Reason To Believe

Good morning, church. Today we'll be reading from John chapter 5, verse 30 to 47. And if you're reading from the church Bible, it'll be on 837. Yeah. All right. So John chapter 5, verse 30. Witness to Jesus. Jesus said, I can do anything on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just because I seek not on my own will, but the will of him who sent me.

John 5:30–47 John 5:30

If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. There is another one who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. Not that the testimony that I receive is from men, but I say these things so that you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for all while in his light.

But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me.

And the Father who has sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, and you do not believe the one whom he has sent.

You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life, and it is they that bear witness about me. Yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

I do not receive glory from people, but I know that you do not have the love of God within you. I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me.

If another come in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?

Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you, Moses, on whom you have set your hope.

For if you believe Moses, you will believe me, for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?

This is the word of God. Thanks.

Okay, great. Thank you. Let's pray together, and then we will consider these words.

Father God, we come to your word because we want to hear what you have to say.

Lord, as Oscar reminded us last week, there are 10,000 voices in our world.

The voice of our parents, the voice of our bosses, the voice of social media, the voice in our own heads and hearts that sometimes condemn us, sometimes accuse us.

God, we want to hear your voice. We want to hear and know what you have to say.

So God, come and speak to us, I pray. Let your word encourage and build up our faith, God.

And for those of us that are seeking and searching and wondering about faith, Lord, won't you speak to us as well?

We pray these things in your great name. Amen.

Amen. So in September 28, the year 2000, a man called David Cam returned home from work one day,

and he found his wife and his two children had been killed.

They were shot from gunshot wounds, and they were killed.

And David Cam believed that his seven-year-old son may still be alive.

He tried to do CPR on him, but to no avail. His son passed away.

And so he called 911 frantically, and three days later, he was arrested for the murder of his own family.

A state forensic analyst claimed that on his T-shirt that he was wearing was blood stains that was consistent with a perpetrator.

Sorry, the T-shirt he was wearing had been stained with his wife's blood, that it was consistent with that of a perpetrator.

And so during his trial, the prosecution stated that David Cam had two motives.

He had a life insurance policy on his wife, and he was apparently having an affair.

And so in March 17, 2002, 18 months later, he was found guilty and sentenced to 195 years in prison.

It was 200 years.

But a few years later, in a court of appeals, overturned the conviction and ordered another trial.

And so he had a second trial.

And at that trial, new evidence emerged, which showed that there was another career criminal that was in the area,

and his DNA was found at the crime scene.

Well, during a third trial, five years later, in 2009, it was shown that actually the blood expert,

the blood spatter expert, actually had falsified his own credentials.

He was not an expert at all, and he had zero history and experience in analyzing blood spatter data.

Additionally, another forensic expert found further evidence that that same career criminal,

whose DNA was found at the scene, was actually found on the bodies of the victims.

And these evidences together, pieced together, put the career criminal as actually the perpetrator.

And so in 2015, David Cam, after 13 years in prison, was released and exonerated and acquitted of all charges.

Now, why did I tell you that story?

These stories are very common, right?

That people are falsely accused and fairly put away.

But one of the points is that the evidence is very, very important.

What we make of evidence and the evidence we find and where we source that evidence is very important.

Overlooking evidence in a criminal case can be deadly serious and lead to grave injustice.

David Cam going to prison for 13 years for a crime he did not commit.

But friends, the Bible tells us that ignoring the evidence about who Jesus Christ is and what he says about himself

and the claims that he makes can be just as disastrous, just as serious.

And so in the passage that we're looking at today, it continues from the passage that Oscar helped us look at last week.

If you were here last week, there was a man, he's a cripple, an invalid.

He is waiting by a pool of water because there's a superstition in their day that at a certain time of the day or certain time of the year,

the waters will stir.

And what that means is that angels are stirring the waters.

And if you're the first person into the water at that time, God will miraculously heal you.

And so all the invalids, the paralytics of the day are waiting beside the pools of the water at Bethesda.

And here is a man, he's been an invalid for 38 years.

