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That-You B-May-Believe · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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Speaker 1: Who among us is not going to ask the question
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Speaker 1: at some point in our Christian life, what book of
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Speaker 1: the Bible should a new Christian start reading? Most often,
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Speaker 1: the answer given is the Book of John. You know,
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Speaker 1: I couldn't agree more And here's why. First, John writes
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Speaker 1: in simple, understandable language. Now, his message is not simple minded,
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Speaker 1: but he writes with a style that's uncomplicated, communicating an
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Speaker 1: easy to grasp terms. That's not only helpful for the
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Speaker 1: experienced Bible student who has walked with the Lord for years,
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Speaker 1: but it's especially useful for the reader taking baby steps
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Speaker 1: in his or her first journey with Christ. Second, John's
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Speaker 1: passion for the Gospel grips you. It keeps you wanting more.
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Speaker 1: I love that about John's writing. His candid, first hand
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Speaker 1: account of the life and ministry of Jesus makes for
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Speaker 1: a real page turner. But John also creates what invariably
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Speaker 1: becomes a life changing encounter with Jesus. You feel like
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Speaker 1: you're right there with a Master. And that's why I
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Speaker 1: believe even the most hardened skeptic often finds John's account
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Speaker 1: of the grace filled and disarming invitation of Jesus virtually
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Speaker 1: impossible to resist. Finally, John touches the heart. Over these
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Speaker 1: next several weeks, together we'll discover how by using rich imagery,
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Speaker 1: bracing candor, and vivid descriptions of life back in the
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Speaker 1: first century, John provides an inspiring, theologically solid, and captivating
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Speaker 1: defense of the deity of Jesus. What we will experience
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Speaker 1: together in this series is John's intimate portrayal of Jesus Christ,
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Speaker 1: the Son of God, undergirded by his impassioned aim that
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Speaker 1: you may continue to believe. We're only going to get
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Speaker 1: our toes wet here today in a series I'm calling
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Speaker 1: beholding Christ, the Son of God. So join me with
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Speaker 1: your bibles open as I read two portions of scripture,
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Speaker 1: first from John chapter twenty, verses twenty six through thirty one.
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Speaker 1: Then we'll skip to John twenty one, verses twenty four
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Speaker 1: and twenty five. Okay, you with me. We'll start with
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Speaker 1: John twenty twenty six to thirty one. Please follow along
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Speaker 1: with me as I read from the New Living Translation.
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Speaker 1: Eight days later, the disciples were together again, and this
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Speaker 1: time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked, but suddenly,
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Speaker 1: as before, Jesus was standing among them.
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Speaker 2: Peace be with you.
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Speaker 1: He said, then he said to Thomas, put your finger
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Speaker 1: here and look at my hands. Put your hand into
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Speaker 1: the wound in my side. Don't be faithless any longer.
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Speaker 1: Believe my Lord and my God. Thomas exclaimed. Then Jesus
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Speaker 1: told him, you believe because you have seen me. Blessed
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Speaker 1: are those who believe without seeing me. The disciples saw
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Speaker 1: Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the
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Speaker 1: ones recorded in this book. But these are written so
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Speaker 1: that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah,
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Speaker 1: the Son of God, and that by believing in him
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Speaker 1: you will have life by the power of his name.
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Speaker 1: And now, finally, John twenty one, Verses twenty four and
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Speaker 1: twenty five. This disciple is the one who testifies to
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Speaker 1: these events and has recorded them here, and we know
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Speaker 1: that his account of these things is accurate. Jesus also
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Speaker 1: did many other things. If they were all written down,
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Speaker 1: I suppose the whole world could not contain the books
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Speaker 1: that would be written.
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Speaker 2: It's the opinion of most Christians that the Gospel of
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Speaker 2: John is one of the most precious and priceless treasures
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Speaker 2: God has ever given us. It is more than an
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Speaker 2: opinion to say that it is a popular book of
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Speaker 2: the Bible. Wilber Smith is a prolific writer and reader.
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Speaker 2: He has in his library multiplied thousands of volumes, and
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Speaker 2: he says in one of his books that the Gospel
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Speaker 2: of John has in circulation today some five hundred and
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Speaker 2: fifty or more volumes written about it. That in itself
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Speaker 2: makes it a popular book. If you've done much reading
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Speaker 2: in Christian literature, you know that probably only two other
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Speaker 2: books of the Bible are more popular than John, Genesis
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Speaker 2: and Revelation. Of course, but if you stop and think
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Speaker 2: you did not cut your tea spiritually speaking on either
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Speaker 2: Genesis or Revelation, you ate from the diet of John's Gospel.
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Speaker 2: More than likely it wasn't long after you came to
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Speaker 2: know Christ, and maybe it was even before you gave
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Speaker 2: yourself to Him, that someone put in your hands a
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Speaker 2: Gospel of John. It is the single book most often
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Speaker 2: translated by those that are in translating work on the
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Speaker 2: mission field. It is the single book used most often
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Speaker 2: by New Christians in Bible study classes. On the surface,
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Speaker 2: it appears to be a simple and almost childlike primmer.
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Speaker 2: If you read Greek, you know that the Greek of
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Speaker 2: The book is a basic Greek. It's one of the
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Speaker 2: first books that one can begin to read in taking
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Speaker 2: New Testament Greek. But at the same time, there is
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Speaker 2: a profundity in the currents of this book. It's deep.
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Speaker 2: In fact, Martin Luther made the statement, never in my
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Speaker 2: life have I read a book written in simpler words
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Speaker 2: than this, and yet the words are inexpressible, They're deep,
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Speaker 2: they're profound. This was brought home to me a couple
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Speaker 2: or three weeks ago when I was having lunch with
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Speaker 2: the man that taught me New Testament Greek. He's now
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Speaker 2: ministering in a particular area and pastoring in this church.
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Speaker 2: He said to me, Chuck, I've just completed the most
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Speaker 2: difficult assignment you can imagine, and it may surprise you
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Speaker 2: to hear me say that. I said, well, what was it?
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Speaker 2: Rop He said, I just finished teaching the Book of John.
