Jesus in John 5

So drawn chapter 5 verses 1 to 30. Sometimes later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for 1 of the Jewish festivals Now there is in Jerusalem near the sheep gate, a pool which in Aramic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by 5 covered colonnades. Here, a great number of disabled people used to lie, the blind, the lame, the paralyzed, 1 who was there had been an invalid for 38 years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time. He asked him, do you want to get well?

Sir, the invalid replied, I have no 1 to help me into the pool when the water is stirred While I'm trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me, then Jesus said to him, get up, pick up your mat and walk. At once the man was cured, he picked up his mat and walked, the day on which this took place was a sabbath, And so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, it is the suburb the law forbids you to carry your mat, but he replied The man who made me well said to me pick up your matt and walk. So they asked him, who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk? The man who was healed had no idea who it was for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there. Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, see you are well again.

Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you. The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well. So because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. In his defense, Jesus said to them, my father is always at his work to this very day and I too am working. For this reason, they tried all the more to kill him.

Not only was he breaking the suburb he was even calling god, his own father, making himself equal with god. Jesus gave them this answer. Truly, I tell you the son can do nothing by himself. He can do only what he sees his father doing because Whatever the father does, the son does also. For the father loves his son and shows him all he does, Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these so that you will be amazed.

For just as the father raises the dead, and gives them life, even so the son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. Moreover, the father judges no 1 but has in did all judgments to the son that all may honor the son just as they honor the father. Whoever does not honor the son does not honor the father who sent him Very truly I tell you whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. Very, very truly I tell you a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the son of god and those who hear will live. For as the father has life in himself, So he has granted the son also to have life in himself, and he has given him authority to judge because he is the son of man.

Do not be amazed at this for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out. Those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. By myself, I can do nothing. I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me. Thanks Ruth and good see good evening.

My name is Pete Woodcock. I'm the pastor of the church here. We've been, well, I've been preaching every day this week on song of songs. So it feels a bit odd to suddenly jump into John to 5. So we could go back to song and songs.

We could do chapter 10 of song and songs, except it doesn't exist. But we're gonna go on John 5. And this is a very mini series for this for this evening because, I'll be doing this evening and then next week in John 5. So we're gonna sort of split this in half a little bit. Father god help us now to have ears to hear.

In Jesus' name. Oh, man. Someone wrote this. If Christians had been prepared to call Jesus just a great man, or a philosopher or a genius, even a prophet, there would have been no controversy about him at all. He would have gone down in history as a saint and have been revered by just about everyone.

Christianity has been controversial simply because Christians have insisted that no category was sufficient to contain their master, except the category of divinity itself. Jesus is god Christians say, god in the flesh. Now, that is a really mighty belief to swallow. Jesus is god. For those of you who believe that, I just wonder how you know, alien that is to a lot of people.

So on contagious, which some of us were on this youth camp last week, It was wonderful to have on our team. Amaral. Amaral was, originally from, the Democrats a Democratic Republic of Congo, then he moved to France, and then he moved to England. And it was just interesting to hear him and how he was sort of against Christianity in in in many ways. He actually thought Christianity was just a white man's religion.

In fact, he thought Jesus was white, which would have been ridiculous because Jesus walking around as a white man in the Middle East of the first century would have just been weird. But he he saw Jesus. He saw he saw sort of Christianity as a white man's religion. Now, if Jesus is just a prophet, then maybe that would be true. A prophet to the white or a prophet to the western westerner.

And a lot of Muslims say, no, no, you see, you've got Jesus who's to the western world as a prophet, but we need Mohammed to, you know, to the to the black world. Or the Arab world, in particular. But if Jesus is god, then he is god to the whole world. And so this is quite an important thing. But how could he be god?

How could he be? God is god, man is man. 1 is the creator and what is the the creature, and they're just quite different, aren't they? If we're honest? So the Jews of the time uh-uh the the the the writing of John's gospel were very very clear on their demarcation.