He's waiting by the pools.

And whenever he sees movement in the water, he tries to get in first as a way of healing himself,

saving himself, solving his greatest problem.

But he can't.

It never works out.

The timing doesn't work out.

Someone gets in before him or whatever happens.

But he's tried everything possible and nothing goes his way.

And while he's there waiting for maybe a future day where maybe something will go right,

Jesus walks up to him and doesn't touch him or anything, just with a simple word, speaks to him, it says, be healed.

And in a moment, his whole life is turned around.

And the point is that Jesus has the authority and the power to give life and to take life away.

Jesus has the power and authority to talk to us about sin.

Jesus has the power and authority to give resurrection life.

Why?

Because he claims to be the son of God.

Jesus says, I and the father are one.

Look at what he says in verse 19.

If you've got a Bible, he said this.

Jesus said to him, truly I say to you, I, the son, can do nothing of my own accord,

but only what I see the father doing, whatever the father does, that the son, I myself do likewise.

Jesus claims to be the son of God.

And that has a profoundly important implication.

It means that Jesus shares the same divine nature with God the father.

It means that he is one with the father.

God the father and God the son are not two different gods.

They're not competing.

They're not in partnership.

They are two persons of the same triune God, father and son.

It means that what Jesus does is what God the father is doing.

What Jesus says is what God the father says.

It's kind of like when the crown prince of a country or state or an empire goes on business and visits another country

and meets with maybe the chief executive or the president and engages in trade negotiations or bilateral agreements.

The crown prince is not the king, but he represents the crown.

He has all the authority, all the power of the crown of the throne.

Jesus, the crown prince, the son of God comes and he speaks for God.

He acts for God.

He is God.

When Jesus speaks, he's not the words of a well-informed prophet.

These are the words of God himself.

When Jesus acts, these are not the actions of a mere mortal.

These are the actions of God himself.

And in John's gospel, the miracle is never the main thing.

The miracle leads to the explanation.

And Jesus does this amazing miracle.

And what's the explanation?

Because I am the son of God.

I am God.

Now, here's the question.

Jesus makes this remarkable claim.

But why should we believe that claim?

What evidence does he have to back that up?

What happens if any person came and said, I'm the son of God?

Should we believe him?

Where's the evidence?

Where's the testimony?

What is it that we should base our belief on?

Well, C.S. Lewis said this.

Christianity and the claims of Jesus Christ, if false, are of no importance.

But if true, are of infinite importance.

The only thing they cannot be is moderately important.

That's absolutely right.

Christianity and the claims of Jesus.

If they're true, they are infinitely important.

Because Jesus makes a radical claim.

If they're not true, they have zero importance whatsoever.

They cannot be moderately important.

So what do we do with the claims of Jesus?

And is there any evidence to back it up?

Well, in this passage, Jesus is concerned with that.

He wants us to believe and to see.

And so he gives us three pieces of evidence.

And in this passage, what we're going to see is that belief in Jesus is reasonable.

It's difficult, but it's near.

It's possible.

In other words, it's within reach.

It's within grasp.

It's close at hand.

Reasonable, difficult, and near.

So let's dive in and look at it.

Firstly, belief in Jesus as the Son of God is reasonable.

Now, this is in some ways the main point of this passage.

Many people hear Jesus' claims, and they find it outrageous.

They think Jesus is blaspheming.

And so in verse 18, it says here,

This is why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him.

Because not only was he breaking the Sabbath,

but he was even claiming God, his own Father, making himself equal with God.

And so everybody knows when Jesus says,

I am the Son and God is my Father, they know what he's saying.

He's claiming to be God.

And they don't like it.

They want to kill him.

But Jesus wants him to see that these are not the claims of a delusional man.

These are not the claims of someone who's suffering from excess pride or self-importance.

Jesus wants that for those who to,

he wants us to follow the evidence, to follow the science,

to see where does the evidence lead,

and to see that it leads to that which is rational, reasonable, and believable.

So verse 31, look at what Jesus says.

