Sermons - Matt Chandler - That You May Marvel

hi pastor Matt here thank you so much for either streaming or downloading this sermon I pray that every week you're challenged by the Word of God you're built up in his love the Word of God kind of gets in you and rearranges things and draws your affections of to the person and work of Jesus Christ I want to remind you as always that although men I'm I'm so glad that that you want to hear what what I've got to say this week or we've got to say this week that this is never meant to substitute God's good plan for you to be in a community of faith where the Word of God has preached and proclaimed and so I want to encourage you to use this like a vitamin not like a meal so that you belong to a community of faith where you're being shaped by being known by using your gifts by receiving the word but partaking in the sacraments and by walking faithfully in accordance with the scriptures and then this is something men you're listening to while you run or you're watching when you have a few minutes and so just want to make sure we we frame what this is and what it should not be now but with that said one of the things that the village church wants to do is the things that are created here by the grace of God man we want to give those away that's podcasts and podcast that's family discipleship curriculum that's Bible study curriculum like what we've tried to do for over a decade is just whatever we create here we want to give away and so to do that though we rely on the donations and generosity of those who believe in what we're doing and who have benefited from the things that have been created here and so here before you dive into what I'm sure is gonna be a 4550 minute sermon I just wanted to encourage you if you have grown if you have benefited from our resources would you consider being a part of the team that helps this engine continue to produce and create biblical creative and practical discipleship curriculum for men and women of all ages and all stations and so man if you'd pray about that and consider that that would that would be amazing thank you so much enjoy the Word of God proclaimed [Music] [Music] well good morning if you have your Bibles go ahead and grab those John chapter 5 is where we're gonna get into today that passage in particular we're right in the middle of a section well nany we're right at the beginning of a section of John that is all about the authority of Jesus and so that started last week and we and we saw last week out of the text to that that that people by and large can put up with Jesus's authority up to a point and so when it comes to the inclusion that Jesus brings about like people can rally around that like if you say that in the power of the gospel socioeconomics ethnicities backgrounds current struggles don't matter that we're all made one in Christ like people can by and large kind of get on board with that if you're saying look doesn't matter what your background is doesn't matter what your current struggle is like Christ's love His grace his mercy is present like most people can can as they say get down with that right and then if we're talking about Jesus's authority over human fragility that Jesus can heal diseases that Jesus can has authority over emotional and spiritual brokenness and then people by and large go yes I want that but as we saw in the passage last week when the authority of Jesus that is necessary for those things to be a reality then collides with our own personal strong beliefs that's when all of a sudden we've got it up we got a problem when Jesus is Authority right like when Jesus confronts our own kind of individual I know what I want I know what my life should look like I know what's best for me when Jesus's authority slams into that we realize what we actually believe and what we actually love we find out in that moment am I using God to worship something else or do I love and follow Jesus that's what we find out so over a period of time over and over and over again you're gonna be confronted right because as we've covered Jesus is the Son of God he is Co eternal with the father he's not just a good teacher right and so if your Co eternal with the father if you have always been you will see things differently than those who have just been here for a moment correct so I see the world in a completely different way than my nine-year-old just couldn't live the word the way she sees the world way I see the world there they're not they're not even the same universe I mean we're both breathing oxygen we both need food to stay alive we both require sleep that's about the extent of how she sees reality versus how I see reality and then I'm just about to be 45 and she's just about to be 10 so imagine if you're just about to be 55 up and against infinite you guys are going to collide and what you do in that collision is significant and then we said we also see that people tend to have authority of problems with Jesus's authority when his deity shows so people have a problem with Jesus's authority when Jesus says this is the path to life and you're off of it I need you back on this right we're going no no no I know the path of life the path of life is what I want when I want it how I want it because that's the air we're breathing and then we just we don't like to spend a lot of time regardless of what we say really thinking about Jesus as being God because if Jesus is God then all of his sermons on the gospel and everything that he teaches that that's far more significant and weighty than a moral philosopher or a good teacher or a genie in a bottle that we can kind of control and make do what we want and so I every year you'll be able to spot when I'm back reading CS Lewis so weight of glory mere christianity i just dive into those two every year i'm back in them in this season and here so quote again that I came across this week and I quoted Lewis last week this is a different quote Christianity if false is of no importance and if true of infinite importance the only thing that it cannot be is moderately important