1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:01,660 Well, we’re looking on these Sunday mornings 2 00:00:01,660 –> 00:00:03,340 at some questions that were posed 3 00:00:03,340 –> 00:00:05,580 by our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 00:00:05,580 –> 00:00:07,340 And since today is Father’s Day, 5 00:00:07,340 –> 00:00:09,940 it makes sense that we should look at some questions 6 00:00:09,940 –> 00:00:13,140 that Jesus asked men who were fathers. 7 00:00:13,140 –> 00:00:15,580 In fact, Jesus asked a whole series of questions here 8 00:00:15,580 –> 00:00:19,540 in Luke 11 that’s just been read so well for us. 9 00:00:19,540 –> 00:00:23,299 Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, 10 00:00:23,299 –> 00:00:26,180 will give him a snake instead, 11 00:00:26,400 –> 00:00:30,760 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 12 00:00:30,760 –> 00:00:33,080 Matthew’s Gospel, where Matthew records 13 00:00:33,080 –> 00:00:35,200 the same teaching of Jesus, 14 00:00:35,200 –> 00:00:38,759 he records a third question where Jesus also asks 15 00:00:38,759 –> 00:00:42,400 which of you, if his son asked for bread, 16 00:00:42,400 –> 00:00:44,200 will give him a stone? 17 00:00:44,200 –> 00:00:47,240 That’s Matthew chapter seven and verse nine. 18 00:00:47,240 –> 00:00:49,840 Now, the answer to all these questions is quite obvious, 19 00:00:49,840 –> 00:00:51,279 none of the fathers in the crowd 20 00:00:51,279 –> 00:00:53,580 would do a mean thing like that, 21 00:00:53,580 –> 00:00:56,320 and that brings Jesus to his point. 22 00:00:56,320 –> 00:00:58,200 If you then, though you are evil, 23 00:00:58,200 –> 00:01:00,820 know how to give good gifts to your children, 24 00:01:00,820 –> 00:01:04,320 how much more will your Father in Heaven 25 00:01:04,320 –> 00:01:09,339 give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? 26 00:01:10,239 –> 00:01:12,879 Now, notice that Jesus speaks to the disciples here 27 00:01:12,879 –> 00:01:17,400 about your Father in Heaven, 28 00:01:17,400 –> 00:01:19,760 your Father in Heaven. 29 00:01:20,519 –> 00:01:25,360 Now, it’s a tremendous privilege to be a father. 30 00:01:25,360 –> 00:01:30,480 To be a father is to impart life. 31 00:01:30,480 –> 00:01:34,800 The life that is in your son or your daughter, 32 00:01:34,800 –> 00:01:38,239 think about this, is, in some sense, 33 00:01:38,239 –> 00:01:42,919 the life that came from the life in you. 34 00:01:42,919 –> 00:01:47,220 The seed of your life has generated 35 00:01:47,480 –> 00:01:50,779 the life of your son or your daughter. 36 00:01:50,779 –> 00:01:54,980 It is an awesome thing even to think about. 37 00:01:54,980 –> 00:01:58,019 It is marvelous, wonderful, 38 00:01:58,019 –> 00:02:02,220 and frankly for us dads, sometimes rather frightening. 39 00:02:02,220 –> 00:02:04,059 Because what it means is that something 40 00:02:04,059 –> 00:02:08,160 of what is in me is in my kids. 41 00:02:08,160 –> 00:02:12,899 Something of what is in you is in your kids. 42 00:02:12,899 –> 00:02:15,979 Which is why we say the apple 43 00:02:16,020 –> 00:02:20,160 does not fall far from the tree. 44 00:02:21,259 –> 00:02:24,419 Now Jesus is telling us that it is possible 45 00:02:24,419 –> 00:02:29,419 for a human person to enjoy a relationship with God 46 00:02:29,880 –> 00:02:34,720 in which you know him as your heavenly father. 47 00:02:35,800 –> 00:02:37,160 Now we need to pause here 48 00:02:37,160 –> 00:02:40,240 because this is an extraordinary statement. 49 00:02:40,240 –> 00:02:42,020 And the danger is that we just skip over it. 50 00:02:42,020 –> 00:02:44,360 You know, we become so familiar in church world 51 00:02:44,399 –> 00:02:46,360 with phrases like God the Father, the Son 52 00:02:46,360 –> 00:02:48,679 and the Holy Spirit that it trips off our tongue. 53 00:02:48,679 –> 00:02:50,679 We do not even think about what it means. 54 00:02:50,679 –> 00:02:54,320 Jesus speaks about your father in heaven. 55 00:02:54,320 –> 00:02:56,399 Your father in heaven. 56 00:02:58,720 –> 00:03:01,240 And what he is describing here is quite extraordinary. 57 00:03:01,240 –> 00:03:06,160 How would it be possible for an ordinary person 58 00:03:06,160 –> 00:03:10,559 to know God as their father? 59 00:03:10,559 –> 00:03:11,880 Because if you think about it 60 00:03:11,919 –> 00:03:16,800 this would mean that the seed of God’s life was in you. 61 00:03:18,919 –> 00:03:22,440 This would mean that your life, your nature 62 00:03:22,440 –> 00:03:26,779 was patterned in some sense after Almighty God. 63 00:03:27,880 –> 00:03:31,399 This would mean that as your life develops 64 00:03:31,399 –> 00:03:34,720 over time it would be increasingly evident 65 00:03:34,720 –> 00:03:36,960 that because God is your father 66 00:03:36,960 –> 00:03:41,279 the apple does not fall far from the tree. 67 00:03:42,839 –> 00:03:45,160 You say, well how does a person enter 68 00:03:45,160 –> 00:03:47,039 a relationship with God like that 69 00:03:47,039 –> 00:03:49,539 in which He is their father and his life 70 00:03:49,539 –> 00:03:52,660 and his very nature is being manifest in them? 71 00:03:54,160 –> 00:03:56,020 Let me answer that question from the Bible 72 00:03:56,020 –> 00:03:58,919 two ways, first negatively and then positively 73 00:03:58,919 –> 00:04:00,559 and both are equally important. 74 00:04:00,559 –> 00:04:02,919 Frankly, if you’ve not grasped the negative answer 75 00:04:02,919 –> 00:04:06,039 it means that you’ve not understood the positive answer 76 00:04:06,039 –> 00:04:09,500 and so we do need to put these two together. 77 00:04:09,679 –> 00:04:12,179 How is it that a person can come to know 78 00:04:12,179 –> 00:04:14,880 a relationship with God as Father? 79 00:04:14,880 –> 00:04:16,760 First answer, the negative one. 80 00:04:17,720 –> 00:04:22,720 God is not your Father by natural birth. 81 00:04:23,399 –> 00:04:27,579 This is very important to grasp this clearly from the Bible. 82 00:04:27,579 –> 00:04:32,579 God is not your Father by natural birth. 83 00:04:34,420 –> 00:04:36,459 Now this is of great importance 84 00:04:36,459 –> 00:04:37,640 because one way or another 85 00:04:37,720 –> 00:04:39,600 we are all pretty messed up people. 