GraceLife Church Worship Service - Nov 8, 2020 (Judge With Righteous Judgment)

well good morning grace life what a blessing it is for us to be together again i want to invite you all to come in and find a seat i guess we're going to have maybe a little more space this morning since the weather is what it is roads were treacherous on the way i don't think i've seen highway 2 so bad on just one snowfall but we made it and we're here and it's kind of a special sunday actually november 5th 2005 was the first gathering of grace life church and so on thursday this past week we reached 15 years and wrestled with whether to celebrate last sunday or this sunday because november has five sundays and so we opted to uh to wait until this sunday but 15 years now curious and recognizing that we have folks away who has been here since the very beginning hands yeah the russells and miss dorothy foxes that i get everybody we just want to thank you so much for your faithful service and i want to encourage you thank you so much for just your your commitment to this body and and you know what we want to acknowledge one particular pair concerning that you're going to look like for the next number of weeks as you rehearse and get ready for that wonderful occasion and so there's a note there concerning that also christmas in november we want to encourage our missionaries and so we have a table that brad has set up in the foyer where you can write cards that we're going to be able to send to our missionaries and we're asking at this time that it not be a monetary gift or any other kind of gift just because of the restrictions in terms of getting things over the border we're just going to be sending cards if you would like to send a gift we would just encourage you to designate funds to our admissions fund here at grace like church but we want you to get these cards and and and uh right on them and return them by the 22nd of this month and so we want to encourage our missionaries we are supporting the ransom family in the philippines they're currently in uh north carolina right now we're supporting the morales to colombia and they're in la in preparation to get there we're also supporting the ellingsons who are currently in tucson arizona and they are waiting to get to madagascar and we've also just been we're not supporting kai financially at this point in time because he's now a resident in japan and and is now earning what he needs to support his his uh his ministry but uh we continue to be mindful of him in japan and the work and ministry he's doing there i think that covers everyone that we're involved with from a mission's point of view and so we want to encourage our missionaries and just want to encourage you to do that you know we have a baby announcement as well and this is a bit overdue this goes back to october 8th and so if you've met sean and elizabeth hill who are a new addition to our our church family i think springtime or summer right summertime they uh they have clara hill who's been added to their number and she came in at eight pounds two ounces 20 inches mommy and baby are happy and healthy in fact i think i can see claire right now in mommy's arms and so we just want to rejoice with the hill family and the new little addition to their home another announcement too just to draw to your attention baptismal sundays we're planning baptisms for next sunday to the 15th as well as the 22nd and so for the next two sundays we're going to have a baptismal service following the main service starting about one o'clock i think and uh so i want to encourage you to be a part of that and to put that on your calendar and even plan accordingly in terms of bringing some nourishment to keep you sustained so you can be here and be a part of that so much going on of course if you're a member or rather a visitor with us this morning we want to meet you today so please if you're visiting uh speak to us connect with us before you go we would love to answer any questions you may have about our church love to get to know your name a little bit and just to speak with you so please introduce yourself before you leave today we are glad that you have chosen to worship with us this morning well with that all said let us pray together and ready our hearts to worship our lord and savior jesus christ well father we thank you what a blessing it is to be able to gather father we thank you even for the warmth of our auditorium that we can be here in warmth and and come together as your people and worship you father we come and we ask for your help we are so needy even to properly praise you to give you the glory honor and worship your due is beyond us and so we pray father god that you would empower us in this moment by your spirit to sing your praise to devote our minds and our attentions and our attention to your word and ultimately father god to give you the glory your due in jesus name amen please stand all right let's sing lead arnold king eternal this uh the verse that comes to mind when i was thinking about this song is psalm 20 verse 7. some praised their chariots some trust in chariots some trust in horses but we will remember the name of the lord our god and just in the last week you know for me personally it's been uh important to remember my king is the lord my king is god and no matter what happens in the world it's my job to worship him and so that's what i'm just bringing my heart to it's just leono king eternal [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] the day of march has come henceforth of conquest thy tents shall be your home for days of preparation thy grace has made us [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] shall cease [Applause] [Music] the heavenly kingdom [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] comes [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] well i invite you to remain standing for the reading of god's word we are continuing in deuteronomy this morning we're in deuteronomy chapter 4 and we're going to read the opening 24 verses deuteronomy chapter 4 beginning in verse 1. the word of god reads now o israel listen to the statutes and the judgments which i am teaching you to perform so that you may live and go in and take possession of the land which the lord the god of your fathers is giving you you shall not add to the word which i am commanding