When Hearts Grow Hard (John 12:37-50)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:05.719 --> 00:00:09.029 So John Twelve, verse thirty six, through the end of the chapter, 2 00:00:09.070 --> 00:00:17.190 Jesus says, while you have the light, leave in the light that you 3 00:00:17.350 --> 00:00:23.539 may become sons of light. When Jesus had said these things, he departed 4 00:00:24.699 --> 00:00:30.660 and hid himself from them. Though he had done so many signs before them, 5 00:00:30.699 --> 00:00:35.420 they still did not believe in him. So that the word spoken by 6 00:00:35.460 --> 00:00:40.729 the Prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled. Lord has believed what he heard from us, 7 00:00:41.369 --> 00:00:45.929 and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore, 8 00:00:46.009 --> 00:00:52.320 they could not believe for a Isaiah said, he has blinded their eyes and 9 00:00:52.679 --> 00:00:57.520 hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes and understand with their heart 10 00:00:57.640 --> 00:01:03.880 in turn, and I would heal them. Isaiah said these things because he 11 00:01:03.079 --> 00:01:08.469 saw his glory and spoke of him. Nevertheless, many, even of the 12 00:01:08.549 --> 00:01:12.069 authorities, believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees, they did 13 00:01:12.150 --> 00:01:15.709 not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue, 14 00:01:17.750 --> 00:01:22.659 for they loved the glory that comes from Man More than the glory that 15 00:01:22.780 --> 00:01:29.219 comes from God. and Jesus cried out and said, whoever believes in me 16 00:01:30.099 --> 00:01:34.730 believes not in me, but in Him who sent me. And whoever sees 17 00:01:36.090 --> 00:01:40.930 me sees him who sent me. I have come into the world as light 18 00:01:41.170 --> 00:01:46.010 so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. If anyone hears 19 00:01:46.090 --> 00:01:49.159 my words and does not keep him keep them, I do not judge him, 20 00:01:49.760 --> 00:01:53.359 for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the 21 00:01:53.439 --> 00:01:57.760 world. The one who rejects me and does not receive my words have judge 22 00:01:59.400 --> 00:02:01.590 the word that I have spoken, will judge him on the last day, 23 00:02:02.670 --> 00:02:07.549 for I have not spoken on my own authority, but the father who has 24 00:02:07.950 --> 00:02:13.509 father who sent me, has himself given me a commandment what to say and 25 00:02:13.669 --> 00:02:17.539 what to speak, and I know that his commandment is eternal life. What 26 00:02:17.699 --> 00:02:25.259 I say, therefore, I say as the father has told me. You 27 00:02:25.340 --> 00:02:32.330 may be seated. We live in a time and a place that has many, 28 00:02:32.370 --> 00:02:38.129 many options. Many things are available to us when we have a choice 29 00:02:38.210 --> 00:02:43.090 to make almost any choice you can think of, whether it's what to eat 30 00:02:43.129 --> 00:02:45.960 for lunch, as we will enjoy in a little bit, and I hope 31 00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:51.080 you will come to our fellowship meal, or what clothes we will put on, 32 00:02:51.319 --> 00:02:54.400 where we will live, on and on and on. We have all 33 00:02:54.439 --> 00:02:58.710 kinds of choices and there's a lot of blessing in that, to be sure, 34 00:02:59.789 --> 00:03:06.909 but sometimes the possibility of possibilities, or our access to possibilities, we 35 00:03:07.069 --> 00:03:14.659 use as a sinful reason to wait to make important choices. Now. This 36 00:03:14.780 --> 00:03:19.780 can happen even when buying toothpaste right at the grocery store. These sort of 37 00:03:20.419 --> 