This message is from the teaching
ministry of James Tippins, pastor of Grace Truth Church. More information
can be found online at gracetruth.org and anchoringfaith.org. A people
for His glory, by His grace. I don't know how many sermons
I've preached in my lifetime. I don't know how many more I
will preach. That's all up to the Lord. I
don't know how many people have listened to what I've had to
say. or how many people have been reached with the gospel,
or how many of the multitudes have come to know the truth through
my voice. But I do know one thing, and
only one thing, is that no matter who is the mouth, God is always
the one speaking when it is His word. when it is exposition,
when it is taken from the text exegetically, the meaning of
the words are derived from the words themselves, from the context
themselves. We are, I don't know how to even
say this, because I say it so often it just sort of flies over
our heads, I think, but our current culture has never had more churches
never had more ministries, never had more Bible teachers and more
theologians and more truth proclaimers than it has presently. Our world
has never had been inundated with biblical things more than
it is presently. Yet there is a greater famine
now for the Word of God than there was during the Dark Ages. Why is that? Because so many
people would rather continue to express their thoughts, their
feelings, their experiences in the name of exposition, in the name of God, as if God
Himself were teaching these things, rather than stick to that which
is true and holy and good for the sake of the joy of God's
people. Brother Trey's prayer, the beginning of our service,
that our joy. Our joy would be complete, full,
true. Isn't that the point? Isn't that
the point of assembly, that our joy would be found in the resting
of the finished work of Christ? Listen to this, not the wrestling
with the finished work of Christ, but the resting in. There's a
huge difference and the difference is eternity. When we are wrestling
with the finished work of Christ and against that which is against
the work of Christ and all these other iterations of things that
are so important, we are not resting in the finished work
of Christ. Either God is sovereign, the
salvation of his people and the proclamation of his word, or
he is worthless. If He needs us to carry the banner
of cultural distinctions, He is worthless. If it is not in the text of Scripture
and it is not relevant to you, beloved, it is sinful for me
to preach it. even if it is true. Let me say
that again. If it is not in the text of scripture
and it is not relative to you personally, it is a sin before
God Almighty for me to preach it. Because I am putting upon
your shoulders a burden that is not given to me by God to
place upon you. That's why you won't hear me
preach a sermon about modesty. Because that is as culturally
relative That's the hairstyles we have. But yet people would say, if
you really love the Lord, you better teach those indigenous
cavemen to cover their bodies. Why? Well, if you really love
the Lord, and the list goes on, if you're really a true saint,
if you're not double talking, then you'll do this and you'll
do that. People will judge us no matter if they don't have
the spirit that is within us. Let them judge us. Let the world
judge you. Let the world of lost, reprobate
Christendom judge you. Let it happen. Let them have
their way. Give it to them. Give the cults
the false gospel. Give the false teachers. Give
the reprobate everything that they have. Let them have it just
as Jesus and the apostles did. I don't know how to entitle this
message. There's no title here. I put one online. It doesn't
really fit. I just don't know what to do. I don't know how
to entitle this message. Because here in this text, Jesus
says, this is what I'm doing in my death. I am judging the
world. A very popular misapplication,
and I'm in Romans, I'm like, where's the text I'm supposed
to be in? A very popular misapplication of judge not lest you be judged
is don't tell me what I'm doing wrong, which is not the point
of that. And in the context there where Jesus is speaking, he's
speaking to those who have already passed judgment on everyone but
themselves. They've passed judgment on what
these people do and what these people say. And in doing so, they pass judgment
against Jesus. And they judge him a sinner.
Beloved, if you hold to the gospel of free and sovereign grace and
people judge you a sinner or a false teacher, let them. Dust
your shoes off, wipe the tears from your face and move on. Maybe
people in your own home Maybe people in your own bloodline
and maybe people in your own workplace and maybe people even
amongst our own fellowship. It's happened before. Let them have it. Do not stand as a judge of the
elect for Christ has judged us and he has died in our place
and we are his righteousness. John chapter 12, let's look,
verse 27. We need to understand the context
that brought us to this place. It's important. Where Jesus says,
now my soul is troubled, what brought us here? The Greeks came
to seek after him. That's what caused his heart
to say this. My soul is troubled. Now let
me give you a creative, let me show you what creative license
looks like in the human center of Christianity. I can take that text and I could,
with a poetic style, just off the cuff, give 12 reasons, because
from the 12th chapter, 12 is the number of absolute perfection,
and I could give us 12 reasons why Jesus' heart is troubled,
right? Jesus' heart is troubled because of unbelief. Jesus' heart
is troubled because of false teachers. Jesus' heart is troubled
because of pain and death and all this. Jesus' heart is troubled
because of abortion. And Jesus' heart is troubled
because of social injustice. And Jesus' heart is troubled
and I could give you 12 and I could preach and everybody here would
just be so excited and so broken and so convicted and so refreshed
and so relieved and so everything. We would be the biggest lot of
schizophrenic people that have ever left this building in 200
years. And I could do so and say, thus
saith God Almighty. Because when I stand here with
this, you take for granted that what I say is God's truth. The
people who do that are not preaching God's truth. They're usurping
God's truth for the sake of their own glory, thinking that it is
glorifying the Father. Jesus is the epitome of the visible
image of God. He is in every way the essence
of God. He is God, and everything that
He says and does, and the manner in which He does it, and the
motivation from which it comes, gives glory to God in the fullest.
