Believe Into Christ (Part 2)

So Jesus says in John 3 beginning at verse 13,

No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,

so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

Verse 16,

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already,

because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

Verse 19,

And this is the judgment.

The light has come into the world, and the people loved the darkness rather than the light, because their works were evil.

For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.

But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.

Well, this is the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God.

Thanks be to God.

You may be seated.

Let's pray.

From 1 John 2, verse 14.

1 John 2:14

Lord, may your word abide in us.

Strengthen us to overcome the evil one by the word of your power.

Teach us to know you, Lord, the only wise God.

You were from the beginning, and to you will be all glory and power and praise.

Amen.

Well, where we left off last week was the island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean called Tahiti.

Do you remember that?

The king of this island, by the early 1800s, his name was Pomerang.

And after they had been there for many years, the missionaries had now experienced the threats of this wicked, violent island personally.

They had been repeatedly threatened.

If you stay on our land, we will kill you.

Three of the missionaries had already been killed.

Four others had been grabbed, assaulted, robbed, stripped, and then dragged into a stream to be drowned.

Whenever these missionaries would look at the map of Tahiti on the island south of Hawaii, between Hawaii and New Zealand,

they would think death.

If there's one place on earth that represents death, it's Tahiti.

This country was in war, and this wicked King Pomerang had managed to consolidate all the power under his rule.

When those four missionaries that had been dragged and tried to be drowned, when they managed to escape,

they fled the island to a different island in the Pacific,

and all the rest of the missionaries left that island for a season with them, except for one, and his name was Henry Knott.

God had saved Henry Knott, a common bricklayer in England,

in a church like this one, confessing the same things we confess and hold to.

And he had gone as a missionary, believing that the kingdom of the Lord will come into the darkest parts of this world,

just as it had into the darkness of his own heart when God saved him.

And now this missionary, Henry Knott, got to taste and see with his own eyes what Jesus warned of.

In John chapter 12, verse 26, Jesus said,

John 12:26

Whoever comes after me must take up his cross and follow me.

The way of Christ to heaven to glory was through the cross.

And for everyone who will follow Christ as a Christian, your path will be the way of the cross as well.

And Jesus said in John chapter 20, verse 21,

John 20:21

We saw last week how Jesus was sent like a general to conquer this fallen world and take back those captives

that were in the dominion of Satan and claim them for himself.

And he did that by laying down his life, by being numbered with the transgressors.

Christ was lifted up on the cross and his blood was shed as the purchase of many.

He poured out his blood, inaugurating the new covenant, bringing the kingdom of heaven,

the kingdom of the age to come now into effect for whoever would look to him.

So now we come to this glorious truth, and I have to picture Henry Knott sitting there all alone,

perhaps the lowest point in his whole life, surrounded by death and sin and evil.

It felt so powerful.

Who could possibly overcome the darkness where God had put him?

And once again, the glorious truth that he memorized in Tahitian and translated into Tahitian,

put your finger on it in your Bible in front of you.

John 3, verse 16.

John 3:16

For God so loved the world.

God, the creator of all, loved the dark, sinful world.

How much?

So much that he gave his only son.

That whoever, whoever believes in him should not perish, but should have eternal life.

Can you believe that promise yet again today?

I pointed out, look back a verse, verse 15.

Whoever believes in him.

That phrase is translated in Greek, believing into him.

Verse 16 is the same.

Whoever believes into Christ.

And then drop your eyes down to verse 18.

Whoever believes into him.

And my goal for today is very simple.

This familiar Bible verse that I hope you've memorized.

And I hope you'll do like Martin Luther on your deathbed.

That you'll say it over and over and over.

It's the assurance of your soul as you pass through death.

And my goal is simply that you'll be able to understand every word and phrase in this glorious promise even better.

And the way I want to do that is by drawing the context immediately around this word, this verse, to give us those insights.

What is it that Christ is telling Nicodemus?

Because that same truth is for you today.

And last week we saw that you must believe into Christ because of what is true of God.

That God is love.

And God sent his son on a mission into this dark world because he wants to show you his love.

And today I want to talk with you about the second point.

Not only what is true of God, but today what is true of you.

You must believe into Christ because of what is true of you.

