John Chapter 10:30-42

We tend to forget what we should remember which of the remember what we should forget consider certain things in your life that you need to remember those spiritual milestones when and where you got safe when you were baptized when you just radically fell in love with Jesus you need to remember those things I just got thinking back and remember what I mean just sit and ponder and going. Remember, that was such a sweet, sweet season. Welcome to cross the bridge with David McGee. David is the senior pastor of the bridge in Kernersville, North Carolina.

You run to God when things get bad or do you run away from God. Also, does the Bible say about God's goodness today is Pastor David McGee teaches a second part of the son of God from John chapter 10 will find the answers to these questions and more so now McGee part two of his teaching, the son of God. John chapter 10 verse 30 I and my father are one.

This is a reference back to the Shema, will we call it the shallots. Deuteronomy 64 and chapter 6 verse 45 from the Hebrew word, the first Hebrew word is Shema Shema Israel. It is right L Elohim, Yahweh Elohim guys they a HUD meeting the Lord our God is one God, now and if you remember there's another clue about the Trinity way back in book of Genesis.

When God said, let us make let us plural make man in our image interesting and it ceases. I and my father are one. So he's claiming deity, so less see what their reaction is verse 31 then the Jews took up stones again. The study sucks there. They are letting us know that Jesus said something really important concert picking up rocks again and keep in mind these are little bitty rocks. These are like big rocks. Okay verse 31, 32 Jesus answered them in many good works I've shown you for my father. Which of those works do you stone me. The Jews answered and sent for good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy because you being a man make yourself God while the Jewish people.

In this chapter, the Jewish leadership.

They understood something that some people today miss and that's that Jesus did claim to be God in the Bible. He claimed to be God that what you do, that is between you and the Lord, but understand that is part of his claim, you can't say what he never claimed to be God will yes he did. He just did it in this verse right here and in many other verses.

So what you do that you know what's interesting is the accusations that they made of him here there saying that Jesus who was a man made himself out to be God interesting reason is interesting is is backwards is backwards. Jesus was and is God who made himself to be a man so they could walk this earth and lay down his life for us it's a Hebrew Scripture concept is called the Goel is the Hebrew word kinsman redeemer and some of the laws of the kinsman redeemer include that you have to be a relative of the one you want to redeem so Jesus became a man, and walked among us, not half man half God effort.

People say that no 100% God 100% man wanted to do that he did that Jesus became a man, so we could become children of God.

Jesus became a man, so we could become children of God. Jesus did that so that we could do something that we can scarcely comprehend that we as sinful men and women can stand righteous before a holy God. Something that we had dared not dream outside of that is been said Jesus paid a debt he did not owe because we owed a debt that we could not pay. That's why I did it. Verse 34 Jesus answered them and said, is it not written in your loss that you are God's. If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came in the Scripture cannot be broken. Do you say of him whom the Lord sanctified and sent into the world you're blaspheming because I said I am the son of God no look back at verse 35 Jesus is something very interesting here, he says, to whom the word of God came. What was he referring back to he was referring back to the Hebrew Scriptures and what was economy he was calling the word of God.

It's important to understand Jesus validates and verifies the Bible is the word of God and the word of God validates and verifies Jesus as the son of God, so you cannot say will I believe the Bible, but I don't believe that Jesus was the son of God, you can't say that and neither can you say wobbly.

Jesus is a son of God, but I'm really not sure about the Bible.

Jesus called it the word of God.

If you believe Jesus you believe the Bible. If you believe the Bible you believe Jesus is not a cosmic salad bar where you can pick and choose well and listen ugly little of that truth. But the rest you can't do that can't do that you shouldn't do that now. The word here in in the Hebrew Scriptures is Elohim that some of us know that as one of the names of God and neighbor Scripture. But it's also the Hebrew word for for a judge or an official okay and in this case that's that's sort of what Jesus is alluding to in Exodus chapter 22 verse eight it says if the thief is not found in the master of the house shall be brought to the judges that were judges there is Elohim to see whether he has put his hand into his neighbor's goods. For any kind of trespass whether concerns lock stock you sheep or clothing or any kind of lost thing which another claims to be his calls in both parties shall come before the judges and whomever the judges condemn shall pay double to his neighbor.

