A Moment of Decision

We're at the beginning of a new year and we all recognize that we face decisions with the beginning of a new year. But in reality we all face decisions and make many of them each day. When will I get up, what will I wear, what am I going to have for breakfast, and on and on the day goes, and we make scores of decisions every day. Most of those decisions are routine. We make them without much thought. But there are some decisions that come our way that are major. These are the kind of decisions that really recharge or reset the direction of our lives. They'll have a major impact on our lives. We call those decisions moments of decision, a fork in the road. The kinds of decisions that you may be thinking about at this time of year. Should I take that new job? Should I consider a move? Should I marry this person or that person or that person or whatever your decision looks like? Major decisions, life changing decisions. I'm convinced that the most major decisions, the moment of decision that is most critical for us, has to do with spiritual things. It is those decisions that we make about our relationship with God that really do chart the direction of our lives. But even more important than that is they determine our destiny eternally. They determine where we will spend eternity, whether in heaven or in hell. Those ultimate moments of decision are absolutely critical. It's those kinds of decisions that we gather together to consider on Sundays. That's why we're here so that we can be faced with the word of God. We can understand the kinds of junctures of our lives and forks in the road where there are major decisions that need to be made. That will chart a course for us for the rest of our lives and maybe even for an eternity. It is just such an event that we find in our Lord's life in John chapter 12 as we come to this part of the gospel as we journey through the gospel of John. We find ourselves in chapter 12 today and we are right at the beginning of the last week of our Lord's life. Jesus has just entered the city of Jerusalem in a triumphal fashion on Sunday. It is now Monday. He has just cleansed the temple. If you put all the gospel records together and come up with kind of a timeline, he has just cleansed the temple and now he's teaching in the temple. When two of his disciples approach him with a request from some Gentiles, these Gentiles want to meet with Jesus. Jesus responds to that request. Let's look at it in John chapter 12, verse 20. What's happening there? Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. They came to Philip who was from Betheseda in Galilee with a request. Sir, they said we would like to see Jesus. Philip went to tell Andrew, Andrew, and Philip and turned to Jesus. Now what is happening here? Who are these guys? These Greeks are obviously Gentiles who have evidently put away their pagan gods and turned to the true God of the Bible, the God of Israel. And they have begun to worship the true God. And so like many other God-fearing Gentiles, they come to Jerusalem at the time of the feasts. And they are allowed into the temple. There is a special court for them called the court of the Gentiles. It is an outer court and it's not the inner court where only Jews can go and then beyond that where only the priests can go. So they're kind of on the inner court. Jesus is in that inner court preaching and teaching to the Jewish people there at the festival. So somehow some of these Gentiles get a hold of Philip, one of Jesus' disciples, and they say we would like to see Jesus. Now the word see here is not just, you know, if you could have him kind of pass close to us, we would like to get a glimpse of him. Now the word here is a word which means we would like to interview him. Literally we want to sit down and talk with him. So we want to spend some time with him. They're very eager to meet Jesus. Well, Philip's not quite sure what to do with that. Obviously they're out here in the court of the Gentiles. They can't come into where Jesus is. So what do we do with this? And so he goes to the guy who's always known in the gospels for bringing people to Jesus, whether it's his brother Peter or the little boy with the lunch. And he says to Andrew, okay, what do we do? And Andrew says let's take him to Jesus or at least let's take the request to him and ask him what he wants to do. So that's what's going on here. It is Jesus response to that request that is absolutely critical for us and brings us to a fork in the road this morning. Because the way Jesus responds to that request focuses our thoughts on his death and forces us to face a moment of decision. That's what we're faced with this morning. So how does Jesus respond? The way he responds causes us to focus on his death and forces us to make a moment of decision. So what is it that he says? How does he respond? Well, the way he responds is he begins by describing the reasons for his death. Very interesting. These Greeks want to come meet with him and Jesus launches into this description of why he's come to die. I think we'll see the connection in a moment. But Jesus describes three reasons why he came to die. The first of them is the most basic, most important. The other two flow out of that. But Jesus is going to explain the reasons for his death. Notice the first one in verses 23 to 26. Jesus died to bring life. First reason Jesus died is to bring life. Notice what he says in verse 23. Jesus replied, the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Now this question of the Greeks, these Gentiles, to meet with Jesus triggers the arrival of this hour that Jesus has talked about throughout this gospel. Five times up to this point in this gospel alone, Jesus has said, my hour has not yet come. And we have seen that he's talking about that perfect timing in God's