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Life Hurts! Where's God?
John 9:1-12
Skip Heitzig

John 9 (NKJV™)
1 Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth.
2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
3 Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.
4 "I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.
5 "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
6 When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay.
7 And He said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.
8 Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind said, "Is not this he who sat and begged?"
9 Some said, "This is he." Others said, "He is like him." He said, "I am he."
10 Therefore they said to him, "How were your eyes opened?"
11 He answered and said, "A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, 'Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.' So I went and washed, and I received sight."
12 Then they said to him, "Where is He?" He said, "I do not know."

New King James Version®, Copyright © 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved.

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43 John - Believe:879 - 2009

"Why is there so much pain in the world?" is the most frequently asked question ever! We hate it when we, or those we love, are in pain. Today we see Jesus confront a hurting world. As we do, consider these words by Elizabeth Elliot (whose husband was murdered): "If God is in charge and loves us, then whatever is given is subject to His control and is meant ultimately for our joy."

"But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name" John 20:31.

Believe:879 is an epic journey through the book of John led by Pastor Skip Heitzig of Calvary of Albuquerque. As we explore each of the 879 verses of this gospel, we'll grow in grace and in our knowledge of Jesus Christ. From His pre-incarnate existence, to His public ministry, through His death and His resurrection we'll traverse familiar territory and embark on new adventures of faith.

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Outline

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  1. Suffering Provokes Questions (vv. 1-2)

  2. Suffering Defies Explanations (vv. 2-3)

  3. Suffering Brings Obligations (vv. 4-7)

  4. Suffering Challenges Expectations (vv. 8-12)
This Could Become More Than Another Sermon:
  1. What is the relationship of sin to suffering (both directly and indirectly)?

  2. What part does faith have in this healing? How does the blind man show his faith?

  3. Can you look back on your past and see where it seemed like you were being "trapped by suffering," only to discover later on that the event benefited you in the long run?

Detailed Notes

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  1. Suffering Provokes Questions (vv. 1-2)
    1. Blindness was common
      1. Unsanitary conditions, poverty, unfiltered sunlight, blowing dust and sand
      2. From Birth ek genetes - out from, by reason of, out of birth
      3. Ophthalmia neonatorum- gonorrhea of the eyes
    2. Blind consigned to miserable existence
    3. Jesus sees
    4. Disciples ask
      1. Human suffering the number one roadblock to faith in God
        1. How can a loving God allow suffering to exist?
        2. Everyone struggles with this
      2. Perception: pain is God's one mistake–Philip Yancey
      3. Asaph's struggle–Psalm 73:2
  2. Suffering Defies Explanations (vv. 2-3)
    1. Disciples' explanation: sin "Who sinned?"
      1. Blind man
        1. Theology of prenatal sin
        2. Hellenistic Jews may have embraced Greek philosophy of pre-existent soul
      2. His parents (twisted Exodus 20:5)
      3. Sometimes suffering is a direct result of sin or errant thinking or activity (i.e. a child born of promiscuous parents, an alcoholic, etc.)
    2. Can't always tie suffering to sin
      1. False theology: prosperity doctrine
      2. Even believers often tie suffering to something they did
      3. Don't automatically assume suffering is due to something someone did
      4. Job
        1. Friends blamed him
        2. God called him the most righteous
    3. Most common belief regarding the origin of evil or suffering
      1. Biblical God is all-loving, all-knowing, all-powerful, but massive evil exists; therefore, the biblical God cannot exist
      2. "So much" evil presupposes a notion of ultimate good
      3. "If the universe is so bad...how on earth did human beings ever come to attribute it to the activity of a wise and good Creator?"–C.S. Lewis
    4. Deist view: there is a god, he'd like to help, but he can't
      1. Process theology-god is in the process of becoming a better god
      2. A god not worth believing in
    5. Jesus doesn't deal with the philosophical problem of evil (v. 3)
      1. The man is not sinless, but sin is not the issue
      2. Jesus pushes aside the argument
      3. You cannot always equate sin and suffering directly
    6. This man is a miracle waiting to happen!
    7. God may allow suffering to affect a greater purpose
      1. Suffering will equip you – 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
      2. Suffering will strengthen your faith–2 Corinthians 12:7-10; James 1:2-3
      3. Suffering will correct you–Hebrews 12:5; Psalm 119:6-7
      4. "(Pain) removes the veil; it plants the flag of truth within the fortress of a rebel soul"–C.S. Lewis
  3. Suffering Brings Obligations (vv. 4-7)
    1. Jesus was sensitive
      1. Jesus saw Him
      2. We need to guard against compassion fatigue
    2. Jesus was practical
      1. Must work, not involved in the debate
      2. We must work, time is coming when we cannot
    3. Jesus was urgent
      1. Limited time to serve the Lord
      2. Within six months, Jesus will be crucified
      3. Push aside distractions, roll up sleeves, get to work
      4. There is a loving, all knowing, all powerful God, we acknowledge massive evil; therefore, we know Jesus will return to earth , judge, and make all bad things right. Until He does I will help alleviate suffering and pain and thus represent Him to a suffering world.
    4. Jesus was personal
      1. Touched the blind man
      2. Ministered to individuals, demonstrated love
    5. Application
      1. Are you willing to embrace suffering if it drives you to God?
      2. Are you willing to alleviate suffering if it drives others to God?
  4. Suffering Challenges Expectations (vv. 8-12)
    1. The healing was simple and understated
    2. The account includes wonder, transformation
    3. Easier for them to believe in mistaken identity than transformation
    4. No one expected the beggar to be anything else
    5. Never let your expectations limit God–Psalm 78:41; Mark 6:5
    6. Like the blind man, you were once blinded by sin and unable to see until the Lord opened your spiritual eyes – 2 Corinthians 4:4
    7. Physical healing is temporary
    8. Spiritual healing 2 Corinthians 5:17

Figures Referenced: George Barna; Philip Yancey; C.S. Lewis
Cross References: Exodus 20:5; Psalm 73:2; Psalm 78:41; Psalm 119:6-7; Mark 6:5; 2 Corinthians 1:3-4; 2 Corinthians 4:4; 2 Corinthians 5:17; 2 Corinthians 12:7-10; Hebrews 12:5; James 1:2-3
Greek terms: ek genets-out from, by reason of, out of birth

Transcript

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Now as you know I have a little grandson who's about seven weeks old and I can't wait for my grandson to come of age where he starts, oh look, isn't that magic how that just happens to have a picture up there? This is him just a couple days ago. That's your grandbaby, Lenya May. That's your great-grandchildren. But I can't wait till he gets to the age where he can ask questions. You know how kids ask questions that are tough to answer. I can't wait for that. I'm so excited for all of those crazy, wonderful questions to be asked. Great conversations are coming. You know that I love questions that children ask God and I've shared some before but I found a few more. One child says dear God, thank You for my baby brother but why? What I prayed for was a puppy. That's honest. Dear God, the Bible says You gave us everything, or give us everything we ask for, so then why don't we have everything? I think a little boy wrote that. Dear God, could You put another holiday between Christmas and Easter? There's nothing good there right now. I like this one: Dear God, I went to this wedding and they kissed right in the church--is that ok? And finally this one: Dear God, my brothers told me about being born but it didn't sound right. They are just kidding, aren't they?


I suspect we all have a few questions we'd like to ask God. And I suspect those questions would fall along the lines of why is there so much pain and suffering and evil and disease and war in this world? George Barna helps us. He polled the American public and said if you could ask God any question and you knew that God would give you an answer, what would you ask Him? The large majority of people said those questions. I'd ask Him about pain and suffering and hardship. There is pain. There is suffering. There are diseases. In fact, there are so many diseases now doctors cannot even keep up with them. They're telling us that what's coming down the pike are diseases that they have no treatment for, no way to handle. I discovered this week something shocking. HIV AIDS is now the number one killer of people worldwide between the age of 25 and 44. That's shocking. I stand before you this morning not as somebody who has all the answers. I've got questions myself. I stand before you as your pastor but as a fellow sufferer. I've had my share of loss. People that I loved dearly who have passed away. I've had my share of accusations and misunderstanding. And yet, though I don't understand them, I do believe that God has a plan.


You know, it might be said that we're either suffering today or we're between episodes of suffering. I hold my little grandson and I look at him and I gotta tell you, he brings me such joy when he does absolutely nothing. He doesn't have to do anything--at all! He's just there. It's like... wow! But I know he's gonna grow up. And I know he's gonna bring lots of more love and lots of more joy and experience all sorts of wonderful, fun times. But I also look at that little child and I recognize that he'll have his share of pain that will scar his life. And suffering. And tragedy. It's all a part of being human. John chapter 9, the first 12 verses, is about a healing. Five times the New Testament records that Jesus healed the blind and what a wonderful and miraculous story this is. This man, we discover, is blind from birth. I read an article this week about this bionic implant they have actually come up with that will hook to the electrodes hook to nerves in the brain sending impulses enabling somebody blind to somewhat see. And as wonderful as that is and we welcome all that technology that can't hold a candle to real miraculous healing like this.


