WEBVTT 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:05.120 Well, if you are here for the very first time, we have been doing something all year long, kind of interesting. 00:00:05.280 --> 00:00:07.040 We've called this the whole story. 00:00:07.360 --> 00:00:11.039 We are going through the entire story of the Bible in a year. 00:00:11.199 --> 00:00:16.800 We've broken that story down into 14 different series, and we've just been making our way through those bit by bit. 00:00:16.960 --> 00:00:19.679 Do not worry if you're here and you're like, wow, I am way behind. 00:00:19.839 --> 00:00:21.760 I mean, you you are, but it's okay. 00:00:22.000 --> 00:00:24.000 Number one, you can catch up with everything online. 00:00:24.160 --> 00:00:24.719 That's easy. 00:00:24.800 --> 00:00:28.960 And honestly, every single Sunday is designed to stand on its own because that's kind of how scripture works. 00:00:29.039 --> 00:00:32.960 Like you can read the whole thing and just be like, wow, I see God in all kinds of cool ways. 00:00:33.039 --> 00:00:34.640 You can also just open up to a page. 00:00:34.799 --> 00:00:40.640 And in just a paragraph, you might see something or read something that speaks to you like nothing else ever has before. 00:00:40.799 --> 00:00:43.920 So every Sunday is its own little adventure. 00:00:44.159 --> 00:00:46.960 Today we're actually wrapping up our tenth series. 00:00:47.200 --> 00:00:49.200 We'll be done with this entire thing by Christmas. 00:00:49.359 --> 00:00:54.240 Today we're we're almost done with our tenth series, which we've called the New Human. 00:00:54.560 --> 00:00:55.359 The New Human. 00:00:55.840 --> 00:01:02.399 This has been all about Jesus and really the season when Jesus steps into the story in an obvious way. 00:01:02.560 --> 00:01:04.319 It's really always been about Jesus. 00:01:04.400 --> 00:01:07.840 As we've looked at this whole year, so many things have pointed to Jesus. 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:10.319 There's been prophecies about Jesus. 00:01:10.560 --> 00:01:16.799 There's been all these hints, all this foreshadowing, but now we're at the moment when Jesus shows up. 00:01:17.519 --> 00:01:20.239 And he is new. 00:01:20.640 --> 00:01:22.400 Like there's never been anyone like him. 00:01:22.640 --> 00:01:23.680 And that's obvious. 00:01:23.840 --> 00:01:27.439 From the moment that he goes public, Jesus is something new. 00:01:27.840 --> 00:01:29.840 He does things that no one has ever done before. 00:01:29.920 --> 00:01:34.480 He says things that no one has ever said before, and no one really knows what to do with Jesus. 00:01:34.640 --> 00:01:40.319 Like his own disciples, the people he picks to follow him, you think they ought to be like experts on Jesus? 00:01:40.480 --> 00:01:40.640 No. 00:01:40.719 --> 00:01:42.319 They get Jesus wrong left and right. 00:01:42.560 --> 00:01:46.239 It is after three years, they still do not understand who they're dealing with half the time. 00:01:46.480 --> 00:01:55.519 There's even these very specific moments, like one time he performs this miracle on a boat and there's a huge storm, he makes the storm stop, and his disciples say, Who is this man? 00:01:56.400 --> 00:01:57.439 Who is this man? 00:01:57.599 --> 00:02:00.079 Even the wind and the waves obey him. 00:02:00.319 --> 00:02:02.239 They're trying to figure out who he is. 00:02:02.480 --> 00:02:08.000 Now Jesus' enemies, the Pharisees, the religious leaders of his day, the people who think they have God completely figured out. 00:02:08.080 --> 00:02:11.360 It's a good reminder to us to make sure we're never one of those people. 00:02:11.599 --> 00:02:15.520 They don't like Jesus, they oppose Jesus, but they're always asking a different question. 00:02:15.680 --> 00:02:18.639 Their question is, who does he think he is? 00:02:19.120 --> 00:02:20.800 They're always asking some version of that. 00:02:20.960 --> 00:02:26.879 Jesus will do something, he'll say something audacious and bold, and they'll say, Who does this guy think he is? 00:02:27.280 --> 00:02:28.479 How dare he say that? 00:02:28.639 --> 00:02:30.319 How dare he claim that? 00:02:30.800 --> 00:02:34.560 And the reality is, both the Pharisees and the disciples are asking the right questions. 00:02:34.639 --> 00:02:36.719 We should ask the question, who is this man? 00:02:36.879 --> 00:02:37.759 Who are we dealing with? 00:02:37.919 --> 00:02:40.400 Because he's new, he's different, there's never been anyone like him. 00:02:40.479 --> 00:02:43.280 We should figure him out to the best of our ability. 