Whose Idea Was This Anyway? John 1:5-13

Good morning again. We are blessed to live in

the day in which we live. I stand here before

you today drinking a Member's Mark purified water.

So I don't buy my water at Sam's Club, but as

I was leaving Brother John's house in Louisville,

Kentucky the other day, he said, do you think

you might need a bottle of water? And I said,

well, you know, I drank all my water, used up

all my water, and he gave me a few waters. is

Louisville water, except probably not. It's probably

made in China. Let's see. Oh, Canada. It was

made in Canada. But anyway, we are blessed in

a day in which when people are dialing in right

now, watching, listening, they listen to the

podcast and so on, we get the opportunity to

spread God's word in a way that is completely

different from what generations before us have

been able to do. That also makes you think about...

not trying to get off a different topic, but

in Revelation where it says that the three witnesses

will be seen by the whole world for three days.

I might not have the details exactly right, but

the bottom line is when you see that, how would

that be true if it were not for social media,

news channels, and all that kind of thing? So

we are living in a day when certain scenes have

been set, certain things have been done for Jesus

to come again, and it's incredible. That being

said, last week we talked about Jesus, who was

the eternal first cause. Remember me saying that?

So we were giving Jesus the glory for everything

that happens today. And he was the eternal first

cause. And people go back and look at why something

happened. They can go all the way back to Jesus.

And we read last week about how everything that

was made was made through him and for him and

by him. OK, so we talked about that last Sunday.

And now you got the summary of that. We are going

back to that same area of the Bible today. So

give me a little hooter holler as we turn to

John chapter one. My electronics are having issues.

There we go. Okay. If my microphone goes out,

I may have to change the batteries because apparently

they're low. All right. John chapter 1, I'm going

John 1 · chapter mention

to begin reading in verse 6. We've heard the

first five verses about Jesus and how Jesus was

from the beginning in 4 and so on. And then now

we're reading beginning in verse 6. We're going

to talk about John the Baptist. And it says,

A man came, one sent from God, and his name was

John. He came as a witness to testify about the

light so that all might believe through him.

He, that's John, was not the light, but he came

to testify about the light. This was the true

light that coming into the world enlightens every

person. He was in the world and the world came

into being through him. So that he is Jesus,

right? So Jesus was in the world and the world

had come into being through him. And yet the

world did not know him. He came to his own. His

own people did not accept him. So Jesus was a

Jew. He was Jewish. And the people that he worshiped

with did not understand. Even his family, even

his brothers while he was alive thought he was

crazy. Two more. But as many as received him,

and that word but is the biggest word, the most

important word even, probably in the passage

that we're reading today. But as many as received

him, to them he gave the right to become children

of God. to those who believe in his name. Verse

13 says, who were born, so this is referring

to us, were born not of blood, nor of the will

of the flesh, nor of the will of a man, but of

God. So looking through it briefly, what we see

is that we saw the word last week, who would

be Jesus Christ, the word being the first uncaused

cause. Now we see the creator step into the creation.

So for a long time, by the time Jesus comes again,

People have been finding good things in creation.

And you could make a long list, right? There

used to be such a thing as called an encyclopedia

that almost nobody uses anymore. But if you went

through the encyclopedia, you could find an amazingly

long list of incredible things that God had made.

And people get into worshiping or celebrating

things that God has made. Jesus was not a thing

or a person. whom God had made. He was God in

the flesh. So naturally, when Jesus comes into

creation, when he steps into creation, we expect

that people will see the living Christ as something

more significant than all the things that they

have been celebrating that God has made. Is there

something wrong with celebrating things that

God has made? No, not really. But compared to

God, then it becomes a problem, right? And so

Jesus, the creator, steps into creation. God

announces it. Through an ordinary man, John the

Baptist, who is commissioned by God to go and

say, look, a light is coming. He is coming. All

the prophets told, foretold, all the way back

to Genesis, Moses foretold this day. And here

the day comes. But the one who made the world

comes into it, and the world doesn't know him.

But some did receive him. And for those who did

receive him, everything changed. First, we see

God sent John and John obeyed. Look again at

verses six to eight. It says a man came one sent

from God and his name was John. He came as a

witness to testify about the light so that all

might believe through him. He was not the light,

but he came to testify about the light. So the

initiative is God's. Whose idea was it for John

the Baptist to step up and proclaim Jesus? God's

idea, right? So we see God doing something inside

creation. So God has not taken a millennia's

long break, right? God is not resting. He is

doing something. He initiates the coming of John

the Baptist. John did not invent his ministry.

