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John 5:19-30 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

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Good morning. Please take your copy of God's Word and join me in John chapter 5.
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You would have no idea. Perhaps maybe only my wife knows all the things we've been walking through and dealing with.
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A lot going on in the life of our church.
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And it's not all been good, but confident it's all being worked for good.
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This past week at the end of the week, which we do every year, your elders had a retreat together.
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We got away, got some rest, just spent some time having fun, talked through a few matters.
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And it was good and it was rich.
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But I will say that normally I do not plan to preach the Sunday after said retreat.
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Just circumstances didn't allow for somebody else to do so.
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So here we are, John chapter 5, verses 19 through 30.
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And I think what you can expect from me is a little more devotional than it usually is.
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Certainly good, I think, for myself and I think for you to be reminded that I am not the Lord Jesus Christ.
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I don't think anybody had any notion of that at all.
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But I am imperfect and I am frail.
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Maybe a little more probable, it's also good for you to know that I am not just a handsome robot.
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Which is what a handsome robot would tell you.
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But I'm especially feeling my frailty this morning.
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I'm grateful that God's word is not any less powerful as we open it together.
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John's gospel follows a pattern.
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First, he will present a miracle that Jesus performs.
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A sign that grabs attention.
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The characters in the story, they're paying attention now to Jesus.
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Or it creates some kind of conflict.
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And it's meant to do that for us as well.
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Second, he will record something of great importance that Jesus says.
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So we definitely want to pay attention to the sign itself.
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But we really want to be paying attention to what Jesus says following that sign.
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Last week we looked at the beginning of chapter 5 where Jesus recorded healing a man at the pool of Bethesda who had been lame for 38 years.
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It has to be assumed that many people would have known this man.
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That he could not walk.
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And that his newfound ability to walk.
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It just would have been attention grabbing.
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It would have been an astounding thing to see this man healed.
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It certainly got the attention of the Jewish religious leaders.
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Particularly because Jesus performed this miracle on the Sabbath.
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They had added all kinds of regulation to the Old Testament commandment to keep the Sabbath.
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And they were vigilant about pointing out when people weren't keeping the Sabbath.
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And so Jesus did not sin in healing this man.
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Nor did this man sin in taking up his mat in obedience to Jesus.
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But they thought that they had.
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And so they were looking to kill him.
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He was being disruptive to the religious order.
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If you notice verse 16 and following of chapter 5.
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It says,
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And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus.
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Because he was doing these things.
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This healing on the Sabbath.
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But Jesus answered them,
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My Father is working until now.
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And I am working.
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It's an astounding statement that Christ makes of himself.
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Of his deity.
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And then it goes on.
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John says in verse 18.
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This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him.
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Because not only was he breaking the Sabbath.
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But he was even calling God his own Father.
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Making himself equal with God.
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Blasphemy or profaning the name of God.
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Was and is a serious infraction.
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It would be blasphemy for me to call myself God.
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It would be a terrible, terrible sin.
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If Jesus was in fact blaspheming.
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Then a pursuit of justice was in order.
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That needed to be correct.
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But he was innocent of this charge.
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Because Jesus is God.
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Who is Jesus?
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Who is Jesus?
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Is the most important question to be asked or answered.
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You must take up this matter.
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Who is Jesus?
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Who do you believe that Jesus is?
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Last week I mentioned the trilemma.
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Jesus makes some astounding claims about himself.
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What do you do with what he says about himself?
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You really only have three options.
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The trilemma.
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You must pick one of the following.
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He was either a liar.
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The things that he said about himself just were untrue.
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And he knew exactly what he was doing.
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And spinning this yarn.
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Or he genuinely believed this about himself.
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But it's false.
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And so he's a lunatic.
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Or what he said about himself is true.
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And so it's right for us to worship him as Lord.
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So that's the trilemma.
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Is he liar?
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Is he lunatic?
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Or is he Lord?
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And we encounter this kind of trilemma in life.
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All the time.
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Not nearly as weighty as the matter before us.
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I'll give you an example.
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Did you know that there are people today who think the earth is flat?
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They really do.
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If you're in the room, I don't mean to be insulting to you.
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We have to do something with that.
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What do we do with that?
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These people either don't really believe this to be true.
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They're fabricating it because they want to bother us and get it underneath our skin.
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Or they really believe it's true.
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Or they're right.
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And I'll leave you to guess which one I think it is.
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C.S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity,
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I am trying here to prevent anyone from saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Jesus.
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I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher,
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but I don't accept his claim to be God.
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That is the one thing we must not say.
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A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus would not be a great moral teacher.
