00:00 Introduction and Welcome

00:22 Discussing Reagan Rose and Productivity

01:11 Technical Difficulties and Podcast Quality

02:02 Balancing Productivity and Rest

03:37 Transition to John Chapter 6

04:07 Feeding of the 5,000

06:04 Walking on Water

06:45 Bread of Life Discourse

09:02 The Insatiable Skeptic: Seeking More Proof

09:49 The Role of the Holy Spirit in Belief

10:03 Jesus' Rebuke and the Resurrection

10:20 Engaging with Skeptics: Asking the Right Questions

10:47 Understanding Objections to Christianity

11:53 The Goodness and Beauty of Christianity

12:38 The Assurance of Salvation

15:13 The Metaphor of Feeding on Christ

16:20 Struggling with Jesus' Teachings

16:49 The Challenge of Unanswered Prayers

17:27 Concluding Prayer and Reflections

Hey everybody.

2

Welcome back to another edition

of the daily Bible podcast.

3

What's up.

4

Y'all.

5

Hey, I heard a podcast.

6

That's not this one, but

it made me think about you.

7

Recently.

8

Everyone's on the edge of

their seat because it had

9

one of your favorite people.

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Uh, one of your favorite.

11

Okay.

12

I'm not going to say influencers

because that's not what this guy would

13

be, but he has influenced you and

he's influenced me to a lesser degree.

14

Um, but it is one Reagan rose.

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Oh yeah.

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Like Reagan.

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So he was on a podcast called walking with

the wise and it's the most recent episode.

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So if you're interested in hearing about

this, it's the title of the podcast is

19

how to be more productive with Regan

rose, founder of redeeming productivity.

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Description as he gets super

practical about how to be productive.

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And so, um, I listened to it

just driving around during lunch.

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Uh, hour and everything

and it's, it's good.

23

It is.

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Productive.

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He talks a lot about his, uh, his

power mornings, which is an acronym.

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For prayer.

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Uh, organization, right, right.

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Um, w his word Bible, he is exercise

and R what is the are reading?

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Yeah, that's right.

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So he talks about that in that

model, why it's so useful for them.

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So if you're out there and you're like,

Hey, I'm, I'm in a productivity rut.

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That might be a good listen for you.

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It's a walking with the wise now.

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Caveat.

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We never have technical

difficulties on this podcast ever.

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Nope, never, never.

37

You never like not plugged

in the microphone or had

38

any issues like that ever.

39

Um, in this one they're not so

fortunate because one of the hosts,

40

his microphone is clearly off.

41

He sounds very far away,

so that's a little bit

42

distracting, but Reagan's is on.

43

And that's the meat of the

episode is listening to Reagan.

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Talk about productivity.

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He's a believer.

46

Uh, it talks about it from a Christian

perspective, but it kind of got me geeked

47

out about productivity and goal setting

and organization and all that stuff again.

48

His book on that, which is

by the same title, redeeming

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productivity is, is really good.

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So if you haven't read anything on

that and you want to, his book is one

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of my favorite reads on the subject.

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That's awesome.

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Yeah.

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And that book is by the same title, right?

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Redeeming productivity.

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That's right.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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We're good.

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Yeah, that's super good.

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Uh, any, any other tidbits like

that, that you've come across that

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have been helpful for you recently?

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Man, I, this is one of those

topics that I regularly read on.

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So pretty much any of the new stuff

that comes out, I like to pick it up.

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And at this point, I feel like there's

so much repetition and that there was,

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there was a movement for a period of,

I don't know, maybe five to 10 years,

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or every author was saying, here's

how to squeeze them more into the day.

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And I really appreciated that, but there's

now a counter movement of books that

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are saying, Hey, it's okay to slow down.

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It's okay to take a break.

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It's okay.

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To walk more slowly and to not take

your phone with you, it's okay.

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To, to create some rhythm in your day.

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So I feel like between

the two sets of books.

