WEBVTT


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All right. Good morning, good morning.

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Uh, it's Fr-... here. I don't know, (laughs) I live in

398
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Colorado and I, so I know what cold is, but it doesn't usually feel cold

399
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and wet at the same time. So, I was just very surprised this morning.

400
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But, uh, yeah, my name is Ben. Uh, all you really need to know about me

401
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is I am a friend and fan of your church and your community

402
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and your pastors, and I'm very thankful to be here right now.

403
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And, and I'm thankful you're here.

404
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Uh, we're continuing in this series today called Uncertainty,

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where you're studying through the book of 1 John and just trying to figure out

406
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like how can we be certain of who God is and certain of who we are

407
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in God's eyes, which is what 1 John is all about, and we're

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gonna continue that study together this morning.

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But before we do that, let's talk a little bit about cliches. Okay?

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So, you know what a cliche is. Cliche is a wisdom or a wisdom

411
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saying that you've heard so many times that it's beginning to lose

412
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its impact, right? That's what a cliche is.

413
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Usually when you hear a cliche, you just kinda roll your

414
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eyes. Um, for me, I, I think of 13 years

415
00:25:35.553 --> 00:25:39.254
ago when my wife, Ali, was pregnant with our very first kid, I would

416
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talk to parents all the time and I'd ask like, "Please, give me some advice.

417
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Like, what tips do you have for me as a future dad?" And nine

418
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times out of 10, these people would look at me and they would say something like,

419
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"You just need to cherish every single day because they grow up so

420
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fast." And 13 years ago, I would just roll my eyes, right?

421
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It's like, co- I'm looking for real advice, dude.

422
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(laughs) Help me here. Um, like, I don't know how to change a diaper.

423
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(laughs) Uh, uh, another pretty common

424
00:26:08.214 --> 00:26:10.543
cliche is, let's say just hypothetically,

425
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you're sitting on your porch one evening, you're with your buddy and you're hanging

426
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out, you're talking. Then, across the street, your neighbor pulls into their

427
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garage in a brand new, shiny,

428
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carbonized gray Ford Bronco. Okay?

429
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And let's just say this is your dream car and you want one so bad, even though you

430
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probably know you'll never be able to afford one, but you did drive one for a

431
00:26:32.514 --> 00:26:35.553
couple of days on a vacation in Florida and it was the best experience you ever

432
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had.

433
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(laughs)

434
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Hypothetically. (laughs) All right.

435
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So you see your neighbor pull in in this Ford Bronco, you turn to your, your buddy

436
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and you go, "Man, like, I wish I had his job.

437
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I, I wish I could afford that car." Well, if your buddy, you know,

438
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pats you on the shoulder and goes, "Hey, the grass is always greener on the other

439
00:26:53.614 --> 00:26:54.994
side," like, what are you gonna do?

440
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You're gonna at least roll your eyes, right?

441
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Or, or you're gonna take him in, hypothetically, your beat up

442
00:27:01.593 --> 00:27:04.514
Kia Sedona and drop him in the middle (laughs) of nowhere, right?

443
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'Cause it's-

444
00:27:05.464 --> 00:27:05.464

445
00:27:05.464 --> 00:27:08.474
(laughs) ... it's cliche, right? It's like, that's not what I need to hear.

446
00:27:08.553 --> 00:27:12.293
I've heard that before. Okay? The problem is that

447
00:27:12.313 --> 00:27:15.623
cliches are almost always true and

448
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contain wonderful wisdom, (laughs) right?

449
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Like, I mean, it's true that your kids grow up before you know what's going

450
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on. Like, uh, my kids are already 12 and 10, and my

451
00:27:26.553 --> 00:27:30.313
youngest turns eight next week, and I literally don't know how it happened.

452
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And, and so I'm that person now. People are like, "You got parenting

453
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advice?" I feel like shaking people going like, "You have to listen to us.

454
00:27:37.853 --> 00:27:41.274
(laughs) It really does go faster than you think." And guess what?

455
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The grass really is always greener on the other side.

456
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And so your neighbor has your dream car.

457
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For all you know, though, he's closing his garage door, looking across the street

458
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at you on your porch and thinking to himself, "Man, I wish I had a buddy to

459
00:27:54.434 --> 00:27:57.623
sit on the porch with tonight." Like, c-

460
00:27:57.674 --> 00:28:01.602
cliches are cliche because they get repeated

461
00:28:01.602 --> 00:28:05.164
too often. But the only reason they get repeated too often in the first

462
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place is because they're true. Cliches are only

463
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cliche because they're true. All right?

464
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Why in the world am I bringing any of this stuff up?

465
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Well, because today in, in our passage from 1 John,

466
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we are going to talk about something that, especially if you've been a Christian

467
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for a long time, it's something that might run the risk

468
00:28:25.934 --> 00:28:29.783
of becoming cliche in your heart. It's just we,

469
00:28:29.813 --> 00:28:33.714
we've heard this idea so many times that it's starting to lose its

470
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power for us, and when we hear it, we don't feel amazed.

471
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Instead, our, we typically, we're just kinda like, "Yeah, yeah.

472
00:28:40.333 --> 00:28:43.974
I know that one." Like, "Next." Because today,

473
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John is going to talk about God's love for

474
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us. And immediately, even if you've...

475
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Uh, like, if you've been coming to this series week after week for the last few

476
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weeks, like, you're already tempted to say to yourself, like, "Goodness, like,

477
00:28:57.254 --> 00:29:01.174
Aaron talked about this, Clay talked about this, you talked about this,

478
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like, four weeks ago. How many times can we talk about loving other people

479
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and talk about God's love for us in one series?" And

480
00:29:09.033 --> 00:29:11.164
the answer is, actually quite a bit.

481
00:29:11.164 --> 00:29:14.904
(laughs) And the reason that we're talking about it so often is because

482
00:29:14.954 --> 00:29:18.823
this letter, 1 John, is written by John, and

483
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this is kind of John's thing. Okay?

484
00:29:22.654 --> 00:29:26.033
He is constantly talking about how we should love one

485
00:29:26.094 --> 00:29:29.833
another, and he's constantly talking about God's love for us in his

486
00:29:29.893 --> 00:29:32.893
letters, in the gospel that he recorded.

487
00:29:32.934 --> 00:29:35.963
In fact, in, in his gospel, John refers to

488
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himself as the disciple that Jesus

489
00:29:39.573 --> 00:29:43.444
loved. And he's not being cocky and he's not saying that

490
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Jesus loved him more than other people.

491
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Instead, it's like love is the primary lens through

492
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which John understands Jesus and other people

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and life itself. However, we hear the news that

494
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God loves us, and if we're being honest, in our heads, we're like, "Yeah, yeah.

495
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I know. I already know." Like, how about you teach us something that we

496
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don't already know? Teach us something new, something unique.

497
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And I personally, I think that's too bad because this

498
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truth is amazing, right? And for some of us

499
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that may... There was this time i- in life where that truth blew our

500
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minds, right? We couldn't believe it and we walked with a bounce

501
00:30:24.774 --> 00:30:28.373
in our step and nothing in life seemed insurmountable. Why?

502
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Because we learned that there is a God and He loves us.

503
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But then you fast-forward to today, and for whatever reason, we've just kinda

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lost that loving feeling (laughs) a little bit, right?