86 00:04:40,720 –> 00:04:43,299 And if we are all children of God by nature, 87 00:04:43,299 –> 00:04:44,920 that would mean that we are children 88 00:04:44,920 –> 00:04:46,799 of a pretty messed up God. 89 00:04:47,839 –> 00:04:49,859 Which would not be good news, would it? 90 00:04:51,399 –> 00:04:53,720 That is why it is important for Christians 91 00:04:53,720 –> 00:04:55,920 to grasp that the Bible never teaches 92 00:04:55,920 –> 00:04:59,640 the universal fatherhood of God. 93 00:04:59,640 –> 00:05:02,799 The Bible never teaches that we are all God’s children. 94 00:05:04,200 –> 00:05:07,040 No matter how often that is popularly recited 95 00:05:07,660 –> 00:05:10,179 as a great phrase, actually it’s not a great phrase at all 96 00:05:10,179 –> 00:05:12,299 and it certainly is not from the Bible. 97 00:05:13,299 –> 00:05:15,980 Now this should be an enormous relief. 98 00:05:15,980 –> 00:05:19,359 Because if we are all God’s children by nature, 99 00:05:19,359 –> 00:05:24,260 it would mean that God’s nature was seriously messed up. 100 00:05:24,260 –> 00:05:26,720 If we are all God’s children by birth, 101 00:05:26,720 –> 00:05:29,739 then God is responsible for a great deal of darkness 102 00:05:29,739 –> 00:05:32,760 that has been around us and within us from birth. 103 00:05:34,100 –> 00:05:36,040 So now this is well worth remembering 104 00:05:36,079 –> 00:05:38,720 and now next time someone at work or down at the shops 105 00:05:38,720 –> 00:05:43,359 or by the school gate makes this kind of casual phrase 106 00:05:43,359 –> 00:05:44,459 as a kind of throwaway line, 107 00:05:44,459 –> 00:05:47,320 you know the way that people do and says to you, 108 00:05:47,320 –> 00:05:50,239 oh, well we’re all God’s children anyway. 109 00:05:51,040 –> 00:05:53,880 Now next time that happens, you say to them, 110 00:05:53,880 –> 00:05:55,760 oh, I really hope that’s not so. 111 00:05:57,739 –> 00:05:58,679 That’s what to say. 112 00:06:00,519 –> 00:06:02,200 I really hope that’s not true. 113 00:06:03,320 –> 00:06:05,399 Or they’ll say what? 114 00:06:05,399 –> 00:06:06,940 Why? 115 00:06:06,940 –> 00:06:08,239 And you’ll say something like this. 116 00:06:08,239 –> 00:06:11,559 Well, look at the evil that is in Adolf Hitler. 117 00:06:13,320 –> 00:06:16,480 Look at the ruthlessness that was in Joseph Stalin. 118 00:06:18,000 –> 00:06:21,019 Look at the destruction that is in Osama bin Laden. 119 00:06:22,600 –> 00:06:25,779 Look at the cruelty that has been in Saddam Hussein. 120 00:06:27,399 –> 00:06:30,559 If that is a reflection of the nature 121 00:06:30,559 –> 00:06:34,399 and the character of God, we are all in serious trouble. 122 00:06:35,959 –> 00:06:36,799 Right? 123 00:06:38,320 –> 00:06:41,940 If we are all God’s children by birth, 124 00:06:41,940 –> 00:06:46,000 then we are all children of a pretty messed up God, 125 00:06:46,000 –> 00:06:47,660 and that would not be good news. 126 00:06:49,059 –> 00:06:51,700 So this easy line that’s bandied around about, 127 00:06:51,700 –> 00:06:53,500 hey, we’re all God’s children that’s supposed 128 00:06:53,500 –> 00:06:54,679 to make everything all fine, 129 00:06:54,679 –> 00:06:57,279 actually removes hope from the world. 130 00:06:58,619 –> 00:07:00,239 We are all sinners. 131 00:07:01,299 –> 00:07:04,579 And if God is our father by nature, 132 00:07:04,640 –> 00:07:08,279 that would make God the father of sin. 133 00:07:10,739 –> 00:07:12,760 And so, the idea that we’re all God’s children 134 00:07:12,760 –> 00:07:14,600 while sounding immensely attractive 135 00:07:14,600 –> 00:07:17,739 actually would be quite devastating. 136 00:07:17,739 –> 00:07:19,079 So there’s the negative. 137 00:07:19,079 –> 00:07:23,059 God is not your father by natural birth, 138 00:07:23,059 –> 00:07:24,720 and it is a negative for which 139 00:07:24,720 –> 00:07:27,440 we can all be profoundly thankful. 140 00:07:29,079 –> 00:07:30,320 Second, the positive. 141 00:07:31,160 –> 00:07:35,000 God becomes your father by spiritual birth. 142 00:07:35,000 –> 00:07:35,880 These two go together, 143 00:07:35,880 –> 00:07:38,160 God is not your father by natural birth, 144 00:07:38,160 –> 00:07:41,779 God becomes your father by spiritual birth. 145 00:07:41,779 –> 00:07:43,739 Now, just notice in the context here, by the way, 146 00:07:43,739 –> 00:07:46,799 that Jesus is speaking to his disciples 147 00:07:46,799 –> 00:07:49,880 when he talks about God being their father. 148 00:07:49,880 –> 00:07:52,140 If you look back at chapter 11, verse 1, 149 00:07:52,140 –> 00:07:54,839 you’ll notice that it was one of the disciples 150 00:07:54,839 –> 00:07:57,119 who asked Jesus, Lord, teach us to pray, 151 00:07:57,119 –> 00:07:59,359 and so all that follows in Jesus’ answer here 152 00:07:59,359 –> 00:08:02,260 is directed to his disciples. 153 00:08:02,260 –> 00:08:04,940 And that makes sense because, of course, 154 00:08:04,940 –> 00:08:06,920 this is the teaching of the entire Bible. 155 00:08:06,920 –> 00:08:09,239 You might like to flick over a few pages 156 00:08:09,239 –> 00:08:14,140 to John 1, John 1, verses 11 to 13, 157 00:08:14,140 –> 00:08:16,959 where we’re told that Jesus came to his own 158 00:08:16,959 –> 00:08:19,980 but his own did not receive him. 159 00:08:19,980 –> 00:08:24,980 Yet to all who received Jesus, to all who received him, 160 00:08:25,579 –> 00:08:27,700 to those who believed in his name, 161 00:08:27,700 –> 00:08:30,040 to those who believe in the name of Jesus, 162 00:08:30,040 –> 00:08:34,020 Jesus gives the right to become children of God, 163 00:08:34,020 –> 00:08:36,719 to become children of God. 164 00:08:36,719 –> 00:08:38,940 That is children born not of natural descent, 165 00:08:38,940 –> 00:08:40,580 that is not something that comes to us 166 00:08:40,580 –> 00:08:41,960 through our natural birth, 167 00:08:41,960 –> 00:08:44,460 not of human decision or a husband’s will, 168 00:08:44,460 –> 00:08:46,780 but born of God. 169 00:08:46,780 –> 00:08:48,900 Now, this is the central teaching of the New Testament, 170 00:08:48,900 –> 00:08:51,880 that Jesus Christ has come into the world 171 00:08:51,880 –> 00:08:54,179 so that by faith in him, 172 00:08:54,179 –> 00:08:55,679 by receiving him, 173 00:08:55,679 –> 00:08:57,919 we may enter a new relationship with God 174 00:08:57,919 –> 00:08:59,940 in which we come to know him as father, 175 00:08:59,940 –> 00:09:01,140 which means, of course, 176 00:09:01,140 –> 00:09:04,200 that the seed of his life comes to live within us 177 00:09:04,200 –> 00:09:05,400 or to put it another way, 178 00:09:05,400 –> 00:09:09,979 the spirit of his being comes to live within us. 179 00:09:09,979 –> 00:09:11,080 And the marvelous thing is 180 00:09:11,080 –> 00:09:14,320 that this wonderful offer is made by God 181 00:09:14,320 –> 00:09:17,820 to people of every race and age and background. 