WEBVTT 00:00:03.040 --> 00:00:09.119 You were created by God to feel the full range of human emotion. 00:00:09.519 --> 00:00:17.039 This podcast is a ministry of Grand Parkway Baptist Church, helping people know, enjoy, and glorify God. 00:00:17.280 --> 00:00:21.920 For more information about Grand Parkway, visit Grandparkway.org. 00:00:24.559 --> 00:00:25.280 Let's pray. 00:00:25.519 --> 00:00:27.120 God, that's our understanding today. 00:00:27.199 --> 00:00:32.079 We believe that you're going to complete your work in us, which means if we're still breathing, you're not done. 00:00:32.240 --> 00:00:35.280 You're still working in us, you're still working on us. 00:00:35.359 --> 00:00:36.880 And so we yield to both of those. 00:00:37.039 --> 00:00:40.399 And the reason we do, God, is because our heart has found its treasure. 00:00:40.560 --> 00:00:42.719 Our treasure is not in this world. 00:00:42.960 --> 00:00:49.119 The Bible says over and over that the kingdom of God is like a man plowing in a field and discovers treasure. 00:00:49.280 --> 00:00:54.399 And he covers it back up and he sells everything he has to buy the field that contains the treasure. 00:00:54.640 --> 00:01:00.240 God, we're gonna we're willing to sacrifice whatever's necessary to get the field that contains the treasure. 00:01:00.399 --> 00:01:01.600 You're that valuable. 00:01:01.759 --> 00:01:03.600 The kingdom of God is that valuable. 00:01:03.759 --> 00:01:10.079 You're the pearl of great price, not our future husband, our future wife, not our kids, not our bank account. 00:01:10.239 --> 00:01:12.879 Our heart was made for treasure. 00:01:13.120 --> 00:01:15.120 And we're not gonna settle for anything else. 00:01:15.280 --> 00:01:20.799 And you're treasure, so we're coming hard after you today because the gospel comes hard after us. 00:01:20.959 --> 00:01:23.599 And that's a that's a beautiful reciprocity. 00:01:23.760 --> 00:01:26.079 And so we don't, we're not backing away from that. 00:01:26.239 --> 00:01:28.959 We rise to that because that's what we were created for. 00:01:29.120 --> 00:01:32.560 Thank you that you gave us a heart that was created for treasure. 00:01:32.879 --> 00:01:34.560 We forsake everything else. 00:01:34.719 --> 00:01:43.760 All the cheap trinkets that this world manufactures and the idols that our heart produces, we say no, because our heart was made for treasure. 00:01:44.079 --> 00:01:48.560 So, Lord, deliver us from trinkets in pursuit of treasure, we pray. 00:01:48.719 --> 00:01:49.599 In Jesus' name. 00:01:49.680 --> 00:01:51.680 And everyone said, Amen. 00:01:51.840 --> 00:01:52.159 Amen. 00:01:52.239 --> 00:01:55.599 If you get a Bible, I invite you to take it and open up to John chapter 16. 00:01:55.840 --> 00:02:01.040 John chapter 16, and uh uh I want to talk to you this morning about what God will not save you from. 00:02:01.280 --> 00:02:11.120 What God will not save you from, because if you're not careful, you come to church and and and well-intentioned but dead-wrong preachers make it sound like God's gonna deliver you uh from everything. 00:02:11.199 --> 00:02:13.280 And if you're Christianity is just the way out. 00:02:13.439 --> 00:02:15.199 No, Christianity is the way through. 00:02:15.439 --> 00:02:16.719 Big difference in those two. 00:02:16.800 --> 00:02:18.879 Uh, but but let me just kind of tip my hand. 00:02:18.960 --> 00:02:22.719 Uh, what God will not save you from is the experience of just being human. 00:02:22.960 --> 00:02:28.240 Uh and and we'll unpack that more when we get into the sermon, but I want to start reading in John chapter 16. 00:02:28.319 --> 00:02:36.319 I'll start reading verse 12 so you can kind of get the flow of thought because verse 16, where we're gonna start the sermon today, it sounds like, well, what is he talking about? 00:02:36.479 --> 00:02:38.639 Now, if you're our guest today, we're going to the book of John. 00:02:38.719 --> 00:02:50.719 Uh it's called Expository Preaching, uh, where basically you just kind of read the Bible and tell people what it what it says, what it meant back then, what it means for us nowadays, and at the end, we'll give you some soul space to kind of think about it. 00:02:50.800 --> 00:02:59.840 Uh, the great thing about expository preaching is you have to think about things you normally wouldn't think about, because love to ourselves, we preachers would say the same six things every Sunday. 