Jesus is the Life and Light of Man Part 3 - Responses to the Light - John 1:9-13

2:22We live in an environment that is suitable for fallen humanity. We do not live in an environment that's suitable for a glorified humanity. Death has entered into the race. God has frustrated the ground so that we have to work. It's good for sinful man to be occupied in many endeavors. And boy, I know the ground is cursed. My garden is a living testament to the truth of Scripture. I spent a little bit of time Saturday out there pulling these little green words. That were eating up all of my squash plants and all the weeds. I mean, just take one look. You see it. We're under a curse. The ground is cursed. And that is a ground that is suitable for fallen humanity, but it's not ground that's suitable for a glorified humanity who do not sin.

3:21And so the creation itself longs for this day where the curse will be removed. And there is a day that that is going to happen when the earth will be transformed into a habitat fitted for a glorified people. And God will reveal who his children are. And they will receive the kingdom of Daniel 2 that will never pass away. And this question that runs from Genesis all the way through Revelation is: who are the children of God? Who are they? Are you one of them? Who are they? It's a question that runs through the testaments of Scripture. It is a question that is old as man.

4:09And it's a major theme throughout the whole Scripture. Who are the children of God? How do we know who they are? Who are they? Well, John tells us who they are. He tells us in very clear terms this morning in our text. He tells us who they are. And what we're doing, if you're just joining us, we're working our way through. John's prologue, the first 18 verses of John. It's an overview. It's like John's personal overview of everything that's going to come in the book of John. And if there is a portion of John I would recommend that you commit to memory, it's verses 1 through 18.

4:47We're specifically looking at verses 4 through 13. We started, which has now become a three-part series working through just these verses between 4 and 13. You remember in the first three verses, Jesus is referred to as the Word of God, the Word of God. And we looked at that. And then in verses 4, 13, the first time we looked at, in verses 4 through 5, we looked at the function of the light. The function of the light is to shine. Last time, we looked at verses 6 through 9 and looked at a witness to the light. So we've seen the function of the light. And then we looked at a witness to the light, which is a summary in those verses 6 through 9 of John the Baptist's ministry. Today, I want to keep going through this section of Scripture, looking at verses 9 through 13, and look at two responses to the light. So we've looked at the function of the light, we've looked at a witness to the light, and this morning I want to look at two responses to the light. And it's in these verses that we will find John's direct answer to the question: who are the children of God?

6:01Verse 9. There was the true light, which coming into the world enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world did not know him. He came to his own, and those who were his own did not receive him. But as many as received him, to them he gave their right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name, who were born not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God.

6:38And these two responses are specifically laid out in verses 11 through 13. But before we look at those, I want to spend some time considering the darkness into which the light shined. Verses 9 and 10, John gives us some insight into the nature of the darkness and the nature of the light that shined into the darkness. First, he lets us look at the nature of the light, the nature of the light. Look back at verse 9.

7:12There was the true light, which coming into the world enlightens every man. Jesus was the true light. This is who John is referring to. Jesus, not only is he the word, he is the true light. And true, he's using this in the full sense. Of the word. Jesus is the true light. That is, his light does not deceive. It is true. It is contrast with all the false lights. It's not a false light, it is a true light. All the false lights of the Gentiles, all the false lights of those who philosophize about God or who pretend to know God. Now, those are all false unless they agree with the true light and correspond with what Christ says about God. So he's true in that His light does not deceive. But He's also, His light is true in the sense that it's the real light. In other words, there were the figures in the Old Testament, there were the shadows, the types, and all that. Those were reflections of the light or a shadow of the light, but they were not the light. So Jesus' light is true. It is real. It does not deceive, but it's also underived light. Jesus is the true light in the sense that he is a source. His light is a source. It's not a reflection like the moon reflects the light of the sun. He is pure light himself. He is source of light. He is underived. He does not reflect. His light isn't borrowed from someone else. He is the true light.