Once again, Jesus Christ shows what John said He is throughout the book: the God of very gods able to heal even those who are blind. But this morning in our section of John 9, there's four realities about suffering that I want you to notice with me. Number one, suffering always provokes questions. We find it here. Verse 1: "Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Now let's get the setting. If you remember, Jesus has been in the temple, right? And He had quite a verbal confrontation with that crowd and they picked up stones as if to kill Him and the previous verse says Jesus passed through the crowd and went His way. So He's leaving that scene. He's with His disciples. We don't know where they are; somewhere in Jerusalem, one of the many corridors that is in that city, and He sees a blind man. And the disciples, following suit, seeing the blind man, ask questions because suffering provokes questions. Why is this man suffering? Where did this come from? Why is there evil in the world?


Now we don't know why he was blind. There are all sorts of reasons that people were blind. And by the way, you should know that 2,000 years ago blindness was very common. It was a very common occurrence to see people who were blind lining the streets, at the gates, etcetera. For a number of reasons: unsanitary conditions is one of them, poverty was another, bright, bright unfiltered sunlight like we have here but they didn't have sunglasses back then, and finally, blowing dust and sand. All of those factors contributed to blindness. But there's something I want you to notice that may be the reason for this man's blindness. Notice that Jesus saw a man who was blind from birth. See those two words from birth? In the original language it's genete. Literally, out from birth. Or it could be translated on the occasion of or by reason of or out of the birth itself. Let me explain. One of the most common reasons that people were blind 2,000 years ago was a condition prevalent then and still very prevalent in parts of Africa and other parts of the world called ophthalmia naonatorum, aka gonorrhea of the eyes. The bacterium lodged within the birth canal of the woman, unbeknownst to her, and when the baby was born that bacterium settled in the eyelids, the conjunct of the eye, the mucous membrane that lines the eye. And within two or three days, that baby began to form puss pockets around the eye and within a week or two, the baby was totally blind. And so because this man was born out of, or blind out of, the birth, it could be that the birth itself, that ophthalmia naonatorum was the cause of this blindness. We don't know exactly.


What we do know is that if you were blind, you were consigned to a miserable existence 2,000 years ago. Because they didn't have welfare systems to take care of it, very few families would take care of somebody who was blind throughout their life. And typically, the person would be consigned to a life of begging. And so no doubt this person was a beggar. Hand was out or there was some apparatus to collect coins, living off the benevolence of those would pass by. Jesus sees a blind man. They, the disciples, ask the question. Suffering provokes questions. Human suffering, I'll say it, is the number one roadblock for many people when it comes to faith with God. Or faith in God. Number one roadblock. It stimulates the most questions. How can a loving God, who's all-powerful and all-knowing, allow evil to exist? Everyone struggles with it. Everyone struggles with it. Everyone. Phillip Yancey writes honestly, if you pinned them against the wall in a dark, secret moment, many Christians would probably admit that pain was God's one mistake. He really should have worked a little harder and invented a better way of coping with the world's greatest dangers. What makes it worse for us is when we see what we would perceive as innocent people who are suffering. You know, it would be one thing if all the bad guys got sick. And if all the villains and murderers and thieves, they got cancer and they got broken bones and they got Parkinson's disease, but when you see people who are innocent victims or who are good people and they're suffering so intensely.


Well, it was what put Asaph almost over the edge, if you remember a few weeks ago in Psalm 73. Asaph looked at it and said my feet nearly slipped, my steps almost stumbled when I saw that. That almost, I almost cashed it in when it comes to following and believing in God. Suffering provokes questions. Second thing I want you to see: suffering defies explanations. Now watch the disciples try to explain this man's malady. "His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" That's a weird question. "Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him." The explanation of these disciples is a typical explanation, especially back then. It's the sin explanation. Somebody had to sin. All the rabbis then taught that there was a direct connect between suffering and sin. Somebody had to sin for this to happen. But here's my question: how do you sin and get born blind? Isn't that a weird question? Who sinned? Was it this guy or his parents that he was born blind?


Do you know that the Jews 2,000 years ago had a theology of prenatal sin? They said that you can sin in the womb. In the fetal stage and all the way back to the embryonic stage. So I don't know what they do when a child kicks in the womb, maybe they think see? Rebellion. They taught that. Also, if Jews lived in areas where Greeks populated it, called Hellenistic Jews, they would have around them the philosophy of the Greek world which believed in the pre-existence of the soul. And the Greeks actually taught, and maybe it was influenced into some of the Jews' thinking, that the soul could do something that was sinful and you would mete out the consequences of that in the body in which the soul would inhabit. But they asked the question. Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he is born blind?


Maybe the disciples thought maybe it was something his parents did that caused the child to be blind. Now that's a pretty, that's a low blow, isn't it? When you have a child with a malady and you come along and you say well you did something wrong because it's your sin that caused your child to be like this. However, again 2,000 years ago, that was part of the belief system. Some of the Jews took a familiar portion of Scripture and twisted it. When I quote the Scripture, you'll recognize it. This is how they twisted it. The Scripture is Exodus chapter 20 verse 5. It says I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation. Some of them twisted that to mean that if you, as a parent, sin, your child will have bad things happen to him. Well that is not at all the context of that passage. God in that passage, Exodus 20, is speaking not personally but nationally. If you nationally do these things, then nationally these things are gonna happen. And it did. The Babylonian captivity and other such examples show the meaning of that.


But these disciples had that background of belief system of either prenatal sin or the parents did something that caused these things to happen. A wrong view. Now I need to say that sometimes suffering is a direct result of sin or stupidity. Errant thinking, errant activity. For instance, a child if born of promiscuous parents who contracted a venereal disease, those effects can be meted out in the child's future. If a child is parents of an alcoholic there's certain things that can occur as well there. But you can't always tie suffering to sin. Now there is a false theology that has been very prevalent, the prosperity doctrine, that says basically yes there is evil, yes there is sin, yeah there's a lot of suffering, but if you're a child of God, hallelujah, you don't have to experience it. You can drive a Lamborghini and not a Neon. You can always be healthy and wealthy and wise. That's the thinking behind it. Now all of that theology aside, there is thinking even among some believers that I have spoken to that when something bad happens it's like it's probably because of something I did earlier. Like perhaps the traffic ticket in the afternoon is because I didn't have my devotions in the morning and God's getting back at me because of it. That's a wrong way of thinking. Don't assume when people are suffering that they have done something wrong automatically. And the best case study of that is Job himself, right? Remember his friends came to him and tried to pin this same explanation on him? Ah, Job, um, your kids are dead. Your wife's mad at you. You're like losing your health. You must be some kinda bad sinner. Problem with that is God said have you considered My servant Job? There's nobody like him in the earth. He's the best I've got! He's the most righteous one there is. So that's not a good explanation but that is their explanation--sin.


Now since we're dealing with it, think of a few more explanations people have for the origin of evil. The most common one that unbelievers have, whenever they see evil or suffering or pain, is this: it's the 'there must not be a God then' explanation. Here's their thinking. It's usually stated in a form of a syllogism, a series of logical steps. If you're in a philosophy class it goes like this: the biblical God is all-loving; the biblical God is all-knowing; the biblical God is all-powerful; but massive evil exists in the world, therefore the biblical God cannot exist. Well there's a problem in that kind of thinking and that kind of statement. As soon as you say there's so much evil, it presupposes you have a notion of ultimate good. That's the problem with it. you see, if in a classroom, one student gets a 90% on the test and another gets a 60 and another gets a 40, it presupposes there's a real standard of what? 100%. So if there's no God, then where did we ever get a standard of goodness by which to measure what is evil? As C.S. Lewis brilliantly put it: if the world is so bad and the universe is so bad, how did people ever came to attribute it to a good and loving God?


Now there's another explanation of evil and I don't have time to get into them all, but it's sort of a cross between the two. One includes God a little bit and throws out the rest of it. And it's this notion: there is a God and He'd like to help but He can't. He can't! He'd like to help but He can't. It's the deist position. Acknowledges God and part of that is even in a realm of theology called process theology, you've heard of process theology? Process theology says that God is in the process of becoming a better God. He's not really capable of handling all the evil in the world but every year and every generation and every war and every bad thing that happens and it's all good because God is learning from it. And He'll get it one day. He just needs to learn a little while longer. Process theology. Well not only is that not a god that is a biblical God at all, but that is not a god worth believing in at all. It's like having a big brother who can't do anything when you need him to help.