And I want to break it into two parts.

Number one, your need of salvation is great.

Do you feel it again today?

If the spirit is in you, you feel that.

My need of salvation in Christ alone is great.

And number two,

Your salvation,

The eternal life,

It begins now.

This very moment,

This very hour.

You are in the eternal life of the age to come if you are in Christ.

That's why you must believe into Christ.

Because your need is great.

And because salvation begins now.

So first,

Four reasons why your need of salvation in Christ is so great from this verse.

Whoever believes into,

Whoever looks at Christ,

Should not perish.

The first reason is this.

Without Christ,

You are dead already.

Did you catch that?

If you look to Christ,

You shall not perish.

The implication is this.

Without Christ,

You are perishing.

If you are not united to Christ,

You are dying.

The word perish,

Picture a beautiful pear that you bought at the store.

You set that pear out in the sun,

And you leave it there for a month.

That's a perishable fruit.

And that pear is now full of maggots,

And it's rotting,

And there are flies swirling all around it.

Outside of Christ,

You are perishing already.

That's what Jesus says.

Now,

Look at verse 18.

Let's go to the immediate context.

Jesus says in verse 18,

Whoever does not believe is condemned already.

Your creator God,

The holy God,

He sits,

And He's good.

He can't look at sin,

And say,

It's okay.

He can't say,

You are fine just the way you are.

He can't do that,

Because He's holy.

And He's good.

And He's just.

And that would violate His just nature.

You're condemned already,

Not because God is looking to condemn you.

You're condemned because you have sin inside of you.

Your sin makes you perish away.

We saw how Jesus preached to Nicodemus,

That you have no love for God naturally.

You are in the darkness.

You must be born again,

And born of God.

The spirit must open your eyes to see the goodness of God in Jesus.

And that's what Jesus says,

You're condemned already.

As a fallen and rebellious human being,

You are under the curse of Adam.

You do not love God with your whole heart and mind and strength,

Because you cannot,

Unless God puts His love in you.

The Bible says,

We love only because God first loved us.

In John chapter 5, verse 41,

John 5:41

Jesus says this to the religious elite.

He says,

I know that you do not have the love of God within you.

How does He know that?

He says,

I have come in my Father's name,

And you do not receive me.

So if you have not believed into Christ,

You have no love in your heart from God,

And you are perishing for lack of love.

That's the first reason you need to believe into Christ,

Is because without Christ,

You are dead already.

I believe this is confirmed further,

By what is inside of you.

And I believe in this verse,

In this context,

Jesus teaches this,

That the love that you do have inside you,

Is twisted.

That's our second point.

Your love is twisted.

See, outside of Christ,

You are rotting from the inside out,

Because of what you love.

Look at verse 19.

That's exactly what Jesus gets at.

That's exactly what He's talking about.

In verse 19, Jesus says,

This is the judgment.

The light has come into the world.

Jesus is light from light.

He is very God from very God.

And He's come into the dark world.

And what's been the reaction?

The people loved the darkness,

Rather than the light,

Because their works were evil.

So Jesus says,

Your love is twisted.

Why are you blind to the light of Jesus?

It's because what's inside you,

Loves the darkness.

See, in Jesus Christ,

The light of heaven was put on full display.

But in sin,

We are bound.

Our hearts,

Our wills are bound.

By Satan.

By the curse of Adam.

And we prefer darkness to the light of Jesus.

Unless He saves us.

Unless He gives us a new heart.

One commentator said,

The light of Christ is on display for the world to see.

But without the work of the Holy Spirit,

Natural man will refuse the light,

Which is freely offered.

The reason we hate the light outside of Christ,

Is because we desire to conceal our sins.

We love our sins.

And our sins twist the love of our soul,

Into something monstrous.

Sin cannot bear open confession.

When sin is confessed and put out publicly,

Confessed to others,

Confessed to the Lord,

It suffocates sin.

So why do we have this time of confession?

It's because,

In Christ,

The war rages on.

Our body and our flesh

Wants to hold on to the sin.

And we're reminded,

Week after week after week,

Of the goodness of God,

And how He puts the gospel,

He puts the presence of the Holy Spirit,

Inside the believer.

And your soul now has a new life.

