Incarnation Part 39 - Gospel of John - John 12:26-37

[00:00:00] And now we're in John 12 and we're getting closer to the end of John 12. And over the past few weeks just to set the table for where we're at, we've seen Jesus graze Lazarus his friend from the dead.

[00:00:31] They had a meal for him, a celebration afterwards, where Mary poured the oil over Jesus feet and over his hair or over his head, wiped his feet with her hair. And we see that he made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem as the King of Kings, even though

[00:00:45] was a humble entrance it was triathlete and spiritual. And so now we see him leaving the temple and leaving Jerusalem, looking back upon it and giving some remarks. And they turned out to be his last public remarks in his last act of public ministry.

[00:01:04] And certainly over the next eight or so chapters, he'll be ministering all the way through but more in more of a private manner with his disciples. And so let's pay attention to what Jesus thought were the important words that he would say

[00:01:16] on his last day of public ministry. And we read in John 12 verse 27 and John writes, quote in Jesus, Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? Father saved me from this hour but for this purpose I've come to this hour.

[00:01:36] Father glorify your name then a voice came from heaven. I have glorified it and I will glorify it again. The crowds that stood there and heard it said that it thundered. Others said in the angel has spoken to him, Jesus answered, this voice has come for your sake.

[00:01:53] Not mine. Now is the judgment of this world. Now will the ruler of this world be cast out? And when I'm lifted up from the earth, we'll draw all people to myself. He said this to show a kind of death he was going to die.

[00:02:09] So the crowd answered him, we've heard from the law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the set of men must be lifted up? Who is the son of man? So Jesus said to them, The light is among you for a little while longer.

[00:02:23] Walk while you have the light. Let's darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he's going. So you have the light, believe in the light that you may become sons of light.

[00:02:36] When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. The Word of God. Let's pray. Your Father in heaven, we're going through an account from the gospel of John about your son.

[00:02:55] On his last day of ministry and I pray that you help our hearts understand the importance of these words from your son as he left the crowds and went into what John calls a hiding place to minister to those closer to him on a personal level.

[00:03:14] Help that take root in our hearts so that we can understand how important it is that we also minister to those who are closest to us on a personal level in our lives because time is short.

[00:03:24] I pray, Lord, that you're spirit lead me as I preach and the people that as they listen and the ebbie glorified in Jesus' name, amen. Well, have you ever heard the saying, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak? Have you ever had that experience yourself?

[00:03:47] Of course we have. Maybe when you are binging your favorite Netflix series and you're into the seventh episode and you can do one more and it's one third in the morning because I can do

[00:03:58] it and you've got the magic sticks holding your eyelids open and you just can't do it. The spirit wants to, the flesh is weak, it has been there and you say well everything will be fine.

[00:04:10] I'll say I know I got to get up but six o'clock for work but everything will be fine. I'll stay up one more hour and you just can't do it. Or maybe that trip to the dentist you've been putting off for a few months.

[00:04:21] You know you have to go and you spirit knows and you mind knows I really have to get this done it's not going to fix itself and you put it off and you put it off and then

[00:04:29] you maybe you think well you know what it's feeling a little better maybe it'll just be fine if I leave it everything should be fine and you don't go or if you're

[00:04:38] mowing the lawn or you're working in the yard or in the garage and you think oh now it's getting a little late and mosquitoes are coming out and you're getting tired

[00:04:44] you've been working all day your back sorry you say I know I want to do it I know I need them all the lawn before it rains. I can do it and after 5 or 10 more minutes you just figure I can't do it.

[00:04:56] You can't do it even though you think well I'll leave the lawn alone it'll be fine. Everything will be fine or in our spiritual walk what about praying for even one hour?

[00:05:09] We'd all like to say well I can do it I can do it I know I can do it and then you get down on your knees or you know fair chair you're there for 10 minutes 15 gets to be

[00:05:19] about 20 minutes and you start getting tired and your body starts failing you and in your spirit you want to do it you're willing what the flesh is weak and you say to yourself well if I don't finish up this hour today everything will be fine.

