Uncommitted! - Part A

It's been estimated that our knowledge is increasing at such a rate increasing at the rate of 2000 pages a minute and it is what it means if you were to read 24 hours from age 21 age 70 and you could retain everything you read, you would be 1 million years behind could not keep up with the rate of knowledge that is growing what John wants us to know is that Jesus didn't just stop them. Just don't add up facts and figures.

He knew the soul men and women woke up to critically Skip wicked division back in 2014 Jennings became a fixture of the truth.

You showed your exactly what the wind 74 times in a row and eventually won a total of $3 million, all because he knew the answer to random trivia question for this case the question the random trivia answers. Can Jennings knows a lot of stuff. Even he is it a true nodal effect is only one person could really be called a no and he used his knowledge not to win game shows, but doing so will take a look at that today here in Québec Skip weekend edition. First, this update from the connect, Skip resource Center is your personal Bible study time, frustrating direction.

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Listen to this from skintight think all of us.

We have trouble with certain parts of the Bible. Sometimes it's tough, but exposure to the five consistent exposure to the Bible. I would add on a daily basis with the consistent desire to obey it.

Do more for you than any other thing that I can think? Take the mystery studying Scripture $25 and history I don't have to be afraid. I think securely/copy turn once again to the gospel of John chapter 2. Let's join skintight features a few obscure fact for most of us knowledge is supreme, absolutely supreme. There are certain things we need to know to do our jobs and do them well.

But there's another type of knowledge that isn't all that important to know.

It's called trivia it's out there, but nobody really cares. Except to go all. That's about all of for example I bet you didn't know that no piece of paper can be folded over seven times.

I know some of you say all challenge that you go home try.

I did. I bet you didn't know the donkeys kill more people annually than plane crashes. I bet you didn't know that mosquito repellent don't repel. They hide you the spray blocks mosquito sensors so they don't know you're there. I bet you didn't know the doctors or dentists recommend that your toothbrush be 6 feet away from the toilet to avoid airborne particles that result from the flush. I know that's TMI too much information, right.

Like I said I bet you didn't know that I bet you didn't know the liquid inside young coconuts can be used as a substitute for blood plasma, legal, I bet you didn't know you burn more calories sleeping and watching television and releasing his sleekest snorer you talk your turnover. You don't do much when you watch television.

I bet you didn't know that a Boeing 747's wingspan is longer than the Wright brothers first flight. I bet you didn't know that American Airlines save $40,000 in 1987 by just eliminating one olives from each salad served in first class. I bet you didn't know that Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise. I bet you didn't know that apples not caffeine or more efficient at waking you up in the morning. I know you can eat apples tomorrow. I bet you didn't know that most dust particles in your house are made from dead skin. I bet you didn't know Michael Jordan makes more money from Nike annually than all the Nike factory workers in Malaysia combined. I bet you didn't know that it takes 3000 cows to supply the NFL with enough leather or a year's supply of footballs and I bet you didn't know that 35% of the people who use personal ads for dating are already married. Shocking but true. Most everyone doesn't know those things, but can you imagine being around somebody who knew everything, everything, even what you think. Even what you think what that brings us to this section, we discover that Jesus knew everything and knew all about people and all about their motives and others that great story in the Gospels were they bring to Jesus, a paralytic he looks down at him and Jesus is son, be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven, the leaders in the room. The religious leaders hear this and are just thinking these thoughts there thinking this guy is blaspheming nobody can forgive sins but God, the Bible says Jesus turns to them knowing their thoughts and says why do you think evil in your hearts, and can you imagine being around a guy like that you go to Jesus as your Lord.

I was thinking this is not human thinking that I know what you are thinking and I know why you're telling you, it could be unnerving. Lifesaving versus that were about to read verses 23, 24 and 25 just those three this morning I save them because they are so unusual when we read them.

They give us pause. They make us evaluate our own faith. So let's look at verse 23 through 25 now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs which he did.

But Jesus did not commit himself to them because he knew all men and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for he knew what was in man, there's three stories in chapter 2 we cover to this is the last one. The first is the marriage in Cana.

The second is the cleansing of the temple in Jerusalem, and the third is the short little paragraph. It is an editorial statement summation of what happened during that one week at Passover, when Jesus went to Jerusalem, and all three of these stories. There is a statement of faith that is given.

For example, the marriage supper of Cana in verse 11 in chapter 2 it says the disciples believed in him. That was the result in the cleansing of the temple.

The next story in chapter 2 it says that the disciples believed the Scripture and what Jesus said. Now we have in verse 23.

A statement of faith by the crowds, they believed in him.