And anything that is not equally on the same plane, with the fullness
of that same power, is not glorifying to God. Period. It's not glorifying to God. So when Jesus says, now is my
soul troubled, He is saying so in response to the Greeks coming
to inquire of Him. Because this is what He was sent
to do. To face the penalty of sin where He had no sin. To suffer
in His flesh death where He did not deserve death. To suffer
the shame of men when He is the glory of God. To bring the nations in. Not just Jews. And we saw last week as we looked
at this, that it's an ongoing trouble. It's an ongoing horror. It's an ongoing fear. Fear. Save me from this hour. What
shall I say? He responds and also in that
sense prays, but he says and resolves in the same breath,
but for this purpose I have come to this hour. For the purpose
of bringing the Greeks to the Father. Those He gave me. To him, spotless, blameless,
without blemish, I am the good. Shepherd, I know My sheep, and
they know My voice, and they will come into Me, and they will
eat of My flesh, and drink of My blood. They will feast upon
Me, they will live in Me. I will be their movement, their
breath, their life, their sight, for I am the light of God that
is the life of men. And I come to glorify the Father,
to show Him for who He really is, to display His work in a
way that no man can absolutely fathom in a small sense, logically,
without a divine work. And then it supersedes what is
normal and logical and expressive and sometimes inexpressive, it
can't be expressed. And then Jesus prays that the
crowds could hear him. Father, glorify your name. Look at verse 28. Glorify your
name. Then a voice came from heaven.
I have glorified it and I will glorify it again. I glorified it and I will glorify
it again. Let's read from 28. Father, glorify your name. Then
a voice came from heaven. I have glorified it and I will
glorify it again. The crowd that stood there and
heard it said that it thundered. Others said an angel has spoken
to him. Jesus answered, this voice has
come for your sake, not mine. Now is the judgment of this world.
Now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am
lifted up from the earth, will draw all men, all people rather,
to myself. He said this to show by what
kind of death he was going to die. So the crowd answered him. We have heard from the law that
the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son
of Man 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.
Walk while you have the light. Lest darkness master you. That's
a better translation than master you. The one who walks in the
darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the
light, believe in the light that you may become sons of light. Jesus, in verse 28, prays that
the Father would glorify his name. Glorify your name, Father. This hour has come and my soul
is troubled. Should I say, take me from this
place? No, it is for this purpose that
I have come that you may be glorified in my death. Glorify your name
this day, Father. And then this voice cries out,
I have and will. I have and I will. This is the
Father answering the Son. I have. How has God the Father
glorified His name? Already. By sending the Son. By sending Jesus. The Word that
was in the beginning. That was God. That was with God.
That became flesh and dwelt among us. And we have seen His glory.
Glory as the only Son of the Father. Full of grace and truth.
No one has ever seen God. The one and only God at His side
makes Him known. Jesus Christ has already glorified
the Father by His mere presence in the incarnation. He's revealed
God for who God is. Now think about this as a little
side note. When Paul gives the instruction to the church, to
us, And says, in all that you do, in word or in deed. In other
places, He says, all that you eat and drink. Do it in the name
of Christ. Do it for the glory of Christ.
So when we reveal Christ, that's when we glorify Him. We reveal Christ's heart, His
nature, His words, His affection. When we reveal who He is and
what He's done for us, when we proclaim the testimony of Christ,
we glorify Him. We reveal who He is. We stand
in a solid place that is immovable, that we will not usurp the glory
of Christ for anything. that it's not him. Paul argues
in 1 Corinthians to that extremely disastrous fellowship. That they
don't know what they're doing in their divisions. They don't
know what they're doing in their human problems, in their human
arguments, in their human disgraceful dialogue about words and definitions. And that was also some instruction
he gave Timothy for Ephesus. But they don't recognize that
it doesn't matter who preaches what, who does what, who goes
where, who did whatever church plant. But that God is the only one
who builds. God is the only one who grows. God is the only one
who gives life. Jesus Christ is the only one
who gives life. Jesus Christ is the only one
who gives any assurance of life. He alone is the life giver. God is the life giver. And so
Paul would say to the Corinthians, the foundation of the prophets
and of the apostles and of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that
which is going to be manifest in the day of testing, the day
of fire, and that only the foundation will remain. Anything that's
built upon the foundation, any way, any debate, any teaching,
any person, any ministry, any outreach, anything, doctrinally
or otherwise, anything that's built upon the foundation that's
not made of the same material as the foundation will perish.