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:11.199 Uh, but the Bible is it's irregular and it's jagged and it's thought-provoking and it's inviting and it's funny uh uh and it's revealing all at the same time, okay? 00:03:11.439 --> 00:03:14.159 That's why we go through books of the Bible most of the time. 00:03:14.319 --> 00:03:18.719 Every once in a while we'll do a topical series, but we're usually plowing hard and deep through a book of the Bible. 00:03:18.960 --> 00:03:19.919 John chapter 16. 00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:23.199 Let me start reading in verse 12 so we can kind of get the feel of what's happening. 00:03:23.360 --> 00:03:25.439 Jesus is talking, here's the context. 00:03:25.599 --> 00:03:28.080 Jesus is getting ready to go to the cross. 00:03:28.240 --> 00:03:32.719 He's talking to his disciples, and he's telling them, hey, getting them ready for his absence. 00:03:32.879 --> 00:03:36.560 He says in verse 12, I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 00:03:36.719 --> 00:03:45.599 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears, he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 00:03:45.759 --> 00:03:50.159 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 00:03:50.400 --> 00:03:52.080 All that the Father has is mine. 00:03:52.240 --> 00:03:55.759 Therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 00:03:56.000 --> 00:04:01.840 Verse 16, a little while and you will see me no longer, and again a little while, and you will see me. 00:04:02.080 --> 00:04:09.599 So some of his disciples said to one another, What is this he says to us, a little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me? 00:04:09.840 --> 00:04:12.479 And because I go, I am going to the Father? 00:04:12.719 --> 00:04:15.840 So they were saying, What does he mean by a little while? 00:04:16.079 --> 00:04:17.680 We do not know what he's talking about. 00:04:17.920 --> 00:04:19.920 Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him. 00:04:20.160 --> 00:04:26.160 So he said to them, Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, A little while and you will not see me? 00:04:26.319 --> 00:04:28.319 And again a little while and you will see me? 00:04:28.480 --> 00:04:33.279 Truly, truly I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. 00:04:33.519 --> 00:04:36.480 You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. 00:04:36.639 --> 00:04:40.079 When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hours come. 00:04:40.240 --> 00:04:46.720 But when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 00:04:46.959 --> 00:04:54.000 So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. 00:04:54.240 --> 00:04:56.079 In that day you will ask nothing of me. 00:04:56.240 --> 00:05:00.800 Truly, truly I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give to you. 00:05:00.879 --> 00:05:03.040 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. 00:05:03.199 --> 00:05:06.560 Ask and you will receive, that your joy may be full. 00:05:06.800 --> 00:05:09.360 Now there's four things I want to point out in the text, okay? 00:05:09.519 --> 00:05:14.800 The first one, in order of the text, the first one is simply this is that waiting is a part of the human experience. 00:05:15.120 --> 00:05:17.439 Waiting is a part of the human experience. 00:05:17.600 --> 00:05:21.279 Verse 16 starts off with this little, these three little words, a little while. 00:05:21.519 --> 00:05:22.959 A little while, a little while. 00:05:23.120 --> 00:05:28.560 If you want to frustrate your kids when they ask you a question, do not say yes or no, say in a little while. 00:05:28.639 --> 00:05:30.720 Uh it will not go over well, okay? 00:05:30.879 --> 00:05:36.480 Just in a little while, because we are we we God created us to be hardwired to wait. 00:05:36.560 --> 00:05:43.439 And here's here's one of the the truest indications that you're not God and that I'm not God, is because you have to wait sometimes. 00:05:43.600 --> 00:05:49.279 Uh like I went to the dermatologist the other day, uh, and and there was nobody in the waiting room but me. 00:05:49.439 --> 00:05:54.639 And that there was like six women back there all chatting it up about what they're gonna have for lunch and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. 00:05:54.720 --> 00:05:56.800 And I'm like, hello, hello. 00:05:57.199 --> 00:06:00.560 Over here, one person, six of you, a bunch of doctors, what are we doing? 00:06:00.720 --> 00:06:02.480 Well, the pharmaceutical reps are here. 00:06:02.639 --> 00:06:05.040 I don't care what the pharmaceutical reps are doing. 