WEBVTT 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:03.040 We're going to be in John chapter 1 this morning. 00:00:03.279 --> 00:00:08.400 And I think Ron basically just preached the sermon, so we can go home early. 00:00:09.439 --> 00:00:11.439 No, you guys have to listen to me. 00:00:11.599 --> 00:00:12.320 So yeah. 00:00:12.640 --> 00:00:15.519 John chapter 1, verses 1 through 23. 00:00:21.519 --> 00:00:28.960 Imagine that you're at home and you're going about your day when all of a sudden your phone goes off. 00:00:29.600 --> 00:00:40.079 In fact, everybody's phone in your house, everybody's phone in your neighborhood, they all go off at the same exact time with that loud, annoying federal emergency alert tone. 00:00:41.200 --> 00:00:50.799 And you open your phone and you look at it, and there's a message that says, a federal response team is en route to your area, estimated arrival time one hour. 00:00:51.039 --> 00:00:52.079 That's it. 00:00:53.039 --> 00:00:54.799 What's your reaction? 00:00:55.359 --> 00:01:02.479 How do you respond to an announcement that someone, presumably somebody with real authority to do something, is on the way? 00:01:02.799 --> 00:01:04.640 And they're gonna be here soon. 00:01:05.599 --> 00:01:08.719 Because everybody is gonna respond in some form or fashion. 00:01:08.959 --> 00:01:12.319 If you're like me, you're gonna tense up a little bit and say, wait, who's coming? 00:01:12.400 --> 00:01:13.280 Are we talking FEMA? 00:01:13.359 --> 00:01:15.359 Are we talking FBI or ICE? 00:01:15.680 --> 00:01:16.719 And why are they coming? 00:01:16.879 --> 00:01:18.079 Am I in trouble? 00:01:18.959 --> 00:01:23.040 Others might breathe a sigh of relief and they say, finally, help is coming. 00:01:23.840 --> 00:01:29.760 And some, especially in the Mount Vernon area, might scramble for their stockpile of guns and ammo. 00:01:30.719 --> 00:01:33.599 Some feel hope, some feel fear. 00:01:33.840 --> 00:01:44.560 Same announcement, completely different reactions, all of which largely hinge on assumptions made about who is coming and what does their arrival mean for me. 00:01:46.560 --> 00:01:56.319 Now it might not be the perfect analogy, but it carries a similar weight to the words that John the Baptist quotes from Isaiah 40 in verse 23 here. 00:01:56.799 --> 00:01:59.760 Make straight the way of the Lord. 00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:14.319 And that phrasing might not make much sense to us today, but back then, during both the time it was written and the time that John the Baptist says it, make straight the way was not a poetic phrasing. 00:02:14.560 --> 00:02:16.960 It was a common cultural language. 00:02:17.199 --> 00:02:27.520 Because when a king or an emperor decided to visit a city, he would send a herald out in front of them who would tell everybody on the route that the king was coming. 00:02:28.479 --> 00:02:32.639 The communities would then respond by going out and straightening the roads. 00:02:32.879 --> 00:02:41.439 They'd fill potholes, level rough ground, remove obstacles, all to prepare a smooth highway so the king would not be hindered on his way. 00:02:42.479 --> 00:02:46.000 And again, everybody in John the Baptist's day would have understood this. 00:02:47.120 --> 00:02:50.560 And because of that, there would have been an unavoidable tension. 00:02:52.319 --> 00:02:58.319 So let's do some quick recap to help paint a picture of what all was going on in Israel during this time. 00:02:58.800 --> 00:03:02.240 If you remember, Israel was God's chosen people. 00:03:03.360 --> 00:03:07.680 As a nation, they experienced countless miracles and messengers from God. 00:03:08.719 --> 00:03:11.439 But time after time they turned their back on him. 00:03:12.879 --> 00:03:19.520 And eventually, as an act of discipline, God handed them over to Babylon, where they were exiled as captives. 