Jesus' Sake Only

Let's open our Bibles to John chapter 12. John chapter 12. Verse 9. Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there. As you remember, John chapter 11 is the story of the Lord going to Bethany and raising Lazarus from the dead, which the Pharisees determined that they had to be rid of Christ, lest the Romans come and take away both their place and their nation. they plotted our Lord's death. John chapter 12 begins six days before the Lord goes to the cross and Mary and Martha and Lazarus are having a meal for him in their home. And now there are those in Jerusalem, just the Mount of Olives is right on the East side of Jerusalem, and Bethany was a small village on the other side of Mount of Olives. So it's all one part of the same area, just a short walk from Jerusalem, from the city into Bethany. And much people of the Jews knew that the Lord Jesus was there, and they came not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also. whom he had risen from the dead. I've titled this message, For Jesus' Sake Only.

These people were curious. Yes, they wanted to see the one who raised Lazarus from the dead, but perhaps even more than that, they wanted to see Lazarus. What would a man who was dead for four days, risen from the dead, look like? What stories would he have to tell? And they came not for Jesus' sake only. If we're going to be saved, we must come to God for Jesus' sake only.

Now, when the Bible speaks, when the Lord says, I did not save you for your sakes, but for my name's sake, he's not saying that I did not save you that you might benefit. No, his work of redemption was for our sake in the sense that it was for our salvation. And it was done out of love. for his people. And in that regard, it was for our sake. When he said, I did not do it for your sake, in other words, I did not find anything in you to merit what I did. It was not done because I saw something that, for your sake, obligated me to save you. I did it for my namesake, and only for my namesake. And we're reminded by that if we come to Christ, we come for his namesake. He's the only one that was able to merit favor with God by his perfect righteousness and by his sacrificial death.

We don't come looking for Lazarus. We don't come looking for if you will, the hand of God, though we are in need of his hand. When the Lord told us in Matthew chapter 6 that we should not worry about what we're going to eat, or what we're going to drink, or what we're going to wear.

He went on to say that the Gentiles seek after these things. And I always thought that just meant that unbelievers are always concerned only with their material needs, and they're always concerned with only accumulating worldly wealth and providing for the flesh, when he said the Gentiles seek after these things. But in light of what the Lord says next, I think it's more than that. I think it's the Lord saying, That's what the unbeliever prays for.

But you seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these other things to be added unto you. Now you cannot seek the kingdom of God without seeking the king. And you cannot seek the righteousness of God without seeking Christ. who himself is our righteousness. Now we know that a man can receive nothing except to be given to him from heaven.

And the unbeliever knows that there is a God to whom they are dependent upon their life. And the Gentiles are always praying for those material needs. These things the Gentiles seek after. The food that they eat has to come from God, they know that. All men know that there's a God in heaven. That's why there's such a variety of religions in the world, men seeking to to know the God that they perceive exists, not knowing that the God who is isn't anything like what they think. And so they go about trying to establish their own righteousness, and they go about seeking their God for those earthly things.

But you seek first the kingdom of God. and His righteousness. And the hand of God will come with the face of God. I asked Ryan to read Psalm 27. Thank you, Ryan, for doing that, because I wanted to call attention to that verse. Turn back with me, if you will, to Psalm 27, verse 8. When thou saidest, seek ye my face, my heart said unto thee, thy face, Lord, will I seek. I believe that's what the Lord is telling us in John, in Matthew chapter six, in the Sermon on the Mount, when he said the Gentiles seek after those things. The Gentiles are always seeking after the hand of God to provide for them.

And they do receive the blessings of God's hand, but they know nothing of his face. They can't live without God. He gives them breath and life and being, that all comes from God. And they ask God to provide things for them. The sun shines on the righteous and the unrighteous, and rain falls on the like, on both of them. God provides by his hand for all men. And no man would have anything if God didn't give it to him. And all the natural man is interested in is the hand of God.

And the Lord says to you and me, seek ye my face. And my heart said, thy face, Lord, will I seek. The hand of God will come in the measure that God is pleased to give it with his face. They have his hand and don't know anything about his face. If we seek his face, we will receive as he sees fit to measure to us.

David prayed and said, Lord, give me that bread which is convenient for me. Give me what you know I need in this life. In another place in Psalm 23, David said, the Lord is my shepherd. And with him as my shepherd, I shall not be in want of anything that I need in this life nor in the life to come. He will provide. He will provide what I need. But my duty and my call and command from God is to seek his face. That's what I need.

And these people came, back to our text in John chapter 12, they came not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus, whom he raised from the dead. Reminds me of Herod on the night that our Lord was arrested and brought before the high priest and the high priest that night sent him to Herod. And the Bible says that Herod was pleased to see him for he had heard many things about him and he was hoping to see a miracle. That's how Herod received Christ the night before he was crucified. Oh, they brought Jesus of Nazareth to me. I've been hearing lots of stories about you.