00:06:05.199 --> 00:06:07.839 I'm here, I'm paying you, they're not paying you. 00:06:07.920 --> 00:06:10.319 And the lady goes, Well, they brought us lunch. 00:06:11.439 --> 00:06:13.519 That did not help my waiting, okay? 00:06:13.759 --> 00:06:15.759 I started losing my peripheral vision. 00:06:15.839 --> 00:06:19.279 I was just like walking back and forth, like maybe if I walk around, they'll see me. 00:06:19.360 --> 00:06:20.639 It didn't help, by the way. 00:06:20.879 --> 00:06:22.879 Waited 27 minutes. 00:06:23.519 --> 00:06:26.800 And I walked back, and the lady's breath smelled like fajitas. 00:06:27.759 --> 00:06:28.800 I was not happy. 00:06:28.879 --> 00:06:30.000 I was like, I was lunch. 00:06:30.240 --> 00:06:30.800 Oh, it's great. 00:06:30.879 --> 00:06:33.519 The pharmaceutical reps brought us fajitas from Papasitas. 00:06:33.759 --> 00:06:34.800 Yeah, you know what they brought me? 00:06:34.959 --> 00:06:36.000 Bubkus, okay? 00:06:36.160 --> 00:06:40.480 I've been out there for 28 minutes waiting on you people to digest your lunch and blah, blah, blah. 00:06:40.560 --> 00:06:41.519 And then it dawned on me. 00:06:41.680 --> 00:06:44.879 This is frustrating because it's just a little reminder, I'm not God. 00:06:46.560 --> 00:06:49.680 Yes, yes, because you're not God, you're going to have to wait. 00:06:49.839 --> 00:06:52.160 You're not going to get what you want all the time. 00:06:52.319 --> 00:06:57.920 So if you're 23 and you're not married and you thought, wow, by the time this time I thought I'd be married, I'm sick of waiting. 00:06:58.000 --> 00:07:07.040 If you're not careful, you will create for yourself this tower of Babel, something that you can build and create to say, see, I'm not alone. 00:07:07.199 --> 00:07:08.560 You don't want to do that. 00:07:09.040 --> 00:07:11.199 Because waiting is a part of the human experience. 00:07:11.360 --> 00:07:13.920 Jesus says, Hey, a little while you'll see me no longer. 00:07:14.000 --> 00:07:15.759 And again, a little while you will see me. 00:07:15.839 --> 00:07:19.040 This is not the first time Jesus just pulls this up out of nowhere. 00:07:19.199 --> 00:07:25.040 All through the Gospel of John, Jesus says, over and over, in a little while, in a little while, in a little while. 00:07:25.199 --> 00:07:31.920 He says in John chapter 7, verse 33, Jesus then said, I will be with you a little longer, and then I'm going to him who sent me. 00:07:32.079 --> 00:07:33.920 John chapter 13, verse 33. 00:07:34.079 --> 00:07:38.399 Little children, yet a little while I am with you, you will seek me. 00:07:38.560 --> 00:07:43.680 And just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, where I am going, you cannot come. 00:07:43.920 --> 00:07:45.360 A little while, a little while. 00:07:45.600 --> 00:07:46.560 Drives them crazy. 00:07:46.720 --> 00:07:48.720 We drive to Pensacola to see my in-laws. 00:07:48.959 --> 00:07:50.959 My kids, when they were younger, could not handle it. 00:07:51.120 --> 00:07:55.920 We would, every 15 minutes, how much longer, how much further till we get there? 00:07:56.000 --> 00:07:57.759 And I would say, in a little while. 00:07:57.920 --> 00:08:04.800 And one day, from the backseat, my spirited seven-year-old pushed the back of my seat and said, What does that mean? 00:08:07.360 --> 00:08:10.160 Woo! I'm about to show you what that means. 00:08:11.040 --> 00:08:12.399 I taught my kids to drive. 00:08:12.480 --> 00:08:14.000 Now they're 21 and 16, okay? 00:08:14.079 --> 00:08:17.519 I taught them to drive by saying, Hey, when you when you go to hit the brakes, don't stop. 00:08:17.839 --> 00:08:19.439 It's like there's a bird under the brake. 00:08:19.519 --> 00:08:21.040 You just want to hold the bird in place. 00:08:21.199 --> 00:08:22.959 You don't want to crush the bird, okay? 00:08:23.120 --> 00:08:26.319 You just consistently depress the brake until the vehicle slows down. 00:08:26.480 --> 00:08:27.600 I crush the bird. 00:08:28.480 --> 00:08:29.600 She kind of bounced forward. 00:08:29.759 --> 00:08:32.159 I said, Hey, I'll come back down that back seat and help you get it sorted. 00:08:32.240 --> 00:08:33.279 You need help getting it sorted? 00:08:33.440 --> 00:08:34.720 No, so I can get it sorted. 00:08:34.799 --> 00:08:36.799 I just don't want to hear it in a little while anymore. 