you nor take away from it that you may keep the commandments of the lord your god which i command you your eyes have seen what the lord has done in the case of for all the men who followed but allah the lord your god destroyed them from among you but you who held fast to the lord your god are alive today every one of you see i have taught you statutes and judgments just as the lord my god commanded me that you should do thus in the land where you are entering to possess it so keep and do them for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who were healed who will hear rather all these statutes and say surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people for what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as is the lord our god whenever we call on him or what great nation is there that has statutes and judgments as righteous as this whole law which i am setting before you today only give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life but make them known to your sons and your grandsons remember the day you stood before yahweh your god at horeb when the lord said to me assemble the people to me that i may let them hear my words so that they may learn to fear me all the days they live on the earth and that they may teach their children you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain and the mountain burned with fire to the very heart of the heavens darkness cloud and thick gloom then the lord spoke to you from the midst of the fire you heard the sound of words but you saw no form only a voice so he declared to you his covenant which he commanded you to perform that is the ten commandments and he wrote them on two tablets of stone the lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments that you might perform them in the land where you are going over to possess it so watch yourselves carefully since you did not see any form on the day the lord spoke to you at horror from the midst of the fire so that you do not act corruptly and make a graven image for yourselves in the form of any figure the likeness of male or female the likeness of any animal that is on the earth the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the sky the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground the likeness of any fish that is in the water below the earth and beware not to lift your eyes up to heaven and see the sun and the moon and the stars all the hosts of heaven and be drawn away and worship them and serve them those which the lord your god has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven but the lord has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace from egypt to be a people for his own possession as today the lord was angry with me on your account and swore that i would not cross the jordan that i would not enter the good land which the lord your god is giving you as an inheritance for i will die in this land i shall not cross the jordan but you shall cross and take possession of this good land so watch yourselves that you do not forget the covenant of the lord your god which he made with you and make for yourselves a graven image in the form of anything against which the lord your god has commanded you for the lord your god is a consuming fire a jealous god this is the reading of god's word let us pray together well father god we come before you and acknowledge that you are the all-wise god you were all knowing have all wisdom and all understanding and that even the very law that you had given to israel in the old covenant was an expression of that wisdom that you had given to them a law that instructed them in your ways and was a law that would have been a light to the nations and that it would have put on display the wisdom of that people should they have obeyed it and even your wisdom and glory as having given it to them father we marvel at your nearness to us that you are near to us whenever we call that we can call upon your name in any given moment and know that you are there to hear our cry and to hasten to act on our behalf and we rejoice that we can have full confidence that you are the sovereign lord over all things that you have worked all things and are working all things in accord with your power and your glory and your purpose that everything is coming to fruition on your timetable according to your plan and so father we might in a day like today be somewhat unsettled by the things that are happening in the world but we know father god that you are in control and that everything is going to work for your glory and the good of your people and so father we confess our trust in you this day and father we're even mindful of the freedoms that we enjoy it may be that in decades past even years past maybe even months and weeks past that we would have been less aware of the freedoms that we have and would have taken for granted the freedom that we have and would be less mindful that there were many who had laid down their lives and sacrifice to fight for freedom to uphold liberty and so even as remembrance day is upon us in the days ahead father we just want to be mindful of the folks that have laid down their lives and even those folks who stand ready to serve even now ready to lay down their lives for freedom in opposition of tyranny a totalitarianism and so father we just rejoice we know that the liberties we have we may not always have but we do know that we have liberty in christ and we know that no matter what circumstances come in upon us and present upon us we have the liberty to glorify you in any and every situation and so lord prepare us and and ready us for whatever is to come we give you thanks for all that we enjoy in this life and all that we have enjoyed many of us can testify even this day that we have enjoyed many good years on this green earth and so lord assist us to be faithful with the years that remain for those who are even among us who who serve for the protection of our nation and the nation of others we just pray that you would bless them and strengthen them and give them grace for the road that you have given to them help them to be faithful and ready be with them and their families and the sacrifices that go along with serving in the capacity they do and give them joy father god knowing that as they serve their services ultimately to you father we just thank you for this