Highfields Baptist Church

“Does God Harden People into Unbelief?”
John 12:34-50

When the Challenger shuttle launched in 1986, engineers had warned NASA that the O-rings could fail in cold weather. But the shuttle had flown many times before and returned safely each time. A serious danger gradually became accepted as normal. Seventy-three seconds after launch, it broke apart killing everyone on board. One expert called this the "normalisation of deviance": when something dangerous happens repeatedly without disaster, we stop treating it as dangerous.

This story helps us understand our passage. Jesus announces that the Cross will change everything, the ruler of this world cast out, the Son of Man lifted up, all peoples drawn to Himself. Yet immediately after, John tells us that many still did not believe. And then he says something even more frightening: they could not believe. John cites Isaiah, who spoke of eyes blinded and hearts hardened.

The question our passage forces us to ask is uncomfortable: Does God harden people into unbelief?

The answer Scripture gives is sobering but clear, yes, God can and does harden. But this is judicial hardening: God's judgment upon persistent, wilful rejection of the light He has already given. Pharaoh hardened his own heart, and God hardened Pharaoh. Romans 1 describes God giving people over to the rebellion they have chosen.

This is why Jesus' warning carries such urgency: "While you have the light, believe in the light" (v. 36). The danger isn't coming to Christ and finding He won't receive you. The danger is continually refusing to come. Don't presume upon tomorrow, respond to the Light while you have it.

The gracious invitation that still stands: Whoever believes in Jesus does not abide in darkness.

"Does God Harden People into Unbelief" - John 12:34-50 Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

“The Cross That Changes Everything” - John 12:27-33

We often think of the cross as the place where our sins are forgiven, and it is that, but it is so much more. Open John 12:27–33 and discover that the cross is not merely God's mechanism for individual salvation; it is the hinge of all history. Everything before it pointed toward it, and everything after it flows from it.

In this passage, Jesus faces the hour of His suffering with a troubled soul, yet He refuses to turn away. "For this purpose I came to this hour," He says. "Father, glorify Your name." At the cross, three world-altering things happen: Jesus glorifies the Father through costly obedience, the ruler of this world is cast out and judged, and the way is opened for people from every nation to be drawn to Him.

The Greeks who came seeking Jesus were a preview of what was coming. The seed was about to fall into the ground, and the harvest would reach the nations.

We'll see that the cross is D-Day for the kingdom of God. The enemy's defeat is sealed, and every person who comes to Christ is a prisoner set free.

A challenge to us all is to come ready to embrace the cross not just as our ticket to heaven, but as the pattern for our life. If you are not yet a Christian, know that there is nothing you have done that can't be forgiven. The cross is wide enough to include you, as we behold the cross that changes everything.

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“Life through Death” - John 12:20–26

Some things in life look like loss but, in the hands of God, become the beginning of something far greater.

In John 12, a group of Greeks arrive in Jerusalem with a simple request: “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Their arrival is significant. The world is beginning to come to Jesus. Yet instead of simply welcoming them, Jesus responds with a surprising announcement: “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.”

But, like Jesus is not the King the world wants or expects the glory Jesus speaks of is not the kind of glory the world wants or expects. There will be no shortcut to triumph, no crown without a cross, no harvest without a seed first falling into the ground.

In this passage, Jesus explains not only what is about to happen to Him, but why it must happen. And then Jesus turns from His own death to the lives of those who would follow Him.

What does it mean to serve a King whose path to glory runs through the cross? What does it mean to value Christ above comfort, reputation, security, and even life itself?

We will see the great paradox at the heart of Christianity: Life comes through death. Jesus dies to bear much fruit, and His servants are called to follow where He goes.