182 00:09:17,820 –> 00:09:19,919 God says to every person, 183 00:09:19,919 –> 00:09:21,840 if you will believe in my son, 184 00:09:21,840 –> 00:09:24,159 if you will receive my son, Jesus Christ, 185 00:09:24,440 –> 00:09:26,460 then I will become your father, 186 00:09:26,460 –> 00:09:28,320 I will become your father, 187 00:09:28,320 –> 00:09:31,400 and you will become my child. 188 00:09:32,500 –> 00:09:36,619 So think about what it means to become children of God. 189 00:09:38,260 –> 00:09:42,340 That the seed of God’s life 190 00:09:42,340 –> 00:09:46,080 should be implanted in you. 191 00:09:46,080 –> 00:09:47,260 See, if that happened, 192 00:09:47,260 –> 00:09:52,039 that would mean that God’s nature would be in you. 193 00:09:52,520 –> 00:09:55,320 And because the apple does not fall far from the tree, 194 00:09:55,320 –> 00:09:57,539 the ultimate outcome of this life 195 00:09:57,539 –> 00:09:59,919 would be that you would reflect for all eternity 196 00:09:59,919 –> 00:10:01,400 the glory of God, 197 00:10:01,400 –> 00:10:04,299 and that is precisely the promise of the New Testament. 198 00:10:05,679 –> 00:10:09,359 In fact, it’s put in stunningly vivid language. 199 00:10:10,580 –> 00:10:13,380 1 John chapter 3 in verse 9. 200 00:10:13,380 –> 00:10:14,840 You know this verse? 201 00:10:14,940 –> 00:10:19,659 No one who is born of God will continue to sin 202 00:10:19,659 –> 00:10:24,659 because God’s seed remains in him. 203 00:10:25,320 –> 00:10:30,320 God’s seed remains in him. 204 00:10:30,599 –> 00:10:34,719 The Greek word that is used for seed is sperma. 205 00:10:36,419 –> 00:10:37,260 Sperma. 206 00:10:38,719 –> 00:10:41,280 The seed of God, 207 00:10:41,280 –> 00:10:42,880 the very life of God, 208 00:10:42,880 –> 00:10:44,520 is in the Christian believer, 209 00:10:44,520 –> 00:10:46,559 and that is why you are a different man, 210 00:10:46,559 –> 00:10:48,960 a different woman when you come authentically 211 00:10:48,960 –> 00:10:50,359 to know God as your father. 212 00:10:50,359 –> 00:10:51,500 It’s not that you’re perfect 213 00:10:51,500 –> 00:10:53,599 because you still live this life in the flesh. 214 00:10:53,599 –> 00:10:54,940 We’re all still tempted, 215 00:10:54,940 –> 00:10:58,359 but says John, the person who has this life of God in them 216 00:10:58,359 –> 00:11:00,239 just cannot go on in the same way. 217 00:11:00,239 –> 00:11:02,320 You cannot live an unchanged life 218 00:11:02,320 –> 00:11:05,200 if the seed of the life of God lives within you. 219 00:11:07,599 –> 00:11:10,159 It’s a living seed, and it’ll grow, 220 00:11:11,179 –> 00:11:13,200 and you will reflect the life of your father 221 00:11:13,200 –> 00:11:18,200 because the apple does not fall far from the tree. 222 00:11:19,799 –> 00:11:21,340 That’s why Jesus was real strong 223 00:11:21,340 –> 00:11:23,739 on this evidence of authenticity. 224 00:11:23,739 –> 00:11:25,479 How do you tell a tree? 225 00:11:25,479 –> 00:11:27,880 You tell a tree, he said, by it’s fruit. 226 00:11:27,880 –> 00:11:29,719 A bad tree produces bad fruit, 227 00:11:29,719 –> 00:11:32,700 a good tree produces good fruit. 228 00:11:32,700 –> 00:11:34,559 And the way that you can tell a person 229 00:11:34,559 –> 00:11:36,299 who has God for his father 230 00:11:37,559 –> 00:11:40,119 is by seeing that there is an increasing reflection 231 00:11:40,159 –> 00:11:42,820 of the very character of that father 232 00:11:42,820 –> 00:11:44,460 in this person’s life. 233 00:11:47,359 –> 00:11:51,320 Now this is wonderful good news 234 00:11:51,320 –> 00:11:55,080 that opens the door for every person. 235 00:11:55,080 –> 00:11:55,919 Listen. 236 00:11:57,659 –> 00:12:01,619 If you have an earthly father who messed you up, 237 00:12:02,799 –> 00:12:07,020 the good news is that there is a heavenly father 238 00:12:07,020 –> 00:12:08,419 that can put you straight. 239 00:12:10,119 –> 00:12:13,299 If the seed that is in you by nature 240 00:12:13,299 –> 00:12:14,739 that came from your father 241 00:12:14,739 –> 00:12:19,340 is a seed that pulls you in all kinds of wrong directions 242 00:12:19,340 –> 00:12:20,780 that you don’t want to go, 243 00:12:21,739 –> 00:12:24,340 the good news is that the seed of another father 244 00:12:24,340 –> 00:12:27,739 can come and can regenerate your life 245 00:12:27,739 –> 00:12:29,619 moving you in a whole new direction. 246 00:12:31,979 –> 00:12:33,640 That is good news this generation 247 00:12:33,640 –> 00:12:35,479 desperately needs to hear, is it not? 248 00:12:36,700 –> 00:12:38,799 See if your father was an alcoholic, 249 00:12:40,119 –> 00:12:42,179 if your father was an abuser, 250 00:12:43,539 –> 00:12:45,520 you will find a little voice 251 00:12:45,520 –> 00:12:48,219 that goes off inside your head that says to you, 252 00:12:49,140 –> 00:12:50,640 you’re gonna be just like him. 253 00:12:52,159 –> 00:12:54,380 And you’ll say to the little voice, oh no, I’m not. 254 00:12:54,380 –> 00:12:55,919 I’m never gonna be like him. 255 00:12:55,919 –> 00:12:57,979 And the little voice will say, oh yes you are. 256 00:12:57,979 –> 00:13:00,979 I can see a likeness of him in you already. 257 00:13:04,580 –> 00:13:06,140 Now, what’s the answer to that? 258 00:13:07,640 –> 00:13:08,820 Where’s the hope? 259 00:13:10,900 –> 00:13:13,080 The good news is that God can plant 260 00:13:13,080 –> 00:13:15,400 a better seed in your soul. 261 00:13:16,340 –> 00:13:17,840 God can become your father. 262 00:13:19,099 –> 00:13:21,099 God can plant his life in you. 263 00:13:21,099 –> 00:13:23,039 God can give you a new nature 264 00:13:23,039 –> 00:13:25,219 that makes a new life possible, 265 00:13:25,219 –> 00:13:28,280 and he will do that for all who will receive 266 00:13:28,280 –> 00:13:32,099 and believe in his Son, Jesus Christ. 267 00:13:32,099 –> 00:13:33,159 That’s the Gospel. 268 00:13:35,000 –> 00:13:37,020 It is a life changing message 269 00:13:37,020 –> 00:13:39,719 that this generation desperately needs to hear 270 00:13:39,739 –> 00:13:41,979 with fresh clarity, it is glorious. 