That means it had no worth in the beginning and it'll have
no worth in the end. Glorify your name. Jesus' life, His birth, His ministry,
His very presence in this earth glorified the Father. Nothing else glorifies the Father. Nothing. If we are not in Christ,
we will be cast aside in the end. no matter how strongly we
oppose heresy, no matter how passionately we reach the lost,
no matter how tearfully we feed the hungry, or how benevolently we give them
bread, clothes, or shelter. You do not do these things to
the least of these, my brethren. Do not do them for me. Saul,
Saul, why do you persecute me? We who are in Christ are settled
and the work is done. We will not be cast away from
Christ just as Christ will not cut his own head off and roll
it aside. He will not cut one digit. One
hair off his head shall not be misplaced in the spiritual sense
that we are his body. He will lose none. that have
been paid for, all that have been purchased, every believing
one, every elect who has yet to believe, all the elect from
all time forever have been satisfied before God as declared righteous
through the finished work of Jesus Christ who took our sins
on Himself and was killed in our place under the wrath of
the Father. And that glorifies the Father.
so that we here in Christ glorify the Father. Now also, God says,
I will glorify it again. I will glorify my name again
in your death. That's the point of this. The Greeks are coming to inquire
of Jesus. Jesus knows that the only way they can truly see him
is by the work of God. giving them to Him. And the only
way they can be just in seeing Him and believing in Him is that
He dies for them. Now it doesn't say every single
Greek, but there are elect in every nation. And there are reprobate in every
nation. There are elect in every circle of Christianity. And there
are reprobate in every circle of Christianity. There are elect
that God brings out of the cults. and there are reprobate that
God lets remain there. The trouble is when we think
the cults are so far left of us, when sometimes they're walking
right with us, sometimes taking the same name as Reformed or
Brother or Confessional or Baptist. Friends, don't convene and the
security of your soul that someone is in Christ because of the label
that they wear. Free and sovereign grace does
not mean born again. Jesus. Is answered. God answers the prayers of his
son. I have through your work, through your ministry, through
your word, through your obedience, glorified my name. And I will through your
death, through your resurrection, through the work that it does,
through the efficacy of the cross, I will glorify my name for the
redemption of my people, your sheep that I have given to you.
This all needs to be in mind. When we hear these words, this
isn't a new doctrine separate than what we've already heard.
This is a continuation of that which we've already been taught
by God, the spirit himself. And not everybody's going to
hear what I'm saying today. Not every believer is going to
hear what I'm saying today. It grieves my soul a lot because
I can measure someone's joy based on their expression in life. Like that. I can tell whether or not you're
happy or whether or not you're a good actor by how you're smiling
or frowning. And that's just observing. Or those silly faces I'm getting
now. But when I say expression, it's
not what you can see, it's what you hear. It's what we put on
for display as a testimony. And I'm going to tell you, there
is nothing hidden. Nothing hidden to God. And now
nothing hidden to man. And it's easy for the Christ-like
people of the world, and I say that very loosely, to look at
the display of darkness and go, look at all that darkness. Glad
I'm not dark. Glad I'm not sinful. Glad I'm
not like that. Proving their self-condemnation. Ta-da. Self-condemned. The words of Jesus. You can give
God the credit for all your good works as long as you want to,
but when you glory in the product of your flesh, you are glorying
in you. You are revealing God's work
as if it were you. God's work is Christ. You are, by the mercy of God,
snatched out unwillingly and put into Christ gloriously and
joyfully. So not everybody can hear it,
not everybody can understand it. This crowd, look at verse
29, that stood there and heard it. Some of them said, oh it
thundered. Now if we hear thunder here,
it's probably not a big deal. We're thinking, please rain. We need some rain. But I imagine, even today, you
don't get a lot of thunder in Palestine. I may be wrong when
my friends who live there, we don't talk about the weather
because it's of no consequence. I really don't care. I don't
care about the economy, the dress, the culture. I want to talk about
what God through his gospel is doing to reach Palestinians who
are brothers and sisters in Christ as God has saved them from his
judgment through the death of Jesus. I want to hear about that, so
I don't know, but I imagine it wasn't as normal as it is here.
But either way, they knew what thunder was, and they heard the
voice of God, but it wasn't recognizable as a voice to the crowd. It was
thunder. And so some of them were like,
wow, what was that? Thunder? Is it going to rain?