505
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And it's like, we still appreciate...... that truth.

506
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We understand that it's foundational to everything that we believe, it's

507
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foundational to our faith, it just doesn't, like, floor us

508
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anymore when we hear it. And again, I think that's

509
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just too bad. So here's what we're gonna do today, this is

510
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spoiler alert, I'm just gonna tell you exactly where we're headed today.

511
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We're gonna talk about what is potentially one of the most cliche

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truths in our faith, and we're gonna dig into

513
00:31:08.182 --> 00:31:12.102
probably hands down the most cliche Bible verse in all of

514
00:31:12.162 --> 00:31:15.362
the Bible, and we have one goal this morning.

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Our goal is to see if we can't make the truth that

516
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God loves us either come alive for the first time, if

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you never knew that, or come alive again for those of

518
00:31:27.322 --> 00:31:30.072
us who have known that truth for a really long time.

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In- in short, today we're gonna try our best together to

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00:31:34.162 --> 00:31:36.412
be amazed again.

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And so let's jump in. Uh, well, it's, uh, Jason's right, it's a long chunk of

522
00:31:41.342 --> 00:31:44.642
scripture, I'm not gonna cover (laughs) all of it either, it's too much.

523
00:31:44.662 --> 00:31:46.922
And so we're not gonna be able to get through the whole thing, we're just gonna get

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00:31:46.942 --> 00:31:50.902
through the first four verses today together, but we will get started

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00:31:50.962 --> 00:31:54.722
now. We're gonna be in 1 John 4, starting in verse 7.

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John writes this, he says, "Dear friends, let us love one

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another, for love comes from God. And everyone who loves has been

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born of God and knows God. But whoever does not

529
00:32:06.442 --> 00:32:10.202
love does not know God, because God is

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00:32:10.282 --> 00:32:14.232
love." So again, if you've been coming week after week to this

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00:32:14.282 --> 00:32:17.982
series, this is a theme that you're familiar with at this

532
00:32:18.022 --> 00:32:21.382
point. John says that we're supposed to love one another.

533
00:32:21.422 --> 00:32:25.342
Why? Because love comes from God. Then he goes a step

534
00:32:25.422 --> 00:32:29.262
further and he says if you truly know God, you're gonna love

535
00:32:29.362 --> 00:32:32.982
other people. And then he goes a step further and he says if you

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00:32:33.022 --> 00:32:36.602
don't love other people, you must not know our

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00:32:36.642 --> 00:32:40.302
God very well. Why? Because God

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00:32:40.662 --> 00:32:44.582
is love. All right, this is a little bit

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of an aside, but I think it's important to notice that John did not

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just say love is God. Okay? That's

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an entirely different thing. Okay?

542
00:32:54.862 --> 00:32:58.242
The idea that love is God is one of those, like,

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00:32:58.342 --> 00:33:02.262
anti-Christian half-truths that Aaron talked about last

544
00:33:02.322 --> 00:33:05.822
week, because if we think that love is God, we start to

545
00:33:05.862 --> 00:33:09.372
reshape who we imagine God to be based on our

546
00:33:09.422 --> 00:33:13.342
current understanding of love. And so this is how you wind up with

547
00:33:13.402 --> 00:33:17.182
a God who, like, doesn't really care at all how you live your life,

548
00:33:17.222 --> 00:33:19.942
because He just supports you no matter what. Right?

549
00:33:20.042 --> 00:33:23.942
We end up with a very weak God, because typically we have a very

550
00:33:24.142 --> 00:33:27.042
weak understanding of what love is.

551
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But that's not what John says. He does not say love is God,

552
00:33:30.982 --> 00:33:34.922
instead he says God is love. So in- in other words,

553
00:33:35.002 --> 00:33:38.942
our understanding of love should be shaped by the kind

554
00:33:39.002 --> 00:33:42.882
of love that we see in God. Okay? So the next

555
00:33:42.962 --> 00:33:46.822
logical question is, okay, if I'm supposed to love other people like

556
00:33:46.982 --> 00:33:50.702
God loves me, how does God love us? What does His

557
00:33:50.762 --> 00:33:54.542
love look like? Which is exactly what John says in the next two

558
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verses. Look at this, he says, "This is how God showed

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his love among us." Okay? "He sent his one and only Son into the

560
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world that we might live through him." He goes, "This is love." Let me just spell

561
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this out for you, "This is love: not that we loved God but that God loved

562
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us and sent his Son as an atoning

563
00:34:13.101 --> 00:34:16.632
sacrifice for our sins." And here's what I just

564
00:34:16.682 --> 00:34:20.442
noticed. Okay? I noticed that I read those two verses

565
00:34:20.882 --> 00:34:24.182
and no one jumped onto their chair shouting for joy,

566
00:34:25.282 --> 00:34:29.062
and no one hit their knees (laughs) , and no one went sprinting out the

567
00:34:29.101 --> 00:34:31.132
front door to go tell everybody they know.

568
00:34:31.162 --> 00:34:34.532
Like, I didn't just lose full control of this

569
00:34:34.581 --> 00:34:38.472
room. And a- a- I'm not judging you really, 'cause I'm the same

570
00:34:38.502 --> 00:34:42.402
way, it's just we- you- we- we're not floored by that truth anymore.

571
00:34:42.422 --> 00:34:44.782
We- we hear it and we're not shocked. Why?

572
00:34:44.802 --> 00:34:48.302
Because it's, like, becoming almost cliche to most of us.

573
00:34:48.322 --> 00:34:52.222
We're like, "Yeah, yeah, I- I know that one." In fact,

574
00:34:52.262 --> 00:34:55.782
those two verses that I- I just read, John is really just

575
00:34:55.822 --> 00:34:59.421
paraphrasing, saying in his own language something that

576
00:34:59.481 --> 00:35:03.062
Jesus said himself that John recorded in his

577
00:35:03.082 --> 00:35:06.782
Gospel. And- and the thing that Jesus said has become maybe the

578
00:35:06.822 --> 00:35:09.622
most cliche Bible verse of all time.

579
00:35:09.632 --> 00:35:13.542
Like, chances are if this is your first time ever walking foot into a church

580
00:35:13.582 --> 00:35:17.002
building, you've still heard this one before, where Jesus

581
00:35:17.042 --> 00:35:21.022
says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that

582
00:35:21.062 --> 00:35:24.782
whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal

583
00:35:24.842 --> 00:35:28.202
life." That's John 3:16. Now, you'll see that one

584
00:35:28.582 --> 00:35:32.362
written on signs at football games, and- and again, I just

585
00:35:32.522 --> 00:35:35.302
read that verse and no one in the room is like,

586
00:35:35.482 --> 00:35:39.012
"What? Like, say it again, I can't believe it."

587
00:35:39.062 --> 00:35:42.482
Right? 'Cause it's we've just heard that one more

588
00:35:42.522 --> 00:35:45.622
times than we can count. But just like a

589
00:35:45.682 --> 00:35:49.522
cliche, we've heard that verse so many times because

590
00:35:49.622 --> 00:35:53.302
it might be the single greatest, most

591
00:35:53.362 --> 00:35:57.182
concise summary of the good news of Jesus

592
00:35:57.242 --> 00:35:58.452
in the entire Bible.