271 00:13:44,140 –> 00:13:47,739 Now this relationship of being a son or a daughter of God, 272 00:13:47,739 –> 00:13:52,599 knowing God is your father, having his life within you, 273 00:13:52,599 –> 00:13:55,919 this is the greatest blessing that a person can know in life 274 00:13:55,919 –> 00:13:59,559 and it brings us to a position where we can enjoy 275 00:13:59,559 –> 00:14:02,880 some wonderful, wonderful privileges. 276 00:14:02,880 –> 00:14:05,000 I want from the verses that are in front of us here 277 00:14:05,000 –> 00:14:08,020 just briefly to mention three. 278 00:14:08,020 –> 00:14:10,859 The first is that when you’re a child of God 279 00:14:10,859 –> 00:14:12,599 and through faith in Jesus Christ you have come 280 00:14:12,599 –> 00:14:17,599 to know him as your Father, you have a new freedom in asking. 281 00:14:19,299 –> 00:14:21,599 Notice what Jesus says, verse nine, 282 00:14:21,599 –> 00:14:24,820 I say to you, ask and it will be given you, 283 00:14:24,820 –> 00:14:26,820 seek and you will find, knock and the door 284 00:14:26,820 –> 00:14:28,020 will be opened to you. 285 00:14:28,020 –> 00:14:30,299 For to everyone who asks, receives 286 00:14:30,299 –> 00:14:33,320 and he who seeks, finds and to him who knocks, 287 00:14:33,320 –> 00:14:36,099 the door will be opened. 288 00:14:37,039 –> 00:14:38,640 Now the point our Lord is making here 289 00:14:38,640 –> 00:14:41,299 is a very wonderful point that the extent 290 00:14:41,299 –> 00:14:45,539 of your asking depends on the strength 291 00:14:45,539 –> 00:14:47,059 of your relationship. 292 00:14:47,859 –> 00:14:51,039 The extent of your asking depends 293 00:14:51,039 –> 00:14:54,919 on the strength of a relationship. 294 00:14:54,919 –> 00:14:59,020 And Jesus uses two great pictures to make this point. 295 00:14:59,020 –> 00:15:02,299 The first is the picture of God being your friend, 296 00:15:02,299 –> 00:15:04,239 which he tells us in the story 297 00:15:04,239 –> 00:15:06,039 of a friend who comes at midnight. 298 00:15:06,359 –> 00:15:09,239 And then he speaks of God being your father, 299 00:15:09,239 –> 00:15:12,239 your friend and your father. 300 00:15:12,239 –> 00:15:13,679 Notice Jesus’ great story 301 00:15:13,679 –> 00:15:16,760 that was read about a man who’s surprised 302 00:15:16,760 –> 00:15:19,299 when his friend arrives at midnight. 303 00:15:19,299 –> 00:15:21,380 The man doesn’t have any food in the house, 304 00:15:21,380 –> 00:15:23,559 so he goes and he wakes up his friend 305 00:15:23,559 –> 00:15:25,159 and asks for some bread. 306 00:15:25,159 –> 00:15:29,479 Can I borrow some bread for this unexpected guest? 307 00:15:29,479 –> 00:15:34,500 I gotta tell you this story always reminds me painfully 308 00:15:35,000 –> 00:15:38,440 and my wife always reminds me painfully 309 00:15:39,580 –> 00:15:43,099 of an occasion just shortly after we were married. 310 00:15:43,099 –> 00:15:44,900 We’d moved into a three-bedroom house 311 00:15:44,900 –> 00:15:48,840 that was owned by the church that I was serving in London. 312 00:15:48,840 –> 00:15:52,460 And one morning, I had a call from someone 313 00:15:52,460 –> 00:15:54,280 who I’d known over the years 314 00:15:54,280 –> 00:15:56,119 from my home church in Scotland. 315 00:15:56,119 –> 00:15:57,119 And this guy told me 316 00:15:57,119 –> 00:15:59,400 that he was traveling throughout Europe, 317 00:15:59,400 –> 00:16:01,859 that he would be able to come through London. 318 00:16:01,859 –> 00:16:03,020 He’d never met my wife. 319 00:16:03,020 –> 00:16:04,219 He wondered if he could come 320 00:16:04,900 –> 00:16:06,340 and catch up with me and meet her, 321 00:16:06,340 –> 00:16:08,419 and could he stay in our house for the night? 322 00:16:08,419 –> 00:16:10,440 And he told me he’d be coming in two weeks, 323 00:16:10,440 –> 00:16:11,280 and so forth. 324 00:16:11,280 –> 00:16:13,260 Oh, yes, I said it’d be wonderful to have you. 325 00:16:13,260 –> 00:16:14,820 And put down the phone. 326 00:16:14,820 –> 00:16:16,299 And then the phone rang again, 327 00:16:16,299 –> 00:16:18,960 and I promptly forgot about the whole thing. 328 00:16:20,020 –> 00:16:25,020 Well, it was 11 o’clock, Sunday night, two weeks later, 329 00:16:25,239 –> 00:16:26,719 and there was a knock at the door. 330 00:16:26,719 –> 00:16:27,900 I got up, really old, 331 00:16:27,900 –> 00:16:29,500 the world’s here at this time of night. 332 00:16:29,500 –> 00:16:31,299 And you know that awful feeling 333 00:16:31,380 –> 00:16:34,219 that you can get halfway on your journey to the door 334 00:16:34,219 –> 00:16:36,119 when you suddenly realize, 335 00:16:36,119 –> 00:16:37,820 oh, I know who’s gonna be there. 336 00:16:37,820 –> 00:16:40,239 I haven’t given it one thought for the last two weeks, 337 00:16:40,239 –> 00:16:42,080 but I know exactly what’s gonna happen right now. 338 00:16:42,080 –> 00:16:44,940 And sure enough, there he was. 339 00:16:46,119 –> 00:16:49,500 Well, Karen enjoys telling the story 340 00:16:49,500 –> 00:16:52,340 of how, from her perspective sitting in the living room, 341 00:16:52,340 –> 00:16:55,260 not being able to see, but being able to hear, 342 00:16:56,119 –> 00:16:58,840 she heard an unexpected conversation like this. 343 00:16:59,820 –> 00:17:04,099 Oh hello, how nice to see you. 344 00:17:04,099 –> 00:17:06,300 See, with my great commitment to integrity 345 00:17:06,300 –> 00:17:08,660 I knew the only thing I could do here was bluff. 346 00:17:09,859 –> 00:17:11,780 Come on in, I said. 347 00:17:11,780 –> 00:17:14,800 Let me take your bags up to your room. 348 00:17:14,800 –> 00:17:16,219 Oh when did you last eat? 349 00:17:16,219 –> 00:17:17,979 Oh you haven’t eaten since lunch time? 350 00:17:17,979 –> 00:17:19,099 Oh don’t worry about that. 351 00:17:19,099 –> 00:17:20,660 Just you get yourself settled. 352 00:17:20,660 –> 00:17:22,739 Here’s a place where you can get washed. 353 00:17:22,739 –> 00:17:24,400 Then you must come down and meet my wife. 354 00:17:24,400 –> 00:17:26,520 She’ll have something ready for you. 355 00:17:26,859 –> 00:17:31,619 And Karn’s there sitting, thinking in their living room. 356 00:17:31,619 –> 00:17:35,500 What in all the world is this? 357 00:17:35,500 –> 00:17:38,380 Well a few seconds later I come flying down the stairs 358 00:17:38,380 –> 00:17:40,060 groveling with apologies. 359 00:17:40,060 –> 00:17:41,780 I’m sorry, I blew it. 360 00:17:41,780 –> 00:17:44,099 This guy phoned me two weeks ago, I completely forgot. 361 00:17:44,099 –> 00:17:46,219 I’m sorry I didn’t say anything, his name is Jimmy. 362 00:17:46,219 –> 00:17:47,900 Anyway he’s just arrived, he’s here. 363 00:17:47,900 –> 00:17:48,939 I mean he’s staying the night. 