plan, a particular time, a particular hour where Jesus will die. He is talking about the cross. And now this question of the Gentiles triggers that hour. And so he says, the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Interesting. He speaks of it as being glorified because Jesus evidently sees his death, burial, resurrection, ascension back to heaven, to glory and a glorious position in the world. He sees all of that as a package deal that all comes together. And so Jesus will speak of, it's now time for me to be glorified in the sense of, I've got to go back to my father to heaven, but he goes through the cross and the tomb to get there. He's speaking about his death. That time has come. He says, and notice he uses then an illustration of what that death means. The time of my death has come. Time for me to be glorified. Go back to my father's come. But then he gives an illustration. He lifts from the world of agriculture, very common illustration that every Jew would be familiar with. What his death means. Why that hour has come. What it will mean that he's going to die and go back to the father verse 24. Very truly, I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. You see the point Jesus is talking about his death. The hour for me to die and ultimately be glorified has now come. It's honest. Now I want to give you an illustration of what that means. You take a kernel of wheat or a kernel of corn when it is separated from its plant, it dies. It is separated from the flow of life that has given it life. And so it dies. But then you take that dead kernel of corn or a kernel of wheat and you plant it in the ground and something amazing happens in the way God has built his universe. Life springs forth from that dead kernel. And what will result from that new life is not just one more seed. Many seeds. And so Jesus says, that's what my death is. I have to die and be placed planted in the ground. I have to die and be buried. But then because of that, it is through that that I will bring life. It is through my death and burial and resurrection that life will come to many. So it's a beautiful illustration of the fact that Jesus must die in order for us to have life. The implication is the strong meaning of this is the only way you can have eternal life is if Jesus dies. So Jesus Christ has to go to the cross and meet this divine appointment, his hour so that we can live. He must die, be planted in the ground to produce our life so that we might be saved. And then interestingly enough, Jesus applies that same concept to those of us who are his followers. Look at it, verse 25, anyone who loves their life will lose it. While anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me and where I am, my servant also will be. My father will honor the one who serves me. What Jesus says, this whole principle of a seed that dies and is planted producing much life not only does it serve as an illustration of my death, but it also extends to those of you who will follow me, he's saying. The way that you understand what real life is as you let go of your own life, you realize that you have been crucified with Christ, you died with him, you were buried with him, you've been raised to walk in a new life. How do you find real life? You come to Christ and you live in the light of the fact that you've been crucified with him, buried with him, raised to walk in a new life. And that's where you find real life. It's true for us. But the real point Jesus is making, the crux of his thought here, the real center of his point is the fact that I must die in order for you to have life. Just a couple of weeks ago, Time Magazine did its annual issue of person of the year, every year they choose one noteworthy person who is in their estimation made the greatest impact on the world scene and world news in the past year. And this year interestingly enough, everybody kind of waits for that issue to find out who is it. This year they put on the cover of Maggi actually had about seven covers and each cover had the page of a doctor or a nurse that had provided care to Ebola patients. They were collectively the person of the year for Time Magazine. Their stories are gripping stories. Most of them missionaries who have said basically we are we know that we are risking our lives. We know that we could catch this disease. It's pretty easily transferred through bodily fluids. We know that we may end up dying, but we are willing to put our lives on the line and even take this disease in order to try to provide life for others. When I read their stories and had been reading of them in the news in recent months, I was reminded of a story I once heard about a missionary to China back in the early 1900s. He also encountered a strange disease that he could not identify. And so he collected some of the germs and a lot of people were dying at that time in China from this disease. He collected some of the germs from that disease and put them in a vial and boarded a ship to come back to the United States. Just before he reached the United States, he injected himself with those germs. By the time he got to his alma mater, Johns Hopkins University, where he placed himself under the care of his former professors who had taught him, he was very, very ill. And basically he said, I am willing to take this disease so that you can find a cure that I can take back and give others life. That's exactly what Jesus did for us. He came to us. He didn't stand afar and shout from heaven. I'll save you. I'll save you. No, he came down here and he actually took on him our flesh, our nature and took on him in the cross, our sin actually took on him our disease of sin so that he might provide the cure for you and for me. And we might live Jesus died so that we might live. You see all of us are sinners and we bear the consequences