WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.640 Hello, you are listening to Second City Sermons, 00:00:02.759 --> 00:00:05.700 a ministry of Second City Church in Midtown Harrisburg. 00:00:06.379 --> 00:00:08.240 It's our hope that these sermons will draw you 00:00:08.240 --> 00:00:10.660 more into the life of following God, Father, 00:00:10.820 --> 00:00:13.640 Son and Holy Spirit. Please consider coming and 00:00:13.640 --> 00:00:15.779 joining with us each Sunday morning at 10 a .m. 00:00:15.859 --> 00:00:18.280 in the heart of Midtown Harrisburg. You can find 00:00:18.280 --> 00:00:21.839 us online at secondcitychurch .org and on Facebook, 00:00:22.079 --> 00:00:24.519 Instagram and YouTube. We hope you enjoy this 00:00:24.519 --> 00:00:30.920 sermon. God bless. As Amy said this morning already, 00:00:31.120 --> 00:00:33.979 I am not the pastor at this church, so surprise 00:00:33.979 --> 00:00:36.420 visitors. We are glad that you are here, but 00:00:36.420 --> 00:00:39.700 you might not be getting our A game today. Try 00:00:39.700 --> 00:00:44.240 again sometime. In my day job, I'm a teacher 00:00:44.240 --> 00:00:47.299 at a local Christian school, and the drama production 00:00:47.299 --> 00:00:50.740 that we did this year was Jane Austen's Sense 00:00:50.740 --> 00:00:53.969 and Sensibility. If you are unfamiliar with the 00:00:53.969 --> 00:00:55.829 plot of that story, let me tell you about it. 00:00:56.070 --> 00:00:58.929 So the main characters are two sisters, the Dashwoods, 00:00:59.250 --> 00:01:01.469 and they're in relatively difficult economic 00:01:01.469 --> 00:01:04.090 circumstances because their dad just passed away. 00:01:04.510 --> 00:01:06.310 Well, one of these sisters, Marianne, she falls 00:01:06.310 --> 00:01:09.230 in love with a guy named Willoughby, who is charming 00:01:09.230 --> 00:01:11.810 and romantic and quotes poetry. And as a guy 00:01:11.810 --> 00:01:14.790 who myself quotes poetry sometimes, I think it 00:01:14.790 --> 00:01:17.969 doesn't get much better than that. So Willoughby 00:01:17.969 --> 00:01:20.549 has to go away to London for a while, and the 00:01:20.549 --> 00:01:24.109 two sisters end up following him, in part as 00:01:24.109 --> 00:01:26.090 a nice surprise, and they catch up with him at 00:01:26.090 --> 00:01:28.349 one of these genteel parties that people apparently 00:01:28.349 --> 00:01:31.349 had in Regency London, and they're announced. 00:01:32.069 --> 00:01:34.930 The person at the door says, the sisters Willoughby, 00:01:35.150 --> 00:01:36.829 or excuse me, the sisters Dashwood, or whatever. 00:01:38.150 --> 00:01:41.549 So he knows that they're there, but he won't 00:01:41.549 --> 00:01:44.920 come over and say hi. Willoughby. He won't even, 00:01:44.920 --> 00:01:47.420 like, look in their direction. So they're standing 00:01:47.420 --> 00:01:50.299 in the back saying, like, um, uh, what's this 00:01:50.299 --> 00:01:52.219 guy doing, right? Marianne thinks that she's 00:01:52.219 --> 00:01:56.920 engaged to this guy. So he's very intentionally 00:01:56.920 --> 00:01:59.959 not interested in them at this party. So after 00:01:59.959 --> 00:02:02.040 a little bit of this, Marianne, who was played 00:02:02.040 --> 00:02:05.500 very ably by Lucy Hood in our production, she 00:02:05.500 --> 00:02:08.340 says, good God, Willoughby, what is the meaning 00:02:08.340 --> 00:02:11.419 of this? Have you not received my letters? Will 00:02:11.419 --> 00:02:15.960 you not shake hands with me? And he awkwardly 00:02:15.960 --> 00:02:21.159 says more or less, oh, hi, I did get your letters. 00:02:22.159 --> 00:02:25.080 Bye, and leaves. He just leaves the party, right? 00:02:26.400 --> 00:02:29.960 So it turns out Willoughby is a bad guy. He's 00:02:29.960 --> 00:02:32.280 been sort of emotionally using Marianne, and 00:02:32.280 --> 00:02:35.539 he doesn't want her encroaching on other more 00:02:35.539 --> 00:02:38.139 financially profitable areas of his life. So 00:02:38.139 --> 00:02:42.099 he pretty publicly rejects her. And the chapter 00:02:42.099 --> 00:02:44.740 in the original, that is in Austin, ends with 00:02:44.740 --> 00:02:48.400 this, quote, every circumstance seemed uniting 00:02:48.400 --> 00:02:51.659 to heighten the misery of Marianne in a final 00:02:51.659 --> 00:02:55.819 separation from Willoughby, in an immediate and 00:02:55.819 --> 00:03:00.400 irreconcilable rupture with him. And if you know 00:03:00.400 --> 00:03:02.780 the story, you'll know that Marianne will soon 00:03:02.780 --> 00:03:07.400 go and stand in the rain. looking in the distance 00:03:07.400 --> 00:03:10.219 at Willoughby's house, and she will get so sick 00:03:10.219 --> 00:03:13.219 and feverish from this bad decision that she 00:03:13.219 --> 00:03:17.060 almost dies. So what you can say is Willoughby's 00:03:17.060 --> 00:03:20.219 rejection of her and her reaction to it almost 00:03:20.219 --> 00:03:24.580 kills her. So that circumstance is fictional. 