That You May Believe — John 1

0:00 Today, I want to start off... My message is going to be from the Gospel of John. And I want to start off with kind of a purpose statement that's given in the Gospel of John for his writing it is found in John chapter 20. John chapter 20, and this is the last verse. I'm gonna start with the thirtieth verse.

0:33 And truly, Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that believing you might have life through his name. So this is this is the precious purpose of this of this book that God has granted us that that reveals the Lord Jesus so wonderfully. That you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that believing you might have life in his name. My purpose this morning is to take six different verses out of the Gospel of John, and just to do a kind of a meditation on each of those six verses.

1:23 And perhaps in doing this, we might we might be able to kind of get our focus on the Lord Jesus where it belongs. So I'd like to start with the the first chapter of John and the statement, behold the lamb of God. So we're John one verse 29. The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of this world.

2:02 So in in my in my imagination, I see John standing here with some of his disciples, and Jesus goes walking by, and and and John's face... I have a good imagination. John's face just lights up and he and he looks over and he says, he maybe taps the disciples. Behold, the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. And and and what would his disciples have thought?

2:29 Well, they they would have wondered. They said, wow. And so so that'll be our our theme is to kind of maybe feel that through. But what was what was, John referring to, or perhaps we should say the Holy Spirit referring to when he says, behold the lamb. And no doubt, he's referring to the the, sacrificial work of the Lord Jesus on the cross.

2:56 So throughout the Old Testament, Jesus came to the Jewish nation. Right? And throughout the Old Testament, there there were countless lambs, literally millions of them, that were offered. Were, each one of them was in itself a picture of something that was going to happen. So as I look back on that, of course, the first thing my focus comes in is that wonderful Passover lamb that's given to us in Exodus 12.

3:28 And so this is the way it goes. So the Egyptians had sort of thumbed their nose at God. They had rejected God's messenger, and God pronounced a great judgment upon them. That he was going to come and he was going to destroy every firstborn and every family in the land of Egypt. It was a broad sweeping judgment that touched everyone.

4:10 Didn't... There wasn't one that wasn't... It says from from from the firstborn of pharaoh upon a throne to the firstborn of the prisoner. And and the interesting thing to me is that it also affected the children of Israel. So it was like universal, right across the board.

4:29 God was going to come. But the wonderful thing is that God and God revealed to the children of Israel that there was a way that they could escape this judgment that was coming on the land of Egypt. And of course, we know that God had said stated even when he was going to do this. And so, God said that on the fourteenth day of the month, at midnight, he would come to the land as a destroyer. And God said, you need to kill a little lamb and put its blood on the doorpost and on the lintel.

5:04 And God said, when I come through the land and I see the blood, I'll pass over you. And that's where we get the Passover lamb, isn't it? And so there was God's promise, when I see the blood, I will pass over you. And so it happened just as God said. And so the children of Israel, in obedience, each one of them took a lamb, killed the little lamb, put the blood on the door, and waited.

5:31 Some of them perhaps waited inside with fear and trembling. Others of them with great confidence, but they all put the blood on the door. And so, at midnight, the Lord came through the land and there was a great cry in the land for for everyone who did not, every family that did not have the blood on the door. The firstborn of that family had been destroyed. It was it was it was a terrible night.

6:01 But the focus of it is that there was a lamb, and the lamb had to be slain, and the blood had to be put on the door, and those that were within the house were safe. Now it's it's of interest that that God in the New Testament specifically calls the Lord Jesus Christ our Passover, and that's in in first Corinthians five seven. Perhaps we could just take a moment to look back at that so that we don't miss the point of what the lamb of God is all about. First, first Corinthians chapter five and verse seven. For the sake of time, I'm just gonna read the last part of the verse.

7:24 One of my favorites is Ephesians chapter five and verse one. The lamb of God. Ephesians chapter five and verse one says, and walk in love as Christ also loved us... Has also loved us and given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling aroma. Christ is our sacrifice, the one who died in our place so that we might go free.