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He would either be a lunatic on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg,
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or else he would be the devil of hell.
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A liar, right?
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You must make your choice.
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Either this man was and is the Son of God,
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or else a madman or something worse.
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You can shut him up for a fool.
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You could spit at him and kill him as a demon,
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or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God.
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But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher.
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He has not left that open to us.
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For us to reduce him to merely a teacher, Lewis is saying,
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is a great insult to what he said about himself.
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He's either a liar or a lunatic,
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or he is in fact who he said he is.
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He's the Son of God,
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the Lord of the universe.
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The Jewish religious leaders had already decided what they believed about Jesus.
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In some places, it's recorded for us that they think he is insane.
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In others, that he is of the devil, the father of lies.
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John 5.18,
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This is why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him.
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Because not only was he breaking the Sabbath,
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but he was even calling God his own father,
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making himself equal with God.
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And it is in response to this judgment in their minds
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that John records the following teaching of Jesus.
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It's on the heels of this, right?
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John has been very careful about what he's recorded for us here.
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Here, it's following this that Jesus is going to teach.
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Let me pray for us, and then we'll read the text.
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Father God, we do thank you this day for Christ, your Son.
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We are so very glad that he is, in fact,
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true to all of the things that he said about himself.
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But we know that we need your help this morning
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to rightly understand this.
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What a vast thing to try to wrap our minds around.
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What an incredible thing to have worked down deep into our hearts
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that it might bring forth fruit.
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We thank you for your word this morning
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and for what it says to this end.
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We thank you that your word itself is powerful to change us,
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and we pray that you'd work by it.
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Help us to believe its promises and obey its commands
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and have affection for you, its author.
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We know we need your help in doing so.
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So we pray that you would help us,
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and we pray in Christ's name.
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Amen.
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So John 5, beginning in verse 19 and following.
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So, Jesus said to them, those who want to kill him
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because of what he said about himself being God,
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truly, truly, truly, I say to you,
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the Son can do nothing of his own accord,
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but only what he sees the Father doing.
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For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.
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For the Father loves the Son and shows him
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all that he himself is doing.
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And greater works than these will he show him
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so that you may marvel.
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For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life,
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so also the Son gives life to whom he will.
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For the Father judges no one,
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but has given all judgment to the Son,
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that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father.
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Whoever does not honor the Son
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does not honor the Father who sent him.
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Truly, truly, I say to you,
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whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me
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has eternal life.
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He does not come into judgment,
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but has passed from death to life.
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Truly, truly, I say to you,
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an hour is coming and is now here
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when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God
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and those who hear will live.
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For as the Father has life in himself,
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so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.
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And he has given him authority to execute judgment
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because he is the Son of Man.
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Do not marvel at this,
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for an hour is coming
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when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice
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and come out,
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those who have done good to the resurrection of life
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and those who have done evil
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to the resurrection of judgment.
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I can do nothing on my own.
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As I hear, I judge,
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and my judgment is just
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because I seek not my own,
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but the will of him who sent me.
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All right.
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So words of Jesus,
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which are not always easy to navigate through.
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Sometimes he speaks in ways
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that can be a bit difficult
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for us to understand.
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However,
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there is a literary structure
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found in the book of John
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that helps us to this end.
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It's there.
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I need to put this in your notes for you
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so you can see it better yourself.
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But this text,
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verses 19 through 30,
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is, once again,
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a chiastic structure.
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Okay.
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And I'm going to show you
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because why?
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Why is he repetitious?
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It doesn't feel like
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he's making a progressive,
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logical argument
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the way Paul writes in many places.
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So this, then this, then this.
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Right?
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This language seems to loop back around.
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You're right.
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Right?
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That impulse in you is correct.
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Right?
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So if you're unfamiliar
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with the chiastic structure,
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it comes from the Greek letter
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for X, chi.
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Right?
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There's a center point
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to this text.
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So I want to show it to you
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really briefly,
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show you what the center of it is.
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It'll help us a bit
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as we look on.
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So first,
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verse 19 and verse 30
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correspond to one another.
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Right?
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Fairly easy to apprehend
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that very thing.
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So you've got A and A prime,
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verse 19 and verse 30.
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So Jesus said to them,
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Truly, truly, I say to you,
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the Son can do nothing
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of his own accord.
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You see the phrase?
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And then again,
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in verse 30,
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I can do nothing
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on my own.
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See how the two things
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correspond.
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They set up some bookends
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to this passage of text.
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Next we see,
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so B and B prime
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corresponding to one another,
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verses 20 through 23,
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and then verses 25 through 29.
