All right, let's get after it. Bibles out. Bibles open. Ears open. Hearts open. Let's get to this. You guys ready? All right, I love that. I hope for the life of this church is we always have an excited anticipation when we open God's Word together. So, uh, if you're just joining us, we're working through the book of First John. It's towards the back. Go ahead and find first. John. Uh, we're, we're in chapter five. Uh, and we didn't get, we didn't get to spend a lot of time on our last verse from the text from last week. So we're going to, we're actually going to start there because it builds some tension to what comes next in the text. And if you remember, here's how our, our section ended last week, John said this. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? Now people can really struggle with that, particularly the word accept, right? Who's going to overcome the world? What he's saying is nobody unless or except those who believe in the Son of God, which he's clearly stating throughout the letter is Jesus Christ. This is the exclusivity of Christ. You see it throughout Scripture. John fourteen six. I am the way, the truth, and the life. Nobody comes to the father what except through me, right? Acts four twelve. He's saying there's no other name given under heaven to men that that you must be saved. Jesus Christ, like that's the only way. That's the way to salvation. The only people that are going to overcome this world are those that put their faith in Christ. And John gets even more aggressive with it. In our section today, our section is going to be verse six through verse thirteen. But in verse ten he says this, whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning His Son Jesus Christ. So he's saying, if you don't embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, you're calling God a liar. John loves liar. He's been calling other people liars. And he's like, now if you don't do this, you're calling God a liar, right? If you don't embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, you are setting yourself up against God. And you're like, man, that's that's tough. And, and if you think like, oh, you said a hard thing, please move on to like, love your neighbor. He's going to even double down on this. In verse twelve, he says this, whoever has the son has life. Whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. You got Jesus, you got life. No Jesus, no life like there's no other or alternative. It's it's Jesus and only Jesus. Like you guys get how that's offensive, right? I don't have to unpack that. Like we kind of feel the uncomfortableness. Somebody give me an amen or something like, okay, you're with me. Like it can kind of get, uh, awkward. And in our pluralistic world, you can be right as long as you don't think others are wrong. Right? Yeah. If that's right for you, you do you. And if that's right for you, you do you. And, and it's okay to kind of have your ideas as long as other people's ideas are not wrong. So with, with that's kind of how society tends to function or think. The prevailing theology of our culture is that there are a lot of ways to God, right? Everybody's just trying to do their best and everybody's kind of got their own way to God. I mean, certainly that's not what John's saying here. And here's what we need to understand. Um, that was true for the world John was writing to as well, like a very pluralistic world. I mean, they had a pantheon of gods. There were so many different gods. Uh, and they didn't have a problem with saying Jesus is God as long as he was just another God amongst a lot of gods. But to come along and say, no, this, this is the only God and the only way of salvation. That was very offensive then as well. In fact, in the in the first century and the first few centuries in writing about Christians, they were referred to as atheists. Those atheists, because that was a group of people that denied the existence of all these other gods. They're saying, no, there's not a lot of other ways. There's there's Jesus, and he's the only way. And I think what we need to understand is the Christian gospel of salvation through Christ. And Christ alone is not uniquely offensive to our culture. It's always been offensive. So why do you believe something so offensive? What's wrong with you? Right? Why? Why do so many people embrace such a offensive gospel message? I mean, have you ever found yourself, uh, explaining what you believe to somebody else? And just it just got uncomfortable because you start hearing yourself through their ears and you know how it comes across because you're not when you're talking about the Christian message, you're not just talking about some principles, some laws, some commandments that you might find that you both agree on. the Golden rule. Love your enemies. Those things, it's like, oh yeah, I believe that too. Or my religion teaches that too. And you kind of find some commonality when you get to the essence of Christianity. You're saying you're a mess, and without Jesus, you're in trouble, right? And unless you surrender to this message, there's there's no common ground. Well, here's the thing. Not only is that offensive to an unbelieving world, and this is more what I want to focus on, it can also be a cause of doubt to the believing world. Like when we start to hear our own message through the world's ears, there's a sense of like, oh, am I that guy? Like, what makes me right? And some, some guy that grew up in India wrong. Like, how does that work? And here's how it plays out in a way that I think we should be concerned about. It's not that we stop believing in Christ because we're Christians. That's how we were raised. That's what we know. Like we continue in that. But, but we continue to believe in Christ just with less confidence. Is that you? Like, it's not this like I have this deep conviction that it's Christ and only Christ, and everybody needs Christ, and he's the hope of the world. It's like, I think so maybe, but but who am I to judge? And, and we just kind of have this more passivity to our faith. We're going to get in this text and I got like four points I'm going to highlight. None of them are the main point. Just in my own study. I was like, oh, we need to get that. So I want to like put it on the screen. Uh, so, so you get that, I'll tell you what the main idea of the text is, but, but there's, there's some things in here that I think are really helpful in guiding our life. Um, here's the first one. A devoted life comes from a confident faith. A devoted life comes from a confident faith. And this is what John wants for us. Look at verse thirteen. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God. So he's writing to Christians. And here's his motive. That you may know that you have eternal life. So are you confident in that? Like, do you know that Christ is the Savior? Do you have this conviction that he is the way, the truth, and the life, and nobody comes to the father except through him? Why do you think that? How do you think that? Why would anybody think that? I mean, when you kind of unpack the Christian message. So it's like, so God put on flesh. He was born of a virgin in a barn, had a rural ministry for a while before he was executed by the Roman government. I'm all in on that. Like that just kind of sounds ridiculous, but why is it kind of reached the ends of the earth and just kind of gone everywhere? Like, maybe there's something to it. I'm getting ahead of myself a little bit, but why do you believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ? And what difference do you think it would make in your life if you had a higher confidence of it, a deeper conviction for it. There was a time in its. Recorded in John chapter six. Uh, Jesus fed some people. They come back. They want to be fed again. He kind of has some challenging things to say to him. It's kind of like, hey, if you want a meal, I got a meal for you. Me? Why don't you eat my flesh and drink my blood now? How do you think that went over? They left. Right. And then he turned to his disciples and he says, are you going to leave too? And Peter's like, where are we going to go? Like you have the words of eternal life. And he says, we believe and have come to know that you have the words of eternal life. So it's like, yeah, we believe, but but being with you and hearing you and seeing you like it's deepened our conviction, it's deepened our, our confidence in who you are. In fact, that's the same language he uses here in verse thirteen. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. So it's like, we want that. It's not. That's just like, yeah, I have this belief. We want like a deepened conviction, a deepened confidence in the truth of Scripture and the person and work of Jesus Christ. Do you want that? Okay. I want that for you. Right. John wants that for you. Well, how does that come about? And this is where we need to be careful, because first John is full of tests like test yourself. There's the the doctrine test or the belief test. What do you say about the person of Jesus Christ? There's the obedience test. Like, are you walking in the light? Are you practicing the truth? Because if not, John's calling you a liar, right? Then there's the love test. Do you say you love God but you don't love your brother, right? If so, you're a liar. Like, there's these tests, and we ought to examine ourselves. We ought to look inside our lives and our hearts like. Is there evidence of God's work in our lives. But but listen, ultimately our confidence is not in how well we love someone else or how many commandments we keep. Our confidence is in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen. You can have all the faith in the world, but if your faith is in the wrong thing, you're in trouble no matter how passionately you believe it. I know some people in my generation here, but you remember that song. I don't know if it was R Kelly. Like, um, I believe I can fly. Like some of y'all shouldn't know that. You know that, right? I, I believe I can fly, I can touch the sky. Think about it every night. Nobody's going to join in. That's all I know. How about the younger generation? Uh, it's more defying gravity. You guys know that song? I'm not even going to try it. Right. But they talk about defying gravity. Here's the thing. You can believe with all your heart that you can defy gravity. It won't go well, right? You can. You can be so convicted that you can fly. Try it. Jump off your roof. If you live in a ranch, a ranch house, not too high, and film it and send it to me. Okay. Like it doesn't matter how passionate you believe it. Listen, faith means nothing if it's not properly placed. But even a shaky confidence, properly placed, will work out. Let me tell you a story, an example. This is during the Exodus the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt. Uh, but but God is showing his power to set his people free. With with all the plagues. And they got the frogs and the locusts and the blood and, and all these amazing things that happened. Well, there's two neighbors in Egypt, two Jewish neighbors, uh, Bill and Tom. Now, it's not in the Bible. So if you're like, where's that Bill and Tom story? I'm just making it up to make a point. Okay, so Bill and Tom are two Jewish people that are living in Egypt during this time wanting to get out. And they hear the the last plague coming, that God is going to kill the firstborn of every family. But, but he gives instructions to his people that if you want to escape this coming judgment, find a lamb, a lamb, a spotless lamb, kill it. Put the blood on your doorpost, go inside dressed that you're ready to leave and have a great meal and be ready because we're getting out in the morning. So Bill and Tom being neighbors, they talk about this and they're like, okay, we're doing it. And they both kind of do it. And, and Tom's like, um, all right, we're doing this. And