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There's a lot of stuff in between, which

I feel like is this is the biblical CA.

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Not biblical counseling, but a

biblical approach to productivity

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because God works six days.

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He rests on the seventh and there's that?

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There's that a regular

rhythm of the Fiesel.

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I haven't, there's nothing out of

the ordinary that I would say, oh,

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this book is especially stood out.

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Except for the biblical genre.

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I think, I think Reagan hits

a really good, a really good

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strikes, a really good balance.

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Um, I think, uh, another one that

came out recently, it was, um,

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May I see it as a yellow cover.

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I think it's something like redeeming

every day, it's similar to, to

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Reagan's title, but it's another

Christian take on productivity.

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Redeeming your time.

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Uh, Jordan Rainer.

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Yeah, I think that's it.

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Yeah, it is.

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We'll cover.

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There's another one that looks like that.

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It's another halo cover.

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I think yellow and productivity

go together for whatever reason,

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showers do more, better, also yellow.

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Is it yellow?

99

It is maybe that's the thing.

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Well in any case, uh, yeah, if you,

you know what, follow me on good reads.

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I am.

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Um, I've been so good this year.

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At keeping my good reads up to date.

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So if you're into reading.

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And you want to grow in that area?

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I'm not saying that everything I read

is something that you should read.

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I will rate it.

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And if I don't like it, I'll let you know.

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Uh, but that that'll let you

know what I'm up to these days.

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Yeah.

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Awesome.

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Super helpful.

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Well, let's jump into John chapter

six or beneficial if you will.

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Uh, practical, um, the directive.

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In our thinking on productivity.

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Beneficial.

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Yeah.

118

Uh, all right, John chapter six,

this should be familiar for us.

119

If you've been around with the church

for a little bit, since we've been

120

preaching through the gospel of John.

121

Uh, but some things that are

familiar right off the bat, because

122

we've already covered it a couple

of times in the synoptic gospels,

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which are the non, uh, Johanna.

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Gospel's there's a word for

us, John I'm being of John.

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Um, We've already covered this.

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This is the feeding of the 5,000.

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This is the, one of the only miracles

recorded in all four of the gospels.

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And so not a lot new to observe here,

except that interestingly, John, the

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apostle does not mention John the

Baptist death as proceeding this event.

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Whereas the Synoptics do they

record the John the Baptist who

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was executed before this happened?

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So that's interesting.

133

Uh, that John doesn't.

134

Do you want to understand for that?

135

Is.

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Is there a particular reason that

you could see at the magically.

137

Why John would exclude it.

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I mean again, John was so

intentional about what he included.

139

He wrote everything you

wrote for a purpose.

140

And she was to demonstrate that

Jesus is the Christ, the son of

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God, and that by believing in

that we might have eternal life.

142

And so in his.

143

Uh, estimation probably perhaps because

the other three gospels had already been

144

written and were circulating at that time.

145

They already know that yeah.

146

They know what's happening there.

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Right.

148

So let me just jump on

into the content, right.

149

Right.

150

One thing that he does, which is unique

is he mentioned the proximity of the

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Passover and he does this again, not

just for chronological region reasons,

152

but also for theological reasons.

153

Because the feeding of the

5,000 is going to launch into

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the bread of life discourse.

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And so bread being a key factor.

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Uh, in the, the Passover meal, as well

as in the, the bread of life discourse

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there, he's going to talk about his

own body being broken and, and eating

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his flesh and drinking the blood.

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And so John's.

160

Uh, John's note here.

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Contextual note of the Passover was as

much for theological reasons as it was

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for chronological because he's setting up.

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What Jesus is going to talk

about, about his own body and

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blood later on in the chapter.

165

He re records also uniquely the reaction

of the people and their desire to

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take Jesus and make him king by force.

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And why does John record that?

168

And the others don't

record the same thing?

169

Well, Jesus hour, as we've

been talking about is a key

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theme in the gospel of John.

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John focuses a lot on his time.

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When is it going to be his hour?