Perform a miracle. And the Lord opened not his mouth. What would be a greater demonstration of the power of God? for him to perform a miracle? To override all the natural laws of physics as we know them and to do something that is clearly supernatural?

Or would it be to believe that there is a God in heaven who hides himself He's not trying to entertain men with miracles. He has no need to meet the needs of a Herod who's just curious, or these people who came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also and be entertained and enthralled by a man who was raised from the dead, having conversations. What was it like, Lazarus? He has no need for that. We worship the God in heaven who hides himself from the natural, from the unbeliever. But here's what the believer knows about him.

Our God is the first cause behind everything that men see. That our God has given his creatures the uncoerced freedom to make choices according to their own will. Now you just begin to work in your mind the math. Considering the infinite number of possibilities in the equation of all men on earth doing whatever they want to do, and how complicated the outcome of that would be. And yet there is a God in heaven who is the first cause behind all of those acts and all those decisions and is accomplishing his purpose through it all. Now that's a God past finding out. That's a God worthy of worship. That's a God that will overwhelm you with the glory of his infinite omnipotence and majesty and cause you to just bow before him and say, Lord, whatever you do is right.

We don't climb for Jesus and a miracle. We're not looking to a God to satisfy our curiosity, or to prove himself to us, or to entertain us with his hand. We're seeking his face. He is what we need. He is who we need. And we know that with him will come whatever we need. Whatever we need. Oh, we have needs, Lord. Lord, we have need to eat. We have financial needs. We have physical needs. Lord, we're sick. Lord, we're dying. Lord, we've got this problem and that problem. We have relational needs. We have broken families and divorces and rebellious children. Lord, we have all these needs.

But if we're coming just Looking for Jesus plus a Lazarus Then we've got Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these other things will be added unto you. That's what the Gentiles seek after. That's what they pray for. And I give it to them. You want me to just provide for you? How many unbelievers pray to God when they're sick and they get healed? Who healed them? God healed them. God healed them.

Does that mean they have access to the throne of grace to find help in their time of need? No, they don't know their need. They don't know that they have a need to be saved. They're just using God as a as a help in their life here. These people came not for Jesus' sake only. This message, brethren, is we come to God for Jesus' sake only. Only. The Lord fed 5,000 men one time. Turned around and they were all following Him. And He looked to them and He said, You're following me because you want your bellies full. And that's all they wanted. They wanted a social welfare program. This man can feed us. He can clothe us. He can provide all our needs.

If you want to be my disciple, deny yourself. Deny that you are able to provide anything for yourself in this life or especially in the life to come. Take up your cross. Die to yourself. and believe that my death is the only hope of your justification. And follow me, follow me, look to Christ as the author and the finisher of your faith. And they left him. Well, that's not what we're signing up for. They came not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus. They came that they might have their bellies full. And they walked away.

And the Lord looked to his disciples and said, aren't you gonna go with them? What did Peter say? Lord, to whom shall we go? You alone have the words of eternal life. We know and are sure that thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. You have, you've shut us up to you. They came not for Jesus' sake only. How many people come not for Jesus' sake only? The rich young ruler, good master, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Why callest thou me good? You know there's none good but God. Do you understand when you address me as good that you are affirming that I am God? You know the commandments.

Well, the rich young ruler was looking to Jesus plus something to do, plus something to do. How many people do that? They look, well, I've got to have Christ, but Christ is necessary for my salvation, but he's not sufficient. I got to do my part. They came not for Jesus' sake only. That's religion. That's works free will religion. And in the end, the rich young ruler went away sad. The Lord gave him what he asked for. He said, keep the law. Keep the law. These things I've kept since my youth. One thing thou lackest, sell all that you have and give to the poor and follow me. And he went away sad.

He wasn't coming for Christ only. The Pharisees studied the Bible. You see, the truth is, brethren, that a lot of people become religious for a lot of reasons. They study their Bible for a lot of reasons. They go to church. They pray. They get interested in spiritual things, but they're not coming for Jesus' sake only.

They're not coming because they heard the voice of God say, seek ye my face, and their heart said, thy face, Lord, will I seek. They're not seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, trusting him to give them all these other things as he sees fit. Lord, I know if I seek your face, I'll have all I need. I'll have all I need.

The Pharisees searched the scriptures because they thought in them they had eternal life. And the Lord said, these are they which testify of me. Men study the Bible so that they can acquire knowledge and advantage over other men so that they can prove themselves. We go to the scriptures, why?

Because the scriptures teach us one thing, Jesus only, Christ only. They came not for Jesus' sake only. It's the only way to come. way to come. We can't have hidden agendas when we come to God. We come for Christ only and for His sake only and then we trust Him to provide whatever else He sees fit that we might need. And if we come with a hidden agenda, People come, as I've already mentioned, they come to God for healing.