00:08:36.879 --> 00:08:39.519 Well, welcome to the club, because you get older, you're gonna hear it more. 00:08:39.679 --> 00:08:41.039 Not just from me, but from God. 00:08:41.120 --> 00:08:42.320 So get used to it. 00:08:42.960 --> 00:08:44.159 You know why you're gonna hear that? 00:08:44.320 --> 00:08:45.120 I don't care. 00:08:45.360 --> 00:08:46.720 Because you ain't God. 00:08:46.879 --> 00:08:52.240 Now, if you sash me one more time, we're gonna pull this van over and you're gonna see who the authority figure is. 00:08:56.399 --> 00:09:00.879 I adjusted that mirror and I said, Your mom does the same thing, it doesn't bother me at all. 00:09:03.039 --> 00:09:05.919 Cross your arms all you want, I could care less. 00:09:06.399 --> 00:09:12.399 Stas me now that she's 21, we've driving down the road, I'll stomp the brakes and go down and go, bow to dad, bow to dad. 00:09:14.799 --> 00:09:17.279 They don't think that's funny either. 00:09:17.600 --> 00:09:18.799 Not funny, dad. 00:09:18.960 --> 00:09:19.519 Not funny. 00:09:19.679 --> 00:09:22.000 See, waiting is a part of the human experience. 00:09:22.159 --> 00:09:27.120 And see, so a little while, it's imperative because it's part of the human experience, we're all gonna do it. 00:09:27.279 --> 00:09:30.559 It's imperative that we ask the right question in the context of a little while. 00:09:30.639 --> 00:09:35.679 Because if you don't learn to ask the right question in the context of a little while, a little while starts to feel like forever. 00:09:35.759 --> 00:09:38.879 And you look around and you say things like the children of Israel. 00:09:39.039 --> 00:09:41.279 See, God's people have never been good at waiting. 00:09:41.440 --> 00:09:45.279 The children of Israel said this about Moses when he went up on the mountain to get the Ten Commandments. 00:09:45.360 --> 00:09:49.120 They said, Hey, what's taking so long with this Moses guy? 00:09:49.200 --> 00:09:50.320 We don't know what happened to him. 00:09:50.399 --> 00:09:53.759 Then they looked at Aaron and said, Come, hey, make gods for us. 00:09:53.919 --> 00:09:56.480 We can't stand the silence and the waiting. 00:09:56.639 --> 00:09:58.240 We want something to fixate on. 00:09:58.399 --> 00:10:00.480 That's where idolatry comes from, beloved. 00:10:00.879 --> 00:10:04.559 When you get tired of waiting, you create an idol, it gives you something to look at. 00:10:04.720 --> 00:10:17.600 You and I were not created to live in bondage to the visible, we were created to live in bondage to the invisible, which is why the Bible says Hebrews chapter 11, verse 1, faith is a substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. 00:10:17.759 --> 00:10:22.639 If you live in bondage to the visible, you're always responding, and you got a response. 00:10:22.799 --> 00:10:27.440 You gotta realize, hey, there's some things that haven't happened yet, and that's okay. 00:10:27.600 --> 00:10:28.960 I can trust God for those. 00:10:29.039 --> 00:10:30.960 I don't have to create something for me. 00:10:31.120 --> 00:10:34.000 I can trust God for what God wants to bring to me. 00:10:34.159 --> 00:10:37.600 Here's two questions that help us wait uh a lot better. 00:10:37.759 --> 00:10:39.919 Two questions to ask ourselves while we're waiting. 00:10:40.080 --> 00:10:42.799 Number one is this what is God doing in me? 00:10:43.120 --> 00:10:45.519 What is God doing in me? 00:10:45.679 --> 00:10:46.799 Uh, you say, why? 00:10:46.879 --> 00:10:50.799 This is uh because sometimes we're not ready for what's coming. 00:10:50.960 --> 00:10:52.559 That's why it hadn't happened yet. 00:10:52.720 --> 00:10:55.679 And when I say you're not ready, that's not punishment. 00:10:55.759 --> 00:10:57.039 It's it's preparation. 00:10:57.200 --> 00:10:58.639 It's I give you a biblical context. 00:10:58.720 --> 00:11:03.039 It's 1 Kings chapter 19, got him Elijah, has this incredible experience. 00:11:03.120 --> 00:11:09.039 Uh, in chapter 18, where he defeats all these false prophets of Baal, and then the next day he's just like, God, that's enough. 00:11:09.120 --> 00:11:09.759 I want to die. 00:11:09.840 --> 00:11:10.720 I'm tapping out. 00:11:10.799 --> 00:11:11.519 I'm done, okay? 00:11:11.600 --> 00:11:12.639 I don't want to do this anymore. 00:11:12.720 --> 00:11:14.399 This has just worn me down. 00:11:14.559 --> 00:11:18.799 And and and he just goes out in the wilderness and sits under a tree and just says, I'm done. 00:11:18.879 --> 00:11:19.919 I don't want to do it anymore. 