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So larger sections.
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But thematically,
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you can notice a pattern.
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talk of resurrection
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and then judgment.
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In the case of verses 20 through 23,
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then honor.
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So resurrection, judgment, honor.
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And in the second case,
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verses 25 through 29,
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resurrection,
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judgment,
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and reward.
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So honor for Christ
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and the Father.
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In the one case,
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resurrection, judgment, honor.
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In the second case,
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reward for those
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who place their faith in him.
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Resurrection,
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judgment,
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judgment,
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and reward.
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Which brings us
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to the center
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of the chiasm,
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which is verse 24.
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There Jesus says,
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Truly, truly,
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I say to you,
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whoever hears my word
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and believes him
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who sent me
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has eternal life.
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He does not come
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into judgment,
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but is passed
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from death
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to life.
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Now there is a lot
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to talk about
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in this passage.
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We don't want
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to neglect it,
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but if,
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if we had a really
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limited amount
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of time together,
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which is fairly limited,
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a limited amount
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of time together,
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I would suggest to you
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in this case,
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what you most need
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to hear is what's
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being communicated
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in verse 24.
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It's being built up,
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it's being clearly
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communicated to us
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in other parts
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of the passage,
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but verse 24,
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if you needed to hone
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in on a central thing,
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this is the thing
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that you should notice.
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And this shouldn't
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be a surprise to us.
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In John's structuring
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of Jesus' words,
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he's driving a point
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that he's going to drive
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all throughout
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his gospel,
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like the greatest point
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that he could
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possibly drive.
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For us to have
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eternal life,
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we must go to God
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through Christ.
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Jesus is the Messiah.
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It's the way
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that we can be saved.
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He states the purpose
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of the whole book.
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John 20,
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verse 30 and 31.
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Now Jesus did
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many other signs
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or miracles
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in the presence
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of the disciples
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which are not written
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in this book,
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but these are written
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so that you may believe
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that Jesus is the Christ,
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the Son of God,
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and that by believing
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you may have life
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in his name.
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This is the point
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that he's driving us at.
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Now I will tell you
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at this point,
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there's a temptation
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amongst pastors,
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people who preach.
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We don't want to get up
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and be boring.
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I just don't want
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to be boring.
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The effort that I put
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into preaching sermons,
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I want to be well received.
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I want you guys
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to appreciate
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what happens
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on a Sunday morning.
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at my purest intention,
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I want your lives
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to be changed
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from one degree of glory
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to another,
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the praise of Christ.
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We want it to be effectual.
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We want it to actually
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accomplish things
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when we come together
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and the temptation
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is to be innovative.
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The temptation
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is to somehow say
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the same thing
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in some new way,
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some thing that will
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grab your attention
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otherwise.
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And I think
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this is a grave error.
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I'm so glad
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that when that little
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impulse rises up in me
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that the response
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to it is,
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just preach the word.
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People are going
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to have tickling ears.
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Don't entertain them.
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Just preach the word
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and let us be a people
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who never grow tired
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of musing
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about this reality.
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Apart from Christ,
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we are due death
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forever.
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But in Christ,
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we have eternal life.
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This ought not
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be a thing
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that grows cold
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in our hearts.
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Perhaps the Bible
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is so replete with it,
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it says it over
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and over and over again
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because we need to hear it
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over and over
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and over
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and over again.
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So we'll spend some time
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in these next few moments
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doing that very phrase.
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Jesus makes
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three astonishing claims
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in these 12 verses.
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That's what we'll do
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as our outline.
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I want to draw your attention
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to three claims
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that he makes.
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The first claim he makes
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is that he is aligned
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with the Father
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in action.
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Jesus is aligned
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with the Father
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in action.
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verse 19-20
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and verse 30.
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He's upping this claim.
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The Father is working
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and I am working.
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Not only that,
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but I'm doing exactly
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what the Father does.
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He's doubling down
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on this claim
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that he is God.
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Truly, truly, I say to you,
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the Son can do
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nothing of his own accord
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but only what he sees
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the Father doing.
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Whatever the Father does,
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the Son does likewise.
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The Father loves the Son.
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This relationship
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shows him all
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that he himself is doing.
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He's going to do
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greater works
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than healing the lame man,
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greater works
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than these will.
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Verse 30.
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He says,
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I can do nothing
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on my own.
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This isn't speaking
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to Jesus' sovereign power.
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It's speaking to
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his relationship
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with the Father.
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He doesn't go rogue
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with his own will.
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He says,
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As I hear,
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I judge,
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and my judgment
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is just
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because I seek
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not my own will,
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but the will
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of him who sent me.