He says,

If I alone bear witness about myself,

my testimony is not true,

but there is another who bears witness about me,

God the Father.

And Jesus is saying,

Don't just take my word for it,

follow the evidence.

Look at what it says.

Look at what the evidence says.

And Jesus here gives us three strands of evidence.

First he says,

Listen to John the Baptist.

What is his message?

You might remember from earlier in John chapter 1,

John 1 · chapter mention

crowds of people go to listen to John the Baptist.

There are thousands of flocking to him.

And the religious leaders,

the Pharisees,

they themselves are pretty impressed with John.

They send a delegation to him.

They say,

John, you must be the Christ.

Tell us.

I mean, you're doing these miracles.

You're so full of God.

You're full of the Spirit.

Your teaching is amazing.

You must be the Christ.

And John says,

No, no, no, no.

I'm not the Christ.

I'm nothing important.

I'm just a voice in the wilderness.

I'm just someone that's calling out.

But I'll tell you who is the Christ.

Jesus who comes after me,

he's the one that you're looking for.

Listen to him.

And so Jesus says,

You were impressed with John,

but listen to what John says.

John told you he's not the Christ.

I am.

Listen to John.

Or look what else what Jesus says.

Think about my miracles.

Jesus says,

Verse 36.

He says,

The testimony I have is greater than John.

John was just a mere mortal.

The works that the Father has given me to accomplish,

the very works I'm doing,

they bear witness about me that the Father has sent me.

In John's gospel,

miracles are always called signs.

There's seven signs.

Signs.

And what do signs do?

Think about you're hiking somewhere

and you see a signpost.

What does a signpost do?

It tells you where to go.

It points you in the right direction.

It says,

Keep on going.

You're on the right track.

Or wait,

you're off track.

This is the way to go.

This is where you need to go.

The miracles,

the works that Jesus does,

are like signs pointing in the right direction.

And what do they do?

They're telling us that this man is no mere mortal.

What kind of man touches a leper

and rather than being condemned or being made unclean,

heals him perfectly,

makes him absolutely clean?

What kind of man says to a paralytic,

Your sins are forgiven.

And just to prove to you that I can forgive your sins,

rise up,

pick up your mat and walk home.

What kind of man says to a paralytic

who's been waiting 38 years

for the right moment,

for the waters to be stirred,

says to him,

he heals him in an instant

without even touching him.

Jesus says,

Follow the signs.

Look at what the signs are saying.

What are the signs telling you?

And of course,

the greatest sign is still to come.

Jesus told us four times,

There's a day coming

when I'll be arrested,

I'll be put on trial,

I'll be killed and crucified on the cross

for the sins of the world.

But don't worry,

I will rise again.

And three years later,

that happens.

Jesus dies as a substitute for our sins

and he rises from the grave

for our justification,

our acquittal.

Jesus says,

Follow the signs.

What do the signs tell you?

I am who I said I am.

Friends,

if you're a spiritual seeker here today,

follow the signs.

What do the miracles tell you?

Well,

they tell you about Jesus.

Jesus is who he said he is.

Jesus says,

Examine the evidence.

Listen to the eyewitness testimony.

Cross-examine the data.

Who do you say that I am?

Jesus,

the Son of God.

That's who.

What kind of man loves people like this?

What kind of man dies for the sins of the world?

What kind of man forgives sin?

And then Jesus says,

there's another sign.

The scriptures.

Look what he says in verse 39.

He says here,

You search the scriptures

because you think that by them

you will have eternal life.

Yet it is they that bear witness about me.

If you had believed Moses,

you would believe me

for Moses wrote of me.

So Jesus says,

You guys,

I know you love the Bible.

You're Old Testament scholars.

You're Pharisees.

You study the Bible

night and day.

But you're so close to studying the Bible.

You analyze every word

and every grammar

and punctuation mark.

But you're so close to studying it.

You can't actually see what it's about.

Can't you see?

What are all the sacrifices

and the temple

and the worship

and the priests

and the offering?

What are they all about?