[00:05:32] I don't really have to pray today everything will be just fine if I go. What about when Jesus will teach us felt that day what about going to the cross for the sins of your people if that was laid up before you what if Jesus would have

[00:05:53] given into the flesh and said I know it's gonna be really painful out there and it's gonna be shameful and I'm gonna be naked and bleeding let alone the spiritual weight

[00:06:04] of all the sin of all his people and what if he gave into the flesh and said no it maybe if I don't go up to that cross everything will be fine but he couldn't say

[00:06:17] that if he didn't go on the cross and he knew that that's why the first verse year relates this struggle that we feel between the spirit and the flesh we know what to do we know what's right we know we want to do that but we're Roman 7

[00:06:31] and Galatians 5 and other places amen the thunderous voice of God that's what they heard that day but Jesus knew why he came that was the point for him coming and in verse 27 the first verse we read where he's having the struggle that we all feel in

[00:06:56] him even greater verse 27 says now is my soul troubled and what shall I say father say be from this hour it's almost as if you could say of course not because the next thing he says is but for this purpose I've come to the shower transferring that into

[00:07:14] the 21st century lingo it's almost like you could say in a paraphrase what am I supposed to say yeah yeah I feel bad and I feel horrible I don't really want to go

[00:07:23] up there but this is the whole point of why I've come one of my supposed to say father let me not have to do this no he says this is why I've come when I was about

[00:07:36] 10 or 11 12 years old there was a community swimming pool where I grew up and the summertime we all went to the pool and as I got a little older I would watch the older kids go up in the diving board and they jump off and I thought maybe

[00:07:47] somebody I can get up there and do that and that's somewhere I felt like I was about ready and I was probably like I said 10 or 12 and it wasn't just you know off the ground a little ways this is probably 12 or 15 stairs up it was pretty

[00:07:58] big especially for me when I was this tall it was pretty big pretty tall and so there was always a line and not only the line and this was back in the 80s so there wasn't super safe regulations apparently but there was always a

[00:08:12] line to the diving board and not only the line to the diving board that there was a line there was a kid and every wrong up on the diving board and so I

[00:08:20] got in line and I said this is the day I was willing my spirit was willing and I'm going to do it so I waited line waited line got all the way up every wrong

[00:08:29] waited and then it was my turn and I was a long diving board and I had never been up there before and it looked a little different when you're up there looking

[00:08:37] down and so I got up there and I walked out and I remember looking over and it's a lot further down than it is up it seems so I'm ready to go and I could feel

[00:08:50] a kind of bouncing and I didn't want to go at that point I realized what if I'd done all my friends are all looking at me the whole community sees me there's only one get up there and it's me and my spirit was really willing that day

[00:09:04] and I kept looking down and looking back and I thought if I have to go this is the reason I came up here I didn't come up here to quit Jesus didn't come

[00:09:15] to the earth to get to the cross and then say you know what I'm not going to do it that was the point that he came and that was the point that I went to the

[00:09:23] diving board and looked down look back and I thought I can't go back I got to go back down every single run pass all those people I looked on again and I ended up going back I didn't dive off that day and I still remember that today isn't

[00:09:38] that strange but Jesus followed through that day my spirit was willing my flesh let me down and we feel that all the time don't we we all know as Christians what to do what the right thing to do is and we're willing to do it something

[00:09:53] happens and we don't do that but not our Lord thank God Jesus knew what he ultimately had to do that's the whole point for coming living a perfect human life sinless and then giving that life taking that dive off the board for his

[00:10:09] people yet in his humanity he felt apprehension and that's a feeling we can relate to is being apprehensive think of the last time you were apprehensive maybe some of us are even today about an upcoming situation he thinks Jesus can

[00:10:33] baptize with that I think so he faced the cross this is a week before give it take the cross imagine what he felt five days before three days before the night before in his humanity he knows that apprehension is I know what's coming

