“Got Jesus?” 6-4-23
Overview
Got Jesus?
The bumper sticker "Got Jesus?"—a spin-off of the famous "Got Milk?" campaign—asks a question worth examining carefully. There are real, glorious benefits to belonging to Jesus, and our Lord Himself names them in John 10:27-28: "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish." His sheep hear His voice through His Word, are fully known by Him in every joy and sorrow John 10:14, follow Him as He leads John 10:4, and receive eternal life—not merely heaven someday, but life with God beginning now.
Yet the slogan carries a flaw worth naming: by nature, we cannot "get" Jesus. Scripture paints a sobering portrait of our condition apart from grace. Romans 3:10-11 declares that no one is righteous and no one seeks God. Ephesians 2:1 describes us as dead in trespasses and sins. Romans 8:7 calls the fleshly mind hostile to God, and 2 Corinthians 4:4 says the unbeliever's mind is blinded. Psalm 51:5 and Genesis 8:21 confirm that we are born guilty, with hearts inclined toward evil. We do not seek Him, choose Him, or pry open His hand to crawl inside.
But God wants everything to do with us. Christ went to the cross to bear the sin of the world, rose from the empty tomb, and comes to us through Word and Baptism to give what we could never grasp on our own. Faith, then, is not so much a decision we make as a love we fall into—God transforming dead, stony hearts into hearts that love Him. As Jesus said in John 15:16, "You did not choose me, but I chose you."
This is the comfort of John 10:28-29: "No one will snatch them out of my hand." Our security does not rest on the strength of our grip on Jesus, but on the strength of His grip on us. So the better bumper sticker turns the question around: it is not finally that we have "got" Jesus—it is that Jesus has got us, and He will never let go.
Transcript
Would you open your Bible's please with me to the gospel of John the 10th chapter for our 2s
study today? 8s
If you're using a Puedition of Holy Scripture that is found on page 90 in the New Testament, 9s
the gospel of John the 10th chapter. 15s
Forest P. Gil. 21s
He is known as the inventor of the bumper sticker. 25s
He was a screen printer in Kansas City, Missouri. 31s
And he considered about that sticky paper that was used during World War II and thought 36s
to himself, that could be used to advertise a whole series of things. 43s
And so, he invented the bumper sticker. 51s
Three and a half inches by 11 inches, the most popular size. 58s
60% of all vehicles have at least one bumper sticker on them. 65s
From politics, to priorities, from sports, to schools, from loves to loads, bumper sticker 74s
communicates a lot. 83s
And also, there is much theology that is communicated on bumper stickers. 86s
So of it is really good. 93s
It is sound biblically. 98s
And then there is others, not so much. 101s
All of these weeks of this summer, extending until rally day in September. 108s
We're going to take a look at a different bumper sticker each and every week. 114s
And we're going to examine that bumper sticker through the lenses of Scripture. 119s
So, in the weeks ahead, for example, we're going to take a look at God is my copilot. 125s
We're going to take a look at non-judgment day. 134s
And we're going to take a look at my personal favorite of the list. 140s
God loves you, but everybody else thinks you're an idiot. 147s
And so, let's begin today by looking at this bumper sticker. 154s
God, Jesus, God, Jesus, that bumper sticker is really a spin-off, isn't it? 161s
Of a very, very popular and award-winning advertising campaign of God-milk. 172s
That advertising campaign ran from 1993 to 2014. 180s
That's a long time, isn't it, for an advertising campaign to run? 188s
The very first advertisement based upon the predicates of 194s
you eat something sticky or dry, you need something to wash it down with. 201s
And Melk, of course, is the best option. 207s
The very first advertisement featured a historian who was standing in the middle of his museum 210s
that had to do with Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. 219s
And there was a contest on the radio of who shot Alexander Hamilton. 225s
Well, this historian certainly knew he had a whole museum dedicated to it. 234s
But when the DJ was asking him the question, he was in the middle of a peanut butter sandwich. 239s
And he couldn't quite get out the Aaron Burr, so it was recognizable. 247s
The DJ hangs up on goes the logo. 253s
Got Melk? 257s
Got Melk? 259s
The airline pilot who puts the jet into a steep descent because he's eating in the cockpit. 262s
And he's thirsty and he sees the Melk on the cart and the cart rolls from the back of the 268s
plane right into the cockpit. 275s
Got Melk? 278s
Then comes the sticker. 282s
Got Jesus? 287s
Got Jesus? 291s
There's benefits aren't there to have in Jesus. 296s
When Jesus outlines a host for us in our text, 300s
notice what he says in John the 10th chapter beginning with verse 27, 304s
he says, My sheep hear my voice. 308s
I know them and they follow me. 312s
I give them eternal life and they will never perish. 316s
I just break this down here of the benefits of 322s
got Jesus, the benefits of having Jesus. 326s
My sheep hear my voice. 332s
sheep remember in the scripture is the designation of the believer in the Lord. 336s
So as his sheep by his grace we hear his voice and where do we hear his voice? 344s
His voice is attached to his word. 352s
We hear his voice when we read his word. 355s
We hear his voice when his word is proclaimed. 358s
We hear his voice and recognize it. 364s
Why? Look at verse 3 of chapter 10. 370s
The gatekeeper opens the gate for him and the sheep 375s
hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 380s
My sheep hear my voice and then he goes on to say, I know them. 388s
He knows all of your joys and all of your sorrows. 400s
He knows the pain and the wondering. 407s
He knows the anticipation and the longing. 411s
He knows when a hair falls from your head. 415s
He knows all about you for he is omniscient. He is all knowing. 421s