What is the ransom

and the forgiveness of sin

and the liberation from Egypt

and forming a new community?

What's it about?

It's about me.

It's about the fact

that the Son of God

has come into the world

to save us from our sins.

And Jesus says,

all of this,

it points to something.

Verse 31,

If I bear witness about myself,

my testimony is not valid,

but don't rely on me.

Rely on the evidence.

Look at the evidence.

Examine the evidence.

Jesus,

I am the Son of God.

And C.S. Lewis was still right.

The claims of Jesus,

if they're true,

are infinitely important.

If they're not true,

of zero importance,

they cannot be moderately true.

Friends,

do you know why

you believe what you believe?

If you're a follower of Jesus,

why do you believe what you believe?

Why are you a Christian?

If you're a spiritual seeker,

why have you not

crossed the line of faith?

What does the evidence say?

What do you believe?

Francis Collins

was a leading scientist

in the Human Genome Project.

I'm sure many of you know

Francis Collins.

He was the longest serving

member of, I think,

the National Institute of Health

in America.

And he writes this.

He tells his story

and he says this.

In the home where I grew up,

faith was not something

that was talked about very much.

And I assumed

that every religious feeling

that anyone had

must be on the basis

of some emotional experience.

And I wasn't willing

to trust those.

Or on the basis

of some childhood indoctrination,

which I felt

I was very fortunate

to have missed.

Okay, so he grows up.

He becomes a medical student

and he says,

religious faith,

no evidence,

it's either emotion

or indoctrination,

but I dodged both of those.

Okay, I'm okay.

But one day

he's in the hospital

and he's at the bedside

of an elderly lady

and she's just gone

through a painful procedure.

And she looks at him

and she says,

you know doctor,

all you doctors

don't really do much

to help me.

I'll tell you what really

helps me in difficult times

is actually my faith

in Jesus Christ.

And she shares her

testimony with him

and then she asks him

this question.

She says,

what do you believe,

doc?

And he says,

those five words,

what do you believe,

doctor,

startled him.

And he goes home

and this is what he says.

He says,

ultimately,

I had to admit to myself

that I had arrived

at an answer

to the most important issues

that we humans

ever deal with.

Is there a God?

And I'd arrived there

without ever really

looking at the evidence.

And I was supposed

to be a scientist.

If there's one thing

scientists claim to do,

it's to arrive at conclusions

based on evidence.

And I had not taken

the trouble to do that.

And so as a 25 year old,

a researcher,

scientist,

medical doctor,

he starts to look

at the evidence.

And he says he believes

Jesus was a myth of history,

but he looks at it

and he finds

his veracity,

her historical documents

for the life of Jesus

and then the death of Jesus

and then the resurrection

of Jesus.

And he comes to a place

of belief

and follows him.

Richard Dawkins said,

faith is belief

without evidence

or without reason.

No friends,

not at all.

If you're a person of faith,

faith is grounding

your beliefs

on evidence

and on reason

and taking a standard.

It's putting your weight

on the evidence

of who Jesus is

and what he says

about himself.

Friends,

look at the evidence.

Look at the

our testimonies.

Why do you believe

what you believe?

Jesus wants us

to have a firm certainty

in our convictions

and our belief

and to bank our life

upon it.

So belief in Jesus

is reasonable.

But secondly,

that's the longest one.

Belief in Jesus

is difficult.

Now,

if everything I've said

is true,

if there's so much evidence,

it should be a no-brainer.

We should all just say,

okay,

it's obvious.

Jesus is who he said he is.

What's the problem?

But Jesus concedes

that data alone

is not enough

to convince you

of the veracity

of Christ

and his claims

because belief in him

is also difficult.

For all the eyewitnesses

that Jesus gives here,

notice that all of them,

the Pharisees,

the religious leaders,

the people of his day

stumble over all of them.

All of them

trip him up in some ways

or trip them up.

Listen,

John the Baptist,

right,

they liked him for a while.

The crowds went out to him.

They were all amazed at him.

But how did John the Baptist's life end?

