Remain in Me
First B Jackson
2014-09-28

Automatically transcribed. Where this and the recording disagree, the recording is the record.

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Good morning. Good morning, friends. Good morning. It is it's quiet in here. How are we doing?

Is it just somber because of the rain? Can I share a verse with you? Psalm nineteen one to four. The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship.

Day after day, they pour forth speech. Night after night, they make him known. They speak without a sound word. Their voice is never heard, yet their message is gone throughout the earth and their words tell the world. We serve an awesome creator, don't we?

Just looking out here. It's beautiful. It's rainy, but it's beautiful. Isn't it? Should we sing?

Let's stand up.

The The world. Heavens are tabernacle. Glory to the Lord on high. God of wonders beyond our Lord of death and candor. Alright.

Early in the morning. Early in the morning. And I will celebrate at night. And as I stumble in the darkness, I won't call your name by night. God wonders beyond our galaxy.

You are holy, holy. The universe declares your majesty. You are holy, holy, of heaven Hallelujah to the Lord of heaven and and earth. Hallelujah to the Lord of heaven and earth. Hallelujah to lord of heaven earth.

To the Lord of heaven dander.

Hallelujah

God of wonders beyond our galaxy. You are holy, holy the universe declares your majesty you are holy holy

God, we thank you. You indeed are the Lord of heaven and earth and so we wanna come before you just to meet with you, to praise you, to give you worship. Amen. You may be seated.

Alright. We are back. Welcome, friends. Good to see you all. See some people are still coming in and you've showed up in perfect time because you guys get to hear all of the fun announcements, things that are happening here at First B.

So, we're going to start off with this morning, Peak Children's Church Meets Downstairs and the children will be dismissed right after the announcement or right after the the operatory. So, kids get excited about that. That is going to be a good time. Middle school and high school meet tonight. We've got a youth alliance meeting.

We're going to meet here at First B at 04:45 and we're going to walk over to the Episcopal Church together. All the youth groups in town are getting together for the Youth Alliance Meeting and it should be a good time as well. Parents plan to pick your kids up at 7PM at the Episcopal Church. Dudes and foods, another youth thing that's for the middle school boys. It's a breakfast at McDonald's.

So, parents go and drop your middle school boys off at 8AM at McDonald's. I'll be there. I'll make sure they get to school on time and we just get together, do a little devotion, and hang out. Try to get the week started off right for these middle schoolers. Awana is back on.

They've been going for two weeks now and it starts on at 05:45. It's every Monday night and coinciding with that is Monday nights here at First B, meal, music, and message at 06:15. So, parents, you can drop your kids off at Awana's, Wander down the hall to the fellowship hall and enjoy another little service. Carl brings the message there and it is a good time as well. Tuesdays, the art of marriage, it's at 6PM downstairs.

Mayors are running that that that study. Wednesday, seven: 3zero am is the prayer in the fellowship hall for all that would like to join. 12PM on Wednesdays is the Wednesday. It's for the ladies, the study, and it's right here in the sanctuary. That also is a good time.

05:45 on Wednesday nights, Financial Peace and that's down in the Fellowship Hall. Thursday, middle school, we're finally gaining together here at First B for our normal Thursday meeting. 06:30 here in the Fellowship Hall and we're going to do our thing. So, Thursday nights at 06:30, that's happening this week. Friday mornings is high school breakfast, 07:30 to 08:30 here in the Fellowship Hall.

And ladies and I guess guys as well maybe but I think most of the time this happens and it's mostly ladies that come but it's the first Friday fellowship and it meets here at First B in the Fellowship Hall and they hang out and get together and chat and I've seen quilts being made and I've seen scrapbooks being done and it's a good time. So, come. And mark your calendars. October 9, ladies precept is starting understanding the anger of God, October tenth through twelfth is the women's retreat and I'm going to have Anne come up and she's going to give a quick announcement on that.

Good morning. So, this is for you ladies. I'd like to encourage you to respond positively positively to a divine appointment to come on up to Hart six Ranch, which is about forty five minutes to the north of here for a women's retreat that's going to take place over Columbus Day weekend. We're gonna register about 05:00 that Friday, and we're gonna conclude around 11:30 or so after worship and praise on Sunday. And there are ten days left to register, so I hope that you will do so after this service.

I went hiking on Friday before because I knew all the rain was coming, and I had this song keep going through my head. Do you remember the song Pass It On? Let me share with you some of the lyrics if you remember it. It says, it only takes a spark to get a fire going, and soon all those around can warm up to its glowing. That's how it is with God's love once you experience it.

The Lord of love has come to me. I want to pass it on. So I would love to see about 50 of us ladies, all taking our individual sparks because I'd like to see a bonfire created. We are going to have wonderful teachers, Becca Block, Sherry Turpin, Judy Basie. They're all from our congregation, and we are going to they're gonna talk on the topic, my heart, Christ's home.