So now what I want you to notice how Jesus doesn't deal with the philosophical problem of evil. Verse 3: "Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned." Now he's not saying he's sinless and his parents are sinless. He's saying that is not the issue here. "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him." He's pushing their whole argument of sin and suffering aside and saying you can't always equate sin and suffering directly. And that's really not the point. The point is I have a plan--watch. That's what He's saying here. He is in effect saying this man here is a miracle waiting to happen. And his whole life he has been blind but it has been worth it because he's gonna reveal the glory of God. He's gonna be healed physically. He'll be able to see, but it's gonna be a miracle that attests to who Jesus is and this man's gonna see Jesus face-to-face. But that he might reveal the glory of God.


Here's the point I want to make. God may allow suffering in your life to affect a greater purpose. Here's a man who is suffering. God's gonna affect a greater purpose. God might allow suffering in your life to affect a greater purpose. And I know you're thinking Skip, I've heard that all my life. I'm tired of hearing God has some purpose in this, God has some greater plan--it's true. It's true. You say what possibly could be a greater plan in my suffering? Well I could write a list but I'll give you just three. Number one, suffering will equip you. It will equip you. You know, you're not able to talk to a suffering person very well unless you have suffered. When you have gone through your own pain and problems and worked through it, especially victoriously, you are such an asset. That is why focus groups or gatherings, support groups, are so popular and so powerful, because when you get people together with like experiences and they feed off of one another and minister to one another, it's wonderful. Paul the apostle put it this way, 2 Corinthians chapter 1, God is the God of all comfort, He comforts us in all of our trouble so that we can be a comfort to those who are in any trouble with the same comfort we have received from Him. It equips you.


The second thing suffering will do is it will strengthen you. It will strengthen your faith. I'm speaking to people right now who, if I were to interview you, you would say something like this: this is a hard time in my life. This is so hard. But the Bible is so alive to me right now and Jesus has never been closer than He is now and your faith is being stretched and you're growing in your faith. Now I want to make a statement. I want you to listen very carefully to it. Faith is more valuable than health. Faith is more valuable than health. Let Paul the apostle tell you. He went through a period of physical pain and he wrote about in 2 Corinthians 12. Remember what he said? He said there's a thorn in the flesh, literally a stake, an impaling rod, a physical ailment of some kind that he suffered, a thorn in the flesh has been given me, a messenger of Satan to buffet him. He said I prayed about it 3 times. And God came and you know what God said to him? He said my grace is enough for you. My grace is enough. In fact, my strength will overcome your weakness. So you know what Paul said at the end of that? He said well if that's the case, then I will gladly rejoice in my infirmities that the power of Christ may be upon me. It equips you and it strengthens you. No wonder James said count it all joy. If there's any joy at all in suffering, it's that joy. When you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. Faith is more valuable than health.


So it'll equip, it'll strengthen you, and third, it'll correct you. If you're getting off the path a little bit, there's nothing like a wake-up call from pain. Every parent knows what this is. It's called a spanking. If you love your children at all, you have spanked them in their life because it works miracles. A good spanking is like the best attitude adjustment. I'm not saying go out now and spank your kids but you know God does that. The Bible calls it discipline or more particularly, chastisement. Do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Hebrews says. God is doing... He gets our attention. David wrote in Psalm 119: before I was afflicted, I went astray. Now there's something implicit in that statement, as if to say you know I'm sorta walking on the edge and getting a little farther and farther away from God and then--bam! I'm back. Before I was afflicted I went astray but now I keep Your word. It corrects us. Again, C.S. Lewis brilliantly put it this way: pain plants the flag of truth within the fortress of a rebel soul. So powerful. So suffering provokes question; suffering defies explanations.


Third, I want you to notice in verse 4 and onward, suffering brings obligations. Now watch what Jesus does. Doesn't even enter an argument of philosophy and theology. He's gonna do something very practical. He says, "I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva;" Interesting. "And He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay," eww. It's a good thing he was blind. "And He said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing." This is what I'd like you to notice. To Jesus Christ, this man was not some theological case study. He wasn't some philosophical argument about the reason of evil and pain in the world. He was a man who was blind who needed help and it's like Jesus rolling up His sleeves and says I'm gonna get to work. There's a few things I want you to notice about what we just read.


First of all, Jesus was sensitive. Jesus was sensitive. Who's the first guy that saw the man? Verse 1: Jesus. I mean, they're all going out of the temple because they wanted to stone Jesus, the crowd did. They're going out of the temple, their nerves are raw. The first one that noticed him was Jesus. The disciples had the questions; Jesus noticed him. That's Jesus. Always sensitive. Always aware. Always aware of needs even in Galilee when a crowd of people gathered, and most people go look at how many people I got coming today to my crowd gathering up here, Jesus saw that they were like sheep having no shepherd. They were brokenhearted and that kind of sensitivity pervaded His ministry. There's something that you and I face today as Americans in this modern era. It's called compassion fatigue. Because we do watch television and we see all of the images of pain and suffering and war every single night on and on, it puts a little bit of a callous. It is a phenomenon known as compassion fatigue. Just be aware of it. Guard against it. Pray against it. Jesus noticed. He was sensitive.


Notice also He was practical. Look what Jesus says, "I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day." He didn't get involved in a theological debate. I'm not gonna into an argument about sin and suffering. I'm gonna roll up my sleeves and get to work. Now many translations don't say I must work, they say we must work. We're reading off the textus receptus, basically those manuscript derivations, that's what we have in our hand. But many manuscripts that are newer don't say I must work but we must work the works of Him who sent Me. I love that. That Jesus is saying we, let's us gather and get together and do this work because the time is coming when no man can work. So He was practical. We must work. Let's get to work.


Also notice He was urgent. I must work the works, or we must work the works, of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. In other words, we have a limited time to serve the Lord. Jesus calls it while. While. While it is day. Within six months, Jesus will be crucified. He has a few more months to put everything into the mission His Father sent Him on. What does that say to us? That you and I have a while. I don't know how long your while or my while is, but while it is day and while we're on earth, let's push aside every selfish distraction and ambition for our money or our fame or our happiness and say we have this time to serve the Lord, let's roll up our sleeves and get to work. That's really a strong and powerful message Jesus is giving. While it is day. I said it before. I think it bears repeating. In heaven you'll never pass out a single gospel tract. In heaven you'll never pray for somebody for sick because there's no sick people. In heaven you'll never wipe away one tear of compassion. No need to--no tears in heaven. The only time we have to do His work and show His compassion is now! Right here. Right now. That's our while we're on earth.


So how does a Christian deal with a problem of pain much more than theologically, much more than academically, much more than philosophically. Even as the unbelievers have their little syllogism, their series of logical remarks, we have our own. Let me state it for you. The biblical God is loving. The biblical God is all-knowing. The biblical God is all-powerful. And yet we acknowledge that massive evil exists in our world. Therefore, we know that Jesus will one day return to this earth and judge all sin and make all bad things right. And... and until He does, I will help alleviate that suffering and pain and thus represent Jesus Christ to a suffering world. That is a Christian, biblical worldview of pain and suffering. And it is seen here in our text. Something else. He was not only sensitive and practical and urgent, He was personal. There's nothing more personal than getting your own spit involved in the mud and touching a man, touching, touching a blind man, touching a beggar. I don't know how he smelled or how he looked, but Jesus touched him.


Now there's, believe it or not, pages of perhaps explanations of why Jesus made mud. We're not told why He made mud. Maybe He was harkening back to Genesis 2 when God formed man out of the dust of the earth and for the Creator of the earth in human flesh to make a couple of eyes, not a big deal, He made everything else. Just like... watch that. He made mud because He wanted to make mud. But He touched him. He touched Him. Why'd He do that? Because He didn't have to. Did Jesus have to touch anybody He healed? Could He have waved a magic wand: be healed! In fact couldn't have Jesus have, have healed anyone He wanted to en masse? I mean, maybe He would've been organized about it and say ok, we'll put lepers over here, congenital anomalies over here and birth defects, we'll put leprosy over here and just all of you get together... now watch this: Heal! One big fell swoop. He didn't do that. He touched. He touched. It was personal. Why did He do that? One author says Jesus' mission was not primarily a crusade against disease but a ministry to individual people, some of whom happened to have a disease. He wanted those people, one by one, to feel His love. For Jesus knew He could not readily demonstrate love to a crowd for love usually involves touching.


The grasp of a hand. The embrace of the arms. The eye-to-eye contact. The personal involvement goes so much and so far in showing compassion. So two questions I leave with you before we move on and finish this. Number one, are you willing to embrace suffering if it drives you to God? If suffering drives you to God, are you willing to embrace it? Are you willing to embrace suffering if it drives you to God? Question number two: are you willing to alleviate suffering if it drives others to God? Well finally let's finish this out in verse 8 and downward. And here's the fourth reality that suffering does. Suffering challenges expectations. Verse 8: "Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind said, "Is not this he who sat and begged?" Some said, "This is he." Others said, "He is like him." He said, "I am he." I am he. "Therefore they said to him, "How were your eyes opened?" He answered and said, "A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, 'Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.' So I went and washed, and I received sight." Then they said to him, "Where is He?" He said, "I do not know." Isn't it amazing the simplicity with which Jesus did this? He saw a blind man. He says time to work. He made clay, put it on his eyes. You know, there was no musical prelude. And now Jesus! And then the angels aaah! And then be healed! Just simply healed and the guy got healed. Very, very understated.