They still are of course. That there's god here, and then there's a great big line, a barrier, if you like, and then there's humans here, creator created, and you never cross that line. But here is a man. Jesus, he's clearly a man who Christians absolutely believe breaches that line, breaks through that line. Here is a human being making himself equal with god.

He stepped over the line surely, and that's what's that's what's going on here. So does that mean then as Christians, we believe that there are 2 gods. There's the god Jesus pray to god the father and then there's Jesus the god. There's sort of 2 gods. Are Christians what they call polytheists believers in many gods?

Well, Muslims believe that's what we believe. Or at least we've we're very confused. And many of us Christians are And as we meet more and more Muslims, we need to be absolutely straight on this and understand what it is that we're saying. And so this evening, I want us to look at this this, this gospel chapter 5 of of John's gospel and just see a real Christian understanding of the relationship between god the father and Jesus and his claims to be god. So let's have a look.

First thing I want you to see is very simple. It's the background to the discussion that's gonna happen in John's gospel. This often happens. He does a miracle and then there's a a whole feel logical, quite a hefty discussion. That's how to how John sort of writes his stuff.

It's quite hefty stuff. But the background, look at the background, you get it in 1 to I'm not gonna spend much time on it, but Jesus has just healed in verses 1 to 16, a man who for 38 years had been paralyzed. He couldn't walk for 38 years. Now, that is enough to grab your attention. Here's a man who who what what whatever the the medication he had taken or the doctor's advice couldn't walk 38 years the whole of his life and Jesus heals him.

So that's got everybody's attention, and it really has got everybody's attention. Now that and it self, if you knew the Old Testament part of the Bible, is a fulfillment of what god said he would do. But what god said he would do So here's just 1 verse that fulfills what Jesus is, which which is a sort of prophecy of what Jesus had fulfilled. It's Isaiah 35. Just listen, strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way say to those with fearful hearts, be strong.

Do not fear. Your god will come He will come with vengeance with divine retribution. He will come to save you then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the death unstopped, then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy, water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. So there's a promise that god, god will do what god can do. Make the lame leap, and Jesus has just done that.

So, you know, no wonder he's got attention. But here we go. Now you gotta be bear with me here. This all took place on the Sabbath Day. Now that is the Jewish religious day, and they kept it really special.

And we're told that Jesus told this man to get to take up his mat and walk, but take up his mat and walk on the Sabbath Day. So the religious people of the day saw Jesus as breaking 1 of the commands of god because they were told by god through Moses in the 10 commandments not to work on the Sabbath day. It's a day of rest. So what you normally do on 6 days you don't do on the seventh day. That's what the law says, but hold it.

Here's the complication. This man, was never picking up Matt's and walking. That wasn't his job. I mean, if it was his job, he was rubbish at it, because he couldn't. For 38 years.

So, but you see they had another law. By the time this event had happened, The religious bods had worked out 39 groups of types of work that you can't couldn't do. On this special Sabbath Day. And 1 of those 39 groups was you shall not carry an object from 1 domicile, that's your house, to another. So they got him.

Brilliant. On the law. They got him because he was carrying his mat from his normal domicile, obviously, to another. Yeah? So they got him and they got Jesus because Jesus told him to pick up his mat.

So they're quite excited by that. Look at verse 16. So because Jesus was doing these things, not simply healing, but telling people to carry mats. Yeah? On the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him.

See, that the map carrying was the problem here. Yes. Really was a problem. Now the word persecute means hound. Pursue, run out of town.

So they are pretty violent here. They're really stropped up. You not only healed on the sabbath. You told him to carry his mat, and that is breaking 1 of our 30 known 39 groups of laws of not what to do on a Saturday. Yeah.

Now, this is interesting. I hope you're following me. What Jesus does to defend his action? What he does to defend his healing and command the man to pick up his He doesn't do what he does in other gospels when they challenge. He doesn't turn around and say, look, you stupid people, you are applying the law wrongly.