John's message was not his own. He was proclaiming

to people what it was that God had given him

to proclaim. And God sent him. That's huge. The

truth is you could, without getting too far ahead

of myself here, you could say the same thing.

about every Christian, could you not? If you've

been saved through the gospel, the fact that

Jesus came, lived, died, rose again, loves you,

wants to be Lord of your life, has a right to

be as the first uncaused cause who made everything,

has a right to be Lord. If that's who you are

as a Christian, then God initiated it. God authorized

your ministry, which is the ministry of reconciliation.

We're supposed to bring others into relationship

with Christ. And the question then becomes, have

you responded to being sent by God? Are you?

doing what it is that God would have you to do.

John chose obedience. God sent, John went. There

you go. That could be a sermon right there. God

sent, John went into the wilderness, into the

margins of society. He was looked down upon by

the Sadducees and Pharisees of his day and ultimately

to prison and death. That's where his story essentially

as a human living on earth ends. We know it doesn't

end there because we're reading about him again

today, nor will it end until Jesus comes again.

And then we get to go. to heaven and maybe see

him firsthand. John came to testify as a witness.

A witness speaks about what is outside himself.

If you just give your opinion, like, I think

this is true, that does not make you a witness

to anything but your own opinion. All you're

doing is telling people what you think, right?

When I was in high school and I learned to write

essays, I would say, don't say, in my opinion,

comma, blah, blah, blah. Everyone knows the essay

that you're writing is in your opinion. You're

writing it firsthand. You're saying, I think,

or I, this is true. So you don't even have to

say, I think, or in my opinion. He was going

to witness to that which was outside himself,

something seen and verifiable. So when Jesus

came, if they believed John, then saw Jesus,

related Jesus to what John had said, that would

also be confirmation for John, would it not?

That makes observable clarity. We're going to

do a little exercise for a moment. No one knows

this is coming. I've not warned anyone. If you

personally, other than your salvation, other

than the moment that you personally accepted

Jesus Christ, have seen what you would attribute

to a miraculous thing happen, something like,

okay, that's so crazy. That doesn't happen. Without

God, that would not have happened. If you personally

have seen just one event like that, I want you

to read your name. Okay? One or more. One or

more. Okay? So we are unanimous. Everyone has

seen, everyone in this room has seen an event

like that. So now you can testify to that, right?

And if I missed you, I apologize if I say we're

unanimous. We're almost unanimous for sure, okay?

So the point is, you can testify to that one

event if nothing else. God has done miraculous

things. Now, we could go up and say, if you've

seen 10, and you race in your mind, you go, oh,

I don't know, is it 10? Oh, I think it's probably

10, and we'd still get some hands, right? Have

you seen two dozen? We'd still get some hands,

right? Now, at that point, you have a hard time

counting, because maybe you don't journal every

single thing that counts, so you think it's a

miracle, and you'd be kind of stretching to say

two dozen, right? But the bottom line is, John

had observable clarity because he was testifying

to Jesus, who then would come and walk on water

and calm the storms and heal the paralytic and

heal the blind and bring somebody back to life

and himself come back to life on the third day,

right? So John had observable clarity. Everyone

could see it, not just internal clarity. He is

a believer. And I submit to you, it's the same

way with us. When you're at a restaurant and

you ask your server, do you have anything we

could pray for you about? And they say, Well,

no, really, I don't, whatever. Then you can say,

well, on behalf of God, let me say this to you,

that God loves you. He loves you so much that

he sent his own son to die for you. He wants

to be your savior and lead you every single day

of your life. Do you already know that's true?

Oh, yeah, I already know that's true. I'm living

for Jesus now. Oh, no, I don't necessarily agree

with that. Okay, well, then you can say, well,

I am here as living testimony to tell you that

that's true. Now, you don't have to believe me.

People are going to believe or not believe. When

John the Baptist came testifying to Jesus, if

you want to go this far, right, you can say,

when John came testifying, some believed. And

those who believed, their entire existence was

changed. And those who did not, it was not. So

you can believe or not. I'm asking you to believe.

Will you? Oh, no, I'm not ready to do that. Oh,

yeah, you know, I can believe that. I hear what

you're saying. It makes sense to me that you're

a living testimony to this truth. Now, what did

I just do? I just shared a very short gospel

with somebody who just said, I really don't have

any prayer requests. You are a living testimony

to a living Christ and you have met him and you

have experiences with him and you have heard

from him and you have the ability, as John did,

to testify. It is an observable clarity. If they

will believe, if they will accept, then they

will immediately be saved, experience the Holy

Spirit. And a moment later, they will know that

everything that you were saying was true. But

you're not willing to appeal. to that court.

You're not willing to submit to that and say,

if you believe, God will do something amazing.