What's happening? Let's look at the time. Have
we got time to get home? They had a watch, you know. Better go roll up the camel. But others said, what? Oh, it's
an angel. Oh, it's an angel. Now, see,
that's to me indicative of a majority of the Christian culture of our
day. People can discern to some degree, even through superstition,
that something supernatural has taken place. Jesus just said,
glorify your name. Thunder, thunder, thunder, thunder,
and some rumblings. I mean, I don't know. Maybe that's
what they heard. That's not thunder. It sounded like maybe God was
hungry. They said it must have been an angel talking. I don't
know what it sounded like. It doesn't matter. Some people
just dismissed it as a natural phenomenon. Others said it was
supernatural. An angel just spoke. But there's two things to understand
here. There's confusion with those who are spiritually tuned. And there is inability with those who are not spiritually
in tune. Now spiritually tuned doesn't
mean born again. Spiritually minded. Outside of
Christ is still flesh. And it's no different than those
who can't see it at all. To see it wrongly and to emphasize
everything but Christ is to put an emphasis on the spiritual
things without sufficient faith in the sufficient work of a sufficient
Savior. And that's what was taking place
here. Isn't it amazing how a little context can make something make
so much sense? An angel said it. This is confusion. They were right that it came
from heaven. They were right that angels were in heaven. But
in their mind, they couldn't imagine that God Himself was
speaking. But in their mind, they couldn't
see that God Himself was speaking before the thunder ever took
place. So no matter what, whether they
thought it was thunder or thought it was some angelic being or
whatever, Jesus responds audibly to his answer to his prayer. This voice has come for your
sake, not mine. But what did it say? They didn't
know what it said, the thunder guys or the angel guy. None of
them knew what it said. They just couldn't make it out,
I don't think. But Jesus, Jesus obviously told
somebody. The disciples understood sometime,
because it's written here in John's narrative. So it's clear
that this is what God the Father has said concerning His Son,
that He is going to glorify it again in the death of Christ,
and that's what is in view here. The death of Christ. This is why exposition is the
safety net of the joy of the saints. Because just as I gave
you that little example of how easily I could go off into an
incredibly emotional treatise on the weeping of Jesus, I could
so do the same here. But I don't have that liberty.
I don't have the liberty to stand up on a soapbox and to correct
certain things that I wish you all would understand or that
you all could help some other people understand. I just have
to teach the text as it is. And the application of the text,
though sometimes different in time, is always the same for
the saints. So what would it be for us? But
let me ask this question, are you listening to the words of
Christ? Or are you just listening to me? Does what I say, does my commentary
in teaching what God has said, or expounding upon what God has
said for application, is that more important to you than what
God has said? How do you know the difference?
Are you in the Word? Be in the Word of God. When I
ask a question of people in general, and I say, just like I did on
our church group this week, what have you learned in John's Gospel
recently? What have you learned in the
teaching of Romans? Now, not everybody has an answer because
a lot of us just don't like to engage in that, but the point
is for you to think about it, not for you to answer it. And
some of you did, praise the Lord. I do want that as well. When I ask that with the people
that I know in the community or other pastor friends of mine,
and they can't tell me. What are you reading right now?
What scripture are you reading right now, brother so and so?
Oh, well, goodness. You doing a study, doing a Bible
study, doing a devotion of anything? Is there any spiritual movement
in your life? So you need to hear God's Word
so that you agree with it when you hear me expound upon it.
You need to hear it that God the Spirit would teach you and
then affirm what I am saying is true. And if what I'm saying
is not written down, then dismiss it and bring charges against
me. But what if what I'm saying is
sound and true? Then we go to the book of James,
that proverbial teaching. It's a proverbial letter. We
go to the book of James and we see what true wisdom in Christ
looks like as we relate to one another. And one thing he says
there is be doers of the word, not just hearers. So listen to
the instruction that the Lord gives us through his apostles. Listen to the instructions that
the pastors give us from the context of scripture. And the
instruction that I'm giving you now, beloved, is to be in the
word of God, not because of guilt, But just because it is the only
way you're going to live. His grace is sufficient for you,
but his grace doesn't come through debate. It's wrecked by it. His grace doesn't come through
through working through theological philosophy. It's destroyed by it. His grace
doesn't come through a better grasp of justification from an
intellectual point of view, it's covered up by His grace comes
that we know that only what God has said has truly carried me
through this moment. Only what God has said concerning
His Son. And Jesus, though He was the one praying, look at
verse 30. He was the one in anguish. He was the one that needed ministry. It was this voice that came out
and we would think, oh God is comforting him. But Jesus said
that the prayer and the answer was not for Jesus. Jesus did
not need some sign from the father to believe the father. It has come for your sake, not
mine. See, confusion is a major theme in John's gospel. Have
you noticed that? Confusion in chapter one, the Pharisees are
confused about who John the Baptist is. He answers them clearly with
scripture. They're confused. John chapter
2, confusion about what he's going to do at this wedding.
What is he going to do with it? What does he mean by the temple?
John chapter 3, what do you mean by being born again? John chapter
4, what are you talking about? Water? You don't have a bucket?
What do you mean? The disciples are confused that
he's talking to a woman. John chapter 5, the Pharisees
are confused because he's saying that the word of God is not in
them. They haven't memorized that they don't know God, but
yet they're the children of Abraham. They're confused about everything.
John chapter 6, they're confused about his body, about his blood,
about the miracle. They can't see a thing that he's talking
about. There's confusion after confusion after confusion, and
his disciples are all confused as, duh, I don't know what's
going on, but I dare not ask because I don't want to look
stupid. Confusion in John 7, confusion
in John 8, confusion in John 9, John 10. I mean, look at it.