They were, but he doesn't do it here. He doesn't say, haven't you heard that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath? He does that in another place, but he doesn't do it here. He doesn't say, what are you saying? Is it is it wrong to do good on the Sabbath?

He doesn't say that. He does that in another place. When he's making another point, but not here. What he does here is, after this event, after they've really got attention. After they're really angry that it looks like this Jesus is a is a is a law breaker and not a god lover.

After he's got their attention through this miracle, which they don't even try to explain away or anything because I saw it. He says breathtaking stuff. He makes breathtaking claims. He makes controversy way bigger than Matt's on a Sabbath Day. He claims massive things about himself.

So there's the background. Here's the background to the the debate. Here's my second point. The claims the claims that are going on. Now, a bit more background, I'm afraid.

There was a debate going on at the time as to whether god broke the Sabbath law or not. This is how stupid theologians get. They get into philosophy and they think they're clever. If you ever go to a theological college, which I have many times, they all think they're clever and they're stupid. And here here's the sort of thing that they argue about.

And, here's how it goes. The, their argument was, did god break the Sabbath law by working at because does god work on the Sabbath? Because if god doesn't work on the Sabbath, the world, the universe would collapse. So he has to work on the Sabbath. And so there was a division going on.

Some said, well, he didn't break the law because he's above the law. Yeah? And others really argued now. He's not just not above the law. It's because the whole universe is domicile.

The whole universe is his home. So he can do what he likes in his home. It's not like he's picking a mat up. I mean, that is terrible to pick a mat up and move but god could move, you know, the moon and the earth around the sun, but he's at home. So he can do what he likes at home.

That's how they got around it. That's the sort of argument that goes on. So whichever side you came down on, and the sides could be quite vicious, Whatever side you came down on on that argument, did god work on the Sabbath, he's above the law, did god work on the Sabbath He was obeying the law because he was still at home. They all believed that god had a right to work on the sabbath in They came to that conclusion in the end. Yeah.

God had a right, but only god. Only god. Now, Can you see what Jesus is claiming here? I'm telling you all that because I want you to see the claim. Look at verse 17.

So imagine all of that arguing going on, all of that theological debate going on, all of this anger that's going on, and Jesus says Jesus said to them, my father is always at his work to this very day And here we go. And I too am working Now you've just gotta get what that that sentence is dynamite. It's so diet is so controversial. They wanna kill him. They they don't just wanna say, I'll go away you silly man.

Don't just wanna say, well, you're a good teacher when you got this wrong. They actually wanna kill him. Jesus said to them, My father I mean, that's extraordinary for a start. He's always at work on, is always at his work. On this very day.

So he's agreeing with all of the division yet Jesus uh-uh the god works on the Sabbath Day on this very day and I too am working. God works? Yeah. And I work He's aligning himself with god. He's aligning himself with god on the very subject of working on the Sabbath.

He always works on the Sabbath, and so do I always work? It's putting himself above the line. Do you see that? Here's a human, clearly human standing in front of them, and he's now jumped the line. He's gone over the line.

This is this is terrible. And the Jews understand that. Look at verse 18. For this reason, The Jews tried all the harder to kill him. Not only was he breaking the Sabbath flipping it.

That's bad enough. But he was even calling god his own father. My goodness. That's bad enough. Making himself equal with god.

That's just way over the line. Way over the line. Where's the distinction? Who does Jesus think he is? The Jews absolutely get that he's claiming to be equal with god.

Now, okay. What does it mean to be equal with god? What do they mean by verse 18? What does it mean? Well, the word equal is very easily misunderstood.

I mean, even today, actually, you can you can misunderstand that word in all kinds of areas. Of life, but I have no time to go into that. But it's it's very easy to misunderstand. So although the Jews think that he is making himself equal with god and he is I don't think they really understand what he means by equal with god. They misunderstand.