00:03:20.080 --> 00:03:22.080 But God didn't forget about them. 00:03:22.400 --> 00:03:29.039 He had mercy and compassion on them, and after about 70 years, the Israelites returned to Jerusalem by the hand of God. 00:03:29.280 --> 00:03:35.280 They rebuilt the city, they rebuilt the temple, but they're a fraction of what they once were. 00:03:36.719 --> 00:03:44.000 The years go by, and once again Israel declines into sin, and finally God sends one last prophet, Malachi, to rebuke them. 00:03:44.479 --> 00:03:46.080 After that, silence. 00:03:47.759 --> 00:03:55.039 For over 400 years there were no new prophets, no new revelation, no new promises, just waiting. 00:03:56.159 --> 00:03:58.960 Some were waiting in faithful expectation. 00:04:00.159 --> 00:04:06.319 Some began to abuse or corrupt God's law for personal gain, leading others astray as well. 00:04:06.879 --> 00:04:12.080 And by the time that John the Baptist comes, many lacked a true understanding of the things of God. 00:04:13.520 --> 00:04:18.399 Also at that time, Israel was once again living under foreign rule, this time by Rome. 00:04:18.639 --> 00:04:22.480 They weren't exactly exiled, but they weren't free to do as they pleased either. 00:04:22.639 --> 00:04:24.639 They had Roman governors in place. 00:04:24.959 --> 00:04:29.439 Harold the Great ruled over Israel, but he got his authority from Rome. 00:04:30.240 --> 00:04:32.879 Some sought to cooperate with Rome. 00:04:33.120 --> 00:04:35.279 Others desired rebellion. 00:04:36.160 --> 00:04:40.959 And so it's safe to assume that the nation of Israel would have been a tense, maybe restless place. 00:04:42.079 --> 00:04:46.240 And then finally, rumors of a new prophet start circulating. 00:04:46.399 --> 00:04:52.079 And he comes proclaiming the words of Isaiah 40: Make straight the way of the Lord. 00:04:52.399 --> 00:04:54.319 A king was coming. 00:04:54.720 --> 00:04:57.199 The king was coming. 00:04:58.480 --> 00:05:01.759 And to the Romans, this might mean a rebellion. 00:05:02.720 --> 00:05:05.680 To Herod, probably a threat to his throne. 00:05:06.480 --> 00:05:08.399 To the corrupt, a cause for fear. 00:05:08.560 --> 00:05:13.839 To the masses, a solution to the Roman problem, and to the faithful, a long-awaited Savior. 00:05:14.959 --> 00:05:20.720 The people's reaction would largely hinge on the answers to the question: who is this coming king? 00:05:21.120 --> 00:05:23.439 And what does his arrival mean for me? 00:05:25.120 --> 00:05:28.319 And it begs the same question of us today. 00:05:28.959 --> 00:05:30.800 Do you know who he is? 00:05:31.279 --> 00:05:34.560 And do you know what his arrival means for you? 00:05:37.199 --> 00:05:45.439 Thankfully, the writer of John, John the Apostle, not John the Baptist, starts his account of the gospel by answering this exact question. 00:05:46.879 --> 00:05:52.639 If we look at verse 1, he starts with, In the beginning was the Word. 00:05:53.759 --> 00:05:56.959 And the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 00:05:58.879 --> 00:06:09.040 And to any good Jewish listener who should have been immersed in Old Testament scriptures, even if they failed to grasp their meaning, these verses should carry some significant weight. 00:06:10.800 --> 00:06:18.639 To start, we have in the beginning, which intentionally should bring your mind back to Genesis chapter 1. 00:06:18.879 --> 00:06:22.879 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 00:06:23.519 --> 00:06:27.279 John is making a statement that goes all the way back to the beginning. 00:06:27.439 --> 00:06:33.360 Before God laid the foundations of the earth, before he separated the day from the night, there was the word. 00:06:34.720 --> 00:06:38.560 And the word was with God, and the word was God. 00:06:40.639 --> 00:06:46.399 And in the same way, even the use of the term the word carries some Old Testament weight. 00:06:47.680 --> 00:06:56.639 All throughout we see things like 1 Samuel chapter 3, where it says, For the Lord revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the Lord. 00:06:57.439 --> 00:07:03.600 Psalm 107, he sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction. 