[00:10:50] well why do I say in his humanity he felt apprehension there is a reason for that because he certainly would not have felt any apprehension is in his divine nature but he did in his human nature and God doesn't feel apprehension what is apprehension

[00:11:09] the definition it's a fearful right now God's out on that already it's a fearful or uneasy anticipation of the future God doesn't fear the future he anticipates it's your but he's determined and he knows the future you know

[00:11:31] they say you're afraid of what you don't know he knows the future it doesn't fear there's no fear in God in his divine nature Christ was not apprehensive but he wasn't as humanity and that's why we can say he felt what I feel he was

[00:11:46] tempted in all ways we were tempted by the Bible says he can relate to us so when we think in our human minds Lord you don't know what I'm going through you have to capture that thought and throw it out that's not true that's something we feel

[00:12:03] in the flesh that's something we experience in the flesh is that apprehension but not God these are fleshly things and their first note if you're taking notes as the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak we all know that's true the

[00:12:20] springs us to a theological point that Jesus has two natures I think we might know that already but that's a really good distinction it's a really important distinction Christ has two natures one is divine nature he's God on earth the

[00:12:34] son of God the incarnate God in flesh but he's in flesh that brings in the human nature the humanity theologians call this the hypostatic union which will not be on the test but hypostatic refers to the fundamental essence of

[00:12:55] who some who you are and a Christ example he's got one that's unified human and divine not like us we're human we're not divine and Christ has always been divine it's not that he laid down his divinity and then took on humanity

[00:13:15] and left the Godness behind no he's always been God he added humanity to his divinity so that he could say and so he could pay the price for our sin as a human being your next note here just says Jesus did not exchange his divine

[00:13:33] nature for a human nature he didn't trade it trade one for the other excuse me he added humanity to his divinity he was an addition he added humanity to his divinity he didn't stop being God

[00:13:50] ever and so we can say Christ understands what what it feels like to be apprehensive I know what's coming I don't really want him like you can say part of me really doesn't want to go through with that sure I really want to go to the

[00:14:04] dentist to get that ruck canal but I know I have to do it and the time is very close now if we fast forward to the night before his death in in guessemony

[00:14:15] we let them at the 26th what he says here in his humanity just hear his words then he said to them Jesus speaking to his disciples my soul is very sorrowful even to death remain here and watch with me and going a little farther he fell on

[00:14:31] his face and he prayed saying father if it be possible let this cup pass for me the son of God is praying to his father saying the night before he dies in the cross he knows what's coming he's very close down he says alert

[00:14:45] there's any way father is his anyway he didn't really he's talking about the sins of all humanity who believe in him on his shoulders taking God's wrath and God turns his face from in the

[00:15:01] next day he knows what's coming because he becomes sin on the cross our curse and then his humanity he feels apprehensive about that wouldn't you? I think if you're a Christian you can say that you felt this you know what's right to do

[00:15:21] and your flesh gets in the way and you don't do that you hold back forgiveness you're referring from apologizing you last shout with sharp words we don't know we should do that stuff our flesh gets in there and we do it or we don't

[00:15:39] forgive or we don't do this you know there's sins in the Bible called sins of omission right it's something you know you need to do and don't do it you could even be prosecuted for stuff like that in American law if you're a

[00:15:52] first responder and you're driving past and you see an accident happened people laying there and you pass by you don't stop you could be prosecuted for that because you should have stopped God's law filters into man's law like

[00:16:03] Romans two says and we don't even know we're doing it we're following his lies laws written on our hearts our flesh gets in the way and we understand that think about the person you may have not forgiven your life the past

[00:16:18] or even currently how hard it is to forgive them when your flesh really doesn't want to and you want to teach him a lesson and you you look in your heart and your mind and the Holy Spirit tells you within and you agree with

