[0:00] We're going to be in the gospel of John and all the gospels paint Jesus to be this person that is consumed with doing his father's will.
[0:26] ! Nothing would deter him from it. The rejection from his own people, the confusion and the doubt that he experienced from his disciples, and even the impending death that was no doubt at the front of his mind the closer he drew to the cross, nothing would stop him from completing his father's will.
[0:47] Now our text today, it follows a very well-known story in the New Testament, and that is the resurrection of Lazarus. Lazarus' death was a well-known public event.
[0:59] Funerals back then were not like they are now. I feel like that's one thing that has changed a lot from COVID. Funerals are not as well attended. But back then, the grieving process took days.
[1:11] It was a very public display of grief. They would hire professional mourners to come in and grieve in front of the tomb. And with the family, there would be flutes, lyres, people that were just wailing in the streets over the death of somebody that was well-known in their community.
[1:28] So his death was undisputable. And then you have Jesus that comes along, and he raises Lazarus back to life. Nobody could deny that Lazarus was dead, but now they see Lazarus walking around.
[1:42] And obviously, this is causing waves and ripples throughout the region. People want to come and see what has just happened. And I can't blame them. I'd want to see that too.
[1:53] That would pique my curiosity a little bit. But unfortunately, even in the face of such a great sign, we still see these Pharisees plotting to not only put Jesus back into the grave, but they are also plotting to put Lazarus back in the grave.
[2:10] They're trying to silence this fame that is spreading on account of Jesus. Now, there were two major religious bodies within the Jewish culture. There were the Pharisees and the Sadducees.
[2:23] And while they differed on a number of levels, perhaps the most stark difference is their belief in the resurrection. The Pharisees believed that there would be a resurrection one day. The Sadducees did not.
[2:35] This was a cultural difference that sparked a lot of debate, a lot of heated tension between the two groups. And you see that tension kind of come to a boil.
[2:47] This is kind of a side note. But Acts 23, when the apostle Paul is on trial for what he has been doing, spreading the gospel, they make the mistake of putting him in the same room with the Pharisees and the Sadducees.
[2:59] And Paul just throws the cat in the hen house and says, it is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial. Immediately, a huge disagreement and fight breaks out between the two groups.
[3:14] And it is said that armed soldiers had to go in and rescue Paul from being torn apart. So this was a huge deal in this time. And you would think that the Pharisees would see Lazarus walking around after such a public display of grief and latch on to that as a faith turn to sight moment.
[3:34] Maybe rub it in the Sadducees face a little bit over here. I don't know. But they didn't. Jesus was a threat. He needed to be dealt with.
[3:45] And Lazarus was just going to be collateral damage in their fight against Jesus. And in verses 17 and 18, John tells us that this is why the crowd has gathered at the triumphal entry, because of what Jesus had done with Lazarus.
[4:00] There's been a lot of miracles that Jesus has performed. But raising somebody that was dead back to life, that's something new. That is having power over their greatest fear, over everyone's greatest fear at that time, which is death.
[4:18] He's even fulfilling a prophecy as he is riding in to Jerusalem on a donkey. But nobody really understood that at the time until after Jesus was glorified.
[4:29] So you have two groups of people who have responded differently to these great signs and to Jesus coming to Jerusalem. You have the Pharisees who, upon the resurrection of Lazarus, wanted to murder Jesus and Lazarus.
[4:47] And then you have this ecstatic crowd who is praising Jesus as their potential new king, and they are ready to put him on the throne. All of this attention on Jesus, but they've all missed the bigger point.
[5:03] Jesus was coming in at Passover to be the true and better Passover lamb, to take the sins away of the world. So after this triumphal entry, we see Jesus is approached by this group of Greeks.
[5:20] And this is our text today. And upon their request to see Jesus, Jesus directs his disciples' attention back to the matter at hand, which is his father's will and what he has come to do today.
[5:32] So let's stand together and read our text. John chapter 12, verses 20 through 26. Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks.