What is unusual is Jesus response to their belief. It was not favorable. And it's because of what he knew he knew everything and he knew everyone that's one of John's .1 of his points is that Jesus was omniscient know it's been estimated that our knowledge today is increasing at such a rate effective increasing at the rate of 2000 pages a minute and it is what it means if you were to read 24 hours a day from age 21 to age 70 and you could retain everything you read, you would be 1 1/2 million years behind when you were done, you could not keep up with the rate of knowledge that is growing but what John wants us to know is that Jesus didn't just know stuff didn't just note data, facts and figures, but he knew the soul of men and women, and he knew their motivations. So in these three verses this morning. Here's how were going to approach it with a notice of three elements that John brings up when you look at the clues the unmistakable clues is signs. We want to look at the under committed crowd. They believed in him and then the un-committed Christ in verse 24 and 25 if you look in verse 23 at one word is the word sign get used to that word John likes it.

17 times in this book you will use the term signs same eon in Greek it means miraculous sign a miraculous sign.

So here's the deal. There were at least eight days that Jesus was in Jerusalem the feast of Passover and the feast of unleavened bread, combine one large national party. It was the biggest spiritual party of the nation that brought people from everywhere crowded into Jerusalem. Evidently Jesus during that time was performing signs, miracles. They were probably a lot because it says that many of them believe many people believe there's the frustrating part. There's no details given about the signs didn't say how many he did, where he did them. What he did or the people that receive them, and it's frustrating for the Bible student because we want to know more information, but not one Gospel writer gives us any more details.

Whatever they were. It brought a lot of TR on Jesus a lot of publicity. I know that I know that because chapter 3 verse one says, there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.

This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. They were the kind of miraculous signs that got people's attention and gave him publicity in the limelight. The spotlight is on altogether 37 miracles are recorded by Matthew Mark Luke and John. The Jesus performed amazing signs.

However, the whole Bible's filled with miracles right from the beginning to the end. The Bible opens with a miracle.

The creation of the world. The Bible closes with a miracle. The creation of the new heaven and a new earth.

Here's a problem.

However, when it comes to signs. It seems that we have one of three tendencies with the miraculous number one there is a tendency to over naturalize miracles. You know, we say things like, will every baby that is born is a miracle in every sunrise is a miracle.

Every sunset is a miracle to find a parking space in the mall at Christmas time is a miracle and define the exact amount of change that you needed is a miracle. We over naturalize and we call everything that happens every day. Miracles that's true, you and I can cause a sunrise or sunset, but these are naturally daily occurring things that are not the miraculous is a second tendency and that is to explain them away and typically this is what the unbelieving world us.

They look at our definition of a miracle and say these are just primitive interpretations of natural occurrences by people who are ignorant and and steeped in their traditions and in the all sorts of beliefs that really aren't concrete that is been the posture of the unbelieving world by philosophers all the way back from Celsus to porphyry to Apollonius the more modern term, Spinoza, Hume, if you have philosophy courses you know those names and end on one hand we go. Okay, that's typical we would expect the world to say that what you would expect and what we find is Bible commentators and even preachers wanting to do that with miracles.

Explain them away. For example, did you know that I read a couple different books.

Several actually where the miracle of the children of Israel crossing the Red Sea and then the Egyptians being killed by the same city they've explained it this way.

It really wasn't called the Red Sea it was called the Sea of Reeds or the read to see in the read CD was simply bulrushes and water was about 18 inches deep and so the children of Israel across the Sea of Reeds simply by waiting through the water walking through 18 inches of water, not a miracle at all course, they failed to explain how the entire Egyptian army was drowned in 18 inches of water.

They just kinda Skip over that part where Jonah and the whale they go. Come on, that's just a myth that doesn't happen is like any fish story in a fish tend to grow every time you tell the story didn't happen.

I have a set of commentaries in my library by a great scholar but a great scholar who had problems with miracles, his name was William Barclay and he likes to explain them away. Example the miracle of the feeding of the 5000 by Jesus. He says that when America what really happened is everybody brought their lunch that day but they were selfish. They didn't want to bring it out.

They were hiding it like wrapped up until one little boy stepped forward and takes his lunch out to share with people and everybody felt moved by the compassion and love of this child, and they all shared their lunch with each other.

That's what he says or Jesus walking on the water in the New Testament with the disciples were in the boat. No Barclay says about that as well.

It was late at night. In fact, there was a full moon out and you can see things very well and the winds often drive the boats in the Sea of Galilee for the northern shore and so it's close to the northern shore and Jesus simply comes walking to them in the surf like 6 inches of water walking on the beach and then into the surf, but it looked like he was actually walking on the water sir, you have a Bible commentator having a huge problem with miracles that puzzles me because here we are we human beings in the 1950s, we can make a nuclear submarine 33 tons of metal that can go down and up 3500 feet in the water. We send in the 1960s people to land on the moon.