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Speaker 2: I am so relieved now that it's over. It was
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Speaker 2: a great experience. But my what a deep book. What
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Speaker 2: are your plans for the future, Chuck, I said, well, frankly,
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Speaker 2: I'm going to get into the Gospel of John as
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Speaker 2: soon as I get back. He said one thing after saying,
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Speaker 2: after I said that I will pray for you or
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Speaker 2: his remarks. Now that's surprises some because you read the
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Speaker 2: book it seems relatively simple. But as you will discover
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Speaker 2: in our journey through the book, it really isn't a
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Speaker 2: simple minded book. There are sections of it where I
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Speaker 2: will have to declare I simply do not know basically
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Speaker 2: what this means. There are other parts of it that
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Speaker 2: come to our rescue when leading someone to Jesus Christ.
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Speaker 2: Still others that bring comfort and consolation when we are
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Speaker 2: putting to rest someone that we have loved throughout their lives.
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Speaker 2: On the other hand, it will bring encouragement to those
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Speaker 2: that are low, will bring insight concerning the Holy Spirit
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Speaker 2: as no other gospel will do. So. As we get
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Speaker 2: into the book, understand it may seem simple on the surface,
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Speaker 2: but underneath it's a profound expression of God. One theologian
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Speaker 2: describes it as a charming book. I like that word.
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Speaker 2: There is a magnetic appeal. There is an allurement in
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Speaker 2: the Gospel of John I know of in no other
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Speaker 2: book of the Bible. As a matter of fact, if
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Speaker 2: I were given in a moment's notice that I was
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Speaker 2: to speak in the next few minutes more than likely,
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Speaker 2: I would turn to some section of the Gospel of John.
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Speaker 2: It is here that I find an incredible charm and appeal. Now,
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Speaker 2: John says in the twenty first chapter of his Gospel
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Speaker 2: the last verse, that there could have been many other
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Speaker 2: things written about Jesus Christ. As a matter of fact,
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Speaker 2: the way he says it in this twenty first chapter
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Speaker 2: in the twenty fifth verse is that if all of
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Speaker 2: the books had been written that could have been written
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Speaker 2: to give us in detail the life of Jesus, the
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Speaker 2: world couldn't contain the volumes. Now, this brings a question
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Speaker 2: to the mind of any serious student of the scriptures.
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Speaker 2: Why do we have four gospels? If it is true
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Speaker 2: that not anyone would ever exhaust the person of Jesus,
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Speaker 2: Why would God have given four men the green light
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Speaker 2: to write a book about his son. Bible classes in
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Speaker 2: the Gospel of John on a number of occasions, and
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Speaker 2: that comes to the surface right away in the minds
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Speaker 2: of both non Christians and new Christians. Why do we
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Speaker 2: have four biographies of Jesus when one could have done
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Speaker 2: the job as well as four or fourteen. The answer
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Speaker 2: to it is a technical answer that really needs some
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Speaker 2: thought to think. It through. We do not have four gospels.
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Speaker 2: We have one gospel from four different vantage points. We
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Speaker 2: don't have four biographies. We have one biography given to
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Speaker 2: us in the mind's eye of four witnesses, men who
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Speaker 2: knew the Lord Jesus from different states. Let's illustrate it
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Speaker 2: a couple of ways. We have in our day, two
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Speaker 2: ways of taking pictures of someone, Two systems of photography. First,
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Speaker 2: there is the moving picture, which gives you every muscular
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Speaker 2: movement in slow motion or rapid motion that you would want,
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Speaker 2: and if the reel is long enough and the celelloid's
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Speaker 2: strip is long enough, you can carry a person from
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Speaker 2: the beginning of his day to the end of it
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Speaker 2: without making a break in the motion picture. The other
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Speaker 2: method is a snapshot thirty five millimeters snapshot, where you
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Speaker 2: can take a still motion of an individual and several
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Speaker 2: of them if you like, but you miss some things
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Speaker 2: in between. The benefit of the snapshot over the moving
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Speaker 2: picture is that you can study with great care each
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Speaker 2: individual picture. If you let me use that illustration. As
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Speaker 2: the gospels, I would say we have four albums of
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Speaker 2: Jesus Christ put together by individuals who wanted to convey
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Speaker 2: in their album of snapshots a certain theme concerning the
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Speaker 2: Christ you have the picture in mind. Matthew had one theme,
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Speaker 2: and so he took the snapshots from his memory and
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Speaker 2: experience to carry out that theme in the Album of
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Speaker 2: Jesus Christ. Mark had yet another, Luke still another, and John,
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Speaker 2: thirty years after those other three men had written, he
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Speaker 2: had yet a fourth. We don't have four biographies. We
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Speaker 2: have one from four noteworthy standpoints. That's illustrated another way.
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Speaker 2: Let's say that down the block from where you live,
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Speaker 2: an accident occurs on the corner, not far from your home,
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Speaker 2: and that there were four people who saw that accident.
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Speaker 2: There's a grandmother sitting on the front porch knitting, and
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Speaker 2: she looks up and she sees the accident. There's a
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Speaker 2: little eleven twelve year old boy playing basketball out in
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Speaker 2: his driveway and he stops and he sees the accident.
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Speaker 2: There's a man who has to run to get out
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Speaker 2: of the way and he almost is in the accident,
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Speaker 2: but he gets another view of it. There's a repairman
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Speaker 2: high up on the pole who gets another view. And
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Speaker 2: do you want to give these four people a sheet
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Speaker 2: of paper and say, give us what you saw. Have
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Speaker 2: the accident according to the grandmother, the basketball player, the man,
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Speaker 2: and the repairman. Would you have four accidents? It might
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Speaker 2: sound like you do after reading the account, but you don't.
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Speaker 2: You have one accident from different perspectives. That's what we
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Speaker 2: have in the Gospels. Now listen carefully. You that have
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Speaker 2: been through the material know by now the themes. Others
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Speaker 2: of you will be hearing it for the very first time.
