1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:04,860 Well, I described at the beginning of our series, The Inside Story, that this was really 2 00:00:04,860 –> 00:00:06,920 going to be a little bit like a triathlon. 3 00:00:06,920 –> 00:00:07,920 You know what that is. 4 00:00:07,920 –> 00:00:08,920 It’s one event. 5 00:00:08,920 –> 00:00:13,800 It’s three parts, and each of the parts look and feel very different indeed. 6 00:00:13,800 –> 00:00:18,700 Our aim is that we will try to discover what the Bible has to say about the inside story 7 00:00:18,700 –> 00:00:20,799 of human life. 8 00:00:20,799 –> 00:00:23,120 Why is the world as it is? 9 00:00:23,120 –> 00:00:26,080 Then that we will look at the inside story of the Christian life. 10 00:00:26,080 –> 00:00:29,600 Why is my experience as a Christian as it is? 11 00:00:29,620 –> 00:00:33,959 Then, in the third part, that we will look at the inside story of our future life. 12 00:00:33,959 –> 00:00:39,080 What lies ahead of every person who has ever lived in the eternal future that Christ has 13 00:00:39,080 –> 00:00:40,500 come to reveal. 14 00:00:40,500 –> 00:00:44,720 Now, today we actually complete the first stage of the journey. 15 00:00:44,720 –> 00:00:49,560 We’ve been asking the question, why is the world as it is today? 16 00:00:49,560 –> 00:00:54,439 Why is it after all these years of human history, that we have not yet established a world in 17 00:00:54,439 –> 00:00:56,580 which there is peace and justice for all? 18 00:00:56,580 –> 00:00:57,580 Why do we still have war? 19 00:00:57,599 –> 00:01:01,259 Why do we still have the breakdown of families and so forth and so on. 20 00:01:01,259 –> 00:01:06,879 Where does all of this come from and we’re trying to set in place some major building 21 00:01:06,879 –> 00:01:10,879 blocks for understanding the Christian faith. 22 00:01:10,879 –> 00:01:16,720 We began here with the Bible telling us, that God created Adam upright, but that men have 23 00:01:16,720 –> 00:01:19,940 gone in search of many schemes. 24 00:01:19,940 –> 00:01:25,040 We learned that every child born into the world in every generation since Adam bears 25 00:01:25,040 –> 00:01:27,180 the enigma of a double image. 26 00:01:27,300 –> 00:01:32,379 In other words, you are born in the image of God and that gives your life unique dignity, 27 00:01:32,379 –> 00:01:34,320 value, and worth. 28 00:01:34,320 –> 00:01:37,980 But it is also true of every one of us that we are born in the image of our father and 29 00:01:37,980 –> 00:01:38,980 our mother. 30 00:01:38,980 –> 00:01:43,040 That goes all the way back to Adam and to Eve, and what that means is that we also are 31 00:01:43,040 –> 00:01:46,000 sinners by nature and by practice. 32 00:01:46,000 –> 00:01:50,839 We’ve been in Ephesians 2, and I hope you’ll have your Bible open there again today. 33 00:01:50,839 –> 00:01:54,019 We saw this very clearly in Ephesians 2 and verse 3. 34 00:01:54,019 –> 00:02:01,080 All of us lived among them, at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature. 35 00:02:01,080 –> 00:02:06,260 In other words, by nature, by birth, at one time, it was true of every person that we 36 00:02:06,260 –> 00:02:12,399 were primarily about ourselves, and then last week we looked at the consequence of this 37 00:02:12,399 –> 00:02:13,580 in verse 3. 38 00:02:13,580 –> 00:02:19,580 Like the rest, we were by nature children of wrath. 39 00:02:19,580 –> 00:02:23,399 So here is what God says about our condition by nature. 40 00:02:23,399 –> 00:02:27,860 Here is the biblical explanation of why the world is as it is. 41 00:02:27,860 –> 00:02:31,080 By nature, we are sinners from birth. 42 00:02:31,080 –> 00:02:34,679 By nature, we are children of wrath. 43 00:02:34,679 –> 00:02:40,559 And that is the inside story of human life. 44 00:02:40,559 –> 00:02:44,600 Now you may remember if you were here that last week we used a simple parable. 45 00:02:44,600 –> 00:02:47,139 The parable of the biggest problem. 46 00:02:47,139 –> 00:02:52,240 And we told this story about a man who comes to see a pastor because he wants to be more 47 00:02:53,179 –> 00:02:56,699 It soon emerges that the real problem over his money isn’t his generosity, it’s that 48 00:02:57,380 –> 00:03:01,800 fact that he’s raided $2 million from his company’s pension fund and as the pastor 49 00:03:01,800 –> 00:03:05,759 is trying to help him face up to what the implications of this are and what he must 50 00:03:05,759 –> 00:03:10,300 do the caretaker of the Church comes bursting in and says, there’s a bomb in the building 51 00:03:10,300 –> 00:03:16,699 and suddenly there is another problem that’s even bigger and more immediate still. 52 00:03:17,179 –> 00:03:23,559 Today we are coming to the third and the last step in us grasping the scale of the human 53 00:03:23,559 –> 00:03:28,259 problem and I fear that some of you might just be at the point of saying, oh please 54 00:03:28,259 –> 00:03:33,020 not again, first you tell us that we’re sinners by nature then you tell us it’s worse we’re 55 00:03:33,020 –> 00:03:36,380 children of wrath and now you are telling us there’s something even worse. 56 00:03:36,380 –> 00:03:41,100 Well, I’m afraid so but this is it folks I hope you have your Bible open at Ephesians 57 00:03:41,119 –> 00:03:44,679 chapter 2 and verse 1 here’s the biggest problem of all. 58 00:03:44,679 –> 00:04:00,679 As for you, you were dead, dead, dead in your transgressions and sins. 59 00:04:00,679 –> 00:04:05,220 Now, do you see immediately why I say that this is? 60 00:04:05,220 –> 00:04:10,979 This is the capstone as it were on the problem this is the biggest dimension of all by nature 61 00:04:11,119 –> 00:04:13,720 we are sinners from birth, that’s one thing. 62 00:04:13,720 –> 00:04:17,459 By nature we are children of wrath, that’s another thing. 63 00:04:17,459 –> 00:04:22,880 But now here we are discovering from the Bible that by nature we can do nothing to change 64 00:04:22,880 –> 00:04:28,359 our own position that’s the capstone, that’s the worst of all. 65 00:04:28,359 –> 00:04:36,239 Now I want to plead with you to take the Bible seriously as we look at the scripture today. 66 00:04:36,279 –> 00:04:41,839 For some of us we will struggle even as soon as it’s read, and you might find yourself 67 00:04:41,839 –> 00:04:43,760 struggling for the next half hour or so. 68 00:04:43,760 –> 00:04:45,799 I urge you to struggle. 