And I submit to you, if that's the case, then

you might be doubting that God sent. You might

be doubting that God has done. But if you've

seen a miracle that could be attributed to no

one but the God of the universe, how can you

doubt? How can you be there? John pointed away

from himself. Behold, he said, the Lamb of God.

And then he went on to say in John 3 .30, he

said, I must decrease and he must increase. Remember,

we talked about fasting in the spiritual discipline

emphasis. There's an old you and there's a new

you. I hate to burst your bubble, but the old

you is the one that's not telling people about

Jesus. The old you is the one that's not making

the difficult decision to put away that sin that

you feel attracted to. It's the one that's not

making a difficult decision to fast and grow

in the Lord in making the right decisions every

single day or to pray. faithfully for what it

is you believe that God wants to do and so on.

That's the old you. And you're not willing to

divorce yourself of the old you and live in the

new you and share the gospel and fast and pray

and serve and discipline. People go on a mission

trip. They came here for a serve tour. They walked

away from everything. They have their house,

their projects at home, all of it. And they came

for two days to serve. And it was hard. We've

seen people do that for a week. I've done it.

Back in the day, I've done it for a week at a

time. It's hard. It's hard to put all the way

you get calls from home. Hey, this is going on.

I really I was there. I can help you, but I'm

not. I can't. Sherry and I were talking about

what's going on while I was in Tennessee. And

she was talking about she could help with this

or that or the other thing. And she did help

me some while I was down there, mostly in the

like Internet stuff. And she reserved my hotel

room, for example, the one time and things like

that. And then she was having problems at home.

I wish I could help you. But I was on mission

to help my mom. But the truth is, we are on mission

every day. And we must divorce ourselves from

that old man and that old set of desires and

instead embrace this thing that God wants us

to do. Metaphorically speaking, I'm saying you

need to eat locusts before you eat steak if it

takes eating locusts to serve the Lord. It's

time we said, God sent, Dan went. God sent, Abby

went. God sent, Jaden went. It's time we said,

as John did, He must increase, but I must decrease.

Notice John was not the light. We carry the message

that has power to save. Paul said, I'm not ashamed

of the gospel and we ought not be as well. Let

us be willing to serve in the capacity that we

were sent to serve in. Let us be found obedient

and pointing beyond ourselves like John did to

the light that enlightens all men. The second

thing to see in the text here is that the true

light came, right? John pointed to the light

and it's like. The emcee gets up with the microphone,

stands center stage and says, and now I give

you the greatest, the best, forever and ever.

And nobody walks out. But that's not what happened.

He said, and here he comes. And there come Jesus.

And that's the same thing that will happen for

us when we decide. That our lives are about announcing

the Lord, the Master, the Creator of the universe,

the first uncaused cause. If you would say, if

you will commit to Jesus, Jesus will do X. Because

he said, just go with the promises. Don't make

up extra stuff. Just go with what he said he'll

do. And he'll do it. And when people do it, I

remember I was back at East Toledo back in the

day. And there was a young man who came to youth

vacation Bible school. And at the end of Youth

Vacation Bible School that night, we were sitting

there and he came from a Muslim family. And he

says, I believe that you have a point and I could

follow this Jesus that you talk about. He said,

but the problem is I'll get disowned by my family.

And I said, well, first of all, I'm not sure

that that's true because I'd already discovered

in talking to him, his family wasn't really all

that devout Muslims, right? I'm not sure that's

true. But even if it is true, I said, if your

family would disown you for becoming a Christian.

I guarantee I'm thinking in my head, I'll take

him in. I'll take him in. I want to say I'll

take him in. But I didn't say that because that

would mean that I was luring him to accept Christ.

Right. I don't want to do that. But I knew I

would take him in. But I said, I will guarantee

you that God will provide a place for you. Guaranteed.

I know for 100 percent that you'll have a roof

over your head the day after they take you out.

And I'm thinking in my head, I'll give him that

place. I knew I would, but he didn't. So then

I said, will you accept Jesus Christ as Lord

and Savior? If God would send somebody, if God

would send somebody here right now to explain

to me everything I need to know to be saved and

show me, he could show me something that God

wants me to know about me and say, then I would

be saved. And I'm like, and I asked him, I just

said, what am I, top living? I mean, here I am

and I'm explaining to you. And he said, no, no,

I need something miraculous. And I said, well,

listen, this is how this works. God instigates,

we accept, and that's when you see the miraculous.

God has already done it. He sent his son who

died on the cross. He's already done that, instigated

it. Now, if you just accept, you will see. Your

eyes will be opened and you will see that he

would not do it. I don't know if he ever did

do it. Listen to me. Jesus is no joke. Jesus

is not one of your extra cuss words. The name

of Christ is what you receive and believe to

be saved. No other name under heaven given among

men. And as Christians, we cannot shut up about

him. He is the true light. That sets him apart

from every imitation, every rival and every substitute.