time we thank you for your goodness we pray that you would ready our hearts for the preaching of your word we just give this hour into your hands and pray that you would work in each one of us your will that you would accomplish your purpose that each one of us this day would be ministered to in the place of our need and that we would leave this place strengthened and renewed to serve you and honor you and glorify you in all that we do in jesus name we pray amen may be seated [Music] do our foolish ways [Applause] indeed [Applause] trust like those the gracious [Music] of quietness till all and let our ordered lives [Music] jesus [Applause] [Applause] retire speak through the earthquake wind and fire o still a small voice let's stand and sing all the way my savior leads me [Applause] [Music] [Applause] all the way my savior leads me [Applause] is [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] leaves jesus cheers [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] before me before me [Music] [Applause] is [Applause] [Applause] jesus jesus [Music] [Applause] [Music] hear the story from god's word that kings and priests and drafted there would be a sacrifice [Music] [Applause] [Music] glory [Applause] loves those ones heart of god's redemption of man worship the lamb the world [Applause] [Music] [Applause] was [Applause] [Music] of god's redemption [Music] [Applause] stores [Applause] [Music] [Applause] redemption [Music] you [Music] [Applause] on us [Music] blameless to the praise of your glory to the praise of your mercy and grace [Applause] praise and glorify our god who gives his grace in christ in him god has made known to us the mysteries [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] who says come praise and glorify our god for we believe the word and through our faith we have us heal the spirit the spirit guarantees our hope until redemption's done [Music] of your mercy and grace of your glory you are the god who says to the praise of your glory to the praise of your mercy and grace thank you you may be seated well thank you so much jared for leading us in song this morning and now if you would please take your copy of god's word and open up to john chapter 7. john chapter 7 we're continuing to work through the gospel of john just a rich gospel to be sure and while you're turning there i want you to consider that there is a judgment that scripture forbids a kind of judgment that scripture commands ought not to take place a a hypocritical self-righteous kind of judgment where a person scrutinizes the speck in the eye of another while missing the plank in their own but there's also a judgment scripture commands it's a righteous kind of judgment one that assesses a matter with biblical precision that goes beyond the mere surface of things and employs discernment and discretion and judiciousness and our passage is going to call us to that kind of judgment this morning and it's the very kind of judgment the religious leaders of israel so severely lack look with me at john chapter 7 beginning in verse 14. but when it was now the midst of the feast jesus went up into the temple and began to teach the jews then were astonished saying how has this man become learned having never been educated so jesus answered them and said my teaching is not mine but his who sent me if anyone is willing to do his will he will know of the teaching whether it is of god or whether i speak from myself he who speaks from himself seeks his own glory but he who is seeking the glory of the one who sent him he is true and there is no unrighteousness in him did not moses give you the law and yet none of you carries out the law why do you seek to kill me the crowd answered you have a demon who seeks to kill you jesus answered them i did one deed and you all marvel for this reason moses has given you circumcision not that it is from moses but from the fathers and on the sabbath you circumcise a man if a man receives circumcision on the sabbath so that the law of moses will not be broken are you angry with me because i made an entire man well on the sabbath do not judge according to appearance but judge with righteous judgment jesus has strategically now made his appearance at the feast it's the feast of booths or tabernacles you'll remember from last time that his brothers had challenged him to make a grand entry to go up to jerusalem and pomp and stance and displaying himself to the world and yet jesus knew it wasn't yet his time and so he went up to the feast discreetly entered the temple and began to teach you'll also note that in the six months prior jesus had been avoiding jerusalem and he did so because the jews were seeking to kill him and jesus really spent much of that six month period of time strengthening his disciples and preparing them for what was to come but now just six months removed from his crucifixion he makes his third and final trip to jerusalem a trip that we know from last time will be marked by confrontation with the religious leaders beginning here in chapter seven and running all the way to the end of chapter 11 when a conspiracy will be put in place to put jesus to death and the catalyst for this confrontation here in john 7 is the healing miracle of john when jesus healed the man by the pool on the sabbath an act the religious leaders believed was work and therefore a violation of their sabbath and whereas in john 5 jesus responded to their charge by declaring his equality with god he now addresses the folly of their thinking as it relates to the sabbath their deficiency in judging the matter as they have they're judging as we just read according to appearance and need to judge with righteous judgment and righteous judgment would facilitate evaluating jesus through a biblical lens because it would force them to evaluate him as he is in light of scripture a lens that is utterly distinct from their man-made tradition and really that's the the the issue at play for each one of us every one of us in earshot of this sermon is at the place where we need to reckon with who jesus is and reckon with his claims every one of us must render a judgment on who jesus is a judgment that has eternal consequences either jesus is who he says he is or he isn't and if he is then each one of us must confess him as lord and entrust our souls to him or reap eternal judgment and that means this