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Speaker 2: Why do we have Matthew's account. Well, remember, Matthew was
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Speaker 2: a converted Jew. He worked as an official for Rome,
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Speaker 2: tied in with the Jews as a tax collector. Then
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Speaker 2: he got saved, and once he was born again, we
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Speaker 2: could use those terms today. Matthew purposed in his heart,
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Speaker 2: under the spirit of God's guidance, to write a biography
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Speaker 2: of Jesus from the viewpoint of the Jew, concerned mainly
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Speaker 2: with his regal rights to the throne. The Messiah, the
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Speaker 2: Son of God, has come to this earth, and he
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Speaker 2: is the Jews Messiah. It's a Jewish book written to
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Speaker 2: Jews for Jews by a Jew, and so you're not
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Speaker 2: surprised as soon as you open the first few pages
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Speaker 2: of Matthew to find a lengthy genealogy a gentile could
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Speaker 2: care less about it. But a Jew looking for the
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Speaker 2: Messiah looks toward Abraham, and that's where Matthew begins his report.
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Speaker 2: He traces Jesus all the way back to Abraham, not
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Speaker 2: to Adam, not just to Joseph, but to the father
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Speaker 2: of the Jews. Because his theme in the album is
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Speaker 2: the Messiah has come. It's a math. It is a
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Speaker 2: gospel written by Matthew for the sake of supporting the
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Speaker 2: messianic claims of Jesus Christ. Now Mark is different. Mark
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Speaker 2: is so different. Mark was a missionary. He was a
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Speaker 2: young man when he went to the field, and being
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Speaker 2: practical by nature, he saw the rigors of the trip
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Speaker 2: ahead of him and he went back home. Furthermore, he
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Speaker 2: looked at life from a very active, practical point of view.
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Speaker 2: He wrote to the Romans, the Romans were not necessarily
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Speaker 2: deep thinkers. The Greeks were, but not the Romans. The
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Speaker 2: Romans were interested in movement, activity, what's going on? So
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Speaker 2: Mark doesn't even bother to give you a genealogy. He
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Speaker 2: left it out of his album on purpose. Who cares
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Speaker 2: about the genealogy of a servant who's working his way,
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Speaker 2: as it were, through life. The favorite verse in Mark
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Speaker 2: is he did not come to be served, but he
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Speaker 2: came to serve and to give his life a ransom
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Speaker 2: for many. It's a verse on servanthood, the attitude of
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Speaker 2: a slave. All the way through Mark's Gospel, there is
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Speaker 2: that repeated word immediately, immediately, immediately. He's moving an action
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Speaker 2: from one snapshot to the next, showing you a servant. Now, Luke,
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Speaker 2: he's different than the other two. Luke is a physician
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Speaker 2: who was no doubt born and raised in Macedonia. He's
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Speaker 2: a gentile, not a Jew. He writes not to the
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Speaker 2: jew as Matthew did, nor to the Romans as Mark did.
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Speaker 2: Luke wrote a book for the Greek, and Luke, being
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Speaker 2: a physician, looked at Jesus from the viewpoint of a man.
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Speaker 2: His favorite phrase for Christ is the son of Man.
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Speaker 2: He gives us details about the boyhood, the birth of Jesus.
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Speaker 2: Nobody else gives why he looked at Jesus from a
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Speaker 2: physician's vantage point. Still under the guidance of the Holy Spirit,
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Speaker 2: Luke drove his thoughts right back to Adam, because if
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Speaker 2: you're going to show that Jesus is the son of Man,
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Speaker 2: he needs to be linked to the first man Adam,
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Speaker 2: and that's what Luke does. His genealogy is with intricate detail,
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Speaker 2: tracing it from Adam through the royal line of Judah
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Speaker 2: right up to the birth. And that's the passage we
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Speaker 2: turned to every Christmas to get the story of Jesus'
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Speaker 2: birth and boyhood. Nobody else gives it like Luke gives it.
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Speaker 2: John looked at these three gospels quite likely and under
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Speaker 2: the guidance of the Holy Spirit, realized their picture is
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Speaker 2: still incomplete. We have a true account of Jesus as
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Speaker 2: the King, as a servant, son of man, and as
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Speaker 2: human as only a physician could picture him. But there
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Speaker 2: needs to be a presentation of the Son of God.
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Speaker 2: And that's John's input. Why do we have John's gospel.
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Speaker 2: We have his gospel so that we might see that
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Speaker 2: Jesus Christ came from God, was God on earth, went
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Speaker 2: back to the God God as very God. Jesus Christ
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Speaker 2: is seen in the Gospel of John as the Son
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Speaker 2: of God. Now, admittedly John does not include everything about Jesus.
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Speaker 2: As a matter of fact, he is the most different
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Speaker 2: of the four, probably because thirty years had passed since
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Speaker 2: they had written of him, and he wished to give
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Speaker 2: certain things about Jesus the others had purposely left out
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Speaker 2: of their album, so that his might be a complete
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Speaker 2: account of Christ, the Son of God. So with those
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Speaker 2: two questions answered, why do we have four gospels? And
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Speaker 2: now why do we have John's Gospel, Let's go to
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Speaker 2: another set of questions. Let's make an examination of John's motive,
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Speaker 2: his message, and his method. Look at John twenty verse thirty.
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Speaker 2: Being left handed, I love to begin at the end
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Speaker 2: of something and work backwards, and so that's what we're
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Speaker 2: doing this morning. We started the last verse and work forward.
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Speaker 2: That's a unique way to exposit a book. Now, beginning
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Speaker 2: next Sunday, we'll start at the beginning and work the
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Speaker 2: other way. But let's just establish where we are as
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Speaker 2: far as the motive and message and method are concerned. Now.
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Speaker 2: In John twenty verse thirty, John testifies many other signs
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Speaker 2: therefore Jesus performed in the presence of the disciples, which
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Speaker 2: are not written in the book. I like that, John says.
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Speaker 2: Let me be very frank, I have purposely left out
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Speaker 2: many of the signs Jesus performed. I haven't overlooked them,
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Speaker 2: I've bypassed them. On purpose. I made a list of
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Speaker 2: some of the things John omits. There's no genealogy. You
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Speaker 2: don't trace the genealogy of God. He has no beginning.