Amy Litzerman is leading worship and singing. Diane Geek and Barbie Steinfield are going to lead a workshop on God's amazing healing grace. We're gonna have small group discussions, a movie, five delicious meals, some fun free time, and a personal testimony by yours truly. So line up those folks to cover the home front and the cost is a $100. There is a Saturday only option and scholarships are available.

So I'll see you in the back after the service. Thank you.

Thanks, Anne. Alright. And then finally, October 15 men's fraternity, laugh your way to a better marriage. Only half there we go. Laugh your way to better marriage.

That's happening as well. One more final announcement, Shauna Pearson is in the house and she has got an announcement about, come on up about the Christmas pageant.

Yes, Nancy Cummins asked me to come up and give this announcement for her. She is directing Double Take, a Christmas pageant told by Matthew and Luke and it's hard to believe we're talking about Christmas pageants already. So, next Sunday, October 5, she is having a informational meeting for anybody that is interested and we need all ages, actors, singers, and people to work behind the scenes. So, if you're interested, come and meet with Nancy between the services right up here at the front of the sanctuary. Thank you.

Excellent. Alright, you guys can get up and greet one another and we'll bring you back together in worship.

Alright, shall we sing holy, holy, holy. Alright, here we go. Holy, holy. Holy holy holy Lord God almighty. All thy works shall praise thy name in earth and God in three persons, blessed I meet with you.

I meet with you and my soul sings out as your word flows down far away. I send to you and my heart cries only. I'll lend to you father your heart. My hope is in you and I hope is to be Lord. Of the day long.

I won't be shaken by drowned or stormed upon a peace that passes understanding. Here's my song and I'll sing. My hope is below. I wait for you and my soul finds rest. In my selfishness, You show me grace.

I worship him and my heart cries glory. Hallelujah. Father, And I hope he's healed all the day long. I won't be shaken by drowned or stone harm, peace to pass is understanding. Here's my song and I sing.

My hope is here alone. I'll wait on you. I'll wait on You were my refuge. My hope is any lower of the day long. Long.

I won't be shaken by drowned or store farm. Bees that passes on you standing. Here's my song and I'll sing. Sing. My hope been is alone My hope is in you alone.

And my hope is in you

God, we thank you this morning for hope. We thank you that that's what you give, and that's what we receive when we put our faith and trust in you. And, it really is a peace that that passes all understanding. Continue to teach us these things. Amen.

I'm gonna sing, you're

not a god created. You were not a god created by human hands. You were not a god dependent on any mortal man. And you were not a god indeed of anything we can get by your plan. That's sure so it is.

Let's sing that again.

And you were not a God created by human hands. You were not a God dependent on any mortal man. And you were not a god indeed. Anything we can give by your plan, that's just the way it is. And you are God who know from before time began.

You were on your throne, and you were God alone. And right now in the good times and bad, You were on your throne and you were God alone. You're the only God whose power none can contend. You're the only God who's fame and praise will never end. And you're the only God who's worthy of anything we can give.

You're our God that's just the way it is. And you are God, I'll know from before time began. You were on your throne, and you were God alone. And right now, in the good times and bad, you were on your throne, and you were gone long. You're unchangeable.

You're unchangeable. You're unshakable. You're unstoppable. That's what you are. You're unchangeable.

You're unshakable. You're unstoppable. That's what you are. And you are gone alone From before time began, you were on your throne, and you were God alone. And right now in the good times and bad, You were on your throne.

You were God alone.

God, that's our prayer and our song saying that you are our God alone here and as we, participate here in the worship of giving, just like this song is is saying, you're the only God who's worthy of anything that we can give and God, we I mean, what can we give? What are you in need of? Nothing, but what what would you like? And that that's our heart. That's our heart to know you and to love you and to follow you all all of our days.

And, God giving, it's it's just one way. And I pray that that as we give that it would be out of a heart that's cheerful, a heart that wants to give because we love you and we trust you with our resources. And we know that all things come from you. And so I pray God that you'd give us a cheerful heart as we give. Amen.

You can be seated.

Thank you, Kale. Yep. The children's church is dismissed, the little ones can take off and head downstairs to their worship service this morning. And now I am not Ray McDaniel. Ray has been on vacation.

I am Steve Landis for those of you who might not know me. And, the elders decided we were gonna give him a day off, and so here I am. So love so amazing, so divine, demands my life, my soul, my all. What a great God we have. How do I do this?

There we go. Who knows what that is? Anybody? Anybody know? It's called woah.

I'll get it right here. It's called a Large Hadron Collider. That thing is over in Europe, and what they it takes subatomic particles and they sling it out in this track that's miles long at unbelievable speeds. It's atomic energy and all this stuff. And they take subatomic particles that's below the atom, and then they collide them together in an attempt to find what they call the God particle.

Better also known as by the man by the name of Peter Higgs, named it the Higgs Boson, which is the smallest of all these particles that really are particles that are in between the atoms. It's particles in the space between the atoms. And if you go online, if you want to have some fun, go online and just go to YouTube and start Googling Higgs Boson or God particle. What is it? And these people are passionate.