00:03:23.500 paralysis. Maybe another day. No, hopefully you don't do that. But 38 00:03:23.939 --> 00:03:30.409 there are more very important choices, though, that happen at much higher levels, 39 00:03:30.449 --> 00:03:38.050 and that includes our own salvation, Jesus says. Jesus says in Verse 40 00:03:38.169 --> 00:03:45.319 Thirty Six. While you have the light, believe in the light. While 41 00:03:45.479 --> 00:03:47.479 you have the light, believe in the light. And that means that tells 42 00:03:47.520 --> 00:03:52.560 us, as do many other things in this passage, that the world does 43 00:03:52.719 --> 00:03:57.150 not always have the light. It will not always have the light. There 44 00:03:57.310 --> 00:04:03.909 is a day when the Gospel will stop being preached. There is a day 45 00:04:04.189 --> 00:04:11.300 when the good news and the invitation to come into the kingdom will be no 46 00:04:11.500 --> 00:04:15.899 more. That is the day when the Lord returns to judge the world, 47 00:04:15.899 --> 00:04:20.620 a day that we don't know when will happen. And when I'm talking about 48 00:04:20.620 --> 00:04:25.329 this, I'm talking about things from a very big picture kind of perspective. 49 00:04:25.850 --> 00:04:29.810 In terms of the history of the world, but this is true of our 50 00:04:29.889 --> 00:04:35.970 individual lives as well. Some of US may have a sense that we are 51 00:04:36.410 --> 00:04:44.000 dying. We may know that our our day is near. Maybe you were 52 00:04:44.079 --> 00:04:51.519 very sick. Others of US have no idea that our day is very near. 53 00:04:54.269 --> 00:04:59.870 We simply don't know. But what we do know is that that day 54 00:04:59.870 --> 00:05:02.589 will come, whether it's the end of the world or the end of our 55 00:05:02.629 --> 00:05:09.980 own lives. Time does not go on forever, not that kind of time. 56 00:05:10.500 --> 00:05:15.300 The possibility and the opportunity to come into the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, 57 00:05:15.939 --> 00:05:20.569 to belong to him, to be known by him, that does not remain 58 00:05:21.009 --> 00:05:29.769 forever open. Jesus says, while you have the light, believe in the 59 00:05:29.850 --> 00:05:34.009 light. There's so many times in our lives, as I've said, on 60 00:05:34.170 --> 00:05:40.959 every level, from small to big, where we unfortunately delay doing the right 61 00:05:41.279 --> 00:05:49.149 thing today for some time tomorrow, but tomorrow never comes. It's only and 62 00:05:49.350 --> 00:05:54.110 always today, isn't it? It's only an always right now. We have 63 00:05:54.269 --> 00:05:59.149 to make these choices now, but we delay and we say out of fear, 64 00:05:59.829 --> 00:06:04.860 perhaps out of pride, out of love, for comfort, I was 65 00:06:04.899 --> 00:06:12.819 Jesus says, of these rulers loving more the glory that comes from Man, 66 00:06:13.019 --> 00:06:15.300 that comes from God. There's various reasons for this, but we say, 67 00:06:17.970 --> 00:06:25.250 for now, I'm going to remain in my sin because someday, someday, 68 00:06:25.290 --> 00:06:29.730 I'll do the right thing. Someday, all believe Jesus, someday all follow 69 00:06:30.449 --> 00:06:33.920 the light. The thing I said, as I'm saying we don't realize, 70 00:06:34.040 --> 00:06:41.600 or perhaps we do realize but ignore and push down, is that someday these 71 00:06:41.720 --> 00:06:46.920 things will be taken away, someday the grace of God will be taken away. 72 00:06:48.389 --> 00:06:54.509 God is so patient, though. He's so patient with us. Turn 73 00:06:54.629 --> 00:07:01.300 to Romans Chapter Two and look at a couple verses there with me, you 74 00:07:01.420 --> 00:07:05.939 can find the patience of the Lord and expressions of it and teaching about it 75 00:07:05.980 --> 00:07:16.250 all over scripture. I'm here's just one of hundreds and hundreds of places in 76 00:07:16.930 --> 00:07:23.850 chapter two of Romans. Verse Three will start there. Paul says this. 77 00:07:25.209 --> 00:07:30.000 Do you suppose, Oh man, you who judge those who practice such things? 