69 00:04:45,799 –> 00:04:51,420 I urge you to struggle and to place yourself under the Bible even if it is reshaping what 70 00:04:51,420 –> 00:04:56,019 you have thought up until today. 71 00:04:56,019 –> 00:05:02,980 The Bible does not say here that you were trapped in your sins. 72 00:05:03,260 –> 00:05:05,739 We spoke a few weeks ago about the story of Aaron Ralston. 73 00:05:05,739 –> 00:05:11,380 You remember that guy from Indiana who was out in Utah and he’s exploring a canyon on 74 00:05:11,380 –> 00:05:21,959 his own and he gets his arm trapped underneath a falling rock, and he’s there for 127 hours? 75 00:05:21,959 –> 00:05:25,380 And he keeps hoping that someone will come and help him but nobody does. 76 00:05:25,380 –> 00:05:30,179 In the end, after 127 hours when no one is there and he loses hope of that, he decides 77 00:05:30,260 –> 00:05:35,220 the only thing he can do is to take radical personal surgery to get himself out of the 78 00:05:35,220 –> 00:05:36,220 situation. 79 00:05:36,220 –> 00:05:42,140 He cuts off his own arm to save his own life. 80 00:05:42,140 –> 00:05:43,380 It is an extraordinary story. 81 00:05:43,380 –> 00:05:52,579 A man who is trapped in a canyon maybe able, even after 127 hours, to take some drastic 82 00:05:52,579 –> 00:05:57,540 action to find an extreme way to get himself out even if it pushes him to the limit of 83 00:05:57,559 –> 00:06:00,899 personal pain. 84 00:06:00,899 –> 00:06:05,880 But a man who is dead in a canyon is in a different position, right? 85 00:06:05,880 –> 00:06:08,420 There is no hope for him. 86 00:06:08,420 –> 00:06:10,059 He cannot move. 87 00:06:10,059 –> 00:06:12,059 He cannot feel. 88 00:06:12,059 –> 00:06:15,739 He cannot act. 89 00:06:15,739 –> 00:06:20,320 We all use the phrase while there’s life there’s hope. 90 00:06:20,320 –> 00:06:24,000 But you see where there’s death, there’s no hope, is there? 91 00:06:24,000 –> 00:06:25,640 There’s no hope at all. 92 00:06:26,179 –> 00:06:28,600 Life is gone. 93 00:06:28,600 –> 00:06:35,880 The situation of death is one that speaks of absolute, complete, total, and utter hopelessness 94 00:06:35,880 –> 00:06:39,559 in terms of any ability to alter the situation at all. 95 00:06:39,559 –> 00:06:40,559 Think about it. 96 00:06:40,559 –> 00:06:46,579 If a man falls in a pit, you can throw him a rope and he can grab onto the rope and you 97 00:06:46,579 –> 00:06:54,299 can pull him out, but if the man is dead in the pit then the rope is of no value to him 98 00:06:54,339 –> 00:06:55,820 whatsoever. 99 00:06:58,019 –> 00:07:02,000 Now I thought about all this business of being dead and thought, well, you know, maybe if 100 00:07:02,000 –> 00:07:05,920 we had a corpse in the church, that would kind of help illustrate this, than I thought 101 00:07:05,920 –> 00:07:10,420 of one or two problems in relation to the practicalities of doing that. 102 00:07:10,420 –> 00:07:14,820 So let me introduce you instead to my friend here, Manny. 103 00:07:14,820 –> 00:07:16,279 Manny the Mannequin. 104 00:07:16,279 –> 00:07:21,279 We’ve become good friends over these last weeks, and you can see here what a fine fellow 105 00:07:21,399 –> 00:07:27,559 Manny is, and how very respectable and obviously he’s lived a very prosperous and successful 106 00:07:27,559 –> 00:07:28,559 life. 107 00:07:28,559 –> 00:07:29,559 Looks magnificent, I would say. 108 00:07:29,559 –> 00:07:32,480 Would you not agree, and very very sharp. 109 00:07:32,480 –> 00:07:40,880 Rather large feet, but you know, I come to Manny if you’ll put up with my foolishness 110 00:07:40,880 –> 00:07:41,880 for a minute. 111 00:07:41,880 –> 00:07:48,880 And I say, you know Manny, it’s really important, my friend, that you live a life that honors 112 00:07:48,880 –> 00:07:58,339 God, the ten Commandments Manny, the sermon on the mount Manny, love God with all your 113 00:07:58,339 –> 00:08:01,320 heart Manny, love your neighbor as yourself Manny. 114 00:08:01,320 –> 00:08:06,459 He’s not very responsive, this guy, is he? 115 00:08:06,459 –> 00:08:08,959 Not much comes from him. 116 00:08:08,959 –> 00:08:12,799 He’s lifeless. 117 00:08:12,799 –> 00:08:14,220 He’s dead. 118 00:08:14,579 –> 00:08:18,239 He does not have the capacity to do what I’m talking to him about. 119 00:08:18,239 –> 00:08:20,940 I can’t even hear it. 120 00:08:20,940 –> 00:08:30,320 Suppose I say to him in my desire that my friend here becomes a Christian, I say to 121 00:08:30,320 –> 00:08:34,619 him, now Manny, God helps them that helps themselves. 122 00:08:34,619 –> 00:08:37,900 Have you ever heard that phrase, by the way? 123 00:08:37,900 –> 00:08:43,020 Manny, God helps them that helps themselves, and God is very gracious, and God is very 124 00:08:43,020 –> 00:08:44,020 kind. 125 00:08:44,020 –> 00:08:47,859 There may be some stuff wrong in your life, Manny, as I got stuff wrong in my life, but 126 00:08:47,859 –> 00:08:51,659 here’s what you need to do, because God is very gracious and kind. 127 00:08:51,659 –> 00:08:53,419 You’ve got to take the first step towards God. 128 00:08:53,419 –> 00:08:54,419 Now come on, Manny. 129 00:08:54,419 –> 00:08:55,419 Let’s go. 130 00:08:55,419 –> 00:08:56,780 Take the first step towards God. 131 00:08:56,780 –> 00:09:02,559 Manny ain’t going to take the first step towards God, is he? 132 00:09:02,559 –> 00:09:04,419 He’s dead. 133 00:09:04,419 –> 00:09:07,859 He has no life in him. 134 00:09:07,859 –> 00:09:10,719 Now friends, forgive my foolishness. 135 00:09:10,719 –> 00:09:13,020 I want you to think about this. 136 00:09:13,020 –> 00:09:19,400 What the Bible that’s open in front of you is saying, it’s not saying that the problem 137 00:09:19,400 –> 00:09:22,299 for the sinner is that he’s weak. 138 00:09:22,299 –> 00:09:25,619 It’s not saying that the problem for the sinner is that he can’t make up his mind whether 139 00:09:25,619 –> 00:09:29,039 he wants to come to Christ or not. 140 00:09:29,039 –> 00:09:36,539 What it’s saying is that the problem at its root for the sinner is that he is dead towards 141 00:09:36,539 –> 00:09:37,539 God. 142 00:09:37,539 –> 00:09:41,760 He’s alive in this world, he’s socially engaged, he can be at church and he can sing and all 143 00:09:41,760 –> 00:09:45,659 the rest of it, but the root problem for the sinner is this. 144 00:09:45,659 –> 00:09:47,619 He is dead towards God. 145 00:09:47,619 –> 00:09:53,219 He can’t act, he can’t feel, he can’t move, he is without hope and that is why it says 146 00:09:53,219 –> 00:09:57,840 in the same chapter in verse twelve, you were without hope. 147 00:09:57,840 –> 00:10:00,340 You got to take that seriously. 