,800 --> 00:27:31,280 And so they were dropping food parcels all over the place. 478 00:27:31,280 --> 00:27:34,560 And with it they had these little Bluetooth speakers that 479 00:27:34,560 --> 00:27:36,880 would loop this message the whole time. 480 00:27:38,600 --> 00:27:43,800 And after a month in the jungle, a 13 year old, 9 year old, 4 481 00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:47,360 year old and an 11 month old came out to their rescuers. 482 00:27:49,800 --> 00:27:54,840 Finding Philip. Finding Philip. 483 00:27:57,240 --> 00:28:05,120 If I can lean for just a moment, you might have spent your entire 484 00:28:05,120 --> 00:28:14,440 life hiding, ducking, running from the very God who's 485 00:28:14,440 --> 00:28:19,920 searching you out, hiding from him because he, you think he's, 486 00:28:19,920 --> 00:28:23,120 he's coming after you. No, He wants to rescue you. 487 00:28:24,040 --> 00:28:26,640 He so loves you. He doesn't want to leave you in 488 00:28:26,640 --> 00:28:30,680 the jungle of your mess and brokenness and separation from 489 00:28:30,680 --> 00:28:35,760 him. And my invitation to you is come 490 00:28:35,760 --> 00:28:39,600 and let the book of John, let this unbelievable encounter with 491 00:28:39,680 --> 00:28:44,920 Jesus wash over your heart. He's calling you home. 492 00:28:45,400 --> 00:28:50,400 Come out of that jungle in the middle of your shipwrecked life. 493 00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:55,560 Or maybe you've thought you had it all together, just like John, 494 00:28:56,600 --> 00:28:59,680 but need an encounter with the Lamb of God who takes away the 495 00:28:59,680 --> 00:29:03,560 sin of the world. That's the invitation of the 496 00:29:03,560 --> 00:29:08,000 book of John, because no one who encounters Jesus stays the same. 497 00:29:09,760 --> 00:29:14,120 So irrespective of where you are on this spectrum, how far or how 498 00:29:14,120 --> 00:29:20,720 close you are to God, allow an encounter with Him maybe Sunday 499 00:29:20,760 --> 00:29:25,560 after Sunday, slowly when you're hot, to draw you and pull you 500 00:29:25,560 --> 00:29:29,520 out of that shipwreck and out of the jungle and allow this 501 00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:33,840 unbelievable gospel not only to change your life, but to change 502 00:29:33,840 --> 00:29:35,640 your world. Thank you.