78 00:07:30.439 --> 00:07:33.720 These are wicked things, evil things, and yet do them yourself, 79 00:07:34.519 --> 00:07:39.680 that you will escape the judgment of God? Okay, pause there for a 80 00:07:39.800 --> 00:07:44.199 moment. Hear what Paul is saying. He's saying I know you. I 81 00:07:44.389 --> 00:07:47.870 know that you know the difference between good and bad, because you are constantly 82 00:07:47.910 --> 00:07:54.790 pointing this out, particularly with other people. You're constantly saying that's not fair, 83 00:07:54.910 --> 00:07:57.670 that's not right, and so on and so forth. Whether it's out 84 00:07:57.750 --> 00:08:00.939 louder in your heart, we know this. You are able to judge. 85 00:08:01.180 --> 00:08:03.819 You do it all the time. And so do you think that you will 86 00:08:05.139 --> 00:08:09.300 yourself escape judgment? And of course the answer is no. Paul knows that, 87 00:08:09.500 --> 00:08:13.290 you know that. I know that none of us are going to escape 88 00:08:13.329 --> 00:08:18.050 judgment. And so then he asked makes this point for the use of a 89 00:08:18.209 --> 00:08:24.889 rhetorical question. In verse four, he says, or do you presume on 90 00:08:24.970 --> 00:08:33.279 the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness 91 00:08:33.320 --> 00:08:39.960 is meant to lead you to repentance, but because of your heart and impenitent 92 00:08:41.159 --> 00:08:46.549 heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of Wrath when 93 00:08:46.669 --> 00:08:56.019 God's righteous judgment will be revealed. So God is like a very good father 94 00:08:58.379 --> 00:09:05.539 whose standards are incredibly high and yet is also very patient with his children, 95 00:09:09.059 --> 00:09:13.769 like a loving father here on earth. Are Loving father in heaven does not 96 00:09:13.009 --> 00:09:18.850 come down hard and heavy on us every time we make a mistake, every 97 00:09:18.929 --> 00:09:26.759 time we even outwardly and purposefully sin in thought word. Indeed, can you 98 00:09:26.799 --> 00:09:33.879 imagine what life would be like if every time you did something wrong, the 99 00:09:33.080 --> 00:09:41.190 Lord of Heaven and Earth colloquially came down on you? Can you imagine? 100 00:09:43.149 --> 00:09:50.029 We wouldn't last a minute, none of us. So what is he doing? 101 00:09:50.070 --> 00:09:56.940 Does he care as standards dropped for obedience? Does God not care who 102 00:09:56.100 --> 00:10:01.059 we are or what we do? Of course not. He loves us. 103 00:10:01.019 --> 00:10:07.809 He wants us to be like him. We are sons and daughters of him. 104 00:10:07.610 --> 00:10:11.730 He's brought us into our his family, so that he can make us 105 00:10:13.370 --> 00:10:20.850 like him. No, God hasn't dropped the bar for us. He's patient 106 00:10:20.169 --> 00:10:26.879 with us, he's kind, he is forbearing him. Sometimes he does come 107 00:10:26.960 --> 00:10:31.679 down hard, and when he does, it's because he loves us, because, 108 00:10:31.799 --> 00:10:35.559 like a good father, the Bible says, he disciplines us, he 109 00:10:35.679 --> 00:10:41.149 teaches us, but he's also patient, isn't he? He's also waits. 