7:58 And indeed, through all those millions of sacrifices that were made in the Old Testament, each one was was a little, in itself, a little picture or parable, perhaps, of of the one who was going to come. And he was going to be our sacrifice, the sacrifice for the whole world. And perhaps to get the idea of a sacrifice, I'd like to read one of my favorite verses. First Peter chapter three. As I stand up here, sometimes wonder whether whether, many in the audience would would be would be guessing me now.

8:43 What would his favorite verse be? And perhaps some might have even chosen the same verses I did. So first Peter chapter three and verse 18. For Christ also suffered once for sins. He's our sacrifice.

8:58 Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh and made alive by the spirit. Christ suffered once for sins. It was a it was a once for all sacrifice, wasn't it? We call we call a sacrifice an all sufficient or an efficacious sacrifice. He died the just for the unjust.

9:23 He was the just, the righteous one. He he alone was the spotless lamb that could die for us. And and he died for us, the unjust ones, those who were sinners. And and so so praise his name for that. How come?

9:38 How come he died that he might bring us to God? That he might bring us to God. God referring to his his desire to bring us into a relationship with himself. So there we have it. He's the lamb of God.

9:51 Now I'm going to go back to John chapter one. I'm gonna pick my second verse for a meditation. This one is the one that speaks of Jesus as the son of God. It's John one thirty four. And and so the John the Baptist says this in verse 34, and I have seen and testified that this is the son of God.

10:16 Now, at the time that that this is actually referring to right here, John John the Baptist was at the Jordan River. The Lord Jesus had had come to John the Baptist two or three months before this, and he had been baptized for... By John the Baptist. From that point, the Lord Jesus went to the temptation in the wilderness, and then apparently he came back here to the Jordan River after that. But perhaps John was referring back to that moment when he baptized the Lord Jesus.

10:48 And in in our mind's eye, we we see John putting the Lord Jesus under the Jordan waters and coming back up. And immediately as he comes up out of the water, there there was a a strange phenomenon. This this dove comes out of the heavens. It was the holy spirit. He came in the form of a dove.

11:09 He comes down and he lands upon the lord Jesus Christ. And then there was this voice from heaven. I... At least in my imagination, I think of it as a god voice. This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.

11:26 And so the father was speaking from heaven. He was speaking from heaven, and he was proclaiming that this one who had just been baptized was the son of God. I just love to try to to imagine that moment when when this happened. I was I was thinking earlier about this being Father's Day, and and I remember I was listening to Moody's during the week, and he made a remark as this being that he liked to look at it as the divine fathers of the day, the day in which we would recognize the father as as a wonderful and glorious person. The...

12:03 Well, so be it. He's the one that set this son down here and then proclaimed that this was his son, isn't he? Now, one of the the first verse that comes to my mind relative to to this matter of the son of God is just John three sixteen. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. But we skip this statement, God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.

12:35 So in in in my understanding of this scripture, here is the father up in heaven and he and he sends his son forth to this earth. He gave his son. And his son comes down here and he and he becomes the sacrifice for our sins. And and the the scriptures declare plainly that if we'll simply believe in him and the sacrificial death that he that he suffered on the cross for us, that that will be saved. Isn't that isn't that neat?

13:09 Now, one of the interesting things is that scripture declares in in several different places that the lord Jesus existed before in heaven. The Lord Jesus existed before in heaven. I suppose you could pick that up from the beginning of John chapter one when says he created all things. He would have to have been before, wouldn't he, to have created all things. But there's some other specific scriptures that are kind of interesting.

13:38 One of them is is found in, John 17, a couple of verses there. Jesus, the son of god, dwelling in heaven before coming down into this earth. Now I'm gonna just read the first five verses of John 17 just for the context. Jesus spoke these words and lifted up his eyes to heaven saying, father, the hour has come. Glorify your son that your son also may glorify you.

14:13 So we have the father and the son. Right? So as you've given him, the son, authority over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as you have given him, and this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent, I have glorified you on the earth. I have finished the work that you gave me to do. And now, oh father, glorify me, your son.

