1 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:05,960 Welcome to the Liberty Baptist Sermon Archives. 2 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:09,040 The message you're about to hear was preached at Liberty Baptist 3 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:13,040 Church in Easton, MA. You can find out more about us 4 00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:17,280 or contact us at my libertybaptist.org or just look 5 00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:19,760 us up on Facebook. And now we hope that this 6 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:22,080 message from God's Word will be a blessing to you. 7 00:00:24,680 --> 00:00:27,120 Text I'm about to give you has been triple checked and 8 00:00:27,120 --> 00:00:29,160 verified. And so I'm able to tell you that 9 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:31,360 you could turn to John chapter 1 this morning. 10 00:00:31,360 --> 00:00:32,880 If you don't know what I'm talking about, you weren't here 11 00:00:32,880 --> 00:00:36,040 last week, but I'm very sure that we're in John chapter 1 12 00:00:36,040 --> 00:00:39,680 this morning as we continue our. Series Christ is all look at the 13 00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:43,440 characteristics of Christ, and this morning the characteristic 14 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:46,600 that we're looking at is that Christ is preexistent. 15 00:00:46,760 --> 00:00:49,920 Christ is preexistent. Now I want to be careful this 16 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:52,120 morning because it could sound more like a lecture. 17 00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:55,000 It could sound more like just simply some teaching thing that 18 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:57,920 we want to give you and the fact that Christ is pre-existing is 19 00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:00,400 important for us to be able to understand from the word of God. 20 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:03,680 There's a lot of false teaching out there about who Jesus Christ 21 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:07,760 is that we need to know about so that we can better be able to 22 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:10,680 explain Jesus Christ to our friends and our family and our 23 00:01:10,680 --> 00:01:12,280 neighbors. But I will tell you this, that 24 00:01:12,280 --> 00:01:15,400 the desire of my message this morning through preaching is not 25 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:18,960 simply to just stimulate your intellect this morning, but it's 26 00:01:18,960 --> 00:01:21,080 also to reach your heart, because I believe that's what 27 00:01:21,280 --> 00:01:23,840 preaching is truly all about. And the fact that Christ is 28 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:27,160 preexisting is something that truly should reach our heart 29 00:01:27,160 --> 00:01:30,280 because there's very real consequences about the fact that 30 00:01:30,280 --> 00:01:33,840 Christ is eternal. He always has been and He always 31 00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:35,160 will be. That's what I mean by the fact 32 00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:38,040 that Christ is pre-existing, that He's eternal in the future, 33 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:42,520 but he's also always been. He is eternal in his past as 34 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:44,560 well. We'll see here in just a moment. 35 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:46,720 You know, there's something about the human spirit that just 36 00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:48,680 wants to live forever. And I believe. 37 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:51,280 That's probably the conscience of which God has put inside of 38 00:01:51,280 --> 00:01:54,320 us to know that there's something greater than ourselves 39 00:01:54,320 --> 00:01:56,760 that is out there. And that's something that is 40 00:01:56,920 --> 00:01:59,280 been the constant throughout history that people are trying 41 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:01,800 to find a way. Can we maybe put it this way to 42 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:04,280 cheat death? Was reading an article this week 43 00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:07,720 about two world leaders. And these world leaders were 44 00:02:07,720 --> 00:02:11,000 caught on a hot mic talking with one another, thinking that no 45 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:13,480 one else was listening but talking about the fact that each 46 00:02:13,480 --> 00:02:16,080 of them were hoping that through science they would find a way to 47 00:02:16,080 --> 00:02:20,280 be able to live far past the expected time of our demise. 48 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:23,600 And really kind of in essence, wanting to live forever by 49 00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:27,520 swapping body body parts as they fail with mechanical body parts. 50 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:29,640 To be honest with you, it sounded more like Star Trek and 51 00:02:29,640 --> 00:02:31,720 science fiction than something that was reality. 52 00:02:32,120 --> 00:02:36,360 But the idea is that mankind will go to great lengths to try 53 00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:40,160 to extend their life, particularly apart from God. 54 00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:43,760 You may have noticed yesterday that I know this is not really 55 00:02:43,760 --> 00:02:47,080 big news, but there was some news yesterday that the manager 56 00:02:47,080 --> 00:02:49,320 of the Red Sox, Alex Cora, was fired. 57 00:02:49,320 --> 00:02:51,680 He's no longer with the Red Sox. And I was reading some comments 58 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:54,720 about that online and someone said maybe we can thaw out Ted 59 00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:56,920 Williams and bring him back to coach the Red Sox. 60 00:02:59,880 --> 00:03:02,320 And so you know exactly what I'm talking about, don't you? 61 00:03:02,880 --> 00:03:05,480 The field of cryogenics, right? That there were people that were 62 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:07,720 hoping that they would be able to extend their life because 63 00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:11,240 right before they passed, that they would be able to stop their 64 00:03:11,240 --> 00:03:15,400 life and hope that someday they would be able to be thawed when 65 00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:18,400 there were cures for the bounties of which they had so 66 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:22,360 they could continue to live on. It was said that Walt Disney had 67 00:03:22,360 --> 00:03:24,440 the same thing happened to him. That's been debunked, I think 68 00:03:24,440 --> 00:03:26,480 over the years. But the idea that someday Walt 69 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:29,320 Disney would come back and on and on and on it goes. 70 00:03:29,320 --> 00:03:31,720 Why? Because man wants to live 71 00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:35,120 forever, and particularly man wants to live forever. 72 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:38,480 Apart from God. But I will say this this 73 00:03:38,480 --> 00:03:41,720 morning, according to the word of God, there's only one way 74 00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:45,160 that you and I can live for eternity. 75 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:50,680 And that answer is this because of an eternal God, an eternal 76 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:55,000 Christ who is God as we see here in John chapter #1. 77 00:03:55,120 --> 00:03:56,360 Will you stand? Please for the reading God's 78 00:03:56,360 --> 00:03:58,000 Word John chapter 1 this morning. 79 00:04:00,360 --> 00:04:01,840 How many are happy here this morning? 80 00:04:02,520 --> 00:04:03,720 Amen. All right, how many of you will 81 00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:04,920 show it here in the next few minutes? 82 00:04:04,920 --> 00:04:07,280 Please, anybody, All right, please help me. 83 00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:09,120 It's God's house. It's God's day, right? 84 00:04:09,120 --> 00:04:10,960 Where you get to be here today. Praise the Lord. 85 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:12,920 And so I'm glad to be able to be here. 86 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:16,399 And I was just really the Lord speaking about as I'm reading 87 00:04:16,399 --> 00:04:17,959 the text this morning to see Serve. 88 00:04:17,959 --> 00:04:20,079 The Lord with gladness, I was thinking, but we get to serve 89 00:04:20,079 --> 00:04:22,079 the Lord. He desires to let us serve. 