364 00:17:48,939 –> 00:17:52,239 I mean can you fix up something for him to eat? 365 00:17:53,660 –> 00:17:55,939 Well I tell you, I have the most patient forgiving wife 366 00:17:56,119 –> 00:18:00,140 in all the world and I got away with it. 367 00:18:00,140 –> 00:18:05,140 I’ve tried to improve my communication skills since, 368 00:18:06,880 –> 00:18:11,900 but listen, the extent of the asking depends 369 00:18:11,900 –> 00:18:13,699 on the strength of the relationship. 370 00:18:15,939 –> 00:18:17,660 And then Jesus goes even further. 371 00:18:17,660 –> 00:18:21,160 You see, your liberty in asking God is not just 372 00:18:21,160 –> 00:18:26,160 that He’s your friend, it’s that He’s your Father. 373 00:18:29,119 –> 00:18:33,979 Now sons ask big things of their fathers. 374 00:18:33,979 –> 00:18:34,939 Do you notice that? 375 00:18:37,140 –> 00:18:38,699 I mean, in the scriptures here, we read 376 00:18:38,699 –> 00:18:41,420 if your son asks you for bread, 377 00:18:41,420 –> 00:18:44,020 if your son asks you for a fish, 378 00:18:44,020 –> 00:18:46,619 if your son asks you for an egg, 379 00:18:46,619 –> 00:18:49,859 I’ll tell you, I wish my son would just ask me 380 00:18:49,859 –> 00:18:52,959 for bread, fish, or an egg. 381 00:18:55,300 –> 00:18:56,339 That doesn’t happen. 382 00:18:57,739 –> 00:18:59,300 My son asks me things like this. 383 00:18:59,300 –> 00:19:03,119 Dad, would you pay my way right through college? 384 00:19:05,439 –> 00:19:08,880 Hey son, go ask the man 385 00:19:08,880 –> 00:19:11,020 ten doors down the street that question. 386 00:19:14,380 –> 00:19:15,660 Of course I said yes. 387 00:19:17,099 –> 00:19:18,500 I’d like to try and do that. 388 00:19:20,660 –> 00:19:23,400 The extent of the asking 389 00:19:23,400 –> 00:19:25,660 depends on the strength of the relationship. 390 00:19:25,660 –> 00:19:27,699 It’s natural to a father’s heart 391 00:19:27,699 –> 00:19:29,880 to do everything that he can 392 00:19:29,880 –> 00:19:31,619 that will be in the best interest 393 00:19:31,619 –> 00:19:33,699 of his son or his daughter. 394 00:19:35,859 –> 00:19:37,619 Now Jesus is saying to his disciples, 395 00:19:37,619 –> 00:19:40,020 look, God when you have come to know Him 396 00:19:40,020 –> 00:19:43,680 as your father is not like some remote neighbor 397 00:19:43,680 –> 00:19:44,859 down the street. 398 00:19:44,859 –> 00:19:47,079 I mean you could ask your remote neighbor 399 00:19:47,079 –> 00:19:48,959 if you could borrow his ladder 400 00:19:49,020 –> 00:19:50,939 to do a job on the roof or something 401 00:19:50,939 –> 00:19:52,619 but you’re not likely to ask your neighbor 402 00:19:52,619 –> 00:19:54,560 to pay your way through college, right? 403 00:19:58,859 –> 00:20:01,380 No, if it is really true 404 00:20:01,380 –> 00:20:03,380 that through the mercy of Jesus Christ, 405 00:20:03,380 –> 00:20:05,420 God is your father 406 00:20:06,560 –> 00:20:08,380 then on the basis of the strength 407 00:20:08,380 –> 00:20:10,319 and intimacy of that relationship 408 00:20:10,319 –> 00:20:13,819 you have great freedom in asking. 409 00:20:13,819 –> 00:20:15,260 So ask, says Jesus. 410 00:20:15,260 –> 00:20:16,939 Seek, knock, 411 00:20:16,939 –> 00:20:18,540 and the extent of the asking 412 00:20:19,680 –> 00:20:23,079 depends on the strength of the relationship. 413 00:20:25,500 –> 00:20:26,439 Now that’s the first privilege. 414 00:20:26,439 –> 00:20:27,859 Here’s the second. 415 00:20:27,859 –> 00:20:30,939 Not only as sons and daughters of God 416 00:20:30,939 –> 00:20:32,959 do we have a new freedom in asking 417 00:20:34,020 –> 00:20:39,020 but secondly a new perspective in evaluating. 418 00:20:39,140 –> 00:20:41,719 I found this to be very helpful. 419 00:20:41,719 –> 00:20:43,040 Look at what Jesus asks, 420 00:20:43,040 –> 00:20:45,300 which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, 421 00:20:45,300 –> 00:20:46,680 will give him a snake? 422 00:20:47,160 –> 00:20:48,780 Or if he asks for an egg, 423 00:20:48,780 –> 00:20:50,719 will give him a scorpion? 424 00:20:50,719 –> 00:20:52,979 Remember Matthew adds the third question. 425 00:20:52,979 –> 00:20:55,420 If someone asks for bread, 426 00:20:55,420 –> 00:20:58,020 will you give him a stone? 427 00:20:59,459 –> 00:21:01,579 Now, the fascinating thing about these contrasts 428 00:21:01,579 –> 00:21:03,020 is that at least from a distance 429 00:21:03,020 –> 00:21:04,880 these things look rather similar. 430 00:21:05,859 –> 00:21:08,500 It would be quite easy, at least from a distance, 431 00:21:08,500 –> 00:21:11,260 to mistake a small loaf of brown bread 432 00:21:11,260 –> 00:21:14,660 for a stone or vice versa. 433 00:21:14,699 –> 00:21:17,319 And remember that the first temptation 434 00:21:17,319 –> 00:21:18,760 of Jesus was all about this. 435 00:21:18,760 –> 00:21:20,020 Remember he was in the desert 436 00:21:20,020 –> 00:21:22,180 and he’s very, very hungry, 437 00:21:22,180 –> 00:21:25,520 and Satan says turn these stones into bread. 438 00:21:26,459 –> 00:21:27,939 And why did he say that? 439 00:21:27,939 –> 00:21:30,880 Presumably because just in the visual setting 440 00:21:30,880 –> 00:21:32,500 where Jesus is very hungry 441 00:21:32,500 –> 00:21:34,420 and he’s surrounded by lots of rocks 442 00:21:34,420 –> 00:21:36,739 and there are these stones of various shades of color, 443 00:21:36,739 –> 00:21:39,420 some round and oval shaped, 444 00:21:39,420 –> 00:21:40,739 and some of a size that looks 445 00:21:40,739 –> 00:21:43,339 not unlike a roll or a loaf of bread, 446 00:21:43,339 –> 00:21:44,699 and they look for all the world 447 00:21:44,699 –> 00:21:45,859 like what you’d like to eat 448 00:21:45,859 –> 00:21:47,459 if only they were bread. 449 00:21:47,459 –> 00:21:48,660 But they’re stones. 450 00:21:49,819 –> 00:21:52,020 Some fish look pretty like a snake. 451 00:21:53,060 –> 00:21:56,020 You ever been out fishing and caught an eel? 452 00:21:56,020 –> 00:21:57,579 Ever eaten jellied eel? 453 00:21:59,839 –> 00:22:01,579 Seych Spurgeon who makes this point 454 00:22:01,579 –> 00:22:03,339 says that there are some scorpions 455 00:22:03,339 –> 00:22:04,819 that when they fold themselves up 456 00:22:04,819 –> 00:22:06,500 look not unlike eggs, 457 00:22:06,500 –> 00:22:09,780 and that is why they are particularly dangerous. 