14:38 That's the that's the context of it. Glorify me, your son, together with yourself, with the glory which I had with you before the world was. Isn't that interesting that it speaks so so specifically of the fact that the Lord Jesus had had that wonderful glory up in heaven before he ever came down here on earth. And then he came down here. Now, there's another verse.

15:03 I think it's the twenty fifth verse of the chapter. No, it's the twenty fourth verse. I'll go ahead and read it. Father, I desire that they also whom you gave me may be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which you have given me. For you love me before the foundation of the world.

15:25 Isn't that... That's neat too when you think about it. You love me before the foundation of the world. The Lord Jesus dwelling up there in the glory and loved by his father. Now, I I've enjoyed I've enjoyed the thought that the Lord Jesus volunteered to come down into this world.

16:11 Therefore, when he came into the world, he said, sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you have prepared for me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin, you had no pleasure. Then I said, behold, I come. In the volume of the book, it is written of me to do your will, o God. And so and so the...

16:36 It's the Lord Jesus who's speaking when he says, behold, I have come. Now, the two verses before indicate that God did not take that much pleasure in the Old Testament sacrifices, that they that that that particularly, they were given... They they got to the point where they were just a routine that people were going through. And God didn't take pleasure in that. But God had his eyes on something greater of this time when he would send his son into the world.

17:07 Father sent the son to be the savior of the world. And his son would come into the world and be the sacrifice. But it's interesting that it gives us here, sort of, shall we say a snapshot of something that happened in heaven. And and the son says, behold, I have come to do your will, oh God. Behold, I have come to do your will, oh God.

17:35 So the father is sending the son and the son is volunteering for the job. Behold, I come to do your will, oh God. I I I really enjoyed the little insertion in the middle of that statement. In the volume of the book, it is written of me. It it's it's quoted directly from Psalms and and so we can't just look back and say, oh, it's just the Old Testament.

17:58 It goes back beyond that into, shall we say, the eternal purposes of God. Within the eternal purposes of God, he was going to send this precious savior into the world. And so the time comes for him to come and he says, behold, I have come to do your will, oh God. And so the Lord Jesus comes into this world. And and as the son of God, he he becomes the sacrifice for our sins.

18:27 My time's running away from me. The third the third verse I've chosen for a meditation is is also in the first chapter of John, and and it's... Has to do with the messiah. So I'm in the... In John one forty one.

18:48 I'm gonna start reading with 40. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him, Jesus, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first finds his own brother, Simon, and said to him, we found the Christ, which is translate... I'm sorry. I'm blowing my whole line, aren't I?

19:08 We found the Messiah, which is translated the Christ. So so, we have found the messiah. So what does this bring to mind? Well, it brings it brings to mind the idea that that God had throughout the old testament scriptures made numerous prophecies concerning this one that was gonna come into this world, this anointed one. He was gonna come into this world and and so so we we're just...

19:42 We we we're often, I think, just almost overcome by the number of prophecies. Some people have counted up to around 300 different prophecies. I myself was not able to find that many, but I know, I believe I've found or noted possibly a 100 or more of these prophecies. They're wonderful and outstanding prophecies, and there's so many of them that you have to say, wow, God had a great plan in place, didn't he? God had this great plan.

20:14 And also, you think of this idea that there was this expectancy of this messiah that was to come. And so when Peter says, we found the messiah. And we we we understand that that it was something, it was a deep longing of their hearts. And and so, also note that it does say we found the Messiah, which is translated the Christ. And so, we have to understand that that it's it's saying that Messiah and Christ are the same.

20:43 One is simply a Hebrew word and one is is a Greek word. And and so so he he is the Messiah, the the one that was prophesied in the Old Testament. Now, for a verse of expectation, I'd like to turn to John four. And this is actually... This verse I'm going to read was actually spoken by a Samaritan, which I thought was interesting.

21:12 But but still, it showed that even they had the same expectancy for the coming messiah. So I'm in John chapter four, and and we we recall that the Lord Jesus had had this conversation with this woman at the well. And and and near the end of this conversation, the Lord Jesus the Lord Jesus demonstrated to her that he knew all about her sins, all that she had done. He he knew about all these sins. And and the...

