1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,360 Psalm 22 is just so absolutely stunning that 2 00:00:06,360 --> 00:00:11,880 of all people especially the Holy Spirit 3 00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:13,000 inspires 4 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:17,640 King David himself to give a picture of what's 5 00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:22,120 happening at Calvary down to the details of 6 00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:26,850 the gambling of the clothing centuries before 7 00:00:26,850 --> 00:00:31,720 it came to pass. There's no other religious 8 00:00:31,720 --> 00:00:37,200 book that exists that could possibly come to 9 00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:42,120 the level of that. That can only be explained 10 00:00:42,120 --> 00:00:46,220 supernaturally. Well it's been one of those 11 00:00:46,220 --> 00:00:48,200 weeks and so we're back in John. It's been 12 00:00:48,200 --> 00:00:51,090 a minute since we've been in John. I asked you 13 00:00:51,090 --> 00:00:53,320 to turn in your Bibles or look on the 14 00:00:53,320 --> 00:01:00,150 screen with me. John chapter 8 verse 37 and 15 00:01:00,150 --> 00:01:06,360 that brings us back to some of the hard say 16 00:01:06,360 --> 00:01:07,200 ings 17 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:13,770 of Jesus and here we have yet another text 18 00:01:13,770 --> 00:01:20,720 that a topical preacher would never pick 19 00:01:20,720 --> 00:01:26,160 to preach on. There is just too much in your 20 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:31,240 face straight forward language that Jesus 21 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:36,310 uses here in characterizing the Jewish leaders 22 00:01:36,310 --> 00:01:40,920 . Jesus time hopped to now and went on CNN and 23 00:01:40,920 --> 00:01:43,890 said this thing about Jews. Wow with a 24 00:01:43,890 --> 00:01:47,130 backlash that you would see in social media 25 00:01:47,130 --> 00:01:47,840 would be 26 00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:54,030 a firestorm. And many people probably feel 27 00:01:54,030 --> 00:01:57,280 that the language that Jesus uses because 28 00:01:57,280 --> 00:02:02,630 of thinking that way might offend people or 29 00:02:02,630 --> 00:02:07,520 they may feel that it's too embarrassing what 30 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:11,540 he says because he's talking about the devil. 31 00:02:11,540 --> 00:02:15,720 And in the 21st century who wants to discuss 32 00:02:15,720 --> 00:02:19,400 a literal devil as we've been talking about in 33 00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:24,120 the last verses in Ephesians chapter 6. 34 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:28,220 Whatever it is that would tend to make this 35 00:02:28,220 --> 00:02:32,520 fly over country for many a preacher. We have 36 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:38,620 to understand that in studying the Bible it's 37 00:02:38,620 --> 00:02:45,040 not like going to Piccadilly. You don't get 38 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:49,880 to pick and choose in the Bible. If you're 39 00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:51,640 going to be a serious Christian and you're 40 00:02:51,640 --> 00:02:55,300 going to claim that you believe that the Bible 41 00:02:55,300 --> 00:02:59,920 is the actual Word of God then guess what? 42 00:02:59,920 --> 00:03:04,440 You do not have the option of skipping over 43 00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:07,600 the challenging verses. You don't have the 44 00:03:07,600 --> 00:03:11,970 option of skipping over the difficult verses. 45 00:03:11,970 --> 00:03:15,040 If we're going to be faithful to our 46 00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:16,200 confession 47 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:18,620 right here at this church that the Bible is 48 00:03:18,620 --> 00:03:21,080 the inherent infallible Word of the Living 49 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:24,580 God then we have to meet every verse that we 50 00:03:24,580 --> 00:03:27,600 come to and we have to meet it head on 51 00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:32,160 no matter how challenging the content may be. 52 00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:35,920 So let's start today by reading our text 53 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:39,300 and then we're going to dig into dealing with 54 00:03:39,300 --> 00:03:43,000 its content. Let's start in verse 37 and we're 55 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:50,390 going to read through verse 47. In verse 37 56 00:03:50,390 --> 00:03:55,040 Jesus is continuing to speak from where we 57 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:57,610 left off last time. "I know that you are 58 00:03:57,610 --> 00:04:03,080 Abraham's descendants, yet you seek to kill me 59 00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:03,320 , because 60 00:04:03,320 --> 00:04:09,540 my Word has no place in you. I speak the 61 00:04:09,540 --> 00:04:12,800 things which I have seen with my Father. 62 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:12,960 Therefore, 63 00:04:12,960 --> 00:04:17,190 you also do the things which you have heard 64 00:04:17,190 --> 00:04:21,920 from your Father." They answered and said 65 00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:26,210 to him, "Abraham is our Father." Jesus said to 66 00:04:26,210 --> 00:04:29,240 them, "If you are Abraham's children, do 67 00:04:29,240 --> 00:04:33,330 the deeds of Abraham. But as it is, you are 68 00:04:33,330 --> 00:04:38,040 seeking to kill me." A man who has told you 69 00:04:38,040 --> 00:04:44,480 the truth which I heard from God this Abraham 70 00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:49,520 did not do. "You are doing the deeds of your 71 00:04:49,520 --> 00:04:52,430 Father." They said to him, "We were not born 72 00:04:52,430 --> 00:04:55,450 of fornication. We have one Father, God." 73 00:04:55,450 --> 00:04:55,840 Jesus 74 00:04:55,840 --> 00:05:01,360 said to them, "If God were your Father, you 75 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:06,960 would love me. For I proceed forth and have 76 00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:11,720 come from God, for I have not even come on my 77 00:05:11,720 --> 00:05:16,600 own initiative, but He sent me." Why do 78 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:21,240 you not understand what I am saying? It is 79 00:05:21,240 --> 00:05:26,120 because you cannot hear my word. You are of 80 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:30,020 your Father, the devil, and you want to do the 81 00:05:30,020 --> 00:05:33,920 desires of your Father. He was a murderer 82 00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:37,020 from the beginning and does not stand in the 83 00:05:37,020 --> 00:05:40,000 truth because there is no truth in him. 84 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:40,000 Whenever 85 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:43,800 he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature 86 00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:47,240 for he is a liar and the Father of lies. But 87 00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:51,710 because I speak the truth, you do not believe 88 00:05:51,710 --> 00:05:55,040 me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If 89 00:05:55,040 --> 00:06:00,230 I speak the truth, why do you not believe me? 90 00:06:00,230 --> 00:06:05,200 He who is of God hears the words of God for 91 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:10,130 this reason you do not hear them because you 92 00:06:10,130 --> 00:06:15,680 are not of God. What a text, man. What a text. 93 00:06:15,680 --> 00:06:18,740 Now there are a whole lot of folks who would 94 00:06:18,740 --> 00:06:21,960 profess to be Christians who would rather 95 00:06:21,960 --> 00:06:26,050 not deal with the obvious ramifications of 96 00:06:26,050 --> 00:06:30,080 this text because what is clear here is that 97 00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:34,370 every single human being alive on planet earth 98 00:06:34,370 --> 00:06:38,320 right now exists in one or two families. 99 00:06:38,320 --> 00:06:42,870 You are either in God's family or you are in 100 00:06:42,870 --> 00:06:47,600 the devil's family and it is that simple. 