Would you turn with me to John
Chapter 17? While you're turning there, most
of you are aware of the situation in Pikeville. The church and
the parsonage there received a lot of damage in the flood
last week. And if you'd like to help out, you can designate
a gift for them. Just note Pikeville on your check. Also, there's a list of items
on the bulletin board of things that you may have around your
house that they need. And if you look at that list. Have something, send it their
way. Take a look at the list, it's on the bulletin board back
here. John, Chapter 17, I've entitled this message. The message
of the preacher. I'd like to read this first verse
of John chapter 17. These words spake Jesus and lifted
up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour is come. thy son, that thy son also may
glorify thee." The message of the preacher. There is such a thing as a preacher. A man sent from God with a message
for that hour. Paul said in Romans 10, how shall
they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except
they be sent? Now, I claim to be a preacher. And if I have to try and convince
you that I am, I'm probably not. If I am, I better have something
to say. Something that comes from God. Something that we need to hear. The message of the preacher. And that message is found in
that verse that I just read. These words spake Jesus. It has something to do with His
words. These words spake Jesus. And this is referring to this
last message that our Lord brought to His disciples that we've been
looking at for some time now in John chapters 13 through 16.
But I'm so thankful that we have His word. The Bible is either
the word of God or it is the word of men. It is either divinely
inspired or it is uninspired. The Lord Jesus Christ is either
who He claimed to be, the Son of God, the uncreated, eternal
Son of God, or He is a deluded deceiver. Don't try to patronize
Him by saying He was a good man and a reformer. He is either
God the Creator, the Eternal Son, or a deluded deceiver. Thank God these words spake Jesus. Aren't you thankful we have His
Word? And if a man is truly a preacher,
it has something to do with him preaching His Word. Now look what it says next. These
words spake Jesus and lifted up his eyes to heaven. Now, this is his great high priestly
prayer for his people. John chapter 17, as a matter
of fact, I believe is the holy of holies of the scripture. There
was a holy place and there was the holy of holies, and this
is the place where we're allowed to listen in as our Lord addresses
his father in behalf of his people. Look at verse 9. He says, I pray
for them, every one of his elect. I pray not for the world, but
for them which thou hast given me, for they are thine. Now, when our Lord prayed to
his Father, the Scripture points out that he lifted up his eyes. Now, when I pray, I pray like the public. Scripture
says regarding the publican, he would not so much as lift
up his eyes to heaven. He felt utterly unqualified to
do that. I don't know. Shame on my face. Like the publican, he beat on
his breast, crying, God, be merciful to me. Be sinner. That's the
way a sinner prays. But our Lord. He could lift up
his eyes to the Father. He addresses him as his father
in reverence, in fear, in submission, in subordination, yet as equal
to the Father. Look in verse 24. Our Lord says to his father,
Father, look what it says, I will. I will that they also whom thou
hast given me be with me where I am." Now, can you address the
Father like that? Father, I will that you do this. You can't address the Father
that way. I can't address the Father that way, but He can.
He, in submission, yet in divine equality, says to the Father,
Father, I will that you do this. Well, is that powerful? What
power he has with the father that he can address the father
like that. And he said, father. These words speak Jesus and lifted
up his eyes and head to heaven and said, father, the mysterious,
glorious relationship between God, the father and God, the
son. This is my beloved son are the
words of the father. This is my beloved Son, in whom
I am well pleased. Hear ye Him." Well, wouldn't
you love to hear His voice this morning? I want to hear from
Him. And look what He says next in
verse 1. The hour is come. Glorify thy son, that thy son
also may glorify thee. Now this phrase is used seven
times in the book of John. The hour is come. And our Lord knew at the end
of this prayer, he would be arrested. He knew that while he was praying.
He knew when he finished his prayer, the soldiers would come
to arrest him. That's what he's talking about
when he's talking about his hour being come. Look in John chapter
2. This was brought out early in his ministry. Verse three, and when they wanted
wine, the mother of Jesus said unto him they have no wife. Jesus
saith unto her woman. What have I to do with thee?
Now it was the Lord being disrespectful to his mother. Well, you know
he wasn't. But. What she was saying was,
you need to do something about this. And he says, you don't
tell me what to do. My hour has not yet come when
I'm delivered into the hands of men. I'm in absolute control. Woman, what have I to do with
thee? My hour is not yet come. Look in John chapter 7. Verse 30, Then they sought to take him,
but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet
come. John chapter 8, verse 20. These words fake Jesus in the
treasury as he taught in the temple, and no man laid hands
on him. They wanted to, but no man laid
hands on him for his hour. was not yet come. But back in
John chapter 12, that passage of scripture we opened the service
with. Verse 23, And Jesus answered
them, saying, The hour is come that the Son of man should be
glorified. And verse 27, this Now is my
soul troubled. This is the Son of God saying
this. He says, Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say?