And believe me, they're there. They will convince

our children, given the opportunity to convince

our children that they have gender dysphoria,

then convince them that they were born in the

wrong body. And they will tell them if they'll

just change their gender, they'll be perfectly

fine. That's all you really need. Some medicine

and change your gender and you'll be fine. You

won't be depressed anymore. You won't be struggling

when you're going through that because it's all

a lie. They'll tell you if you will embrace the

animal. that's your animal. If you'll embrace

that wolf or that tiger or that lion, let that

person come and live in you and live with you.

Let that be who you are now. You'll be fine and

you won't be timid anymore. You'll be strong.

You know what I'm talking about, right? I'm talking

about Satan giving altar calls. And it's happening

today. Just because you turn a blind eye to it

does not mean it doesn't happen. Do you understand

that in Toledo schools and in Northwood schools

and wherever, there are teachers that are trying

to indoctrinate children to believe things that

are anti -Christ. Yet you can't go there and

talk about God, which is why it was so awesome

that we were allowed to during surf tour, go

and talk to the kids about God and everyone and

praying with kids that had never prayed before

and praying for salvation with kids that had

never been saved before. And that was awesome.

But believe me, the very next day or later that

day, there were people trying to indoctrinate

children. And they can do that because that's

free speech. But you can't do that. Why do you

think that the world will only try to stop us

from talking about Jesus? Because Jesus is the

only one who saves. He's the only real light.

And nobody wants a real light to shine because

that's hard on the eyes. What the light does

when it comes into the world, the Bible says,

he awakens people, Ephesians 5. He dispels ignorance.

Darkness can't hide when Jesus reveals. He guides.

He says, he that followeth me shall not walk

in darkness. Jesus was looked forward to, anticipated,

and necessary. The world was growing darker and

darker then, and one might argue it is now as

well. Jesus was the promised seed from Genesis

3. He was the great light for people in darkness

from Isaiah 9. And he was the son, S -U -N, of

righteousness with healing in his wings in Malachi

4 .2. Without him, there is no light and only

shadows and guesses. Which means when you talk

to your friend who is not saved and you're trying

to give them advice, you're trying to sort out

their problems, you're trying to encourage them

or whatever, you need to understand that without

Jesus Christ, everything that they come up with

will be shadows and guesses. It will be best.

Best action plans for a little while. It'll be

a little fake light that lasts until it doesn't.

Witness to the true light that has come. That's

what John did. And then accept his effect in

your life. See by the light that Jesus gives,

not the light that the world gives. See by the

light and walk in the light. Let's be honest

about who we are. We are ministers of reconciliation

on behalf of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are ambassadors

from heaven. We do not belong here. We do not

live here. This is not our home. Based on that,

then you don't need a better house, a better

car or a better job. You need to the one who's

building your home in heaven. The true light

came. But notice then the world didn't know him.

His own didn't receive him. Look at verses 10

to 11 there again. It says he came to his own.

So like his own, meaning his family, right? You

know, there was a moment in time, you might remember

a little bit of the story of Mary, right? So

Mary was impregnated by God when she was a virgin,

remained a virgin until after Jesus was born.

That's a pretty miraculous miracle. And the Bible

says that Mary stored all those things in her

heart. Mary was the one, when she was told that's

what was going to happen, she said, so let it

be to your bondservant, Lord, whatever you want.

She committed to this plan and stored things

in her heart. And yet there is a story in the

Gospels where she and her sons come to get Jesus

because he's become an embarrassment to the family

by claiming to be God the Son after her miraculous

birth, after the water was turned into wine.

You see, his own family did not accept him while

he was alive. But it's worse than that. It says

he came to his own. And his own people did not

accept him. The people in his town, they said,

well, this is that guy Joseph's son. He's just

some carpenter or something. What does he say

he is? Who is he saying he is? What is he saying

he can do? Well, I know one guy who got healed.