101 00:06:47,600 --> 00:06:50,500 That is exactly what Jesus Christ is making 102 00:06:50,500 --> 00:06:53,700 clear in this text right here. Oh brother 103 00:06:53,700 --> 00:06:54,360 Philip, 104 00:06:54,360 --> 00:06:59,810 come on bro. You can't talk like that. This is 105 00:06:59,810 --> 00:07:04,560 2026. What's wrong with you? Man, people 106 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:07,000 are going to hear you say this on the internet 107 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:09,480 . You are going to look like a cookie snake 108 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:15,330 handling lunatic if you talk like this. I get 109 00:07:15,330 --> 00:07:20,200 that, but I can't escape the fact that 110 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:24,390 this is what Jesus said. So if I just have to 111 00:07:24,390 --> 00:07:28,480 go down as a kooky snake handling fanatic, 112 00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:32,520 that's what you need to call me. Go ahead on. 113 00:07:32,520 --> 00:07:35,840 This is the breakdown that Jesus gives 114 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:39,690 us about these two families. I happen to 115 00:07:39,690 --> 00:07:43,860 believe this book is his word and therefore if 116 00:07:43,860 --> 00:07:44,160 that 117 00:07:44,160 --> 00:07:49,570 is true, then I have to believe everything 118 00:07:49,570 --> 00:07:52,640 that is in it. Most people especially here 119 00:07:52,640 --> 00:07:56,330 in America, if they say they believe in God, 120 00:07:56,330 --> 00:08:00,000 and I promise you, you could go to Walmart, 121 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:02,380 you could go to the farmer's market at the 122 00:08:02,380 --> 00:08:05,080 tractor supply, you could go to anywhere you 123 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:07,280 want especially out here in Central or in 124 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:09,600 Livingston and you just walk up to anybody 125 00:08:09,600 --> 00:08:12,490 and say, hey, do you believe in God? I promise 126 00:08:12,490 --> 00:08:15,300 you, especially God, thank God we are still 127 00:08:15,300 --> 00:08:18,400 here living in the deep South. I would venture 128 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:22,760 to say 80-90% of the people tell you, yeah, 129 00:08:22,760 --> 00:08:25,430 I believe in God. Now what that means may mean 130 00:08:25,430 --> 00:08:27,440 something totally different, but just 131 00:08:27,440 --> 00:08:30,740 as a generic, do you believe in God? Yes. And 132 00:08:30,740 --> 00:08:34,840 then, if you had a follow-up question, 133 00:08:34,840 --> 00:08:37,320 I think they would give a hearty yes as an 134 00:08:37,320 --> 00:08:40,280 answer to this next question. Do you think 135 00:08:40,280 --> 00:08:43,040 you're a child of God? Well, I certainly do. I 136 00:08:43,040 --> 00:08:45,480 believe in God and yes, I think I'm a child 137 00:08:45,480 --> 00:08:50,680 of God. And why is that? Well, most people 138 00:08:50,680 --> 00:08:53,190 want to think the best about themselves, right 139 00:08:53,190 --> 00:08:53,400 ? 140 00:08:53,400 --> 00:08:56,080 That's human nature and for sure religious 141 00:08:56,080 --> 00:08:59,060 people want to think the best about themselves 142 00:08:59,060 --> 00:09:03,590 and for sure these extremely religious Jews in 143 00:09:03,590 --> 00:09:06,920 our text today, they saw themselves as 144 00:09:06,920 --> 00:09:11,500 the paragons of religious virtue. They saw 145 00:09:11,500 --> 00:09:15,800 themselves as the only gatekeepers of God's 146 00:09:15,800 --> 00:09:22,780 kingdom and so to be so straightforwardly told 147 00:09:22,780 --> 00:09:27,960 that they are children of the devil would 148 00:09:27,960 --> 00:09:29,980 be something, I promise you this, I promise 149 00:09:29,980 --> 00:09:32,000 you this, I don't have to go back in the time 150 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:34,510 machine to check this out. I promise you this, 151 00:09:34,510 --> 00:09:36,960 they never ever heard that coming from anybody 152 00:09:36,960 --> 00:09:41,310 ever before to their face ever. Nobody ever 153 00:09:41,310 --> 00:09:44,000 told them that. Since they were a little kid 154 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:45,700 and they were looking to the religious leaders 155 00:09:45,700 --> 00:09:47,440 of their day when they were little kids, they 156 00:09:47,440 --> 00:09:51,430 never heard anybody tell them that. And I can 157 00:09:51,430 --> 00:09:56,960 guarantee you that if this very sermon 158 00:09:56,960 --> 00:10:00,540 that I'm preaching here today and all that I'm 159 00:10:00,540 --> 00:10:03,520 fixing to say to you about this text, 160 00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:07,470 if somehow some way it could be broadcast 161 00:10:07,470 --> 00:10:11,040 publicly on the most popular TV network that 162 00:10:11,040 --> 00:10:14,840 we have, we would not be able to calculate the 163 00:10:14,840 --> 00:10:18,200 uproar and the anger and the backlash that 164 00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:20,990 would come at us as a result of saying that 165 00:10:20,990 --> 00:10:23,370 there are many, many, many people in our 166 00:10:23,370 --> 00:10:24,000 culture 167 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:30,560 here in America who are children of the devil. 168 00:10:30,560 --> 00:10:34,240 But that is exactly what Jesus says and it's 169 00:10:34,240 --> 00:10:40,780 most people. I wouldn't even be saying it 170 00:10:40,780 --> 00:10:45,400 either unless he had said it. Unless he had 171 00:10:45,400 --> 00:10:48,500 made it very clear. That's the thing people 172 00:10:48,500 --> 00:10:51,740 don't get. That's not my opinion. I didn't 173 00:10:51,740 --> 00:10:55,710 come up with this. Why are you saying things 174 00:10:55,710 --> 00:11:00,140 like that? Jesus said this. I'm just telling 175 00:11:00,140 --> 00:11:04,690 you what Jesus said, okay? And it's fair, I 176 00:11:04,690 --> 00:11:07,080 think, to ask the question as we've been 177 00:11:07,080 --> 00:11:09,710 reading through the Gospel of John and 178 00:11:09,710 --> 00:11:14,120 studying it. Why is he so blunt here? Can you 179 00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:14,720 get more 180 00:11:14,720 --> 00:11:17,460 blunt than this? You're of your father, the 181 00:11:17,460 --> 00:11:20,560 devil, right? I mean, really? Why is he so 182 00:11:20,560 --> 00:11:23,310 severe? I mean, you get to this point. Why 183 00:11:23,310 --> 00:11:25,960 doesn't he just stick with, "Come unto me, 184 00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:28,320 tell you who are weary and heavy-laden, and I 185 00:11:28,320 --> 00:11:30,580 will give you rest." Why doesn't he just 186 00:11:30,580 --> 00:11:34,000 stay in that lane right here? Well, I got an 187 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:38,340 answer for you. That's why. Try to remember 188 00:11:38,340 --> 00:11:42,080 where we are on the timeline here on John 8. 189 00:11:42,080 --> 00:11:44,860 He's in Jerusalem now. He's six months 190 00:11:44,860 --> 00:11:48,600 away from the end of his life. He has been 191 00:11:48,600 --> 00:11:52,820 preaching in Israel for two and a half years. 192 00:11:52,820 --> 00:11:55,300 He has been in direct confrontation with the 193 00:11:55,300 --> 00:11:57,920 Jewish religious leaders for the entire time 194 00:11:57,920 --> 00:12:00,790 of his ministry, starting all the way back 195 00:12:00,790 --> 00:12:03,480 when he attacked the temple at the very start 196 00:12:03,480 --> 00:12:06,530 of his ministry. He has witnessed the attitude 197 00:12:06,530 --> 00:12:09,280 of the Jewish leaders hardened over the two 198 00:12:09,280 --> 00:12:12,840 and a half years, and now it's just absolute 199 00:12:12,840 --> 00:12:17,160 firm rejection. They hate his guts right now. 200 00:12:17,160 --> 00:12:21,830 They hate him and they want to see him dead, 201 00:12:21,830 --> 00:12:25,500 and that's their plan. In chapter 7, verse 202 00:12:25,500 --> 00:12:29,100 1 of John, it says, "The Jews were seeking to 203 00:12:29,100 --> 00:12:32,420 what? To kill him. They were seeking to 204 00:12:32,420 --> 00:12:37,230 murder him." Later here in chapter 8, verse 59 205 00:12:37,230 --> 00:12:39,580 , by the time this discussion we're in here 206 00:12:39,580 --> 00:12:42,170 is over, what does it say? They picked up 207 00:12:42,170 --> 00:12:45,020 stones to throw at him. They wanted to stone 208 00:12:45,020 --> 00:12:52,480 him to death. So the stakes now are very high, 209 00:12:52,480 --> 00:12:58,600 and that means this is no longer a time to 210 00:12:58,600 --> 00:13:03,490 invite them in some gentle way to embrace the 211 00:13:03,490 --> 00:13:07,400 blessings of salvation. Come to me, all 212 00:13:07,400 --> 00:13:11,750 of you who are heavy laden, this now at this 213 00:13:11,750 --> 00:13:15,640 point, this is a time to warn them. Because 214 00:13:15,640 --> 00:13:20,330 of the conclusions they have made about Jesus, 215 00:13:20,330 --> 00:13:24,000 they are now all in severe danger. And by 216 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:26,750 the way, one of the conclusions that they had 217 00:13:26,750 --> 00:13:29,440 made up to this point was that Jesus himself 218 00:13:29,440 --> 00:13:33,400 was from the devil. Remember that? We studied 219 00:13:33,400 --> 00:13:36,880 that, and so he tells them, the truth is, 220 00:13:36,880 --> 00:13:40,720 two of the devil's children. Now remember 221 00:13:40,720 --> 00:13:42,800 again where we are in our study. He's been 222 00:13:42,800 --> 00:13:45,020 in direct confrontation with these leaders 223 00:13:45,020 --> 00:13:47,520 since