that your judgment of jesus hinges on his judgment of you your judgment of jesus will ultimately impact the way he renders judgment on you at the end of the age as we come to this passage you'll notice that it really does frame itself around the matter of authority even though you won't find the term authority in this portion of scripture but everything revolves around jesus and whether or not he has the authority or credentials to speak the way he is speaking and so we're gonna frame the entire passage around this matter of authority seeing his authority questioned his authority claimed and then his authority demonstrated and so if you're taking notes you can jot down first authority questioned authority question and we're going to see this in verses 14 and 15. it says there but when it was now the midst of the feast jesus went up into the temple and began to teach now though this wasn't a grand public entry something akin to the triumphal entry that we'll see in john 12 it was nevertheless a bold move people didn't just enter into the temple and begin to teach you need to be authorized to teach to have gone through the process of being credentialed to teach but either way as jesus had gone into the temple and had been bold in this way by assuming a teaching posture the religious leaders couldn't just seize him and kill him there were too many variables at play there was still quite a bit of positive sentiment surrounding jesus sentiment that will ultimately climax with the raising of lazarus from the dead where if they seized upon jesus they might have to reckon with the people and their positive assessment of him there was the issue of roman occupation and the need for their involvement in putting jesus to death they didn't have authority under roman rule to put him to death and there was the sheer fact that his hour had not yet come it just simply had not yet come he had an hour a divine appointment that was going to take place in accord with the father's will and that time had not yet come and we see this as a common refrain in this section of john john's gospel look at verse 30 of chapter 7 it says there so they were seeking to seize him and no man laid his hand on him because his hour had not yet come chapter 8 and verse 20 same context these words he spoke in the treasury as he taught in the temple and no one seized him because his hour had not yet come but had jesus made a grand entry had he gone up with the throng of the peoples and all the pilgrims who were traveling to jerusalem for the feast the religious leaders could have appealed to the romans just as they will alleging that jesus is an insurrectionist and one that will ultimately bring instability to the jews and challenge caesar's kingly reign over them and so jesus though boldly discreetly goes up to jerusalem enters the temple and begins to teach verse 15 it says there the jews then were astonished saying how has this man become learned having never been educated and at first glance you might think this is a positive assessment that they are astonished like the people were in matthew 7 when the crowds were amazed at his teaching for you as teaching as one having authority and not as their scribes you might initially read this astonishment does something favorable where they're wowed by his ability and his wisdom but this is not positive it's negative and we've seen it before we saw it back in john 5 verses 20 and 28 as the the pharisees responded to jesus and his teaching but his oneness with the father on the heels of the healing miracle of the man by the pool on the sabbath the word they're astonished means to to be extraordinarily impressed or disturbed by something and though in a crowd of the the size that jesus was addressing there would have been a a mixture of both astonishment in terms of being impressed and some being disturbed here the emphasis is definitely on being disturbed in fact since john ascribes these words to the jews this may very well be the response of the pharisees jesus is on their turf and he's teaching and they don't like it and their response here was a tacit questioning of his credentials they see him as uneducated which means that he hadn't come through their ranks of their religious system he hadn't gone through all of the rabbinical studying and learning and teaching you had to be authorized to teach you had to study the teaching of the so-called authorities and had to master their writings before ever offering your own opinion and so when a rabbi had been authorized to teach he would go into the temple and he would cite the authorities on any given issue and before and would do that prior to offering his own opinion pontificating on his own insights and his own contribution to the tradition and so really rabbinical teaching was oftentimes and almost exclusively nothing more than offering opinions and ironically the whole thing utterly lacked authority and so when jesus comes along and begins to teach with authority they take exception i mean the prophets came along and would say thus says the lord jesus would come along and say truly truly i say to you he spoke with authority and his teaching was out of this world clear authoritative expositions of the law unmatched knowledge wisdom and understanding heart penetrating instruction to the extent that the officers that the pharisees will send to jesus in this chapter will return empty-handed saying never has a man spoken the way this man speaks verse 46. and so in their astonishment they are taking offense at him questioning the validity of his teaching even questioning its source which means this astonishment is rooted in rejection and unbelief and the evidence of this this negative astonishment is expressed in our lord's response because in the face of their questioning of his authority he claims the highest level of authority and so if you're taking notes jot down second authority claimed authority claimed look at verse 16 so jesus answered them and said my teaching is not mine but his who sent me really in context an amazing claim when the rabbis taught everything had to be substantiated by prior precedent and a failure to do so would have been seen as arrogant the rabbi would be deemed as being far too independent far too autonomous as he was offering his own perspective on things maybe even being charged with deviating from