00:07:03.920 --> 00:07:11.600 Jeremiah 23, is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock into pieces? 00:07:12.160 --> 00:07:23.120 Or Isaiah 55, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth, it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. 00:07:24.079 --> 00:07:30.879 All throughout the Old Testament, God's word is his primary means of revelation and action. 00:07:31.600 --> 00:07:40.079 Through his word, he reveals his will, he brings life, he guides in wisdom, he executes judgment, and he delivers the herding. 00:07:40.639 --> 00:07:46.560 If God was interacting with man, it was primarily through his spoken or written word. 00:07:48.240 --> 00:08:00.639 And now, John is saying, this Old Testament idea of God's word, the embodiment of his power and authority, of revelation and nearness to his people, it's not an idea. 00:08:00.879 --> 00:08:01.839 It's a he. 00:08:02.959 --> 00:08:05.279 He was in the beginning with God. 00:08:05.439 --> 00:08:06.079 Verse 2. 00:08:06.480 --> 00:08:06.800 The word. 00:08:07.279 --> 00:08:09.199 He was in the beginning with God. 00:08:10.319 --> 00:08:20.639 And it's not just the use of the noun word that you should be looking for in the Old Testament, but anytime we see God speaking, we should immediately think of Him, the Word. 00:08:21.519 --> 00:08:23.040 So again, back to Genesis 1. 00:08:23.120 --> 00:08:26.480 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 00:08:26.879 --> 00:08:27.519 And how? 00:08:27.759 --> 00:08:29.759 How did He create the heavens and the earth? 00:08:30.079 --> 00:08:31.279 He spoke. 00:08:31.600 --> 00:08:33.600 He spoke creation into existence. 00:08:33.759 --> 00:08:37.440 God said, Let there be light, and there was light. 00:08:40.159 --> 00:08:46.159 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their hosts. 00:08:46.320 --> 00:08:47.840 Psalm 33, 6. 00:08:49.039 --> 00:08:53.840 And so John goes on to proclaim, all things were made through him. 00:08:55.039 --> 00:08:59.679 And without him was not anything made that was made. 00:09:00.879 --> 00:09:04.879 And this is a concept not just in John in the New Testament, but throughout. 00:09:05.039 --> 00:09:19.360 We can read in Colossians chapter 1, for by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things were created through him and for him. 00:09:19.919 --> 00:09:26.240 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 00:09:30.879 --> 00:09:35.039 But by his very being, he sustains all things. 00:09:35.679 --> 00:09:38.240 Because in him is life. 00:09:39.600 --> 00:09:44.799 Verse 4 in him was life, and the life was the light of men. 00:09:46.320 --> 00:09:50.159 I love the way that John Calvin puts it in his commentary, so I'm just going to read that. 00:09:50.399 --> 00:10:03.519 He says, the speech of God was not only the source of life to all creatures, so that those which were not began to be, but that his life-giving power causes them to remain in their condition. 00:10:04.159 --> 00:10:14.879 For were it not that his continued inspiration gives vigor to the world, everything that lives would immediately decay or be reduced to nothing. 00:10:16.559 --> 00:10:20.879 His light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 00:10:21.200 --> 00:10:23.200 Do you ever read the news and think, man, you know what? 00:10:23.360 --> 00:10:27.919 It just feels like the whole world is on the brink of falling apart. 00:10:29.279 --> 00:10:33.200 Well, I don't know if you know this or not, but it's been that way for thousands of years. 00:10:33.519 --> 00:10:40.240 Because in the beginning, God created mankind, and mankind decided that they knew better than God. 00:10:40.720 --> 00:10:47.039 And Adam and Eve ate from the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, despite God's warning that they would die because of it. 00:10:47.519 --> 00:10:57.519 And since then, we have all literally been hellbent on destroying ourselves, destroying the world, all because we think we know better than God. 00:10:58.559 --> 00:11:01.679 We want to be our own gods, we want to follow our own rules. 