the beginning of chapter 7, especially 224 00:13:47,520 --> 00:13:50,940 remember when he showed up at the feast in 225 00:13:50,940 --> 00:13:53,360 Jerusalem? And these conversations have been 226 00:13:53,360 --> 00:13:55,800 ongoing throughout chapter 7 and 8 with the 227 00:13:55,800 --> 00:13:57,880 Jewish leaders and with the people. Remember 228 00:13:57,880 --> 00:14:00,370 there was always a crowd outside the perimeter 229 00:14:00,370 --> 00:14:02,960 of the leaders. There were other people there 230 00:14:02,960 --> 00:14:05,840 listening, and all the way through they have 231 00:14:05,840 --> 00:14:09,160 completely, definitively, resolutely rejected 232 00:14:09,160 --> 00:14:13,790 him all the way through. And as the antagonism 233 00:14:13,790 --> 00:14:17,560 of these leaders continues to elevate, so 234 00:14:17,560 --> 00:14:22,350 has the directness and the severity of Jesus' 235 00:14:22,350 --> 00:14:28,040 statements to them increased. Why? Well, 236 00:14:28,040 --> 00:14:28,040 because 237 00:14:28,040 --> 00:14:31,610 the stakes are getting higher all the time. 238 00:14:31,610 --> 00:14:34,840 And the more they show him hatred, the more 239 00:14:34,840 --> 00:14:39,510 he strikes devastating blows at their hypocr 240 00:14:39,510 --> 00:14:43,000 isy. This is no hippie Jesus that we see in the 241 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:45,370 modern day culture here. And although they don 242 00:14:45,370 --> 00:14:48,960 't realize it, they don't realize it. 243 00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:52,150 What this is when he speaks like this to them 244 00:14:52,150 --> 00:14:56,400 is mercy. Do you get that? He's already told 245 00:14:56,400 --> 00:14:59,290 them, "You will die in your sins and where I 246 00:14:59,290 --> 00:15:02,280 go, heaven, you can never come." He's already 247 00:15:02,280 --> 00:15:05,280 told them that directly. And the reason he 248 00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:08,080 never backs off as they continue to harden 249 00:15:08,080 --> 00:15:11,010 against him and the reason why his words 250 00:15:11,010 --> 00:15:13,570 continue to get more and more direct and 251 00:15:13,570 --> 00:15:14,720 devastating, 252 00:15:14,720 --> 00:15:18,830 why? It's because their eternal souls are at 253 00:15:18,830 --> 00:15:23,840 stake. And that's why I say, really? If 254 00:15:23,840 --> 00:15:27,570 you look at it, this is mercy coming from 255 00:15:27,570 --> 00:15:32,200 Jesus when he's so direct with them. Why 256 00:15:32,200 --> 00:15:35,330 do I say that? Well, he could have just left 257 00:15:35,330 --> 00:15:38,200 them alone to their sins and their way of 258 00:15:38,200 --> 00:15:41,620 thinking. He could have just left them alone 259 00:15:41,620 --> 00:15:45,000 without any further warning. And he would 260 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:49,430 have not been wrong to do so, right? So, when 261 00:15:49,430 --> 00:15:52,600 we understand this completely, this is a 262 00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:53,680 merciful 263 00:15:53,680 --> 00:15:56,800 reaction to their escalating hatred. And he 264 00:15:56,800 --> 00:15:59,280 knows they're going to kill him. You 265 00:15:59,280 --> 00:16:01,200 understand? 266 00:16:01,200 --> 00:16:05,790 He knows Psalm 22. He knows what's coming from 267 00:16:05,790 --> 00:16:08,000 them. And if you consider what we've 268 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:12,640 studied so far that he said that shocked them, 269 00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:16,640 for sure, he has never said anything more 270 00:16:16,640 --> 00:16:21,980 devastating than what we read in that opening 271 00:16:21,980 --> 00:16:27,160 text. It is so shocking. And they are so angry 272 00:16:27,160 --> 00:16:27,360 . 273 00:16:27,360 --> 00:16:29,490 As I said, by the time you come to the end of 274 00:16:29,490 --> 00:16:31,680 this chapter, they're picking up rocks 275 00:16:31,680 --> 00:16:34,240 and just that just pelt him with rock. Can you 276 00:16:34,240 --> 00:16:36,560 imagine being stoned to death? Can you 277 00:16:36,560 --> 00:16:40,700 imagine dying like that? And so, the more 278 00:16:40,700 --> 00:16:42,440 hardened they become with their rejection, 279 00:16:42,440 --> 00:16:45,610 the more straightforward Jesus gets with his 280 00:16:45,610 --> 00:16:48,760 warnings because eternity is a state for each 281 00:16:48,760 --> 00:16:52,870 one of these people. And think about it. 282 00:16:52,870 --> 00:16:57,000 Shouldn't that be our model in dealing with 283 00:16:57,000 --> 00:16:57,440 people who 284 00:16:57,440 --> 00:17:03,120 are resisting? But what do we normally do with 285 00:17:03,120 --> 00:17:06,200 our own human nature? I mean, I'm right at 286 00:17:06,200 --> 00:17:09,140 the top of the list. How quickly do we slink 287 00:17:09,140 --> 00:17:11,840 away at the first hand of rejection? I mean, 288 00:17:11,840 --> 00:17:17,540 I'm guilty as charged. Why? Why? Because you 289 00:17:17,540 --> 00:17:21,080 got to get way outside of your comfort zone 290 00:17:21,080 --> 00:17:24,330 to keep ramping up the warnings about the 291 00:17:24,330 --> 00:17:28,440 consequences of rejecting the gospel, right? 292 00:17:28,440 --> 00:17:31,030 That puts you outside your comfort zone when 293 00:17:31,030 --> 00:17:34,000 you do that to tell people, hey, you have no 294 00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:37,610 security in your religion. There's no security 295 00:17:37,610 --> 00:17:40,480 in your good works. Hell is real. Judgment 296 00:17:40,480 --> 00:17:43,510 is definite. Death is coming and you can't 297 00:17:43,510 --> 00:17:45,760 stop it. You got to get outside your comfort 298 00:17:45,760 --> 00:17:49,000 zone to tell people like that. It's hard. You 299 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:51,560 have to pray for that kind of courage. 300 00:17:51,560 --> 00:17:55,250 It takes to be straightforward like Jesus. 301 00:17:55,250 --> 00:17:58,960 Certainly doesn't come natural to us, does 302 00:17:58,960 --> 00:18:02,360 it? I mean, let's just be honest. It doesn't. 303 00:18:02,360 --> 00:18:05,480 Now, let's remember there's been a progression 304 00:18:05,480 --> 00:18:07,770 that has led up to this current confrontation 305 00:18:07,770 --> 00:18:10,080 that we're in with the Jewish leaders. And 306 00:18:10,080 --> 00:18:12,090 for a long time, Jesus has been calling on 307 00:18:12,090 --> 00:18:14,360 them to believe in, I mean, my goodness, how 308 00:18:14,360 --> 00:18:17,280 many times have we been over this? They should 309 00:18:17,280 --> 00:18:20,230 have believed because of his works. The 310 00:18:20,230 --> 00:18:21,440 incredible, 311 00:18:21,440 --> 00:18:24,940 undeniable, supernatural, jaw-dropping 312 00:18:24,940 --> 00:18:28,120 miracles that he had been performing every 313 00:18:28,120 --> 00:18:29,000 single day 314 00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:32,800 for three, two and a half years at this point. 315 00:18:32,800 --> 00:18:36,160 And then just remember the works that he did, 316 00:18:36,160 --> 00:18:38,900 they never offended them. I mean, they love 317 00:18:38,900 --> 00:18:41,600 being fed for free. They love getting some 318 00:18:41,600 --> 00:18:46,250 free healthcare. I mean, they never denied at 319 00:18:46,250 --> 00:18:49,520 all in one jotter title in the Bible that 320 00:18:49,520 --> 00:18:52,280 these were the astounding miracles that they 321 00:18:52,280 --> 00:18:57,760 were. But as we've seen, it wasn't his works 322 00:18:57,760 --> 00:19:02,590 that offended them. It was what? His words. 323 00:19:02,590 --> 00:19:06,920 Like when he said, "I came from heaven." 324 00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:12,310 Isn't that Joseph's boy? They didn't like that 325 00:19:12,310 --> 00:19:14,560 . They didn't accept that. Like when he 326 00:19:14,560 --> 00:19:17,400 said, "He was the only source of spiritual 327 00:19:17,400 --> 00:19:20,160 life and that it was necessary to believe 328 00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:23,080 in him to go to heaven." Oh, they didn't like 329 00:19:23,080 --> 00:19:24,880 that. When he told them that they needed 330 00:19:24,880 --> 00:19:27,810 to repent and be forgiven, they denied and 331 00:19:27,810 --> 00:19:31,520 refused that outrightly. When he made clear 332 00:19:31,520 --> 00:19:34,720 that he was equal to God, well, they just 333 00:19:34,720 --> 00:19:37,520 couldn't handle that. When he told them they 334 00:19:37,520 --> 00:19:41,270 didn't know God, they didn't buy that. When he 335 00:19:41,270 --> 00:19:44,400 told them they would die in their sins, 336 00:19:44,400 --> 00:19:49,520 they just mocked him. And they laughed at that 337 00:19:49,520 --> 00:19:51,240 . Religious people in false religions never 338 00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:53,340 see themselves as they really are. I mean, I 339 00:19:53,340 --> 00:19:55,040 can go down a long list of people I've 340 00:19:55,040 --> 00:19:58,270 watched, too, in false religions. It's the 341 00:19:58,270 --> 00:20:00,560 same with