of that sin which is death. And so Jesus came to take all of that consequence of sin, our death, our punishment, the punishment of God for our sin so that he might offer to us life and provide the cure for that deadly disease of sin. The purpose for Jesus dying, the reason for his death is to bring life and the only way my friend that you can live because we're all infected with the disease and we're all going to die. The disease of sin will end up taking all of us to the grave and ultimately to hell if we don't accept the cure. The only way you can have life is through Christ, through His death for you on the cross. So Jesus died to bring life but there are a couple of other things that go along with death that Jesus highlights next. He says, secondly, the reason for my death was to glorify the Father. Look at verse 27. Now my soul is troubled and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name. There is an intense struggle in the soul of Jesus here. It is kind of a prelude to the struggle he will face three days later in the Garden of Gethsemane. The question of the Greeks, the recognition that he's going to die and he's going to die this week triggers in him a surge of emotion that drives him to the Father in prayer. And this is what he's thinking about praying. He's considering praying. Father saved me from this hour but he backs away from that request says, no, no, I'm not going to pray that and he doesn't pray that. But you can sense the struggle in his soul. You can sense the intense agony that's going on. Father, save me from this hour? No, no, I'm not going to pray that. Why? Because it's for this very reason I came to this hour. I am here for the express purpose of dying for the sins of the world. And so I must do that and I will do that. And so he resolves the internal turmoil and conflict with this final part of his prayer. Father, here's my request, Father, not save me from this hour but Father. Glorify your name. By the way, that is a model approach to agonies of the soul. It is a real example to us that whenever our souls are in agony over whatever issue we may be facing, that we don't resolve that by crying to be out from under the trouble. We ask God to glorify himself. Do whatever means he sees fit, whatever will best glorify him. And that resolves the inner turmoil in a beautiful, simple, active obedience to God's will. Glorify your name. Go what happens next, middle of verse 26, then a voice came from heaven. I have glorified it and will glorify it again. This is amazing. A voice comes from heaven, obviously the voice of God, the Father. When Jesus resolves the internal turmoil in his spirit with that active obedience, Father, glorify yourself. The Father speaks words of encouragement to him and words of testimony to everybody else who will hear them. I have glorified my name. In other words, through your life and ministry to this point, my name has been glorified. You have fulfilled everything that you came to do. And I will still glorify my name again in your death. That is what he is talking about. Your life, your ministry, everything you have done to this point has glorified me and so will your death. What an encouragement that must have been to Jesus. It is only the third time we have recorded that God spoke to him. It is amazing that there would be three of those occasions, but there were at the very beginning of his ministry, at his baptism, the voice from heaven, this is my son, and whom I am well pleased. Marking the beginning of his ministry, telling all people that he has a special relationship to the Father. And then when Jesus turns his face like a flint, Luke 9 says to go to Jerusalem that last long journey before he will die. He goes up on the Mount of Transfiguration and is glorified there, at least appears in his glory and three of his disciples see it. Peter, James, and John, Moses, and Elijah are there representing the Old Testament saints. And again, God speaks from heaven to Peter, James, and John. This is my beloved son. Listen to him. And now this third time, the voice speaks from heaven. I have glorified my name and I will glorify it. But notice the response to this. Although Jesus knows that his death will glorify the Father and the Father confirms that it will notice the response of the crowd, verse 29. The crowd that was there and heard it, said it had thundered. Others said an angel had spoken to him. Those of a more mystical nature, thought they heard of the voice of an angel, other people said, what was that thunder? Just like the world, isn't it? To hear the voice of God, to see the hand of God, and to tribute that to the natural realm, just like the world. To look at God's handy work and creation and say that it all came together through natural processes we call evolution, just like the world, to be blind to the reality of God's power. Just like the crowd, just like the world, to see God's amazing hand of providence, working all things together for good, and attribute it to luck or fortune. No spiritual insight, just like the world, to look at a life that's been transformed by the marvelous grace of God and attribute it to reformation. God's really got a hold of himself. Just like the world, to look at this amazing book, God's book, God's Word, given to us. The most amazing book ever pinned through the hands of men, but directed by the Holy Spirit, just like the word, the world, to look at this amazing miraculous book and say it's just the compilation of men who wrote like any other men, so that it's full of errors and cultural problems, just like the world. To hear the voice of God or to see the hand of God and to scribe it to the natural realm. But Jesus says to those who will listen, this voice was for you. Notice what he says next, verse 30, Jesus said, this voice was for your benefit, not