[5:45] So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, Sir, we wish to see Jesus. Philip went and told Andrew.
[5:56] Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. And Jesus answered him, The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone.
[6:11] But if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it. And whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
[6:22] If anyone serves me, he must follow me. And where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
[6:33] Swear to the Lord, you all may have a seat. So it is Passover celebration. Triumphal entry has just happened. And Jesus has come to Jerusalem to celebrate this seven-day festival where all Israel was supposed to gather where the Lord had chosen his name to dwell, which is Jerusalem.
[6:54] If you want more details on Passover feast regulations and things like that, it is an interesting read just to see what Jesus was coming here to do. But you can go to Deuteronomy 16, verses 1 through 8.
[7:04] Those are some of the laws regarding Passover. But this was a festival that was meant to point Israel back to when God delivered them from Egypt, specifically the first Passover meal, when the angel of death passed over all the houses that he saw the blood of the lamb on.
[7:21] Now, without going into too much detail about the Passover, I think that it's worth noting that we see Jesus observing the Passover. And I think this points to the truth that Jesus didn't come to abolish the law or break the law.
[7:37] He came to fulfill the law. So as we see Jesus observing this Passover, he is fulfilling the law. And all that to say, this is why Israel has gathered them.
[7:48] And people have come from far and wide to Jerusalem. Wherever they are, the law says they were supposed to come for this seven-day festival. And the penalties were pretty stringent if you did not.
[8:00] Now, these Greeks that have approached Jesus, these are Gentiles. But these are God-fearing Gentiles. And we know from the law that even the Gentiles who dwelt in the land of Israel were supposed to observe the Passover feast.
[8:17] This was a solemn assembly. And amidst all the hustle and bustle, these people wanted to see Jesus, which I just, I think it paints just a beautiful picture that Jesus is approachable.
[8:29] He is a loving shepherd. And he begins, again, to remind the people of just what kind of triumph he has come to bring for Israel and for the kingdom of God.
[8:42] And the main idea of our text today is this. The triumph of Jesus is on an eternal scale. It's on an eternal scale. And we're going to look at three different truths today.
[8:52] And our first one is this. Jesus' triumph would not glorify the temporal. Israel has not had a good run of it for the last thousand years or so.
[9:08] They have gone from being one of the most powerful nations in the world under King David through their obedience to the Lord and through their disobedience and gradual slip into deeper, deeper depravity and rejecting God's pleas for grace and mercy.
[9:25] They have now received the wrath of God, which is the only thing that you have left to receive from God if you reject his grace. So they have been subjugated by the Babylonians, the Assyrians, the Medo-Persians, and now the latest flavor is the Romans.
[9:41] So for Jesus to say that the Son of Man is going to be glorified, probably this was not the statement that they were looking for from someone that they were looking to be their king.
[9:55] They want Israel to be glorified. They want a deliverer. They want a prophet who is going to restore might and independence to God's people. Now the hope of a Messiah was something that they had been looking forward to for a long time.
[10:09] And it was even prophesied in Deuteronomy. And I want to read this passage to you just so we can get a glimpse of maybe what they were looking for in Jesus. Deuteronomy chapter 18, verses 15 through 19.
[10:23] It says, The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers. It is to him you shall listen. Now keep in mind this was before they were about to go into the land of Canaan.
[10:35] Again, Moses will not be accompanying them because he has sinned against the Lord. And he is giving these final instructions to the Israelites. So he's saying that God is going to raise up a prophet like him from among his people.
[10:47] So going on to verse 16. Just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire anymore lest I die.
[11:02] And the Lord said to me, They are right in what they have spoken. I will raise up from them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth and he shall speak to them all that I command him.
[11:17] And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him. So Moses has said that there will be someone like him to come from among them.
[11:33] Who will speak on God's behalf. So no doubt they were looking for someone that was like Moses. They were looking for a deliverer. Someone who would put Israel back on the map and free them from oppression.