He was beheaded, right?

Eventually,

his message got a little bit

too close for home

and Herod says,

that's enough

and beheads him,

chops off his head

at one of his lavish parties.

Or think about the miracles,

the works that Jesus do.

Jesus is doing these miracles.

The crowds love it.

They're amazed.

But what do the Pharisees,

the leaders say?

They accuse him of witchcraft,

of demon possession.

They say,

by the prince of demons,

he casts out demons.

They write it off,

say,

you can't trust this guy.

He's filled with demons

and witches.

That's why he does

these miracles.

And what about the scriptures?

Jesus says,

all the scriptures

are about me.

But what do they say?

Jesus says,

you search the scriptures

because you think that

in them you have life,

but they bear witness

about me.

But you refuse

to come to me.

You've decided

whatever happens,

you will not come to me

and believe.

Now we're going to get into

this a lot more

over the next couple of weeks.

But Jesus is making

a profound point here.

Jesus is saying

that though there is

more than enough

evidence,

testimony,

veracity,

data,

the back of the claims

that he really is

who he said he is,

what Jesus is saying

here is that

rational thinking

is not sufficient

to learn.

And the reason is this.

Samuel Butler

was an English poet

and he wrote this.

He says,

a man convinced

against his will

is of the same

opinion still.

You heard that saying?

A man convinced

against his will

is of the same

opinion still.

So this is another quote.

Don't worry about that.

In other words,

you can bring someone,

present all the evidence

that you want to someone,

but if they don't want

to believe it,

they'll find a reason

not to believe it.

I don't know if you've

ever had a conversation

with a conspiracy theorist,

right?

I struggle with these.

And they say something

outrageous and you say,

but here's the data.

Look at the data.

And they'll say,

that's what they want

you to believe,

right?

It's like,

it doesn't matter

what you say,

they're going to find

a reason not to believe

what the evidence is.

Jesus says that

actually as humans,

we have the tendency

to do the same.

That you can look

at the evidence,

you can physically see

Jesus risen from the dead.

You can put your hand

in his marks.

And if you don't want

to believe,

you'll find a reason

not to believe.

The man convinced

against his will

is of the same opinion

still.

In other words,

if you don't want to

accept what's being

shown to you,

no matter how persuasive

or substantial,

you'll find a way

of dismissing it.

Because belief in the

God of the Bible

requires more than just

intellectual understanding

and acceptance.

It does require that,

but it requires

more than that.

It requires acceptance

at a heart level.

It requires our hearts

to say,

not just I believe

you are who you say

you are historically,

I believe you are

who you say you are now.

And that makes a demand

of us.

Because it demands

that we don't just

believe in him,

but we worship him.

And that's hard.

And that's hard.

Belief in Jesus

requires a willingness

to receive him.

That's the word

he keeps on using here.

Will you receive me?

Will you receive me?

Receiving not just

the facts and the data,

but receiving Jesus himself.

And so actually,

if you look at all

these evidences

that Jesus calls upon,

the fact that

they don't just say

that Jesus is

the divine Messiah,

they all say something else.

They say that we are

sinners and need a savior.

And that's hard to accept.

Think about John the Baptist

tests me, right?

The people come to John

and say,

John, are you the Messiah?

And he says,

no, no, no,

I'm not the Messiah.

But Jesus,

the Lamb of God,

behold,

the Lamb of God

who takes away

the sin of the world.

John says,

you don't just need

a teacher,

or a preacher

or a prophet.

You need a savior,

someone who can deal

with your sin.

And we don't like

to hear about that.

Or think about

the miracles, right?

What were the miracles

all about?

Think about this miracle

in John chapter 5 here.

John 5 · chapter mention

Here's a man,

he's an invalid,

he's lying behind the pool.

Why does Jesus

do this miracle?

Jesus is not just

being compassionate

or social justice

or trying to heal

those that are down and out.

Jesus comes to man,

he says,

you have been trying

all your life

to save yourself,

to help yourself.

