Did God Really Say?

Father, you know us so perfectly, and still you love us.

You know, Father, how we can hear a passage of Scripture that perfectly describes us,

but we don't think it describes us at all. We think it describes other people.

And Father, you know how much that can be a characteristic of each one of us.

So we ask, Father, that the Holy Spirit would move with might and power and deep conviction,

deep in the very center of who we are, at the level of our conscience,

at the level of our mind, and the level of our affections, and our memories, and our dreams.

And that, Father, you would bring your Word home to us in a very deep way.

And Father, as your Word is brought home to us in a deep way,

Father, grip us with the Gospel at the same time,

that we might understand how marvelous it is, what Jesus is, who he is, and what he accomplished for us.

And all these things we ask in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. Amen.

Amen. Please be seated.

It's really good to see so many of you here, relatively speaking, in terms of such terrible, terrible weather.

I don't know about you, but some of you know that I'm sort of a regular runner.

If I was close to the canal today, I would go for a run today,

because in some ways, in a perverse sense, it gives you this great sense of accomplishment

to actually have gone out and done something like a run on a day like today.

Anyway, to the sermon and topic at hand.

I have always been good at math.

And it was always all the way through from grade one right up until I finished high school.

And then when I was in university for my first degree, I took a lot of courses in statistics,

and I was always just good at math.

My younger brother, who was about five grades below me, he was terrible at math.

And occasionally, when my brother started school,

my parents would try to get me to help my brother with his math homework.

And I was, I mean, I was probably a terrible big brother.

I'm sure my younger brother has been in therapy for years because of our childhood.

But I just couldn't help him, because I would look at the math question,

and it would just be obvious to me.

Like, I don't know, for those of you who are good at math,

you know what it's like for some simple things.

You just look at the question, and it's just obvious.

Like, how could you not just get it?

And I probably said that to him, how could you not just get it?

And so I was just terrible at it.

And I'm saying that not as a way of boasting at all, far from that.

There are just some things in our lives that we are good at, that we get instantly.

I cannot draw to save my life.

Like, probably the Sunday school, once they get to about grade one,

they can draw better than me.

I have a hard time drawing a stick figure.

And I know just about any time in a service I mention that,

at least one person comes up to me and says,

if you just took the right lessons, you'd be able to draw.

And maybe someday I'll do that.

But I just think I'm missing whatever that is that I could just pick up artwork.

There's just some things within us that we either get or we don't get.

But all of us have had the experience of having a conversation with somebody

to try to prove to them something being true or something being right.

And our arguments are compelling.

The facts are obvious.

And we leave the conversation or the series of conversations believing that the other person

just doesn't get it.

In fact, we'd almost say that what's going on with them is that they just refuse to accept it.

But they've stopped listening.

That they've closed their ears.

They've set their jaw.

They've set their body, their being just against even listening to reason or facts or argument.

And all of us have had conversations like that.

Because it's a very, very common thing to have a conversation with somebody

who just doesn't seem to get it.

And it's a different thing than getting math, obviously, or getting art, obviously.

In fact, it's a very, very common problem.

It's talked about occasionally in our society.

The problem of echo chambers.

The problem of just listening to your tribe.

Of refusing to be open to insight or knowledge.

It's a very, very common phenomenon talked about in our culture.

And believe it or not, the gospel text which we looked at today

has some very profound things to say about this phenomenon.

So it would be a great help to me if you open your Bibles.

Those of you who don't have Bibles with you, the words to the text will be up on the screen.

But, you know, it's a wonderful thing to bring your own Bible with you.

And some of you like to write in your Bible or underline.

It's just a good thing to be able to find it in your own text.

But we're going to look at this conversation.

And Jesus actually has, and the text has, very profound things to say about this phenomenon.

So you heard earlier, this is how it's going in the Gospel of John.

You know, John is one of Jesus' disciples.

His most intimate disciples.

He writes this biography of Jesus.

And he sort of gives chapter one as a big picture and historical introduction to who Jesus is.

John decides he's not going to talk about all of Jesus' miracles.

He's going to pick seven significant ones and sort of dig deep into them

and what they mean and what they sort of point about who Jesus is.