What I'd like you to see is notice the mixture in this paragraph of wonder, confusion, bewilderment, skepticism, disbelief all rolled into one. Why? Because they'd never seen anything like this before. This guy was a blind beggar. This transformation was so shocking, so shocking that they found it easier to believe this is just a case of mistaken identity. He must look a lot like him. He goes, no, he, I'm the guy, than to believe it was a bona fide healing. Here's my point. No one in that group expected the beggar to ever be anything else but a blind beggar. And my principle is this: suffering lessens your expectation that life will ever be any better than this. It wears on you and it lessens and lowers the expectation that life will ever be any better than it is now. Well it's true for some God may call them to prolonged suffering. Paul the apostle would say I'm one of those guys. God called me to this. I prayed about it a long time, three times, God finally said it's enough, so I rejoice in it. But, having said that, never let your expectations limit God--that's unbelief. That is unbelief.


Psalm 78 recounts the children of Israel wandering through the desert and God's plan but there's a very worrisome verse in Psalm 78. This is what it says. Listen carefully. And they limited the Holy One of Israel. Did you get that? The children of Israel wandering through the desert limited the Holy One of Israel. Now I got a question for you. How do you limit the unlimited God? Well unbelief will do it. Unbelief will do it. Mark said Jesus was going through one of the towns in Israel and the Bible says in that Gospel passage, He could do no mighty work there because of their unbelief. Now some of you can relate to this man and his friends around him in verses 8 through 12 because you came to Christ and nobody could believe you could ever change. Just like this man. They said no, you know what? Mistaken identity. This isn't the guy. Because they thought he'd never change. And do you remember some of you came to Jesus and you were so excited and you told your friends and your family and go oh look, you can't pull one over on us! We know you! We know what you do and what you've done! You can't change. What a beautiful picture this is of salvation. A man blind, totally hopeless, unable to see, lacking the capacity to see, and hopeless unless Jesus were to seek him out and give him sight. Wasn't that your condition? Blinded by sin. Unable to see the truth of God. Unable to see the truth of life. Unable to see the truth of Christ. Were it not for Jesus opening our eyes, we would still be in darkness. 2 Corinthians 4:4 Paul writes, the god of this age has blinded the minds of those who do not believe.


One final note and I close. Something about physical healing. All healings are temporary. Every single person that gets healed will eventually do what? Die! They're all temporary. So if you get healed of lung cancer--hallelujah--but you'll die of something else. That's reality. That's the bottom line. However, if you're a child of God, if you're a Christian, what happens is the spiritual transformation right now where you become a new creation in Christ, old things are passed away, all things become new, guaranteed heaven and eternal life with that and--and--a physical transformation when He comes back on resurrection day. So like that little boy who asked God the Bible says You give us everything we want, how come we don't have everything? You will. You will have everything on that day. Some of you are on a hard road right now and you're thinking this is so tough and this month has been so hard and this year has been so desperate. You know where that road leads? Home. It leads home. Don't despise the road when it leads home. You'll end up at home in your Father's house. If, on the other hand, you're here today and go God is sort of an interesting concept, life is good for you, no I'm not experiencing any bad problems or health--life is good! I have no trial or... in fact, my financial portfolio is really strong right now and my health is really good. Wonderful. But you're like all those people sitting on lounge chairs on the Titanic. That ship is going down. And you're just having a great time until that happens. Here's my counsel. Here's my counsel. If you don't have a personal relationship this morning with the Lord Jesus Christ, you can see He wants to touch you and make you better. This blind man? Healed of blindness? Will by the end of the chapter have a healing in his soul. He'll meet Christ. The best of both worlds. Able to see and set for eternity. God wants to open your eyes today. Maybe He has started to do that and you're feeling Him drawing you but you've never personally received Christ. I'm gonna give you that opportunity right now.