[00:16:33] him I need to forgive them but your flesh is I really don't want to spirit is willing but the flesh is weak and we feel that struggle but as Christians we should always defer to the spirit and we know that we're

[00:16:52] commanded to do that in Scripture and the Lord knows the struggle we feel he's been there but he said in the garden that day I didn't read on but it's in there he said but not my will you're will not my will you're will you might

[00:17:15] say to the Lord and trip but Lord I don't want to say I'm sorry to that person you know that don't make me go through with that I don't want to

[00:17:22] apologize to him or forgive him look you know what he did to me I don't want to do that but I'll do it because not my will but yours like that song says yet and I but through Christ in me you know sometimes I've forgiven people

[00:17:42] that I don't want to forgive even when I forgive my day I want to forgive them yet not I but Christ through me Christ forgive them already whom I had to hold it back sometimes when you forgive people you're doing it by faith because

[00:17:59] we're commanded to the Bible doesn't say when you feel up to it forgive no he says forgive less I don't forgive you and he says that many times we don't feel like it a lot of times that's okay we don't have to feel like it it's

[00:18:15] really the Lord forgiving them through me you get not I but Christ through me your next notes says our Lord knows our sufferings in fact he's experienced even worse periodically I'll mention complaining and I do it too but when we

[00:18:36] complain we really say Lord you don't get it you don't understand you make it about yourself and you think Lord you haven't gone through something like this before but then you look at a cross and you think I haven't gone through

[00:18:50] something like that and he did it well and so we've come to the end of Jesus public ministry here and last week we mentioned a few connections being made and I wonder if there's a connection to be made here on his last day of public

[00:19:04] ministry for those with eyes to see and ears to hear let's check it out wonder if you can see at verse 28 Jesus says Father glorify your name and then a voice came from heaven we just heard it I have glorified it and I will glorify

[00:19:19] it again and the crowd that stood there and heard it said it had thunder other said an angel has spoken to him and Jesus answered this voice has come for your sake not mine now is the judgment of this world now will the ruler of

[00:19:34] this world be cast out and I when I'm lifted up from the earth will draw all people to myself he said this to show what kind of death it was going to die and there on that day when his public ministry had completed Jesus took

[00:19:53] himself out of the spotlight his public ministry was going to a close and we hear something and the crowd hear something a voice from heaven that thunder were at the end of his ministry let's look back what happened at the beginning

[00:20:14] of his public ministry Matthew 3 and when Jesus was baptized immediately he went up from the water and behold the heavens were open to him and he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him and behold a voice from

[00:20:27] heaven said this is my beloved son with whom I'm well pleased the Father's voice was heard and understood audible by the crowd and both on the first day and on the last day of Jesus public ministry Father was there publicly saying

[00:20:47] I affirm my son like two bookends his affirmation on the sun his affirmation on the sun and even in the midst of the middle he affirmed him Matthew 17 remember this is the amount of transfiguration while he was still speaking a bright

[00:21:06] cloud covered them and a voice from the cloud said this is my son listen to him the Father affirming a 19 the sun three times audiblely with others around and I'll be back to John 12 for today the Father spoke here to the crowd

[00:21:30] heard it sounded like thunder there was no question about it and that was for the crowd that was not for the Lord Jesus the Lord Jesus didn't know or or was wondering if the Father had his back or not he knew it this he said

[00:21:44] was for you was for the crowd to understand you can go ahead and take my word for it Jesus would say but he says don't even take my word for it remember back in John five he said look at the Old Testament prophecies look at

[00:21:55] the voice from heaven look at my works look at all that evidence you don't even have to take my word for it take the Father's voice would just book to you take his word for it you're next to all here says God speaks for our sick so

[00:22:16] that we would know him and believe him do you ever think about that God never had to speak at all God could just be God never revealed himself at all but our God is a God that wants to be known because he reveals himself he does

[00:22:43] that for our sick not for his he's God he doesn't need to reveal himself he doesn't need to show us the son or bless us or anything he's also efficient he does it for us for our sake if I'll be believed when we received