Again, judges, judges, those three judges and there is the Hebrew word Elohim. Okay, so in the Hebrew Scriptures. They are called gods and notice it's a little G so little G is not a big G and and and then in Psalm 82 though Elohim is used in MLSs and then they the judges they will die like men so obviously it's not a term distinctly of deity and what Jesus is saying is that you know what if they call judges, Elohim, how can it be blasphemy to call me God when I'm doing these things when I'm doing the works of the father is something they were missing. It's interesting to look at the names of God. And what's really interesting is to see all the names that are used for God in the Hebrew Scriptures and similar titles are used for Jesus in the New Testament.

There's a whole lot of listed just a few right here Yahweh. I am we have a high am statements God Alpha and Omega, Lord, Savior King judge light rock redeemer, our righteousness, Shepherd creator, giver of life giver of sin, our healer, omnipresent and omniscient, omnipotent, preexistent and eternal.

That's just a few of the names that Jesus is given in the New Testament to correspond to the names God the father is given in the Hebrew Scriptures because Jesus Christ is God. There's no doubt about it there's no doubt that that is what this book teaches now maybe using your gold again. Well, there's a lot of people out there that are kinda confused on this really central issue of Christianity in verse 36 is do you say of him in the father, sanctified and sent into the world you're blaspheming because of said I am the son of God.

Verse 30 services. If I do not do the works of my father do not believe me but if I do, though you do not believe me, believe the works that you may know and believe that the father is in me and I in him, think about this Jesus said I am the resurrection and the life and he brought somebody back from the dead. He said I am the light of the world and he healed somebody that have been born blind. These are all things that are believable. Jesus said I am dying for your sins. And I will be resurrected again and anyway he was raised from the dead three days later, an amazing thing. If I do not do the works of my father did not believe me me take this first second, let's talk about this father is it's mentioned several times in the Scripture, the father, some of us have a bad image of father God we have an inaccurate image of father God. Now maybe because our earthly father was less than perfect.

A lot of us think will you know basically in the Hebrew Scriptures and Old Testament, God was really mad and really angry and went around zapping people know to put up the ground and I did all these horrible things he was really mad and and so then you know Jesus died and he was okay with that. You got a bad picture of God, but our concept of the father were told in Exodus 35, 34, verse five said now the Lord descended McLeod and stood with him there proclaim the name of the Lord and the Lord passed the foreman proclaimed the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, bounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and fourth generation not getting get into the last aspect talk about the goodness of God, look at this is God right here merciful and gracious, long-suffering, bounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. That's father God.

That's God and some of us have a really twisted notion of God the father. We quote John 316 a lot, but if you ever really thought about what it says.

John 316 says for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son who's that talking about talking about God the father, God the father gave his son to you while we recognize them and we should recognize the sacrifice of Jesus recognize the sacrifice of father recognize how precious you are to them and how he is so good and so merciful and so, it's so important for us to realize this because so many of us have been the object of bad teaching or maybe no teaching in regards to God the father and we have an inaccurate picture of who God the father is.

We have to be secure in the love of the father, and you can be secure and love the father you're listening to Pastor David McGee on cross the bridge.

He'll be right back with more just a moment, but I want to remind you of the free resources available to you on cross the bridge.com there's a team of hundreds of people that will pray for somebody to be saved. You have a loved one that needs to know Jesus as Savior.

You need people to pray for them. You need someone to present God's word to them every day representing God's virtual here on cross the bridge with Pastor David McGee. We can pray for them as well. Just by simply going to cross the bridge.com and click on the pray for the lost button. All you need to do is put in the first names of the people you love, that need to know Jesus as Savior. Click on submit and immediately hundreds of people begin praying for your lost loved ones.