now that's massive for where we're going today so if Christian if Jesus is God then that is infinitely important and if he is not then none of this is important but the only thing it can't be is like a little add-on that we put on the rest of our life along with our gym membership and our hobby of doing this and then yeah little Jesus on Sunday he cannot be that this is all a lie and of no importance or its true and is of infinite importance and so my hope today is to get our eyes up and and let us marvel at Jesus the Son of God so if you remember if you were here last week the Jews of the day they they're done with Jesus they want to put him to death he's challenging they're strongly held beliefs he's calling himself God and so Jesus in turn answers their concerns and it I've always it's kind of struggling that Jesus never really was seeker sensitive right like he's not trying to de-escalate this thing he's like doubling down right like the whole crowd was like we hurt you he's like you Amy now wait till this next message and so let me show you what he's doing here look at verse 19 of John chapter 5 so jesus said to them this mob this crowd that's so angry that he's claiming to be God and confronting their strongly held beliefs about the Sabbath truly truly I say to you the son can do nothing of his own accord but only what he sees the father doing for whatever the father does that the son does likewise for the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing and greater works than these will he show him so that you may marvel and I'm just gonna stop there for a second one of the one of the reasons I'm telling you don't read your Bible like it's a newspaper don't blow through it is like we just learned something about the character of our God there I write these things so that you may marvel what kind of God wants you to marvel wants you to be an all want you to be blown away once your heart to overflow with wow right this isn't cowering like our God in saying I'm telling you these things to you my cow are under my power where am I you said I let you know these things that you might be amazed that you might marvel then you might be captivated again by ud there's something about the nature and character of our God it's counterintuitive to us right we just feel like he's always kind of slightly disappointed in us and yet here he is I'm writing that you might marvel you might be in awe that you might be blown away verse 21 for as the father raises the dead and gives them life so also the son gives life to whom he will the father judges no one but has given all judgment to the son that all may honor the son just as they honor the father whoever does not honor the son does not honor the father who sent him truly truly I say to you whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life if he does not come into judgment but has passed from death to life truly truly I say to you an hour is coming and is now here when the Dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live for the father has life in himself so he granted that the son also has life in himself and he has given him authority to execute judgment because he is the son of man do not marvel at this for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out those who have done good to the resurrection of life and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment now I want to point out just a couple of things here and then just take that whole thing and make it a sentence you're not getting out that quick but I'm gonna tell you I'm gonna do that and then we'll dive in right so so here's what we're seeing in this passage we've got more to read later but what we're seeing here is that there is a perfect identity of will and action between God the Father and the son there is perfect identity in will and action the father and the son in will and action are the same they're not the same right they're not the son is not the father the father is not the Sun but in identity will in action they don't disagree right you know where's the spirit we'll get to the spirit a breathe Trinitarians I love you right and this stuff's hard for our brains right but Jesus is just like I don't do anything that the father isn't doing and yet he's given to me to do whatever I according to his will right it's just this I like it makes the brain cramp a little bit but super important it's what makes us distinctively Christian and and here's the here's what Jesus just did and that there are two realities that are believed with great passion in monotheistic Judaism life is from God alone at the beginning and judgment at the end of time belongs to God alone Jeremy too passionately held beliefs in monotheistic Judaism is that only God gives life in the beginning and judges life at the end and what Jesus just told this mob that's pretty angry about him calling himself God is that he as the Son of Man has been given both life and judgment he goes so far as to say that the father no longer judges but has given judgment to him as the son now so if you're still like I don't quite get why they want to kill Jesus I mean it's like feeding everybody and he's raising people from the dead he's driving out demons he's healing the sick because he's calling himself God and they had no framework for there to be any God but the Father and Jesus saying the father he has life but he's given life to me and the father no longer judge judges because he's given all judgment to me not some judgment he's given all judgment all life he's given to me as the son and I do the will of the Father as I see it and execute upon it and so I want to dive into this let's look at life look at the range that Jesus operates here when it comes to life look at verse 21 for as the father raises the dead and gives them life so also the son gives life to whom he will write me so look at Jesus's range life has been given to me by the father because I am God in fact watch this I give life to whoever I will that's that's range right this isn't a one-off this isn't a hey remember from last week the six son where Jesus