Though your flesh and your body,

Is raging war against sin.

And by confessing sin,

We enjoy the freedom as Christians.

And knowing that we are not condemned,

By our sin any longer.

And by confessing it,

The sin is suffocated.

The Bible says,

We must crucify our sin.

And Jesus,

As He hung on the cross,

He is a picture,

He is a picture,

Of our sanctification.

And His body is mutilated.

The stripes,

Of the lips,

The poke of the spear,

The nails,

And the hands and the feet.

And yet,

It's a torturous death,

Because the final breath,

It comes through suffocation,

No longer being able to lift Himself up.

And when we confess our sin,

We're suffocating,

The sin of the flesh.

And God's using that,

Battle against sin,

We do it together as a church,

To prepare your soul,

For eternity.

That's why you must believe,

Into Christ.

You have no power against sin,

On your own.

It must be the power of God,

Inside you,

To undo,

And to correct your loves,

Your loves that are twisted.

Number three,

You must believe in Christ,

Because of what is true of you.

And it's that,

The light of Christ,

It exposes your sin.

And if you don't openly,

Confess your sin now,

And forsake your sin,

Your sin will be exposed,

And condemned,

When Christ returns.

See,

God sent His Son,

Light of very light,

To expose sin.

Because,

The only way a holy God,

The God of light,

Can dwell with His creation,

Who are in sin,

Is if they're made clean.

And they can only be made clean,

When their sin is exposed,

And either Christ bears that sin,

To forgive you,

Or you will have to bear it one day,

Before Him,

When He comes to judge,

The living,

And the dead.

Look at verse 20,

Jesus says,

For everyone who does wicked things,

Hates the light,

And does not come to the light,

Lest His works,

Should be exposed.

This orthodox catechism,

That we read,

Every Sunday morning,

It reassures us of this,

Confession,

It gives you a comfort,

In times of personal crisis,

Says our confession.

When you're under temptation,

You need to know,

That Christ is your Lord,

And because He suffered,

Unspeakable anguish,

Pain,

And terror of the soul,

Especially on the cross,

He has delivered you,

From the anguish,

And torment of hell,

When you believe,

Into Him.

And the last reason,

You need to believe into Christ,

Because of what is true,

About you is this,

You have the venom,

Of sin,

Inside you.

Look at verse 14,

Here's what Jesus has in mind,

As He's proclaiming this gospel,

In verse 14,

Jesus says,

As Moses lifted up,

The serpent,

In the wilderness,

So must the son of man,

Be lifted up.

So he's drawing now,

To Nicodemus,

Who was a master of the law,

He knew the Bible,

And he's causing him,

To think back to numbers,

Numbers 21 · chapter mention

Chapter 21,

And in this story,

We have the people of Israel,

They've been brought out of Egypt,

But their hearts are still in Egypt,

They still love the comforts,

Of Egypt,

Of the world,

Even though they've been brought out,

They're no longer slaves there,

But their hearts,

Are still in love,

With the world,

And Jesus,

Wants Nicodemus,

And He wants you to picture now,

This scene,

Here's the people of God,

He's brought them out of bondage,

And He's providing for them,

Their every need,

He's giving them bread,

He's providing water,

He's giving them a vision,

Of a promised land,

And they're pilgrims,

And sojourners,

But they need to trust Him,

He will provide,

He will take them,

To the land He has promised,

Because that's true for you,

You've been set free,

Out of the bondage of sin,

If you're in Christ,

You have the vision of heaven,

And you're a pilgrim,

You do not belong to this world,

But if your heart is still in love,

With the world,

Then He needs you to think of now,

The serpent being lifted up,

Why was this bronze serpent,

Put on a pole,

And raised high,

By Moses?

It's because the Lord had taught,

The people of Israel,

A lesson for that generation,

But also for the church,

And Jesus gives us,

The correct interpretation,

What was going on in that story?

Well God,

We're told in Numbers 21,

He sent fiery serpents,

Most likely they're called fiery,

Because when they would bite someone,

The venom from the serpents,

Would burn,

And it would make your skin,

Be so irritated,

That people began to die,

Left and right,

And imagine one of your loved ones,

And that phobia you'd have,

If they were surrounded,

By these fiery serpents,

And you see them,

Having all of these symptoms,

And then Moses lifts up,

This bronze serpent,

And the symbolism,

Is too rich to pass over,

And the command is simply what?