110 00:10:41.269 --> 00:10:46.789 He lets us discover our mistakes, discover our sinful patterns, lets us come 111 00:10:46.870 --> 00:10:56.620 to realize things in a kind way. But Paul recognizes there's this other thing 112 00:10:56.820 --> 00:11:01.700 that goes on that a lot of people take that kindness and take that patience 113 00:11:01.740 --> 00:11:09.090 and forbearance and that grace that's being given and they presume on it. Say, 114 00:11:09.129 --> 00:11:16.250 well, Dad doesn't care what I do. Our Father in heaven, 115 00:11:16.289 --> 00:11:20.240 he doesn't care. I guess he's not watching. It doesn't really matter, 116 00:11:20.600 --> 00:11:24.919 I can I don't worry Gout, I'll just keep doing what I need to 117 00:11:24.960 --> 00:11:30.480 do, whatever it is we presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance, 118 00:11:31.120 --> 00:11:35.950 not knowing or not believing what should be obviously true. It's meant to 119 00:11:37.070 --> 00:11:43.710 lead us to repentance, not keep us away from repentance. God's kindness and 120 00:11:43.870 --> 00:11:48.419 His grace and his patients with us is meant to make us go wow, 121 00:11:48.740 --> 00:11:54.059 he is really kind and gracious to me. I can't believe that he hasn't 122 00:11:54.139 --> 00:12:01.220 struck me dead yet for all of my sins. I should repent, I 123 00:12:01.379 --> 00:12:07.409 should change my ways, I should look to him for salvation. But instead, 124 00:12:09.730 --> 00:12:13.370 tragically, what many people do is they double down and what Paul says 125 00:12:13.409 --> 00:12:24.240 is they are in fact storing up wrath for themselves. Can you imagine if 126 00:12:24.279 --> 00:12:31.509 you speeding down orange grove, let's say speeding orange grove, and you get 127 00:12:31.509 --> 00:12:35.470 pulled over an the officer gives you a warning. Next Day, speeding down 128 00:12:35.549 --> 00:12:39.549 orange grow, you get pulled over, the officer gives you worried speeding. 129 00:12:39.950 --> 00:12:43.779 Right, eventually, right, eventually, this officer is going to stop giving 130 00:12:43.820 --> 00:12:50.299 you warnings. If he's doing his job, you will do the right thing. 131 00:12:50.500 --> 00:12:54.580 He will prosecute the law, as he is called to called to do 132 00:12:56.340 --> 00:13:03.490 in his patience, right for which perhaps many of us have received the patience 133 00:13:03.610 --> 00:13:09.049 of even our government. In receiving that patience. What is that meant to 134 00:13:09.129 --> 00:13:13.240 do for us? To make us go, oh, guess it doesn't matter, 135 00:13:13.360 --> 00:13:16.200 the law doesn't matter. No, it's meant to make us double down 136 00:13:16.240 --> 00:13:24.279 on repentance, on obedience. But we don't do that. Why? Hard 137 00:13:24.519 --> 00:13:33.070 and impenitent hearts? Because of our nature. Are Sinful Nature. There are 138 00:13:33.269 --> 00:13:43.019 things that don't make sense in this world, including ourselves, because we're broken 139 00:13:43.220 --> 00:13:52.220 people. We're sinful, twisted people. It's hard to draw straight line with 140 00:13:52.379 --> 00:14:01.610 a ruler. That doesn't work right. It's the same with us. What 141 00:14:01.769 --> 00:14:07.370 we discover in our lives and very clearly in the scriptures, is that obedience 142 00:14:07.490 --> 00:14:11.799 to the Lord, walking in him, walking in the light, trusting in 143 00:14:13.080 --> 00:14:18.960 him, all that comes with belonging to him is not something that's empowered by 144 00:14:18.080 --> 00:14:26.309 our own natural faculties, our own natural senses and powers. When people are 145 00:14:26.389 --> 00:14:37.190 left on their own, they store up wrath for themselves. Walk in the 146 00:14:37.230 --> 00:14:43.779 light while you have the light. Jesus is speaking about himself, and if 147 00:14:43.820 --> 00:14:48.580 you want to know that he's very serious about this, all you have to 