Additional Messages in this Series

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10/25/2009
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Believe:879
John 20:30-31
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Is your faith in need of bolstering? Do you find yourself saying "Help my unbelief?" The book of John presents a unique, up close and personal look at the life of Christ, focusing on Jesus as God Incarnate. As we dive into a thorough study of each of John's 879 verses, we'll walk with disciples who were eyewitnesses of His ministry, His death, and His resurrection, and we'll experience abundant life in His name.
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11/1/2009
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The World's Most Important Word
John 1:1-5
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It may be difficult to say what the most important word is in any language, but not for the Apostle John. He begins his gospel with the identification of Jesus as, "The Word." Starting with the very beginning of beginnings, John shows us the fundamental truths about the Jesus that he writes about in the rest of this book. The language is simple and unmistakable and yet the truths presented are deep and extremely profound. Let's see how John presents Jesus and Who Jesus is according to one who was closest to Him.
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11/15/2009
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Step Into Son-Light
John 1:6-13
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I love early mornings when sunlight first comes up over the eastern sky. But if you’ve ever had the experience of the sun suddenly shining into your eyes (like when you turn westward while the sun is going down), it's not so pleasant. Most people wince when light is shined in their eyes. Jesus is presented here as being "the light of men" and "shining in darkness". But the world cries out, "Turn off that light!" How can Jesus enlighten your life and how will you respond to Him?
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11/22/2009
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One of a Kind!
John 1:14-18
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It is a mistake to think of Jesus as "one among many" options in the pantheon of deities. He is unique, matchless, unrivaled, singular, and incomparable. From His birth to His Resurrection, there is no one who even comes close to the majestic Christ. Jesus was One-Of-A-Kind! Let’s consider four distinct ways that Jesus was unique and what these mean to us today.
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12/6/2009
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The Greatest Man Meets the Greatest Lamb
John 1:19-34
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Everyone is good at something, maybe even great at something. Maybe you're a great artist or a great mom or even a great leader. Jesus said that John the Baptizer was the greatest man who had ever lived (Matt. 11:11). But John knew Jesus to be the greatest One ever—past, present and future - the Sacrificial Lamb sent to remove sin. Today we discover from John the Baptist how to witness for Christ and we look at the identity and the activity of this most unusual man.
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12/13/2009
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Are You a Follower-Really?
John 1:35-42
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You can't make it through much of the Bible without coming to the word Disciple. Just the four Gospels alone use this term 228 times. Basically a disciple is the follower of a teacher: one who observes, learns, and practices what the teacher shares. We now come to the first time John uses this term in his book. So today we assess ourselves by asking, "Are YOU a follower?" Lets look at five characteristics of the first disciples of Jesus and see if they’re reflected in our lives.
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1/3/2010
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Finding the God Who Found You
John 1:43-51
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When the first disciples encountered Jesus, they chose to follow Him--only to discover that they had already been chosen by Him! Without getting drowned in that theological tide pool, let's consider and marvel at how both of these realities work together. The Bible teaches that God sovereignly elects people for salvation while at the same time teaches our responsibility to believe in Christ. Let’s see how both Philip and Nathanael encountered Jesus for the first time.
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1/10/2010
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The Wedding Guest
John 2:1-12
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How cool (and also potentially scary) would it be to have Jesus as a guest at your own wedding! The unnamed couple at the village wedding of Cana had that privilege. Jesus was the wedding guest who brought the best gift. His first miraculous sign was performed while celebrating that marriage. But far more than just attending a nuptial party, Jesus demonstrated who He was in relation to four entities: His mother, the moment, a miracle, and His men.
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1/17/2010
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Trouble in the Temple
John 2:13-22
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A hymn by Charles Wesley begins, "Gentle Jesus, meek and mild, look upon a little child..." It’s a beautiful song with a beautiful thought. However, Jesus is anything but gentle and mild in John chapter two. Here in the temple at Jerusalem, He displays His righteous anger as He overturns tables and beats the religious businesspeople with whips! But Jesus was using this trouble in the temple to predict a greater sign—the triumph of His own physical temple—His bodily resurrection!
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1/24/2010
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Uncommitted!
John 2:23-25
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These three verses are some of the most unusual in the New Testament. They describe a scene in the life of Jesus that explains His popularity and fame. The response of people to the miracles of Jesus is understandable. What is not readily understandable is Jesus' response to the interested and excited crowd. Though they believed in Him, He was not too energized over their kind of faith. Understanding this will help us to understand Jesus and His mission.
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1/31/2010
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Nick at Nite!
John 3:1-8
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The meeting of Jesus and Nicodemus at night is one of the most famous and compelling stories in Scripture. This man's inner curiosity and spiritual thirst drove him to want to know more. What he heard puzzled and astonished him, but he heard from Jesus' own lips the only way to be saved. Jesus' words here divide all of humanity into two groups: those who are born again and those who are not.
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2/7/2010
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Extreme Makeover: Soul Edition!
John 3:9-21
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For years ABC has aired two different versions of a show called Extreme Makeover. One is a total body makeover designed to enhance the physical beauty of a selected individual. The other is a Home Edition that rebuilds or adds to a struggling family's residence. But only Jesus can give the soul a makeover; only Jesus can ready a person for eternity. Here Jesus answers Nicodemus' question of how a person can have the New Life that comes from the New Birth.
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2/14/2010
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God's Valentine
John 3:16
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Today we take a look at the Bible's most famous verse and probe its depth while preparing to take the Lord's Supper together. Though most everyone knows this verse, John 3:16 is much more than just a slogan; it is a summary statement of God's love through Jesus Christ. This single verse of scripture gives us the salient truths of God's plan of salvation in abridged form. Let's consider God's great plan for us as we unpack it phrase by phrase.
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2/21/2010
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To Grow Up, You Must Grow Down!
John 3:22-30
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"They that know God will be humble, and they that know themselves cannot be proud!" That's what British Puritan John Flavel once said. And that’s how John the Baptist once lived! John the Baptist and his followers provide some great applicational fodder for how Christians should get along and humble themselves before one another and God. For any Christian believer who wants to spiritually grow up and grow strong, he must first grow down.
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2/28/2010
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The Nail Everything Hangs On
John 3:31-36
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Imagine if everything you valued was in a sack, hanging on the wall from one nail. It surely must be a strong nail, or you're lost! If life could all be boiled down to one thing or one word or one most important principle, what would it be? What is the irreducible minimum for everything and everyone? John answers that here, saying that Jesus Christ is the nail that everything hangs on. He determined what has been and what will be. Thus our knowledge of Him and relationship to Him is paramount above everything else.
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3/7/2010
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Refreshment!
John 4:1-14
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You know the feeling of swallowing ice-cold water on a hot day or after a savory meal—it's refreshing! That cool, invigorating sip revitalizes you from the inside out and makes you say, "Ahh!" Well, that experience is not limited to the physical realm, but is even more satisfying in the spiritual realm when dealing with Living Water. Jesus came to give thirst-quenching spiritual life to every parched soul on the planet. When was the last time you drank deeply?
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3/14/2010
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How to Lead People to Water
John 4:10-30
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The world is thirsty and doesn't even know it, or won't admit it, or will look to be satisfied by everything else but Jesus Christ. So your job and mine is to lead them to water (living water, that is). Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman illustrates perhaps the best approach for personal evangelism to be found anywhere. Leading someone to the place of spiritual satisfaction is a process that rests upon two pillars—the pillar of attitude and the pillar of approach:
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3/21/2010
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What God Really Wants
John 4:20-24
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Worship conferences, worship seminars and worship experiences abound within the landscape of the American church, but in all these there's something that seems to be always lacking—worship is confined to the activity of singing songs. When the subject is brought up in this chapter, Jesus talks plainly and openly about true worship: what it is and what it isn't. Let's explore these few verses to discover what God is seeking after and how to be part of fulfilling that.
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3/28/2010
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Spiritual Farming 101
John 4:28-42
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Farmers live for the harvest season--a time when their crops are taken in and profits are made. But crops don’t grow on their own. Seeds must be sown and plants must be garnered by a whole group of active farm workers. God is the head Farmer and we are His farmhands, all working together to produce a bumper-crop of people who believe that Jesus is the Savior--Are you in?
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4/18/2010
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Everyone Needs a Faith-Lift!
John 4:43-54
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Like any muscle in our physical body, our faith too must be exercised in order for it to develop. Faith is developed in virtually every circumstance in life, but especially in hard times. Peter put it best, "These trials are only to test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold--and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold" (1 Peter 1:7). Let's look at a real-life story of one who came to Jesus in his trial and had his faith lifted to a higher dimension.
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4/25/2010
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Healing Misery with Mercy
John 5:1-16
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One of Jesus' most distinguishing characteristics in His earthly ministry was His mercy toward people who were hurting. This is not astonishing, for the prophet Micah announced that "God delights in mercy" (Micah 7:18). Jesus standing among the squalid misery of sickness and hopelessness while at a feast in Jerusalem is a perfect setting to show how Christians can show mercy to a world in misery. But be warned: not everyone will be sympathetic to your cause!
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5/23/2010
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Like Father, Like Son
John 5:16-24
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The most important question you could ever ask is not, "Who am I?" but rather, "Who is Christ?" That was the supreme question Jesus presented to His disciples when He said, "Who do you say that I am?" (Matthew 16:15). Jesus made the most astonishing claim ever when He confronted the Jewish leaders of Jerusalem here in John 5. What do these claims have to do with us today? Absolutely everything!
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5/30/2010
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Everyone Lives Forever
John 5:25-29
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My mom used to wake me up early every morning with her sweet voice saying, "Rise and Shine!" It took a few times but I eventually got up out of bed. As Jesus declares that He will be in charge of the future judgment, He too will usher the call to everyone who has died to "Rise up!" But not everyone will rise up to shine; some will rise up to suffer. Let’s consider three inevitable and unalterable truths about the future for all of us: We will all die, we will all be judged, and we will all rise again to live forever... but where?
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6/6/2010
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Why Should You Believe?
John 5:30-47