Father, save me from this hour. He's talking about the hour that
he dreads so much, the hour of being forsaken by God, the hour
of the cross. It's not talking about 60 minutes.
It's talking about the duration of his sufferings. He says, What
shall I say? Father, save me from this hour.
But for this cause came I. unto this hour. The Lord Jesus
Christ came for this purpose. He came to die. No one else has
ever come to die. He came to die. Look in chapter 13. Now, the Feast of the Passover.
When Jesus knew that his hour was come. that he should depart
out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were
in the world." He loved them to the end. In John 16, 32, he's referring to this hour when
the disciples would forsake him. We saw that last week. Behold,
the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered,
every man to his own, and shall leave me alone, and yet I am
not alone, because the Father And then in chapter 17, verse
1, these words speak, Jesus and lifted up his eyes to heaven
and said, Father, the hour is come. And this refers to his hour of
death. The hour is come. And when he
refers to his death, he says, glorify thy son. Glorify thy
son, that thy son also might glorify thee. Now this hour that
he speaks of. is both the darkest and the brightest
hour that has ever been. I think what I just said, this
hour that he's speaking of, his death, is both the darkest and
the brightest hour that there has ever been. First of all,
it's the darkest hour. You know, the Lord said in the
book of Luke to those who arrested him, this is your hour and the
power of darkness. In Luke chapter 23, verse 25,
it says regarding Pilate that he delivered Jesus to their will.
Now, what do I mean when I'm talking about this being the
darkest hour? The cross. When Jesus Christ
was nailed to the cross, that's the one time when God took away
the restraints and let men do what they wanted to do. Now,
if you want to know the truth about yourself, if you want to
know the truth about yourself, listen up real carefully. If
God left you to yourself, you would be a murderer of Jesus
Christ. You would have been one of those
people with a nail and a hammer driving through in hatred. That's
you. That's me. That's what we all
are by nature. If you want to know the truth
about who you are and what you are, I know we've got all kinds
of restraints. Thank God for restraints. I'm
thankful for restraints. But if God left me and you to
ourselves, we would be murderers of Jesus Christ. And you're called
on, and I'm called on, to believe that. You may think, I don't
see how I could have done that. Believe it, because that's what
God's Word says regarding every man by nature. Let God take the
restraints off, and that is what you will do. When all the restraints were
taken away and men were let to do what they wanted to do, the
creature nailed the Creator to a cross. The sun refused to shine. The earth quaked in protest as
it beheld its Creator murdered by the creature. I've got one daughter. I love
her. If there's somebody who, if they
got their way, they'd nail her to a cross, that person is my
enemy. That's how God views every natural
man. Somebody who would, if they could,
murder his son. His only begotten and well-beloved
son. Now, we see the darkness, the
darkness of man. I mean, we could talk about all
the crime and the corruption that goes on, and that doesn't
tell the story. The truth about you and the truth
about me is seen in this dark, dark hour. But it's also the hour of the
greatest glory of God. It's the brightest hour that's
ever been, that ever will be. Look in John chapter 7. Once
again. John chapter 7. Verse 39. But this spake he of the Spirit,
which they that believe on him should receive, for the Holy
Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet Put to
death. You have to be referring to.
But yet it says Jesus was not yet glorified. What he's talking
about is death. This coming of the Holy Spirit
that he's speaking of comes only upon the death of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And when John refers to his death,
he refers to it as his glory. Jesus was not yet glorified. You see, he was. not glorified
until the achievements of his death. His death was an accomplishment. I love that scripture in Luke
9, 31, where Moses and Elijah spoke of the decease, which he
should accomplish, which he should achieve. Now, when I die, is
it an accomplishment? No, it just tells how weak I
am and how fleshly I am and how sinful I am. It's not an accomplishment,
it's a defeat. When a man dies, it just shows
what he is. But when our Lord died, it was
an accomplishment. Now, in this hour, He said, the
hour has come, glorify thou me for this one reason, that I may
glorify thee. That's why our Lord wanted to
be glorified, for this one reason, that I may glorify Now, question,
what is the glory of God? You know that's the most important
thing we could ever deal with. What is the glory of God? The glory of God is who He is. You see, glory is essential to
His being. It's not essential to our being.