They think he's claiming the height of blasphemy. They think he's arguing that he, a mere human, has somehow become like a second god so that there are sort of 2 gods There's god the father, and Jesus has come up and made himself equal, and there's this sort of second god that goes on. Now Jesus is claiming to be god, but we gotta get back claim clarify very, very clearly. So here's my third point. Let's clarify what he's actually claiming here.

Now I want you to notice, and I'm sure you did when Ruth read that passage. It's 1 of these passages that you, you know, that keep using the same phrases and the same words, and you can you can very easily just get a bit muddled up unless you really sit down and work through the whole argument. So let's have a go at trying to do something like that. But you'll notice that the illustration that's used again and again throughout this passage is the illustration of son to father. Son to father, it is used again and again.

In this whole discussion, son to father. So let's have a think about that. If my father was still alive, let's say years, my father and I are equal human beings. Is my father more of a human being than me? No.

Am I less than a human being than my father? No. But to say that we're equal would be sort of untrue in lots and lots of other ways. It, you know, so let me try to spell it out. So in the Bible, a father provides he protects, he teaches, he disciplines his son.

That's what a father does in the Bible, provides, protects teaches, disciplines, his son, and a son honors and abys. That's how it works. He honors abays and then he inherits and then he submits to the father. The father sends the son to do to do jobs. The son doesn't send the father to do jobs.

The father sends the son to do jobs. So there's this hierarchy between the father and the son and it's clearly established in the bible and yet equal they're equally human. Does that make sense? There are roles and yet they're equally human. Now, don't think for a moment that they're not equal.

Because 1 sends and another submits. They're equally human. So you mustn't get that confused, but they have different roles. It is the father son language that he uses here in verses 19 to 30. Did you notice it?

To illustrate who he is. And to illustrate what it really means to be equal with god. So let's just break that down, and that's all I'm gonna do this evening. And then next week, we'll just carry on. So here's the first thing.

Jesus says, he is not independent. So equal doesn't mean that he has got the father, and he suddenly independently made himself God. I think that's what the Jews thought they he was claiming. But you see Jesus is not independent. Look at verse 19.

Ready? Jesus gave them this answer. I tell you the truth, the son can do nothing by himself. He can do only what he sees his father doing because whatever the father does, the son also does. So we're thinking about Jesus, but he's not independent.

You can have 2 independent people. If you take neighbors, you can have neighbors. They're independent, but they're equally human, but they're independent. Yeah? But it's not 2 neighbors.

The role here is father son. And this is important to get. Suns, this is what Jesus is saying, learn from their fathers how to live. Sons do what their fathers show them to do. Father teach their sons This son does nothing we're told by himself So he's not an independent god making his independent kingdom or a rival against god the father.

He only does what he sees, and he only does what he sees the father do. He's totally dependent on seeing what the father does, and what the father does, he does. He's independent and yet he's equal with the father because he doesn't do what some of the father does. He doesn't do some of what the father does. He does whatever the father does.

Do you see that? Are you getting this? He's independent. He he's sorry. He's dependent and yet equal.

He does exactly what the father does. He can do whatever the father does. Whatever, not just some things the father does, but whatever the father does. He's not a competitor. He's not a second independent god.

Claiming to be equal with god, he can't do it on his own, but he can do whatever the father does. Now that is worth getting. That's a hard thing to explain to Muslims, but that's where we need to slow down and explain what we mean. As the son, he subordinates himself, he humbled himself to his father He works in perfect harmony with god the father. The son only does what he sees the father doing, whatever the father does, the son does.

So get this because in this sort of society, trades were always passed. It's so different today. But trades were basically passed down from generation to generation. So if your father, if the father was a fisherman, the son would more than likely be a fisherman. And then the son's son would be a fisherman, and the son's sons, whatever it is, wherever we are, would be a fisherman.

Yeah. It was passed down. The son would watch how the father did it, and imitate the father and do it exactly as the father did. And Jesus is claiming that with god. What the father does, I do.