148 00:10:00,340 –> 00:10:08,979 You were without hope and you were without God in the world. 149 00:10:09,020 –> 00:10:13,140 Now I have to tell you, and this is why I say some of us will be struggling even right 150 00:10:13,140 –> 00:10:19,119 now, that no doctrine is more offensive to the sinner than this. 151 00:10:19,119 –> 00:10:24,780 Even the wrath of God causes less offense than this. 152 00:10:24,780 –> 00:10:31,219 No matter how hard a problem is, a man will feel good about himself if he thinks he has 153 00:10:31,219 –> 00:10:34,400 the ability to tackle it. 154 00:10:34,400 –> 00:10:39,539 So tell me that I have a sinful nature, and I’ll tell you I’ll fight it. 155 00:10:39,539 –> 00:10:43,479 Tell me that I’m liable to the wrath of God, and I’ll tell you I’ll live a life that will 156 00:10:43,479 –> 00:10:46,900 win God’s admiration. 157 00:10:46,900 –> 00:10:53,960 But if you tell me that I am dead, that there is nothing that I can do about my own position, 158 00:10:53,960 –> 00:11:00,200 you insult me and I will not accept your doctrine. 159 00:11:00,239 –> 00:11:04,619 And yet, friends, with the Bible open in front of us, do you not see that is exactly the 160 00:11:04,619 –> 00:11:09,039 teaching of the Bible if we’re prepared to take the words of Scripture seriously? 161 00:11:09,039 –> 00:11:15,780 See, this is important because many church people have bought into a view of sin that 162 00:11:15,780 –> 00:11:17,940 goes something like this. 163 00:11:17,940 –> 00:11:22,840 While we all mess up in various ways, nobody’s perfect. 164 00:11:22,840 –> 00:11:25,400 We all have our problems. 165 00:11:25,400 –> 00:11:29,039 But God is gracious and God is kind, and if we’re sorry and want to do better, He will 166 00:11:29,400 –> 00:11:35,260 And Jesus made all that possible. 167 00:11:35,260 –> 00:11:43,859 Friend, if that is what you think the problem is, you will never think that salvation is 168 00:11:43,859 –> 00:11:46,799 that big a deal. 169 00:11:46,799 –> 00:11:52,039 If that is the size of the problem, Jesus Christ will not seem to you to be a great 170 00:11:52,039 –> 00:11:53,039 Savior. 171 00:11:53,039 –> 00:11:56,840 He really won’t. 172 00:11:57,039 –> 00:12:00,859 And what I’m wanting us to grasp from the Bible as we have made our way through the 173 00:12:00,859 –> 00:12:05,880 first part of this series is that the wrong things that we have done in our lives are 174 00:12:05,880 –> 00:12:07,760 only the tip of the iceberg. 175 00:12:07,760 –> 00:12:10,960 Here’s the Bible’s doctrine of sin. 176 00:12:10,960 –> 00:12:13,039 Try and get this clear in your mind. 177 00:12:13,039 –> 00:12:16,039 It will be a building block for understanding the Christian faith. 178 00:12:16,039 –> 00:12:17,840 What’s the Bible doctrine of sin? 179 00:12:17,840 –> 00:12:21,000 By nature, we are sinners from birth. 180 00:12:21,000 –> 00:12:23,559 By nature, we are children of wrath. 181 00:12:23,559 –> 00:12:26,919 By nature, we cannot change our own position. 182 00:12:26,919 –> 00:12:30,760 By nature, therefore we are completely hopeless. 183 00:12:30,760 –> 00:12:35,760 That is the inside story of the human life. 184 00:12:35,760 –> 00:12:41,320 Now, someone may be saying at this point, now wait a minute, I’ve got a question. 185 00:12:41,320 –> 00:12:47,200 This isn’t making a whole lot of sense to me because after all, I have come to Christ. 186 00:12:47,200 –> 00:12:49,679 I have repented. 187 00:12:49,679 –> 00:12:52,080 I have believed. 188 00:12:52,159 –> 00:12:56,479 I have taken a step towards God. 189 00:12:56,479 –> 00:13:04,840 And so I ask you this question, how did you come to do that? 190 00:13:04,840 –> 00:13:09,059 How did you come to do that? 191 00:13:09,059 –> 00:13:11,039 And here’s the answer. 192 00:13:11,039 –> 00:13:16,359 God made you alive in Jesus Christ. 193 00:13:16,359 –> 00:13:18,539 Look at that in verse four. 194 00:13:19,440 –> 00:13:23,960 The first three verses of this chapter are really laying out the inside story of human 195 00:13:23,960 –> 00:13:24,960 life. 196 00:13:24,960 –> 00:13:28,460 Sinners by birth, children of wrath unable to change our position, completely dead in 197 00:13:28,460 –> 00:13:29,840 it. 198 00:13:29,840 –> 00:13:30,840 Situation is hopeless. 199 00:13:30,840 –> 00:13:32,280 But then look at verse four. 200 00:13:32,280 –> 00:13:33,640 It is glorious. 201 00:13:33,640 –> 00:13:34,640 But! 202 00:13:34,640 –> 00:13:35,640 But! 203 00:13:35,640 –> 00:13:41,960 You think after all these weeks of looking at the doctrine of sin we’ve finally got there. 204 00:13:41,960 –> 00:13:43,619 But! 205 00:13:43,619 –> 00:13:52,559 Because of his great love to us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Jesus 206 00:13:52,559 –> 00:13:53,559 Christ. 207 00:13:53,559 –> 00:13:55,700 That’s what Paul is saying to all of his Christian readers. 208 00:13:55,700 –> 00:13:58,340 That is what has happened to you if you have come to Jesus Christ. 209 00:13:58,340 –> 00:14:03,820 God has stepped into your death and he has brought life. 210 00:14:03,820 –> 00:14:08,460 Here we were dead in sins, unable to act, unable to move by ourselves. 211 00:14:08,460 –> 00:14:09,619 What has God done? 212 00:14:09,619 –> 00:14:11,739 But God, but God. 213 00:14:11,900 –> 00:14:16,280 See, at the heart of the Gospel it’s not about something that you’re doing to move towards 214 00:14:16,299 –> 00:14:19,960 God, it’s about something that God has done to move towards you! 215 00:14:19,960 –> 00:14:20,960 It’s amazing. 216 00:14:20,960 –> 00:14:25,539 Friend of mine who is a new Christian just said to me the other week. 217 00:14:25,539 –> 00:14:30,159 He said, you know, I was really thinking that my conversion was all about me reaching out 218 00:14:30,159 –> 00:14:31,159 to God! 219 00:14:31,159 –> 00:14:34,940 Now I’m realizing God was reaching out to me! 220 00:14:34,940 –> 00:14:38,099 And his face was aglow with the wonder of it. 221 00:14:38,400 –> 00:14:41,059 I saw the love of Christ for him! 222 00:14:41,059 –> 00:14:44,539 Christ saved me! 223 00:14:44,539 –> 00:14:51,380 See, grace is more than God making salvation possible. 224 00:14:51,380 –> 00:14:55,780 It is more than God opening a door and then standing back to see who will come. 225 00:14:55,780 –> 00:15:00,340 Some folks have that very shriveled view of salvation in their minds. 