593
00:35:59.462 --> 00:36:01.502
And so here's how we're gonna actually spend

594
00:36:02.302 --> 00:36:06.062
the rest of our time. We're gonna unpack this idea of God's

595
00:36:06.122 --> 00:36:09.502
love for us that John is talking about in 1 John

596
00:36:09.662 --> 00:36:13.442
4. We're actually gonna do it by unpacking word for word

597
00:36:13.722 --> 00:36:17.222
John 3:16, because first of all, it's the same

598
00:36:17.302 --> 00:36:21.002
truth that we find in 1 John 4, but we'll unpack this one

599
00:36:21.042 --> 00:36:24.912
because chances are that one's more cliche in your mind.

600
00:36:24.942 --> 00:36:28.722
You probably heard John 3:16 more times than you've heard 1

601
00:36:28.782 --> 00:36:32.702
John 4:9-10. And so we're gonna unpack John

602
00:36:32.842 --> 00:36:36.522
3:16 word for word and see if we can't be

603
00:36:36.582 --> 00:36:39.692
amazed by this verse again. Okay? 'Cause

604
00:36:40.302 --> 00:36:43.632
John 3:16 it's- it's one of those verses where ev- like,

605
00:36:43.722 --> 00:36:47.182
every single word in this verse matters.

606
00:36:47.262 --> 00:36:50.902
Every- every little chunk of this verse teaches us

607
00:36:51.062 --> 00:36:54.602
something new and amazing about who our God is.

608
00:36:54.612 --> 00:36:56.602
And so let- let's break it down together.

609
00:36:56.622 --> 00:36:59.922
This morning we're gonna try to make John 3:16 great again.

610
00:37:00.102 --> 00:37:02.712
Okay?I want-

611
00:37:02.792 --> 00:37:06.772
(laughs) I want that hat. I won't wear it, but (laughs) but I

612
00:37:06.832 --> 00:37:10.652
want that hat. (laughs) All right, so let's look at

613
00:37:10.712 --> 00:37:14.612
the first two words of John 3:16. Remember, this is Jesus

614
00:37:14.652 --> 00:37:18.471
Himself speaking, and He says, "For God so

615
00:37:18.552 --> 00:37:21.752
loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him

616
00:37:21.792 --> 00:37:25.752
shall not perish but have eternal life." For God.

617
00:37:25.812 --> 00:37:29.372
And the word for in this verse means because, so

618
00:37:29.392 --> 00:37:33.301
because God. And- and what it means is, is that

619
00:37:33.352 --> 00:37:36.312
God is the primary character in this verse.

620
00:37:36.392 --> 00:37:40.352
He's the one acting, not us. And- and what it means

621
00:37:40.412 --> 00:37:44.302
is that everything that Jesus says after these two words is only

622
00:37:44.352 --> 00:37:48.252
made possible for us because God did something for

623
00:37:48.352 --> 00:37:52.052
us, and not because we did something for God.

624
00:37:52.772 --> 00:37:55.872
And- and that's important, because we get that confused.

625
00:37:55.912 --> 00:37:58.632
We get that one confused all of the time. Right?

626
00:37:58.652 --> 00:38:02.232
H- how many of us kind of just grew up believing that, like, we'll get to go to

627
00:38:02.292 --> 00:38:05.892
heaven when we die, sure, because God did something for me, but- but mainly

628
00:38:05.932 --> 00:38:09.792
because I did a lot of good stuff for God?

629
00:38:09.892 --> 00:38:13.732
Right? So, like, we might have John 3:16 memorized, but what we actually

630
00:38:13.812 --> 00:38:17.112
believe is because I, right?

631
00:38:17.152 --> 00:38:20.812
Because I read my Bible every single morning, or

632
00:38:20.832 --> 00:38:24.721
because I finally cleaned my act up, or because

633
00:38:25.012 --> 00:38:28.632
I seem to be doing a little bit better than most of the people that I'm

634
00:38:28.652 --> 00:38:32.491
surrounded with, because I did something, God finally

635
00:38:32.532 --> 00:38:36.332
viewed me as worthy enough to send me His one and only

636
00:38:36.372 --> 00:38:39.542
Son. It's like, no. Nuh-uh. Right?

637
00:38:39.572 --> 00:38:43.432
And- and whenever- whenever we catch ourselves thinking that we can earn our

638
00:38:43.471 --> 00:38:47.412
way into God's favor or into God's grace, (laughs) it's because

639
00:38:47.452 --> 00:38:51.212
we already screwed up the first two words of

640
00:38:51.252 --> 00:38:54.852
John 3:16. We did not receive the gift of Jesus

641
00:38:54.952 --> 00:38:58.912
because we did anything. We received the gift of

642
00:38:58.971 --> 00:39:02.852
Jesus because God, because God

643
00:39:03.172 --> 00:39:03.952
did something.

644
00:39:05.212 --> 00:39:08.272
What are the next two words of- of what Jesus says?

645
00:39:08.292 --> 00:39:11.672
Well, look, "For God so loved

646
00:39:12.192 --> 00:39:15.992
the world." And so God is the- the primary character in this

647
00:39:16.072 --> 00:39:18.852
verse. He's the one acting. He's doing something.

648
00:39:18.892 --> 00:39:21.352
What is the motivation for His actions?

649
00:39:21.361 --> 00:39:25.112
The motivation is His love. But again, we get this one

650
00:39:25.192 --> 00:39:29.142
messed up all of the time. And so a lot of us, if we're going to be really

651
00:39:29.332 --> 00:39:33.072
honest with ourselves, which, by the way, this is the place to be very

652
00:39:33.152 --> 00:39:37.011
honest with yourself. But if we were to be honest, what we actually believe is

653
00:39:37.072 --> 00:39:40.971
that God acted out of some begrudging sense

654
00:39:41.032 --> 00:39:44.812
of duty and responsibility toward us, or

655
00:39:44.872 --> 00:39:48.602
God acted in order to trap us into obedience by

656
00:39:48.652 --> 00:39:51.592
sending us on a lifelong guilt trip.

657
00:39:51.612 --> 00:39:55.432
What we actually believe is, is God is in some distant, far away outer

658
00:39:55.532 --> 00:39:59.372
space Heaven, and He's looking at us with a grimace, and He's constantly just

659
00:39:59.392 --> 00:40:01.432
going like, "Can you please get your acts together?

660
00:40:01.471 --> 00:40:05.312
Like, l- don't you realize what I had to do to my one and only Son

661
00:40:05.392 --> 00:40:09.272
for you?" We get it confused. And so again, we

662
00:40:09.342 --> 00:40:12.912
might have John 3:16 memorized, but what we actually

663
00:40:12.952 --> 00:40:16.792
believe is because God was so frustrated with my

664
00:40:16.812 --> 00:40:20.652
brokenness, or because God wanted to manipulate

665
00:40:20.712 --> 00:40:24.612
me into debt with Him, or because the devil forced

666
00:40:24.652 --> 00:40:27.971
God's hand, He gave His one and only Son.

667
00:40:28.032 --> 00:40:30.732
Jesus just said that's not true.

668
00:40:31.792 --> 00:40:35.692
He said the motivation for what God did for us is love.