And then there's this transition chapter with the triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

And then we're going to get into the private lessons between Jesus and his disciples,

the trial, the crucifixion, and the resurrection.

And so this chapter, this bit that we're reading right now is in a sense that the end of Jesus' public ministry,

at least is the way that John tells the story.

And it takes place then maybe a day or so before the upper room,

a couple of days before Jesus is going to die on the cross.

And here's how it goes, verse 31.

Now is the judgment of this world.

Now will the ruler of this world be cast out.

And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.

Jesus said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die.

And we'll just sort of pause here for a second before we go any further.

You know, it's very, very funny.

When you just sort of look at that phrase,

and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.

And it's not immediately obvious to me and to you maybe from just reading that,

that it's referring to his crucifixion.

If you read the whole gospel from beginning to end,

you get a bit of an indication of it because the same phrase is used in John chapter 3.

John 3 · chapter mention

And the same phrase is used in John chapter 8.

John 8 · chapter mention

And the obvious thing is, as you're going to see in a moment,

with the crowd's reaction to Jesus' statement,

is that the crowd, like Jesus,

they understood that Jesus was referring to the fact that he was going to die on the cross.

And so Jesus, he says this thing that,

it's a bit of a troubling thing that,

and when I am lifted up from the earth, when I am crucified,

that he will draw all people to himself.

That's a very, very, very big claim.

And the rest of this text is sort of going to unpack it.

And at first, it looks like Jesus is talking about something

that almost makes it look as if God draws some people to himself and not others.

He closes some minds and not others.

It's that rather than actually providing light

or insight into the issue as to why sometimes people refuse to believe the truth,

in fact, it looks as if Jesus is taking a wrong turn.

And he's making it unhelpful.

But as we dig further into it,

we see that Jesus is actually really opening up to us

at a very deep and profound level

this whole issue of the conscience and the mind

and the affections and our ability to grasp the truth.

And he begins in this unlikely manner by saying,

I'm going to die on the cross.

And when I die on the cross and what I accomplish for the human race on the cross,

I'm going to then draw people to myself

from every single people group that's on the planet

and that will ever be on the planet.

Me dying on a cross and I, through that,

and through my person will draw people to me.

One of the things that it means,

like if I was to tell you the story of my conversion,

I would tell you how it is I saw something

when I was walking down Elgin Street

and that began to make me curious

and I started to seek out Jesus

and to try to figure out who he really was

and what it meant for me.

But what Jesus is saying here

is that it actually,

that I'm misunderstanding the process.

That it's not about the fact

that Jesus is sort of somewhere

just there hiding

and I seek him.

What Jesus is saying

is that before I sought him,

he sought me.

And before I started to feel drawn to him,

he was drawing me to himself.

And that's what he's saying.

And that he's drawing me to himself

to make me right with God,

to make me right with the creator of the universe.

And by making me right with the creator of the universe

to begin to make me right with the created order

in terms of what it means to live full and free

as a son,

in my case,

a son of light,

for some of you,

a daughter of light

in God's creation.

And when Jesus says

that the world is being judged,

it's being judged

because he understands

that he's not fully human

but he's also fully God.

And he understands

that when he is,

he is about to be,

I mean,

he understands that already

the religious,

intellectual,

and cultural leaders of the day

and soon to be

the power leaders

and the power brokers

of the entire world,

that they are going to conspire together

to receive him,

not to receive him

but to put him to death.

And so Jesus understands

that whether it's through spirituality,

whether it's through religion,

whether it's through philosophy,

whether it's through politics,

whether it's through

just a concern with culture,

whether it's through a concern

for the common life of the city,

that all of these different trends

and all of these different paths

and all of these different ways,

they will take you many places

but where they will never take you to

is the cross.

The death of Jesus upon the cross

reveals that they all fail.

All of them fail.

And at the same time,

he makes a very, very bold thing

which we won't go into very much

because the rest of the text

doesn't talk about it very much.

But Jesus understands

that his death upon the cross

and his resurrection

is a defeat,

a fatal defeat of the devil

who is present and active in the world.