[00:23:00] God's grace we're saved the alternative is we don't know who God is we die in our sins and God received justice because if God had just made humanity and taking his hands away we would fall we're all Adam in the garden we'd

[00:23:23] sit in about five minutes or less if you just left let us go we would all be condemned that's what John three eight teams says we're all condemned already but he reached out to save but if he hadn't reached out we would not all receive

[00:23:44] injustice we would receive justice the great church reformer John Calvin said this when the Bible speaks God speaks what do we call the Bible the word of God right God is spoken to us through his son Jesus Christ he apostles lived

[00:24:12] with him wrote about him second time in the three calls does word agreed up they call scripture God's words agreed out by God the Bible is God's word and when God speaks throughout our word our Bible we'll

[00:24:32] more or what God's speaking to me I'm reading his words so I hope we take some weight we understand the weight of God's word in the scripture that these are the words of God they're not just the words of Paul or Peter the

[00:24:48] higher but ultimately their God's words and that's what's happening every week here at our church God speaks to us through his word for our sick for our sick we don't just gather for to read them for fun although it is kind of

[00:25:07] fun and it's certainly out of thing we don't just come here to experience some sensuous effects of the theater we don't have much of a fear that's now how we come we come to hear from God's words to first believe and then

[00:25:25] also to be identified and to be strengthened in our faith to be humbled before the cross to be broken for our sin we're not reminded of that in this world we're reminded of how awesome we are and how great we are and everything's

[00:25:36] fine that's what we're reminded of Monday through Saturday but we need to be reminded about our sin how far away from the cross I would be without Christ that's one reason we celebrate the Lord's table every week your next note says

[00:25:57] his death for us on the cross is the point of us gathering it's the gospel his death in the cross it's the reason we're here it's the reasons Christians exist like Paul said if what Jesus did on the cross was the end of it

[00:26:16] and he never was raised from the dead all what we're doing here is all pointless and you of all people should be most to be pitted but he did rise if you didn't rise there might be some people calling themselves Christians but they don't

[00:26:31] have a living God but Christ did rise and that's the point that there are Christians and that's the point why Christians meet and that's why we're here today he takes center stage in this gospel takes center stage every week the

[00:26:48] gospel is God's power and the salvation what else should I preach and we proclaim it and we remember it and we remember it often less the gospel ever become not the point of why we meet unless the gospel ever become anything other than

[00:27:10] the point we remember the Lord's death until he comes and so Jesus said that that voice that affirmation from heaven is for our sake it's for us and then he has an urgent warning urgent proclamation of verse 31 he says now is the

[00:27:34] judgment of this world and now will the ruler of this world be cast out now and I when I'm lifted up from the earth will draw all people to myself he says now is

[00:27:48] the time for judgment now is the time that the enemy is cast out now not in 2000 years people are still cast not the enemy today in churches in lakeville he's been cast out he is defeated the sin of the world was judged that day

[00:28:12] and the cross believe that what does that mean if it means that if you're a Christian your sins have been punished your sins have been paid for it's over from the old Greek word we all heard a million times to tell us die paid

[00:28:29] in full paid in full no more to pay it's over I had my notes here 11 verses which I'm only gonna read the first verse but go home today or maybe afterwards we can read Romans 8 the first few verses together all puts it all right here

[00:28:51] Romans 8 verse 1 there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus I don't think someone was live that way sometimes we feel condemned still for some reason we don't feel in our spirit that we're clean well that's

[00:29:06] not salvation that's something else called sanctification sure you're not as holy as you want to be yet and that's a good thing that's evidence that you want to be holy you have a hunger hunger and a thirst for righteousness that

[00:29:18] means you're you're with in Christ because you yearn for that unbelievers don't yearn for righteousness believers do believers have to understand there's a difference between salvation God sealed me that day I'm sealed by the spirit

