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Introduction
We are still on day #8 of the Feast of Tabernacles — Jesus has used the imagery of the Feast to teach the crowds about His identity and mission.
He told them, “If anyone is thirsty let him come to me and drink” — indicating that the spiritual thirst common to all people is met only in Him.
He told them, “I am the light of the world” — indicating that He is God and that in Him is forgiveness and freedom from sin.
Now Jesus says to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin.
Where I go you cannot come.”
Jesus was about to leave the earth and return to heaven.
The unbelieving Jews would continue to look for their Messiah after Jesus was gone but they would never find Him because He will have already come and gone…right under their noses
Jesus has clearly identified Himself as their long awaited Messiah yet they persist in their unbelief.
They will die in their sin as they look for the very one standing right in front of them…the one they missed…Jesus!
“Die in their sin” — This is in the singular…they will die in the one sin which will in itself prevent them from ever going to the place He is about to go…heaven…unbelief.
Because they did not believe Jesus to be their Messiah they will die in their sin.
“Where I go you cannot come” — Jesus was headed to heaven.
There is only one sin which prevents you from ever going to heaven…one sin which sends you to hell…that sin is unbelief…to refuse to believe Jesus is who He says He is and did what He came to do.
In verse 24 Jesus is speaking in the plural, “Sins.”
The sin of unbelief cuts one off from the ability to receive forgiveness from any and all other sins.
Belief opens the flow of grace into our life and unbelief closes it.
Many times preachers rail against particular sins of the world…speaking of this sin or that sin and how horrible each is…But there is only one sin at the root of all these…the sin of unbelief.
Once we repent of our unbelief and believe in the true identity and mission of Jesus Christ His grace flows to us from God.
We are forgiven of all of our sins, set free from sin’s power and raised from spiritual death to a new life in Christ.
You may be forgiven of your sin of unbelief and all other sins this morning…freed from the power of sin and all of it’s eternal consequences…simply believe in the true identity of Jesus and what He did on the cross for you.
The identity and mission of Jesus are essential.
You can commit any sin and be forgiven except one…there is an unpardonable sin…the rejection of the witness of the Holy Spirit that Jesus is the Messiah.
Alexander III was Tsar of Russia from 1881-1894.
His rule was marked by repression, and in particular by persecution of Jews.
His wife, Maria Fedorovna, provided a stark contrast, being known for her generosity to those in need.
On one occasion her husband had signed an order consigning a prisoner to life in exile.
It read simply “Pardon impossible, to be sent to Siberia.”
Maria changed that prisoners life by moving the comma in her husband’s order.
She altered it to “Pardon, impossible to be sent to Siberia.”
In Christ God has changed the comma that stood against us.
From “Pardon impossible, send to Siberia” comes the good news of salvation: “Pardon, impossible to send to Siberia.”
Jesus was about to leave the earth and return to heaven.
The unbelieving Jews would continue to look for their Messiah after Jesus is gone but they would never find Him because He will have already come and gone…right under their noses
Belief moves the comma…it turns our sentence of condemnation to one of life.
It removes what we rightfully have coming our way and in its place brings what we could never have deserved on our own merit.
In Christ God has changed the comma that stood against us.
From “Pardon impossible, send to Siberia” comes the good news of salvation: “Pardon, impossible to send to Siberia.”
These folks cannot go to where Jesus is headed because they are rejecting Him as their Messiah…rejecting His identity and what he came to do…redeem us.
Once we repent of our unbelief and believe in the true identity and mission of Jesus Christ His grace flows to us from God.
We are forgiven of all of our sins, set free from sin’s power and raised from spiritual death to a new life in Christ.
Three-Fold
You are from below; I am from above — There are three realms of existence…above is heaven…here is the cosmos or world…and hell is below.
Of course this does not mean hell is literally beneath our feet.
To spiritually ascend and trust in the truth of who Christ is and what He came to do leads to heaven.