And that as a result

of the death of Jesus upon the cross

and his resurrection,

it means that Satan has received

a grievous blow

and that his doom is certain.

Just one more thing.

Back in June,

I went for some training

in Montreal.

And some of you might have seen

or been to yourself

St. Joseph's Oratory,

a beautiful, huge

Roman Catholic building

on the side of a mountain.

And if you go inside

St. Joseph's Oratory,

you can go to different places

where you can light a candle.

And as you know,

Montreal is a very, very, very,

very, very, very secular city.

And if you go to the oratory,

it gets a huge number of tourists

from all over the place,

from all sorts of different faiths

or lack of faiths

or lack of perspectives.

But if you want to go,

and in a sense it's an act of prayer,

you can go and light a candle.

And the candles are organized

around certain themes

or certain issues.

It might be for success

or whatever.

But there's some candle sections

which most of the candle sections

don't have that many candles lit.

But if you go to a candle section

and you see virtually every candle lit

and you go and you look over it,

you'll see that the section

where the candles are all lit

in the secular city of Montreal

are all the ones

around deliverance from demons.

And we as Christians

have to start to be more unashamed

about talking about things like that.

Because in fact,

it's a very, very real problem

for many, many, many people

in our culture.

That even as our culture

on one level

seems to become more secular,

another level

is becoming very, very spiritual

and open to all sorts

of spiritual forces.

And the message here

of Jesus is that

with his death

and his resurrection,

Satan has been defeated.

He still has, in a sense,

a rear guard action.

It will not be until

the second coming of Jesus

that Satan

is cast into the lake

of fire forever

and his role

on the earth

will come to a complete

and utter end.

But his doom

is certain

and for those of us

who are in Jesus,

their power

and

their power over him

or at least

their resources

of power over him

in terms of going

to our Heavenly Father

are absolutely immense.

But Jesus,

when I said that

this is going to tell us,

this text is going to give us

some real insight

around the whole problem

of not being able

to know the truth

or at least thinking

other people have problems

of knowing the truth

or closing their conscience

or closing their mind.

And yet Jesus seems

to take us

in a very odd direction

that he is going to draw

all people to himself.

So we need to sort of

see how it is

that that's going to get

unpacked a little bit.

Well, let's look at verse 34.

So Jesus makes this comment

that he is going to draw

all people to himself

after he's died

upon the cross.

And some of his hearers

have a whole range

of problems with that.

And one of the problems

they have with it

is that it can't be true

because in fact

it doesn't seem as if

everybody's being drawn

to Jesus.

And they sort of push back

at this whole idea.

Look at verse 34.

So the crowd answered him.

The crowd answered him.

We have heard from the law,

that is the Bible,

the Old Testament,

that the Christ

remains forever.

How can you say

that the Son of Man

must be lifted up?

Who is the Son of Man?

See, they understand

that Jesus is saying

that the Son of Man

is going to die.

And they just have

a big problem with that.

And they're understanding

the Bible.

They're really saying,

did God really say

that the Christ

is going to die

on the cross?

Did God really say

that the Son of Man

is going to draw

all people to himself?

Did he really say

these things

and therefore

do they apply to you?

And is it going to really

be true

that he's going to die?

Like, how on earth

does this work?

And he continues on

in verse 36,

verse 35.

So Jesus said to them,

the light is among you

for a little while longer.

Walk while you have the light,

lest darkness overtake you.

The one who walks

in the darkness

does not know

where he is going.

While you have the light,

believe in the light

that you may become

the sons

or daughters

of light.

Now,

on one hand,

when you read this text,

it seems as if

Jesus doesn't answer

their question.

They've said,

okay,

Jesus,

you've made this

really big claim.

We've heard you before.

You say you're the Christ.

You say you're the Son of Man.

You say that Christ

and the Son of Man,

you know,

whatever you mean by those,

that you're going to die

and somehow

after you die

on a cross,

a shameful death,

you're going to draw

people to yourself.

But we read the Bible

and the Bible

doesn't say anything.

Does God really say that?

And then

you'd expect

Jesus to answer,

well,

sure,

you look at,

you know,

you look at Isaiah

Isaiah 53 · chapter mention

chapter 53

and you look at here

and you look at here

and you look at here.