90 00:04:22,079 --> 00:04:23,920 That's a little mini message I'm giving you in between the 91 00:04:23,920 --> 00:04:25,680 messages, but we get to serve the Lord. 92 00:04:25,680 --> 00:04:27,720 What a joy that is for us to be able to have so. 93 00:04:28,080 --> 00:04:31,840 John chapter one, it says this in the beginning was the Word 94 00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:34,840 and the Word was with God and the Word was God. 95 00:04:34,840 --> 00:04:37,480 The same was in the beginning with God. 96 00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:42,240 All things were made by him and without him was not anything 97 00:04:42,240 --> 00:04:46,360 made that was made. There's a lot being said there 98 00:04:46,360 --> 00:04:51,280 in three very short verses and a very impactful section of 99 00:04:51,280 --> 00:04:54,000 Scripture which is part of a very impactful chapter of 100 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:55,840 Scripture. And so by God's grace for the 101 00:04:55,840 --> 00:04:58,400 next few minutes we'll try to look at this fact that Christ is 102 00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:00,880 pre-existing. He's eternal, He always has 103 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:02,600 been. And he always will be. 104 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:03,960 We be seated as we pray together. 105 00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:11,280 Heavenly Father, we do thank you for this morning. 106 00:05:11,280 --> 00:05:13,160 And again, I just come before you humbly. 107 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:16,360 I know that I'm not equal to this message or equal to the 108 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:18,360 task of the calling of which you put in my life. 109 00:05:19,040 --> 00:05:20,880 And Lord, I do just ask that you would do that. 110 00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:24,360 That would change hearts and lives here today. 111 00:05:24,880 --> 00:05:28,120 Lord, that's our desire to be here, to be changed into your 112 00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:30,200 image. And I pray that what I say here 113 00:05:30,200 --> 00:05:32,480 this morning, not because of my words, but because of your 114 00:05:32,480 --> 00:05:36,680 words, because of the word Lord, that it would change lives here 115 00:05:36,680 --> 00:05:39,000 today. We know that that's possible and 116 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:40,320 so I pray that that would be the case. 117 00:05:40,320 --> 00:05:42,400 The next few moments work in a way that only you can. 118 00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:47,120 We do ask in Jesus name, Amen. So let's start from this point. 119 00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:49,400 What does it mean for? Something to be eternal. 120 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:51,840 What does it mean for something to be eternal? 121 00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:55,360 You know, eternity can be relative in some ways. 122 00:05:55,560 --> 00:05:57,160 You know, if you're waiting for somebody to call you. 123 00:05:57,480 --> 00:05:59,920 You know, it could seem like an eternity before someone says 124 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:02,920 they're going to call you and when they actually do end up 125 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:06,520 calling you if you're in the car and you know, maybe you've been 126 00:06:06,520 --> 00:06:08,600 in a situation. Before I know that I have, you 127 00:06:08,600 --> 00:06:13,840 can almost see in accidents about to happen and you have 128 00:06:13,840 --> 00:06:17,600 that moment where you hit the brakes and you're ready to hear 129 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:21,840 that crunch. And feel the impact and it feels 130 00:06:21,840 --> 00:06:24,800 like the moment from when you hit the brakes till when it 131 00:06:24,800 --> 00:06:28,400 happens is an eternity. It could just be just a few 132 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:31,240 short seconds. An attorney could be the time 133 00:06:31,240 --> 00:06:35,320 difference between when a man says will you marry me and when 134 00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:38,800 she. Says yes, it may be a couple. 135 00:06:38,800 --> 00:06:41,880 Seconds, but I know in my situation it felt like an 136 00:06:41,880 --> 00:06:43,760 eternity. What's she going to say? 137 00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:47,800 An eternity can feel like well pastor, when does your preaching 138 00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:49,160 ever end? That could be what it is. 139 00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:51,840 Is that eternity? Is this ever going to finish? 140 00:06:51,840 --> 00:06:55,080 Who knows? In some ways it can be relative. 141 00:06:55,080 --> 00:06:58,080 How long is eternity? But really, if we were to look 142 00:06:58,080 --> 00:07:01,880 not at the relativity of it, but the reality of it, eternity has 143 00:07:01,880 --> 00:07:04,920 a very real definition. It's not just what our 144 00:07:04,920 --> 00:07:09,080 perception of it is, but rather what does the word of God say 145 00:07:09,240 --> 00:07:12,760 and eternity is well, we can find the definition of it. 146 00:07:12,760 --> 00:07:15,080 I think we're going to find more here in the word in just a 147 00:07:15,080 --> 00:07:16,480 moment. But the very definition of it 148 00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:21,920 from Webster's 1828 dictionary is this without beginning or end 149 00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:27,880 of existence, Stop right there. Without beginning or end of 150 00:07:27,880 --> 00:07:30,000 existence. This tells us this is something 151 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:31,400 different than what we're used to. 152 00:07:31,920 --> 00:07:36,120 And we're not just talking about something that is going future, 153 00:07:36,400 --> 00:07:39,880 but we're also talking about something past as well. 154 00:07:40,680 --> 00:07:45,760 Perpetual, ceaseless, continued without intermission, 155 00:07:46,400 --> 00:07:52,520 unchangeable, existing at all. Times without change. 156 00:07:53,320 --> 00:07:56,200 Well I could tell you someone who fits that definition just 157 00:07:56,200 --> 00:07:59,840 perfectly. Seems like the word right here 158 00:08:00,360 --> 00:08:03,880 in John chapter #1. This is the case that John is 159 00:08:03,880 --> 00:08:06,400 making here. He is making the case for the 160 00:08:06,400 --> 00:08:09,480 pre-existing Christ. You say, pastor, it seems like 161 00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:11,600 you're being very particular with that term pre-existing. 162 00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:13,640 I know you're talking about eternal, but the pre-existing 163 00:08:13,640 --> 00:08:16,000 Christ, why is that important? Well, it's important because 164 00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:18,960 there's a lot of teaching about there out there that is false 165 00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:21,920 about who Jesus Christ is. There are some who will teach 166 00:08:22,080 --> 00:08:26,120 that Jesus Christ came to be when the conception of Jesus 167 00:08:26,120 --> 00:08:28,880 Christ took place with Mary, then before that Jesus Christ 168 00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:31,880 was not. And the answer is that's false. 169 00:08:32,880 --> 00:08:36,480 There will be some that say that Jesus Christ is a created being 170 00:08:36,679 --> 00:08:39,880 and then when creation took place by the Father, then that's 171 00:08:39,880 --> 00:08:42,200 when Jesus Christ came into existence. 172 00:08:42,360 --> 00:08:47,480 And the answer is that is false, that Jesus Christ's pre 173 00:08:47,480 --> 00:08:50,040 existence. The supposition here that John 174 00:08:50,040 --> 00:08:53,640 is making is this, that Jesus Christ didn't come into being at 175 00:08:53,640 --> 00:08:55,840 the conception. Jesus Christ didn't come into 176 00:08:55,840 --> 00:09:00,360 being at the creation, but rather Jesus Christ has always 177 00:09:00,360 --> 00:09:01,520 been. Why? 178 00:09:01,640 --> 00:09:06,240 Because he is God. It says here in John chapter one 179 00:09:06,240 --> 00:09:08,680 verse one in the beginning. What's that next word? 180 00:09:10,280 --> 00:09:11,840 Oh boy, you. Have work with me today All 181 00:09:11,840 --> 00:09:15,880 right in the beginning what's that next word was what tense is 182 00:09:15,880 --> 00:09:19,440 that verb? It's a past tense meaning this 183 00:09:19,440 --> 00:09:22,520 not in the beginning is the word not in the beginning will be the 184 00:09:22,520 --> 00:09:26,200 word in the beginning was the word before the beginning. 185 00:09:27,080 --> 00:09:30,760 Jesus was that's what's being said here that how to bring 186 00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:33,640 encouragement, excitement to the heart of the believer to be able 187 00:09:33,640 --> 00:09:36,920 to say that Jesus wasn't fashioned at the beginning. 188 00:09:37,320 --> 00:09:41,360 Jesus was at the beginning because he always has been. 189 00:09:41,440 --> 00:09:46,760 He was the word and the word was with God meaning that when the 190 00:09:46,760 --> 00:09:49,280 beginning happened he was already with God. 191 00:09:49,280 --> 00:09:55,040 Why because he was God. It says in verse one the same. 192 00:09:55,160 --> 00:10:02,080 Was in the beginning with God Was, was, was all things were 193 00:10:02,080 --> 00:10:07,360 made by Him and without Him was not anything made that was made. 194 00:10:08,160 --> 00:10:10,800 Charles Spurgeon said this. He was not made a son. 195 00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:14,680 He was always the son. He was not promoted to deity. 