148 00:14:48.659 --> 00:14:56.090 do is read the second half of verse thirty six, a terrifying verse, 149 00:14:58.169 --> 00:15:03.210 if we understand it, which says when Jesus had said these things, he 150 00:15:05.009 --> 00:15:26.429 departed and hid himself. To have the opportunity to have the son of God 151 00:15:26.309 --> 00:15:35.549 speak to you his salvation and then to turn away from it, it not 152 00:15:35.710 --> 00:15:39.460 only brings a loss in that particular moment, but there comes a time in 153 00:15:39.700 --> 00:15:46.940 God's timing and in God's wisdom, where he turns away and he hides himself. 154 00:15:48.779 --> 00:15:52.169 Do you see why I say that's a terrifying thing? Do you see 155 00:15:52.210 --> 00:15:56.169 why I say that this is something that God is not playing around about? 156 00:15:56.929 --> 00:16:06.720 He does this. He did it right here, verse thirty seven. Though 157 00:16:06.759 --> 00:16:12.559 he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe them, 158 00:16:12.840 --> 00:16:23.909 believe him. There is a day and we do not know when it 159 00:16:25.029 --> 00:16:32.470 is, when the Lord Takes Away His light from those who remain hard in 160 00:16:32.549 --> 00:16:41.019 their hearts. This is something that you cannot put off. You cannot push 161 00:16:41.059 --> 00:16:48.809 off to another day. Now this warning is very hard, and the things 162 00:16:48.889 --> 00:16:55.649 that God goes on to say in this passage are likewise very hard, offensive, 163 00:16:55.889 --> 00:17:03.440 even offensive to many, many people. He quotes Isaiah, he says, 164 00:17:03.600 --> 00:17:07.119 but the actions of these people at this particular time are fulfilling what the 165 00:17:07.200 --> 00:17:14.480 Lord had already spoken in the Prophet Isaiah. Isaiah is given a message and 166 00:17:14.559 --> 00:17:17.910 then we have this quote Lord, who has believed what he has heard from 167 00:17:17.910 --> 00:17:22.269 us, and to he to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 168 00:17:22.430 --> 00:17:26.069 Kids the arm of the Lord is a way of expressing the power of 169 00:17:26.109 --> 00:17:32.099 the Lord, the strength of the Lord on his his his the revelation of 170 00:17:32.380 --> 00:17:40.779 his salvation and his power. Jesus is the arm of the Lord. He, 171 00:17:41.140 --> 00:17:45.730 as you may remember, just previously to this, had caused Lazarus to 172 00:17:45.009 --> 00:17:51.329 walt a dead man to walk out of a tomb alive. The arm of 173 00:17:51.410 --> 00:18:00.920 the Lord Powerful, strong, saving. People are believing it. This is 174 00:18:00.960 --> 00:18:03.559 what Isaiah face, this is what many of the prophets faced. The Great 175 00:18:03.720 --> 00:18:07.440 Gospel, in the good news of Jesus comes into the world, this thing 176 00:18:07.599 --> 00:18:14.750 full of life and salvation, this thing that literally makes dead people alive, 177 00:18:15.910 --> 00:18:22.910 and then human beings cross their arms and and they turn away from it. 178 00:18:23.109 --> 00:18:30.420 Does that make any sense? No, it doesn't, except for the fact 179 00:18:30.460 --> 00:18:37.180 that God tells us that's the nature of this word, that the Gospel is, 180 00:18:37.740 --> 00:18:42.769 by nature, and offensive thing. It offends people, it makes them 181 00:18:42.809 --> 00:18:49.130 mad, and this is important because for those of you who remain in sin, 182 00:18:49.369 --> 00:18:55.049 this ought to create a sense of urgency in you. It ought to 183 00:18:55.130 --> 00:19:00.599 create in u a sense that I may not have time to simply remain in 184 00:19:00.720 --> 00:19:07.279 my sins and wit, that every moment that I'm waiting and that I'm standing 185 