00:02:43.599 --> 00:02:47.520 And maybe a really good place to start is to explore who he thinks he is. 00:02:47.919 --> 00:02:49.680 Who does Jesus claim to be? 00:02:49.840 --> 00:02:51.039 Who does he say that he is? 00:02:51.199 --> 00:02:53.520 And for the last several weeks, that's what we've been looking at. 00:02:53.680 --> 00:02:54.400 Who is Jesus? 00:02:54.560 --> 00:02:58.479 Who is this new human who breaks every category that we've ever had before? 00:02:58.719 --> 00:03:01.120 And we looked at it from five different angles. 00:03:01.280 --> 00:03:02.319 Today's the fifth. 00:03:02.400 --> 00:03:05.439 Our first was this simple fact: Jesus is the one. 00:03:05.680 --> 00:03:07.120 You might be like, the one what? 00:03:07.199 --> 00:03:10.800 Well, Jesus is the one that the scriptures spoke about. 00:03:10.960 --> 00:03:16.159 Jesus actually said once that you search the scriptures because you think they give you eternal life, but the scriptures point to me. 00:03:16.240 --> 00:03:17.360 It's always been about Jesus. 00:03:17.439 --> 00:03:20.080 He is the one that everyone was waiting for. 00:03:20.319 --> 00:03:24.080 And then we moved on to the fact that Jesus is the word, and that's kind of an interesting thing. 00:03:24.159 --> 00:03:26.159 If you weren't here that Sunday, give it a listen. 00:03:26.400 --> 00:03:30.240 That is a very specific claim to divinity. 00:03:30.960 --> 00:03:36.479 That the reason that Jesus can do the miracles that he does is because Jesus is divine. 00:03:37.199 --> 00:03:40.319 He is a man, 100%, but he is also God. 00:03:40.479 --> 00:03:44.400 And he makes that claim and he does all kinds of things to back that up. 00:03:44.560 --> 00:03:46.000 Jesus is the word. 00:03:46.319 --> 00:03:47.520 It's from John chapter 1. 00:03:47.680 --> 00:03:49.120 Really interesting if you've never read that before. 00:03:49.199 --> 00:03:52.400 And then we moved on to the fact that Jesus is the way. 00:03:52.719 --> 00:03:53.439 He's our way. 00:03:53.599 --> 00:03:55.520 He's our way to have a relationship with God. 00:03:55.680 --> 00:03:56.879 He's our way to forgiveness. 00:03:56.960 --> 00:03:57.759 He's our way to mercy. 00:03:57.840 --> 00:04:01.759 And here's what's so awesome about Jesus: He doesn't tell us the way, he doesn't point to the way. 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:02.960 He is the way. 00:04:03.199 --> 00:04:04.960 He takes us where we could not go. 00:04:05.120 --> 00:04:07.360 He does for us what we could not do for ourselves. 00:04:07.599 --> 00:04:08.639 He's our way. 00:04:08.960 --> 00:04:12.080 Last Sunday we looked at the fact that Jesus is the truth. 00:04:12.400 --> 00:04:13.120 He is the truth. 00:04:13.280 --> 00:04:20.319 What he says is right, what he says is good, what he says is true, and it is strong enough truth to build your entire life on. 00:04:20.560 --> 00:04:26.000 And today, we're exploring this idea that Jesus is the life. 00:04:26.639 --> 00:04:29.040 Jesus is the life. 00:04:29.360 --> 00:04:35.519 And by the way, those last three elements of who Jesus is, that all comes from one bold statement that Jesus himself makes. 00:04:35.839 --> 00:04:39.759 I am the way, the truth, and the life. 00:04:40.160 --> 00:04:42.480 No one can come to the Father except through me. 00:04:42.639 --> 00:04:43.759 John 14, 6. 00:04:45.199 --> 00:04:47.519 It is right, but it's a bold thing to say. 00:04:47.759 --> 00:04:48.720 Like, who says that? 00:04:48.879 --> 00:04:49.519 Like, honestly. 00:04:49.600 --> 00:04:53.040 Who comes and says things like, I am the way, the truth, and the life? 00:04:53.199 --> 00:04:58.160 I mean, if any person running for office ever said something like that, we ought to have like alarm bells ringing in our minds. 00:04:58.240 --> 00:04:59.199 Because that's like audacious. 00:04:59.279 --> 00:05:00.079 That's a bold thing to say. 00:05:00.240 --> 00:05:00.959 But Jesus said it. 00:05:01.120 --> 00:05:04.319 In fact, Jesus had a bit of a habit of saying things like this. 00:05:04.560 --> 00:05:06.240 It's not like a one-time thing for Jesus. 00:05:06.319 --> 00:05:09.040 Let me read you a few examples and see if you can catch on to a theme here. 00:05:09.279 --> 00:05:14.639 John chapter 11, verse 25, Jesus says, I am the resurrection and the life. 00:05:14.879 --> 00:05:18.560 Anyone who believes in me will live even after dying. 00:05:19.040 --> 00:05:22.480 John 6.35, Jesus says, I am the bread of life. 00:05:22.639 --> 00:05:24.720 Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. 