1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:04,120 John 8 chapter or verses 12 through 30. 2 00:00:04,720 --> 00:00:07,520 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying I am the light of the 3 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:10,120 world. Whoever follows me will not walk 4 00:00:10,120 --> 00:00:12,400 in darkness, but will have the light of life. 5 00:00:12,920 --> 00:00:15,800 So the Pharisee said to him, You are bearing witness about 6 00:00:15,800 --> 00:00:18,040 yourself. Your testimony is not true. 7 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:22,400 Jesus answered, Even if I do bear witness about myself, my 8 00:00:22,400 --> 00:00:26,400 testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am 9 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:28,960 going. But you do not know where I come 10 00:00:28,960 --> 00:00:32,720 from or where I am going. You judge according to the 11 00:00:32,720 --> 00:00:34,480 flesh. I judge no one. 12 00:00:34,920 --> 00:00:38,880 Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not 13 00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:42,280 I alone who judge, but I am the Father who sent me. 14 00:00:42,880 --> 00:00:45,760 In your law it is written that the testimony of two people is 15 00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:48,240 true. I am the one who bears witness 16 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:52,120 about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me. 17 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:55,320 They said to him, Therefore where is your Father? 18 00:00:55,960 --> 00:00:59,160 Jesus answered, You know neither me nor my Father. 19 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:01,840 If you knew me, you would know my Father also. 20 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:05,440 These words he spoke in the treasury as he taught in the 21 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:09,360 temple, but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet 22 00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:11,680 come. So he said to them again, I'm 23 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:15,120 going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your 24 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:17,440 sin. Where I am going you cannot 25 00:01:17,440 --> 00:01:19,960 come. So the Jews said, will he kill 26 00:01:19,960 --> 00:01:22,240 himself? Since he says, where I am going, 27 00:01:22,240 --> 00:01:25,360 you cannot come. He said to them, You are from 28 00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:29,680 below, I am from above, You are of this world, I am not of this 29 00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:31,600 world. I told you that you would die in 30 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:35,400 your sin, for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in 31 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:38,320 your sins. So they said to him, Who are 32 00:01:38,320 --> 00:01:40,880 you? Jesus said to them, just what 33 00:01:40,880 --> 00:01:42,440 I've been telling you from the beginning. 34 00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:46,960 I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent 35 00:01:46,960 --> 00:01:50,640 me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from 36 00:01:50,640 --> 00:01:53,320 Him. They did not understand that He 37 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:55,520 had been speaking to them about the Father. 38 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:59,560 So Jesus said to them, When you have lifted up the Son of Man, 39 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:03,760 then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing on my own 40 00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:08,080 authority, but speak just as the Father taught me, and he who 41 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:11,520 sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I 42 00:02:11,520 --> 00:02:13,800 always do the things that are pleasing to Him. 43 00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:16,640 As He was saying these things, many believed in Him. 44 00:02:19,720 --> 00:02:21,360 Amen. Good morning. 45 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:29,240 Real quickly, you know, most of you probably will never know the 46 00:02:29,240 --> 00:02:33,120 the complete amount of Labor that went into building a 47 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:37,960 spacecraft or some of the other things around the campus getting 48 00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:40,320 ready for these camps. And so I just for just a moment 49 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:44,360 for those of you that have worked tirelessly over the last 50 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:47,680 few weeks doing things that most people in the church are never 51 00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:50,840 going to see, maybe doing things that no one will ever actually 52 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:52,640 know of. First of all, thank you. 53 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:06,720 Whether or not you are affirmed or appreciated by this body or 54 00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:09,960 by other people in this lifetime, I can't tell you. 55 00:03:09,960 --> 00:03:12,520 But I can tell you this. There'll be a day where you 56 00:03:12,520 --> 00:03:15,600 stand in front of Christ and you'll get to know the full 57 00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:20,080 knowledge of the impact that you had on lives for the Kingdom, 58 00:03:20,080 --> 00:03:22,760 for eternal purposes that you may never know in this lifetime. 59 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:26,400 And so be encouraged that there is a day coming where everything 60 00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:28,600 you do for Christ will be made known. 61 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:32,120 And so I appreciate it. I appreciate you very much. 62 00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:35,720 If you've been toiling in anonymity, know that the Father 63 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:39,520 knows and there's a day where it is all coming to light. 64 00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:43,000 I, I introduced myself earlier. If you're new here, welcome. 65 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:44,920 My name is Daniel. I'm one of the lead pastors here 66 00:03:44,920 --> 00:03:48,520 at Res Church. And a little bit about me, I got 67 00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:52,680 saved in college and in college when Jesus saved me, I can tell 68 00:03:52,680 --> 00:03:55,680 you quite frankly that I wanted nothing to do with Jesus. 69 00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:58,640 I didn't want God. I wasn't searching for God. 70 00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:02,600 I didn't think I needed God. And I still remember a day 71 00:04:02,680 --> 00:04:05,160 walking across the street. There's a super busy 72 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:09,360 intersection right across just just north of the SC campus 73 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:11,360 where all the students would go back and forth to housing. 74 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:15,240 And I'm walking across the street and God is, is vocal with 75 00:04:15,240 --> 00:04:17,360 me in that moment. And that was the beginning 76 00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:21,200 standing for me of God getting my attention of God beginning to 77 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:24,280 open my eyes and to save me. And I can tell you, not only did 78 00:04:24,280 --> 00:04:27,280 I not want God to save me, I was God's enemy. 79 00:04:27,280 --> 00:04:31,320 I was fighting God as he was saving me. 80 00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:35,720 And so in that moment, as God begins to open my eyes to 81 00:04:35,760 --> 00:04:39,440 spiritual things and I'm fighting him the whole way, that 82 00:04:39,440 --> 00:04:43,560 is a, that is a very appropriate beginning because that's really 83 00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:46,240 what we're going to read about today as we pick up our our 84 00:04:46,240 --> 00:04:48,240 passage. We're in John 8 again. 