But what Jesus says

is he doesn't talk

about that at all,

does he?

And

he talks instead,

look at it again,

verse 35,

the light is among you

for a little while.

Walk longer,

walk while you have the light,

lest darkness overtake you.

The one who walks

in the darkness

does not know

where he is going.

While you have the light,

believe in the light

that you may become

the son or the daughter,

depending on your sex,

of light.

Well,

you see,

what's going on here

is that Jesus

is not answering

their question,

he's speaking

to their condition.

Because,

you see,

if you think about it,

the reason

that there were

such huge crowds

in Jerusalem

is that because

just outside

of Jerusalem,

Jesus,

there was a man

who had been dead

in the grave

for four days,

and Jesus spoke

to that dead man

and raised him

to life.

And if you think

about it,

earlier on in Jerusalem,

Jesus took a man

who had been born blind,

and he made him

to see.

And if you think

about it,

that it was in Jerusalem,

there was a very,

very, very grumpy,

ungrateful man

who had been unable

to walk for decades,

and Jesus had made

him to walk.

And if you think

about it,

they would have also

known about the fact

that Jesus had taken

one of Herod's

official sons,

and even though

that son was

a great distance away

by a mere word

of Jesus,

everybody would have

known that he had

made that man

come to life.

And everybody there

would have known

that Jesus had done

a miracle where

they'd taken a few

loaves and fishes,

and he was able

to feed 5,000 men.

And they might also

have known about

the fact that Jesus

had taken water,

and by a mere act

of his will,

had turned that water

into wine.

And so,

in a sense,

what Jesus is saying

is, listen,

if you don't listen

to that stuff,

how is quoting the Bible

going to actually

deal with your condition?

The problem isn't

that you need

another Bible study.

The problem is

that you are

completely and utterly

giving yourself over

to darkness

rather than light

and refusing

to think

and to recognize

and to believe.

You see,

Jesus goes

after the situation

because it had

come to a time

when further arguments

aren't going to help.

Further arguments

aren't going to help.

One of the,

there's a fellow

by the name

of Michael Conley,

and he writes

Bosch novels.

I think I'm pronouncing

it correctly,

B-O-S-C-H.

Some of the novels

have been turned

into a very popular

series on Amazon Prime,

but his novels

are always

New York Times

bestsellers.

And Michael Conley's

Bosch novels

are,

they're very well

written books,

which is why

they're bestsellers,

and they are

a perfect example

of a very common

type of fiction

and movie

in North America.

One of Bosch's lines,

he's a detective

in L.A.,

and one of his lines

is that everyone

matters or no one

matters.

And what drives

the story

is that there's

always a murder

or usually a murder,

sometimes by somebody

that the world

considers to be

very unimportant,

like a prostitute

or a street person,

sometimes a very

important person

like a film mogul.

But the point is

that Bosch has

this line that

everyone matters

and no one matters.

And so he goes

to solve the mystery

and there's sort of

two big things

that go on in the book.

On one hand,

of course,

is him actually

trying to solve

the mystery.

But the other part

of the book,

which is very,

very,

very important

and he does

very,

very well,

is that always

there are politicians

and other police

officers who in effect

don't want him

to solve the crime.

not because they're

allied with the bad guy.

It's not that they're

corrupt usually

in that way.

But because they don't

look at the case

and think that you

have to solve

who it is,

the actual murder,

they worry

that either the way

it's been

or the way it's going

that there's something

about it that is going

to,

and then you fill

in the blank,

it's going to affect

their career.

It's going to make

the police force

look bad.

It's going to make

the politicians

look bad.

It's going to make

a rich person

who's an important

donor look bad.

And so what Bosch

does is he's

constantly disobeying

his superiors,

he's pushing

against them

because they keep

wanting to short

circuit or close

down his investigation

in some of the books

they literally tell him

he has to stop

following the investigation

and he literally

doesn't stop

following the investigation

because he believes

that what matters

is doing what is just

and doing what is right

and that every human

being matters

and the people

who are in the hierarchy

they think that is not

what matters.