00:05:24.800 --> 00:05:27.759 Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 00:05:28.079 --> 00:05:32.319 It's very reminiscent of something Jesus says in John chapter 4 to a woman that he meets at a well. 00:05:32.560 --> 00:05:39.439 Verse 10 If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you're speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water. 00:05:39.680 --> 00:05:45.279 A few verses later, he goes on to say that anyone who drinks this water from this well will soon become thirsty again. 00:05:45.439 --> 00:05:49.680 But those who drink the water that I will give, the living water, they will never be thirsty again. 00:05:49.920 --> 00:05:55.360 It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life. 00:05:55.759 --> 00:05:57.360 John chapter five. 00:06:08.319 --> 00:06:16.560 Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 00:06:16.800 --> 00:06:21.519 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 00:06:21.759 --> 00:06:23.279 John 10, 10, one more. 00:06:23.759 --> 00:06:28.079 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. 00:06:28.240 --> 00:06:33.199 I have come that they may have life and have it to the full. 00:06:34.399 --> 00:06:37.360 You guys probably caught the theme pretty quickly there. 00:06:37.839 --> 00:06:39.040 Anyone just want to shout it out? 00:06:39.120 --> 00:06:39.439 What is it? 00:06:39.680 --> 00:06:40.079 What's the theme? 00:06:40.160 --> 00:06:41.600 What do we see over and over again? 00:06:42.800 --> 00:06:43.120 Life. 00:06:43.199 --> 00:06:43.680 There you go. 00:06:43.759 --> 00:06:45.759 You weren't confident in that, but it's okay. 00:06:45.920 --> 00:06:46.800 You don't have to be. 00:06:46.879 --> 00:06:48.000 I did put you on the spot. 00:06:48.079 --> 00:06:48.720 He's life. 00:06:48.879 --> 00:06:50.000 He says it over and over again. 00:06:50.160 --> 00:06:50.639 I am life. 00:06:50.720 --> 00:06:51.519 I am the bread of life. 00:06:51.600 --> 00:06:52.399 I give living water. 00:06:52.480 --> 00:06:54.000 If you believe in me, eternal life. 00:06:54.079 --> 00:06:55.600 You will pass from death to life. 00:06:56.160 --> 00:06:57.680 It's audacious when you think about it. 00:06:57.839 --> 00:07:06.000 Jesus says over and over again, I am life, and I have the ability, he says, to grant you eternal life. 00:07:07.600 --> 00:07:10.639 It's interesting, I've spent this entire week just thinking about this. 00:07:10.720 --> 00:07:14.399 Because I'll be honest, the Jesus series, it's a lot of pressure for me. 00:07:14.639 --> 00:07:18.399 Like, I'm kind of okay if I mess up stuff about ancient Jewish kings. 00:07:18.480 --> 00:07:21.920 Like I can live with myself if I get David a little bit wrong. 00:07:22.160 --> 00:07:24.639 But if I get Jesus wrong, that's kind of a bigger deal. 00:07:24.959 --> 00:07:27.120 And I'm sure that I have in some ways, but I'm trying my best. 00:07:27.199 --> 00:07:30.879 I've just been this entire week trying to say, okay, Lord, like, what does this really mean? 00:07:31.040 --> 00:07:31.839 What is this really about? 00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:33.040 You are life itself. 00:07:33.199 --> 00:07:34.160 You are eternal life. 00:07:34.240 --> 00:07:35.439 You grant life. 00:07:35.759 --> 00:07:37.839 I've been thinking about life all week long. 00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:42.399 And it's kind of funny because tomorrow I'm gonna spend most of my day thinking about death. 00:07:42.480 --> 00:07:43.759 Let me explain. 00:07:44.879 --> 00:07:47.920 Megan, my wife, turned uh, well, I won't tell you how old she is. 00:07:48.000 --> 00:07:50.639 Uh that's that I woo! That was close. 00:07:50.879 --> 00:07:52.879 That was really close, guys. 00:07:54.319 --> 00:07:58.800 She turned whatever age she wants to be a couple of weeks ago. 00:07:59.920 --> 00:08:06.959 And for her birthday, the one thing that she wanted was to go to this exhibit that's in Atlanta that's all about King Tut. 00:08:07.040 --> 00:08:09.759 It's like this really cool King Tut experience. 00:08:09.920 --> 00:08:19.360 It's not the actual artifacts from his tomb, because you can only look at those behind the glass wall, but it's exact replicas of everything for his tomb, so you can kind of walk around and experience it. 00:08:19.439 --> 00:08:28.560 Now, I turned, and I'll tell you my age, I turned 40 just a few months ago, and I can tell you that the one thing I would not want to do to celebrate my 40th birthday is to spend time in a tomb. 00:08:28.720 --> 00:08:31.199 Like that is not where my head would be. 00:08:31.279 --> 00:08:37.600 That might give me an existential crisis at 40 years old, but she is not 40, so she has different filters. 