85 00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:49,920 We were there last week. We're just reading through the 86 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:52,480 book of John. And in John 8, we're going to 87 00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:56,120 look at Jesus once again, explaining some truth about 88 00:04:56,120 --> 00:04:59,480 himself to a people who want nothing to do with his 89 00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:01,320 authority. They want nothing to do with his 90 00:05:01,320 --> 00:05:05,080 sovereign sovereignty at all. And I'm just going to tell you 91 00:05:05,080 --> 00:05:08,880 right now, brother, I can relate quite well to money. 92 00:05:08,880 --> 00:05:11,600 Nothing to do with Jesus and yet he saves you anyways. 93 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:14,600 It's amazing that Jesus didn't even have to ask my permission. 94 00:05:18,680 --> 00:05:22,080 If you leave with only one thing today, if you if you just just 95 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:24,920 one thing and that's all you remember about the the sermon, I 96 00:05:24,920 --> 00:05:26,640 want you to remember this one thing. 97 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:32,720 I didn't pick sight, but I can practice life in the light. 98 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:36,480 I didn't I didn't choose site, but I can practice life in the 99 00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:39,120 light. To set the stage for the 100 00:05:39,120 --> 00:05:42,920 interaction of these passages, John 812 to 30, we we look at 101 00:05:42,920 --> 00:05:45,320 verse 20 tells us that Jesus was in the temple teaching. 102 00:05:45,320 --> 00:05:47,880 In fact, he was in a specific area called the treasury. 103 00:05:47,880 --> 00:05:50,880 Now the treasury is in the court of women. 104 00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:53,960 That's an outer court of the temple and it's during a 105 00:05:53,960 --> 00:05:57,520 festival called the Feast of Tabernacles in Hebrew. 106 00:05:57,520 --> 00:05:59,240 That's sukut. So he's in this. 107 00:05:59,280 --> 00:06:01,840 There's a big festival, big religious holiday going on. 108 00:06:02,040 --> 00:06:04,400 And, and it's very specific. And I want you to understand why 109 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:06,800 this is so specific that in the court of women during the 110 00:06:06,800 --> 00:06:10,400 holiday, only during the holiday they erected these giant 111 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:14,840 lampstands that were so tall that they needed ladders to get 112 00:06:14,840 --> 00:06:16,560 up to light them. And they're filled with just 113 00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:20,440 gallons and gallons of oil. OK, Very appropriate that they 114 00:06:20,440 --> 00:06:24,680 erected giant lights. No. 115 00:06:24,880 --> 00:06:28,920 OK, No one else with the I just it was convenient and it lined 116 00:06:28,920 --> 00:06:30,000 up. I thought you'd like that. 117 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:33,160 OK. And it only happened for the 118 00:06:33,160 --> 00:06:34,280 festival. And So what would happen is 119 00:06:34,280 --> 00:06:36,560 every night of the festival, they would light these giant 120 00:06:36,560 --> 00:06:39,160 torches on fire, just blazing torches. 121 00:06:39,360 --> 00:06:43,120 And they did it because the festival was actually a specific 122 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:47,240 religious holiday in which those torches represented the pillar 123 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:51,040 of fire that led the Israelite people out of Egypt, out of 124 00:06:51,040 --> 00:06:53,040 slavery and into the promised land. 125 00:06:53,320 --> 00:06:54,880 And so that's what they they would represent. 126 00:06:54,880 --> 00:06:58,640 So So Jesus, when he says this verse 12, he's standing there 127 00:06:58,720 --> 00:07:04,520 between these huge torches and he's saying, you think that's 128 00:07:04,520 --> 00:07:08,040 impressive? I am the light of the world. 129 00:07:11,040 --> 00:07:14,600 It's me. And so, so in that moment where 130 00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:19,240 he says that he is both fulfilling an ancient prophecy 131 00:07:19,240 --> 00:07:23,880 from about 1000 years earlier. And he's trying to captivate the 132 00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:27,960 imagination, grab the attention of the people to get through 133 00:07:27,960 --> 00:07:30,400 this message of truth. And so all the way back 1000 134 00:07:30,400 --> 00:07:32,880 years earlier in in the book of Isaiah, there's a prophet named 135 00:07:32,880 --> 00:07:36,840 Isaiah in 49. So chapter 49, verse six, he 136 00:07:36,840 --> 00:07:41,680 makes this prophecy about Jesus. It says this, I will make you as 137 00:07:41,680 --> 00:07:47,400 a light for the nations that my salvation may reach to the end 138 00:07:47,400 --> 00:07:52,160 of the earth. So Jesus here, he's standing in 139 00:07:52,160 --> 00:07:55,440 between these massive lamp stands and he's basically 140 00:07:55,440 --> 00:07:59,720 saying, remember that promise it's me and I'm here. 141 00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:03,840 And he's also trying to capture their attention. 142 00:08:04,240 --> 00:08:08,600 There's a religious holiday kind of based around there were this 143 00:08:08,600 --> 00:08:12,680 holiday represented 2 things in in Deuteronomy 6, it said that 144 00:08:12,840 --> 00:08:15,320 you'll have a festival to thank God for the harvest. 145 00:08:15,560 --> 00:08:20,520 But also in Leviticus 23, they did these specific things so 146 00:08:20,520 --> 00:08:23,080 that they can remember God removing them from slavery, 147 00:08:23,080 --> 00:08:25,600 removing them from bondage. They were commanded to do this, 148 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:29,120 this religious holiday, because there's this story in Exodus 13 149 00:08:29,360 --> 00:08:32,520 where a million Israelites are released from captivity out of 150 00:08:32,520 --> 00:08:34,280 Egypt, and they're supposed to go to the promised land, and 151 00:08:34,280 --> 00:08:35,000 they don't know how to get there. 152 00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:37,000 They don't even know where they're going. 153 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:41,760 And so God during the day guides them with a cloud, and at night, 154 00:08:41,760 --> 00:08:43,640 he guides them with a pillar of fire. 155 00:08:45,600 --> 00:08:47,320 And there's so much symbolism here. 156 00:08:47,480 --> 00:08:49,640 God is essentially in those moments saying, listen, you 157 00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:50,960 don't have to know where you're going. 158 00:08:50,960 --> 00:08:52,840 You don't have to know the exact destination. 159 00:08:52,880 --> 00:08:55,440 You don't have to have a map. What you need is to know where I 160 00:08:55,440 --> 00:08:59,800 am and follow me. You need to know where I am and 161 00:08:59,800 --> 00:09:03,200 you need to follow me. And so, so when Jesus says I am 162 00:09:03,200 --> 00:09:05,440 the light of the world, he's taking them all the way back 163 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:08,640 like 2000 years earlier to this story coming out of Egypt. 164 00:09:08,640 --> 00:09:12,920 And he said, listen, you celebrate a holiday where we're 165 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:15,360 trying to remember that God was with you. 166 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:19,400 All of the comfort and the security of God leading you. 167 00:09:20,360 --> 00:09:23,600 That was me. That was me leading you. 168 00:09:24,480 --> 00:09:26,760 You, you're in the wilderness. And yet you weren't alone 169 00:09:26,760 --> 00:09:28,240 because that was because I was there. 170 00:09:28,760 --> 00:09:31,000 I was the one that guided you as to where to go. 171 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:33,880 I was I was the one that would filled envelope the Tabernacle 172 00:09:33,880 --> 00:09:36,360 when you built it. I'm the one that when Solomon 173 00:09:36,360 --> 00:09:39,880 built the temple, Jesus presence came down in such an 174 00:09:39,880 --> 00:09:42,360 overpowering way. It says the priests couldn't 175 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:46,440 even worship that he filled the temple with his Shekinah glory. 176 00:09:47,560 --> 00:09:50,640 That's the claim he's making. He's standing in their temple 177 00:09:50,640 --> 00:09:54,080 during their religious holiday and going it's me. 178 00:09:54,960 --> 00:09:56,160 He's trying to get their attention. 179 00:09:56,320 --> 00:09:58,800 And so when I was reading and research, you know, the last 180 00:09:58,800 --> 00:10:01,240 couple weeks like this, it kind of made me chuckle because like, 181 00:10:01,240 --> 00:10:03,720 here's Jesus, right? Like we, we put lights up today, 182 00:10:03,720 --> 00:10:07,400 but he's standing between probably one of the best ancient 183 00:10:07,400 --> 00:10:10,880 pyrotechnic shows in the world, like Bakersfield likes their 184 00:10:10,880 --> 00:10:12,640 fireworks. But I mean, this is some stuff. 