It's what we read from Isaiah,

Look to me,

And be saved,

All the ends of the earth,

For I am God,

And there is no other,

He doesn't say,

Get on your hands and knees,

And crawl across the rocks,

Up the hill,

Climb up this pole,

And conquer your own healing,

No,

He says,

Look,

Look to that serpent,

Lift it up on the pole,

And God will do the miracle,

Of healing you from this venom,

Now we're told by Paul,

In fact,

Turn there please,

Turn to Romans chapter 8,

Romans 8 · chapter mention

Looking to the serpent,

Lift it up on the pole,

In Romans chapter 8,

Romans 8 · chapter mention

I believe we get a,

A very clear insight,

To what,

How did Christ fulfill this,

What was Numbers 21 all about?

Now,

In Romans chapter 8,

Romans 8:2

Verses 2,

3,

And 4,

We see how God,

Made his own son,

In the likeness,

Of sinful flesh,

Let me read that passage,

For the law of the spirit of life,

Has set you free in Christ,

From the law of sin and death,

For God has done,

What the law weakened by the flesh,

Could not do,

Let me pause there,

So you've been set free,

Just like the people of Israel,

No longer in slavery,

And you don't need to labor at it now,

By your own works,

That's what the law requires,

You fulfill the law perfectly,

And you're saved,

No,

Paul says,

You're not under that anymore,

You're not under the principle of works,

This covenant of works,

Has been fulfilled by Christ,

Because you,

By your own strength,

Could never fulfill it,

For yourself,

And how did God do it?

By sending his own son,

In the likeness,

Of sinful flesh,

Now the serpent,

It takes you all the way back,

To the garden of evil,

The picture of Satan,

And sin,

And temptation,

And Christ,

Became the likeness,

Of sinful flesh,

He became that grotesque picture,

Of a serpent,

And he was lifted up,

So that all,

Could look to him,

As he stood,

On the cross,

The emblem of God's grace,

Pouring out the punishment,

That sin deserves,

On God himself,

So that any who would look,

At the work of Christ,

Could be healed,

Let me trace these four points together,

Christ,

Is God's light,

Sent,

And put on display,

For those in darkness,

Christ,

The blood he shed,

It becomes the balm,

That heals the burning flesh,

When you confess your sin,

And you come into his light,

Jesus Christ himself,

Puts his Holy Spirit,

Inside you,

And the spirit,

Is the antidote,

To the venom of sin,

That is otherwise,

Making you perish,

From the inside out,

What a glorious gospel,

Put on display,

So that we can believe,

Our second London confession,

Puts it this way,

Christ,

By his obedience,

And death,

Fully discharged,

The debt,

Of all those that are justified,

He fully,

And really satisfied,

God's justice,

For you,

See how God doesn't lower,

His standard of justice,

Or holiness,

One inch,

Instead he himself,

Fulfills it,

How?

