WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.940 see even a bigger picture of who you are. So 00:00:05.940 --> 00:00:08.580 Lord, we just ask that you'll make this text 00:00:08.580 --> 00:00:11.099 come alive to us today. In your name we pray, 00:00:11.240 --> 00:00:16.379 amen. Okay, as we get into this text today, I 00:00:16.379 --> 00:00:21.440 want you to pretend with me that it's an opening 00:00:21.440 --> 00:00:25.699 scene like a movie, of a movie, okay? The opening 00:00:25.699 --> 00:00:28.510 scene, you've got all the... Music's come already. 00:00:28.550 --> 00:00:31.530 Now you're kind of into the intro music scene. 00:00:31.609 --> 00:00:35.969 I want you to picture this. Jesus has already 00:00:35.969 --> 00:00:41.109 been with the people he's with for three years. 00:00:41.850 --> 00:00:46.609 Three years of his ministry. And they have just 00:00:46.609 --> 00:00:49.369 come through this. And then the people are excited 00:00:49.369 --> 00:00:53.159 about him. There's a sense of energy. And Jesus 00:00:53.159 --> 00:00:55.740 has been coming in. They're celebrating. They're 00:00:55.740 --> 00:01:00.159 wanting a king, a revolutionary, to come in to 00:01:00.159 --> 00:01:04.280 be raised up. And they think Jesus is it. And 00:01:04.280 --> 00:01:07.439 so Jesus comes in in this triumphal entry, but 00:01:07.439 --> 00:01:11.000 he comes in on a donkey. But the people still 00:01:11.000 --> 00:01:14.019 don't fully understand what's going on, but they're 00:01:14.019 --> 00:01:19.090 excited. And now there's this large crowd. It 00:01:19.090 --> 00:01:21.670 kind of pans to a movie scene. There's a large 00:01:21.670 --> 00:01:27.189 crowd stands there with Jesus. And Jesus has 00:01:27.189 --> 00:01:30.390 some really, he's going to say something that's 00:01:30.390 --> 00:01:34.310 really heavy. But this, as we look at these verses 00:01:34.310 --> 00:01:38.129 today, this is, Jesus is at a very strategic 00:01:38.129 --> 00:01:44.670 point in his life on this earth. The crowd, the 00:01:44.670 --> 00:01:50.560 cross, in midst of that, the cross not only We 00:01:50.560 --> 00:01:53.340 haven't unwrapped the cross yet, but Jesus, as 00:01:53.340 --> 00:01:56.159 he's looking at the crowd, he's also looking 00:01:56.159 --> 00:01:59.599 at the cross that's about to come. Three days. 00:02:00.340 --> 00:02:04.859 I want you just to kind of pan out in the movie 00:02:04.859 --> 00:02:07.319 scene and see the crowd, but then in the backdrop 00:02:07.319 --> 00:02:14.340 you see this really ugly cross that has killed 00:02:14.340 --> 00:02:18.610 many people before. And Jesus is looking at that 00:02:18.610 --> 00:02:23.389 cross. And it stands there in three days from 00:02:23.389 --> 00:02:26.569 this moment. He will be hanging on that cross. 00:02:28.870 --> 00:02:32.909 And so, as Jesus is looking at the crowd in verse 00:02:32.909 --> 00:02:38.650 23, he shifts gears and he says, and Jesus replied 00:02:38.650 --> 00:02:42.770 to them, the hour has come for the Son of Man 00:02:42.770 --> 00:02:46.930 to be glorified. A couple things on this. We'll 00:02:46.930 --> 00:02:48.810 get into this. But somebody asked me a question 00:02:48.810 --> 00:02:52.990 last week. You've got to tell me more about this 00:02:52.990 --> 00:02:58.469 son of man statement. And the son of man here 00:02:58.469 --> 00:03:01.229 is an interesting statement. Jesus uses it 80 00:03:01.229 --> 00:03:05.250 times in the Gospels. It's the term he uses for 00:03:05.250 --> 00:03:12.330 himself. And it's basically, on the one hand, 00:03:12.330 --> 00:03:16.800 the son of man means basically, Jesus' humble 00:03:16.800 --> 00:03:25.699 humanity. But it also means this divine ruler. 00:03:25.960 --> 00:03:28.020 And that goes all the way back to Daniel chapter 00:03:28.020 --> 00:03:31.560 7, if you want to read a bizarre section in there. 00:03:31.639 --> 00:03:33.780 But there's this reference to the Son of Man. 00:03:33.939 --> 00:03:38.919 And so it's in both Jesus' total humanity and 00:03:38.919 --> 00:03:42.150 total divinity is being presented. And so when 00:03:42.150 --> 00:03:44.409 he refers to the Son of Man, he's referring to 00:03:44.409 --> 00:03:48.789 himself as the incarnate God that's come to us. 00:03:49.210 --> 00:03:51.150 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was 00:03:51.150 --> 00:03:52.750 with God, and the Word was God. That's John, 00:03:52.849 --> 00:03:54.789 beginning of John. He says that. He says, I have 00:03:54.789 --> 00:03:58.310 come, the creator of all the universe, the divine 00:03:58.310 --> 00:04:02.770 ruler, is now walking in the lowest of low, humble 00:04:02.770 --> 00:04:06.870 state of humanity. And so that's what it means. 