What matters

is what people

think of me,

what people think

of my organization,

what people think

of the city,

how it's going to

affect the economy,

how it's going to

affect investment,

how it's going to

affect all of these

things.

And so an important

part of every book

is Bosch

regularly fighting

against the pressure,

ignoring the pressure

to pursue that

which is right

and that which is just

in terms of this case.

Now here's the

interesting thing

about this.

In many ways

what these novels,

it's why they sell

millions and millions

and millions of novels,

millions of novels,

is that obviously

when you and I

read that book,

who are we?

I'm Bosch.

Bosch in a sense

perfectly articulates

what I wish I was,

what I believe I am.

But really,

literally,

do you think

all of the million

of us who read

that book

that we're all Bosch?

Like how many of us

in our day-to-day life

are in fact

the lieutenants

and the captains

and the politicians

and the important people

who don't really

want to pursue truth

but want to cover

things over

because we really

care more about

what people say

about us.

You see,

I can easily imagine

as well as you

that there could be

a whole busload

of people going

to work downtown

reading the Michael

Connolly novel

and going,

yes, Bosch,

way to go, Bosch,

and as soon as

we get to work,

we're the bureaucrats

who stop the truth.

We're the leaders

who care more

about our reputation.

And this is one

of the things

which Jesus,

you know,

and in a sense

what happens is

what we're describing

is this process

whereby

we believe

about ourselves

that we should be

pursuing the truth

but we lack

complete and utter

self-knowledge

that what we're

actually doing

is we're actually

don't really care

about the truth

but we care

more

about what people

think about us

about our respect

about promotions

about making more money

having more power

that these things

in fact

have a very,

very powerful hold

on how we understand

right and wrong

and how we pursue

the truth

and what actually

forms our conscience.

the Michael Connolly

novels both

show what we desire

but they don't have

the power

to reveal to us

our own divided nature

or maybe not even

divided

because we are

fully fledged

supporters

and pursuers

of pursuing

that

which makes

me

look

good.

and it's in the

middle of this

both desire

as to what we

think we would be

and lack of

insight

as to what's

going on

that Jesus

starts to reveal

to our hearts

because you see

my guess is

that every single

person who

listened to Jesus

unless they were

pricked by his

line about

there is a

possibility

that darkness

will overcome

your conscience

and darkness

will overcome

your affections

and darkness

can overcome

your intellect

and darkness

can overcome

your entire

sense of how

it is

right and just

to live in the

world

and darkness

can overcome

all of these

things without

you being aware

of it

and that's what

Jesus says to

them

do you get it?

do you get it?

do you get it?

you see on one

one hand

a novel like

a Bosch novel

and these words

of Jesus

on one hand

it can be very

depressing

that people don't

get it

that maybe I

don't get it

but the whole

context of

Jesus'

