[0:00] for you again after a long period of time on the bench actually. I haven't preached since the start of September so forgive me if I'm a bit rusty. Tonight we're starting a new series as Adam said. Three weeks really looking at Jesus from the perspective of His coming as Messiah through to His death as a servant and into His ruling and reigning as our King. And so tonight we're going to look at Jesus as our Messiah. Everyone say Messiah. Messiah. Okay next week we're going to talk about Jesus the servant. Everyone say servant. And finally December 18th the last stand for me and Chris. We're going to talk about Jesus as King. Everyone say King. King.
[0:53] Jesus King. The King of the universe. Okay so that's what you've got to look forward to. Make sure you're here over the next three weeks so you don't miss out on anything. I'm going to pray for us and while I do it I'm going to pray for the Lord to just burden someone to get rid of the feedback on this microphone. All right so let's bow our heads and we'll pray. Dear Lord we thank you so much for Jesus.
[1:19] He is the reason we are here tonight. We are here to worship Him. We're here to honor Him. We're here to glorify Him. We're here to be taught about Him. We're here to be made more and more into the image and likeness of Him. So we thank you for Him. We thank you for the fact that He came as our Messiah, as our rescuer, as our redeemer. Lord we thank you for His servant-like ministry and His servant-like death on the cross for our sins. And Lord we thank you that right now He is ruling and reigning as our King. The King over all peoples, all times. Lord we pray to Him now as our great God and Savior that He would enable us to listen well, to concentrate well. Lord I pray that you would please prevent us from being deceived. I pray that you prevent your truth from being distorted. I pray that you would enable us to have our hearts change and lives changed through the hearing of your word. So please speak now, even through me, for Jesus' sake. Amen. I wonder if you've ever been thirsty. I'm feeling a little bit thirsty now. You know how it feels like when you're thirsty. Your tongue kind of sticks to the roof of your mouth. It's an unpleasant feeling. It's uncomfortable. It causes you to start desiring cool liquid to pour down your throat. That's everyday thirst. But I wonder if you've ever been really, really thirsty. Like headache kind of thirsty. Like migraine inducing thirsty. Like starting to wonder whether you will survive kind of thirsty. It's what real thirst feels like. You start to doubt whether you're actually going to make it through this. I experienced that kind of thirst once.
[3:25] I went to Cary Baptist Grammar School. We had a reputation for being a bit of a soft kind of school. They called us the Cary Fairies for that reason. And it was a very soft school. Everything was kind of spoon fed to us and it was all very luxurious. But there was one thing, one thing they did to us every year that was not at all soft. And that was school camp. I had friends who went to other schools and their school camps and their school camps were involved going to a cabin somewhere and having meals prepared for you and, you know, spending time in the pool and on the flying fox or whatever.
[4:06] We did not have that kind of camp at Cary. We had hardcore bear grills kind of camp. And the camp that I'm thinking of was Year 10 camp at Hatter National Park. It's up near Mildura. It's in the desert.
[4:24] It's like a proper desert. And this was during a time of severe drought. And so we arrived at this place on these buses and it was just completely like red sand. It's like the Outback. It's phenomenal.
[4:41] And we got dumped in a place with no buildings or facilities or anything at all without backpacks and tents and stuff like that. And we were told that we would be picked up in 10 days' time.
[4:55] We had a couple of outdoor education people and a couple of student teachers who were more like students than teachers. Anyway. And we just got dumped in the wilderness like that.
[5:07] And they said, what we've done is we've provided food drops along the way. And your job is to walk every day to these food drops where you can camp and eat and get water and stuff.
[5:19] So 10 days. And I think we averaged about 15km walking a day. These backpacks. At this stage, I'm about this tall. And the backpacks are about this tall. So anyway. So we got walking. And at the start, it was kind of fun. It was a challenge. It was something that most of us hadn't done before. They gave us compasses and maps and we had to sort of navigate our way around this desert. And it was going well for the first couple of hours.
[5:48] And then by about the fifth or sixth day, everyone was very, very much over it. We were all filthy. There was no showers. There was no water. There was no way of washing or deodorizing. We all stank. We had blisters, sunburn. It was just, it was bad.