mine. Oh, certainly it encouraged him, it had to, like the other two times God spoke to him and about him. But the purpose of this voice was for those who would listen, for those who would hear and understand, this is the evidence of who Jesus is, God the Father says your prayer is answered. I will glorify my name in your death. And so it shows the special relationship between the Son and the Father, between Jesus and the Father. And for anyone who will listen, for anyone who will hear that, they get it. The purpose of Jesus' death is to glorify the Father and the Father promises that it will happen. It will please him, it will accomplish his purpose, it will show forth all the magnificence of our great God and his plan of salvation. It will glorify the Father. But Jesus says, there's a third reason for my death, not only did I die or will I die to bring life and to glorify the Father also to win a spiritual victory. And this is kind of the outflow of the others. It's a result of the fact that Jesus came to give us life. But one of the most important things that happens at the cross is the victory that Jesus wins. Look at it verse 31. Now is the time. What time? What he's talking about? This hour for me to be crucified and to be buried and to go back to my Father, the whole package of the cross and what will happen. Now is the time for judgment on this world. Now the Prince of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die. So Jesus now speaks clearly of the cross. And he says, part of the reason for my death is to win a spiritual victory. My death means judgment on this world. It's way of thinking, it's way of life, it's whole ambition and approach. Because that leads one to hell. And so my death will judge that, but it will also judge Satan. Now is the time for judgment on this world. Now the Prince of this world speaking of Satan will be driven out. And I know what you may be thinking, but sure it doesn't seem like he's been driven out. It seems like Satan's having a heyday in our world. It seems like Satan's plan is the one that's winning. Oh no, no, no, no, lift up your eyes. Look at the bigger picture. Satan still has a lot of power, but he's on a leash. His judgment is already announced. His judgment has already been passed, and it was at the cross. The sentence has not yet been carried out. He's still being transferred to the prison. But he'll get there. And there's no chance of escape. You see, the ultimate verdict has already been given. He has been judged. And he has lost. Jesus won the spiritual victory. So he speaks of it in terms of that judgment. He also speaks of this great spiritual victory in terms of being lifted up from the earth. It's obvious there he's talking about the cross. He's talking about the text. He tells us he said this to show the kind of death he was going to die. A couple of other occasions in this very book he has spoken about being lifted up. One of them in a way that helps us know unmistakably what he's talking about. John chapter 3. And verse 14. Jesus said, just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, beautiful picture of what's going to happen. So the son of man must be lifted up. Just like Moses erected a pole and put a bronze snake on that pole so that if the Israelites looked in faith believing the word of God, they would be healed. Just like that happened in the desert. Just like that, Jesus will be lifted up. Obviously speaking of the pole, the cross, the tree that he will be lifted up on so that when we look to him in faith, we will be saved. John chapter 8 verse 28. He says it again. When you have lifted up the son of man, then you will know that I am he, that I do nothing on my own, but speak just what the father has taught me. He's speaking clearly of his death of the way he will die by being lifted up on a pole, on a tree, on the cross. So this spiritual victory is a victory over Satan and the world. It is accomplished at the cross and notice the result. He says, I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. Now that doesn't mean everybody's going to be saved. Remember the context. These Gentiles have just come to Jesus wanting to interview him. And it is that thought which makes him realize and understand he's thinking forward to the cross and realizing my death will go far beyond the Jews that I've ministered to for three and a half years. My death will affect Gentiles as well. It will be for all people, Jew and Gentile. It will spread to the whole earth and everyone will be affected by it. All people will be affected by my death. All without distinction. Jew and Gentile. Here's Jesus' point to pull this all back together. Jesus is explaining the reason why he will die. It is to bring life. It is in God's perfect plan to glorify him to show that God's plan of salvation is perfect and complete and it is to give a spiritual victory. My friend, the only way you can have life, the only way you can be saved, the only way that your sin has been judged is in Christ. The only way that you can know and have eternal life is through Christ who died on the cross for your sins. That's the only way you can be saved. Media mogul Ted Turner, who was one of the pioneers of cable television owner of CNN, TBS, other cable networks once said this in an interview. He said, you know, I'm not looking for any big rewards. I'm not a religious person. I believe this life is all we have, he said. I'm not doing what I'm doing to be rewarded in heaven or punished in hell. I'm doing it because I feel it's the right thing to do. He goes on to say, almost every religion talks about a save you're coming. When you look in the mirror, when you're putting on your lipstick or shaving, you are looking at the savior. Nobody else is going to save you but yourself. I'm here to tell you this morning, my friend, Ted Turner is