00:03:24.879 --> 00:03:27.319 It's exaggerated. This emotional exaggeration 00:03:27.319 --> 00:03:28.819 is part of Austin's point. It's called sense 00:03:28.819 --> 00:03:31.039 and sensibility, right? She has two heightened 00:03:31.039 --> 00:03:37.030 sensibilities. But like Marianne, we do experience 00:03:37.030 --> 00:03:41.930 disastrous rejection sometimes, don't we? And 00:03:41.930 --> 00:03:45.009 those rejections can be deeply painful. And they 00:03:45.009 --> 00:03:48.250 don't have to be romantic. They can be social 00:03:48.250 --> 00:03:51.330 more broadly. They can be professional, right? 00:03:51.870 --> 00:03:54.120 They can be anything, really. And even the memory 00:03:54.120 --> 00:03:56.180 of a rejection like this can bring on these intense 00:03:56.180 --> 00:03:58.740 feelings of shame and failure, things that happened 00:03:58.740 --> 00:04:01.039 years ago. You don't even want to remember them. 00:04:01.099 --> 00:04:03.580 Consider some examples. Say you work at a job 00:04:03.580 --> 00:04:05.780 faithfully for like 15 years and give it everything 00:04:05.780 --> 00:04:09.500 you want, everything you've got, and then your 00:04:09.500 --> 00:04:12.819 boss retires and you apply for that position 00:04:12.819 --> 00:04:16.100 and the company gives the job to some other guy 00:04:16.100 --> 00:04:18.180 and everybody forgets that you had seniority 00:04:18.180 --> 00:04:21.079 and we just move on with our lives. Or, say, 00:04:21.930 --> 00:04:24.029 You don't get into the school or the program 00:04:24.029 --> 00:04:26.310 that you've applied to and set your heart on. 00:04:26.949 --> 00:04:30.089 Or say, all your friends get together for a party 00:04:30.089 --> 00:04:33.889 and you're not invited. So these are greater 00:04:33.889 --> 00:04:36.870 or lesser degrees of rejection, but they all 00:04:36.870 --> 00:04:39.370 kind of do the same thing to us internally, don't 00:04:39.370 --> 00:04:43.750 they? Because what does the shame of rejection 00:04:43.750 --> 00:04:51.519 say to you? As Henry Nowin, who is a... Psychologist 00:04:51.519 --> 00:04:56.259 says, quote, as soon as someone accuses me or 00:04:56.259 --> 00:04:59.459 criticizes me, as soon as I'm rejected, left 00:04:59.459 --> 00:05:02.459 alone or abandoned, I find myself thinking, well, 00:05:02.720 --> 00:05:08.100 that proves once again that I am a nobody. Like 00:05:08.100 --> 00:05:10.339 Austin shows with Marianne Dashwood, that kind 00:05:10.339 --> 00:05:13.660 of thing can make you feel hopeless. Like life 00:05:13.660 --> 00:05:15.759 doesn't make sense anymore and maybe it'd be 00:05:15.759 --> 00:05:18.600 better to just stop caring. So how does this 00:05:18.600 --> 00:05:22.620 relate to our text today? Well, consider another 00:05:22.620 --> 00:05:25.600 example. Say you have this years -long, beautiful 00:05:25.600 --> 00:05:27.620 friendship with another person. You love this 00:05:27.620 --> 00:05:29.680 person, and you think this other person loves 00:05:29.680 --> 00:05:33.199 you, and then you run into that friend unexpectedly 00:05:33.199 --> 00:05:36.339 after an absence, and that friend is so deep 00:05:36.339 --> 00:05:38.459 in conversation with another person that he doesn't 00:05:38.459 --> 00:05:40.439 even notice you. He just sort of shrugs you off. 00:05:42.120 --> 00:05:46.000 Does that sound familiar? It might, because that's 00:05:46.000 --> 00:05:47.819 literally the text of the Gospel we just read. 00:05:49.610 --> 00:05:52.970 Consider, John, who is the author of the book 00:05:52.970 --> 00:05:54.949 of John, was one of the disciples. He was one 00:05:54.949 --> 00:05:58.569 of Jesus' closest companions. He had a beautiful 00:05:58.569 --> 00:06:01.350 years -long friendship with Jesus, and then Jesus 00:06:01.350 --> 00:06:04.509 goes and dies, and then he comes back. This is 00:06:04.509 --> 00:06:07.209 a big deal. If you're unfamiliar with the plot 00:06:07.209 --> 00:06:09.529 points here, ask somebody about this later. It's 00:06:09.529 --> 00:06:13.730 something to think about. But when he comes back, 00:06:13.750 --> 00:06:17.329 he has this long, memorable conversation, not 00:06:17.329 --> 00:06:20.990 with John. but with a different guy, with Peter. 00:06:21.970 --> 00:06:24.509 So Peter Rowan preached about this two weeks 00:06:24.509 --> 00:06:27.129 ago and he did a great job. But the thing that 00:06:27.129 --> 00:06:29.370 I can't stop thinking about when I read this 00:06:29.370 --> 00:06:32.410 account is that the author of the story that 00:06:32.410 --> 00:06:36.709 we are reading is John, not Peter. Church tradition 00:06:36.709 --> 00:06:38.569 has always said that the phrase beloved disciple 00:06:38.569 --> 00:06:41.970 is referring to the book's author. He refers 00:06:41.970 --> 00:06:45.649 to himself that way in verses 7 and verses 20 00:06:45.649 --> 00:06:49.189 of our chapter. And then again in verse 22, it 00:06:49.189 --> 00:06:51.149 says, this is the disciple who's bearing witness 00:06:51.149 --> 00:06:53.069 