00:08:37.919 --> 00:08:45.200 So I've been spending my my whole week thinking about life, and then tomorrow I'm gonna be in this giant exhibit of death. 00:08:45.519 --> 00:08:46.720 I thought that's kind of interesting. 00:08:46.799 --> 00:08:48.799 The timing of that is is funny. 00:08:49.120 --> 00:09:00.399 And so I was doing all this research this week, too, about like the King Tut thing, and I think we all know the basics of the pharaohs and the pyramids and stuff, but it's kind of interesting to think about because some things that I'm gonna see tomorrow, for example. 00:09:00.480 --> 00:09:04.320 I'm gonna get to see replicas of all of King Tut's treasure. 00:09:04.480 --> 00:09:06.960 He was buried with cool stuff. 00:09:07.120 --> 00:09:09.360 Like, like, for example, there's these gold statues. 00:09:09.440 --> 00:09:12.159 I think we have some pictures of some of the stuff that I'm gonna get to see tomorrow. 00:09:12.320 --> 00:09:13.279 Yeah, like like this. 00:09:13.440 --> 00:09:19.279 That's that was in his tomb, just shoved into a corner, a cool jackal gold chair thing. 00:09:19.440 --> 00:09:24.879 Um, those little like egg-shaped things, those are like mummified pets, is what that is. 00:09:25.039 --> 00:09:27.840 Who wouldn't want to be buried with all your dead pets? 00:09:28.080 --> 00:09:28.399 Right? 00:09:28.639 --> 00:09:29.200 There's that. 00:09:29.360 --> 00:09:31.039 There's some other treasures I'm gonna get to see. 00:09:31.120 --> 00:09:35.120 Uh let's see, this next one is like this cool dog golden thing. 00:09:35.279 --> 00:09:41.279 And over in the corner there, in in Tut's tomb, was like this large model boat. 00:09:41.600 --> 00:09:44.480 Just a big boat in his tomb, which is awesome. 00:09:44.559 --> 00:09:48.000 Some of you men love your boats, and you never even thought I could be buried with my boat? 00:09:48.159 --> 00:09:48.799 You could. 00:09:49.200 --> 00:09:49.759 You could. 00:09:49.840 --> 00:09:54.159 I don't know how you can work that out, but apparently it's possible King Tut teaches us that much. 00:09:54.240 --> 00:09:56.320 And then this is the big one, his sarcophagus. 00:09:56.399 --> 00:10:07.840 Actually, I guess it would be sarcophagi, I don't know the plural of that, but King Tut was buried, not in one, but in three coffins stacked inside each other like Russian dolls. 00:10:08.080 --> 00:10:12.240 Okay, now, like one of those, they're all filled with gold and all kinds of things. 00:10:12.399 --> 00:10:14.720 One of those is actually hewn out of solid gold. 00:10:14.879 --> 00:10:20.639 And just the gold alone that was used to make that is estimated to be around 13 million dollars. 00:10:20.879 --> 00:10:32.399 In fact, all the gold and jewelry that King Tut was buried with in today's valuation of just the raw materials, close to a billion dollars of wealth that he was buried with. 00:10:32.720 --> 00:10:43.200 And the reason why is because in in the ancient Egyptian idea of death in the afterlife, you wanted to ensure that in the afterlife you were living the life. 00:10:43.440 --> 00:10:47.440 And so their thought was, well, if I if I get buried with all my stuff, right? 00:10:47.519 --> 00:10:53.919 If I get buried in my my like Egyptian man cave with all my cool stuff, I get to enjoy that in the afterlife. 00:10:54.320 --> 00:11:01.039 I get I get the the pets, I get the cool chair, I get my boat. 00:11:01.759 --> 00:11:16.399 It was their way of trying to control death, trying to cling to life, which is something that we've always been doing throughout history as human, as just humanity, human beings. 00:11:16.559 --> 00:11:20.320 We've always tried to deal with death the best we can, usually not very well. 00:11:20.559 --> 00:11:32.799 And for the most part, that's just been a process of worry, of control, and and control is always related to fear, so the fact that you know King Tut's trying to control death probably tells you that he was really afraid of dying. 00:11:34.399 --> 00:11:38.879 And clinging to life, just holding on to it. 00:11:40.480 --> 00:11:42.879 And it's not like it's just the Egyptians. 00:11:43.519 --> 00:11:45.039 If you read the Bible, it's kind of interesting. 00:11:45.120 --> 00:11:49.440 In many ways, the Bible teaches us the history of how human beings have dealt with death. 00:11:50.879 --> 00:11:52.159 You go way back. 00:11:52.639 --> 00:11:54.320 Look at like Job, for example. 00:11:54.480 --> 00:11:56.240 Job chapter 14, verse 14. 00:11:56.399 --> 00:11:59.840 Job is he's described as the godliest man on the earth. 