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Jesus is God.
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Jesus does
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the very things
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that God is doing.
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Later on,
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he's going to say
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that he comes
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to seek
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and to save
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the lost.
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He has a purpose
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in the world
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to redeem
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God's people.
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So,
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what do we do
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with this information?
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Is there anything
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applicable to us?
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Of course.
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Of course there is.
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Firstly,
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we should trust Jesus
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with confidence.
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If we can behold Christ,
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then we are seeing
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the Father as well.
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If the Son does
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only what the Father does,
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Jesus never
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misrepresents God.
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He was
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chapter 1.
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He's an exact
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imprint
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of his nature.
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To know
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Jesus
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is to know
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the Father.
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There's no
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contradiction
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between them,
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which means that
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Jesus is
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entirely
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trustworthy.
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If we take up
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his word,
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we can know
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that this is God
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himself speaking
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to us.
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Which means
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we should submit
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to Jesus'
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authority,
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secondly.
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his perfect
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unity with the
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Father means
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his words
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carry the
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weight
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of divinity.
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To resist
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Jesus'
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words
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is to resist
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God
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himself.
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It's the invitation
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to come and
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believe in him
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that we might have
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eternal life.
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Who Jesus
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is
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matters
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immensely
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because he's
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aligned with
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the Father
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in action.
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This should
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cause us
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certainly to
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marvel at
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his works.
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Jesus says
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the Father
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will show him
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greater works
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so that we
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will
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marvel.
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The right
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response
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to this
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is
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worship.
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And,
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beloved,
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let me tell you
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that we live
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in a world
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that is looking
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for
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signs.
22:00
the greatest
22:01
work
22:02
that the
22:02
living
22:03
Christ
22:03
accomplishes
22:04
is bringing
22:05
dead
22:06
people
22:06
to life.
22:08
And this
22:08
is happening
22:09
all the time
22:10
around us.
22:12
Dead people
22:12
brought to
22:13
life,
22:14
moved along
22:15
in holiness.
22:17
It's a
22:17
miraculous thing
22:18
when people
22:19
put off the
22:20
way of the
22:20
world,
22:21
when they
22:21
deny their
22:22
flesh and
22:22
they take
22:23
up the
22:23
things
22:23
of God.
22:24
Because this
22:25
is not our
22:26
natural
22:26
inclination.
22:27
Right?
22:28
By nature,
22:29
we were,
22:31
apart from
22:31
Christ,
22:32
children of
22:32
wrath.
22:34
But now
22:35
we desire
22:35
to seek
22:36
holiness
22:36
and this
22:37
is
22:38
miraculous.
22:41
It's
22:41
miraculous.
22:43
We ought
22:43
to come
22:44
together
22:44
at church
22:45
and we
22:46
ought to
22:46
look around
22:47
at one
22:47
another
22:48
and see
22:48
the evidence
22:49
of God
22:49
and grace
22:50
in our
22:50
life
22:50
and be
22:51
moved
22:52
by it.
22:53
Look at
22:54
the goodness
22:54
of our
22:55
God
22:56
in your
22:57
brothers
22:57
and in
22:58
your
22:58
sisters.
22:59
If you
23:01
were
23:01
unmoved,
23:01
unmoved
23:02
by that
23:03
on Sunday
23:04
mornings,
23:04
ask that
23:05
God would
23:05
open your
23:06
eyes to
23:07
see the
23:07
greatness
23:07
of Christ
23:08
in the
23:09
people that
23:09
you come
23:10
to fellowship
23:11
with.
23:12
Marvel,
23:12
marvel at
23:13
his
23:13
works.
23:16
Fourthly,
23:17
we should
23:17
pattern our
23:18
obedience
23:18
after Christ.
23:21
Jesus
23:22
sought not
23:22
his own
23:23
will but
23:24
his
23:24
father's.
23:26
And that
23:27
same
23:27
posture
23:28
of
23:29
joyful
23:29
submission
23:31
should
23:31
mark
23:31
our
23:31
lives
23:32
as well.
23:33
And we
23:33
do not
23:34
have to
23:34
wonder
23:35
what his
23:36
will is.
23:36
We have a
23:37
text.
23:38
It's been
23:38
granted to
23:39
us.
23:39
We can
23:39
pattern our
23:40
lives after
23:41
the commandments
23:42
that have been
23:42
given to us
23:43
in the
23:44
scripture.
23:45
So that's
23:45
Jesus'
23:45
first claim
23:46
that he
23:46
is aligned
23:47
with the
23:47
father in
23:48
action.