185 00:10:13,520 --> 00:10:15,600 And he's standing in between this when he makes his claim, 186 00:10:15,600 --> 00:10:18,480 trying to here's the thing that was amazing about Jesus. 187 00:10:18,480 --> 00:10:20,680 He loves stories and illustrations and, and sermon 188 00:10:20,680 --> 00:10:23,560 props, right. If you go back to John 7, we 189 00:10:23,560 --> 00:10:24,600 covered that a couple months ago. 190 00:10:24,920 --> 00:10:26,160 There is another religious holiday. 191 00:10:26,160 --> 00:10:28,600 And at the end of that holiday, the priest gets up and, and 192 00:10:28,600 --> 00:10:31,400 takes this big jar of water and ceremonially pours it out. 193 00:10:31,640 --> 00:10:34,200 And Jesus waits until that moment happens. 194 00:10:34,480 --> 00:10:36,680 And when he, when that happens, he looks at the crowd and says, 195 00:10:37,040 --> 00:10:40,720 if anyone thirsts, let him come after me and drink. 196 00:10:41,840 --> 00:10:43,320 And now he waits for this holiday. 197 00:10:43,320 --> 00:10:45,840 And he's standing between the, the, the, the, these lanterns 198 00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:46,880 and he's, what is he trying to do? 199 00:10:47,200 --> 00:10:50,800 He he's trying to find any way to reach men and women with the 200 00:10:50,800 --> 00:10:54,880 truth and, and, and and if we, if you read Jesus enough, you 201 00:10:54,880 --> 00:10:57,600 realize he was incredibly creative with how he did this. 202 00:10:57,760 --> 00:11:00,800 He told stories and he used cultural references and holidays 203 00:11:00,800 --> 00:11:05,160 and religious how he used props and man he why am I pointing 204 00:11:05,160 --> 00:11:07,840 this out? Listen, I can guarantee you that 205 00:11:07,840 --> 00:11:11,920 in this moment, there's some people that that that probably 206 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:14,840 weren't very happy that Jesus was using a religious holiday to 207 00:11:14,840 --> 00:11:17,800 make these claims. Like why do preachers get up 208 00:11:17,800 --> 00:11:22,080 here and, and use stories and use humor and use props and, and 209 00:11:22,080 --> 00:11:25,760 and use camps and outer space and go Kart tracks and ministry? 210 00:11:25,760 --> 00:11:29,080 Why do we do all of this to try to reach people with the gospel? 211 00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:35,280 Because we saw Jesus do it. Because we saw Jesus do it. 212 00:11:35,600 --> 00:11:41,360 I will do anything to reach people with the gospel of Jesus. 213 00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:45,760 And my point that I want you to see here, it's just that Jesus 214 00:11:45,760 --> 00:11:49,800 has such a heart for you and me that he never valued human 215 00:11:49,800 --> 00:11:52,480 tradition over the souls of the lost. 216 00:11:54,160 --> 00:11:57,320 Jesus never valued human religious tradition over the 217 00:11:57,320 --> 00:11:59,800 souls of the lost. Because I guarantee you there's 218 00:11:59,800 --> 00:12:01,840 people in the crowd in the temple right then when Jesus 219 00:12:01,840 --> 00:12:04,080 says this and they're like, and they're offended. 220 00:12:05,640 --> 00:12:09,320 They're offended. It's so inappropriate Jesus, 221 00:12:09,320 --> 00:12:11,920 that you would, you would stand in the temple during this 222 00:12:11,920 --> 00:12:13,840 holiday for God and you'd make this about you. 223 00:12:17,320 --> 00:12:19,960 In fact, verse 12, he makes the claim. 224 00:12:20,080 --> 00:12:25,560 The next 17 verses are all people rejecting Jesus in 225 00:12:25,560 --> 00:12:27,480 various ways. They're stages of rejection for 226 00:12:27,480 --> 00:12:31,080 17 verses in your in your bulletin handout on the 227 00:12:31,080 --> 00:12:34,200 Backpage, I printed a diagram that came from Chuck Swindoll. 228 00:12:34,280 --> 00:12:38,080 Charles Swindoll actually detailed out that the book of 229 00:12:38,680 --> 00:12:40,760 chapter 8 of the book of John is essentially people just 230 00:12:40,760 --> 00:12:43,320 rejecting Jesus, rejecting Jesus, rejecting Jesus. 231 00:12:43,320 --> 00:12:49,720 I mean, it's, it's contradiction, cynicism, 232 00:12:49,800 --> 00:12:52,440 insults. They're categorically rejecting 233 00:12:52,440 --> 00:12:57,600 and denying Jesus in his claim. So, So what is this claim that 234 00:12:57,600 --> 00:13:00,200 is so offensive that this crowd would would react this way? 235 00:13:00,320 --> 00:13:04,360 Here's the claim verse 12. Again, Jesus spoke to them 236 00:13:04,360 --> 00:13:07,120 saying I am the light of the world. 237 00:13:07,680 --> 00:13:12,320 Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the 238 00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:17,240 light of life. Now this single claim is so 239 00:13:17,240 --> 00:13:20,720 important, so, so radical that they're going to argue and 240 00:13:20,720 --> 00:13:23,800 insult him for the next, really the rest of the chapter. 241 00:13:23,920 --> 00:13:26,080 And So what I want to do is I want to look at like, what what 242 00:13:26,080 --> 00:13:27,880 is this claim? What is he actually saying when 243 00:13:27,880 --> 00:13:29,280 he says I'm the light of the world? 244 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:32,200 And the best way to just in general, the best way to 245 00:13:32,200 --> 00:13:33,760 interpret the Bible is with the Bible. 246 00:13:34,640 --> 00:13:37,080 So if you're not sure about something, read the Bible. 247 00:13:37,120 --> 00:13:39,120 You're going to find a lot of cross referencing in the Bible 248 00:13:39,280 --> 00:13:40,920 where it will interpret itself for you. 249 00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:42,640 And so we're going to do that. We're going to look at some 250 00:13:42,640 --> 00:13:45,920 other passages today that talk about this idea being light of 251 00:13:45,920 --> 00:13:48,720 the world. The same author, the apostle 252 00:13:48,720 --> 00:13:50,920 John, who wrote the book that we're reading here in in in 253 00:13:50,920 --> 00:13:55,040 chapter 8, started this book with a claim about Jesus being 254 00:13:55,040 --> 00:13:56,640 the light. And so let's look at that in 255 00:13:56,640 --> 00:14:00,520 John one, it says this in the beginning was the word. 256 00:14:00,520 --> 00:14:04,760 That's Jesus. And the word was with God and 257 00:14:04,760 --> 00:14:08,520 the word was God. He was in the beginning with 258 00:14:08,520 --> 00:14:11,520 God. All things were made through him 259 00:14:11,520 --> 00:14:16,680 and without him was not anything made that was made in him was 260 00:14:16,680 --> 00:14:20,840 life, and the life was the light of men. 261 00:14:21,560 --> 00:14:24,720 The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not 262 00:14:24,720 --> 00:14:26,600 overcome it. So. 263 00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:29,880 So this entire book from the apostle John starts with a claim 264 00:14:30,040 --> 00:14:33,360 that Jesus existed before creation, that Jesus was with 265 00:14:33,360 --> 00:14:36,880 God, that Jesus is God, that Jesus made everything, that 266 00:14:36,960 --> 00:14:40,440 Jesus represents life, and that Jesus is the light in the 267 00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:43,200 darkness. Now that can't be literal. 268 00:14:43,200 --> 00:14:46,400 Like we light in the dark, like, like not, not the we know the 269 00:14:46,400 --> 00:14:48,400 sun is a star, right? That's not Jesus. 270 00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:49,960 So what is it? There's clearly some sort of 271 00:14:49,960 --> 00:14:53,040 symbolism going on here that we're supposed to catch when it 272 00:14:53,040 --> 00:14:56,600 talks about light and dark. What what is that? 273 00:14:56,600 --> 00:14:59,880 Well, the, the whole story arc of the Bible. 274 00:14:59,880 --> 00:15:02,760 If you're new to the Bible, if you're new here, if you, if 275 00:15:02,920 --> 00:15:06,080 maybe Christianity is not even your thing, all of the Bible, 276 00:15:06,080 --> 00:15:11,120 all 66 books of the Bible is 1 big giant story arc that starts 277 00:15:11,280 --> 00:15:14,640 with a problem in the 3rd chapter of the very first book. 278 00:15:15,480 --> 00:15:18,200 And in that that that very beginning, there's a problem 279 00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:21,320 that must be solved. And the Bible essentially is 280 00:15:21,320 --> 00:15:25,640 telling a story about spiritual darkness, about spiritual 281 00:15:25,640 --> 00:15:29,000 blindness and how that problem has to be overcome. 282 00:15:29,760 --> 00:15:32,400 And it's summarized in in the book of Ephesians. 