I can't explain that. But I know seven others

who didn't get healed. And if he's the son of

God, I can't explain that either, right? And

it says that he didn't do as many miracles at

home because in his home region, the people did

not believe the struggle with faith. And then

the Pharisees and the Sadducees who memorized

and taught the law, they didn't necessarily follow

it, but they memorized and taught it. They taught

everybody everywhere about a coming salvation,

about a Messiah who would lead the people, would

bring salvation not only for the Jewish people,

but for the Gentiles alike. They taught that

to everyone. Jesus came into their midst and

he did not accept them. He came to his own and

his own people did not accept him. But as many

as received him, but for as many as received

him. To them, he gave the right to become children

of God. This is the great irony. I submit to

you that since the Garden of Eden, this is the

greatest irony ever. That the very people that

were to produce the Messiah, the very people

who had all the holy texts, teachers who had

sacrificed time and time and time again, the

only time they didn't sacrifice their entirety

of their history was when they were in hiding

and could not. Other than that, they sacrificed

faithful. And that sacrifice was representing

the one. And they knew all the while that was

representing one purpose, perfect sacrifice that

God would make. And after that time, it would

no longer be necessary to sacrifice. And here

comes Jesus, the perfect lamb. It's the irony

of ironies. It is the epitome of irony. He was

in the world. The world was made by him. I submit

to you that every beetle and every dog and every

cow. And every leaf knew that Jesus made everything.

And yet the crowning achievement of creation,

mankind, including the crowning achievement of

nations, the Jewish people did not. The world

has no indwelling ability then to receive its

creator. See, a leaf cannot be home to the Holy

Spirit. A dog cannot be home to the Holy Spirit.

A Jewish man who does not accept Jesus Christ

as Lord and Savior cannot be home to the Holy

Spirit. A lost Toledoan who does not accept Jesus

Christ as Lord and Savior cannot be home to the

Holy Spirit. There is nothing in a human being

that inherently gives them the ability to receive

their creator even when he comes. But God, by

his grace, but God, by his infinite power, people

refused, they rejected, and the dismissal led

to attacks against him. They picked up stones

to stone him, but it wasn't time yet. And then

finally, murder. They persecuted him. They took

up stones. They plotted his death. They cried,

we have no king but Caesar. The Jewish people

did that. The people that were his people. The

people that had the teachings. Encountering Jesus

and knowing Jesus. This is not like an automatic

thing. Somebody comes into your life and they

tell you about Jesus. Holy Spirit is in them.

And so they know Jesus. They're living with Jesus

daily. Sometimes for better, sometimes for worse,

in their opinion. But they're living with him.

He's there in the room. And they walk away unsaved.

The gospel is shared, but they're skeptical,

or they're afraid of the decision that they'll

have to make. Well, I'll have to stop living

in sin, and I don't want to have to do that,

at least not yet, anyway. And so they don't accept

Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Encountering

him and knowing him is not an automatic transition.

There is evidence. He had done so many miracles,

yet they believed him not. There is power. They

saw his works and still walked away. Close proximity,

his hometown asked, is not this the carpenter?

And even his brothers didn't believe. Similarity

what they expected, he fulfilled every scripture,

every prophecy, but he did not fulfill their

assumptions or their desires for what a Messiah

would be. He came from people like them. He looked

like a Jew. He had the blood, the skin, the hair.

He talked like them. He knew their verses. He

knew the way the temple ran. And that's why it

can be said that his own knew him not. his own

nationality and family. You say, but he had to

be different. They knew from all the scriptures

that he had to be different, right? And so if

he was different, then that would end. Well,

he was different in that he did all the miracles,

the teaching. They said, oh, he teaches as one

who has authority, not like all the others who

teach. So they recognized that he was different.

He was unsurprisingly different in all the ways

that he needed to be. And then Pilate, who was

not a Jew, stood before him and said, what is

true? The failure was in not receiving him. The

light was not lacking. Everything was there that

was necessary. Everything is here in this room

that was necessary. You're hearing the gospel.

You're hearing the word of God. You're dialing

in going, what do I got to do about this? Everything

is here that is necessary for whatever the next

step is. But notice it says, but as many as received

him, verses 12 and 13. But as many as received

them, to them he gave the right to become children

of God, to those who believe in his name, who

were born not of blood, nor of the will of the

flesh, nor of the will of a man, but of God.

Some did. In Jesus' day, facing persecution,

while he was being crucified, some believed.

This was all his idea. Jesus' idea. First caused,

first uncaused cause. This was all his idea.

It was planned. And Galatians 4 says carried

out at exactly the right moment. And Acts 26,

and nothing was hidden or accidental about the

decision that needed to be made. Two responses

led to two outcomes. Those who received him gained

redemption. That means they were bought back.

They became part of the family of God. Adoption.

They got the right to become children of God.

But those who refused did not receive and did

not know him. They received neither. Proximity

is huge. The parable of the four soils, right?

What is the one thing that all four soils in

the fourth parable of four soils has? Proximity.

The seed is the word, Jesus goes on to explain,

and some of the seed fell on the path, some fell

on thin soil, some fell on thorny soil, and some

fell on good soil. All of them have proximity.

That's hugely important. The prodigal son, what

did he have before he left to go spend all his

inheritance? Proximity. He had proximity, and

it's huge, and God provides it. For those who

might receive. So if you're here today, you have

proximity. That means he provided this so that

you might receive whatever it is that he intends.

