THE WAY
Series: Reasonable Faith in Unreasonable Times
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 13th May 2018
Passage: John 14:6
00:00:00 --> 00:00:07 There's an ancient parable that's found in both Hindu and Buddhist texts,
00:00:07 --> 00:00:10 and in fact, a variety of ancient religious texts.
00:00:10 --> 00:00:14 It's known as the parable of the blind men and the elephant.
00:00:14 --> 00:00:20 And it's possibly a parable that you've heard or engaged with
00:00:20 --> 00:00:23 because it's widely used even in modern circles
00:00:23 --> 00:00:28 to demonstrate how no one's got the full pictures.
00:00:28 --> 00:00:31 Just people have got part of a picture, but not the entire picture.
00:00:32 --> 00:00:33 And the parable is this.
00:00:33 --> 00:00:38 A group of blind men heard that there was this strange animal called an elephant
00:00:38 --> 00:00:40 had been brought to their village,
00:00:41 --> 00:00:48 and they found it, and they were feeling it to try and work out what this thing is.
00:00:49 --> 00:00:54 And I think I've just gone one too far.
00:00:54 --> 00:00:55 Can you go back for me? Thank you.
00:00:55 --> 00:01:01 And the first person grabs hold of the trunk and said,
00:01:01 --> 00:01:02 this thing's a big, thick snake.
00:01:03 --> 00:01:07 And another grabs hold of the ear and says, no, it seems a bit more like a fan.
00:01:08 --> 00:01:11 Another blind man wraps his arms around the legs and said,
00:01:11 --> 00:01:13 no, this elephant is in fact a tree trunk.
00:01:15 --> 00:01:18 A blind man who placed his hands up on the side of it said,
00:01:18 --> 00:01:20 no, elephants are in fact a wall.
00:01:20 --> 00:01:24 And another felled its tail, said, no, no, elephants are a rope.
00:01:24 --> 00:01:29 And another one grabbed the tusks and said, no, actually elephants are spears.
00:01:30 --> 00:01:33 It's been passed down for centuries.
00:01:34 --> 00:01:35 It's a famous parable.
00:01:35 --> 00:01:42 And someone more recently inverted the story in a bit more of a humorous way
00:01:42 --> 00:01:47 and said that six blind elephants were discussing what people were like.
00:01:48 --> 00:01:51 And after arguing, they decided to find a person
00:01:51 --> 00:01:55 and determine what it was like by direct experience.
00:01:56 --> 00:02:00 And so the first blind elephant felt the human being with its foot
00:02:00 --> 00:02:02 and declared human beings are flat.
00:02:03 --> 00:02:07 And all the other elephants felt the human being with their foot
00:02:07 --> 00:02:09 and said, yes, we all agree human beings are all flat.
00:02:09 --> 00:02:15 Now, this parable is used to illustrate,
00:02:16 --> 00:02:17 particularly in our modern world,
00:02:18 --> 00:02:25 to illustrate how world religions all have part of the truth,
00:02:25 --> 00:02:27 but no religion has the whole truth.
00:02:29 --> 00:02:35 And you come to a passage that was just read out to us in Matthew 14, 6,
00:02:35 --> 00:02:37 and you've got to ask yourself the question,
00:02:37 --> 00:02:39 are Christians therefore arrogant?
00:02:39 --> 00:02:45 Or more to the point, was Jesus especially arrogant?
00:02:46 --> 00:02:51 He certainly claimed to have exclusive rights to the God business.
00:02:52 --> 00:02:54 John 14, 6 just read out to us,
00:02:55 --> 00:02:59 I am the way, the truth, and the life,
00:02:59 --> 00:03:03 and no one comes to the Father except through me.
00:03:05 --> 00:03:08 That's an exclusive claim.
00:03:08 --> 00:03:11 And over the next three weeks,
00:03:11 --> 00:03:14 I'm going to be looking at that claim of Jesus
00:03:14 --> 00:03:17 and his claims to be the way,
00:03:17 --> 00:03:19 the truth, and the life.
00:03:19 --> 00:03:30 And in our times when all sense of reason about issues of faith seem to have been abandoned,
00:03:31 --> 00:03:35 I want us to have a reasonable faith.
00:03:35 --> 00:03:39 My hope, as I prayed earlier,
00:03:39 --> 00:03:44 is for the thinkers amongst us to believe and the believers amongst us to think.
00:03:45 --> 00:03:48 I hope for some of us to be led to belief
00:03:48 --> 00:03:54 and others to think deeper about what it is that we believe
00:03:54 --> 00:03:58 and find a deeper sense of joy and confidence and hope.
00:03:59 --> 00:04:01 So we're starting today with the first claim,
00:04:01 --> 00:04:02 Jesus is the way.
00:04:03 --> 00:04:07 I've got three main ideas that I'm running with.
00:04:07 --> 00:04:09 Rethinking Jesus' exclusive claim,
00:04:10 --> 00:04:12 the sweetness of Jesus' exclusive claim,
00:04:12 --> 00:04:16 and humility and this exclusive claim.
00:04:16 --> 00:04:18 So firstly,
00:04:19 --> 00:04:20 rethinking Jesus' exclusive claim.
00:04:21 --> 00:04:22 In these verses,
00:04:23 --> 00:04:24 you'll notice,
00:04:24 --> 00:04:25 as I will read out,
00:04:26 --> 00:04:27 that Jesus is providing
00:04:27 --> 00:04:30 his disciples with truth
00:04:30 --> 00:04:31 that must be believed
00:04:31 --> 00:04:33 if their faith is to be triumphant
00:04:33 --> 00:04:36 and their lives to be at peace in troubled times.
00:04:36 --> 00:04:38 And it is troubled times for the disciples.
00:04:39 --> 00:04:41 They have just heard from Jesus
00:04:41 --> 00:04:43 that he is departing.
00:04:43 --> 00:04:44 And they're like,
00:04:44 --> 00:04:46 their worlds are rocked.
00:04:47 --> 00:04:48 He tells them he's departing
00:04:48 --> 00:04:50 to his father's house
00:04:50 --> 00:04:53 to prepare a room for them.
00:04:54 --> 00:04:55 And then he tells them
00:04:55 --> 00:05:01 that they know where he's going in verse four.
00:05:02 --> 00:05:03 And it's at this point
00:05:03 --> 00:05:06 that Thomas speaks up in verse five and says,
00:05:07 --> 00:05:11 Lord, we don't know where you are going,
00:05:11 --> 00:05:12 so how can we know the way?
00:05:13 --> 00:05:15 Now, blokes in the room,
00:05:15 --> 00:05:17 this is really important.
00:05:17 --> 00:05:20 This must be the only time
00:05:20 --> 00:05:21 in recorded history
00:05:21 --> 00:05:24 where a man actually admits he's lost
00:05:24 --> 00:05:25 and asks for directions.
00:05:26 --> 00:05:28 It's Thomas a couple of centuries ago,
00:05:28 --> 00:05:30 a couple of thousand years ago.
00:05:31 --> 00:05:32 But Thomas's question
00:05:32 --> 00:05:34 is more ignorant
00:05:34 --> 00:05:36 than he actually realizes it is.
00:05:36 --> 00:05:39 His question implies
00:05:39 --> 00:05:43 that the way that Jesus takes
00:05:43 --> 00:05:45 to get to the Father,
00:05:45 --> 00:05:46 to get to God,
00:05:47 --> 00:05:48 is the same way
00:05:48 --> 00:05:51 that the disciples will go
00:05:51 --> 00:05:52 to get to the Father.
00:05:53 --> 00:05:56 And so Jesus stops at that moment
00:05:56 --> 00:06:01 and clears up Thomas's confusion.
00:06:01 --> 00:06:05 He stops talking about his way to the Father
00:06:05 --> 00:06:08 and addresses the way the disciples will take.
00:06:08 --> 00:06:10 And it's there in verse six.
00:06:11 --> 00:06:12 I am the way,
00:06:13 --> 00:06:13 the truth,
00:06:13 --> 00:06:15 and the life,
00:06:15 --> 00:06:17 and no one comes to the Father
00:06:17 --> 00:06:19 except through me.
00:06:19 --> 00:06:25 The way of Jesus to the Father
00:06:25 --> 00:06:26 is via the cross
00:06:26 --> 00:06:29 and the way of the disciples
00:06:29 --> 00:06:32 to the Father is Jesus.
00:06:34 --> 00:06:36 And because Jesus took his way to the cross,
00:06:38 --> 00:06:40 he himself becomes the way for others.
00:06:41 --> 00:06:44 But here's the sticky bit with this.
00:06:44 --> 00:06:47 Jesus insists here
00:06:47 --> 00:06:51 that he is the exclusive way.
00:06:52 --> 00:06:53 He is the way,
00:06:54 --> 00:06:55 the truth,
00:06:55 --> 00:06:56 the life.
00:06:58 --> 00:07:00 He's not opening up the door
00:07:00 --> 00:07:02 for any other opportunities,
00:07:03 --> 00:07:05 any other options,
00:07:05 --> 00:07:06 or ways,
00:07:06 --> 00:07:07 or truth,
00:07:07 --> 00:07:07 or life.
00:07:09 --> 00:07:11 And we must grapple
00:07:11 --> 00:07:13 with the magnitude
00:07:13 --> 00:07:15 of Jesus' claim
00:07:15 --> 00:07:18 if we're to deal with
00:07:18 --> 00:07:19 the person of Jesus.
00:07:20 --> 00:07:22 If you don't deal
00:07:22 --> 00:07:23 with the magnitude of his claim,
00:07:24 --> 00:07:25 you don't deal with Jesus.
00:07:27 --> 00:07:29 It's broadly acknowledged
00:07:29 --> 00:07:31 throughout the centuries
00:07:31 --> 00:07:33 that Jesus was a teacher.
00:07:34 --> 00:07:36 Jesus taught people
00:07:36 --> 00:07:37 to love each other.
00:07:38 --> 00:07:39 He was also very kind
00:07:39 --> 00:07:40 to the poor
00:07:40 --> 00:07:42 in the outcasts of society.
00:07:42 --> 00:07:43 He laid his hands on the sick.
00:07:44 --> 00:07:45 He fed the hungry.
00:07:45 --> 00:07:46 And throughout history,
00:07:46 --> 00:07:48 there have been many people
00:07:48 --> 00:07:49 who have done
00:07:49 --> 00:07:50 those sort of things.
00:07:50 --> 00:07:52 They have told people
00:07:52 --> 00:07:53 to love each other.
00:07:53 --> 00:07:54 They have cared for the sick.
00:07:55 --> 00:07:56 They've been kind
00:07:56 --> 00:07:57 to the poor.
00:07:59 --> 00:08:00 So you've got to ask
00:08:00 --> 00:08:03 if there's many people
00:08:03 --> 00:08:05 who have done that,
00:08:05 --> 00:08:07 why did this one,
00:08:07 --> 00:08:09 why did Jesus Christ
00:08:09 --> 00:08:12 become the most influential
00:08:12 --> 00:08:13 single figure
00:08:13 --> 00:08:15 in the history of the world?
00:08:18 --> 00:08:20 And it's not because
00:08:20 --> 00:08:21 of the nice things
00:08:21 --> 00:08:22 that he said and did.
00:08:24 --> 00:08:25 It's not because
00:08:25 --> 00:08:26 he told everyone
00:08:26 --> 00:08:27 to love each other.
00:08:27 --> 00:08:27 I mean,
00:08:27 --> 00:08:29 that message is everywhere.
00:08:31 --> 00:08:32 It's because
00:08:32 --> 00:08:34 of the controversial things
00:08:34 --> 00:08:35 that he said and did.
00:08:35 --> 00:08:37 it's because
00:08:37 --> 00:08:39 of the outrageous
00:08:39 --> 00:08:41 claims
00:08:41 --> 00:08:42 of Jesus.
00:08:44 --> 00:08:45 You see,
00:08:45 --> 00:08:46 with Jesus,
00:08:46 --> 00:08:48 there is a whole bunch
00:08:48 --> 00:08:49 of humility
00:08:49 --> 00:08:51 but no modesty.
00:08:53 --> 00:08:54 His actions
00:08:54 --> 00:08:54 are humble,
00:08:54 --> 00:08:55 they're gentle,
00:08:55 --> 00:08:56 they're kind,
00:08:56 --> 00:08:56 they're loving.