196 00:10:15,160 --> 00:10:19,080 He was always God. The Manger did not create him. 197 00:10:19,080 --> 00:10:24,760 It simply revealed him that it wasn't, that he just came on to 198 00:10:24,760 --> 00:10:27,160 the scene, that that blissful night. 199 00:10:27,720 --> 00:10:31,840 In Bethlehem, but rather it was revealed he who had been from 200 00:10:31,840 --> 00:10:35,560 eternity past the pre-existing Christ. 201 00:10:36,720 --> 00:10:39,480 Now you know the. Typical format of which we have 202 00:10:39,480 --> 00:10:43,080 taken in this series so far is that we talk about the word and 203 00:10:43,080 --> 00:10:46,440 then we go into the text in the little greater way and then we 204 00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:47,880 go to another. Passage. 205 00:10:47,880 --> 00:10:50,760 That is what I would maybe call a landmark passage, one of those 206 00:10:51,040 --> 00:10:53,560 passages that I hope that you were aware of, particularly as a 207 00:10:53,560 --> 00:10:58,160 new believer, a place like an Isaiah 53, a Psalm. 23 of 208 00:10:58,160 --> 00:11:00,680 Philippians chapter 2 to be able to show you these places in your 209 00:11:00,680 --> 00:11:03,200 Bible that you could mark to be able to learn some of the really 210 00:11:03,200 --> 00:11:05,880 key passages of Scripture. Well, here we are in John 211 00:11:05,880 --> 00:11:08,960 chapter 1 and I'll be honest with you, we're in a key passage 212 00:11:08,960 --> 00:11:12,080 of Scripture already that we don't need to go anywhere else 213 00:11:12,080 --> 00:11:14,480 to find this, which we're looking for here today. 214 00:11:14,560 --> 00:11:16,440 Why? Because John chapter 1 is one of 215 00:11:16,440 --> 00:11:18,960 those places in Scripture that is a believer you need to be 216 00:11:18,960 --> 00:11:21,560 familiar with. The John chapter 1 is one of 217 00:11:21,560 --> 00:11:23,560 those places that you need to be able to study out. 218 00:11:23,760 --> 00:11:25,960 You say, well, how long would it take me to study just one 219 00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:29,040 chapter of the Bible, a chapter like this, a lifetime. 220 00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:33,040 If you think I can stuff it all into one sermon, well, you've 221 00:11:33,040 --> 00:11:34,840 missed the mark. And I'll miss the mark if I 222 00:11:34,840 --> 00:11:37,560 think I can try to be able to do it because there's so much 223 00:11:37,560 --> 00:11:41,560 doctrine that's here in John chapter 1 and it is so very 224 00:11:41,560 --> 00:11:43,640 relevant to that words we Live Today. 225 00:11:44,480 --> 00:11:46,720 So there's three things I want us to see from this text this 226 00:11:46,720 --> 00:11:50,340 morning that are the important implications of the pre 227 00:11:50,340 --> 00:11:52,080 existence of Christ. Again, we're not just talking 228 00:11:52,080 --> 00:11:54,800 about an academic lecture here this morning. 229 00:11:55,480 --> 00:11:58,040 I'm not just trying to tell you what the Bible says about this, 230 00:11:58,160 --> 00:12:01,560 as this is some dry, dusty, old boring book that has no 231 00:12:01,560 --> 00:12:04,320 relevance to you today. But there's some very real 232 00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:07,240 relevance with comes the fact that Jesus Christ was from 233 00:12:07,240 --> 00:12:09,480 eternity past. And the first is this. 234 00:12:09,720 --> 00:12:14,000 Only someone pre-existing can bring forth all existence. 235 00:12:14,720 --> 00:12:19,840 Only someone who is pre-existing can bring forth all existence. 236 00:12:20,200 --> 00:12:23,160 The fact that John starts right out-of-the-box with this verse 237 00:12:23,160 --> 00:12:26,520 about eternity and the pre existence of Christ is important 238 00:12:26,720 --> 00:12:29,040 for two reasons. First, it's important. 239 00:12:29,040 --> 00:12:31,560 To the Jews. Because it showed them that 240 00:12:31,720 --> 00:12:35,800 Jesus is the creator God. This was so important to the 241 00:12:35,800 --> 00:12:39,360 Jews as John himself as a Jew, and he's writing this epistle or 242 00:12:39,360 --> 00:12:41,640 whether he's writing this gospel, the last of the gospels 243 00:12:41,640 --> 00:12:45,480 to be written is believed. As he's writing this gospel, he 244 00:12:45,480 --> 00:12:49,600 is appealing to the Jews that Jesus Christ is the creator God. 245 00:12:49,760 --> 00:12:53,160 Now, does verse #1 sound an awful lot like another verse you 246 00:12:53,160 --> 00:12:56,040 can find in Scripture somewhere? I think it would be. 247 00:12:56,040 --> 00:12:57,240 That's what I'm looking for, right? 248 00:12:57,280 --> 00:12:58,520 Yeah, that's it. Yes. 249 00:12:58,600 --> 00:12:59,960 See, you know, y'all can just do that. 250 00:12:59,960 --> 00:13:05,640 Get into it, man. All right, So Genesis 1, one, in 251 00:13:05,640 --> 00:13:09,040 the beginning, we see the shades of Genesis 11 right there. 252 00:13:09,120 --> 00:13:10,720 Why? Because the Jews would have been 253 00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:15,320 familiar with the fact that the God, the creator God had created 254 00:13:15,320 --> 00:13:18,680 all the universe and always was. And So what is John doing here? 255 00:13:18,720 --> 00:13:23,120 He's making a link between the creator God the Father and 256 00:13:23,720 --> 00:13:28,400 creator God the Son. He wants the Jews to know that 257 00:13:28,400 --> 00:13:32,960 he who was spoken of in Genesis 1 was not simply the Father and 258 00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:34,560 the. Spirit who moved upon the face 259 00:13:34,560 --> 00:13:38,800 of the waters, but also Jesus Christ himself. 260 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:40,800 This is a stumbling block to the Jews. 261 00:13:41,920 --> 00:13:43,480 They were willing to accept the Father. 262 00:13:44,320 --> 00:13:47,880 They had strange concept of the Spirit, but understood that it 263 00:13:47,880 --> 00:13:51,480 was somehow involved. He was somehow involved, but yet 264 00:13:51,680 --> 00:13:54,960 Jesus Christ the Son of God and God the Son. 265 00:13:55,840 --> 00:13:59,880 Oh, this was a great stumbling block to the Jews, but yet we 266 00:13:59,880 --> 00:14:03,200 see in verse #3 all things were made by Him. 267 00:14:04,120 --> 00:14:06,240 And without him was not anything made that was made. 268 00:14:06,880 --> 00:14:08,920 Now think about verse #3 for a moment. 269 00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:12,720 If without him was not anything made that was made, that means 270 00:14:12,720 --> 00:14:16,120 that He wasn't made. I would say that again, all 271 00:14:16,160 --> 00:14:21,560 right. If by him everything made, not 272 00:14:21,560 --> 00:14:24,560 everything made was made, I shouldn't have walked away from 273 00:14:24,560 --> 00:14:26,960 that. Because it's kind of a paradox, 274 00:14:26,960 --> 00:14:29,720 isn't it? I got myself into a bad way 275 00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:32,400 there. The idea is this. 276 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:36,600 If Jesus is the creator then he cannot be the created being. 277 00:14:37,440 --> 00:14:39,400 He did not create himself. See I know what I'm saying, I 278 00:14:39,400 --> 00:14:41,080 just didn't get it right there up there. 279 00:14:41,080 --> 00:14:46,960 OK John is laying down the gauntlet that the pre-existing 280 00:14:46,960 --> 00:14:48,760 God is the creator God into the Jews. 281 00:14:48,760 --> 00:14:51,680 This was a stumbling block. In fact, it's talked about in 282 00:14:51,680 --> 00:14:54,400 the book of Colossians. It says in Colossians chapter #1 283 00:14:54,400 --> 00:14:57,800 verse 14 through 17, in whom we have redemption through his 284 00:14:57,800 --> 00:15:00,880 blood, whose blood? Jesus Christ, even the 285 00:15:00,880 --> 00:15:04,920 forgiveness of sins, who is the image of the invisible God, the 286 00:15:04,920 --> 00:15:08,800 first born of every creature. For by Him we're all things 287 00:15:08,800 --> 00:15:12,920 created that are in heaven, that are in earth, visible and 288 00:15:12,920 --> 00:15:14,600 invisible. That covers everything, doesn't 289 00:15:14,600 --> 00:15:16,360 it? Whether they be Thrones or 290 00:15:16,360 --> 00:15:20,880 dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created 291 00:15:20,880 --> 00:15:22,560 by Him. Who's Him? 292 00:15:22,640 --> 00:15:25,360 The one who shed his blood, Jesus Christ. 293 00:15:26,280 --> 00:15:27,920 And He is before all things. What? 294 00:15:29,160 --> 00:15:30,600 Does that mean he's pre existent? 295 00:15:31,320 --> 00:15:36,080 He's before all things, and by him all things consist. 296 00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:41,920 The Jews had trouble with this, that's why they tried to stone 297 00:15:41,920 --> 00:15:44,680 him in John chapter 8 verse 58 when Jesus said unto them, 298 00:15:45,080 --> 00:15:48,720 verily, verily I say unto you, before Abraham was I am. 299 00:15:49,800 --> 00:15:51,040 That was a 2 fold problem for them. 300 00:15:51,040 --> 00:15:53,880 One, how could Jesus be before Abraham? 