about these things. This is John who's telling 00:06:53.069 --> 00:06:57.629 the story. So how John positions himself in the 00:06:57.629 --> 00:07:01.870 story is fascinating. So Jesus has risen from 00:07:01.870 --> 00:07:05.490 the dead. He shows up. This is everything John 00:07:05.490 --> 00:07:08.329 has been hoping for. And Jesus doesn't talk to 00:07:08.329 --> 00:07:11.790 him, to John. at all, personally. At least it's 00:07:11.790 --> 00:07:15.689 not in the text. He talks to Peter instead, and 00:07:15.689 --> 00:07:19.709 Peter, of all things, he brings John up. He wants 00:07:19.709 --> 00:07:22.089 to get the attention off of himself, apparently, 00:07:22.269 --> 00:07:24.269 and he sort of gestures over his shoulder at 00:07:24.269 --> 00:07:27.569 John, and he says, uh, what about this guy? And 00:07:27.569 --> 00:07:31.230 Jesus... This is not textual, but this is the 00:07:31.230 --> 00:07:32.850 way that I picture it. Sometimes it says that 00:07:32.850 --> 00:07:35.089 Jesus turns and views something. It says that 00:07:35.089 --> 00:07:38.660 earlier with Peter. Peter... turns and sees John. 00:07:38.899 --> 00:07:41.500 It doesn't say that about Jesus. So I picture 00:07:41.500 --> 00:07:45.360 Jesus doesn't even look back at John, right? 00:07:45.600 --> 00:07:47.980 He refers to John in the third person. It doesn't 00:07:47.980 --> 00:07:50.720 say his name. He says, if it is my will that 00:07:50.720 --> 00:07:54.339 he, he, him, that guy, if he remain until I come, 00:07:54.360 --> 00:07:56.300 what is that to you? This is between you and 00:07:56.300 --> 00:08:00.839 me, Peter. What's that do to John? Think about 00:08:00.839 --> 00:08:02.980 it. This is the last chapter in the book that 00:08:02.980 --> 00:08:04.819 John is writing. There's no softening of the 00:08:04.819 --> 00:08:09.540 story after this. This could be an utterly crushing 00:08:09.540 --> 00:08:12.920 experience for the author of this book. Jesus 00:08:12.920 --> 00:08:18.939 kind of does a Willoughby, doesn't he? John desperately 00:08:18.939 --> 00:08:21.500 wants to talk to him, and Jesus won't talk, right? 00:08:22.160 --> 00:08:24.920 John could feel rejected, left alone, or abandoned. 00:08:25.040 --> 00:08:27.519 He could allow himself to think, well, that proves 00:08:27.519 --> 00:08:30.639 I'm a nobody, in no one's words. And in order 00:08:30.639 --> 00:08:33.779 to turn up the intensity here, we're not just 00:08:33.779 --> 00:08:37.200 talking about us having hurt feelings. as important 00:08:37.200 --> 00:08:40.399 as that can really be. So if the same situation 00:08:40.399 --> 00:08:43.320 happened with different people, it might be sad, 00:08:43.419 --> 00:08:46.559 but it's not the end of the world. But, keep 00:08:46.559 --> 00:08:50.299 in mind, this is Jesus that we're talking about. 00:08:51.019 --> 00:08:53.960 Friends, if it turns out that Jesus doesn't like 00:08:53.960 --> 00:08:56.720 us as much as we thought, as much as we hoped 00:08:56.720 --> 00:08:58.779 that he did, that is actually the end of the 00:08:58.779 --> 00:09:04.269 world. If Jesus doesn't like us, there's no other 00:09:04.269 --> 00:09:08.289 court of appeals. There's no hope. We are, you 00:09:08.289 --> 00:09:11.509 and me, the new kids at the school of the universe. 00:09:11.710 --> 00:09:14.169 And if Jesus doesn't speak up for us and say, 00:09:14.190 --> 00:09:17.169 hey, come over and sit at my table in the cafeteria 00:09:17.169 --> 00:09:20.210 of creation, we will be sitting by ourselves 00:09:20.210 --> 00:09:23.669 forever. And the Bible calls that the outer darkness, 00:09:24.730 --> 00:09:26.429 where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. 00:09:28.090 --> 00:09:32.039 So I'm phrasing this socially. rather than judicially, 00:09:32.100 --> 00:09:33.759 but I hope you get the point that I'm making. 00:09:34.159 --> 00:09:37.240 In fact, I think you could say earthly rejection, 00:09:37.399 --> 00:09:39.879 the experience of earthly rejection may be so 00:09:39.879 --> 00:09:44.899 powerful because it suggests eternal rejection 00:09:44.899 --> 00:09:50.779 by the one who really matters. Remember, the 00:09:50.779 --> 00:09:56.399 Lord himself says, I will say unto them, depart 00:09:56.399 --> 00:09:59.340 from me, I never knew you. This is people who 00:09:59.340 --> 00:10:03.360 thought they had confidence in Jesus. With that 00:10:03.360 --> 00:10:08.120 in mind, how can we be easy or happy in our relationship 00:10:08.120 --> 00:10:15.000 with Jesus? Well, let's follow John. So we have 00:10:15.000 --> 00:10:16.860 good reason to believe right here in the text 00:10:16.860 --> 00:10:20.559 that John lived a long time. So verse 23 says 00:10:20.559 --> 00:10:22.539 that there was a rumor that the early church 00:10:23.009 --> 00:10:25.169 going around the early church that John was never 00:10:25.169 --> 00:10:26.830 going to die. This suggests he lived a whole 00:10:26.830 --> 00:10:29.330 long time, right? We have other evidence