00:08:57 --> 00:08:57 He weeps
00:08:57 --> 00:08:58 with the weeping.
00:08:58 --> 00:08:59 His heart breaks
00:08:59 --> 00:08:59 at the death
00:08:59 --> 00:09:01 of his mate Lazarus.
00:09:01 --> 00:09:02 He is gentle
00:09:02 --> 00:09:03 with children.
00:09:03 --> 00:09:04 His character
00:09:04 --> 00:09:06 is unquestionably
00:09:06 --> 00:09:08 strikingly beautiful
00:09:08 --> 00:09:09 and compelling.
00:09:12 --> 00:09:13 He is,
00:09:13 --> 00:09:14 and yet,
00:09:15 --> 00:09:16 this Jesus
00:09:16 --> 00:09:18 is always combining
00:09:18 --> 00:09:20 highest majesty
00:09:20 --> 00:09:23 with the greatest humility.
00:09:24 --> 00:09:26 He joins the strongest,
00:09:26 --> 00:09:27 absolute strongest
00:09:27 --> 00:09:28 commitment to justice
00:09:28 --> 00:09:30 with astonishing
00:09:30 --> 00:09:31 mercy and grace.
00:09:31 --> 00:09:32 He reveals
00:09:32 --> 00:09:34 transcendent
00:09:34 --> 00:09:35 self-sufficiency
00:09:35 --> 00:09:36 and yet
00:09:36 --> 00:09:37 entire trust
00:09:37 --> 00:09:38 and reliance
00:09:38 --> 00:09:39 upon his heavenly father.
00:09:40 --> 00:09:41 He is tenderness
00:09:41 --> 00:09:42 without weakness.
00:09:42 --> 00:09:43 He is boldness
00:09:43 --> 00:09:44 without harshness.
00:09:44 --> 00:09:45 He is humility
00:09:45 --> 00:09:46 with absolute
00:09:46 --> 00:09:48 towering confidence.
00:09:51 --> 00:09:52 He is
00:09:52 --> 00:09:54 the perfect combination
00:09:54 --> 00:09:55 of truth
00:09:55 --> 00:09:56 and love.
00:09:56 --> 00:10:00 his actions
00:10:00 --> 00:10:01 and his character
00:10:01 --> 00:10:03 were so
00:10:03 --> 00:10:04 completely
00:10:04 --> 00:10:07 unself-centered.
00:10:08 --> 00:10:10 That is
00:10:10 --> 00:10:10 totally
00:10:10 --> 00:10:11 unself-centered.
00:10:13 --> 00:10:14 And yet,
00:10:15 --> 00:10:17 his claims
00:10:17 --> 00:10:18 about himself
00:10:18 --> 00:10:20 are so
00:10:20 --> 00:10:21 completely
00:10:21 --> 00:10:22 self-centered.
00:10:22 --> 00:10:27 you never
00:10:27 --> 00:10:28 see him
00:10:28 --> 00:10:29 pompous
00:10:29 --> 00:10:31 or offended
00:10:31 --> 00:10:32 or standing
00:10:32 --> 00:10:33 on his dignity.
00:10:34 --> 00:10:36 He's approachable
00:10:36 --> 00:10:36 to the weakest
00:10:36 --> 00:10:37 and the most
00:10:37 --> 00:10:38 broken.
00:10:38 --> 00:10:39 He's never
00:10:39 --> 00:10:39 moody.
00:10:39 --> 00:10:39 He's
00:10:39 --> 00:10:40 never moody.
00:10:40 --> 00:10:44 in fact,
00:10:44 --> 00:10:45 in his book
00:10:45 --> 00:10:46 called
00:10:46 --> 00:10:48 The World's Religions,
00:10:49 --> 00:10:50 Houston Smith
00:10:50 --> 00:10:51 says that
00:10:51 --> 00:10:54 only Jesus
00:10:54 --> 00:10:55 and Buddha,
00:10:55 --> 00:10:56 historically,
00:10:56 --> 00:10:57 only Jesus
00:10:57 --> 00:10:58 and Buddha
00:10:58 --> 00:11:00 so impressed
00:11:00 --> 00:11:02 their contemporaries
00:11:02 --> 00:11:03 that they
00:11:03 --> 00:11:04 asked
00:11:04 --> 00:11:05 not just
00:11:05 --> 00:11:06 who are you
00:11:06 --> 00:11:07 but what
00:11:07 --> 00:11:07 are you.
00:11:08 --> 00:11:08 In the history
00:11:08 --> 00:11:09 of all
00:11:09 --> 00:11:11 religious leaders,
00:11:12 --> 00:11:13 only those
00:11:13 --> 00:11:13 two
00:11:13 --> 00:11:15 were asked
00:11:15 --> 00:11:16 what are you.
00:11:17 --> 00:11:18 Smith makes
00:11:18 --> 00:11:19 the case
00:11:19 --> 00:11:19 that these
00:11:19 --> 00:11:20 two figures
00:11:20 --> 00:11:21 had characters
00:11:21 --> 00:11:23 that transcended
00:11:23 --> 00:11:24 ordinary
00:11:24 --> 00:11:25 human life
00:11:25 --> 00:11:26 to the degree
00:11:26 --> 00:11:27 that that question
00:11:27 --> 00:11:28 became necessary
00:11:28 --> 00:11:29 for people.
00:11:31 --> 00:11:32 And yet,
00:11:33 --> 00:11:34 Buddha
00:11:34 --> 00:11:35 asserted
00:11:35 --> 00:11:36 with great
00:11:36 --> 00:11:37 clarity
00:11:37 --> 00:11:38 that he
00:11:38 --> 00:11:39 was not
00:11:39 --> 00:11:39 God,
00:11:39 --> 00:11:40 that he
00:11:40 --> 00:11:40 was not
00:11:40 --> 00:11:41 even an
00:11:41 --> 00:11:42 angelic
00:11:42 --> 00:11:42 being
00:11:42 --> 00:11:43 or any
00:11:43 --> 00:11:43 form of
00:11:43 --> 00:11:43 divine
00:11:43 --> 00:11:44 being.
00:11:45 --> 00:11:45 He made
00:11:45 --> 00:11:46 it absolutely
00:11:46 --> 00:11:47 clear that
00:11:47 --> 00:11:48 I am just
00:11:48 --> 00:11:48 a normal
00:11:48 --> 00:11:49 human being,
00:11:50 --> 00:11:53 not Jesus.
00:11:56 --> 00:11:57 He was
00:11:57 --> 00:11:57 totally
00:11:57 --> 00:11:57 different.
00:12:00 --> 00:12:00 He
00:12:00 --> 00:12:01 repeatedly
00:12:01 --> 00:12:02 claimed
00:12:02 --> 00:12:03 to be
00:12:03 --> 00:12:04 the God,
00:12:05 --> 00:12:05 the creator
00:12:05 --> 00:12:06 of the
00:12:06 --> 00:12:06 universe.
00:12:08 --> 00:12:09 And so
00:12:09 --> 00:12:09 we don't
00:12:09 --> 00:12:10 come to
00:12:10 --> 00:12:10 grips
00:12:10 --> 00:12:11 with the
00:12:11 --> 00:12:12 real Jesus
00:12:12 --> 00:12:14 until we
00:12:14 --> 00:12:14 come to
00:12:14 --> 00:12:15 grips
00:12:15 --> 00:12:16 with
00:12:16 --> 00:12:17 the
00:12:17 --> 00:12:18 controversial
00:12:18 --> 00:12:19 things he
00:12:19 --> 00:12:19 says.
00:12:20 --> 00:12:22 We don't
00:12:22 --> 00:12:22 deal with
00:12:22 --> 00:12:23 Jesus
00:12:23 --> 00:12:24 until we
00:12:24 --> 00:12:24 deal with
00:12:24 --> 00:12:25 his enormous
00:12:25 --> 00:12:25 claims.
00:12:27 --> 00:12:28 And that
00:12:28 --> 00:12:29 is what the
00:12:29 --> 00:12:30 average person
00:12:30 --> 00:12:31 in this
00:12:31 --> 00:12:31 country
00:12:31 --> 00:12:33 is unprepared
00:12:33 --> 00:12:34 to do.
00:12:36 --> 00:12:36 The
00:12:36 --> 00:12:36 average
00:12:36 --> 00:12:37 person in
00:12:37 --> 00:12:37 our
00:12:37 --> 00:12:38 country
00:12:38 --> 00:12:39 thinks
00:12:39 --> 00:12:40 well of
00:12:40 --> 00:12:40 Jesus.
00:12:40 --> 00:12:41 They're
00:12:41 --> 00:12:41 positive
00:12:41 --> 00:12:42 towards
00:12:42 --> 00:12:42 Jesus
00:12:42 --> 00:12:43 with some
00:12:43 --> 00:12:43 reservations.
00:12:44 --> 00:12:44 Love the
00:12:44 --> 00:12:45 love stuff.
00:12:46 --> 00:12:47 Don't like
00:12:47 --> 00:12:47 the truth
00:12:47 --> 00:12:48 stuff.
00:12:48 --> 00:12:48 Don't like
00:12:48 --> 00:12:49 the claims
00:12:49 --> 00:12:49 of Jesus.
00:12:50 --> 00:12:51 When we
00:12:51 --> 00:12:51 went through
00:12:51 --> 00:12:51 Mark's
00:12:51 --> 00:12:52 gospel very
00:12:52 --> 00:12:53 recently,
00:12:54 --> 00:12:54 we noticed
00:12:54 --> 00:12:56 throughout
00:12:56 --> 00:12:56 Mark's gospel
00:12:56 --> 00:12:57 that Jesus
00:12:57 --> 00:12:58 is always
00:12:58 --> 00:12:59 always
00:12:59 --> 00:13:00 working
00:13:00 --> 00:13:00 hard
00:13:00 --> 00:13:03 to try
00:13:03 --> 00:13:04 and avoid
00:13:04 --> 00:13:05 people coming
00:13:05 --> 00:13:05 to that
00:13:05 --> 00:13:06 conclusion.
00:13:08 --> 00:13:09 You see,
00:13:09 --> 00:13:09 he's not
00:13:09 --> 00:13:11 interested in
00:13:11 --> 00:13:12 people liking
00:13:12 --> 00:13:13 him with
00:13:13 --> 00:13:13 certain
00:13:13 --> 00:13:14 reservations.
00:13:15 --> 00:13:16 If you
00:13:16 --> 00:13:17 listen to
00:13:17 --> 00:13:18 Jesus and
00:13:18 --> 00:13:19 have any
00:13:19 --> 00:13:19 intellectual
00:13:19 --> 00:13:20 integrity,
00:13:21 --> 00:13:22 then what
00:13:22 --> 00:13:22 Jesus does
00:13:22 --> 00:13:23 to us is
00:13:23 --> 00:13:24 he consistently
00:13:24 --> 00:13:25 pushes us
00:13:25 --> 00:13:25 to the
00:13:25 --> 00:13:26 extremes.
00:13:26 --> 00:13:28 you can't
00:13:28 --> 00:13:29 sit in
00:13:29 --> 00:13:29 the middle
00:13:29 --> 00:13:29 with this
00:13:29 --> 00:13:30 guy.
00:13:31 --> 00:13:31 We either
00:13:31 --> 00:13:32 reject him
00:13:32 --> 00:13:33 outright or
00:13:33 --> 00:13:34 we embrace
00:13:34 --> 00:13:35 him outright
00:13:35 --> 00:13:37 and both
00:13:37 --> 00:13:37 of those
00:13:37 --> 00:13:37 are on
00:13:37 --> 00:13:38 his terms.
00:13:39 --> 00:13:39 You reject
00:13:39 --> 00:13:40 him on
00:13:40 --> 00:13:40 his terms,
00:13:40 --> 00:13:41 you embrace
00:13:41 --> 00:13:41 him on
00:13:41 --> 00:13:42 his terms.
00:13:43 --> 00:13:44 What he
00:13:44 --> 00:13:45 says about
00:13:45 --> 00:13:45 himself,
00:13:45 --> 00:13:46 the controversial
00:13:46 --> 00:13:47 things,
00:13:47 --> 00:13:48 is either the
00:13:48 --> 00:13:48 worst thing
00:13:48 --> 00:13:49 that anyone
00:13:49 --> 00:13:49 has ever
00:13:49 --> 00:13:50 said or
00:13:50 --> 00:13:51 it's the
00:13:51 --> 00:13:51 best thing
00:13:51 --> 00:13:52 that anyone
00:13:52 --> 00:13:52 has ever
00:13:52 --> 00:13:53 said.