226 00:15:00,340 –> 00:15:06,619 Listen, if God merely opened a door, and then stepped back and said, well let’s see the 227 00:15:06,619 –> 00:15:11,039 human race, all of whom are dead in sin are gonna come through this door. 228 00:15:11,039 –> 00:15:12,359 Guess how many would come? 229 00:15:12,359 –> 00:15:13,960 Precisely, none. 230 00:15:13,960 –> 00:15:19,380 Because, at the end of the day, an opened door is no different from a closed door to 231 00:15:19,380 –> 00:15:22,219 a person who is dead. 232 00:15:22,219 –> 00:15:23,880 Makes no difference. 233 00:15:23,880 –> 00:15:28,520 So, grace is more than God making your salvation possible. 234 00:15:28,520 –> 00:15:31,960 Grace is God saving you. 235 00:15:31,960 –> 00:15:36,059 And that’s precisely what Paul is saying here in Ephesians chapter two and verse four. 236 00:15:36,700 –> 00:15:40,320 If you are a Christian, if you have faith, if you have come to repentance, if you have 237 00:15:40,320 –> 00:15:44,900 taken a step towards God here today, then here is what is happening and what has happened 238 00:15:44,900 –> 00:15:45,900 in your life. 239 00:15:45,900 –> 00:15:57,200 God who is rich in mercy has made you alive in Christ even when you were dead in transgressions 240 00:15:57,200 –> 00:15:58,880 and sins. 241 00:15:58,880 –> 00:16:04,580 Now you say, how did this happen? 242 00:16:04,719 –> 00:16:08,619 Come with me back to the passage which was read for us earlier in John’s Gospel in chapter 243 00:16:08,619 –> 00:16:10,940 five, would you? 244 00:16:10,940 –> 00:16:16,239 John’s Gospel in chapter five, because here Jesus speaks about exactly the same thing 245 00:16:16,239 –> 00:16:23,200 and the words of our Lord Jesus are wonderful and they are full of hope. 246 00:16:23,200 –> 00:16:29,140 John’s Gospel chapter five and verse twenty-four, and I want you to see here how Jesus offers 247 00:16:29,140 –> 00:16:33,099 hope to us helpless sinners. 248 00:16:33,099 –> 00:16:42,059 He says this, whoever hears my word, whoever, whoever hears my word and believes him who 249 00:16:42,059 –> 00:16:51,000 sent me, that person has eternal life and will not be condemned, so the wrath is removed 250 00:16:51,000 –> 00:16:52,919 as well. 251 00:16:52,919 –> 00:16:58,679 And He has crossed over from death to life. 252 00:16:58,679 –> 00:17:01,419 Now look at this marvelous promise. 253 00:17:01,460 –> 00:17:07,400 Jesus is speaking about how a person who is in the realm of death, unable to move, unable 254 00:17:07,400 –> 00:17:16,900 to respond, may cross over, Jesus says, from death to life. 255 00:17:16,900 –> 00:17:19,199 And here Jesus holds out this marvelous offer. 256 00:17:19,199 –> 00:17:27,359 He says whoever hears my word, whoever believes him who has sent me. 257 00:17:27,359 –> 00:17:32,119 So here’s the son of God and he has life in himself, he has life and he’s able to give 258 00:17:32,119 –> 00:17:43,459 life and he says he gives this life to those who hear the word that he speaks and believe 259 00:17:43,459 –> 00:17:45,680 in the Father who sent him. 260 00:17:45,680 –> 00:17:47,979 But of course that raises the obvious question, doesn’t it. 261 00:17:47,979 –> 00:17:50,359 If we go back to Manny. 262 00:17:50,359 –> 00:17:54,400 How is Manny going to hear when he’s dead? 263 00:17:54,400 –> 00:17:56,520 How is Manny going to believe when he’s dead? 264 00:17:56,719 –> 00:18:00,719 How is Manny going to cross over from death to life, that’s the question. 265 00:18:00,719 –> 00:18:07,920 So, I want you to see what Jesus says right here that Christ gives life to people who 266 00:18:07,920 –> 00:18:11,079 are spiritually dead. 267 00:18:11,079 –> 00:18:17,719 Look at what he says in verse 21, just as the Father raises the dead and gives them 268 00:18:18,479 –> 00:18:28,760 life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. 269 00:18:28,760 –> 00:18:35,719 See, death is the end of all hope for us, but not for God. 270 00:18:35,719 –> 00:18:42,119 The Father raises the dead and the Son of God, who has life in Himself, is able to give 271 00:18:42,119 –> 00:18:47,880 this life to whom He is pleased to give it. 272 00:18:47,880 –> 00:18:53,839 Now that raises then the following question, how then does Christ give this life? 273 00:18:53,839 –> 00:19:01,280 And the answer is that Jesus gives this life, this new life, by speaking. 274 00:19:01,280 –> 00:19:07,920 Notice that clearly in verse 25, a time is coming Jesus said, and has now come. 275 00:19:07,920 –> 00:19:13,160 So this is something that now already is happening with the coming of Jesus and since His coming. 276 00:19:13,160 –> 00:19:22,420 A time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God 277 00:19:22,420 –> 00:19:27,280 and those who hear will live. 278 00:19:27,280 –> 00:19:34,599 This is a statement of a miracle, a divine action bringing life from the dead, the Father 279 00:19:34,599 –> 00:19:38,420 raising the dead to life just as He raised the Lord Jesus. 280 00:19:38,420 –> 00:19:43,479 And Jesus is saying, in the same way this is what He the risen Christ does. 281 00:19:43,479 –> 00:19:55,939 He brings spiritual life into those who are spiritually dead and He does it by speaking. 282 00:19:55,939 –> 00:19:59,400 That should immediately make you think what is the first thing you learn about God in 283 00:19:59,400 –> 00:20:02,180 the Bible. 284 00:20:02,619 –> 00:20:11,959 Notice at the beginning in the creation story, when He speaks, things that did not exist 285 00:20:11,959 –> 00:20:14,880 come into being, it’s wonderful. 286 00:20:14,880 –> 00:20:20,760 God says, let there be light and there is light. 287 00:20:20,760 –> 00:20:30,180 Now here’s the Son of God and He speaks and when He speaks, He says let there be life 288 00:20:30,180 –> 00:20:36,119 and when the Son of God says let there be life, life comes where there was only death 289 00:20:36,119 –> 00:20:38,420 previously. 290 00:20:38,420 –> 00:20:43,739 People who were dead hear His voice and now hearing His voice live. 291 00:20:43,739 –> 00:20:50,680 This is a miracle of grace, well you were dead in transgressions and since God made 292 00:20:50,680 –> 00:20:56,839 you alive in Jesus Christ that’s what He’s talking about right here. 293 00:20:57,000 –> 00:21:01,760 When Christ comes to people who are dead in their sins, He says let there be light and 294 00:21:01,760 –> 00:21:06,760 the dead here hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear live. 295 00:21:06,760 –> 00:21:12,719 You of course have this illustrated in the physical realm by our Lord Jesus Christ in 296 00:21:12,719 –> 00:21:13,719 the Gospels. 