10 men that were infected with leprosy, a life-threatening disease, a terminal illness with no cure, 10 of them came. They pleaded with God to heal them. He healed all 10 of them. One came back. One came back. One acknowledged that that was His face. His face is what I need. A man by the name of Simon Magus saw the apostles performing miracles in the power of the Holy Spirit and tried to buy the Holy Spirit from them. Tried to buy the Holy Spirit from them. I come to the throne of grace boldly because I'm coming for Jesus' sake only. I've got no other agenda. I know that if I have Christ, I'll have all I need.

Martha, Martha, you are encumbered and bothered by so many things. Martha was asking the Lord to make Mary get up and serve this very meal. Lord cares not that Mary's, where was Mary? She was fitting, sitting at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ. And what did the Lord say to Martha? Martha, you're covered by many things. Mary has chosen that one thing needful that will not be taken away from her. The one thing.

A man by the name of Jairus, who had a daughter on her deathbed, came to the Lord, pleaded with him to come to his house. On the way to Jairus's house, the servants of Jairus met them and said to Jairus, bother the master no more. While you were gone fetching him, your daughter has died. And the Lord Jesus looks at Jairus and he says to him, be not afraid.

Only believe. Only belief. Trust me. Jairus. And I can just see the Lord putting the face of Jairus in his hands. Can you see that? I mean, Jairus must have been devastated when he got the news. He must have been down trying to, and the Lord would have reached up and taken him by his, with his face in his hands and turned him up eye to eye.

Jairus, do not be afraid. Only believe. Seek my face, Jairus. I'll provide what you need. Don't seek a feeling. Don't seek an experience. Plenty of people do that. Seek me and you shall live. I am your shield. I am your exceeding great reward. Abraham, I'm your reward. I'm your protector. I'm your provider.

They came not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus. People come for all sorts of reasons. People go to church for lots of reasons. They go for community, for family, for fellowship. And churches do a really good job in providing all that sort of thing. Fellowship's good. I love my family. I love you. I love the brothers and sisters in Christ.

But if we come not for Jesus' sake only, somebody's gonna offend you, and that family's not gonna turn out. When the honeymoon's over, and the dating is behind you, and you get into real-life marriage with a real sinner, and you have problems, you're gonna throw up the red flag and get divorced from that family? And yet that's what happens in churches, is it not? You can tell why people come by why they leave. Well, I got offended. Well, why did you come to begin with? Not for Jesus' sake only. If you came for his sake only, no one could offend you enough for you to leave. Not if Christ is being lifted up. Not if he's being preached.

But they do all the time. People come for entertainment. And churches have gotten really good at that. You know, you can get your social needs and your entertainment needs all in one-stop shopping, and your religious needs. Why? Because they're not coming for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also. And they go away empty. And the Lord, like with Herod, never speaks to them. I'm coming for for peace, I'm coming for hope, I'm coming for assurance. Don't come for that. Don't come for that. That comes with Jesus. Do you hear me? You see, those things can be, they can be counterfeited.

How many unbelievers have had enough experiences and enough warm feelings and enough, you know, religious experiences to say, well, I know I'm saved. You talk to your unbelieving friends. What's the first thing? You tell them the gospel. What's the first thing out of your mouth? They think you're accusing them of not being saved. I'm not telling you. I'm just telling you what the gospel is. But the first thing out of their mouth is, oh, I know I'm saved.

And they look back at something that they did, or their baptism, or what they're doing now, or a decision they made, or a work, and they have a false assurance. You can develop a false assurance. You can have hope that's not really hope. You can have peace that's not really peace. You can have comfort that's not really comfort. The false prophets are quick to tell you, peace, peace, when there is no peace.

Brethren, those are the things that come with Christ. And the Lord said, seek ye my face. And my heart said, thy face, Lord, will I seek. And everything else I need, I know will come with your face. With your face. Faith will come with your face. Love will come with your face. Obedience will come with your face. Rest will come with your face. Assurance will come with your face. Hope will come with your face. Comfort will come with your face. Rejoicing will come with your face.

They came not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus. It's what we do. Why? Because we don't believe that Christ is all. We don't believe that all the blessings of God are in Him. They're bound up in Him. Faith is not believing that you're one of God's elect. Faith is not believing that you're saved. Faith is not believing that your name is written in heaven. There were two blind men that came to the Lord Jesus and asked him to heal them.