These people have been doing this since the sixties and they are looking for the the beginning, the creation of the universe in that. They believe that if they can create that second right after the Big Bang, okay, they can they call it the first second. If they can recreate that first second, they're going to see this God particle and they're going to be able to identify it and they're going to know. And they call it a background field and it's responsible for generating the mass and the mass is differences of all the other elements and elementary particles of energy and fields. And I was going to show you a slide or a thing with him talking about it.

It's just, you know, I'm a carpenter. But it's amazing. It's absolutely amazing. These guys are passionate and they're spending lots and lots of time and money doing this. This is what's called the Messier 33 or the Triangulum Galaxy.

We had the privilege with one of our clients of putting up an observatory this spring and he's got this telescope and he took this picture with his 20 inch new plane wave telescope or whatever it is. It's fascinating. That thing right there is second largest, closest to us. Our galaxy is about 100 light years across, the Milky Way galaxy. This is about 60,000 light years across, and it's 2,700,000 light years away from us.

So this is like the third in the size in our little cluster of galaxies, okay? And what amazes me, okay, scientists are out there looking for this, and I pray for this man. He's a dear friend, dear client, and he's looking at God. He's looking up at God's creation, and we know God's creations points everybody to him. We know that from Romans.

And but, you know, our scientists, our world is we look at creation and, know, there oops, there I should have done that. And then here's the other one. Here's what God says. God says, I breathe this. By the word of the Lord where the heavens made their starry hosts by the breath of his mouth.

God made everything we see from the subatomic particles to the universe. This is God. This is our God. And how many times do we look at creation? How many times do we miss God?

He's all around us. He's he's put everything in place so that we it points to him. And yet man looks everywhere else except God. They they miss him. He can be right in front of them and they miss him.

I want to start off. Our main text today is from John fifteen:five. And it says, it's talking about the vine. Jesus says, I am the true vine. And you want to turn there, there are Bibles underneath the seats that are usually red.

Some are Most of them are red, some of them are blue. But if you want to go to John, we're gonna we're gonna go through here and and see who who is this God? Who and who is Jesus? Do you know him? Do you believe him?

I know your first answer is yeah. Well, for the last year or so, I've been reading through John and Luke and John and Luke and John and Luke and John and Luke. And I get mad at the Pharisees and the Jews, and those religious people, the scribes, the Pharisees, and all those religious people. I get mad at them because they're constantly standing in the way. They're constantly coming against Jesus.

They don't get it. And one day God said, why do get so mad at them? So look what they do. And he goes, you do the same thing. You're doing the same thing.

You do the same thing to me every day. I put stuff in front of you like this and you miss it. I'm trying to talk to you. I'm trying to get your attention and you're missing me. He said, okay.

I said, okay. Show me. Show me. Help me to see. Open my eyes.

John fifteen says, I am the true vine and my father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit. While every branch that does bear fruit, he trims clean so that it will be even bear even more fruit. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. So remain in me, and I re as I and I remain in you.

No branch can bear fruit by itself. It must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine and you are the branches. If a man remains in me, do you think he's trying to get something across to me as I was reading this?

You remain in me? What does it mean to remain in me? We've heard this how many times. What does it mean? Who who's Jesus is talking.

This is Jesus. This will be read if you have a red letter edition, which I don't. This is Jesus. He's talking that he's telling his disciples. He says, look, my time's short.

He knows in the next week, next week and a half, he's going to be dead. He's going to the cross. He's going to be crucified. And he's trying to comfort his disciples because he's leaving. And these guys have witnessed an unbelievable amount of evidence in three years.

So he's comforting them. He's going over, remain in me, remain in me. How do we remain in him? I can hear him think, well, okay. He is like a branch Oh, let me back up here.

If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away with and wither. Such branches are picked up and thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words, there's a key, and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given you. There is This is my father's glory that you bear much fruit showing yourselves to be my disciples. As the father has loved me, so have I loved you.

Now remain in my love, another key part. If you obey, another key, my commandments, you will remain in my love. So we its words are key. His love is key, and obedience is key. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

My command is this. Now these guys are running for their lives. We got to set the stage here a little bit. These guys are running for their lives just a few few chapters back here. Well, let's let's go back to John one one.

Let's just start there. Who is this guy Jesus that these guys that Jesus is talking to these disciples. These disciples have been following him around for three years. Well, let me just go to this one because this is what God showed me. Although I know God, I neither glorify him as God nor give thanks to him, but my thinking becomes futile and my foolish heart is darkened.

Exchanging the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man. Now that sounds like Hinduism or something where they got all these gods around. Yeah. That's me. That's my heart.

My heart will take coffee and make it a god. My heart will take sports and make it a God. My heart will take my kids and make it a God. My heart will take my wife, pleasure, comfort. It seeks to make gods out of things that were created rather than the creator.