discussion

not only

will try to

have it

pierce

into our

consciousness

and our

conscience

and our

minds

and our

affections

that it

might very

well be

me

who is

being

described

as having

my

conscience

or my

mind

overwhelmed

and Jesus

is going

to go

dig deep

as to why

it is

that these

things

happen to

us

but he

will also

provide

some very

very important

hope that he

draws people

to himself

that we're

not just

lost

and abandoned

in this

situation

that darkness

can overcome

us

and nothing

will help

John

the writer

of this

he

pauses

in these

words of

Jesus

and John

of course

was taught

by Jesus

if

when we

get to

heaven

John

will say

listen

all of

those

parts

if you

have a

Bible

like mine

that has

red and

black print

all of

those black

bits

that I

wrote in

there

I learned

all of

that

from

Jesus

none of

that came

from me

it all

came from

Jesus

all the

black

bits

all the

black

words

came from

Jesus

not just

the red

words

and if

you look

at the

second part

of verse

36

John

gives a bit

of a

summary

or an

understanding

of these

things

look at that

in verse 36

the second

part of it

when Jesus

had said

these things

he departed

and hid

himself

from them

though he

had done

so many

signs

see that's

where I

was saying

that John

is very

conscious

that Jesus

was very

conscious

he'd done

all these

miracles

right

though he

had done

so many

signs

before them

they still

did not

believe in

him

so we

might say

well doesn't

that show

that God

doesn't draw

no no

that would

only show

that if

God didn't

know what

was going

to happen

as if

somehow

God was

up in

heaven

said oh

dang

people aren't

reacting the way

I thought I

would I

guess I have

to have

plan B

no

no

John is

so helpful

here

Jesus is

so helpful

here

verse 37

again

though he

had done

so many

signs

before them

they still

did not

believe in

him

so

that the

word spoken

by the

prophet Isaiah

might be

fulfilled

Lord

he quotes

from

from Isaiah

53

Lord who

has believed

what he

heard from

us

to whom

is the

arm of

the Lord

been revealed

therefore

verse 39

they could

not believe

that's really

troublesome

I'll talk

about it

in a

moment

they could

not

believe

for again

Isaiah

said

and this

is going

to sound

very

troublesome

he has

blinded

their eyes

and hardened

their heart

lest they

see with

their eyes

and understand

with their

heart

and turn

and I

would

heal

them

Isaiah

said these

things because

he saw

his glory

that's God

the son

of God's

glory

he's talking

about the

pre-existence

of Christ

and spoke

of him

nevertheless

many even

of the

authorities

believed in

him

but for

fear of

the Pharisees

they did

not confess

it

so that

they would

not be

put out

of the

synagogue

for they

love the

glory

that is

the praise

glory can

be translated

as the

glory

the praise

the honor

the respect

that comes

from other

human beings

more than

the glory

that comes

from God

he's

perfectly

described

the plot

of every

Bosch

novel

because the

people are

far more

concerned

with their

respect

their honor

their praise

than the

truth

now

what Jesus

is showing

here

is the

possibility

of us

having

very very

very very

hard

hearts

every

system of

thought

has to

deal

with the

problem

that human

beings

seem to

have

free

will

yet on

the other

hand

there's

parts of

the way

the world

are organized

that would

imply that

free will

does not

exist

if you

a lot

of people

who would

say they're

scientists

are not

just

they're not

just

holding

or committed

to just

trying to

understand the

material causes

of why things

happen

they're also

committed to

a larger

philosophy

that says

that every

cause has

an effect

and that

we're locked

in a

series of

causes and

effects and

causes and

effects but

if you

if you

literally

believe that

it means

that there

is no

such thing

as free

will

it literally

means that

in islam

they have

the problem

that they've

made god

to be so

big and

powerful that

basically

everything that

happens is

fate

everything that

happens is

fate

in hinduism

and all of

the eastern

religions with

the whole law

of karma

and the cycle

of death

and birth

and rebirth

what ends up

happening is

that you

fundamentally

have a system

where everything

is completely

and utterly

determined

and all

systems of

thought have

to try to

deal with

the fact

that on one

hand

because hinduism

and buddhism

will still give

you ethical

commands

yet their

fundamental

understanding

of how things

work is

one is if

you're on a

cycle of fate

that will just

keep moving

you and moving

you and moving

and islam

has things

that you're

supposed to

do yet

their understanding

of god

is that all

these things

will just keep

happening and

happening and

happening because

it's all and

utterly completely

determined by

Allah and

only the

christian faith

wrestles with

these ways

in something

that is true

to our

experience

and gives

us hope

not just

that it

gives us

hope but

it's true

you see at

the very

heart of

the christian

faith is

the threeness

of god

that from

all eternity

before there

was anything

created

from all

eternity

before anything

was created

