Well, I'm just gonna have to keep on trucking Look with me here at John chapter 12 Verse 23 And Jesus answered them saying the hour is come That the Son of Man should be Glorified again. I asked how is all that that he just went through a glorification How in the world is that a glorification? But yet Jesus here, looking to what was about to take place on that cross, said, the hour is come that the son of man should be glorified. Now, that should isn't a possibly be glorified. That's this is how it's going to happen. Now, notice, if you would hear. Number one, it says the hour. Whenever I read that in Scripture, whenever you hear those words in Scripture, especially as it pertains to Christ and His death, we know that there was an hour that was appointed to Him. There was a specific time. Listen, brethren, it wasn't by chance that Jesus was there during this feast period. It wasn't by chance that Jesus came into Jerusalem when He came into. If you look throughout all of the New Testament, everywhere Jesus went, Jesus went because He had an appointment to go. I must needs go to Samaria. There was a time that He had to go up to Jerusalem, and He went up to Jerusalem. Here's another time, He came into Jerusalem. But listen, the reason that He had to be there at a certain time, on a certain day, at a certain hour is because he was to fulfill all of God's predestinated purpose. He was there to fulfill all prophecy. He was there to fulfill all of the old covenant. And he had to be there at a certain time on a certain day to be the fulfillment of the type and the shadow. to fulfill all the things that had been prophesied about the ending of the Old Covenant and the bringing in and manifestation of the New Covenant. And Christ had a specific hour that He had to hang on that tree because there was a specific hour that He had to die so that He would fulfill the specific prophecies of the Old Covenant. to fulfill the law and the prophets. That is why the hour had to come. That is why the few times that they tried to take Jesus and kill him before that hour, they couldn't because the Bible clearly says during those time periods, they could not take him because his hour was not yet come. It was not yet his time. It was not yet his hour. Why? Because God had predestinated a fulfillment of all things at a particular point in time, and Christ was that fulfillment. But Christ was also the fulfillment of everything that God had purposed to do on their behalf. He was the fulfillment of redemption. He was the fulfillment of salvation. And so the hour had to come at a specific hour so that He would be worthy to be the one who purchased and obtained eternal salvation for his people. He had to do it by the law. He had to do it by the way that God had prescribed, and he did so. That is why the hour has come. And the hour came. But it says here, the hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. It is in that humiliation that glorification came. He says, verily, verily, I say unto you. Whenever Jesus says verily, verily, He means truly, truly. There's emphasis there. He said, listen to what I'm about to tell you. This is of utmost importance that you understand this. This humiliation that I'm about to take on is for my glorification. And here's why. Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. See, Christ is teaching them that this humiliation has been purposed of God, and through that humiliation will be the harvest of all of his fruit. It will be the It will be the producing of everything that God had purposed in loving a people, electing them, giving them to Christ. That everything that God had purposed is going to come to fruition in the work of Christ and His humiliation. He shall be glorified at that hour. And that hour He was. He was glorified in that hour. and He brought forth everything to its culmination. Now look, if you would, He says, He that loveth his life shall lose it, and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me, and where I am, there shall also my servant be. If any man serve me, him will my Father honor. Now listen here at verse 27. He says, Now is my soul troubled, And what shall I say? Father saved me from this hour, but for this cause came I unto this hour. See, he's saying even though my heart is troubled about what I'm fixing to go through, this humiliation that I'm fixing to experience, the God of the universe, the wisdom, the power, the glory, the holiness, the righteousness. All these things that God is. Has yet to experience this humiliation. Because for all eternity, God has been on his throne with a royal diadem and a rod of iron. And now God has condescended to humanity and humility. And it says here that this is the cause that I came into this world. I came into this world. He didn't say I came into this world to make you somebody that you could never be. He came into this world to be something that you aren't. He came into this world to accomplish something that you can't. See, there's a big difference in Him coming and making a provision for you to pick up the slack and finish it off. And Him coming into the world to be the fulfillment of all things. In fulfilling all things, He is fulfilling all things for you. See, the covenant, God didn't need a covenant. An old one or a new one. He didn't need anything. God didn't need to create anybody. He chose to do that for a purpose in glorifying