21:38 And so the the Lord Jesus reveals this to her. And so in the twenty fifth verse, the woman said to him, I know that Messiah is coming, who is called Christ. When he comes, he will tell us all things. Jesus said to her, I who speak to you am he. So the Lord Jesus is saying, in just about as clear words as you could say it, that he was the Messiah.

22:06 And indeed, he he is the Messiah that was to come into this world. I particularly appreciated the the confession that Peter made. I want us to turn to John chapter six. And in John chapter six, the Lord had made some very difficult statements that many of the disciples found trouble trouble receiving. And I think even if you or I were to read through John chapter six, we might have gulped a little bit at some of the statements the Lord Jesus made.

22:40 But the Lord Jesus was testing them whether they would really believe him. And so it says in the sixty sixth verse of John six, from that time, many of his disciples went back and walked with him no more. Then Jesus said to the 12, do you also want to go away? And here's Peter's great confession. Peter answered and said, Lord, to whom can we go?

23:07 You have the words of eternal life. Also, we have come to believe and to know that you are the Christ, the son of the living God. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Christ, the son of the living God. This this great messiah had been promised. It had been promised for for thousands of years that he was going to come.

23:33 And now he had arrived on the scene. And Peter says, we've come to know, to believe, and to know that you are the Christ, the son of the living God. Now, part of part of the whole idea of the prophetic development in the Old Testament where the Messiah was promised and then the Lord Jesus came and fulfilled it, Part of that... Part of the witness of it is that God did have a wonderful plan in place, and and it began to develop. And and eventually, his son does come down.

24:12 So we're gonna turn to Galatians chapter three. Chapter four, excuse me. Galatians chapter four. And we're just gonna read verses four through six. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that he might receive...

24:44 That we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth his his spirit, the spirit of his son into your hearts, crying, Abba, father. This is a good this is a good Father's Day set of verses, isn't it? God has sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts crying, Abba, father. Abba is kind of the equivalent of daddy.

25:12 I like familiar familiarity of Abba, daddy, a little child coming coming to his father, Abba, and speaking to him. But in the fourth verse, it uses this expression. It says, and when the fullness of time had come, as though as though there was this development coming up to it and a plan in place. And finally there comes this moment when when when it it is it is brought to pass, when the fullness of time, the time had come for action. And so the sun comes into the world and and it says, God sent forth his son, born of a woman, this we're talking about the virgin birth of our Lord, born under the law.

25:59 He certainly fulfilled the law perfectly. He was born amongst the Jews and fulfilled it perfectly. To redeem those that were under the law, those that couldn't keep the law, redeem them, that we might receive the adoption sons so that we too might be sons of this father god. So that we ourselves could actually say, Abba, Father. Praise his name for that.

26:53 It says, for God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. The Lord Jesus' purpose for coming to this world was not to bring condemnation, but to bring salvation. And and so that the world through him might be saved. Now, let's talk about this condemnation for just a second because just because Jesus did not come into the world to condemn the world doesn't mean there isn't condemnation. And then...

27:20 And and let me just read the next verse just to make the point. He who believes in him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten son of God. Condemnation? So what's that all about? Well, it's condemnation for sin.

27:43 That's what it is. It's condemnation for sin. But the Lord Jesus came, he might deliver us from sin, didn't he? And so and so, the the purpose is given to us that he came into this world that that we might be saved. Now, so how do we get saved, young people?

28:05 How do we get saved? Well, of course, John three sixteen gave us the answer, didn't it? That whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Then, I like the simplicity of Acts sixteen thirty one. Just simply, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.

28:24 How much simpler can you get than that statement of how we are to get saved? We know it's through the lord Jesus Christ, don't we? And through his death on the cross. The next thing I like to talk about is the exclusivity of this method of of salvation, this one who is able to save us. It's exclusively the Lord Jesus.