00:04:07.520 --> 00:04:10.419 And so as he's standing there looking at this 00:04:10.419 --> 00:04:13.139 crowd and he's looking at the cross coming, he's 00:04:13.139 --> 00:04:16.019 looking at it from two perspectives. One, from 00:04:16.019 --> 00:04:18.860 a weightiness of what's going to hit him as a 00:04:18.860 --> 00:04:25.240 human, but also his divine side. All of Scripture 00:04:25.240 --> 00:04:30.959 has been pointing, all of this Bible, all of 00:04:30.959 --> 00:04:34.339 it has been pointing to Jesus. Up to this point. 00:04:34.399 --> 00:04:37.579 And this is the critical moment in history. And 00:04:37.579 --> 00:04:38.980 you'll hear us say this probably for the next 00:04:38.980 --> 00:04:40.959 several weeks. Because that's what's happening. 00:04:42.240 --> 00:04:44.980 The Old Testament has been pointing to this great 00:04:44.980 --> 00:04:50.519 Redeemer. A Messiah. That would rescue us from 00:04:50.519 --> 00:04:55.480 the power of sin and the effects of sin. Sin 00:04:55.480 --> 00:04:59.540 has got its nasty entangled claws all up in our 00:04:59.540 --> 00:05:03.480 life and in our world. And it's just so... broken. 00:05:04.620 --> 00:05:07.720 And everything is pointing to Jesus to be the 00:05:07.720 --> 00:05:13.379 great redeemer, the great rescuer. Our sin has 00:05:13.379 --> 00:05:17.420 separated us from the holy God that we were designed 00:05:17.420 --> 00:05:20.620 to be in relationship with. It's ripped us apart. 00:05:21.939 --> 00:05:25.800 And there is nothing you can do to earn a good 00:05:25.800 --> 00:05:28.959 or right relationship with God. We needed God 00:05:28.959 --> 00:05:32.259 to step in and rescue us. And this is the moment 00:05:32.779 --> 00:05:35.500 That that begins. Now, he's come and he's walked. 00:05:35.860 --> 00:05:38.060 This is moment. This is critical moment where 00:05:38.060 --> 00:05:43.699 God said, my hour is here. This is the hour. 00:05:45.319 --> 00:05:50.519 In John 1, in verse 9, we already looked at this, 00:05:50.540 --> 00:05:53.199 but let me just, God's rescue plan begins to 00:05:53.199 --> 00:05:55.939 be unfolded. And he says this, the true light, 00:05:56.040 --> 00:06:00.079 that's Jesus. This is John 1, verse 9. The true 00:06:00.079 --> 00:06:03.439 light. which gives light to everyone, was coming 00:06:03.439 --> 00:06:07.639 into the world. He was in the world, and the 00:06:07.639 --> 00:06:10.779 world was created through him, yet the world 00:06:10.779 --> 00:06:15.720 did not recognize him. He came to his own, and 00:06:15.720 --> 00:06:20.079 his own people did not receive him. But to all 00:06:20.079 --> 00:06:23.879 who did receive him, he gave them the right to 00:06:23.879 --> 00:06:27.379 be children of God, to those who believe in his 00:06:27.379 --> 00:06:32.329 name. Who were born not of natural descent. Or 00:06:32.329 --> 00:06:35.089 of the will of the flesh. Or the will of man. 00:06:35.149 --> 00:06:39.209 But of God. The word became flesh and dwelt among 00:06:39.209 --> 00:06:44.529 us. And we observed his glory. Glory as the only 00:06:44.529 --> 00:06:49.430 son. From the father. Full of grace and truth. 00:06:50.389 --> 00:06:55.930 Jesus had come. And for the last three years 00:06:55.930 --> 00:06:59.560 he had. He'd gone public with his mission to 00:06:59.560 --> 00:07:03.279 rescue and redeem us. And now his hour is here. 00:07:04.120 --> 00:07:08.079 He's facing the cross. I wish we had this really 00:07:08.079 --> 00:07:10.839 big, ugly cross that you could look at. Because 00:07:10.839 --> 00:07:12.779 I think you need to keep that front and center 00:07:12.779 --> 00:07:16.439 as we go through not only this section, but the 00:07:16.439 --> 00:07:20.779 weeks to come. This ugly, nasty cross. Old, rugged 00:07:20.779 --> 00:07:24.939 cross. In these 10 verses, Jesus is facing the 00:07:24.939 --> 00:07:28.279 cross and he's facing the effects of the cross 00:07:28.279 --> 00:07:32.620 and what the cross means. So really two things, 00:07:32.740 --> 00:07:35.279 the effects of the cross and what that cross 00:07:35.279 --> 00:07:38.220 actually will mean. So as we go through these 00:07:38.220 --> 00:07:40.939 verses, I want us to ask this question this morning. 00:07:42.600 --> 00:07:46.259 What was the effect of the cross and what does 00:07:46.259 --> 00:07:49.120 it mean? I mean, I know that a lot of you have 00:07:49.120 --> 00:07:51.439 heard this story. You've read this stuff. If 00:07:51.439 --> 00:07:52.800 you've grown up in church, man, you've heard 00:07:52.800 --> 00:07:55.160 this so many times. But ask yourself, what is 00:07:55.160 --> 00:07:57.399 the effect of the cross? Like, really jump into 00:07:57.399 --> 00:08:00.620 that feel. And say, okay, what does this mean? 00:08:01.000 --> 00:08:04.220 It's kind of like a heads and a tail of a quarter. 