tradition and so built into the astonishment of verse 15 is this this idea that jesus is rogue that he's speaking with far too much independence and autonomy that he was deviating from the tradition of the rabbis and so when it comes time to appeal to an authority jesus appeals to the highest authority there is who does he appeal to the father whom jesus often refers to as him who sent me and so they're questioning the source of his teaching they're they're questioning his credentials the validity of the things that he's saying who does he think that he is and he declares my teaching is not mine but his who sent me my teaching comes directly from god and really we see this throughout john's gospel we see it in john 5 24 for example and i'm going to give you a number of verses so if you want you can follow me here john 5 24 jesus declares to the pharisees again on the heels of the healing of the man in john 5 on the sabbath truly truly i say to you he who hears my word notice that my word and note this now and believes him who sent me and therefore jesus can claim the words are his and yet when you believe his words you are believing the one who sent him has eternal life and does not come into judgment but has passed out of death into life john 8 28 same context in the temple so jesus said when you lift up the son of man then you will know that i am and i do nothing on my own initiative but i speak these things as the father taught me jesus did nothing on his own initiative even the words he spoke were not on his own initiative he spoke as the father taught him john 12 verses 49 and 50. jesus says for i did not speak on my own initiative but the father himself who sent me has given me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak i know that his commandment is eternal life therefore the things i speak i speak just as the father told me amazing claim john 14 verse 10 do not do you not believe that i am in the father and the father is in me the words that i say to you i do not speak on my own initiative but the father abiding in me does his works and so the father is working through the sun and the very words that he's speaking as jesus is speaking everything the father has taught him john 14 24 he who does not love me does not keep my words and the word which you hear is not mine but the fathers who sent me jesus on the one hand can refer to his words as his and on the other hand as the words the father has given him to speak and so in john 17 verse 8 jesus in his high priestly prayer prays for the words which you gave me referring to the father i have given to them and they received them and truly understood that i came forth from you and they believed that you sent me john 3 really records a a wonderful portion of scripture that further accentuates everything we're we're seeing in these these other references if you look at john 3 and verse 31 statements are made concerning jesus and his credentials for speaking on behalf of god verse 31 of chapter 3 he who comes from above is above all who is the one from above it's the son jesus he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth he who comes from heaven is above all what he has seen and heard of that he testifies and no one receives his testimony the son has firsthand experiential knowledge of the father firsthand experiential knowledge of heaven and he comes down and he speaks and he teaches the things that he's seen and experienced verse 33 he who has received his testimony has set his seal to this that god is true to to receive the testimony of jesus is to declare and certify that god is true verse 34 for he whom god has sent speaks the words of god and the reason is for he gives the spirit without measure jesus carried out his ministry in the fullness of the spirit's power and spoke the words of god speaking everything the father had given him to speak but at this point all of that is merely a claim jesus is merely claiming to speak on behalf of the father one deserving of proof for authentication and in this case jesus doesn't appeal to his works typically at this juncture jesus would point to his deeds his works his miracles his signs and wonders and he would say look at the works they testify that i am who i say i am but here he doesn't do that instead he appeals to a self-authenticating principle that results from a heart disposition committed to doing the will of god look at verse 17 chapter 7 if anyone is willing to do his will he will know of the teaching whether it is of god or whether i speak for myself so the precondition that must be met in order to know that jesus teaching comes from god is the willingness and commitment to do the will of god which means what that his audience was not meeting the precondition they're unwilling to do the will of god which is why when they hear him teach they question its source its validity its truthfulness it's accuracy and really doing the will of god begins with what with believing in him believing that god has sent him and really jesus has used language like this already just slightly different john 6 29 there he declares this is the work of god that you believe in him whom he has sent the the will of god the revealed will of god is that you would look to the son and believe that he's the one whom the father has sent what's amazing in john 6 to the statement this is the work of god that you believe in him whom he has sent the crowd responds by saying what do you do for a sign another response that expresses unbelief authenticate this claim prove the validity of this claim they were unwilling to do the will of god and had they been willing to do god's will they would have believed him and john captures this rather jesus says this in john 5 speaking again to the the religious leaders on the heels of that confrontation over the healing that's the confrontation that we're finding now in john 7 where jesus says in verse 45 do not think that i will accuse you before the father the one who accuses you is moses in whom you have set your hope for if you believed moses you would believe me and so jesus isn't just indicting them for their failure to believe him he's indicting them for their faith to believe moses because had they believed moses and been willing to do the will of god revealed in the old testament when jesus arrived they would have embraced him and his claims and