[00:29:33] of the day every damn shen paid in full my sins are forgiven they're washed away as far as Jesus from the West I'm as white as snow that's done but I'm not fully sanctified yet what does that word mean becoming holy it's becoming

[00:29:47] set apart from the world to be more like Christ that takes a leg I'm still sitting I'm struggling with this sin over here okay doesn't mean you're not saved but the fact that you feel like you can overcome that you want to be

[00:30:05] righteous that's a sanctification issue you're not perfectly holy yet you will be in glory but you're not right now but that does mean you're not saved understand there is therefore now no condemnation for those we're in Christ

[00:30:20] Jesus isn't that a great feeling isn't the burdens off my shoulders Christ did it for me I don't have to measure up anymore because I can anyway that's the gospel message that the world has I think upside down even in Christian circles

[00:30:36] and we say well they backslid are he's not we talked to walk away from God you know the Bible would say in first John they were never with God if they literally leave him behind they were never sure they were never really in Christ it's not

[00:30:50] something they did anyway Christ reaches out and grabs you and pulls you in what happened to Lazarus he fun him dead and stinking and he said Lazarus come Jesus also said now will the ruler of this world be cast off what does that mean

[00:31:07] for us it means a devil Satan the enemy the accuser is left powerless against God's people so why do we give them so much credit don't fear him he can't condemn you he can accuse you anymore that work is completed at the cross

[00:31:26] two thousand years ago I heard a professor Dr. Michael Horton from Westminster theological seminary say when someone asked him he told this story somebody asked him when were you saved and he said I told them I was saved two thousand

[00:31:44] years ago at Calvary and he had to explain what he meant because the person what do you mean it's this Michael Dr. Michael Horton's sins were paid for on the cross that Christ hung upon two thousand years ago Calvary now we don't

[00:32:02] understand how this works but God has outside of time and he knew and that cross I'm had to pay for my son pay for Dr. Michael Horton's sins that day too any applied Dr. Michael Horton sorry Dr. Michael if you listen but

[00:32:17] you he would agree with me God applied his sins my sins your sins to Christ that day too that's when your sins were paid for not that one night at camp that you raise your hand maybe that was the night that you came to Christ

[00:32:32] you really truly believe your eyes are open but that's not when your sins were paid for they were paid for on the cross your next notes says all of the sins of all true believers were judged at the cross I'm not a Catholic I

[00:32:53] never have been but I have Catholic friends and family members that have mass weekly and some daily around the world and as far as I understand it correct me if I'm wrong well they believe that the elements the bread and the line

[00:33:08] are the literal physical and blood and bread of Christ and they call that a bloody sacrifice a ritual an unbloody I'm bloody thank you but they are sacrificing Christ again and again and again over and over and over and

[00:33:32] read he read Hebrew is Hebrew six will tell you there's no other sacrifice to bring once and for all on the cross two thousand years ago there's nothing else you can bring so stop bringing sacrifices and it was sufficient otherwise

[00:33:51] the death of Christ is insufficient is that the kind of God we serve no this is a past tense there's no more work to be done to save us neither by God nor by use so stop trying to save yourself just stop trying to help God save you

[00:34:09] we can't we're saved by his grace the work is finished that's why we call Jesus our Sabbath rest it's over it's dealt with no by that token it doesn't mean we don't strive and hunger and thirst for righteousness and holiness we

[00:34:29] should we should repent every day of our sin because we know what they are but it doesn't mean you're not saved Romans 8 at the end of the chapter he says this and I love it who shall bring any charge against God's elect who nobody that's

[00:34:53] who and that's a great feeling the burden is off of me Christ did it once and for all who shall bring any charge was there any one one out there that can condemn

[00:35:03] me of my sin no I'm the toughest one on myself for my own sin and you are too probably because you know it all but you can't condemn yourself not even you can condemn yourself they don't only leads to guilt and shame and a down turned