but it is essential to his being, and to glorify God is to praise,
extol, and worship him for who he is. And who he is, his is-ness,
is revealed in this book. To glorify God is to worship
him, is to praise him, is to extol him for who he is. For instance, He is sovereign,
according to this book. He is in absolute control. What's my response? Worship. He is just. He is holy. He will not let one sin go unpunished. It's not going to happen. What's
my response? Worship. Praise Him for who He
is. He's all-powerful. Everything
He wills, He has the power to make sure it comes to pass all
the time. He's all-powerful. Worship. He's gracious. He's merciful. What's my response? Worship. The glory of God is who He is.
And to glorify Him is to worship Him. Now, I love that passage
of Scripture in Exodus, chapter 33, when Moses is praying for
the children of Israel after they've made that golden calf.
Oh, how wicked that bunch was. I mean, Moses has gone 40 days
after they've seen all these things and they make a golden
calf and say, these be thy gods, O Israel, that's delivered thee.
What a wicked bunch this was. And Moses is praying for them.
And during the course of this prayer, he says, I beseech thee,
show me thy glory." Now here's how God answers regarding His
glory. He said, I'll make my goodness
pass before thee. God's goodness is His capacity
to save a bunch of people like that. That's His goodness. I'll
proclaim my name before thee. His name is who He is. Audible
name is talking about his attributes, his sovereignty, his holiness,
his justice, all that he is. I'll proclaim my name before
thee and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and I
will Show mercy to whom I will show mercy, His sovereign mercy. And that is all realized in the
Lord Jesus Christ. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4,
6, But God, who commanded the light to shine out of the darkness,
has shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of
the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. God's glory
is seen in the death of Jesus Christ. Now, what I'd like to
attempt to speak on is the glory of His death. Now, when we speak of his death,
we're also speaking of his incarnation. We're speaking of his life. We're
speaking of his resurrection. We're speaking of his ascension.
We're speaking of his intercession. But it would all be meaningless
without his death. Without his death, what would
his life be to us? What good would it do us? Yes, he lived
a perfect life. Yes, he obeyed God's law perfectly.
What good would I do with you for you if you didn't die? His
death was his greatest achievement. More glorious than creation. That was the Lord Jesus Christ
who created the universe. He spake this world into existence.
But his death is more glorious than creation. It's the most
God-like thing. And I say this with reverence.
It's the most God-like thing that God ever did. Now, there are things only God
can do. And the death of Christ is an achievement that only God
can do. Now, may God give us grace by
His Spirit to enter into His death. Him being nailed to a
cross. Think about what He said. Think
about what He said. There were seven sayings of the
Savior from the cross during this time of His suffering through
His death. First thing He said was, Father, forgive them. That was His purpose in dying.
is to save His people. Father, forgive them. Now, this
wasn't just a general prayer. Everybody that He said, Father,
forgive them, the Father forgave. The Father never says no to the
Son. If the Son of God prays for you,
you must be saved. He's not going to say, save Todd
and Lord Sid and His father and say, no, I'm not going to do
it. No. Everything He asked for, He gets. His purpose in His death,
it was to forgive sin. Father, forgive them. Woman, he said to his mother,
behold thy son. Referring to John. And he said
to John, behold thy mother. His compassion. He said, I thirst. His true, genuine, real, physical
sufferings. And He said, My God, My God,
why hast Thou forsaken Me? That's His soul sufferings. The
soul sufferings were worse than the physical sufferings. And
I would in no way diminish the physical sufferings. Can you
imagine being nailed to a cross? How painful that would be. But
His sufferings began before the cross when He was in Gethsemane's
garden and sweating great drops of blood. His soul sufferings. Being forsaken by God. All alone. left to himself. I think of what he said to the
thief from the cross. Today, thou shalt be with me
in paradise. That's the result of his death.
I think of his faith when he said, Father, into thy hands
I commend my spirit. How he trusted. His Father. His last words, it is finished. The complete salvation of everybody
that He died for. And you know, even when He died
and gave up the ghost, the Scripture says, even then, death couldn't
take Him until He gave it permission. The Lord was not a victim. He
said, no man takes my life from me. I have power to lay it down. I have power to raise it up.
This commandment that I received from my father, he was no victim.
While when he was bearing the cross, he said, daughters of
Jerusalem, don't weep for me. Don't feel sorry for me. I'm
no victim. Weep for yourselves. He was in
complete sovereign control over everything that was taking place.