28:48 Now, probably the clearest verse for that is at the end of the chapter. It says, he who believes in the Son has everlasting life, and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. Pretty exclusive, isn't it? It's if and only if you trust in the Savior that you can be saved. The other verse I like, I think it's kind of neat, perhaps a little bit softer, it makes the same point.

29:16 John 14, Gospel of John, chapter 14, and verse six. And the part I had in mind particularly was, no one comes to the father except through me. No one comes so the Lord Jesus had been talking to to the disciples. He had talked about heaven earlier in the chapter. Then he was talking about his father.

29:45 And and then finally, Jesus says in the sixth verse, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me. That's the only way, exclusiveness of it. I've enjoyed the little children's hymn that goes like this little chorus. It says, I am the way, the truth, and life.

30:09 That's what Jesus said. Without the way, there is no going. Without the truth, there is no knowing. Without the life, there is no growing. I am the way, the truth, and the life.

30:22 That's what Jesus said. And and so it's it's it's the exclusiveness of it that kind of impresses us. Now the next thing I'd like to talk about is back in John 17, where we were just a minute ago. And we actually read this verse, but I wanna read it over again. It's John seventeen three.

31:05 Has to do with relationship, doesn't it? So have we come to that point where where where we aren't we aren't believe... We aren't believing in a in a doctrine. Not that we don't hold doctrine. I don't I don't mean to to push doctrine aside.

31:21 Doctrine is very important. But but we're trusting in a person, the lord Jesus. So so so it says believe on the lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. We're trusting in a person. And so so it expresses this way the idea of relationship.

31:39 And this is eternal life that they may know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ who you have sent. Do we know this savior? He's a precious savior. Do we know him as our our own savior? Pretty important, isn't it?

31:58 Okay, I'm gonna... My time is running fast here. I want to go to my next verse for meditation. It's found in John chapter eight. John chapter eight and verse 36.

32:17 John eight thirty six. Therefore, if the son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. Therefore, if the son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. Now, of course, the the first question is free? Free from what?

32:39 And and actually, that's essentially what the Jews that were listening to him said. They they said, we've never been slaves. Why do you say the son can set you free? We've never been slaves. They weren't actually telling the truth because the the Jewish people had been slaves in Babylon.

32:56 But but the Lord Jesus was talking about something else, a different kind of slavery, wasn't he? And so and so what are the things that the Lord Jesus has freed us from? And so in verse 34 of the chapter, it says, most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is the slave of sin. What does Jesus freed us from? Lord Jesus has freed us from the bondage of sin.

33:30 He's freed us from it. We can praise him for that. He's freed us from the bondage of sin. Before we were saved, we were slaves to sin. And now he's freed us from it.

33:44 Not only has he freed us from the consequences of sin, he's freed us from the bondage of sin. We can praise his name for that. Because of time, I'm running out of time. I'm gonna go on to to the second thing that I that I've, in my meditation, I came across that he's freed us from. And this is found in in Hebrews chapter two.

34:07 So the first thing he freed us from was sin, from the bondage of sin. The second thing is in Hebrews chapter two, and I'm going to read verses fourteen and fifteen. In as much then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared in the same, that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death, that is the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. So I'm I'm using the word release as free, freeing us from it. To release those who through fear of death, who are all their lifetime subject to bondage.

34:54 So the Lord Jesus frees us from the fear of death. Now I particularly enjoyed this second chapter of Hebrews because it it it has a it has a list of reasons in it why the Lord Jesus chose to become a man and come into this world. And I think that's pretty awesome that God would would would give us all these various reasons. It starts in verse nine, but we see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death. He couldn't be the sacrifice for our sins unless he became a man.

35:32 So he becomes a man so that he can die on the cross for our sins. And there's there's several others in there. But finally, comes to our verses fourteen and fifteen. And he says and he says that he's partaken in flesh and blood. He's partaken of flesh and blood so that through death he might destroy him that has the power of death, that is the devil.

35:53 Now he's very definitely saying to us that we're in this world, we're in a warfare against the satanic forces, and that they are real. But he's also referring to the fact that Satan had a grasp upon us through sin. Through sin, satan had this hold upon us. And that by releasing us from the guilt of sin, and from the terrible consequences of sin, we don't have to fear death anymore. And and then through the truth of God that's been given to us, we come to this understanding that death is just a portal.