them. They're never really aware 342 00:20:00,560 --> 00:20:04,730 of their need. Why? Because they think that 343 00:20:04,730 --> 00:20:07,800 they're just fine with God or their 344 00:20:07,800 --> 00:20:09,160 understanding 345 00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:13,570 of who God is. And so finally, we come to this 346 00:20:13,570 --> 00:20:15,120 text and it's reached a point where they're 347 00:20:15,120 --> 00:20:19,440 so hard-hearted. Jesus equals their hardness 348 00:20:19,440 --> 00:20:23,200 with these devastating statements of the 349 00:20:23,200 --> 00:20:23,840 reality 350 00:20:23,840 --> 00:20:26,900 of their condition. And remember, they're 351 00:20:26,900 --> 00:20:29,680 holding on to this. They're holding on to 352 00:20:29,680 --> 00:20:36,090 the fact that we are Jewish people. We're sons 353 00:20:36,090 --> 00:20:39,920 of Abraham by physical descent. They 354 00:20:39,920 --> 00:20:44,640 were sons of Abraham by religious descent. And 355 00:20:44,640 --> 00:20:48,120 that alone made them the children of 356 00:20:48,120 --> 00:20:51,720 God. And man, Jesus is just, he's going to 357 00:20:51,720 --> 00:20:55,320 completely shatter those false securities 358 00:20:55,320 --> 00:21:00,440 in this text. They really did bank on their 359 00:21:00,440 --> 00:21:04,280 physical descent as their protection. Listen 360 00:21:04,280 --> 00:21:06,930 to what one rabbi of the time wrote. He 361 00:21:06,930 --> 00:21:09,720 actually wrote this. "Abraham himself sits 362 00:21:09,720 --> 00:21:10,240 besides 363 00:21:10,240 --> 00:21:13,350 the gates of hell and does not permit any 364 00:21:13,350 --> 00:21:16,760 wicked Israelite to pass." So Abraham sitting 365 00:21:16,760 --> 00:21:18,640 there and even if a wicked Jew, I can't come 366 00:21:18,640 --> 00:21:23,220 by here and get on to heaven, you're a Jew. 367 00:21:23,220 --> 00:21:27,990 So for them, being Jewish was a free pass. It 368 00:21:27,990 --> 00:21:32,960 didn't matter. No matter what they believed, 369 00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:35,760 they would never experience judgment when they 370 00:21:35,760 --> 00:21:38,360 died just because of their Jewish physical 371 00:21:38,360 --> 00:21:45,090 heritage. But Jesus disagrees. And as we come 372 00:21:45,090 --> 00:21:46,680 to these verses, I want you to see three 373 00:21:46,680 --> 00:21:47,480 claims 374 00:21:47,480 --> 00:21:51,580 that they make. And they are progressive as 375 00:21:51,580 --> 00:21:54,800 they go. First, they claim to be the physical 376 00:21:54,800 --> 00:22:00,300 seed of Abraham. Now that's true. They are. 377 00:22:00,300 --> 00:22:02,880 Secondly, they claim to be the spiritual 378 00:22:02,880 --> 00:22:06,000 seed of Abraham, which is not true. They are 379 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:08,680 not, and I'm going to explain that in just 380 00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:12,100 a minute. Thirdly, they claim to be the 381 00:22:12,100 --> 00:22:15,710 children of God, which they are not also not 382 00:22:15,710 --> 00:22:16,560 true. 383 00:22:16,560 --> 00:22:18,570 Jesus agrees with the first and then he just 384 00:22:18,570 --> 00:22:20,520 devastates the second two as we're fixing 385 00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:23,540 to see. Let's start with number one. They 386 00:22:23,540 --> 00:22:26,600 claim to be Abraham's physical children. 387 00:22:26,600 --> 00:22:28,720 You go back to verse 33 in the prior of the 388 00:22:28,720 --> 00:22:31,000 conversation we looked at last time when Jesus 389 00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:32,760 remembered, and that in that section is 390 00:22:32,760 --> 00:22:34,630 talking about truth and he's talking about 391 00:22:34,630 --> 00:22:35,080 freedom 392 00:22:35,080 --> 00:22:37,010 and he's talking about the truth will make you 393 00:22:37,010 --> 00:22:38,960 free and he's talking about if you continue 394 00:22:38,960 --> 00:22:41,810 in my word, then are you my disciples indeed? 395 00:22:41,810 --> 00:22:44,740 And they say this in verse 33, we are Abraham 396 00:22:44,740 --> 00:22:45,040 's 397 00:22:45,040 --> 00:22:47,350 descendants. You know what they thought when 398 00:22:47,350 --> 00:22:50,120 they said that? They thought, oh, that's a 399 00:22:50,120 --> 00:22:52,840 might drop. They thought in their mind, that's 400 00:22:52,840 --> 00:22:55,040 supposed to end the discussion, dude. You 401 00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:58,450 don't have nothing else to say. What are you 402 00:22:58,450 --> 00:23:00,880 talking about? We don't need you Nazarene. 403 00:23:00,880 --> 00:23:06,200 We're Abraham's descendants, right? We've got 404 00:23:06,200 --> 00:23:08,480 all the basis covered. So Jesus picks 405 00:23:08,480 --> 00:23:12,190 up on the claim after what all we studied last 406 00:23:12,190 --> 00:23:15,960 time in verse 37. Look there. How does 407 00:23:15,960 --> 00:23:19,680 he start? I know you're Abraham's descendants. 408 00:23:19,680 --> 00:23:25,520 I know that. And that's true. All the Jewish 409 00:23:25,520 --> 00:23:28,050 people descended from the loins of Abraham and 410 00:23:28,050 --> 00:23:30,360 then down him, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph 411 00:23:30,360 --> 00:23:32,410 and all down through the Abrahamic line, all 412 00:23:32,410 --> 00:23:34,000 the way down through history, all the way 413 00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:36,600 down to today. Look, put your eschatology 414 00:23:36,600 --> 00:23:39,120 aside and all those different views. You can't 415 00:23:39,120 --> 00:23:41,750 escape the fact that no other people group has 416 00:23:41,750 --> 00:23:44,160 continued to survive for so long, still 417 00:23:44,160 --> 00:23:46,550 having the same identifiable language and now 418 00:23:46,550 --> 00:23:48,840 incredibly back in their land. I don't care 419 00:23:48,840 --> 00:23:50,850 whether you're email, postmail, premium, what 420 00:23:50,850 --> 00:23:52,560 meal, I don't care what it is. That's pretty 421 00:23:52,560 --> 00:23:55,230 incredible fact, but put that to the side. 422 00:23:55,230 --> 00:23:58,720 That's another argument for another day. Jesus 423 00:23:58,720 --> 00:24:02,620 acknowledges here for sure that they came from 424 00:24:02,620 --> 00:24:05,800 Abraham physically at the Abrahamic 425 00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:09,360 covenant promised in Genesis 12 from Abraham. 426 00:24:09,360 --> 00:24:12,800 What will come a great nation? Remember, as 427 00:24:12,800 --> 00:24:15,450 many as the sands of the sea and the stars of 428 00:24:15,450 --> 00:24:21,040 the heaven. But then next Jesus says something 429 00:24:21,040 --> 00:24:21,080 's 430 00:24:21,080 --> 00:24:24,560 wrong here after he says, I know that you are 431 00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:27,920 Abraham's descendants. Look in verses 432 00:24:27,920 --> 00:24:34,720 37 to 39. Yet you seek to kill me because my 433 00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:40,080 word has no place in you. I speak the things 434 00:24:40,080 --> 00:24:43,100 which I have seen with my father. Therefore, 435 00:24:43,100 --> 00:24:45,840 you also do the things which you have heard 436 00:24:45,840 --> 00:24:50,210 from your father. 39. They answered and said 437 00:24:50,210 --> 00:24:54,200 to him, Abraham is our father. So of course 438 00:24:54,200 --> 00:24:58,660 this is a big issue for them. And that's what 439 00:24:58,660 --> 00:25:03,160 Jesus is doing right here. He's in the process 440 00:25:03,160 --> 00:25:06,690 of shifting them away from their thinking that 441 00:25:06,690 --> 00:25:09,960 Abraham is their father to thinking somebody 442 00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:13,430 else is their father. But notice he doesn't 443 00:25:13,430 --> 00:25:16,960 say it just yet, right? So far he acknowledges 444 00:25:16,960 --> 00:25:19,690 their physical descent from Abraham. And with 445 00:25:19,690 --> 00:25:21,960 that, yes, it's true. As Paul says in Romans 446 00:25:21,960 --> 00:25:24,780 chapter 9, they have the law and the prophets 447 00:25:24,780 --> 00:25:27,230 and the covenants. And they have all the 448 00:25:27,230 --> 00:25:28,040 privileges 449 00:25:28,040 --> 00:25:30,390 of being physical Jewish people. You're the 450 00:25:30,390 --> 00:25:33,200 stewards. You're the caretakers of the law. 451 00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:38,330 But that doesn't do anything spiritually 452 00:25:38,330 --> 00:25:43,490 because as Paul makes clear, no man can be 453 00:25:43,490 --> 00:25:44,840 justified 454 00:25:44,840 --> 00:25:50,500 by the deeds of the law. So that means, 455 00:25:50,500 --> 00:25:54,920 spiritually speaking, that their physical 456 00:25:54,920 --> 00:25:56,440 lineage means 457 00:25:56,440 --> 00:26:03,280 absolutely nothing, zero nada. Now, you have 458 00:26:03,280 --> 00:26:09,680 to understand when we hear that in 2026 on 459 00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:12,330 this side of the cross with the New Testament 460 00:26:12,330 --> 00:26:15,400 in our hand, when we hear that, we say, yeah, 461 00:26:15,400 --> 00:26:19,760 that's right. Amen. Right. But for them, oh 462 00:26:19,760 --> 00:26:25,080 brother, this is shocking. This is beyond 463 00:26:25,080 --> 00:26:27,970 offensive because what it's saying to them is, 464 00:26:27,970 --> 00:26:31,040 yeah, you are Abraham's physical descendants, 465 00:26:31,040 --> 00:26:36,140 but you can't possibly claim Abraham descent 466 00:26:36,140 --> 00:26:39,640 spiritually. You are not the true sons of 467 00:26:39,640 --> 00:26:42,720 Abraham, which means you are not heirs of 468 00:26:42,720 --> 00:26:46,310 salvation or are you possessors of the kingdom 469 00:26:46,310 --> 00:26:46,480 ? 