9:01But also, Jesus is the true life in the sense that, true light, in the sense that his light is superimminent, that it is brighter and it is clearer than any ordinary light. So, when John is saying he is the true light, Jesus is true in every sense. He does not deceive, he is real, he is a source of light, and it is brighter and clearer. He is the true light, which coming into the world enlightens every man. And this is going to be the theme of John: that the light shines on all. It shines indiscriminately upon all, and it is for whosoever will walk in it. John's light, Jesus is the true light, and he shines, and that light shines upon all indiscriminately. That's the nature of the light. Look at the nature of the darkness into which he came. Verse 10. John is verse 10. It says, He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world did not know him. It's in this verse that I think John portrays for us the irony of ironies, and it gives us an understanding of the darkness into which the light must shine. He was in the world. World. He was there. He was in the world. The world owed its existence to him.

10:37As Jesus walked, every mountain, every stone was a work of his creation. Every meadow, every house, every tree, every blade of grass, every cloud, every river, it was all his. He had made it. He understood it. And every person owed their existence to him. And yet, the world did not know him. They didn't know him. He was there. It's into this darkness, the darkness of ignorance, the darkness into which, why there was a witness of John the Baptist, because they didn't know why there are witnesses today to the truth of Christ, because man does not know.

11:29We owe our existence to God. You owe your existence to God, yet many of you do not know him. And even those of us who have come to know him, we are growing in our knowledge and understanding of him. It's in that darkness of ignorance. You know, I remember years back hearing about a hotel owner, a famous hotel owner, who'd started these hotel chains, and he was all big. About customer service. And what he would do is he would go to some of his hotels and he would just go, as himself, go to the front desk, ask for a room, and just see what kind of service he got. And there would be people that would have no idea that they are talking to the man who basically was their boss, boss, boss's boss, and had started the whole chain. And they'd sit there and go about their business as if he was some ordinary customer, not even knowing that the very CEO, owner of owners, a major, biggest owner, was right there in front of them.

12:45I also have heard the same about some restaurant owners. They do the same thing. They'll show up and see what kind of customer service they get, and people will serve them not even knowing. Well, that's the picture here. Man, God was in the world, and yet man did not know him. But as John goes on to show that this darkness, this darkness of ignorance, he's going to show that it's not just a, oh, wow, no one told me, it's a willful ignorance. By the time we get through John, there is no excuse, there is no rational reason for their rejection of him. It is a willful ignorance. Suppression, and it's into that darkness he comes.

13:37Jesus was the light. Jesus is the light that shines into the darkness. And what he does, light, as we talked about last time, is that medium that allows the viewer to witness the view, right? If we didn't have any light in this room at all, we wouldn't be able to see each other. And Jesus is the light that brings man face to face with God. He turns on the light so man can see God. That's what the function of the light is. It shines. It's that medium to bring the viewer in view of the object. And so what Jesus did, he went into the darkness.

14:26And his life and his teaching and his ministry turned the light on and causes man to see God. And he brought his generation face to face with God. And they didn't like the God that was revealed. Same is true today. Jesus is the light that lets people see God. Still is. And today, as we are well aware in our society, the name of Jesus is offensive. And God. Growing and there's growing antagonism to those who proclaim Jesus as Lord and Jesus. We get by with Jesus as Savior, that's fine, but the moment you start talking about Jesus as judge, look out. Look out.

15:19Because Jesus, when he came, he testified that man's deeds were evil and that God crucifies sin. That's what he does. That God is so removed from sin that he crucifies it, makes a spectacle. Of course, he also revealed that God is willing to be crucified for his people, to absorb the penalty himself. But he wants to make man know sin is not acceptable. And his generation didn't like that. Today, some people love this revelation of God that he is just and he does punish and he does judge.

16:10And he has made a provision so that those can be judged and yet still remain under his or be under his favor. Some love this revelation of God, some others don't. They love their sin and they prefer their sin over God. And they don't want a God that. It's telling them this is wrong. My question is: where are you today? Are you? Where do you fall in that category? Do you love your sin or do you love the God that is revealed in Jesus Christ, the God who crucifies sin? Well, he did the same.