458 00:22:09,780 –> 00:22:11,819 So the point here seems to be 459 00:22:11,859 –> 00:22:15,020 that it is possible to mistake bread for a stone, 460 00:22:15,020 –> 00:22:19,739 fish for a snake or an egg for a scorpion. 461 00:22:19,739 –> 00:22:22,140 Now I found that to be a very helpful point 462 00:22:22,140 –> 00:22:23,119 for this reason. 463 00:22:24,420 –> 00:22:26,099 There will be times in your life 464 00:22:26,099 –> 00:22:28,640 as there are in mine 465 00:22:28,640 –> 00:22:30,339 when what God has given, 466 00:22:31,140 –> 00:22:33,260 what God has allowed 467 00:22:33,260 –> 00:22:36,339 looks distinctly like a stone, 468 00:22:36,339 –> 00:22:38,819 a snake or a scorpion. 469 00:22:39,800 –> 00:22:43,319 Your boss calls you in on a Friday afternoon at work 470 00:22:43,319 –> 00:22:45,260 and you find that your job has ended. 471 00:22:45,260 –> 00:22:47,219 That sure looks like a stone. 472 00:22:49,219 –> 00:22:52,339 You’re trying to run a business with integrity 473 00:22:52,339 –> 00:22:56,020 but someone else is cutting the ground from under you 474 00:22:56,020 –> 00:22:57,619 by shading the truth. 475 00:22:57,619 –> 00:22:59,599 That looks like a snake. 476 00:23:02,479 –> 00:23:05,540 Friend of mine just emailed me Friday. 477 00:23:06,660 –> 00:23:07,859 Calling pray for me. 478 00:23:08,099 –> 00:23:09,859 And I just heard my wife has cancer. 479 00:23:12,060 –> 00:23:14,760 Boy, that looks like a scorpion, doesn’t it? 480 00:23:19,420 –> 00:23:21,619 Look at your life and you will see things 481 00:23:21,619 –> 00:23:23,739 from time to time that God has allowed 482 00:23:23,739 –> 00:23:25,140 and when you look at them you say 483 00:23:25,140 –> 00:23:26,420 boy, that looks for all the world 484 00:23:26,420 –> 00:23:29,160 like a stone, a snake and a scorpion. 485 00:23:31,219 –> 00:23:32,699 And when you see these things 486 00:23:32,699 –> 00:23:35,540 here will be your natural reaction. 487 00:23:35,540 –> 00:23:36,560 As it is mine. 488 00:23:37,400 –> 00:23:39,300 You look at what seems like a stone 489 00:23:39,300 –> 00:23:40,880 and you say what in all the world 490 00:23:40,880 –> 00:23:42,040 is the use of that? 491 00:23:42,040 –> 00:23:44,140 I can’t make any use of that in my life 492 00:23:44,140 –> 00:23:46,079 it’s no use to me. 493 00:23:46,079 –> 00:23:47,239 This thing in my life. 494 00:23:50,719 –> 00:23:52,859 Look at what seems like a snake 495 00:23:52,859 –> 00:23:54,760 and it gets to you and you say 496 00:23:54,760 –> 00:23:56,640 boy, that thing makes my flesh creep. 497 00:23:59,479 –> 00:24:00,800 Something happens in your life 498 00:24:00,800 –> 00:24:01,880 that looks like a scorpion 499 00:24:01,880 –> 00:24:03,319 and you say boy, that’s gonna hurt 500 00:24:03,319 –> 00:24:05,619 me, that’s gonna sting, it’s gonna hurt. 501 00:24:06,800 –> 00:24:09,239 That’s the natural reaction. 502 00:24:14,760 –> 00:24:17,719 But knowing that God is your heavenly father 503 00:24:17,719 –> 00:24:20,520 will give you an entirely different perspective 504 00:24:20,520 –> 00:24:21,959 in evaluating your life. 505 00:24:24,760 –> 00:24:26,660 God can turn stones into bread. 506 00:24:27,959 –> 00:24:29,839 Our Lord would not do this in the desert 507 00:24:29,839 –> 00:24:30,739 for his own comfort 508 00:24:30,739 –> 00:24:33,000 but he will do it for you and for your good. 509 00:24:34,000 –> 00:24:36,699 Remember Joseph, 510 00:24:38,119 –> 00:24:39,800 when his brothers beat him up 511 00:24:39,800 –> 00:24:41,359 and left him in a pit? 512 00:24:41,359 –> 00:24:42,839 Boy that’s a stone. 513 00:24:44,760 –> 00:24:46,880 Remember they took his coat of many colors 514 00:24:46,880 –> 00:24:47,880 and dipped it in blood 515 00:24:47,880 –> 00:24:49,959 and went home and told the father 516 00:24:49,959 –> 00:24:53,079 that Joseph had been killed by wild animals? 517 00:24:53,079 –> 00:24:54,560 Boy that’s a snake. 518 00:24:57,380 –> 00:24:59,739 Remember that Joseph was committed to integrity 519 00:24:59,739 –> 00:25:02,400 even when he was severely tempted 520 00:25:02,420 –> 00:25:04,880 and as a result of his integrity 521 00:25:04,880 –> 00:25:06,800 when tempted by Potiphar’s wife, 522 00:25:06,800 –> 00:25:08,660 he finds himself put in prison? 523 00:25:08,660 –> 00:25:10,579 That’s a scorpion. 524 00:25:10,579 –> 00:25:11,900 Boy that stings. 525 00:25:15,000 –> 00:25:17,339 And yet, this was the means 526 00:25:17,339 –> 00:25:20,800 by which God sustained his people 527 00:25:20,800 –> 00:25:23,619 providing food for them through a famine. 528 00:25:25,739 –> 00:25:29,180 It was bread, fish and eggs 529 00:25:30,119 –> 00:25:31,880 for the whole of Joseph’s family. 530 00:25:33,599 –> 00:25:35,880 It was through this that God’s promise 531 00:25:35,880 –> 00:25:37,959 was sustained and kept. 532 00:25:40,040 –> 00:25:42,500 So that Joseph said to his brothers 533 00:25:42,500 –> 00:25:44,319 at one point towards the end of the story, 534 00:25:44,319 –> 00:25:46,359 look, you meant it for evil. 535 00:25:46,359 –> 00:25:48,400 You tried to deal me a stone, 536 00:25:48,400 –> 00:25:49,599 a snake and a scorpion. 537 00:25:49,599 –> 00:25:51,099 That’s what you were about. 538 00:25:53,599 –> 00:25:55,000 Well, I’ll tell you God made out of it 539 00:25:55,000 –> 00:25:57,359 bread, fish and eggs, God meant it for good. 540 00:25:59,640 –> 00:26:03,199 Which is what Paul says in the new Testament. 541 00:26:03,199 –> 00:26:08,199 In all things God works for the good 542 00:26:08,439 –> 00:26:11,280 of those who love him, 543 00:26:11,280 –> 00:26:13,939 who’ve been called according to his purpose. 544 00:26:15,939 –> 00:26:17,780 It’s a marvelous thing to be able to look 545 00:26:17,780 –> 00:26:19,680 at what is most difficult in your life, 546 00:26:21,760 –> 00:26:23,839 and to say boy, some of this sure looks to me 547 00:26:23,839 –> 00:26:26,079 like a stone, a snake, and a scorpion, 548 00:26:26,119 –> 00:26:30,040 but my life is in the hand of a loving heavenly Father, 549 00:26:30,040 –> 00:26:33,959 and nothing comes to me apart from his sovereign hand, 550 00:26:33,959 –> 00:26:38,959 and therefore I see in this bread, and fish, and eggs, 551 00:26:43,599 –> 00:26:48,599 for God will use even this to advance his purpose in me. 552 00:26:52,040 –> 00:26:53,500 When God has become your father 553 00:26:53,500 –> 00:26:55,959 through faith in Jesus Christ, 554 00:26:55,959 –> 00:26:58,660 you have a new freedom in asking. 