301 00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:55,320 That would have meant he was thousands of years old. 302 00:15:57,400 --> 00:16:02,400 And the second part was this, well he used the 2 words I am 303 00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:08,200 linking himself to God. Jews couldn't handle that. 304 00:16:09,280 --> 00:16:11,800 See this verse was important. Only someone pre-existing can 305 00:16:11,800 --> 00:16:13,920 bring forth all existence. Because the Jews needed to know 306 00:16:14,280 --> 00:16:17,920 that he was the creator God. But also to the Gentiles this 307 00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:21,120 was important as well because they needed to know that he was 308 00:16:21,120 --> 00:16:25,080 not a created God. See the Jews need to know he was 309 00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:28,480 the creator God and the Gentiles needed to know he was not a 310 00:16:28,560 --> 00:16:32,840 created God. The Gentiles, the Romans and the 311 00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:35,680 Greeks, they worshipped so many gods. 312 00:16:36,680 --> 00:16:40,200 I think the term you would use as a pantheon of gods, just this 313 00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:43,280 host of Greek and Roman gods that we find in mythology. 314 00:16:43,520 --> 00:16:46,920 And sometimes today they're studied as something to be able 315 00:16:46,920 --> 00:16:50,320 to have as myth or as fiction. But I can tell you this, that 316 00:16:50,320 --> 00:16:53,160 nobody thought it was myth or thick fiction when the Romans 317 00:16:53,160 --> 00:16:57,080 and Greeks were lecturing and teaching and propagating this 318 00:16:57,080 --> 00:16:59,040 falsehood. Why? 319 00:16:59,040 --> 00:17:04,440 Well, they're gods. Were created, their gods were 320 00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:06,359 not pre existent. Go go and study some of the 321 00:17:06,359 --> 00:17:08,560 Greek and Roman gods. And even as I kind of went 322 00:17:08,560 --> 00:17:11,520 through some of it myself here this week and and you will find 323 00:17:11,520 --> 00:17:14,640 that as you look at the mythologies of these Greek and 324 00:17:14,640 --> 00:17:16,920 Roman gods, what do you find? They were always created by 325 00:17:16,920 --> 00:17:20,680 someone else. They were not pre existent. 326 00:17:21,119 --> 00:17:24,000 In fact, that thought process to the Gentiles would have been 327 00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:27,720 wild because they were used to their false gods having been 328 00:17:27,720 --> 00:17:31,840 created from some other gods who were also created from some 329 00:17:31,840 --> 00:17:33,960 other gods. In fact, most of the major gods 330 00:17:33,960 --> 00:17:37,800 had origins and Greek myths. For example, the Olympians such 331 00:17:37,800 --> 00:17:41,920 as Zeus and Hera and Athena came to existence through genealogy. 332 00:17:42,080 --> 00:17:45,080 They were born from earlier divine beings like the Titans, 333 00:17:45,400 --> 00:17:49,000 who themselves came from primordial entities such as the 334 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:53,320 Gaia, who was the Mother of all life and interestingly enough, 335 00:17:53,320 --> 00:17:56,520 the Mother of all life. As I studied the Gaia this week, 336 00:17:56,520 --> 00:18:01,520 not my normal sermon preparations, the mother of all 337 00:18:01,520 --> 00:18:06,080 life also had an origin story. Well, if she's the mother of all 338 00:18:06,080 --> 00:18:07,680 life, then why'd she need an origin story? 339 00:18:09,240 --> 00:18:11,240 You think she just always was because life was within her? 340 00:18:12,360 --> 00:18:15,600 See, to the Jews, they needed to know that Jesus was the creator 341 00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:17,640 of God. But the Gentiles need to know 342 00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:18,560 this. God's different. 343 00:18:19,080 --> 00:18:23,320 He's not like you're false gods. He's not like those pieces of 344 00:18:23,320 --> 00:18:26,280 foolishness, of wood and stone and marble that you're 345 00:18:26,280 --> 00:18:30,960 worshiping. No, this is not a created God. 346 00:18:30,960 --> 00:18:34,400 This is the very real Creator God. 347 00:18:36,120 --> 00:18:39,720 The fact that Christ is pre-existing seemingly is more 348 00:18:39,720 --> 00:18:41,040 controversial than we would think. 349 00:18:41,040 --> 00:18:44,600 I imagined this morning as I provided you the text and the 350 00:18:44,600 --> 00:18:48,000 title that you are not surprised by this today. 351 00:18:48,640 --> 00:18:51,280 That many of you are very aware that Christ has always been, but 352 00:18:51,280 --> 00:18:54,200 yet throughout history this has been quite controversial. 353 00:18:54,280 --> 00:18:57,920 But yet the Word of God couldn't be more clear about the origins 354 00:18:57,920 --> 00:19:01,360 of Jesus Christ. That His origins were He always 355 00:19:01,360 --> 00:19:04,920 has been. Micah 52 But thou Bethlehem 356 00:19:04,920 --> 00:19:07,600 Ephrata, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, 357 00:19:07,720 --> 00:19:11,080 yet out of thee shall be shall he come forth unto me, that is 358 00:19:11,080 --> 00:19:14,800 to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from old, 359 00:19:14,800 --> 00:19:19,480 even from everlasting. Hebrews 7 verse 3, without 360 00:19:19,480 --> 00:19:23,200 father, without mother, without descent, having neither 361 00:19:23,200 --> 00:19:26,680 beginning of days nor end of life, but made like unto the Son 362 00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:30,000 of God, abideth a priest continually talking about 363 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:35,720 Melchizedek, who I believe was a Old Testament appearance of 364 00:19:35,840 --> 00:19:38,120 Jesus Christ without father, without mother. 365 00:19:38,120 --> 00:19:41,000 How can you get any other conclusion that that has to be 366 00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:44,080 Jesus Christ? Hebrews 18 But under the sun he 367 00:19:44,080 --> 00:19:47,040 saith, thy throne, O God, is forever and ever. 368 00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:50,520 A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy Kingdom. 369 00:19:50,600 --> 00:19:52,960 His throne is forever. What about Revelation 18? 370 00:19:52,960 --> 00:19:56,040 I'm the alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end sayeth the 371 00:19:56,040 --> 00:19:59,360 Lord. Which is, which was and which is 372 00:19:59,360 --> 00:20:03,920 to come, He Almighty. Oh yes, what do we see? 373 00:20:04,200 --> 00:20:08,200 That only someone pre-existing can bring forth all existence. 374 00:20:08,800 --> 00:20:11,440 Only someone pre-existing can create all that we see. 375 00:20:12,120 --> 00:20:15,080 And he is the creator God. But that brings us to our second 376 00:20:15,120 --> 00:20:18,160 point this morning, which is this Only someone pre-existing 377 00:20:18,160 --> 00:20:20,640 can bring meaning to all existence. 378 00:20:21,680 --> 00:20:25,520 Only someone pre-existing can bring meaning to all existence. 379 00:20:26,320 --> 00:20:30,640 Look at verse #4 it says in him was life. 380 00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:35,760 Now again was is a past tense verb which means was he given 381 00:20:35,760 --> 00:20:38,720 life? No, he always had life. 382 00:20:39,760 --> 00:20:42,000 It's important not the goddess of life that needed to have a 383 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:45,760 creation. This is a Christ who always has 384 00:20:45,880 --> 00:20:48,840 life. Now again, you say, pastor, 385 00:20:48,840 --> 00:20:51,640 what? What does any of this mean to 386 00:20:51,640 --> 00:20:52,720 me? Like pastor, I'm with you. 387 00:20:52,720 --> 00:20:54,360 I hear what you're saying. It sounds like you're like 388 00:20:54,360 --> 00:20:56,560 really passionate about this, but I don't understand what this 389 00:20:56,560 --> 00:20:58,400 has to do with my day-to-day life. 390 00:20:59,480 --> 00:21:02,960 And the answer is right there in verse #4 in him was life, and 391 00:21:02,960 --> 00:21:04,600 the consequence of that was this. 392 00:21:05,360 --> 00:21:12,640 And the life was the light of men because he had life. 393 00:21:13,880 --> 00:21:19,400 He is able to give light because he has life. 394 00:21:19,840 --> 00:21:23,760 He is able to give life because there is life in him from 395 00:21:23,760 --> 00:21:26,280 eternity past. It means that he brings forth 396 00:21:26,280 --> 00:21:29,840 light even in this Dark World. Now save your place there. 397 00:21:29,840 --> 00:21:33,040 And I want you to go to another of John's writings, first John 398 00:21:33,200 --> 00:21:36,480 chapter #1 All right, first John chapter #1 we'll go back to John 399 00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:39,040 chapter 1 a few moments, but first John chapter one. 400 00:21:39,040 --> 00:21:44,000 That's just near the end of your Bible, because John says 401 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:47,080 something very reminiscent of what we read in verse #4 and it 402 00:21:47,080 --> 00:21:49,360 should be very helpful to us here this morning. 403 00:21:49,480 --> 00:21:52,720 John chapter one, first John chapter one, verse one says 404 00:21:52,720 --> 00:21:56,880 this, that which was from the beginning. 