470 00:26:46,480 --> 00:26:51,080 Why go back to verse 37 where he says, yet you 471 00:26:51,080 --> 00:26:54,560 seek to kill me because my word has no 472 00:26:54,560 --> 00:26:59,070 place in you. Now, here's why that's important 473 00:26:59,070 --> 00:27:02,440 because look what he says next in 38. I speak 474 00:27:02,440 --> 00:27:04,520 the things which I have seen with my father. 475 00:27:04,520 --> 00:27:06,600 Therefore, you also do the things which you 476 00:27:06,600 --> 00:27:09,800 see and which you have heard from your father. 477 00:27:09,800 --> 00:27:11,280 In other words, you don't have any interest 478 00:27:11,280 --> 00:27:15,760 in what comes from my father who is God. You 479 00:27:15,760 --> 00:27:19,880 only have interest in the things that come 480 00:27:19,880 --> 00:27:22,900 from your father. So he continues to make this 481 00:27:22,900 --> 00:27:25,240 distinction between his father and their 482 00:27:25,240 --> 00:27:28,710 father, verse 39. They answered and said to 483 00:27:28,710 --> 00:27:32,800 him, Abraham is our father. How does Jesus 484 00:27:32,800 --> 00:27:36,480 of Islam live? Abraham, you're the children of 485 00:27:36,480 --> 00:27:40,060 Abraham. Go on and do the deeds of Abraham. 486 00:27:40,060 --> 00:27:42,760 Now we need to know what are the deeds of 487 00:27:42,760 --> 00:27:46,070 Abraham, right? As we study the Bible. Abraham 488 00:27:46,070 --> 00:27:46,080 's 489 00:27:46,080 --> 00:27:51,670 faith was demonstrated through his obedience 490 00:27:51,670 --> 00:27:54,080 to God. Now, I want you to look and listen, 491 00:27:54,080 --> 00:27:58,770 read with me, James 2, verses 21 to 23. "Was 492 00:27:58,770 --> 00:28:02,240 not Abraham our father justified by works 493 00:28:02,240 --> 00:28:05,450 when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? 494 00:28:05,450 --> 00:28:09,400 He see that faith was working with his works." 495 00:28:09,400 --> 00:28:12,530 Get that distinction, okay? Don't get out of 496 00:28:12,530 --> 00:28:14,800 bounds. As a result of the works, faith 497 00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:18,300 was what? Perfected and the scripture was 498 00:28:18,300 --> 00:28:22,320 fulfilled, which says, "And Abraham believed 499 00:28:22,320 --> 00:28:24,460 God and it was reckoned to him as 500 00:28:24,460 --> 00:28:28,110 righteousness." It doesn't say, "Abraham did 501 00:28:28,110 --> 00:28:29,220 works looking 502 00:28:29,220 --> 00:28:31,920 to be reckoned as righteousness." No, his 503 00:28:31,920 --> 00:28:34,520 belief, his faith alone, was reckoned to 504 00:28:34,520 --> 00:28:36,970 him as righteousness and bound up in the 505 00:28:36,970 --> 00:28:39,820 Abrahamic covenant was the promise of a seed 506 00:28:39,820 --> 00:28:41,360 to come. 507 00:28:41,360 --> 00:28:44,140 Abraham was looking ahead to the day when the 508 00:28:44,140 --> 00:28:46,540 final, full and acceptable sacrifice would 509 00:28:46,540 --> 00:28:51,380 come. And that's why if you skip down to verse 510 00:28:51,380 --> 00:28:56,160 56 of John 8, oh man, this is a big one too. 511 00:28:56,160 --> 00:28:59,500 He just had to make their eyelids flip up and 512 00:28:59,500 --> 00:29:01,860 get stuck. Then when your kid used to make 513 00:29:01,860 --> 00:29:03,530 your eyelid, I never could do that, do like 514 00:29:03,530 --> 00:29:05,100 that. He must have done that naturally when 515 00:29:05,100 --> 00:29:06,980 he said something like this. "Your father 516 00:29:06,980 --> 00:29:09,230 Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it 517 00:29:09,230 --> 00:29:09,500 and was 518 00:29:09,500 --> 00:29:14,530 glad." What? Wow. And so, Jesus is saying to 519 00:29:14,530 --> 00:29:18,300 them is this, "If you, if you folks, you 520 00:29:18,300 --> 00:29:21,990 Jewish religious leaders, if you are Abraham's 521 00:29:21,990 --> 00:29:26,100 children, do the deeds of Abraham." Abraham 522 00:29:26,100 --> 00:29:30,880 received me. Abraham looked forward to me. I 523 00:29:30,880 --> 00:29:33,840 mean, if you were Abraham's children, you 524 00:29:33,840 --> 00:29:39,620 would act like Abraham. You would be obedient 525 00:29:39,620 --> 00:29:43,120 to God. If you would, if you reject me, you 526 00:29:43,120 --> 00:29:48,060 would reject me. I'm the Messiah. I'm the 527 00:29:48,060 --> 00:29:53,100 promised one to come. You're not a spiritual 528 00:29:53,100 --> 00:29:56,130 son of Abraham. Abraham rejoiced to see my day 529 00:29:56,130 --> 00:29:58,580 and he saw it. And what are you doing 530 00:29:58,580 --> 00:30:01,380 here in my day? You're rejecting me. What are 531 00:30:01,380 --> 00:30:03,680 you saying? If you're Abraham's true children, 532 00:30:03,680 --> 00:30:08,780 you'd act like Abraham towards me. Verse 40, " 533 00:30:08,780 --> 00:30:12,300 But as it is, you are seeking to kill 534 00:30:12,300 --> 00:30:15,730 me a man who has told you the truths which I 535 00:30:15,730 --> 00:30:18,640 heard from God." And look what he adds 536 00:30:18,640 --> 00:30:24,490 at the end. This Abraham did not do. That's 537 00:30:24,490 --> 00:30:27,700 hilarious to me. When the word of God was 538 00:30:27,700 --> 00:30:32,050 spoken to Abraham, Abraham listened. Jesus is 539 00:30:32,050 --> 00:30:34,680 saying again, "Yes, you're children of 540 00:30:34,680 --> 00:30:37,760 Abraham physically. I'll give you that, but no 541 00:30:37,760 --> 00:30:41,060 way are you children of Abraham spiritually." 542 00:30:41,060 --> 00:30:43,720 Now, let's make sure we understand what that 543 00:30:43,720 --> 00:30:46,300 means to be a spiritual child of Abraham. 544 00:30:46,300 --> 00:30:49,830 See, Galatians 3-6 gives us some insight into 545 00:30:49,830 --> 00:30:52,960 this where it quotes. This is a quote directly 546 00:30:52,960 --> 00:30:56,520 from Genesis 15 and we also just quoted it out 547 00:30:56,520 --> 00:30:58,280 of James. And so the fact that we see 548 00:30:58,280 --> 00:31:01,910 it here again in Galatians 3-6 tells me just a 549 00:31:01,910 --> 00:31:04,960 simple student of the Bible that just must 550 00:31:04,960 --> 00:31:08,540 be important. Galatians 3-6, "Even so, Abraham 551 00:31:08,540 --> 00:31:11,360 believed God." And it was reckoned to him 552 00:31:11,360 --> 00:31:17,410 as righteousness. That's say, "alone." And 553 00:31:17,410 --> 00:31:22,780 next, here's the kicker. Galatians 3-7, "Who 554 00:31:22,780 --> 00:31:26,140 are the spiritual sons of Abraham? Therefore, 555 00:31:26,140 --> 00:31:28,820 be sure that it is those who are faith, a 556 00:31:28,820 --> 00:31:29,060 saving 557 00:31:29,060 --> 00:31:32,520 faith." Who are the sons of Abraham? The 558 00:31:32,520 --> 00:31:35,660 people who have believed God like Abraham, 559 00:31:35,660 --> 00:31:35,660 people 560 00:31:35,660 --> 00:31:38,800 who have believed God's word. All people 561 00:31:38,800 --> 00:31:42,500 listen to me. Jews and Gentiles who have exerc 562 00:31:42,500 --> 00:31:42,840 ised 563 00:31:42,840 --> 00:31:45,560 Bible repentance and true saving faith in 564 00:31:45,560 --> 00:31:48,290 Christ alone. They are the spiritual 565 00:31:48,290 --> 00:31:49,080 descendants 566 00:31:49,080 --> 00:31:51,840 and sons and daughters of Abraham. Every 567 00:31:51,840 --> 00:31:54,550 Christian in this room is a spiritual descend 568 00:31:54,550 --> 00:31:54,720 ant of 569 00:31:54,720 --> 00:31:58,980 Abraham. So they are insisting that Abraham is 570 00:31:58,980 --> 00:32:01,600 their father. Again, verse 40, Jesus saying, 571 00:32:01,600 --> 00:32:03,960 "Look, man, how can that be? You're trying to 572 00:32:03,960 --> 00:32:05,860 kill me. Me! You're trying to kill me. 573 00:32:05,860 --> 00:32:08,140 I'm the one who told you the truth straight 574 00:32:08,140 --> 00:32:10,700 from God. Abraham would never be acting like 575 00:32:10,700 --> 00:32:14,060 you are." And then, next, Jesus turns another 576 00:32:14,060 --> 00:32:17,540 corner. Verse 41, "You are doing the deeds 577 00:32:17,540 --> 00:32:22,670 of your father." And then, they have a very 578 00:32:22,670 --> 00:32:26,460 interesting response. Look next. They said 579 00:32:26,460 --> 00:32:30,410 to him, "We're not born of fornication. We 580 00:32:30,410 --> 00:32:34,280 have one father, God." They're saying, "Not 581 00:32:34,280 --> 00:32:36,140 only are we the physical children of Abraham, 582 00:32:36,140 --> 00:32:38,040 we are the spiritual children of Abraham, 583 00:32:38,040 --> 00:32:40,690 which makes us the spiritual children of God." 584 00:32:40,690 --> 00:32:43,080 Why? And then they say something you don't 585 00:32:43,080 --> 00:32:47,500 expect right here in verse 41, right? "We're 586 00:32:47,500 --> 00:32:52,160 not born of fornication." What is that about? 