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And it wasn't yet.

174

And so he's showing us that.

175

That this wasn't the time that

he was going to be made king.

176

This wasn't the time for him

to step into the spotlight.

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That's going to come later.

178

It's going to be through

the cross, not a throne.

179

And so John is drawing attention to that

uniquely in his recording of this event.

180

Verses 15 through 21, then the

walking on water is recorded by John.

181

Um, similar again to the other gospels,

which recorded the walking on water event.

182

There's a differences here.

183

John records, the distance they had road.

184

And so that's interesting.

185

He talks about how far out

into the lake they had gone.

186

And there's no mention, and he's not

alone in this, but there's no mention

187

here of Peter's attempt to walk on water.

188

Which I find it interesting as

well, that mark doesn't record

189

that if Marcus Peters interpreter.

190

Peter's like, yeah, you

got, don't worry about that.

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I was like, didn't you nothing

interesting about that.

192

There.

193

But John, maybe John on the opposite

end, John and Peter can always we're.

194

We're.

195

Have a healthy level of competition

with one another running to the tomb

196

together, everything else like that, Sony.

197

Yeah.

198

Um, but the walking on water, John

six, 15 through 21, and then the bread

199

of life discourse verses 22 all the

way down through 59 through the rest

200

of the chapter, essentially here.

201

Um, or almost the rest

of the chapter, but.

202

The crowds, they come around the rush

to meet Jesus after the feeding of the

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5,000 on the other side of the lake.

204

And, uh, and he rebukes them basically

for their shallow interest in physical

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food and tells them they need to

believe in him whom the father had sent.

206

Uh, that they needed a different kind

of food than what they were after.

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They say, Hey, give us a sign.

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Like Moses, Moses gave

us manna from heaven.

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What do you give us?

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Jesus says, you know what?

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I'm, I'm the better man.

212

I'm the, the bread.

213

I'm truly the bread from heaven.

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I'm the bread of life is where we

get that, uh, that statement that

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he makes here verses 30 through 35.

216

Um, and then he talks about the

difficulty in believing is so

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much in this chapter is about how.

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How people come to truly believe who

Jesus is, that Jesus is who he says he is.

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And so much of it has to do

with the father's action.

220

First, in fact, in 36 through 40 that's

really what we get that, that, that's

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what believing is, is it's a matter

of the father enabling us to believe.

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Those he gives to the sun are going to

be the ones that, that believe those

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are the ones that he desires to believe.

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Those are the ones that

he turns over to the sun.

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Verse 44 is well-known along that

that no one comes to the father.

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Or to the sun, unless

the father draws him.

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And so there's a, uh, an indication

that this comes from the father.

228

The father has to draw him.

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And so Jesus is.

230

Here in this text.

231

Uh, making a parallel between

himself and Moses and he makes

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it even clearer, clearer.

233

More more clear, clearer,

clearly more clearly.

234

Just curious.

235

That's it more clearly

in verses 48 through 51.

236

Um, when he repeats again, I'm the

bread of life, but this time he takes

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it further saying his flesh is the bread

that will be given for the life of the

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world, which launches into feeding on

his flesh and his blood, which led to so

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many of the Jews going, wait a minute,

we're throwing a flag on the play.

240

This is against the law.

241

We don't like this.

242

This is wrong.

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And a lot of them ended up leaving him.

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Why do they ask for a sign?

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They're asking for a sign on the heels

of the most incredible sign that they

246

would have ever seen ever with the

multiplication of fish and loaves.

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Why are they asking for a stinking sign?

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I think there, there, there.

249

How to put this, um, They're theological

for years, they, they want to see more.

250

They're entertained by this they're

they're thinking to themselves.

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Right.

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How is this going to benefit me?

253

It's like the Nirvana song.

254

And we are now entertain us.

255

Yeah, exactly.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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So this there's always angered me

because I'm thinking you're asking for

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something that you've already seen.

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I think this speaks to some

part of the human nature.