00:19:07.400 --> 00:19:11.829 apart from the Lord and I'm holding crossing my arms and I'm defying him as 186 00:19:11.869 --> 00:19:19.309 another minute that I'm storing up wrath for myself and to those of us who 187 00:19:19.349 --> 00:19:26.180 have believed, this ought to create a deep sense of thankfulness, knowing that 188 00:19:26.380 --> 00:19:32.579 we have been saved not by the power of our own strength in us, 189 00:19:32.700 --> 00:19:37.380 a spiritual power, of physical or mental power, but we've been saved by 190 00:19:37.460 --> 00:19:41.849 the Lord who plucked us up out of our sinfulness and misery. We ought 191 00:19:41.849 --> 00:19:48.049 to be people with huge hearts, filled with such thankfulness for what he has 192 00:19:48.130 --> 00:19:56.799 done and to persevere in this hospital, even though it is an offensive thing 193 00:19:56.960 --> 00:20:06.599 to many, knowing what God says here. And then I'll continue reading here 194 00:20:07.039 --> 00:20:14.269 from Isaiah. Excuse me. Isaiah, in verse forty. He has blinded 195 00:20:14.390 --> 00:20:18.789 their eyes, he has hardened their hearts, lest they see with their eyes 196 00:20:18.950 --> 00:20:25.859 and understand with their heart and turn and I would heal them. This comes 197 00:20:25.900 --> 00:20:30.539 this, this prophecy here comes in the middle of a passage, or not 198 00:20:30.619 --> 00:20:34.259 in the middle but right alongside of this passage, which is known as a 199 00:20:34.380 --> 00:20:42.410 great suffering servant passage, this great prophecy in Isaiah, where the the coming 200 00:20:42.529 --> 00:20:48.210 Messiah is proclaimed, and it he is proclaimed that he will suffer and he 201 00:20:48.329 --> 00:21:00.640 will die. That message is offensive to people. God will use that same 202 00:21:00.680 --> 00:21:06.269 light that saves some to blind others. In that it reminds me, the 203 00:21:06.390 --> 00:21:12.750 Gospel reminds me of the Sun. To those who stand and look at the 204 00:21:12.869 --> 00:21:22.700 sun and stare at it in defiance will find themselves binded by its power and 205 00:21:22.980 --> 00:21:27.220 then unable to see by it, unable to benefit from it, unable to 206 00:21:27.299 --> 00:21:33.690 walk by it. But those who submit to the light of the sun are 207 00:21:33.809 --> 00:21:37.009 blessed all their lives from it. They are able to walk, to see, 208 00:21:37.250 --> 00:21:41.450 to eat the plants that grow. It's like this with the son of 209 00:21:41.569 --> 00:21:49.279 God. He is both. He is powerful in his salvation and he is 210 00:21:49.759 --> 00:21:53.559 powerful in his judgments. As the scriptures put it, he is a stone 211 00:21:53.680 --> 00:21:59.680 of stumbling and a rock of offence. Some people come to him and they 212 00:21:59.920 --> 00:22:03.150 trip over him and they fall and they hate him, and he's he is. 213 00:22:04.269 --> 00:22:08.910 He is offensive to them because he destroys the kingdoms of their hearts. 214 00:22:11.630 --> 00:22:22.259 They want to consider themselves equal, selfsufficient, with authority to do what they 215 00:22:22.299 --> 00:22:27.859 want and when they want. But it's simply not that way. But to 216 00:22:27.980 --> 00:22:34.210 those who believe in Jesus, that stone of stumbling, that rock of offense, 217 00:22:34.569 --> 00:22:41.769 the Scriptures say, become the cornerstone, this stone in which the whole 218 00:22:41.089 --> 00:22:47.279 Temple of God is built up, this temple in which the Holy Spirit dwells, 219 00:22:47.440 --> 00:22:52.559 this people, this kingdom in which we all live, the rock of 220 00:22:52.680 --> 00:23:00.950 our salvation, as we read earlier from the psalms, life changing, life 221 00:23:00.150 --> 00:23:07.990 giving. But it doesn't happen for any and this helps us, those of 222 00:23:08.029 --> 00:23:14.299 us who are Christians, to understand this perplexing thing. How come my brother 223 00:23:14.500 --> 00:23:17.980 can't see this thing? How come my sister can't see this thing? How 224 00:23:18.019 --> 00:23:22.259 come my neighbor, my child or my father or my mother or my boss 225 00:23:22.299 --> 00:23:30.250 or whatever, can't see the glories of God in the Cross of Christ? 