[11:46] They wanted a political Messiah. And even today, Jews are still looking for a certain type of Messiah who will completely restore Israel and bring about an era of peace and devotion to God.
[12:00] But the idea of a divine Messiah, the Son of God himself, this was not something that they had on their maps. And it is still not something they have on their maps.
[12:11] I was looking at different Jewish commentaries as I was preparing for this lesson today just to maybe get a glimpse of what some people might be looking for back then and even today.
[12:24] And this promise that we just read about God bringing someone like Moses. There was kind of a continuity to this promise originally that they thought was just going to be passed down through different prophets.
[12:41] And we did see prophets, deliverers, and judges come up that might have been someone like Moses per se.
[12:52] We see people like Elijah and Elisha. We also see Samuel. We see Nathan. These people that are calling kings to the table, that are speaking outside of any earthly authority.
[13:04] They are speaking God's very words. Now, despite all these great acts that these prophets had done, they were still not able to solve Israel's greatest problem, which was sin.
[13:19] They could not restore their hearts to the Lord. And it was because of this, I believe, that eventually when they saw the failure of these prophets and these messianic-like figures in the past, that maybe they began to look forward to a singular person that would fulfill all of God's requirements.
[13:43] But they were still missing the bigger picture. This was not about defeating earthly enemies. This was not about exalting political powers. Their greatest problem was sin.
[13:56] In Jesus, the true Messiah, we see him trying to show just what kind of Messiah he is coming to be and what kind of Messiah they truly need. And this idea of a political Messiah, it was a deep-seated misbelief amongst this culture, and it still is today.
[14:12] Even the disciples, up to the point of the resurrection, after they had seen all the things that Jesus had done, even they were still maybe just a little confused as Jesus was about to ascend.
[14:23] In Acts chapter 1, verse 6, one of the disciples calls out, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom of Israel?
[14:34] I just have to imagine as Jesus was going back up into the clouds, there was just this holy head slap. Oh, come on, man. At times, Jesus had to even avoid the crowds that he was ministering to and doing all these great signs.
[14:52] In John chapter 6, 14 and 15, when the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world. Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
[15:10] So the people in this crowd that we're looking at today, they were excited and celebrating Jesus for who they thought he was coming to be, not for who he really was.
[15:26] Today we see a similar problem. I believe that lots of people are excited about the idea of Jesus. To many people today, Jesus is the all-loving, judgment-free, all-accepting son of God, and he's come to make you an overcomer in every area of your life.
[15:43] Some people will say that, Well, Jesus is just another name for the same God that everyone calls on. I think you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone that has a problem with that version of Jesus.
[15:57] But what happens when you hear about the Jesus of the Bible, the true Jesus, the one that's not accepting of your wickedness, but had to die to atone for it?
[16:10] What happens when they hear about the Jesus that tells us to take up our own cross and lay down our lives for his name? Or when they hear that there is no other name under heaven by which you can be saved?
[16:24] It's all of a sudden at this point that the name of Jesus becomes a source of division and conflict. In Matthew 10, 34 through 39, and it amazes me that there are so many that were still confused about what Jesus had come to do because he speaks in pretty plain language to his disciples about who he is, what his goals are.
[16:49] But in 10, Matthew 10, 34 through 39, Jesus says this, Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have come not to bring peace, but a sword.
[17:00] For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those in his own household.
[17:13] Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
[17:28] Whoever finds his life will lose it. And whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. The name of Jesus is going to bring division in your lives here on this earth.
[17:46] If you have family that is lost. If you go to school where you are surrounded by lost people or lost teachers. If you work in an environment that adopts worldly principles or is surrounded by people that are not Christians, that do not worship Christ.
[18:06] There is going to be a source of division eventually. There is going to be a line in the sand that you cannot cross where you have to eventually decide, I am going to be obedient to Christ.
[18:20] And there will be division. So will you choose to worship God and be at odds with the world? Or are you going to choose to deny him and be friends with the world?