587 00:32:52,160 --> 00:32:55,790 To put it very simply, this is what they're 588 00:32:55,790 --> 00:33:01,560 saying. "We're not pagans. We're not idolaters 589 00:33:01,560 --> 00:33:02,000 . 590 00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:04,870 Connected to every form of ancient idolatry in 591 00:33:04,870 --> 00:33:07,660 the ancient world was fornication, sexual 592 00:33:07,660 --> 00:33:10,360 perversion, religion with temple prostitutes." 593 00:33:10,360 --> 00:33:12,340 We've studied that over and over. So they 594 00:33:12,340 --> 00:33:14,900 are meaning what they're saying there with for 595 00:33:14,900 --> 00:33:17,340 nication is spiritual fornication. We are 596 00:33:17,340 --> 00:33:21,690 not pagan idol worshipers. And then next, they 597 00:33:21,690 --> 00:33:25,280 say, "We have one father, God. We are 598 00:33:25,280 --> 00:33:29,690 monotheist. We have one God." And it's true. 599 00:33:29,690 --> 00:33:33,000 That's true right up to today. The Jews don't 600 00:33:33,000 --> 00:33:35,060 have any idols, but that doesn't mean they 601 00:33:35,060 --> 00:33:37,200 worship the true God in the true way. They 602 00:33:37,200 --> 00:33:40,520 worship in the name of the true God in a 603 00:33:40,520 --> 00:33:43,790 totally unacceptable way. They were not 604 00:33:43,790 --> 00:33:44,240 engaged in 605 00:33:44,240 --> 00:33:47,020 spiritual fornication in the sense that they 606 00:33:47,020 --> 00:33:49,880 were worshiping pagan idols or having temple 607 00:33:49,880 --> 00:33:52,630 prostitutes. And so they reason, "Well, golly, 608 00:33:52,630 --> 00:33:54,920 how can you say Abraham's not our father? 609 00:33:54,920 --> 00:33:57,410 We acknowledge God as our father and he was 610 00:33:57,410 --> 00:34:01,580 Abraham's father." And then next, Jesus hits 611 00:34:01,580 --> 00:34:05,290 them with the inescapable truth in verse 42. 612 00:34:05,290 --> 00:34:09,700 Jesus said to them, "If God were your father, 613 00:34:09,700 --> 00:34:14,230 you would love me. If God were really your 614 00:34:14,230 --> 00:34:19,360 father, you would love me. You would embrace 615 00:34:19,360 --> 00:34:24,420 me. You would welcome me. You would believe in 616 00:34:24,420 --> 00:34:28,720 me. I am the ancient of days standing right 617 00:34:28,720 --> 00:34:34,610 in your face." That's what he's saying. How do 618 00:34:34,610 --> 00:34:36,320 we know when somebody, God is somebody's 619 00:34:36,320 --> 00:34:41,340 father when they embrace his son? And they 620 00:34:41,340 --> 00:34:44,940 have an eagerness to hear his word. The main 621 00:34:44,940 --> 00:34:47,400 problem, Jesus, again, I got to go back to 622 00:34:47,400 --> 00:34:50,380 this in verse 37, the main problem, "My word 623 00:34:50,380 --> 00:34:54,340 has no place in you." And that phrase has no 624 00:34:54,340 --> 00:34:58,580 place in the Greek means to move, to leave. 625 00:34:58,580 --> 00:35:01,810 It could be to depart. We could put it this 626 00:35:01,810 --> 00:35:04,980 way, "My word goes no place with you." It 627 00:35:04,980 --> 00:35:08,260 makes no progress. My word does not advance 628 00:35:08,260 --> 00:35:11,180 with you. It goes nowhere with you. You can't 629 00:35:11,180 --> 00:35:13,700 possibly have the same father as Abraham 630 00:35:13,700 --> 00:35:15,730 because we done read it three times in 631 00:35:15,730 --> 00:35:16,600 Scripture. 632 00:35:16,600 --> 00:35:18,450 He believed God's words to such a complete 633 00:35:18,450 --> 00:35:19,980 degree that it was counted to him as 634 00:35:19,980 --> 00:35:22,060 righteousness. 635 00:35:22,060 --> 00:35:26,130 God's word, God's not your father because 636 00:35:26,130 --> 00:35:29,960 unlike Abraham, you want to kill the Messiah. 637 00:35:29,960 --> 00:35:32,480 You want to kill the messenger sent from God 638 00:35:32,480 --> 00:35:35,200 back to verse 42, "Jesus said to them, 'If 639 00:35:35,200 --> 00:35:37,750 God were your father, you would love me, for I 640 00:35:37,750 --> 00:35:40,000 have proceeded forth and have come from 641 00:35:40,000 --> 00:35:44,030 God, for I have not even come on my own 642 00:35:44,030 --> 00:35:47,820 initiative, but he sent me.'" You know what 643 00:35:47,820 --> 00:35:49,840 that is? It's 644 00:35:49,840 --> 00:35:54,180 a complete shattering of all their confidence 645 00:35:54,180 --> 00:35:58,540 in their religion. And for their sake, Jesus 646 00:35:58,540 --> 00:36:02,110 has to do this at this point. Because as long 647 00:36:02,110 --> 00:36:04,080 as they're trusting in their false hopes 648 00:36:04,080 --> 00:36:09,380 of Judaism, they are doomed eternally. So they 649 00:36:09,380 --> 00:36:11,280 had two main problems. They don't receive 650 00:36:11,280 --> 00:36:12,980 the Word of God and they hate the Son of God. 651 00:36:12,980 --> 00:36:14,720 Boy, those are two of the biggest problems 652 00:36:14,720 --> 00:36:19,030 you could possibly have as a human being. And 653 00:36:19,030 --> 00:36:21,800 you can use that same evaluation on people 654 00:36:21,800 --> 00:36:25,050 today. How can you know when somebody's a true 655 00:36:25,050 --> 00:36:26,840 child of God and has God as their father 656 00:36:26,840 --> 00:36:31,490 when they love the truth? They love the Word 657 00:36:31,490 --> 00:36:35,620 of God. They love the Savior. Why are you here 658 00:36:35,620 --> 00:36:40,080 today? Why are you listening to me stand 659 00:36:40,080 --> 00:36:44,160 behind this pulpit and talk for 45 minutes 660 00:36:44,160 --> 00:36:45,060 straight 661 00:36:45,060 --> 00:36:48,280 without interruption? Why are you doing that? 662 00:36:48,280 --> 00:36:50,940 Why do you keep coming back to hear me talk 663 00:36:50,940 --> 00:36:54,310 for 45 minutes straight week after week? Is 664 00:36:54,310 --> 00:36:57,140 there any other subject that somebody could 665 00:36:57,140 --> 00:37:01,200 talk on like this weekly that would keep you 666 00:37:01,200 --> 00:37:05,100 coming back to this building if it was another 667 00:37:05,100 --> 00:37:08,220 subject other than this one? Now maybe if it 668 00:37:08,220 --> 00:37:10,760 was required for some reason for your work 669 00:37:10,760 --> 00:37:12,620 or maybe if you had some kind of personal fasc 670 00:37:12,620 --> 00:37:14,840 ination with the subject, maybe for a few weeks 671 00:37:14,840 --> 00:37:17,560 I guess. 672 00:37:17,560 --> 00:37:19,850 And even when the group is small, we have a 673 00:37:19,850 --> 00:37:22,780 lot of diversity. We have different interests. 674 00:37:22,780 --> 00:37:26,450 We have different hobbies and jobs and 675 00:37:26,450 --> 00:37:31,260 backgrounds. And yet, you all keep coming back 676 00:37:31,260 --> 00:37:32,620 every Sunday 677 00:37:32,620 --> 00:37:37,130 to listen to me rattle on them out of this 678 00:37:37,130 --> 00:37:42,080 Bible. Why? Well, there's good evidence as 679 00:37:42,080 --> 00:37:46,780 with all of God's people is because you come 680 00:37:46,780 --> 00:37:51,160 here and I hope to hear from God. Not from 681 00:37:51,160 --> 00:37:56,200 me. You want to hear from me? You want to hear 682 00:37:56,200 --> 00:38:00,020 from God? I'm just delivering the mail, God's 683 00:38:00,020 --> 00:38:04,450 mail. That's all I'm trying to do here. You 684 00:38:04,450 --> 00:38:06,300 believe the book is His Word is why you keep 685 00:38:06,300 --> 00:38:09,180 coming back here week after week. This is 686 00:38:09,180 --> 00:38:12,240 where He speaks. You believe His Son is who 687 00:38:12,240 --> 00:38:14,580 He claimed to be. You love the truth. You love 688 00:38:14,580 --> 00:38:16,600 God's Word and the reason for why right 689 00:38:16,600 --> 00:38:19,680 now, right this very minute, probably 80% of 690 00:38:19,680 --> 00:38:22,240 the people that live in this community are 691 00:38:22,240 --> 00:38:26,120 sleeping in or laying on the couch, watching 692 00:38:26,120 --> 00:38:30,120 TV, scrolling through the channels or doing 693 00:38:30,120 --> 00:38:33,090 anything else but going to church on Sunday 694 00:38:33,090 --> 00:38:36,080 morning. And the reason why is because those 695 00:38:36,080 --> 00:38:38,990 two things about them are not true. They don't 696 00:38:38,990 --> 00:38:41,760 love the truth. They don't love the Word. 697 00:38:41,760 --> 00:38:43,870 They don't love really the Savior. I don't 698 00:38:43,870 --> 00:38:46,610 care what they say. I'm American. I love Jesus 699 00:38:46,610 --> 00:38:46,800 . 