Exchanging the truth of God for a lie and worshiping and serve the created things rather than the creator. And I personalize that because that's what he was saying to me. Okay? Although we you know God, you neither glorify him, and we exchange the glory of God. So let's let's see about who who this God is.

John one one, in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. He was with God in the beginning. So we know the word. Word means divine expression. His revealing himself to us.

It's his word. We just think of this. These are words. It's it's a way we it means divine expression. That's God expressing himself to us.

So this word, which is a title for Jesus, which we'll find out, okay, is God's divine expression of the father to us. And he was God, he was with God, he was with God in the beginning. And now through him, all things were made and without him, there was nothing made that has been made. He's the creator. This word, in him, this word was life and life was the light of men.

And the light shined in the darkness but the darkness has not understood it. Verse 14, the word became flesh and it lived for a while among us. This God came and tabernacled, tented with us for a while in the form as we see here, going down here. We have seen his glory and the glory of the one and only son who came from the father full of grace and mercy. For the law has given was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

No one has ever seen God but God, the only son, who is the father who is at the father's side and has made him known. So that first part of chapter one of John is John writing the epistle saying, this is who? This is God. God's revealing himself to us. And he's revealing himself to us, his heart to us, his love for us, who is character of himself to us in the God man, Jesus Christ.

Okay. Then we have John the Baptist. This is the man in the camel hair. This is the man who likes to eat locusts. Okay.

He was out in the wilderness. He didn't He wasn't a very social guy. He was, you know, you might call him a hermit. He didn't fit in. But he came preparing the way for the Lord.

Okay? His job was to prepare the way for the Lord. But the Jews came to him. So he was down there, he's baptizing John's baptism, which was a baptism of repentance, not salvation. Okay?

And all of a sudden, he gets pulled over. Here come the religious police. Here comes the priests, the Levites, the Jews of Jerusalem to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, it says in verse 19, I am not, he word not, the Christ. They asked him, well then who are you?

Are you Elijah? He said, I am not. Are you the prophet? He answered, no. Finally, he's they said, well, who are you?

Give us an answer so we can take it back to those who sent us. Oh, there's more of these Jews and pray and So they were sent to find out. They were pull he they pulled over John. John replied, in the words of Isaiah, the prophet, I am the voice of one calling in the desert. Make straight the way of the Lord.

Now some Pharisees who had been sent questioned him. Then why do you baptize if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the prophet? I baptize with water, John replied. But among you stands one that you do not know. Keyword, they don't know him.

They're gonna miss him. They're gonna be staring God in the face just like we look up at the we look out at the creation. Oh, it's raining today. Rains, yeah, it might dampen our things, but we need rain, we need water, we die. Okay?

We miss God all the time. We miss his blessings. And they're going to miss His blessings and these Pharisees over and over again. My heart tends to miss God. That tends to miss His blessings.

Dropping down to 29, the next day John saw Jesus coming towards him and he said, look, behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This is the one that I meant when I said a man is coming after me who has surpassed me, little riddle here, pay attention, because he was before me. A man's coming after me. He's younger than him, but he has surpassed me, he's greater than I am because he was before me. How can that be?

The next day, another day, there's John out there doing his thing again, his camel here and eating locusts. And there again, two of his And he was gathering disciples now. John had followers. And there were two of his disciples and when they saw Jesus passing by, he said, look, the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. And when the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.

So there's Jesus walking by. John says, there he is. There's the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. And Andrew and John, later it's implied, John who's writing this, not John the Baptist with the camel here, John who's writing this, John the disciple. Andrew and John start following Jesus.

And they say, where where are you staying? Well, actually Jesus turns around. You ever have somebody follow you? Have two guys. Turns around and says, do you guys want?

Where where are you staying? He says, come, you'll see. They spent the day with him. They spent the whole day with him. Andrew and Peter and his brother were one of the two who heard that John.

Oh, I'm sorry. Come, he said, and you will see so that they went and they saw where he was staying and spent that day with him. It was about the tenth hour. That was verse 39. Andrew, Simon Peter's brother was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus.

The first thing Andrew did was go find his brother Simon. You know who Simon is? Simon Peter? Go and find Simon and tell him, we have found the Messiah, that is the Christ. Then he brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at Peter, Simon, and said, you are Simon, son of John, you will be called Cephas, which being translated is Peter.

When we see God, when we're around God, we need to pay attention. We should pay attention. We should follow. Abide. Andrew and John were abiding with Jesus.

They were living with him. They were hanging out with him. They they were so compelled by him that they just started following him and said, hey, where are you where are you staying? They were hanging out with him. As they hung out with him, they got to know Jesus.

There became all kinds of all kinds of questions, who is this guy? In verse, then there's Nathaniel and Nathaniel comes and he says, Rabbi, you are the son of God and you are the king of Israel. Jesus said, you believe this because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than this, he said. Then he added, I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending the son of man.