00:11:20.080 --> 00:11:31.279 And God comes to him and says, Buck up, soldier, and that's the No, God comes to him and says, Hey, hey, he falls asleep, he wakes up, there's a jar of water and a cake of bread there, and God says, Get up, eat and drink. 00:11:31.440 --> 00:11:34.879 And then God says this lay back down and go back to sleep. 00:11:35.120 --> 00:11:37.840 Don't you love a God who says, get more sleep? 00:11:38.480 --> 00:11:40.159 He says, Lay back down and go back to sleep. 00:11:40.399 --> 00:11:41.120 Because he says this. 00:11:41.200 --> 00:11:43.840 This is why I tell you, it's not punishment, it's preparation. 00:11:44.000 --> 00:11:46.720 He says, the journey is too great for you. 00:11:47.759 --> 00:11:49.679 I know what's coming, you don't. 00:11:49.759 --> 00:11:56.559 And what God is saying to Elijah, what he says to us is, hey, I'm not punishing you by if you're waiting for something right now, I'm not punishing you. 00:11:56.720 --> 00:11:58.799 I'm saying the journey is too great for you. 00:11:58.960 --> 00:12:00.480 This is a time of preparation. 00:12:00.639 --> 00:12:03.360 So you have to ask yourself, what is God doing in me? 00:12:03.519 --> 00:12:06.000 Secondly, you have to ask, what is God doing through me? 00:12:06.240 --> 00:12:07.519 What is God doing through me? 00:12:07.679 --> 00:12:11.519 Because God acts, he works in us before he works through us. 00:12:11.759 --> 00:12:14.960 And so you say, Well, when I ask the question, what is God doing through me? 00:12:15.120 --> 00:12:16.399 The question, the answer is nothing. 00:12:16.559 --> 00:12:18.639 Then go back and see question number one. 00:12:19.279 --> 00:12:20.559 Because you are the medium. 00:12:20.720 --> 00:12:26.240 You and I are the meaning, our lives are the medium through which God's will and ways find expression. 00:12:26.720 --> 00:12:34.720 You you you you you you you are created by God to kind of be his megaphone to the world to kind of say, hey, this is kind of what God is like. 00:12:34.879 --> 00:12:36.080 Watch the way I live. 00:12:36.159 --> 00:12:37.519 I'll demonstrate to you. 00:12:37.679 --> 00:12:42.080 This this is why Matthew picks up on this in Matthew chapter 5, about verse 16. 00:12:42.240 --> 00:12:50.000 He says, Um, it in the same way, let your light shine before men so they see your good deeds and they glorify your father who's in heaven. 00:12:50.159 --> 00:12:54.080 People are gonna glorify God when they see the way you and I live our life. 00:12:54.240 --> 00:12:55.919 This is what we were created for. 00:12:56.080 --> 00:13:03.759 And so when I say waiting is a part of the human experience, yeah, I mean, Jesus says to his disciples, in a little while, in a little while, in a little while. 00:13:03.840 --> 00:13:04.639 It's not yet. 00:13:04.799 --> 00:13:05.679 He's getting them ready. 00:13:05.759 --> 00:13:07.759 He has said, all through John, okay? 00:13:07.919 --> 00:13:13.759 And so we're all gonna have to wait because we're not God, but because we're not God, which is a good thing, amen. 00:13:14.159 --> 00:13:16.559 Oh, you can wait on the God who really is. 00:13:16.799 --> 00:13:20.879 Here's the second thing the Bible says to us today, that Jesus knew what was coming. 00:13:21.279 --> 00:13:23.279 Jesus knew what was coming. 00:13:23.360 --> 00:13:25.200 You say, I don't know what you mean. 00:13:25.360 --> 00:13:29.679 Uh, verse 17, he says, So some of the disciples said to one another, What is this that he says to us? 00:13:29.919 --> 00:13:36.240 A little while, and you'll you you will not see me, and again a little while, you'll see me, and because I'm going to the Father, he's talking about the ascension. 00:13:36.320 --> 00:13:40.720 When he he's talking about the death, burial, resurrection of Jesus is what he's talking about. 00:13:40.799 --> 00:13:43.679 And then the ascension is when Jesus goes back into heaven, okay? 00:13:43.840 --> 00:13:47.360 In verse 18, so they were saying, What does he mean by a little while? 00:13:47.600 --> 00:13:49.440 We do not know what he's talking about. 00:13:49.759 --> 00:13:53.919 Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, now hear that. 00:13:54.080 --> 00:13:58.240 Jesus knew what they wanted to ask him, so he speaks to their question. 00:13:58.480 --> 00:14:02.879 If you knew that God knows the questions you really want to ask, what would you go ahead and ask? 00:14:04.000 --> 00:14:07.440 You ever have a question in you that feels so big, you're kind of like, I can't ask that. 00:14:07.679 --> 00:14:09.120 That sounds disrespectful. 00:14:09.360 --> 00:14:10.559 That sounds horrible. 