You've got some

superstitious notion

that if you can get

in the waters,

you can save yourself.

And Jesus comes to him

and says,

I've got another solution.

With simply a word,

simply the power

of my voice,

I will do for you

what you've been trying

to do your whole life

but are unable to do.

What's Jesus saying?

The miracles are saying,

you need a savior

and I am he.

I can do it.

Well, think about

the scriptures.

What are all the scriptures

saying in the Old Testament?

They're not just rules

and regulations

for how Israel should run.

These are telling us

that all of us are sinners

as Neil said.

We've all got things

in our lives

that we're embarrassed about

but there is one

who can deal with it

and he's come to us.

Jesus says,

verse 34 here,

not the testimony

that I receive

from man is important

but I say these things

that you may be saved.

That's why Jesus came

but we struggle

to believe that.

Elders Huxley,

I think the quote

is up there,

Elders Huxley

was a British philosopher

in the mid-20th century.

Very, very brilliant writer

but he was an atheist

and he espoused

the philosophy

of meaninglessness

and listen to what he writes.

He writes this amazing confession

in his book

called Ends and Means.

He says this,

I had a motive

for not wanting the world

to have any meaning

and consequently assumed

that it had none

for myself

as doubt for most

of my contemporaries.

The philosophy

of meaninglessness

was essentially

an instrument of liberation

from a certain system

of morality.

We objected to the morality

because it interfered

with our sexual

and political freedoms.

He goes on.

The supporters

of this moral system

claimed that it embodied

the meaning,

the Christian meaning

of the world.

There was one simple method

for justifying ourselves

in our erotic revolt.

We would deny

that the world

had any meaning whatsoever.

It's a remarkable confession.

He says,

listen,

the Christians of our day

were telling us

there's meaning in the world,

there's purpose,

and if there's a meaning,

we've got to behave accordingly.

But we didn't want

to behave accordingly.

We wanted to do

whatever we did.

So,

we just rejected the premise

that there is any meaning

in this world.

And by rejecting the premise,

we reject the morality

that told us how to live.

Jesus comes to the religious leaders

and says,

here's the evidence,

here's the witness,

here's the testimony,

but I know you don't

want to believe.

And so you're going to find

a way to reject it,

right?

Belief in Jesus

is rational,

it's reasonable,

but it's hard.

Friends,

do you find belief hard?

Can I confess something?

I sometimes find it hard.

Not because intellectually

it's hard,

but because I find it hard

to surrender.

Sometimes I want to be

my own God.

I want to be my own king.

Sometimes there are things

that I want to do

and I know that it's wrong

and I don't want Jesus

telling me that it's wrong.

I sometimes find it hard.

But the good news of Jesus

is that he is so for us,

he so wants us to succeed,

he wants us to live in freedom,

to trust him

and to find life in his name,

that he comes to us

that we may experience him

and freedom.

And that leads to the third point,

which is that belief in Jesus

is near.

What I mean by near

is it's not hard,

it's not impossibly

to reach or grasp,

it's within grasp.

In this passage,

there are a number of times

that Jesus says

the Father has sent me,

the Father has sent me.

Or he says,

I have come,

I have come.

Why did Jesus come?

Why did the Father send him?

Well, Jesus tells us

not to accuse us,

not to point the finger at us,

but that we may find life

in his name.

To many of the Jews

in the first century,

belief in God

or God was kind of distant,

he was far away,

he was shrouded in mystery

behind a veil,

he was behind a temple court,

he was behind teaching

that the religious leaders

espoused,

but it was hard to understand.

And God was hard to grasp

and if you could somehow

find your way to God,

he was scary

and beyond reach.

And Jesus comes and says,

I have come to you

that you may know me.

Look what he says

in verse 37,

the Father has sent me

and he has borne witness

about me.

His voice you have never heard,

his form you have never seen.

Here was a problem.

God wanted a relationship

with his people,

but they couldn't find him,

they couldn't see him,

they couldn't touch him.

Well, how do we know

where this God is

or what he's like?