Now they didn't know who Jesus was. They just were compelled to follow him. And he's starting to he's gonna start saying and doing some things. It's gonna be against his culture, against the Jewish religion, and against what they're used to. And it's gonna start raising some questions.

First one is Jesus goes to a wedding up in Canaan. They travel up there, that's kind of his home country up by Galilee, around the Sea Of Galilee, and they're out of wine. His mother says, hey, we need some wine. He says, it's not my time. Servants, do whatever he says.

He says, okay, fill 180 gallons worth of pots with water. Okay, take it out and give it to the man at the feast. Turns it, made water into wine. It's not just ferment. He didn't just accelerate all that.

No, he created wine. Took it up there and they said, this is the best wine. You've saved the best wine for last. Nobody knew he did that except his mother and the servants because he was keeping it quiet. After this, he sits down, goes to the temple.

Excuse me, he goes to the temple. He sits down, makes a whip of cords, clears the temple. Do you know he cleared the temple several times, not just once? He had zeal for his father's house. Disciples remembered that.

Disciples are starting to remember things that are in the Old Testament pointing to Jesus. And Nicodemus, one of the Pharisees comes to him and starts asking him questions. Jesus, whole born again thing. Jesus tells him, you must be born again. That's where we get into the John three sixteen.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. He's telling us this to Nicodemus. That whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world but to save it through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already.

Do you know Jesus? Did I know Jesus? Do I know Jesus? This is what God was asking me. You think you know me, but you don't know me.

And when I get to the point where I think I know Jesus, but I'm not following him, I'm not listening to him, I'm not obeying him, meaning I'm not in his word as if I'm listening to him, that's how he speaks to us today. I'm not obeying the word. We're in a very dangerous place because my heart tends to go towards Phariseeism. I tend to be a good little boy. Grew up in a Mennonite church.

So my heart leans toward Phariseeism. And it has the appearance of godliness, but it denies the power. And I wind up standing in the way of people coming to God instead of being someone pointing them to God. Jesus clears the temple in Jerusalem at the Passover with a whip of cords and overthrows the money tables and he says, how dare you turn my father's house into a market. Keep in mind that this is the Jesus who is the divine expression of God, the word of God.

He came and lived for a while among us and he says this, in him was life, in verse four, and this is John two four, in him was life and the life was the light of men. The light is shining in the darkness, but the darkness did not understand it. The Jews demanded to know what miraculous sign. After he clears the temple, they come up to him and say, by what sign? Give us a sign so we know what power do you have to do this.

He turned their world upside down. He says, I'll give you a sign. Destroy this temple and I will raise it up in three days. Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover feast, many people saw the miraculous signs that he was doing and they believed his name. Jews were upset because they thought he was talking about the temple.

He was gonna destroy the temple and that he could rebuild it in three days, which of course, I think God could if he spoke all of creation into existence with his word. They were mad, but he was speaking about his temple, his body that he would die and raise it back up. But the light of many people were seeing the miraculous signs and they were seeing and they were believing in his name. Then Nicodemus comes, a Pharisee comes to Jesus by night and Jesus schools. See, Nicodemus, the Pharisees are teachers.

So Jesus schools Nicodemus, ask some questions he can't answer. That's what we just read. But we forget the rest of the story which is, so John three sixteen, but the rest of the story is this, 18. This is the verdict, light has come into the world but men love darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come into the light for fear of his deeds will be exposed.

But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light so that it may be seen plainly, that what he has done has been done through God. If we read the in the vine verses, find out we didn't choose God. We didn't choose Jesus. He chose us. It's his work.

He's the vine. What do we do? What does what does a branch do with a vine? Hangs there. It hangs there.

Hangs out. Jesus started saying to me, you're not hanging out with me. You think you know me, but you don't know me. You're not you're not hanging out with me. You're at a dangerous place because you'll think you're religious.

You think you know me, but you don't know me. Jesus decides in chapter four to get away from the Pharisees, decides to leave Judea and heads up to Galilee again. He liked Galilee. Galilee was kind of the slums of Jerusalem. He liked to hang out with the fishermen, the working folk, the commoners.

Okay? He liked to hang out with them, so he went up there. But he decide, says he he was compelled. Something in him compelled him to go through Samaria. That wasn't kosher.

That wasn't a good Jewish thing to do. You avoid Samaria if at all possible because you don't hang out with the Samaritans. But he stops in the town called Sychar. Jacob's well was there. He was tired and he was thirsty.

His disciples went into town to get some food and he stayed out by his well, by the by the well and it was Jacob's well. And it was noon and his and a woman comes down who didn't have a good reputation. And Jesus strikes up a conversation with her. He says, can I can I have a drink? She gasps.

We know because she says, how dare you ask me for a drink? You're a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman, for Jews do not associate with Samaritans. Jesus replied in verse 10, if you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water. Verse 26 says, I am the Messiah. I am he.