669
00:40:35.712 --> 00:40:39.672
In fact, we're- we're- He says, "For God so loved the world." So

670
00:40:39.692 --> 00:40:43.032
translation, "Because God loved you so

671
00:40:43.192 --> 00:40:47.142
much," is what Jesus said. So the- the motivation

672
00:40:47.172 --> 00:40:50.432
for God's actions, it was not guilt, it was not punishment, it was not

673
00:40:50.452 --> 00:40:53.752
obligation, it was love.

674
00:40:54.052 --> 00:40:57.772
Okay? Next question, what kind of people does God

675
00:40:57.832 --> 00:41:01.312
love? That's the next two words. "For God so

676
00:41:01.432 --> 00:41:04.852
loved the world." Right? The original

677
00:41:04.892 --> 00:41:08.352
Greek there is cosmos. We still- we still use

678
00:41:08.612 --> 00:41:12.212
that- that word today. Cosmos. It means the entire universe.

679
00:41:12.272 --> 00:41:15.511
So who does God love? Well, everyone.

680
00:41:16.312 --> 00:41:19.552
It means if you are living and breathing on- in this

681
00:41:19.672 --> 00:41:23.612
universe, God loves you. On top of that,

682
00:41:23.672 --> 00:41:27.652
in the Bible, that term the world often has a negative connotation,

683
00:41:27.692 --> 00:41:31.542
so it's often used to talk about the sin and corruption and

684
00:41:31.612 --> 00:41:34.952
hatred and rebellion that you see all throughout the

685
00:41:35.032 --> 00:41:38.752
universe, which means what Jesus is saying is not only is

686
00:41:38.812 --> 00:41:42.011
God's love available to anyone and everybody in the entire

687
00:41:42.092 --> 00:41:45.852
universe, but it's available to us even though we're broken,

688
00:41:45.892 --> 00:41:49.312
messed up, sinful people. Right? The

689
00:41:49.352 --> 00:41:52.712
first six words out of Jesus' mouth in John

690
00:41:52.852 --> 00:41:56.682
3:16 are so important, 'cause it sets the

691
00:41:56.812 --> 00:42:00.052
stage for- for everything He says after that.

692
00:42:00.062 --> 00:42:03.792
And so as we continue breaking this down, let's change the

693
00:42:03.832 --> 00:42:07.692
first six words of this verse, just to kind of hopefully make it more

694
00:42:07.732 --> 00:42:11.292
fresh for our minds this morning, because we could say,

695
00:42:11.312 --> 00:42:15.292
"Because God loved every single broken, messed up person

696
00:42:15.572 --> 00:42:19.432
so much." That's- that's the heart

697
00:42:19.952 --> 00:42:23.892
behind the first six words out of Jesus' mouth in John 3:16.

698
00:42:23.912 --> 00:42:27.772
The heart is God loves all of us, He loves us a lot,

699
00:42:27.992 --> 00:42:31.692
and He loves us even though we're broken, messed up,

700
00:42:31.772 --> 00:42:32.672
sinful people.

701
00:42:33.652 --> 00:42:37.432
And then because of this great love of God's, He decides

702
00:42:37.652 --> 00:42:41.192
to act. He does something about His love.

703
00:42:41.212 --> 00:42:44.672
What does He do? That's the next part of the verse.

704
00:42:44.712 --> 00:42:48.272
Because God loved every single broken, messed up person so

705
00:42:48.352 --> 00:42:52.252
much, He gave His one and only Son.

706
00:42:52.272 --> 00:42:56.232
Okay? Remember, this is Jesus Himself speaking, and Jesus is the Son of

707
00:42:56.252 --> 00:42:59.912
God. And so basically, what Jesus is saying is like, "Hey, God loves you so

708
00:43:00.052 --> 00:43:03.572
much, I-... and I'm gonna sacrifice

709
00:43:03.652 --> 00:43:07.252
myself on your behalf. And I'm, I'm the one telling you this.

710
00:43:07.312 --> 00:43:10.452
I don't have to do this. I want to do this. Why?

711
00:43:10.472 --> 00:43:12.832
Because my Father and I love you.

712
00:43:13.652 --> 00:43:17.452
All right. Jesus i- is God's greatest act of love toward

713
00:43:17.512 --> 00:43:18.492
us.

714
00:43:19.372 --> 00:43:22.992
Two more quick questions. The, the, the first one goes like this.

715
00:43:23.002 --> 00:43:26.922
What did Jesus accomplish for us? And to answer that,

716
00:43:26.932 --> 00:43:30.812
we'll go to the end of John 3:16. "Because Jesus died on a cross and was

717
00:43:30.852 --> 00:43:34.412
resurrected, we shall not perish but

718
00:43:34.492 --> 00:43:37.952
have eternal life." And, and to try my

719
00:43:37.992 --> 00:43:41.941
best, I'm, te- I'll try my best to take like a bunch of, like,

720
00:43:41.992 --> 00:43:45.392
theology and just, like, kinda sum it up really quickly.

721
00:43:45.432 --> 00:43:49.272
The reason Jesus had to die on a cross is because you and I were in

722
00:43:49.332 --> 00:43:52.152
this seemingly impossible,

723
00:43:52.252 --> 00:43:55.642
unsolvable dilemma. And here's the

724
00:43:55.712 --> 00:43:59.672
dilemma. The dilemma is God wants to be near you because

725
00:43:59.712 --> 00:44:03.332
He loves you. The problem is God is also

726
00:44:03.472 --> 00:44:07.411
righteous, and righteous means sin can't even

727
00:44:07.452 --> 00:44:11.012
enter into His presence. He's too good, He's too

728
00:44:11.072 --> 00:44:14.952
perfect, He's too righteous for sin to enter into His presence,

729
00:44:14.992 --> 00:44:17.352
for sinful people to come into His presence.

730
00:44:17.372 --> 00:44:20.072
That's like trying to f- fly a spaceship to the sun.

731
00:44:20.092 --> 00:44:22.692
Like, you're gonna burn up w- before you even get

732
00:44:22.752 --> 00:44:26.392
close. And so, the dilemma is, well, how can

733
00:44:26.452 --> 00:44:30.012
God be loving and be near us without

734
00:44:30.092 --> 00:44:33.712
losing His righteousness? And that's what the

735
00:44:33.732 --> 00:44:37.552
cross is all about, 'cause God knew that the only solution

736
00:44:37.572 --> 00:44:41.132
for paying off humanity's infinite debt would be to

737
00:44:41.192 --> 00:44:43.032
cut an infinite check.

738
00:44:43.872 --> 00:44:47.382
And so, rather than surrender us to, t- to the

739
00:44:47.492 --> 00:44:51.152
punishment of our own sin, and rather than surrender His perfect

740
00:44:51.212 --> 00:44:54.892
love, and rather than surrender His righteousness, God and S-

741
00:44:54.952 --> 00:44:58.492
instead chose to surrender Himself on our

742
00:44:58.532 --> 00:45:02.492
behalf. And so, Jesus enters into humanity so

743
00:45:02.532 --> 00:45:06.332
that He could erase our infinite debt through payment of

744
00:45:06.352 --> 00:45:10.032
His infinite sacrifice. Why? So that we don't have to

745
00:45:10.072 --> 00:45:13.832
perish, but instead we can begin an eternal life

746
00:45:14.132 --> 00:45:18.092
in relationship with our God, our Father who loves us.

747
00:45:19.332 --> 00:45:23.312
Which brings us to our last question. That sounds like an awesome love.