[18:38] 1 John 2.15 says, Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
[18:48] That does not sound like the Jesus the world celebrates. And I can guarantee you that was not the Messiah that these people thought that they were celebrating either. Jesus has not come to glorify a temporal earthly kingdom.
[19:03] Jesus has not come to exalt any sort of political regime or power. He has come to glorify his Father's kingdom. And as he said, the Son of Man is about to be glorified.
[19:14] Jesus would glorify his Father's kingdom through glorifying himself through his death on the cross and his resurrection. Being a ransom for the many and welcoming in peoples from every tribe, tongue, and nation.
[19:30] Jesus would glorify his Father's kingdom in a way that no one was expecting at this time. See, everyone was only thinking from a temporal perspective. They couldn't think past their own geographical kingdom to see the kingdom that Jesus was trying to usher in, that he was proclaiming to them.
[19:48] Jesus even tried to explain it to Pilate before he went to the cross, that my kingdom is not of this world. And I think a good point of application just from this is that we need to behold Jesus for who he truly is.
[20:03] We can't put our own presuppositions into the gospel of Jesus. He's not a social justice warrior. He's not the answer to all your financial problems. He hasn't come to make you an overcomer in all of your relationship issues.
[20:19] Jesus has come as a true and better Passover lamb to take away the sins of the world. And we cannot be ashamed of the gospel of Christ because that is what God has handed down to us to bring salvation to the world.
[20:33] There is salvation in nothing else in the name of Jesus. The American church has cheapened the gospel so much that it's not even recognizable anymore with what's in the Bible.
[20:46] And we need to behold Christ for who he truly is and what he has come to do, which is far better than anything in this life that we could seek to exalt over him. So where would this triumph come from?
[21:00] What was Jesus going to do that would bring this great triumph if not to restore the kingdom of Israel, his covenant people?
[21:12] Our second truth is Jesus' triumph would come through his death. Let's read verse 24 again from John chapter 12. Truly, truly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone.
[21:28] But if it dies, it bears much fruit. A crucified Messiah was controversial in every way. And to those that don't believe that are lost, it is still very controversial.
[21:43] There was no greater sign of defeat back then than to be hung on a Roman cross. It was the ultimate sign of defeat and humiliation, not only for you, but your humiliation in death was meant to be an example for everyone else to look to, to keep them in check.
[22:02] So the idea that Jesus was coming to die on a Roman cross, it never quite clicked with the disciples until afterwards. There was never just this aha moment with the disciples, the numerous times that Jesus talked about it.
[22:17] It offended them. Matthew 16, 21 through 23, we see this famous interaction between Jesus and Peter. From that time, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and the chief priests and scribes and be killed.
[22:37] And on the third day, be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him saying, far be it from you, Lord, this shall never happen to you.
[22:51] But he turned and said to Peter, get behind me, Satan. You are a hindrance to me for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.
[23:02] Now, I can't think of another time in Peter's life that would stick out more to him than being called Satan by the son of God or an even greater time of embarrassment for him to think that he had the authority to pull the son of God aside and rebuke him.
[23:17] But in this interaction, Jesus makes a statement that I think reveals the real problem with the disciples, the real problem with this crowd that has all the branches and is singing Hosanna to him and even today our understanding of him.
[23:33] And it's this statement, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man. The mindset of man is always going to be at odds with the mind of the Lord.
[23:45] Even after the resurrection and ascension, later we find Paul writing to the church at Corinth battling this same mindset. In 1 Corinthians 1, 22 and 23, it says, For Jews demand signs, Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles.
[24:08] But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God. This crowd was shouting Hosanna, the disciples, they seemed loyal to Jesus, but their excitement and their loyalty while Jesus was on earth, it was always tainted with human expectations and hopes, not on the full truth of who Jesus was and still is today.
[24:38] Jesus, he had come to be a king. He had come to fulfill the promise made in the Davidic covenant and let's be clear, Jesus already was a king, but the fulfillment of that promise was not what their human expectations had led them to believe.