She just from the simple thing, because she told him, she told her, excuse me, her life. She didn't have a husband. She goes, go call your husband. She goes, I don't have a husband. He goes, yeah, you're right.

Not only do you not have a husband, the man you're living with isn't your husband, but you've had five. How'd you like to walk up to a guy who knew everything about you? All of it. That's Jesus. That's Jesus who says, I I spoke that into existence.

I want you to follow me. I want you to abide in me. Hang out with me. She gasped, but she goes back into the town. She tells everybody come and see a man who told me everything I did.

It wasn't the good things that he told her that she did. She goes in and brags about it and says, hey, come come see this guy. He told me everything about me. It might be the Messiah. And many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony.

He told him everything. There's the healing at the Pool Of Bethesda in Jerusalem, another feast. Jesus always goes up to these feasts and creates problems, usually on the Sabbath. He goes in, there's a man of 38 years, he's an invalid laying by the pool. He walks up to the man and says, do you wanna be well?

Oh, duh. The pool I'm laying here, every time while the water stirs and by the time I get in, somebody else is in, they get healed and I don't. Jesus says, get up your mat, take up your mat and walk. Go ahead. Rolls up his mat, starts walking away, he's healed.

Pharisees come along, hey, why are carrying your mat? See that's me. That right there is a great picture of me. I can miss the miracle that God just did, And I can say, you know what, we're not supposed to carry our mats on Sunday. And that Sabbath was Saturday, I understand.

Jewish Sabbath was Saturday. See, this the Pharisee focuses on the Sabbatical mat carrying instead of the miracle of God. And that's my heart. My heart is bent to miss that. My heart is bent to be looking at the man made laws rather than getting to know who God is, rather than praising God for what he has done.

How do we ever get to the point of staring into the face of God and yet we miss him completely? One of the ways is by focusing on man's rules rather than the word of God. Romans eight. Romans one twenty eight again, they think not They they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, they became fools. They totally missed the message through life through Christ.

That's what the message was, healing in Christ. And all the miracles that Jesus did, you know why he did them? He did them to prove that he was God. He did he did them to prove that he was sent from the father. He was being an obedience to the father.

Then we come to chapter six, feeds 5,000 people. After feeding 5,000 people till they were full and there were leftovers, 5,000 men actually, it was probably more people. He sends his disciples over the boat. They get in the boat. They go about, I don't know, ten, twelve miles across.

They cut right across the Sea Of Galilee. And Jesus, you know what Jesus says? He, I'll walk. Instead of going around the outside, he walks across the water. Comes upon them and they're struggling against the waves.

And they finally let him in because he says, it's I I am. I am he. They let him in. He time travels. As soon as he gets in the boat, it says immediately.

Says they were three miles off the shore. It's about 10 miles to Capernaum. Okay? Immediately, it says, when he gets in the boat, they're at their destination. Time traveled all of them.

Can you imagine their head spinning at this point? He just fed 5,000 people plus women and children until they were full and couldn't take anymore, and there were leftovers. And they get in a boat, they're struggling. He walks up to them in the water, they're terrified. He gets in, they're there.

They're thinking they're losing their mind at this point. Okay? He then he starts, if you eat my flesh and you drink my blood, unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, oh, not to eat my flesh and drink my blood. What is he talking about? He's crazy.

See, a lot of things in the Jewish culture revolve around eating bread and drinking cups. If you've ever been to a seder meal, you eat bread and it symbolizes something and then you drink a cup at this point and it symbolizes something. And you drink another cup and it symbolizes forgiveness, another cup symbolizes judgment, okay? And he's trying to say, look, what you guys are doing, it's all been pointing to me. I am here.

God is in your midst. Follow me. Pay attention to what I'm saying. Ingest me. Chew on me.

Think about what I am saying and what you are hearing. I am the bread of life. Then you'll have eternal life and you will be raised up on that day. All these ceremonial traditions. And then after that saying, it says many of his disciples, this is in, John six sixty six.

From this time, many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. They were following him for the free meal. They were following him to get healed. It starts getting a little bit scary at this point because he's walking on water and he's telling to eat my flesh and drink my blood. He's saying, you guys need to understand who I am.

And then he looks at his disciples and said, do you want to leave too? And Peter gets it right. Peter often puts his foot in his mouth, but here he didn't. Here he got it right. In '68, Simon Peter answers, Lord, to whom shall we go?

You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the holy God of Israel. How do we get to the point of staring into God's face and yet we miss him completely when we stop following Jesus? Those disciples stopped following him, many did. When we stop listening to him and learning from him, when we stop believing who he is.

Then we get into all of the I am verses. I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. I told you that you would die in your sins. If you do not believe that I am, you will indeed die in your sins.

When you have lifted up the son of man, then you will know that I am. I tell you the truth before Abraham was, and this is the biggie, I am. Now what's the big deal about the I am verses? Okay. When Moses went up to the mountain and God's saying, you got to go be my mouthpiece.