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Speaker 2: There's no account of Jesus' birth or boyhood. There is
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Speaker 2: nothing about his temptation. There is not one parable in
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Speaker 2: the entire book. There isn't even an account of the
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Speaker 2: Great transfiguration, no mention of the Great commission, not a
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Speaker 2: hint concerning the ascension. John drills our thoughts to the
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Speaker 2: son of God, who became man, lived on this earth,
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Speaker 2: and proved by his life, death and resurrection. Very God.
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Speaker 2: That is my message. I am God on earth. Now
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Speaker 2: he left out certain things in carrying that out? Well,
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Speaker 2: what was his motive for writing? Look at verse thirty one.
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Speaker 2: These have been written. Let me be pedantic just a moment,
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Speaker 2: And have you noticed that the word these modifies the
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Speaker 2: word signs. Many other signs were not written, but these
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Speaker 2: signs have been written. What signs the miracles of the
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Speaker 2: Book of John. I have selected certain miracles called signs
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Speaker 2: in this passage that you may believe. Four words describe
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Speaker 2: the motive of John that you may believe. Matthew wrote, saying,
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Speaker 2: this is the Messiah the King. Worship him. Mark wrote,
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Speaker 2: this is the servant who worked among men and serve
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Speaker 2: man follow him. Luke wrote, this is a man among
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Speaker 2: men without sin, but very much perfect humanity emulate him.
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Speaker 2: John says this was God. Believe in him. In fact,
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Speaker 2: John says, I wrote the book that you might believe.
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Speaker 2: John declares, as no other gospel writer his motive for writing,
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Speaker 2: and he hits it square in the face. I'm not
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Speaker 2: writing to inform only. I'm not writing to entertain ever,
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Speaker 2: I'm writing to create belief in the heart of the reader.
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Speaker 2: The word translated believe is the Greek word used ninety
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Speaker 2: eight times in the Gospel of John. Did you hear that?
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Speaker 2: That's an incredible fact. He puts it in every chapter.
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Speaker 2: He multiplies it time and again through the book because
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Speaker 2: he wants that thought of belief to carry through. Merrill Tinney,
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Speaker 2: writing his book on John, entitles it the Gospel of Belief.
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Speaker 2: It's a splendid title for a book about the Gospel
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Speaker 2: of John. What does it mean to believe? If that's
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Speaker 2: his motive, we ought to understand it. Why does he
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Speaker 2: say I want you to believe? What does that mean?
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Speaker 2: Does it mean to believe the historical personage of Christ.
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Speaker 2: Does it mean to entertain feelings of warmth and tenderness
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Speaker 2: for the one who suffered? Now, it doesn't mean simply
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Speaker 2: that the original word conveys two thoughts regarding belief. First,
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Speaker 2: it means to acknowledge the truth as truth. Now, I
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Speaker 2: get that first, and then we'll go to the next.
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Speaker 2: When I say I believe the Book of John, having
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Speaker 2: just read it, it means I believe it is the truth.
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Speaker 2: I accept it as truth from God to me. Second,
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Speaker 2: it means that I accept the person of the book
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Speaker 2: personally into my life. Not only do I acknowledge God
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Speaker 2: has told the truth as John wrote it, but I
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Speaker 2: acknowledge I personally accept the truth into my life. I
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Speaker 2: receive Jesus Christ. I believe in him. Now I want
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Speaker 2: to say something off the cuff, not related to the
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Speaker 2: Gospel of John directly. In the last year or two,
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Speaker 2: our church has experienced a phenomenal growth pattern. It leaves
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Speaker 2: the page of the graph. Every time we build another graph,
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Speaker 2: it's off the page again. It's an exciting thing. It's
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Speaker 2: a times exhilarating and ecstatic to be a part of
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Speaker 2: a growing assembly. But let me hasten to add with
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Speaker 2: the growth pattern comes a number of people who are
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Speaker 2: caught up in a movement, as it were, who will
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Speaker 2: even bring a Bible, write down thoughts about a Bible
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Speaker 2: passage from week to week, but never having given themselves
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Speaker 2: personally to the message of Jesus Christ. Now that fits
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Speaker 2: some of you who are in this service today. I'm
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Speaker 2: not referring to joining this church. It is not related
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Speaker 2: to that in the least. I'm not referring to what
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Speaker 2: kind of life you live as a as an American citizen,
29:47
Speaker 2: as a father or mother, or or child in a home.
29:51
Speaker 2: I'm talking about your relationship by faith belief to Jesus Christ.
30:00
Speaker 2: I want all of you to know this that if
30:03
Speaker 2: you have never given your heart to Jesus Christ by faith,
30:08
Speaker 2: believing that His death and resurrection were for you personally,
30:14
Speaker 2: you're lost and an eternity of years spent in this
30:20
Speaker 2: church will make you no closer to Heaven. You need
30:24
Speaker 2: to submit your heart and your will to Jesus Christ
30:28
Speaker 2: accept the gift of eternal life by faith. Frankly, that's
30:34
Speaker 2: one of the reasons I was led to teach the
30:36
Speaker 2: Gospel of John because some of you are on the
30:40
Speaker 2: fence of observation, watching this and at times being involved
30:46
Speaker 2: in what's going on. But you've never gotten off on
30:49
Speaker 2: the right side. You're straddling offense, looking at it, entertaining
30:56
Speaker 2: warm thoughts about it. But you've never said to Jesus Christ,
31:00
Speaker 2: you are my Lord, my savior. I accept you this
31:04
Speaker 2: moment into my life. Thank you, Father for the gift
31:09
Speaker 2: of eternal life. You're frankly the target of this book.
31:16
Speaker 2: John wrote that you might believe now the message is
31:23
Speaker 2: writ in the same verse, verse thirty one. These have
31:28
Speaker 2: been written that you might believe that Jesus, there's the
31:36
Speaker 2: subject of the book. Is the Christ, the son of God.