748
00:45:23.372 --> 00:45:25.872
What do we need to do to receive this love?

749
00:45:25.892 --> 00:45:28.652
Is there anything that we could do to receive this love?

750
00:45:28.672 --> 00:45:32.532
And the answer is yes, but relatively speaking, God

751
00:45:32.632 --> 00:45:36.512
sets such a low bar of entry for us. Like, He

752
00:45:36.552 --> 00:45:39.842
did all of the heavy lifting Himself, so that

753
00:45:39.932 --> 00:45:43.912
absolutely anyone and everyone in the cosmos could become one of His

754
00:45:43.972 --> 00:45:47.372
sons or daughters. All we have to do, Jesus says, is

755
00:45:47.792 --> 00:45:51.512
believe in Him, and that's it. And,

756
00:45:51.532 --> 00:45:55.512
uh, j- so just to make myself so clear, what do we

757
00:45:55.552 --> 00:45:58.372
have to do to receive this great love?

758
00:45:58.432 --> 00:46:01.732
Do we have to memorize the Bible front to back?

759
00:46:01.772 --> 00:46:05.312
Do we have to clean up all of our addictions and our bad patterns and our bad

760
00:46:05.392 --> 00:46:09.312
habits before we can begin this new life with Jesus?

761
00:46:09.332 --> 00:46:11.852
Do we have to quit our jobs and become missionaries?

762
00:46:11.872 --> 00:46:15.522
Do we have to come from a certain family and a certain upbringing and a certain

763
00:46:15.612 --> 00:46:19.172
social status? What do we need to do to receive this great love?

764
00:46:19.212 --> 00:46:22.892
Jesus says, "You simply gotta believe in me."

765
00:46:22.912 --> 00:46:26.842
Meaning, we believe that Jesus is who He says He is and He's gonna keep every

766
00:46:26.932 --> 00:46:30.912
single promise that He made. Jesus says if we do that, immediately our

767
00:46:31.012 --> 00:46:34.812
souls become whitewashed and clean and we begin

768
00:46:34.872 --> 00:46:38.752
this eternal relationship with our Father, the God who loves

769
00:46:38.832 --> 00:46:42.712
us more than anything. That's John

770
00:46:42.912 --> 00:46:43.592
3:16.

771
00:46:44.512 --> 00:46:48.012
And when you break it down and you start to understand it, like, we start to

772
00:46:48.052 --> 00:46:50.992
realize th- He, Jesus is sharing an

773
00:46:51.072 --> 00:46:54.552
amazing truth with us. And here's the amazing truth.

774
00:46:54.572 --> 00:46:58.512
He's telling us that m- God had the right, He, for sure He has the

775
00:46:58.532 --> 00:47:02.332
right to stay distant from us. But instead, He chose to be

776
00:47:02.412 --> 00:47:06.012
near. And God had the right to remain silent.

777
00:47:06.052 --> 00:47:09.852
Instead, He chose to speak up. And God had the right to let

778
00:47:09.952 --> 00:47:12.312
us suffer the punishment for our own sins.

779
00:47:12.332 --> 00:47:15.512
But instead, God bore that punishment on Himself.

780
00:47:15.532 --> 00:47:19.372
And then, what Jesus just said is He did not do that because His hand

781
00:47:19.412 --> 00:47:23.081
was forced or because He felt obligated or responsible for us

782
00:47:23.412 --> 00:47:27.192
or because He was fed up with us. Instead, He did this because He

783
00:47:27.252 --> 00:47:30.402
loves us. He loves us with, like, a

784
00:47:30.452 --> 00:47:34.052
fierce, relentless, I would do anything for you, even

785
00:47:34.092 --> 00:47:38.012
die, kind of love. Like, Jesus is saying, "There

786
00:47:38.112 --> 00:47:41.992
is a God and He literally died to be near

787
00:47:42.092 --> 00:47:44.692
you again." It's beautiful.

788
00:47:46.052 --> 00:47:50.032
To go back to 1 John 4, which we just read together, John says,

789
00:47:50.072 --> 00:47:51.952
"This is how God showed His love among us.

790
00:47:51.972 --> 00:47:55.792
He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through

791
00:47:55.852 --> 00:47:59.692
Him. This, this is love. Not that we loved God, but that God loved us and

792
00:47:59.752 --> 00:48:03.712
sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." And when John

793
00:48:03.772 --> 00:48:07.522
writes that, we're supposed to hear John's words and kinda recall what

794
00:48:07.552 --> 00:48:11.172
Jesus said in John 3:16. We're supposed to put the whole puzzle piece

795
00:48:11.182 --> 00:48:13.492
together and simply be

796
00:48:13.572 --> 00:48:17.352
amazed. John is trying to crack through the

797
00:48:17.412 --> 00:48:21.092
calloused shells of our hearts to amaze us

798
00:48:21.152 --> 00:48:24.852
again with the love of our God. That's, that's what he's

799
00:48:24.892 --> 00:48:26.152
doing throughout the whole letter.

800
00:48:26.192 --> 00:48:29.512
I mean, sometimes it sounds like he's coming out of his chair to do it.

801
00:48:29.532 --> 00:48:33.252
Like, in the chapter before this, he writes, "How great is the love that the

802
00:48:33.292 --> 00:48:36.822
Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God?" And that is

803
00:48:36.872 --> 00:48:40.192
what we are. It sounds like, it's like he's shouting from the rooftops, going like,

804
00:48:40.212 --> 00:48:44.172
"Man, that's what you are. You're a son of the living God.

805
00:48:44.232 --> 00:48:47.672
You are a daughter of the living God. Stop forgetting it.

806
00:48:47.692 --> 00:48:51.232
Stop becoming calloused to that truth and instead,

807
00:48:51.272 --> 00:48:53.712
be amazed."

808
00:48:56.092 --> 00:48:57.022
There's this, uh,

809
00:48:58.452 --> 00:49:00.762
TV show that I love. It's like a guilty pleasure.

810
00:49:00.792 --> 00:49:04.232
I watch it a lot while I'm traveling, 'cause Ali would never watch this show

811
00:49:04.252 --> 00:49:07.814
(laughs) with me. It's called Body Cam. Okay?...

812
00:49:07.823 --> 00:49:10.413
before you're like, "Ugh," let me explain.

813
00:49:10.424 --> 00:49:14.183
(laughs) So, uh, (laughs) , it's kinda like that old show,

814
00:49:14.243 --> 00:49:17.104
Cops. Remember Cops? Except there's no reenactments.

815
00:49:17.113 --> 00:49:20.774
And so, basically, they interview police officers over spec- about

816
00:49:20.843 --> 00:49:24.613
specific, you know, calls that they've been on, and as they're being interviewed,

817
00:49:24.644 --> 00:49:28.593
they show footage of the actual moment that they're talking about

818
00:49:28.644 --> 00:49:32.384
and it all comes from their body cams or their dashboard

819
00:49:32.444 --> 00:49:35.624
cameras. And I've got a few friends who are police officers, and so, like, I- I

820
00:49:35.644 --> 00:49:38.473
don't know why I- I don't- honestly, I don't know why I got obsessed with this

821
00:49:38.504 --> 00:49:41.694
show. (laughs) I think, I just think it's cool. But I saw this one ...

822
00:49:41.694 --> 00:49:44.694
Actually, last time I was here in North Carolina, I saw this one.