297 00:21:13,719 –> 00:21:15,140 Remember that little girl? 298 00:21:15,140 –> 00:21:24,959 Jairus’s daughter, twelve years old and she’s dead and there she is in the bedroom and Jesus 299 00:21:25,079 –> 00:21:26,719 goes in, the Father and the Mother. 300 00:21:26,719 –> 00:21:35,640 You remember Jesus goes in and says, talithicum, talithicum which means, little girl I say 301 00:21:35,640 –> 00:21:39,520 to you get up and when Jesus speaks what happens? 302 00:21:39,520 –> 00:21:40,640 Life comes into her. 303 00:21:40,640 –> 00:21:44,979 And she gets up and Jesus says, now to her parents, you better look and give her something 304 00:21:44,979 –> 00:21:45,979 to eat. 305 00:21:45,979 –> 00:21:52,760 And you remember, perhaps eating more dramatically if that’s possible, the tomb of Lazarus and 306 00:21:52,760 –> 00:21:56,979 he’s been in there for four days though that Mary says, it’s going to really smell in there 307 00:21:56,979 –> 00:21:57,979 now. 308 00:21:57,979 –> 00:22:05,260 They open the stone and Jesus says, do you remember, Lazarus, come forth. 309 00:22:05,260 –> 00:22:08,760 And John records how, can you imagine this? 310 00:22:08,760 –> 00:22:13,199 Lazarus comes forth and he’s still bound with all these linen strips and there’s a cloth 311 00:22:13,199 –> 00:22:15,719 around his face. 312 00:22:15,719 –> 00:22:23,119 The Son of God speaks and physical life is imparted in these resurrections from the dead 313 00:22:23,119 –> 00:22:27,540 and you see it has been precisely that way that we are being told, that the Son of God 314 00:22:27,540 –> 00:22:34,280 speaks into spiritual death, into our own inability, our own un-responsiveness towards 315 00:22:34,280 –> 00:22:38,800 God and brings a new heart and brings a new mind, brings a new spirit. 316 00:22:38,800 –> 00:22:44,380 The Bible calls this the new birth, being born from above. 317 00:22:45,000 –> 00:22:45,719 It’s wonderful. 318 00:22:47,520 –> 00:22:54,140 It’s glorious that dead hear His voice and live. 319 00:22:55,339 –> 00:22:56,459 So here is Jesus. 320 00:22:56,459 –> 00:23:01,500 He is in the business of raising people who are spiritually dead and He is still doing 321 00:23:01,500 –> 00:23:02,500 this today. 322 00:23:02,500 –> 00:23:03,660 He does it through His Word. 323 00:23:03,660 –> 00:23:06,180 He does it by His Spirit. 324 00:23:06,180 –> 00:23:13,500 That is why you see in the scriptures we read that a person is born again in a convergence 325 00:23:13,619 –> 00:23:16,380 of two factors. 326 00:23:16,380 –> 00:23:18,060 The new birth is described in two ways. 327 00:23:18,060 –> 00:23:20,239 We are born again of the Word. 328 00:23:20,239 –> 00:23:25,979 That’s 1 Peter 1.23 and we are born again of the Spirit. 329 00:23:25,979 –> 00:23:32,920 Where the Word of the gospel comes and the work of the Spirit operates, new life is generated 330 00:23:35,420 –> 00:23:37,859 in a person who was spiritually dead. 331 00:23:37,859 –> 00:23:43,140 The dead hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear live. 332 00:23:43,140 –> 00:23:47,959 Matthew Henry says, it is by the voice of the Son of God that souls are raised to spiritual 333 00:23:47,959 –> 00:23:56,380 life and that power is communicated by His Word. 334 00:23:56,380 –> 00:23:59,400 His Word. 335 00:23:59,400 –> 00:24:05,680 Earlier this year I got to know a new member of our congregation, Keith De Valasco. 336 00:24:05,680 –> 00:24:11,400 As we were talking, he told me about his father, Joe, who was a Christian artist. 337 00:24:11,459 –> 00:24:16,280 Joe De Valasco, who is now with the Lord, lived for many years in Park Ridge. 338 00:24:16,280 –> 00:24:21,280 His work has been widely appreciated and one of his paintings has been displayed at the 339 00:24:21,280 –> 00:24:23,140 Billy Graham Centre in Wheaton. 340 00:24:23,140 –> 00:24:29,400 Well, Keith gave me a print of one of his father’s paintings which is now hanging in 341 00:24:29,400 –> 00:24:30,420 my office. 342 00:24:30,420 –> 00:24:36,280 It is not the most beautiful painting I have ever seen, but it is in my office because 343 00:24:36,280 –> 00:24:40,140 it gets to the heart of what I believe. 344 00:24:40,140 –> 00:24:50,280 And here is the picture, it is called ÒOh, wretched man!Ó Now, look at this picture. 345 00:24:50,280 –> 00:24:55,979 This man is dead and he is looking at himself. 346 00:24:55,979 –> 00:24:59,800 And if you can read the inscription on the top, it has the words ÒOh, wretched man, 347 00:24:59,800 –> 00:25:00,839 that I am Étatsá. 348 00:25:00,839 –> 00:25:05,079 He is asking that question from Romans in chapter seven, ÒWho is going to deliver 349 00:25:05,079 –> 00:25:07,859 me from this body of death?Ó 350 00:25:07,859 –> 00:25:13,319 And you see the force of the painting as long as this man is looking at himself, he’s only 351 00:25:13,319 –> 00:25:19,300 looking at death, and there is no hope for him there. 352 00:25:19,300 –> 00:25:22,939 But look at where there is hope in the picture. 353 00:25:22,939 –> 00:25:29,819 The man’s hand is resting on the Bible, the Word of God. 354 00:25:29,819 –> 00:25:35,359 And do you see the color there, that life is coming into him, and it is coming into 355 00:25:35,380 –> 00:25:39,020 him from the Word of Christ. 356 00:25:39,020 –> 00:25:44,540 The Son of God is bringing life into the place where there was death, by the entrance of 357 00:25:44,540 –> 00:25:48,560 His Word. 358 00:25:48,560 –> 00:25:53,400 So here’s this man, and he’s consumed with himself, and he’s saying, Oh wretched man 359 00:25:53,400 –> 00:25:56,780 that I am, who is going to deliver me from this body of death? 360 00:25:56,780 –> 00:26:01,280 But there is an answer to that question, and the answer to that question is thanks be to 361 00:26:01,439 –> 00:26:06,459 God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 362 00:26:06,459 –> 00:26:08,479 Here’s the message. 363 00:26:08,479 –> 00:26:13,420 As long as you’re looking at yourself and as long as you’re preoccupied with yourself, 364 00:26:13,420 –> 00:26:20,119 there is absolutely no hope that you are ever going to find there. 365 00:26:20,119 –> 00:26:25,119 Lay hold of the promises of the Son of God. 366 00:26:25,119 –> 00:26:29,239 Lay hold of the word of life. 367 00:26:29,380 –> 00:26:32,920 Lay hold of the Lord Jesus Christ, and his promises. 