31:42
Speaker 2: There's the message of the book. He's not merely a man,
31:49
Speaker 2: not merely a servant, not merely the Jews king, the
31:55
Speaker 2: authentic Messiah. He is the Son of God. I want
32:03
Speaker 2: you to stop a moment. We've had a pretty intense
32:05
Speaker 2: diet for the last few minutes of teaching. Let's stop
32:09
Speaker 2: and review something that you may remember. You recall when
32:14
Speaker 2: Jesus was surrounded by a band of his disciples, he
32:19
Speaker 2: asked them a personal question about something that meant a
32:26
Speaker 2: great deal to him. Did he ask them what do
32:32
Speaker 2: people think of my teaching? Hey, what did they think
32:37
Speaker 2: of that passage? I brought on the light of the world? Peter?
32:41
Speaker 2: What they say about that teaching? He never asked that?
32:46
Speaker 2: He never did say. How about that last miracle? Really, John,
32:51
Speaker 2: what they say after I did that miracle? Never? Once?
32:56
Speaker 2: You know what he asked, and he asked it more
32:58
Speaker 2: than once. Whom the men say that I am? Who
33:03
Speaker 2: do they say they are that I am? When they
33:06
Speaker 2: watch the miracles and hear the words? You get the point.
33:12
Speaker 2: The message of John is the message of Jesus. Oh.
33:15
Speaker 2: I want them to see that they're looking at God
33:19
Speaker 2: in the flesh, that no mere man could do these
33:23
Speaker 2: things or say these words. We're not here to witness
33:28
Speaker 2: a person. We're here to testify that he's the son
33:32
Speaker 2: of God. That's the message. I want you to see
33:35
Speaker 2: how John weaves it into the gospel. Let's ski through
33:39
Speaker 2: the book for a moment. Chapter one, verse thirty two.
33:44
Speaker 2: John one. Let's call to the witness stand some seven
33:49
Speaker 2: people from the book itself who came to a settled
33:53
Speaker 2: conviction regarding his identity. John one, verse the thirty two
34:04
Speaker 2: and John bore witness. Now wait a minute, this is
34:07
Speaker 2: not the writer John. This is another John. John the
34:12
Speaker 2: Baptist doesn't mean Southern Baptist. John was a baptizer. Now,
34:20
Speaker 2: nothing wrong with Southern Baptists, but they're not in the
34:24
Speaker 2: New Testament. Regardless of what you may hear. This is
34:27
Speaker 2: John the Baptizer, the forerunner, John who went ahead of
34:36
Speaker 2: him declaring, the Messiah is on my heels, and I
34:42
Speaker 2: am not worthy, having stooped down to tie the thongs
34:45
Speaker 2: of his sandals. That John John was there. He's the
34:50
Speaker 2: one who's looked at the Messiah and said, behold the
34:53
Speaker 2: lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
34:57
Speaker 2: That's this John verse thirty two bore witness saying, I've
35:02
Speaker 2: beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven,
35:06
Speaker 2: and he remained upon him. And I did not recognize him.
35:12
Speaker 2: But he who sent me to baptize in water said
35:16
Speaker 2: to me, he upon whom you see the Spirit descending
35:23
Speaker 2: and remaining upon him, This is the one who baptizes
35:28
Speaker 2: in the Holy Spirit. And John adds, I have seen
35:34
Speaker 2: and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.
35:39
Speaker 2: I've got that underlined in my Bible. That's the first witness.
35:44
Speaker 2: John the forerunner said he's the son of God. Look
35:48
Speaker 2: across the page Chapter one again, verse forty seven. Jesus
35:55
Speaker 2: saw Nathaniel coming and said to him, behold and Israelite,
36:01
Speaker 2: indeed in whom is no guile. Nathaniel said to him,
36:07
Speaker 2: how do you know me? Jesus answered and said to him,
36:13
Speaker 2: before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree,
36:18
Speaker 2: I saw you. Nathaniel answered him, Rabbi, you are the
36:25
Speaker 2: son of God. I have that underlin. Nathaniel on the
36:32
Speaker 2: stand today would testify he's the son of God, as
36:38
Speaker 2: John the Forerunner would say, the son of God. Look
36:42
Speaker 2: at chapter six, verse sixty eight, and verse sixty nine.
36:51
Speaker 2: Let's here another testimony, John said. Nathaniel said, Simon. Peter says, Lord,
37:01
Speaker 2: to whom shall we go? Six sixty eight, to whom
37:06
Speaker 2: shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,
37:11
Speaker 2: and we have believed and have come to know that
37:15
Speaker 2: you are the Holy One of God. I've had underlined.
37:21
Speaker 2: Peter says, if I were to testify this day, my
37:25
Speaker 2: testimony would be the Son of God, the Holy One
37:30
Speaker 2: of God. Look at chapter ten, verse thirty six. This
37:39
Speaker 2: one is the most significant because it's Jesus' own testimony.
37:45
Speaker 2: Hold your place at verse thirty six and glance at
37:47
Speaker 2: verse thirty Chapter ten, verse thirty. This gives credence to
37:54
Speaker 2: what is said later. Jesus makes the statement I and
37:58
Speaker 2: the Father are one, and the Jews took up stones
38:03
Speaker 2: again to stone him. You see that was a blasphemous
38:06
Speaker 2: declaration to them. Now verse thirty six, do you say
38:11
Speaker 2: of him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world,
38:18
Speaker 2: you are blasphemy because I said I am the Son
38:23
Speaker 2: of God. That underlined. Jesus himself declares it. I've heard
38:29
Speaker 2: people say, now, if Jesus would only say I am
38:33
Speaker 2: the Son of God, then I'd believe it. But there's
38:37
Speaker 2: nowhere that Jesus says I am the son of God.
38:41
Speaker 2: What in the world is verse thirty six of chapter
38:46
Speaker 2: ten in John's Gospel saying it's saying I am the
38:51
Speaker 2: Son of God. His own testimony is to his own deity.
38:58
Speaker 2: There's another across the page, Chapter eleven, verse twenty seven.
39:03
Speaker 2: This is Martha. She said to him, Yes, Lord, I
39:09
Speaker 2: have believed that you are the Christ, the Son of God.