Uh-uh. Yep, you're going to go be my mouthpiece. Okay. Who should I say sent me? Jesus, God, Jehovah said, you tell them I am sent you.

I AM means the self existent one. I exist. The word that the Jews use, which they don't use because they took all vowels out of it because you're never supposed to use God's name in vain. So the best way to do that is take the vowels out, you never pronounce his name, it's Yahweh. That's how we say it.

We don't know exactly if that's how it's said. Jesus said before Abraham was, Yahweh. He's in the temple. He just spoke God's name. He just claimed to be God.

The self existent one. The one who was spoke speaking to Moses on the the mountain. And if you don't believe that, just look at what exactly what happened after that in 59. It's chapter seven fifty nine says, at this, they picked up stones to stone him. But Jesus hid himself slipping away to the temple grounds.

He heals another blind man, says, I'm the light of the world. And we come to Lazarus, Martha and Mary. This is the Mary that poured the the oil on his feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And Mary, Martha, Lazarus, Jesus loved him. He's dead.

He purposefully waited so he would die. Because see, you need a corpse to raise somebody from the dead. You don't need a sick person. So Jesus waited so that he was dead four days. And then he said, open, roll away the stone.

And then he says a little prayer. He takes just enough time to say a prayer so that once the stone's rolled away, and yep, oh, there it is. You ever stand by a dead carcass of a cow or a deer that's been there for, you know, a while? It's rotting. Just long enough, he looks up and he says, God, I'm not doing this for my benefit.

I'm doing this for their benefit so that they'll know that you sent me. And he says, Lazarus, come forth, and he comes out. And I can stand. He had to tell them, ah, can you guys get the grave clothes off him? Release him.

And those grave clothes, I'm sure, stank. That was a tough job. That wasn't easy. But inside was a new risen man. Jesus made his flesh, brought his flesh all back together, made him whole.

And Martha and Mary believed that, yeah, he was gonna be resurrected in the last day, but he they didn't believe he would be resurrected right there. To the Jews who have believed in him, Jesus said, if you hold to my teachings, you you are really my disciples. To Martha and Mary, he says, I am the resurrection and life. He who believes in me will live even though he dies. And whoever lives and believes in me will never die.

And he asked them, do you believe this? They said, yeah, we know. We know that you are the Christ. We know that in the end day, we will be raised. He said, no.

Watch. This was like and I can just see when he said, Lazarus, forth. They actually watched their dead brother walk out of the tomb and they smelled his dead corpse. Well, guess who had a problem? Read through it, Luke, John, Matthew, Mark, these guys, they're relentless.

You can't do that. Okay. You're not allowed to do that. I just did. So guess what?

They added Lazarus to their hit list. Imagine that poor guy. He had to die twice. And when he came back to life, he immediately was put on on the same hit list as Jesus. Although they know God, neither do they glorify him as God, nor do they give thanks to him, but my thinking becomes futile.

And my foolish heart is darkened, exchanging the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like man, exchanging the truth of God for a lie. How many times do I do that? How many times do I refuse to believe Jesus at his word and just go and act upon it? How many times do I go and worship a created thing rather than the creator? Why?

Why should I believe Jesus? When I stop following Jesus, I stop listening to him. When I stop pursuing Jesus, But I think I know God. I'm in a very dangerous place. Why should I why should I believe in Jesus?

Why should you believe in Jesus? Do you know this Jesus? Or are you believing in some Jesus that you've warm fuzzy conjured up because you haven't spent time with him? You haven't taken the time to pursue him as he's walking away and say, where where are you staying? Can we come hang out with you for a day?

Till this week, I never understood what it meant. Well, I take it back. I did. But again, this week I was reminded. It's better to go to a funeral than it is to go to a party.

My best worship time this week was going and spending fifteen minutes with Michael Daily on Thursday. I didn't expect him to live through the night, Wednesday night, and I showed up and sweet Bobby. Bless her heart. Mike knew Jesus. He knew he was dying.

For a week and a half, held on. All his kidneys were already shut down, gasping for air, literally, roll eyes rolled up, but he was conched. He knew. Bobby says, no, he can hear you. Amy was here this morning.

She was singing a song when she said, Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, his hands came up. And then Twila Paris was singing on the radio, and he says, when she goes, Hallelujah, hallelujah, his hands came up. See, this stuff means something because you know what, we're not going to live forever. Give him once, one life, that's it. You better have the right Jesus, Steve.

You better know him, you better believe, You better chew on his words, and you better regurgitate it and chew on it some more and make sure you understand what he's saying. Why should I believe in Jesus? Because he's God. Because he's worthy. Because he's creator.

Because he is he he is life. This points us to him. There are people who worship this right here. They've given their whole lives to understanding this. It's a noble thing, but they miss him.

There's people who spend their whole lives what's my next slide? Spend their whole lives looking at crazy things like that through telescopes, trying to figure out the origin of the universe. And God's sitting there going, I just breathed that into existence one day. There it was. I can't conceive that.