00:08:05.540 --> 00:08:08.220 One side, it's the same quarter. But ask the 00:08:08.220 --> 00:08:10.019 question on one side, what's the effect of the 00:08:10.019 --> 00:08:12.660 cross? And what's the, what does it really mean? 00:08:12.939 --> 00:08:16.899 Okay? So the first question is, how the cross 00:08:16.899 --> 00:08:20.660 would affect Jesus? How did this cross that he's 00:08:20.660 --> 00:08:23.360 looking at, his hour is coming, how is it going 00:08:23.360 --> 00:08:26.920 to affect Jesus? What did it mean for Jesus? 00:08:27.000 --> 00:08:29.160 Not just for you and me, but what did it mean 00:08:29.160 --> 00:08:36.559 for Jesus? Look at verse 27. Now is my soul troubled. 00:08:38.019 --> 00:08:41.240 What shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? 00:08:42.299 --> 00:08:48.590 That is why I've come to this hour. How is the 00:08:48.590 --> 00:08:53.429 cross affecting Jesus? Jesus bared his heart 00:08:53.429 --> 00:08:55.769 with us right there in that little line. He starts 00:08:55.769 --> 00:09:01.009 off and he says, oh, my soul is troubled. This 00:09:01.009 --> 00:09:03.190 word troubled in there is not just like, oh, 00:09:03.210 --> 00:09:06.690 it's kind of a rough day. No, this word troubled, 00:09:06.769 --> 00:09:10.529 you've got to picture like an ocean with a hurricane 00:09:10.529 --> 00:09:14.460 approaching. turmoil stirred up. This is literally 00:09:14.460 --> 00:09:17.639 how they would describe this word. The water 00:09:17.639 --> 00:09:23.440 stirred up becomes so violent. It's in turmoil. 00:09:24.299 --> 00:09:28.000 So when Jesus says, my heart is troubled, he's 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:31.340 saying, my heart, my whole existence is like 00:09:31.340 --> 00:09:34.500 a hurricane inside of me. It's just churned up. 00:09:37.220 --> 00:09:40.779 Jesus' heart, his soul is in great distress. 00:09:40.860 --> 00:09:44.549 Why? It's in this moment that we see Jesus, his 00:09:44.549 --> 00:09:48.649 undiminished deity and his perfect humanity in 00:09:48.649 --> 00:09:55.570 tension. We see Jesus in his humanity about to 00:09:55.570 --> 00:09:59.789 face the most severe trial ever. A trial no one 00:09:59.789 --> 00:10:04.710 has faced before. Jesus' trial would involve 00:10:04.710 --> 00:10:11.580 standing in our place as our substitute. I mean, 00:10:11.600 --> 00:10:15.600 that's the one thing that should blow you away 00:10:15.600 --> 00:10:18.580 every time you think about Jesus. That he stood 00:10:18.580 --> 00:10:21.700 in your place and paid for your sin. He covered 00:10:21.700 --> 00:10:25.460 your junk. The sin that you've done in the past. 00:10:25.620 --> 00:10:31.139 The sin that you did right now or recently. And 00:10:31.139 --> 00:10:32.679 the sins you're going to do in the future. He's 00:10:32.679 --> 00:10:35.620 going to say, I'll take it all. I'm going to 00:10:35.620 --> 00:10:39.539 bear the burden of that. You ever just feel guilty 00:10:39.539 --> 00:10:43.220 when you sin? You feel like, oh, yuck. I did 00:10:43.220 --> 00:10:49.940 it again. Now, put that times a trillion, quadrillion 00:10:49.940 --> 00:10:52.299 or whatever the number is, and say, put that 00:10:52.299 --> 00:10:56.919 on you. Troubled. That's what he's talking about. 00:10:57.379 --> 00:11:01.000 The weight of our sin is being loaded onto Jesus. 00:11:01.080 --> 00:11:02.940 That's what's coming. And he's looking at it 00:11:02.940 --> 00:11:06.090 and going, oh. See, Jesus is going to be our 00:11:06.090 --> 00:11:09.570 substitute. He would be falsely accused. He would 00:11:09.570 --> 00:11:12.629 be mocked and spit upon. He would be beaten and 00:11:12.629 --> 00:11:16.929 whipped and stripped of any kind of dignity for 00:11:16.929 --> 00:11:21.350 you and me. And he's carrying that. The king 00:11:21.350 --> 00:11:24.529 of all creation, what we just read about, the 00:11:24.529 --> 00:11:27.330 one who made you and I, is stepping in our place 00:11:27.330 --> 00:11:33.450 and becoming our substitute. And the only way 00:11:33.450 --> 00:11:38.409 he can do it is to live a perfect life so that 00:11:38.409 --> 00:11:42.490 his payment would suffice. He would become our 00:11:42.490 --> 00:11:46.970 atoning sacrifice, his substitutionary atonement. 