823
00:49:44.723 --> 00:49:48.384
I wanna share it with you 'cause I th- I think it's amazing.

824
00:49:48.424 --> 00:49:52.263
It's this young police officer. He's, like, in his early 20s,

825
00:49:52.343 --> 00:49:55.234
and he's an officer in rural Georgia.

826
00:49:55.234 --> 00:49:58.953
I can never say r- rural Georgia. (laughs)

827
00:49:58.953 --> 00:49:58.953

828
00:49:58.964 --> 00:50:01.783
He's an officer in non-urban Georgia w-

829
00:50:02.004 --> 00:50:02.654
(laughs)

830
00:50:02.654 --> 00:50:05.904
... which is important 'cause it's like, he- he's an officer in the middle of- of

831
00:50:05.984 --> 00:50:09.964
nowhere, and one night, he's driving around at, like, 2:00 AM and he

832
00:50:10.004 --> 00:50:13.683
gets a call from dispatch. There's this woman who has wrecked her car, the car is

833
00:50:13.763 --> 00:50:17.613
up on its side, she's trapped inside, and the engine is on

834
00:50:17.743 --> 00:50:18.084
fire.

835
00:50:18.964 --> 00:50:21.363
Okay? He's the closest officer to the scene.

836
00:50:21.404 --> 00:50:24.723
He speeds over there, he jumps out, he's immediately assessing the

837
00:50:24.763 --> 00:50:27.663
situation. Yes, she's absolutely trapped.

838
00:50:27.703 --> 00:50:31.524
Yes, this engine is on fire. Any minute now, this thing could hit the gas

839
00:50:31.584 --> 00:50:33.984
line and the whole thing could just explode.

840
00:50:34.024 --> 00:50:37.803
On top of this, he explains, "She's in the middle of nowhere and the fire

841
00:50:37.843 --> 00:50:41.053
department and the next nearest police officer, they're not gonna be there for,

842
00:50:41.064 --> 00:50:44.843
like, 15 to 20 minutes." And so he explains, "For the next 15 to

843
00:50:45.044 --> 00:50:47.674
20 minutes, I am all this woman has."

844
00:50:48.843 --> 00:50:52.624
Meanwhile, she's inside the car. Remember, you're seeing all of it. It's crazy.

845
00:50:52.663 --> 00:50:56.484
You're watching the actual moment. She's inside, she's screaming for help.

846
00:50:56.763 --> 00:51:00.584
She's sobbing, she knows she could die at any minute, and so what does this

847
00:51:00.604 --> 00:51:03.743
police officer do? He pulls out his MagLite, you know, those

848
00:51:03.924 --> 00:51:07.624
massive, heavy flashlights, and he just starts pounding

849
00:51:08.004 --> 00:51:11.843
on this lady's windshield. Okay? You can go try this

850
00:51:11.924 --> 00:51:15.564
later, if you'd like. You can go to the parking lot, go punch your

851
00:51:15.644 --> 00:51:18.243
windshield as hard as you can. Guess what's gonna happen?

852
00:51:18.254 --> 00:51:21.823
(laughs) You're gonna break your hand. (laughs) Like, nothing's gonna happen.

853
00:51:21.863 --> 00:51:24.473
These things are designed to withstand car wrecks.

854
00:51:24.504 --> 00:51:28.493
In fact, this lady's windshield has already withstood a

855
00:51:28.524 --> 00:51:32.232
car wreck. At the same time, the officer explains, he's like, "I've

856
00:51:32.263 --> 00:51:36.084
got no other option for the next 15 to 20 minutes until the fire

857
00:51:36.124 --> 00:51:40.044
department shows up." And so he just starts going to town,

858
00:51:40.924 --> 00:51:44.803
and he's just pounding on this woman's windshield over and over and over

859
00:51:44.843 --> 00:51:48.484
again. Every now and then, he rears back and just kicks the thing as hard as he

860
00:51:48.544 --> 00:51:52.524
can. The entire time, he's- he's screaming to her and he's yelling to her and

861
00:51:52.544 --> 00:51:54.944
he's going, "Hey, I'm here. I'm not leaving.

862
00:51:54.964 --> 00:51:58.924
Don't worry, I'm not leaving." He keeps calling her baby, which I could never get

863
00:51:58.964 --> 00:52:02.404
away with, but he- he pulls it off. (laughs)

864
00:52:02.413 --> 00:52:02.413

865
00:52:02.444 --> 00:52:05.084
So he's just, over and over, he's hitting this windshield and he's going, "It's

866
00:52:05.124 --> 00:52:07.984
okay, baby. I'm here. I'm not leaving, baby. I'm not leaving.

867
00:52:08.004 --> 00:52:11.823
I'm not leaving." And for 15 minutes, this man

868
00:52:12.004 --> 00:52:14.683
full on attacks this lady's windshield.

869
00:52:15.544 --> 00:52:19.393
And what happens is, over the course of 15 minutes, the thing starts

870
00:52:19.444 --> 00:52:23.413
to crack, and then eventually, it begins to sag, and then there's this

871
00:52:23.504 --> 00:52:26.763
one moment where he rears back and he kicks it, and the thing

872
00:52:26.984 --> 00:52:30.823
shatters. At this point, the car is engulfed

873
00:52:30.884 --> 00:52:34.553
in flames, like, they've- they're- they already have burns from it, and he starts

874
00:52:34.663 --> 00:52:37.263
yelling to her and he's like, "Okay, baby, we gotta go. We gotta go.

875
00:52:37.283 --> 00:52:41.243
We gotta go." He pulls her out of the windshield, he carries her back behind

876
00:52:41.283 --> 00:52:45.263
his squad car for protection, and like a minute later, this lady's

877
00:52:45.274 --> 00:52:49.144
car explodes. And he's

878
00:52:49.183 --> 00:52:52.683
got her wrapped up in a blanket and he looks at her at one point, and you can see

879
00:52:52.763 --> 00:52:56.053
all of the footage. It's crazy. He just goes, "Hey, can I give you a

880
00:52:56.124 --> 00:52:59.144
hug?" And she just, I mean, she

881
00:52:59.203 --> 00:53:01.754
collapses in this young man's arms.

882
00:53:01.783 --> 00:53:05.624
She's weeping and crying into his shoulder, and she just says over and over

883
00:53:05.644 --> 00:53:09.464
again, "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." And he just rubs her back and says over

884
00:53:09.504 --> 00:53:11.644
and over again, "It's over now. It's over now.

885
00:53:11.663 --> 00:53:13.024
It's over now."

886
00:53:13.944 --> 00:53:17.424
I swear, I got chills just telling you about this.

887
00:53:17.433 --> 00:53:21.134
(laughs) It's one of the most amazing things I've ever seen in my whole life, and

888
00:53:21.203 --> 00:53:24.624
as I watched this thing, just like, totally gripped, I couldn't help think to

889
00:53:24.663 --> 00:53:28.533
myself, it's like, "Man, I know there's bad eggs out there, I know there's

890
00:53:28.564 --> 00:53:32.344
bad people, but every now and then, humans can just be

891
00:53:32.403 --> 00:53:33.774
so amazing."