That's us and so here we are willing to attribute much greater power and efficiency to humans than to God. There's 1/3 tendency.

The tendency here is toward hype hyping up your miracles.

In other words, your miracle can happen today to send in that money and you'll have your miracle have you experienced your daily miracle in all this does is cheapen the whole idea of what the miraculous really is. Jesus performed signs. Nicodemus saw that and so did everybody else. According to Webster dictionary a miraculous sign. Is this an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs.

There's my definition of the miracles of divine work wrought with divine power for a divine purpose. And Jesus did a lot of them in only 37 are recorded and all the ones he did during this week are summed up in just a little statement like this, let me just kind of pressed this a little bit further.

We look at things in Samara but think of it from God's perspective. See God is not a prisoner to his own laws. Yes, there are natural laws that are in place in our universe, but God can supersede those laws and enact another set of laws that shouldn't surprise us. We even do that if you were to stand on a runway look at a 747 and think how heavy that thing is.

And think of that thinking put 500 people in it. I carrying 45,000 pounds of overpack luggage unit in unit tell me that things and get off the ground and go halfway across the world. The law of gravity would say there's no way that's gonna happen. Nothing is earthbound because of the law of nature, gravity. So what we do, we simply enact higher laws to supersede the law of gravity. One is aerodynamics. The other is thruster propulsion you get air rapidly flowing over the surface of a foil and creates left you get jets that propel it forward and all of that together will lift up that she huge aircraft.

So we read that dead people come back to life and Lane people can walk in blind people can see and that people can hear what we have is God simply enacting another set of higher laws over the laws that he put in place we call it a miracle see some the really help me in this was an example I saw I had a friend years ago who in the basement of his house and Huntington Beach California at a train set. When I say a train set the basement the entire basement was his playroom for his trains. He was an adult. It was the homeowner.

He had a village constructed with homes and trees and buildings and little people was massive and it was all controlled from afar with a remote control, but every now and then he would step into that world himself and reach into that little city and move something around or put that the train car back on the track and get it in the direction and I just served to give me a little example of what a miracle is as natural laws. Every now and then God will intervene into natural law and enact fires. As with everything else Jesus ability to know it all's miraculous displays all have the same to help us believe. It wasn't about winning game shows are being popular, causing the Twitter verse to explode. It was all simply about getting people to believe in him and how we could change lives. That's just as true today as when Jesus walked this earth will continue with her series believe 879 but before we go today here skipping lingo with the closing thought when you you now. I think when we start out as Christians, we are just so wide-eyed and everything is brand-new and you know where where fully and it heart, soul, mind, you know, the whole deal can have a tendency that as we get older in the Lord and more mature as Christians that we get a punch. I had knowledge and maybe sometimes it's not getting to the heart is much are being expressed and in such a way so you know, how can we make sure that doesn't happen and that we not just become puffed up in our knowledge.

Think of the crowd in Jesus day which the study talks about who believed in him. When they saw the signs that he performed. But Jesus did not commit himself to them because he knew what was in man so it's almost as if to say they believed in him. He didn't believe in them so he could tell the difference between saving faith and just faith in the benefits they were believing in his person. They didn't believe his claims, but they wanted the benefits that he promised to give them and how do we avoid that.

Well, to get from head to heart as you say, which is sort of an American way of putting it is to obey when we find a principal to say I'm to do that. I want to put that into practice. Some people look at obedience is sort of like emotionless. You know, so I don't feel like it in its high progress. If I don't feel like it notes not obedience is obedience and I find we've all found.

I think when you obey. Eventually you feel like you links follow the feelings or the caboose and is the obedience that drives the train and if you just say I'm gonna do that God gives you such grace to work becomes something you want to do because you enter into such a pleasing relationship with him and the payoff is far outweighs any of the pain and I just think that passage that I cannot tip my hat to earlier knowledge puffs up, but love builds up an Internet obedience that we do express love. Jesus said if you love me and keep my commandments, and tested that 18 inch move from the hand of the heart. You know, really, is the shift of yes Lord you now do what you asked me to do that we be dealers, not hearers only do it and don't forget to contact us for a copy of today's teaching it's available on CD for just four dollars plus shipping.

When you contact us at 1-800-922-1888 or when you visit connect with script.com. Thanks so much for joining us for we hope you join us again next time. As we continue our verse by verse study in the Gospel of John right here and connect with weekend edition the presentation of connection