60,000 light years across. Do you understand? I don't understand what that is. That's traveling the speed of light for sixty thousand years. 2,700,000 light years away from us.

And with this silly little 20 inches telescope, he pulled it in like that. That's actually a poor picture. You should see it. It's incredible. And Jesus, God, Jesus, God, the creator, Jesus man, God man says, I've named every one of those.

Oh my goodness. What? Yeah, every star. Well, that's pretty cool when we go out and look up at the stars and say, yeah, that's doable. Uh-uh, pull them in.

I mean, are some places all you see is light because there's just so many stars. This is the God we serve. He raises dead people. He transforms our lives. That's what he wants.

And he says, abide in me. If you remain in my words, are you feeding? I can't go a few days without eating. I'm sorry, I've tried it. Water?

Yeah, but maybe the most I've ever gone was two days, that's it. How how long do you go between feeding? I mean, really feeding. Getting in there and saying, Jesus, I thought I knew you. We should believe him because he's our savior.

He's love. He is love. He is life. He is the judge. He is truth.

Because his he is the way to the father. He is the door to eternal life. Because he is just and holy and righteous, because he has come to bring us from death to life. He is the light of the world. He he became sin for us and he delivered our souls from hell.

He is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Colossians one nineteen to 22 says, for God was pleased to have all the fullness of him dwell in him, Jesus. And through him, Jesus, he reconciled to himself all things. Did you know he reconciled the whole universe to himself? Not just you and I, the whole universe.

He redeemed it. His death on the cross did that by making peace through his blood shed on the cross. Once, Steve, you were alienated from God. And I might add even in my religion, I was alienated from God. And I was an and you were an enemy in my excuse me.

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you wholly in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation. This is the gospel. Came to seek and save the lost. We have to stop.

There's others. If this whetted your appetite a little bit, I have to return this once in a while to this. I keep this in my Bible. There's a bunch of them back there on the coffee table by the couch. And I'm feeling dirty, when I'm feeling beat up, when I'm listening to Satan saying, you're you're worthless, you're an idiot, you're a jerk.

You don't know anything. And he's beaten me up. I go have to go back to these and there's I call my in Christness, my in Christ. And this is what this is just a little bit of what Jesus' death on the cross and his blood has done for me, for you, for the world. If it sweats your appetite, you're welcome to take one back there and just go through it and start just rejoicing because it's not about what I do.

I'm to hang in the vine. I'm to be connected. I'm to be in his word and abiding. They just hang there. That's what Brances do.

So hang out with Jesus, spend time with him like Andrew and John did. Just say, hey, where are you where are you hanging? I just like to leave you with this benediction. For this reason, I kneel before the father from whom all family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches, he may strengthen you with the power through his spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

And I pray that you being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all the saints to grasp how wide and how long and how high and how deep is Christ's love for you. And to know this love that surpasses knowledge and that you may be filled to the measure of all fullness of God. Now unto him who is able to do immeasurably more above all that we ask or imagine. According to his power that is working us. To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever.

Jesus, would you say? So let's make this our prayer and our song that we would continue to trust Jesus to remain on that vine. Let's stand up and sing.

In Jesus and to take him at his word just to rest upon his promise and to know thus saith the Lord. Jesus, Jesus, I will wipe trust him. I'll wipe through him over and over. Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus. Oh, for praise to trust him.

How sweet. Oh, how sweet to trust in Jesus. Just to trust his cleansing blood and in sin ful faith to plunge me. Be the healing cleansing fire. Jesus.

Jesus. How I trust him. How I prove him more and more. Jesus. Jesus.

Precious Jesus. Oh, for praise to trust him more. Yes. 'Tis sweet to trust in Jesus just from sin and sail to seas just from Jesus' assembly taking life and rest in joy and peace. Jesus Jesus, I will write.

Trust him, I'll I will write. Prove him over and over. Jesus. Jesus. Precious Jesus.

Oh, for grace to trust him more. One more verse. I'm so glad. And I'm so glad I've learned to trust him. Precious Jesus to save your friend.

That I know that thou art with me, will be with me to the end. Jesus, Jesus, how might trust him? How might I prove in more and more. Jesus, Jesus. Precious Jesus.

Oh, for grace to trust him.

Ray, would you like to say something? Yes. Welcome back. I

love you.

I was going to just kind of say a benediction. Thank you, Steve for doing that and thank you all all. We we had a ball this week. We were gone and I did not really have to think about standing up and doing that and it's it's good to do that every once in a while not think about doing that but thank you, Steve. I wanted to read this.

A doxile, just a blessing and next week, we'll be back to first Corinthians chapter eight. Now, to him who is able to keep you all from stumbling and to present you blameless before his presence with before the presence of his glory with great joy to the only God to our savior, through Jesus Christ, our lord. Be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority before all time and now and forever. Amen. Amen.

Thank you.