00:11:01.919 --> 00:11:04.639 We steal and kill and destroy and we call it good. 00:11:05.200 --> 00:11:10.799 And so it's no wonder that the world always seems like it's on the brink of falling apart. 00:11:12.159 --> 00:11:23.840 But by his mercy, by his grace, because of who he is, because in him is life, he holds all things together. 00:11:24.720 --> 00:11:28.399 The darkness has not overcome the light. 00:11:29.440 --> 00:11:37.600 In these first five verses, John is making sure that his readers know right off the bat, he isn't just writing the account of a good person. 00:11:38.720 --> 00:11:43.120 He isn't just writing about a wise prophet delivering the words of God. 00:11:43.440 --> 00:11:46.799 The one he's writing about is the word of God. 00:11:47.120 --> 00:11:53.919 He's the manifest power and authority and comfort and salvation of God Almighty. 00:11:54.720 --> 00:11:56.480 He was there in the beginning. 00:11:56.799 --> 00:11:58.559 By him, Abraham was called. 00:11:58.720 --> 00:12:00.159 By him the law was given. 00:12:00.320 --> 00:12:02.799 By him, Israel received wisdom and guidance. 00:12:02.960 --> 00:12:05.679 By him, kings were anointed and nations were judged. 00:12:05.840 --> 00:12:08.480 By him the promises of redemption were given. 00:12:08.639 --> 00:12:15.039 By him all things were brought into existence, and by him all things continue to exist. 00:12:15.519 --> 00:12:20.080 In him we live and move and have our being. 00:12:31.519 --> 00:12:36.960 The sad reality for most of John the Baptist's audience was that they didn't know. 00:12:39.200 --> 00:12:39.759 Verse 6. 00:12:39.919 --> 00:12:42.720 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 00:12:43.759 --> 00:12:47.840 He came as a witness to bear witness about the light that all might believe through him. 00:12:48.720 --> 00:12:51.679 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. 00:12:52.399 --> 00:12:56.159 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 00:12:57.039 --> 00:12:58.240 He was in the world. 00:12:58.559 --> 00:13:02.399 And the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 00:13:03.279 --> 00:13:07.440 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 00:13:10.159 --> 00:13:16.639 And I believe the wording here is intentionally a little bit ambiguous about where this falls on the timeline. 00:13:16.879 --> 00:13:25.679 Because it was true of the people during John's time, but it has also been a common theme throughout all human history. 00:13:26.879 --> 00:13:32.000 The world did not know him, and the world continues to not know him. 00:13:32.399 --> 00:13:41.919 Because the first man disobeyed, sin entered the world and into all of humanity, leaving each of us born blind to the things of God. 00:13:42.559 --> 00:13:48.639 We live in darkness, even though his life shines as light into the world for all to see. 00:13:50.080 --> 00:13:58.320 As Romans 1 explains, for what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 00:13:58.799 --> 00:14:09.360 For his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made. 00:14:09.600 --> 00:14:11.360 So they are without excuse. 00:14:13.360 --> 00:14:24.159 Everything he has created, and the fact that it all miraculously continues to exist, shines as a light to all mankind. 00:14:25.519 --> 00:14:32.799 And in the darkness of man's depravity, man has neither overcome it nor understood it. 00:14:34.879 --> 00:14:43.360 The word overcome in verse 5, depending on what Bible you have, you might also see comprehend, even among the more literal translations of the Bible. 00:14:43.519 --> 00:14:52.480 And both translations are valid, overcome or comprehend, because the Greek verb used here is to grasp. 00:14:53.039 --> 00:15:02.799 Either physically, as in seizing, overpowering, overcoming, or mentally as in understanding and comprehending. 