23:49
Second
23:50
claim that he
23:50
makes is that
23:51
he has the
23:52
power to
23:52
grant
23:53
life.
23:53
Jesus has
23:54
the power.
23:55
As God,
23:56
he has
23:57
the power
23:58
to grant
23:59
life.
24:01
In verse
24:02
26,
24:03
he says,
24:03
for as the
24:04
father has
24:04
life in
24:05
himself,
24:06
he is a
24:06
source of
24:08
life.
24:09
He doesn't
24:09
need any
24:10
sustaining
24:10
power.
24:11
He is
24:12
the power,
24:13
so the
24:13
son has
24:14
life in
24:15
himself.
24:17
He doesn't
24:17
need sustenance
24:18
but grants
24:19
it to
24:20
others.
24:21
Notice
24:23
verse 21,
24:25
for as the
24:25
father raises
24:26
the dead
24:26
and gives
24:27
them life,
24:27
so also
24:28
the son
24:28
gives life
24:30
to whom
24:31
he will.
24:32
Verse 24,
24:33
truly,
24:34
truly,
24:34
I say to
24:34
you,
24:34
whoever hears
24:35
my word
24:35
and believes
24:36
him who
24:36
sent me
24:37
has
24:38
eternal
24:39
life.
24:42
He does
24:42
not come
24:42
into judgment
24:43
but has
24:43
passed
24:44
from death
24:44
to life.
24:47
Verse 25,
24:48
truly,
24:48
truly,
24:48
I say to
24:48
you,
24:49
an hour
24:49
is coming
24:49
and now
24:50
is here
24:51
when the
24:52
dead
24:52
will hear
24:52
the voice
24:53
of the
24:54
son of
24:54
God
24:54
and those
24:55
who hear
24:56
will live.
24:59
Today's
24:59
passage
24:59
presents us
25:01
with two
25:02
forms
25:02
of
25:03
resurrection.
25:04
There is
25:05
a physical
25:06
resurrection
25:06
that will
25:08
come
25:08
and every
25:09
single one
25:10
of us
25:10
will experience
25:11
it.
25:12
We'll address
25:12
it briefly
25:13
in a moment.
25:15
But here,
25:16
those who hear
25:17
the voice
25:17
of the son
25:18
of God
25:18
are experiencing
25:19
spiritual
25:21
resurrection
25:22
now.
25:24
The time
25:24
is coming
25:25
and is
25:26
now
25:27
here.
25:28
Dead
25:29
people
25:29
will come
25:30
to life.
25:32
And the
25:32
eternal life
25:33
that we
25:33
have now,
25:34
we don't
25:35
ever want
25:35
to belittle
25:36
the eternal
25:37
life that
25:37
comes after
25:38
this temporal
25:39
life,
25:40
but we also
25:41
don't want
25:41
to neglect
25:42
that we
25:42
have eternal
25:43
life now.
25:45
I grew up
25:46
in a tradition
25:46
that was
25:47
constantly
25:48
looking heavenward.
25:49
what a good
25:49
thing to do,
25:50
but often
25:51
at the
25:51
neglect
25:52
of now.
25:54
I grew up
25:54
in a tradition
25:55
that sang
25:56
the first,
25:56
second,
25:57
and fifth
25:57
verse of
25:58
every single
25:59
song.
25:59
And you know
25:59
what we
25:59
missed all
26:00
the time
26:00
in our
26:00
singing?
26:01
The now.
26:03
The eternal
26:03
life now.
26:05
We were
26:05
constantly being
26:06
told about
26:06
how to come
26:07
to faith in
26:07
Christ,
26:08
and we were
26:08
constantly being
26:09
told about
26:09
what would
26:10
await us
26:10
later,
26:11
but never
26:11
anything
26:12
in between.
26:14
The in
26:15
between is
26:15
rich,
26:16
and it's
26:16
good.
26:17
it's not
26:18
easy living
26:20
on this
26:20
side of
26:21
glory,
26:22
but it's
26:23
good.
26:25
Eternal
26:25
life now,
26:27
John tells
26:27
us, and I
26:28
can't wait to
26:29
get there,
26:29
because it's
26:30
so very
26:31
good in
26:33
chapter 17,
26:34
is that we
26:35
know God
26:38
and Jesus
26:39
Christ,
26:40
who he has
26:40
sent.
26:41
That's John
26:41
17,
26:42
and verse
26:42
3.
26:44
We can
26:45
know
26:46
God
26:48
now.
26:49
And that
26:50
phrase,
26:51
to know
26:52
God,
26:53
again,
26:54
ought to
26:54
warm us.