It's everywhere you go. Confusion, I believe, is a primary
theme running through John's gospel. Because that's the point. Look at confusion, and look at
unbelief, and look at self-righteousness, and look at intelligence, and
look at logic, and look at all these other things in which people
in John's Gospel hold to. Look at history, look at tradition,
look at actions, look at morality. What is it? Darkness. People are confused about what
darkness is versus what light is. And Jesus is the only one who
can separate the confused from the not confused. Jesus is the
only one who is the light in this present darkness and the
light will overcome the darkness. It will. Better yet, it has. It's a major theme, especially
in the part of the disciples, while they are taught they are not divinely instructed
every time they're taught. I want you to know the difference. I could open up Romans and I
could teach some doctrine there. I could open up Galatians and
teach some doctrine there. And I could teach you what it
means and how it's supposed to be understood, but it doesn't
mean that God at that moment has instructed you, does it? You've heard it, you've heard
right instruction, but until you see it, until your confusion
goes away, and here's one, until your fear leaves. Fear about what? The antithesis.
Men and women who live in fear of the antithesis of the truth
of Christ live in a bondage from which God has not set them free. And I will stand and forever
stand on that according to the word of God. People who live in fear have
not been set free by God, the spirit. The antithesis of the
gospel doesn't mean they're not regenerate. I mean, the God hasn't
taught them. They've taught themselves and
they're holding on to what they know. They're holding on to these
nuggets that they found, that someone else taught them. They've
got the outline of their old pastor and they're just regurgitating
it. They've never studied the Bible
to the point where God showed them. This voice came for your sake,
not mine. This is what it said, disciples. I will, I have and I will glorify
my name. See, God's timing in working
with his people to show them Christ as their knowledge is
his own doing. Many believers are sort of struck
with confusion at times, like the Galatians, like the Corinthians. And what is the answer to that?
Teaching the scripture. reading the scripture, learning
the scripture, meditating on the scripture. That's the answer. How many people say they're pastors,
yet don't ever teach the scripture or instruct people to learn the
scripture on their own? They're not shepherding anybody.
They've made slaves of people who are desperate to come get
what this man has to say. I don't want you to be dependent
upon me to know the truth. I pray that I help you in it.
I pray that I oversee you in it. One hour a week is not shepherding. So much more. Sometimes those who are wise
in years and aged in the faith are often blinded and left aloof
against some doctrinal constructions in the Word of God. They don't
see, they haven't been revealed these things. And we don't know
why. And there's no answer. I don't have the appendix of
how to deal with hardheadedness. It's not there. Hardheaded, my face would be
there. I mean, I don't want to see that in the back of the Bible. The disciples look back on this
teaching and they went, whoa, I see it. Father was testifying to the
Son that His death would give glory to the Father and also
glorify the Son in His resurrection. Oh my goodness, look at how strong
this was. And we were like bleh. And I
mean, we missed it. Why did we miss it then? We should
have seen it then, but we see it now. It doesn't matter what
we didn't see then. Let that go. Get away from that. Quit
dragging up dead bones and live in Christ. The devil is always under the
tongue of those who want to go back to the past to see exactly
what you were. Just like it's not a testimony
of sovereign grace for you to say, well, I used to lie and
I used to steal and now I don't, I'm saved. That's a lie. The
same thing is true about what you did and did not know. Do
you know Christ today? Give testimony of him this moment. Your regeneration is not about
the cognitive understanding of the academic principles of the
theological exertions of the gospel. It's about your heart
being made alive. And you went, holy moly, I don't
know what in the world just happened to me. But all this confusion
that I always had is no longer confusion. I see. I see Christ. You think I'm twisting
scripture? Just keep reading. We've already
read it this morning. He uses that same analogy, doesn't he?
Walking in blindness versus walking in the light. Seeing Him for
who He is. Seeing what He's teaching right
here. I have said this since 2007. July of 2007. The first time I ever said this.
You may like to hear my preaching, but most people do not want me
to shepherd them. There's a huge difference. It's like having a picture of
a boat versus owning one. This is a boat I'd like to have.
This is a boat I wish I could sell. I mean, you know. It's an albatross. It's a heaviness. It's a weightiness. Being subject
to the teaching of the scripture and being subject to somebody
like me as an elder pastor is not easy. And it's very frustrating for
me because I have to submit and lead and do so in a way that
doesn't hurt the whole of the church and then be careful what
I say, be careful what I write, be careful what I think, be careful
how my face looks. And if you're talking to me and
I'm like this, you're going to really feel as though I'm Think
you're dumb or something's on your face or whatever it might
be. You're not going to think. It's amazing, but even in those
things we trust in the work of Christ. So my job and my primary
calling is to be in the Word of God for my joy and for my
growth, for the solidity of my soul that I might lead you also
in that way. prayerfully, seeking the guidance
and the wisdom of Christ, that His Word would shepherd you without
fail. And it will without fail, but
it also must shepherd me. Hence the plurality of elders
in the body. For accountability above all
things, for shepherding, not just doctrinal. I mean, if we're
still fighting over doctrinal accountability, we're not even
should be a church right now. We shouldn't be gathering, shepherding, not lording over,
doing what is correct, rightly dividing the word of truth, being
careful not to be angry when you're preaching. Just because
that sheep that's not in that chair right now, nobody ever
sits there so I can point to that. That sheep right there
is always bringing in his dirty hooves. He never wipes them. just all over the carpet. And
I'm upset about that, so I'm gonna make all of you feel guilty
about your dirty feet. You see? There's accountability
in that. Don't beat the sheep. You never
beat the sheep. A shepherd never beats the sheep.