00:13:56 --> 00:13:57 I am
00:13:57 --> 00:13:58 the way
00:13:58 --> 00:14:00 is his
00:14:00 --> 00:14:01 claim.
00:14:02 --> 00:14:03 And either
00:14:03 --> 00:14:04 he is
00:14:04 --> 00:14:07 right and
00:14:07 --> 00:14:07 we follow
00:14:07 --> 00:14:08 him and
00:14:08 --> 00:14:09 we adore
00:14:09 --> 00:14:10 him or
00:14:10 --> 00:14:10 he is
00:14:10 --> 00:14:12 wrong and
00:14:12 --> 00:14:13 we destroy
00:14:13 --> 00:14:13 him.
00:14:14 --> 00:14:14 But how
00:14:14 --> 00:14:15 dare we
00:14:15 --> 00:14:16 decide to
00:14:16 --> 00:14:17 sit in the
00:14:17 --> 00:14:17 middle and
00:14:17 --> 00:14:17 say we
00:14:17 --> 00:14:18 just like
00:14:18 --> 00:14:18 him.
00:14:19 --> 00:14:20 That is
00:14:20 --> 00:14:21 not coming
00:14:21 --> 00:14:21 to terms
00:14:21 --> 00:14:21 with who
00:14:21 --> 00:14:22 Jesus is.
00:14:22 --> 00:14:23 He polarized
00:14:23 --> 00:14:25 people in
00:14:25 --> 00:14:25 the first
00:14:25 --> 00:14:26 century.
00:14:26 --> 00:14:29 So we
00:14:29 --> 00:14:30 need to
00:14:30 --> 00:14:30 rethink this
00:14:30 --> 00:14:31 exclusive
00:14:31 --> 00:14:31 claim.
00:14:33 --> 00:14:33 But secondly,
00:14:34 --> 00:14:35 we need to
00:14:35 --> 00:14:36 see the
00:14:36 --> 00:14:37 sweetness of
00:14:37 --> 00:14:38 Jesus'
00:14:38 --> 00:14:38 exclusive
00:14:38 --> 00:14:39 claim.
00:14:41 --> 00:14:41 It's
00:14:41 --> 00:14:42 really crucial
00:14:42 --> 00:14:42 for us to
00:14:42 --> 00:14:43 see here
00:14:43 --> 00:14:44 that when
00:14:44 --> 00:14:45 Jesus says
00:14:45 --> 00:14:46 that there's
00:14:46 --> 00:14:46 no one
00:14:46 --> 00:14:47 comes to
00:14:47 --> 00:14:47 father except
00:14:47 --> 00:14:48 through him,
00:14:49 --> 00:14:49 he's not
00:14:49 --> 00:14:50 offering us,
00:14:52 --> 00:14:53 he's not
00:14:53 --> 00:14:54 saying that
00:14:54 --> 00:14:54 you cannot
00:14:54 --> 00:14:55 know anything
00:14:55 --> 00:14:56 about God,
00:14:56 --> 00:14:57 without him.
00:14:57 --> 00:14:58 That's not
00:14:58 --> 00:14:58 what he's
00:14:58 --> 00:14:59 saying.
00:15:00 --> 00:15:01 In fact,
00:15:02 --> 00:15:02 philosophers,
00:15:03 --> 00:15:04 theologians have
00:15:04 --> 00:15:04 argued for
00:15:04 --> 00:15:06 many, many
00:15:06 --> 00:15:07 years that
00:15:07 --> 00:15:09 every world
00:15:09 --> 00:15:09 religion,
00:15:09 --> 00:15:10 philosophical
00:15:10 --> 00:15:11 system gets
00:15:11 --> 00:15:13 some knowledge
00:15:13 --> 00:15:14 of God from
00:15:14 --> 00:15:15 this world and
00:15:15 --> 00:15:16 all of them
00:15:16 --> 00:15:18 are arguing in
00:15:18 --> 00:15:18 one way or
00:15:18 --> 00:15:19 another in that
00:15:19 --> 00:15:20 direction, but
00:15:20 --> 00:15:21 they fall short
00:15:21 --> 00:15:22 because they
00:15:22 --> 00:15:23 don't see
00:15:23 --> 00:15:23 Jesus.
00:15:23 --> 00:15:27 so we can
00:15:27 --> 00:15:28 know something
00:15:28 --> 00:15:28 of God
00:15:28 --> 00:15:30 through general
00:15:30 --> 00:15:30 God has
00:15:30 --> 00:15:31 revealed himself
00:15:31 --> 00:15:32 according to
00:15:32 --> 00:15:33 Romans 1,
00:15:33 --> 00:15:34 revealed himself
00:15:34 --> 00:15:34 in the
00:15:34 --> 00:15:35 created order.
00:15:36 --> 00:15:37 What Jesus
00:15:37 --> 00:15:38 is saying
00:15:38 --> 00:15:38 here that no
00:15:38 --> 00:15:38 one comes to
00:15:38 --> 00:15:39 the father
00:15:39 --> 00:15:39 except through
00:15:39 --> 00:15:39 him, what
00:15:39 --> 00:15:40 he's saying
00:15:40 --> 00:15:40 is there's
00:15:40 --> 00:15:42 no way to
00:15:42 --> 00:15:43 come to the
00:15:43 --> 00:15:44 father and
00:15:44 --> 00:15:46 really know
00:15:46 --> 00:15:46 the father
00:15:46 --> 00:15:48 except through
00:15:48 --> 00:15:48 him.
00:15:48 --> 00:15:50 there is a
00:15:50 --> 00:15:52 real sweetness
00:15:52 --> 00:15:53 to these
00:15:53 --> 00:15:54 words of
00:15:54 --> 00:15:54 Jesus.
00:15:56 --> 00:15:57 Jesus is
00:15:57 --> 00:15:58 promising so
00:15:58 --> 00:15:58 much more
00:15:58 --> 00:15:59 than just
00:15:59 --> 00:15:59 knowledge of
00:15:59 --> 00:16:00 God.
00:16:01 --> 00:16:02 He's promising
00:16:02 --> 00:16:03 intimacy with
00:16:03 --> 00:16:04 God.
00:16:05 --> 00:16:06 Jesus is the
00:16:06 --> 00:16:08 only way to
00:16:08 --> 00:16:09 change God
00:16:09 --> 00:16:10 from being an
00:16:10 --> 00:16:11 oppressive boss
00:16:11 --> 00:16:12 who I need to
00:16:12 --> 00:16:13 please to
00:16:13 --> 00:16:14 being a loving
00:16:14 --> 00:16:15 father who
00:16:15 --> 00:16:16 accepts and
00:16:16 --> 00:16:17 embraces me.
00:16:17 --> 00:16:18 he's the
00:16:18 --> 00:16:19 only way to
00:16:19 --> 00:16:19 turn a
00:16:19 --> 00:16:20 relationship
00:16:20 --> 00:16:20 with God
00:16:20 --> 00:16:21 from fear
00:16:21 --> 00:16:22 and uncertainty
00:16:22 --> 00:16:23 to absolute
00:16:23 --> 00:16:24 confidence and
00:16:24 --> 00:16:25 warmth and
00:16:25 --> 00:16:25 love.
00:16:28 --> 00:16:29 Now my
00:16:29 --> 00:16:30 girls know,
00:16:30 --> 00:16:30 I've got three
00:16:30 --> 00:16:31 daughters and
00:16:31 --> 00:16:32 they know
00:16:32 --> 00:16:34 that if
00:16:34 --> 00:16:36 they tell me
00:16:36 --> 00:16:36 that they're
00:16:36 --> 00:16:36 going to do
00:16:36 --> 00:16:37 a chore,
00:16:38 --> 00:16:38 like unpack
00:16:38 --> 00:16:39 the dishwasher
00:16:39 --> 00:16:40 and go and
00:16:40 --> 00:16:41 watch TV
00:16:41 --> 00:16:41 instead,
00:16:42 --> 00:16:43 that there
00:16:43 --> 00:16:43 will be
00:16:43 --> 00:16:44 consequences
00:16:44 --> 00:16:44 for that.
00:16:45 --> 00:16:46 But they
00:16:46 --> 00:16:47 also know
00:16:47 --> 00:16:48 that the
00:16:48 --> 00:16:49 consequence
00:16:49 --> 00:16:49 isn't going
00:16:49 --> 00:16:50 to be I'm
00:16:50 --> 00:16:50 going to
00:16:50 --> 00:16:51 fire them
00:16:51 --> 00:16:51 from the
00:16:51 --> 00:16:52 family.
00:16:52 --> 00:16:53 They're not
00:16:53 --> 00:16:53 going to get
00:16:53 --> 00:16:54 the sack
00:16:54 --> 00:16:54 from being
00:16:54 --> 00:16:55 in the
00:16:55 --> 00:16:55 family for
00:16:55 --> 00:16:56 that.
00:16:58 --> 00:16:59 Even at
00:16:59 --> 00:17:00 their age,
00:17:00 --> 00:17:00 what they
00:17:00 --> 00:17:01 don't fully
00:17:01 --> 00:17:04 understand is
00:17:04 --> 00:17:04 that they
00:17:04 --> 00:17:06 haven't even
00:17:06 --> 00:17:07 begun to
00:17:07 --> 00:17:08 plumb the
00:17:08 --> 00:17:09 depths of
00:17:09 --> 00:17:10 what me as
00:17:10 --> 00:17:10 their dad and
00:17:10 --> 00:17:11 that as their
00:17:11 --> 00:17:12 mum would do
00:17:12 --> 00:17:12 if they were
00:17:12 --> 00:17:13 in danger.
00:17:13 --> 00:17:14 they
00:17:14 --> 00:17:15 didn't even
00:17:15 --> 00:17:15 plumb the
00:17:15 --> 00:17:16 depths of
00:17:16 --> 00:17:16 that.
00:17:18 --> 00:17:19 Back in
00:17:19 --> 00:17:21 2012, I
00:17:21 --> 00:17:22 was in
00:17:22 --> 00:17:22 Saisha,
00:17:23 --> 00:17:24 it's right
00:17:24 --> 00:17:25 up the tip
00:17:25 --> 00:17:25 of Australia,
00:17:27 --> 00:17:27 I've been
00:17:27 --> 00:17:28 Cape York,
00:17:28 --> 00:17:28 and one
00:17:28 --> 00:17:29 afternoon I
00:17:29 --> 00:17:31 went to
00:17:31 --> 00:17:31 this place,
00:17:31 --> 00:17:32 which is at
00:17:32 --> 00:17:33 Saisha, on
00:17:33 --> 00:17:33 that wharf
00:17:33 --> 00:17:33 fishing.
00:17:34 --> 00:17:36 And I
00:17:36 --> 00:17:37 was up there
00:17:37 --> 00:17:37 with a group
00:17:37 --> 00:17:37 of friends,
00:17:38 --> 00:17:39 and one
00:17:39 --> 00:17:39 of the
00:17:39 --> 00:17:40 blokes had
00:17:40 --> 00:17:41 his four-year-old
00:17:41 --> 00:17:41 son with
00:17:41 --> 00:17:43 us, and
00:17:43 --> 00:17:44 we were on
00:17:44 --> 00:17:44 the deck
00:17:44 --> 00:17:45 of that
00:17:45 --> 00:17:47 wharf doing
00:17:47 --> 00:17:47 the fishing,
00:17:48 --> 00:17:48 and we
00:17:48 --> 00:17:49 were told,
00:17:49 --> 00:17:50 it's about a
00:17:50 --> 00:17:50 four-meter
00:17:50 --> 00:17:51 drop from
00:17:51 --> 00:17:52 where we
00:17:52 --> 00:17:52 were to
00:17:52 --> 00:17:54 the water,
00:17:55 --> 00:17:55 and we
00:17:55 --> 00:17:56 had been
00:17:56 --> 00:17:57 told that
00:17:57 --> 00:17:58 afternoon that
00:17:58 --> 00:17:59 there is a
00:17:59 --> 00:18:01 four-meter
00:18:01 --> 00:18:02 saltwater
00:18:02 --> 00:18:03 crocodile that
00:18:03 --> 00:18:03 lives under
00:18:03 --> 00:18:04 the wharf.