16:50He did the same in his generation. His light shined. It invaded the darkness, and his light became the dividing point of humanity. He shined in the darkness, and how people responded to that light is the division point for humanity. That's it. Some were drawn and received Jesus' exposition of God. They rejoiced. You remember last week I talked about two boys that were down in a cavern, lost their light, and in pitch darkness, couldn't even see their hand in front of their face, but they were able to bang themselves around and struggle around for three days and be able to see a shaft of light. And they were drawn to that shaft of light that led them out into the safety of day, led them out of that hole. There were some who responded to Jesus' exposition of God, and they received that light, and they followed that light to safety.

17:52Others did not. They did not receive Jesus' exposition of God, and they were repelled by his light. If we use the same analogy, just think how foolish it would be for those two boys if they saw the light beaming into the dark cave and then say, you know what? That kind of hurts my eyes. I'm going to keep going this way and move away from the light. That would be foolish. And yet, that's the picture that John gives us.

18:24You know, kind of like a bunch of cockroaches. You ever been into, I said, I remember living in a house. Okay, okay, my house. Let me say this years ago. And I remember in the daytime, when the lights were on, it just looked like a regular clean refrigerator. I mean, clean kitchen. And refrigerator, yeah, yeah. But if the light was off and you come in the next morning, you turn on the light, wow, the whole place moves. I don't know if you've ever seen that kind of, but as soon as the light goes on, the cockroaches, they run and they disappear. Yeah, it's frightening. You turn on the light and then, wow, all these things that you didn't, they run into the darkness. Well, that's really what God's light has done. Jesus came in, he shined the light, and wow, it divided. It sent people running in two different directions, actually. Some to him, some away from him. And that's these two responses that.

19:30John gives us in the next few verses. And I want you to see these two responses. I have actually three goals for this morning. I want you to see these two responses to the light that John witnessed so that you will get ready for what's coming next in the book of John, because there's going to be this ongoing response of light and dark, of receiving and rejecting. And some will receive for a while and then ultimately reject. And so I want to prepare you for what's coming in John, but I also want to prepare you for the responses to the light that you are going to encounter as you communicate biblical truth in our society today. There are going to be some responses. Some are going to run in two different directions. Be prepared. Be prepared. But I also want to exhort you to be someone who constantly receives the light. And that's what John writes all this book is about: so that you will be one who will receive the light, be drawn to the light, and follow the light. Jesus is that true exposition of God. As Jesus is, so is God. Behold your God, is what John is saying. And that is what I'm holding out to you this morning. I want you to exhort you to be someone who continually, deep down, Repeatedly is one who is receiving the light, responding to the light, and that this is the way of discipleship. This is the way of the children of God. Well, I want to look at these two responses to the light. John gives us two responses to the light. First, there's the response of rejection in verse 11. He came to his own, and those who were his own did not receive him.

21:29There's two actions here that I want you to see. First of all, look at Jesus' action. He's the one who starts this thing, he's the one who invades the world. Jesus came to his own. In verse 11, first part: he came, he shined God's light for all to see. But look at where he went first. He came to his own. Literal translation, he came to his own things, his own country, his own land, his own property, his own temple, his own domain. And specifically, it has in view, obviously, his clan, his people, his tribe, his nation, and his subjects. He came to his own, came to those who should have received him. If anybody should have received him, it should have been his own people.

22:14And I say this for several reasons. If anyone should have received him, if anybody on planet Earth should have received him, it should have been Israel. Israel should have known him from their history. They certainly knew God as a deliverer. As a healer, as a provider, as a teacher, on a corporate level, they knew this about him. They knew this about him on a personal level. God did all these things for them in the wilderness. Jesus did all these things himself. There was a similar personality. He was a deliverer. He was a healer. He was a provider. He had the capacity to provide. He had a capacity to heal, and he did. There was a very similar personality that if they had been dialed in, they would have made the connection. But Israel should have also known God from their holiday celebrations: Passover, unleavened bread, first fruits, Pentecost, trumpets, Day of Atonement, Feast of Booths. All of these speak about God's favor, God's selection, God's blessing and deliverance of Israel, his provision for his seriousness about sin, God's joy, his justice, his mercy. And certainly in the Feast of Booths, His desire to commune with people, to live with, to dwell with.