to suggest 00:10:29.330 --> 00:10:31.850 that the gospel of John was written significantly 00:10:31.850 --> 00:10:37.230 after the other three synoptic gospels. So it's 00:10:37.230 --> 00:10:39.230 entirely possible that John had to sit with this 00:10:39.230 --> 00:10:42.350 exact question for a long time. How can he know 00:10:42.350 --> 00:10:47.549 that he is beloved, right? If the last personal 00:10:47.549 --> 00:10:49.590 experience he has with Jesus is that of Jesus 00:10:49.590 --> 00:10:55.200 not speaking to him. Well, here's the thing he 00:10:55.200 --> 00:10:58.059 is the one who decides to end the gospel message 00:10:58.059 --> 00:11:00.240 with this particular story And he does it in 00:11:00.240 --> 00:11:02.379 such a way that it looks bad for himself look 00:11:02.379 --> 00:11:05.279 back at first 20 with me It says Peter turned 00:11:05.279 --> 00:11:07.559 and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following 00:11:07.559 --> 00:11:12.639 them stop right there He's following them That's 00:11:12.639 --> 00:11:16.860 almost a pathetic sad note here Jesus goes and 00:11:16.860 --> 00:11:19.139 he has this an intimate conversation with another 00:11:19.139 --> 00:11:21.340 guy and John is just tagging along after them 00:11:21.340 --> 00:11:24.519 like a little dog He's begging to be noticed, 00:11:24.679 --> 00:11:27.860 and Jesus doesn't say anything to him. And so 00:11:27.860 --> 00:11:31.320 this is a really bold move by John, or if you 00:11:31.320 --> 00:11:34.960 think about it in larger terms, knowing that 00:11:34.960 --> 00:11:37.379 the scripture is inspired by the Holy Spirit, 00:11:37.419 --> 00:11:40.000 this is a really bold move by God himself, because 00:11:40.000 --> 00:11:43.539 John says he wrote this book, quote, that you 00:11:43.539 --> 00:11:45.559 may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son 00:11:45.559 --> 00:11:47.299 of God, and that by believing you may have life 00:11:47.299 --> 00:11:48.820 in his name. That's just at the end of chapter 00:11:48.820 --> 00:11:55.750 20. It's on the same page. So, John is telling 00:11:55.750 --> 00:11:58.169 us, believe in Jesus, he's worth it. And then 00:11:58.169 --> 00:12:00.730 he's simultaneously showing us how Jesus doesn't 00:12:00.730 --> 00:12:03.570 pay attention to him, though he deeply desires 00:12:03.570 --> 00:12:05.830 it. This is a strange recommendation letter. 00:12:07.570 --> 00:12:11.370 So the question for me is this, why does John 00:12:11.370 --> 00:12:14.470 write it this way? Why does he tell the story 00:12:14.470 --> 00:12:17.730 with him as sort of left out in the cold while 00:12:17.730 --> 00:12:22.929 Jesus talks to Peter? And I think the best answer 00:12:22.929 --> 00:12:27.690 is this, John is utterly confident that Jesus 00:12:27.690 --> 00:12:31.029 loves him. And because he is confident, he's 00:12:31.029 --> 00:12:32.990 willing to tell the story in a way that might 00:12:32.990 --> 00:12:36.730 look embarrassing for himself or even bad for 00:12:36.730 --> 00:12:39.529 the Lord. Why? Because he trusts the Lord and 00:12:39.529 --> 00:12:42.669 he knows that what he does is right and is loving, 00:12:42.929 --> 00:12:44.549 even though it might not feel like it all the 00:12:44.549 --> 00:12:48.350 time. So this is my sort of thesis statement. 00:12:49.070 --> 00:12:54.250 Here it is. Friend, if you have confidence in 00:12:54.250 --> 00:12:56.549 the love of Christ for you, you have all the 00:12:56.549 --> 00:12:59.350 confidence you need. I'll say that one more time. 00:12:59.509 --> 00:13:02.090 If you have confidence in the love of Christ 00:13:02.090 --> 00:13:06.370 for you, you have all the confidence you need. 00:13:07.149 --> 00:13:09.389 So let's break that down a little bit. I want 00:13:09.389 --> 00:13:12.669 to look at how John had confidence and then how 00:13:12.669 --> 00:13:16.669 our confidence can be like John's. So first, 00:13:17.269 --> 00:13:20.990 John had confidence in Jesus's character generally. 00:13:22.970 --> 00:13:27.250 John had confidence that he was beloved because 00:13:27.250 --> 00:13:30.549 he was among the beloved. Look again at the beginning 00:13:30.549 --> 00:13:33.529 of the chapter in verse four. It says, just as 00:13:33.529 --> 00:13:35.470 day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore, yet 00:13:35.470 --> 00:13:37.309 the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 00:13:38.129 --> 00:13:41.250 Jesus said to them, children, do you have any 00:13:41.250 --> 00:13:46.919 fish? Let's stop there. Children. is what Jesus 00:13:46.919 --> 00:13:48.659 says. If you're reading another version, particularly 00:13:48.659 --> 00:13:52.179 the NIV, it might say friends. Friends, haven't 00:13:52.179 --> 00:13:54.320 you? Any fish? I went and looked this up. In 00:13:54.320 --> 00:13:57.960 Greek, the word is children. Some of the manuscripts 00:13:57.960 --> 00:14:00.460 do say friends. But in any case, children or 00:14:00.460 --> 00:14:03.639 