283 00:15:32,560 --> 00:15:34,560 There's a couple verses here in chapter 2 I want to read you. 284 00:15:34,560 --> 00:15:36,520 And this kind of summarizes the problem if you're new to it. 285 00:15:36,520 --> 00:15:39,320 So let me read this to you. It says this and you say me, 286 00:15:41,080 --> 00:15:47,160 we're dead in the trespasses and sins in once in which you once 287 00:15:47,160 --> 00:15:50,960 walked, following the course of this world, following the Prince 288 00:15:50,960 --> 00:15:54,480 of the power of the air. That's Satan, the spirit that is 289 00:15:54,480 --> 00:15:59,160 now at work in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all. 290 00:15:59,200 --> 00:16:01,840 That's in Greek, but in but in English that would be all. 291 00:16:03,800 --> 00:16:09,040 Everyone of us once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying 292 00:16:09,040 --> 00:16:13,480 out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature 293 00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:17,320 children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 294 00:16:19,560 --> 00:16:25,240 But God, the story of the Bible is that we were all spiritually 295 00:16:25,240 --> 00:16:32,600 blind. But God, what that passage is 296 00:16:32,600 --> 00:16:34,680 trying to explain about the story of the Bible is this. 297 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:38,240 When humanity first rebelled against God, in the very 298 00:16:38,240 --> 00:16:42,800 beginning of the story, we broke relationship with God. 299 00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:46,840 Sin caused a curse that every one of us, you and I, were born 300 00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:49,280 underneath. And so as a result, you and I 301 00:16:49,280 --> 00:16:53,120 were born spiritually dead. We were born spiritually blind. 302 00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:56,640 And here's the thing about being born blind is we don't even know 303 00:16:56,640 --> 00:16:58,600 what what blindness is. We don't even know what sight 304 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:00,080 is. We've never experienced it. 305 00:17:00,280 --> 00:17:03,520 That that's what the Bible says. So you don't even know what you 306 00:17:03,520 --> 00:17:05,520 don't know. You ever been you ever feel 307 00:17:05,520 --> 00:17:07,640 dumb, man? Do I feel dumb sometimes? 308 00:17:08,520 --> 00:17:10,280 You know, when I feel really dumb is when I don't even know 309 00:17:10,280 --> 00:17:12,880 what I don't know. Like I don't even know how dumb 310 00:17:12,880 --> 00:17:15,560 I am. Like this could get bad. 311 00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:19,240 My point is that every single one of us, according to the 312 00:17:19,240 --> 00:17:21,119 Bible, was Born This Way. We were born like, I don't even 313 00:17:21,119 --> 00:17:22,680 know what I don't know. How could we? 314 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:25,440 How could you understand blindness and sight when you 315 00:17:25,440 --> 00:17:27,560 were born blind? How can you understand God? 316 00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:29,120 How can you understand your need for him? 317 00:17:29,120 --> 00:17:32,200 How can you understand your own moral depravity when all you 318 00:17:32,200 --> 00:17:34,120 were born into is spiritual blindness? 319 00:17:34,480 --> 00:17:35,960 There there's a phenomenal story. 320 00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:38,000 Some of you may have read this in school long ago. 321 00:17:38,240 --> 00:17:39,920 There was a woman named Helen Keller. 322 00:17:39,920 --> 00:17:42,040 Anyone heard of her? OK, a few people. 323 00:17:42,240 --> 00:17:46,920 Helen Keller was born in 1880. And get this, she was born blind 324 00:17:47,240 --> 00:17:52,760 and deaf. I just think about how bad one 325 00:17:52,760 --> 00:17:55,440 of those is. But to be born both. 326 00:17:57,640 --> 00:18:00,920 And so all attempts to communicate with her in her life 327 00:18:00,920 --> 00:18:03,840 failed because she couldn't see and she couldn't hear. 328 00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:08,520 And she basically grew as a as an individual through childhood 329 00:18:08,520 --> 00:18:11,880 and adolescence in her own personal prison of her mind, 330 00:18:12,680 --> 00:18:16,000 completely in isolation and disconnected from all community, 331 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:18,480 all communication, everything. You know what I mean? 332 00:18:18,480 --> 00:18:25,960 Talk about just pure isolation, unable to communicate until one 333 00:18:25,960 --> 00:18:30,840 day there was a really stubborn, faithful teacher named Anne 334 00:18:30,840 --> 00:18:32,720 Sullivan, and she had a breakthrough. 335 00:18:33,360 --> 00:18:36,080 She took her to this water pump, this well, and she started 336 00:18:36,080 --> 00:18:40,080 pumping water onto her hands. And as the water flowed all over 337 00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:42,960 her hands, she spelled the letters for water. 338 00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:48,280 And it finally clicked for her. And that was the moment when she 339 00:18:48,280 --> 00:18:50,880 began to realize someone was trying to communicate with her. 340 00:18:51,040 --> 00:18:53,240 And she learned letters and she learned language and she began 341 00:18:53,240 --> 00:18:56,160 to communicate. But it But up until that moment, 342 00:18:56,160 --> 00:18:58,000 she didn't even know what she didn't know. 343 00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:03,240 What I'm trying to tell you is the Bible says that this is you 344 00:19:03,280 --> 00:19:08,120 and I. In Romans 1, the apostle Paul 345 00:19:08,120 --> 00:19:11,040 says that the things of God are actually not hard to figure out 346 00:19:11,040 --> 00:19:12,200 at all. In fact, they're incredibly 347 00:19:12,200 --> 00:19:15,480 obvious. Romans one says they're clearly 348 00:19:15,480 --> 00:19:19,040 perceived by everyone. The problem isn't that God is 349 00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:21,520 hiding from us. The problem is that we don't 350 00:19:21,520 --> 00:19:25,840 even realize we're blind. If you've never used your eyes, 351 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:26,960 how do you know what blindness is? 352 00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:33,520 And until God awakens us from spiritual death to spiritual 353 00:19:33,520 --> 00:19:37,040 life, from spiritual blindness to spiritual sight, we we don't 354 00:19:37,040 --> 00:19:38,960 even know. That's what Ephesians 4 that we 355 00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:42,200 just read is telling us. We're stumbling around in the 356 00:19:42,200 --> 00:19:48,600 darkness, but God, when I was in college, I wasn't looking for 357 00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:50,160 God. I didn't want God. 358 00:19:50,160 --> 00:19:52,640 I didn't think I needed God. I'm stumbling around in the 359 00:19:52,640 --> 00:19:55,400 darkness, but God. I didn't choose sight, but by 360 00:19:55,400 --> 00:19:59,560 the grace of God, he saved me. Not of my own works. 361 00:20:00,880 --> 00:20:04,440 I didn't pick sight, but I can practice life in the light. 362 00:20:04,440 --> 00:20:06,840 So you might be thinking if you're, if you're hearing the 363 00:20:06,840 --> 00:20:09,040 story, you're going well, God, if God has to awaken you, if God 364 00:20:09,040 --> 00:20:11,520 has to cure your spiritual blindness or you can't even 365 00:20:11,520 --> 00:20:14,000 consider these things. Then then how come in that 366 00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:16,720 passage we read, Jesus seems so frustrated with them? 367 00:20:16,720 --> 00:20:18,080 Doesn't that seem a little weird? 368 00:20:18,720 --> 00:20:22,120 Like, like if you're really pragmatic, and I get accused of 369 00:20:22,120 --> 00:20:25,320 that sometimes, if you're really pragmatic, you go look, if it's 370 00:20:25,320 --> 00:20:27,040 God's decision, why is he frustrated? 371 00:20:27,080 --> 00:20:28,680 Here's the truth. I hope you take it. 372 00:20:28,680 --> 00:20:31,720 Let's go. But he's not, is he? 373 00:20:32,080 --> 00:20:34,440 I mean, you can hear the frustration in his voice that he 374 00:20:34,440 --> 00:20:37,720 wants them to see the truth. Why? 375 00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:45,080 Because he loves them. When you love someone who's 376 00:20:45,080 --> 00:20:47,400 hurting themselves and you know that there's there's a specific 377 00:20:47,400 --> 00:20:49,280 solution or there's one thing that can help and they keep 378 00:20:49,280 --> 00:20:51,520 rejecting it and they keep rejecting it, like that breaks 379 00:20:51,520 --> 00:20:55,720 your heart. And that's Jesus in this moment. 380 00:20:57,720 --> 00:21:01,200 I know that as a pastor holding the office of pastor, that there 381 00:21:01,200 --> 00:21:04,600 are going to be people that I serve for years, maybe some for 382 00:21:04,600 --> 00:21:09,120 decades, who never actually surrender to Jesus. 