23:33Israel should have known him from their worship practices. Everything in the temple and the temple practices, everything in it, and everything that went on in it pointed to him. Israel should have known Jesus from their scriptures. God had been preparing Israel for his coming for centuries through Moses and the prophets. And Jesus' action, he came to his own, his own. Now, I want you to see Israel's reaction. Look back. Verse 11. His own did not receive him. Although they should have taken him in as their own Messiah, they didn't.

24:12They didn't. They didn't welcome him into their world, into their lives as the Messiah. Oh, they were fine with the miracles. They were fine with all that kind of stuff. But they didn't want him coming in as their Messiah, as their Lord. Yeah, come and do a lot of good things. We're not going to crucify you, but don't make yourself out to be God in our lives. They wouldn't receive him, but that's who he was. Key word here is the word receive.

24:44Receive. Very theologically rich term. It's going to be used throughout the book of John, to receive. And the very idea of receive is to take in, to take, to accept, and to receive with favor. To take in, to accept one for who he is, to accept a person or a thing, an object, to take it in, or receive it with favor. Years ago, or many years ago, I was probably like about fourth grade or fifth grade or third grade. My dad had this franchise on Rainbow Baking Company up in northern New Mexico. And so what I would do is I would go to the warehouse, I would Be there working, and I would get the day-old bread. It's what we called it. The bread and the cupcakes and the Twinkies and all the loaves of bread, hot dog buns, hamburger buns. I'd get all those that they were day-old, they were considered. After they spent a little bit of time and on the shelf, they couldn't be sold anymore as fresh bread, so they would come. But they're still good bread. So I would load up my wagon and I would go around the neighborhood and I would go door to door selling this bread at really an incredibly reduced price. And so that was me. I was the little local stale bread man. You know, that's what I did. And on one particular occasion, I picked up some bread. I didn't know hot dog buns that were older than a day.

26:20In fact, they were, some of them had grown green and fuzzy. Blue and fuzzy. You know what that means, right? You know what happens to bread. Okay, so I'm out there and I go up to Miss Henderson's house, walk up, and she looks at the hot dog buns. Great, I want some hot dog buns. I give her some hot dog buns, and she pays me the price. I leave, I go home, and I'm unpacking up my wagon and my trays of bread. And I'm like, ooh, those hot dog buns. I didn't realize these are blue, fuzzy hot dog buns that I just sold to Mrs. Henderson. Poor little lady. So I decided, I feel convicted. And like, I got to go make this right. So I go back to her house. She answers the door, and I'm, I got, Mrs. Henderson, I'm sorry, I sold you some blue fuzzy donuts or blue fuzzy, blue fuzzy, that happened. That was another story. But blue fuzzy hot dog buns. You know, I'm really sorry.

27:20And she said, oh, no, I opened those things up and ate them up. They were good, tasted fine to me. Like, you ate all those hot dog buns that quick? And so I left, and she wouldn't take the money back. That was nice of her, but I still felt bad. But you know, I noticed she never, I never, I think that was the very last time she ever bought anything from me. From that point on, I was no longer received as her local stale breadman anymore. She, well, that's the idea. So I guess when I, you know, it's like me walking up there, and there'd be a sign in the front yard: no soliciting. We'll call the police. You know, this includes you, Tom Baber. You know, I'm not going to receive you. You know. But you get the same picture in that this is what receiving in Matthew 1:20, you remember when Joseph was considering to put Mary away and divorce her, the angel comes and says, Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, to receive her as your wife. And he takes her. And all that goes along with the duties and responsibilities in the relationship, do not be afraid to take her as your wife. Take her in. He gets up and he does so. He takes her in. And that's the idea here: to receive Israel. He came to his own, but his own would not reckon, would not take him in for who he was. And if anyone should have received him, it should have been his own people. The word had uniquely, the word of God had uniquely come to Israel by covenant, by Exodus, by divine glory, by miracle, by law, by prophecy, by wisdom, by temple, by ceremony, you name it, by celebration, by holiday. It had come.