friends, Jesus calls his disciples to himself 00:14:03.639 --> 00:14:06.720 with this loving, intimate term. And what does 00:14:06.720 --> 00:14:10.159 he do after he calls them? He provides for them. 00:14:11.289 --> 00:14:14.690 He feeds them he instructs them how to get what 00:14:14.690 --> 00:14:16.710 they're looking for and then he gives them what 00:14:16.710 --> 00:14:18.830 they're looking for So I'm talking about fish 00:14:18.830 --> 00:14:22.509 But I'm also talking about himself, right? That's 00:14:22.509 --> 00:14:25.950 more what they need. He eats with them He shows 00:14:25.950 --> 00:14:28.549 them his physical body which they had seen remember 00:14:28.549 --> 00:14:30.669 mangled and dead just a couple of chapters ago 00:14:30.669 --> 00:14:33.789 and Now it's up and moving and eating fish for 00:14:33.789 --> 00:14:37.009 breakfast. He's showing them that death is not 00:14:37.009 --> 00:14:42.169 the winner and John knows John remembers that 00:14:42.169 --> 00:14:44.309 Jesus has said that he will never cast anyone 00:14:44.309 --> 00:14:46.269 who comes to him away. John had written that 00:14:46.269 --> 00:14:49.610 just in chapter 6. So John can think I'm anyone 00:14:49.610 --> 00:14:52.769 who will come to Jesus. John can think I'm in 00:14:52.769 --> 00:14:55.669 children, right? I am one of those that the Lord 00:14:55.669 --> 00:14:59.370 has fed and isn't that where we find ourselves 00:14:59.370 --> 00:15:04.230 here today? So brother or sister, unless you 00:15:04.230 --> 00:15:07.269 are really extremely special, I do not think 00:15:07.269 --> 00:15:09.980 the Lord is going to audibly speak to you. directly. 00:15:10.480 --> 00:15:13.779 Right? And so you're just like John in that regard. 00:15:13.899 --> 00:15:15.600 Jesus isn't speaking to him, he's not speaking 00:15:15.600 --> 00:15:19.139 to us. Okay. But I think that you and I can have 00:15:19.139 --> 00:15:21.460 the same type of confidence that John has here 00:15:21.460 --> 00:15:24.039 because this is what happens week in and week 00:15:24.039 --> 00:15:27.600 out here in this church. So Jesus, in the person 00:15:27.600 --> 00:15:30.299 of his authorized representative, what does he 00:15:30.299 --> 00:15:33.860 do? He calls us to himself. He calls us children. 00:15:34.559 --> 00:15:39.000 He calls us friends. He teaches us. He provides 00:15:39.000 --> 00:15:44.899 us with a meal. He shows us his body. We can 00:15:44.899 --> 00:15:47.779 have the confidence that John has. We can know 00:15:47.779 --> 00:15:50.580 that we are loved because Jesus calls his beloved 00:15:50.580 --> 00:15:53.080 to him and we are among the people he has called. 00:15:54.039 --> 00:15:56.200 But you might be saying, well, I believe that 00:15:56.200 --> 00:15:58.200 God has called a church to himself, but I'm not 00:15:58.200 --> 00:16:02.779 sure about his love individually for me. That's 00:16:02.779 --> 00:16:04.679 sort of the Calvinist problem, isn't it? In a 00:16:04.679 --> 00:16:07.120 nutshell, God loves some people, sure, but does 00:16:07.120 --> 00:16:09.220 he love me? That's the problem it seems like 00:16:09.220 --> 00:16:11.480 John could be dealing with here because Jesus 00:16:11.480 --> 00:16:13.720 is showing his love directly to Peter and not 00:16:13.720 --> 00:16:16.500 to himself. So I want to say that John knows 00:16:16.500 --> 00:16:20.039 he is beloved. He has confidence because he has 00:16:20.039 --> 00:16:24.519 in the past experienced Jesus's love individually. 00:16:26.100 --> 00:16:29.399 He knows that being with Jesus has changed something 00:16:29.399 --> 00:16:33.799 in him. This is usable history for him. So John 00:16:33.799 --> 00:16:36.580 has had personal, intimate contact with the Lord 00:16:36.580 --> 00:16:38.720 and he will not forget it when things get difficult. 00:16:39.039 --> 00:16:41.320 So let's look back. I see this as sort of the 00:16:41.320 --> 00:16:45.159 fulcrum of the story. Verse 20 says, Peter turned 00:16:45.159 --> 00:16:47.019 and saw the disciple whom Jesus left following 00:16:47.019 --> 00:16:50.620 them, the one who also had leaned back against 00:16:50.620 --> 00:16:54.480 him during the supper. Let's stop there for a 00:16:54.480 --> 00:16:58.360 second. I don't think there's any real plot connection 00:16:58.360 --> 00:17:02.220 in this current situation with the Last Supper. 00:17:02.360 --> 00:17:04.240 We don't need to remember, oh yeah, that was 00:17:04.240 --> 00:17:05.759 John, that was the guy who leaned back against 00:17:05.759 --> 00:17:10.579 him. So why does John bring it up now? I will 00:17:10.579 --> 00:17:13.500 suggest to you that this detail is here because 00:17:13.500 --> 00:17:19.799 it's so important to the author. John's experience 00:17:19.799 --> 00:17:25.579 leaning on Jesus that night, being close to the 00:17:25.579 --> 00:17:28.480 Lord, is what gives him the personal confidence 00:17:28.480 --> 00:17:30.839 to know that Jesus loves him, even though he 00:17:30.839 --> 00:17:33.559 is not directly experiencing that love in this 00:17:33.559 --> 00:17:35.920 part of the book, in this part of the story. 