39:14
Speaker 2: I have that underlined. Martha testifies, as did John, Nathaniel, Peter,
39:22
Speaker 2: and Jesus himself. You say, well, those were all people
39:26
Speaker 2: on his side. How about a testimony from a doubter. Fine,
39:31
Speaker 2: I'm glad you asked for that. Chapter twenty, verse twenty eight.
39:36
Speaker 2: He's a confirmed doubter. There ever was a man from
39:39
Speaker 2: Missouri on the staff of the disciples. It was Thomas.
39:45
Speaker 2: Thomas says, you prove it to me. I'll believe it.
39:47
Speaker 2: And so Jesus said, verse twenty seven of chapter twenty.
39:53
Speaker 2: Reach your fingers and see my hands. Reach your hand
39:57
Speaker 2: and put it into my side. Be not unbelievab, but believing.
40:01
Speaker 2: Thomas the doubter answered, said to him, my Lord and
40:06
Speaker 2: my God. I underline that Thomas, a confirmed skeptic, said
40:13
Speaker 2: when he saw the facts, he is the son of God.
40:18
Speaker 2: One more, John himself, verse thirty one. These are written
40:22
Speaker 2: that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the
40:27
Speaker 2: son of God. Now that's the message. What's the method
40:35
Speaker 2: of presentation? How does John develop his message? What's the
40:41
Speaker 2: structure of the book as it is put together? To
40:46
Speaker 2: save time this morning, I want you to take the
40:50
Speaker 2: chart that is in your bulletin or on the other
40:54
Speaker 2: side of the sheet that you may have been looking
40:56
Speaker 2: at at the top is written a survey Gospel of John.
41:02
Speaker 2: Let's study that for a moment or two and get
41:05
Speaker 2: a glimpse of how John communicates the message of the
41:11
Speaker 2: Son of God. See the circle in the middle down
41:15
Speaker 2: toward the bottom of the chart with the word change
41:18
Speaker 2: in it. This book, like many Bible books, has a
41:22
Speaker 2: hinge upon which the book revolves or turns. There's a
41:30
Speaker 2: transitional point at the end of chapter twelve, at the
41:34
Speaker 2: beginning of chapter thirteen, in which things change. If you
41:39
Speaker 2: miss this, you miss you miss much of what the
41:42
Speaker 2: gospel is teaching. Let me show you that the contrasts
41:48
Speaker 2: on the left hand side. That is, in chapters one
41:51
Speaker 2: through twelve, there's a public ministry and message. But when
41:56
Speaker 2: chapter thirteen begins, rejection has grown to such heights that
42:01
Speaker 2: Jesus turns his ministry to a private ministry. Only seldom
42:07
Speaker 2: is he even seen in public as far as John's
42:11
Speaker 2: point of view is concerned. On the left we have
42:15
Speaker 2: three long years chapters one through twelve, covering in fact
42:20
Speaker 2: over three years. But when you get to chapter thirteen, oh,
42:26
Speaker 2: there's a concentrated period of time of not even two months.
42:36
Speaker 2: For a few days we have the conference that Jesus
42:40
Speaker 2: had with his men, his death, his resurrection, a brief
42:46
Speaker 2: time with his men, and the gospel closes Look on
42:50
Speaker 2: the left again at the bottom. During the three year ministry,
42:56
Speaker 2: there were miracles that Jesus performed. Chapter two he turned
43:01
Speaker 2: water into wine. Chapter four, he healed an official's son.
43:07
Speaker 2: Chapter five, he heals a man. Chapter six he feeds
43:11
Speaker 2: over five thousand, and before the chapter ends, he walks
43:15
Speaker 2: on water. In chapter nine, he heals a man suffering
43:20
Speaker 2: from congenital blindness. Chapter eleven he raises the dead. There's
43:25
Speaker 2: a crescendo in his miracles. Why remember the motive? John said,
43:33
Speaker 2: I'm writing a book so that those who read the
43:37
Speaker 2: signs the miracles will see the Son of God has
43:43
Speaker 2: performed these miracles. But look at the change. As soon
43:47
Speaker 2: as you get to chapter thirteen, things quietened down. He's
43:52
Speaker 2: preparing his men for his departure, so he has quiet
43:57
Speaker 2: talks with them about heaven. Don't let your heart be troubled.
44:02
Speaker 2: I'm leaving, but I won't leave you as an orphan.
44:05
Speaker 2: I'm sending the Holy Spirit. Chapter fifteen is fruit, and
44:09
Speaker 2: he talks about how fruit is born in their lives.
44:13
Speaker 2: After he's gone off the earth. Chapter sixteen he talks
44:16
Speaker 2: about promises, the Holy Spirit, and related subjects. Chapter seventeen
44:22
Speaker 2: is the only chapter in all the Bible that we
44:25
Speaker 2: have the prayer of Jesus. If it weren't for John,
44:28
Speaker 2: we wouldn't know what he said to his father in
44:30
Speaker 2: the agony of that moment before the cross. Chapter twenty
44:35
Speaker 2: he gives his appearances and talks with his men with
44:38
Speaker 2: reassuring words, and then chapter twenty one he talks with
44:43
Speaker 2: a few of his men regarding their future and his
44:46
Speaker 2: quiet talks. Look at the top of the chart, there's
44:51
Speaker 2: a plot. The plot grows as time passes belief unbelief.
45:01
Speaker 2: As the belief grows, it becomes increasingly more concentrated, so
45:06
Speaker 2: that the band of Disciples become actually the only convinced followers.
45:11
Speaker 2: According to John, there were others, but his attention is
45:15
Speaker 2: on the Disciples. The unbelief grows with maximum proportion and
45:20
Speaker 2: drives them to the cross, but it doesn't stop there.
45:25
Speaker 2: Death was overcome by the victory of the resurrection, and
45:29
Speaker 2: John shows how even unbelief does not have the final say.
45:35
Speaker 2: I set aside the chart for a minute. Let me
45:37
Speaker 2: show you something about unlocking the book. Hold it near.
45:40
Speaker 2: We want to look at it as comparison as we
45:42
Speaker 2: wrap it up. Go back to chapter sixteen of the book.
