 Let's begin reading together at verse 31. I'll read to verse 35 and We'll begin our study John chapter 5 beginning at verse 31 reading to verse 35 Jesus says If I bear witness of myself my witness is not true There is another who bears witness of me and I know that the witness Which he witnesses of me is true You've sent to John and he has borne witness to the truth Yet I do not receive Testimony for man, but I say these things that you may be saved He was a burning and shining lamp and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light And so as we've been going through chapter 5 Let me remind you how that in previous verses Jesus had made a statement He has actually claimed equality with God and When he was claiming equality with God when he said my father works up to now and I work and they Recognize that those who were listening to him recognize that he was claiming equality When Jesus was claiming equality. He was saying that he was equal to God in nature power and authority When he said I'm equal to him in nature in verse 18 He had said that that God was his father making himself equal with God When he was saying he was equal in power in verse 19. He said whatever God does the son also does in like manner and Then when he spoke of authority he did so in verse 22 When he said God is committed all judgment to the son and so Jesus Christ has claimed equality with God in Nature power and authority in verse 23. He had declared that for a person to truly honor God they must also honor him and I mentioned this to you, but as way of introduction the Bible teaches that worship of Anything other than God himself in scripture is very clearly declared to be idolatry and remember how in the book of Exodus when the Lord was giving his commands in Exodus chapter 20 verses 2 and 3 It said I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt out of the house of bondage And he went on to say you shall have no other gods before me And so Jesus declared himself as being equal to God and even was saying that they must honor him He instructed his hearer said if they were really honoring God they would honor him Now you can imagine What they were thinking when Jesus was saying this to them I mean what if some man what if I came up and said you know you need to honor me even as you honor Honor God Well, I guess I'd be here by myself within five minutes Because you would recognize immediately that that's blasphemy that that's wrong. That's absolutely not true There's only one God you worship and yet that's how they're responding to what Jesus is saying that is what's provoking them They're thinking this man blasts fiends and so Even I guess to add that the cherry to the top of of it all He made it clear that he was the one who has the ability to grant people eternal life Let's read verse 24 again just to remind you of that he had said in chapter 5 verse 24 Most assuredly I say to you he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has Everlasting life and shall not come into judgment has passed from death into life to believe him to believe his message is to have everlasting life and So he's speaking to religious people and he's speaking to those who already believed themselves to be spiritually alive Yet he's making it clear that they need to hear his word and believe in God in order to be saved and In the entire history of the nation of Israel no other king no other leader prophet or teacher has ever claimed that kind of Authority so immediately those listening would question inside How can he say such things? They would say that he's promoting himself. That's what they were later to say in John 8 13 The Pharisees said you bear witness of yourself. You're your witnesses in truth. They'd be thinking he's promoting himself But Jesus anticipates this and that's why he says in verse 31 if I bear witness of myself My witness is not true. So we anticipate that he anticipates that suggestion that he's Promoting himself and that's why he says if I bear witness of myself my witness isn't true You see Jewish law required independent confirmation of at least two or three witnesses You could never make an accusation with capital of a capital offense without two witnesses or three According to Deuteronomy 1915 one witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin That he commits by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established That saved them against false accusations They're needed to be more than one person making that statement And so Jesus is making it very clear that he is Not a bearing witness of himself and now he's going to give various witnesses that are going to speak on his behalf If you will and so he's presenting four witnesses that establishes claims in verse 32 and 33 He says there's another who bears witness of me And I know that the witness which he witnesses of me is true, and then he goes on in verse 33 to name this witness You have sent to John and he is born witness to the truth So first he says you've sent to John You saw something unusual in John You even questioned him concerning his ministry Remember back in chapter 1 verses 22 through 27 they had spoken and had asked John. Who are you? They asked are you Elijah the prophet? So you sent to John you saw something unusual in him you questioned him concerning his ministry And so you're very aware of the things that he is doing the things that he was saying yet verse 34 says yet I don't receive testimony from man But I say these things that you may be saved in other words. I'm not relying on his testimony or man's testimony I'm only stating this so you might be saved Now remember John remember his ministry John was the forerunner of Messiah. He was the voice of one crying in the wilderness In John chapter 1 verse 7 we had read this man came for a witness to bear witness of the light That all through him might believe and so he's speaking concerning him that voice cried in the wilderness He's saying that John came to reveal Jesus to the people it was John who said behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world John is the one who presented Jesus Christ as a witness John presented Jesus as the Savior And so by referring to John Jesus is confirming his mission as well as this message But John's message and mission Isn't the greatest witness. It's one of the witnesses You see this is the reason Jesus refers to John He wanted people to be saved That's the whole point of his ministry again verse 34. I say these things that you may be saved That's why I'm referring to John. That's why I'm speaking to you We've already seen in John 3 how that God has said that he loved the world so much that he gave his only begotten son That whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life God didn't send a son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him That's the whole point of Christ coming and so Jesus said John was bearing testimony, but the whole purpose of all of this is so that you might be saved Jesus came to save Now that's a word that we Christians use we used to use it an awful lot more in the early days of my walk with the Lord That was a very common word. We would use the word saved. Are you saved? Today there seems to be different ways of describing the salvation experience But at that time we would ask that question. Are you saved? Jesus came to save in the New Testament the word saved is used around 53 times and The word in the New Testament Is is the Greek word so so and and it means to be delivered. It means to be healed Made complete it speaks of being rescued or even being made whole Jesus came so that people would be rescued that they'd be delivered That they'd be made complete That they would be made whole He didn't want any to perish But all to have everlasting life. That's what Isaiah 45 22 says look into me and be saved All you ends of the earth for I'm God There is no other You need to look to me to be saved. That's the heart of Jesus's message and ministry That's what he's doing. He's saying these things that you he said may be saved that you might be rescued that you may be Made complete that you would be made whole So that you might be delivered Well, wait a minute somebody says what do I need to be saved from? Why should I be rescued? What's wrong with me? well one Before we come to Christ and the Bible describes us as as being in the wilderness of sin the Bible speaks of us as Being in bondage. We're like sheep that have gone astray And we have a shepherd that is seeking after us in Luke 15 verse 4 Jesus said what man have you have in a hundred sheep if he loses one of them does not leave the 99 in the wilderness and go after the one which is lost until he finds it So we're out there wandering in the wilderness We're dry thirsty broken messed up. We're lost and so Jesus is here in order that we might be made whole Maybe saved maybe delivered maybe rescued We're in sin and in sin. We're spiritually lost But Jesus in Matthew 1811 said the Son of man has come to save that which was lost in First Timothy 115 Paul said this is a faithful saying worthy of all acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief Isaiah 53 verse 6 tells us all we like sheep have gone astray we have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all and So we have to be rescued. We're in the wilderness of wilderness of sin. We're in bondage. We're spiritually lost but one day We're gonna be judged It's appointed according to Hebrews 9 27 is appointed into men to die once after this the judgment Somebody says I've heard people say no, I believe in reincarnation. No you don't You don't want to I mean who wants to come back as a snail come on Now the Bible the Bible doesn't give us second opportunities Mark that in your heart and understand that You have one life to live One opportunity of a lifetime and within that lifetime you can make that choice But it's appointed and demanded I once and After this judgment we all shall stand before the judgment seat of Christ you remember when Paul and Silas were in a Philippian jail. It's recorded in Acts 16 and and they had been taken They had been put in stocks and at midnight the scripture says there were singing praises to God and The people in the jails were listening Philippian jailer who was there came and spoke to them and As he was speaking to them he asked the question sirs How can I be saved and the response was quick believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved and your household What do you mean and your household does that include everybody when I got saved it everybody Automatically get saved no because when you look further on in the passage It speaks out Paul had an opportunity to share with this whole family the same message the Philippian heard But how do I get saved? Well, I was lost My shepherd found me called me by name. I Turned to him. I Said to him God forgive me a sinner And he did I've been rescued and my spiritual brokenness that heart that was so torn and so messed up so filled with anger and evil He well, he took the heart of stone and he replaced it with a living heart a heart of flesh And he wrote on my heart on the tablet of my heart his word And he made my body his temple and he took my name and he put it in a book of life And now I belong to him and the reason I belong to him is because he sought me out It wasn't me seeking him It was a shepherd call in his sheep by name Out of that wilderness and he said come unto me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest That's what the Lord Jesus Christ does and so why did he come he tells us he says I came in order that you You might be saved these things. I'm saying Are in order that you might be saved my words are life Speaking of John in verse 35. He says he was a burning and shining lamp And you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light Now a lamp when he says he was a burning and shining lamp a lamp has three qualities that reveal his Dependence on Jesus when you look at a lamp one a lamp doesn't light itself