00:17:36.519 --> 00:17:38.720 Right? So it's because this is a metaphor, but 00:17:38.720 --> 00:17:40.599 I think it's one that the text is pushing us 00:17:40.599 --> 00:17:42.640 to think about. He has been close to the Lord's 00:17:42.640 --> 00:17:46.079 heart. Because he's been close to the Lord, he 00:17:46.079 --> 00:17:51.240 knows he can trust him. I said before that John 00:17:51.240 --> 00:17:53.819 uses the phrase the beloved disciple for when 00:17:53.819 --> 00:17:56.019 he speaks about himself. Can you guess where 00:17:56.019 --> 00:17:58.960 the phrase is first used? It's in chapter 13, 00:17:59.119 --> 00:18:02.599 which is the story of the Last Supper. Chapter 00:18:02.599 --> 00:18:06.359 13 verse 23 says this, one of his disciples whom 00:18:06.359 --> 00:18:09.180 Jesus loved, that's the first use of that phrase, 00:18:09.859 --> 00:18:14.599 was reclining at the table at Jesus' side. This 00:18:14.599 --> 00:18:17.880 being close to Jesus was a life -changing experience 00:18:17.880 --> 00:18:20.720 for John. Being close to Jesus that night changed 00:18:20.720 --> 00:18:23.559 who he is. It changed the way that he thought 00:18:23.559 --> 00:18:25.700 about himself and his place in the world. So 00:18:25.700 --> 00:18:27.920 he refers to himself as the beloved of the Lord 00:18:27.920 --> 00:18:32.740 ever after. And I think he brings up that experience 00:18:32.740 --> 00:18:36.319 here because I think here John was tempted to 00:18:36.319 --> 00:18:39.819 be hurt by Jesus's seeming rejection of him and 00:18:39.819 --> 00:18:42.980 needs to fortify himself by the memory of Jesus's 00:18:42.980 --> 00:18:46.980 love that he experienced so personally, so clearly 00:18:46.980 --> 00:18:51.819 back in chapter 13. And I think that the Lord, 00:18:51.940 --> 00:18:53.680 so stick with me here, this is a little maybe 00:18:53.680 --> 00:18:56.460 too bold, I think the Lord wanted him to feel 00:18:56.460 --> 00:19:01.099 that apparent rejection. Why? So that John can 00:19:01.099 --> 00:19:05.299 tell us that sometimes things are uncomfortable, 00:19:05.640 --> 00:19:07.440 but we might still be the beloved of the Lord, 00:19:07.880 --> 00:19:10.759 right? Sometimes it might feel like the Lord 00:19:10.759 --> 00:19:12.680 is not with us, or is not paying attention to 00:19:12.680 --> 00:19:14.900 us, or is not showing us the love that we need, 00:19:15.180 --> 00:19:17.259 but we can remember that he has shown us his 00:19:17.259 --> 00:19:19.970 love. that we are truly the beloved and we can 00:19:19.970 --> 00:19:22.450 bank on that. Because Christian, you can know 00:19:22.450 --> 00:19:27.730 the love of Christ. If you were once dead in 00:19:27.730 --> 00:19:29.809 trespasses and sins and you have been changed 00:19:29.809 --> 00:19:33.269 by the love of Christ, if you know that you are 00:19:33.269 --> 00:19:35.170 a new creation because of your contact with the 00:19:35.170 --> 00:19:38.470 risen Lord, that can be workable data for you. 00:19:40.210 --> 00:19:43.549 That can be the grounds of your decision. That 00:19:43.549 --> 00:19:45.990 can be the lens through which you view all new 00:19:45.990 --> 00:19:49.180 experiences. and our temptations to feel otherwise 00:19:49.180 --> 00:19:50.920 that the Lord doesn't love us, those are just 00:19:50.920 --> 00:19:53.539 temptations. That's the story that sin is telling 00:19:53.539 --> 00:19:56.440 us. The Lord has shown us His love in Christ, 00:19:56.700 --> 00:19:58.400 and we can think of ourselves as His beloved 00:19:58.400 --> 00:20:01.720 ever after us. Right? Jesus is big enough that 00:20:01.720 --> 00:20:04.059 your personal comfort and satisfaction are not 00:20:04.059 --> 00:20:06.160 always part of the current plan, but they are 00:20:06.160 --> 00:20:11.339 part of the eternal plan. That's confidence. 00:20:11.380 --> 00:20:13.980 So I've called the sermon in almost confident 00:20:13.980 --> 00:20:16.200 people because I don't think I've got the same 00:20:16.200 --> 00:20:18.480 degree of confidence that John had and I don't 00:20:18.480 --> 00:20:21.119 know that most of us will get there in this life, 00:20:21.200 --> 00:20:25.940 but We can start we can get close to the heart 00:20:25.940 --> 00:20:28.779 of Christ in prayer in the study of the scriptures 00:20:28.779 --> 00:20:31.660 in gathering at the Lord's table with the Lord's 00:20:31.660 --> 00:20:35.279 people I Think we can know the love of Christ 00:20:35.279 --> 00:20:37.910 that passes knowledge as Paul says in Romans, 00:20:38.250 --> 00:20:40.829 we can have a mustard seed kind of confidence 00:20:40.829 --> 00:20:43.410 in him and we can watch it grow as we trust him. 00:20:43.730 --> 00:20:46.250 So I wanted to say that you can have confidence 00:20:46.250 --> 00:20:48.470 that you are loved. So if you followed me to 00:20:48.470 --> 00:20:50.529 this