45:47
Speaker 2: Look at verse twenty eight. I like to call John
45:53
Speaker 2: twenty thirty and thirty one the back door key. It's
45:58
Speaker 2: hidden away in the mailbox, and you'd miss it if
46:00
Speaker 2: you didn't know where to find it. And so we've
46:02
Speaker 2: looked at it carefully as it opens the book for us.
46:05
Speaker 2: But there's a side door key. John sixteen, verse twenty eight.
46:12
Speaker 2: I came forth from the Father. I have come into
46:17
Speaker 2: the world. I am leaving the world again. I'm going
46:23
Speaker 2: to the Father. Look at the chart. I came forth
46:29
Speaker 2: from the Father. That's the prologue. That's next Sunday morning.
46:33
Speaker 2: I came from God. I came into the world. That's
46:39
Speaker 2: chapters one through twelve. I'm leaving the world. That's chapters
46:45
Speaker 2: thirteen through nineteen. He prepares them for his departure. I'm
46:51
Speaker 2: going to the Father chapters twenty and twenty one. Here's
46:55
Speaker 2: an inspired outline tucked right into the side door of
46:59
Speaker 2: this book. But there's one better than that, all the
47:04
Speaker 2: way over to chapter one, verse eleven, verse twelve. You
47:15
Speaker 2: keep the chart handy now as we go through the book,
47:18
Speaker 2: because you'll need to refer to it to orient yourself.
47:23
Speaker 2: John one eleven. He came to his own, that's chapters
47:29
Speaker 2: one through twelve. Those who were his own did not
47:34
Speaker 2: receive him, referring to his own people, the Jews, that's
47:39
Speaker 2: thirteen through nineteen. But as many as received him, he
47:43
Speaker 2: gave them the right the authority to become the children
47:47
Speaker 2: of God. That's chapters twenty and twenty one. Here again
47:52
Speaker 2: there's a hint of an outline given to us by
47:56
Speaker 2: the Holy Spirit. Will you notice now the final question
48:00
Speaker 2: we want to answer, who will believe the message? John's
48:07
Speaker 2: taken the time to think through his motive, plan his message,
48:12
Speaker 2: develop it with a method that makes sense, and his
48:15
Speaker 2: systematic Who's gonna believe it? John Verse twelve, Chapter one.
48:23
Speaker 2: As many as receive him, even those who believe in
48:30
Speaker 2: his name, listen to that. God says, those who receive
48:40
Speaker 2: my son, those who believe in him, become my children.
48:50
Speaker 2: And here again, I'm not referring to a casual, historic
48:53
Speaker 2: acceptance of facts about a person. I'm referring to an
48:58
Speaker 2: absolute com mintment, a decision of your will that says
49:04
Speaker 2: I receive him without reservations, no strings attached in our
49:13
Speaker 2: home these days, my oldest son has been reading with
49:16
Speaker 2: a great deal of delight and relish for all the family,
49:22
Speaker 2: a work that has to do with a man by
49:25
Speaker 2: the name of Philippe Petite, a twenty five year old
49:30
Speaker 2: Frenchman who has distinguished his himself not on the earth,
49:35
Speaker 2: but many many feet above him. He's a tight rope walker,
49:40
Speaker 2: and you may have read of him or seen him
49:42
Speaker 2: on wild, wild on wide world of sports some time
49:46
Speaker 2: ago when he made an incredible feat of walking between
49:53
Speaker 2: the towers of the Notre Dame in France. He strung
49:58
Speaker 2: a cable and he walked in. In fact, he did somersaults,
50:02
Speaker 2: and he laid on his back with that long thirty
50:06
Speaker 2: foot pole dangling across his chest, many many feet above.
50:12
Speaker 2: But that wasn't the height of his desire. As a
50:15
Speaker 2: matter of fact, he came across a story about the
50:19
Speaker 2: Twin Towers of Manhattan, WI, the World Trade Center buildings.
50:28
Speaker 2: They're built in Manhattan, and they stand near one another,
50:31
Speaker 2: and there is a treacherous wind draft between the two.
50:35
Speaker 2: They are immense structures, thirteen hundred and fifty feet off
50:40
Speaker 2: the ground. That's over a quarter of a mile seventy
50:45
Speaker 2: feet down in bedrock. They have been built surrounded by
50:51
Speaker 2: masses of concrete and steel just to hold them together
50:55
Speaker 2: in that heavy webbing of matter. And then they tow
51:00
Speaker 2: so high. Architects tell us that they sway several feet
51:05
Speaker 2: as this treacherous wind draft blows. He looked at it,
51:10
Speaker 2: studied it, circle it in the paper, and tossed it
51:12
Speaker 2: into a box marked future projects. And so he got
51:18
Speaker 2: enough money to come to America. You know that's illegal
51:21
Speaker 2: to do that, not to come to America, but to
51:23
Speaker 2: walk across the towers. He brought with him over two
51:27
Speaker 2: hundred and fifty pounds of steel cable and an incredible
51:32
Speaker 2: plan to get that cable to the top and to
51:36
Speaker 2: stretch it across those buildings. Engineers had said to him
51:42
Speaker 2: when he sought their council that the extremes of stress
51:47
Speaker 2: on that cable would grow from five tons to a
51:50
Speaker 2: thousand tons as the building swayed. That didn't stop it.
51:58
Speaker 2: He had a friend of his him, you're a fool
52:01
Speaker 2: to go up there without buckling a small wire to
52:05
Speaker 2: your belt, and then that wire down around a ring
52:09
Speaker 2: that goes around the cable, so that if you by
52:12
Speaker 2: chance fall, You'll just dangle up there and you can
52:17
Speaker 2: bring yourself back up again. Listen to his response the
52:22
Speaker 2: words of a real tight rope walker. To use a
52:27
Speaker 2: safety buckle contradicts the whole ideal of high wire walking.
52:37
Speaker 2: You should take your life, not just your body, onto
52:42
Speaker 2: the walk onto the wire. You don't take just your body.