405 00:21:57,080 --> 00:22:01,680 Now, does that sound familiar? Which we have heard, which we 406 00:22:01,680 --> 00:22:05,720 have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our 407 00:22:05,720 --> 00:22:09,000 hands have handled. Of the word of life. 408 00:22:09,800 --> 00:22:12,640 For the life was manifested. And we have seen it. 409 00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:16,160 And bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life which was 410 00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:18,600 with the Father, and was manifested unto us. 411 00:22:18,600 --> 00:22:20,200 So what do we see in verses one and two? 412 00:22:20,440 --> 00:22:22,720 That He is. Life. 413 00:22:23,640 --> 00:22:26,840 Echoing what we just read just a few moments ago in first John or 414 00:22:26,880 --> 00:22:30,400 John chapter one verse 4. Now read in verse #3 that which 415 00:22:30,400 --> 00:22:34,240 we have seen and heard. Declare we unto you, that He may 416 00:22:34,240 --> 00:22:36,840 also also may have fellowship with us. 417 00:22:36,840 --> 00:22:40,280 And truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son 418 00:22:40,520 --> 00:22:43,440 Jesus Christ. And these things right we unto 419 00:22:43,440 --> 00:22:46,680 you, that your joy may be full. This then is the message which 420 00:22:46,680 --> 00:22:50,760 we have heard of Him and declare unto you, that God is light. 421 00:22:51,480 --> 00:22:55,320 In Him is no darkness at all. And look at verse #7 If we walk 422 00:22:55,320 --> 00:22:57,760 in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one 423 00:22:57,760 --> 00:23:00,000 with another. And the blood of Jesus Christ 424 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:03,240 His Son cleanseth us from all sin. 425 00:23:03,440 --> 00:23:06,320 What's being said here? He was life. 426 00:23:07,080 --> 00:23:13,200 Because He was life, He can give light, and that light means 427 00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:17,480 what? We can have joy and we can have 428 00:23:17,720 --> 00:23:21,160 fellowship with Him and with one another. 429 00:23:21,160 --> 00:23:24,840 Meaning this. He gives life meaning. 430 00:23:24,840 --> 00:23:31,080 He gives life meaning. What's life without Christ? 431 00:23:31,840 --> 00:23:34,920 Some of you who are saved now can give testimony. 432 00:23:34,920 --> 00:23:36,840 All of you who are saved now can give testimony. 433 00:23:38,200 --> 00:23:42,040 My life before Jesus Christ it wasn't all that was cracked up 434 00:23:42,040 --> 00:23:46,400 to be I tried to find all the things the world had to offer 435 00:23:47,080 --> 00:23:49,560 you listen to all the. Siren songs of the world that 436 00:23:49,560 --> 00:23:52,360 sang their sweet melodies, but once you looked into their eyes 437 00:23:52,360 --> 00:23:53,800 and you saw. Them for what they are. 438 00:23:54,520 --> 00:23:57,680 You realized not only do they not offer what they say that 439 00:23:57,680 --> 00:24:03,320 they offer, but they actually bring destruction, bring 440 00:24:03,320 --> 00:24:07,920 bondage, and ultimately their ways lead to death, not just 441 00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:10,840 death in this life, what the Bible calls a second death. 442 00:24:12,680 --> 00:24:15,760 There's no meaning to that. There's no meaning whatsoever. 443 00:24:16,440 --> 00:24:22,200 But yet the self-sustaining, pre-existing one, Jesus Christ 444 00:24:22,680 --> 00:24:28,440 was and is life. With that life comes light. 445 00:24:29,240 --> 00:24:34,080 And with that light, when we step into the light, His light, 446 00:24:34,880 --> 00:24:38,880 we can have joy and we have fellowship and we have. 447 00:24:38,880 --> 00:24:41,040 Peace. And we can have that which the 448 00:24:41,040 --> 00:24:45,200 world says that they offer, but yet they cannot give, but rather 449 00:24:45,200 --> 00:24:48,160 they take. Away, and we can have that with 450 00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:51,840 the Lord, which gives meaning to this life. 451 00:24:52,120 --> 00:24:55,720 Even in the midst. Of the darkness, It's dark out 452 00:24:55,720 --> 00:24:58,520 there. You think of all that's going on 453 00:24:58,520 --> 00:25:01,200 in this world right now. All that has gone in this world, 454 00:25:01,480 --> 00:25:02,640 all that's going on in this world. 455 00:25:02,960 --> 00:25:06,360 It's dark. But yet for the believer, we 456 00:25:06,360 --> 00:25:08,600 have meaning and purpose to this life. 457 00:25:09,040 --> 00:25:12,520 Why? Because he and he alone as the 458 00:25:12,520 --> 00:25:16,840 pre-existing one can give meaning and purpose to this 459 00:25:16,840 --> 00:25:19,320 life. Mankind's always trying to find 460 00:25:19,320 --> 00:25:22,880 meaning and purpose. Think about it, people build 461 00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:25,600 monuments. I think of Absalom. 462 00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:28,880 We've just been studying him on Sunday nights the last few weeks 463 00:25:29,440 --> 00:25:31,440 and the end of his life. What did he have to show for it? 464 00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:34,520 2 pillars that he built his monuments to himself. 465 00:25:36,080 --> 00:25:39,000 Mankind funds scholarships, they put names on buildings. 466 00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:42,200 I'm not saying in of themselves those things are bad, but man's 467 00:25:42,200 --> 00:25:45,400 always trying to find a legacy that outlasts themselves. 468 00:25:45,920 --> 00:25:48,320 They're always trying to find meaning and purpose. 469 00:25:49,080 --> 00:25:52,080 Closer to home we can do things like give inheritance. 470 00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:55,320 Sometimes people live vicariously through their kids 471 00:25:55,320 --> 00:25:58,960 and their grandkids. They sometimes explain away 472 00:25:58,960 --> 00:26:01,560 their bad decisions as other people's fault to try to clear 473 00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:03,280 their own conscience. Now, I'm not saying that all 474 00:26:03,280 --> 00:26:05,240 these things are bad at giving an inheritance. 475 00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:08,560 Being able to pass on a wealth from one generation to another 476 00:26:08,560 --> 00:26:10,560 generation is a very prudent and a wise thing. 477 00:26:10,560 --> 00:26:11,920 I'm not saying that. But what I. 478 00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:14,320 Am saying this morning is this, if you are looking for meaning 479 00:26:14,320 --> 00:26:18,640 and purpose and these things, then you are missing meaning and 480 00:26:18,640 --> 00:26:22,440 purpose and life really all about and who it's through and 481 00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:26,040 that's Christ and Christ alone and only someone who always has 482 00:26:26,040 --> 00:26:29,840 been could truly give meaning to this life. 483 00:26:30,680 --> 00:26:33,400 You know, if you live for Him, you'll never be disappointed. 484 00:26:34,960 --> 00:26:37,360 I'm not saying disappointments won't come into your life. 485 00:26:39,040 --> 00:26:43,560 Of course they will. But if you truly live your life 486 00:26:43,560 --> 00:26:46,840 for Christ and look back at your life, at the balance of your 487 00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:51,280 life, if the Lord allows you to in the way that we pass, you'd 488 00:26:51,280 --> 00:26:54,840 say this as the testimony of millions upon millions of 489 00:26:54,840 --> 00:26:57,640 believers have been. It was a testimony as this. 490 00:26:57,640 --> 00:27:00,120 I look back and say I'm not disappointed. 491 00:27:00,120 --> 00:27:03,840 I gave my life to Christ. It gave meaning and purpose. 492 00:27:03,840 --> 00:27:05,360 In fact, a lot of the disappointments come from this 493 00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:07,640 when we didn't live for Christ once we knew him. 494 00:27:09,160 --> 00:27:11,640 I'll tell you where a lot of my regrets come from today. 495 00:27:11,640 --> 00:27:13,240 Regrets. I've had a few. 496 00:27:13,640 --> 00:27:14,840 That'd be a that'd be a good song. 497 00:27:15,280 --> 00:27:21,360 But actually, no, it wouldn't. But here's what I know. 498 00:27:21,360 --> 00:27:23,680 Where do my regrets come? Not because I live for Christ. 499 00:27:24,680 --> 00:27:27,960 Because there are times I walked away from Him and didn't live 500 00:27:27,960 --> 00:27:29,120 for Him when I knew I should have. 501 00:27:30,040 --> 00:27:32,720 Those are the regrets that come, but you won't be disappointed 502 00:27:32,720 --> 00:27:34,080 living your life for Christ. Why? 503 00:27:34,120 --> 00:27:36,200 Because Christ gives meaning to life. 504 00:27:36,480 --> 00:27:39,760 Investing your life in His work, you'll never miss out. 505 00:27:40,400 --> 00:27:42,000 Would you invest your life in his work? 506 00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:42,840 He said. Oh, Pastor. 507 00:27:42,840 --> 00:27:44,040 This is one of those money sermons. 508 00:27:44,040 --> 00:27:45,120 Again, no, I'm not talking about. 