368 00:26:32,920 –> 00:26:35,599 And life will come into you! 369 00:26:35,599 –> 00:26:36,599 Life comes! 370 00:26:36,599 –> 00:26:38,160 I need this myself. 371 00:26:38,160 –> 00:26:42,939 That is why I have it in my office. 372 00:26:42,939 –> 00:26:45,880 As often as I end up getting preoccupied with myself. 373 00:26:45,880 –> 00:26:47,160 What have I done with my life? 374 00:26:47,160 –> 00:26:48,160 What have I accomplished? 375 00:26:48,160 –> 00:26:49,880 How have I progressed as a Christian? 376 00:26:49,880 –> 00:26:51,939 I go down and down and down. 377 00:26:51,939 –> 00:26:53,260 What do I have to do? 378 00:26:53,260 –> 00:26:56,880 I have to lay hold of the promises of God. 379 00:26:56,880 –> 00:27:01,900 My life is hidden with Christ in God. 380 00:27:01,900 –> 00:27:03,680 That’s where my life is. 381 00:27:03,680 –> 00:27:07,380 So, I say to you. 382 00:27:07,380 –> 00:27:13,380 Those who are drawn to Christ even now. 383 00:27:13,380 –> 00:27:17,239 I say to you, look to Jesus Christ right now. 384 00:27:17,239 –> 00:27:18,239 Put your trust in Him. 385 00:27:18,239 –> 00:27:19,680 Put your faith in Him. 386 00:27:19,680 –> 00:27:21,640 Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. 387 00:27:21,640 –> 00:27:25,319 Ask him to do for you what you cannot do for yourself. 388 00:27:25,319 –> 00:27:30,540 Look to him to be for you what you cannot be for yourself. 389 00:27:30,540 –> 00:27:32,260 Do you lack love for God? 390 00:27:32,260 –> 00:27:34,900 Come to the Lord Jesus Christ. 391 00:27:34,900 –> 00:27:36,579 And ask of Him what you do not have. 392 00:27:36,579 –> 00:27:41,719 Do you feel that if you were to seek to be a Christian today, that this is something 393 00:27:41,719 –> 00:27:43,319 that is beyond what you could do? 394 00:27:43,319 –> 00:27:48,699 Well look to Jesus Christ to give you what you do not have. 395 00:27:48,699 –> 00:27:50,520 Don’t sit looking at yourself. 396 00:27:50,520 –> 00:27:53,439 There is no hope there. 397 00:27:53,880 –> 00:27:59,099 Great old hymn, Jesus the name high over all, that speaks of the very power that is in Jesus 398 00:27:59,099 –> 00:28:00,099 Christ. 399 00:28:00,099 –> 00:28:01,099 Even in His name. 400 00:28:01,099 –> 00:28:06,680 And it says this, Jesus the sinner’s fetters break and bruises Satan’s head. 401 00:28:06,680 –> 00:28:14,819 Power into strengthless souls He speaks, and life into the dead. 402 00:28:15,079 –> 00:28:17,760 That’s where there’s hope. 403 00:28:19,260 –> 00:28:22,160 Now to conclusions and then we’re through. 404 00:28:22,459 –> 00:28:24,520 Here’s the first. 405 00:28:24,540 –> 00:28:31,579 It is always worth sharing the gospel. 406 00:28:31,579 –> 00:28:38,380 It is always worth sharing the gospel. 407 00:28:38,380 –> 00:28:42,579 I have to tell you that the truth we’ve been looking at today is, 408 00:28:42,579 –> 00:28:50,160 to me, the single most motivating truth with regards to sharing the gospel that I know. 409 00:28:51,040 –> 00:28:56,359 Encourages me, it drives me, it sustains me in the work of evangelism. 410 00:28:57,839 –> 00:28:59,719 Here’s why. 411 00:28:59,719 –> 00:29:04,459 Some of you will remember one of the best known stories in the Old Testament. 412 00:29:04,459 –> 00:29:09,680 Valley of dry bones in Ezekiel and Chapter 37. 413 00:29:09,680 –> 00:29:14,140 And remember that God takes Ezekiel in a vision to see this vast, 414 00:29:14,140 –> 00:29:18,500 vast valley and it’s full of dry bones, nothing’s living there and 415 00:29:18,500 –> 00:29:20,920 Ezekiel, son of man, can these bones live? 416 00:29:20,920 –> 00:29:24,099 And Ezekiel says, oh sovereign, Lord, only you know that. 417 00:29:24,099 –> 00:29:27,880 And then the Lord says, well, now prophesy to these bones. 418 00:29:27,880 –> 00:29:29,280 In other words, speak to these bones. 419 00:29:29,280 –> 00:29:30,300 Speak the word of God. 420 00:29:30,300 –> 00:29:31,819 That’s what prophesy means. 421 00:29:31,819 –> 00:29:34,500 Speak the word of God to these bones and say to them, 422 00:29:34,500 –> 00:29:36,819 dry bones, hear the word of the Lord, and live. 423 00:29:36,819 –> 00:29:41,160 And you can imagine Ezekiel going, I ought to speak to dry bones. 424 00:29:41,160 –> 00:29:46,339 I mean, I expect he’d spoken to a few unresponsive congregations, 425 00:29:46,359 –> 00:29:51,420 but to speak to a valley of dry bones, you serious Lord? 426 00:29:51,420 –> 00:29:55,260 I mean, what possible purpose can there be in speaking the word of God 427 00:29:55,260 –> 00:29:56,939 into a situation of death? 428 00:29:58,160 –> 00:30:01,739 And maybe you right now are thinking about someone who is spiritually dead. 429 00:30:01,739 –> 00:30:04,459 And you say, well, what’s the point in even trying. 430 00:30:04,459 –> 00:30:08,819 What’s the point in even saying something about Christ to them? 431 00:30:08,819 –> 00:30:13,579 But Ezekiel was obedient to the Lord, and he spoke the word of the Lord. 432 00:30:13,579 –> 00:30:14,819 And you remember what happened? 433 00:30:14,819 –> 00:30:18,459 As he spoke the word of the Lord into the situation of absolute death, 434 00:30:18,459 –> 00:30:19,260 what happened? 435 00:30:19,260 –> 00:30:23,420 The Spirit of God began to move and God said to the bones, 436 00:30:23,420 –> 00:30:26,339 I will make breath enter you and you will come to life. 437 00:30:26,339 –> 00:30:28,079 And you remember how that happened. 438 00:30:28,079 –> 00:30:31,619 These various bones, and you can’t even say it without hearing words of the song 439 00:30:31,619 –> 00:30:34,699 and the music about the bones getting connected to each 440 00:30:34,699 –> 00:30:36,880 other and eventually, there are living people. 441 00:30:38,619 –> 00:30:41,319 Now, what’s that story there all about in the Old Testament? 442 00:30:41,319 –> 00:30:43,660 It’s telling us precisely what we’re learning today. 443 00:30:44,800 –> 00:30:48,959 That God brings new life into places of death by his spirit and 444 00:30:48,959 –> 00:30:50,880 he does it through the word. 445 00:30:52,959 –> 00:30:58,260 Through the word of Christ that we are privileged to share with others. 