00:18:05 --> 00:18:06 No point
00:18:06 --> 00:18:06 fishing there,
00:18:07 --> 00:18:07 catch anything
00:18:07 --> 00:18:08 decent, the
00:18:08 --> 00:18:09 croc will grab
00:18:09 --> 00:18:09 it, and
00:18:09 --> 00:18:09 there'll be
00:18:09 --> 00:18:10 nothing left
00:18:10 --> 00:18:10 for you.
00:18:11 --> 00:18:11 But this
00:18:11 --> 00:18:12 is my
00:18:12 --> 00:18:13 only time
00:18:13 --> 00:18:14 to fish
00:18:14 --> 00:18:14 at the
00:18:14 --> 00:18:15 top end
00:18:15 --> 00:18:15 in the
00:18:15 --> 00:18:15 Gulf, and
00:18:15 --> 00:18:16 hopefully catch
00:18:16 --> 00:18:16 something of
00:18:16 --> 00:18:17 reasonable
00:18:17 --> 00:18:17 size.
00:18:19 --> 00:18:20 And my
00:18:20 --> 00:18:21 particular issue
00:18:21 --> 00:18:21 with the
00:18:21 --> 00:18:22 wharf at
00:18:22 --> 00:18:23 Saisha is
00:18:23 --> 00:18:24 that there
00:18:24 --> 00:18:24 was no
00:18:24 --> 00:18:25 fence, no
00:18:25 --> 00:18:26 barricades, or
00:18:26 --> 00:18:27 anything like
00:18:27 --> 00:18:27 that.
00:18:28 --> 00:18:29 I'm trying to
00:18:29 --> 00:18:29 enjoy an
00:18:29 --> 00:18:30 afternoon of
00:18:30 --> 00:18:31 fishing, and
00:18:31 --> 00:18:32 I've got this
00:18:32 --> 00:18:33 four-year-old,
00:18:33 --> 00:18:34 who's kind of
00:18:34 --> 00:18:35 an overconfident
00:18:35 --> 00:18:36 four-year-old,
00:18:36 --> 00:18:37 doing this
00:18:37 --> 00:18:39 at the edge
00:18:39 --> 00:18:40 of the
00:18:40 --> 00:18:40 wharf,
00:18:40 --> 00:18:41 looking over
00:18:41 --> 00:18:42 it, and
00:18:42 --> 00:18:42 doing this
00:18:42 --> 00:18:43 along the
00:18:43 --> 00:18:43 edge.
00:18:44 --> 00:18:44 And I'm
00:18:44 --> 00:18:44 thinking,
00:18:45 --> 00:18:45 there's a
00:18:45 --> 00:18:46 four-meter
00:18:46 --> 00:18:46 crocodile.
00:18:47 --> 00:18:48 Your afternoon
00:18:48 --> 00:18:50 tea is what
00:18:50 --> 00:18:50 you are to
00:18:50 --> 00:18:51 this crocodile.
00:18:52 --> 00:18:52 And so I'm
00:18:52 --> 00:18:53 trying to
00:18:53 --> 00:18:53 relax.
00:18:54 --> 00:18:55 It appeared
00:18:55 --> 00:18:56 to me that
00:18:56 --> 00:18:56 this kid's
00:18:56 --> 00:18:58 dad was not
00:18:58 --> 00:18:59 concerned at
00:18:59 --> 00:19:00 all about
00:19:00 --> 00:19:00 this.
00:19:03 --> 00:19:03 He's not
00:19:03 --> 00:19:05 in line,
00:19:05 --> 00:19:06 getting best
00:19:06 --> 00:19:06 dad of the
00:19:06 --> 00:19:06 year.
00:19:06 --> 00:19:07 I'm
00:19:07 --> 00:19:08 going to
00:19:08 --> 00:19:09 do this.
00:19:09 --> 00:19:09 Dad's
00:19:09 --> 00:19:10 over there.
00:19:10 --> 00:19:11 This kid,
00:19:11 --> 00:19:11 for some
00:19:11 --> 00:19:12 reason,
00:19:12 --> 00:19:12 wanted to
00:19:12 --> 00:19:12 hang around
00:19:12 --> 00:19:13 me and
00:19:13 --> 00:19:14 do this.
00:19:14 --> 00:19:15 And I'm
00:19:15 --> 00:19:16 conflicted
00:19:16 --> 00:19:16 here.
00:19:17 --> 00:19:17 I'm wanting
00:19:17 --> 00:19:18 to enjoy
00:19:18 --> 00:19:18 my fishing,
00:19:18 --> 00:19:19 and I
00:19:19 --> 00:19:19 couldn't
00:19:19 --> 00:19:20 enjoy my
00:19:20 --> 00:19:20 fishing,
00:19:21 --> 00:19:21 because at
00:19:21 --> 00:19:22 any moment,
00:19:23 --> 00:19:23 this kid,
00:19:24 --> 00:19:24 in my view,
00:19:24 --> 00:19:24 is going to
00:19:24 --> 00:19:25 tumble into
00:19:25 --> 00:19:25 the water.
00:19:26 --> 00:19:26 And I'm
00:19:26 --> 00:19:28 now conflicted,
00:19:28 --> 00:19:28 because if he
00:19:28 --> 00:19:29 ends up
00:19:29 --> 00:19:30 there, I
00:19:30 --> 00:19:31 feel like I'm
00:19:31 --> 00:19:31 going to have
00:19:31 --> 00:19:31 to jump in
00:19:31 --> 00:19:32 and rescue
00:19:32 --> 00:19:32 him.
00:19:32 --> 00:19:33 And I
00:19:33 --> 00:19:33 don't want
00:19:33 --> 00:19:34 to rescue
00:19:34 --> 00:19:34 him,
00:19:34 --> 00:19:35 because there's
00:19:35 --> 00:19:35 a four-meter
00:19:35 --> 00:19:36 crocodile down
00:19:36 --> 00:19:36 there.
00:19:37 --> 00:19:38 And so I'm
00:19:38 --> 00:19:38 conflicted at
00:19:38 --> 00:19:39 this point.
00:19:39 --> 00:19:40 What do I
00:19:40 --> 00:19:40 do?
00:19:41 --> 00:19:41 Will I,
00:19:41 --> 00:19:42 I mean,
00:19:42 --> 00:19:42 for me,
00:19:42 --> 00:19:43 getting eaten
00:19:43 --> 00:19:43 by a
00:19:43 --> 00:19:44 crocodile's
00:19:44 --> 00:19:45 got to be
00:19:45 --> 00:19:45 the worst
00:19:45 --> 00:19:46 way to go.
00:19:48 --> 00:19:48 Potentially,
00:19:48 --> 00:19:49 the worst
00:19:49 --> 00:19:49 way to go.
00:19:51 --> 00:19:52 And certainly
00:19:52 --> 00:19:52 not a helpful
00:19:52 --> 00:19:53 way to go,
00:19:53 --> 00:19:53 that's for
00:19:53 --> 00:19:53 sure.
00:19:55 --> 00:19:57 And so I
00:19:57 --> 00:19:57 cannot
00:19:57 --> 00:19:58 relax.
00:20:00 --> 00:20:00 And to
00:20:00 --> 00:20:02 save me
00:20:02 --> 00:20:04 the possibility
00:20:04 --> 00:20:05 of surrendering
00:20:05 --> 00:20:06 my life to
00:20:06 --> 00:20:07 the jaws of
00:20:07 --> 00:20:07 a crocodile,
00:20:08 --> 00:20:09 I gave up
00:20:09 --> 00:20:10 my one and
00:20:10 --> 00:20:11 only opportunity
00:20:11 --> 00:20:12 to fish in
00:20:12 --> 00:20:12 the gulf by
00:20:12 --> 00:20:13 packing up
00:20:13 --> 00:20:13 and going
00:20:13 --> 00:20:14 back to
00:20:14 --> 00:20:14 the campsite.
00:20:15 --> 00:20:16 Because I
00:20:16 --> 00:20:17 was not
00:20:17 --> 00:20:17 going to
00:20:17 --> 00:20:18 jump in,
00:20:19 --> 00:20:19 well, I
00:20:19 --> 00:20:20 might have
00:20:20 --> 00:20:20 had to have
00:20:20 --> 00:20:21 jumped in
00:20:21 --> 00:20:22 to save
00:20:22 --> 00:20:23 a four-year-old.
00:20:25 --> 00:20:25 Now,
00:20:25 --> 00:20:30 I am
00:20:30 --> 00:20:33 a finite,
00:20:34 --> 00:20:35 flawed,
00:20:36 --> 00:20:37 totally
00:20:37 --> 00:20:39 average
00:20:39 --> 00:20:39 parent.
00:20:40 --> 00:20:41 And it
00:20:41 --> 00:20:42 scares me
00:20:42 --> 00:20:44 to know
00:20:44 --> 00:20:44 how far
00:20:44 --> 00:20:45 I would
00:20:45 --> 00:20:45 go to
00:20:45 --> 00:20:46 save one
00:20:46 --> 00:20:46 of my
00:20:46 --> 00:20:46 daughters.
00:20:49 --> 00:20:49 If that
00:20:49 --> 00:20:50 was my
00:20:50 --> 00:20:51 daughter that
00:20:51 --> 00:20:51 happened to
00:20:51 --> 00:20:52 fall in in
00:20:52 --> 00:20:52 that moment,
00:20:52 --> 00:20:53 I would
00:20:53 --> 00:20:54 not even
00:20:54 --> 00:20:54 think,
00:20:55 --> 00:20:57 not even
00:20:57 --> 00:20:58 think for a
00:20:58 --> 00:20:58 moment,
00:20:58 --> 00:20:58 I would
00:20:58 --> 00:20:59 willingly give
00:20:59 --> 00:21:00 my life
00:21:00 --> 00:21:01 to a
00:21:01 --> 00:21:01 four-meter
00:21:01 --> 00:21:02 crocodile for
00:21:02 --> 00:21:03 one of my
00:21:03 --> 00:21:03 kids.
00:21:07 --> 00:21:08 There is a
00:21:08 --> 00:21:09 real
00:21:09 --> 00:21:10 sweetness
00:21:10 --> 00:21:10 here,
00:21:11 --> 00:21:12 because
00:21:12 --> 00:21:14 Jesus is
00:21:14 --> 00:21:15 saying
00:21:15 --> 00:21:16 that there
00:21:16 --> 00:21:17 is no
00:21:17 --> 00:21:18 other way
00:21:18 --> 00:21:19 for us
00:21:19 --> 00:21:20 to have
00:21:20 --> 00:21:21 this kind
00:21:21 --> 00:21:22 of confidence
00:21:22 --> 00:21:24 about a
00:21:24 --> 00:21:25 relationship
00:21:25 --> 00:21:25 with God,
00:21:25 --> 00:21:26 a confidence
00:21:26 --> 00:21:29 that this
00:21:29 --> 00:21:29 God,
00:21:29 --> 00:21:30 this Father
00:21:30 --> 00:21:31 would love
00:21:31 --> 00:21:32 me and
00:21:32 --> 00:21:34 us so
00:21:34 --> 00:21:34 much more
00:21:34 --> 00:21:36 than any
00:21:36 --> 00:21:38 mother would
00:21:38 --> 00:21:38 love their
00:21:38 --> 00:21:39 children or
00:21:39 --> 00:21:40 father would
00:21:40 --> 00:21:40 love their
00:21:40 --> 00:21:41 children.
00:21:41 --> 00:21:41 There is
00:21:41 --> 00:21:42 only one
00:21:42 --> 00:21:43 way to
00:21:43 --> 00:21:43 have that
00:21:43 --> 00:21:44 kind of
00:21:44 --> 00:21:44 confidence.
00:21:45 --> 00:21:46 And that
00:21:46 --> 00:21:47 is in
00:21:47 --> 00:21:48 Jesus.
00:21:50 --> 00:21:51 That's the
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 sweetness that
00:21:52 --> 00:21:52 he offers
00:21:52 --> 00:21:54 here in
00:21:54 --> 00:21:55 declaring that
00:21:55 --> 00:21:56 he is the
00:21:56 --> 00:21:56 way to the
00:21:56 --> 00:21:57 Father.
00:21:57 --> 00:21:57 He's offering
00:21:57 --> 00:21:59 us intimacy.