00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:07.200 And I believe both things are true even in this context. 00:15:07.840 --> 00:15:17.120 While darkness, by its very nature, cannot overcome light, darkness also by its nature recoils from it. 00:15:17.360 --> 00:15:19.759 It rejects it, it refuses it. 00:15:20.639 --> 00:15:27.840 And we, because we are born into sin, we do not merely fail to understand the things of God, but we reject them. 00:15:28.639 --> 00:15:31.840 Convinced, like Adam and Eve, we know better. 00:15:33.600 --> 00:15:38.639 Even when life itself is set before us, we fail to grasp it. 00:15:39.840 --> 00:15:49.120 All of us in this room, every single one of us, we were born with a disposition towards a willful lack of comprehension. 00:15:50.399 --> 00:15:53.600 A willful lack of comprehension of the things of God. 00:15:53.840 --> 00:15:58.240 Even though, as Romans 1.20 says, we're without excuse. 00:15:59.840 --> 00:16:10.240 The whole world has willingly exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worships and serves created things rather than the creator. 00:16:16.480 --> 00:16:17.519 What about you? 00:16:20.399 --> 00:16:23.200 Are you chasing after the created things? 00:16:24.080 --> 00:16:26.080 Or are you chasing after your creator? 00:16:27.360 --> 00:16:31.440 In whom exists the very essence of life? 00:16:33.759 --> 00:16:35.600 Who do you think knows better? 00:16:35.919 --> 00:16:37.519 The created things? 00:16:38.240 --> 00:16:39.519 Or your creator? 00:16:40.639 --> 00:16:45.840 Who do you think best knows what you need, when you need it, and how you need it? 00:16:46.159 --> 00:16:46.480 You? 00:16:48.720 --> 00:16:51.519 Some influencer you follow on social media? 00:16:53.279 --> 00:16:58.799 Or does your heart cry out with Psalm 119, your hands have made me and fashioned me? 00:16:59.039 --> 00:17:02.799 Give me understanding that I may learn your commandments. 00:17:03.279 --> 00:17:08.079 My soul is consumed with longing for your rules at all times. 00:17:10.880 --> 00:17:13.359 Do you know who he is? 00:17:15.680 --> 00:17:17.759 Or is the word a burden to you? 00:17:18.640 --> 00:17:22.480 Just a list of rules to limit your enjoyment. 00:17:25.680 --> 00:17:26.240 C.S. 00:17:26.319 --> 00:17:29.759 Lewis has a famous quote that I'm sure many of you have heard. 00:17:30.240 --> 00:17:39.599 He says, We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us. 00:17:40.400 --> 00:17:50.240 Like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. 00:17:50.720 --> 00:18:00.880 And I would go even further and say, it's not that we just can't imagine it, it's that it's so unlike what we think is good that we reject even the thought of it. 00:18:02.319 --> 00:18:09.359 By the nature of our sin, we keep going back to the created things instead of our creator. 00:18:10.400 --> 00:18:15.599 The light, the true light who gives light to the world is right in front of our face. 00:18:16.400 --> 00:18:19.920 And yet in our sin, we can't even grasp it. 00:18:21.440 --> 00:18:24.240 In our sin, we're blind. 00:18:28.000 --> 00:18:30.079 And so what should God do? 00:18:31.440 --> 00:18:33.039 Should he say, fine, you know what? 00:18:33.200 --> 00:18:34.960 Let them destroy themselves. 00:18:36.480 --> 00:18:39.759 Maybe if he were you, maybe if he were me. 00:18:41.200 --> 00:18:45.680 But praise God, his thoughts are not our thoughts. 00:18:45.920 --> 00:18:48.559 And his ways are not our ways. 00:18:48.799 --> 00:18:51.680 And he does not abandon us. 00:18:52.079 --> 00:18:57.680 And so he says in Isaiah 42, 16, I will lead the blind. 00:18:58.079 --> 00:19:02.960 In a way they do not know, in paths they have not known, I will guide them. 00:19:03.279 --> 00:19:08.000 I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. 