tells the official gone home your son won't die in fact he's healed that's a pretty awesome one off but but Jesus is flexing right here I mean he's like no no whomever I will and gosh we're gonna see this a lot as we go through John Lazarus remember that story from felt bored Sunday school takeaway the tomb Jesus I know the thing you did with the kid Lazarus been dead like three days okay Lou the stone and then there's not a big debate there's no he's just like Lazarus come forth and he does after being dead for three days right that's whomever I will he's saying I am God Jesus is doubling down against the critique that he's some kind of profit or some kind of teacher he's going to no life and judgment they're mine forget all the other miraculous signs life and judgment are what's unique to God and unique to me because I am God in fact you see this even more so when you get into judgment see monotheistic faith regardless whether that is Islam whether that's Judaism monotheistic faith is convinced that the final judgment is one of the select privileges that only God can have no one else gets to judge at the end of time but God but Jesus just said but that judgment has been given to me I am life but I'm also judgment and in fact look at why God would do that look at look at verse 23 that all may honor the son just as they honor the father now listen this is not to diminish the father the authority of Jesus over life and judgment does not serve to diminish or eclipse the father but to actually focus him and bring him into view so that you and I can understand who God is it is in the coming of the Son of Man it is in Jesus Christ that we began to see the father all the more clearly so Jesus is not diminishing or eclipsing the father he's making him known remember Colossians he is the image of the invisible God you want to know what God's like look at Jesus you want to know how God would treat you how God would interact with you how God would look upon your life read the Gospels watch Jesus interact watch Jesus extend grace see who he confronts you can find the heart of God by looking at Jesus and it it's important to know that Judaism Islam and even Unitarianism at some point believe that you must not honor Jesus as divine you must not honor Jesus as divine in order to exclusively honor God alone as divine now Jesus is teaching that it doesn't work that way that if you want to honor God you must honor the one whom he sent Jesus the Son and that the only way to honor God the Father is to honor God the son through God the Holy Spirit right my else is just like if you're like ah it's kind of coming in - okay it's gone right it's this it's just really beautiful get in the training program we're Trinitarians and that's important it's what makes us distinctively Christian it's a beautiful doctrine complex beautiful in all its ways and so you see that Jesus here in the face of people enraged that he calls himself God teaches then that I have the only two attributes that are gods and gods alone in me is life in me is judgment because God has given these things to me and I do as I see the father doing that we are one in will and action which means Jesus is not diminishing or eclipsing the father so I like to use like the father's like this and she's like no no it's Jesus and the father one and we'll and action with the Holy Spirit I know you ghostie folk want to know where he is he'll show up here in a second just breathe but but I think it's important to note that that in in this passage that we not forget what we're being invited into so you remember what we've been covering through the gift or through the Gospel of John is the invitation is to believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and that life is in his name not in in morale believing in his teachings but life is found in Christ why because he's God and so if you want life non-existence it's found in Jesus it's not found in any kind of hyper reality that you're seeing out there it's found in Jesus right not just facts about Jesus we'll cover that in a moment it's found in Christ which is why I think that doctrine of union with Christ is so important for you to study now no it's like Jesus knows that there's gonna be a lot of opposition's weird how he does that being omnipotent all-powerful and everything but he knows there's gonna be some issues with this and so he gives witnesses or evidences or proofs that he is the son of God so there's four of them we didn't read the next part of this passage we're just gonna for time sake just look at these four significant witnesses to his deity look there in verse 32 there is another who bears witness about me and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true now Jesus is cryptically referencing the Holy Spirit in that verse it this summer chapters 14 15 and 16 before Jesus is arrested and crucified as he's preparing his disciples for a world post ascension teaches and trains on the Holy Spirit so now I'm gonna do a lot now because we're gonna do quite a bit of that this summer but it's the Holy Spirit that has done the work of illumination that made you a Christian and it is the Holy Spirit that testifies to your spirit right now that you're a son or daughter of God and if you're like I don't know how that works I would say this is how that works if you have a desire to follow Jesus a desire to grow and your knowledge of him a desire to submit all the more to his lordship regardless of how well you're doing at that I would say that's the testimony of the Spirit testifying to your spirit that you're children of God and on the same note if none of that exists in you I would not call myself a Christian you can email me all upset about that but you certainly are outside the boundaries of biblical Orthodox Christian faith feel like I have no plan of following him I don't love him I don't want to submit to him but I did get baptized when I was seven that's not what it means to be a Christian the spirit does the work of illumination we believe that Jesus is God this is a proof this is an evidence I believe