[6:06] Then I think it was about the fifth or sixth day, we had to do the biggest walk we did for the entire time. It was 20km through the desert, navigating. And so they asked for a volunteer to navigate. Never do that. And the girl, it doesn't matter that it was a girl. Girls are great navigators. But anyway, it was a girl that put her hand up and she started leading us. And she led us for a very long time. Pretty stubborn kind of lass, very driven. And so she didn't tell us that she had no idea where she was going for a very, very long time. And I distinctly remember trying to be up the front because that's where you want to be, competing with everyone else. And just seeing her do this.
[6:58] This is what she did. Had the map, compass, walking along very deliberately and then kind of faltering and then one of those ones. No one who does that knows where they're going.
[7:13] If you're ever following someone and they do that, be afraid. Be very afraid. And so that's what happened. So she turned around. It was clear that she didn't know where she was going and we were lost. And we'd been going for hours and hours. And it turns out that we were going for hours and hours in the wrong direction. Not just slightly off direction, but in the wrong direction. After education, God didn't know what was going on. Student teachers were more like students, like I said. And we were completely lost. Oh, and I forgot to tell you, each day we got a litre of water that we had for the day, overnight into the next day. So that was longer. So we found ourselves in this desert, no water, going in the wrong direction, not knowing where we were. Long story short, we had to camp in the wrong place and radio out and get rescued and sort of taken, driven to the next stop. We kept doing it. Like they didn't cancel it or anything. We just nearly died and they told you that back on track, off you go. And it turned out that no one died and we were okay for the rest of the camp. But that day was incredible. That is burned into my memory quite literally because of the thirst that we had to deal with. Like real thirst. Not the thirst that you encounter every day. When you're at your desk and I could use a bottle of water. Like real honest to goodness thirst where you got a migraine. Your brain feels like it's trying to burrow out of your head. You're starting to hallucinate, have light, kind of lightheaded dizziness. They say that if you feel thirsty, it's a sign that you're already dehydrated. That's just normal thirst. This was like level 10 thirst. And so what thirst does to you, it really focuses your mind on one thing. You don't think about anything else. We forgot after a while that we're even going the wrong direction or the plight that we're in. It was just about getting water. That's what thirst does. It makes you desperate.
[9:34] What's the point of what I'm saying? As we come to talk about the Messiah, it's important that we grasp the kind of yearning that the Old Testament people of God had for their Messiah to come. Hunger pains are annoying, but you can deal with hunger pains. Thirst is different.
[10:15] And the people of Israel through their history were thirsting for a Messiah. You see right throughout the Bible this language of thirsting after God, thirsting after deliverance, thirsting after a Messiah who would come and be their King. The word Messiah really means a deliverer, a redeemer, a King. The Greek word for Messiah is Christos, where we get our word Christ.
[10:47] The Messiah, the Messiah, the Messiah was going to be this man who would come and rule not only over the people of Israel, but over the whole world. A man who would come and subject Israel's enemies to his rule, to his authority, that Israel was looking for this redeemer, this King, this Christ, this Messiah. And you can track the thirst of Israel for a Messiah through the entire Old Testament. I'm just going to give you a little survey of the Old Testament looking towards the Messiah that would come, this promised King. This isn't detailed, it's not exhaustive, but it's some of the highlight reel, if you like, in Israel's thirst for their Messiah. You can really go back to the very beginning of the Bible to see the, just the dawn breaking of the horizon really with this promise of a Messiah. And it's in Genesis chapter 3.15 that we begin. In Genesis chapter 3.15,
[11:58] God speaks to Adam and Eve after the fall, after they've been deceived by Satan. And he speaks to them about someone who will come to crush the head of Satan. Satan has deceived them. The serpent has deceived them. They've fallen. And then in Genesis 3.15, God speaks what is known in theological circles as the Proto-Young Galileon. It means the first gospel or the pre-gospel.