509 00:27:45,120 --> 00:27:47,160 Investing your money. Although the Bible talks about 510 00:27:47,160 --> 00:27:49,160 tithes and offerings, I'm talking about something more 511 00:27:49,160 --> 00:27:51,040 than just your wall. I'm talking about investing 512 00:27:51,320 --> 00:27:56,720 yourself in the Kingdom, in souls, and reaching other people 513 00:27:56,720 --> 00:28:00,200 for the gospel and doing his work building his Kingdom and 514 00:28:00,240 --> 00:28:02,400 helping His church and doing those things. 515 00:28:02,560 --> 00:28:04,560 Yes, there's meaning in those. Things, Amen. 516 00:28:06,240 --> 00:28:10,400 If you make your life about this book and about the God of this 517 00:28:10,400 --> 00:28:15,520 book, the Word, your life will always have meaning and purpose. 518 00:28:16,600 --> 00:28:18,880 A purpose that mankind can't offer to mankind. 519 00:28:18,880 --> 00:28:22,400 You know why? Because we're all fallible, weak 520 00:28:22,400 --> 00:28:27,560 beings, but yet a meaning and purpose that only an eternal God 521 00:28:27,800 --> 00:28:32,360 can give. He is the light, He is the life 522 00:28:33,240 --> 00:28:36,000 because we will have fellowship and joy. 523 00:28:37,400 --> 00:28:40,280 What does that old hymn say? Joy, unspeakable and full of 524 00:28:40,280 --> 00:28:42,840 glory. That's what we can have in Jesus 525 00:28:42,840 --> 00:28:45,440 Christ. See, only someone with 526 00:28:45,440 --> 00:28:47,960 preexistence can bring forth all existence. 527 00:28:47,960 --> 00:28:50,440 Only someone with preexistence can bring meaning to all 528 00:28:50,440 --> 00:28:52,080 existence. And 3rd and finally this 529 00:28:52,080 --> 00:28:56,000 morning, only some with a preexistence can grant us 530 00:28:56,040 --> 00:28:59,880 eternal life. Only someone with preexistence 531 00:28:59,880 --> 00:29:03,320 can grant us eternal life. Go back to John chapter 1, if 532 00:29:03,320 --> 00:29:04,880 you will. John chapter #1. 533 00:29:08,480 --> 00:29:10,960 In our trespasses. And sins, if we pass from this 534 00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:13,640 life in our trespasses and sins, we've experienced what the Bible 535 00:29:13,640 --> 00:29:16,960 calls the second death. Revelation 20 verse 14 says, and 536 00:29:16,960 --> 00:29:18,960 death and hell were cast in the lake of fire. 537 00:29:19,160 --> 00:29:22,400 This is the second death. Judgment is real. 538 00:29:22,400 --> 00:29:26,320 For those who do not accept the forgiveness that Christ gives 539 00:29:26,360 --> 00:29:30,880 for our sins, it is real, and whether you find that palatable 540 00:29:30,880 --> 00:29:35,280 or not does not change the degree of heat in hell by 1°. 541 00:29:36,160 --> 00:29:39,880 Whether you believe it or not does not change the reality of 542 00:29:39,880 --> 00:29:46,920 its existence by one bit. Your consent or your agreement 543 00:29:46,920 --> 00:29:50,120 with His existence is not required for it to exist, for it 544 00:29:50,120 --> 00:29:52,160 does. It was prepared for the devil 545 00:29:52,160 --> 00:29:55,320 and his angels, the Bible says. But yet those who refuse the 546 00:29:55,320 --> 00:29:58,520 gospel message, those who want to be separated from God from 547 00:29:58,520 --> 00:30:01,680 all eternity because they don't want that gift, will abide there 548 00:30:01,680 --> 00:30:04,880 forever, the Bible says. But a few verses before 549 00:30:04,880 --> 00:30:08,880 Revelations 20, Revelation 20, verse 14, a few verses before 550 00:30:08,880 --> 00:30:12,680 Revelation 20, verse 6 says this blessed and holy is he that hath 551 00:30:12,680 --> 00:30:17,720 part in the first resurrection. On such the second death hath no 552 00:30:18,040 --> 00:30:18,520 power. Amen. 553 00:30:19,600 --> 00:30:21,440 Why is this so important? Well, we're back in John chapter 554 00:30:21,440 --> 00:30:22,920 one. Look at verse #7 let's drop down 555 00:30:22,920 --> 00:30:28,640 to verse #7 It says the same came for a witness. 556 00:30:28,920 --> 00:30:30,800 Now let's just. Go to verse number six. 557 00:30:31,640 --> 00:30:33,880 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 558 00:30:33,880 --> 00:30:35,240 This is talking about John the Baptist. 559 00:30:35,440 --> 00:30:38,320 That man same came for a witness to bear witness of. 560 00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:42,760 The light that all men through him might believe. 561 00:30:42,760 --> 00:30:47,960 So what was John's job to say? Behold the Lamb of God. 562 00:30:48,520 --> 00:30:49,920 Which taketh away the sin of the world. 563 00:30:50,320 --> 00:30:52,920 Now to be clear, verse 8, he was not that light. 564 00:30:53,640 --> 00:30:56,160 Could we put it this way? He was the moon. 565 00:30:56,560 --> 00:31:00,600 To the sun, the moon, To the SON sun. 566 00:31:01,160 --> 00:31:02,880 Does the moon have its own light? 567 00:31:02,960 --> 00:31:06,280 No, it simply reflects what comes from the sun was. 568 00:31:06,280 --> 00:31:09,920 John a light, He was a light, but his light only came from the 569 00:31:09,920 --> 00:31:14,040 radiance of being that close to Jesus Christ and to have the 570 00:31:14,040 --> 00:31:16,880 message of Jesus Christ to be proclaimed from his lips. 571 00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:23,360 And it says verse 9 that that was the true light which lighted 572 00:31:23,400 --> 00:31:25,120 every man that cometh into the world. 573 00:31:25,320 --> 00:31:28,280 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the 574 00:31:28,280 --> 00:31:31,560 world knew him not. He came into his own, His own 575 00:31:31,560 --> 00:31:33,400 received him. Not verses 10 and 11 or some of 576 00:31:33,400 --> 00:31:35,400 those sad, saddest verses of Scripture. 577 00:31:36,280 --> 00:31:41,480 He came into the world, the world was made by him, and the 578 00:31:41,480 --> 00:31:45,000 world knew him. Not his own creation. 579 00:31:46,280 --> 00:31:50,880 But here's the good news. That blessed conjunction we find 580 00:31:50,880 --> 00:31:56,000 in the Word of God. But but as many as received him 581 00:31:56,920 --> 00:32:00,400 to them, gave he the power to become the sons of God, even to 582 00:32:00,400 --> 00:32:05,000 them that believe on his name, which was born not of blood, nor 583 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:09,000 of the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God. 584 00:32:09,800 --> 00:32:14,120 How could he do? Verse #12 Because the reality of 585 00:32:14,120 --> 00:32:17,240 verse 13 is the reality of the other verses that we saw before. 586 00:32:17,760 --> 00:32:22,480 He can grant eternal life because He has eternal life. 587 00:32:23,920 --> 00:32:28,200 He showed his power over death and hell by resurrecting after 588 00:32:28,200 --> 00:32:31,840 dying on the cross. No, no, mankind cannot give 589 00:32:31,840 --> 00:32:34,000 existence to Himself for eternity. 590 00:32:34,200 --> 00:32:38,480 And even if mankind was able to extend life by 100 years or 200 591 00:32:38,480 --> 00:32:42,120 years, the Bible says that death is certain and judgment is sure 592 00:32:42,120 --> 00:32:44,440 for those who do not know Jesus Christ their Savior. 593 00:32:45,880 --> 00:32:49,200 Been appointed unto man once to die, and after this the judgment 594 00:32:50,720 --> 00:32:53,480 and the Word was made. Flesh dwelt among us. 595 00:32:54,520 --> 00:32:57,160 We beheld His glory. The glory is of the only 596 00:32:57,160 --> 00:33:00,480 begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. 597 00:33:01,040 --> 00:33:04,440 Only an eternal being can offer an infinitely sack, a sufficient 598 00:33:04,440 --> 00:33:07,880 sacrifice for sin. Bulls and goats were at best 599 00:33:07,880 --> 00:33:11,880 temporary to cover the sins of the people, but it took a 600 00:33:11,880 --> 00:33:18,200 perfect, sinless sacrifice, and that was Jesus Christ. 601 00:33:19,440 --> 00:33:23,560 You need to know the One. You need to know the One that's 602 00:33:23,560 --> 00:33:28,080 spoken of in this text, the One who always has been, the One who 603 00:33:28,080 --> 00:33:31,320 always will be. You know putting your trust in 604 00:33:31,320 --> 00:33:35,280 man is a fool's errand. Putting your trust in the arm of 605 00:33:35,280 --> 00:33:37,480 your own flesh is a fool's errand. 606 00:33:38,520 --> 00:33:41,400 You know you can't grant yourself eternal life if I could 607 00:33:41,400 --> 00:33:43,720 be so bold to say it. The only thing you can do is 608 00:33:43,720 --> 00:33:45,200 make your own life more of a mess. 609 00:33:46,960 --> 00:33:48,960 You say who? Who are you talking to pastor? 610 00:33:49,200 --> 00:33:53,440 Someone just like you who gets myself into plenty messes. 611 00:33:53,440 --> 00:33:54,920 And I realized why am I in such a mess? 612 00:33:54,920 --> 00:33:56,480 Oh, because I wasn't listening what the Lord told. 613 00:33:56,480 --> 00:33:59,920 Me to do. So in our life, even when it 614 00:33:59,920 --> 00:34:02,480 considers eternity, we can only make life more of a mess. 615 00:34:03,560 --> 00:34:04,920 But what do we see in the Word of God? 616 00:34:05,240 --> 00:34:09,880 You appeal to the One who always has been, because only He could 617 00:34:09,880 --> 00:34:14,440 truly grant eternal life because of the fact that He is eternal 618 00:34:14,679 --> 00:34:18,920 Himself. That life is light. 619 00:34:19,800 --> 00:34:21,480 By the way, who's going to be the light of heaven? 620 00:34:22,400 --> 00:34:24,920 Bible says the Lord Himself is that light. 