383 00:21:09,120 --> 00:21:12,560 No matter how much I do, no matter how hard I preach or how 384 00:21:12,560 --> 00:21:14,760 hard I serve, that they will reject Jesus. 385 00:21:14,760 --> 00:21:16,640 They will die and go to an eternal hell. 386 00:21:20,120 --> 00:21:23,160 But the moment that doesn't bother me, the moment that 387 00:21:23,160 --> 00:21:25,960 doesn't shock me, the moment that doesn't break my heart. 388 00:21:26,080 --> 00:21:28,440 I am not qualified to be your pastor. 389 00:21:33,360 --> 00:21:35,800 Let me ask you this. Some of you have gone through 390 00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:37,040 this or are going through this right now. 391 00:21:37,560 --> 00:21:43,520 If you have a child living in rebellion to God. 392 00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:58,480 Hating God and you know that you can't change her heart, that God 393 00:21:58,480 --> 00:22:01,720 has to do it, that you're powerless. 394 00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:08,720 Does that mean you stop caring? Does that mean it stops 395 00:22:08,720 --> 00:22:14,840 bothering you? I have that child in my life 396 00:22:14,840 --> 00:22:24,520 right now and I'm not over it. I'm not OK with it, even though 397 00:22:24,520 --> 00:22:31,200 I'm powerless in that moment. Jesus loves them so much, 398 00:22:33,240 --> 00:22:37,760 wanting them to be saved. Maybe. 399 00:22:37,760 --> 00:22:41,520 Maybe you're here today and you don't really believe much of 400 00:22:41,520 --> 00:22:44,400 this Jesus stuff. For you, all religions are the 401 00:22:44,400 --> 00:22:46,320 same or they're all fake or they're all not real. 402 00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:49,760 And what what I'm trying to tell you is that according to the 403 00:22:49,760 --> 00:22:51,640 Bible, you were born not able to see it. 404 00:22:53,520 --> 00:22:57,240 But the fact that you're here listening to this message or or 405 00:22:57,240 --> 00:22:59,840 listening to it online is not an accident. 406 00:23:03,560 --> 00:23:06,640 It wasn't even by your choice, though maybe you think it was. 407 00:23:09,320 --> 00:23:16,680 I would you just consider for a moment that perhaps God is 408 00:23:16,680 --> 00:23:23,560 leading you to the water pump like Helen Keller today to teach 409 00:23:23,560 --> 00:23:25,520 you something that you have been blind to. 410 00:23:28,240 --> 00:23:32,480 Just consider this. How do you know that you're 411 00:23:32,480 --> 00:23:35,040 missing something you've never experienced? 412 00:23:37,600 --> 00:23:41,240 It's Jesus frustration in the moment and this, this 413 00:23:41,240 --> 00:23:44,160 illustration that he's using of lightness, light and darkness. 414 00:23:44,320 --> 00:23:46,560 It does. It doesn't actually end simply 415 00:23:46,640 --> 00:23:51,000 with the idea of, of, of becoming spiritually alive or, 416 00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:52,560 or, or curing spiritual blindness. 417 00:23:52,560 --> 00:23:55,640 It actually continues as the example or the illustration of 418 00:23:55,640 --> 00:23:58,280 how to go ahead and live the Christian life, how to follow 419 00:23:58,280 --> 00:24:00,720 Jesus. This analogy will continue to be 420 00:24:00,720 --> 00:24:02,720 used throughout the New Testament. 421 00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:08,520 It becomes a perfect example of what it's supposed to look like 422 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:10,720 to follow Jesus. So it's more than just the 423 00:24:10,720 --> 00:24:12,960 moment of salvation. It's actually the ongoing, 424 00:24:13,160 --> 00:24:15,720 normal, everyday Christian life. This is the perfect 425 00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:20,040 illustration, and here's why. The moment that Jesus opens your 426 00:24:20,040 --> 00:24:24,480 eyes, the moment that God begins to save you and you begin to see 427 00:24:24,720 --> 00:24:27,840 spiritual things, you're awakening to spiritual things. 428 00:24:27,960 --> 00:24:32,280 You're going to see two things to fundamental universal truths 429 00:24:32,440 --> 00:24:35,240 about this world. And they are the pillars by 430 00:24:35,240 --> 00:24:37,360 which all of the Christian faith is built on. 431 00:24:37,360 --> 00:24:39,240 So if you're new and you're not sure what Christianity about, 432 00:24:39,360 --> 00:24:43,360 it's about these two things that you see the moment God is saving 433 00:24:43,360 --> 00:24:44,280 you. And here's the first one. 434 00:24:44,440 --> 00:24:51,920 Man, Jesus is awesome. Man Jesus is, He is so good. 435 00:24:52,880 --> 00:24:57,880 He is so amazing, He's so miraculous, He's so incredible. 436 00:24:58,240 --> 00:25:05,600 And he died for me. That doesn't just floor you when 437 00:25:05,600 --> 00:25:09,000 you get saved. And I've been saved for many 438 00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:10,440 years and I am still not over it. 439 00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:15,040 In fact, the more you think about it, the better it gets. 440 00:25:16,320 --> 00:25:19,160 That's truth number one. Here's truth #2 that you, you 441 00:25:19,160 --> 00:25:21,480 see, the moment you get saved, it begins to dawn on you. 442 00:25:21,480 --> 00:25:24,840 Here's this is the worst part, baby, of being saved. 443 00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:27,000 I am way worse than I thought I was. 444 00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:34,440 Like way worse than I thought I was. 445 00:25:38,680 --> 00:25:44,600 Because when I lived in the dark, I could justify how I 446 00:25:44,600 --> 00:25:46,160 lived. And you know, I'm not, maybe I'm 447 00:25:46,160 --> 00:25:48,040 not perfect, but I'm not that bad. 448 00:25:48,120 --> 00:25:49,760 I mean, we all know somebody that's that bad. 449 00:25:51,760 --> 00:25:54,160 We, you know, And so you can be like, I'm not great, but I mean, 450 00:25:54,160 --> 00:25:59,960 I'm not not I'm not Gary. I'm sorry, Gary, if there's one 451 00:25:59,960 --> 00:26:05,200 out here. But when the but but when you 452 00:26:05,200 --> 00:26:08,640 become alive to spiritual things, you can't treat, you're 453 00:26:08,640 --> 00:26:15,200 going like, Oh, no, I'm way. Oh, in fact, the first few years 454 00:26:15,640 --> 00:26:22,400 after coming to Christ, I'm like, oh, have you ever, have 455 00:26:22,400 --> 00:26:26,640 you ever, have you ever thought your kitchen was clean because 456 00:26:26,640 --> 00:26:30,640 you hadn't turned the lights on? Do you know what I mean, dog? 457 00:26:30,640 --> 00:26:33,920 You're like, looks pretty good. My kids do this all the time. 458 00:26:34,080 --> 00:26:35,400 Hey, it's kitchen clean. Yeah, it's pretty clean. 459 00:26:35,520 --> 00:26:40,360 Turn the lights on. Turn the lights on and you turn 460 00:26:40,360 --> 00:26:44,880 the lights on, you go like like 200 Watt blood just right and 461 00:26:44,880 --> 00:26:46,840 all of a sudden you're like, this place is disgusting. 462 00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:53,960 It's like a Petri dish in here. Like what what what's happened 463 00:26:53,960 --> 00:26:55,720 in here? Like it's easy to deceive 464 00:26:55,720 --> 00:26:59,360 yourself in the dark, but when all the lights come on, it's 465 00:26:59,360 --> 00:27:06,120 like now in that moment, we all have a choice. 466 00:27:06,440 --> 00:27:10,040 OK, here's the choice. Start working on the mess. 467 00:27:10,400 --> 00:27:22,600 Or like my kids love to do what mess looks great, but you and I 468 00:27:22,600 --> 00:27:26,200 do that in our lives. Jesus saves us and all of a 469 00:27:26,200 --> 00:27:29,840 sudden we're like, oh, and our choice is to step into the light 470 00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:32,960 and open our eyes and let God get a hold of that mess and 471 00:27:32,960 --> 00:27:36,680 start wading through it. Or Nah, I'm good. 472 00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:51,320 At least I'm not Gary. When I got saved, I thought I 473 00:27:51,320 --> 00:27:56,160 was actually pretty good, man. Those first few years as God's 474 00:27:56,160 --> 00:27:59,640 working on me, the lights keep getting brighter and brighter 475 00:27:59,720 --> 00:28:02,240 and brighter and I'm like, can we stomp this? 476 00:28:04,160 --> 00:28:05,560 And I have to have that same choice. 477 00:28:05,560 --> 00:28:08,920 I still have that choice. That choice is not any different 478 00:28:08,920 --> 00:28:10,880 now years after I came to Christ. 479 00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:13,920 It's still the same. I either as those lights come on 480 00:28:13,920 --> 00:28:17,120 brighter and the Holy Spirit continues to press towards 481 00:28:17,120 --> 00:28:22,000 holiness, I can either step into that or I can close my eyes and 482 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:25,200 live in denial. And sometimes, you know, denial 483 00:28:25,200 --> 00:28:30,760 is not just a river in Egypt. It's a dad joke for you. 484 00:28:31,760 --> 00:28:35,160 He'll get it later. OK, in the, in the letters to 485 00:28:35,160 --> 00:28:38,760 the early churches, they're very consistent, actually pressing 486 00:28:38,760 --> 00:28:40,440 toward holiness. And this is exact, they use this 487 00:28:40,440 --> 00:28:41,640 illustration over and over again. 