00:11:46.990 --> 00:11:49.669 That's the theological term. He becomes that 00:11:49.669 --> 00:11:55.029 for us. He takes and substitutes himself for 00:11:55.029 --> 00:11:58.970 our brokenness. He will take it all. So Jesus' 00:11:59.070 --> 00:12:02.340 heart is troubled. Don't just breeze over that 00:12:02.340 --> 00:12:05.639 thought for a second. Just think about how much 00:12:05.639 --> 00:12:09.279 it cost Jesus. His heart is troubled because 00:12:09.279 --> 00:12:12.399 he has arrived at the place where he is going 00:12:12.399 --> 00:12:16.580 to be sacrificed for you and me. He would bear 00:12:16.580 --> 00:12:19.519 the world's sin and suffer, but that wasn't just 00:12:19.519 --> 00:12:22.100 the issue. He was also going to be ripped apart 00:12:22.100 --> 00:12:26.120 in separation from a perfect relationship with 00:12:26.120 --> 00:12:29.610 the Father. So he's not only carrying all of 00:12:29.610 --> 00:12:34.070 our sin, but he's being pulled apart from that 00:12:34.070 --> 00:12:39.429 eternal relationship with the Father. 2 Corinthians 00:12:39.429 --> 00:12:43.409 5 verse 21 says, He made the one who did not 00:12:43.409 --> 00:12:49.370 know sin to be sin. That's Jesus. So that in 00:12:49.370 --> 00:12:51.990 him we might become the righteousness of God. 00:12:54.350 --> 00:12:57.110 The weight of what Jesus was about to go through 00:12:57.110 --> 00:13:03.389 has put him in deep turmoil. So as Jesus is looking 00:13:03.389 --> 00:13:08.230 at what is about to happen to him and the agony 00:13:08.230 --> 00:13:13.710 of it, he says, no way am I going to turn away 00:13:13.710 --> 00:13:16.450 from the cross. So in that statement, he goes, 00:13:16.529 --> 00:13:19.409 yes, the agony is there, but there's no way I'm 00:13:19.409 --> 00:13:24.159 going to turn away from why I've come. Jesus 00:13:24.159 --> 00:13:28.639 knew his purpose. He was the Lamb of God slain 00:13:28.639 --> 00:13:32.639 for eternity. He was going to happen. It was 00:13:32.639 --> 00:13:35.259 going to happen on the cross. He knew that's 00:13:35.259 --> 00:13:40.100 what he was coming for. But why did he do it? 00:13:41.620 --> 00:13:45.220 And I think this is the big one. He was fueled. 00:13:45.860 --> 00:13:48.759 His whole life, his purpose was fueled by giving 00:13:48.759 --> 00:13:52.500 glory to God. Why did he do that? Because he 00:13:52.500 --> 00:13:58.240 loves you? Yes, he loves you. But his main motivation 00:13:58.240 --> 00:14:03.299 was to give glory to God. John 12, verse 28 says, 00:14:03.519 --> 00:14:06.200 Father, this is the next part in this. He says, 00:14:06.460 --> 00:14:08.480 I would not turn away from him. Then he goes, 00:14:08.580 --> 00:14:12.399 Father, glorify your name. Then a voice came 00:14:12.399 --> 00:14:15.240 from heaven. I have glorified it, and I will 00:14:15.240 --> 00:14:21.179 glorify it again. Jesus, as he faced the cross, 00:14:22.029 --> 00:14:26.149 It meant anguish and turmoil and suffering, carrying 00:14:26.149 --> 00:14:29.490 the sins of the world. It meant separation from 00:14:29.490 --> 00:14:33.809 the Father, but it meant the glory is given to 00:14:33.809 --> 00:14:38.929 the Father. Now, that's how we're supposed to 00:14:38.929 --> 00:14:42.149 live. This one really blew me away. This is not 00:14:42.149 --> 00:14:43.990 even the main point of this whole thing, but 00:14:43.990 --> 00:14:46.570 one of the things I took away from this is like, 00:14:46.629 --> 00:14:50.509 if Jesus' biggest motivation was to give glory 00:14:50.509 --> 00:14:53.549 to God, That's actually my biggest motivation. 00:14:54.169 --> 00:14:57.070 That's what he's calling us to. And so I've been 00:14:57.070 --> 00:14:58.830 thinking, like, how does that work for Caleb? 00:14:59.669 --> 00:15:01.870 How does it work? Like, what is my motivation 00:15:01.870 --> 00:15:04.870 to get up here and speak to you like I'm naked 00:15:04.870 --> 00:15:08.710 every week? Metaphorically. I just bury it all 00:15:08.710 --> 00:15:13.990 out there. Why do I do that? Not for you. For 00:15:13.990 --> 00:15:17.750 the glory of God. Why do I get up and serve my 00:15:17.750 --> 00:15:22.919 wife? Why do I love, why do I, put my deny myself 00:15:22.919 --> 00:15:27.179 but because i love her yeah i love her but it's 00:15:27.179 --> 00:15:31.960 that second it's for the glory of god that's 00:15:31.960 --> 00:15:34.919 your motivation it changes everything how are 00:15:34.919 --> 00:15:38.059 we living are we living in such a way that our 00:15:38.059 --> 00:15:42.019 lives our biggest motivation is to give glory 00:15:42.019 --> 00:15:44.940 to god now glory means weight doesn't it means 00:15:44.940 --> 00:15:47.659 weightiness And he says, I want you to live in 00:15:47.659 --> 00:15:50.480 such a way that God is the weightiest thing and 00:15:50.480 --> 00:15:54.120 his glory and his fame become most important. 