What the father does, I do. The father heals the lame, I heal the lame. Old Testament god will come and heal the lame. I've come and healed the lame. God will come and make the blind see.

I've come and made the blind see. What the father does, the son does. Now, hold it. This is where it gets really confusing. I I know that I knew this would be a hefty sermon, especially if you've been in song of songs, but I thought I'd be something completely different, you see?

So, some people say, yeah, but hold it. Doesn't the Bible say that we're all sons of God? If we're Christians, we're all sons of God. Yeah. The Bible does say that.

So am I have son of god? Well, yes, in in in in 1 sense in a limited level, you are sons of god. But not in the same sense Jesus is speaking here. So I've never done what the father has done because I haven't created a universe. And I didn't create light and dark and I can't raise the dead, I'm afraid, but Jesus can.

Jesus is the son, the son, with a capital t. He does what the father does. Now, let that sink in because do you see what Christianity is claiming? Do you see this? This 30 year old Jewish man who was standing in front of these religious bods is claiming that whatever god does, he does, whatever god says, he says, He is the perfect mirroring of the father's deeds and the perfect mirroring of the father's words.

What the father does and says Jesus does and says no less. Now if that's true, that's dynamite. If that's true, Jesus cannot be just for white men, Kenny, if he's god and he created the world, He can't just be for 1 little group of people. He's not just a prophet, and then we need another prophet. How how could that be?

He's the sun. He's the creator. He made black and white and kinds of. He made the world. He made all people.

So he's the Jesus for everyone. So please don't start coming up and saying, I think Jesus is a great prophet for the west or for the white, but we need a prophet for the Arabs. What are you talking about? We're not talking profit here. We're talking the son, what the father does, the son does.

This is totally different. This is a different ball game. This is something much bigger than just little people groups producing a little colored person that speaks to their particular flavor. This is god. This is god coming human flesh.

And you can't just dismiss Jesus as a nice bloke. Who's don't treat his words like you stick on a calendar along with Buddha and Mohammed for goodness sake. Don't say, oh, there's some really nice words from the girl who won Love Island. I'm sure she's got some quote you can make. And we stick her on 1 month and Jesus the next.

Don't do that. It's ridiculous. Jesus words are the very words of god. Jesus works are the very works of god. You see that?

He's not independent from god. He's not a separate little god that's claiming to be sort of coming up and challenging. No. He works totally dependent. What Jesus does, father does, what the father does, Jesus does.

It's it's absolutely brilliant. So with Johnny would ought to listen to him and not just treat him as sort of interesting words and that sort of stuff. This is the word of god. Well, okay. Let's go on.

That's the first thing. Jesus is not independent. He's not claiming to be equal with god in a sense of being another little rival god. He's totally dependent. The father and son, relationship.

That's what's going on here. Well, here's the second thing. The sun's revelation is from love. Love is the center of all of this. Now I think I've not quite got this, and I think we could spend a lot more time just thinking about this.

But look at verse 20. Verse 20 gives us the reason why he he does whatever his father does. He does whatever his father does because of love. Love is the center of the whole of the work and word of Jesus. It's extraordinary.

Look at verse 20 then. For the father, loves the son and shows him all he does. Yes. To your amazement, he will show him even greater things than these. That's what fathers do, don't they?

You go fishing with your son and you show him how to fish. It's what fathers do. You you you make a, you know, you're doing some carpentry with your son, you show him how to do carpentry. That's what it and it's all out of love. It's passing on these truths with love.

So out of love, the father shows the son exactly what to do. What the father does? The son does, but he's shown everything out of love. Love is central. I think that's an extraordinary thought that's worth sort of brewing on.

Perhaps this week that everything Jesus does, everything. Every word he says, every miracle he did everything he does is controlled by love, the father loving the son and showing the son what to do in love. Therefore, when you see the son in action, you see the father in action. When the sun does something, god, the father is doing it. And you get that throughout John's gospel, John chapter 1 verse 18, You know, no one's seen the father except Jesus who reveals the father.