26:56
Those who
26:56
know him
26:57
have some
26:57
sense of
26:58
what that
26:58
means.
27:00
It's a
27:00
good,
27:01
glorious
27:02
thing to
27:03
know
27:04
God.
27:06
By faith
27:07
in Christ,
27:08
we can be
27:09
made alive,
27:10
brought to
27:11
life,
27:11
have eternal
27:12
life now
27:12
and forever
27:13
more.
27:15
We see him
27:15
now in a
27:16
glimpse,
27:17
because we
27:18
still are
27:18
burdened by
27:18
our flesh,
27:19
we still
27:19
live in a
27:20
cursed world.
27:22
Someday we're
27:23
going to
27:23
behold him
27:24
without any
27:25
encumbrance to
27:27
that reality,
27:28
knowing God.
27:31
The glorious
27:31
thing about the
27:32
life beyond
27:33
this one
27:34
will not be
27:36
streets of
27:37
gold,
27:39
crystal lakes,
27:41
it's not the
27:42
mansions,
27:42
that's not the
27:43
point.
27:43
is all
27:44
that going
27:45
to be
27:45
there?
27:45
Yeah.
27:46
New heavens
27:47
and new
27:47
earth,
27:47
it's going
27:47
to be
27:48
wonderful to
27:48
behold,
27:49
but the
27:49
most wonderful
27:50
thing about
27:51
it is going
27:52
to be that
27:52
God will be
27:53
there.
27:54
That place
27:54
will be lit
27:55
by his
27:56
glory.
27:56
I don't
27:57
know exactly
27:58
what that
27:58
means,
28:00
but it
28:00
means,
28:00
I think,
28:01
that he's
28:01
everywhere all
28:03
the time,
28:04
that we will
28:04
behold him
28:05
forever.
28:07
It's glorious.
28:09
If you can
28:09
imagine a life
28:10
after this,
28:12
with all of
28:13
the possible
28:14
things you
28:15
can think
28:15
would be
28:15
great about
28:16
it,
28:17
and God
28:18
the Father
28:18
and the Son
28:19
are not
28:20
there and
28:20
you're okay
28:21
with that,
28:21
it's a
28:22
problem.
28:23
The point
28:24
should be
28:24
that we
28:25
would be
28:26
with God.
28:29
The judgment,
28:31
the eternal
28:32
destruction,
28:33
is that we're
28:34
not in
28:35
his presence.
28:37
God's
28:39
And so
28:39
what are we
28:39
to think
28:40
of this?
28:42
We should
28:42
believe.
28:44
We should
28:44
believe now
28:45
and live
28:46
now.
28:49
We want
28:50
to hear the
28:50
words of
28:50
Christ and
28:51
believe in
28:52
him,
28:52
his person
28:53
and his
28:53
work,
28:54
so that we
28:54
would be
28:54
granted
28:55
eternal life,
28:56
so that we
28:56
would be
28:57
spared
28:58
judgment,
28:58
that we
28:59
would pass
28:59
from death
29:00
to life.
29:03
Not just
29:03
a future
29:04
hope,
29:04
although it
29:05
is.
29:05
It begins
29:07
the moment
29:08
that one
29:08
believes,
29:10
eternal life.
29:12
Do not
29:13
delay,
29:14
respond,
29:15
respond to
29:16
the word
29:16
of Christ
29:17
today.
29:19
We can
29:20
rest in
29:21
Christ for
29:21
our assurance.
29:24
If you
29:24
hear his
29:25
voice and
29:25
believe,
29:26
you have
29:27
passed from
29:28
death to
29:29
life.
29:31
So thankful
29:31
we haven't
29:32
been saved
29:33
by Christ.
29:34
Our salvation
29:34
is secure
29:35
in him,
29:37
not because
29:38
of some
29:38
works that
29:39
I do or
29:40
fail to
29:41
do, but
29:42
because of
29:43
his power
29:44
to give
29:45
life.
29:47
Jesus has
29:47
the power
29:48
to grant
29:49
it to us.
29:51
We also
29:52
want to talk
29:53
about this
29:53
life giver.
29:55
I'm really
29:56
grateful that
29:58
my full-time
29:58
employment
29:59
sets me to
30:00
the task of
30:01
talking about
30:01
Jesus all
30:03
the time.
30:03
Christ.
30:04
When I'm
30:04
by myself,
30:05
I'm usually
30:05
reading about,
30:07
studying about
30:07
this Christ,
30:09
and then I
30:09
get to be
30:09
with people
30:10
and I
30:10
get to
30:10
talk about
30:11
this Christ.