00:14:10.720 --> 00:14:13.600 That sounds Jesus already knows. 00:14:13.919 --> 00:14:20.159 And the Bible says right here that Jesus knew they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, Is this what you're asking yourselves? 00:14:20.320 --> 00:14:24.159 What I meant by saying, A little while and you'll not see me, and again a little while you will see me? 00:14:24.399 --> 00:14:29.360 And then he goes on and unpacks, he says, truly, truly, which means of a truth, of a truth. 00:14:29.600 --> 00:14:31.200 Hear ye, hear ye. 00:14:31.279 --> 00:14:33.039 Don't miss what I'm fixing to say. 00:14:33.279 --> 00:14:37.360 And what he's saying to us is he's demonstrating to us that, hey, I know what's coming. 00:14:37.519 --> 00:14:39.200 I'm very clear on what's coming now. 00:14:39.279 --> 00:14:42.320 You may think, you may ask yourself, well, he knew what was coming. 00:14:42.480 --> 00:14:44.080 Why didn't he stop it? 00:14:44.799 --> 00:14:50.080 If Jesus knew what was coming, he knew these people are out to get him, why didn't he stop it? 00:14:50.159 --> 00:14:51.440 I was talking to a guy one time. 00:14:51.600 --> 00:14:56.799 We were having a little spiritual dialogue, uh uh, I'm sharing the gospel, and the guy asked a great question. 00:14:56.960 --> 00:14:59.840 By the way, people that don't believe have great questions. 00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:01.360 Don't insult their intelligence. 00:15:01.519 --> 00:15:06.799 He said to me, he said, So you're basically telling me that Christ came to save me. 00:15:06.960 --> 00:15:10.159 How can I trust a God to save me who couldn't save himself? 00:15:10.879 --> 00:15:13.840 And I was like, hmm, Kimosabe, you speak truth. 00:15:14.559 --> 00:15:24.399 And it caught me off guard, and I was just kind of like, uh, uh, uh, now there's a verse in the Bible in 1 Peter that says, Don't worry about what you what to say, because in that moment the Holy Spirit will give you the words to say. 00:15:24.559 --> 00:15:28.960 And so this question came out of my mouth, kind of like a burp, like, oh, that was unintentional. 00:15:29.120 --> 00:15:29.840 Uh, excuse me. 00:15:30.159 --> 00:15:38.639 Here's what leapt out of my mouth I was talking to this guy, because he could he could tell I was kind of caught off guard, and I was like, uh, and then all of a sudden, out it came. 00:15:38.879 --> 00:15:43.039 And I said, if Jesus didn't die for you, how else would you know God loved you? 00:15:43.759 --> 00:15:45.120 And I was like, oh, that's good. 00:15:45.200 --> 00:15:47.519 I hope, yeah, yeah, yes, let's go with that. 00:15:47.759 --> 00:15:48.639 Yes, exactly. 00:15:48.799 --> 00:15:50.000 What I'm saying right there. 00:15:50.240 --> 00:15:51.039 And he said, What? 00:15:51.200 --> 00:15:55.440 And I said, if Jesus doesn't die for you, and by the way, no one takes Jesus' life. 00:15:55.519 --> 00:16:00.879 Jesus, because he said, you know, Jesus was a good dude, but he hacked off some religious people and they waxed him. 00:16:01.200 --> 00:16:05.279 And I was like, I do you feel dirty saying that? 00:16:05.440 --> 00:16:09.519 I mean, and I said, No, actually, Jesus didn't hack off a bunch of religious people and they waxed him. 00:16:09.759 --> 00:16:11.120 No one takes his life from him. 00:16:11.360 --> 00:16:12.080 He lays it down. 00:16:12.159 --> 00:16:13.840 He goes, Well, he didn't save himself. 00:16:14.159 --> 00:16:21.200 I said, Okay, ask yourself the question: if Jesus doesn't die, what context do you have for knowing that God loves you? 00:16:21.679 --> 00:16:22.799 He's like, That's a great question. 00:16:22.879 --> 00:16:23.440 Why do you ask that? 00:16:23.519 --> 00:16:30.399 I said, because the Bible says in Romans chapter 5 about verse 8 that God demonstrates his love for us in that while we're still sinners, Christ died. 00:16:30.799 --> 00:16:31.919 He died for us. 00:16:32.080 --> 00:16:34.399 How else would you know if he doesn't die? 00:16:34.639 --> 00:16:37.200 See, Jesus knew all along that he came to die. 00:16:37.279 --> 00:16:38.559 It didn't catch him off guard. 00:16:38.720 --> 00:16:42.559 He didn't, you read the Bible, you'll never see these two words coming out of the mouth of Jesus. 00:16:42.720 --> 00:16:43.519 Oh, really? 00:16:45.600 --> 00:16:46.480 Shut up. 00:16:47.039 --> 00:16:48.720 No, he knows fully well. 00:16:48.879 --> 00:16:52.000 And by the way, he's surrounded by people who don't. 00:16:52.559 --> 00:16:53.519 They don't get it. 00:16:53.759 --> 00:16:56.879 It's like a great line from an old western, encumbered by idents. 