the father

was god

the son

was god

the holy

spirit

was god

yet there's

only one

god and

the father

loved the

son and

the son

loved the

father

and the

holy spirit

in some

issue

in some

is a

third

person

in some

ways

this

personhood

is described

as that

unending love

and communication

and respect

and giving of

glory and

praise that

endlessly went

back and

forward without

ceasing from

the father

to the son

and at the

very very

heart of our

understanding of

who god

is is

community

and is

love

love

and it

is the

father

the son

and the

holy

spirit

this

unending

community

of love

that is

the god

that has

created

all things

and so it

is that the

god who

really does

exist

he really

is

god

really

is

sovereign

over all

things

he really

truly

is

but the

world

that god

created

the father

and the

son

and the

holy

spirit

this

unending

communication

and love

of giving

and receiving

of knowing

and being

known

that is at

the very

heart of

all things

this is

the god

who created

all things

and so

this god

who has

created

all things

it makes

complete another

sense that on

one hand

this god

would still

be sovereign

but the

very nature

of what he

wants to

give to his

creatures

is the

dignity

of causality

and the

dignity

of freedom

and the

dignity

and the

power

of love

and of

truly

knowing

and not

being

a constant

victim

why

because it

fits

exactly

with who

god

is

this

is

who

god

is

and so

when we

see these

words of

jesus

here

what he

is saying

here

isn't

that

oh

my

friend

and i'll

call him

bob

my

friend

bob

he keeps

wanting

to believe

in jesus

and god

sees him

and smacks

him down

no you're

not going

to believe

in jesus

i refuse

it

that's not

what this

is saying

as if god

somehow or

another undermines

our desires

to know him

you see a

merging of

two wills

i come to

hear the

truth and i

turn away

from it

because i

love the

praise of

other human

beings i

want to be

thought well

of i

don't want

to take a

moral position

in my

society that

will make

people feel

unhappy

about me

and not

like me

or not

want to

talk to

me i

know very

well what

it's like

to develop

a friendship

with a

barista

or somebody

in a

starbucks

and eventually

they ask

me what i

do and

i tell them

that i'm a

pastor and

their face

gets cloudy

and they look

disappointed

i experience

that all

the time

we thought

he was a

nice guy

but he's a

christian

how could

he

and so

what the

bible is

saying here

is there's

this double

there's this

old saying

that the

door to

hell is

locked

from the

inside

and that

i as a

human being

i have

this the

light of

conscience

i have

the light

of reason

i have

the light

of good

affections

and i

choose

the non-light

i hear the

truth and

i choose

non-truth

i hear of

justice and

i choose

non-justice

and what i'm

doing is

every time i

turn away

and choose

something else

i'm turning

away from

the light

i'm turning

away from

god

i'm choosing

darkness

i'm choosing

hardness

and at

some point

in time

god who

by his

common grace

is is

is stopping

the full

implication

of my

choice

to turn

away from

him

to choose

evil

to choose

to be a

god

to choose

to be better

than other

people to

choose to be

the center

all of these

times and

god god

reigns that

in he

resists that

he restrains

that and at

some point in

time he says

to me

i will be

done

you have chosen

darkness darkness

is what you will

have

you have chosen

hardness

hardness

will be

what you

have

you have

chosen to

resist the

truth

not knowing

the truth

will be

what you

have

and jesus

in this

teaching is

warning us

that it's

sometime by

god's sovereign

choice it's

only by god's

action that i

have freedom

that i can

know the

truth that i

can have

affections that

are good

that i can

love justice

and love

mercy and

love peace

and love

goodness and

desire to

know the

truth and be

in the truth

and not to

be a person

of the

lie but

to be a

person of

the truth

it's only

by god's

common grace

that even

though i

am fallen

that can

still be a

possibility at

some point

in time god

says enough

to darkness

you want to

go to

darkness you

will go

to never

have anything

to do with

me never

having anything

to do with

me is is

what will be

of you

and jesus

says these

things

so that

you and

i will

say is

it i

lord

is it

i

lord

and

unlike

the

scientific

so-called

scientific

understanding

unlike

the cycle

of life

and the

cycle of

karma

and unlike

even in

islam

where it's

all

controlled

because the

god who

does exist

is a god

who is

three

but one

that when

our conscience

is convicted

we can say

lord

have mercy

lord

have mercy

is it me

lord

have mercy

lord

have mercy

and there is a

god who can

hear who can

respond and

act with

power

who can say

george

george

you are so

ridiculous

george

you are so

given over

to your

ego

george

why is it

george that

when you

drive you

think people

driving faster

than you

are maniacs

and people

driving slower

than you

are idiots

why is it

you think

you're the

center of

all things

you are so

hopeless

and i love

you

i am drawing

you to

myself

and

george

i

want

you to

understand

that there