36:39 It's like a door that you step through. And and when you step through that door, you're immediately in the presence of God. Ravi Zacharias was telling, I I think I heard it a couple of weeks ago on Moody, was telling about his father-in-law, a very godly man that that... And telling about his passing from this scene. And and he said he said before he before he passed, he had dropped into a coma for a number of hours.

37:07 He'd been in a coma. And and and I believe I believe his wife's name was Grace. Forgive me if I have that wrong. But but but he he's he had been in this coma, and and they said he he will never wake up from this coma. But suddenly he woke up from the coma.

37:28 He opened his eyes and he looked up and there was his wife. And he said, hello Gracie. And then he he just like he glanced off at this and he stared. And he said, it's fantastic. And he was gone.

37:48 Isn't that so wonderful? My wife's grandfather, that'd be Joan's father, had not quite so dramatic, but a little bit similar. That right at the end, he'd been in a coma for several hours. And right in the end when he passed, he suddenly opened his eyes, he smiled, and he stared off. He's like, he just like staring at something, and he was gone.

38:15 What did he see? Well, we don't know. God has blocked that one from us. We don't know exactly what he saw, but it's glorious. It's a portal.

38:25 Do we understand? Death is simply a portal into the next world. And perhaps God gave them a glimpse of the next world. I think quite likely he did. Do we realize that we don't have to fear death?

38:58 No, I got the wrong verse. I'm sorry. It's it's John 14 verse 27. John fourteen twenty seven. Peace I live with you.

39:09 Excuse me. Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

39:21 Freedom from anxiety. Now, by context, the the very... The verse immediately before this speaks of of him giving the help or the Holy Spirit. And so, the Holy Spirit is certainly involved in this freedom from anxiety. The Lord gives freedom from anxiety.

39:40 Now, I had my little meditation on this. I thought about it a little bit. And then I, there's some, this little thumping inside that says, Don, you gotta be honest with yourself. You're not always free from anxiety. In my confession, I sometimes am a bit of a worrywart.

40:00 Perhaps I hide it. That's good. But, in honesty... So so I thought, okay, so how does this work? So so I'm gonna turn you to one other verse real quickly on this one.

40:12 It's found in Philippians chapter four. Philippians chapter four and verse six says, be anxious for nothing. It's actually an instruction. It's not it's not a promise. But here's what the promise is that here is.

40:33 Says, be anxious for nothing. But but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, that's because of faith, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known unto God. And here's the promise. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. And I think I can witness, and I think others can witness likewise, that when our hearts are troubled and they are at times troubled, aren't they?

41:07 When our hearts are troubled, that we can go to him and we can bring it before him. And thank him for that. Well, my time is up. I had one other meditation, but you know, I think that I should honor my timetable here. We've had a nice meditation on the Lord Jesus.

41:59 So my friends, here's my question for you. Have you you believed in the Lord Jesus? Have you trusted in him as your personal savior? It's it's it's a question that's a searching question, and God would have it so. That we would ask ourselves, have I trusted in this savior?

42:18 Is is he mine? And if not, why not? Why not today, matter of fact? So that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the chosen one, the sent one who came for this mighty purpose to be our sacrifice, the son of God who came here revealing the father, And that believing that you might have life to his name. My friends, you can believe in the Lord Jesus.

42:45 He's there in front of us. He's offered to us as the savior of sinners. I trusted in him as a child. I desire that each one here might have that same faith in the Lord Jesus. Let's pray.

42:59 Father God, we thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you that he died on the cross for our sins. We thank you for for the redemption that we have because Jesus died. We thank you that it's even spoken of as a ransom, father. That you...

43:17 That that he is the ransom for our sins. Thank you, father. For we had been kidnapped by this terrible enemy of ours. But now we've been bought back. We praise your name and we ask, Lord, that each one here would trust in this precious savior themselves.

43:34 We pray in Jesus name, amen.