If God the Spirit corrects us, it may feel like a beating, but
it will be a gentle lifting. Church discipline, even, is a
correction, it's not a punishment, it's not punitive. But the disciples
looked back and they saw this. Some of you may come to see it
today, and some of you may come to see it years from now. And
what the point of this is, is that God had a purpose in the
death of Jesus, and that purpose was victory. Christ was not a failure. He
did not let God down, but he did exactly what God had sent
him to do. Christ's mercies are new every day. And just what
I've been saying over the last few minutes, if you're in the
Word, these mercies are new for you. Otherwise, it's sort of
like eating a stale application of yesterday's crumbs. I was standing in the sound booth
earlier, and I always have coffee on Sunday mornings. And last
week I left my coffee there. This week I put the coffee here.
So I pick it up and I put it to my lips and I sip and then
it didn't make it past the lip, but it was nasty. Same coffee,
same construction, a week old. Now either I will die by the
end of tomorrow from some horrible fungus Or I will never, ever,
ever get cancer or any other type of illness because I just
put in my mouth a lot of microbes that I'm not too keen upon. And
if those of you who know me know that's a problem. Church was
a little late starting because I had to deal with that mentally.
What's the point? Same coffee. I'm not drinking
that old coffee. Why are we going off last week's
sermon? Why aren't we dealing with the Word of God that we
had this morning? Whether we read it or not, was it in our
mind? Were we thinking of it? See? It's like taking cooking
classes and learning recipes and never owning a stove. Never participate, just watching.
I know we live in that type of society where we just like to
watch people do things that we're never going to do. But friends,
we need an active and lively faith. that starts and ends with
the discipline of being in Scripture. Because if not, now some people
say, well God's sovereign, if I don't be in the Bible, then
it's what God's doing. You know what God does with His sheep?
When He's not prompting them to be in the Word, He's pruning
them. He's pressing them. He's going to bring them to a
place where they are going to feel the pressure that they don't
think they can squirm out from under. And it's true. Then we
will come and we will eat and we will be full." For the sake of His disciples
and for our sake, the voice of God came. Jesus interpreted the voice of God, but even then,
when they heard Jesus speak, they were listening to the voice
of God, but they didn't see it. And Jesus answers not bring them to me or let's
do this. The Greeks, if they want to come
to me, I must die. If the world is going to be saved,
and we know the context of world there, we've been in this a while,
I must die. If the elect of the world are
to be saved, I must die. Jesus then responds in verse
31, look at this, now is the judgment of the world. Now will
the ruler of this world be cast out. Now I want to say something
here on a hermeneutical point of view, interpretive point of
view. Friends, this interprets itself in light of its present
context. This is not, though it is eschatological,
in other words it has timing in the verbiage, now, it is not to be interpreted in
such a way that it ties in with Joel ties in with Daniel, ties
in with all this and that and the other, and you wet your fingers,
see which way is the wind blowing, and you throw your left shoe
in the air, and if it falls in a certain place, wow, then we
see what's happening. This is not okay. Now, what am I saying?
I'm mocking a lot of interpretive usages of this term, of this
text. I'm mocking it. I'm making fun
of it because it's abusive. Jesus, in this very breath, is
saying right now, In this moment, my hour has come. His ascent
to the cross has begun. Right now. I would encourage
you to read the rest of John's Gospel this week. Chapter 12
on, and you'll see it. It just unfolds. This latter part here, it's all
one week. Now the ruler of this world will
be cast out. So the Greeks have come, the cross is here, judgment
has come. Judgment has come. It's not coming,
I'm not coming back to bring Job, I'm not coming to sit in
this temple that I'm going to permit to be torn down by my hand through
the Romans in just a few short decades. David's throne is not a literal
throne and Jesus made that clear. If my kingdom were of this world,
you wouldn't be standing here with me in handcuffs. I mean,
that's a bold statement. You wouldn't have me. Sounds like something I'd say,
but really smart-alecky. And then I'd get beheaded before
I even hit the cross. Judgment has come. Jesus judges
the world. And His coming, this last days,
begin at His death. His incarnation began the process
of that judgment. This is the judgment, John 3.