00:19:08.160 --> 00:19:13.759 These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them. 00:19:16.160 --> 00:19:20.079 And the word became flesh and dwelt among us. 00:19:20.319 --> 00:19:26.880 And we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 00:19:27.119 --> 00:19:32.079 For from his fullness we have all received grace upon grace. 00:19:32.880 --> 00:19:36.319 The King has come in the flesh. 00:19:36.720 --> 00:19:39.759 And he has made the way straight for us. 00:19:40.079 --> 00:19:42.960 He levels the ground in front of us. 00:19:43.440 --> 00:19:45.519 This is who he is. 00:19:46.079 --> 00:19:48.960 And these are the things he does. 00:19:50.319 --> 00:19:53.359 He opens the eyes of the blind. 00:19:53.759 --> 00:19:55.759 He sets the captives free. 00:19:56.000 --> 00:19:57.839 He brings out those in darkness. 00:19:58.079 --> 00:19:59.599 He comforts the afflicted. 00:19:59.839 --> 00:20:01.839 He sets the lonely in families. 00:20:02.079 --> 00:20:03.599 He gives strength to the weary. 00:20:04.000 --> 00:20:05.599 He satisfies the thirsty. 00:20:05.839 --> 00:20:07.039 He fills the hungry. 00:20:07.200 --> 00:20:08.799 He heals the brokenhearted. 00:20:09.039 --> 00:20:11.200 He saves the crushed in spirit. 00:20:11.440 --> 00:20:13.680 Do you know who He is? 00:20:13.920 --> 00:20:15.440 Have you not heard? 00:20:15.680 --> 00:20:17.680 Has it not been told to you from the beginning? 00:20:17.839 --> 00:20:21.440 Have you not understood it since the earth was founded? 00:20:21.759 --> 00:20:24.799 He sits enthroned over the universe. 00:20:25.119 --> 00:20:28.400 He stretches out the heavens like a canopy. 00:20:28.720 --> 00:20:31.359 He reduces rulers to nothing. 00:20:31.680 --> 00:20:33.839 He is everlasting. 00:20:34.160 --> 00:20:36.880 He's the creator of the ends of the earth. 00:20:37.119 --> 00:20:41.119 He gives breath to its people and life to those who walk on it. 00:20:41.440 --> 00:20:45.839 He is the Lord, and there is no other. 00:20:49.039 --> 00:20:54.400 This is the King that John the Baptist came to proclaim. 00:20:55.839 --> 00:20:58.640 His name is Jesus. 00:21:00.079 --> 00:21:02.400 He came in the flesh. 00:21:03.440 --> 00:21:05.680 He was born of a virgin. 00:21:06.720 --> 00:21:09.440 He loved and he was hated. 00:21:10.400 --> 00:21:12.640 He was wrongfully convicted. 00:21:13.200 --> 00:21:15.200 He was humbly obedient. 00:21:16.240 --> 00:21:19.039 He was crucified on a cross. 00:21:19.440 --> 00:21:21.839 He redeemed us from our sin. 00:21:22.319 --> 00:21:26.559 He defeated death and he rose from the grave. 00:21:26.799 --> 00:21:32.240 Do you know who he is and do you know what his arrival means for you? 00:21:37.680 --> 00:21:42.000 Because friends, it's possible. 00:21:44.880 --> 00:21:59.599 It's possible to have grown up in the church, to go through all the motions, to check all the boxes, and to still not grasp. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:00.880 Who he is. 00:22:03.440 --> 00:22:09.920 It's possible to hear the same Christmas story year after year after year and say, Yep, I get it. 00:22:10.079 --> 00:22:12.000 Okay, Jesus was born a little baby. 00:22:12.240 --> 00:22:18.880 He was God's gift to us, so let's sing our songs, let's give our gifts, let's make sure we're extra kind and generous and joyful. 00:22:19.039 --> 00:22:21.119 After all, isn't that what it's all about? 00:22:23.039 --> 00:22:36.640 It's possible in our consumeristic culture to distill the gospel down to nothing more than a cheap middle school note that's passed around and says, Do you want to go to heaven circle? 00:22:36.720 --> 00:22:37.599 Yes or no? 00:22:41.359 --> 00:22:48.319 And the result is a Christianity that claims the kingdom while wanting nothing to do with the king. 00:22:49.440 --> 00:22:53.519 Wanting nothing to do with his ways or his reign. 00:22:56.720 --> 00:22:58.000 In the words of J.C. 00:22:58.160 --> 00:23:04.640 Ryle, how little fit for heaven are many who talk of going to heaven when they die. 00:23:05.599 --> 00:23:16.400 While they manifestly have no saving faith, no real acquaintance with Christ, you give Christ no honor here, you have no communion with him. 00:23:17.039 --> 00:23:18.400 You do not love him. 00:23:19.119 --> 00:23:22.880 Alas, what could you do in heaven? 