892
00:53:34.743 --> 00:53:38.703
And I remember thinking, like, if I ever wreck my car and if I'm ever trapped

893
00:53:38.763 --> 00:53:42.113
inside and the engine is on fire, man, I'm gonna be praying that the

894
00:53:42.323 --> 00:53:46.223
officer who shows up has such a disregard for his own safety

895
00:53:46.524 --> 00:53:50.033
that he's willing to risk his own life to save a stranger.

896
00:53:51.163 --> 00:53:54.924
And if you're anything like me, as I was telling that story, it's like maybe your

897
00:53:54.933 --> 00:53:58.323
heart started beating faster at one point 'cause you don't know what's gonna

898
00:53:58.363 --> 00:54:02.294
happen, or maybe you got chills at the image of this guy just banging on

899
00:54:02.323 --> 00:54:05.564
the windshield, or maybe you even felt like getting choked up at the image of these

900
00:54:05.604 --> 00:54:09.163
two strangers hugging because they narrowly avoided death.

901
00:54:09.183 --> 00:54:13.163
It's like we feel amazed by the story, and then at the same time, I

902
00:54:13.203 --> 00:54:17.194
can say that the God of the universe had such a disregard for His

903
00:54:17.243 --> 00:54:21.084
safety that He was willing to sacrifice His own life to save

904
00:54:21.144 --> 00:54:24.973
us from the burning wreckage of our sins, and we're like, "Yeah, I

905
00:54:25.064 --> 00:54:28.984
know. I've he- uh, I've heard that, I've heard that one before.

906
00:54:29.024 --> 00:54:32.584
What else do you have to teach this morning?"

907
00:54:33.243 --> 00:54:37.144
Man, may we pray, like right now, like, as I speak, that

908
00:54:37.223 --> 00:54:41.064
God breaks through the calloused shells of our hearts

909
00:54:41.124 --> 00:54:44.823
to amaze us again with the relentless force of His

910
00:54:44.884 --> 00:54:48.363
love? That's what John is trying to do in 1 John chapter four.

911
00:54:48.384 --> 00:54:52.223
It's like he's trying to dunk us in cold water and wake us up again, and

912
00:54:52.243 --> 00:54:56.223
he's shouting at us, "Be amazed! This is

913
00:54:56.263 --> 00:54:59.964
the kind of God you have. Be amazed."

914
00:55:00.024 --> 00:55:03.743
Why? Because- because there is a God, there is this infinite

915
00:55:04.044 --> 00:55:06.504
being who created the cosmos,

916
00:55:07.504 --> 00:55:11.104
and He's all-knowing and He's all-seeing and He's all-encompassing.

917
00:55:11.124 --> 00:55:14.823
We would be right to stand in fear of such great power.

918
00:55:14.863 --> 00:55:18.564
We would be right to stand in awe and amazement in the blinding

919
00:55:18.624 --> 00:55:22.564
light of God's glory, and yet scripture also tells us that it's that

920
00:55:22.703 --> 00:55:25.524
same exact God who knows you by your first

921
00:55:25.584 --> 00:55:29.517
name-It's that same exact God who has numbered the hairs

922
00:55:29.588 --> 00:55:30.228
on your head.

923
00:55:31.288 --> 00:55:35.258
It's that same exact God who knows the plans He has for you, and they're

924
00:55:35.288 --> 00:55:38.968
plans to prosper you and not to harm you, and they're plans to give you all hope,

925
00:55:38.988 --> 00:55:41.068
and to give you a future. Check this out.

926
00:55:41.088 --> 00:55:45.048
We're told that that same exact God knows every single sparrow who

927
00:55:45.088 --> 00:55:48.868
falls to the ground. Like, that God, our God, holds a

928
00:55:48.928 --> 00:55:52.428
personal funeral service for every bird that dies. Why?

929
00:55:52.448 --> 00:55:56.288
Because every bird is, is a creature that He created and He loves.

930
00:55:56.298 --> 00:55:59.968
And at the same time, we're told that that very same God knit you and I

931
00:56:00.028 --> 00:56:03.828
together in our mother's wombs, and wonderfully and fearfully, He

932
00:56:03.888 --> 00:56:07.868
created our innermost beings. And so, I think He probably, He loves us at least

933
00:56:07.928 --> 00:56:11.828
as much as He loves His birds. And

934
00:56:11.868 --> 00:56:15.428
then John tells us that that same God had such a

935
00:56:15.468 --> 00:56:19.128
disregard for His life that He chose to sacrifice

936
00:56:19.188 --> 00:56:22.128
it. Why? Man, to be near

937
00:56:22.268 --> 00:56:23.188
you.

938
00:56:23.198 --> 00:56:23.648
Amen.

939
00:56:23.688 --> 00:56:25.548
That's it at the end of the day.

940
00:56:26.828 --> 00:56:30.588
To be close to you again. Right? To be, to be close enough to

941
00:56:30.688 --> 00:56:34.548
call you His son and to call you His daughter, so that you could be

942
00:56:34.588 --> 00:56:37.808
close enough to Him to call Him Father again.

943
00:56:37.828 --> 00:56:41.808
Like, man, at the end of the day, our God put His life on

944
00:56:41.848 --> 00:56:45.668
the line to call you family again.

945
00:56:45.728 --> 00:56:45.948
Be

946
00:56:46.788 --> 00:56:49.788
amazed. I

947
00:56:50.908 --> 00:56:51.178
... Yeah.

948
00:56:51.178 --> 00:56:57.288
(applause)

949
00:56:58.568 --> 00:57:02.228
Don't have time to cover the rest of this passage.

950
00:57:02.268 --> 00:57:05.768
You should absolutely go spend some time with it later today. It, it's great.

951
00:57:05.808 --> 00:57:09.668
I mean, John says that because this love is so amazing, if we're amazed at God's

952
00:57:09.708 --> 00:57:13.348
love for us, we should go show amazing love to other people.

953
00:57:13.408 --> 00:57:15.548
It's great. But we don't have time.

954
00:57:15.558 --> 00:57:18.938
And, and also, like, I think it could please our Father

955
00:57:19.528 --> 00:57:22.368
to just simply be amazed by Him again.

956
00:57:22.378 --> 00:57:26.208
And so, I'd love to end this thing with, with an encouragement. Okay?

957
00:57:26.248 --> 00:57:29.348
I'd love to encourage us to spend this Christmas season

958
00:57:29.808 --> 00:57:32.148
being amazed again.

959
00:57:32.968 --> 00:57:36.508
It's like, sometimes we lose it. We, you know, we lose the amazement in the midst

960
00:57:36.548 --> 00:57:40.288
of the schedule, and we got family coming in town, and we got work parties and

961
00:57:40.408 --> 00:57:42.058
shopping malls and music and lights.

962
00:57:42.068 --> 00:57:45.908
We get, like, caught up in the, the holiday season whirlwind, and the next thing

963
00:57:45.968 --> 00:57:48.648
you know, it's New Year's Eve and we don't know where December went.

964
00:57:48.658 --> 00:57:52.348
And so, what if, for the next two and a half to three weeks, we just

965
00:57:52.668 --> 00:57:56.168
found time to intentionally create moments to be

966
00:57:56.228 --> 00:57:58.468
amazed by our Father again?