00:12:00.080 --> 00:12:03.759 He is so godly, he is so awesome that God himself brags about him. 00:12:04.159 --> 00:12:08.559 And God actually tells Satan, like, hey, check out Job, he's he's doing awesome. 00:12:08.799 --> 00:12:10.639 Like, just be be impressed. 00:12:10.720 --> 00:12:12.639 You have to admit, Job is amazing. 00:12:12.879 --> 00:12:20.799 But then Job experiences tragedy, and in the midst of his tragedy, Job chapter 14, verse 14, he says, Can the dead live again? 00:12:21.360 --> 00:12:27.200 If so, this would give me hope through all my years of struggle, and I would eagerly await the release of death. 00:12:27.360 --> 00:12:33.360 Does that sound like someone who is at peace with the dynamic between life and death? 00:12:34.159 --> 00:12:36.879 Who has this peace that says, I'm good. 00:12:37.200 --> 00:12:37.519 No. 00:12:37.759 --> 00:12:48.320 And Job was the godliest man on the planet, and he struggles with death and life and how to hold on to life and how to deal with death. 00:12:48.559 --> 00:12:50.480 There's a king named Hezekiah. 00:12:50.559 --> 00:12:54.159 We actually studied Hezekiah in our Messy Majesty series a while back. 00:12:54.240 --> 00:12:55.919 And Hezekiah is one of the good kings. 00:12:56.000 --> 00:12:57.279 That is not a high bar. 00:12:57.360 --> 00:13:01.519 Um, but he was one of the good kings in the history of Israel. 00:13:02.480 --> 00:13:04.480 But he was struck down with an illness. 00:13:04.559 --> 00:13:06.000 It almost killed him. 00:13:06.320 --> 00:13:10.720 He survived it, but in the midst of that illness, this is something that he wrote. 00:13:10.879 --> 00:13:12.960 We have it recorded in Isaiah chapter 38. 00:13:13.120 --> 00:13:16.799 He says, In the prime of my life must I now enter the place of the dead? 00:13:16.960 --> 00:13:20.080 Am I to be robbed of the rest of my years? 00:13:20.480 --> 00:13:24.799 Never again will I see the Lord God while still in the land of the living. 00:13:24.960 --> 00:13:27.840 Never again will I see my friends or be with those who live in this world. 00:13:28.000 --> 00:13:31.200 My life has been blown away like a shepherd's tent in a storm. 00:13:31.360 --> 00:13:35.919 It has been cut short as when a weaver cuts cloth from a loom. 00:13:36.080 --> 00:13:39.279 Does that sound like someone who's at peace with death? 00:13:39.519 --> 00:13:46.320 Someone who has confidence in life, and the fact that life is greater than death. 00:13:46.399 --> 00:13:47.279 It does not. 00:13:47.519 --> 00:13:58.159 Even the godliest people who were who were surrounded by prophets and they knew the scriptures, even those people struggled mightily to deal with death. 00:13:58.320 --> 00:14:01.279 Humanity has always had a hard time with this life and death dynamic. 00:14:01.360 --> 00:14:05.840 We cling to life, we try to control death, or we just try not to think about it, and some of you are mad that I'm talking about it. 00:14:05.919 --> 00:14:06.879 Forgive me. 00:14:08.399 --> 00:14:14.080 But then Jesus comes along and he he talks about life and death in totally different terms. 00:14:15.600 --> 00:14:17.840 Like he says things no one's ever said before. 00:14:18.159 --> 00:14:19.360 Let's look at one. 00:14:20.559 --> 00:14:22.240 Matthew chapter 16. 00:14:22.879 --> 00:14:30.720 Jesus said to his disciples, if any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. 00:14:31.200 --> 00:14:33.919 If you try to hang on to your life, you'll lose it. 00:14:34.320 --> 00:14:38.159 But if you give up your life for my sake, you'll save it. 00:14:41.279 --> 00:14:42.240 It's like the opposite. 00:14:42.399 --> 00:14:45.039 Jesus says, don't cling to life. 00:14:45.679 --> 00:14:51.279 Don't try to hang on to it, to control it, to try to ensure that it all goes according to plan. 00:14:51.360 --> 00:14:52.799 No, just give it up. 00:14:53.039 --> 00:14:54.000 Let it go. 00:14:54.960 --> 00:14:59.360 In fact, if you give up your life, you'll gain it. 00:15:01.679 --> 00:15:03.519 That's a strange thing to say. 00:15:04.080 --> 00:15:06.320 I think we can all admit that it was strange 2,000 years ago. 00:15:06.559 --> 00:15:07.279 It's strange today. 00:15:07.360 --> 00:15:10.320 It's not the way that people tend to think about life. 00:15:10.639 --> 00:15:14.720 It's this thing that you're just like, yeah, how can I give up as much of my life as possible? 00:15:15.600 --> 00:15:19.519 That's not the way that we think, but it's the way that Jesus thought. 00:15:20.720 --> 00:15:22.720 And I have this thought pretty often with Jesus. 