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The theme of John's gospel is "believe." The whole reason he wrote this book is so that people who read it will believe in Jesus (see John 20:31). But why should they believe? And even more applicable, why should we believe? After all, the events of the New Testament are over 2,000 years removed from us today. Jesus' confrontation with the religious leaders in John 5 tells us why we should believe. Like a skilled lawyer, Jesus calls upon four witnesses to testify to His claims and these four give the reasons for our believing in Jesus Christ.
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6/13/2010
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Lessons From a Picnic
John 6:1-14
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This story ranks in the "top ten" of the most famous miracles of Jesus Christ. In fact this is the most famous of all His miracles as it alone is recorded by all four gospel accounts. But this is far more than a Sunday school tale. This extraordinary picnic was not just a free meal for five thousand folks; it provided lessons for both ancient and modern disciples. Here are four profound truths that emerge from this lakeside lunch.
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6/20/2010
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What Storm Goers Need to Know
John 6:15-21
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Have you ever been on the ocean in a raging storm? If so, you know that a well-trained crew follows an immediate protocol until the storm is over. Their knowledge and experience about violent weather are invaluable for those who want to survive. Using the story of Jesus walking on the waves to His disciples, let’s discover a few things about the stormy trials of life.
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7/4/2010
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The Right Thing, The Wrong Way
John 6:22-29
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Our text reads that crowds of people came "seeking Jesus." That sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? And yet Jesus challenges them as to their motive because they were seeking Him (the right thing) in order to satisfy themselves only (the wrong motive). Let’s consider three monumental truths about how people interact with spiritual things in general and Jesus Christ in particular. Let’s also reconsider the starting point for anyone who wants anything to do with Christ.
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7/11/2010
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Wonder Bread!
John 6:30-50
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The Hostess Company has for years advertised that its Wonder bread "helps build strong bodies 12 ways" and that just two slices has the calcium of eight ounces of milk and the fiber of 100% whole wheat. Wow! The crowd that Jesus was speaking to would have loved that! But our Lord presents something to them far greater than what they were wanting. He knew what they needed.
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7/18/2010
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Plain Truths About the Bread of Life
John 6:51-71
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Mark Twain once remarked that "A lie can travel halfway around the world while truth is still lacing up its boots!" This section of John's Gospel has generated much confusion and misunderstanding. Even Jesus' original audience had trouble understanding His meaning, and when they did, they found the truth was difficult to bear. These "hard truths," however, are "the words of eternal life" (v. 68). Let's look at these four realities today.
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8/1/2010
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Seeing Jesus Through the Fog
John 7:1-13
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There was always a fog surrounding Jesus! It was a fog of uncertainty, of unbelief, and of conflicting opinion. He was misunderstood about both His mission and His message. His friends, His family, and His foes were often bewildered about who He was and what He was doing. That remains true even today. But in this passage our view becomes clearer. Jesus had clearly defined objectives that He reveals here and they are extremely practical for us today.
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8/8/2010
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Follow Jesus But Don't Be Religious
John 7:14-24
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Jesus clashed with religious leaders more than any other group of people. He went against their spiritual grain and challenged their legalistic ideas. Christ made it clear that He hadn’t come to establish a new religion but rather to show the way to God His Father. He didn’t give people another “system of beliefs and practices”; instead He said that He Himself was the way, truth, and life. In this public confrontation, we learn how to follow Christ in truth and not be religious.
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8/15/2010
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Standing by a Waterfall (Dying of Thirst)
John 7:25-53
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All the diverse and assorted experiences offered by this world can never satisfy the deepest longing of the human soul. What we really want isn't what we really need. The rest of John chapter 7 illustrates this truth. In the midst of a crowd of people clamoring for deep spiritual satisfaction stands the only One who can provide it. He offers them the drink that really satisfies and all but a few refuse it, preferring rather to die of thirst. How painfully ironic!
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8/22/2010
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Scribbling on the Ground
John 8:1-11
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Can you imagine what a surviving copy of Jesus' autograph would be worth today? Or what about a letter to His disciples? The fact is, there is no existing document or copy of anything Jesus ever wrote. We only have this story of Him scribbling something in transient dust on the Temple stones. Though John doesn't tell what Jesus wrote that day, his account does reveal a lot about Jesus Himself and how He interacted with three different kinds of folks.
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8/29/2010
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Blinded by the Light
John 8:12-20
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When the sun shines right in your eyes, your immediate inclination is to squint, turn away, or put sunglasses on. Light can be blinding! Though light penetrates our world, providing illumination and energy for our very existence, big doses of it can be difficult to handle. That's true spiritually as well. Jesus, by His teaching and work, illuminated this world darkened by sin. Some rejoiced in that light, able to see where they were going. But others, who'd been so accustomed to spiritual darkness, could only wince when Jesus was around.
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9/5/2010
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The Worst Way & Best Way to Die
John 8:21-30
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One person put it this way, "Death is the big flaw. Sometimes we can postpone it, lessen its physical pains, deny its existence—but we can't escape it!" Since that is universally true, why don't people take death seriously enough to plan for it? While we are alive in this world, everyone should be thinking more about the next. But what's the best (and worst) way to die?
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9/19/2010
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The Best Way & Worst Way to Live
John 8:31-36
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Everyone has an opinion on what "The Good Life" is. For some, it's financial independence. For others, it’s autonomy from government control. For still others, it’s the ability to do whatever you want whenever you feel like it. Jesus offers a different kind of freedom and a better brand of life. Here Jesus tells us what the best way to live really is: It’s the freedom to be a genuine disciple. And He tells us what the worst way to live really is: It’s the slavery of a sinful lifestyle. Today consider how free you really are and what areas of life you may still be in bondage to.
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9/26/2010
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The Devil's DNA
John 8:37-47
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Your body has 100 trillion cells. Inside each one is a nucleus and in each nucleus are DNA molecules. DNA is like an instruction manual for life with densely coded information telling each cell what to do. A simple paternity test would prove that my father was really my father. Here Jesus gives His audience a spiritual paternity test that reveals their spiritual father to be the devil himself. No matter what your physical ancestry, you can always tell one's spiritual heritage.
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10/3/2010
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Who IS This Guy?
John 8:48-59
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Jesus had friends and He had enemies. But besides those, He also had some "frenemies" (enemies who pretended to be friends). To this crowd who at first pretended to believe (v. 31) Jesus is both confrontational and controversial. This paragraph highlights three possible identities of Jesus: two of them were his enemies' accusations and one was Jesus' own claim.
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10/17/2010
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The Truth About Your Neighbors
John 9:13-34
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Those of us who are Christians live in a sea of unbelievers who work with us, live next to us, shop where we shop, and send their kids to the same schools. Some have a mild case of unbelief disguised by religious practices. Others are more demonstrable in their agnosticism or atheism. Let's watch a local Jerusalem neighborhood struggle against faith in spite of clear evidence.
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10/24/2010
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Got Any Blind Spots?
John 9:35-41
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When you drive, you encounter "blind spots"—it could be part of your own car or it could be a tree that hides traffic on the other side. Those blind spots hinder both progress and ultimately, safety. When Jesus healed a blind man in Jerusalem, the same man was also healed of his spiritual blindness. But others who thought their spiritual perception was keen were as blind as a bat! As we consider this story, can you think of any blind spots in your spiritual journey?
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10/31/2010
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The Good Shepherd (and a bunch of happy sheep!)
John 10:1-10
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This is one of the most beloved passages to be found anywhere in Scripture. But it's not a stand-alone passage: The healing of the blind man in chapter 9 was more than a miracle. It was part of the process of Jesus forming His flock. The leadership had cast the healed man out of the synagogue. Jesus found him, accepted him, saved him, and placed him in His own fold.
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11/21/2010
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What's So Great About the Good Shepherd?
John 10:11-21
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"What's so great about being a Christian?" some people ask. The answer lies in the kind of care, provision, and protection we get from Jesus Christ, our Shepherd. Have you ever stopped to make a list of the benefits that are yours as a follower of Christ? Consider this short list of advantages that you, as a child of God, have. When was the last time you thanked Him for being your Shepherd? This would be a great week to do that!
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12/5/2010
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To BElieve or Not to BElieve...
John 10:22-42
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"In all unbelief there are two things: a good opinion of one's self and a bad opinion about God."— Horatius Bonar. It's true, isn't it? Humanism is man-centered and rejects God's existence or His relevance. But Jesus appealed to two things: the plain evidence of His supernatural works and the testimony of those who witnessed them. Jesus here asserts His deity, and the reaction is predictable—some believed while others did not believe. Which camp do you fall into?
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1/9/2011
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The Great Physician's Patient Dies
John 11:1-16
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When a doctor loses a patient on the operating table, there is a deep sense of remorse and sadness in the surgical theater. Doctors are trained to save lives but sometimes even the best trained physicians are unable to control complications that lead to death. But here we discover that Christ, the Great Physician, not only knows that His patient is sick--He allows him to die! Here are three principles about Divine Medicine that we can all learn.
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1/16/2011
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A Tale of Two Sisters
John 11:17-32
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In 1859 Charles Dickens wrote his famous work, A Tale of Two Cities, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The story before us is set in Bethany near Jerusalem and highlights the personal relationship that two sisters had with Jesus Christ. Their broken hearts provide an excellent platform to consider how Christ deals with people in grief and loss. Let's actively probe not only their responses but ours to the incredible promise Jesus makes.
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1/23/2011
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The Strangest Funeral Ever
John 11:33-44
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According to one source, there are approximately 2 million funerals in America per year, which means that about 5,479 funerals take place every single day! Most of those funerals are pretty typical: a formal service followed by an interment. But the funeral service we're looking at was really different--and not just because of a resurrection. Here Jesus does three things that are pretty normal for most people at a funeral, but strikingly odd for Jesus.
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1/30/2011
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What to Do with Jesus?
John 11:45-57
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Any lawyer can tell you that whenever the star witness is a resurrected corpse, you have a pretty good case! But Lazarus being alive from the dead doesn’t seem to persuade everyone. And so the big issue becomes what shall we do with Jesus? The decisions made here set the clock in motion for an impending hate crime—the crucifixion of Christ. But from heaven’s vantage point, this is all part of God’s plan for redemption. Let’s see the responses and how we can make a difference.