00:21:59 --> 00:22:00 And there
00:22:00 --> 00:22:00 is no other
00:22:00 --> 00:22:01 religion in
00:22:01 --> 00:22:02 the history of
00:22:02 --> 00:22:03 this world that
00:22:03 --> 00:22:04 declares that
00:22:04 --> 00:22:05 God loves us
00:22:05 --> 00:22:05 more than we
00:22:05 --> 00:22:06 love ourselves.
00:22:06 --> 00:22:07 Not a single
00:22:07 --> 00:22:09 religion declares
00:22:09 --> 00:22:11 that God loves
00:22:11 --> 00:22:12 us more than
00:22:12 --> 00:22:13 we love
00:22:13 --> 00:22:13 ourselves.
00:22:15 --> 00:22:16 There's not
00:22:16 --> 00:22:16 a single
00:22:16 --> 00:22:17 religion that
00:22:17 --> 00:22:18 declares that
00:22:18 --> 00:22:19 you cannot
00:22:19 --> 00:22:21 be fired
00:22:21 --> 00:22:21 from the
00:22:21 --> 00:22:23 family like
00:22:23 --> 00:22:23 the Christian
00:22:23 --> 00:22:24 faith.
00:22:24 --> 00:22:24 Not a
00:22:24 --> 00:22:25 single one.
00:22:27 --> 00:22:28 And so
00:22:28 --> 00:22:29 that makes
00:22:29 --> 00:22:31 this exclusive
00:22:31 --> 00:22:32 claim of
00:22:32 --> 00:22:33 Jesus good
00:22:33 --> 00:22:34 news not
00:22:34 --> 00:22:35 good advice.
00:22:35 --> 00:22:35 Every other
00:22:35 --> 00:22:36 religion and
00:22:36 --> 00:22:36 philosophical
00:22:36 --> 00:22:37 system even
00:22:37 --> 00:22:38 the system of
00:22:38 --> 00:22:39 no religion
00:22:39 --> 00:22:40 declares that
00:22:40 --> 00:22:41 if you follow
00:22:41 --> 00:22:42 this advice or
00:22:42 --> 00:22:42 you live in
00:22:42 --> 00:22:43 this particular
00:22:43 --> 00:22:43 way you
00:22:43 --> 00:22:44 obey these
00:22:44 --> 00:22:45 rules then
00:22:45 --> 00:22:45 you will
00:22:45 --> 00:22:46 achieve the
00:22:46 --> 00:22:46 goal of
00:22:46 --> 00:22:47 life.
00:22:49 --> 00:22:49 Not
00:22:49 --> 00:22:50 Christianity.
00:22:51 --> 00:22:52 Jesus has
00:22:52 --> 00:22:54 not come to
00:22:54 --> 00:22:54 show us how
00:22:54 --> 00:22:55 to strive.
00:22:55 --> 00:22:56 He did the
00:22:56 --> 00:22:56 striving.
00:22:58 --> 00:22:58 He didn't
00:22:58 --> 00:22:59 come to show
00:22:59 --> 00:23:00 us a mountain
00:23:00 --> 00:23:00 of righteousness
00:23:00 --> 00:23:01 to climb.
00:23:02 --> 00:23:02 He climbed
00:23:02 --> 00:23:03 it.
00:23:03 --> 00:23:06 it was all
00:23:06 --> 00:23:07 done for
00:23:07 --> 00:23:08 us because
00:23:08 --> 00:23:09 we are
00:23:09 --> 00:23:11 incapable of
00:23:11 --> 00:23:13 climbing and
00:23:13 --> 00:23:14 striving.
00:23:16 --> 00:23:16 You see
00:23:16 --> 00:23:18 the biblical
00:23:18 --> 00:23:19 picture of
00:23:19 --> 00:23:20 the human
00:23:20 --> 00:23:20 nature and
00:23:20 --> 00:23:21 the human
00:23:21 --> 00:23:22 race says
00:23:22 --> 00:23:23 that we need
00:23:23 --> 00:23:23 someone to
00:23:23 --> 00:23:24 intervene.
00:23:26 --> 00:23:26 And
00:23:26 --> 00:23:29 Ephesians 2
00:23:29 --> 00:23:30 1 to 3
00:23:30 --> 00:23:31 we see why
00:23:31 --> 00:23:32 we can't do
00:23:32 --> 00:23:32 it.
00:23:32 --> 00:23:32 It says
00:23:32 --> 00:23:33 we are
00:23:33 --> 00:23:33 dead.
00:23:34 --> 00:23:35 We are
00:23:35 --> 00:23:36 dead in
00:23:36 --> 00:23:36 our
00:23:36 --> 00:23:36 transgressions
00:23:36 --> 00:23:37 and sins
00:23:37 --> 00:23:37 in which
00:23:37 --> 00:23:38 we used
00:23:38 --> 00:23:38 to live.
00:23:38 --> 00:23:38 All of
00:23:38 --> 00:23:39 us also
00:23:39 --> 00:23:40 lived among
00:23:40 --> 00:23:40 them at
00:23:40 --> 00:23:41 one time
00:23:41 --> 00:23:41 so we're
00:23:41 --> 00:23:42 all dead
00:23:42 --> 00:23:43 and we're
00:23:43 --> 00:23:43 all by
00:23:43 --> 00:23:44 nature
00:23:44 --> 00:23:45 objects of
00:23:45 --> 00:23:45 wrath.
00:23:46 --> 00:23:46 You see
00:23:46 --> 00:23:46 God's
00:23:46 --> 00:23:47 diagnosis of
00:23:47 --> 00:23:47 the human
00:23:47 --> 00:23:49 condition is
00:23:49 --> 00:23:49 not that
00:23:49 --> 00:23:49 we're in
00:23:49 --> 00:23:50 danger of
00:23:50 --> 00:23:51 death but
00:23:51 --> 00:23:52 that we're
00:23:52 --> 00:23:52 in a state
00:23:52 --> 00:23:53 of real
00:23:53 --> 00:23:54 and present
00:23:54 --> 00:23:54 death.
00:23:56 --> 00:23:57 And yet
00:23:57 --> 00:23:57 you look
00:23:57 --> 00:23:57 around a
00:23:57 --> 00:23:58 room like
00:23:58 --> 00:23:58 this and
00:23:58 --> 00:23:59 there are
00:23:59 --> 00:24:00 people whose
00:24:00 --> 00:24:01 bodies are
00:24:01 --> 00:24:01 active,
00:24:01 --> 00:24:02 whose minds
00:24:02 --> 00:24:02 are sharp,
00:24:02 --> 00:24:03 personalities
00:24:03 --> 00:24:03 brimming.
00:24:05 --> 00:24:05 And yet
00:24:05 --> 00:24:06 in the
00:24:06 --> 00:24:06 area that
00:24:06 --> 00:24:07 matters the
00:24:07 --> 00:24:07 most,
00:24:08 --> 00:24:09 our souls,
00:24:10 --> 00:24:10 our relationship
00:24:10 --> 00:24:11 with God,
00:24:11 --> 00:24:11 there is no
00:24:11 --> 00:24:12 life there.
00:24:13 --> 00:24:13 We are all
00:24:13 --> 00:24:14 blind to the
00:24:14 --> 00:24:15 reality,
00:24:15 --> 00:24:16 to the demands
00:24:16 --> 00:24:17 and the glory
00:24:17 --> 00:24:17 of our
00:24:17 --> 00:24:18 created God.
00:24:18 --> 00:24:18 We simply
00:24:18 --> 00:24:19 do not
00:24:19 --> 00:24:20 love him.
00:24:22 --> 00:24:23 We simply
00:24:23 --> 00:24:23 do not
00:24:23 --> 00:24:24 love him.
00:24:25 --> 00:24:26 He is
00:24:26 --> 00:24:27 dead
00:24:27 --> 00:24:28 to us.
00:24:28 --> 00:24:34 Ali,
00:24:34 --> 00:24:34 can you
00:24:34 --> 00:24:35 push the
00:24:35 --> 00:24:35 next slide
00:24:35 --> 00:24:36 for me?
00:24:37 --> 00:24:38 As
00:24:38 --> 00:24:38 John
00:24:38 --> 00:24:39 Stott
00:24:39 --> 00:24:39 says,
00:24:40 --> 00:24:41 we should
00:24:41 --> 00:24:41 not
00:24:41 --> 00:24:41 hesitate
00:24:41 --> 00:24:42 to affirm
00:24:42 --> 00:24:43 that a
00:24:43 --> 00:24:45 life
00:24:45 --> 00:24:46 without
00:24:46 --> 00:24:47 God,
00:24:47 --> 00:24:47 however
00:24:47 --> 00:24:48 physically
00:24:48 --> 00:24:48 fit and
00:24:48 --> 00:24:49 mentally
00:24:49 --> 00:24:49 alert the
00:24:49 --> 00:24:50 person may
00:24:50 --> 00:24:50 be,
00:24:51 --> 00:24:52 is a
00:24:52 --> 00:24:53 living
00:24:53 --> 00:24:54 death and
00:24:54 --> 00:24:55 those who
00:24:55 --> 00:24:55 live it
00:24:55 --> 00:24:56 are dead
00:24:56 --> 00:24:57 even while
00:24:57 --> 00:24:58 they are
00:24:58 --> 00:24:58 living.
00:25:00 --> 00:25:01 We are
00:25:01 --> 00:25:01 helpless,
00:25:02 --> 00:25:03 we are
00:25:03 --> 00:25:03 hopeless,
00:25:04 --> 00:25:05 and we
00:25:05 --> 00:25:05 are in
00:25:05 --> 00:25:06 great peril
00:25:06 --> 00:25:06 unless
00:25:06 --> 00:25:07 something is
00:25:07 --> 00:25:08 done for
00:25:08 --> 00:25:08 us.
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 I've got a
00:25:10 --> 00:25:10 picture up
00:25:10 --> 00:25:11 here of the
00:25:11 --> 00:25:11 philosopher
00:25:11 --> 00:25:12 Jeremy
00:25:12 --> 00:25:12 Bentham.
00:25:12 --> 00:25:13 He died
00:25:13 --> 00:25:13 on the
00:25:13 --> 00:25:14 6th of
00:25:14 --> 00:25:15 June
00:25:15 --> 00:25:18 1832.
00:25:20 --> 00:25:21 And this
00:25:21 --> 00:25:21 guy left
00:25:21 --> 00:25:22 his entire
00:25:22 --> 00:25:24 estate to
00:25:24 --> 00:25:25 the University
00:25:25 --> 00:25:26 College of
00:25:26 --> 00:25:26 London,
00:25:26 --> 00:25:27 University
00:25:27 --> 00:25:27 Hospital
00:25:27 --> 00:25:28 College
00:25:28 --> 00:25:28 Hospital in
00:25:28 --> 00:25:29 London,
00:25:29 --> 00:25:30 on the
00:25:30 --> 00:25:31 condition,
00:25:31 --> 00:25:32 you can
00:25:32 --> 00:25:32 have all
00:25:32 --> 00:25:32 of my
00:25:32 --> 00:25:33 estate on
00:25:33 --> 00:25:33 the condition
00:25:33 --> 00:25:34 that you
00:25:34 --> 00:25:34 preserve my
00:25:34 --> 00:25:35 body and
00:25:35 --> 00:25:35 stick it in
00:25:35 --> 00:25:35 a wooden
00:25:35 --> 00:25:36 box.
00:25:37 --> 00:25:39 And that
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40 my body
00:25:40 --> 00:25:41 in the
00:25:41 --> 00:25:41 box gets
00:25:41 --> 00:25:42 wheeled out
00:25:42 --> 00:25:44 for attendance
00:25:44 --> 00:25:44 at the
00:25:44 --> 00:25:45 hospital board
00:25:45 --> 00:25:45 meeting.
00:25:45 --> 00:25:46 Every hospital
00:25:46 --> 00:25:46 board meeting,
00:25:46 --> 00:25:46 I meant to
00:25:46 --> 00:25:47 be there.
00:25:47 --> 00:25:49 And over
00:25:49 --> 00:25:50 the years,
00:25:50 --> 00:25:51 they have
00:25:51 --> 00:25:53 reworked that
00:25:53 --> 00:25:55 requirement to
00:25:55 --> 00:25:55 the point
00:25:55 --> 00:25:57 where once
00:25:57 --> 00:25:57 a year,
00:25:57 --> 00:25:58 I think it's
00:25:58 --> 00:25:58 at the
00:25:58 --> 00:25:59 AGM,
00:25:59 --> 00:25:59 the cabinet's
00:25:59 --> 00:26:00 wheeled out
00:26:00 --> 00:26:00 to the
00:26:00 --> 00:26:01 board table
00:26:01 --> 00:26:02 and the
00:26:02 --> 00:26:03 chairman says,
00:26:03 --> 00:26:03 Jeremy
00:26:03 --> 00:26:04 Bentham,
00:26:04 --> 00:26:05 present but
00:26:05 --> 00:26:05 not voting.