Jesus is God and then even as I struggle through life in a fallen world the Spirit testifies to I my spirit you're a son of God you're a son of God get your head up you're a son of God this painful season will not last get your head up you're a son of God that although nice and pleasurable makes a crummy God you are a son of God get your eyes where they belong line up your life with what is true submit to the one who loves you and is for you right there's what's happening in this passage and then look at where he goes next the testimony of John the Baptist is also but it's weird I mean - lets go verse 33 you sent John and he has borne witness to the truth not that the testimony that I receive is from man but I say these things so that you may be saved he was a burning and shining lamp and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light but the testimony that I have is greater than that of John so you have the first proof or first evidence of the Holy Spirit's testimony in the life of the believer and now he's pointing to the testimony of John the Baptist but he does it in this funny way he says two things about it one takes away from human testimony and one adds to human testimony right here's the first thing when it comes to beauty--and limitation look right because it's so important that you get look I just got it what you believe about God cannot diminish God you hear me so like if you want to be so I don't believe that about God now does not make God any less than God like you two just don't have that I just don't believe God would act like that you think all the sudden guys like oh gosh well let me shrink a little bit like what you ultimately believe about God has much for you but does not affect God's godness in any way that is laughable that you think what you think about God somehow defines God ultimately God cannot be defined by you God is God so the testimony of John he's praising while also laying out there I'm not validated by men and my deity is not validated by John but then he says this and yet he was a-burning shining lamp and I say this so that you may be saved human testimony offers little vertical proof but by the Holy Spirit horizontally draws men and women to love Jesus as Lord and Savior so the power of human testimony is utilized by the Holy Spirit to draw men and women into Jesus but they don't ever validate Jesus as God because Jesus is God regardless of human testimony it cannot be diminished by the thoughts of man it's laughable and then look at what's next let's pick it right back up there where we were 36 the second half of the verse for the works that the father has given me to accomplish the very works that I am doing bear witness about me that the father has sent me so we know that Jesus's ministry is already marked by these miraculous signs in fact some we've seen some we haven't seen but if you remember back in chapter 3 Nicodemus comes to Jesus in the middle of the night and says we know that you are from God for how can a man do the things you're doing if God has not sent him and so he is referencing now Jesus is referencing now the miraculous signs that he's able to do and Jesus has authority over everything over life over death over judgment over the weather over the natural order over sickness over demons over he has ultimate authority he's gonna show it over and over and in fact next week he's gonna take a kid's lunch and feed 5,000 people with it you know take a lunchable feed 5,000 people and then just to follow that up either he's got a job across the scene now here's this is important to know because even though Jesus is using this as evidence that he is not just a prophet that he is God he views these miraculous signs as less than the fact that he has life in judgment it is life and judgment that shows off his deity because if you look at Elijah if you look at Moses if you look at some of the kind of demonically it produced miracles in the Old Testaments clear but other things in other places can break the natural order of things but what Jesus is saying really reveals his deity his life and judgment are found in him but he's also saying I can do whatever I want watch this run across the sea take this launch a bowl feed 5,000 people right tell Lazarus to quit being dead I like this a lot because it's important jesus never gets in an argument with a demon so it's not dualism it's not like who's stronger here even it like geez never raises oh he's just calm as can be hey get in the pigs get out be quiet off with you I mean there's just like it's never just kind of this really loud let me get louder let me get people around me to help it's just none of that it's just Jesus has ultimate authority so these miraculous signs he's doing they are less than their astonishing but they are less than the fact that life and judgment belonged to Jesus because Elisha had great power Moses had great power but Jesus's power is greater than because you're not operating that power as a prophet but as the Son of God Co eternal with the father now here's where I want to spend a good chunk of our time the last witness to his deity is found in verse 37 and I think it's pertinent let's look at this verse 37 and the father who sent me has himself bore witness about me his voice you have never heard his form you have never seen and you do not have his word abiding in you for you do not believe the one whom he has sent you search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life and it is they that bear witness about me yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life so the last evidence of his deity that he lays before this crowd that's so angry about his deity is the Bible itself and what's happening in this text is not that they know their Bible so well that they can't see Jesus it's that they don't know their Bible at all so that they can't see Jesus you follow me it's look let me just cut today's look right the Bible is not about the Bible the Bible is about Jesus and if you're gonna marvel and you're gonna be in awe and you're gonna be blown away by the goodness