The ability to receive him is offered by God.

So we should receive. He came near so that we

could take hold. Receiving him means believing

on his name. That was verse 12. Those who believed

on his name. Receiving him is not something that

we can take credit for. or a work that we've

caused, I want to say this very plainly, as much

as I want to see every person in this church

sharing the gospel, wherever you go, every opportunity

you get, if you go to the restaurant and share

the gospel and somebody gets saved, it really

has nothing to do with you. All you did was what

you were created and reborn to do. Now, if you

go to the restaurant and refuse to share the

gospel and somebody does not get saved, now it

has something to do with you. You received a

commission and failed to walk it out. You received

the power as a witness and failed to live as

a witness. You pointed to yourself, oh, thank

you for my water. Oh, thank you, thank you, thank

you. You bowed your head in the middle of the

restaurant so everyone could see you praying.

You may have prayed out loud so the tables around

you could hear you praying, but you didn't ask

anybody to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

So what does that say as a Christian? So you

could be culpable. for what you didn't do. But

if you serve God the way you are supposed to,

God gets the glory and all you will be doing

is what you are supposed to do. I do not pay

my daughter to clean her bedroom because she's

supposed to clean her bedroom. And if she does

not clean her bedroom, then she has her freedoms

restrained by way of correction until she gets

that done because she's just doing what she's

supposed to do. God's not going to pay you to

come to church. He's not going to pay you to

praise his holy name. God wants to bless you

and will deliver blessings into your life and

does so and is doing so all the time. You think,

well, I've been faithful. I showed up to church

seven Sundays in a row. So God should give me

a new insert, whatever it is that you need. You're

just doing what it was that you're supposed to

do and be. We are the called out assembly of

believers. You're supposed to be worshiping him.

You're supposed to be going to bed at a reasonable

time on Saturday night. And you're supposed to

be studying your Bible all the time. So when

you get here and I start preaching, you go, oh,

yeah. This makes sense. This is what I was just

studying. God's talking to me the same way he's

talking to Pastor Dan. You should be doing that

because you have been born again. Not of blood,

nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will

of man, but of God. It's not our heritage, our

effort, or our decision apart from the grace

that God has given. Notice also, though, we want

the benefits. We are being adopted. I want to

be able to be called a child of God. If you don't

want to be able to be called a child of God,

then you don't understand God. Does God owns

it all? Ultimately, there will only be those

who are called the child of God who will be in

the kingdom of God, and that will be heaven,

and everywhere else will be hell. We want the

benefits, adoption, heirship. Behold what manner

of love it is that we should be called the sons

of God, John would later write in 1 John. We

want the benefits. Even lost people who don't

want Jesus want the benefits, if they understood

what they are. And sometimes they fake being

saved so that they can get some of the benefits

because they don't want to actually be saved

so that their lives can be changed. We've got

churches, grand churches, big churches sometimes,

thousands of people sometimes who are really

living out the teaching that says you go to the

ends of the earth to make one convert and make

them place as much a son of hell as you are because

they're not committing themselves to the Lord

Jesus Christ. They're not receiving Christ. That

brings us to our conclusion then. This is the

equation of all creation since Jesus created

it. God acts, right? There was nothing and no

one and God acted. That's how it started. He

is the first uncaused cause. God acts. That's

how every transition in the story, every redemption,

every massive change, it all starts with God

acts. And then his people respond. You see that

here, right? That's what we've been reading in

the text. God acted. Jesus Christ came into creation

and the people who were supposed to be God's

people responded. Many of them responded badly,

poorly. We'll talk about that in a second as

part of the conclusion. But there were those

who responded positively, believed on the name,

and received. So God acts, his people respond,

and the story changes. Something new. Something

that seems new. It's not really new. There's

nothing new under heaven, but there is a new

aspect, a new... I remember when I got saved,

I told my wife, I said, I don't know what it

means exactly, but I know it's going to change

everything. God acts, we respond, and then everything

is changed. So God starts something. In the beginning,

it was, let there be light, right? Interesting

to notice, by the way, in creation, when God

said, let there be light, had there yet been

a sun or a moon or stars or a lamp or a candle?

No, light was created without sun, moon, stars,

lamp and candle. So we think that the source

of light is the sun or stars. When we're in the

dark in the country, we think now there's the

moon is out. It is full today and there's stars.

And so it's light amongst the trees and I can

find my way to navigate. God created the light.

before he created the things that make light.

