An Offer You Can't Refuse

So John chapter 1 verses 9 to 13. That's what we're looking at this morning versus 9 to 13. And 9 to 13 or in the context of what we call the prologue verses 1 to 14. And in the prologue we have an announcement. And the announcement is that Jesus Christ has come into the world. And he stands before you this morning as the Son of God and the Lord of creation.

He does not ask for your vote. He is not pleading for a little bit of your time or attention. He is not desperate for your approval. You stance? waiting watching knowing Jesus Christ is God. He is the lord of the world. He is king of kings and Lord of lords. He walks around as if he owned the place. Because he does. He created it. He created you he created me. He created this entire universe.

Is applying to be your Cosmic Butler a genic who appears in a puff of smoke when you rub the magic lamp. Isn't asking for a role in your life. He doesn't want to be your friend or your life coach or your advisor. And he is certainly not interested in anything you might have to offer him as a bride. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills and he owns the hills and if he needs more Hills, he can make people create them with a word.

If he wants a philosopher you could debate him. If he was a soldier you could fight them. He was on social media. You could unfollow him. But he is God. is your God because he's everybody's got there's only one God and he is at and he has made you an offer. You can't refuse.

What you to notice first in verse 9 that Jesus Christ has come into the world verse 9 we're told that the True Light That fo tensies all men was coming into the world. Now. I didn't translate the verb for Kinsey the Greek verb not to be ostentatious. But just to point out that it has two possible meanings here and the translation Choice affects the meaning of the verse. So if you look up this verb in the Greek dictionary, you will find that like an English dictionary a word will have meaning one meaning to meeting streaming for very often similar meaning same word. and if you look up look it up in the Greek dictionary you find that the the secondary meaning is that it a lumens or enlightens or gives knowledge. And that's the translation that is chosen by the ESV. It's the secondary the second meaning given in the dictionary and it is the most common meaning when that verb is used throughout the New Testament. So it makes sense to translate that way. But Don Carson in his commentary on John argues that the first dictionary meaning meaning number one is actually the right meaning here. It means to make visible or to bring to light. And he does so because of how the metaphor of light is used in the Gospel of John. The True Light that was coming into the world in Jesus Christ does Enlighten Us in the sense that it reveals what the true God is like to us. So the ESV meaning is not wrong exactly. But in addition the light characteristically in the Gospel of John shines into the darkness and reveals. What was there but hidden by the darkness. The light shows us for what we really are. Good or evil? For example in chapter 3 verse 19 we read and this is the Judgment that light has come into the world and people love Darkness rather than light because their Works were evil for everyone who does wicked things hate the light and does not come into the light less is Works be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light so that it may be clearly seen that his Works have been carried out in God. Interesting leads that passage comes right after the most famous verse in the Gospel of John John 3:16 for God so loved the world that he gave whoever gave his only son that whoever believes in him might have eternal life.

We all know that the Gospel of John is about that versus specially is about salvation. God sent Jesus into the world for the Salvation of the world. But the Gospel of John stresses that the coming of Christ was also not only for salvation but also for judgment, Those who believe are indeed saved at the coming of Christ is also judgment for those who reject him why it is because that rejection demonstrates out evil they are and it calls attention to their condemnation. John 9:39 939 we read Jesus saying these words for judgment. I came into this world. That those who do not see Macy and those who see may become blind.

Jesus is immensely clarifying. Those who were thought they could see when they come into the light of Jesus. They become blind and those who are blind Blinded By the Light of Jesus begin to see

why are these words so startling to so many people? The idea that Jesus came to judge not just to say why do many people find this a new or startling idea? The great message of John 1 is the Incarnation that the Eternal Word who is God became flesh and dwelt Among Us revealing the glory of God. The gospel is that God has come to rust. The word of God assumed a human nature into Union with himself and appeared on Earth God In the Flesh. That's what the gospel says. So the gospel is not a message in the form of a book or dreamer Vision. The gospel is not a religion that humans invented on their own. The gospel is not a collection of traditions or a set of ethical requirements rather. The gospel is God coming to the world in person. Christ gives us. His presence is being himself.

Now this is good news. But it is a particular kind of good news. It is very good news for those who believe on the name of the son of God and receive him as Savior and Lord.

But it is very bad news for everyone else. Because the choice is not whether we will allow Christ to be in this world and to rule this world. He is already coming to this world. And he already rules over it from the right hand of the father where he sits after his resurrection and his Ascension.

The only choice concerns our response to him our relation to him will we believe and be saved? Or will we reject him and be lost eternally? salvation or judgment eternal life for condemnation Be his child. or be his enemy there is absolutely no middle ground. In fact, he came to destroy the middle ground. That's what this theme of light in the Gospel of John is all about about how Jesus removes the end the guity brings. The clarity of light takes away the Middle Ground Forces the decision.