What an awesome way to bring your loved ones to Jesus. Here's a word from associate pastor DA Brown about wanting a minute. Pray for some our listeners in these cities and why he had a lanai city Lee, who and also Ammon assets in Boise and burly Idaho God, we thank you that we get the pray for these listeners today we pray that they will be encouraged and remember how much you love them, Lord of some of them are sick.

We pray that you please heal them from the top of their head to the bottom of their toes.

Lord, we pray that you would equip them and empower them to share their testimony of your goodness to other people.

In Jesus name, amen, amen. Thank you brother and now get back to David McGee as he continues teaching verse by verse.

When we were traveling we were in Texas one time and we were at a hotel when we are traveling to minister and you know we were out by the hotel pool and the kids are planning they were much smaller than they are now in the JD was was about two years old and and he was getting a big kick out of running in from like 10 feet away and then he couldn't swim a lack did have a slowdown or anything but he was get a big kick out of just running at the pool you known and fallen in and that he would catch and you know and we were just having a blast and Nora was having a coronary in them. That is going to drown these coming that's what we do right are the fathers invite the kids onto adventures and the mothers are worried they're gonna die in the process recommended that is very much parenting writer so one of the unit. Nora said something but I can't member but turned to her turn to one of the other kids you know. But I turned because I said something or did something and then you know heard Nora due to high decibel, thing you know not turned around and JD was at the bottom of the pool and then so he wasn't there for very long.

Don't meanwhile you do so in a great father their best to an end. So I mean I did student get it, so I picked them up and you know, his eyes were just real widely was very freaked out because father had not been there at the had dropped him and so you know that's that's what's wrong with them today. No help tell you that I messed up and dropped Sheila, the father will never drop you will never get so busy that his eyes not on your were told that he neither slumbers nor sleeps. Who looks over Israel. His eyes are on even now and you can be secure in his life, and you know why that's so important that's more important.

I think than ever. It's got even more important over the last few years, you know why because many of us had a false sense of security. Many of us had a security base. Perhaps government or military. But all that was, shattered a few years ago when September 11 when the impossible happened when the strongest nation on earth, became vulnerable because evil had found a new way to express itself in all sudden.

We didn't feel the security of the nation of the military or of the government like we once had. What happened is a lot of people in that phase, they returned to the recognition of the security of the father. Maybe you were part of that. Or maybe you've come to the Lord. Since then, but there's a security there that you need to experience and you need to understand Ian in the hand of God is a very safe place to be. It's the kind of safety that allows you to live out your life for the Lord without fear of reprisal without fear of what man's going to do or man's gonna say because why because you're in the hand of Almighty God safe in the hands of the Lord who loves you and how often we forget that how often we get confused about that and the enemy comes and goes all now you know you're not safe but seek faith, trust, confidence, hope all those very similar words we talk about hope. As a Christian when I talk about hope I got hope things work out. We talk about hope with an assurance not I hope this will be no hope is and I know this is going to happen. I'm just not sure when we can have that assurance. You can have that security. I hope you are secure in that love.

Hebrews 416 says let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need, come boldly to this is the thing some of us most of us have the tendency to when we stumble when we fall when we encounter pain. We run from God. We run from God. The very being entity deity that can help us through those seasons and we run from him. Consider running to and we need to develop the practice of running to God the father when were her when were in pain when we stumble when we fall, when things are good things are bad of run into the Lord faces a confidence in God's a confidence in God. Verse 38, though you do not believe me, believe the works that you may know and believe that the father is in me and I in him, and therefore they saw again the season but he escaped out of their hand. Verse 40 and he went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing. At first, and there he stayed went back to this place where he was baptized is getting ready and Chapter 11. His life is winding down to see the gospel of John. The majority of it deals with the last week of the life of Jesus, so before he goes into Jerusalem before he goes in the Bethany which is outside of Jerusalem. He pulls back one last, and he goes back to the place that he's baptized. I think he was going back and he was remembered he was thinking.