621 00:34:24,920 --> 00:34:26,440 There'll be no need for sun or moon. 622 00:34:27,159 --> 00:34:30,280 It'll be light and just because the the very radiance of who he 623 00:34:30,280 --> 00:34:33,400 is. And that one who brings light in 624 00:34:33,400 --> 00:34:39,360 heaven brings light also to life here and now as well. 625 00:34:40,080 --> 00:34:42,560 Revelation 2123. The city had no need of the sun, 626 00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:46,320 neither of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God didn't 627 00:34:46,320 --> 00:34:49,880 lighten it. And the Lamb is the light 628 00:34:50,480 --> 00:34:55,920 thereof. I know it's clear just from our 629 00:34:55,920 --> 00:34:58,840 study here today. And again, this is if we're not 630 00:34:58,840 --> 00:35:01,560 careful, this can become more of an academic study and one that 631 00:35:01,560 --> 00:35:03,240 really doesn't truly affect our heart. 632 00:35:03,920 --> 00:35:07,080 But there's an immestakable theme that we find here in our 633 00:35:07,080 --> 00:35:10,080 text and John, as well as in First John, it's adjoining 634 00:35:10,080 --> 00:35:15,040 passage there as well. There is no issue in this life 635 00:35:15,640 --> 00:35:19,920 or in the next that can't be resolved with a little more 636 00:35:19,920 --> 00:35:23,680 light. There's no issue that can't be 637 00:35:23,680 --> 00:35:26,080 resolved in this life or in the next. 638 00:35:26,440 --> 00:35:29,960 They can't be resolved with a little more of the light. 639 00:35:30,960 --> 00:35:34,440 It's a few years ago, Diane and I went to and I think Kaylee 640 00:35:34,680 --> 00:35:37,560 went to Silver Dollar City, Branson, MO. 641 00:35:38,320 --> 00:35:40,680 It's a little theme park that's actually a pretty big theme park 642 00:35:40,680 --> 00:35:43,400 that's there, but it was all built around a cave and it's 643 00:35:43,400 --> 00:35:47,360 called Marvel Cave. It started just as a cave tour. 644 00:35:47,360 --> 00:35:49,320 They ended up saying, well, people are waiting for The Cave 645 00:35:49,320 --> 00:35:50,720 tour. What about we put a, you know, a 646 00:35:51,720 --> 00:35:53,360 merry go round here? Then why don't we put a tilt A 647 00:35:53,360 --> 00:35:54,680 whirl here? Why don't put a roller coaster 648 00:35:54,680 --> 00:35:55,960 here? Before you know it, there's this 649 00:35:55,960 --> 00:35:58,320 whole whole theme park that's built around a cave. 650 00:35:59,480 --> 00:36:01,000 And I remember going down. I have a fear heights. 651 00:36:01,000 --> 00:36:02,280 Have I ever mentioned that here before? 652 00:36:02,280 --> 00:36:04,200 Yeah, I don't like heights. And I remember going down the 653 00:36:04,200 --> 00:36:09,120 steel steps to go down into this cave and I'm holding on like I'm 654 00:36:09,120 --> 00:36:11,680 holding the horns of the altar. You know, I'm just, I don't want 655 00:36:11,680 --> 00:36:12,840 to go. I don't want to go all the way 656 00:36:12,840 --> 00:36:14,480 down. I remember going down into this, 657 00:36:14,680 --> 00:36:17,440 into the depths. You know, Kaylee Dian are having 658 00:36:17,440 --> 00:36:18,960 a great time and here's Dad, you know, like. 659 00:36:19,680 --> 00:36:22,320 Why am I doing this? I would have rather been on the 660 00:36:22,320 --> 00:36:24,000 roller coaster, to be honest. Anything, just go down those 661 00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:25,680 steps. And so we're getting all the way 662 00:36:25,680 --> 00:36:27,560 down. There's lights down in The Cave. 663 00:36:27,560 --> 00:36:29,200 And so obviously we see where we're going. 664 00:36:29,200 --> 00:36:31,960 The tour guide, probably about fifty of us there, stopping to 665 00:36:31,960 --> 00:36:33,920 show this over here and this over here. 666 00:36:33,920 --> 00:36:37,160 Look at these beautiful structure, unlike anything I 667 00:36:37,160 --> 00:36:42,040 think I'd ever seen before. Almost the untapped creation of 668 00:36:42,040 --> 00:36:43,640 God there. Beautiful. 669 00:36:44,880 --> 00:36:49,560 But then we went deeper and deeper and we got to a place 670 00:36:49,560 --> 00:36:52,320 where there was a small room and she said, I'm going to do 671 00:36:52,320 --> 00:36:54,000 something that might make you a little uncomfortable. 672 00:36:54,080 --> 00:36:57,120 I'm thinking, well, it's hard to get much worse than this at this 673 00:36:57,120 --> 00:37:00,560 point. She says, I'm going to turn out 674 00:37:00,560 --> 00:37:03,880 the light for just a moment. Now. 675 00:37:04,520 --> 00:37:07,240 You know, when you say, man, it's dark and then your eyes 676 00:37:07,240 --> 00:37:09,120 adjust and you realize, oh, it's not so dark. 677 00:37:10,400 --> 00:37:13,040 I've even been in bedrooms with, you know, blackout blinds and 678 00:37:13,040 --> 00:37:15,240 all those kind of things, especially if you times where 679 00:37:15,240 --> 00:37:17,480 I've worked at nights and those kind of things and you know, 680 00:37:17,480 --> 00:37:20,480 they, they're pretty good. But even then, you could put a 681 00:37:20,480 --> 00:37:23,480 mask over your eyes, and even then, sometimes a little bit of 682 00:37:23,480 --> 00:37:24,640 light can come through underneath. 683 00:37:25,320 --> 00:37:27,960 I don't know that I've ever been in a place or a time before 684 00:37:27,960 --> 00:37:33,000 where in that moment I could have had my hand one inch from 685 00:37:33,000 --> 00:37:34,960 my face and wouldn't even have known it was there. 686 00:37:36,920 --> 00:37:40,640 I didn't want to move my feet. I didn't want to move anything. 687 00:37:40,880 --> 00:37:46,320 You know, in that moment, even a match, even a struck match would 688 00:37:46,320 --> 00:37:51,280 have been a blessed assurance to know, oh, that little flicker of 689 00:37:51,280 --> 00:37:53,720 light, at least I can see where I am. 690 00:37:54,520 --> 00:37:55,800 And you want to talk about eternity? 691 00:37:55,800 --> 00:38:01,000 It was probably 5 seconds, but it felt like days we were down 692 00:38:01,000 --> 00:38:03,680 there. And she turned that light back 693 00:38:03,680 --> 00:38:05,160 on. And I've never been so happy 694 00:38:05,160 --> 00:38:07,160 that the electricity worked as it was at that moment. 695 00:38:09,120 --> 00:38:12,360 The lights were back on. You know, I think about that 696 00:38:12,360 --> 00:38:16,960 darkness, and that's the darkness of our trespasses and 697 00:38:16,960 --> 00:38:19,880 sins. That's the darkness of our 698 00:38:19,880 --> 00:38:22,920 flesh. And you know, we trust ourselves 699 00:38:22,920 --> 00:38:25,640 to the darkness of the flesh and our trespasses and sins. 700 00:38:25,960 --> 00:38:35,840 The best we can do is this. You hope you know what you're 701 00:38:35,840 --> 00:38:42,960 getting into, but you don't. You may be touching your spouse. 702 00:38:44,080 --> 00:38:45,680 You may be touching the tour guide. 703 00:38:46,760 --> 00:38:52,360 You may be touching a bat. You don't know. 704 00:38:53,200 --> 00:38:57,360 You think you know, but you don't know because you're just 705 00:38:57,360 --> 00:39:00,280 doing the best you can. You know what you need light. 706 00:39:00,280 --> 00:39:07,000 You say I, I don't, I don't see the the relevance for me today, 707 00:39:07,000 --> 00:39:08,320 Pastor. OK. 708 00:39:08,320 --> 00:39:12,360 Because he is always been life. He is the light. 709 00:39:13,320 --> 00:39:16,640 And some of you are just groping around in the darkness, one of 710 00:39:16,640 --> 00:39:18,600 your trespasses and sins. You don't know how to get to 711 00:39:18,600 --> 00:39:20,960 heaven. You're not going to find your 712 00:39:20,960 --> 00:39:24,680 way like this. You know what you're going to 713 00:39:24,680 --> 00:39:27,760 do. You'll find your way straight to 714 00:39:27,760 --> 00:39:31,720 the pits of hell. That's where that leads. 715 00:39:33,120 --> 00:39:36,240 There's only one who can bring light when it comes the issues 716 00:39:36,240 --> 00:39:39,120 of eternal life. That's Jesus Christ. 717 00:39:39,880 --> 00:39:41,560 You know what you need? You need the light. 718 00:39:42,720 --> 00:39:44,160 Somebody going through some troubles right now. 719 00:39:44,680 --> 00:39:46,640 So how do you know that, Pastor? I don't need to know. 720 00:39:46,640 --> 00:39:47,800 I just know I'm dealing with people. 721 00:39:48,520 --> 00:39:53,400 You're dealing with trouble. How, how am I going to get out 722 00:39:53,400 --> 00:39:57,400 of this financial mess? Well, let's start here. 723 00:39:58,040 --> 00:40:00,760 Here's OK, let's up here. OK, listen up. 724 00:40:01,960 --> 00:40:04,600 Let's start here. See, I'll pass you. 725 00:40:04,600 --> 00:40:06,480 You're going to give me 5 financial tips right now. 726 00:40:06,480 --> 00:40:08,640 Is that what it is? Give me give me a hot stock that 727 00:40:08,640 --> 00:40:12,720 I can I can get into. Can I give you the hot tip? 728 00:40:13,120 --> 00:40:15,560 If you will? It's not going to come from 729 00:40:16,680 --> 00:40:20,040 CNBC. It's not going to come from Dave 730 00:40:20,040 --> 00:40:22,800 Ramsey. Here's your hot financial tip. 731 00:40:22,800 --> 00:40:26,000 Are you ready? Get into the light. 732 00:40:28,280 --> 00:40:30,600 Jesus Christ will help you. Now, I didn't say he's going to, 733 00:40:30,640 --> 00:40:32,000 He's going to put money in your wallet. 734 00:40:33,280 --> 00:40:36,280 But if you follow the principles of his word, he'll help you. 735 00:40:37,520 --> 00:40:40,800 He'll help you. How do I raise children, Pastor? 