[12:25] It's the first word in the Bible that a redeemer is going to come to rescue his people. He is going to crush the head of Satan, crush God's enemies and redeem his people. We move from creation to about 1500 BC and onto the scene comes Moses. You remember Moses? God's people are slaves in the land of Egypt. They're being subjected to the most cruel treatment. And God sends his man, Moses, to redeem them, to rescue them, to bring them out of slavery. And so in the minds of God's people, Moses for them becomes kind of like a Messiah figure, a messianic kind of man who maybe, maybe this is the guy.
[13:16] He's rescued us from Egypt. There have been signs and wonders and miracles that has accompanied his accomplishments. Maybe he's the man. Maybe he's our guy. Maybe he's our Messiah. Very quickly, it becomes clear that Moses isn't their man. He's not going to be their Messiah. Though he's brought them out of Egypt, he is not God's king. He's just a man. And he's a man of failings and failures.
[13:46] And he doesn't make it into the promised land on account of some of those failures. So we move forward 500 years, 1000 BC. We come to the time of the kings. God didn't think the people of Israel needed a king, an earthly king. He knew they needed a messianic king that was to come, but he didn't think they needed an earthly king. He was very worried about what would happen if they had one. But in the end, he granted them what they wanted, which was a king like the other nations. And the people of Israel thought, maybe if we get a king, we will get a king who is so righteous, a righteous ruler, so godly, that he will in effect be our Messiah. He will be God's king. And so they looked to a man named Saul who looked like he had all the attributes of a Messiah. And he became king. And then it very quickly became apparent that he wasn't going to be their Messiah. He turned away from God. He essentially fell from grace. The Holy Spirit departed from him.
[14:49] And so Saul failed the messianic test. And after him came David. David looked like a much better candidate. David was God's man. He was a man after God's own heart. He conquered Goliath.
[15:09] He led his people well. He met with God to such a depth and degree of intimacy and devotion that we can see it reflected in many of the psalms that he penned. David was a man after God's own heart. He was a righteous ruler. He was a good king. But sadly, he wasn't the Messiah that the people were looking for.
[15:32] He fell himself on multiple occasions. He committed adultery. He committed murder. He walked away from the Lord. And so David failed the test, the messianic test. He wasn't the promised king. But it did become apparent. It did become widely known that God spoke to his people and said that the Messiah, the true king, would come through David's line. He would be a descendant of David, this promised Messiah. And so the people looked ahead to see who would come out of David's line, who would be their promised king, their Messiah, their redeemer. Fast forward a few hundred years again, 700 BC, the Messiah still hasn't come. The people are thirsting for one by now. So many failings, so many wanderings, so many wilderness experiences. Their thirst has grown so keen.
[16:30] And the Messiah still hasn't come. 700 BC, God raises up a man named Isaiah. He wasn't the Messiah, but he was a prophet who spoke for God. And he spoke of this Messiah who was to come.
[16:43] He said some very interesting things about this Messiah. Isaiah 7.14, he tells us that the Messiah would be born of a virgin. Sound familiar? Micah, one of his contemporaries around the same time in Micah 5.2 told us that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, this tiny little country town.
[17:08] Also in Isaiah 52 and 53, we're seeing in a recent series that he prophesied that the Messiah would be a suffering servant, that he would suffer in the place of the people, that he would die in their place for their sins, to redeem them, to restore them, so that they might be forgiven and made whole again.
[17:30] But the Messiah didn't come straight away. Still the people wait and wait and wait and their thirst grows keener and keener. They're getting to the level now of intense thirst, waiting for this Messiah to be revealed.
[17:50] 400 BC, another 300 years later, Malachi comes on the scene. In Malachi 3.1, he talks about John the Baptist who would make way for the Messiah to come.
[18:04] He talks about a prophet who would herald this king, who would herald the Messiah as he comes onto the scene. But he doesn't come straight away.
[18:17] 400 years of thirst later, of intense thirst, waiting and waiting and waiting for this day when the Messiah would come and relieve them and refresh them.
[18:29] And then finally, marking a new epoch in human history.
[18:42] A baby is born in Bethlehem. And this baby is God in human flesh.
[18:55] Think about that for a minute. If you've had a baby, think about that for a minute. I've got a 10-month-old baby. She relies on Renee and me for everything.