[24:54] Whenever they would shout Hosanna to the son of David, no doubt they were going back to Israel's glory days under King David. As a conquered nation living under an oppressive Roman government, they were cheering for the Messiah that was going to restore them, that was going to fight their battles and lead them into a new era of peace and prosperity.
[25:16] But what did God say about the Messiah? Who did the prophets say that this Messiah was going to be? In Isaiah 53, God reveals this to the prophet.
[25:31] He describes him as a root out of dry ground. No form of majesty, no beauty to desire, despised and rejected, not esteemed, stricken, smitten by God, pierced, crushed by God, and numbered among the transgressors in his death.
[25:55] And this list of seemingly undesirable traits, God expands on this to Isaiah. He bore our sorrows.
[26:06] He carried our griefs. He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed, but for our iniquities. While we were like sheep going astray, God laid on him our iniquity.
[26:23] He was numbered among the transgressors, but he bore the sins of many and now makes intercession for the transgressors.
[26:37] I told you I was looking at different Jewish commentaries on this, and some Jewish scholars, they attribute this passage as being an allegory and seeing the suffering servant as the nation of Israel and a host of other nations are gathered around Israel and they're describing what they see.
[26:59] And I have to wonder, maybe that's what this crowd is thinking. Because no doubt they knew this passage. If they were good Jewish people, they'd been to Torah school, they had heard the prophets.
[27:13] But they probably read this passage and thought, this passage is about us. We're oppressed among the other nations and someone's coming to deliver us. But a sinful nation like Israel can't atone for sins, can't make intercession for sinners either.
[27:36] And how sad it was for them that they missed the truth of this passage of who the Messiah really was and the eternal victory that he was coming to win. And how great it is for us though that rather than restoring a political kingdom, rather than winning a victory through military or political prowess that the Messiah had come as God in the flesh to conquer our greatest enemy of sin and death to secure an eternal hope for us.
[28:08] the victory was fought and won through his death and resurrection. Again, the text says, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone.
[28:20] But if it dies, it bears much fruit. Jesus was not giving friendly advice to farmers when he was saying these things. Jesus is explaining the necessity of his coming death.
[28:34] For him to bear our iniquities in order for much fruit to be born, Jesus would have to lay down his life to pay the ultimate price that our sins deserved.
[28:46] As the suffering servant, he would be crushed for our iniquities. I think these Greeks in our story that we saw are just an example of the kind of fruit that was to come.
[29:03] Even God-fearing Gentiles back then were still seen as second-class citizens in the kingdom. Like, that's great that you believe in God, but we're still the chosen people.
[29:14] You just get to tag along with us. But through the death and resurrection of Jesus, all can call on the name of the Lord for salvation.
[29:26] All can come before the throne of grace with boldness because of what Jesus has done for us. No longer is the ritualistic sacrifice of animals required because the blood of Jesus intercedes for us because he is no longer dead.
[29:43] He is alive. no longer are peace offerings required because Jesus is our peace with God. Well, this seemed like a triumphal entry for Jesus.
[29:57] The real triumph would come later through the crushing of God's son and his resurrection. The grain of wheat would have to fall to the ground and die, but be raised again to bear much fruit.
[30:10] all along, Jesus has been describing himself as a suffering servant, one that was going to have to suffer at the hands of the religious elites and the governing authorities, and in no uncertain words, Jesus paints a similar picture for his followers to take on that likeness.
[30:32] I want to read verse 25 and 26 again. Whoever loves his life loses it and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
[30:44] If anyone serves me, he must follow me and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
[30:56] The third and final truth today that we're going to look at is that believers are called to Christ likeness in his suffering. This is another truth of Jesus that many American churches don't like to preach on.
[31:12] They don't want to hear that we're called to die. They don't want to hear that we are called to hate our lives. Jesus wants to be successful, overcomers, right?
[31:25] Well, again, this goes back to the culture celebrating a Jesus that just isn't biblical. It wasn't biblical back then with the Old Testament that they had and it's not biblical now with the Jesus that we get to read about in the flesh.