We may think we can avoid it for a while. We may think that we can live our lives ignoring Jesus refusing a choice thinking that were neither for him or against him.

This is only an illusion sooner or later we run out of time. Forced into a choice if we understand the Gospel of John we understand that the coming of the light into the world has created an emergency situation.

You and I are on the spot. We are in a situation where we have to choose and our Eternal Destiny holds is in the balance and there's nothing we can do to wiggle out of the choice. Every human being has a limited lifespan. Everyone must die and no one can know for certain when that will be. Jesus Christ has come into the world. It's an emergency.

Secondly the first 10 the first part of her 10 tells us that not only is Christ come into the world, but Christ owns the world. Why does he own the world? Because he created it out of nothing. He built it and furnished it. He was the word it was in the beginning that Genesis 1:1 speaks about and that John 1:1 speaks about he was with God John 1:1 tells us and he was gone. Just pause there for a moment. Why does it say in verse one of John 1? Why does it say that he was with God and he was God. If he was God, what what does it mean to say that he was with himself? This of course is John's way of referring to the Trinity. The Jesus Christ is the word of the father and he's also one with the father in the Holy Spirit and so he was both God and with God in the beginning.

the beginning spoken up here It's the beginning of everything. That is not gone.

All that exists is either God or that which God has brought into existence out of nothing. In the beginning that was just the Triune God and nothing else and then God spoke by his word and the heavens of the earth came into existence. All things were made by him. And without him was not made anything that was made first to says all things that exist were created by the word of God, which means that the world belongs to Christ.

Then the final part of verse 10 so something that ought to astonish us. Yet the world did not know him. The world did not know him. I'll put the world not know him. How could the world not recognize its creator?

Well as Paul explains in Romans, 1:18 and following. It's a bit more complicated than a simple case of mistaken identity.

The point is that the world didn't want to recognize him. The world didn't know him because they didn't want to know him as Paul describes the Gentile world. He points out that knowledge of the Creator is playing everyone. He totally agrees with the psalmist in Psalm 19, who says that anybody who looks up into the starry Heavens at night intuitively knows that there is a God the heavens declare the glory of God in the sky above proclaims his handiwork. It's obvious to all of us that this beautiful ordered structure Universe can be no accident. Fox's Pub, they have deliberately suppressed their knowledge of the truth because they were ungrateful and unwilling to admit that God is God and that they are his creatures. You see many people are fine with there being a god up there somewhere who can help them out of a tight spot. They're sure that the fine to be open to God's help when they need it. But other than that, most people prefer the guy just mind his own business and let them get on with running their own little universe. Which we call Our Lives? Most people don't mind God who serves as a kind of cosmic Butler standing silently waiting until he's needed. As long as he doesn't try to actually, you know act like God by say giving orders. or interfering with our plans

You see this is the problem humans are in Rebellion against God. We don't want him to interfere in our lives except in those rare instances when we run into a situation that we can't control on our own. And yet we know deep down that we live in his world.

Denver's 11 it gets even worse. He came unto his own and his own people did not receive him of the Gentile world might just possibly be forgiven for rejecting the creator after all they only had the light of nature to go by so maybe it wasn't quite clear. It's not as if God had actually, you know spoken to them in an audible Voice or it's not as if he sent prophets and gave specific Commandments on tablets of stone or did miracles in front of their very eyes and save them from slavery by defeating the greatest military power on Earth by means of Miracles and Angelic intervention and making a pass through the sea for the people to escape recapture.

Of course, he did all those things in the history of Israel his chosen people. Who created the nation out of are Abraham and Sarah when they were too old to have children naturally? You saved them from famine by sending them down into Egypt where he super naturally multiplied them into a great nation despite oppression. Then he said Moses and the angel of the Lord to liberate Israel and take them to the promised land that he made that where he made the walls of Jericho fall down and drove out the Giants in order to give Israel a man of her own. And how did Israel respond to all these Mighty acts of divine grace in her history?

all the prophet Isaiah sums up how bad it was by speaking these words of Yahweh in verses 2 and 3 of Isaiah chapter 1 Children, I have reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows its owner and the donkey it's Master's crib, but Israel does not know. My people does not understand. off that is how Israel reacted to the Manifest grace of God displayed in history through Mighty acts of Deliverance generous blessings and gracious opportunities for worship and praise.