So Jesus is the one who ignited John a lamp guides people in the darkness and the Bible tells us John was a voice crying in the wilderness and a lamp needs oil and John was filled with the oil of the Holy Spirit and that's why Jesus refers to him as a Lamp a burning and shining lamp and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light One of the things I found interesting about that and it's true today, too. By the way, we know this to be so People can appreciate a prophetic voice like John's Without responding to the message there are people who are not believers who when you're speaking to them and Sharing Christian things with them. They'll agree with you. They'll say you're right. We need this you're right We need that you say I think it's better that a husband and a wife Remain married for a lifetime and many people will agree with you. They'll say yeah, I think that's true, too It's better for society. I think it's good that a man and a woman when they have children They ought to be married first and they'll say yeah, I can see that makes sense to me They can agree with you. They might even agree about some things about the Lord They might even say well of his if there ever was a a messiah It certainly could be Jesus Christ They might like the things that you say and sometimes they listen in when you're having a conversation you'll be surprised and They appreciate what you're saying if you're speaking to somebody on the job or whatever and you have opportunity and you're sharing They may appreciate it. Sometimes they even come to church. They'll come on a Sunday Maybe they come on an Easter. Maybe they come on a Christmas Maybe they'll come in a you know sometime and they hear it and they might even appreciate and some of you've invited friends And and sometimes they'll walk away and say yeah a lot of that. I agree with you They would say that if you have an honest conversation But it makes me think of Ezekiel and the Old Testament book of Ezekiel chapter 33 Versus 30 through 33 listen to this God is speaking to the prophet and he says ask for you son of man The children of your people are talking about you besides the walls and the doors of the houses and They speak to one another everyone saying to his brother Please come in here. What the word is that comes from the Lord So they come to you as people do they sit before you as my people and they hear your words But they do not do them For what their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument For they hear your words, but they do not do them and when this comes to pass surely it will come to pass Then they will know that a prophet has been among them There are people who appreciate he says Ezekiel you'll give that message your prophetic word and The people are speaking about you out out in the town around the wall Talking around the dinner table man. Did you hear what Ezekiel had to say? He said they appreciate it They say this guy is amazing. He's like someone who sings well and plays the guitar skillfully He says they'll come and they'll sit before you and they do so as my people In other words, they're they're they're assuming the posture of a believer We can say well they go to church. They sit there to listen to the study They sit before you as my people. He says, but they're not my people. Why? Why are you saying? They're not my people because they hear and They do not do that's the difference Why do you call me Lord Lord and do not the things that I say Jesus says Why if you love me he said keep my commandments See the way to demonstrate that we really love him is to do what he says To keep his word to sit and appreciate it. That's one thing to apply it. That's something else And so Jesus is speaking about John and he says they appreciated him Because he would speak to the powers that be he spoke to the to the Roman Soldiers and and he spoke to the to the Pharisees and he confronted them and the common people Appreciated what what he had to say many of them. He said they they rejoiced you rejoice in his light for a little while He was a lamp and you rejoiced in his light for a little while. You were willing to do that He was a good witness and you heard his witness. He says I have a witness Witness was John then he has a second witness in verse 36 I have a greater witness than John's For the works which the father has given me to finish They're very works that I do Bear witness of me that the father has sent me Now when he says the works that works Are his general works including miracles of the things that were associated with what Messiah would do In in John chapter 3 verse 2, do you remember that conversation that Nicodemus had with Jesus? You remember how Nicodemus came to the Lord by night and And he began to speak to him. It's recorded in John 3 verse 2 rabbi. We know that you are a teacher come from God For no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with them So he says I have a greater witness than simply the testimony of John He says the works that I'm performing the works that Messiah does the miracles are Undeniable When you read your Bible and you begin to look at the miracles that are recorded in the New Testament Especially in the Gospels the Gospels record no less than 34 miracles and Jesus in John chapter 10. Let's see we're in chapter 5 now in about two years. We'll get here in John chapter 10 and Jesus said in verse 25 The works that I do in my father's name. They bear witness of me in chapter 10 verses 37 and 38 Jesus said if I do not do the works of my father do not believe me, but if I do Though you do not believe me believe the works that you may know and believe that the father is in me and I in him We're gonna see that his his detractors and opponents His enemies didn't deny that he performed works But they gave his works The definition that they were done in a satanic way in Luke 11 verse 15 Some of them said he cast out demons by Beelzebub the ruler of the demons. They didn't deny his works They simply attributed his