[00:35:21] heart that says look at what I've done for you I did it for your sake so embrace that the Colossians 2 15 13 and you who are dead in your trespasses just like Lazarus and the uncircumcision of your flesh God made alive you didn't do it

[00:35:40] together with him having forgiven us all our trespasses here it is by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands he canceled the debt canceled it and he set aside and he nailed it to the cross he disarmed

[00:36:02] the rulers and authorities and put them the open shame they're transferring over them in him Jesus said now is the time for that now is the day of judgment

[00:36:14] and he did it that day on the cross and he did it that day he says now is the time that the enemy will be cast out and you did it that day he disarmed the rulers

[00:36:24] in authorities and he put them the open shame he tripped over them our enemies are defeated don't give them so much credit there stands no one to accuse God's people anymore our sins are gone because of price sacrifice and it was

[00:36:43] sufficient don't let anyone tell you different not even you because that's what our flesh feels I'm not good enough Jesus continues delivering his last public message verse 32 and I when I'm lifted up from the earth will draw all people

[00:37:01] to myself he said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die so the crowd answered him we've heard from the law that the Christ remains forever how

[00:37:10] can you say the son of man must be lifted up who is the son of man I thought up as you Jesus said to them here's here's how he lays it out he's gonna tell

[00:37:19] them all their answers perfect clarity right he says this the light is among you for a little while longer walk well you have the light less darkness overtake you the one who walks in the darkness does not know where he's going while you

[00:37:35] have the light believe in the light so that you'll be become sons of lights when Jesus said these things he departed and hid himself from them he says when I'm lifted up from the earth I'll draw all people to myself this statement as at least

[00:37:54] two understandings one is the fact that he'll be lifted up on a cross physically lifted up and this is how they understood what he was saying that's why they said what do you mean you had to be lifted up I thought you last forever the Christ

[00:38:04] so they understood this means he's gonna be crucified the other ideas that he'll somehow be exalted spiritually and he definitely was after all that's when he proved to the enemies in the world but he is the savior of the world

[00:38:20] and he's still being exalted today as he should be the crowd understood that first meeting little slower to get the second one but they had questions they had these questions I thought you were the Christ we've learned from

[00:38:36] the law he's supposed to stick stick around who are you they have questions and we have questions today we don't understand everything either and I thought of this verse after I put the slides together bonus verse easy to remember

[00:38:56] do there are on me 29 29 we have questions right do there are on me 29 says the secret things belong to the Lord we're not gonna ever know the full reason story unless he determines that we do and we have to be okay with

[00:39:15] that we have to be okay with not knowing why sometimes the Joewever know why we read Joe we have to be okay with not knowing all the reasons God that does things the secret things belong to the Lord we've all had questions about

[00:39:38] how is this glorifying you God they have there's questions we have our questions they said what do you mean you're gonna die they say how can you say that they say the Christ remains forever they say if it's not you who is the

[00:39:54] son of man it sounds like us when we say God why haven't you healed me God how could you let my loved one die how could you let me lose my job what's the reason for all my troubles we have our questions the secret things belong

[00:40:17] to the Lord and we have to learn to be okay with that what does God owe you an explanation so they asked their questions and how does Jesus respond to them in the last chance or last opportunity or or last determined point of

[00:40:39] connection that he has in his public ministry how does he answer the questions does it give him point for point clarity and all the questions all the answers are just gonna lay it all up for you you'll have no more questions when I leave

[00:40:50] in a moment of a few minutes no essentially he says guys I know you lots of questions just believe me just trust me just stay close to me and everything will be fine walk in the light he says stay close to the light who's the light of

[00:41:13] the world Jesus stay close to me be with me I could answer all your questions I could go through all of them but the main thing is stay close to me believe me trust me less the darkness overtake you because if you don't stay close to me

[00:41:33] you're gonna be in the dark and you're not gonna know where you're going long as you stay close to me you'll be fine everything's fine when he said that he departed and hid himself from them what those people experienced