dead wrong. When you look in the mirror every morning, you're not looking at the savior, you're looking at a center. Because all of us, the Bible declares and it should be obvious if we're honest. All of us have sinned. And we fall short of the standard expected to get into heaven, the very glory of God. And so what happened? Jesus came. He is the savior. He came to take your sin, to bear God's punishment for your sin, so that you through faith in Him as your savior might be saved. Yes, when you look in a mirror what you see as a center, but Jesus is the savior. And the only way you can have life eternal is to come to Christ, to trust Him as your personal savior. And I urge you this morning, please understand, that's the reason for his death, so that you can have life, so that you can be saved. Your sin can be forgiven, you can be put into the family of God, placed into his family as his son, his child, his daughter, and you can be in heaven forever. That's the reason for his death. But understanding that calls for a response. And that leads us to the rest of the passage which describes the responses to Christ's death. He's very clearly laid out for us the reason why this hour has come, the reason why he will die, and now we look at the responses to his death. Jesus initiates this next part of the passage with a call to believe. It is like giving an invitation. It is like Jesus extending the invitation for you to believe what you've just heard, that the reason he came was to die for your sins. And so Jesus extends this call to belief in verses 34 to 36. Look at verse 34. The crowd spoke up. We've heard from the law that the Messiah will remain forever. So how can you say the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man? The crowd is confused. You see, they are under the impression because of the popular belief of the day. They are under the impression that the Messiah could never be a victim. Certainly the Messiah will not die. The Messiah is a conquering hero who overthrows his enemies and establishes his reign. What kind of Son of Man are you talking about? And even if they are thinking biblically when they hear the term Son of Man that Jesus uses in verse 23, there may be thinking of Daniel 7 where the Son of Man appears before the ancient of days and receives a kingdom, a worldwide kingdom. Where is that? Jesus, what kind of Son of Man are you talking about anyway? You got to be lifted up, you got to die? They are confused. And you know what? Jesus could have answered theologically all of their questions. Jesus could have laid out all of the Old Testament scriptures and explained how the suffering and the glory of the Messiah fit together. But he didn't do that. Not here, not now. This is a moment of decision, not discussion. It's a moment of decision. And so Jesus presses the decision on them. Please get this. Please understand how Jesus responds. Verse 35, then Jesus told them, you are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they're going. Believe in the light while you have the light so that you may become children of light when you finish speaking Jesus left and hid himself from them. Now my friend, I understand as much as anyone in this room, there is a place for theological clarification. There is a place for explaining all of the theology. There is a place for all of that. There's a place for theological debates. There is a place for all of the reasoning and all of that. There's a place for that. And we have places in this church for that. We have classes and places where you can explore deeply the meaning of the faith and the word of God. But right now, right here, this is a moment of decision, not discussion, not debate, not theological propositions. This is a moment of decision, my friend. Jesus makes it clear. The light is in the world. You only having for a little time, three more days specifically. So believe the light. There is a moment for theological discussion. There's a time and a place for that. There is also a time just to get honest with what the word of God says and respond to the call of belief. To trust the Savior. And this is that kind of moment. That's what's important for you. Not theological fine points. Not fundamentalist debates about what's the right translation or what's the right kind of worship music or what should you not or what should you wear to church. That's not the issue, my friend. The issue is that you're a sinner in need of a Savior. And Jesus died for you. This is a moment of decision, a time for you to trust, not discuss, but just to trust Jesus as your Savior. The call to belief is an urgent, passionate call by Jesus. We read these verses and I think sometimes you just kind of read through them. This was for your benefit, not mine. You're going to have the light a little while longer. A walkway. I have the light. I don't think I think it was passionate from Jesus heart. Okay, if you wanted, I could explain to you why the Son of Man must die. I can go through the whole Old Testament. We don't have time for that right now. It's a moment of decision for you to trust what you've heard. There is a point, my friend, where discussion stops and faith begins. And you just take the step of faith and trust what you've heard and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. You can debate until you die and go to hell or you can trust Jesus as your Savior. This is a fork in the road. This is a crossroads. And Jesus impresses upon us that what's urgent, what's important right now is the call to belief, the call to trust, the call to trust Jesus as your Savior. There are two responses, however, to that call tragically. There are always two responses. The first one is the response of unbelief or 37. Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in Him. Notice how it stated they would not believe in Him. This was their own decision. This was of their own will. They made a decision to reject, to resist. They would not believe. And John says that fulfills a prophecy in Isaiah 53 verse 38. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet, Lord, who has believed our message. And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? In Jesus or John says something else. For this reason, they could not believe. Now please don't miss the wording. Don't miss the order. Don't miss what the text of Scripture says. For what reason is it that they could not believe? For the reason he mentioned in verse 37, verse 38 is kind of a filler. It's a verse that gives an Old Testament prophecy to support what verse 37 says. In the original language, it's clear. The main thought, the main verb, the main point is in verse 37, they still would not believe. And for that reason, because they would not believe, now they cannot believe. They could not believe. And then he quotes from another passage in Isaiah 6. He has blinded their hearts and blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts so they can neither see with their eyes nor understand with their hearts nor turn. And I would heal them. A lot of people get hung up only on that last part where it sounds like God just has said, I'm going to choose some and I'm going to choose others to go to hell. That's not what he's saying here. I believe that the Bible teaches about election, but I also believe these strong passages of human responsibility and the order is very clear here. And that is they would not believe. They made their own decision and it was for that reason that finally God steps in and judicially hardens their heart, blinds their eyes and they no longer can believe. They couldn't believe after that. That's always the way it is in scripture. That's the way Romans 1 is. We don't have the time to look at it, but I encourage you to really look at Romans 1. 3 times it says there that God gave them over to their own wicked ways and the hardness and blindness of their hearts, but read it carefully. It begins in verses 18 to 21 with them seeing what is known of God in creation and rejecting it, suppressing it the Bible says with their own wickedness. That was their own choice and it goes on to say for that reason God gave them over all three times it says God gave them over. It was for the reason that they had chosen to go further into sin. You see it is your choice, my friend, as to whether or not you will receive Jesus as Savior, but it's not a trifling choice. It's not a choice to be taken lightly because if you do not receive Christ, if you reject him time and time and time again, there may come and will come at some point a time where God steps in and says you've chosen your own course. You see when you will not believe in Christ, when you choose not to trust him, something starts happening inside. And what happens is your heart gets a little harder every time and your eyes get a little dimmer every time until finally at some point it is possible that God steps in and says I judicially blind you, I judicially harden your heart. I turn you over to the course that you have chosen consistently. One of the best examples of that in scripture is Pharaoh. Read about the 10 plagues that God sent on Egypt in Exodus somewhere around chapter 7 through 10. 10 plagues, the first five of those plagues, the Bible says that Pharaoh hardened his heart. Now I know twice it just says his heart was hardened, but it is followed immediately by these words and he would not listen to Moses. It's clear that he was resisting. He was not receiving. He himself was rejecting those first five plagues. The last five plagues it says God hardened his heart. That's the order. It's the order in Exodus, it's the order in Romans, it's the order here in John. If you do not receive Christ, that is not a decision to take lightly. Listen to my friend, it is a serious thing to treat God's truth lightly. It is a serious thing to hear the gospel, to hear his word, to hear the way of salvation and turn your back on it again because every time you do that you're getting a little harder, a little more blind. Until finally God says you've chosen your own way, I confirm you in that judicially you're blinded your heart is hardened and now you cannot. You cannot be saved. That's why the prophet Isaiah warns us with words that ring true to our hearts today in Isaiah chapter 55 and verse 60 says seek the Lord while he may be found. Call on him while he is near. You get the meaning don't you there may be a time when you will seek him and he will not be found or call on him and he is not near. Why? Because there is a limited time where God will say you have chosen your course so I give you over to that. Now you cannot believe. It's a serious thing my friend. There's no no more moment of decision no more important moment of decision than this. Will you trust Jesus as your savior but the responsive unbelief even in Jesus day is so clear but thank God there was also a responsive belief look at it quickly verse 42 yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith or fear they would be put out of the synagogue where they loved human praise more than the praise from God. Well that's interesting the Bible says there was someone believed in it even among the leaders but then describes this really kind of shaky response. They won't take a public stand so the question remains are these people really saved. I think the best way that I can look at this that helps me to understand it is that I think at this point these people are on a spiritual journey of coming to faith. And many of them maybe all we don't know will will make it to a solid faith in Christ. Right now they're at the point of considering it they believe in him at least to the extent they're