works to Satan So Jesus said but these works are intended to draw you These works are not being done in order for you to be entertained these works that I'm doing Intended to draw your attention So that you'll know there's one greater in your midst that that the works that are being performed are actually Signs that would draw your attention to come to faith in God The way that Nicodemus saw the signs spoke amongst his friends and came and interviewed Christ and later on We know Nicodemus became a follower of Christ. So I have the witness of John. I also have my works Then he has a third witness verse 37 and 38 the father himself who sent me has testified of me You've neither heard his voice at any time nor seen his form but You do not have his word abiding in you because whom he sent You do not believe and so he has a third witness the father Now the testimony of the father was already alluded to in verse 32 When he said there's another who bears witness of me and I know that the witness which he witnesses of me is true That's an allusion to his father. So he's already spoken concerning his father But we see this witness also at his baptism in Matthew 3 16 and 17 it says when he had been baptized Jesus came up immediately from the water and Behold the heavens were open to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon him and Suddenly a voice came from heaven saying boo. No saying This is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased They could hear the voice imagine that for a moment This is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased Later in the Gospel of John Jesus is on his way to his betrayal and death His hour has finally arrived. He speaks concerning it in John 12 27 and 28. He says now my soul is troubled And what shall I say? Father saved me from this hour But for this purpose I came to this hour Father glorify your name And John writes then a voice came from heaven saying I have both glorified it and will glorify it Again, you have the witness of my father This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased But he says in verse 37 you've neither heard his voice at any time nor seen his form When he says you've neither heard his voice or seen his form That's another way of saying you have no real knowledge of him and you have no fellowship with him You see even when your prophet spoke to you You refuse to hear them You refuse to obey In Luke 11 verses 47 through 51. He said woe to you For you build the tombs of the prophets and your fathers killed them In fact you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers For they indeed killed them and you build their tombs Therefore the wisdom of God also said I will send them prophets and apostles and some of them They will kill and persecute That the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar in the temple Yes, I say to you it shall be required of this generation You have neither heard his voice at any time nor have you seen his form You have no knowledge of him and you know you have no fellowship with him Someone said this has been the uniform characteristic of the nation their ancestors Disregarded the testimony of God and their generation was also guilty of disregarding him He says in verse 38 But you do not have his word abiding in you because whom he sent him you do not believe The Old Testament prophesied the coming of Messiah Jesus fulfilled the prophecies and Though he gave them evidence they still don't did not value the word of God there. He is right before them Fulfilling the things that were written Concerning Messiah and they are still rejecting and So he gives a fourth witness the Bible God's word in verse 39 You search the scriptures For in them you think you have eternal life And these are they which testify of me As we've seen the father has been a witness to the son in various ways Jesus already said that the father loves the son the father committed all judgment to the son the father granted the son to have Life in himself the father gave him authority the father sent to him But the question is how does the father most clearly bear witness and he does it through The belief in and reception of the message Christ brought You're not saved guys, you're not saved, you know this but I'll say it quickly By your feelings your feelings can lie to you Feelings do that, you know feelings lie Our heart is deceitful and desperately wicked it lies sometimes your feelings if You rest your eternal life on them sometimes your feelings will betray you Because sometimes you may not feel saved I know that when I first became a Christian I know that Maybe two weeks into my walk with the Lord I woke up one morning and I didn't have that Amazing joy that I had had for the last two weeks You know because when I got saved it was like a giant boulder of sin rolled off my shoulders I felt peace and and and love and and and joy something I had Never had had before but two weeks or so within With within the first two weeks of my walk with the Lord I began to wonder and doubt and I didn't feel saved and I came to discover very early That I'm not saved by feelings. I'm saved by faith and that It's by grace that I'm saved through faith not out of myself It's a gift of God and not by worthless anyone should boast I had to come to know that Because my heart is deceitful and and it can cause me to wonder sometimes whether or not I really did commit myself to the Lord and so The father most clearly is going to to strengthen us in terms of witnesses by his message It's by receiving and doing and that gives to you the peace of knowing That that God has actually fulfilled his word to you in John 7 16 and 17 Jesus answered them and said my doctrine isn't mine But his who sent me he said if anyone wants to do his will he shall know concerning the doctrine Whether it is from God or whether I speak on my own authority just put it into practice and see if it doesn't bear fruit you see One of the things that I'm concerned with in in our time in the church's