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And that that never being satisfied

with what's what's there, there's

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a lot of skeptics who look at the

gospel and look at the scriptures and

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say, yeah, there there's a lot there.

264

And I could see some, some,

some reasons why people might

265

believe it, but it's not enough.

266

There's not enough there for

me to, to sink my teeth into.

267

I don't believe it.

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I need more proof.

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And that's really not

the case for most of us.

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Most of us don't need more proof.

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In fact, it's evident God has given

us efficient information about who

272

he is and what he's done for us

to make a, an informed decision.

273

Is it a decision of certainty?

274

Can you, can you scientifically

measure it and weigh it and put

275

it in a laboratory and test it?

276

No, we don't have that kind of

certainty, but we have enough

277

certainty to say, I can have.

278

Confidence that what is here is true.

279

And then really, I think the holy

Spirit's who steps in and gives

280

us that a deeper, more profound

sense of, I know this is true.

281

I can't prove it to you,

but I know it's true.

282

I think he that's what he

does, but make no mistake.

283

There's a lot of information here

that we can say there's enough.

284

You don't need to ask for more signs.

285

In fact, Jesus rebukes them

saying an evil and adulterous

286

generation seeks for a sign.

287

And no sign will be given

except the resurrection.

288

And we can still say that today.

289

You want more information?

290

Go to the resurrection?

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That's what Lee Strobel does.

292

That's what makes them write the book?

293

That's what others have done, who have

said, oh, I, I realized my error here.

294

This is in fact true.

295

So let's jump into a section here.

296

Well, hold on before we,

before we go further.

297

On that.

298

Um, I was talking with somebody

yesterday morning and we were

299

going through partners and we were

talking about sharing the gospel.

300

And we're talking about the

question of, of what do you do with

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somebody who says, you know, I, I.

302

I'm not there.

303

Thanks.

304

But no thanks.

305

And how do you keep going?

306

Do you, when do you kind of

say, when do you throw up your

307

hands, so to speak and walk away?

308

When, when do you keep going,

what do you keep pursuing?

309

And so one of the things we talked about

along this line of, of those that are

310

kind of saying, yeah, I see it all there,

but I'm not, I'm not quite there is.

311

Ask that next level of question that says,

okay, can I ask why can I w what are your,

312

what are some of the key obstacles that

still remain for you between trusting

313

in this and believing this, accepting

this and where you're at right now?

314

What are some reasons why you don't

want to believe in the gospel?

315

Can you.

316

And not in a combative way, not in

a hostile way, but just asking that

317

because that's going to help you.

318

As you continue to pursue them to

know, is this a matter of apologetics?

319

Is this like, I'm just struggling to

know how a God could create the universe.

320

Okay.

321

Well then you know, how to,

how to approach is this point?

322

I mean, I don't want to give up my

Friday nights and, and my debauchery is.

323

This Sunday mornings.

324

Exactly.

325

I don't want to do that.

326

And if that's the case, okay,

well then you know how to approach

327

differently on that angle too.

328

So asking that next question

can be helpful for us as we

329

pursue the loss so that we know

strategically how to go about that.

330

Yeah.

331

I think one of the most helpful

answers that I've heard from people

332

in the past is look, I just don't.

333

I don't want to become a Christian.

334

It doesn't seem fun.

335

Doesn't seem good.

336

Um, and at that point, you're,

you're arguing at a different level.

337

You're right.

338

It's not an apologetic question anymore.

339

And for most people, I don't think

it is an apologetic question.

340

And it's, I guess it leans apologetic

in that you have to make a defense

341

for the goodness of Christianity.

342

We're not talking about the truthfulness.

343

Um, if you think about the three virtues

that people tend to look at for, for

344

what's what's best, the true, the

beautiful and the good Christianity

345

possesses, all of those things in spades.

346

For most people, if you're an apologist,

you're thinking in terms of truth,

347

what's true versus what's false

relativism versus absolutism, but for

348

many people today, I think they're far

more open to it in terms of saying,

349

yeah, I'd be willing to believe that.