00:15:22.879 --> 00:15:26.799 Either he's crazy, or he knows something that we don't. 00:15:30.559 --> 00:15:34.399 Jesus says in John 10, 10, we'll go back to this one. 00:15:34.639 --> 00:15:35.600 We looked at it earlier. 00:15:35.759 --> 00:15:39.919 The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy, but I've come that they may have life and have it to the full. 00:15:40.080 --> 00:15:44.320 He tells people who are alive that if they believe in him, they will have life. 00:15:44.480 --> 00:15:45.519 That's interesting, right? 00:15:47.120 --> 00:15:51.519 If you put your trust in me, if you believe in me, you will have life. 00:15:52.399 --> 00:15:54.240 Now later he says, life to the full. 00:15:54.320 --> 00:15:55.919 Some translations say abundant life. 00:15:56.080 --> 00:15:59.679 But first he says, if you believe in me, you'll have life. 00:16:00.720 --> 00:16:04.240 He's telling living people to put their trust in him so that they can have life. 00:16:04.639 --> 00:16:05.279 That's odd. 00:16:05.440 --> 00:16:14.159 I have a good friend who has a very successful history in sales, and he once told me, it's like sage wisdom, he once said, It's hard to sell an umbrella on a sunny day. 00:16:14.559 --> 00:16:15.600 That tracks. 00:16:15.840 --> 00:16:17.600 It's hard to sell an umbrella on a sunny day. 00:16:17.679 --> 00:16:23.600 It sounds kind of like what Jesus is doing, trying to talk to living people about having life. 00:16:24.000 --> 00:16:25.360 And he says this multiple times, right? 00:16:25.440 --> 00:16:30.320 We read a few where he says, Hey, anyone who hears me will pass from death to life. 00:16:30.799 --> 00:16:35.840 That I have life in myself, and when the dead hear me, like how can the dead hear? 00:16:36.399 --> 00:16:38.960 By the way, he's talking about us, like human beings. 00:16:39.200 --> 00:16:42.480 When the dead hear me and believe, they will have life. 00:16:43.759 --> 00:16:54.960 Jesus is promising us something that it seems like we already have, unless that is, unless Jesus means something very different when he uses the word life. 00:16:55.440 --> 00:17:03.279 Unless the kind of life that Jesus is describing is not what we typically associate with with life on this earth. 00:17:03.440 --> 00:17:04.079 It's something different. 00:17:04.160 --> 00:17:05.920 It's maybe a different category. 00:17:07.039 --> 00:17:11.039 I think we have uh an idiom today that sort of helps us understand this idea. 00:17:11.200 --> 00:17:14.400 Like, have you ever heard someone say the phrase, you haven't lived? 00:17:15.200 --> 00:17:21.680 Maybe someone finds out you haven't experienced something that in their mind is a must, and they say, Oh, you've never done that, you haven't lived. 00:17:22.400 --> 00:17:26.079 Last week I found out that my wife had never seen the movie The Goonies. 00:17:27.599 --> 00:17:28.960 I had the same reaction. 00:17:29.200 --> 00:17:30.079 Thank you. 00:17:30.559 --> 00:17:35.359 Thank you, because she didn't think it was a big deal, and I did, because we're children of the 80s. 00:17:35.519 --> 00:17:37.279 Like we're kids of the 80s. 00:17:38.240 --> 00:17:39.599 How many 80s kids do we have in the room? 00:17:39.680 --> 00:17:40.799 Just out of curiosity, yeah. 00:17:40.960 --> 00:17:42.799 How many 80s kids have seen the Goonies? 00:17:43.119 --> 00:17:44.079 You're you have to. 00:17:44.160 --> 00:17:45.519 You're you're supposed to. 00:17:47.599 --> 00:17:54.240 And and like I found this out because we were looking for a movie to watch with our kids, and we've we've kind of found as many movies as we can. 00:17:54.319 --> 00:17:55.839 And I'm I'm by the way, I'm just gonna say this. 00:17:55.920 --> 00:17:58.079 I'm the worst at remembering what's actually in movies. 00:17:58.240 --> 00:18:00.559 I'll be like, it's totally appropriate for the kids. 00:18:00.799 --> 00:18:01.839 I remember it well. 00:18:01.920 --> 00:18:04.559 And then we'll watch it, and like I'll just be like, I'm so sorry. 00:18:04.720 --> 00:18:05.680 I have no idea. 00:18:05.920 --> 00:18:08.799 I think I saw this on cable and it was edited out like as a kid. 00:18:08.880 --> 00:18:10.240 I don't, my bad. 00:18:10.720 --> 00:18:16.400 But I found out my wife had never seen the Goonies, and I said, babe, we we have to rectify this right now. 00:18:16.640 --> 00:18:20.720 You haven't seen, you haven't lived, you've never seen a movie, basically, if you haven't seen the Goonies. 