lifetime Is in this generation right now as we're starting to trust our feelings much more than than God's word We're if if somebody says something that makes me feel good, then it must be true And unfortunately, there are a lot of things being said that are not true I'll give you an example I won't name the guy because I don't remember his name, but I happened to see him yesterday He was on tv And I saw him for a minute He refers to himself as a prophet and that that to me that's that's interesting enough. I want to see what this prophet has to say So I put him on and he turned out to be a non-profit as I was listening As I was listening My wife and I I I I could only listen less than five minutes I turned to Marie and I said This is amazing This guy's on television preaching A message that is so absolutely false And I just shook my head He was he was saying I'll give you one example At the voice In the garden that adam and eve The voice of the lord in the garden is referred to his lord was walking in the garden He said that that was elisha the prophet walking in the garden Yeah And I'm looking at him You know, that's what you do when you watch tv. I was looking at him And I was shaking my head and then he went on and said several things that were just so Outlandish and I turned to my wife and I said man, I said There are there are a lot of people listening to this guy right now And he's and he's advertising himself as prophet so-and-so And he looks with certainty into the camera and and raises that prophetic finger and points And I'm going my my my listen There are people listening to him There are people believing people like that Because they want to Because their feelings Their heart wants to accept the things that he's saying And that's how false prophets very often work And in today's church, and I'll say this quickly because I don't want to condemn my own family But in today's church We really have to get back to loving god's word We have to come back to reading it We have to come back to spending time meditating on it And taking our notes and and seeking god So that we're not deceived remember I've told you out of scripture matthew 24 When jesus is asked by his disciples, what is the sign of your coming? And and it's singular. What is the sign of your coming? singular And though jesus speaks about earthquakes and you know that with our recent earthquakes that we've had here That that a lot of prophets were shouting out earthquake, you know because Because it's in matthew 24 and and and let's be prophetic in this and that But the but the sign that jesus said because it was a question singular. What is the sign? before you come And what is it you guys remember? What is it? false teachers False teachers four times in matthew 24 jesus warrants about false teachers So the sign of the last days Is not simply the earthquakes and the pestilence and the various other things that he speaks of The sign of the last days is false doctrine bad teaching And his people that he came to speak to were aware of traditions and rabbinic teachings But god's word had incarnated in front of them and they were rejecting jesus the messiah himself And so he's speaking concerning that when he says in verse 39 you search the scriptures For in them you think you have eternal life and these are they which testify he says of me You ransacked the bible The word search means to ransack you thoroughly investigate it But you're coming up short because in your investigation You have failed to see me Your traditions are keeping you from understanding That scripture is revealing me. This is the witness He says in verse 40 You're not willing to come to me that you may have life You see they thought they were god's children because they were familiar with the bible The problem was they they read the word but in unbelief they didn't allow it to penetrate their heart Their problem was not intellectual Their problem was moral it was spiritual Notice he says you're unwilling to come to faith in me It's an action of your wills. I was speaking to a friend of mine when I was in the military his name was rich We called him big rich Because he was big And he told us to So big rich He was my roommate. He was also my my best friend in the army And rich came from delano And so He and I roomed together and and I would share with him I was a new christian. I was a brand new christian But I would share with him about the lord the little that I knew I would give to him I can still remember I would be reading scripture and he'd come into the uh Into our room and and I'd say rich I want to read this to you and I would read I always found a passage that would be about getting saved And you need to believe in the lord jesus christ to be saved rich Look at that. This is what he'd say and I would do that to him all the time I still remember one day he came walking in and I said rich. I want to tell you something He says now wait a minute and then he goes Shutteth. This is what he says to me. Shutteth thy moutheth He goes Book of big rich chapter five verse one. I'll never forget that But I would share with him and I loved him. He was my friend And and you love someone you tell them the truth, right? You love someone you tell them about the lord And one day he and I were conversing rich. Why don't you give your heart to christ? And this is his answer He said to me because If I come to faith in the christ you proclaim david Then i'm telling my mother she's a liar Because of the way she raised me He says I cannot go back on what my mom has taught me And I thought what an unusual unusual thing until a few years later I was talking to somebody else and I asked the same question. Why haven't you given your heart to christ? and he says because The way my mother taught me and I don't want to dishonor my mom And I said this to him. I'll never forget. I said are you willing to go to hell for your mother? And he said yes, I am And I said I wasn't I wasn't willing to go to hell for my mother But I was willing