29:02He came to the society who had been expressly devoted to him by covenant and by prayer. He came to his own. They had been praying for their Messiah for centuries, but when he came, they didn't take him in because he wasn't the kind of Messiah they wanted. They didn't like the light, they didn't like the picture of God that they saw. Israel didn't receive them because they never had received him. They did not receive the word incarnate because they had not received the word inscribed. Same is true with us today. If you will not receive the word inscribed, you will not receive the word incarnate because this word inscribed reflects the word incarnate. But the bottom line is, those who should have received him did not. And this accentuates the depth of human darkness and the degree to which. Which man loves himself.

30:04That's why there is a sickness in the heart. We love ourselves. And that darkness is deep, and the heart is desperately wicked. And it will reject true light unless something wonderful happens. So that's the first response to the light. Rejection. Rejection. Then there's a second response to the light that John outlines for us in verses 12 to 13, that of reception. And these two, rejection and reception, are going to be cataloged throughout John's gospel. There were some who did receive him. There were some who recognized him as Messiah, who let him into their life as Messiah.

30:57And in John's gospel, the act of true belief is synonymous with welcoming Jesus for who he is. That's true belief, welcoming Jesus for who he is. And welcoming into your inmost being. That's the idea. Welcoming him in, opening the door, letting him into the innermost part of your being. We often hear that's become kind of cliché in many of our circles. You need to. Receive Jesus into your heart. Well, that expression comes out of John's gospel. It is theologically rich. It is a good expression of how we are to respond to Christ. We are to, in fact, this is what John chapter 6 is going to be all about. The bread from heaven, eating his flesh and drinking his blood, is recognizing that God has come and that we are to internalize it, take that truth, take God, receive God into our inmost being and receive the fact that he had to die for us.

32:06Because our sins were, because of our sins, because our deeds were wicked. It is a theologically rich term. And I recognize lately that this phrase has been cheapened in many modern evangelical circles to almost characterize like mental assent, like just a very simple, okay, formulaic, say this, prayer, and do this, and boom. That's what he expects. Now, I realize that, but that should not cause us to abandon such an expression. This is rich theological truth that John is going to use. It's a Holy Spirit-inspired expression. What do you need to do? You need to receive him for who he is. He is Lord. He is God. He is King. He is Savior. Welcome. him into your house and you stop being your own god your own savior welcome him in for who he is that's the picture that john gives theologically rich and yet profoundly simple that's john's gospel jesus shined his light indiscriminately upon all he invaded the world with his light and his light became the division point in humanity some did not receive but some did and john's going to give three descriptions of those who receive the light in verses 12 to 13 three descriptions i want you to i want to look at these carefully first of all look at the end of verse 12 the ones who receive the light are the ones who believe in his name to those who believe in his names they are the ones who believe in his name and the word is an ongoing action those who are believing the ones who have believed those who the ones who have received are the ones who are believing the verb tense is very clear here and very important here a key concept here in john the ones who have received truly received him indicative active past tense those who have received him are the ones who are currently believing in him Currently, there's an ongoing action. There's an association. It's very important. And I like how the ESV translate this, but the New American Standard and the King James have the word in there. And if you look there, even. Even. Do you see that word, even? It's in italics, indicating what they're saying when they put a word in italics, they're saying it's not there. And so it doesn't need to be, but they think it's implied. No, what John is saying is very clearly, but as many as received him, those who are believing in his name equates the two. Those who have received him are those who believe in his name. John is not saying that there are two kinds of faith. There's not two kinds of responses, one of reception and one of belief, as if there are two categories. The ones who received Christ into their inmost being are the ones who are currently believing in him. That's what he's saying. They are believing.