00:23:23.279 --> 00:23:25.200 It would be no place for you. 00:23:25.599 --> 00:23:28.240 Its joys would be no joys for you. 00:23:28.559 --> 00:23:32.799 Its happiness would be a happiness into which you could not enter. 00:23:33.200 --> 00:23:38.160 Its employments would be a weariness and a burden to your heart. 00:23:38.480 --> 00:23:43.759 Oh, repent and change before it be too late. 00:23:46.240 --> 00:23:55.680 If you're still loving and chasing after the things of darkness, what makes you think you're not going to recoil at the light that is heaven? 00:23:56.960 --> 00:23:59.920 Darkness cannot grasp the light. 00:24:02.559 --> 00:24:04.480 Don't you want to know the king? 00:24:05.759 --> 00:24:08.319 Or do you just like the idea of his stuff? 00:24:10.640 --> 00:24:15.279 Don't you want to learn from the wisdom of the one who wrote the book of life? 00:24:16.079 --> 00:24:20.799 Or are his rules and his way a burden to your heart? 00:24:23.440 --> 00:24:25.440 And church, don't hear me wrong. 00:24:26.559 --> 00:24:28.400 This is not a condemnation. 00:24:28.559 --> 00:24:30.480 It's a word of warning. 00:24:31.039 --> 00:24:35.200 It's a wake-up call to all of us who have fallen asleep. 00:24:36.160 --> 00:24:40.799 Because now is the time of grace and patience. 00:24:42.400 --> 00:24:45.759 Jesus has come full of grace and truth. 00:24:46.400 --> 00:24:49.359 But he didn't just come to pass out tickets into heaven. 00:24:50.160 --> 00:24:56.960 He came so that we who were blinded in our sin could see him for who he is. 00:24:58.960 --> 00:25:00.160 Verse 18. 00:25:00.799 --> 00:25:03.039 No one has ever seen God. 00:25:05.599 --> 00:25:10.640 God the only Son, who is at the Father's side, has made him known. 00:25:12.880 --> 00:25:20.160 And it's not just known as an acquaintance, but to literally be adopted into his family. 00:25:20.559 --> 00:25:21.599 Verse 12. 00:25:22.480 --> 00:25:35.359 To all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God. 00:25:36.960 --> 00:25:45.920 Because he paid the cost for our sin that separated us from him, we can once again commune with our Creator. 00:25:48.559 --> 00:26:00.000 And to all who receive him, he gives the right to be adopted into his family, to live under his roof, to take on his name, to inherit his blessings. 00:26:02.000 --> 00:26:05.440 Do you realize the weight of that statement? 00:26:07.680 --> 00:26:10.720 You have no right to be in his family. 00:26:10.799 --> 00:26:12.640 You have no right to bear his name. 00:26:12.799 --> 00:26:14.079 Neither do I. 00:26:15.599 --> 00:26:21.279 But he, slow to anger and abounding in love, says, I'll do it. 00:26:21.920 --> 00:26:23.759 I will pay the price. 00:26:24.079 --> 00:26:26.240 I will give them the right. 00:26:28.960 --> 00:26:33.680 And yes, because of that, we can have eternal life. 00:26:34.559 --> 00:26:36.400 But the life is in him. 00:26:37.279 --> 00:26:46.880 It comes from knowing him, from following him, from hanging on his every word, like Peter, who says, Lord, where else are we going to go? 00:26:47.279 --> 00:26:50.400 Only you have the words of eternal life. 00:26:52.720 --> 00:27:10.720 And if we miss that, if we risk, or sorry, if we miss knowing that it's all about him, it's all about knowing him, then we risk living like the prodigal son, who essentially says to his father, I don't want you. 00:27:11.920 --> 00:27:14.960 I don't want to live under your roof, under your rules. 00:27:15.279 --> 00:27:19.920 Just give me my share of your stuff so I can go living according to my way. 00:27:22.400 --> 00:27:27.039 And if that's you this morning, do you know how that goes? 00:27:29.440 --> 00:27:32.400 Because it wasn't the stuff that satisfied him. 00:27:33.200 --> 00:27:44.480 When he lived apart from the Father and according to his own rules, chasing after the things he thought he wanted, he ended up desolate and starving, wishing he was dead. 00:27:45.920 --> 00:27:53.839 It wasn't until he was at the end of his rope that he returned and found satisfaction in the loving embrace of his father. 