And when we are in heaven, it will be God himself

and the mighty throne of God, Jesus Christ, who

will be the light. There's no need for a sun

there. And there won't be one, ever. There may

be something like it on the new earth that God

is creating, but there will not be any source

of light in heaven other than God. God created

light before he created the sun, the moon, and

the stars. And so, God starts something. Think

about this. God calls Abraham. Before God ever

promised to make him a great nation, God called

Abraham. God sends Moses. God reduces Gideon's

army down to 300. God calls Mary. God sends Paul.

God sent John. And God sent his son. God's people

respond, sometimes faithfully. Abraham went.

Moses went. Joshua obeyed. Mary submitted. Peter

and Andrew followed. Paul went to Macedonia,

but sometimes terribly. Adam hid. Israel complained.

Jonah ran. Israel refused to enter Canaan. Judas

betrayed Jesus, sometimes with uncertainty. Yes.

How? I can't. I'm not able. I don't want to.

Either way, God's initiative puts them at a decision

point. God started it. Now you must decide. I

must decide how we're going to respond. That's

how it has worked since the very beginning. Their

response then leads them to the end of themselves.

Abraham had a promise, and so he went. But you

know what he didn't have? A son. Moses had the

calling. But you know what he didn't have? An

army. Pharaoh had the army. Israel had the command.

But the Red Sea blocked their way. Gideon had

the assignment. But only 300 men to face tens

of thousands of enemies. David had the courage.

But Goliath was still nine feet tall. Wait for

it. And wore a helmet. And had a shield man.

When David walked out to face Goliath, he didn't

put his helmet on. And he dismissed his shield

man. Because he said, they're sending out a child

against me. You can't kill somebody with a sling

who has a shield man. Elijah had the altar when

he faced the prophets of Baal. You know what

he didn't have? Fire. Daniel had faith. But those

lions in that pit, they were hungry. Mary had

the promise, but she was still a virgin. The

disciples had the great commission. Go ye therefore

to the ends of the earth. Can you imagine if

I said to you, and you thought I had some kind

of authority to do so, if I said, we. We right

here are now responsible to reach every last

human being who lives and will ever live with

the gospel of Jesus Christ. And if we don't do

it, if we don't find a way to do it, millions,

eventually billions, will rot in hell for eternity.

You'd be like, that's nuts. That's crazy. You

can't possibly. How can you hang that on us?

How can you make me feel like I'm responsible

for reaching the world and baptizing them in

the name of Jesus Christ? How can I do that?

And that's what Jesus did. He gave them the Great

Commission while they were 12. Peter had the

sermon. He knew what Joel had said in Joel 2.

He memorized it from when he was a kid. He knew

what was to be expected. But Peter couldn't change

anyone's hearts or even be understood that the

crowds that were coming from all over the world,

he was supposed to go out and preach to them.

And they couldn't even understand him. Paul had

the calling, but he was sitting in stocks in

a prison waiting to be put to death. Oh, and

by the way, what was he doing? singing praises

at midnight because Paul knew what we're discovering

today. John the Baptist had the testimony, but

he couldn't make anyone see. God brings the story

to the point where only God can finish the story.

When you came to be saved, when you became a

Christian, which I hope you have, and if you

haven't, please do. At that moment, for me, it

was a realization. I think it was for us too.

It was a realization that we just can't do what

needs to be done. There's no amount of money

or strength. or talent or craftiness that will

ever get us a ticket into heaven. We just can't

do it. Somebody's got to do this. Who's going

to do it? Oh, God sent Jesus to do it. Okay.

So when I begged God to be saved after God had

already three times promised me that he would

save me if I would just turn my life over to

him, I begged him knowing that on the third time,

if he didn't, I wouldn't. And that's it. That's

how it works. The whole system that God has created

is like this. God acts. We respond. God leads

us to the end of ourselves where you can't do

this. You're not able. You don't have the strength

to pay for your own sins. That's a funny thing.

It's like, well, if I didn't accept Jesus Christ,

my Lord and Savior, I'd have to pay for my own

sins. So you think what? You'd be crucified?

That only works if you have no sin. So the paying

for your sins now is eternity. It is an eternal

payment. You start paying and you never stop

paying. That's what we face. And so we need somebody

who had no sin to die a sinner's death so that

we can be free, forgiven, and have eternity with

God rather than eternity apart from him. John

could witness, but only God could cause new birth.

And it's the same for you. Hear me. You can witness.

You are called to witness the power of the Holy

Spirit, God's Holy Spirit in you. It said in

Acts that the Spirit will come upon you so that

you can be my... That's what the power of the

Holy Spirit is for. Will he cast out demons?

Yes. Will he heal the sick? Yes. Does he give

Holy Spirit gifts by his presence? Does he make

fruit of the Spirit abundant in those who he's

present? And yes, all that's true. But the power

of the Holy Spirit is for the witness, Jesus

said. Do you believe it? Jesus said. God initiates,

we respond, we come to the end of ourselves.