point, you might be asking, well, what does 00:20:50.529 --> 00:20:53.109 that confidence look like in the world? I'm glad 00:20:53.109 --> 00:20:56.210 you asked. Friend, we can be confident in the 00:20:56.210 --> 00:21:00.170 face of mystery. One haunting thing about this 00:21:00.170 --> 00:21:02.710 episode and with many of the stories of the resurrected 00:21:02.710 --> 00:21:04.630 Christ is that the disciples don't recognize 00:21:04.630 --> 00:21:07.460 him. Isn't that kind of weird? They've been with 00:21:07.460 --> 00:21:09.019 this guy for a long time and then he shows up 00:21:09.019 --> 00:21:14.480 and they don't recognize him. This is a repeated 00:21:14.480 --> 00:21:16.259 thing in all of the gospel accounts. Look at 00:21:16.259 --> 00:21:20.900 verse 14. It says, this was now the third time 00:21:20.900 --> 00:21:23.539 that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after 00:21:23.539 --> 00:21:28.279 he was raised from the dead. And yet, it says 00:21:28.279 --> 00:21:30.339 in the beginning, they didn't recognize him. 00:21:30.339 --> 00:21:32.960 They did not know that it was him. He's shown 00:21:32.960 --> 00:21:34.900 up three times to them particularly. They still 00:21:34.900 --> 00:21:37.099 don't recognize him. Why? Jesus is a mystery. 00:21:39.039 --> 00:21:41.200 You can't tell what he's gonna do. You might 00:21:41.200 --> 00:21:43.039 not even recognize him when he does show up, 00:21:43.119 --> 00:21:45.240 right? And John and the other disciples are showing 00:21:45.240 --> 00:21:47.119 us here that we don't have to understand what 00:21:47.119 --> 00:21:49.839 God is doing in our lives all the time. In fact, 00:21:50.680 --> 00:21:53.000 I would say if there's no element of mystery 00:21:53.000 --> 00:21:56.799 in your faith, you probably don't have a biblical 00:21:56.799 --> 00:22:02.019 faith. If your God can't surprise you, Your God 00:22:02.019 --> 00:22:06.980 isn't big enough. Do you feel a CS Lewis quote 00:22:06.980 --> 00:22:09.640 hovering on the horizon here? Well, I am happy 00:22:09.640 --> 00:22:13.339 to deliver. Here it is. Of course he isn't safe, 00:22:13.539 --> 00:22:18.380 but he's good. He's the King, I tell you. You 00:22:18.380 --> 00:22:21.839 cannot control Jesus. You cannot direct or constrain 00:22:21.839 --> 00:22:24.180 or anticipate him, but you can trust him. You 00:22:24.180 --> 00:22:25.759 can know he's good. You can be close to his heart. 00:22:25.940 --> 00:22:29.759 Next. This is sort of a related part of that, 00:22:29.779 --> 00:22:32.819 right? You can be comfortable, you can be confident 00:22:32.819 --> 00:22:35.720 even when you're not comfortable. How about that? 00:22:37.119 --> 00:22:40.259 This is a strange, this is a strange episode, 00:22:40.400 --> 00:22:42.140 right? The resurrected Christ is strange. He 00:22:42.140 --> 00:22:48.160 doesn't fit in our world, right? So this is verse, 00:22:50.380 --> 00:22:54.140 I should read my text here. This is verse 12. 00:22:56.269 --> 00:22:58.069 Jesus said to them, come and have breakfast. 00:22:58.470 --> 00:23:00.650 Now, none of the disciples dared ask him, who 00:23:00.650 --> 00:23:05.470 are you? They knew it was the Lord. This is strange. 00:23:05.630 --> 00:23:07.430 Jesus feeds his people, come and have breakfast. 00:23:07.549 --> 00:23:09.670 That's nice. That's not threatening. But then 00:23:09.670 --> 00:23:11.609 look at this next part of the verse. None of 00:23:11.609 --> 00:23:14.289 them dare to ask him, who are you? They knew 00:23:14.289 --> 00:23:17.309 it was the Lord. They don't dare to ask him because 00:23:17.309 --> 00:23:22.309 they knew. So you don't say they didn't dare 00:23:22.309 --> 00:23:24.930 to ask if there's no element of uncomfortability 00:23:24.930 --> 00:23:27.849 or fear, right? In Isaiah, that reading that 00:23:27.849 --> 00:23:29.589 we did in the Revelation reading we did this 00:23:29.589 --> 00:23:35.049 morning, the Lord says, do not fear. Why? Well, 00:23:35.049 --> 00:23:39.650 because he's scary, right? He is holy. And when 00:23:39.650 --> 00:23:43.029 we recognize his holiness and our unholiness, 00:23:43.089 --> 00:23:46.809 we are properly in terror of him. But he knows 00:23:46.809 --> 00:23:51.190 that we are dust. He will soothe our fears if 00:23:51.190 --> 00:23:53.130 we come to him whoever will come to him. He will 00:23:53.130 --> 00:24:00.369 never cast out So lastly if We can learn John's 00:24:00.369 --> 00:24:02.670 confidence in Jesus we can be confident in our 00:24:02.670 --> 00:24:04.609 role And that's the thing I think that follows 00:24:04.609 --> 00:24:06.710 from this really strange situation in which John 00:24:06.710 --> 00:24:10.569 is telling Peter's conversation. I Think what's 00:24:10.569 --> 00:24:13.829 happening here is that because John knows himself 00:24:13.829 --> 00:24:16.569 to be the beloved disciple He doesn't mind Peter 00:24:16.569 --> 00:24:19.740 being the beloved disciple as well He doesn't 00:24:19.740 --> 00:24:22.500 have to be the hero of the story. The attention 00:24:22.500 --> 00:24:24.420 and the spotlight doesn't have to be on him. 00:24:24.700 --> 00:24:28.740 He knows that Jesus is going to get praise, get 00:24:28.740 --> 00:24:32.859 glory for his love for many, right? And he's 00:24:32.859 --> 00:24:35.900 happy to tell Peter's experience of belovedness. 