And it's important for us as believers to have those times last. Life lesson here is to remember your spiritual milestones. Remember, your spiritual milestones set up before I'll say it again, we tend to forget what we should remember we tend to remember what we should forget consider certain things in your life that you need to remember those spiritual milestones when and where you got saved when you were baptized when you just radically fell in love with Jesus you need to remember those things I just cannot think and back and remember, but I mean just sit and pondered and got remember that was such a sweet, sweet season and remember in those terms is God's given us a lot of good things to think about Hackney in the Scripture tells us, whatsoever things are good whatsoever things are pure, think about those things but what do we tend to think about the newspaper the television and radio. Think about the good things that God has told you to think about and given you to think about verse 41, then many came to him and said John performed no sign but all the things that John spoke about this man were true in many believed in him there and you know what, we see that going on here. We see many people coming to faith in Jesus we see people who are really burned out and disillusioned on religion and church inanity come here and hear the truth and receive it. We have people who've long ago written off the church come here and receive the Lord as their Savior maybe you forgot maybe your Christian maybe you've been born again baby and asked the Lord to forgive you of your sins, but maybe you've been in a church.

It was teaching you the got really mad at right now he doesn't really love you because you haven't been very good lately. Hope this morning you're here and what the word of God says to you that God loves you and you're in the center of his hand and being reminded about the everlasting unchanging on wavering on earned love of God. Or perhaps this morning you've never heard some of this stuff before we met. I thought being a Christian was you were had to be so good you had to come to church so often to read your Bible so much and then at some point you know your your your good cut out wager bad and then and then you get in. That's not Christianity. Sad to say it's gonna become what Christianity represents, but it's not the real deal.

That's not what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches that are good will never outweigh are bad. The Bible teaches that if we broke it in one place.

We've broken it off but see when you realize these things is when the impossible comes in the view. When you realize that your goodness is not good enough. That's when hope walks into the room, in the form of Jesus Christ and he says you know what you can never be good enough, but I was perfect and am willing to wrap you with the robe of my righteousness if you only come to me if you will only believe what an amazing amazing offer from the Lord to each and every one of us this morning to realize his love for us to realize his forgiveness for us to realize that in a world gone crazy and all these mixed up changes going on there is on wavering the love of God that you can experience in your life in an Intimate Way, God wants you to experience that he wants you to be reminded of these things, so there's the choice to turn away to accept this offer, print, do you know for sure that your sins have been forgiven.

You can know right now only Legion a short simple prayer simply telling God you're sorry and asking him to help you to live for him. God wants you to pray this prayer so much that he died to give you the opportunity and the ability to ask him to forgive you. Please pray this prayer with me out loud right now. Dear Jesus, I believe you died for me that I could be forgiven and I believe you were raised from the dead that I could have a new life not done wrong things I have sent and I'm sorry. Please forgive me of all those things. Please give me the power to live for you. All of my days in Jesus name, amen friend of you prayed that prayer according to the Bible you've been forgiven you've been born again.

Jesus said he would not turn anybody away who comes to him and he came for those people who knew they needed forgiveness.

Those who were sick, not the righteous is a congratulations bring you just made the greatest decision that you will ever make.

God bless you, if you pray that prayer with David for the first time we'd love to hear from you.

You can visit cross the bridge.com to receive our first steps package with helpful resources to help you begin your walk with Christ.

Or you can write to cross the bridge at PO Box 12, 515 Winston-Salem, NC 27117 and share how God is working in your life you're the Bible tells us that the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord. But it does cost for us to come and bring that message to you and to others in your neighborhood through radio through the Internet and through the mobile technologies that God has gifted us to be able to use so if you like to support this ministry.

Please go to cross the bridge.com. Click on the donate button and ask God how much you would have you give either on a one-time basis or continuing basis each month to help ensure that the teaching of God's word continues to go out also. Thank you so much DA before we go. What are some ways that we can bless our listeners days you can wake up with encouragement from Pastor David the word of God with his email devotional life lessons to consider a daily reading plan and the thought to meditate on throughout your day in the heart of David McGee. Thanks again for listening and join us next time. As David McGee continues teaching verse by verse in the gospel of God