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2/6/2011
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A Meal to Reveal the Heart
John 12:1-11
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If you were to step into the home of Simon at Bethany (Mark 14:3) on that night, you would've seen Jesus and His disciples along with Lazarus and His two sisters reclining at a low table for a meal in honor of Christ. But if you were to step into the hearts of those people, you would discover they were all very different from each other. Those inside the house and outside represent the gamut of feelings about Jesus—from adoring love to intense hatred. What a complicated meal!
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2/13/2011
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A Day, a Donkey, a Deliverer, and a Decision
John 12:12-19
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2000 years ago, on the final Sunday of Jesus’ earthly life before His crucifixion, He did the most unusual thing—He sat on a donkey and was carried into the city of Jerusalem in parade fashion. This formal presentation of Him as Deliverer was both profound and predicted. What’s the significance of such an act as this? What overarching principles emerge for us today? We’ll dig in and discover them, but today you’ve got to write them down yourself:
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2/20/2011
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Living the Right Life
John 12:20-26
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If this sermon was a book and I wanted to sell lots of copies, the title would cause it to fail. Now if it were entitled "Living the High Life" or "Living the Successful Life," then I may have a winner. But many have lived with both success and riches who didn't live right! So what is the right life? Or to frame it with a better question: What kind of life is most pleasing to God? Through a series of paradoxes, John gives us the answer—it wasn't the answer most people are looking for!
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2/27/2011
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Cross-Culture
John 12:27-36
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The term cross-culture emerges from the social sciences and typically refers to interaction of one culture or language with another. But that's not how I'm using it today. I'm thinking of it in the biblical sense, the salvation sense. Jesus' whole life was immersed in the culture of the cross and He referred to His impending death on the cross as "His hour." Let's consider today the culture of the cross of Christ: what it meant to Jesus personally and the world ultimately.
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3/6/2011
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Believe It or Not!
John 12:37-50
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Most of you reading this are believers. Some are not. Both are dangerous positions to take but for different reasons—vastly different reasons! This paragraph in John's Gospel is the summary of all that has been written, from chapters 1 through 13. It reviews the two different responses people have to Jesus and then gives us Jesus' own synopsis on faith and unbelief. Today you will be able to understand the real differences and consequences of faith and unbelief.
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3/13/2011
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A Night Unforgettable
John 13:1-5
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Some days are frozen in time because of the magnitude of an event. You will always remember September 11, 2001 and where you were when the towers fell. The night America bombed Baghdad or the night John Lennon was murdered may be permanent memories captured in your mind. This was the final night Jesus spent with His own disciples and it would be unforgettable. Let’s discover how what seem like ordinary moments can be extraordinary appointments.
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3/20/2011
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Basin Theology 101
John 13:6-17
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At the final Passover meal that Jesus shared with His closest friends, He gave new meaning to the bread and wine, using them to point to His upcoming sacrificial death on the cross. Today we share Communion as a church family and reflect on that meal, as well as the lessons Jesus was teaching His first followers. After dinner Jesus took a basin of water and began to wash the feet of his students and taught them life principles about stooping, cleansing and serving.
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3/27/2011
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Betrayed!
John 13:18-30
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Relationships can withstand an enormous amount of pressure, but betrayal is sure to end most. The old English word means to hand over or to deliver. Think of it: while Jesus was about to deliver the world from sin and its destruction, Judas was about to deliver the Savior over to His enemies. If you've ever felt betrayed by someone, this study will have special application to you.
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4/10/2011
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A Brand New Way of Life!
John 13:31-35
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To follow Jesus is to have a brand new way of life. When these twelve men sitting around the dinner table started hanging around Jesus, they had no idea just how new and different their lives would become. At this final meal on that last night, they were still learning just how new their lives should be. (Jesus can still teach old dogs new tricks!) As present-day followers of Christ, let’s consider three aspects of life that become new once we become His disciples.
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4/17/2011
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F.A.Q.
John 13:36-38
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An old Persian Proverb reads, "It's harder to ask a sensible question than to supply a sensible answer." Many times our questions to God are reactive—based on a sort of knee-jerk reaction to painful circumstances. Peter asked Jesus two questions of this sort. But whenever we ask God questions we must hang around to get the supplied answers. The questions Peter asked are similar to ones we frequently ask. Let's consider and apply Jesus' outstanding answer
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5/1/2011
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A Theology for Messy Lives
John 14:1-6
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Life can be pretty messy sometimes: plans fail, people leave, money diminishes, and taxes rise. There are plenty of reasons to be troubled these days but there are better reasons not to be! Life was about to get real messy for those disciples around that Jerusalem dinner table. At times like that, there are some basic instructions we need to fall back on so our hearts inside us won't be swallowed up by the mess around us.
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5/8/2011
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How Can I Know God?
John 14:7-11
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What a thought—that a mere human can know God! The agnostic asserts this is impossible. The atheist insists that the very idea is an arrogant and purely metaphysical pursuit. But one of the reasons Jesus came was to reveal God's character and nature clearly and perfectly! Let's consider two roadblocks to knowing God and four resources that help us know Him better.
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5/29/2011
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Privileges of God's Employees
John 14:12-14
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Most companies have benefits for employees: things like overtime pay, health insurance, and sick pay. In 2 Corinthians 6:1, Paul calls us "workers together with Him" (NLT renders it "God's partners"). We have been called to a high and lofty task—to be His representatives here on earth. You might say we're part of the "family business." So what has God called us to do? And how has He provided for us in terms of resources? In short, what are the benefits of being God's employees?
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6/5/2011
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Four Part Harmony
John 14:15-18
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Some of the best moments on American Idol aren't the solo performances, but when all the singers join together and blend their voices in harmony. There's nothing sweeter than well-trained voices blended together in first, thirds, and fifths. Spiritual harmony is much the same—when believers blend with the triune Godhead there is an alignment that results in a deep sense of fulfillment. And what is the note we are to sing in this spiritual song? It is the note of loving obedience!
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6/12/2011
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Promises, Promises!
John 14:19-26
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Someone once mused, "Promises may get friends, but it's performance that keeps them." No wonder God has so many friends! He makes promises and keeps them. On this final night that Jesus spent with His friends, as both sorrow and confusion assailed them, Jesus made several promises that would sustain them in the days, months, and years ahead. What about you? Will you dare to trust the promises of God? It's the only way to see if they really work.
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6/26/2011
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Peace Where You Least Expect It
John 14:27-31
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On countless American gravestones this epitaph could be written: Hurried, Worried, Buried. What a sad way to live! Fear, anxiety, and distress have literally become part of our national culture. Odd, isn't it? Though we have such abundance in this country, most don't experience abundant life—especially as Jesus described it. Sure, everyone has his or her share of trouble and anxieties, but let's consider one of the greatest gifts Jesus gives to followers—the gift of peace!
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7/3/2011
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Life-Lessons from Grape-Growers - Part 1
John 15:1-7
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My parents grew grapes on their little plot of land in Southern California. There weren't many, but enough for me to know that getting fruit at harvest depended on three things: the solid connection of branch to vine, the vigilant care of the workers, and the consistency of those things over time. Jesus, walking with the disciples toward the Garden of Gethsemane, gives life lessons to His men using the familiar example of growing grapes. With that analogy in mind, let's consider the three ways our relationship to God is described by Jesus.
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7/10/2011
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Life-Lessons From Grape-Growers - Part 2
John 15:8-11
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As we grow older, we mature. In our spiritual lives we should become spiritually mature. The Bible calls it being fruitful. Spiritual fruit is the indication that we're truly connected to Christ. But there are others, as we'll see today. Last week we examined how the relationship with Christ is described (Connected to Christ, Cared for by the Father, and Consistent Over Time). Today let's consider how this relationship is demonstrated. When we're rightly connected to God we'll be:
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7/17/2011
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What a Friend We Have in Jesus
John 15:12-17
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We can get through almost anything in life with friends to share our sorrow and divide our grief. A Chinese word for friend is peng-yu and it has a much fuller meaning than in English. It means "one who brings completion and sums up beauty." The ancient Hebrews saw true friendship as an ideal to pursue and a blessing to enjoy. In these final moments with His followers, Jesus uses a most tender term for their relationship—they were friends! What does that friendship look like?
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7/24/2011
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Why Does Everyone Hate Me?
John 15:18-25
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There is a flipside to being a friend of Jesus. That's true of any friendship. Whenever you ally yourself and make friends with someone, you will incur some enemies because of it. Likewise, some who don't like Jesus won't like us either—and we discover there are quite a few who don't! Let's find out why, and how we can raise our heads high and prevail.
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7/31/2011
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Two Thirds Is Not Enough
John 15:26-16:15
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We love God the Father who created us and God the Son who redeemed us, but what about the Holy Spirit? We hear His name a lot, but who is He? What exactly does He do? What does He want from us? The Holy Spirit is the "quiet One," active in the life of believers but sometimes not acknowledged as being vital. Oswald Chambers noted, "The Holy Spirit cannot be located as a guest in a house. He invades everything!" Today, we consider Him and His role in our lives.
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8/7/2011
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The Holy Hound of Heaven
John 16:5-11
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Having understood Who the Holy Spirit is (Person not just power; Deity not just dignitary) we now find out what He does in the world of unbelieving people. Since the greatest gift God ever gave to the world was His only Son (John 3:16) it stands to reason that the greatest sin one can commit is to reject the Son (John 16:9). How does the Holy Spirit both sentence the world as prosecutor and lead people away from judgment? And what role do we play in all of this?
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8/14/2011
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When Sorrow Turns to Joy
John 16:16-22
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The flamboyant baseball-legend-turned-preacher Billy Sunday stated, "If you have no joy in your religion, there's a leak in your Christianity somewhere!" That's not to say that life is all laughs. Hardly! Jesus anticipated His followers' deep sorrow. He predicted it. But He also assured them that their experience of sadness would be eclipsed by a greater experience of lasting joy.
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8/21/2011
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How to Send Knee-Mail
John 16:23-28