446 00:30:59,859 –> 00:31:04,020 I know that it does not happen that new life comes every time we 447 00:31:04,020 –> 00:31:05,000 share the word of God. 448 00:31:05,000 –> 00:31:07,760 It’s like the living seed and some falls on stony ground but 449 00:31:08,680 –> 00:31:13,300 falls on ground in which God is wonderfully at work, and 450 00:31:13,30 –> 00:31:16,119 up springs are harvest 30,60 and a hundred fold. 451 00:31:18,359 –> 00:31:22,160 So I say to you, when you understand this, you would be greatly encouraged, 452 00:31:22,160 –> 00:31:27,040 because what’s motivating in evangelism is not to look at 453 00:31:27,040 –> 00:31:30,760 the particular situation of the person then you’ll just say, 454 00:31:30,760 –> 00:31:33,079 oh they are so far away and there can’t be any hope. 455 00:31:34,680 –> 00:31:37,579 And motivation for evangelism doesn’t come in terms of saying, 456 00:31:37,819 –> 00:31:40,300 how good is my presentation of the Gospel, because 457 00:31:40,300 –> 00:31:43,359 then you’ll only despair of your own inadequate presentation. 458 00:31:45,359 –> 00:31:49,780 Motivation from evangelism comes in this way, that you know 459 00:31:49,780 –> 00:31:52,219 and are convinced of the biblical truth that 460 00:31:52,219 –> 00:31:55,380 Christ imparts spiritual life through His word. 461 00:31:57,439 –> 00:31:59,060 Therefore you go into the college campus and 462 00:31:59,060 –> 00:32:00,380 you share it with some other students. 463 00:32:01,739 –> 00:32:03,119 Or you share it with some neighbors. 464 00:32:04,140 –> 00:32:05,459 Or you share it with a colleague at work. 465 00:32:07,699 –> 00:32:10,339 And who knows what God will do by His Spirit 466 00:32:10,339 –> 00:32:11,599 through the imparting of His word. 467 00:32:11,599 –> 00:32:13,800 That’s how spiritual life comes. 468 00:32:16,699 –> 00:32:19,380 And here’s the second and the last application today and 469 00:32:19,380 –> 00:32:20,300 it’s simply this. 470 00:32:21,560 –> 00:32:28,719 There is therefore hope in Christ for the worst of sinners. 471 00:32:28,719 –> 00:32:31,660 There’s hope in Jesus Christ from the person in church who 472 00:32:31,660 –> 00:32:34,699 is farthest from God of all of us today. 473 00:32:35,520 –> 00:32:38,099 There’s hope for you in Jesus Christ today. 474 00:32:38,099 –> 00:32:38,939 There really is. 475 00:32:41,660 –> 00:32:45,479 When I was studying theology back in London, 476 00:32:45,479 –> 00:32:50,579 I remember in one of our classes learning about a thing called 477 00:32:50,579 –> 00:32:52,420 the Engle Scale. 478 00:32:53,800 –> 00:32:55,579 It was quite trendy in those days. 479 00:32:56,619 –> 00:33:01,099 The idea behind it was this, that some people seem to be 480 00:33:01,199 –> 00:33:05,079 very, very far away from God, and other people seem 481 00:33:05,079 –> 00:33:09,920 to be relatively near to some kind of personal faith. 482 00:33:11,040 –> 00:33:15,040 The Engle Scale was developed to attempt to sort 483 00:33:15,040 –> 00:33:17,900 of chart a person’s spiritual position. 484 00:33:19,040 –> 00:33:21,920 So if you were sort of really antagonistic 485 00:33:21,920 –> 00:33:24,760 towards Christianity, you might be a minus 10, 486 00:33:24,760 –> 00:33:27,280 if you seemed fairly soft in towards Christianity, 487 00:33:27,280 –> 00:33:29,280 you might be a minus two or a minus one. 488 00:33:29,280 –> 00:33:32,119 Conversion came at .0, if you were a very young 489 00:33:32,119 –> 00:33:34,079 and immature Christian, you were plus one, 490 00:33:34,079 –> 00:33:36,359 and if you were really flying in spiritual maturity, 491 00:33:36,359 –> 00:33:38,359 you were plus 10, the Engle Scale. 492 00:33:40,680 –> 00:33:45,079 The idea, of course, was that this could be used 493 00:33:45,079 –> 00:33:46,699 in some way to help missionaries, 494 00:33:46,699 –> 00:33:48,859 and to help churches focus on the people 495 00:33:48,859 –> 00:33:51,300 who were most likely to be responsive, 496 00:33:52,359 –> 00:33:55,119 and surely it would be a wise thing to place our effort 497 00:33:55,119 –> 00:33:59,260 where we were likely to get the greatest response. 498 00:34:00,020 –> 00:34:02,859 And folks, that’s 30 years ago. 499 00:34:02,859 –> 00:34:05,180 I still remember sitting in this class, 500 00:34:06,040 –> 00:34:07,900 and I’m thinking to myself, 501 00:34:07,900 –> 00:34:12,899 that makes absolutely no sense to me whatsoever. 502 00:34:15,780 –> 00:34:19,580 Because if it is true that we are all spiritually dead 503 00:34:19,580 –> 00:34:22,560 until Jesus Christ breathes life into us, 504 00:34:23,979 –> 00:34:27,080 what is the difference between a minus one 505 00:34:27,280 –> 00:34:29,040 and minus 10, seriously? 506 00:34:30,300 –> 00:34:31,899 I mean, if minus one is dead, 507 00:34:31,899 –> 00:34:34,060 then presumably minus five is very dead 508 00:34:34,060 –> 00:34:36,939 and minus 10 is extremely dead. 509 00:34:38,860 –> 00:34:41,540 Listen, the rich young ruler 510 00:34:41,540 –> 00:34:43,260 wanted to know about eternal life. 511 00:34:43,260 –> 00:34:45,219 I’d make him a minus one, wouldn’t you? 512 00:34:46,899 –> 00:34:48,939 And he comes to Jesus all interested 513 00:34:48,939 –> 00:34:51,139 and all moral and interested, 514 00:34:51,139 –> 00:34:52,399 and wants eternal life, 515 00:34:52,399 –> 00:34:54,739 and he speaks to Jesus himself and what happens? 516 00:34:54,739 –> 00:34:56,479 He goes away hopelessly lost. 517 00:34:57,879 –> 00:34:59,399 Because he’s spiritually dead. 518 00:35:01,580 –> 00:35:03,620 And here’s another man, Saul of Tarsus, 519 00:35:03,620 –> 00:35:04,459 where would you put him? 520 00:35:04,459 –> 00:35:06,199 Minus 10 on the Engel scale, 521 00:35:06,199 –> 00:35:08,419 I think that’s where he belongs, right? 522 00:35:08,419 –> 00:35:10,360 Absolute hatred for the church 523 00:35:10,360 –> 00:35:11,959 of Jesus Christ and everything 524 00:35:11,959 –> 00:35:13,979 that the name of Christ represents. 525 00:35:13,979 –> 00:35:16,439 A minus 10, stone dead towards 526 00:35:16,439 –> 00:35:18,479 the things of Christ, but what happens? 527 00:35:18,479 –> 00:35:20,379 He hears the voice of the son of God 528 00:35:20,379 –> 00:35:21,659 on the road to Damascus, 529 00:35:21,659 –> 00:35:24,120 and he is gloriously converted. 530 00:35:24,479 –> 00:35:25,300 Listen. 