52:50
Speaker 2: You put your whole life out there. And he describes
52:53
Speaker 2: the feeling when he walks across that incredible journey. He
53:00
Speaker 2: put his whole life on it. That's belief. I don't
53:06
Speaker 2: snatch a safety bilt together. That says, if I pay
53:09
Speaker 2: the penance, I'll get to heaven. Or if somehow my
53:14
Speaker 2: birth is such, or my gifts are such, or my
53:17
Speaker 2: surroundings are such, or my church attendance is such, I'm saved.
53:22
Speaker 2: I can dangle. God says, I give you the gift
53:27
Speaker 2: of eternal life. If you accept it. You accept it
53:32
Speaker 2: on one basis faith. You don't just put a part
53:38
Speaker 2: of your body on the line. You would trust your
53:42
Speaker 2: entire life to it. Now, I want to say this,
53:45
Speaker 2: some of you have snatched a little bit of truth
53:49
Speaker 2: here and there so that you've been able to snap
53:51
Speaker 2: a little safety, a little release from guilt, a little
53:56
Speaker 2: feeling that if things don't work out right, at least
53:58
Speaker 2: you try this calling that becoming a Christian. I want
54:03
Speaker 2: you to know, on the authority of the Word of God,
54:06
Speaker 2: that faith in Jesus Christ is an abandonment of my will,
54:12
Speaker 2: giving myself to the Father on the merits only of
54:16
Speaker 2: Jesus Christ, period, no strings attached, no merit, no works,
54:28
Speaker 2: faith in Jesus Christ. Period. If you've never made that decision,
54:37
Speaker 2: you're lost and you need to know him. Let's bow
54:41
Speaker 2: our heads together. Please. The most significant part of the
54:47
Speaker 2: service is now before us. This is the part where
54:52
Speaker 2: God records, not man. This is that incredible moment of
55:00
Speaker 2: time where life is changed and at the time of decision,
55:08
Speaker 2: nobody knows but you and God unless you choose to
55:13
Speaker 2: make it known personally. We wish to respect the moment
55:18
Speaker 2: of decision. I'm responsible for giving the facts and then
55:25
Speaker 2: letting God do the work. Let me ask you three questions.
55:34
Speaker 2: Can you look back to a time in your life
55:36
Speaker 2: when you gave yourself to Jesus Christ with this kind
55:39
Speaker 2: of abandonment. If the answer is yes, then you pray
55:45
Speaker 2: through the next two questions for those that are around you.
55:49
Speaker 2: That have answered no. If your answer is I'm not sure,
55:55
Speaker 2: then consider the answer no. Second question, do you believe
56:03
Speaker 2: that Jesus Christ died for you, rose from the dead
56:09
Speaker 2: for you, and will save you from sin right this moment?
56:22
Speaker 2: Third question, if you have not made this decision, will
56:28
Speaker 2: you make that decision before you leave this place? He
56:34
Speaker 2: that hears my words and believes on Him that sent
56:37
Speaker 2: me has everlasting life and shall never come into condemnation,
56:44
Speaker 2: but has passed from death to life. These three questions
56:50
Speaker 2: are for every person here today forgetting your works, your
56:56
Speaker 2: church membership, your church attendants, money, your past, your sin,
57:04
Speaker 2: everything you willing to step out on that strong cable
57:10
Speaker 2: of faith, no strings attached. If it will help confirm
57:17
Speaker 2: that decision at this moment, slip up your hand and say,
57:20
Speaker 2: pastor swindle. At this moment, I've received Jesus Christ as
57:24
Speaker 2: my personal savior. Okay, thank you, I see the hand. Yes,
57:31
Speaker 2: thank you. Today I give myself to Jesus Christ for
57:38
Speaker 2: the very first time, abandoning myself to him. He is
57:45
Speaker 2: my savior. Yes, thank you. It's our desire to help
57:53
Speaker 2: you that have come to know Christ, to work with
57:56
Speaker 2: you and talk with.
57:56
Speaker 1: You, and now join me as we pray before our
58:00
Speaker 1: heavenly Father, our Father, as we bow before you in
58:05
Speaker 1: the quietness of these moments, having only started to explore
58:10
Speaker 1: the depths and the riches of John's magnificent Gospel, we
58:17
Speaker 1: desire nothing less than the ability to hear and to
58:22
Speaker 1: discern your tender, gracious voice speaking truth into our lives.
58:29
Speaker 1: For those who may hear these messages yet remain stuck
58:33
Speaker 1: in a place of unbelief, or perhaps having been disillusioned
58:38
Speaker 1: by a painful past or hurtful experience at the hands
58:43
Speaker 1: of one posing as a representative of your truth, break
58:48
Speaker 1: through those rigid walls of doubt, Lord, break through those walls,
58:54
Speaker 1: those walls of resentment and fear, and bring healing. We
59:00
Speaker 1: pray that all would come to a place today and
59:03
Speaker 1: in the days ahead where full surrender will be our
59:07
Speaker 1: only response, not only to the gripping and life changing
59:12
Speaker 1: words of Jesus, your Son, but also to your perfect will.
59:19
Speaker 1: Be gracious to us, our Father, as we leave this place,
59:24
Speaker 1: as we step back into the traffic of frantic schedules
59:28
Speaker 1: and near impossible demands, remind us of your always available,
59:35
Speaker 1: inexhaustible power, through Christ and through His Spirit, to help
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Speaker 1: us live above the chaotic struggles, and keep our hearts
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Speaker 1: and minds fixed on you. Thank your Lord for your word.
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Speaker 1: Give each of us a lasting desire, not just to
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Speaker 1: be hearers of it, but doers of it, doers of
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Speaker 1: all you have written in this book. We ask these
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Speaker 1: things in the pre eminent name of Jesus Christ, your
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Speaker 1: only Son. Amen.
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Speaker 3: The preceding message that you may believe was copyrighted in
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Speaker 3: nineteen seventy five, nineteen eighty seven, two thousand and twenty eighteen,
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Speaker 3: and the sound recording was copyrighted in twenty eighteen by
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Speaker 3: Charles R. Swindall, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication
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Speaker 3: of copyright of material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.