00:15:54.840 --> 00:15:58.440 And this is what Jesus is doing. He says, I'll 00:15:58.440 --> 00:16:01.860 go to the cross. I'll take the worst kind of 00:16:01.860 --> 00:16:06.039 suffering ever known to man. I'll bear all the 00:16:06.039 --> 00:16:11.679 sins. Why? Because he is committed to giving 00:16:11.679 --> 00:16:16.529 glory to God. That is his motivation. It's bigger 00:16:16.529 --> 00:16:19.789 than just love. It is love. It's all wrapped 00:16:19.789 --> 00:16:25.049 up in that. But it's for the glory of God. And 00:16:25.049 --> 00:16:28.730 as God the Father looked at Jesus, whose heart 00:16:28.730 --> 00:16:30.850 is troubled, he shares his heart. We see it in 00:16:30.850 --> 00:16:33.690 the verse. I have glorified it, he says, and 00:16:33.690 --> 00:16:38.230 I will glorify it again. Now the crowd hears 00:16:38.230 --> 00:16:41.049 something. In verse 29 it says, the crowd standing 00:16:41.049 --> 00:16:45.700 there heard it and said, it was thunder. Others 00:16:45.700 --> 00:16:49.759 said, an angel has spoken to him. And Jesus responded, 00:16:49.919 --> 00:16:54.419 this voice came not for me, but for you. He says, 00:16:54.460 --> 00:16:59.320 I get it. He says, that noise you just heard, 00:16:59.379 --> 00:17:01.940 whatever it was, must have been pretty bizarre. 00:17:02.419 --> 00:17:04.500 It must have been pretty overwhelming because 00:17:04.500 --> 00:17:07.039 all of a sudden they're going, what was that? 00:17:09.420 --> 00:17:13.339 The crowd's like, wow, what just happened? And 00:17:13.339 --> 00:17:18.400 Jesus says, This one, that was for you. I want 00:17:18.400 --> 00:17:21.640 you to see that this moment, you need to see 00:17:21.640 --> 00:17:23.319 it. You need to understand it. That's why God 00:17:23.319 --> 00:17:25.619 spoke up. God the Father spoke up so you could 00:17:25.619 --> 00:17:28.380 heard the thunder. Something, it might have shook 00:17:28.380 --> 00:17:30.160 the room. I don't know. But whatever it was, 00:17:30.180 --> 00:17:32.140 Jesus just says, that's so you'll pay attention. 00:17:35.279 --> 00:17:40.420 Now he shows us the effects of the cross of Christ 00:17:40.420 --> 00:17:46.190 on this world. Look at verse 31. Now is the judgment 00:17:46.190 --> 00:17:51.130 of this world. Now the ruler of this world will 00:17:51.130 --> 00:17:57.410 be cast out. As for me, if I'm lifted up from 00:17:57.410 --> 00:18:01.089 this earth, I will draw all people to myself. 00:18:01.650 --> 00:18:05.470 He said this to indicate what kind of death he 00:18:05.470 --> 00:18:10.309 was about to die. So what does the cross mean 00:18:10.309 --> 00:18:13.720 for the world? Three things. The first thing 00:18:13.720 --> 00:18:17.059 is, it means judgment. The cross means judgment. 00:18:17.259 --> 00:18:19.579 And that's what he's looking at. He sees the 00:18:19.579 --> 00:18:23.220 judgment coming. Now is the judgment of the world, 00:18:23.240 --> 00:18:26.960 it says. What does this mean? It means that the 00:18:26.960 --> 00:18:31.059 death of Jesus becomes a decisive dividing line 00:18:31.059 --> 00:18:33.740 between the condemned and the redeemed. There's 00:18:33.740 --> 00:18:35.900 a drawing a line in the sand. He says, now that 00:18:35.900 --> 00:18:39.799 I've hung upon this cross, there is a dividing 00:18:39.799 --> 00:18:47.319 line you must choose. If you trust Jesus, you 00:18:47.319 --> 00:18:51.680 are united to him in his death. His death becomes 00:18:51.680 --> 00:18:57.440 your death. Galatians 2, verse 20 says, this 00:18:57.440 --> 00:19:01.400 is out of the ESV. It says this, I have been 00:19:01.400 --> 00:19:04.220 crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who 00:19:04.220 --> 00:19:08.470 live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life 00:19:08.470 --> 00:19:12.349 I now live is in the flesh. I live by faith in 00:19:12.349 --> 00:19:14.849 the Son of God who loved me and gave himself 00:19:14.849 --> 00:19:19.549 for me. He says, the judgment's gonna come, but 00:19:19.549 --> 00:19:25.289 if you are in Christ, this is for you. But if 00:19:25.289 --> 00:19:28.170 you've never trusted Jesus, I don't care if you've 00:19:28.170 --> 00:19:29.990 been in church your whole lives, if you've never 00:19:29.990 --> 00:19:33.710 put Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life, trusting 00:19:33.710 --> 00:19:38.490 him, if that's where you stand, You stand condemned 00:19:38.490 --> 00:19:44.950 by your sin and also by your rejection of the 00:19:44.950 --> 00:19:49.049 offer that Jesus has for forgiveness. So what 00:19:49.049 --> 00:19:52.809 does the cross mean? It means judgment. But if 00:19:52.809 --> 00:19:56.750 you're in Christ, Jesus took that judgment. But 00:19:56.750 --> 00:19:58.470 if you're not in Christ, you're not a follower 00:19:58.470 --> 00:20:01.950 of Jesus, then that judgment is given to you. 00:20:03.670 --> 00:20:06.589 The second thing the cross means to this world, 00:20:07.069 --> 00:20:12.869 is that Satan will also face judgment. On the 00:20:12.869 --> 00:20:17.069 cross, Jesus is victorious over Satan, sin, and 00:20:17.069 --> 00:20:20.230 death. Not on the cross, in the resurrection. 