00:26:07 --> 00:26:08 Weird thing,
00:26:10 --> 00:26:11 that is,
00:26:11 --> 00:26:12 this guy
00:26:12 --> 00:26:13 will never
00:26:13 --> 00:26:15 raise a hand
00:26:15 --> 00:26:16 in response,
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 he never
00:26:18 --> 00:26:18 submits a
00:26:18 --> 00:26:19 motion,
00:26:19 --> 00:26:20 he's there
00:26:20 --> 00:26:21 in body
00:26:21 --> 00:26:23 but he's
00:26:23 --> 00:26:23 been dead
00:26:23 --> 00:26:24 for 175
00:26:24 --> 00:26:25 years.
00:26:25 --> 00:26:25 I believe
00:26:25 --> 00:26:26 his head
00:26:26 --> 00:26:26 is now
00:26:26 --> 00:26:27 waxed.
00:26:27 --> 00:26:28 Been dead
00:26:28 --> 00:26:29 for 175
00:26:29 --> 00:26:29 years.
00:26:31 --> 00:26:31 You see,
00:26:32 --> 00:26:32 dead people
00:26:32 --> 00:26:33 can't do
00:26:33 --> 00:26:34 anything for
00:26:34 --> 00:26:36 themselves and
00:26:36 --> 00:26:36 that is all
00:26:36 --> 00:26:36 of us
00:26:36 --> 00:26:37 spiritually.
00:26:38 --> 00:26:39 We need
00:26:39 --> 00:26:39 someone to
00:26:39 --> 00:26:40 act for us
00:26:40 --> 00:26:41 and yet the
00:26:41 --> 00:26:41 very next
00:26:41 --> 00:26:42 verse in
00:26:42 --> 00:26:42 Ephesians
00:26:42 --> 00:26:44 declares the
00:26:44 --> 00:26:44 good news of
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45 Christianity.
00:26:45 --> 00:26:46 Have a look
00:26:46 --> 00:26:46 at it up on
00:26:46 --> 00:26:47 the screen.
00:26:47 --> 00:26:48 Because of
00:26:48 --> 00:26:48 his great
00:26:48 --> 00:26:49 love for
00:26:49 --> 00:26:49 us,
00:26:50 --> 00:26:50 God who
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 is rich
00:26:51 --> 00:26:51 in mercy
00:26:51 --> 00:26:52 made us
00:26:52 --> 00:26:53 alive with
00:26:53 --> 00:26:54 Christ even
00:26:54 --> 00:26:54 when we
00:26:54 --> 00:26:55 were dead
00:26:55 --> 00:26:55 in our
00:26:55 --> 00:26:56 transgressions.
00:26:56 --> 00:26:57 It is by
00:26:57 --> 00:26:58 grace that
00:26:58 --> 00:26:59 you have
00:26:59 --> 00:26:59 been saved.
00:27:03 --> 00:27:04 In our
00:27:04 --> 00:27:04 state of
00:27:04 --> 00:27:05 deadness,
00:27:05 --> 00:27:06 spiritual death,
00:27:06 --> 00:27:07 God acted
00:27:07 --> 00:27:07 with grace.
00:27:08 --> 00:27:09 God knows
00:27:09 --> 00:27:10 our true
00:27:10 --> 00:27:11 state and
00:27:11 --> 00:27:12 what is required
00:27:12 --> 00:27:12 to fix it.
00:27:13 --> 00:27:13 We are dead
00:27:13 --> 00:27:14 in transgressions
00:27:14 --> 00:27:15 and sin and
00:27:15 --> 00:27:15 so the Lord
00:27:15 --> 00:27:16 Jesus took
00:27:16 --> 00:27:17 that deadness
00:27:17 --> 00:27:18 upon himself
00:27:18 --> 00:27:18 that is
00:27:18 --> 00:27:20 God,
00:27:21 --> 00:27:21 the created
00:27:21 --> 00:27:22 God took
00:27:22 --> 00:27:22 on human
00:27:22 --> 00:27:23 form,
00:27:24 --> 00:27:24 identified
00:27:24 --> 00:27:25 with us,
00:27:26 --> 00:27:26 took on
00:27:26 --> 00:27:28 death for
00:27:28 --> 00:27:28 us,
00:27:29 --> 00:27:31 broke that
00:27:31 --> 00:27:32 curse so
00:27:32 --> 00:27:32 that we can
00:27:32 --> 00:27:33 have access
00:27:33 --> 00:27:34 to God.
00:27:36 --> 00:27:36 He went
00:27:36 --> 00:27:37 to the cross
00:27:37 --> 00:27:38 to open the
00:27:38 --> 00:27:39 way for us
00:27:39 --> 00:27:39 back to God.
00:27:40 --> 00:27:41 And so what
00:27:41 --> 00:27:41 that means is
00:27:41 --> 00:27:42 that Christianity
00:27:42 --> 00:27:43 is not good
00:27:43 --> 00:27:44 advice on how
00:27:44 --> 00:27:45 to improve
00:27:45 --> 00:27:45 your life.
00:27:45 --> 00:27:46 it is
00:27:46 --> 00:27:48 life-altering
00:27:48 --> 00:27:49 news that
00:27:49 --> 00:27:50 declares that
00:27:50 --> 00:27:51 the only way
00:27:51 --> 00:27:52 that you can
00:27:52 --> 00:27:53 have your sins
00:27:53 --> 00:27:54 forgiven and
00:27:54 --> 00:27:55 be saved is
00:27:55 --> 00:27:56 Jesus.
00:27:57 --> 00:27:58 The only way
00:27:58 --> 00:27:58 you can be
00:27:58 --> 00:27:59 raised from
00:27:59 --> 00:27:59 death to
00:27:59 --> 00:28:00 life is
00:28:00 --> 00:28:00 Jesus.
00:28:01 --> 00:28:02 The only way
00:28:02 --> 00:28:03 you can know
00:28:03 --> 00:28:04 God as a
00:28:04 --> 00:28:05 father and
00:28:05 --> 00:28:06 not as an
00:28:06 --> 00:28:06 oppressive
00:28:06 --> 00:28:07 boss is
00:28:07 --> 00:28:08 Jesus.
00:28:10 --> 00:28:11 God's grace
00:28:11 --> 00:28:13 allows the
00:28:13 --> 00:28:14 weakest to
00:28:14 --> 00:28:15 come.
00:28:16 --> 00:28:16 It allows
00:28:16 --> 00:28:18 every dead
00:28:18 --> 00:28:18 person to
00:28:18 --> 00:28:19 come.
00:28:20 --> 00:28:20 Every
00:28:20 --> 00:28:21 spiritually
00:28:21 --> 00:28:22 dead person
00:28:22 --> 00:28:22 to come.
00:28:25 --> 00:28:26 It excludes
00:28:26 --> 00:28:27 no one.
00:28:31 --> 00:28:32 So,
00:28:32 --> 00:28:34 that means
00:28:34 --> 00:28:35 that Jesus'
00:28:35 --> 00:28:36 claim here
00:28:36 --> 00:28:37 to be the
00:28:37 --> 00:28:38 way is
00:28:38 --> 00:28:39 an exclusive
00:28:39 --> 00:28:40 claim.
00:28:41 --> 00:28:42 But it's
00:28:42 --> 00:28:43 the most
00:28:43 --> 00:28:44 inclusive
00:28:44 --> 00:28:45 exclusive
00:28:45 --> 00:28:46 claim there
00:28:46 --> 00:28:47 is.
00:28:51 --> 00:28:52 In our
00:28:52 --> 00:28:53 world,
00:28:53 --> 00:28:54 everyone's
00:28:54 --> 00:28:54 making
00:28:54 --> 00:28:54 exclusive
00:28:54 --> 00:28:55 claims.
00:28:56 --> 00:28:57 But this
00:28:57 --> 00:28:57 is the
00:28:57 --> 00:28:57 most
00:28:57 --> 00:28:58 inclusive
00:28:58 --> 00:28:59 exclusive
00:28:59 --> 00:28:59 claim because
00:28:59 --> 00:29:00 of the
00:29:00 --> 00:29:00 grace of
00:29:00 --> 00:29:00 God.
00:29:01 --> 00:29:01 When
00:29:01 --> 00:29:01 someone
00:29:01 --> 00:29:02 says,
00:29:02 --> 00:29:03 you know,
00:29:03 --> 00:29:04 surely a
00:29:04 --> 00:29:05 good moral
00:29:05 --> 00:29:06 person can
00:29:06 --> 00:29:06 find their
00:29:06 --> 00:29:06 way to
00:29:06 --> 00:29:07 God,
00:29:07 --> 00:29:08 they are
00:29:08 --> 00:29:09 being so,
00:29:09 --> 00:29:10 so exclusive
00:29:10 --> 00:29:10 at that
00:29:10 --> 00:29:10 point.
00:29:12 --> 00:29:13 The premise
00:29:13 --> 00:29:13 behind that
00:29:13 --> 00:29:14 exclusive
00:29:14 --> 00:29:15 claim is
00:29:15 --> 00:29:15 that the
00:29:15 --> 00:29:16 good moral
00:29:16 --> 00:29:17 people find
00:29:17 --> 00:29:17 God,
00:29:17 --> 00:29:18 but all
00:29:18 --> 00:29:18 the bad
00:29:18 --> 00:29:19 people don't.
00:29:20 --> 00:29:20 So,
00:29:20 --> 00:29:21 some people
00:29:21 --> 00:29:21 are in,
00:29:21 --> 00:29:21 some people
00:29:21 --> 00:29:22 are out.
00:29:23 --> 00:29:23 It elevates
00:29:23 --> 00:29:24 that exclusive
00:29:24 --> 00:29:24 claim,
00:29:24 --> 00:29:25 elevates
00:29:25 --> 00:29:26 certain people
00:29:26 --> 00:29:27 in society
00:29:27 --> 00:29:28 over others.
00:29:31 --> 00:29:31 Jesus
00:29:31 --> 00:29:32 says,
00:29:32 --> 00:29:33 in actual
00:29:33 --> 00:29:33 fact,
00:29:35 --> 00:29:35 those who
00:29:35 --> 00:29:35 acknowledge
00:29:35 --> 00:29:36 that they
00:29:36 --> 00:29:37 are in fact
00:29:37 --> 00:29:37 dead and
00:29:37 --> 00:29:38 sinful and
00:29:38 --> 00:29:39 bad come
00:29:39 --> 00:29:39 to him
00:29:39 --> 00:29:40 and trust
00:29:40 --> 00:29:40 him and
00:29:40 --> 00:29:40 his work.
00:29:41 --> 00:29:41 They're the
00:29:41 --> 00:29:42 ones who
00:29:42 --> 00:29:42 are in.
00:29:43 --> 00:29:43 It's those
00:29:43 --> 00:29:44 who see
00:29:44 --> 00:29:45 their sin
00:29:45 --> 00:29:45 against God
00:29:45 --> 00:29:46 and their
00:29:46 --> 00:29:46 offense against
00:29:46 --> 00:29:47 God.
00:29:47 --> 00:29:48 It's the
00:29:48 --> 00:29:48 humble who
00:29:48 --> 00:29:48 are in
00:29:48 --> 00:29:48 and the
00:29:48 --> 00:29:49 proud who
00:29:49 --> 00:29:49 are out.
00:29:51 --> 00:29:51 And so,
00:29:51 --> 00:29:52 yes,
00:29:53 --> 00:29:53 this claim
00:29:53 --> 00:29:54 of Jesus
00:29:54 --> 00:29:55 is exclusive,
00:29:56 --> 00:29:57 but it's
00:29:57 --> 00:29:59 sweet because
00:29:59 --> 00:30:00 it's the
00:30:00 --> 00:30:01 most inclusive
00:30:01 --> 00:30:02 exclusivity
00:30:02 --> 00:30:03 because it
00:30:03 --> 00:30:04 is open
00:30:04 --> 00:30:06 to everyone.