00:18:20.880 --> 00:18:21.440 So we watched it. 00:18:21.599 --> 00:18:23.119 She thought it was okay. 00:18:25.359 --> 00:18:27.039 I do this a lot with food. 00:18:27.200 --> 00:18:30.319 Um I I love, well, I love food. 00:18:31.279 --> 00:18:33.839 But I love my favorite type of food is Indian food. 00:18:34.000 --> 00:18:36.960 A friend of mine introduced me to Indian food 20 years ago. 00:18:37.039 --> 00:18:40.880 And it it was like flavors I had never tasted before, colors I had never seen. 00:18:40.960 --> 00:18:42.960 It was kind of like that type of experience. 00:18:43.200 --> 00:18:48.240 And so now when I when I have a friend and I find out they've never had Indian food, I'm like, well, what? 00:18:48.720 --> 00:18:51.839 You've never you've never had like legitimate Indian food. 00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:53.200 Granted, I've never been to India. 00:18:53.279 --> 00:18:55.759 I don't know if the Indian food I've been eating is legitimate. 00:18:55.920 --> 00:18:58.240 Um it's here in Georgia, surely it's authentic. 00:18:58.319 --> 00:18:58.799 I don't know. 00:18:58.960 --> 00:19:01.599 But but I'll tell I'll take them, I'll basically force them to go. 00:19:01.680 --> 00:19:04.960 I'm saying, you have you've ever eaten that, like you haven't lived, come on, and I'll I'll take them. 00:19:05.039 --> 00:19:12.400 I've basically forced about a dozen people in my life to go to an Indian restaurant with me on a moment's notice, and I sit there and I watch them as they eat. 00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:17.839 And it's a it's kind of creepy, but I stare at them and and I'm just waiting for that moment of enlightenment. 00:19:17.920 --> 00:19:21.119 Like I'm waiting for that moment where they go, Whoa, wow, because that's what happened to me. 00:19:21.359 --> 00:19:22.880 And I want them to have that experience. 00:19:23.039 --> 00:19:29.680 When we say that someone hasn't lived, what we mean is, man, you haven't experienced the best. 00:19:30.319 --> 00:19:37.759 And whatever you've called life up to this point, it's it's just like a lesser version because you've you've yet to experience this. 00:19:37.839 --> 00:19:40.559 I think there's some of that in what Jesus is saying. 00:19:41.119 --> 00:19:50.160 When he promises us life, and he says, Come to me and you will have life, he is talking about an entirely different kind of life. 00:19:50.400 --> 00:20:08.720 A kind of life that is so full, it is so satisfying, it is so packed with meaning and wonder and goodness that when we experience it, it's like whatever we've called life up to this point isn't life at all. 00:20:09.759 --> 00:20:10.880 It's new. 00:20:12.160 --> 00:20:13.519 It's a whole new kind of life. 00:20:13.680 --> 00:20:21.440 2 Corinthians 5.17 says that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. 00:20:22.160 --> 00:20:24.559 The old life has gone. 00:20:25.359 --> 00:20:27.839 A new life has begun. 00:20:28.319 --> 00:20:35.680 Now, if you don't mind like nerding out with me for a second, the Greek language has two primary words for new. 00:20:37.039 --> 00:20:44.160 There's the word neo, which means new but like a new version of something that has existed before. 00:20:44.720 --> 00:20:50.720 So if if you see a new model of a car, right, it's this year's model, it is neo-new. 00:20:52.640 --> 00:20:54.160 But then there's this other word, canos. 00:20:55.200 --> 00:20:59.359 And this means new in quality, like the first that's ever existed before. 00:20:59.440 --> 00:21:00.720 There's never been something like this. 00:21:00.880 --> 00:21:01.680 It is that new. 00:21:01.759 --> 00:21:06.480 So like imagine it's the early 1900s and you're riding a horse and you see the first car. 00:21:06.640 --> 00:21:12.000 You're just on a path, and a car goes by you, and your brain would just be like, What was that? 00:21:12.720 --> 00:21:13.839 It was that new. 00:21:14.000 --> 00:21:15.759 It's a whole new category. 00:21:16.799 --> 00:21:22.720 And which word do you think it's using here when it describes the life that we have through Jesus? 00:21:23.200 --> 00:21:23.920 You got it. 00:21:24.079 --> 00:21:26.240 Again, not confident, but it's okay. 00:21:27.279 --> 00:21:27.759 Canos. 00:21:29.200 --> 00:21:32.960 It's not just some new and improved, slightly better. 00:21:33.279 --> 00:21:36.799 It's like I'll give you life, but you'll be a little bit happier. 00:21:38.000 --> 00:21:40.799 No, it's it's like a whole new kind of life. 00:21:41.119 --> 00:21:45.519 It's something that Jesus describes as eternal life, which doesn't just mean life after you die. 00:21:45.680 --> 00:21:46.880 Yes, that is a part of it. 00:21:47.119 --> 00:21:51.039 Eternal life is everlasting life, but eternal life, it means something so much more than that. 00:21:51.200 --> 00:21:59.519 It means that right here, right now, we can have a life that is informed and inspired, and we might even say empowered by eternity itself. 