Now, in his death, here's the first thing I'd like to say about
the glory of his death. In his death, Every attribute
of God was glorified. You see, his death was God's
purpose. Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and
foreknowledge of God. You have taken and with wicked
hands have crucified and slain. You see, this was all part of
God's purpose. His death is a demonstration of God's sovereignty. Why did
he die? Because God willed it. Because God purposed it. Because
it pleased the Lord to bruise him. This was all God's purpose. How God's sovereignty is magnified. They tried to rescue him. The
Lord said, don't you know I can send for my father and presently
there will be twelve legions of angels and they destroy all
these people. He's no victim. This is God's sovereign purpose. Oh, how we see the holiness,
justice of God. He will not for any reason let
sin go unpunished. even when it's found on his son.
Don't you admire God for that? He's no respecter of persons.
He doesn't show partiality. Wherever he sees sin, he will
punish. Nobody's going to be giving any
favoritism here. God is just. God is holy. We see God's power
in the cross. You know, the fact that Christ
could die, I find that mysterious. He's the God-man. How could the
God-man die? I don't know, but it shows his
mighty power. But it shows His power, what
His blood does. It actually annihilated sin.
It put away sin to where I don't have any sin. It put away sin. God's wisdom is seen in the way
that He's made a way to be just and yet justify the ungodly.
God's mercy, God's love, God's grace, all that God is, is displayed
in the cross. Do you see that? The cross is the whole counsel
of God. And all that God is, is displayed
in the death of His Son. So first of all, in the death
of Christ, every attribute of God is glorified. And blessed
are you if you see that. Do you see the beauty of the
cross? The beauty, how it honors the Lord Jesus Christ. Secondly,
His death was the greatest act of obedience. Scripture says
he became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. The father said to the son, go
and allow them to nail you to a cross. And he said, yes, father. The greatest act of obedience
that this world has ever or ever will see. Not only is the cross
the greatest act of obedience we've ever seen, the cross is
the greatest act of faith. And what do I mean by that? Somebody
had to believe God. Somebody had to believe God perfectly. He said, though he slay me, yet
will I trust Him. When things go bad for us, has God left me? Is He not going
to be gracious to me anymore? Why is this happening? Our Lord
said, though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Father, into thy hands I commend
my spirit." Complete trust. The greatest instance of pure
faith this world has ever seen. And his death achieved. His death
achieved the salvation of the elect. Look in verse 4 of John
chapter 17. And remember, he said in verse
one, the hours come glorify thy son, that thy son also may glorify
thee. Look what he says in verse four. I have glorified thee on the
earth. I have finished the work which
thou gavest me to do. Now, what, pray tell, was the
work the father gave him to do? He said in Matthew chapter one,
verse 21, it said regarding the Lord Jesus Christ, this thou
shalt call his name Jesus. For he shall save his people
from their sins. He did it. Save from sins. You know what
that means? I don't have any sin. It's been
annihilated. He was put away by the blood
of Christ. I've been saved from my sins. I can look forward to
Judgment Day with no fear because I have no sin. If he saved me from my sins,
I don't have any. He finished the work the Father
gave him to do. When he died, the ungodly were justified. Romans 4.25 says he was delivered
for our offenses and raised again for our justification. When he
died, the ungodly, that's me, when he died, the ungodly were
justified. Justified, no guilt. That's what
justification is, not guilty. I got so much I feel guilty about
that I don't have anything to feel guilty about. Isn't that
wonderful? I walk around with a cloud of
guilt over my head all the time. I do constantly, constantly,
but I do not have anything to feel guilty about. Jesus Christ
put away my sin. I'm justified. All that is associated with God's
salvation was secured when Christ died. Listen to Scripture. Romans
8.32 says, So I want you to look at it with
me. Romans 8, 32. It's a very familiar passage of Scripture.
I want you to see it with your own eyes, though. Sometimes it's better
to read than to quote. Romans 8, 32. He that spared not. And he didn't. He that spared
not his own son. but delivered him up for us all. How shall he not? What would
possibly prevent him from freely giving us all things? Now, everything that's associated
with salvation, faith, because Christ died, he's going to give
me faith. Repentance, because Christ died, he's freely going
to give me repentance. A new heart. Because of the death
of Christ, He's freely going to give me this new heart. He's
going to give me this love for Him. He's going to cause me to
persevere. He freely. That means without
a cause in you. He doesn't do it in response
to something you do. He does it in response to what Christ
did. How shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? The death of Christ secured every
aspect of salvation for every believer. Beloved, you don't
have anything to worry about. In Christ you have all. Colossians 2.10 says you are,
not you will be, you are right now complete. Nothing lacking in him. Now that's what the death of
Christ has done. The death of Christ made everybody
for whom he died the very righteousness of God. And the righteousness of God, every believer is the very righteousness
of God. 2 Corinthians 5.21 says, For
he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might
be made the righteousness of God in him. Now, when you look at me, you're
looking at me right now. You're looking at the righteousness
of God. It scares me when I say that
scares me. But is the word of God true?