Bill's like, you bet we'll see you in the morning. And they go to their separate houses and Bill has this feast and they're so excited and they're like dancing and singing and we can't wait for the morning to come. And, and they, they know the power of God and they're just pumped. But across the street and Tom's house. Tom's pacing. He's crying. He's having a hard time breathing. He's having some anxiety. He's like, I don't know if this is going to work out. I'm scared. I don't know if this is going to happen. Now morning comes. Which one of those make it through the night? They both do, because it's not about what's going on inside the house. It's that they had the blood of the lamb on the door, right? That's what their confidence is. However, you weren't supposed to go out of your house, but if you could minister to Tom that night, wouldn't you want to tell him like Tom, relax. Enjoy your meal, sing a song. Have confidence in God. Chill out brother. Right. You would want to have him have that kind of peace. Now, we're not shut up in a house, and we're not trying to make it through just one night. We're living in the world day to day, but we two have the blood of the Lamb covering us. So let's stir up some confidence, like to to live with some conviction about the promises of God, the forgiveness of God, the grace of God in our life lived out as a testimony to Jesus Christ because John has been challenged us to look at the fruit. Right? Look at your life. What kind of fruit are you bearing? Now he is going to direct our attention to the root, the source of our faith. Why go all in with Jesus? And some of you in here maybe need to be pushed on like, hey, you're kind of half in. Why go all in with Jesus? What's the the argument for that? So let's start at the beginning of our text here. Verse six. Here we go. You guys ready? All right. This is he who came. Let's just let's just stop there because it's a loaded phrase for for Jewish people. They've been waiting a long time for he who would come all the way from the promise made to Adam and Eve that you're going to have a descendant, and he's going to crush the serpent's head to the promise made to Abraham that through you I'm going to bless all the families of the earth, to the promise to David that you're going to have a descendant that sits on the throne forever. To all the prophets that kept speaking of this coming Messiah, this coming Messiah, this coming Messiah. Isaiah telling us he's going to be born of a virgin, uh, Micah telling us he's going to be born in Bethlehem. Hosea saying he's going to depart out of Egypt, Isaiah saying he's going to minister in the area of Galilee and ultimately be pierced for our transgressions. And John's like Jesus is him, like the one that we've been waiting for. He came so, so have confidence in all the Old Testament fulfillment found in Christ. He came. But, but it gets a little weird. So. So let's read what John actually says. This is he who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not by the water only, but by the water and the blood and the spirit. Who is the one who testifies, because the spirit is the truth. For there is. There are three that testify, the spirit and the water and the blood, and these three agree. If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater. For this is the testimony of God that he has born, that he has born concerning His Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning His Son. And this is the testimony that God gave us eternal life, and this life is His son. Whoever has the son has life, and whoever does not have the son does not have life. Sounds super clear, doesn't it? The word testify. Uh, it gets used eight times in just six verses. Actually, in Greek, it's used ten times because the the phrase that they translate has born. It's the same, same word. So if you look at verse nine, he says, if we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater. For this is the testimony of God that he has testified concerning His Son. So it's the same word. So like in six verses, you get the same word ten times. And John loves this word. So this word is used one hundred and thirteen times in the New Testament. Forty seven of them are found in the Gospel of John. Seventeen of them are found in the letters of John, and ten of them are right here in our text. So he's a fan of this word. If you're a fan of this word, you'll love this text too here. But you're like, well, what's the word? Uh, the word is, uh, martirio. Now remember that because we'll come back to it, but it means to testify or to witness, and it really clues us in on what John is after here. He's after the testimony of Jesus Christ. Like that we would embrace believe the message of Jesus Christ. But it's not just that we would believe the message about Jesus Christ or the testimony about Jesus Christ, but we ourselves would have a testimony for Jesus Christ. So, so here's, here's the main idea of the text. Whoever truly receives the testimony about Jesus has a testimony for Jesus. And hopefully we'll make sense of this in a little bit. But this word to, to testify to, to bear witness. It's not like, uh, the way we use it a lot of like, what's your testimony? Like, tell me your story. Think more of like a court of law, right? Like convince me, uh, prove it, show me that, that, that kind of testimony. See, like you have a story, but you also have a convince me you have a story of like, oh, I came to faith at summer camp. I heard the preacher and the gospel made sense. Or I prayed with my mom before bed or in college in salt company, the gospel clicked like you have a story of how you came to faith, but do you have a convince me? And there's a difference. And the problem is that a lot of people in the church have a story, but they don't have a convince me that convinced me is not like how I came to faith or convince me or a testimony is like how I'm living my life now is convincing to the reality of Jesus Christ. Like he's really done something in my life. He's changed my passions. He's changed my priorities. He's changed my whole life. And it's evidential, like it's convincing, it's compelling. That's what we need to see. And that's what John is advocating for. And, and he brings up like some witnesses to make this this case now in Jewish law. It stated that you needed two or three witnesses to make your case. Um, this is in Deuteronomy nineteen. It says this A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall charge be established. So this was Old Testament Jewish law. But you see this in the New Testament as well. Matthew eighteen if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. There's another one. This is in first Timothy five nineteen. Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. Right. So it's like, yup, more people saying this. Uh, one more second Corinthians thirteen. Paul's going to Corinth to like deal with some problems and some division in the church. And he says, this is the third time I'm coming to you. Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. So that was like customary, like legal practice. You want to make a case, you need to bring two or three witnesses. So John's trying to make a case for Jesus Christ. He's like, you need two or three witnesses. I'll give you three. Now, you would think you would say like, all right, let me call Lazarus to the stand. Go on. Tell him what he did to you. Jerry says, like, like, get get on the stand. Tell him what he did to your daughter. Like how he raised her from the dead. Here's a guy that was born blind like he now he sees like you think he would give those testimonies. But but he doesn't. He goes full weird. He's like, I'm going to call to the stand. Water, blood and the spirit. What does that mean? What does that mean? Now there's some debate on what is meant by water and blood. Some think it refers to his death. Uh, looking at when the Roman soldier pierced the side of Jesus. The text says that blood and water came out. I don't think that's the case. I think that's something physical that happened, not so much a testimony or a divine statement being made. Something, water and blood point to baptism in the Lord's Supper because something is being proclaimed and testified there. So I'd say maybe. Um, but, but it's also more of us proclaiming something like when, uh, Paul gives instruction in the Lord's Supper, like every time you do this, you proclaim the death of Jesus until he returns. But, but I also think God's proclaiming something through baptism and Lord's Supper as well. So, so maybe, but but the other option, which I think is right, is water and blood are referring to the baptism and death of Jesus Christ. Because what happened at Jesus baptism? Did anybody testify? Anybody make a statement? Right? And Jesus baptism, he comes out of the water and the spirit like a dove, ascends upon him. And who speaks up? God says, this is my son, whom I am well pleased. Like there was a. There was a testimony to the reality of Jesus. But then. Then you get to his death and you're like, well, what happened to his death? And I know some of you might be thinking, well, God didn't say anything at at the death of Jesus. Well, here's what it says in Matthew twenty seven. And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, top to bottom. And the earth shook and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep or had died were raised and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. When the centurion and those who were with him kept watch over, Jesus saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, truly, this was who? Yeah, I'm going to go out on a limb and say, that's a statement, that's a divine statement. And people got it because they said, truly, this is who the Son of God. But then there's a a third witness that John calls to the stand the spirit, and he says this, and the spirit is the one who testifies, because the spirit is the truth. The truth. John talks like this. Uh, another place in his gospel about the spirit. This is John fourteen. He says, but the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the father will send in my name, he will what? Teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. So the spirit is going to be active in teaching and reminding kind of in the the truth of Jesus Christ. And you see, there's several places we could go. Let me go to one. This is acts one fifteen and sixteen. In those days Peter stood up among the brothers. The company of persons was in all about one hundred and twenty and said, brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas. Now it's the Scripture, it's the Holy Spirit, and it's David. Which one? Yes, yes, right. You get it. Like, did David say that? Or did the Holy Spirit say that the Holy Spirit, through David and the spirit, is kind of working as like this campaign manager to the unfolding plan of redemption through Jesus Christ. Like, I'm going to teach, I'm going to help you remember. I'm going to give instructions. And he's kind of bringing this about. But truth is not just information, it's also validation. It proves true. And at Jesus's baptism, the Spirit of God descended upon him, and this began his public ministry. And it was a public ministry full of validating acts. When you when you heal people, when you cast out demons, when you raise people from the dead, when you calm the. The storm. What his disciples who. Who commands the winds and the waves? Well, the only answer to that is God. Yet I got a guy in a boat who just did that. So who's that guy? God. Right. That's the point. Like he had validating acts in his ministry. So in one sense, it's like, hey, these three witnesses that all agree are all kind of cooperatively working together. John is saying, I want to call to the stand the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Like, let's look at this. Let's look at who he was. Let's look at what was