Is this in mind? Is this in view when you think
of judgment? John 3, this is the judgment. The light has come
into the world, so that began the judgment, right? But people
love the darkness rather than the light because, Nicodemus,
your life and all of its works are evil. You teach the Bible
nine days a week. You pray nine days a week. I'm
being superlative. You worship in the temple all
the time. You love the Jews. You love God. It's evil works. They're dark. Darkness. You love the truth,
Nicodemus. But the judgment is this, that
I have come into the world, but you don't love me, you love the
ministry of the world that you've created apart from me, so your
works are evil and you don't come to me, because if you come
to me, you have to shed all of that. And everybody that knows
you and esteems you for all of your good ministry, your good
doctrine, your good teaching, your good sermonizing, your good
prayers, and your careful heart toward their concern, We'll see
you as a fool because you have wiped away all of that great
stuff and you've fallen prey to my stupid and ridiculous teaching
that it's only I that glorify God, not you. That's what he's
telling Nicodemus and John 3. You can't see it. Judgment has come. Christ has
come. The light will not be overcome
by the darkness. So we, beloved, must proclaim
Christ and rest. We're too American. We're too
American. We're too revolutionary in our
culture. I've got to do something. I've
got to do something radical. Don't read that. Don't listen
to people who talk about being radical. Be restful. Not lazy. Restful. Resting is a condition of the
soul. Not the body. Resting is a condition of the
mind, not the body. Resting is a condition of the
heart, the emotional sense, spiritual sense, heart, mind, soul, all
the same, unless you're a philosopher. Not the body. Resting. Be at rest, beloved. That's the
reason we preach the Word of God, that you may, in your struggles,
be at rest. In your frustration, be at peace. In your fear, resolve to have
no fear. Jesus has accomplished all and
nothing more can attest to his glory, save that which he has
already revealed and is now about to do. To die and to be raised to life. Christ will receive the judgment
of the elect. But the world, quote, that's
sinful humanity by context, is going to be judged as they believe
they are judging him. The world judges Jesus and his
gospel as a lie. And they crucified him for it
because it was the will of God and it was the eternal plan of
God who is sovereign over the choices and the will of man. And they thought they judged
Him and shamed Him, but they themselves were judged by killing
Him, by refusing Him, by not believing in Him. They are exposing themselves
for what they truly are. Beloved, this goes so close. Listen, I can't say this enough. This comes so close to our cuff. that I dare not be so bold to
say that it is none of you. Many people are so in love with
their own glory in the name of Christ that they cannot see Christ. Rejecting Jesus. is rejecting
God. This revelation of glory in full,
Jesus and everything that He represents, and all that He does,
and all that He is, is the greatest evil of the human soul. The greatest
evil of the human soul. But this death, where they were
judging Jesus, was actually Jesus judging them. So now is the judgment of this
world. These people are going to put
me on a cross. I'm going to prove who they are. I'm going to prove
what the world does. Who could it be but His own people?
I mean, the Babylonians had killed Jesus. They were like, wow, so
sad, those sinful Babylonians. But the chosen of God killing
their own Messiah? See the point? Does the light
come on for you in that? Not only is the world now judging,
being judged, but now the ruler of this world is cast out. I
find that interesting, and through my years of study, I've never
found this phrase, ruler of the world, in any Semitic literature
referring to Satan. But that is truly the context
here. I haven't read everything either.
I'm just saying I haven't found it. This ruler is going to be cast
out. This is the enemy. This is Lucifer.
He's being cast out. What does that mean? That means
in relation to his work, to his control, to his authority, to
his temptation, to he as the origin of the fall, it's done. It's over. It's over. The nations who could
not see the Lord have now come to see the Lord, and they will
see the Lord, the elect of those nations, when He dies and raises
to life. They'll see Him. They'll see
Him and they'll believe in Him at cost and peril, but they will
not be put to shame. And though they die, they will
live. Satan believes the cross is a
victory, but it indeed is his own destruction. Jesus' death enthroned him in
glory, didn't it? As Paul said to the Philippians,
though he was equal with God, he did not take equality with
God something to be grasped and made himself nothing, a slave,
obedient, obedient unto death on a cross. Therefore God exalted
him. That His name would be the name
above all names. And that at the name of Jesus,
every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus
is Lord. So, Jesus' death enthroned Him
in glory. And He was raised alive after
being raised from the earth. Satan then is dethroned. It is revealed that He is judged
and He is done. Ephesians 3, 10. The metaphor
witness of God, as a paraphrase here, is the church. The metaphor witness of God's
finished work of redemption is the body of Christ to the enemy
and all the fallen angels. So Christ has overcome the power
of sin for his people, because now he says what? Satan has no
authority over the nations. As Christ is going to die for
them, he will set free all the people, all his people of all
the nations. So the exaltation of Jesus truly
puts in place the lowering in reality of Satan's reign. And
then I, verse 32, when I'm lifted up from the earth will draw all
people unto myself. Lifted up, right there, and it
says so in verse 33, is to show what type of death he would have.