00:16:57.039 --> 00:16:58.159 We pressed on. 00:16:58.559 --> 00:17:00.879 Jesus is just surrounded by numbskulls. 00:17:01.039 --> 00:17:01.840 He's like, hello. 00:17:02.159 --> 00:17:03.600 Matter of fact, this is in the Bible. 00:17:03.679 --> 00:17:05.359 At one point, he's they don't understand. 00:17:05.599 --> 00:17:09.920 He says to them, Have I been with you this long and you still do not know who I am? 00:17:10.240 --> 00:17:12.480 Answer, yes, they do not. 00:17:12.640 --> 00:17:16.000 Now, when I say, Hey, Jesus, no, here's what the Bible says. 00:17:16.079 --> 00:17:17.920 This is John chapter 10, verse 17. 00:17:18.079 --> 00:17:25.599 Jesus says, For this reason the Father loves me because I laid down my life, crucifixion, that I may take it up again, resurrection. 00:17:25.759 --> 00:17:28.720 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. 00:17:28.880 --> 00:17:32.079 I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. 00:17:32.319 --> 00:17:34.720 This charge I received from my Father. 00:17:34.960 --> 00:17:39.039 The death of Jesus, the Bible teaches us, is necessary, but it's not final. 00:17:39.279 --> 00:17:41.039 He says, Hey, no one takes it from me. 00:17:41.200 --> 00:17:44.000 Jesus didn't get killed, Jesus died. 00:17:44.480 --> 00:17:45.599 Big difference. 00:17:46.000 --> 00:17:46.559 Big difference. 00:17:46.720 --> 00:17:50.000 If there was a death certificate, the cause of death is not murder. 00:17:50.240 --> 00:17:52.319 The cause of death is sacrifice. 00:17:52.640 --> 00:17:53.119 He dies. 00:17:53.200 --> 00:17:54.799 He says, No one takes my life from me. 00:17:54.960 --> 00:17:58.000 I lay it down, crucifixion, and I can take it up again. 00:17:58.240 --> 00:17:59.039 Resurrection. 00:17:59.200 --> 00:18:00.640 Why is this such a big deal? 00:18:00.799 --> 00:18:04.559 Because Jesus is demonstrating that this is an essential element of the gospel. 00:18:04.720 --> 00:18:11.440 He doesn't simply die because God is loving, he dies because man is sinful and therefore separated from God. 00:18:11.839 --> 00:18:14.480 You can't just say, Oh, God is loving. 00:18:14.640 --> 00:18:19.279 Yes, God is loving, but God is also just and a just and holy God. 00:18:19.440 --> 00:18:21.200 God's just and he's also holy. 00:18:21.440 --> 00:18:24.240 God has more attributes than just one, just love. 00:18:24.400 --> 00:18:28.000 He is just, which means he's the God of justice, and he's holy. 00:18:28.240 --> 00:18:30.000 He cannot break his own law. 00:18:30.160 --> 00:18:36.079 And so he says, in the Bible, the Bible says there's no forgiveness of sins without the shedding of blood. 00:18:36.240 --> 00:18:41.759 So either our blood has to be shed for our forgiveness, or a perfect sacrifice has to be made. 00:18:42.000 --> 00:18:45.680 The Bible says it like this in 1 Timothy chapter 2, verse 5. 00:18:45.920 --> 00:18:55.039 It says there's one God, there's one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. 00:18:55.200 --> 00:18:55.920 Now look at that. 00:18:56.000 --> 00:18:56.880 You're smart people. 00:18:57.039 --> 00:19:00.079 Four things I want you to see in this one passage in the Bible these two verses. 00:19:00.240 --> 00:19:02.880 Number one, the first five words, there's one God. 00:19:03.119 --> 00:19:04.000 There's one God. 00:19:04.160 --> 00:19:06.720 There's not a bunch of gods, Oprah's wrong. 00:19:06.880 --> 00:19:09.119 There's not a bunch of gods, and all roads lead to God. 00:19:09.200 --> 00:19:10.079 There's one God. 00:19:10.319 --> 00:19:11.359 Monotheism. 00:19:11.519 --> 00:19:12.640 There's one God. 00:19:12.799 --> 00:19:19.039 There's not the God of Islam, there's the God of Muslims, and the God of these people, and the God of Christians, and the God of Hindus. 00:19:19.119 --> 00:19:20.799 No, there's one God. 00:19:21.200 --> 00:19:24.240 Are you saying that there's one God and everybody else is wrong? 00:19:24.400 --> 00:19:24.880 Absolutely. 00:19:24.960 --> 00:19:25.759 That's what I'm saying. 00:19:25.920 --> 00:19:30.000 And I don't gloat in that because a lot of people are deceived in the name of religion. 00:19:30.240 --> 00:19:31.519 There's one God. 00:19:31.759 --> 00:19:36.319 Matter of fact, the easiest way to deceive people is to do it in the name of religion. 