To reject Jesus and stay in your unbelief is to descend in sin and eventually to hell.
Persistent unbelief or belief is the onramp which leads to the highway of death or life.
Die in Your Sins — If you persist in unbelief you will certainly die in your sins (in the plural).
Not one of your sins will be forgiven because you have persisted in the one sin that closes all flow of God’s grace and mercy into your life.
All along Jesus has claimed to be the Messiah.
He has made it clear both His identity and His mission…to say and do all that the Father has given Him to do in His time on earth.
We are currently on the earth…this is the time and place to make a choice as to where your life is headed…eternally speaking.
Will you believe in the true identity and mission of Christ or persistent in unbelief and continue your sprint into hell?
The words He speaks brings judgement upon sinful mankind.
It exposes our sinfulness and need of His salvation.
It makes a distinction between right and wrong according to God’s definitions of each.
The world is in rebellion against God.
Jesus testifies to the fact that the world is evil, sinful and in rebellion
Let me tell you two stories about two men who came from Chicago, USA:
Story Number One:
Chicago’s O’Hare International airport is named after one of Chicago’s most famous and heroic sons.
Butch O’Hare was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington during the Second World War.
About ten weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbour Butch O’Hare was flying his single engine Grumman Hellcat fighter plane off the Gilbert islands.
He and another pilot were the only ones aloft when O’Hare spotted a group of nine Japanese bombers heading straight for his aircraft carrier, the Lexington.
O’Hare knew the odds were against him – the other fighter planes on the carrier were refuelling and would not have time to take off.
It was up to Butch and the other Hellcat to stop the Japanese bombers.
The odds were dramatically reduced when Butch discovered the machine guns on the second Hellcat had seized.
It was just Butch O’Hare and four minutes between the Japanese bombers and the 2000 crew aboard the Lexington.
Story Number One: — Chicago’s O’Hare International airport is named after one of Chicago’s most famous and heroic sons.
Butch O’Hare was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington during the Second World War.
About ten weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbour Butch O’Hare was flying his single engine Grumman Hellcat fighter plane off the Gilbert islands.
He and another pilot were the only ones aloft when O’Hare spotted a group of nine Japanese bombers heading straight for his aircraft carrier, the Lexington.
O’Hare knew the odds were against him – the other fighter planes on the carrier were refuelling and would not have time to take off.
It was up to Butch and the other Hellcat to stop the Japanese bombers.
The odds were dramatically reduced when Butch discovered the machine guns on the second Hellcat had seized.
It was just Butch O’Hare and four minutes between the Japanese bombers and the 2000 crew aboard the Lexington.
Butch dove in and started the attack.
The crew of the Lexington watched as he engaged the Japanese bombers – their guns training in on his Hellcat fighter.
With astonishing skill Butch O’Hare emerged victorious, shooting down five of the nine Japanese bombers and badly damaging another.
The last three were taken out by planes that managed to get off the decks of the Lexington while the air battle raged above them.
President Roosevelt later described Butch O’Hare’s actions as “one of the most daring, if not the most daring, single action in the history of combat aviation.”
Butch was promoted two ranks and designated the US Navy’s first “Ace” of World War 2.
Butch dove in and started the attack.
The crew of the Lexington watched as he engaged the Japanese bombers – their guns training in on his Hellcat fighter.
With astonishing skill Butch O’Hare emerged victorious, shooting down five of the nine Japanese bombers and badly damaging another.
The last three were taken out by planes that managed to get off the decks of the Lexington while the air battle raged above them.
Story number two: — Some years before World War 2 a millionaire lawyer known as “Easy Eddie” was involved in illegal gambling rackets with the notorious Chicago gangster Al Capone.
Eddie had the patent rights to the mechanical rabbits used in dog racing and he and was brought into the Hawthorne Kennel Club by Capone as a major partner.
The races were usually always fixed and although dog racing was illegal Capone and Eddie kept the matter tied up in the courts.
This allowed them to continue to run their tracks.
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