967
00:57:59.288 --> 00:58:02.948
This, this is ... Late at night when you get the kids down and the house is

968
00:58:02.988 --> 00:58:06.617
finally still, or you've got, you know, a quiet moment in your

969
00:58:06.748 --> 00:58:10.208
car at a red light, or you woke up in the morning and you're sipping your coffee,

970
00:58:10.268 --> 00:58:14.208
just find some time to be amazed again. Because I get it.

971
00:58:14.228 --> 00:58:17.928
It's busy. We got presents to buy. We got people coming in. We gotta watch Elf.

972
00:58:17.948 --> 00:58:21.608
We gotta watch Christmas Vacation, or whatever your favorite movies are.

973
00:58:21.628 --> 00:58:25.588
Like, I know that we've got a lot to do, but what we're actually

974
00:58:25.648 --> 00:58:29.508
celebrating at Christmas is that 2,000 years ago,

975
00:58:29.568 --> 00:58:33.348
God acted. He acted on

976
00:58:33.388 --> 00:58:33.938
His love.

977
00:58:35.028 --> 00:58:38.788
And what we're celebrating is that the same God who hung the stars in

978
00:58:38.868 --> 00:58:42.818
space chose to lower Himself down to Earth, and

979
00:58:42.848 --> 00:58:46.768
the same God who breathes life into every living creature took

980
00:58:46.828 --> 00:58:50.608
His own first human breath as a baby squirming around a

981
00:58:50.788 --> 00:58:53.128
feeding trough in the middle of nowhere, Bethlehem.

982
00:58:54.308 --> 00:58:57.908
What we're celebrating is that the great and the almighty creator

983
00:58:57.968 --> 00:59:01.688
humbled Himself to nearly nothing, taking on the very nature of a

984
00:59:01.728 --> 00:59:05.448
servant. And then we're celebrating that eventually, that baby, that baby

985
00:59:05.608 --> 00:59:06.188
grew up

986
00:59:07.228 --> 00:59:10.988
and He became the kind of man who fiercely, relentlessly loved

987
00:59:11.048 --> 00:59:15.008
everyone. That He, He cured the sick and He

988
00:59:15.068 --> 00:59:18.948
healed the disease and He fed the hungry and He loved the unlovable and,

989
00:59:18.968 --> 00:59:22.228
and He spent time with people you'd never dream of spending time with.

990
00:59:23.628 --> 00:59:25.788
Fiercely, relentlessly loved everybody.

991
00:59:25.808 --> 00:59:29.528
Then He told us to c- just be more like Him, and He taught us how to be more like

992
00:59:29.548 --> 00:59:33.488
Him. And then that man set His face toward Jerusalem and He marched to

993
00:59:33.528 --> 00:59:35.428
the cross. And go read about that moment.

994
00:59:35.468 --> 00:59:38.908
He's still forgiving the unforgive- unforgivable.

995
00:59:38.928 --> 00:59:41.368
Like, with His dying breath, with His dying

996
00:59:41.448 --> 00:59:45.018
words. And then three days later, He came back

997
00:59:45.207 --> 00:59:49.088
walking out of that tomb king over everything, victorious over

998
00:59:49.148 --> 00:59:52.568
everything. But it started in a barn on the wrong side of the

999
00:59:52.608 --> 00:59:56.268
tracks with a terrified young mother and her husband, that

1000
00:59:56.328 --> 01:00:00.008
everyone thought was a fool, watching the birth

1001
01:00:00.428 --> 01:00:02.548
of the eternal God.

1002
01:00:03.708 --> 01:00:04.028
It's

1003
01:00:04.828 --> 01:00:05.528
amazing.

1004
01:00:06.948 --> 01:00:10.208
And God did that. We're just told in John 3:16.

1005
01:00:10.268 --> 01:00:14.018
He did all that, not because we earned it, not because we deserved it, but

1006
01:00:14.028 --> 01:00:17.558
because He wanted to. And He wanted to, not because He tolerates

1007
01:00:17.568 --> 01:00:21.468
you, not because He's fed up with you, not because He

1008
01:00:21.488 --> 01:00:25.198
feels responsible for you, but because He fiercely,

1009
01:00:25.228 --> 01:00:28.888
relentlessly loves you. And what we're celebrating on

1010
01:00:28.908 --> 01:00:32.268
Christmas is that He did move heaven to Earth to prove it to

1011
01:00:32.328 --> 01:00:36.048
you. There is no other word. It

1012
01:00:36.128 --> 01:00:39.188
is amazing. It is an amazing

1013
01:00:39.288 --> 01:00:43.148
love. Hope for the next couple weeks, may we

1014
01:00:43.208 --> 01:00:46.528
find time to slow down and pause in the midst of the

1015
01:00:46.588 --> 01:00:50.248
chaos, and find time to be amazed by our

1016
01:00:50.288 --> 01:00:51.328
Father again.

1017
01:00:52.428 --> 01:00:55.508
Let me pray over us.

1018
01:00:59.008 --> 01:01:02.768
God, I thank you for this moment and, and these people here,

1019
01:01:02.788 --> 01:01:06.648
and at Apex, and watching online. God, I thank you for a chance to just

1020
01:01:07.288 --> 01:01:11.108
kinda hit pause in the middle of a crazy season and be together

1021
01:01:11.268 --> 01:01:14.898
as brothers and sisters, and be together as Your sons and, and Your

1022
01:01:14.988 --> 01:01:18.828
daughters, and just get to know You a little bit better, who You are as a

1023
01:01:18.848 --> 01:01:21.648
Father, and try to figure ourselves out a little bit

1024
01:01:21.688 --> 01:01:24.898
better. God, I, I think it's, I think it's

1025
01:01:25.028 --> 01:01:28.898
normal, and I think that it doesn't shock You, but at the

1026
01:01:28.948 --> 01:01:32.626
same timeWe don't necessarily like this thing

1027
01:01:32.836 --> 01:01:36.256
where we followed you long enough that we're not amazed by your love

1028
01:01:36.296 --> 01:01:39.546
anymore. We've heard it so many times, it just kind of

1029
01:01:39.576 --> 01:01:43.496
feels cliché now. We go all the way through Christmas season and

1030
01:01:43.516 --> 01:01:46.776
we don't even really pause to think that, "Wait a minute, you became a

1031
01:01:46.816 --> 01:01:50.516
child?" What, you, wait a minute, you entered down into

1032
01:01:50.636 --> 01:01:52.676
reality to be with us?

1033
01:01:53.716 --> 01:01:57.656
God, it, it's... I don't think it's a lot to ask, but it, it's a lot

1034
01:01:57.696 --> 01:02:01.516
of work on your part. Could you please move through the hearts of your children

1035
01:02:02.076 --> 01:02:04.216
this morning and the next day and over the next few weeks?

1036
01:02:04.236 --> 01:02:08.176
Would you chisel away at the hard, calloused stone around our

1037
01:02:08.236 --> 01:02:12.156
heart? God, we want to be amazed by your great love for

1038
01:02:12.216 --> 01:02:15.336
us again. God, do that in your, in our hearts.

1039
01:02:15.416 --> 01:02:18.596
I c- I can't do that, and there's no worship song out there good enough.

1040
01:02:19.476 --> 01:02:22.756
So God, would you please amaze us with who we have as a father?

1041
01:02:22.816 --> 01:02:26.256
I love you, and it's in your son's name I pray, Jesus Christ,

1042
01:02:26.316 --> 01:02:27.136
amen.