30:12
Some of
30:13
you have
30:13
to put
30:13
yourselves
30:14
to different
30:14
tasks.
30:15
Your day-to-day
30:16
doesn't look
30:17
like this,
30:18
but I think
30:18
there should
30:19
be something
30:19
in you
30:19
pent up.
30:20
Any opportunity
30:21
you have
30:22
to talk
30:23
about the
30:23
one who
30:24
brought you
30:24
from death
30:25
to life.
30:26
life.
30:27
The door
30:28
gets barely
30:29
cracked open
30:30
and you
30:30
kick it
30:31
the rest
30:31
of the way
30:32
because you
30:32
want to
30:32
talk about
30:33
this glorious
30:34
Savior.
30:37
If Jesus
30:38
alone grants
30:38
eternal life,
30:40
and he does,
30:42
then the world
30:42
around us,
30:43
which is
30:43
spiritually dead
30:45
apart from him,
30:46
desperately needs
30:47
to hear that
30:48
good news.
30:50
Evangelism is
30:51
not just a thing
30:52
that the rare
30:53
Christian does.
30:54
It ought to
30:55
be the
30:55
lifeblood
30:56
of who
30:57
we are.
30:58
Going out,
30:59
rescue mission,
31:02
carrying this
31:02
message that's
31:04
empowered by
31:04
the Spirit
31:05
to bring
31:05
dead people
31:06
to life.
31:08
And the
31:09
last little
31:09
thought here,
31:11
I've mentioned
31:12
it kind of
31:12
already,
31:13
but we ought
31:13
to treasure,
31:15
we ought to
31:15
hold tight
31:16
to appreciate
31:19
deeper our
31:21
life in
31:22
him.
31:23
Understand
31:24
what it
31:24
means to
31:25
know God
31:25
and set
31:26
ourselves
31:26
to the
31:27
continuing
31:28
task of
31:29
knowing
31:30
God.
31:31
What a
31:32
privilege it
31:33
is.
31:34
Great
31:34
privilege.
31:35
Blood-bought
31:36
privilege to
31:38
know God.
31:40
Last claim.
31:42
Claim number
31:42
three.
31:44
Jesus has
31:45
the authority
31:46
to judge.
31:48
See this in
31:49
verse 22 and
31:49
23 and then
31:50
in verse 27
31:51
and 29.
31:54
Here we see
31:55
Jesus says the
31:55
Father judges
31:56
no one but
31:57
has given that
31:57
judgment to
31:58
the Son.
32:00
The triune God
32:01
at work.
32:02
This is what
32:02
Jesus does.
32:04
He's a Savior
32:05
but he's also
32:06
a judge.
32:10
Philippians
32:10
chapter 2
32:11
verse 5
32:11
through 11.
32:13
Paul gives
32:14
to us an
32:14
example of the
32:15
mind we ought
32:16
to have which
32:17
is ours in
32:17
Christ.
32:18
It's this mind
32:19
of humility.
32:20
But listen to
32:20
what he says
32:21
going on in
32:21
verse 6 and
32:22
following.
32:23
Jesus who
32:23
was in the
32:24
form of God
32:24
did not
32:25
count equality
32:26
with God
32:26
a thing to
32:27
be grasped
32:28
but he
32:29
emptied himself
32:29
by taking the
32:30
form of a
32:31
servant being
32:31
born in the
32:32
likeness of
32:32
Ben and
32:33
being found
32:33
in human
32:34
form.
32:35
He humbled
32:36
himself by
32:36
becoming
32:37
obedient to
32:37
the point
32:38
of death
32:38
even death
32:39
on a cross.
32:42
Therefore
32:43
God has
32:45
highly exalted
32:46
him and bestowed
32:46
on him the
32:47
name that is
32:48
above every
32:48
name so that
32:49
in the name
32:50
of Jesus
32:51
every knee
32:52
should bow
32:52
in heaven
32:52
and on earth
32:53
and under
32:53
the earth
32:54
and every
32:54
tongue confess
32:56
that Jesus
32:56
Christ is
32:57
Lord to the
32:58
glory of
32:59
God the
33:00
Father.
33:01
Everybody
33:02
everybody
33:03
one day
33:04
will bow
33:05
before Christ.
33:07
He is
33:08
Lord.
33:11
I don't
33:11
want to find
33:12
myself
33:12
bowing
33:14
because of
33:14
judgment.
33:16
I want to
33:17
find myself
33:17
bowing because
33:18
of worship.
33:20
Because I'm
33:21
found in
33:22
him.