00:20:20.589 --> 00:20:25.130 But he's victorious over Satan and sin. He judges 00:20:25.130 --> 00:20:27.710 them both. Kent Hughes, one of the commentators, 00:20:27.730 --> 00:20:30.990 said this, the cross administrated the blow that 00:20:30.990 --> 00:20:33.029 will ultimately steal the movement of Satan. 00:20:33.509 --> 00:20:35.730 And you say, well, Satan's still around. Yep. 00:20:36.109 --> 00:20:39.369 but he's been defeated. He's still around, still 00:20:39.369 --> 00:20:42.390 has influence, but he has been defeated by Jesus 00:20:42.390 --> 00:20:47.089 on the cross. The third thing the cross means 00:20:47.089 --> 00:20:50.470 to this world, as you see this in verse 32, it 00:20:50.470 --> 00:20:54.650 says this, as for me, if I'm lifted up from the 00:20:54.650 --> 00:20:59.089 earth, I will draw all people to myself. John 00:20:59.089 --> 00:21:02.990 Piper says this, he says, I think it means that 00:21:02.990 --> 00:21:06.809 when Christ died, When he was lifted up on the 00:21:06.809 --> 00:21:10.369 cross, he actually secured, obtained, guaranteed 00:21:10.369 --> 00:21:15.809 a homecoming for his sheep and ingathering of 00:21:15.809 --> 00:21:20.990 his children from all the nations. All. It wasn't 00:21:20.990 --> 00:21:24.369 just the Jews. It was for all. And so the cross 00:21:24.369 --> 00:21:28.529 meant that God was drawing people to himself. 00:21:29.769 --> 00:21:34.299 The cross means for us today, as you look at 00:21:34.299 --> 00:21:38.599 the cross in your mind, it means a new Savior. 00:21:38.859 --> 00:21:42.579 It means a new identity. It means a new purpose. 00:21:42.619 --> 00:21:48.460 It means a new future. Let me say that again. 00:21:48.980 --> 00:21:52.880 What the cross should mean for us is we have 00:21:52.880 --> 00:21:56.220 a Savior, a new Savior, a new identity, a new 00:21:56.220 --> 00:22:01.680 purpose, and a new future. My question is, will 00:22:01.680 --> 00:22:06.680 you embrace? What Jesus has for you. He's calling 00:22:06.680 --> 00:22:09.420 us to embrace that. He's calling us because of 00:22:09.420 --> 00:22:11.799 what the cross has done. He's calling us to embrace 00:22:11.799 --> 00:22:16.880 a new identity. You don't live for your past. 00:22:17.039 --> 00:22:19.980 You don't live. You live with who God has made 00:22:19.980 --> 00:22:24.500 you to be. You live with a new purpose. And that 00:22:24.500 --> 00:22:28.559 purpose is to give glory to him in everything 00:22:28.559 --> 00:22:33.890 you do. Not glory to yourself. Not to make yourself 00:22:33.890 --> 00:22:36.990 happy, but to give glory to him. That is where 00:22:36.990 --> 00:22:40.289 satisfaction and joy are found. And then he says, 00:22:40.390 --> 00:22:42.950 but don't lose sight of what's coming. There's 00:22:42.950 --> 00:22:50.190 a new future. My wife was talking to the widow 00:22:50.190 --> 00:22:55.670 of Mike Donaldson. She's up doing the equinox 00:22:55.670 --> 00:22:57.829 and they met and she was telling me, she says, 00:22:58.410 --> 00:23:00.849 As they were talking about Mike was the very 00:23:00.849 --> 00:23:02.670 first elder we had at Radiant Church. She died 00:23:02.670 --> 00:23:06.170 just recently. And in fact, end of this month, 00:23:06.170 --> 00:23:07.910 we're having his memorial service. But she was 00:23:07.910 --> 00:23:13.690 sharing with Tracy like, and just how at the 00:23:13.690 --> 00:23:16.250 end of Mike's life, how everything was focused 00:23:16.250 --> 00:23:20.009 on this new future. And she was describing to 00:23:20.009 --> 00:23:23.049 Tracy how excited she was for her husband who 00:23:23.049 --> 00:23:28.509 now stands and gets to see not. The glory of 00:23:28.509 --> 00:23:33.369 God. Not just, and his whole purpose, and I told 00:23:33.369 --> 00:23:35.109 you this before, the last conversation I had 00:23:35.109 --> 00:23:37.210 with Mike was I was asked him, I said, what do 00:23:37.210 --> 00:23:39.769 you want? What's your prayer to God before you 00:23:39.769 --> 00:23:43.490 exit and leave this world? He says, Dan, I'd 00:23:43.490 --> 00:23:46.970 have every opportunity I could to tell people 00:23:46.970 --> 00:23:49.990 about him. I want them to experience the glory 00:23:49.990 --> 00:23:52.650 of God. And now he's experiencing the glory of 00:23:52.650 --> 00:23:55.809 God. That's a new future. That's what he's saying. 