00:24:37.299 --> 00:24:44.980 Okay. So. If we have this confidence, if we have 00:24:44.980 --> 00:24:46.920 John's kind of confidence in the resurrected 00:24:46.920 --> 00:24:49.079 Christ and his love, we don't have to elbow people 00:24:49.079 --> 00:24:52.640 out of her way in our rush to God, right? We 00:24:52.640 --> 00:24:55.440 don't have to pharisaically tear others down 00:24:55.440 --> 00:24:59.319 so that we look better than them. Rather than 00:24:59.319 --> 00:25:02.059 hating Peter and envying him, John gives praise 00:25:02.059 --> 00:25:05.599 to God because Peter is also the beloved. And 00:25:05.599 --> 00:25:08.980 when we get closer to knowing that we are truly 00:25:08.980 --> 00:25:12.420 the beloved, I think we will rejoice in the belovedness 00:25:12.420 --> 00:25:16.059 of others more as well. And we will know that 00:25:16.059 --> 00:25:18.039 our heart is being changed to be more like the 00:25:18.039 --> 00:25:21.400 merciful Christ when we do that. And by the way, 00:25:21.539 --> 00:25:23.980 we'll also be becoming more like John himself. 00:25:24.240 --> 00:25:26.759 So here's an interesting biographical snippet 00:25:26.759 --> 00:25:29.500 about John that comes from the Church of Father 00:25:29.500 --> 00:25:34.500 Jerome. Quote, when he, John, tarried at Ephesus 00:25:34.500 --> 00:25:38.190 to extreme old age, and could only with difficulty 00:25:38.190 --> 00:25:41.250 be carried to the church in the arms of his disciples, 00:25:41.849 --> 00:25:44.509 and was unable to give utterance to many words. 00:25:44.869 --> 00:25:47.250 He used to say no more at their several meetings 00:25:47.250 --> 00:25:50.849 than this. Little children love one another. 00:25:52.150 --> 00:25:54.329 At length, the disciples and fathers who were 00:25:54.329 --> 00:25:56.609 there, wearied with hearing always the same words, 00:25:56.829 --> 00:26:00.730 said, Master, why do you always say this? It 00:26:00.730 --> 00:26:03.730 is the Lord's command. was his worthy reply. 00:26:04.029 --> 00:26:08.910 And if this alone be done, it is enough. And 00:26:08.910 --> 00:26:10.490 I'll just say this. Do you remember when Jesus 00:26:10.490 --> 00:26:12.390 gave the new command that we love one another? 00:26:13.210 --> 00:26:15.230 It was the Last Supper. It was the night that 00:26:15.230 --> 00:26:18.509 John was leaning up against him. Friend, John 00:26:18.509 --> 00:26:21.930 went to his grave saying what Jesus said to him 00:26:21.930 --> 00:26:25.430 that night. The night that he learned that he 00:26:25.430 --> 00:26:29.119 was the beloved. So I started with a story from 00:26:29.119 --> 00:26:31.099 Jane Austen. I'll finish with a quote from her. 00:26:31.559 --> 00:26:34.259 Her dad and her brother were Anglican pastors. 00:26:35.559 --> 00:26:39.140 Her early biographer, who was also a pastor, 00:26:39.700 --> 00:26:43.440 who was her nephew, said that there was no sincere 00:26:43.440 --> 00:26:45.579 Christian than her, and she's a literary genius, 00:26:45.640 --> 00:26:48.720 so she's qualified. Anyway, at the end of Northerner 00:26:48.720 --> 00:26:52.500 Abbey, her early novel, she says that her intelligent 00:26:52.500 --> 00:26:56.559 readers will know that we're all hastening together 00:26:56.559 --> 00:26:59.900 toward perfect felicity. And friends, if you 00:26:59.900 --> 00:27:02.640 have confidence in the love of Christ for you, 00:27:02.799 --> 00:27:09.400 well, that is absolutely true. Let's pray. Oh 00:27:09.400 --> 00:27:13.460 Lord God, you are good and your mercy endures 00:27:13.460 --> 00:27:17.900 forever. We praise you for this text. We praise 00:27:17.900 --> 00:27:20.440 you that John can know that he is the beloved. 00:27:20.559 --> 00:27:23.519 We pray Lord that you will show us your goodness 00:27:23.660 --> 00:27:26.740 and your glory and that we would respond as people 00:27:26.740 --> 00:27:29.720 who are called by your name and who love your 00:27:29.720 --> 00:27:32.799 purposes. We pray these things in Jesus' name. 00:27:33.119 --> 00:27:37.339 Amen. Thank you for listening to Second City 00:27:37.339 --> 00:27:40.259 Sermons podcast. We hope this sermon has encouraged 00:27:40.259 --> 00:27:42.400 you to worship God and to celebrate the gospel 00:27:42.400 --> 00:27:45.119 of Jesus. Please consider subscribing to this 00:27:45.119 --> 00:27:47.880 podcast and joining us in person each Sunday 00:27:47.880 --> 00:27:51.259 at 10 a .m. You can find us online at SecondCityChurch 00:27:51.259 --> 00:27:54.339 .org and on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. 00:27:54.720 --> 00:27:56.720 Thanks again for listening. God bless.