By the sacrifice,

Of himself,

In the blood,

Of his cross,

He bore in your place,

The penalty,

That was upon,

Your life,

And that's why,

John 3 16,

Is such good news,

Now,

Whoever believes,

Into him,

Will not perish,

But will have,

Eternal life,

And the second thing,

I want to talk with you,

About today,

Is eternal life,

What does it mean,

To have,

Eternal life,

I want you to leave here,

With the full meaning,

Of those three words,

So what we've seen so far,

Is that your need,

Of salvation,

Is great,

And I want to show you next,

That your salvation,

In Christ,

Begins now,

Begins now,

Because of those three words,

If you believe,

Into Christ,

You have,

Present tense,

Eternal life,

So I'll break this,

Into two parts,

First,

What does it mean,

To have,

Eternal life,

And then the second thing,

Is what,

What does this life,

Look like,

Well,

New testament scholar,

Andreas Kastenberger,

He says that,

Those three times,

In this context,

When these words are used,

And everywhere else,

In the gospel of John,

By the way,

The phrase,

Eternal life,

Is used,

In the gospel of John,

More than anywhere else,

In the new testament,

It's used 18 times,

By John,

In just this gospel,

The next runner up,

In all the new testament,

Is first John,

Also by the same author,

So the disciple,

Whom Jesus loved,

Is obsessed with,

What Christ showed him,

That the resurrection,

Glorified life of Christ,

Is made real,

Now,

If you are united to him,

By believing,

In the promise,

Of God,

Through Jesus,

That's what he's obsessed with,

And the,

Kastenberger says,

What it properly means,

Is this,

Agion,

Zoe,

Zoe means life,

Agion means,

The age to come,

So it really means,

You have,

Life,

Now,

You have at present tense,

The life now,

That's the life,

Of the age to come,

That resurrection life of Christ,

Begins now,

When you are united,

With him,

I want to show you,

This is not unique,

To John,

The bible teaches,

That there are two ages,

There's this age,

And there's the age,

To come,

So whatever questions,

Come up about,

In times,

In Christ's return,

Is great,

We should dig into the word,

But it's very clear in scripture,

There's those two ages,

Somehow it needs to fit,

There's this age,

The age to come,

There's no other,

Twisting or new ages,

Mixed in there,

This age,

Or the age to come,

In Matthew chapter 12,

Matthew 12:32

Verse 32,

Jesus says it like this,

He says,

Whoever speaks,

Against the Holy Spirit,

Will not be forgiven,

Either in this age,

Or in the age to come,

See,

Your life now,

In this present age,

Is the time for the spirit,

To wake you up,

This is when the spirit,

Is calling you to believe,

Don't push the spirit away,

If he's opening your eyes,

To believe in Christ,

Now in this present age,

It will have implications,

For the age to come,

This is confirmed,

In Galatians chapter 1,

Galatians 1:3

Verses 3 and 4,

The Lord Jesus Christ,

Who gave himself for our sins,

To deliver us,

From this present evil age,

According to the will,

Of our God and Father,

See how he says,

Jesus was given,

By the Father,

Out of heaven,

The spiritual realm,

Now,

To deliver you,

Out of this present evil age,

Now,

Now,

I want you to turn,

To Ephesians chapter 1,

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

I want you to see,

How he uses that phrase,

Once again here,

And what this means for you,

Ephesians chapter 1,

Ephesians 1:20

Verses 20 and 21,

So Paul now,

Is writing to the church,

And this is a letter,

That would be circulated,

For all the churches,

This is for you as well church,

By the power of the Holy Spirit,

God raised Jesus,

From the dead,

Look at verse 20,

From the dead,

And seated him,

At his right hand,

In the heavenly places,

Far above all rule,

And authority,

And power,

And dominion,

And above every name,

That is named,

Not only in this age,

But also in the one,

To come,

You see how there are two ages,

In the work of Christ,

On the cross,

For this present age,

It means that the,

Adam's sin,

As our first representative,

Everyone is under Adam's curse,

It's been reversed,

By Jesus,

Who Paul calls the second Adam,

Adam,

Think about it,

With his body,

He sinned,

He rebelled against God,

He took the fruit and ate it,

And his soul,

Got death,

Eternal death,

For all who would come after Adam,

But if God regenerates you,

And gives you new life in the soul,

You live,

Now your body is going to be part of the resurrection life,

And the glory,

In the age to come,

See how Christ reverses the work of Satan,

In the garden,

You might be thinking right now,

How could God ever,

Be so patient,

And persistent,

To pursue a sinner like me,

With such good news,

And I want to encourage you,

With another little story,

From this mission work in Tahiti,

Because after three decades of labor,

With no visible results,

On the island,

Henry Knott,

Had at least mastered,

The difficult Tahitian language,

And there was a friend of his,

Who wanted to come,

And just be around him,

And he maybe for the hundredth time,

Recited John 3,

16 to this friend,

And that's exactly how his friend was feeling,

He said,

If it's true that God loves the world,

And saves if you believe,

That might be true back in England,

Where you're from,

That could never be true,

For a sinner like me,

If you knew half of the evil things,

I have done,

That good news could not be for me,

But the promise,

Is for whosoever,

Will believe in Jesus Christ,

And this can only be true,

Because of the last word,

What does it mean to have life?