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Today you can be anywhere in the world and send or receive messages digitally via email. Sending email has eclipsed traditional mail for years now. Sending knee-mail is similar (you can be anywhere)—but with better results! You don't need wifi or a modem; you don't need an electronic device or a computer. Before Jesus left His disciples, He wanted them to get "online" with the Father and stay connected through the simple yet powerful means of prayer.
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9/4/2011
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I've Fallen, but I CAN Get Up!
John 16:29-33
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I would rather fail in a cause that will ultimately succeed than to succeed in a cause that will ultimately fail! So said President Woodrow Wilson. Our Lord knows us better than we know ourselves and is not surprised by our weaknesses. We all fall and fail, even though we may commit to standing strong. What can we learn about ourselves and our God in such valleys? Even more, what kind of restoration can we hope for after our bout with failure?
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9/18/2011
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Holy Eavesdropping
John 17:1
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Imagine if you could sit and listen to Jesus talking to His Father—what would Jesus say to Him? In this prayer (which comprises all of John 17) we step onto holy ground. His instruction to His followers is now over. His preparation of them is done. He now turns His attention heavenward to talk directly to His Father about Himself, about His disciples, and about His future church. This prayer is unique for four reasons:
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9/25/2011
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The Gifts That Keep On Giving
John 17:1-5
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It's possible to give without loving but it's impossible to love without giving— Richard Braunstein. Part of God's nature is that He shows His love by His generous gifts. "For God so loved the world that He gave..." (John 3: 16). Here, in the opening lines of Jesus' prayer to His Father, He requests a gift from His Father and acknowledges three other gifts—two given to the Son by the Father, and one given by the Son to us. These are the gifts that keep on giving!
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10/2/2011
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How Followers Are Formed
John 17:6-10
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Okay, so which is it? Did I choose God or did God choose me? Perspective is everything! If you look at it from the divine viewpoint, you'll say God chose. If you're looking at it from a human viewpoint, you'll say we do the choosing. But why can't both be true? I suppose you can sit around, scratch your head, and try to ponder such imponderables, or you can sigh happily and say with a grateful heart, "I'm elated that He chose me!" But you should also ask yourself another question while you're at it—What am I going to do about it now?
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10/9/2011
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Missionaries or Monasteries?
John 17:11-19
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How can you leave your mark on the world? Most everyone wants to be remembered for some contribution made to society. Well, Jesus wants us to do that, too. In fact, He prays for that. God wants you to make an imprint on life's road so people will say, "Hey look! God's kids were here!" We can't do that by isolating ourselves. We have marching orders!
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10/23/2011
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Listen Up! Jesus is Praying—for YOU!
John 17:20-26
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What's God's general will for you? Look no further than this text! Now as we listen to Jesus pray for us, we also find what our priorities in life are to be. These words are the "Last Will and Testament" of Jesus Christ. So pay close attention and you'll get it right from the heart of Jesus Himself.
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10/30/2011
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I've Got It Under Control
John 18:1-11
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Sometimes life appears to be spinning out of control. Events happen we didn't plan for, people do things we didn't expect, we find ourselves in places we never thought we'd be in. But though you can't always control what happens to you, you are responsible for what happens in you (attitudes and responses). What do we really believe about God's authority and power in our lives? Is there ever a time when God can't say, "I've got it under control"?
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11/20/2011
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The Darkest Night!
John 18:12-27
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On a dark spring night in Jerusalem, it seemed everyone was against Jesus Christ. The religious system had long been opposed to and jealous of His burgeoning ministry. The mock trial designed to get rid of Jesus was only going through the technical motions to achieve their end. And Peter, Jesus' closest friend, was in a downward process of disassociating himself from Him. But in the midst of the darkest night, the sunrise of God's grace was beginning to shine!
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1/8/2012
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A King, a Kingdom, and a Courtroom
John 18:28-40
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What kind of a King is Jesus, and what is the nature of His Kingdom? And what does it mean to pray, "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done"? These are the questions faced in the text before us. As Jesus nears the cross, a nation denies His reign over them, while a Roman ruler questions Him and then cynically admits his own confusion and despair.
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1/22/2012
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How Do You Handle Jesus?
John 19:1-16
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Pontius Pilate was like every other person who has ever lived. The fundamental question of his life was, "What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" (Matthew 27:22). Everyone has to deal with Jesus, to decide about Him and His claims. In one setting, we can see how one man (Pilate) was influenced to deal with Jesus in three different ways. These three ways are how many people today still choose to deal with Jesus Christ.
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1/29/2012
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Execution of a King
John 19:17-22
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Regicide is the official word used for the execution of a king. Most countries reserve the stiffest of punishments for subjects or assassins who would kill their royalty. John records the execution of the King of kings on a Roman cross outside the city of Jerusalem. But the rest of Scripture reveals that it was more than an execution; it was sacrifice that brought salvation. The next few weeks, we will consider the cross in depth and what it means for the world and for us.
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2/5/2012
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The Cross on the Billboard of Eternity
John 19:23-24
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Did you know that the cross of Christ was always God's plan from the very beginning? It wasn't a reaction to mankind's rejection of His Son, nor was it an accommodation to a Roman and Jewish miscarriage of justice. It was according to "the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God" (Acts 2:23). Today we will take a journey back and connect the dots of God's unfolding plan of the cross throughout the ages.
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2/12/2012
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How to Love Your Mother
John 19:25-27
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A mother's love for her children is distinctive and irreplaceable. To watch a child suffer is crushing and almost intolerable for any mom. In this touching scene revealed in three verses, we not only see Mary, the mother of Jesus, at the foot of her Son's cross, we also learn how Jesus cared for His mother. Even from His place of extreme suffering, Jesus was thinking of others and His love for Mary is noteworthy for us.
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2/19/2012
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iThirst
John 19:28-29
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The world is filled with Apple's i-technology, which delivers on its promise to make connectivity and information readily accessible. But there is a deeper need within everyone, a thirst to be right with God, that no app or gadget can fulfill. How ironic that Jesus, the great Thirst-Quencher, would Himself be thirsty. It was part of the great exchange—His temporary thirst enabled yours to be quenched eternally!
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2/26/2012
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It's Done!
John 19:30
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While Jesus was doing His greatest work, He uttered His greatest words! Through the excruciating pain of a tormenting death, Jesus gave the most meaningful statements worthy of careful consideration. John records three of Jesus' seven statements uttered while on the cross. The sixth—and perhaps the most hopeful—is the one we consider today.
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3/4/2012
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Death Under Control
John 19:31-37
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Watching someone you love die is always a heart-wrenching experience, especially when the victim experiences great suffering. For the apostle John, the death of Jesus was likewise difficult-but he saw a glimmer of hope, a silver lining in the dark clouds of death. This death was long ago anticipated and was being carefully monitored from the control center of heaven. Today we see why that's important.
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3/11/2012
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Disciples on the Graveyard Shift
John 19:38-42
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You can find an unending supply of books, pamphlets, and articles on discipleship in Christian churches and bookstores. Many of them will be predictably regimented and conventional, giving solid biblical references and calling Christians to ardently follow Christ—all great stuff. But not everyone's spiritual journey is identical. Some disciples are unexpected, and so is their story. Here are two disciples of Jesus who've been in the background and now step forward to care for the body of Christ after His death. Let's allow their story to inspire us.
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3/18/2012
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A Not-Quite-Empty Tomb
John 20:1-10
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There was a lot of confusion happening on the first Easter morning. The resurrection had happened but it was neither expected nor accepted by all at first. Mary Magdalene ran to tell the disciples what she saw, and they ran to check out her report. What they saw was compelling evidence of a resurrection, but only one of them really connected all the dots. Let's see why.
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3/25/2012
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Hope Rekindled
John 20:11-18
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When people grieve, they usually run the gamut of the emotional spectrum, from denial to bargaining to despair to anger to eventually hope. Mary Magdalene was in hopeless despair as she stood weeping by the grave of Jesus. The resurrected Christ deals tenderly with this woman as he reveals Himself to her and conveys hope for her future. Let's glean some principles for dealing with brokenhearted people.
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4/1/2012
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From Closed Doors to the Open Road
John 20:19-23
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Our relationship with Jesus isn't a secret to be hoarded; it is a story to be heralded! The disciples were seated behind closed doors (sounds like a lot of churches). Jesus wanted them out, giving away what they had been given. Let's see how these early followers went from panic to peace, from perplexity to purpose, and from protection to power. It's a great journey. Are you up for it?
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4/8/2012
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Rise Up!
John 20:24-31
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The apostle Thomas has been noted for his skeptical attitude. In fact, we refer to a skeptic as a "doubting Thomas." In this message from John 20, we consider four ways Thomas was able to rise up from doubt and become a joyful follower of Jesus.
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4/15/2012
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Gone Fishing! (Relating to a Risen & Returning Lord)
John 21:1-14
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I am not a great fisherman. I don't do it often and when I catch something, it's pure luck! My dad was the opposite—he loved it and was great at it. At least seven of Jesus' disciples were fishermen and here we see them plying their trade after the resurrection. Some beautiful lessons can be discovered about how to live while we wait for Jesus to come back for us.
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4/22/2012
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I Failed! Now What?
John 21:15-19
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One of life's harshest realities is failure. The very sound of the word seems harsh to our sensibilities. We even harbor the age-old axiom, "Failure is not an option!" But failure is an option; in fact, it's a certainty. But discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping-stones to victory. In a post-resurrection interview, Jesus restores Peter with a fresh commission. If you have failed in your spiritual experience (and who hasn't), these principles will inspire.
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4/29/2012
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Final Instructions
John 21:20-25
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As John closes off his singular testimony of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, he features some closing words of Jesus and Peter about himself (John). These final sentences provide some instructions for us as we await Christ's return. How should we live in light of who Jesus is, what Jesus did, and when Jesus will return?
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There are 95 additional messages in this series.
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