Is a believer, because of the death of Christ, the very righteousness
of God? Is that what Scripture teaches?
You see, I come into God's presence not in my own righteousness,
but in the righteousness and merits of Jesus Christ. His righteousness
is the righteousness of God, isn't it? His righteousness is
the righteousness of God. His righteousness is my righteousness. Isaiah 54, 17 says, their righteousness
is of me. Now, that's some glorious things
that the death of Christ is achieved. I mean, by his death. He glorified
all of God's attributes, he glorified, he tells us who God is through
his death. We wouldn't know God apart from the death of the Lord
Jesus Christ. We could know some things about him, but we couldn't
know him. In his death, he made Sure, that we get all things.
He justified us. He made us the righteousness
of God. He put away sin. Oh, the glory of His death. Now,
turn with me to 2 Corinthians 5. Verse 14. For the love of
Christ Oh, the love he demonstrated
in his death. The love of Christ constraineth
us. It does something to us. It has
an effect on us. It constrains us. It restrains
us. It constrains us. It presses upon us. The love
of Christ constraineth us. The glory of his death constraineth
us, because we thus judge. That if one died for all, then
we're all dead, and that he died for all, that they which live
should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which
died for them and rose again. in living for Him. I don't need to be warned by
a threat of punishment. And you don't have to hold that
a carrot in hope for reward. No mercenary motives are needed
in seeing that what He did I don't need any other reason to give
myself lock, stock and barrel to Him. To give myself completely
to Him. To be His and His only. To see this world as a crucified
thing. To see this world as for what
it is. All I need is to see Him. And that's enough. Isaac Watts
put it this way. Alas, and did my Savior bleed,
and did my Sovereign die, would He devote that sacred head for
such a worm as I? Was it for crimes that I have
done He groaned upon the tree? Amazing pity, grace unknown,
and love beyond degree. Well, might the sun in darkness
hide to shut his glories in when Christ, the mighty Maker, died
for man, the preacher's sin? But drops of grief can ne'er
repay the debt of love I owe. Here, Lord, I give myself to
Thee. It is all that I can do. Now, what's my response? to the death of Christ. In true
preaching, there's a call for a verdict. What is your response
to what I've just said? The message of the preacher,
the words of Christ, the death of Christ, the glory of its achievements.
What is your response? How do you respond to this? When God looks into your heart,
what does he see right now? What's your response? Turn with
me to Philippians chapter 2. This is what we're going to close
with. Verse 5. 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. but made himself of no reputation. Oh, how he emptied himself, and
he took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the
likeness of men, 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. Of things in heaven
and things in earth and things under the earth, and that every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of
God the Father. Now what's your response? Now
listen to me. You're going to bow. Either now or later. You're going to bow. God's going
to see to it that you bow. You're going to bow the knee
to His Son. Is it now? Or is it in judgment
before He casts you into hell? Now, here's the believer's response.
We bow now. And every tongue is going to
confess. Everybody is going to be made
to confess that he is Lord, now or later. What's in your heart
right now? Do you confess? Now, to confess
means to be at agreement with. That's what it means. You agree
with what God says regarding his Son. You agree. He's Lord whether you agree or
not, but you agree right now. You agree that He is Lord. And you confess He is Lord to
the glory of God the Father. Now, if I fail to bow, if I fail
to confess, look here in Philippians chapter 3 verse 18. For many walk Of whom I told
you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies
of the cross of Christ. Now that scares me to death. If you're an enemy of the cross,
oh, what a horrible description of somebody, the enemy of the
cross. Anybody who doesn't bow and who doesn't confess is an
enemy of the cross. That means you have God for your
enemy. And he's a foe that you don't stand a chance before.
Oh, may the Lord deliver us from that and give us the grace even
now to bow in our hearts. I kneel in spirit at his feet,
a sinner saved by grace, to bow at his feet and to confess he
is the Lord. He is. Let's pray.