700 00:38:46,800 --> 00:38:50,410 You can say that all day long. Prove it. What 701 00:38:50,410 --> 00:38:54,140 are you doing about it? But if you go out 702 00:38:54,140 --> 00:38:56,570 and ask them, "Are you a child of God?" Well, 703 00:38:56,570 --> 00:38:58,800 of course I'm a child of God. Everybody's 704 00:38:58,800 --> 00:39:02,030 a child of God when the reality is all people 705 00:39:02,030 --> 00:39:04,820 are God's creatures. But not everybody is 706 00:39:04,820 --> 00:39:08,150 a true child of God. Only those who love the 707 00:39:08,150 --> 00:39:11,260 truth of the Word of God and embrace Jesus 708 00:39:11,260 --> 00:39:14,730 as substitute Savior and King. Those are the 709 00:39:14,730 --> 00:39:18,260 only children of God adopted by grace into 710 00:39:18,260 --> 00:39:25,070 His family. Look next in verse 43. Jesus poses 711 00:39:25,070 --> 00:39:30,960 a question. Why? Why do you not understand 712 00:39:30,960 --> 00:39:37,090 what I'm saying? Because you cannot hear my 713 00:39:37,090 --> 00:39:40,960 work. What prevented them from hearing? Well, 714 00:39:40,960 --> 00:39:44,370 that's 1 Corinthians 2, 14, "But a natural man 715 00:39:44,370 --> 00:39:46,840 does not accept the things of the Spirit 716 00:39:46,840 --> 00:39:49,730 of God, for they are foolishness to him, and 717 00:39:49,730 --> 00:39:52,500 he cannot understand them because they are 718 00:39:52,500 --> 00:39:56,900 spiritually appraised." That's a fact, Jack. 719 00:39:56,900 --> 00:39:59,020 Can you get around it? 720 00:39:59,020 --> 00:40:02,900 So it's very simple. If you don't believe, you 721 00:40:02,900 --> 00:40:05,960 are still in a state of being a natural 722 00:40:05,960 --> 00:40:10,040 man and your unbelief equals ignorance in the 723 00:40:10,040 --> 00:40:15,720 area of spiritual things. You don't understand 724 00:40:15,720 --> 00:40:19,250 because you won't believe. But once you 725 00:40:19,250 --> 00:40:23,980 believe, everything gets clear, right? And you 726 00:40:23,980 --> 00:40:24,180 start 727 00:40:24,180 --> 00:40:28,660 understanding. I still can't get over that. So 728 00:40:28,660 --> 00:40:30,360 Jesus is saying you don't understand what 729 00:40:30,360 --> 00:40:33,270 I'm saying because you can't hear my words. 730 00:40:33,270 --> 00:40:36,320 You don't have the capacity because you refuse 731 00:40:36,320 --> 00:40:40,380 to believe. You're unable, you're unwilling, 732 00:40:40,380 --> 00:40:43,920 you're incapacitated by your unbelief. These 733 00:40:43,920 --> 00:40:46,190 Jews, of course, they think, hey, we're in 734 00:40:46,190 --> 00:40:48,520 good standing. We have one God, we have one 735 00:40:48,520 --> 00:40:53,800 Father, and then Jesus drops the atom bomb. 736 00:40:53,800 --> 00:41:00,340 Verse 44, "You are of your Father the devil." 737 00:41:00,340 --> 00:41:04,870 Now, I just wish that the Bible gave us a 738 00:41:04,870 --> 00:41:09,660 little bit of something more about their 739 00:41:09,660 --> 00:41:10,420 reaction 740 00:41:10,420 --> 00:41:14,560 to what he said because it was not without 741 00:41:14,560 --> 00:41:19,860 reaction. "You are of your Father the devil." 742 00:41:19,860 --> 00:41:22,170 The only thing I can liken to that is if he 743 00:41:22,170 --> 00:41:24,700 had had a stick of dynamite and he lit it 744 00:41:24,700 --> 00:41:26,210 and he just threw it right up in the middle of 745 00:41:26,210 --> 00:41:27,720 them. That's the only thing I can kind 746 00:41:27,720 --> 00:41:32,000 of liken it to, right? "In the parable of the 747 00:41:32,000 --> 00:41:34,600 wheat and the tares, Jesus is described 748 00:41:34,600 --> 00:41:38,600 in church folk," right? And he teaches us 749 00:41:38,600 --> 00:41:42,180 there that the wheat and the tares grow 750 00:41:42,180 --> 00:41:43,020 together 751 00:41:43,020 --> 00:41:45,650 in the New Testament age and he describes the 752 00:41:45,650 --> 00:41:47,900 wheat as the sons of the kingdom and the 753 00:41:47,900 --> 00:41:52,510 tares as the sons of the evil one and the 754 00:41:52,510 --> 00:41:56,580 language is unavoidable. But it comes straight 755 00:41:56,580 --> 00:42:01,670 from Jesus himself. And he keeps going, man, 756 00:42:01,670 --> 00:42:06,760 in verse 44, "And you want to do the desires 757 00:42:06,760 --> 00:42:10,290 of your Father." He was a murderer from the 758 00:42:10,290 --> 00:42:13,160 beginning and he does not stand in the truth 759 00:42:13,160 --> 00:42:16,690 because there is no truth in him. Whenever he 760 00:42:16,690 --> 00:42:20,040 speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature 761 00:42:20,040 --> 00:42:24,360 for he is a liar and the father of lies. What 762 00:42:24,360 --> 00:42:29,220 a name for Satan, the father of lies. That's 763 00:42:29,220 --> 00:42:34,260 intense. That's Jesus telling us about Satan. 764 00:42:34,260 --> 00:42:37,800 Now let me tell you something, folks, it's 765 00:42:37,800 --> 00:42:41,010 just real simple. Either you believe him or 766 00:42:41,010 --> 00:42:44,780 you don't. It's really that simple. If you 767 00:42:44,780 --> 00:42:46,430 believe Jesus is who he says he is and when he 768 00:42:46,430 --> 00:42:48,180 talks about the devil, you either believe 769 00:42:48,180 --> 00:42:50,910 him or you don't. But if you're wrong, let me 770 00:42:50,910 --> 00:42:52,320 tell you something, you're really, really 771 00:42:52,320 --> 00:42:55,760 wrong and you will be in for a rude awakening 772 00:42:55,760 --> 00:42:59,180 when God stops your heart and takes you out 773 00:42:59,180 --> 00:43:06,640 of here. So Satan is a murderer and a liar. 774 00:43:06,640 --> 00:43:08,640 And you don't go very far in the Bible before 775 00:43:08,640 --> 00:43:10,640 you find that out because he shows up in the 776 00:43:10,640 --> 00:43:12,960 garden and what's the very first thing that 777 00:43:12,960 --> 00:43:15,650 he does, he lies because Jesus said he's a 778 00:43:15,650 --> 00:43:18,940 liar. He's the father of lies. And the second 779 00:43:18,940 --> 00:43:21,260 thing he does is kill. And I'm not talking 780 00:43:21,260 --> 00:43:23,980 about King. I'm talking about the whole human 781 00:43:23,980 --> 00:43:27,850 race. We saw last time, Hebrews says he has 782 00:43:27,850 --> 00:43:30,140 the power of death. We talked a little bit 783 00:43:30,140 --> 00:43:32,570 about that. That's a vile thing. I'm still 784 00:43:32,570 --> 00:43:34,580 exploring all the nuances of that. But for 785 00:43:34,580 --> 00:43:37,330 one thing, in one sense, he exercised it in 786 00:43:37,330 --> 00:43:39,800 one act in the garden when he did what he 787 00:43:39,800 --> 00:43:42,830 did that literally plunged the whole human 788 00:43:42,830 --> 00:43:45,700 race into being born in a state of spiritual 789 00:43:45,700 --> 00:43:52,060 death and corruption. That's murder, man. Now, 790 00:43:52,060 --> 00:43:54,260 there's a very interesting book that 791 00:43:54,260 --> 00:43:58,540 John MacArthur comments on called The Emperor 792 00:43:58,540 --> 00:44:01,220 of All Maladies. It's a book written on the 793 00:44:01,220 --> 00:44:03,850 history of cancer and it's written by a 794 00:44:03,850 --> 00:44:08,180 brilliant scientist. He was a medical doctor. 795 00:44:08,180 --> 00:44:08,980 Now, some 796 00:44:08,980 --> 00:44:10,630 of you in here may not agree with his 797 00:44:10,630 --> 00:44:12,530 conclusions. I know Daryl is going to have an 798 00:44:12,530 --> 00:44:13,000 eyebrow at 799 00:44:13,000 --> 00:44:15,810 this and I do too because I see, I just kind 800 00:44:15,810 --> 00:44:18,600 of feel very strongly that they do have a 801 00:44:18,600 --> 00:44:19,950 cure for cancer, but they're just not letting 802 00:44:19,950 --> 00:44:21,400 us know because they're making a lot of money, 803 00:44:21,400 --> 00:44:24,680 but that's another story for another day. But 804 00:44:24,680 --> 00:44:26,760 after hundreds of pages, but his bottom 805 00:44:26,760 --> 00:44:29,330 line overall premise, everybody's going to 806 00:44:29,330 --> 00:44:31,560 agree with this. He writes this though, after 807 00:44:31,560 --> 00:44:33,970 hundreds of pages of well-written material, 808 00:44:33,970 --> 00:44:36,460 his bottom line conclusion is this, you can't 809 00:44:36,460 --> 00:44:40,430 cure cancer. He says, because cancer is just 810 00:44:40,430 --> 00:44:43,720 being human. Listen to what he says and you 811 00:44:43,720 --> 00:44:46,980 can apply this to cancer, heart disease, 812 00:44:46,980 --> 00:44:51,800 anything that's wrong with us. He says this, 813 00:44:51,800 --> 00:44:51,800 and I 814 00:44:51,800 --> 00:44:54,560 want you to remember this is a secular doctor, 815 00:44:54,560 --> 00:44:56,920 a very brilliant doctor. This is not a 816 00:44:56,920 --> 00:44:57,640 Christian 817 00:44:57,640 --> 00:45:02,370 at all. He says this, there is something in us 818 00:45:02,370 --> 00:45:06,680 . He says that is corrupting us. It's not 819 00:45:06,680 --> 00:45:11,940 a virus. It's not some germ. It's not a 820 00:45:11,940 --> 00:45:18,960 bacteria. It doesn't happen accidentally. It's 821 00:45:18,960 --> 00:45:19,380 not some 822 00:45:19,380 --> 00:45:25,880 kind of congenital defect. It's just there in 823 00:45:25,880 --> 00:45:30,520 us. Remember, this is a secular book and 824 00:45:30,520 --> 00:45:33,850 he is right about that, no matter how you get 825 00:45:33,850 --> 00:45:37,160 to it. There is something in us that's 826 00:45:37,160 --> 00:45:42,950 corrupting us. We can't sustain the original 827 00:45:42,950 --> 00:45:47,200 body, the perfection of certainly the body 828 00:45:47,200 --> 00:45:52,010 that was in the garden. There is a great high 829 00:45:52,010 --> 00:45:55,700 degree that none of us, chance that none 830 00:45:55,700 --> 00:45:57,350 of us