He wouldn't be stoned, he wouldn't be beheaded, he wouldn't be burned,
he wouldn't be starved, he wouldn't be dragged behind a camel or
a horse. He'd be crucified. Lifted up. The Son of Man, He's
already said that some other times, many times over. The Son
of Man, John 3, will be lifted up as Moses lifted up the serpent
in the wilderness on the pole. So this being crucified is also
being glorified. In His death He is glorified
and later in His ascension, which I believe we should see but is
not necessarily in view in His voice here, He will be glorified. revealing Himself for who He
truly is, that He, Jesus, the Son of God, Christ, died for
His people. And it is clear of all nations
that He has overcome the power of sin and the bondage of Satan. How is that possible? will draw
all people to myself." Now we know what John 6 was teaching,
right? Remember when Jesus says that
you can't come to me unless the Father give you to me and all
that he gives to me will come to me. He talks about, he uses
the term there, drawing. That means to forcibly snatch
and drag and pull into a spot against itself. We know that
the Father draws His elect out of the nations. So Christ will
be given His people from all men and that is what is representative
here of the Greeks coming and seeking after Jesus. Then Jesus
immediately starting to talk about, now is the hour that I
shall see all nations come to me. His redemptive work is glorified
in the nations coming to know Him. in spirit and in truth,
like it says in John 4. He said this to show by what
kind of death He was going to die, crucifixion. So the crowd
answered Him. Look at verses 34 and 35. I'll talk about it and then I'll
preach it next week. The crowd answers Him. We have
heard from the law that Christ remains forever. How can you
say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is the Son
of Man? Okay. You see two things at play
here? These people, as normal, are
confused. They want to understand the essence
of this Son of Man. They don't understand who is
He. Just like when the blind man said, who is He that I might
worship Him? Reveal Him to me that I might know Him. Reveal
the Son of Man, know Him and know what He's about to do. I
want to understand this, not just point Him out for me. Okay,
there it is. Put His name tag on it and we'll know who He is
next time. That's not the point of them
asking these questions. But they had some combination
of texts, and I've looked and I see dozens of texts in the
Old Testament that you could put all together and have this
teaching, and even in some of the rabbinic writing. But no matter what combination
of texts they derived their theology, they had an understanding that
Messiah is the Son of Man, and that the Son of Man, the Messiah,
would be successful, and that He would reign forever, and He
would be triumphant. Now, for Him to say He will die
on a cross, how is this? What kind of Son of Man is this?
What kind of Messiah is this? What kind of King is this? We're
confused. We thought you were coming to
save us here." And He was, but they couldn't see how. What's He going to do now? Help
us understand. Verse 35, Jesus doesn't answer them at all. He repeats what he's been preaching.
Listen, he doesn't answer them. He repeats what he's been preaching
from the beginning because only in the Word of Christ is there
power to bring a dead man who cannot see to life and sight. And you can know how to defend
every example of error and lead everyone you talk to straight
to judgment. If you cannot proclaim the gospel
of grace without a yeah but and and. The light is among you for a
little while longer, quickly. Walk while you have the light,
lest darkness master you. The one who walks in darkness
does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe
in the light that you may become sons of light. And when Jesus
said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. A
little while longer, Jesus is going to live in his temporary
body. His resurrected body is a glorified
body, it's a new body. It's a promise that we have.
Walk then with him now while you can see him, is what he's
saying, lest darkness master you. Because what you can see
with your eyes is much easier to follow than what you cannot
see. And if you can't follow me now, you will not follow me
later. The sons of God, the sons of
light. I'll go through all this next week. So, here Jesus is
saying, believe in the light, believe in me, believe in God
the Son. How is this possible? We've already
seen it in the prologue. By the will of God, not the will
of man. He is not preaching to them the
ability for them to come and believe. He's actually said,
in order for the Greeks to believe, I've got to die. That the Spirit would regenerate
them. So that they'd be justified. So that they would believe. So
that they would be saved from the judgment of God. This is
not the right order. Don't crucify me. They're all true of the elect. Sons of God, those who are children
of God have been made so by the will of God, through the finished
work of Christ, by the Spirit who makes alive and gifts faith. Faith is a gift, not a choice. Never has been a choice. I'm confused. I'm trying. I'm
trying to work this out on my own. I'm trying to figure it
out. I'm trying to go here. I'm trying to understand this.
Boom! Wow! I see Christ and I can't even hardly put my finger on
it sometimes. What's that? It's a new birth.
And then we grow and God cultivates through teaching, through preaching,
through the reading of the Word, through fellowship together around
the Word, the Scriptures, not anything else, grow us and mature
us. And then Jesus hides himself.
Friends, this is not just for you to know Jesus disappeared.
He said, walk in the light while you still have time. And then
he vanished. You see that? Christ is given an example. Because
imagine the questions. Imagine the questions in that
Q&A. Wait a minute, you didn't answer our question. What are
you talking about? Jesus? Walk in the light, believe in
the light while it still shines. While it's still here, let's
darkness master you. Poof. Where'd he go? Where'd he go? Exactly. Do not take lightly the warning.
This example of Jesus vanishing is a reality of the judicial
hardening of most people. the blindness of most people,
and the death and the remaining judgment of most people. By the
mercy of God, beloved, by the mercy of God alone, you see,
you see, Christ crushed and raised to life Everything he accomplished
is taught to you in time. But that is what God shows his
children. The true Christ who died and
bled for us and who lives today as our light that has never stopped
shining. Thank you for listening. We hope
that this message has encouraged you in the faith. Subscribe to
these messages and other teaching resources and podcasts at anchoringfaith.org. More information about the church
can be found at gracetruth.org.