said about him. Let's look what he said. Let's look at what he had had done. Like it? It bears witness. And guys, I want you to get this. Placing your faith in Jesus Christ is not some irrational wishful thinking for the week. Like that happened. Like in our history, there was a man who walked this earth named Jesus Christ, who cast out demons, who healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, raised the dead, was crucified, and himself walked out of the tomb. And the historical documentation of that is pretty overwhelming. And if you can't get over that, the historical impact in our world is pretty overwhelming. And you got to deal with it. And John's making his case like, what are you going to do with Jesus? But then he says this in verse nine, if we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater. For this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning His Son. So it's like if a if a man brings you two or three witnesses, we kind of say like, well, that's enough. I'm bringing you so much evidence. And it's, it's greater. So what are you going to do with Jesus Christ? And he says, God himself has borne or or testified through his son. And here's the thing that word testified or borne is perfect tense. Now, we've talked about this enough where I think some of you can catch it. There's a lot of different tenses in Greek, but but a perfect tense refers to something that happened in the past. And whatever happened in the past continues to have impact into the future and into the present. So like, it's not just past tense, like, oh, something happened in the past. It happened. It's over and done with. Perfect tense is like it happened in the past and it continues on to have an effect. So what happened in the past? What's this testimony that God has given us in the past that continues to have an effect in the present? The sending of Jesus Christ, the ministry of Jesus Christ, and that work of God continues to have an effect in the present. What's the effect? What effect is it still having? See, truth is not just information, it's Its validation and validation is not just external, it's also internal. Here's more of what John said in his gospel chapter fourteen. I will ask the father, and he will give you another helper to be with you forever, even the spirit of truth. The same phrase he uses in our text. Whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be what in you? Or here's how he puts it in our text. Look at verse ten. Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony. What in himself? There's an internal testimony happening. Like I'm just convinced. I believe like something happened inside me where I believe and I've come to know. There's a deepening conviction and it's like, well, why do you believe in God? That's a really tough question to answer. I mean, there's a lot of evidence and things you can point to and experiences and things you've read, but like, why do you believe now? Theologically, it's like, well, God did something inside of me. Like woke me up to himself. Like it's, it's not a math problem. You're not going to argue anybody into the kingdom of heaven. Like if your wife says like, well, why do you love me? Careful how you answer that question. Right. I'm not going to say like, well, the reason I love Marcy is because I just I mean, I'm so physically attracted to her. It's like, well, looks change over the years. That's why I love her. My love is so fragile. Right? Or I just I love your your work ethic. Well, that may change. I'm not going to love her anymore. I love how you can cook. Right. Well, that can change. Hopefully not. But it's like, why I love her. Sometimes the most meaningful answer is like, I don't know, I love you because I love you, right? Something internal is there like, why do you believe in God? Like God has done something internal. And John calls three witnesses to the stand to testify for Jesus. He's like, give me water, blood in the spirit. And he's like, let's look at the life of Jesus Christ. Let's look what God has shown us of himself by the sending of His son. You believe that? Like, do you embrace that? Because here's what he's saying. If you receive the testimony about Jesus, then you are going to have a testimony for Jesus. When the testimony is in yourself, you yourself are then the testimony. Are you tracking with me on that? When you embrace that testimony, you yourself become the testimony. Look at verses eleven and twelve, and this is the testimony that God has gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Whoever has the son has life. Whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. When we hear eternal life, we tend to think of like, you know, that place we go when we die, that we live forever. Um, but the way the Bible speaks of eternal life is yes, something that lasts forever. And yes, something that comes to full fruition in the future, but also something that begins at the point of faith. So, so get this eternal life for the Christian doesn't start when you die. It starts when you're born again. When did your physical, natural life start? When you were born? So when is your everlasting spiritual life start? When you're born again. Like that's when it begins. So if you look at verse eleven and twelve, he just uses eternal life once, but then after that, he just uses life. And this is the testimony that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son of God. Whoever has the son has life. He doesn't say, and this eternal life is in His son. And whoever has the son has eternal life. It's just life. But he says, this is the testimony that you have eternal life. Life that you have life and have life is in the present tense. So when we hear eternal life, we're thinking, oh, that's future. But then he's like, no, I'm talking about your present tense life, which means the evidence or the testimony that we've been given. Eternal life is found in the life we presently live and how we live our