[19:10] Feeding, changing, maneuvering, everything. God became a baby. Utterly dependent. To be honest with you, I'd never really thought about the Messiah coming, the incarnation of Jesus.
[19:28] It's called when God becomes human flesh. I've never thought about it as being a particularly remarkable thing. Then I started reading up on it recently in preparation for tonight. And I read a little bit of J.I. Packer's great book called Knowing God.
[19:41] It's just a little book that you could read over the summer if you like. And in Knowing God, he talks about the incarnation of Jesus, the coming of God the Son into human flesh as the greatest miracle that has ever occurred.
[19:59] Bigger than the resurrection. Bigger than the exodus through the Red Sea. Bigger than all the healing miracles. Bigger than raising Lazarus from the tomb.
[20:10] Bigger than all the other miracles is this miracle of God becoming human flesh. God becomes a person and the world doesn't blow up. God who is perfect becomes a human being.
[20:24] A sinful human being yet without sin. And the world doesn't implode. At Christmas time, God the Son becomes human flesh.
[20:39] And in that baby was Israel's Messiah. Thousands of years in the making. And now the Messiah has come.
[20:50] It's time to have our thirst slaked. It's time to be refreshed. It's time to be renewed. It's time to be redeemed. The Messiah has come.
[21:02] It happens just as the prophet said it would happen. Luke 1.30-38 we hear that Jesus is born to a virgin. Luke 2.1-7 we hear that he was born in Bethlehem.
[21:15] So many prophecies being fulfilled even in just that one moment of Christmas. As John says in John 1.1. The Word became flesh.
[21:26] The Word is another way of saying God himself became human flesh. And that brings us to our passage tonight.
[21:38] The Messiah has come. He has been at large for 30-something years now. And he is right in the middle of his three-year ministry. And the world is being turned upside down.
[21:51] Demons are being cast out. Sicknesses are being healed. Teaching that people have never even heard the likeness of before. And it's all happening because God has come in human flesh.
[22:06] The Messiah is here. So let's take a look at it. Look in your Bibles at John 7.37. Just to give you a little bit of context here.
[22:16] It says in verse 1 of this chapter. Also in verse 37. That we're in the Feast of Tabernacles. This is an ancient Jewish feast. That really took care of a few things.
[22:32] It evolved over the years. To mean a few different things. Essentially it was a feast. That was used as a thanksgiving to God. For the harvest.
[22:44] So in this feast. Over eight days. They would make sacrifices. Of thanksgiving to God. For the harvest. For blessing them with water.
[22:56] And food. And all that they need. And then at particular points in the harvest. They would make these very particular. Sacrifices of water. Where they would pour out water.
[23:07] To thank God. Particularly for providing water for them. When they were in the wilderness. After Moses came along. Though he wasn't the Messiah. He led them out of Egypt. And during that 40 year stay in the wilderness.
[23:18] God provided all that they needed. Including water. Which is essential. And so in this feast of tabernacles. They would pour. Literally pour water out.
[23:28] As a sacrifice of thanksgiving to God. For that water. But it also. Pointed towards something. It didn't just point back. As a remembrance of what God had done.
[23:38] But it pointed forward. To the day when God would pour out. His Holy Spirit. To when. In the last days. The Messiah would come.
[23:49] Full of the Holy Spirit. And pour out. His Spirit. On God's people. So it pointed backwards. It also pointed forwards. To what God had promised would happen.
[24:01] When the Messiah came. And so into that context. Let's read. Verse 37 to. 39. It says.
[24:11] On the last day of the festival of tabernacles. The great day. While Jesus was standing there. He cried out. Let anyone who is thirsty. Come to me.
[24:24] And let the one who believes in me. Drink. As the scripture has said. Out of the believers heart shall flow rivers of living water. Now he said this about the spirit.
[24:36] Which believers in him were to receive. For as yet. There was no spirit. Because Jesus. Was not yet glorified. Context.
[24:50] Israel has been thirsting over the years for a Messiah. They're in the very festival. Where they remember their thirst in the wilderness. And God's provision of water. And Jesus stands up and says.