488 00:28:41,800 --> 00:28:44,760 And so there's a church in Ephesus in the 1st century. 489 00:28:44,840 --> 00:28:47,440 And Paul writes this exact thing to them, trying to, trying to 490 00:28:47,440 --> 00:28:50,440 encourage them to step into the light and, and to live in 491 00:28:50,440 --> 00:28:52,160 holiness. And it says this in Ephesians 492 00:28:52,160 --> 00:28:55,200 5-6 through 8. It says let no one deceive you 493 00:28:55,200 --> 00:28:57,480 with empty words. So don't, don't, don't let 494 00:28:57,480 --> 00:28:59,800 anyone tell you that you don't need to do this, OK? 495 00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:03,680 For because of these things, the wrath of God comes upon the sons 496 00:29:03,760 --> 00:29:08,280 of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners 497 00:29:08,280 --> 00:29:11,560 with them. For at one time you were in 498 00:29:11,560 --> 00:29:16,800 darkness, say me, at one time you were in darkness, you were 499 00:29:16,800 --> 00:29:22,360 spiritually blind, but now you are the light, you are light in 500 00:29:22,360 --> 00:29:25,120 the Lord. So walk as children of the 501 00:29:25,120 --> 00:29:29,920 light, encouraging them. They don't close your eyes to 502 00:29:29,920 --> 00:29:31,840 this. Don't try to go back to the 503 00:29:31,840 --> 00:29:37,160 dark. These there's a bunch of 504 00:29:37,160 --> 00:29:39,600 passages like this in the New Testament to churches, and 505 00:29:39,600 --> 00:29:42,160 they're essentially reinforcing something that Jesus says at the 506 00:29:42,160 --> 00:29:45,480 end of our passage today. In verse 29, Jesus says this 507 00:29:45,480 --> 00:29:47,720 about the Father. He says that he, God who sent me 508 00:29:47,720 --> 00:29:50,400 is with me. He's not left me alone, for I 509 00:29:50,400 --> 00:29:53,120 always do the things that are pleasing to him. 510 00:29:53,120 --> 00:29:57,200 Let me tell you what's pleasing to God, and this is the part I 511 00:29:57,200 --> 00:29:59,320 think of Christianity that we kind of love and hate. 512 00:29:59,320 --> 00:30:03,040 OK, what's pleasing to God is to live life in the light. 513 00:30:04,240 --> 00:30:06,920 What we want to do, what human nature wants to do is say, I 514 00:30:06,920 --> 00:30:09,240 know how I please God. It's these five check boxes. 515 00:30:09,240 --> 00:30:11,200 I just got to do this. We're going to put a tie on and 516 00:30:11,200 --> 00:30:13,560 read the bubble rag. And if I do these five things 517 00:30:13,560 --> 00:30:16,120 and God is happy, in fact, if we're, if we actually are being 518 00:30:16,120 --> 00:30:18,600 really honest, if I do these five things, then God owes me 519 00:30:22,600 --> 00:30:25,480 and he'll have to do what I want because he owes me one, because 520 00:30:25,480 --> 00:30:30,080 I did the five things. That's not what the Bible says. 521 00:30:30,840 --> 00:30:34,240 What's pleasing to God is stepping into the light and 522 00:30:34,240 --> 00:30:37,760 allowing the Holy Spirit to to start turning those lights up 523 00:30:37,760 --> 00:30:44,360 brighter and brighter and brighter and us go, oh, OK, OK. 524 00:30:45,400 --> 00:30:47,280 And I'm going to show you that that's actually here. 525 00:30:47,280 --> 00:30:48,520 OK. I'm going to show you exactly 526 00:30:48,520 --> 00:30:50,880 how that works because we have stories of it working in the 527 00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:55,200 Bible and in our lives In Acts chapter 19, the same church, the 528 00:30:55,200 --> 00:30:58,000 Church of Ephesus that we just read from Ephesians, that same 529 00:30:58,000 --> 00:31:01,200 church, Paul is there. There's some revival going on 530 00:31:01,200 --> 00:31:06,800 and there's a crazy story, OK, in Acts 19, I swear this is in 531 00:31:06,800 --> 00:31:09,120 your Bible. You can turn there later in Acts 532 00:31:09,120 --> 00:31:12,200 19. Seven Jewish exorcists. 533 00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:13,680 Never thought you'd start a sentence that way. 534 00:31:14,720 --> 00:31:17,760 Try to exorcise a demon out of a demon possessed man. 535 00:31:17,760 --> 00:31:20,960 But they're not Christians and it doesn't go well. 536 00:31:22,360 --> 00:31:26,640 And the demon speaks to them and then beats them naked. 537 00:31:30,400 --> 00:31:32,200 See you guys thought your Bible was boring. 538 00:31:34,880 --> 00:31:36,200 I'm just telling y'all read your Bible. 539 00:31:36,200 --> 00:31:37,240 There's some spicy stuff in there. 540 00:31:37,240 --> 00:31:45,000 OK, Caliente, OK, beats them naked seven guys. 541 00:31:46,800 --> 00:31:50,000 And then let's pick up what happens in the story Acts 19 542 00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:55,040 verse 17 that gets out. And this this story became known 543 00:31:55,040 --> 00:31:58,880 to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, and fear 544 00:31:58,880 --> 00:32:04,480 fell upon them all. And the name of the Lord Jesus 545 00:32:04,480 --> 00:32:06,560 was extolled. It was praised. 546 00:32:07,760 --> 00:32:09,640 And then look at the result of what happened. 547 00:32:10,320 --> 00:32:19,000 Also, many of those who were now believers say me came confessing 548 00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:23,080 and divulging their practices. And a number of those who had 549 00:32:23,080 --> 00:32:26,680 practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned 550 00:32:26,680 --> 00:32:30,440 them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of 551 00:32:30,440 --> 00:32:35,120 them and found it came to 50,000 pieces of silver. 552 00:32:37,160 --> 00:32:40,080 So the word of the Lord continued to increase and 553 00:32:40,080 --> 00:32:44,160 prevail mightily. Christians in the church well to 554 00:32:44,160 --> 00:32:48,320 do got my Sunday best on singing praises, lifting my hands to 555 00:32:48,320 --> 00:33:00,100 Jesus or hiding sin and and it is only it is only catch it at 556 00:33:00,100 --> 00:33:05,500 the moment they begin to confess and divulge hidden sin. 557 00:33:05,740 --> 00:33:10,280 That stuff starts to get real and there's so many of them 558 00:33:10,280 --> 00:33:15,120 hiding this that the pile of witchcraft books that they're 559 00:33:15,120 --> 00:33:16,240 hiding. I don't know why Harry Potter 560 00:33:16,240 --> 00:33:24,520 was so big back then that the pile of books is 50,000 silver 561 00:33:24,520 --> 00:33:26,440 pieces. Think about how many Christians 562 00:33:26,440 --> 00:33:31,440 that is then and the result of that confession of dragging it 563 00:33:31,440 --> 00:33:35,280 into the light. So the word of the Lord 564 00:33:35,280 --> 00:33:38,080 continued to increase and prevail mightily. 565 00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:41,360 Listen, you can fake Christianity if you want, but 566 00:33:41,360 --> 00:33:43,960 don't think that you're going to fake it and actually experience 567 00:33:44,040 --> 00:33:46,120 the power of the Holy Spirit in your life. 568 00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:52,880 So they get serious about it and all of a sudden it's real. 569 00:33:52,880 --> 00:33:56,000 Now you're like, that was the 1st century, OK, a few months 570 00:33:56,000 --> 00:33:59,360 ago. We do supercharged and it's a, 571 00:33:59,360 --> 00:34:00,800 it's a leadership development once a month. 572 00:34:00,800 --> 00:34:02,320 We do it on a Sunday night once a month. 573 00:34:02,600 --> 00:34:06,080 So we had about like 65 people in the Chapel at these little 574 00:34:06,080 --> 00:34:10,080 round tables. And I had heard a podcast from 2 575 00:34:10,080 --> 00:34:12,920 pastors, Sam Albury and, and, and Ray Orlin Junior. 576 00:34:13,080 --> 00:34:15,120 And they had told this really cool story about a men's thing 577 00:34:15,120 --> 00:34:17,440 where like there's some guy gotten up in this men's event 578 00:34:17,480 --> 00:34:20,000 and he said, I want y'all to break into to pairs to like, 579 00:34:20,040 --> 00:34:22,320 like, to two people. And I want you to spend the next 580 00:34:22,320 --> 00:34:25,560 20 minutes sharing with one another the worst thing you've 581 00:34:25,560 --> 00:34:32,679 ever done. And he said it was like super 582 00:34:32,679 --> 00:34:34,239 powerful. So I'm listening to them. 583 00:34:34,280 --> 00:34:38,239 That's so good. So I, I not all ideas are good 584 00:34:38,239 --> 00:34:41,560 ideas. So I go to, I go to 585 00:34:41,560 --> 00:34:43,120 superchargers and I'm like, listen, I'm not going to make 586 00:34:43,120 --> 00:34:44,719 you do this, this, this sounds awful. 