736 00:40:41,600 --> 00:40:44,080 How do I raise these kids? I don't know how. 737 00:40:44,400 --> 00:40:46,640 You know, it's amazing, of all the things that we're given in 738 00:40:46,640 --> 00:40:48,880 life to have instruction manuals, the most important one, 739 00:40:48,880 --> 00:40:52,160 we get nothing. I pulled up to that hospital 740 00:40:52,880 --> 00:40:56,600 very when we had Bethany, had a car with no bumpers on either 741 00:40:56,600 --> 00:40:59,720 side. The radiator was exposed. 742 00:41:00,160 --> 00:41:02,240 It would not go over 40 miles an hour. 743 00:41:02,560 --> 00:41:06,520 It sounded like it was in a perpetual cycle where at any 744 00:41:06,520 --> 00:41:11,080 moment it could explode. And I pull up, there's my 745 00:41:11,080 --> 00:41:15,680 beautiful wife in a wheelchair, wheeled out, baby in tow. 746 00:41:15,920 --> 00:41:20,720 And I was sure that nurse was going to say Nope and pull, pull 747 00:41:20,720 --> 00:41:25,720 away. She just looked at us like we 748 00:41:25,720 --> 00:41:30,080 pulled up in a Cadillac and said, have a wonderful day, hope 749 00:41:30,080 --> 00:41:32,200 everything goes well. And we were off. 750 00:41:34,280 --> 00:41:36,840 Went home. Bethany got a little bit of the 751 00:41:36,840 --> 00:41:38,760 snot in the nose. You know, I don't know if I 752 00:41:38,920 --> 00:41:40,480 should say snot in a sermon. That's all right. 753 00:41:42,120 --> 00:41:44,120 Already referenced Frank Sinatra, Sinatra already. 754 00:41:44,120 --> 00:41:48,160 So it's all right. I thought she was going to die 755 00:41:49,760 --> 00:41:51,400 and we were trying to find the bulb syringe and we thought if 756 00:41:51,400 --> 00:41:53,560 we didn't find this bulb syringe in the next 5 seconds, this kids 757 00:41:53,560 --> 00:41:56,280 gone. We were panicking. 758 00:41:57,400 --> 00:42:00,040 But you know, I look back now and I think about how cute that 759 00:42:00,040 --> 00:42:04,920 was and I think of the real issues of parenting are so much 760 00:42:05,000 --> 00:42:09,800 harder than that. How how do we raise our 761 00:42:09,800 --> 00:42:12,960 children? It's an answer that could be 762 00:42:12,960 --> 00:42:17,560 solved with more light. They need to know the word of 763 00:42:17,560 --> 00:42:20,760 God. They need to be able to be in 764 00:42:20,760 --> 00:42:23,360 the House of God. I'm going to say something some 765 00:42:23,360 --> 00:42:25,240 of you aren't going to like, but I'm going to say it because I'm 766 00:42:25,240 --> 00:42:28,880 your preacher. That means being here when the 767 00:42:28,880 --> 00:42:32,960 doors are open. Because you give us an hour a 768 00:42:32,960 --> 00:42:35,440 week and you give the public school 30 hours a week. 769 00:42:36,800 --> 00:42:41,520 Who's going to win? I mean, this is exactly the way 770 00:42:41,520 --> 00:42:42,520 I thought it would, but that's OK. 771 00:42:44,000 --> 00:42:46,800 I'm just telling you, I'm not here to win awards. 772 00:42:46,800 --> 00:42:50,120 I'm here just to tell you, we have fellowship with one another 773 00:42:51,600 --> 00:42:53,720 that they can learn from other people in this church. 774 00:42:53,720 --> 00:42:56,000 I'm not talking about they need to listen to me for three hours 775 00:42:56,000 --> 00:42:58,160 a week. God help you all for having to 776 00:42:58,160 --> 00:43:00,920 listen to me for three hours a week, to be honest with you, but 777 00:43:00,920 --> 00:43:05,360 to be around other believers to learn from them. 778 00:43:06,200 --> 00:43:09,680 How those little boys and little girls learn how to be boys and 779 00:43:09,680 --> 00:43:12,720 girls that serve Jesus well. They're going to learn from you, 780 00:43:12,720 --> 00:43:15,520 mom and dad, but they're also going to learn from the moms and 781 00:43:15,520 --> 00:43:18,800 the dads that are here and the elders that are here who can 782 00:43:18,800 --> 00:43:20,880 teach them what it means to be a Christian. 783 00:43:20,880 --> 00:43:23,760 You come to me and say, I don't know what to do with my child. 784 00:43:23,760 --> 00:43:24,720 I'm going to tell you the first thing. 785 00:43:24,720 --> 00:43:28,480 Do you come three times a week? Let's start there and then we'll 786 00:43:28,480 --> 00:43:29,960 move on from there because there's other things to do as 787 00:43:29,960 --> 00:43:33,360 well. You say, pastor, I don't know 788 00:43:33,360 --> 00:43:37,240 that I care for this. I understand and I say I 789 00:43:37,240 --> 00:43:41,480 understand it's a sacrifice, but if you don't make a sacrifice 790 00:43:41,480 --> 00:43:44,360 spiritually for your children, you will sacrifice them on the 791 00:43:44,360 --> 00:43:47,680 altar of the world. And I'm going to run that by one 792 00:43:47,680 --> 00:43:50,160 more time. If you don't make a sacrifice on 793 00:43:50,160 --> 00:43:53,400 behalf of your children's spirituality, you will sacrifice 794 00:43:53,400 --> 00:43:55,880 them upon the altar of the world. 795 00:43:57,000 --> 00:43:59,720 I don't say this is an animosity in my heart or hatred. 796 00:44:00,840 --> 00:44:07,760 I'm just saying this light is needed for parents. 797 00:44:08,880 --> 00:44:12,440 How does a marriage make it when it doesn't seem like it's going 798 00:44:12,440 --> 00:44:15,400 to make it? Light is needed. 799 00:44:17,640 --> 00:44:19,120 Do you go to the gurus on the outside? 800 00:44:20,520 --> 00:44:22,240 No, they have some good ideas sometimes. 801 00:44:22,960 --> 00:44:25,960 But where do you get the real counsel from? 802 00:44:27,520 --> 00:44:29,600 His Word. His word. 803 00:44:30,000 --> 00:44:33,960 It'll save a marriage, and when it's ignored, it could kill a 804 00:44:33,960 --> 00:44:37,600 marriage. I could tell you stories, 805 00:44:37,800 --> 00:44:41,320 including one very relevant to my own life right now, where 806 00:44:41,320 --> 00:44:44,000 someone was immersed in the Word of God and ignored the Word of 807 00:44:44,000 --> 00:44:50,200 God, and now the blast radius is larger than you could imagine. 808 00:44:52,600 --> 00:44:56,840 There's no issue in your life that can't be solved with more 809 00:44:56,840 --> 00:44:59,360 light. Are you reading your Bible every 810 00:44:59,360 --> 00:45:03,280 day? And there's no other way than to 811 00:45:03,280 --> 00:45:05,840 read your Bible every day. When you read. 812 00:45:05,840 --> 00:45:07,800 Your Bible every day. Are you trying to just learn 813 00:45:07,800 --> 00:45:10,360 more about the Bible or are you letting the Bible speak to the 814 00:45:10,360 --> 00:45:13,600 issues of your life? No, no, what I'm saying is we're 815 00:45:13,600 --> 00:45:16,800 not just reading it so we can learn more about random Bible 816 00:45:16,800 --> 00:45:20,360 knowledge, but Holy Spirit, will you apply this word to my heart 817 00:45:20,360 --> 00:45:22,920 today so I can be more like Christ? 818 00:45:24,920 --> 00:45:27,640 Are you in prayer to the one who brings light? 819 00:45:29,320 --> 00:45:33,920 Are you in the House of light where we hear of him? 820 00:45:33,920 --> 00:45:37,520 No, no, not of me, not of of Dan, not of of the special 821 00:45:37,520 --> 00:45:42,040 speaker, but where we hear God's Word, it brings light. 822 00:45:42,920 --> 00:45:45,080 How do I break the bondage of habitual sin? 823 00:45:46,560 --> 00:45:52,840 Well, there's light in the word. Well, you know, Pastor, I just, 824 00:45:52,840 --> 00:45:55,400 I believe somebody has deals with addiction, they'll they'll 825 00:45:55,400 --> 00:45:57,400 never be free of that. We didn't get that from the 826 00:45:57,400 --> 00:46:00,680 Bible because the Bible says he who is free is free indeed. 827 00:46:01,640 --> 00:46:06,720 OK, you can be healed biblically from the addictions of alcohol, 828 00:46:07,600 --> 00:46:11,440 of substances, nicotine, gambling, pornography. 829 00:46:11,600 --> 00:46:13,840 God can help you with these things. 830 00:46:14,760 --> 00:46:17,000 But you know where you get it from the light. 831 00:46:18,960 --> 00:46:21,720 We go on and on this morning and I can't go on on this morning 832 00:46:21,720 --> 00:46:25,600 because now it's the afternoon. Remember that eternity thing? 833 00:46:26,040 --> 00:46:32,080 I think we're getting there. Light is needed and when you 834 00:46:32,080 --> 00:46:36,120 ignore the light that comes from the pre-existing 1, you know 835 00:46:36,120 --> 00:46:38,320 what you're doing. Like me in the bottom of that 836 00:46:38,320 --> 00:46:44,040 cave and before you know it you could be off a Cliff and you 837 00:46:44,760 --> 00:46:48,240 didn't even know it was there because you were groping in 838 00:46:48,240 --> 00:46:51,040 darkness. But the pre-existing One, who is 839 00:46:51,040 --> 00:46:55,960 life and can bring light, bring light to every situation in this 840 00:46:55,960 --> 00:46:59,240 life, and light to your eternity as well. 841 00:47:00,200 --> 00:47:02,840 Thank you for listening to the sermon from the pulpit of 842 00:47:02,840 --> 00:47:05,800 Liberty Baptist Church. If this message was a blessing 843 00:47:05,800 --> 00:47:09,280 to you, or if there's any way we can serve you, please let us 844 00:47:09,280 --> 00:47:13,880 know by contacting us at info@mylibertybaptist.org. 845 00:47:14,160 --> 00:47:18,680 Or you can visit us this Sunday at 800 Washington St. in Easton, 846 00:47:18,680 --> 00:47:21,520 MA. May the Lord bless you as you 847 00:47:21,520 --> 00:47:22,720 grow in His Word.