[25:02] Let anyone who is thirsty come to me. And let the one who believes in me. Drink. He is offering to them. Refreshment for their souls.
[25:16] He is offering to them. As John explains. The Holy Spirit. Just before now. It becomes clear that Jesus is going to die. It's the context of this chapter.
[25:28] The religious authorities have put out an official warrant for his arrest. Jesus is on the road now to the cross. He is going to die.
[25:41] It becomes clear if you read the rest of the gospel. That Jesus must die. And ascend to the Father. In order for the Holy Spirit to be poured out on his people. And so here he is acknowledging that he is going to die.
[25:53] He is acknowledging that he is the one. Who is going to bestow the gift of this Holy Spirit on his people. This is a cataclysmic statement.
[26:09] I know it's hard for us to come to terms with. Because we haven't got that Jewish heritage. We haven't lived through those many, many years of waiting for a Messiah to appear. But put yourself in the context of these people.
[26:22] With all of that history. Living now under the yoke of the Romans. Who they were praying the Messiah would come and relieve them of. In the festival of the tabernacles.
[26:38] Remembering God's provision of water in the past. But looking also to his provision of the Holy Spirit. And Jesus stands up and says. Come to me. I'm the man.
[26:49] I'm the one. I'm the Messiah. I'm the Son of God. I'm the Redeemer. I'm your King. Come to me.
[27:02] I wonder what your response would be. In that situation. We're going to see four responses tonight.
[27:15] Four responses from the people. To that claim of Jesus. To be the one. The Messiah. Let's read. I'm going to read the rest of this passage.
[27:27] We're going to see these four responses. So verse 40. It says. When they had heard these words. These cataclysmic words. Some in the crowd said.
[27:38] This is really the prophet. Others said. This is the Messiah. But some asked. Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee.
[27:49] Does he? Has not the scripture said. That the Messiah is descended from David. And comes from Bethlehem. The village where David lived. So there was a division in the crowd.
[28:00] Because of him. Some of them wanted to arrest him. But no one laid hands on him. Then the temple police. Went back to the chief priests and Pharisees.
[28:12] Who asked them. Why did you not arrest him? The police answered. Never has anyone spoken like this. Then the Pharisees replied.
[28:24] Surely you have not been deceived too. Have you? Has anyone of the authorities. Or of the Pharisees. Believed in him. But this crowd. Which does not know the law.
[28:35] They are accursed. Nicodemus. Who had gone to Jesus before. And was one of them. Asked. Our Lord does not judge people. Without first giving them a hearing. To find out what they are doing.
[28:47] Does it? They replied. Surely you are not also from Galilee. Are you? Search. And you will see. That no prophet. Is to arise. From Galilee.
[28:59] Four. Responses. Four. Very different responses. And four responses. I think that have echoes. In our world today. So we are going to look at each one of those.
[29:09] And how I think it is expressed today. And I want you to think about. Where you sit. With each of these. So first of all. Response number one. Verse 40. When they heard these words.
[29:20] Some in the crowd said. This really is. The prophet. The prophet they are talking about. Is the prophet that was mentioned. In Deuteronomy 18.
[29:30] I think it is verse 15 to 18. God. Speaks to his people. And says. I am going to send you a prophet. And this prophet. Is going to speak my words for me.
[29:42] And so the Jews had. An expectation of. This prophet coming along. At some time in the future. He was going to be a prophet. A bit like Moses. In that. It is not going to be the Messiah.
[29:53] But it is going to be a great leader. A great. Man of God. And after Jesus fed. The 5,000 people. Similarly.
[30:04] People in that crowd. Were saying. Maybe this is the prophet. Speaking of the same one. Deuteronomy 18. So these are guys. Who have heard. Jesus words.
[30:15] And have said. Maybe this. Is that prophet. That God had spoken of. Not the Messiah. God. Just. Just. You know. The godly guy. That God was going to send. At some point.
[30:25] Along the way. And I think. This. Opinion. Of these people. Has an echo today. Today. This is the opinion.
[30:35] Of people. Who think. Jesus. Is a. Good example. Was a good teacher. Had some good morals. To teach us. But certainly.