00:23:57.450 --> 00:24:00.470 But like the crowds around Jesus, we didn't always 00:24:00.470 --> 00:24:03.329 get it, did we? We didn't always get our new 00:24:03.329 --> 00:24:07.450 identity, our new purpose, our new future. We 00:24:07.450 --> 00:24:11.450 don't get how big a deal this is. That's why 00:24:11.450 --> 00:24:13.789 we've got to talk about it every week. We've 00:24:13.789 --> 00:24:15.750 got to be reminded about how important the gospel 00:24:15.750 --> 00:24:23.589 is every week. Look at verse 34. Then the crowd 00:24:23.589 --> 00:24:26.839 replied to him, We have heard from the law that 00:24:26.839 --> 00:24:32.440 the Messiah will remain forever. So how can you 00:24:32.440 --> 00:24:35.740 say the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is 00:24:35.740 --> 00:24:39.839 the Son of Man? Jesus answered, the light will 00:24:39.839 --> 00:24:43.400 be with you for only a little longer. Walk while 00:24:43.400 --> 00:24:46.779 you have the light so the darkness doesn't overtake 00:24:46.779 --> 00:24:49.839 you. The one who walks in darkness doesn't know 00:24:49.839 --> 00:24:52.819 where he's going. While you have the light, believe 00:24:52.819 --> 00:24:56.819 in the light. so that you may become children 00:24:56.819 --> 00:25:01.660 of light. And Jesus said this, he went away and 00:25:01.660 --> 00:25:05.180 he hid from them. What's that mean? That's transition 00:25:05.180 --> 00:25:08.079 language right there. Jesus says, one last thing 00:25:08.079 --> 00:25:12.079 you need to understand, the one big thing you 00:25:12.079 --> 00:25:18.220 need to see, that Jesus is the light in this 00:25:18.220 --> 00:25:20.519 jacked up dark place. But what really stuck out 00:25:20.519 --> 00:25:22.240 to me in these verses as I was going through 00:25:22.240 --> 00:25:27.400 this is how much, You and I are loved. You can't 00:25:27.400 --> 00:25:30.500 read this and go, all of what's happening, the 00:25:30.500 --> 00:25:33.460 trouble that Jesus has been facing, if you miss 00:25:33.460 --> 00:25:38.900 how much He loves you, you're missing it. God 00:25:38.900 --> 00:25:43.160 the Father loves us so much that He sent His 00:25:43.160 --> 00:25:47.180 one and only Son that whoever believes in this 00:25:47.180 --> 00:25:51.039 Son should not perish. but have eternal life. 00:25:51.160 --> 00:25:53.839 For God did not send His Son into the world to 00:25:53.839 --> 00:25:57.299 condemn the world. That's what John 3 .17 says. 00:25:58.720 --> 00:26:01.220 But in order that the world might be saved through 00:26:01.220 --> 00:26:06.880 Him. That's love. Now first and most important 00:26:06.880 --> 00:26:09.759 thing Jesus says is I'm doing this for the glory 00:26:09.759 --> 00:26:12.900 of God, but I'm also doing it to love you. Let 00:26:12.900 --> 00:26:16.559 me show you how much I love you. He loves you. 00:26:17.960 --> 00:26:20.420 Jesus loved us so much that he stepped into the 00:26:20.420 --> 00:26:25.480 agony for us. Jesus again invites the crowd to 00:26:25.480 --> 00:26:30.019 follow him. One last time. Come on. You can do 00:26:30.019 --> 00:26:34.160 it. Jesus says he is the light. Believe in the 00:26:34.160 --> 00:26:38.720 light that you may become sons of light. It's 00:26:38.720 --> 00:26:41.940 not too late. Believe in the light. Put your 00:26:41.940 --> 00:26:47.099 faith in Jesus. As we close this morning, one 00:26:47.099 --> 00:26:53.420 final thought. What Jesus did for you and for 00:26:53.420 --> 00:27:00.160 me is mind -blowing. Here's the thing. All he 00:27:00.160 --> 00:27:06.700 did for you was amazing, but it's not about you. 00:27:08.420 --> 00:27:11.160 What he did for you is awesome, but it's not 00:27:11.160 --> 00:27:15.869 about you. All that Jesus did was for the glory 00:27:15.869 --> 00:27:22.089 of God. He has called you out of darkness and 00:27:22.089 --> 00:27:26.390 into his light to become sons of light, to shine 00:27:26.390 --> 00:27:31.710 his glory. Your motivation is to give glory to 00:27:31.710 --> 00:27:33.789 God, but he's called you out of darkness not 00:27:33.789 --> 00:27:38.890 to just live passive lives. He's called you out 00:27:38.890 --> 00:27:41.690 of darkness. He says, look, if you understand 00:27:41.690 --> 00:27:45.230 the gospel, if you've embraced the gospel, live 00:27:45.230 --> 00:27:49.890 for his glory, not for yourself. Live with light 00:27:49.890 --> 00:27:56.430 at the center. Your purpose is to give glory 00:27:56.430 --> 00:28:00.049 to God. So guys, when we think about serving, 00:28:00.349 --> 00:28:04.930 which we've talked about in a number of weeks, 00:28:06.480 --> 00:28:08.400 If you're serving back in the kids or you're 00:28:08.400 --> 00:28:10.859 up in the band or you're helping set up or you're 00:28:10.859 --> 00:28:14.299 bringing food for your GC or you name it, whatever 00:28:14.299 --> 00:28:16.819 areas of service, which we're going to talk more 00:28:16.819 --> 00:28:18.980 about, we're going to see in weeks to come that 00:28:18.980 --> 00:28:24.039 he keeps unpacking this idea. Don't do it for 00:28:24.039 --> 00:28:27.880 yourself. Don't do it just because we have a 00:28:27.880 --> 00:28:32.359 need. Do it for the glory of God. It changes 00:28:32.359 --> 00:28:37.049 everything. When you look at the cross of Jesus, 00:28:37.369 --> 00:28:41.410 what does it mean to you? How has it affected 00:28:41.410 --> 00:28:45.650 you? And we always say this, our vertical, if 00:28:45.650 --> 00:28:47.769 it's there, will begin to affect our horizontal. 