Yeah? In John chapter 14, I think it Thomas that says, show us the father. And he said, what are you talking about show us the father you've seen me? If you've seen me, you've seen the father. You see that?

So you've got this this whole business of them, being 1, but it's all out of love. And then verse 20, the second half of verse 20, Yes. To your amazement, he will show him even greater things than these. So the father is going to show him even greater things than healing a cripple, a 38 year old cripple. There's gonna be even greater things, greater than healing on the Sabbath day.

Greater than keeping the the the worlds together on the Sabbath day. Because He goes on. The father raises the dead and he gives life. Therefore, the son is going to raise the dead and give life. Look at verse 21.

For justice, the father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. And then it's all picked up in verse 24 to 30. Just have a look. I tell you the truth. Whoever hears my words and believes him who sent me as eternal life and will not be condemned.

He has crossed over from death to life. I tell you the truth. A time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the son of god and those who hear will live. For as the father has life in himself, so has he granted the son to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the son of man.

Do you get this? To believe in the sun will move you from death to life. Verse 24, to hear the sun is to hear the very life giving breath of god. That's what he's saying. Verse 25, because the son has life in himself.

Eternal life. He is the source of life. Why? Because the father is the source of life. Do you see that?

He's not equal with god sort of coming up as a little human trying to make a claim as a sort of, you know, separate entity. He's totally dependent on the father. This whole beautiful relationship is describing what god is really like. It's father son relationship. They're 1.

They love each other. It's extraordinary stuff going on here. So you and I, we've been given life. We've been given life, and that's why it can be taken away from us. But the sun is life.

You see that? That leads me to the third thing. The son judges the sun judges. Really, yeah, when we think about resurrection, we we really do think about end times that's what we should do. So in the new testament, when it talks about resurrection, really, it's talking about the end times.

It's the final judgment and then the life that's given. And that's the sort of thing that's going on here. So look, the sun is gonna judge. In other words, the sun is the resurrection and the life. Look at verse 22.

Moreover, the father judges no 1, but has entrusted all judgment to the sun verse 23, and that all may honor the sun just they honor the father. He who does not honor the son does not honor the father who sent him. I hope this isn't too heavy for a Sunday night. If the sun is is going to give resurrection life, then the sun is also going to judge the world. Life is in him and therefore judgment is in all judgment has been given to him.

And if you do not there are not 2 judges, It's not there's a judge, the father's the judge, and the son is the judge. There are not 2 to honor. There's 1 judge And there's 1 to honor, honor the father through the son. You reject the son and you don't honor the father. You see that?

You don't honor the son, you won't honor the father. You don't honor the father, you won't honor the son. Yeah? The son will judge. And it's just really important to get this.

Reject the judge of the world. You reject the god of the world. Reject Jesus? You reject the judge. And you also see that the Southern introduction verse 20 27.

Have a look at that. And he is given authority to judge because he is the son of man. Do not be amazed at this for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out and those who do not have and those who have done good will rise to life. And those who have done evil will rise to condemnation. By myself, I can do nothing.

I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just for I seek not the praises of myself, but him who sent me. He is the judge of all the earth. He is the judge of all the earth and who is the judge of all the earth, the son of god, but the son of man. No 1 can say to god, you can't judge us because you don't know what it was like to be a man. Because he says, what are you talking about?

What are you talking about? I know exactly what it's like to be a man. If you've done good, you'll rise to life. What's the good? If you've done bad, you'll be condemned.

What's the bad? Well, the bad is to say that Jesus isn't God. That's horrific. The bad is not to listen to Jesus. That is horrific.

God has come down. You honor the sun. If you don't honor the king. If you don't honor Jesus, you do not honor god. You can't get worse than that.