555 00:26:58,660 –> 00:27:00,420 You have a whole new perspetive 556 00:27:00,420 –> 00:27:03,459 in evaluating even the hardest things in your life, 557 00:27:03,459 –> 00:27:04,819 and here’s the last thing, 558 00:27:04,819 –> 00:27:09,119 you have a new confidence in receiving. 559 00:27:09,119 –> 00:27:10,739 Look at how Jesus ends his teaching here. 560 00:27:10,739 –> 00:27:13,420 Which of you fathers, if a son asks for a fish, 561 00:27:13,420 –> 00:27:15,359 will give him a snake, or if he asks for an egg, 562 00:27:15,359 –> 00:27:16,819 will give him a scorpion. 563 00:27:16,819 –> 00:27:19,920 If you then, though you are evil, 564 00:27:19,920 –> 00:27:22,479 know how to give good gifts to your children, 565 00:27:22,520 –> 00:27:26,040 how much more will your Father in heaven 566 00:27:26,040 –> 00:27:30,640 give the Holy Spirit to those who ask? 567 00:27:32,619 –> 00:27:35,339 Your Father will give you his own spirit, 568 00:27:37,020 –> 00:27:42,020 his own seed, his own life, his own presence. 569 00:27:43,939 –> 00:27:47,160 If you ask him he’ll give you the real deal, 570 00:27:48,079 –> 00:27:49,619 and his spirit will be sufficient 571 00:27:49,619 –> 00:27:51,959 for everything that you will face in life. 572 00:27:53,380 –> 00:27:56,939 Now this is a marvelous thing 573 00:27:56,939 –> 00:27:59,180 because it is our assurance 574 00:28:00,079 –> 00:28:05,079 that what we have received from God is genuine. 575 00:28:06,099 –> 00:28:07,439 Some of us struggle with this question, 576 00:28:07,439 –> 00:28:09,479 how do I know if my faith is authentic? 577 00:28:10,760 –> 00:28:13,560 How can I be sure I’ve got the real deal? 578 00:28:14,640 –> 00:28:16,540 How can I be sure that on the last day 579 00:28:16,540 –> 00:28:18,260 I really will enter into heaven 580 00:28:18,260 –> 00:28:21,319 and won’t find myself surprised and lost? 581 00:28:23,260 –> 00:28:28,260 I enjoyed sharing in the Moody Pastors Conference recently. 582 00:28:30,160 –> 00:28:31,939 One of the joys was a session 583 00:28:31,939 –> 00:28:36,400 in which Dr Joe Stoll, past president of Moody, 584 00:28:36,400 –> 00:28:37,880 told the story of God’s leading 585 00:28:37,880 –> 00:28:39,780 in his life over the years, 586 00:28:39,780 –> 00:28:42,420 being a pastor and then coming to Moody 587 00:28:42,420 –> 00:28:45,260 and now being teaching pastor at Harvest Bible Chapel. 588 00:28:47,060 –> 00:28:49,319 The worship session that preceded him speaking 589 00:28:49,319 –> 00:28:51,380 was led by his son Matt Stoll. 590 00:28:52,339 –> 00:28:55,579 So Matt had the opportunity of introducing his dad 591 00:28:55,579 –> 00:28:56,619 who’s rather moving. 592 00:28:57,560 –> 00:28:59,060 Matt said something like this, 593 00:29:00,400 –> 00:29:02,680 I get to introduce the speaker today, he said. 594 00:29:03,979 –> 00:29:05,739 You all know him as the last president 595 00:29:05,739 –> 00:29:07,079 of the Moody Bible Institute, 596 00:29:07,079 –> 00:29:09,520 but to me he’s simply my dad. 597 00:29:10,660 –> 00:29:11,579 Then he said, 598 00:29:13,739 –> 00:29:17,040 I have to tell you who see him in public 599 00:29:17,979 –> 00:29:19,780 that I know in private. 600 00:29:20,579 –> 00:29:22,520 He’s the real deal. 601 00:29:22,520 –> 00:29:24,280 Boy, to have your son say that. 602 00:29:24,280 –> 00:29:26,359 That’s fantastic, he’s the real deal. 603 00:29:28,880 –> 00:29:30,680 Now this has been the blessing of my life. 604 00:29:30,680 –> 00:29:34,599 My father was the real deal, my grandfather. 605 00:29:37,020 –> 00:29:40,079 Listen, some of us came into contact 606 00:29:40,079 –> 00:29:41,739 through Christianity through a father 607 00:29:41,739 –> 00:29:44,739 who talked the talk, but didn’t walk the walk. 608 00:29:45,280 –> 00:29:48,280 And because of that, 609 00:29:48,280 –> 00:29:51,939 you have a problem with assurance. 610 00:29:51,939 –> 00:29:54,060 Because you’re a bit doubtful about him 611 00:29:55,099 –> 00:29:57,800 and because you’re a bit doubtful about him, 612 00:29:57,800 –> 00:30:00,199 you’re a little bit doubtful about yourself too. 613 00:30:01,439 –> 00:30:04,540 If you came through into contact with Christian faith, 614 00:30:04,540 –> 00:30:06,140 whether it be through a father or a pastor 615 00:30:06,140 –> 00:30:10,260 or someone else who actually was a poor role model 616 00:30:10,260 –> 00:30:12,660 you will have significant questions. 617 00:30:12,660 –> 00:30:14,099 Where did you get your faith? 618 00:30:15,540 –> 00:30:19,439 What was the nature of your first model, 619 00:30:19,439 –> 00:30:24,439 your first example of what a Christian is supposed to be? 620 00:30:27,660 –> 00:30:32,640 And you see, if what you saw is not creditable 621 00:30:34,380 –> 00:30:36,239 you may have some very deep questions 622 00:30:36,239 –> 00:30:37,619 about the credibility of the whole 623 00:30:37,619 –> 00:30:39,339 of this faith thing anyway. 624 00:30:39,900 –> 00:30:43,420 I came to Christ hearing a very simple message 625 00:30:43,420 –> 00:30:46,699 when I was quite young from a pastor who said this, 626 00:30:46,699 –> 00:30:50,099 look being in a Christian family 627 00:30:50,099 –> 00:30:52,479 won’t make you a Christian. 628 00:30:53,500 –> 00:30:54,319 That spoke to me 629 00:30:54,319 –> 00:30:56,500 because that was precisely my own situation. 630 00:30:58,359 –> 00:31:03,359 You have to come to Jesus Christ yourself. 631 00:31:05,180 –> 00:31:07,040 And God spoke to me through that. 632 00:31:07,880 –> 00:31:09,640 God spoke to me through that. 633 00:31:11,260 –> 00:31:16,260 Now it’s this directness of you coming to Jesus Christ 634 00:31:17,300 –> 00:31:18,760 that so critical here 635 00:31:20,819 –> 00:31:24,900 because faith cannot be mediated through another person. 636 00:31:26,619 –> 00:31:29,199 Christ has come so that through him 637 00:31:29,199 –> 00:31:32,099 you may have a direct relationship with God 638 00:31:32,099 –> 00:31:36,219 because he is God, God with us, God in the flesh. 639 00:31:37,239 –> 00:31:39,280 And sure, God uses messengers, 640 00:31:39,280 –> 00:31:41,719 moms, dads, Sunday school teachers, 641 00:31:41,719 –> 00:31:44,380 pastors, friends, colleagues. 642 00:31:45,540 –> 00:31:47,719 Sure, God uses messengers, 643 00:31:47,719 –> 00:31:52,040 but he will never allow intermediaries. 