531 00:35:28,659 –> 00:35:31,340 If you are a Christian today, 532 00:35:31,340 –> 00:35:34,600 the miracle that has happened in your life 533 00:35:34,600 –> 00:35:37,419 is every bit as great as what happened 534 00:35:37,419 –> 00:35:40,399 to Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus. 535 00:35:40,399 –> 00:35:43,179 If you don’t see that, 536 00:35:43,179 –> 00:35:44,439 it’s probably because you don’t believe 537 00:35:44,439 –> 00:35:46,020 that you were spiritually dead. 538 00:35:47,179 –> 00:35:48,580 Maybe you were, like me, brought up 539 00:35:48,580 –> 00:35:49,479 in a Christian home. 540 00:35:49,479 –> 00:35:50,340 And maybe like me, 541 00:35:50,340 –> 00:35:52,840 you did come to Jesus in a very simple way 542 00:35:52,840 –> 00:35:53,739 early in life. 543 00:35:53,760 –> 00:35:55,500 And you had not committed any gross sins 544 00:35:55,500 –> 00:35:56,439 at that time. 545 00:35:57,699 –> 00:35:59,560 But I’m saying to you, 546 00:35:59,560 –> 00:36:03,100 it was no harder for God to save Saul of Tarsus 547 00:36:03,100 –> 00:36:05,280 than it was for him to save you. 548 00:36:06,219 –> 00:36:08,379 The miracle was exactly the same. 549 00:36:09,540 –> 00:36:12,080 It was a resurrection from the dead. 550 00:36:14,100 –> 00:36:16,560 Your salvation was no less a miracle, 551 00:36:16,560 –> 00:36:18,800 no less an intervention from God 552 00:36:18,800 –> 00:36:21,479 than what happened on the road to Damascus 553 00:36:21,520 –> 00:36:24,000 to the Saul of Tarsus. 554 00:36:24,000 –> 00:36:26,360 You were dead and you were brought to life, 555 00:36:26,360 –> 00:36:27,820 there are no degrees in that. 556 00:36:29,600 –> 00:36:31,899 And so I say, just turning that one more time, 557 00:36:31,899 –> 00:36:33,840 it may be that you have come here today 558 00:36:33,840 –> 00:36:35,939 and you are very far from God. 559 00:36:35,939 –> 00:36:37,159 You came into the service, 560 00:36:37,159 –> 00:36:39,040 you were antagonistic towards God. 561 00:36:40,320 –> 00:36:42,959 You came here, you really don’t know why you came here. 562 00:36:42,959 –> 00:36:44,760 You don’t know why you’re here now. 563 00:36:46,040 –> 00:36:47,219 And I want to say to you, 564 00:36:47,219 –> 00:36:49,739 you do not need to take a long journey 565 00:36:49,739 –> 00:36:52,360 to come to Jesus Christ. 566 00:36:52,360 –> 00:36:53,760 He’s able to make you a new man, 567 00:36:53,760 –> 00:36:56,560 He’s able to make you a new woman today. 568 00:36:57,979 –> 00:36:59,860 The resurrection of Jesus Christ 569 00:36:59,860 –> 00:37:01,159 when He was lying in the grave 570 00:37:01,159 –> 00:37:02,760 and the Father raised Him from the dead, 571 00:37:02,760 –> 00:37:05,879 it happened in a moment, up from the grave He arose. 572 00:37:05,879 –> 00:37:08,040 That could happen to you today, spiritually. 573 00:37:09,620 –> 00:37:12,020 God is able to do that for you today 574 00:37:12,020 –> 00:37:15,260 as you have heard the word of Jesus Christ. 575 00:37:15,260 –> 00:37:16,820 He’s able to give you a new mind, 576 00:37:16,820 –> 00:37:19,179 He’s able to give you a new heart, new desires, 577 00:37:19,179 –> 00:37:24,179 new affections, new power, new direction, a new spirit. 578 00:37:24,399 –> 00:37:26,500 He’s able to make you a new creation, 579 00:37:26,500 –> 00:37:30,179 He’s able to do it right now, that’s what conversion is. 580 00:37:31,419 –> 00:37:34,620 We were all at one time dead in transgressions and sins. 581 00:37:34,620 –> 00:37:36,580 But says Paul of Christian believers, 582 00:37:36,580 –> 00:37:39,659 God has made us alive in Jesus Christ. 583 00:37:39,659 –> 00:37:42,260 My prayer is that that life will come through the word 584 00:37:42,260 –> 00:37:45,159 into your soul today if it has not come already. 585 00:37:47,419 –> 00:37:50,500 Now maybe you’ve been in church for the last 30 years 586 00:37:50,500 –> 00:37:52,580 and you’re just like the rich young ruler, 587 00:37:54,100 –> 00:37:56,580 very religious, but the life of Jesus is not in you. 588 00:37:56,580 –> 00:37:58,340 You need that miracle of grace 589 00:37:58,340 –> 00:38:01,020 that we’ve been talking about every bit as much 590 00:38:01,020 –> 00:38:02,899 as the person in the congregation right now 591 00:38:02,899 –> 00:38:04,320 who’s the furthest from God. 592 00:38:06,820 –> 00:38:10,780 Look to Christ, tell Him that you’ve seen 593 00:38:10,780 –> 00:38:14,219 your own need in a whole new light. 594 00:38:15,040 –> 00:38:17,459 And as you hear His word, 595 00:38:17,459 –> 00:38:19,899 believe in the Father and in the Son. 596 00:38:19,899 –> 00:38:20,739 He says this. 597 00:38:20,739 –> 00:38:22,080 Whoever hears my word 598 00:38:22,080 –> 00:38:26,919 and believes in him who sent me has eternal life 599 00:38:26,919 –> 00:38:31,699 and will not be condemned 600 00:38:31,699 –> 00:38:36,679 because he, she, has crossed over, 601 00:38:36,679 –> 00:38:41,679 crossed over, crossed over from death. 602 00:38:45,120 –> 00:38:45,979 To life. 603 00:38:48,060 –> 00:38:50,219 So today, if you hear His voice, 604 00:38:50,219 –> 00:38:53,159 do not harden your heart. 605 00:38:53,159 –> 00:38:54,639 Let’s pray together, shall we? 606 00:38:56,879 –> 00:38:58,620 This may be a moment for you 607 00:38:58,620 –> 00:39:02,780 to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, 608 00:39:02,780 –> 00:39:04,979 for you to ask Him to save you, 609 00:39:06,919 –> 00:39:10,159 for you to place your life into His hands, 610 00:39:11,459 –> 00:39:13,879 and for you to look to Him 611 00:39:13,879 –> 00:39:15,520 to give you what you have not 612 00:39:15,520 –> 00:39:17,699 and to make you what you are not, 613 00:39:19,600 –> 00:39:24,080 to save you and to do for you 614 00:39:25,639 –> 00:39:27,879 what you cannot do for yourself. 615 00:39:30,639 –> 00:39:35,639 Holy Spirit, breathe life into dead hearts right now. 616 00:39:40,040 –> 00:39:42,760 As the Son of God has life in Him, 617 00:39:42,760 –> 00:39:47,760 may that life be imparted in that miracle of grace. 618 00:39:52,939 –> 00:39:55,080 May there be those who today cross over 619 00:39:55,080 –> 00:39:58,120 from death to life, and for all 620 00:39:58,120 –> 00:40:00,580 of us who are in Christ, teach us, we pray, 621 00:40:00,580 –> 00:40:03,439 to find joy that our life is in Him, 622 00:40:03,439 –> 00:40:08,439 not in ourselves, not in an endless self-absorption, 623 00:40:08,820 –> 00:40:12,919 but in the Son of God, who loved me, 624 00:40:12,919 –> 00:40:15,419 and who gave Himself for me, and lives 625 00:40:15,419 –> 00:40:17,679 at the right hand of the Father, 626 00:40:17,679 –> 00:40:19,600 interceding for me, and one day 627 00:40:19,600 –> 00:40:24,600 will bring me into His glorious presence with great joy. 628 00:40:26,959 –> 00:40:28,959 Heed our prayers and receive our thanks, 629 00:40:28,959 –> 00:40:31,899 in Jesus’ name, amen.