00:28:48.130 --> 00:28:50.970 So as you fix your gaze on the cross, how is 00:28:50.970 --> 00:28:55.869 it affecting you? Why do you think we are called, 00:28:56.009 --> 00:28:57.910 the Bible says that every time you gather together, 00:28:58.150 --> 00:29:01.910 we believe in these kinds of settings, that we 00:29:01.910 --> 00:29:05.460 are to remember. the cross of christ and we do 00:29:05.460 --> 00:29:08.680 it and he gives us this installation called the 00:29:08.680 --> 00:29:12.819 lord's supper or the communion or and and we 00:29:12.819 --> 00:29:16.019 do it it's calling us to a response the band 00:29:16.019 --> 00:29:18.039 you can come up right now but i want you i'm 00:29:18.039 --> 00:29:21.039 gonna we go to communion it's a picture that 00:29:21.039 --> 00:29:24.220 jesus says don't lose sight of what happened 00:29:24.220 --> 00:29:27.220 what i did for you on that cross and how i gave 00:29:27.220 --> 00:29:30.920 was giving glory to god Don't lose sight of that. 00:29:31.000 --> 00:29:33.259 Remember that. Every time you gather, it's the 00:29:33.259 --> 00:29:36.400 center point of radiant church, what Jesus did 00:29:36.400 --> 00:29:39.819 in his death, burial, and resurrection. Luke 00:29:39.819 --> 00:29:44.619 22, verses 19 and 20 says this, and this is coming. 00:29:44.759 --> 00:29:47.559 He's sitting at the Last Supper. He's about to 00:29:47.559 --> 00:29:50.019 go. The cross is right there. This is just like 00:29:50.019 --> 00:29:54.759 a day or so before or after. And he took the 00:29:54.759 --> 00:29:57.640 bread. And when he had given thanks, he broke 00:29:57.640 --> 00:30:00.359 it and gave it to them saying, this is my body, 00:30:00.420 --> 00:30:04.480 which is given for you. Do this in remembrance 00:30:04.480 --> 00:30:08.779 of me. And likewise, he took the cup and after 00:30:08.779 --> 00:30:13.119 he had eaten, saying, this cup is poured out 00:30:13.119 --> 00:30:23.099 for you, is the new covenant of my blood. I want 00:30:23.099 --> 00:30:27.849 to invite you. This morning, just to wrestle 00:30:27.849 --> 00:30:33.950 with the heart motivation that's going on in 00:30:33.950 --> 00:30:38.309 you, like you and me both. Is the motivation 00:30:38.309 --> 00:30:43.329 for how you live your life in response to what 00:30:43.329 --> 00:30:47.670 Jesus has done for you? Not in like burdensome, 00:30:47.670 --> 00:30:55.279 from a place of like, wow, of wonder. of amazement 00:30:55.279 --> 00:30:58.039 for what he has done for you and as you pick 00:30:58.039 --> 00:31:00.519 up that little piece of bread and you dip it 00:31:00.519 --> 00:31:05.319 in the in the juice that's a picture of his love 00:31:05.319 --> 00:31:08.759 for you but also his glory showing back to the 00:31:08.759 --> 00:31:12.059 father that's what he's doing so as you take 00:31:12.059 --> 00:31:15.740 that really wrestle with like where how's my 00:31:15.740 --> 00:31:21.740 heart is my heart ready to begin to grab a hold 00:31:21.740 --> 00:31:26.730 of serving and loving and living my life with 00:31:26.730 --> 00:31:29.450 the purpose of saying, God, it's for your glory. 00:31:31.970 --> 00:31:45.490 Let me pray. Lord, I can stand up here and preach 00:31:45.490 --> 00:31:48.470 about this stuff and I know that I struggle with 00:31:48.470 --> 00:31:58.099 it too. So forgive me for being self -centered. 00:32:00.480 --> 00:32:04.319 Even looking at my relationship with you as being 00:32:04.319 --> 00:32:17.240 about me. Lord, I repent of my selfishness. Lord, 00:32:17.339 --> 00:32:24.019 I want to fix my eyes on you. On the cross. For 00:32:24.019 --> 00:32:29.079 what you did on that cross. And what it cost 00:32:29.079 --> 00:32:35.599 you. Lord, I pray for our church. I pray for 00:32:35.599 --> 00:32:39.299 us as a community of people. That you will grip 00:32:39.299 --> 00:32:45.400 our hearts. Blow us away with how awesome you 00:32:45.400 --> 00:32:52.569 are. And how weighty the gospel is. And you will 00:32:52.569 --> 00:32:56.470 help us live in response to that. Not out of 00:32:56.470 --> 00:33:00.529 like just duty, but out of joy for what you've 00:33:00.529 --> 00:33:06.710 done. Lord, take over. I ask that you work by 00:33:06.710 --> 00:33:08.970 your spirit in our hearts right now as we sit 00:33:08.970 --> 00:33:11.630 here. In your name we pray. Amen.