[31:41] This is not the first time that Jesus has spoken like this with his disciples either. Matthew 16, verse 24 and 25, Jesus then told his disciples, if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
[31:56] For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Jesus' death and resurrection demands a response from those who follow him.
[32:09] It's not simply a moot point that we get to go back and read about. It demands a response. And Jesus lays out that response plain as day what it should be for his followers, those that truly want to follow him in his likeness.
[32:23] If you save your life in this world, you're going to lose it for eternity. But if you lose your life in this world, you will keep it for eternity.
[32:37] That might seem kind of harsh, especially talking to a crowd that was shouting Hosanna, that had the palm branches, that was laying out their coats for him, hoping for a better life of prosperity under him.
[32:49] Or maybe fast forward 2,000 years when all you hear about is self-love and your best you and Jesus being your cheerleader for that goal. That sounds like a harsh message, Jesus.
[33:01] But this is what Jesus is saying. And anyone who thinks that happiness and satisfaction is why Jesus has come would do well to listen to the scriptures and what it's saying. The life that Jesus has meant for you, that life of fulfillment is not going to be offered to you by this world.
[33:22] It can't. Your fulfillment, your joy, it cannot be wrapped up in a world that is still ruled by the prince of darkness. John 10.10 says, the thief comes only to kill, steal, and destroy.
[33:36] I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. The abundant life that Jesus promises as our Messiah is not wrapped up in the things of this world, it is wrapped up in the promises and the hope for eternity that he has made for us.
[33:52] And that hope brings us joy in spite of this world. We don't receive our joy from this world, we receive our joy in spite of this world because of what Christ has done for us.
[34:06] John 16.33, I have said these things to you that in me you may have peace. So we have peace in Jesus, but then he goes on to talk about the world.
[34:17] In the world you will have tribulation, but take heart. I have overcome the world. This crowd was concerned with what many Christians today are concerned with.
[34:31] What's Jesus going to do for me now? Is if the promise of eternal life isn't enough, what is Jesus going to do for me now that makes my life better in the present?
[34:45] I've got news for you. The blessings that await us are not promises for this life. The promises and the blessings that await us in eternity because of what Christ has done as our true Messiah are greater than any trials that are going to afflict us here.
[35:05] And the love that we should have for our Savior should be so great that love for anything else that we have in this life should seem like hatred in comparison to how much we love and adore our Savior.
[35:20] In verse 25, whoever loves his life loses it, but whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Now, before you go home and start breaking your mama's prize to China and kick your dog out, I think we need to look more at what Jesus is saying about what it means to hate this life and love him.
[35:43] Our hope and fulfillment, again, is not in the things of this life, but in the hope that Jesus has promised us beyond this life. We should be able to look at our darkest trials and say, I still have Jesus and that's enough for me.
[36:01] the pain is real. That's why Jesus calls them trials. We do receive earthly blessings that are to be enjoyed, but that's also why God calls us to be good stewards of them, to use them to serve him, to be thankful for them.
[36:20] In all things, whether good or bad, whether blessings or trials, in all things, the glory of Christ is to be our primary focus. and the loss of all things in this life should be a non-object in comparison to gaining Jesus.
[36:38] Jesus even gave us this great promise in verse 26, if anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. What greater reward could we possibly seek as believers than to be honored by the everlasting, eternal God who before the foundations of the world orchestrated all of this by his sovereignty?
[37:04] So where is your focus, believer? What are you living for right now? What is this life to you in comparison to gaining Christ for eternity?
[37:18] This is for believers. I'll always remember everything we value in this life, it should always be valued in light of eternity. And even the trials that we suffer, they should be endured in light of the hope that Christ has given us beyond the grave.
[37:34] Christ has not called us to a life of leisure and prosperity. Instead, we have a mandate on our life to die for Christ. For the cause of Christ should it ever be demanded of us.
[37:46] to love Christ in such a way that makes everything else that we love in this life just seem like hatred in comparison. So I want to ask you to examine your lives.