587 00:34:45,880 --> 00:34:51,560 I just want you to consider, just just consider if I asked 588 00:34:51,560 --> 00:34:56,920 you to turn to your neighbor and share the worst things you've 589 00:34:56,920 --> 00:35:00,880 ever done, if you could, could you live in the light? 590 00:35:00,880 --> 00:35:02,960 Could you live with that level of confession and transparency 591 00:35:02,960 --> 00:35:04,240 and vulnerability? Could you do that? 592 00:35:04,400 --> 00:35:05,520 How does that make you feel right? 593 00:35:05,680 --> 00:35:08,480 I just want you to to feel how closed off we get, how fake we 594 00:35:08,480 --> 00:35:10,960 live right? And so I'm very proud of myself 595 00:35:10,960 --> 00:35:14,040 until I sit down at the first table with the eight people and 596 00:35:14,080 --> 00:35:15,840 the first next to me goes, how about you, pastor? 597 00:35:20,320 --> 00:35:24,480 I'm sorry, what? What will you share with us? 598 00:35:24,480 --> 00:35:25,600 The worst thing you've ever done? 599 00:35:30,400 --> 00:35:33,960 I have miscalculated this substantially. 600 00:35:36,320 --> 00:35:40,000 So I did. Over the next 10 or 20 minutes, 601 00:35:40,360 --> 00:35:42,360 I shared the worst things I've ever done in my life. 602 00:35:43,760 --> 00:35:47,720 And people started crying. And I was like, Oh no. 603 00:35:50,200 --> 00:35:52,600 And then I realized they were crying because they needed to 604 00:35:52,600 --> 00:35:56,360 confess some stuff. And person by person, people 605 00:35:56,360 --> 00:35:58,320 started sobbing and spilling their guts. 606 00:35:59,800 --> 00:36:03,520 And each one of them said, I've never told anyone this. 607 00:36:04,720 --> 00:36:08,560 All the way around the table, every person had hidden sin that 608 00:36:08,560 --> 00:36:10,160 they'd never confessed to anyone. 609 00:36:12,040 --> 00:36:15,320 And then I looked up and everyone in the room was crying 610 00:36:15,760 --> 00:36:19,800 because at every table, people had started to live life in the 611 00:36:19,800 --> 00:36:23,720 light. And it began to change 612 00:36:23,720 --> 00:36:26,840 everything in the room. It wasn't just in the 1st 613 00:36:26,840 --> 00:36:29,040 century that the Holy Spirit works in this way. 614 00:36:29,200 --> 00:36:31,440 The Word of God is eternal and timeless. 615 00:36:32,600 --> 00:36:40,400 It's still this way. I didn't pick sight, but I can 616 00:36:40,400 --> 00:36:45,240 practice life in the light. So our first takeaways as we 617 00:36:45,240 --> 00:36:47,840 wrap this service up, here's what I want you to think about 618 00:36:47,840 --> 00:36:51,360 in your own life. Are you practicing living life 619 00:36:51,360 --> 00:36:56,440 in the light? Not, not hiding your mess, not 620 00:36:56,440 --> 00:36:59,240 hiding your mistakes, not hiding your sin, but actively 621 00:36:59,320 --> 00:37:02,600 confessing your sins to one another and helping each other 622 00:37:02,600 --> 00:37:05,720 live life in the light. But this is the whole reason we 623 00:37:05,720 --> 00:37:08,200 talk over and over and over again about how the Christian 624 00:37:08,200 --> 00:37:11,160 life is meant to be done in community with other Christians. 625 00:37:11,240 --> 00:37:13,800 Because you need someone that you can confess to and confesses 626 00:37:13,800 --> 00:37:15,960 to you and that you can encourage and can encourage you. 627 00:37:16,360 --> 00:37:19,440 And look, if we're being really honest, the reason it is so hard 628 00:37:19,520 --> 00:37:22,240 to confess a sin is not that you're that prideful. 629 00:37:22,240 --> 00:37:24,480 The problem is that you know that the moment you confess it, 630 00:37:24,480 --> 00:37:27,280 there's a there's a probability that other person's going to ask 631 00:37:27,280 --> 00:37:33,040 you about it again. So that means I got to be 632 00:37:33,040 --> 00:37:35,720 serious about wanting to chase holiness. 633 00:37:37,520 --> 00:37:38,800 And that's uncomfortable. Amen. 634 00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:47,640 Real uncomfortable. But, but, but it is the best 635 00:37:47,640 --> 00:37:52,040 part of the Christian life too, because God doesn't leave us 636 00:37:52,040 --> 00:37:54,160 where we're at in our moral depravity, in our mess. 637 00:37:54,160 --> 00:37:56,680 He doesn't just turn up the lights so you can see the mess 638 00:37:56,840 --> 00:38:00,840 and lament. He doesn't leave you in the 639 00:38:00,840 --> 00:38:05,040 mess, He puts his spirit inside you to convict you and encourage 640 00:38:05,040 --> 00:38:07,600 you to pursue holiness with one another. 641 00:38:07,960 --> 00:38:10,560 But it's going to feel at times like a fight. 642 00:38:11,320 --> 00:38:14,520 Now, every time we talk about fighting, let me be very clear, 643 00:38:14,560 --> 00:38:16,120 I don't mean fight other Christians. 644 00:38:17,720 --> 00:38:19,520 It's not like Christian celebrity deathmatch. 645 00:38:22,720 --> 00:38:24,280 I don't mean argue with people online. 646 00:38:24,320 --> 00:38:25,480 Y'all do enough of that? I'm scared. 647 00:38:25,840 --> 00:38:28,520 Don't do that. I mean, fight the actual enemies 648 00:38:28,520 --> 00:38:32,920 of God, your fleshly nature, Satan and a fallen world. 649 00:38:32,960 --> 00:38:35,000 Those are our enemies. When we become part of God's 650 00:38:35,000 --> 00:38:36,760 family, those become our enemies too because they're God's 651 00:38:36,760 --> 00:38:39,120 enemies. And it's a fight that there's a 652 00:38:39,120 --> 00:38:43,960 pastor born in JC. Rob was born in 1816. 653 00:38:43,960 --> 00:38:47,400 So this is 1800s and he's going to talk about something in the 654 00:38:47,400 --> 00:38:49,200 1800s. He might as well be talking 655 00:38:49,200 --> 00:38:51,520 about 2025. Like he said, I love reading 656 00:38:51,520 --> 00:38:54,200 church fathers and historical church fathers and and old 657 00:38:54,200 --> 00:38:55,440 sermons because you beat them and you're God. 658 00:38:55,440 --> 00:38:58,080 Dude, this guy could be talking about right now and what? 659 00:38:58,080 --> 00:39:01,360 Here's what that encourages you. It, it tells you that this is 660 00:39:01,360 --> 00:39:04,520 the timeless eternal truth across all cultures. 661 00:39:05,040 --> 00:39:07,080 And so he was, he was, he lamented. 662 00:39:07,080 --> 00:39:09,680 I mean, he, he wrote a sermon called the Fight for Holiness. 663 00:39:09,960 --> 00:39:12,200 And, and he lamented the fact that it seemed like Christians 664 00:39:12,200 --> 00:39:15,120 would come to Christ and then not care to pursue holiness at 665 00:39:15,120 --> 00:39:17,600 all and just live this shallow life. 666 00:39:17,600 --> 00:39:19,320 And it was driving him nuts. And here's what he says. 667 00:39:19,520 --> 00:39:24,880 True Christianity is a fight. The true Christian is called to 668 00:39:24,880 --> 00:39:28,120 be a soldier, and must behave as such from the day of his 669 00:39:28,120 --> 00:39:29,600 conversion to the day of his death. 670 00:39:30,960 --> 00:39:35,240 He's not meant to live a life of religious ease, indolence, and 671 00:39:35,240 --> 00:39:37,880 security. He must never imagine for a 672 00:39:37,880 --> 00:39:41,160 moment that he can sleep and doze along the way to heaven, 673 00:39:41,800 --> 00:39:44,400 like 1 travelling in an easy carriage. 674 00:39:45,400 --> 00:39:47,760 If he takes his standard of Christianity from the children 675 00:39:47,760 --> 00:39:50,440 of this world. He may be content with such 676 00:39:50,440 --> 00:39:54,240 notions, but he will find no countenance for them in the word 677 00:39:54,240 --> 00:39:57,240 of God. He must fight. 678 00:40:01,560 --> 00:40:09,640 We it's going to be hard to open your eyes and realize the mess 679 00:40:10,960 --> 00:40:15,080 and not close your eyes again. But but imagine being healed of 680 00:40:15,080 --> 00:40:17,800 blindness only to go about life with your eyes closed. 681 00:40:21,800 --> 00:40:23,640 You were cured. You can see. 682 00:40:23,640 --> 00:40:29,960 I don't want to see. I can't. 683 00:40:30,040 --> 00:40:33,400 That sounds so silly, but we as Christians do this all the time 684 00:40:33,520 --> 00:40:36,680 because opening our eyes means dealing with the hard stuff 685 00:40:37,080 --> 00:40:40,200 instead of denial. Step into the light and open 686 00:40:40,200 --> 00:40:44,440 your eyes. God didn't save you so that you 687 00:40:44,440 --> 00:40:47,080 could impress him with how holy you were in the dark. 688 00:40:48,760 --> 00:40:50,880 Trust me, he didn't think you were holy. 689 00:40:50,920 --> 00:40:56,800 You're not. He saved you so that you can be 690 00:40:56,800 --> 00:41:00,680 encouraged that He is pulling you toward holiness. 691 00:41:01,000 --> 00:41:05,000 And it is so amazingly liberating and freeing to live 692 00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:07,120 in the light. It may be a little bit scary, 693 00:41:07,120 --> 00:41:10,160 but listen, it is. It is freeing. 