You can sum up the message of Isaiah about Israel. dumber than donkeys stupider than oxen as bad as Gentiles

But then we come to verse 12 and a faint Ray of Hope in an otherwise depressing situation. But to all who did receive him who believed in his name he gave the right to become children of God who were born not of blood nor of the will of man, but of God. What's going on here just a minute. I thought the Gentile World rejected him and even his own people rejected him. Well, the dedicated reader of the Old Testament. Would not be thrown off balance by this little curveball. Anyone familiar with the Old Testament knows about the concept of the remnant. 7000 who have not bowed the knee to Baal. Gideons little band who destroy a superior force of midianites by God's power a few disciples who followed each one of the true prophets and made sure that their words were recorded written down and preserved in what we now call the prophetic books of the Old Testament.

Jesus knew what you reap what you sow them always does to the prophets to the true prophets of Yahweh. And that is why you sweat drops of blood and get some of these he look forward to that next day. But there was always a remnant. God is always preserved a witness. The majority is almost always Godless faithless than worthless. That is the way of the Fallen World from Adam to Christ. And it is still that way today. And yet God is always had a small group of people who call on him and serve as his Witnesses.

Let's think about what this verse means a little bit by asking two questions. First of all, what does it mean? To receive him. Well, the text tells us to it means to believe on his name.

Stop. What is his name. What does that mean? What does it mean to believe on the name of Jesus Christ? What his name is the nature and power of God in him. We back in Exodus 23. We read of Yahweh saying to Moses. She says behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. Pay attention to him and obey his voice do not repel against him. Or he will not pardon your transgressions. Or my name is in him.

What is the Lord saying? My name is in this one. Is this messenger? And you are to follow him and you are not you are to obey him. And he will not forgive your transgressions and other words you either follow and Obey him or it's all over your ear. You've had it. It's amazing. How similar are the angel of the Lord in Exodus 23 is to Jesus as presented in John 1. I believe this Angel was a pre-incarnate manifestation of the Lord Jesus Christ the commander of the host of The Lord's army.

One reason I think that is because the presence of the lord's name in him in the case that he's more than a creature. The name is a way of talking about the being and presence of God. The reality of God himself and God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself Paul tells us.

This one is more than a messenger. And if the angel of the Lord is more than a messenger how much more so is the Incarnate Son of God himself more than a messenger, but the Incarnation is far greater than any Angelic theophany in the Old Testament for in the Incarnation God the word the second person of the Trinity the Son of God assumes into Union with himself a human nature and he does so permanently.

Jesus the human name that the angel told Mary to give Mary and Joseph to give him means Yahweh saves. That's his human name that indicates his human nature Christ is his means Messiah. He is the one promised in the Old Testament. That's his Divine name because the promise of the Old Testament that God would himself would come to save his people.

You shall call his name Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins. So Jesus Christ means that. Name is a reference to his humanity and his divinity combined did one of the Incarnation

That's what you need to believe. That's what it means to believe in his name to believe that he is that that he is God come in the flesh. Eternal son of the father who is assumed into Union with himself a human nature. So that he is now Jesus Christ.

The second question we need to ask is not just what it means to believe that but what happens when we accept him. What happens? Well in verse 12 were told that. we get the right or the authority to become children of God and this happens because we are born again into his family as John will put it in chapter 3 We come into the relationship of child to a parent with Jesus Christ the closest possible relationship we can imagine.

You see in the Incarnation?

God didn't just send a message.

remote or a video he came himself. And his presence lights up the world and clarifies where we stand. Your response to Jesus Christ clarifies that identifies who you really are.

addiction believe in his name and you are his beloved child.

Are you his child?

Are you his enemy?

Are you sure?

Jesus Christ has made you an offer. Yawpers you forgiveness of your sins salvation from God's Wrath of the day of judgement and eternal life with him in the new heavens and new earth. He offers you hope peace. Joy and intimate Union with himself insurance. He offers you himself.

And you can't refuse that off.

What I mean by that is that you have only two choices you can accept him or you can reject him. But if you reject him as your savior if you refuse to believe in his name you refuse to become his child by being born again.

You will still experience him. But not as your savior. but as your judge

Message of John's gospel. Is he offers himself to you? And you got him one way or the other. either as Savior or is Judge.

It's just down prayer.

What we have heard the gospel proclaimed.

And as we sit here in this moment of quietness ask that you would speak to each one of us. Bored if anyone here is unsure about where he or she stands with regard to the Lord Jesus Christ. Pray that this would be the day when you stir a person's heart in such a way. That that person cannot help but believe and receive.

Bored if there's anyone who has questions. Give the person no rest in your Sovereign Grace draw that person to someone who can explain further. and work draw all your people to yourself. And we will glorify you in the name of Jesus our lord. a map we're going to sing a traditional Hymn of invitation worship team can come and sing the song and as the invitation is given make these words your own.