considering his claims but they're not ready to make it public yet. I believe he's talking about people like Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus who will eventually come out publicly for Christ. John 19 tells the story after Jesus death they go to pilot of all people the head of the snake the the core of Roman authority and take their public stand for Jesus and say we want his body we want to give it an honorable honorable burial. The book of Acts tells us of many priests who came to the faith in Acts chapter 6 and verse 7 and it also tells us in Acts chapter 15 verse 5 of many Pharisees who were among the believers in the city of Jerusalem. Now they had a little trouble with the law thing given that up and that was part of the problem in Acts 15 but still they're called believers they're in the church. So I think it's those kind of people he's talking about people who were who were investigating the claims of Jesus people who were who were being convinced in their hearts they were being moved by the spirit but they'd not yet come to the point where their faith was strong enough to say I'll take a public stand no matter what happens and there may be some people like that here today. There may be people like that here today who've said you know I really believe what what John saying and I believe what I've been hearing from the Bible just not ready to really commit to it yet. My friend today is your moment of decision today is the day where you need to step out and publicly say I'm not ashamed of Jesus I don't care what it costs me by way of reputation or break with the past or maybe even break with my family. I am taking my stand for Jesus Christ today make a solid firm declaration of faith in Christ this day your moment of decision and then Jesus quickly tells us the results of these responses to responses to entirely different results. Verse 47 here's the result of the responsive unbelief if anyone hears my words but does not keep them I do not judge that person where I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day for I did not speak them on my own but the father who sent me commanded me to say all that I've spoken. So what Jesus is saying is if you do not believe if you do not trust Jesus you will hear his very words condemning you when you stand before God maybe the very words that we've read today from the very lips of Jesus maybe another portion of his word will stand portions of the Bible that you heard when you were here and you did not trust you reject the word. You rejected you walked away and now those words come back to remind you what you heard and the chance you had and it is those words that will judge you in that day some of you who may not like to hear what you're hearing this morning if you don't receive it you will hear it again you will hear it again. Jesus own words will judge you. That's the result of unbelief but thank God the result of belief if you trust Jesus as eternal life verse 50 I know that his command speaking of what the father is commanded him to say the words he's spoken that he's just talked about I know that his command leads to eternal life so whatever I say is just what the father is told me to say his word what Jesus is told us the way of salvation the reason for his death that's what brings eternal life will you listen to his word will you receive his warning will you respond to his call to believe occasionally we we hear reports of horrible traffic accidents like one happened about a year or so ago on fancy gap where people suddenly run into a fog bank or bad weather and don't slow down in time and begin to start a chain reaction of horrible accident I remember reading about one that happened in England where such a thing have happened because of fog and cars were piling into each other the police had arrived and they're trying to set up barricades but people are still going by them and one policeman was so frantic that he picked up one of the orange cones they were using to try to redirect traffic or or warn people and he picked it up, started waving it out in the lane for cars to stop and still cars were pulling around, even going on. I'm that policeman this morning and I'm warning you, I'm pleading with you. Don't proceed on the path of destruction on the way to eternal doom. Jesus has laid before us a fork in the road, a moment of decision, and he has told us clearly there's only one way to be in heaven to have your sins forgiven to be in God's family. That's why I came to die. It's through the death of Jesus that you are saved and only through his death. You can make a decision about that this morning. You can either reject it and walk away from it. Oh, how dangerous that is. Or you can accept it and believe in Jesus as your Savior. You face a moment of decision this morning. You face a fork in the road. And it is my prayer that you make the right decision to trust Christ. Let's pray together. Father, thank you for laying before us the way of life and the way of death. You've made it so clear in your word. There's no reason for us to be confused about this. It's all really Lord, a matter of will we accept it or reject it. Father, I pray for those who are here this morning who have heard the call to believe that Jesus has given us. They understand the reason for his death. They've heard him call them to believe. And I pray that this morning they would trust Jesus as Savior. Lord, I pray that if there are those here this morning who have been considering it, thinking about it, are on that journey to faith that they've not yet made that declaration, that commitment to Christ. To say yes, regardless of what it costs, even if I am thrown out of my group of friends, even if I lose this, even if I lose my family, I come to you. Lord, help them to make that decision today. We ask in Jesus' name, amen.