226 00:23:36.089 --> 00:23:44.960 Partly because that's the nature of the Gospel. And it's not because God is 227 00:23:45.160 --> 00:23:52.400 mean, it's because God is fair. To those who look at the son 228 00:23:52.559 --> 00:23:57.069 and blind themselves, will they get blind to those who stand in defiance of 229 00:23:57.150 --> 00:24:02.710 God and say I want my own way? They get their own way, 230 00:24:03.230 --> 00:24:07.470 but of course their own way is apart from God. Their own way is 231 00:24:08.950 --> 00:24:17.740 is awful. But it also reminds us that we are saved not by our 232 00:24:17.859 --> 00:24:30.009 works, by His grace. And so when we find ourselves in positions where 233 00:24:30.450 --> 00:24:37.329 we are having to make decisions in this life about whether or not we will 234 00:24:37.369 --> 00:24:40.359 follow the light, or live in the light, or follow Jesus or not, 235 00:24:41.359 --> 00:24:47.200 we must keep these things in mind. We must keep them in mind 236 00:24:47.240 --> 00:24:49.960 and with everything that is in us, with all of our power, we 237 00:24:51.039 --> 00:24:55.950 must throw ourselves on the cross. We must throw ourselves at the feet of 238 00:24:55.950 --> 00:25:00.509 Jesus and say, I have nothing to give you. Please bless me, 239 00:25:02.269 --> 00:25:08.140 please save me, as you have promised to do and we have to do 240 00:25:08.299 --> 00:25:15.420 this not only is individuals, but as a church. When churches walk away 241 00:25:15.980 --> 00:25:22.849 and find the suffering that they must face for living for Jesus too hard, 242 00:25:25.809 --> 00:25:29.849 the Cross is one of the first things to go. This good news of 243 00:25:30.009 --> 00:25:33.690 the Gospel, the invitation of the Gospel, the hope of the Gospel, 244 00:25:33.730 --> 00:25:37.920 but also the offensiveness for the Gospel, which tells us that we are sinners, 245 00:25:38.680 --> 00:25:44.480 that we can't save ourselves, that we need completely and totally God's grace. 246 00:25:45.839 --> 00:25:49.269 We downplay it, we say it's too hard, we push it away. 247 00:25:49.309 --> 00:25:53.069 Why? Because we love. We are tempted to love the glory that 248 00:25:53.190 --> 00:26:02.630 comes from Man More than the glory that comes from God. All I can 249 00:26:02.670 --> 00:26:10.420 say is, let us not be let us, each individually and together as 250 00:26:10.460 --> 00:26:15.099 a body, go before our Lord and ask for his salvation. Let us 251 00:26:15.099 --> 00:26:19.329 go before the Lord in the Gospel, in the good news that he promises, 252 00:26:21.289 --> 00:26:25.210 this servant of his, who has suffered through this Jesus, who has 253 00:26:25.369 --> 00:26:30.730 obeyed the commandment of God and brought for us eternal life, as he says 254 00:26:30.730 --> 00:26:34.920 they're at the end of John Twelve, and find our selvation in him. 255 00:26:37.839 --> 00:26:42.359 It's as simple as that, and it's as deep as that. We have 256 00:26:42.519 --> 00:26:48.190 no other hope, we have no other way. But when we go this 257 00:26:48.430 --> 00:26:53.029 way we have everything. We have light, we have life, we have 258 00:26:53.190 --> 00:27:00.150 blessedness, we have glory, comfort for this life and the life to come. 259 -->