Himself. But He chose to glorify Himself in including a people to rejoice and experience in that glory. And Jesus said it is for this cause that I came unto this hour. Some people think that Jesus came into the world just to make everybody in the world possible to be saved. That they could be saved. And then once they're saved, then they can start living righteously and holy and being an example of who God is. But that's what Jesus came for. For this cause came I into this world. He said, I didn't send Adam into this world to show people who I was, who I am. No, he sent Adam into the world to show us who we are. We are the creation. We are subjected to vanity. We are of most men miserable. We are without holiness, without righteousness, without anything. That's who we are to our core. And if left to ourselves, we will indulge in the deepest depths of those sins and that evilness and that wickedness. But Christ came For this cause, for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name. For this hour, I came to glorify God. How is that going to happen? By being your substitute. By living your life for you. Completing the law. for you. And then I'm also going to, in humiliation, I'm going to take on every sin that you have ever and ever will commit. Every thought, every word, every deed, every depth of dirt that you are. I'm going to take it on for myself. And God will pour out his full wrath and justice upon me. so that you don't have to experience that. For this cause came I into this hour. And so the cross, brethren, is His purpose to glorify Himself. And in doing that, you are saved. See, you are not the center point of God's purpose. You're included in God's purpose, but you're not the center point of it. Now, you're surely a big part of it. And it is an amazing thing to see what Christ is doing on our behalf. But brethren, don't ever think that the end result was to get you saved. The end result was to glorify Himself. Look with me if you would at John chapter 17. Now we're gonna get into some of the good about how Christ's attitude was for you, but I want you to read some things here. John chapter 17, verse one. These words spake Jesus and lifted up his eyes to heaven. Father, the hour is come. Glorify thy son that thy son also may glorify thee. Look at verse four. Jesus said, I have glorified thee on the earth, I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do, and now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. So here we see that the purpose in him coming to this hour is that he might glorify God, that he himself as God in flesh would be glorified. The purpose of that cross was to bring glory to God. And in doing so, he saved his people. That was part of the glory that he did. But whenever we look past the cross and then to the empty tomb, we find out that his resurrection was a vindication that that was exactly as he said, the hour has come that I should be glorified. He was glorified in that. Let's look, if you would, at Romans chapter 1. That resurrection is the validation or the vindication that he was glorified in what he did. Romans chapter 1, look at verse 3. It says, concerning his son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made the seed of David according to the flesh, That's his humiliation. That's him coming in the flesh. It's him taking on our nature. He said concerning his son, Jesus Christ the Lord, which was made of the seed of David, according to the flesh and declared to be the son of God with power, according to the spirit of spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead. So his his resurrecting from the dead was a declaring that He truly is the Son of God with power. That was the vindication of everything that He had said the whole time He had been here. That He was God manifested in the flesh. That He was God's servant sent to do what God had done. That He was the anointed of Jehovah. That He was the Messiah. He was the Christ. And those people mocked Him. and ridiculed Him, and slandered Him, and crucified Him for saying that. But yet, whenever He came out of that tomb, the Bible said that that is the vindication and the validation that He was who He said He was. He was glorified on that cross, therefore God has raised Him up and given Him a name that is above every name. that at the sound of His name every knee should bow and every tongue confess that He has placed Him in the center of His throne that He has put Him at His right hand meaning that He has been given all power and all authority everyone always thinks that Jesus has a little chair next to another big chair and then there's another chair on the other side of that and someone's sitting in that but the big chair in the middle that's the big God that's the Jehovah the Yahweh God but then there's the son and then there's the Holy Spirit on the other side and it's got chairs next to him. Whenever it's said that Jesus has sat down at the right hand of God, it means that Jesus has sat down with all authority, that's what the right hand means, and power, that's what the right hand also means. Power and authority. He has given me power over all flesh. I have been given authority in heaven and on earth. By His crucifixion and His resurrection, Jesus has accomplished everything of the Old Testament prophecy. He has ended the Old Covenant. He has brought in the New Covenant. The Kingdom of God is now at hand and Christ is ruling and reigning as the King in that Kingdom. That is how He is glorified. He is made to be known as the God manifested in the flesh and now He is the God who is the recipient of all glory and honor and power, wisdom, strength. Look if you would at Acts chapter 2. Acts chapter 2. If you would, let's go down to verse 29. This is Peter, whenever he was preaching on the day of Pentecost. He says, men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David. that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day. Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise." Now remember, we just read, unless a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone, but if it dies, it shall bear much fruit. Right? That's what Jesus said. This is the reason that I've come to this hour, that I might bear much fruit. If I go into the ground and die, then I will bear much fruit. And here we see here that Peter being a prophet, or David being a prophet, knowing that God had sworn with an oath unto him, that the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne, Christ, like David, was given a lineage, a royal lineage, a royal seed. Not a fleshly seed, but a spiritual one. And Christ brought forth that seed, manifested that seed by His humiliation. He said, And knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne. He's seen this before spake of the resurrection of Christ. So David back in Psalms, whenever he was talking about all this, was seeing and looking forward and he was talking about the resurrection of Jesus not sometime way in the future or our future he was talking about now when Jesus was to come to be glorified in his death and resurrection see David was preaching something that the dispensationalists are harping on is something in the future but this is now It says, He's seen this before, spake of the resurrection of Christ, that His soul was not left in hell, neither His flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we are all witnesses. Therefore, being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, He has shed forth this which ye now see and hear. You know what was going on on the day of Pentecost? The Feast of Firstfruits. That was the Feast of Firstfruits. Unless a grain of wheat fall on the ground and die, it shall abide alone. There was a certain amount of days between the day that Christ died and the day of Pentecost. And that day of Pentecost was the day that Christ died was the Passover and then there was so many days until the day of first fruits. Christ had to die on the hour, on the day that he died on to fulfill all prophecy and all of the law, to fulfill all the types and foreshadows. That's why Christ had to die on a Wednesday, not on a Friday. See, these things aren't just semantics that we get into in theological debates, they are actually not only scripturally accurate, but they are also upholding the glory of Christ in fulfilling all things. Because Jesus said, I have come to do Thy will, O God. Well, if He doesn't fulfill the will of God, then He has not done what He was sent to do. doesn't do what he was sent to do, then he is unworthy to be our substitute. He's no different than us. Someone who could not keep God's law. Therefore, he is a sinner to the utmost, just as we are. But he said, I have come to do thy will, O God. And in doing so, he fulfilled every jot and tittle of God's Word. And He brought it all to pass. It all came to pass. And He fulfilled it. Down to the very T. Very down to the very hour. His resurrection was at the very hour that God had determined. Why? Because it was to fulfill all things. Look with me if you would at Philippians chapter 2. Kind of weird how all these things are in chapter 2. Philippians chapter 2, look with me if you would at verse 5. It says, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God. I'm just gonna pause here and kind of take a little sidetrack. If you look in your modern translations of the Bible, based upon the corrupted Greek text, translated from the corrupted Greek text, that says, who thought equality with God something that could not be grasped. That's the exact opposite of what this says. Jesus here is saying that he thought it not robbery to be equal with God Meaning I am God because you there is no equal to God, right? God said there's no other gods before me. So there is not two that are equal There are not two that are equal There is one God There is one Spirit. There is one God. This God has manifested Himself in Christ Jesus. Therefore, equality is not robbery. To say that I am equal with God is not robbery because I am God. But look what he says here, but made himself of no reputation. That didn't mean he was divested of all his divinity. I've heard that said in theological circles. I've said that growing up. I've taught that as an Armenian teacher. I've taught that. Jesus lay aside his deity and just came as a man. But that's not what this is saying. It said, but he made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of man yet without sin. Remember? And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death even the death of the cross wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue every knee should bow of things in heaven and things in the earth and things under the earth and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father see his death his