Look at verse 14 of chapter 10. 429s
I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own. 432s
No me. Not only does God know us but we because of the revelation of scripture, 441s
know who he is, all of his great attributes, all of his mercy and his grace. 450s
As his sheep we hear his voice, as his sheep we are known by him. 459s
He then goes on to say and they follow me. By his grace we are obedient to him. 466s
Look at chapter 10 verse 4. When he has brought out all his own, 474s
he goes ahead of them and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 481s
We are born then to be followers, followers of the leader who is the Lord Jesus Christ. 489s
He proceeds and we follow. The benefits of having Jesus we hear his voice. 500s
He knows us. We follow him. Verse 28, I give them eternal life. 508s
That is not only the beauty of heaven itself but that is also knowing God today this side of heaven 515s
and living in his blessing. As we have studied before today for the Christian is one more day 526s
in all of eternity. It is simply where you live. It is simply where you reside. This side of heaven 534s
or in the beauty of heaven itself. My sheep hear my voice. I know them. They follow me. I give them 543s
eternal life and they will never perish. We will never be eternally separated from God 551s
because we have been called his own in the waters of baptism. We will not be separated from his 565s
provision and his blessing this side of heaven. The benefits that we see of having Jesus. 575s
God Jesus. But what is the matter with that bumper sticker? What is the matter with it? 591s
Simply put on our own and by our own nature we can't get Jesus. By our nature we want nothing 611s
to do with Jesus. Notice the portrait that is clear and crisp that the scriptures paint with 632s
regard to us. Romans the 10th chapter. It is recorded these words. Romans the 3rd chapter. 648s
Recorded these words. There is no one who is righteous. Not even one. There is no one who has 658s
understanding. There is no one who seeks God. You catch that? By nature we want nothing to do with him. 668s
There is not a spark that we are born with. Not a spark that desires God. We are born not 682s
righteous because of our sin and we want nothing to do with God. There is no one who seeks him. 694s
Scripture goes on with this portrait. Ephesians the 2nd chapter. You were dead through the 704s
trespasses and sins in which you once lived. By nature we are spiritually dead. We want nothing to do with 711s
why. Because we are dead spiritually dead. The portrait goes on. Romans 8. For this reason the 724s
mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law. Indeed it cannot. 735s
Not only are we born not seeking him. Wanting nothing to do with him. We are born actually 744s
as enemies of him. Scripture goes on 2nd Corinthians 4. In their case the God of this world 752s
has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the 762s
glory of Christ. We are born blind with regard to God. We want nothing to do with him. We don't seek 770s
him. We are born spiritually dead. We are born as an enemy of God. We are born as being blind with 779s
regard to God. Psalm 51 says, Indeed I was born guilty. A sinner when my mother conceived me. 787s
Genesis 8 says the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth. To catch that, 797s
the inclination of the human heart is evil from you. That is the scriptural portrait of us. 808s
We don't seek him. We are spiritually dead. We are born enemies of him. We are born blind towards 823s
him. We are born as guilty toward him. God Jesus. The problem is, 831s
is we don't want anything by nature to do with Jesus. That's the problem. 846s
God him. We want nothing to do with him. But God wants everything to do with us. 861s
It's just a beautiful, beautiful carving. It's placed on a credenza in a living room and it 887s
immediately caught my eye. So I went and I looked at it on the inside of it, were carved these words 896s
by the artist. A dead piece of wood given new life. Then the artist's name and the date. 907s
Just lovely to think about this dead piece of wood that this artist found and then transformed 924s
into this beautiful, beautiful carving. The dead piece of wood given new life. 931s
The Lord Jesus Christ goes to the cross and bears the sin of the world. All of it, 945s
your sin, my sin, the entire world's sin. And forgiveness is one. Redemption, the buyback, 954s
reconciliation between God and humankind. The tomb, empty, death overcome. And God comes in the 966s
life eternal, that reconciliation and he washes us in that promise. He says, 984s
your mind, your mind, I make my decision about you. She's so often faith is understood in the 994s
scripture as a decision that we make. No, the appropriate, the scripture of faith is a love 1007s
that we fall into. It's a love that we fall into. As God comes to us with His word of the gospel and 1016s
transforms our stony hearts, our petrified wood of hearts, the deadness of the wood of our 1025s
hearts and transforms the heart into one who loves Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. 1037s
One who says, I have fallen in love because of the gospel of Jesus and God's transformation 1048s
in my heart, that beautiful faith, that beautiful love that is born by God's action upon us. 1060s
What did Jesus say in John the 15th chapter? He said, you did not choose me. I chose you. 1074s
You didn't choose me. I chose you transforming us into His sheep. Look at me, please. At 1097s
verse 27, my sheep hear my voice. I know them. They follow me. I give them eternal life and 1117s
they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my father has given me is greater than 1127s
all else and no one can snatch it out of the father's hand. No one will snatch them out of my hand. 1141s
You see, it's not us, prying open the hand of the Lord and crawling into it. It's the Lord grasping 1153s
us and saying, you're mine and I never, ever letting go. God Jesus, no, Jesus has 1168s
God. S. 1197s