350

But they don't see it as good and

they don't see it as beautiful

351

and probably you're right.

352

That's where most of our

argumentation has to take place today.

353

We have to demonstrate Christianity,

both good and beautiful.

354

Yeah.

355

Yeah.

356

Anyways, I cut you off.

357

You were going to go somewhere else.

358

I was going to bring up this point here.

359

So one of the questions I have.

360

People in our camp, especially if

they've been around for a minute,

361

we'll say, look, I don't know if

Jesus wants me to be a Christian.

362

Um, I came to him.

363

And I don't know if he accepted

me, you know, I repented, I trusted

364

all those things, but I don't

know if he wants me and they'll

365

look at John 6 37 and say, look.

366

All that the father gives will

come to me and whoever comes

367

to me, I'll never catch that.

368

It's.

369

It's at the initiation is the father.

370

And as you pointed out in

John 44, No one can even come.

371

They can't do it.

372

There's no, there's not an ability.

373

Your, you know, your lifeless at

the bottom of the ocean floor, you

374

can't get up and swim to the father.

375

No one can come unless the

father who sent me draws him.

376

So there's an initiating work of

the father that has to precede

377

the response of the believer.

378

When someone comes to us, then

it says, look, I don't, I can't

379

believe I tried to believe, but I

can't because God has an awakened.

380

My spirit.

381

It's kind of true theologically,

but is that the best response?

382

Is that, is that where

we should argue with him?

383

I think for somebody in that camp.

384

Who says, man, I've I've, I've confessed

a repented of turn my life over.

385

I don't think God wants me.

386

I think.

387

Again, we need to ask more questions

and not stay at the surface level.

388

What makes you say that?

389

What makes you say you don't feel

like I'd want you, what makes you.

390

I think some of it is diagnostic.

391

How do you have an affection,

have your affections changed?

392

Do you notice that you want to

be around the people of God?

393

Do you want to be in the word of God?

394

Do you want to be praying to God?

395

Not that that that's going to be

static in, in, at level 10 for every

396

Christian, for the rest of their life.

397

They're there are ups and

downs and all of those things.

398

But when you're dealing with somebody

who's been reborn and that goes back to

399

John chapter three regeneration, when

it takes place, it is a transformation.

400

And so if there's not

been that transformation.

401

And then I think there's been a.

402

There's a loose circuit, somewhere in

their understanding of the gospel that

403

we need to go back to and make sure

that that we're really understanding

404

what, what we're doing, what we're

dealing with, why we need to be saved

405

and what salvation is really all about.

406

And so I think if, if we, as Christians

can, can get below the surface,

407

that's going to help us a lot.

408

And being able to help people

process through these things.

409

Because somebody who says,

I don't think God wants me.

410

Well, that's not true if they

truly have come to the sun,

411

it just, you just quoted that.

412

The second half of verse

37 is the encouraging part.

413

Whoever comes to me,

I will never cast out.

414

So if you truly come to to Jesus,

he's not going to reject you.

415

He's not going to turn you away.

416

And he's also not going to cast you out.

417

Ever if you come to

Jesus, he will accept you.

418

And yes, it is the work of the father.

419

And so that's when we get

need to get back to you.

420

Okay.

421

So why don't you feel like you're there?

422

What, what what's lacking.

423

Have you truly been born again?

424

And how do we begin to diagnose that?

425

That's good and clarifying.

426

One might call it.

427

Helpful.

428

It's it's aid.

429

Aided aiding it's beneficial.

430

Um, we need it.

431

The source.

432

Uh, and then, okay, so then the

chapter ends with, uh, again, people

433

are leaving cause he's like, Hey,

eat my, my, my flesh drink my blood,

434

which again, we didn't touch on that.

435

But if you go back and

listen to the sermon on that

436

passage, this is metaphorical.

437

Jesus is not encouraging cannibalism.