That's high treason. Do you see that? So this son, this father son relationship is very important for us to understand. What Jesus is claiming here. Very important stuff.

Now very briefly, let's just apply it. We're gonna carry on and look at the witnesses next week, but there's some important stuff here. It's important that we get this right so that when we meet Muslims or Jehovah's Witnesses or people that deny that Jesus has got that we understand. You could go to this passage and take them through it. Ask them what they think it means.

Read it. Don't go to their little proof verses to show that he isn't god. You know, they usually take a verse completely out of context, and they make a great big thing out of it. But say, okay. Look, look, that this is this is quite a good passage to go to.

Let's read this. When they knock on the door, say, oh, lovely to see you. It's really, do you want a cup of coffee? I was just reading John 5 come in. Let me just try and explain this to you.

It's really nice. And then when you've explained it, you say, I've gotta go now before they tell you their nonsense. So you could do that. But if you apply this, this means that Jesus isn't just some lucky charm that you have hanging around your neck. He's not just some little badge you stick on.

He's god. His words aren't just sort of they're really wise, they're very, very helpful words they're life. They're out of life. Not not to honor those words and listen to those words is death This this is so fairly, you know, 1 or the other, isn't it? Life or death?

His words are life. Or if you won't listen, then death. This isn't just a little Jesus here, a man of history that we can sometimes talk about. This isn't just a little prophet This isn't just a great teacher. This isn't just of someone to quote.

This is God. You honor Jesus You honor the father. You dishonor Jesus. You dishonor the father. This is someone who will judge The whole world, everyone, every single person will stand before the living god.

Jesus. Jesus is the living god. And you'll not be able to say, worry, it's not fair, is it? I hear Richard Dorking. He's always good, isn't he for a sermon.

You hear Richard Dorking is writing sort of children's books, you know, tried to prove that there is no god. I mean, that man makes so much money out of god. I mean, you know, but it's just interesting, isn't it? That that by the way, I just like to say he did start a camp up, an atheist camp. Do you remember?

It was a very big deal. There were gonna be thousands of people coming to the atheist camp, and we were running contagious at the time. And I remember actually saying I bet it doesn't last more than the year and it didn't. It didn't last more than a year, but contagious has been going 19 years. So if you want to write to him just tell him that.

But but, you know, he's writing this stuff. See, 1 day, he he mocks and he jokes. But, you know, he mocks Jesus. 1 day here, stand in front of Jesus, and that's frightening. I mean, let's pray.

It gets saved. Should humble himself and start writing books that are worth reading. If you dishonor the sun, you dishonor god If you dishonor god, you're dishonoring the god of the universe. You disarm a love. You disarm a love.

Because not only is he the judge, and not only is his words words of life. This is all love. This is the plan of love This is the loving god sending his son to bring us into his family. This is love. This is all love.

This is the loving father telling his loving son in 1 sense. I know it's not a great expression. He's like the perfect apprentice son. And the what the father has done, the son does. All out of love, love for his son.

If you don't love Jesus, You don't love god. You have god as your enemy. Because it's all done out of love. It's all love. It's just extraordinary.

So listen to him. Please, don't get used to reading the bible and not listening. Pray. Ask god to forgive you for that. Listen to this word of life.

Don't allow death to creep in and not listen. I mean, it's so easy. I'd I'd, you know, we get so familiar. We were seeing that in in song of songs. We can get familiar and comfortable even in church settings so that the word of god isn't stinging and hitting us enough.

We're not listening enough. We're not applying it to our hearts. We could get so comfortable. Don't get comfortable. These are the words of eternal life.

Allow them to strip you bare and allow them to to minister its bomb and its love and its and its joy into your very soul. This is the word. Of the living god when we look at Jesus and read Jesus. Father god, you know everyone in this room. We pray that you would help us to listen to the life, to the judge to the co heir to Jesus who came in that loving plan to rescue us.

Help us. We pray in Jesus' name.