to bring my mother to heaven You need to know the lord jesus christ That's that's how it works and and jesus is making it very clear. You are not willing to come to me that you may have life Your problem is spiritual. It's not simply intellectual. You know things You're unwilling to come because it's an action of your will. You're refusing to believe You're refusing to believe what you've read your entire lifetime A lot of people go to church the whole life and never come to faith in christ I remember a young woman who approached me after a church service years ago now She walks up to me after a church service when we were in ontario at the ontario high school And she approached me after the service Because she had come forward to give her heart to christ and as she wanted to talk to me And I remember her saying My father is a pastor in the city here in ontario My father's a pastor if I mentioned his name. She said you'd know who he is She was a woman. She wasn't a little girl. She was a woman. She says I've been going to church my whole life She said I decided to come and visit today. She said and for the first time in my life. I realized I never have committed my heart to jesus christ. I never have I was talking to holland davis who's uh when my dear friends in a wonderful worship leader and pastor of a church in sancle many And I was we were talking about how the lord can speak to you in ways that sometimes can can be kind of Well, I'll say it like this. I said holland I said this is years ago again in ontario high school. I said I gave an invitation and one of the worship leaders Who was playing lead guitar and our worship team? Came off the stage and came and received the lord and I'm looking at him think How'd you make it on a worship team? You don't even know jesus christ Because he and that's this is true for many people He was convinced he knew christ because of ritual and tradition I must be a christian. I'm not a muslim. I must be a christian. I'm not a buddhist. I must be a christian Because I go to church America It's been said that in the united states more people went to hell in the 50s than in any other time In history that's true or not true. I don't know but what an interesting statement Why is that because in the 50s almost everybody went to church? You know here in california um, it's not like It was in the 50s, you know, I grew up obviously in the 50s and I can tell you that Sundays church church churches had people in it and stores were closed There were no stores open on On sundays now that's true in the south to this day. You can go to certain cities in the south and and it's closed on sunday But in california in normock where I grew up No markets were open stores were closed everything shut down There used to be these norman rockwell pictures of families around the table having pot roast That was true Even my mexican family had pot roast on sunday It's true with tortillas, but we had it It's true So did you That's how it was right there you could you could America Still had a moral spine Still did they still had what they called undesirable aliens That's something many of you wouldn't even know what that means That means that if someone was morally Charged with a crime in another country they wouldn't even allow them to come in when they went through passport control They would be sent back They were undesirables Why because there was this real strong moral base here I could go on and on it's just true That's how it was It was very moral. I mean you could watch tv you could watch These are still classic you can still watch them if you wanted to you know, I love lucy And and there were jokes about that because lucy became pregnant and people say how because ricky and she didn't share the same bed And they would laugh about that, you know, she became pregnant with little ricky And they'd say how'd that happen? That's another miracle, you know, because They didn't share the same bed. Those are things you didn't do you didn't talk about There were certain things that were right and there were certain things that were wrong and as a society We agreed with them as a society So what you have today is so different Than what it was even 50 years ago 60 years ago so different for the young people today. It's all you know For the older people. We've seen the corruption over time, but there were people who were thinking themselves christians in the 50s because churches were full on sundays They would hear but they did not do They listened But they didn't really believe that's not new Jesus is saying the same thing to these jewish people during his day When he makes that point to them, you're not willing to come to me that you may have life In verse 41, I do not receive honor from men But I know I know you that you do not have the love of god in you I have come in my father's name You don't receive me If another comes in his own name Him you will receive So in verse 41, I don't receive honor from men the great majority of men. He said are rejecting me I'm not seeking the applause of men But people are refusing to see me for who I am He says in verse 42, I know you that you don't have the love of god and you you've read the bible It's like a rule book But you don't see it as god's love letter And because you have no love for god You will have no love for his son. You you don't know me But I know you And i'm aware of what you have in your hearts I know what's in your hearts But I also know what is not in your heart Because you don't have god's love Because if you did You would love me In john 842 jesus said if god were your father you'd love me For I proceeded forth and came from god Nor have I come up myself, but he sent me If you had the love of god in you you'd love his son In verse 43 he says I have come in my father's name You don't receive me If another comes in his own name Him You will receive You're not seeking the one sent from god That means you're open to imposters This is a there are those who would point out that the antichrist