438

Though, because of passages like

this, the early church was accused

439

of cannibalistic practices.

440

Um, and so that was one of

the, the slanderous attacks

441

on the, the early Christians.

442

Uh, post resurrection that

that was brought on them.

443

They, they talked about the love feast

and accused it of being a cannibalistic

444

practice in all sorts of things.

445

This is metaphorical.

446

This is about faith and faith is, is

pictured as feeding on Christ is realizing

447

we need him as the bread of life.

448

And so when we come to him in faith,

that's how we participate in that.

449

But, but a lot of people walk away

cause they, they can't get there.

450

They can't wrap their minds around it.

451

Jesus looks at the disciples.

452

Do you want to go to, and

this is Peter's great.

453

Confession, Lord.

454

Where are we going to go?

455

You have the words of life.

456

We can't go anywhere else.

457

And so it ends on that

high note with Peter's.

458

Declaration there.

459

Uh, though, Peter.

460

As we've already seen in the rest

of our study of the gospel of John.

461

And we'll see in our DVR as well.

462

Peter doesn't fully understand

everything that he's talking about here.

463

He's, he's, uh, speaking better

than he knows at this point.

464

Indeed.

465

And I think it's comforting.

466

If you read your Bible and you find

yourself offended by what Jesus says,

467

I think you're reading him right.

468

If you're not being offended by

Jesus it's because you're probably

469

not understanding what he's saying.

470

I think even for Christians,

there's a lot of things that

471

he says that are really hard.

472

It's just hard.

473

I don't know how to call it.

474

That's what it is.

475

So, if you find yourself in your

Bible, struggling with what Jesus

476

says or how he says it, I think

that you're in good company.

477

I think that's a good thing.

478

That means you're hearing it.

479

And you're responding to what's

really there as opposed to what

480

you would like to be there.

481

That's a good sign.

482

Yeah.

483

In fact, even this weekend, it's it's

offensive or it's, it's difficult in a

484

different way, but we're going to deal

with John 14, 13, and 14, whatever you

485

ask in my name, this, I will do that.

486

The father may be glorified in the son.

487

If you ask me anything

in my name, I will do it.

488

That that's, that's hard to

wrap our minds around it.

489

I'm not talking about those that

are out there going, Hey, I want

490

the Lamborghini in my driveway.

491

I'm talking about those that are

praying good prayers for good

492

things, and God's not doing it.

493

How do we wrap our minds around that?

494

Where do we go from there?

495

Hey, that's a little a tease

for Sunday morning to show up.

496

Oh, find out, uh, what it looks

like to, to wrestle through.

497

That sounds good.

498

Spoiler.

499

I don't have all the answers,

but you've been with us long

500

enough to know that I'm not okay.

501

Yeah.

502

All right.

503

Let's pray.

504

Got thanks for your word.

505

Um, We do thank you for the,

the easy things to understand

506

the hard things to understand.

507

We thank you for the spirit

and the work of the spirit in

508

our lives to enlighten us to.

509

Help us to understand more than otherwise.

510

We would be able to first

Corinthians chapter two says the.

511

The things of the spirit

are spiritually discerned.

512

And, and so because we have your

spirit as believers in Jesus, we

513

are able to understand far more than

just the black and white words on

514

the page, in the text of scripture.

515

Uh, we can understand your truth and your

thoughts and things going on in the text.

516

And even we were talking

about so much today.

517

Uh, we often talk with, with people

who don't have your spirit who can't

518

understand those things the same way.

519

And so we pray that we would have the

wisdom and the skill to be able to, uh,

520

bring the truth to them in such a way that

you would use that truth to open their

521

eyes, to cause them to believe that they

might receive the spirit to be born again.

522

And to be able to understand

these things as well.

523

We ask this in Jesus name.

524

Amen.

525

All right.

526

I'll keep, bring your Bibles tune

in tomorrow for another episode

527

of the daily Bible podcasts.

528

Yeah.