understood that he was the fulfillment of everything the old testament anticipated and we know from the broader context of john's gospel that a person must be made willing they must be born from above there must be regeneration they they need second birth they need a new heart with new desires and new affections they had to be born from above by the spirit and the precursor to that they must be drawn by the father effectually called a divine summons to new life and therefore the the father must grant it to the person come to christ entrusting their soul to him and when that takes place they are made willing and having been made willing they will know of the teaching that it is from god you say well how because the spirit of god indwelling in them will testify to the truth that he speaks the word of god jesus makes a similar conditional statement in john 8 verse 31 and 32 there he says so jesus was saying to those jews who had believed him john 8 31 if you continue in my word then you are truly disciples of mine and verse 32 you will know the truth and the truth will make you free the condition that has to be met here in john 8 31 and 32 is the the continuing on the remaining on in the word of jesus proving that a person is a true disciple of jesus and if they are they will know that the teaching is true those who continue in his word are those who have received eternal life and that means eternal life is a prerequisite to knowing the truth now i realize someone may object at this point and say well james this sounds like a bit of circular reasoning it seems like you're saying that you must come to life to first know that the teaching is true and that needs to be addressed from at least three angles the first relates to the fallen condition of man whether you like it or not you came into this world spiritually dead deaf and blind and therefore you are incapable of accurately discerning the truth you can't hear the truth and second relates to the supremacy of god you don't get to sit in the seat of judgment over god and pass judgment on what you believe is true or isn't true god is god he determines reality he is truth you don't have the prerogative to sit back in the seat of judgment over that god is your judge your responsibility is to take him at his word and respond to him in faith now you certainly can sit in the seat of judgment over god and sit back and be the judge and assess whether or not god's claims are true and whether or not christ is is god in flesh but it will be to your own eternal peril and the third relates to reality as it really is that when you are brought to new life in christ you come to realize that it's as though you have been living life in black and white and you come to christ and you you have eternal life and you have been born from above and you have eyes to see and all of a sudden life is in full color and you can see reality as it really is that until that point in time you didn't even know what reality was seeing everything through the lens of spiritual blindness which is to not see it all and so in christ the person comes to see truth and reality as they really are because truth and reality are inseparable realities and so is there a degree of circular reasoning here yes but it's anchored in reality both internal and external supporting evidence that god is god and jesus is the one whom god has sent now given the nature of rabbinical teaching whose glory were they committed to the rabbis whose glory were they after they were after their own glory because they would study the so-called authorities for the sole purpose of earning the right to speak and then having earned that right having earned the right to speak they would cite the teaching of well-known scribes and then once they had done that they would pontificate and offer their own perspective to whose glory to their glory they wanted to make a name for themselves they wanted to earn for themselves notoriety which ties right back to john 5 44 where jesus says how can you believe when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only god they weren't motivated by the glory of god they were motivated by the pursuit of their own glory and jesus implies this in the very next verse of our text verse 18 he says he who speaks from himself seeks his own glory that's what they were doing they were speaking from themselves building upon their own traditions seeking to offer something that would be deemed novel and insightful seeking their own personal advancement they were like the apostle paul pre-conversion who said of himself i was advancing in judaism beyond many of my contemporaries being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions that was the pharisees and that meant the religious system of that day the the religious system the pharisees were so committed to was worldly and in contrast look at the rest of verse 18 but he who is seeking the glory of the one who sent him he is true and there is no unrighteousness in him who could claim that who could claim to seek the glory of god with unmixed motive no fear of man no desire for the praise of man jesus was after one thing and one thing only he was after the glory of god and even that jesus would say that to these pharisees who no doubt knew they were after their own glory for jesus to declare that he was so committed to the glory of god that he sought the glory of god only and purely would be a mirror to their souls they would know as he as he presented that that declaration that they were men after their own glory they knew better than anyone whose glory they wanted and since jesus was and is totally committed to the father's glory and all purity he is true and there is no unrighteousness in him now think about that claim for a moment in light of ecclesiastes 7 20. listen it reads this indeed there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins now that was true when solomon wrote it was it not and it's certainly true now in our day but there was one exception the lord jesus christ and this claim here that there is no unrighteousness in him was entirely true he had no sin jesus is the one exception and they had a tough time charging him of sin john 8 46 jesus asks them point blank which of you convicts me of sin and you want to look after verse 46 to find the charge there's no charge he he looks them in the eyes and says which