00:19:36.640 --> 00:19:39.759 You should never just hear what I say and listen to what I say. 00:19:39.920 --> 00:19:43.680 You should always take it to the Bible, look in the Bible and say, is that really in there? 00:19:43.839 --> 00:19:45.359 Is that God just making that up? 00:19:45.519 --> 00:19:46.799 You should think and ask questions. 00:19:46.880 --> 00:19:48.079 You're smart people, okay? 00:19:48.240 --> 00:19:48.960 There's one God. 00:19:49.119 --> 00:19:52.480 Secondly, he says, and there's one mediator between God and man. 00:19:52.640 --> 00:19:54.400 There's one mediator between God and man. 00:19:54.480 --> 00:19:55.440 I'm talking to my buddy. 00:19:55.519 --> 00:19:57.039 They were having a spiritual conversation. 00:19:57.119 --> 00:19:58.640 I'm I'm I'm quoting this verse to him. 00:19:58.720 --> 00:19:59.519 I said, there's one God. 00:19:59.599 --> 00:20:03.519 He goes, So you mean you have the audacity to say there's one way to God, your way, and you're right. 00:20:03.680 --> 00:20:04.960 I'm saying, it's not my way. 00:20:05.119 --> 00:20:06.480 It's the way God set it up. 00:20:06.640 --> 00:20:08.720 There's one God and there's one mediator. 00:20:08.799 --> 00:20:10.400 And I said, You know what the word mediator means? 00:20:10.480 --> 00:20:10.880 He goes, No. 00:20:10.960 --> 00:20:11.839 I said, You ever been divorced? 00:20:12.000 --> 00:20:13.039 He goes, twice. 00:20:13.279 --> 00:20:14.799 I said, You had a mediator. 00:20:14.880 --> 00:20:15.759 It's called your lawyer. 00:20:15.839 --> 00:20:16.480 And he goes, Yeah. 00:20:16.640 --> 00:20:17.920 I said, Did you ever go to mediation? 00:20:18.000 --> 00:20:21.599 He goes, No, I got a lawyer because that crazy mind's like, I don't want to hear about your ex-wife. 00:20:22.400 --> 00:20:23.200 Took me for everything. 00:20:23.359 --> 00:20:26.559 He said, My first wife took me for everything I had, so I lawyered up the second time around. 00:20:26.720 --> 00:20:32.720 A mediator is someone that takes two parties that are at odds, they're enemies, and reconciles them together. 00:20:32.960 --> 00:20:35.440 The Bible says there's one mediator between God and man. 00:20:35.599 --> 00:20:38.160 In other words, there's one way only. 00:20:38.319 --> 00:20:42.400 There's one God, but there's also one way to get right with God. 00:20:42.640 --> 00:20:47.119 And he says, Hey, it's the man Christ Jesus who gave himself as a ransom. 00:20:47.279 --> 00:20:47.920 As a ransom. 00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:49.359 What does he mean for as a ransom? 00:20:49.440 --> 00:20:52.160 Now, when I say the word ransom, most of you think of a Mel Gibson movie. 00:20:52.319 --> 00:20:53.519 Give me back my son. 00:20:53.920 --> 00:21:02.640 No, when the Bible says as a ransom, what it's teaching us and telling us is what it teaches all along is that, hey, man is a slave to sin. 00:21:02.799 --> 00:21:04.319 That doesn't mean that he can't do good. 00:21:04.480 --> 00:21:08.400 If you're in this room right now and you're not a Christian, I'm not telling you you can't do good things. 00:21:08.640 --> 00:21:13.119 Matter of fact, a lot of times non-Christians do good more good than Christians do. 00:21:14.400 --> 00:21:15.920 How about that for confession? 00:21:16.720 --> 00:21:18.400 Here's the issue for the non-Christian. 00:21:18.559 --> 00:21:25.039 It's not that you can't do good, but because you were born by nature as what the Bible says is a slave to sin, just like me. 00:21:25.279 --> 00:21:26.559 So you are ransomed. 00:21:26.640 --> 00:21:28.000 He gives himself as a ransom. 00:21:28.079 --> 00:21:28.319 Why? 00:21:28.480 --> 00:21:32.240 Because from God's perspective, we're held hostage to our sinful nature. 00:21:32.400 --> 00:21:37.440 And the issue, look at me, is not that you can't do good, it's that you can't stop doing bad. 00:21:38.480 --> 00:21:39.599 That's the issue. 00:21:39.839 --> 00:21:49.680 And this is why he pays a ransom to set you and I free from our sinful nature, which means that things that you used to think things in my life that I used to struggle with are not even an issue anymore. 00:21:49.920 --> 00:21:50.319 Why? 00:21:50.480 --> 00:21:53.200 Because my ransom was paid and I was set free from that. 00:21:53.359 --> 00:21:59.920 So he says there's one God, there's one mediator between God and man who gave himself as a ransom, which is a testimony given at the property. 00:22:00.400 --> 00:22:00.880 Time. 00:22:01.200 --> 00:22:02.319 At the proper time. 00:22:02.559 --> 00:22:03.680 Now, why is that a big deal? 00:22:03.759 --> 00:22:05.759