But Jesus says,

this God has sent me,

God the Father has sent me

that you can see me,

that you can know me,

that you can touch me,

that you can believe in me.

Verse 36,

the works the Father

has given me to accomplish,

the very works I'm doing,

bear witness,

that the Father has sent me.

Verse 37,

the Father has sent me

to himself to bear witness.

Verse 43,

I have come in my Father's name.

Friends,

Jesus Christ,

the Son of God,

was sent by the Father

and has come to us,

not with a pointed finger,

he tells us,

not to accuse you,

not to tell us how bad we are,

how immoral we are,

not to tell us

to sort our lives out

or pick ourselves up.

Jesus has come

not to give us

a new religious standard

or religious KPIs to meet.

Jesus has come

in order that we might know him

and believe in him

and find life

and healing

and freedom

and joy.

Verse 34,

the testimony,

not that the testimony

I receive is from man,

but I say these things

that you may be saved.

Friends,

Jesus wants us

to be saved

and to be liberated

and to be set free.

Jesus says

in verse 39,

you search the scriptures

because you think

that in them

you'll find life,

but they bear witness

about me.

Jesus wants us

to find life

and so he has come

to us.

Jesus comes to people

like the invalid

at Bethesda.

He comes to outsiders

like the woman

at the well.

He comes to seekers

and skeptics

like Nicodemus.

He comes to those

who carry great guilt.

He comes to those

who are paralyzed

with fear.

He comes to those

who are weighed down

by shame.

Jesus comes

and he asks

and he says,

I have come to you.

Will you come to me

and trust me?

In the New Testament,

there's a,

the Apostle Paul writes this.

He says,

do not say in your heart

who will go up

to the heavens

to find God.

Do not say

who will go down

to hell

to try and atone

for your own guilt.

Why?

Because that is

to bring Christ down.

He says,

in other words,

you don't need to go

search for God up there

or search for God there.

Rather,

verse 8,

what does he say?

The word is near you.

Friends,

you don't need to go

searching for God.

God has come to you.

God has come to us.

Do not say in your hearts

who will ascend

to the heavens

or who will go

into the grave.

What does it say?

The word is near you.

It's in your mouth.

It's in your heart.

Because if you confess

with your mouth

that Jesus is Lord

and believe in your heart

that God raised him

from the dead,

you too will be saved.

Friends,

in this passage,

Jesus wants us

to believe in him

because he wants us

to find life

in his name.

He wants us

to have certainty

and conviction

around the things

we believe.

He wants us to know

why we believe

what we believe

so that we can be confident

and bank our lives

in it.

Jesus says that

faith is not unreasonable.

It's not a blind

leap of faith

into the dark.

Jesus says all the signs,

the evidence is there,

the testimony is there

for those who are

willing to receive it.

But belief is not automatic.

It requires a heart posture,

a posture of surrender.

The posture says,

okay Jesus,

I will take you

at your word.

Come and have your way.

God our King

and God our Savior.

For this reason

he came to make known to us

that we can come to him.

So why don't we do that now?

Why don't we come to him

in prayer

and ask him to reveal himself

to us

and make himself known

and then we will

close in reflection.

Let me pray for us.

Father God,

as we come to you,

Lord,

we,

many of us in this room

have discovered

the reality

that Jesus is not just

a man of history,

not just a great prophet.

You are God,

the Son of God.

You are the wonderful

Savior of the Lord.

And Jesus,

we know this

and many of us

know this and believe it.

But God,

we admit that faith

is still sometimes difficult.

God,

maybe at a high level

we believe that you are

who you say you are,

but at a granular level

and in the day-to-day

trenches of life

when you've got to make decisions

around parenting,

around money,

around career,

around who to date

and marriage

and these big things.

God,

belief in you is hard.

Faith in you is hard.

Surrender is hard.

God,

we believe

but help our unbelief.

Help us to grow

in faith,

God,

and trust

and to know

that you really are

who you say you are

and that you really do

offer life in your name.

May God help us

in your name I pray.

Amen.

Amen.