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:00.880 It's eternal life. 00:22:00.960 --> 00:22:02.960 It's like God's life in us. 00:22:03.279 --> 00:22:09.200 That's why 2 Corinthians 5.17 says that when we put our faith in Jesus, a new life has begun. 00:22:09.440 --> 00:22:15.039 It's not waiting for us when we die, it's a new life that we can have access to right now. 00:22:15.200 --> 00:22:16.880 What is this new life all about? 00:22:17.200 --> 00:22:18.960 Like what are some of the features? 00:22:20.640 --> 00:22:31.839 Well, Romans chapter 6, verses 4 through 7 says that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. 00:22:32.160 --> 00:22:37.279 Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. 00:22:37.440 --> 00:22:44.079 We know that our old, sinful selves were crucified with Christ, so that sin might lose its power in our lives. 00:22:44.400 --> 00:22:46.960 We are no longer slaves to sin. 00:22:47.839 --> 00:22:52.240 For when we died with Christ, we were set free from the power of sin. 00:22:52.400 --> 00:23:00.880 Apparently, this new life that Jesus gives us through faith in him, it is free from the power of sin, which is why none of you have sinned this week. 00:23:00.960 --> 00:23:02.240 Isn't that amazing? 00:23:03.039 --> 00:23:08.079 It's why when I gave my life to Jesus at 10 years old, never sinned after. 00:23:08.240 --> 00:23:12.799 Not all, no, like all my best sinning was after I gave my life to Jesus. 00:23:13.759 --> 00:23:22.720 But here's what it means doesn't mean we don't mess up, it doesn't mean that we're perfect, it doesn't mean that we don't struggle, it doesn't mean that we're impervious to temptation, it doesn't mean anything like that. 00:23:23.279 --> 00:23:31.279 But what it does mean, and this is powerful, it means that sin does not have power over us. 00:23:32.160 --> 00:23:33.920 That we don't have to. 00:23:34.240 --> 00:23:37.359 If we're honest with ourselves, sometimes we want to. 00:23:37.920 --> 00:23:42.640 Sometimes we just do what we feel like doing, even though we know it's wrong. 00:23:43.200 --> 00:23:46.400 I really hope I'm not the only one that that statement applies to. 00:23:47.039 --> 00:23:47.680 Good. 00:23:49.440 --> 00:23:50.799 But we don't have to. 00:23:50.960 --> 00:23:55.519 We are not powerless against temptation, against sin. 00:23:57.359 --> 00:24:00.559 No matter what our culture teaches us, we're just not. 00:24:00.880 --> 00:24:01.920 We actually have a say. 00:24:02.000 --> 00:24:04.720 We've been given a say, we have power, we have freedom. 00:24:05.359 --> 00:24:09.759 And so we actually hear things, it's interesting, um, you'll hear phrases in culture all the time. 00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:12.880 Things like uh, I can't help the way I feel. 00:24:13.440 --> 00:24:17.680 Or I I can't, gosh, I can't change who I'm attracted to. 00:24:17.839 --> 00:24:19.839 People use that to justify all kinds of things. 00:24:20.240 --> 00:24:22.319 And I think what they're saying is true. 00:24:22.559 --> 00:24:25.200 Because what they're essentially saying is I'm I'm a slave. 00:24:25.519 --> 00:24:31.440 I am I am enslaved to my emotions, I am enslaved to my desires, I can't help it. 00:24:31.599 --> 00:24:39.599 And actually, scripture teaches that, yeah, that's sort of the human condition apart from Jesus. 00:24:40.799 --> 00:24:49.680 And through Jesus, through faith in Jesus, there's this new life that is placed inside of us, this new life that begins in us that is free, and it's free to choose. 00:24:50.880 --> 00:24:52.319 So we do have a say. 00:24:52.799 --> 00:25:11.759 That doesn't mean it's easy, that doesn't mean it's simple, that doesn't mean that we always know the right thing to do, but it does mean that as we grow, as we mature, we have the ability to live the life that God calls us to live to the best of our ability, and when we fail, we have grace and we have mercy. 00:25:12.079 --> 00:25:13.680 But we're not slaves to sin. 00:25:13.759 --> 00:25:19.039 This this new life, it is a life of freedom, true freedom. 00:25:19.200 --> 00:25:30.000 Some of us need to hear that and believe that, because it is easy for me, I'm sure it's easy for all of us, to believe that no, I'm still just as powerless as everybody else. 00:25:30.160 --> 00:25:32.799 No, if you have Jesus, there is a power inside of you. 00:25:32.960 --> 00:25:36.160 You may not feel it, you may not understand it, that doesn't really matter. 00:25:36.400 --> 00:25:37.359