present life. Because when the spirit does something internal, it doesn't stay internal. It gets displayed in our life. That's what John wants. So what he wants for us when he says, I write these things to you who believe that in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. I want you to have a deeper confidence and conviction of the truth of Jesus Christ, because a devoted life comes from a confident faith, and a devoted life also testifies to the reality of Jesus Christ. Listen to me, church. John doesn't want us to just accept the testimony about Jesus Christ. What he's after is that by accepting the testimony about Jesus Christ, we then would have a testimony for Jesus Christ. So let's go back to that word that gets repeated so much in these few verses. The the word that gets used a, I'd say ten times in this text. Martirio. Does that sound like a word? You know Martirio. Martyr. Oh. I didn't say it. Slower, martyr. It's where we get our word martyr from. And to be a martyr is to willingly endure suffering and death for what you believe. Now, why would people who suffer and die for Jesus Christ be given that name? The word just means to testify, to bear witness. Because that's what they were doing. They were bearing witness in their death. They were saying something through their devotion unto death. One of the strongest testimonies for the reality of Jesus Christ is a history full of martyrs, people that were willing to die for their faith. Every disciple of Jesus Christ except John was martyred. And history tells us that they tried to kill John. They tried to boil him in oil and it didn't work. So they just shipped him off to an island to live out the rest of his days. But if this is just some hoax and some lie, is everybody going to die for that? No one's going to crack and give in. Like everybody dies and they die like a painful, torturous death. What's that say? Because that says something that bears witness and testimony. Like they really believe it. That speaks to the reality of Jesus Christ. And history is full of people who have died for their faith. Ignatius of Antioch, who was an early church leader. He was a contemporary with Polycarp. Polycarp was a church father who was discipled by John. So he'll give you some context here. So not not long after this, uh, Ignatius of Antioch wrote a letter while he was in chains being taken to Rome to be killed, and he wrote a letter to be sent ahead of him to the Christians living in Rome. And the purpose of his letter was to convince them, don't try to stop my death. And here's here's what he says. I ask you to pray for only one thing that I may have inward as well as outer outward strength, so that I won't just give lip service to martyrdom, but truly desire it. And then he says this. I don't want to merely be called a Christian. I want to actually be one when everything is on the line. What if that was us? I don't want to just be called a Christian. I want to actually be a Christian when everything is on the line. Like when the stage is set and everyone's looking at me like, what are you going to do? Like in that moment, I want to like, show the world my faith. What if that was our posture? I don't want to just be called a Christian. I don't want to just give lip service to my faith. I want to actually like when it counts. And do you know what? What that, you know, when somebody says what to live is Christ and to die is gain. Do you know when somebody really believes that when they willingly die? Like when somebody says, I love God more than money? Do you know what people who really believe that do? They're generous. You know, people that's like, I love God more than sports. You know, people really believe that when they continue to pursue God at a higher passion than sports. When people say like, I love God, like he's my treasure, you know, people really believe that people actually pursue him as their treasure. Like when it counts, when it's on the line, when it's like, no, I think Christ is more precious than pornography. I think he's better than status. You know who people like really believe that when they're willing to speak up and lose social status, like it's like, I don't want to just be a Christian, just like lip service. I want to actually be a Christian when everything is on the line, like when it counts, when people are watching, when it's going to make a bold statement to our world. And what if more of us are making bold statements to our world? Guys, how they lived was a loud testimony for Christ. And listen, the same is true for us when we live countercultural to this world for the glory of Christ that says something, says something loudly. But when we live just like everyone else that says something to. What are you saying? What are you saying to this world? Like, you may have a story, but do you have a testimony? Like you may have a story of how you came to faith in Christ, but do you have a convince me you live a convincing life, that you really believe in his promises. You really believe in his grace. You really believe in His Word. The testimony that God has given us eternal life is the way we live our present life, because those who truly embrace the testimony about Jesus will have a testimony for Jesus. The question is, how convincing are you? How convincing are we that we found our joy. We found our pursuit. We found our passion. And you can have this whole world. Just give me Jesus. You people see that in us because that is a powerful testimony. Let's pray. Father, I pray that we are people that don't just have stories about how we came to faith in you, but we have a lifestyle that points that we do have faith in you. So for all of us in here that believe that Jesus is the Son of God, would we also come to know, would we be convicted with a deep confidence that you are who you say you are? Your word and promises are true and you can be trusted. And may it show in the life we live. We pray this in your name. Amen.