in this room is going to make it past a 831 00:45:57,350 --> 00:46:00,280 hundred. You might, some of you might get 832 00:46:00,280 --> 00:46:03,710 to a hundred, but let's be real. Ain't very 833 00:46:03,710 --> 00:46:08,000 many of us going to live much past that. And 834 00:46:08,000 --> 00:46:10,480 in the grand scale of time and even eternity, 835 00:46:10,480 --> 00:46:12,560 what's a hundred? It's a hundred years, a 836 00:46:12,560 --> 00:46:17,930 hundred trips or outside. Done. And what we've 837 00:46:17,930 --> 00:46:21,560 got, how we got this way, how we got this 838 00:46:21,560 --> 00:46:25,740 way with our natural depravity, our natural 839 00:46:25,740 --> 00:46:29,400 condition, the moment that we're born 840 00:46:29,400 --> 00:46:30,000 physically 841 00:46:30,000 --> 00:46:32,350 in the earth, not only are we spiritually dead 842 00:46:32,350 --> 00:46:34,800 , we begin to die physically. That's why 843 00:46:34,800 --> 00:46:37,110 my hair is getting gray and I got the bald 844 00:46:37,110 --> 00:46:40,040 spot happening in the back, man. It's because 845 00:46:40,040 --> 00:46:43,090 I'm decaying right in front of you. It's a, it 846 00:46:43,090 --> 00:46:46,200 's a result of what happened in the garden 847 00:46:46,200 --> 00:46:48,300 and we got this way because there was a 848 00:46:48,300 --> 00:46:51,500 murderer in the garden in the beginning. He's 849 00:46:51,500 --> 00:46:51,760 the 850 00:46:51,760 --> 00:46:55,590 father of lies. That's how we got here. And 851 00:46:55,590 --> 00:46:58,000 what he did brought the whole human race into 852 00:46:58,000 --> 00:47:01,990 a state of corruption and radical depravity 853 00:47:01,990 --> 00:47:05,080 and he hates our guts. You have to understand 854 00:47:05,080 --> 00:47:08,300 that. You have to understand how much he hates 855 00:47:08,300 --> 00:47:11,040 you, Christian. He wants to cause as much 856 00:47:11,040 --> 00:47:13,330 chaos in your life as he possibly can because 857 00:47:13,330 --> 00:47:15,760 he knows, as I told you last week in Ephesians 858 00:47:15,760 --> 00:47:18,490 six, he can't have you. And he knows you win 859 00:47:18,490 --> 00:47:21,960 in the end and he loses and he hates that. 860 00:47:21,960 --> 00:47:25,410 So while he's got the time and opportunity, he 861 00:47:25,410 --> 00:47:28,200 's the father of lies and you want to know 862 00:47:28,200 --> 00:47:32,720 one of, one of his biggest lies is everybody's 863 00:47:32,720 --> 00:47:35,600 a child of God. Go ahead and sleep in on 864 00:47:35,600 --> 00:47:36,080 Sunday. 865 00:47:36,080 --> 00:47:37,620 You don't even have to go to church. That's 866 00:47:37,620 --> 00:47:39,280 nothing but a bunch of hypocrites down there 867 00:47:39,280 --> 00:47:40,770 at that church. Well, you need to go down 868 00:47:40,770 --> 00:47:42,560 there. You can just have church in your living 869 00:47:42,560 --> 00:47:50,040 room, right? So Jesus told these Jews, you, 870 00:47:50,040 --> 00:47:52,920 you're a, you're a father of the devil. And 871 00:47:52,920 --> 00:47:57,550 then next, first 45, Jesus says, but because I 872 00:47:57,550 --> 00:48:03,320 speak the truth, you do not believe. Child 873 00:48:03,320 --> 00:48:07,840 of God loves the truth. A child of the devil 874 00:48:07,840 --> 00:48:13,920 doesn't believe the truth. Simply put, next, 875 00:48:13,920 --> 00:48:19,440 Jesus says in verse 46, what's one of you conv 876 00:48:19,440 --> 00:48:22,200 icts me of sin? In other words, it's been 877 00:48:22,200 --> 00:48:22,680 something 878 00:48:22,680 --> 00:48:28,050 not done that makes you not believe me. Do you 879 00:48:28,050 --> 00:48:31,160 know something about me that I'm not aware 880 00:48:31,160 --> 00:48:35,880 of? Do you know something about me that, that 881 00:48:35,880 --> 00:48:39,600 calls my credibility into question or my 882 00:48:39,600 --> 00:48:40,920 integrity? 883 00:48:40,920 --> 00:48:44,800 But you know what? Nobody from their group 884 00:48:44,800 --> 00:48:48,800 ever brought up anything like that. Do you 885 00:48:48,800 --> 00:48:52,530 know why? Because there was never anything to 886 00:48:52,530 --> 00:48:56,520 bring up ever. If they had anything, do 887 00:48:56,520 --> 00:49:00,200 you think they would have used it? You better 888 00:49:00,200 --> 00:49:03,400 believe it. The mock trials, there was nothing 889 00:49:03,400 --> 00:49:05,970 of evidence in those mock trials. And finally, 890 00:49:05,970 --> 00:49:07,760 what they had to do, they had to bribe some 891 00:49:07,760 --> 00:49:10,870 false witnesses to make things up. Remember, 892 00:49:10,870 --> 00:49:14,160 there was no record at all of any misdoing 893 00:49:14,160 --> 00:49:17,660 on the part of Jesus ever and you can believe 894 00:49:17,660 --> 00:49:21,480 they looked because he was living the perfect 895 00:49:21,480 --> 00:49:24,390 life that you and I can as our substitute. Don 896 00:49:24,390 --> 00:49:26,840 't forget that. He says next in verse 46, 897 00:49:26,840 --> 00:49:28,310 if I speak the truth, why do you not believe 898 00:49:28,310 --> 00:49:30,020 me? Answer, because you're of your father, 899 00:49:30,020 --> 00:49:34,100 the devil. That's why. That's the desperate 900 00:49:34,100 --> 00:49:36,920 reality of the natural human condition. Let 901 00:49:36,920 --> 00:49:40,340 me tell you something. I don't even have words 902 00:49:40,340 --> 00:49:43,560 to explain how, how shocking the words of, 903 00:49:43,560 --> 00:49:48,910 that Jesus are giving in this text. And we got 904 00:49:48,910 --> 00:49:53,400 to deal with them because they're here. 905 00:49:53,400 --> 00:49:59,290 Verse 47, and we're fixing to close. He says, 906 00:49:59,290 --> 00:50:04,680 "He who is of God hears the word of God. For 907 00:50:04,680 --> 00:50:11,460 this reason, you do not hear them because you 908 00:50:11,460 --> 00:50:17,720 are not of God." Wow. Like I said when 909 00:50:17,720 --> 00:50:20,440 we started, everybody in the world is either 910 00:50:20,440 --> 00:50:22,710 in one family or the other. I hope you 911 00:50:22,710 --> 00:50:23,560 understand 912 00:50:23,560 --> 00:50:25,880 that a little better today after this message. 913 00:50:25,880 --> 00:50:29,840 So if you want to go to Ancestry.com or 23and 914 00:50:29,840 --> 00:50:29,960 me 915 00:50:29,960 --> 00:50:32,840 and check your Ancestry, go ahead, check it 916 00:50:32,840 --> 00:50:35,680 all out. That's fine. Not only do you get 917 00:50:35,680 --> 00:50:40,000 to part of the way to go all the way, you got 918 00:50:40,000 --> 00:50:45,700 to dig a little deeper. And the big picture, 919 00:50:45,700 --> 00:50:47,650 it's interesting, but your family in the past 920 00:50:47,650 --> 00:50:49,760 is not what matters. It's your family in the 921 00:50:49,760 --> 00:50:55,050 present. That's the issue. What family are you 922 00:50:55,050 --> 00:50:58,400 in? There's only two. That's the ultimate 923 00:50:58,400 --> 00:51:06,180 spiritual question. And we all only get a very 924 00:51:06,180 --> 00:51:12,040 certain ordained by God number of heartbeats 925 00:51:12,040 --> 00:51:16,790 and breaths to get that question answered. 926 00:51:16,790 --> 00:51:19,940 What family are you in? If you don't have 927 00:51:19,940 --> 00:51:24,850 the answer, get it answered. And get it 928 00:51:24,850 --> 00:51:30,660 answered today because today, folks, today is 929 00:51:30,660 --> 00:51:31,300 the day 930 00:51:31,300 --> 00:51:35,100 of salvation. Let's pray. How do we thank you 931 00:51:35,100 --> 00:51:38,600 for this word? I feel like a little bug. 932 00:51:38,600 --> 00:51:41,720 I feel like a little worm preaching the words 933 00:51:41,720 --> 00:51:44,760 of Jesus. And I am. But you have to have 934 00:51:44,760 --> 00:51:45,160 somebody 935 00:51:45,160 --> 00:51:47,920 to do this to proclaim, this is what you've 936 00:51:47,920 --> 00:51:50,940 ordained, that the word be preached. And so 937 00:51:50,940 --> 00:51:52,840 I thank you for that privilege that I don't 938 00:51:52,840 --> 00:51:54,840 deserve to preach your word to your people 939 00:51:54,840 --> 00:51:57,640 on your day behind your pulpit. This ain't my 940 00:51:57,640 --> 00:52:00,460 pulpit. It's yours. I'm just a steward. 941 00:52:00,460 --> 00:52:02,930 And so I pray I've been a faithful steward 942 00:52:02,930 --> 00:52:05,980 today to deliver your word. And I pray, Lord, 943 00:52:05,980 --> 00:52:09,060 that you would burn it into our souls, the 944 00:52:09,060 --> 00:52:12,020 realities of who Jesus is and what family 945 00:52:12,020 --> 00:52:15,120 it is that we're in. And for all who rejoice, 946 00:52:15,120 --> 00:52:17,880 being in the family of God, we'll be doing 947 00:52:17,880 --> 00:52:20,320 that rejoicing forever. But if anybody's here 948 00:52:20,320 --> 00:52:22,160 who is not or is not sure and don't have 949 00:52:22,160 --> 00:52:26,340 it straight, please, Lord, we pray, draw them 950 00:52:26,340 --> 00:52:29,840 to yourself. Use the word preached and the 951 00:52:29,840 --> 00:52:31,970 power of the Spirit to bring another to 952 00:52:31,970 --> 00:52:34,980 yourself. All for your glory. In Jesus' name 953 00:52:34,980 --> 00:52:35,680 we pray. 954 00:52:35,680 --> 00:52:36,200 Amen.