"Life Through Death" - John 12:20-26 Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

"Godliness With Contentment"
1 Timothy 6:3-21

Contentment. What is it, and how does it relate to godliness? Why?
I personally don’t see a lot of it in our society today. That’s not to necessarily infer that in days gone by there was more godliness or contentment. But most people today aren’t doing the best job in showing it if they are. As I’ve watched people over the years (and a warning, I’m about to generalise), I would say that contentment is well demonstrated by how we behave as men and women. For women, I think that contentment, at least the expression of it, is best found either during or having just done some shopping, particularly when chuffed with the purchase and how good it makes them feel. And for men, we’re probably not much different when it comes to the purchase, but I think the sports or hobby purchase brings the most satisfaction, cars or motorbikes being good examples. What’s the common thread here? They’re both in the material space not the spiritual. Not that there’s anything wrong with enjoying material purchases. There are things in life to enjoy.

But does the contentment from such purchases bring great gain? No, actually too much will make you poorer. So, best we seek real gain.

"Godliness With Contentment" - 1 Timothy 6:3-21 Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

"The Call of Elisha"
1 Kings 19:19-21

We look at the moment Elisha is called by God through the prophet Elijah. We’ll explore how unexpected God’s call can be, what it means to count the cost of following Him, and how Elisha’s response challenges us to examine our own lives.

We’ll reflect on the things that quietly hold us back, the commitments that compete with our devotion, and the freedom found in fully following Christ.

Consider what God may be calling you to lay down - and what He may be calling you into.

"The Call of Elisha" - 1 Kings 19:19-21 Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

“Letting God Change Me”
Rev J Winkley

You may have heard of Nick Vujicic. There are many things that happen in life that Nick did not have to deal with. He has never had a sore arm or any problems with his knees. He has never jammed his finger in a door or kicked his toe or hurt his shin on a table leg. He sounds like a person who has everything going for him but just think for a moment. Nick doesn’t have a shin or a toe, or a finger, or a knee, or even an arm. Nick was born with no arms or legs.

We cannot imagine what that would be like. But listen to his words. “God won’t let anything happen to us in our life unless He has a good purpose for it all. I completely gave my life to Jesus Christ at the age of 15 after reading John chapter 9. Jesus said that the reason the man was born blind was “so that the works of God may be revealed through him”. Nick now travels the world to spread the gospel and love of Jesus. Nick says, “If I can trust God with my circumstances, then you can trust God with your circumstances”. What a testimony Nick has.

The challenge for us is to allow God to change us in whatever circumstances we are in. Nick could have been bitter, but he chose Jesus Christ to change his life and use him in ways he never thought possible. Are you open to God to allow Him to change your life? Maybe so that He can use you in ways you never thought possible.

"Letting God Change Me" - Ezekiel 36:24-28 Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

“Overcoming Defeat In My Life” – Romans 8:28-39
Rev J Winkley

Our moods can affect many people around us, even our family or friends. If we are grumpy or angry, then people will avoid us. As believers in Jesus Christ, we are people who should attract people, who enjoy our company. They should see the joy in us that Jesus gives to us.

Paul tells us to do everything without complaining or arguing, so that we can be blameless and pure, children of God without fault so that “we can shine like stars in the universe”. God wants us to be joyful in our hearts so that we can overcome our defeats that keep coming up in our lives. May we be open to God speaking to us, may we respond to His challenge, and be joyful in our Christian walk.

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“The King We Want and the King We Need”
John 12:12-19

As Jesus enters Jerusalem, the crowd welcomes him with palm branches, shouts of “Hosanna”, and the declaration, “The King of Israel”. They are not wrong, because Jesus really is the King, and He really has come to save. But the crowd’s expectations of what that kingship will look like are far different to what Jesus has in mind.

They are living under Roman occupation, and the Passover festival that celebrates God’s deliverance of his people from oppression is approaching. There are many in the crowd that may have hoped that Jesus would be the king who would finally defeat Rome and restore Israel. But Jesus has come to do something far greater.

Jesus does not reject the title “King”. Instead, by riding into Jerusalem on a young donkey, he deliberately identifies himself with the King promised in Zechariah 9; a King who brings salvation, peace, and a kingdom that reaches to the ends of the earth.

The crowd can see the symptoms of a world broken by sin, Rome. But Jesus sees a deeper enemy, the root of the problem. He has come to deal with sin, death, judgment, and our alienation from God. He has come to reconcile us to God and establish a kingdom that will outlast every earthly power, every tragedy, every disease, and every grave.