[38:02] Ask yourself this question, is there anything in my life right now that I value that would lead me to forsake Christ at the thought of losing it, that would shake my faith to the core at the thought of being without it?
[38:22] Is there anything in your life that might cause you to compromise your commitment to serving Christ wholeheartedly? For unbelievers that are here, the triumph of Christ has come through his death and resurrection.
[38:38] I hope I've made that clear in our sermon today. It was a price that had to be paid for our sins that we had committed against a holy God and like Israel at one point in history without Christ, the only thing we have to receive from God is his wrath but because of Christ, because of what he has done, we can receive mercy and grace and abundant life through Jesus.
[39:04] and the Father will honor him also who serves him. This is a promise for those who have forsaken their lives, for those that have placed their faith in Jesus.
[39:21] You might be thinking as an unbeliever, well, why would God call me to hate my life? And I think that's a fair question to ask because that's some pretty strong language that Jesus uses.
[39:31] why would God call me to hate this life? And I understand the confusion on that because without Christ, without hope in God, this life is all we have.
[39:44] So the thought of hating our lives and losing it, that's a scary thought. But the reason God calls us to such extreme measures, to reasonable measures for believers, is because we serve a Savior and a Messiah who did that for us, who left his glory behind so he could come and be our Messiah and pay the price for us.
[40:08] He counted his life here as nothing for the sake of fulfilling his Father's will to make salvation for you. And he wants his followers to share that likeness with him.
[40:22] And if you're a believer here that's already seeking to be more conformed into the image of Christ, what greater way could we take on the likeness of Christ than counting our lives as nothing as Jesus did for the sake of glorifying our Heavenly Father?
[40:44] So is there something in your life, believer, that you need to repent of? what in your life has caused you to divide your love for Christ?
[40:58] Or maybe is there a false belief that you have held onto about Christ that has maybe caused you undue bitterness towards God at the thought of not receiving the things you thought you would from Jesus?
[41:09] Are there any false beliefs that you have about Christ that maybe from our text today you know that you need to correct and maybe repent of? And for unbelievers, if you are here today and you are coming to a realization of who Jesus truly is and you feel that God is placing repentance in your heart for your sins then my plea to you is this, today can be your day of salvation.
[41:42] God can make you new today and give you that abundant life that is grounded in the hope that we have because of what Jesus has done for us. As we close today I want to pray this prayer over you all that I was reading out of a Puritan prayer book today that I think sums up what our response should be as believers from our text today and we're going to have a time of response.
[42:13] If you're a believer and you need to repent you need to correct a belief or a presupposition that you've had about Jesus the altar is going to be open today. If you are an unbeliever then please come forward today.
[42:27] Confess Christ calling him to be your savior and if you want to do that after service too that's fine come and catch one of us we want to talk to you we want to answer your questions let's pray thou great I am fill my mind with elevation and grandeur at the thought of being with whom one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years is one day a mighty God who amidst the lapse of worlds and the revolutions of empires feels no variableness but is glorious in immortality may I rejoice that while men die the Lord lives that while all creatures are broken reeds empty cisterns fading flowers withering grass he is the rock of ages the fountain of living water turn my heart from vanity from dissatisfaction from uncertainties of the present state to an eternal interest in
[43:39] Christ let me remember that life is short and unforeseen and is only an opportunity for usefulness give me a holy avarice to redeem the time to awake at every call to charity and piety so that I may feed the hungry clothe the naked instruct the ignorant reclaim the vicious forgive the offender diffuse the gospel show neighborly love to all let me live a life of self distrust dependence on thyself mortification crucifixion and prayer for those here today that have not placed their faith in Christ I pray this over you Lord I pray that you would call them today Lord I pray that you would do a work in their hearts and their spirits that only you can do
[44:40] Lord I pray that they would be made aware of their sinfulness and even more aware of your love for them their need for Christ and what that abundant life means Lord I pray for all these things in Jesus name Amen Thank you.