00:30:07 --> 00:30:07 Everyone.
00:30:08 --> 00:30:10 So,
00:30:10 --> 00:30:10 thirdly,
00:30:11 --> 00:30:11 my third
00:30:11 --> 00:30:12 point is
00:30:12 --> 00:30:13 humility
00:30:13 --> 00:30:14 and this
00:30:14 --> 00:30:14 exclusive
00:30:14 --> 00:30:15 claim.
00:30:18 --> 00:30:19 Christians
00:30:19 --> 00:30:20 are the
00:30:20 --> 00:30:21 only people,
00:30:21 --> 00:30:22 the only
00:30:22 --> 00:30:23 people whose
00:30:23 --> 00:30:24 exclusive claim
00:30:24 --> 00:30:25 leads to
00:30:25 --> 00:30:25 humility,
00:30:25 --> 00:30:26 not arrogance.
00:30:27 --> 00:30:27 If you,
00:30:27 --> 00:30:28 for instance,
00:30:28 --> 00:30:29 belong to
00:30:29 --> 00:30:31 a religion
00:30:31 --> 00:30:32 or a
00:30:32 --> 00:30:32 philosophical
00:30:32 --> 00:30:33 system that
00:30:33 --> 00:30:33 says you
00:30:33 --> 00:30:34 are in,
00:30:34 --> 00:30:34 you're part of
00:30:34 --> 00:30:35 the in
00:30:35 --> 00:30:35 group and
00:30:35 --> 00:30:35 you get
00:30:35 --> 00:30:36 access to
00:30:36 --> 00:30:36 God because
00:30:36 --> 00:30:37 of your
00:30:37 --> 00:30:37 effort or
00:30:37 --> 00:30:38 belief or
00:30:38 --> 00:30:39 knowledge or
00:30:39 --> 00:30:40 culture,
00:30:40 --> 00:30:42 then ultimately
00:30:42 --> 00:30:43 what that
00:30:43 --> 00:30:43 means is you
00:30:43 --> 00:30:44 start to feel
00:30:44 --> 00:30:46 superior to
00:30:46 --> 00:30:46 people who
00:30:46 --> 00:30:47 don't hold
00:30:47 --> 00:30:48 those views.
00:30:49 --> 00:30:49 You start
00:30:49 --> 00:30:50 to see
00:30:50 --> 00:30:51 those other
00:30:51 --> 00:30:51 people as,
00:30:51 --> 00:30:51 look at those
00:30:51 --> 00:30:52 poor people
00:30:52 --> 00:30:52 who don't
00:30:52 --> 00:30:52 have the
00:30:52 --> 00:30:54 same knowledge
00:30:54 --> 00:30:55 or belief
00:30:55 --> 00:30:55 that I've
00:30:55 --> 00:30:56 got.
00:30:56 --> 00:30:57 If you are
00:30:57 --> 00:30:58 a secular
00:30:58 --> 00:30:59 person who
00:30:59 --> 00:31:00 thinks that
00:31:00 --> 00:31:00 all religions
00:31:00 --> 00:31:01 are the
00:31:01 --> 00:31:02 same or
00:31:02 --> 00:31:03 that they're
00:31:03 --> 00:31:03 relative or
00:31:03 --> 00:31:04 they've all
00:31:04 --> 00:31:04 got bits of
00:31:04 --> 00:31:05 the truth,
00:31:05 --> 00:31:06 then ultimately
00:31:06 --> 00:31:07 you will
00:31:07 --> 00:31:08 feel superior
00:31:08 --> 00:31:09 to those
00:31:09 --> 00:31:10 poor fools
00:31:10 --> 00:31:11 who think
00:31:11 --> 00:31:12 that their
00:31:12 --> 00:31:12 religion is
00:31:12 --> 00:31:12 the only
00:31:12 --> 00:31:13 true one.
00:31:15 --> 00:31:15 Remember that
00:31:15 --> 00:31:16 parable I'd
00:31:16 --> 00:31:16 said right at
00:31:16 --> 00:31:17 the beginning
00:31:17 --> 00:31:17 about the
00:31:17 --> 00:31:18 elephant and
00:31:18 --> 00:31:18 the blind
00:31:18 --> 00:31:18 men?
00:31:20 --> 00:31:20 The point of
00:31:20 --> 00:31:21 that parable
00:31:21 --> 00:31:22 is that
00:31:22 --> 00:31:23 every religion
00:31:23 --> 00:31:25 has part of
00:31:25 --> 00:31:25 the truth but
00:31:25 --> 00:31:26 no one sees
00:31:26 --> 00:31:26 all of the
00:31:26 --> 00:31:27 truth.
00:31:28 --> 00:31:29 And that
00:31:29 --> 00:31:30 is how
00:31:30 --> 00:31:31 vast ways
00:31:31 --> 00:31:32 of our
00:31:32 --> 00:31:33 society
00:31:33 --> 00:31:34 view it.
00:31:36 --> 00:31:37 The problem
00:31:37 --> 00:31:37 with that
00:31:37 --> 00:31:39 is the
00:31:39 --> 00:31:40 only way
00:31:40 --> 00:31:41 that you
00:31:41 --> 00:31:42 could possibly
00:31:42 --> 00:31:42 say that
00:31:42 --> 00:31:43 all religions
00:31:43 --> 00:31:44 have part of
00:31:44 --> 00:31:45 the truth but
00:31:45 --> 00:31:45 no religion
00:31:45 --> 00:31:46 has the
00:31:46 --> 00:31:47 whole truth
00:31:47 --> 00:31:48 is if you
00:31:48 --> 00:31:49 think you
00:31:49 --> 00:31:50 see the
00:31:50 --> 00:31:50 entire
00:31:50 --> 00:31:50 picture.
00:31:53 --> 00:31:54 You're
00:31:54 --> 00:31:54 working on
00:31:54 --> 00:31:55 the assumption
00:31:55 --> 00:31:56 that you've
00:31:56 --> 00:31:56 got the
00:31:56 --> 00:31:57 picture.
00:31:58 --> 00:31:58 You've got
00:31:58 --> 00:31:59 the truth.
00:31:59 --> 00:31:59 truth.
00:32:01 --> 00:32:02 The only
00:32:02 --> 00:32:02 way you can
00:32:02 --> 00:32:03 see that
00:32:03 --> 00:32:03 every religion
00:32:03 --> 00:32:04 is blind in
00:32:04 --> 00:32:06 some way is
00:32:06 --> 00:32:06 if you think
00:32:06 --> 00:32:07 you're not
00:32:07 --> 00:32:07 blind.
00:32:11 --> 00:32:12 The only
00:32:12 --> 00:32:13 way to say
00:32:13 --> 00:32:13 nobody has
00:32:13 --> 00:32:14 the superior
00:32:14 --> 00:32:16 knowledge is
00:32:16 --> 00:32:16 to assume
00:32:16 --> 00:32:16 that you
00:32:16 --> 00:32:17 have the
00:32:17 --> 00:32:18 superior
00:32:18 --> 00:32:19 knowledge.
00:32:22 --> 00:32:22 Whichever
00:32:22 --> 00:32:23 way you
00:32:23 --> 00:32:23 come out
00:32:23 --> 00:32:24 of it,
00:32:24 --> 00:32:25 your exclusive
00:32:25 --> 00:32:26 claim leads
00:32:26 --> 00:32:27 to pride,
00:32:27 --> 00:32:27 leads to
00:32:27 --> 00:32:28 arrogance,
00:32:28 --> 00:32:28 arrogance,
00:32:28 --> 00:32:29 because it
00:32:29 --> 00:32:30 elevates you
00:32:30 --> 00:32:31 over others.
00:32:34 --> 00:32:35 But if
00:32:35 --> 00:32:35 you're a
00:32:35 --> 00:32:35 Christian,
00:32:36 --> 00:32:38 you are
00:32:38 --> 00:32:39 saved by
00:32:39 --> 00:32:40 grace.
00:32:41 --> 00:32:42 This means
00:32:42 --> 00:32:42 that when you
00:32:42 --> 00:32:43 talk to an
00:32:43 --> 00:32:43 atheist or
00:32:43 --> 00:32:44 you talk to
00:32:44 --> 00:32:44 a Buddhist,
00:32:45 --> 00:32:47 it is likely
00:32:47 --> 00:32:47 that they are
00:32:47 --> 00:32:48 better than
00:32:48 --> 00:32:48 you.
00:32:50 --> 00:32:51 But you're
00:32:51 --> 00:32:51 not saved
00:32:51 --> 00:32:52 because you're
00:32:52 --> 00:32:52 better.
00:32:53 --> 00:32:54 You are
00:32:54 --> 00:32:54 saved by
00:32:54 --> 00:32:55 grace.
00:32:56 --> 00:32:57 Christianity
00:32:57 --> 00:32:57 is the
00:32:57 --> 00:32:58 only
00:32:58 --> 00:32:59 exclusive
00:32:59 --> 00:33:00 claim that
00:33:00 --> 00:33:01 creates a
00:33:01 --> 00:33:02 spirit of
00:33:02 --> 00:33:03 humility.
00:33:04 --> 00:33:04 Christians
00:33:04 --> 00:33:05 therefore should
00:33:05 --> 00:33:06 be the most
00:33:06 --> 00:33:07 loving towards
00:33:07 --> 00:33:07 people who
00:33:07 --> 00:33:08 disagree with
00:33:08 --> 00:33:08 them, who
00:33:08 --> 00:33:09 have different
00:33:09 --> 00:33:09 views than
00:33:09 --> 00:33:10 they have.
00:33:11 --> 00:33:11 Christians
00:33:11 --> 00:33:11 should be the
00:33:11 --> 00:33:12 most forgiving.
00:33:13 --> 00:33:13 Christians should
00:33:13 --> 00:33:13 be the most
00:33:13 --> 00:33:14 patient.
00:33:14 --> 00:33:15 Christians should
00:33:15 --> 00:33:15 be the most
00:33:15 --> 00:33:15 humble.
00:33:15 --> 00:33:19 And friends,
00:33:19 --> 00:33:21 reality is
00:33:21 --> 00:33:23 until we
00:33:23 --> 00:33:24 are,
00:33:26 --> 00:33:27 why should
00:33:27 --> 00:33:29 our society
00:33:29 --> 00:33:31 believe this
00:33:31 --> 00:33:32 incredible claim
00:33:32 --> 00:33:33 of the Lord
00:33:33 --> 00:33:33 Jesus?
00:33:35 --> 00:33:36 Until they
00:33:36 --> 00:33:37 see this
00:33:37 --> 00:33:38 incredible claim
00:33:38 --> 00:33:38 of the Lord
00:33:38 --> 00:33:40 Jesus producing
00:33:40 --> 00:33:41 in us
00:33:41 --> 00:33:43 humility and
00:33:43 --> 00:33:43 grace and
00:33:43 --> 00:33:44 mercy and
00:33:44 --> 00:33:45 patience.
00:33:45 --> 00:33:49 the reason
00:33:49 --> 00:33:51 most people
00:33:51 --> 00:33:51 don't see
00:33:51 --> 00:33:52 it in
00:33:52 --> 00:33:53 Christians is
00:33:53 --> 00:33:54 because most
00:33:54 --> 00:33:55 Christians either
00:33:55 --> 00:33:56 don't understand
00:33:56 --> 00:33:57 they're saved by
00:33:57 --> 00:33:57 grace or
00:33:57 --> 00:33:58 forget they're
00:33:58 --> 00:33:59 saved by
00:33:59 --> 00:33:59 grace.
00:34:01 --> 00:34:02 Could that
00:34:02 --> 00:34:03 possibly be
00:34:03 --> 00:34:03 you?
00:34:03 --> 00:34:04 Up on the
00:34:04 --> 00:34:04 screen, have
00:34:04 --> 00:34:05 a look at
00:34:05 --> 00:34:06 verses 8 and
00:34:06 --> 00:34:07 9 of
00:34:07 --> 00:34:08 John 14.
00:34:09 --> 00:34:10 Jesus
00:34:10 --> 00:34:11 answered,
00:34:11 --> 00:34:12 don't you
00:34:12 --> 00:34:13 know me
00:34:13 --> 00:34:13 Philip?