Because under sin,

We have the wages of sin,

Which is death,

In Adam we have death,

And sin,

But Jesus promises,

You will have life,

And I want to take your eyes next to,

Verse 18,

Jesus says,

Whoever believes into him,

Is not condemned,

See,

God sent his son to save you,

You believe into him,

And you have eternal life now,

Because you are not condemned,

You are justified,

You are made right,

And declared holy,

Before God,

Not because of any works of your own,

But because of the righteousness of Christ,

That's been put onto you,

You have been cleansed by the blood,

If you believe into Christ,

You are declared righteous,

Before the father,

You have been pardoned,

Of the debt that you owe,

Satan can no longer accuse you,

And there is no longer,

A judgment for you,

Because God's judgment,

Has been poured out on his son,

In your place,

When you are in Christ,

So,

The life,

That you enjoy of the age to come,

It means two things,

Justification,

You are declared righteous,

You are no longer condemned,

And it means the second thing,

That you are being sanctified,

Look at verse 21,

Whoever does what is true,

Jesus says,

Comes to the light,

So that it may be clearly seen,

That his works have been carried out,

How?

Underline those next two words,

Your good words,

Your good works,

If you are united in Christ,

They are carried out how?

In God,

It is God who works from the inside,

It is God who is carrying out,

These good works in you,

And that should comfort you,

If you are in Christ,

But you feel beaten down,

You feel weary,

And you are wondering,

How can I go on any longer,

In this present evil age,

My soul is so ready,

To be with Christ,

And to be in the full rest,

That we will have with them,

This verse is to encourage you as well,

Because on your own,

Even as a Christian,

On your own,

Sin is still too strong,

Death is still everywhere,

You will run out of hope,

On your own strength,

Even as a Christian,

But in Christ,

You have eternal life,

You are being sanctified,

In God,

And that means this,

It means that,

The life of the age to come,

God has implanted in your soul,

And sanctification means,

The Holy Spirit,

Is working it out into your body,

He is bearing the fruit in your body,

Of the age to come,

Right now,

Never perfectly,

But always increasingly,

More and more,

Prepared for heaven,

With Christ,

I know I've taken us,

To some dark places,

With that illustration,

On Tahiti,

I know if,

If you're like me,

And Satan accuses you,

You,

You will constantly feel like,

There's no way,

God could forgive all my sins,

And the thought of,

Confessing your sin to God,

By the help of the Spirit,

Is terrifying,

Well you need to praise God,

That he's given you,

A high view of his holiness,

But you need to once again,

Look to Christ,

And be saved,

Look to Christ,

And be strengthened,

Once again,

With the life of the age to come,

Now,

As it works its way out,

In your body,

Because there is no darkness,

That the light of Christ,

Does not overcome,

The wicked king of the island of Tahiti,

His name was Pamore,

And he died,

Never believing into Christ,

He died a wicked,

Cruel man,

But he was succeeded,

By his son,

And by this point in the story,

Henry Knott,

Had been there about,

Three decades,

Thirty years,

So this,

New king,

Pamore II,

As they called him,

He had seen,

Henry Knott,

Live there,

Among them,

Tortured,

Miserable life,

Lonely,

Discouraged,

Henry Knott,

Had a project,

That even if he would see,

No converts,

At least he would labor,

At translating parts of the Bible,

Into Tahitian language,

A very difficult language,

But during,

Pamore,

The first wars,

His typeset,

Had been melted down,

To make bullets,

And even that project,

Seemed abandoned,

And lost,

I want to read you,

A few lines,

From this biography,

Henry Knott,

Because of that,

Long standing presence,

He had on this island,

Now with the new king,

Pamore II,

He began,

Once again,

To show him,

Kindness,

Forgiveness,

Even though,

Pamore II,

Was just as wicked,

As his father,

And patiently,

Explaining,

Who God is,

And sharing the gospel,

With this new king,

Pamore II,

Was hesitant,

To allow any kind of worship,

On his island,

He didn't want to offend,

Those wicked gods,

That they served,

But he did provide,

Some supplies,

For Henry Knott,

And the missionaries,

To build a little chapel,

On a neighboring island,