694 00:41:11,880 --> 00:41:18,240 Life is sweet in the light. I need God's truth and His 695 00:41:18,240 --> 00:41:20,560 spirit and I need it with other believers that, that that's what 696 00:41:20,560 --> 00:41:23,200 I'm trying to tell you. And, and, and there, there are 697 00:41:23,200 --> 00:41:25,600 practical ways to do this. We, we keep talking about 698 00:41:25,600 --> 00:41:28,520 getting in a group or, or, or serving on a team or, or getting 699 00:41:28,520 --> 00:41:31,560 into mentorship or, or all these community oriented things are 700 00:41:31,560 --> 00:41:34,400 being known because we want you to build relationships where, 701 00:41:34,400 --> 00:41:37,320 where you're willing to take the risk of living vulnerably. 702 00:41:37,320 --> 00:41:39,320 There's a difference between transparency and vulnerability. 703 00:41:39,320 --> 00:41:41,080 Transparency is telling people everything about your life. 704 00:41:41,880 --> 00:41:46,040 Vulnerability is taking risk and it is risky to be vulnerable. 705 00:41:47,560 --> 00:41:49,320 And yeah, that's, that's actually what we're called to, 706 00:41:50,280 --> 00:41:52,320 to be open and honest about struggles. 707 00:41:52,880 --> 00:41:54,520 You don't go to a group to impress them. 708 00:41:54,520 --> 00:41:56,120 I hope you're not going to a group to impress them. 709 00:41:57,840 --> 00:42:00,840 My my small group that I've had now for a couple years, even as 710 00:42:00,840 --> 00:42:02,840 it's changed and had different guys, we always split into guys 711 00:42:02,840 --> 00:42:05,320 and girls. And we, we go sit on this couch 712 00:42:05,320 --> 00:42:07,360 in my office and we spill our guts. 713 00:42:09,040 --> 00:42:13,400 We just, we just confess the struggles and the difficulties 714 00:42:13,920 --> 00:42:16,600 and listen over the last few years, we've tackled every 715 00:42:16,600 --> 00:42:18,840 problem that you're you're suffering from right now. 716 00:42:19,280 --> 00:42:23,760 All I'll sit on a couch, porn, lust, sexual purity, money, lack 717 00:42:23,760 --> 00:42:27,480 of faith, anxiety, marriage problems, stress, anger. 718 00:42:27,480 --> 00:42:31,080 We just drag it into the light and we start encouraging one 719 00:42:31,080 --> 00:42:32,200 another and praying for each other. 720 00:42:33,920 --> 00:42:35,920 I was listening to these two pastors talk about an 721 00:42:35,920 --> 00:42:38,120 accountability group and one guy asked the other guy, he says, 722 00:42:38,280 --> 00:42:40,480 how do you decide what to share in your accountability group? 723 00:42:40,640 --> 00:42:43,160 He goes, well, when I'm driving over to the accountability group 724 00:42:43,160 --> 00:42:45,560 on Monday night, I just think, man, what do I really not want 725 00:42:45,560 --> 00:42:51,520 to talk about? And whatever that is, that's the 726 00:42:51,520 --> 00:42:52,840 thing I know I need to talk about. 727 00:42:57,240 --> 00:43:01,360 You think it's frightening, but it's actually freeing. 728 00:43:01,360 --> 00:43:03,560 That's what I'm trying to tell you. 729 00:43:05,240 --> 00:43:06,720 You're scared of living in the light. 730 00:43:06,720 --> 00:43:10,080 And I'm telling you that if you would do it, it'll change the 731 00:43:10,080 --> 00:43:14,360 way you pursue Jesus. And here's my second thing for 732 00:43:14,360 --> 00:43:16,520 just application. I just have a question for you, 733 00:43:17,440 --> 00:43:18,840 for you to consider, and that's this. 734 00:43:19,040 --> 00:43:21,840 Have you, have you met the light of the world? 735 00:43:23,200 --> 00:43:24,480 Have you met him? Do you know him? 736 00:43:25,880 --> 00:43:29,200 This whole story in John 8 is Jesus trying to introduce 737 00:43:29,200 --> 00:43:34,000 salvation to people. And so I would just ask you, how 738 00:43:34,000 --> 00:43:40,200 about you? Maybe you're not sure what's 739 00:43:40,200 --> 00:43:43,520 been happening in you over the course of last week or even 740 00:43:43,680 --> 00:43:45,280 during the course of this service or listening to the 741 00:43:45,280 --> 00:43:47,400 sermon online, like something's happening. 742 00:43:47,400 --> 00:43:50,160 You're not sure what that is. And all I'm asking you is to 743 00:43:50,160 --> 00:43:53,840 consider that maybe what you're feeling is the undeniable call 744 00:43:53,840 --> 00:43:59,520 of God to your soul, to be saved, to pull you into the 745 00:43:59,520 --> 00:44:02,600 light, to put your faith in Jesus. 746 00:44:02,600 --> 00:44:07,200 And I want to give you the opportunity to respond to the 747 00:44:07,200 --> 00:44:11,720 gospel of Jesus Christ today. The Bible says you must put 748 00:44:11,800 --> 00:44:15,240 place your faith in Jesus in Romans 10/9 and 10 it says this, 749 00:44:15,320 --> 00:44:18,360 if you'll confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and 750 00:44:18,360 --> 00:44:21,880 believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you 751 00:44:21,880 --> 00:44:24,000 will be saved. Or with a heart 1 believes and 752 00:44:24,000 --> 00:44:28,000 is justified, and with the mouth 1 confesses and is saved. 753 00:44:29,040 --> 00:44:33,640 Jesus died and was raised three days later to offer you freedom 754 00:44:33,640 --> 00:44:37,200 from sin and shame, to offer you a new relationship, to be 755 00:44:37,200 --> 00:44:41,080 adopted into his family. And so if you would like to take 756 00:44:41,080 --> 00:44:44,240 that step and surrender your life and your will to God today, 757 00:44:44,240 --> 00:44:46,440 I want to give you that chance. In the moments we have 758 00:44:46,440 --> 00:44:48,920 remaining, will you close your eyes and bow your head and we 759 00:44:48,920 --> 00:44:51,880 will pray. And if you're willing to ask him 760 00:44:51,880 --> 00:44:55,200 for forgiveness and salvation with every eye closed, with 761 00:44:55,200 --> 00:44:57,520 every head bowed, I just want you to to quietly or even 762 00:44:57,520 --> 00:45:00,400 silently repeat this prayer after me. 763 00:45:01,120 --> 00:45:08,600 Jesus, I know I'm a Sinner and I can't save myself. 764 00:45:11,400 --> 00:45:15,680 I want you to save me and adopt me into your family. 765 00:45:17,720 --> 00:45:25,760 I surrender everything to you and I receive your promises of 766 00:45:25,760 --> 00:45:31,360 forgiveness, of adoption, and of eternal life. 767 00:45:32,480 --> 00:45:40,480 Be my Lord, please Jesus, if you said that prayer for the very 768 00:45:40,480 --> 00:45:43,280 first time, will you be brave and raise your hand for me to 769 00:45:43,280 --> 00:45:47,840 see. Thank you, thank you. 770 00:45:48,320 --> 00:45:51,520 Put your hands down in Jesus name, Amen. 771 00:45:52,760 --> 00:45:54,080 Look up here real quick, we're almost done. 772 00:45:57,080 --> 00:46:01,520 Jesus loves you more than you actually can imagine, more than 773 00:46:01,520 --> 00:46:03,160 you comprehend, more than you believe right now. 774 00:46:03,160 --> 00:46:05,960 He loves you. And if you said that prayer 775 00:46:05,960 --> 00:46:09,000 moments ago, even if you didn't raise your hand, welcome to the 776 00:46:09,000 --> 00:46:16,760 family. The Bible says that all of 777 00:46:16,760 --> 00:46:19,360 heaven rejoices when a single person turns to Christ. 778 00:46:20,080 --> 00:46:21,760 And so just a moment, we're going to stand and sing and 779 00:46:21,760 --> 00:46:23,600 close our service. And there are tables in the bag 780 00:46:23,600 --> 00:46:25,360 to say I raised my hand. If you said that prayer, even 781 00:46:25,360 --> 00:46:27,600 you didn't raise your hand. If you committed your life to 782 00:46:27,600 --> 00:46:29,520 Christ, we want you to go back there so we can celebrate with 783 00:46:29,520 --> 00:46:30,600 you. We have a gift for you. 784 00:46:30,600 --> 00:46:33,280 We're going to talk about what a next step looks like to pursue 785 00:46:33,280 --> 00:46:35,200 Jesus. Will you stand with me? 786 00:46:35,200 --> 00:46:38,040 We're going to close in our song today in a hymn. 787 00:46:40,520 --> 00:46:43,520 Our prayer team is going to come up here to the front man. 788 00:46:43,520 --> 00:46:45,240 We will pray with you for any reason. 789 00:46:45,240 --> 00:46:46,880 We love praying for you and with you. 790 00:46:46,880 --> 00:46:49,160 If you need to confess something and you haven't found somebody 791 00:46:49,160 --> 00:46:51,640 to do that with, you can come grab a prayer team member and 792 00:46:51,640 --> 00:46:54,520 spill your guts if you want. Bible says that if you're hurt 793 00:46:54,520 --> 00:46:57,240 or sick and in need of healing that you should come and ask for 794 00:46:57,240 --> 00:46:58,440 prayer. So do so. 795 00:46:58,520 --> 00:47:01,360 If you need encouragement and prayer for yourself or a loved 796 00:47:01,360 --> 00:47:04,400 one, come and be prayed for. It is not weird to come and get 797 00:47:04,560 --> 00:47:05,920 prayer. It's weird to come to church and 798 00:47:05,920 --> 00:47:09,920 think you don't need prayer. So we would love to pray with 799 00:47:09,920 --> 00:47:11,040 you. You move as the Lord leads. 800 00:47:11,040 --> 00:47:12,640 We're going to sing this song. We love you, Church.