[30:46] Wasn't the son of God. Have you heard. This opinion. I've talked to many. Many people. Who hold this opinion. This is probably. The predominant opinion. Of your average. Australian today.
[30:57] Jesus was a good guy. We like Jesus. He had some good things. To say. Golden rule. And all that. I'm all for that. These are the people. Who are kind of. Okay. With having RE.
[31:07] In schools. Because their kids. Learn some good. Moral teachings. But they certainly. Certainly. Certainly. Do not. Believe that. Jesus is God.
[31:18] In human flesh. Maybe. This is the prophet. Not the Messiah. But the prophet. That was one opinion.
[31:30] Echoed today. In those. Who think. Jesus was just. A good example. Second one. Verse. Fourteen. Sorry. Forty one B. And following.
[31:40] Some asked. Surely. The Messiah. Does not come from. Galilee. Does he? Has not the scripture. Said that the Messiah. Is descended from David. And comes from Bethlehem.
[31:51] The village. Where David lived. This can't be the Messiah. He's from Galilee. John. Who wrote this gospel.
[32:03] And you miss it. If you don't read. The boring commentaries. But. John. Loves. Irony. Who loves. Irony. Four of you.
[32:15] Is my favorite. Form of humor. Along with sarcasm. Brilliant. Just really. Really dry. That's kind of where. John is at. And John. Is using. Just.
[32:25] Great. Irony. Here. To get across. A point. Because. The fact is. That Jesus. Was from Bethlehem. That Jesus. Was from the line.
[32:36] Of David. And these people. Just don't know it. And John. Knows. That the people. Who are reading. This book. The Christians. Know. That Jesus. Is from Bethlehem. It was really important. It was prophesied.
[32:47] 700 years before. And they know. That he was. From the line. Of David. These people. Don't. So rather than. Leaving that bit out. He puts it in there.
[32:57] Just as a bit of. Irony. And humor. To show these people up. Today. I think. This kind of view. Is expressed. In. 99% of the population.
[33:08] At least. Nine out of ten. Of the people. That I speak to. Who aren't believers. And this is not. Making light. Of it. Or making fun. Of them at all. But most people.
[33:20] Are just. Unaware. Of what Jesus. Was about. What he came. To accomplish. Of what he did. Accomplish. Most of the Bible.
[33:31] Is just complete. Nonsense to them. They haven't been. Taught very well. Most people. Who would call. Themselves. Agnostic. Would be in this group. And the reason.
[33:42] They're agnostic. Most often. Is because. They. Just don't understand. They haven't been. Taught well. They're like. These people. Isn't the Messiah. Come from. Bethlehem. Isn't this guy.
[33:53] From. They just don't know. They don't know. The background. And so. They reject him. Without knowing him. They reject the truth. Without knowing the truth.
[34:05] This is where most people are. And to be honest. This is where I was. For much of my life. I rejected much of what I heard about Jesus. About the Bible. Because I just didn't know.
[34:16] I just didn't know enough. This is a real encouragement for us. To make sure that we know our stuff well. To make sure that we know our Bible well. To make sure we know our theology well.
[34:28] Because most of the people you encounter. Most of your friends at school. And at work. Just don't know. And they need you to teach them. They're not coming here. So learn your Bible well.
[34:44] Read it regularly. Actually listen to the sermon. Try something new. Because you can help these people. These agnostics. Who aren't really sure.
[34:55] Who perhaps have been deceived in some way. By not knowing all of the facts. Third group of people. So we've had those. Who think he's a good teacher. But not the Messiah.
[35:06] We've had those. Who are just unaware of the background. And so reject him. Number three. Verse 45. It's these guys again. Then the temple police. Went back to the chief priests.
[35:17] And Pharisees. Who asked them. Why did you not arrest him? The warrants gone out. They've been told to arrest him. They haven't done it. Why haven't you? The police answered. Never has anyone spoken like this.
[35:29] They've been blown away. Then the Pharisees replied. Surely you have not been deceived too. Have you? Has any one of the authorities. Or of the Pharisees.
[35:40] Believed in him? But this crowd. Which does not know the law. They are accursed. This is the aggressive.