[00:41:51] that day in a microcosm is what we experienced today from their perspective Jesus had been ministering to them for a while three and a half years in the public he taught them and they still had questions naturally and he simply told

[00:42:09] them at the end just believe look I can get into it just believe just trust to stay close and from our perspective Jesus has been ministering to us too for some time some have been three and a half years some have been

[00:42:25] thirty and a half years and we still have questions that's okay and his message to us still if we distill it down is stay close just trust me I can't tell you everything right now but stay close to me and if you do everything's

[00:42:45] going to be fine and he went away for us too he ascended on high but he's coming back again until he does we're told believe trust just as they were told to believe and as we close here I want to read the next verse which is

[00:43:07] our first verse for next week is a little preview what's coming verse 37 says though he had done so many times before them they still did not believe he said it's tragic we have friends we have family members they heard about

[00:43:38] Jesus they know about Jesus you've told them the gospel for 25 years and they still don't believe you can't do anything about it you've done everything you could and you know what it's not for you to do that's where we say I trust

[00:43:52] you got because this is a work that only the spirit can do in their heart and I trust you we'll keep giving them a gospel and loving on them trying to bring them in but it's amazing sometimes for people of the Lord to look around and say

[00:44:08] how can you not believe but not all people are God's people in fact the word says that if you're living in the flesh you can't understand God it's not even so much that you won't but you can't it doesn't make sense it doesn't

[00:44:28] compute the gospel just bounces off we all people in our lives like that where they think I haven't had God for my whole life and you know what everything's fine everything's fine those two words everything's fine but four years ago author Sarah J. Carlson wrote a book entitled

[00:44:51] everything's not fine but the struggles of addiction there are many who profess not to be drug addicts and they can put on a good face for a while and it might seem to be okay like everything's fine but inside they know

[00:45:07] everything's not fine there many we can't deny that professed to be Christians today but really aren't and we don't know who they are it's forgot to know and maybe they profess to be Christians and they don't know they're not

[00:45:28] because they haven't heard the gospel and all things may seem to be fine on the outside they may put up a good front or they may seem to have everything they need and everything's fine from the outside to their themselves or to

[00:45:42] the world without true faith in Christ everything's not fine and on judgment day they're going to realize you know what everything's not fine how without true faith in the real Jesus by the real gospel and their sin

[00:46:06] remains and on judgment day they'll be fun guilty we know people in the crowd that Jesus was speaking to that day people that have seen it all they've heard all and they still don't believe corporally as a body even just for ourselves

[00:46:28] let's make it a point to pray for these people that you know by name so that they will believe so that they come to Jesus and believe in Him and obey his gospel he's their only hope pray that they understand that he's died

[00:46:47] for their sins only by his grace they're saved and you know we face our troubles as Christians hopefully they will too the no believers without apprehension we face lots of troubles but I pray that we would face them without apprehension

[00:47:00] because we trust him to save us that's the gospel and that's the reason we meet every week the reason is Jesus Christ in Him crucified that's it more should we preach is there a more important message we should be preaching five

[00:47:22] ways to have a good marriage ten ways to have a good business people preach things like that because they don't know who God is so we're gonna preach God here we're gonna preach Jesus and all those things are gonna fall into place

[00:47:40] amen please stand with me as we close them prayer dear Lord Jesus we pray to you today a living God praise God you came out of the grave and the reason that we gather is because you came out of the grave and we want to preach your gospel

[00:48:05] that's the point of why we we're here Lord show us that every day that there's nothing more important than the gospel there's nothing more important than you to be preached and then we embrace it and we love that we yearn and strive

[00:48:16] and hunger and thirst for more of you and I'll order that prayer that you graciously give that to us every day reward our hunger and thirst with the sweet truths from your word help them edify us to be more a sharper testimony

[00:48:32] for witnessing as we go Lord bless our time and staff new in for those of the people who come to our home but we always want to lift you up and exalt you as much as possible we love you Lord we pray in Jesus' name amen