Every man who's ever taken the woman that he

desperately loves and cares about said, he realizes

I cannot love her the way that she deserves.

She deserves more than I will ever be able to

give. That alone would lead me to want to be

saved, to love. I was ruining my marriage, my

legal marriage. I didn't really have a marriage.

I was ruining it. I thought maybe I could be

a good husband. Maybe I could be a good father.

Maybe I could be a good man, not by virtue of

my strength or my choices, but by something that

I know I cannot do. And I submitted to the Lord

Jesus Christ. And while I may not be good, I'm

a whole heck of a lot better than I was. God

has sent the light and he has come near to us

today in this message, in this word, in his Holy

Spirit presence in this room. You are at a decision

point. Can you honestly admit to yourself that

there are things? that go beyond what you can

do? And if so, will you submit those things to

the risen Savior, to Jesus Christ who is the

light? He is the light that lightens all men.

He will dispel the ignorance. He will overcome

the weakness. He will make you a witness to anyone

who will come into contact with you while he

rides in you. If you have received him, go as

John went. He was sent. He was obedient. And

all the while, in kind of crazy ways, he was

pointing away from himself. I am not the one.

I am not the one. Let's get used to saying, I

am not the one. But I know the one who is. And

he is with me in class. And he is with me on

the job. He is with me at the restaurant. And

he is with me at the cash register. And I submit

to you, if you're not going to live for Jesus,

if you're a Christian, and you're not going to

live for Jesus, then don't go to your job and

take the devil there. Instead, don't go to your

job and... fail to witness for Christ and be

culpable for what you didn't do. Don't go to

your school and not live for Jesus for crying

out loud because Satan's there. He's got his

altar call going on. Take the life that is Jesus

Christ into every conversation. Everyone should

know for whom you live. And when it's like that,

those who believe will receive and they will

be adopted into the family. And that's what they

need because the family that they're part of

right now has a bad dad. He's going away for

a long time. And they're going to go with him.

And we don't want that. Witness to the light.

The light that's been sitting up here on the

stage this entire time. This light, this light

that's coming from this wall. That light, that

little light that's been reused probably, I don't

know, infinite number of times. That little light

that's coming from that wall started when God

said, let there be light. And I brought this

lamp in here today. And I was going to, we're

going to have it up here by the pulpit. And I

was going to just, I was just going to. Maybe

demonstrate that the light. See, here's the interesting

thing. The light of Jesus Christ is in the meat.

It's in the dogs and the cats. It's in the smiles

and the handshakes. The light is there. And the

funny thing is, Romans 1 says that all creation

testifies. That light testifies every day to

the love of Jesus Christ. God doesn't send anybody

to hell. Well, Satan and the demons, right? But

no human being. And you don't have to go. And

I look around the room and I see most of you

are professing Christians. And I say, so you

say you're not going. Now you have a job to do.

You've been sent. Witness. You've got a pocket

full of tickets. Hand them out like crazy. Take

everybody you possibly can with you. You know,

I said the greatest irony ever. The greatest

irony ever to this point in time in the story

was that the light that was Jesus Christ came

to earth, which he created among people. which

were his people who had all the truth and it

was not known. I submit to you, there is a greater

irony today. It is the irony that those who are

on their way to heaven, those who are children

of the living God, who would send his own sons

to die so that people could be saved, that those

people would not tell others. That's a greater

irony. That's a sickness and is one to be killed

among us. You choose to live the life that God

has given you to live now. And that includes

your witness to the light. I am not the light.

I cannot help you. Be saved. Be eternal. You

were made eternal. You will spend eternity somewhere.

But Jesus Christ is the light. He is the one.

And it must be less of me and more of him. And

I would ask you to do the same. I ask the priest

team to come forward at this time and to lead

us in our final hymn. If you're here today and

you have not accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord

and Savior, I ask you to do that now. believe

on the name of the one whom God sent. You say,

well, I don't know exactly what it's going to

mean. That's what, that's the point. God asks,

we respond, and then that brings us, we come

to a point where it's beyond what we can do.

It's beyond ourselves. We're trusting in him

daily to do whatever he's going to do, make it

whatever he's going to make it. So get beyond

yourself right now. It's okay, Jesus, I'm for

you. And then if you're here today and you realize

you've not been living for the Lord the way you

said you would, then you can turn back and say,

it's okay, Jesus. Whatever this is going to look

like. I'm beyond what I can be. Help me. Be for

you, whatever it is that you have. As we sing,

if you stand with me and sing with me, and then

if the Lord so leads, you just respond to all

of it. I hope that we made all of it through

the same program.