of you convicts me of sin even at his trial they couldn't manufacture even two witnesses who would say the same thing to bring a charge against him he was perfectly without sin although they did have one charge against him he had violated their sabbath and so having claimed his authority as one whose teaching is from god he's now going to demonstrate his authority he hasn't violated the sabbath they have violated the sabbath and so if you're taking notes jot down third authority demonstrated authority demonstrated we're going to see this in verses 19 of following look at verse 19 did not moses give you the law and yet none of you carries out the law why do you seek to kill me so they weren't just sabbath violators as you'll see in a moment what's in their heart in this moment murder they want to put jesus to death an innocent man a man in whom there is no unrighteousness clear evidence they could not be numbered among those who carry out the law and yet ironically the very reason they wanted to put him to death is because they believed him to be a lawbreaker and so verse 20 the crowd answered you have a demon who seeks to kill you and this is attributed to the crowd and so we have to kind of understand what's going on here the charge for example that you have a demon probably shouldn't be linked to the unpardonable sin the crowd's not here saying to jesus that you're doing what you do by the power of satan it's not that kind of a charge it's not the unpardonable sin what they're doing here is essentially saying he's paranoid that he's sick in the head that he's imagining things as he says that they're after him and trying to kill him and you're going to see this note be struck a couple of times throughout john's gospel for example i think you'll see it in chapter 8 and verse 48 and following where it says this the jews answered and said to him do we not say rightly that you are a samaritan and have a demon and jesus answered verse 49 i do not have a demon but i honor my father and you dishonor me but i do not seek my own or but i do not seek my glory there is one who seeks and judges verse 51 truly truly i say to you if anyone keeps my word he will never see death and then verse 52 the jews said to him now we know that you have a demon abraham died and the prophets also and you say if anyone keeps my word he will never taste of death it's not that they're accusing him of actually being demon possessed as it were but that he's he's insane and this comes out in john 10 where the the very word for out of your mind is is used and employed look at john 10 verse 20. actually go back to verse 19 a division occurred among the jews because of these words verse 20 many of them were saying he has a demon and is insane why do you listen to him and again that verb there insane is a verb that means to be out of one's mind they believed him to be out of his mind and so the crowd here is certainly expressing its mixed opinions about jesus originally it was the jews who were responding to him and were questioning his credentials to be able to teach and now the crowd is chiming in and they're saying you're out of your mind who is seeking to kill you and this was likely of the group that in verse 12 are claiming that on the contrary jesus leads the people astray and yet as jesus continues on he just continues to address the crowd as a unified whole look at verse 31 it says there jesus answered them i did one deed and you all marvel and marvel here again is the same word rendered astonished in verse 15. this is negative they found that one deed that one work that jesus did the healing of the man in john 5 to be extraordinarily disturbing and they found it disturbing because of when jesus did it because he did it on the sabbath and so jesus endeavors to persuade them of the error of their ways verse 4 22 for this reason moses has given you circumcision not because or not that it is from moses but from the fathers and on the sabbath you circumcise a man if a man receives circumcision on the sabbath so that the law of moses will not be broken are you angry with me because i made an entire man well on the sabbath you're gonna have to track the logic here but it's it's it's airtight the key clause in the flow of this logic is in the middle of verse 23 where it says so that the law of moses will not be broken you see it wasn't merely that the sabbath line needed to yield to the law of circumcision as though circumcision was the higher law the one that trumped the other and so as the the jews wrestled with what do we do about the sabbath and and circumcision how do we navigate these two laws oh well circumcision must be on the eighth day and so it's gonna trump the the sabbath requirement and that's the issue here that's not the issue at all the sabbath and circumcision were in total harmony such that a failure to circumcise on the eighth day was a violation at both points to not circumcise was to break the law of moses you say well how is this a violation of both the law of circumcision and the law of sabbath because failing to circumcise a man on the eighth day would have been a failure to do good and it would have been using the sabbath law to justify it and that's a complete misunderstanding of the sabbath the sabbath wasn't intended for forbidding doing good it was intended to serve as a blessing to man as jesus says the sabbath was made for man and not man for the sabbath mark 2 28. this error of thinking comes out in another confrontation in mark chapter 3 for example we talked about it just a few weeks ago jesus tells a a man in the synagogue who has a withered hand to come forward and as the man comes forward he looks the pharisees and he says tell me is it right to do good to do good or to do harm on the sabbath to kill or to do to harm i'll even read it here is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath to save or to kill and with harm and murder in their hearts they wouldn't respond they kept silent and so jesus with anger and grieve in his heart healed the man not a violation of the sabbath a fulfillment of the sabbath and therefore a fulfillment of the law of moses and so this is a glorious argument from the lesser to the greater if they circumcised a man on the sabbath so that the law of moses will not be broken how much more appropriate is it to make an entire man well it's only the