resurrection was to the praise and the glory of God. And how did he do that? Through his humility. Through his taking on our nature. He glorified himself by condescending and becoming one of us. Look, if you would, back into Acts again. Acts chapter five. And I want to look at verses 30 and 31 there. Acts chapter 5 verse 30 says, The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted in his right hand to be a prince and a savior for to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. We are his witnesses of these things and so is also the Holy Ghost whom God has given to them that obey him. So here we see again that in the resurrection Jesus Christ is validated to be that one who God has sent forth as his representative. Christ is the representative not only of God but also of man. There's only one mediator between God and man and that's the man, Jesus Christ. Christ is the only representation of God and Christ is the true representation of man. Only God is seen, or excuse me, only Christ is seen as the face of God. He's the only one. You and me with Christ in us is not the image of the invisible God manifested in His glory, but Christ is. Christ is the one who shows us who God is. But also Christ in our humanity without sin is who man is. He's made him a prince and a savior to his people. Now in all that, God is glorified. Just a couple more verses. Go back to the Old Testament, to Isaiah. Tell you what, the more I read Isaiah, the more beautiful it is. It's beautiful. Look at Isaiah chapter 49. I want to read. Well, I'll start at verse one, it says, Listen, O Isles unto me and hearken ye people from afar. The Lord hath called me from the womb From the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name, and he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword. In the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft. In his quiver hath he hid me. He saith unto me, thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified. So here we see Christ being spoken of here as God's instrument that he will be glorified in, right? He said here, now some people might think he's talking about the people of Israel, or he's talking about the spiritual seed, Israel. Now we truly bring glory to God because we are in Christ Jesus, but here he is talking to Christ as the Israel of God. See, Christ is the first and foremost Israel. We are Israel in him. We are his seed. Just as if I would say, you know, I am the Smith. But these are also Smiths because they're my seed. But I was the first Smith starting with me. I mean, my Smiths go back through my dad and my granddad and my granddad, dad, all that. But you see what I mean? See, Christ is the first seed. He is the first one. And we are His seed in Him. But it says here, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified. Now, turn over just a couple chapters to chapter 53. God said that in Israel, He would be glorified. Or in Christ, He'd be glorified. In Isaiah 53, of course, that whole chapter is an amazing chapter and a very familiar one to all of us, but read verse 10 with me. yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin. He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many for he shall bear their iniquities. So the Bible says that it pleased the Lord to bruise him. It pleased the Lord to send him or to come in this humiliation. It pleased him. Now we are well aware of the fact that Jesus has declared that it was his longing or his desire to go to the cross for the joy that was set before him, right? That he said, he's faced like a flint, that because of his loving kindness, he's done this. And while we are yet sinners, Christ died for us out of his great love. So we see here that God glorified himself through the death and the burial and resurrection of Jesus. One last scripture is Hebrews 12. Speaking of Abraham, verse 8, it says, By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out unto a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed. And he went out not knowing whether he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Now we know that the city that God built or is building is not a physical building. It's a spiritual one. Ye are the lively stones that he is building up this city, building up this tabernacle, the place that he will dwell, Jesus told the Samaritan woman. at the well. He said, there's coming a day that you won't go up onto the mountain. Everybody's wanting to go up to a mountain to worship. They think there's something sacred about that mountain over there. He said, there's going to be a time that you're not going to come up to the mountain or to the Jerusalem or anywhere. You're not going to come here to worship. Worship of God is not going to take place in a physical place. It's going to take place in the spiritual place right here. When two or three are gathered in my name, there I will be in the midst of thee. Well, who are we? We are the lively stones that he has built up for himself a habitation, the Bible says. That's what Abraham was looking at. He looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable. And so we see that that was a picture of Christ and what he accomplished in his death. He brought forth much fruit. The heirs that Abraham saw were not physical heirs. They were spiritual heirs. They were ones who would come and be also given faith to look past the physical and look