That raises an important question for us. What kind of King do we most want Jesus to be? It is right to pray for healing, restored relationships, financial provision, open doors, and relief from pain. But if those things become the whole of what we want from Jesus, then we too are also focusing on the symptom, rather than our deeper problem.

We live on this side of the cross and resurrection. We know what the disciples did not yet understand, and we know how Jesus won his victory. And yet what we know does not always shape the way we live. We are reminded that Jesus is King, and we need to be willing to let Scripture define what kind of King he is.

"The King We Want and the King We Need" - John 12:12-19 Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

“What Is Jesus Worth?” – John 12:1-11

We often reveal what something is worth to us by what we are willing to give for it.

In John 12, Mary and Judas are in the same room. They see the same Jesus and the same jar of oil, yet they respond in completely different ways. Mary sees someone worthy of everything. Judas sees money slipping through his fingers, and their responses reveal what is happening within their hearts.

Only a short time earlier, Jesus had called Lazarus out of the grave. Now Lazarus is sitting at the table, eating with the One who raised him from the dead. In the middle of the meal, Mary takes an extremely valuable jar of perfumed oil, pours it upon Jesus, and wipes His feet with her hair. The perfume may have been worth close to a full year’s wages, yet Mary pours it out without holding anything back.

Her act is costly, humble, and unashamed. She honours Jesus as King, even as Jesus prepares to lay down His life upon the cross. Yet Judas objects. His words sound responsible and compassionate: could the perfume not have been sold and the money given to the poor? John tells us that Judas did not truly care about the poor. He was a thief who helped himself to the disciples’ money box.

Judas warns us that it is possible to remain close to Jesus while still serving ourselves. He travelled with Jesus, heard His teaching, witnessed His miracles, and held a trusted position among the disciples. Yet proximity to Jesus was not the same as faith in Jesus.

This passage calls us to examine more than our outward actions. What do our money, time, ambitions, priorities, and attitudes reveal about what Jesus is worth to us? Are our words about worship, generosity and compassion matched by the way we actually live?

The message is not simply that we should try harder to become more like Mary and less like Judas. Before we consider what we might give to Jesus, we must see what Jesus has given for us.

Mary poured out something worth nearly a year’s wages. Jesus was preparing to pour out His own life for sinners. We are not saved by the costliness of what we offer Him, but by the costliness of what He offered to us.

"What is Jesus Worth?" - John 12:1-11 Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

“When God Reveals His Glory, People Reveal Their gods”
John 11:38-57

What would it take for someone to believe in Jesus? We might imagine that an undeniable miracle would settle the matter. Surely, if people saw a man who had been dead for four days walk out of his tomb, everyone would respond with faith.

But John 11 shows us something more searching. When Jesus reveals the glory of God, people do not all respond in the same way. Some see what He has done and believe in Him. Others recognise the signs but resist Him because trusting Jesus threatens the things they most want to protect.

At Lazarus’s tomb, Jesus confronts the terrible reality of death. He does not minimise grief or pretend that death is natural and harmless. He groans before the tomb and then commands Lazarus to come out. There is no struggle and no elaborate ritual. The dead mans hears the voice of the Son of God and lives.

This sign reveals the glory of Jesus. He is the One sent by the Father, the resurrection and the life, and the One whose voice has authority even over death. Yet the same glory that gives life also exposes hearts. The religious leaders do not deny that Jesus is performing signs. Their concern is what belief in Him might cost them. They fear losing their place, their security, their influence, and their control. Their response raises an uncomfortable question for every one of us: what are we most afraid of losing if we obey Jesus fully?

The passage then gives us a remarkable picture of God’s sovereignty. Caiaphas argues that Jesus should die so the nation can be preserved. He means that Jesus should be removed so the leaders can save themselves. But God gives his words a deeper meaning: Jesus will die to save and gather God’s people. The leaders think they are controlling events, yet their opposition advances God’s saving purpose through the cross.

As we hear this passage, we should ask two questions: What does the glory of Jesus reveal about Him? And, what does the glory of Jesus reveal about us?

"When God Reveals His Glory, People Reveal Their gods" - John 11:38-57 Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.