legalistic mind the the mind hardened by sin that would raise up the sabbath regulation as something that would forbid that kind of good on the sabbath and therefore they were angry with jesus because he kept the true intent of the sabbath whereby he did even a greater good than circumcision what did that mean about their keeping of the sabbath they were the sabbath violators they had broken the law of moses they had broken the sabbath they had harm in their hearts they wanted to put jesus to death because of the good that he did on a day that had been given to be a blessing to man there is truly no unrighteousness in him and so having put forward that argument verse 24 jesus says do not judge according to appearance but judge with righteous judgment the command there to not judge is to cease an action already in progress they were judging in accord with appearance a a judgment that was falsely concluding that jesus is an impostor a law breaker jesus says stop judging according to appearance which is the idea of according to the outward appearance of things he's he's calling them to go beyond the mere superficial they were lacking in proper and righteous discernment and discretion as they evaluated this situation and so he says do not judge according to appearance but judge with righteous judgment which means recognize that everything that jesus has been saying is true his teaching is from the father his teaching is from above it's not his it's the the fathers who sent him that there is no unrighteousness in him that he is seeking the glory of the one who sent him that he is the one the old testament anticipated that he is the messiah the christ the son of god that every word that he claims is true and really this is the issue at hand for every one of us that we would accurately assess the claims of jesus and come to a righteous and accurate conclusion about who he is and the claims of jesus are staggering what did he claim he claimed to have come down from heaven he claimed to have been sent commissioned from the father to have existed even before abraham existed which means he was eternal before abraham was i am john 8 58. he claimed to be the savior of the world the source of eternal life to be the one with the to be one with the father in his words and works and even in being worthy of worship that he was just as worthy of the same honor the father receives he claimed to be the only way to god he said i am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the father but through me he claimed to have power to raise the dead to have authority to raise himself from the dead which he did he claimed to be the goal of the old testament to be the one who will judge the living and the dead he was the he claimed to be the bread of life the light of the world the resurrection and the life the true vine the good shepherd the lord of the sabbath and he claimed to have no unrighteousness in him which meant that when he went to the cross and was treated on a human level as a criminal while on that cross he was not just treated as a criminal in that sense the father was punishing him not for his sin but for the sins of his people jesus went to the cross and ultimately suffered as though he had committed our iniquity our unrighteousness our wickedness the sins of all who would ever believe on his name and now we are called to judge with righteous judgment to assess his claims with righteousness and to recognize that when he laid down his life it wasn't for his sin it was for ours so if you're here today i would just encourage you that you would assess the claims of jesus recognize that you are not in the seed of judgment that you are under the judgment of god that the father has sent and commissioned his son to be the savior of the world the one who would come and lay down his life for the forgiveness of sins that you would realize that god is holy and just and will punish all unrighteousness and has even given to the son the lord jesus christ to be the judge that will bring about that judgment that you would realize now even where you are in your your pew that that you have sin and unrighteousness that is that has been that has been carried out against god and his holiness and that you would see and recognize your need to be reconciled to god and to be cleansed and washed and forgiven of your sin and that you would look to christ as the one who laid down his life and accomplished the redemption that you and i both need and if you would turn from your sin and you would believe on him you will be clothed in his righteousness made a fellow heir with him god will treat you as if you had his perfect record of righteousness and you will have the hope of heaven before you so that even if you die in this life you have an eternal life to live in the glorious presence of god it's a call to judge with righteous judgment and may you do that this day let's pray together well father we thank you for another moment to see jesus in all his glory to consider his words to consider his claims to consider that he is in fact your son the one whom you sent to be the propitiation for our sins and so father we just thank you for your goodness we thank you father god for your grace we thank you that in him there was no unrighteousness that he sought your glory and your glory alone and did so with utter perfection and we thank you father god for those of us who have assessed him rightly that we have done so because you have opened our eyes to see his glory and embrace him as lord and savior and so father we give you praise in jesus name amen please stand [Applause] [Music] angels [Music] straightforward [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] lord [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] his grace [Applause] him and drown him lord [Applause] [Music] is [Applause] [Music] [Applause] us [Music] [Applause] [Music] say [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] the [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] let me leave you with this peace be to the brethren and love with faith from god the father and the lord jesus christ grace be with all those who love our lord jesus christ with incorruptible love and all god's people said amen god bless you [Music] you

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Length: 89min 27sec (5367 seconds)

Published: Sun Nov 08 2020