into the spiritual. to look past a physical kingdom and look into the spiritual kingdom of God. That's why Jesus came and whenever he came began to preach the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God isn't in meat and in drink and it isn't in with hand washings, it isn't in physical things. The kingdom of God is within you and it's the spirit of God in you and it is the people of God as they have been built up into a house. He said, I will build my church. The gates of hell will not prevail against it. These are the people that God purchased in His humiliation. These are the ones who are being gathered together and being manifested throughout all the world that has been scattered to every four corners of the world and have been harvested in by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We have all been gathered together and we have been made a spiritual household unto Him. We are a basket of fruit, if you would, that He has gathered together. And it's all because of humiliation. Come behold. What's the title of the song? Come behold the wondrous mystery. Come behold the wondrous mystery. not only that god was manifested in the flesh that is truly a mystery but that god was manifested in the flesh experienced humiliation but received all glory and honor through it all right anybody got any questions or comments anything you'd like to add corrections I wanna ask you guys to remember my Aunt Judy, if you would. She had surgery on her arm, I think it was on Tuesday. She had fallen and broken her arm a while back, and they just was able to get in to do a surgery on it to put it into place. So they went in there, did the surgery on Tuesday. Yesterday, she fell and broke it all off again in there, everything that they'd done. And so they've taken her back into the hospital this morning. They're supposed to be doing surgery on her, even as we're speaking. So if you'll remember her, she's just had quite a time not being able to stay upright. And I follow him, and my Uncle Tom sent some pictures of her arm that isn't broken, and it's just purple all the way down, just a mess. And no telling what her broken arm looks like, Anyhow, if you'll remember her and remember Tom, he has really struggled a lot over the last few months in having to help keep up with her and the stress of all the stuff going on there and with the church. Everything's going on with his church there that he pastors. So, if you'll remember them in your prayers, whenever the Lord brings it to your mind. Anybody else have anything you'd like to mention or say or pray for? I'd like to ask a request for a prayer. A gal sent me a friend request on Facebook today, and she'd been involved in a Muslim religion. She's still in that religion, but she had a friend of hers that was martyred because she had accepted Christ. She's dealing with that right now, and I think she's searching for the truth. Okay. Anybody else? All right. I don't know when it's gonna happen, but hopefully in the next few weeks, I'm gonna, I was talking to Brother Larry about this last week, I'd like to have Brother Tom Armstrong, who lives down here in Seneca, Like that invite him to come and preach and if he will I'd like brother JC to come preach But I need to get in contact with JC. I did talk to brother Tom He agreed to come do that just whenever we're ready to do it So as soon as I kind of get that organized out with JC once I get in contact with him I'll try to figure out the date that we'll do that and and we'll just have singing and one of the brothers preach and then we'll have lunch together and then we'll come back and have some singing and another brother preach to us on that Sunday. But anyway, let you know kind of more whenever that's gonna happen. So be praying for that as well. All right, anybody else? All right, let's pray. Our gracious Father, we come to you now thanking you so much for all that you've done. We thank you for the glory of God in Christ Jesus. And we thank you for the part that we are able to partake in that glory and that inheritance that our elder brother has received. And so, Father, Lord, we just thank you for all that you have done, all that you will do on our behalf as you continue to guide us and direct us through this life. Lord, we just pray that you would continue to grow us in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus. and that we might always focus and center on him. Lord, we do ask prayer for these that have been mentioned this morning. For my Aunt Judy, Lord, I pray that you'll be with the surgeons, be with her, be with my Uncle Tom. Lord, we pray for this lady that Brother Larry mentioned. We don't know, the Bible says that you have children in every place, and that you are calling these people out of these harlot churches and religions. And Father, we know that your sovereign grace and power cannot be withstood and that whenever you call your people out, they come. And so, Father, we pray that this lady might truly be one of your children and that you might give her faith and you might give her strength and courage as she confesses Christ Jesus and Lord, that you would give her safety if it be your will. But Father, we do thank you, and we pray that you'll be with us and continue to minister among us. Keep us faithful to your word. And Father, Lord, I just thank you for all these things, and it's in Christ's name, amen.