35:33They are believing. And look back, they are believing in his name. And of course, the name implies far more than just a label. It involves the total character of the person. You don't just make Jesus up and then receive him into your heart and think you somehow become a Christian. No, you receive Jesus for who he is, and so are transferred. Those who receive the incarnate word of God are those who believe in the name of Jesus. He is the very self-expression of God. This is your God. He is the light. He emits the truth about God. And this is important to note. Our faith is not in a proposition. As if we put our faith in some kind of creed, that if we can sign on the dotted line, that somehow we are then magically transferred into the game, as if it's a mental ascent, or how well you know certain points of doctrine. No, we do not believe in a proposition. We believe in a person. The object of this sentence is Christ in the name of Jesus.

36:47Jesus is God himself, and therefore he has the authority to forgive sins. He has the authority to judge. And if he's not God, he has neither the authority to do either. He does not have the authority to do either. So to receive the word implies a welcoming reception, a recognition of his claim, a trust in what he says is true, and an allegiance to his ways. That's what reception is. And anything else, and get this, anything else amounts to a darkened rejection.

37:27And that's exactly what happened in his own people. So, to receive, do you believe Jesus is God, is King, as Lord, and Savior? Do you believe he came to save all who would call upon his name? Trust him, let him believe what he says, and then be aligned, align yourself with his ways, follow him. Anything less than that, if you start taking away, and okay, I like the Savior part, don't really like the Lord part. I don't really like this judge part, but I like kind of the blessing part. You know, you start, that's not Jesus, that's a creation of your own mind, not, and that's exactly why his own rejected him. So, don't make the same mistake. We receive him for who he is. So, that's the first description that John gives. They are the ones who believe, the first description of those who received him. They are the ones who believe in his name or who are believing in his name. Second description John gives is that they have received the right to be the children of God. Look at verse 12. They have received the right to be children of God. To them he gave the right to become children of God. Verse 12. And the word for right here is the same word translated as authority. That's how John is going to translate it throughout the gospel. For instance, in John. Chapter 5, verse 26, for just as the Father has life in himself, even so he gave to the Son also to have life in himself, and he gave him authority to execute judgment because he is the Son of Man. Don't think of this as like a volitional prerogative, like, okay, he's given a right.

39:23They have the right, that is, they could become the Son. They have a power or a right to become the children of God if they so want. No, that's not what he's saying at all. He's saying they have the right, the authority, which others do not have or possess, to be the children of God. They have come under the jurisdiction of children. That's the idea. The same word is for jurisdiction. Those who received him have come under the jurisdiction of children.

39:56They receive all the rights and authority of children. You know, one thing I noticed about being a parent, and I observed this all around me, is a good parent gives himself or herself to their children. Parents in mind and heart and soul and in action, they think about their children. They will do whatever is in their power to give to their children so things will go well with them. That's the very nature of parents. And we see that, and we're falling.

40:32Well, just think about God. Those who receive Christ are those who are currently believing in Him, and they are the children of God, and they will be revealed as such, and they will receive the very best kingdom that God can come up with. Do you understand how God is a parent and he has unlimited capacity, and he has unlimited goodness and an unlimited love for his people? And so, just as we, in our own fallen parenting, want to do well to our kids, want to give them the best, and if it's in our power, we would do so. Just think about God. When the children of God are revealed from heaven, he is going to give them everything. It is in his nature, not because we deserve anything, but because this is who he is. He is a good parent, and a good parent taxes their mental resources and everything that they have to be a blessing and to make things go well with their children. That's why we say, into marvelous light, I'm what? Running. What a blessing to be a child of God.

41:46But the ones who rejected him do not have such right. I don't care how profound their religion is or how profound their philosophy is. If it is void of Christ, it is false. They have no. Right. They are not children. And that's what I think really gets people upset about Jesus today. He's so exclusive. He's inclusive for all who will come, but he's very exclusive because he's unashamed to say, I am the only way. And unless you come through me, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven. There's a third description that John gives here. And not only are they the ones who are currently believing in him, verse 12 and in verse 12, they have received the right to be children of God, but third, they have been born of God. They have been born of God. Look at verse 13, who were born not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God. John makes it clear, the only way one can possess the right of a child of God is to be born a child of God. Who has the rights of children? Children.