00:34:14 --> 00:34:15 Even
00:34:15 --> 00:34:16 after I've
00:34:16 --> 00:34:16 been among
00:34:16 --> 00:34:17 you such a
00:34:17 --> 00:34:18 long time,
00:34:20 --> 00:34:20 anyone who
00:34:20 --> 00:34:21 has seen
00:34:21 --> 00:34:21 me has
00:34:21 --> 00:34:22 seen the
00:34:22 --> 00:34:22 Father.
00:34:22 --> 00:34:23 How can
00:34:23 --> 00:34:24 you say
00:34:24 --> 00:34:25 show us
00:34:25 --> 00:34:26 the Father?
00:34:28 --> 00:34:28 You see
00:34:28 --> 00:34:30 what Jesus
00:34:30 --> 00:34:30 is saying to
00:34:30 --> 00:34:30 Philip there?
00:34:32 --> 00:34:33 Have you
00:34:33 --> 00:34:33 been around
00:34:33 --> 00:34:34 me for so
00:34:34 --> 00:34:34 long,
00:34:34 --> 00:34:35 Philip, and
00:34:35 --> 00:34:35 yet you
00:34:35 --> 00:34:35 still don't
00:34:35 --> 00:34:36 know me?
00:34:36 --> 00:34:39 See, Jesus
00:34:39 --> 00:34:39 claims to be
00:34:39 --> 00:34:40 the way to
00:34:40 --> 00:34:40 God.
00:34:40 --> 00:34:41 He died that
00:34:41 --> 00:34:41 we might
00:34:41 --> 00:34:42 have intimacy
00:34:42 --> 00:34:42 with God.
00:34:42 --> 00:34:43 In fact,
00:34:43 --> 00:34:43 intimacy with
00:34:43 --> 00:34:44 God is what
00:34:44 --> 00:34:44 the universe
00:34:44 --> 00:34:44 is about.
00:34:46 --> 00:34:47 It's what
00:34:47 --> 00:34:47 the cross
00:34:47 --> 00:34:48 is about.
00:34:52 --> 00:34:52 And my
00:34:52 --> 00:34:53 question,
00:34:53 --> 00:34:54 potentially for
00:34:54 --> 00:34:54 you, if
00:34:54 --> 00:34:54 you're sitting
00:34:54 --> 00:34:55 in church
00:34:55 --> 00:34:56 for years,
00:34:57 --> 00:34:59 is what
00:34:59 --> 00:35:00 Jesus says
00:35:00 --> 00:35:01 to Philip
00:35:01 --> 00:35:01 here something
00:35:01 --> 00:35:02 that he might
00:35:02 --> 00:35:02 be saying
00:35:02 --> 00:35:03 to you?
00:35:04 --> 00:35:05 Is your
00:35:05 --> 00:35:05 relationship
00:35:05 --> 00:35:07 with God
00:35:07 --> 00:35:08 knowledge
00:35:08 --> 00:35:09 about him
00:35:09 --> 00:35:10 or is it
00:35:10 --> 00:35:11 intimate
00:35:11 --> 00:35:13 knowledge
00:35:13 --> 00:35:13 of him?
00:35:14 --> 00:35:15 That is,
00:35:16 --> 00:35:17 deep
00:35:17 --> 00:35:18 in your
00:35:18 --> 00:35:19 heart,
00:35:19 --> 00:35:20 do you
00:35:20 --> 00:35:21 sense the
00:35:21 --> 00:35:22 warm embrace
00:35:22 --> 00:35:24 of the
00:35:24 --> 00:35:24 gospel?
00:35:25 --> 00:35:26 Do you
00:35:26 --> 00:35:26 sense the
00:35:26 --> 00:35:28 warm embrace
00:35:28 --> 00:35:28 of the
00:35:28 --> 00:35:29 Lord Jesus?
00:35:29 --> 00:35:29 In the
00:35:29 --> 00:35:30 moments of
00:35:30 --> 00:35:30 failure,
00:35:30 --> 00:35:31 do you
00:35:31 --> 00:35:32 sense the
00:35:32 --> 00:35:33 warm embrace
00:35:33 --> 00:35:33 of the
00:35:33 --> 00:35:34 Lord Jesus?
00:35:35 --> 00:35:37 where he
00:35:37 --> 00:35:37 won't
00:35:37 --> 00:35:38 sack you
00:35:38 --> 00:35:38 from the
00:35:38 --> 00:35:38 family?
00:35:47 --> 00:35:47 Secondly,
00:35:48 --> 00:35:50 that warm
00:35:50 --> 00:35:51 embrace of
00:35:51 --> 00:35:51 the gospel
00:35:51 --> 00:35:52 is what's
00:35:52 --> 00:35:52 at stake
00:35:52 --> 00:35:53 for our
00:35:53 --> 00:35:54 world when
00:35:54 --> 00:35:55 we as
00:35:55 --> 00:35:56 Christians
00:35:56 --> 00:35:58 back away
00:35:58 --> 00:35:59 from the
00:35:59 --> 00:36:00 outrageous
00:36:00 --> 00:36:00 claims of
00:36:00 --> 00:36:01 Jesus.
00:36:01 --> 00:36:01 Jesus.
00:36:01 --> 00:36:02 When we
00:36:02 --> 00:36:02 want to
00:36:02 --> 00:36:05 not offend
00:36:05 --> 00:36:05 anyone with
00:36:05 --> 00:36:06 the outrageous
00:36:06 --> 00:36:06 claims of
00:36:06 --> 00:36:07 Jesus.
00:36:08 --> 00:36:09 Jesus has
00:36:09 --> 00:36:09 been offending
00:36:09 --> 00:36:10 people for
00:36:10 --> 00:36:11 2 years.
00:36:11 --> 00:36:11 Why stop
00:36:11 --> 00:36:12 now?
00:36:14 --> 00:36:15 We go
00:36:15 --> 00:36:16 soft here
00:36:16 --> 00:36:17 and intimacy
00:36:17 --> 00:36:19 and yet
00:36:19 --> 00:36:21 that is
00:36:21 --> 00:36:21 what is
00:36:21 --> 00:36:21 happening.
00:36:23 --> 00:36:24 A few
00:36:24 --> 00:36:24 years ago
00:36:24 --> 00:36:25 there was a
00:36:25 --> 00:36:26 large
00:36:26 --> 00:36:27 ecumenical
00:36:27 --> 00:36:28 service in
00:36:28 --> 00:36:28 one of the
00:36:28 --> 00:36:29 cathedrals,
00:36:29 --> 00:36:30 Christian
00:36:30 --> 00:36:30 cathedrals
00:36:30 --> 00:36:32 in Hobart
00:36:32 --> 00:36:32 to mark
00:36:32 --> 00:36:33 an anniversary
00:36:33 --> 00:36:34 of the
00:36:34 --> 00:36:34 Port Arthur
00:36:34 --> 00:36:35 massacre.
00:36:36 --> 00:36:37 One Christian
00:36:37 --> 00:36:37 minister,
00:36:38 --> 00:36:39 a guy I
00:36:39 --> 00:36:39 know,
00:36:39 --> 00:36:40 was asked
00:36:40 --> 00:36:41 to do
00:36:41 --> 00:36:41 the Bible
00:36:41 --> 00:36:42 reading.
00:36:43 --> 00:36:44 The passage
00:36:44 --> 00:36:45 for the
00:36:45 --> 00:36:45 Bible reading
00:36:45 --> 00:36:46 was printed
00:36:46 --> 00:36:46 on the
00:36:46 --> 00:36:48 service sheet
00:36:48 --> 00:36:49 and it
00:36:49 --> 00:36:50 was John
00:36:50 --> 00:36:51 14
00:36:51 --> 00:36:52 verses 1
00:36:52 --> 00:36:53 through to
00:36:53 --> 00:36:54 the first
00:36:54 --> 00:36:54 half of
00:36:54 --> 00:36:55 verse 6.
00:36:55 --> 00:36:58 it stopped
00:36:58 --> 00:36:58 at the
00:36:58 --> 00:36:59 second half
00:36:59 --> 00:36:59 of verse 6
00:36:59 --> 00:37:00 which reads
00:37:00 --> 00:37:00 no one
00:37:00 --> 00:37:01 comes to
00:37:01 --> 00:37:01 the Father
00:37:01 --> 00:37:02 except through
00:37:02 --> 00:37:02 me.
00:37:05 --> 00:37:05 And the
00:37:05 --> 00:37:06 organizer
00:37:06 --> 00:37:08 said to
00:37:08 --> 00:37:08 this minister
00:37:08 --> 00:37:09 I know
00:37:09 --> 00:37:10 that it
00:37:10 --> 00:37:11 was very
00:37:11 --> 00:37:11 important
00:37:11 --> 00:37:12 not to
00:37:12 --> 00:37:13 read
00:37:13 --> 00:37:14 that bit
00:37:14 --> 00:37:15 of the
00:37:15 --> 00:37:15 verse
00:37:15 --> 00:37:17 so as
00:37:17 --> 00:37:18 not to
00:37:18 --> 00:37:18 offend
00:37:18 --> 00:37:19 anyone
00:37:19 --> 00:37:21 as if the
00:37:21 --> 00:37:21 rest of the
00:37:21 --> 00:37:21 verse 6
00:37:21 --> 00:37:22 didn't offend
00:37:22 --> 00:37:22 anyone.
00:37:22 --> 00:37:24 but not
00:37:24 --> 00:37:24 to read
00:37:24 --> 00:37:24 that
00:37:24 --> 00:37:25 specifically
00:37:25 --> 00:37:25 so that
00:37:25 --> 00:37:26 people
00:37:26 --> 00:37:26 would not
00:37:26 --> 00:37:27 be offended.
00:37:30 --> 00:37:31 My
00:37:31 --> 00:37:32 friend
00:37:32 --> 00:37:32 said
00:37:32 --> 00:37:33 I
00:37:33 --> 00:37:35 in fact
00:37:35 --> 00:37:36 submit
00:37:36 --> 00:37:37 to a
00:37:37 --> 00:37:37 higher
00:37:37 --> 00:37:38 order
00:37:38 --> 00:37:39 of being
00:37:39 --> 00:37:40 and I
00:37:40 --> 00:37:41 will be
00:37:41 --> 00:37:41 reading it
00:37:41 --> 00:37:42 and so
00:37:42 --> 00:37:42 he did.
00:37:44 --> 00:37:44 I'd never
00:37:44 --> 00:37:45 been asked
00:37:45 --> 00:37:45 to do it
00:37:45 --> 00:37:45 again but
00:37:45 --> 00:37:46 he did.
00:37:47 --> 00:37:48 It is
00:37:48 --> 00:37:49 so so
00:37:49 --> 00:37:49 crucial
00:37:49 --> 00:37:50 for us
00:37:50 --> 00:37:51 to stand
00:37:51 --> 00:37:51 firm in
00:37:51 --> 00:37:52 those moments
00:37:52 --> 00:37:52 and not
00:37:52 --> 00:37:52 be
00:37:52 --> 00:37:53 embarrassed.
00:37:54 --> 00:37:54 To stand
00:37:54 --> 00:37:55 firm on
00:37:55 --> 00:37:55 this claim
00:37:55 --> 00:37:56 of Christ
00:37:56 --> 00:37:56 because all
00:37:56 --> 00:37:57 hope is
00:37:57 --> 00:37:57 lost.
00:37:58 --> 00:37:59 Intimacy
00:37:59 --> 00:37:59 with God
00:37:59 --> 00:38:00 is lost.
00:38:00 --> 00:38:01 It's so
00:38:01 --> 00:38:02 crucial for us
00:38:02 --> 00:38:02 not to back
00:38:02 --> 00:38:02 away from
00:38:02 --> 00:38:03 this claim
00:38:03 --> 00:38:05 because as
00:38:05 --> 00:38:06 Acts 4
00:38:06 --> 00:38:08 12 says
00:38:08 --> 00:38:09 this about
00:38:09 --> 00:38:09 Jesus
00:38:09 --> 00:38:11 salvation is
00:38:11 --> 00:38:11 found in
00:38:11 --> 00:38:12 no one
00:38:12 --> 00:38:13 else for
00:38:13 --> 00:38:14 there is no
00:38:14 --> 00:38:14 other name
00:38:14 --> 00:38:15 under heaven
00:38:15 --> 00:38:16 given to
00:38:16 --> 00:38:17 mankind
00:38:17 --> 00:38:18 by which
00:38:18 --> 00:38:19 we must
00:38:19 --> 00:38:19 be saved.
00:38:20 --> 00:38:20 Amen.