00:27:57.440 --> 00:27:59.359 Where are you at this morning? 00:28:02.160 --> 00:28:05.839 Are you living like the prodigal son, apart from his father? 00:28:06.079 --> 00:28:07.680 Are you at the end of your rope? 00:28:09.039 --> 00:28:17.440 Are you beaten down and weary from the things of this world or stuck in the cycle of sin, blindly chasing after things that leave you empty? 00:28:19.119 --> 00:28:21.440 You don't have to be anymore. 00:28:22.319 --> 00:28:23.839 That's why he came. 00:28:25.920 --> 00:28:31.759 And no matter how far you've wandered, God's call has never changed. 00:28:32.079 --> 00:28:38.720 He says through the prophet in Isaiah 55, Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. 00:28:39.680 --> 00:28:43.519 And he who has no money, come, buy, and eat. 00:28:43.920 --> 00:28:47.359 Come, buy wine and milk without money, without price. 00:28:47.519 --> 00:28:53.759 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? 00:28:55.599 --> 00:29:02.400 Listen diligently to me and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. 00:29:03.359 --> 00:29:05.759 Incline your ear and come to me. 00:29:06.880 --> 00:29:09.039 Here that your soul may live. 00:29:11.599 --> 00:29:19.039 Are you tired of spending your money and your labor and your efforts all on things that do not satisfy you? 00:29:20.960 --> 00:29:24.240 Wouldn't you like to know the one who does satisfy? 00:29:27.200 --> 00:29:28.559 It's free to come. 00:29:29.680 --> 00:29:32.480 Every day it's free. 00:29:33.200 --> 00:29:44.240 Not because it's cheap, not because it didn't cost anything, but because it cost a price we could not pay, and because he has already covered the cost for you. 00:29:45.119 --> 00:29:48.880 And there is nothing you can ever do to add to it. 00:29:50.960 --> 00:29:52.559 Do you know who he is? 00:29:54.079 --> 00:29:57.599 Do you understand what it means that he's come? 00:30:00.480 --> 00:30:04.240 And do you believe that he's coming again? 00:30:07.119 --> 00:30:14.319 Because while now is the time of grace, one day that will come to an end. 00:30:16.880 --> 00:30:28.720 He will return, and when he does, the Bible says he will gather the children of God, he will gather his elect, and he will judge the world in righteousness. 00:30:30.319 --> 00:30:33.039 The time for grace is now. 00:30:34.640 --> 00:30:38.480 But a time is coming when there will be judgment. 00:30:40.960 --> 00:30:44.720 Again from Isaiah, seek the Lord while he may be found. 00:30:45.599 --> 00:30:48.640 Call upon him while he is near. 00:30:49.119 --> 00:30:53.200 Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts. 00:30:53.440 --> 00:30:57.680 Let him return to the Lord that he may have compassion on him. 00:30:58.160 --> 00:31:02.640 And to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 00:31:04.559 --> 00:31:07.519 Church, he is full of compassion. 00:31:08.319 --> 00:31:09.680 It's who he is. 00:31:10.640 --> 00:31:14.240 And trust me, he abundantly pardons. 00:31:14.799 --> 00:31:16.480 It's what he does. 00:31:17.119 --> 00:31:22.960 And no one is too far gone, and it's not too late for you. 00:31:26.000 --> 00:31:27.759 But he is coming back. 00:31:29.279 --> 00:31:33.119 The king will come again to judge. 00:31:34.720 --> 00:31:36.480 Maybe not this year. 00:31:36.880 --> 00:31:38.160 Maybe not in your lifetime. 00:31:38.319 --> 00:31:40.640 Maybe not for another two thousand years. 00:31:42.720 --> 00:31:44.000 Maybe tomorrow. 00:31:47.839 --> 00:31:53.119 If tomorrow, what will your reaction be? 00:31:55.599 --> 00:31:56.799 Do you know him? 00:31:58.640 --> 00:32:00.319 He came so that you could. 00:32:04.000 --> 00:32:11.920 If he comes back tomorrow, what will his arrival mean for you? 00:32:15.119 --> 00:32:15.680 That's right.