644 00:31:52,040 –> 00:31:54,300 He won’t allow any pastor or any priest 645 00:31:54,300 –> 00:31:56,140 or any teacher or any institution 646 00:31:56,140 –> 00:31:58,780 or any family member to get in the way 647 00:31:58,780 –> 00:32:00,439 between you and God. 648 00:32:00,439 –> 00:32:04,439 He won’t allow anybody to come between you and him. 649 00:32:04,699 –> 00:32:09,699 So now, if your faith is dependent 650 00:32:11,780 –> 00:32:16,780 on a family member or a pastor 651 00:32:17,619 –> 00:32:20,680 or a program or an institution, 652 00:32:20,680 –> 00:32:23,239 then I have to say it is possible 653 00:32:25,400 –> 00:32:26,780 that you may find ultimately 654 00:32:26,780 –> 00:32:29,420 that what you have is not real faith at all, 655 00:32:29,420 –> 00:32:32,920 but really just a stone, a snake 656 00:32:33,219 –> 00:32:35,739 or a scorpion. 657 00:32:38,000 –> 00:32:40,479 But what Jesus Christ is saying is this. 658 00:32:40,479 –> 00:32:43,040 Look, you come directly to the Father. 659 00:32:44,160 –> 00:32:46,780 You come to God the Father through Jesus Christ, 660 00:32:46,780 –> 00:32:49,859 you come to Him and you can be absolutely sure 661 00:32:49,859 –> 00:32:51,800 that what you receive from Him 662 00:32:51,800 –> 00:32:54,079 will not sting, will not disappoint, 663 00:32:54,079 –> 00:32:57,040 it will be the real deal if you come to Him 664 00:32:57,040 –> 00:32:58,900 and come to Him directly. 665 00:32:59,520 –> 00:33:01,260 See, that’s the problem with the cults, by the way, 666 00:33:01,260 –> 00:33:02,099 isn’t it? 667 00:33:02,859 –> 00:33:05,859 The cults always end up with a message 668 00:33:05,859 –> 00:33:07,819 that says, when you boil it down, 669 00:33:07,819 –> 00:33:09,619 you can have a relationship with God 670 00:33:09,619 –> 00:33:11,680 but it has to go through this book 671 00:33:11,680 –> 00:33:13,099 that’s beside the Bible. 672 00:33:13,099 –> 00:33:16,040 It has to go through this particular personality 673 00:33:16,040 –> 00:33:18,140 who’s got the insight on the message 674 00:33:18,140 –> 00:33:21,060 and it’s gotta go through this particular institution 675 00:33:21,060 –> 00:33:23,180 and that’s the only way it can be. 676 00:33:25,219 –> 00:33:27,520 And whenever you hear anything like this out there, 677 00:33:27,819 –> 00:33:30,839 and whenever you hear anything like that, 678 00:33:30,839 –> 00:33:33,040 you know you’re into the world of deception. 679 00:33:35,079 –> 00:33:39,640 But if you have come to God through Jesus Christ 680 00:33:39,640 –> 00:33:42,400 to seek forgiveness in Jesus 681 00:33:42,400 –> 00:33:44,880 and to ask that his Spirit will be given to you 682 00:33:44,880 –> 00:33:46,540 and you have come to him, 683 00:33:48,359 –> 00:33:50,500 then no matter the mixture or disappointment 684 00:33:50,500 –> 00:33:52,459 of other models that may have been around you, 685 00:33:52,459 –> 00:33:54,920 you can be sure that what you have received 686 00:33:54,920 –> 00:33:58,300 from his hand is the real deal. 687 00:34:00,060 –> 00:34:02,959 And you’ll have a new freedom in asking, 688 00:34:03,979 –> 00:34:06,099 a new perspective in evaluating, 689 00:34:07,400 –> 00:34:10,199 and a new confidence in receiving 690 00:34:10,199 –> 00:34:13,239 because it’s not come from the hand of another. 691 00:34:13,239 –> 00:34:14,800 It’s come from the hand of God. 692 00:34:16,159 –> 00:34:17,399 See H. Spurgeon that said, 693 00:34:17,399 –> 00:34:20,360 If I had got my faith secondhand, 694 00:34:21,560 –> 00:34:23,159 I might have been deceived. 695 00:34:24,100 –> 00:34:27,760 But if I have gone to God myself, 696 00:34:27,760 –> 00:34:29,939 no mistake can have occurred. 697 00:34:29,939 –> 00:34:33,560 I must have received the good thing which I sought. 698 00:34:33,560 –> 00:34:34,399 Why? 699 00:34:36,120 –> 00:34:38,340 Because if earthly fathers know how 700 00:34:38,340 –> 00:34:39,840 to give good gifts to their children, 701 00:34:39,840 –> 00:34:44,439 how much more will your Father in heaven 702 00:34:44,439 –> 00:34:49,439 give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? 703 00:34:50,120 –> 00:34:51,159 Who ask him? 704 00:34:52,840 –> 00:34:55,739 You come to God in that personal way through Jesus Christ? 705 00:34:58,479 –> 00:35:00,139 You realize that you can’t sit back 706 00:35:00,139 –> 00:35:03,760 presumptuously on a relationship with God 707 00:35:03,760 –> 00:35:06,120 on the basis of your birth and your upbringing? 708 00:35:07,040 –> 00:35:09,260 You’ve seen your need of Jesus Christ, 709 00:35:10,439 –> 00:35:12,239 you know God as your Father, 710 00:35:12,239 –> 00:35:15,679 the seed of his life in you, 711 00:35:15,679 –> 00:35:17,760 moving you in a different direction. 712 00:35:17,760 –> 00:35:20,479 Is it becoming increasingly evident 713 00:35:20,479 –> 00:35:21,580 in the course of your life 714 00:35:21,580 –> 00:35:25,580 that the apple does not fall far from the tree, 715 00:35:27,000 –> 00:35:29,399 which is the most marvelous good news 716 00:35:30,959 –> 00:35:35,699 for someone who knows that God is their Heavenly Father? 717 00:35:37,360 –> 00:35:39,639 Let’s bow in his presence together, shall we? 718 00:35:41,840 –> 00:35:46,300 Father, not one of us who are dad’s is a perfect father, 719 00:35:47,260 –> 00:35:50,760 and not one of us alive has a perfect father, 720 00:35:53,500 –> 00:35:55,139 therefore we come to you 721 00:35:55,139 –> 00:35:57,479 in the name of your son Jesus Christ, 722 00:35:57,479 –> 00:36:01,399 and thank you that you have declared yourself 723 00:36:01,399 –> 00:36:06,179 and offered yourself to be our Father in Heaven, 724 00:36:09,179 –> 00:36:12,860 that the seeds of your life may come to us through grace 725 00:36:12,860 –> 00:36:14,620 in a way that is far more powerful 726 00:36:14,620 –> 00:36:16,860 than any seed that is in us by nature. 727 00:36:19,939 –> 00:36:22,379 We see our need of this and we see the hope 728 00:36:22,379 –> 00:36:25,379 that it opens up, and therefore through Jesus Christ, 729 00:36:25,379 –> 00:36:28,060 we draw directly and personally to you, 730 00:36:29,879 –> 00:36:32,739 and embrace you, taking you at your promise. 731 00:36:34,340 –> 00:36:38,060 Calling you our Father, trusting Christ as our Savior, 732 00:36:38,060 –> 00:36:42,699 asking that your spirit will animate and grow 733 00:36:42,739 –> 00:36:46,939 the full fruit of this new life in us. 734 00:36:48,860 –> 00:36:51,060 May the beginning of transformation 735 00:36:51,060 –> 00:36:53,219 take place in some life today. 736 00:36:54,580 –> 00:36:59,540 For these things we ask in Jesus’ name, amen.