[35:51] My way or the highway. Pharisees and teachers of the law. They believe. They have the absolute truth. That anyone who says anything about Jesus being the Messiah.
[36:02] Must be accursed. Must be demonic. They've said elsewhere. That when the police.
[36:13] This is the temple police. Not like the cops. They're seminary boys. They're not like bashing anyone or anything. These are just temple guys. Who are probably a little bit afraid. To throw their weight around.
[36:24] Right. They come back. And they haven't arrested him. Why haven't they? Because they're starting to be convinced. They've heard Jesus teach. They've heard him speak. They've heard him say up and say. Come to me.
[36:36] I'll refresh you. I'm the promised one. And they're being moved by him. So they haven't arrested him. And they come back to these Pharisees. Who say. What have you done? Are you as blind as they are?
[36:48] These idiots. Who are believing in Jesus. These morons. Who think that he's the Messiah. And frankly. I think that today.
[37:00] This view lines up. Most strongly with. Atheism. The atheists. The new atheists. As they're calling themselves. The new atheists.
[37:11] Are a breed of atheists. Who are very aggressive. Very. Fundamentalist. About their beliefs.
[37:24] I've had the pleasure. Of engaging with a lot of these guys. Because I was on a. A committee that the diocese set up. To engage with this new atheism. And so I've spoken to many of them.
[37:36] And the tone is never. Nice. The tone is very black and white. And it is very. Very. Patronizing.
[37:49] You really believe in the Bible. You believe in miracles. You actually believe that. God. Became a man. You actually believe that.
[38:01] That God. Died and then came back to life. Actually believe. This stuff. Must be an idiot. That's what you hear.
[38:16] When you engage with. Atheists. And they are. The same breed. As the Pharisees. That preceded them. The difference here.
[38:26] Is that the Pharisees. Knew the Bible. Better than anyone else. In the world. The Pharisees. Knew the expectation. Of the Messiah. More than. And better than. Anyone else.
[38:36] In the world. And yet. They're the very ones. Who are most. Opposed to the Messiah. When he comes. Some more irony. If you.
[38:51] Dare. To engage. With. Atheists. Today. You will come across. This kind. Of tone. They won't. Say that you're. Accursed.
[39:01] But that's kind of. What they mean. And so. What we need to do. In response to that. Is. Be courageous. To be forthright.
[39:14] But also. To be humble. And to be loving. Some of you.
[39:26] God is calling. To engage. With people. Who are going to be aggressive. Some of you. God is calling. To go. Into further study. Into doctorate level study.
[39:38] So that you can write books. That engage. With some of these. Men and women. On that academic level. I encourage you. To do that. For the rest of us. I think that God. Just calls us.
[39:48] To learn. To read. To listen. And to engage. Where he gives the opportunity. But no matter what happens. You're going to come across. Some people. Who just think. You're an idiot.
[39:59] For being a Christian. First group of people. Jesus is a good guy. He's not God. Second group of people. They just. Don't know what's going on.
[40:10] They don't have enough. Background. They've dismissed him. Because they don't know. Enough. Third group of people. Aggressive. Dismissive. Patronizing. Jesus.
[40:21] Is not the Messiah. And the. Fourth group of people. Who get them. The smallest amount. Of mention. From John. The people. Who'd be reading this. In the first place. The people.
[40:33] I pray. Who are gathered here. Tonight. Verse 41. Others said. This. Is. The Messiah. This.
[40:46] Is. The Messiah. This group of people. Were thirsty. This group of people. knew. They knew. They needed.
[40:56] They needed. They needed. They needed. They needed. Rescue. They knew. That they needed. Redemption. And restoration. And so. When they saw.
[41:06] Jesus come. And when they saw. The miracles. That he performed. When they heard. The teaching. That he taught. That he spoke. Like no other man. That ever heard. They responded. By saying.
[41:17] This. Is. Is. The Messiah. I wonder. If that's. You here tonight. I wonder.
[41:31] If you. Like them. Have heard. About Jesus. Have encountered. Jesus. And have responded. By saying. This. Is. The Messiah.
[41:42] This is the Christ. This is my God. These people.