And he looked at them and he said, believest thou that I am able? And they said, yea, Lord, we believe. And immediately he touched them, and they received their sight. Paul said, I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able. Able. Another man came to the Lord, came to the disciples first with a son that was possessed with demons. The disciples couldn't cast him out, and so the man with tears, crying, said to the Lord, if you can do anything, have compassion upon us. And the Lord looked at him and said, if you can believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. A leper came to the Lord Jesus one time and said, Lord, I know that thou canst if thou will. I know you can heal me if you're willing to heal me. Now that's how we come. We come for Jesus' sake only. We don't come pleading our sincerity. We don't come pleading our feelings. We don't come insisting on our experiences.

Lord, I know you can if you will. The false gospel says God is willing, but he can't unless you allow him. and enable him. Faith says, Lord, I know you can do anything. I know that you are the first cause behind all things. I know that you can save me. I know that you can make me whole. And I know that if I'm going to be saved, you're gonna have to do it all. Lord, I know you can.

Paul, in writing to the church at Corinth, said this. He said, first of all, he said, I'm jealous over you with a godly jealousy, for I have espoused you to one husband, Christ. One husband. I've married you to Christ. And then the next verse, he said, but I fear, I fear, lest by any means, any means, Feelings, experiences, Lazarus's race from the dead, whatever it is, I feared less by any means as the serpent beguiled Eve in the garden. So your hearts should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. The simplicity. Men don't want simplicity. That's how glorious the gospel is. It is so simple.

It requires us to come empty-handed and naked with nothing to offer, believing on Christ, believing that he is able. Coming not for Jesus' sake only, as these men, they came not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus. It can't come like that. It's to know Him, to have Christ. This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.

Paul said, I've not yet apprehended that which has apprehended me. He's got a hold of me. I want to know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his suffering. I just want to know him. I want to know him. Whatever he does and whatever he has for me, I know will be right. I know it'll be good. I know it'll be holy, I know it'll be just. I'm in no position to demand anything from Him or offer Him anything. I'm completely dependent upon Him.

It is not presumptuous to believe on Christ. For God has not invited us to believe on him. The gospel is not an invitation with an RSVP attached. The gospel is a command from God. To not obey the gospel, to not believe, to not come is rebellion against God Almighty. God's not asking us. He's commanding us. Let's close with Psalm 27 again. Verse 5, in the time of trouble And oh, what trouble we have.

He shall hide me in his pavilion. In the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me. He shall set me upon the rock. The Lord Jesus Christ is the tabernacle of God. He's gonna hide me in Christ. Moses, I'm gonna put you in the cleft of the rock. I'm gonna put your feet upon a rock. in your time of trouble. And now shall my head be lifted up above my enemies round about me. Therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy.

I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord. Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice. Have mercy also upon me and answer me. And when thou saidst, seek ye my face, my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek. Hide not thy face from me. Put not thy servant away in anger. Thou hast been my help. Lead me not, neither forsake me, O God, of my salvation.

When my father and my mother forsake me, when they can't help me, then the Lord will take me up. When I've got no one else that I can rely on, and I've got no place else to go, and I cannot help myself, that's when the Lord will take me up. Verse 11, teach me thy way, O Lord. The Lord Jesus said, I am the way.

I'm not going to show you the way. I am the way. I'm that secret pavilion. I'm that tabernacle. I'm that rock. I'm the face. Oh Lord, lead me in a plain path, a simple path. The simplicity of Christ is so plain. We complicate it. When we take our eyes off of him and we, like Peter in the Sea of Galilee, we look at the waves and the wind and we get afraid. And then we see Christ and we cry, Lord save me, Lord help me. And immediately he reaches down his hand and he saved him.

Deliver me not over to my enemies. For false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelly. All these doubts, all these thoughts, all these accusations of the accuser of the brethren, they invade my mind, my heart with all these things. Lord, don't turn me over to my enemies.

I had fainted. I would have fainted if you left me to myself, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait upon the Lord. Wait upon Him. Be of good courage. He shall strengthen thy heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord. Our Heavenly Father, like those Jews so many years ago, we find ourselves guilty of not seeking Jesus only. Thank you for your word. Thank you for the gospel. Thank you for your grace. Thank you for your Holy Spirit. Lord, might we hear this word not in vain, but might you make them true to our hearts and cause us to seek thy face. We ask it in Christ's name. Amen. 225 in the hymnal. Let's stand. Heard the voice of Jesus say, Come unto me and rest. Lay down, thou weary one, Lay down thy head upon my breast.

I came to Jesus as I was weary and bored and sad. I found in Him a resting place and He has made me glad. The voice of Jesus said, Behold, I freely give the living water, thirsty one, stoop down and drink and live. I came to Jesus, and I drank of that life-giving stream. My thirst was quenched, my soul revived, and now I live in Him. I heard the voice of Jesus say, I am this dark world's light. Look unto me, thy morn shall rise, and all thy day be bright. I look to Jesus, and I found in Him my star, my sun. And in that light of life, I'll walk till trapping days are done.

Jesus' Sake Only

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