33:23
And this
33:23
will be the
33:24
basis of
33:25
his judgment.
33:27
That one is
33:27
mine.
33:28
By faith in
33:29
my person and
33:30
work he is
33:31
found in
33:32
me.
33:33
I am
33:33
united to
33:34
him.
33:35
That's what
33:36
grants me
33:37
eternal life.
33:39
To the
33:39
other not
33:41
mine.
33:42
I never
33:43
knew him.
33:46
Verse 27
33:47
says he's
33:48
been given
33:48
authority to
33:49
execute
33:50
judgment
33:51
because he
33:53
is the
33:55
son of
33:56
man.
33:57
You have
33:58
to understand
33:58
what this
33:59
title means
34:00
of Jesus.
34:01
Son of
34:01
man.
34:02
It's his
34:02
favorite way
34:03
to refer to
34:04
himself.
34:05
He calls
34:05
himself the
34:06
son of
34:07
man over
34:07
and over
34:08
and over
34:09
again.
34:09
And as I
34:10
said I hope
34:10
that you
34:11
already know
34:11
but just in
34:12
case you
34:12
don't and
34:13
it's okay
34:13
if you
34:13
don't.
34:14
This
34:14
comes from
34:15
Daniel chapter
34:16
7.
34:17
It's found
34:17
one place in
34:18
the Old
34:18
Testament.
34:19
Jesus
34:19
elicits this
34:20
title over
34:21
and over
34:22
and over
34:23
again because
34:24
it is
34:24
incredibly
34:25
significant.
34:26
Daniel chapter
34:27
7.
34:27
This is
34:28
verse 13
34:28
and 14.
34:29
Daniel says
34:29
I saw in
34:30
the night
34:30
visions and
34:31
behold with
34:33
the clouds
34:33
of heaven
34:34
there came
34:35
one like
34:37
a son
34:37
of man.
34:38
There's the
34:39
phrase.
34:39
Son of
34:40
man.
34:40
And he
34:41
came to
34:43
the ancient
34:43
of days
34:44
and was
34:44
presented
34:45
before him
34:46
and to
34:48
him to
34:48
the son
34:49
of man
34:49
by the
34:50
ancient
34:50
of days
34:51
was given
34:52
dominion
34:54
and glory
34:55
and a
34:56
kingdom
34:57
that all
34:58
people's
34:58
nations and
34:59
languages
34:59
should serve
35:00
him.
35:01
His
35:01
dominion
35:02
is an
35:02
everlasting
35:03
dominion
35:04
which shall
35:04
not pass
35:05
away and
35:05
his kingdom
35:06
one that
35:07
shall not
35:08
be
35:08
destroyed.
35:10
This is
35:13
Christ.
35:15
He refers
35:15
to himself
35:15
this way
35:16
over and
35:17
over and
35:17
over again.
35:19
And in the
35:19
establishment
35:20
of this
35:20
unfading
35:22
not passing
35:24
away
35:24
everlasting
35:26
dominion
35:27
kingdom
35:28
this thing
35:28
that he's
35:28
going to
35:29
reign over
35:30
forever
35:31
that there's
35:32
going to be
35:32
peoples and
35:33
nations and
35:34
languages all
35:35
part of
35:36
he's going to
35:37
judge.
35:39
He's going to
35:39
judge.
35:39
He's going to
35:40
cast out of
35:40
that kingdom
35:41
those who
35:42
don't believe
35:43
in him.
35:45
But he's
35:45
going to
35:45
welcome in
35:47
warmly and
35:48
reign over
35:49
forever those
35:51
who do.
35:53
What an
35:54
astounding
35:54
thing.
35:56
Place your
35:57
faith in
35:57
Christ.
35:58
His person
35:59
and not a
36:00
lunatic.
36:00
He should be
36:01
worshipped as
36:02
Lord.
36:04
Flee from
36:04
your sin,
36:06
from the
36:06
judgment and
36:07
wrath to come.
36:08
place your
36:09
faith in
36:11
him.
36:12
Jesus is
36:14
God.
36:16
Charles Spurgeon
36:17
once said,
36:17
this is the
36:18
quotation on the
36:19
back of your
36:19
bulletin today,
36:20
it is not
36:21
possible that
36:22
the man who
36:22
denies the
36:23
deity of
36:23
Christ can
36:24
be a
36:24
Christian.
36:25
He
36:25
deliberately
36:25
refuses the
36:26
only way of
36:27
escape from
36:28
the wrath
36:28
to come.
36:30
Jesus is
36:32
Christ.
36:33
Let's pray.
36:33
God