[41:53] Remembered. The words of Isaiah. Who prophesied. 700 years. Before Jesus came. Listen to this. Isaiah 55. Verse 1. Says. Everyone who thirsts.
[42:04] Come to the waters. And you that have no money. Come. Buy. And eat. Come. Buy wine. And milk. Without money. Without price. The free offer. Of refreshment.
[42:16] Isaiah 58. Verse 11. The Lord will guide you. Continually. And satisfy your needs. In parched places. And make your bones strong. And you shall be like a watered garden.
[42:27] Like a spring of water. Whose waters. Never fail. And these people knew those passages. And they heard Jesus voice. Say. Let anyone who is thirsty.
[42:38] Come to me. And let the one who believes in me. Drink. And they heard that. And they wanted it. They wanted it. And they responded.
[42:50] This. Is the Messiah. Have you said that? Have you experienced the kind of thirst. That I experienced.
[43:01] Before I knew Jesus. That deep thirst. That you keep trying to quench. In other things. Outside of God. Elsewhere in the Bible.
[43:16] It says that the essence of evil. Is to continually try. To quench your thirst. In a broken basin. That holds no water. You keep trying.
[43:29] To slake that thirst. But there's no water in the basin. That liter bottle. That they gave you. At the start of the hike. Is dry. Many people do this.
[43:42] In many different ways. And you know. In your own mind. How you're trying to do it. Week by week. Friends. There's only one way. To quench that thirst.
[43:53] And it's to come to Jesus. He's the only one. Who has the water. That will never fail. He's the only one. Who can refresh you. In this life.
[44:05] And forever. In the life to come. So here's what I want you to do. Think about those four responses. To Jesus. Own words. Think about where you line up.
[44:18] On that spectrum. And then respond. If you're someone.
[44:28] Who's always attributed. Sort of good things to Jesus. But not. God. Things to Jesus. Then I want you to go home tonight.
[44:41] And I want you to pick up. The gospel of John. That we've read from tonight. And I want you to just read it through. It's not that long. Just read it through. And then ask yourself. Seriously.
[44:51] Is this man. Just a good teacher. Or is he God. In human flesh. That's your assignment. If you're the kind of person. Who. Perhaps has dismissed Jesus.
[45:03] In the past. Because you just haven't had. Enough information about him. You've never heard about. This great history. Of Israel. Who are looking forward. To the Messiah coming. Then I want to challenge you.
[45:15] To join. A small group. At the church. A Bible study group. Where you will be taught. These kinds of things. In depth. Where you can ask questions. Where you can wrestle. With this stuff.
[45:26] And not just dismiss it. So to do that. You just fill out. A slip on the notice sheet. And say. I want to join a Bible study. We plug you into one. If you're someone.
[45:37] Here tonight. And you're just really aggressive. Towards this teaching. You've rejected Jesus. You think Christianity is a joke. Please come down the front. After the service. Talk to me here.
[45:49] I'm not going to respond. With aggression. Or any matter of violence. I will listen to you. And smile. And we'll become friends. So come and speak to me.
[46:00] I'd love to talk to you. And if you're someone. Who has responded. By saying. This is the Messiah. Jesus is my Messiah. Then I want you to stand with us.
[46:11] And sing. And praise God. For being our great. Redeemer. King. And all of you. I'll see you next week. When Chris opens for us.
[46:23] Jesus death. As a servant. For our sins. Let's pray together. Dear Father. I thank you again. For this opportunity. To hear your word.
[46:34] To wrestle with your word. To respond to your word. And I pray now. That as we stand. And sing. Every ounce. Of gratitude. To you. For coming.
[46:45] As our Messiah. In that greatest of miracles. In the incarnation. At Christmas. That we would respond. To that great truth. With great thanksgiving.
[46:56] In our hearts. That we would sing. Our praises to you. As if we really mean them. That we would live our lives. To you during this week. In response.
[47:07] To that magnificent truth. And that we would pour out. Our lives to you. As a living sacrifice.
[47:17] Of thanksgiving to you. For all that you've done for us. And I pray these things. In Jesus good name. Amen.