And so the missionaries,

Began holding services,

On this neighboring island,

And they,

Felt with the conviction,

Of God's word,

And the power of the spirit,

That need to invite everyone,

From this Tahitian island,

To their little chapel,

For a special service,

To confess sin,

Specifically,

Renouncing the idols,

That they had given,

Their twisted loves to,

And that had kept them,

In darkness,

And violence,

And cruelty,

So 31 Tahitians,

Got on little canoes,

And went across the Pacific,

To this island,

Where the chapel was,

And the Lord,

Opened their eyes,

To behold Christ,

On the cross,

Bearing their sin,

And giving them the freedom,

Of no longer being in bondage,

To these idols,

To Satan,

To wickedness,

To their own,

Twisted loves,

31,

Believed in Christ,

And a few days later,

Eleven others,

Also forsook their idols,

And they began gathering,

On the island in Tahiti,

Praying,

So that all the other natives,

Called them,

The praying people,

What a great thing,

To be known as,

As a new church,

In this distant part,

Of the world,

Well,

As this services,

Continued on the chapel nearby,

Pamore II,

Eventually decided to visit,

And he began to hear the gospel,

And be part of their,

Worship services as well,

And over time,

He wanted to be discipled,

That was his next step,

Teach me who God is,

Show me what this means,

For how I view my life,

And what I live for,

And on Sunday,

May 16th,

1816,

In the presence of,

5,000 Tahitians,

King Pamore II,

Was baptized,

By God's grace,

More than 20 years after that,

A complete Bible,

In the Tahitian language,

Was published back in London,

And distributed,

And brought over in ships,

So that all the people,

Who believed in this island of Tahiti,

Could have the Bible,

In their own language,

A true church was built,

Among the Tahitians,

And I want you to turn to Isaiah chapter 2,

Isaiah 2 · chapter mention

To see what God fulfilled,

That day,

And what he's fulfilling,

Even now in our midst today,

Isaiah chapter 2,

Isaiah 2:2

Verse 2,

Now remember,

Isaiah was writing,

To a people in exile,

They didn't have a promised land,

He's causing them to look to,

The age to come,

Just as God calls us today,

Isaiah chapter 2,

Isaiah 2:2

Verse 2,

It has come to pass,

In the latter days,

That your kingdom,

Like a mighty mountain,

Where you,

O Lord,

Dwell,

And from where you rule,

Your everlasting kingdom,

Shall be established,

As the highest of the mountains,

And shall be lifted up,

And all the nations,

Shall flow to it,

The word of the God,

The word of God comes true,

His word will be fulfilled,

All the nations will flow,

To the kingdom of God,

Everyone who will look to Christ,

Will be saved,

And as a church,

We need to be part of this,

We can so easily,

I'm thinking for the decades to come,

Lord willing,

We can so easily,

Lose our focus,

On the coming of Christ's kingdom,

Near,

Where we work with the people we're with,

And also far,

To the ends of the earth,

Till all the nations,

Flow into Christ,

And his kingdom of the age to come,

There are about 6,000,

People groups,

In languages today,

That still do not have a complete Bible,

In their language,

How can we be part of that?

Our prayer will be that,

Every people group,

Everywhere in the world,

Can see how much God loved the world,

That he sent his only son,

That whoever will believe into him,

Will have eternal life,

In Acts 13,

This happens,

Just as the Father made the Son a light for all nations,

So the Lord Jesus sends out his people,

That he may bring salvation,

To the ends of the earth,

And as you go today,

I want you to think about that,

God has put you here,

Where he's planted you,

The people in your life right now,

Maybe new people he will bring into your life,

So that you can proclaim,

The goodness of the coming kingdom of Christ,

That they can have eternal life now,

And enjoy the rest,

And God,

That is provided,

Let's pray,

From Acts 13,

Oh Lord,

Cause the glorious light of Christ,

To shine upon our souls,

In a new way,

Even this hour,

And move with power,

By your Holy Spirit,

So that our hearts will respond,

In the same way,

That the new believers did,

In Acts chapter 13,

Acts 13 · chapter mention

May we rejoice,

And glorify,

The word of the Lord,

So that,

As many,

As you have appointed,

Appointed to eternal life,

May believe in you,

This very moment,

We pray,

Amen.

Okay.