43:08Who has the rights as one born of God? Only those who are born of God. I love John's simplicity. Only those. Only one who can possess the right of a child of God is the one who's been born as a child of God. And the new birth. Is a major theme in John. And it makes it clear that this new birth is a comprehensive work. It's a comprehensive work. And look at, he goes on to make three negative statements, and he makes one positive statement. This new birth is a comprehensive work of God. It is not a work of man. Look at the three negative statements. They were not born of blood. They were not born not of blood. That is, they were not born by family descent. They were not born, that is, they were not fathered by family line. The new to birth, the new birth, his independent family line. And this is important because the Jews of Jesus' day relied heavily upon the fact that they were descendants of Abraham. Back to John 8, that's what it's about. We are Abraham's descendants. And Jesus says, that's not really going to get you anywhere with God unless you have the faith of Abraham. I didn't like that.

44:33But John's saying that physical descent, natural heritage, race has nothing to do with the spiritual birth. Your family origin is completely irrelevant. Grace does not descend to you based upon your parents. That's not how grace comes. But then he makes a second negative statement. They were not born by the will of the flesh. That is to say, they were not born into the right of a child by exerting their body. themselves to great accomplishments. Listen, human nature cannot change human nature. Human nature is human nature. It cannot change. You cannot change your human nature by exerting yourself to great degrees religiously or in any other sort of accomplishment.

45:20But the third negative, he says, they were not born by the will of man. That is to say that they were not born into the right of a child by the deeds of someone else. As I said, someone else can't dispense grace, just like their parents couldn't dispense grace. They couldn't earn that grace on their own, and neither can somebody else come over and put it upon you. It's not the will of man. Human nature cannot change human nature. You can't change your own human nature, and you can't go out and change somebody else's human nature. Human nature is human nature. There is one way that human nature is changed, and that is the positive statement. Look back. They were not born, they were not born of the will of the flesh, the will of man, but by God Himself.

46:12And this is the first time we come to Scripture of the new birth. A new birth, a rich truth. It speaks of a complete change of heart, a new birth. There is no metaphor like it. It's so profound what happens at the point one is born into the family of God that there isn't a metaphor that completely can describe it. But birth is the only appropriate. When one is born of God, a new person comes forth.

46:47New appetites, new wants, new desires. And by the way, all this happens simultaneously. Belief, rebirth, reception. There isn't some kind of sequence, as some would argue, you believe, and then you receive and then you're born again. No, it all happens. There is no such thing as one who believes that hasn't received, that hasn't been born again. The one who has been born again is one who has faith. The one who has faith is born again. You can't think it comes as a package. It comes as a bundle. And when you start trying to separate that out, you get into error.

47:23So the opening question, I know it's time's about out, but it comes back to the opening question: who are the children of God? All creation awaits for God to reveal who they are. And John has given us the answer very clearly. The children of God are those who have responded favorably to the light. They have received him. They are believing in his name. They have been born of God. That's who they are. Question is, does this describe you?

48:00Are you a child of God? You can be. Call upon him. Do you believe the testimony that's been shared? Turn to him. Ask him to come into your inmost being, innermost being, for who he is, as he is. Even if you don't fully understand, say, God, I don't fully understand, but I know I need you in my life. And ask him to come. Well, let's pray. Heavenly Father, as we continue to journey through John, Lord, you have prepared us for the responses that we will see, those who will receive and those who will reject. Father, and you have informed us as we continue to communicate and herald your name and testify to who you are, Father, that we will also experience the same responses that you experienced. That we will see those running to you and those running away from you. Father, and help us to be those people that will always come to your light. Father, and trust you.

49:16In Jesus' name, amen.