Who is yet in the future obviously Will be received he comes in his own name In second timothy chapter four verses three and four Paul said this he said the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine But according to their own desires because they have itching ears They will heap up for themselves teachers And they will turn their ears away from the truth And be turned aside To fables this one who is coming in the future the antichrist Presents himself And they will receive him you don't want to receive true messiah But in the future people will receive the false one He says in verse 44 how can you believe who receive honor from one another and to not seek the honor that comes From the only god You study Indeed you do But you study in order to become famous for your knowledge But you don't study to become famous for your godliness This is something that is really appropriate when we speak when I speak and when I speak with and to My fellow pastors Or bible teachers And I could go on a long time with you and I won't I'll just make a real quick comment One of the dangers in ministry One of the dangers that pastors wrestle with Is the danger of fame The danger of being well known and well respected When a pastor begins his ministry and say he begins a home bible study And there's three or four or five people. What's he gonna brag about? Does he go to around go around other friends and say man? I had six people last night in my bible study. No because people say really I have more people in my car pool But what happens when you have From that six you have 60 And then what happens that you now have 600 And then what happens that you now have 6,000 When you had six There was a humility there. There was an awareness. There was a on your face time before gods and lord I just want to be used by you But when you begin to see numbers show up You can begin to be taken by the numbers And guess what happens in churches just like this You can begin to be an air tickler Because you start getting letters You start getting comments I don't like the way you said that pastor You shouldn't have said that pastor. How come you said that? And you start getting gun shy Whereas before everybody knew you They know you're teasing they know your humor. I had a lady approach me here When we used to do Sunday mornings here And I shared and I do in a Sunday and I teased my wife You guys know I do that sometimes those of you who go to my church know that I will I tease my girl Why not? And the lady stopped me outside And she says this is my first time here and I want to tell you how I didn't appreciate the way you spoke of your wife No, she said I want to tell you I don't appreciate how you spoke of your wife And I looked and I said this is your first time here, right? She said yes, I said I said I understand I said If you were here longer than that you would know that I would never Ever say anything about my wife that would Make her look bad, but my church knows That I tease with her Oh, see people are that way I I I just I get letters and I get comments and It's just a fact So you can begin to be that person Who's afraid to speak Because you're afraid people won't show up And guess what people vote with their feet If they don't like what they heard They leave Sometimes they'll say something Sometimes they'll say something from From within the congregation. It wasn't that long ago that I was teaching. I was making a point and Using an illustration and a gentleman yelled out at me. You're a liar pastor Yeah, and I told I told rawl. I thought you were At your church today, no people will um Say the worst things the most unthinking things and you can get to the point where you You want to just please them So if I was speaking to pastor right now, I'd be saying to the pastor Speak in a way that pleases god Don't worry about the way people feel Speak the truth speak it in love speak it with gentleness Speak it with encouragement But speak the truth Because in the day when people are searching for teachers to itch their ears to say the things they're itching to hear That's a sign of the last days And every pastor needs to remain faithful to what god has proclaimed To present the truth of the gospel regardless of whether people show up the next week Because you don't stand before them in judgment to receive reward You stand before him so you make sure you honor him And that's what I share with pastors and that's what I share with myself Some people want to become famous for their knowledge But they don't want to be famous for their humility and godliness In matthew 23 23 jesus said it like this. He said woe to you scribes and Pharisees hypocrites For you pay tithe of mint and anise and coming And have neglected the weightier matters of the law justice mercy and faith These you ought to have done without leaving the others undone For you scholarship is more important than character In matthew 23 jesus said in verses six and seven that they love the best places at feasts The best seats in the synagogues the greetings in the marketplaces and to be called by men rabbi Rabbi you receive honor for one another, but you're not seeking god's honor And finally he says in verse 45 to 47 Do not think that I shall accuse you to the father. There is one who accuses you moses In whom you trust For if you believe moses you would believe me For he wrote about me But if you do not believe his writings How will you believe my words? To believe the writings of moses is to believe the words of jesus christ He's saying in your rejection of god's witness of scripture you judge yourself It's not only the specific specific words that jesus spoke It includes the words that moses wrote So scripture condemns them because they reject the words that lead to faith in him And god's word is perfect and god reveals jesus to man So in the rejection of his word You reject your own salvation If you do not believe his writings How would you believe my words? If you don't believe moses you will reject me