of God it will come by knowing the book that introduces you more fully to Jesus by the power of the Spirit and the more you don't know your Bible the less worship the less all the less marble or less joy is possible you will not get some lightning bolt on high but let you walk in ghostie zeal without being rooted in the book that's why we do classes that's why we do the training protocol we're trying to get you in the book that's why our podcaster about this it's why we do knowing faith because the more you see Jesus in the book the more you'll marvel the more joy will flood your head the more you'll be astonished at what he's done and the more you just guess what God is like and invent a God of your own imagination he will be too thin and too weak to be of any real value to you because you at your best can't beat this you and your most wonderful you know like Marvel movies and superpowers like geez like oh please Thanos give me a break that I won't have to click I just think everybody dead not just half I mean this is this is what we're talking about life judgment mine they're mine life in judgment they're mine all of it mine because I'm God this is astonishing and so when the church is ignorant of the book they're ignorant of Jesus and when they're ignorant of Jesus they're weak and frail and afraid and the more we know the book the more we see Jesus the more weren't all the more our courage increases the more boldness becomes a reality and the more life there is to be had so I want to highlight this because this is in the time and day in which we live it's clear that biblical illiteracy is rampant and and so what we're looking for is a quick kind of short way to be full of the life of Christ without actually know exactly who he is and I just wonder sometimes if one of the reasons you have a hard time studying your Bible is because you think the Bible is about the Bible let me just learn the Bible because it's the Bible no no you learn the Bible because the Bible is about Jesus and in fact he's gonna go so far as just say this for me I don't have to say it look look at verse 45 cuz you can tell like this would be a tense this would be a tense service right like this sort of like to double down after all your people like let's kill him well before you do one more message and then look at look at verse 45 and 46 do not think that I will accuse you to the Father there is one who accuses you Moses on whom you have set your hope for if you believed Moses you would believe me for he wrote of me but you do not believe his writings how will you believe my words so Moses here he means that the law of the Torah right Genesis Exodus Leviticus numbers Deuteronomy written by Moses the law in the law is written about me the Christ the Son of God and if you will not believe the words of Moses who's your guy there's no way you can believe my words this is a confrontation for those who use the Bible for something other than to know love and worship Jesus Christ as Lord and if you're not careful accumulating biblical knowledge without that as the end goal to know love worship and make much of Jesus actually makes you far less than what God intends for you to be so don't hear me saying anything disparaging about the Word of God the problem these people were in is they thought they knew the book without knowing it and this is Jesus's confrontation you're using the Bible to actually hide from me you're using the Bible to avoid me what yeah you study the scriptures in vain you think that in them you have life yet those scriptures are telling you life is found in me and I'm not accusing you Moses is accusing you and I wish I had more time because we could go to Genesis Exodus Leviticus and numbers Deuteronomy actually all the places where Moses is going there's one coming there's one there's one coming there's one coming there's one coming there's one coming on repeat and now she's going I'm here and they're like whoo that's impossible and Gees going Moses said Moses is your guy right Moses is the one Moe's like Moses said I'm coming Here I am I don't accuse you Moses accuses you the scriptures are proof that Jesus is the Christ of the Son of God and life is found in him now remember what it is we're doing here Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and life is found in his name now it seems counterintuitive in order for you and I to actually come alive in the ways we're so hungry to come alive we have to reject we just have to reject kind of the hyper reality that's always being thrown out before it's hyper reality it's a phrase by Mark sayers and he's just talking about everywhere you look it looks like things are amazing and if you move that way things will be amazing for you look anybody ever noticed that on Instagram all marriages are awesome I've ever picked this up on Facebook like everybody's kid is perfectly obedient on the Facebook I don't know if you picked up on this is hyper reality you and I live in a world where you're constantly being told if you'll move this way all your dreams will come true and if you're not careful you'll never wake up to the fact that everybody's lying to you and all of that's hyper reality and not true life is found in Christ it's the only place it's fun porn the type of reality that's not sex right the good life that that's hyper reality that that's not life like if you got look at me you got a bigger house on a nicer car and more money you would still be you there you are wherever you are there he is right and that I'm just trying to love you you're the problem you're the problem dozen matter what car you drive you're the problem it's just you in a new car with all this relate and here's here's what's counterintuitive to surrender to Jesus can feel like death okay can I mean can we just have just a quick real talk and I shared this with you last week like my my tendency is to if I feel powerless is to shift up to power and exert my will and when that doesn't work I just get really angry just get really angry and and I'm just telling you um Jesus has been confronting me after 20-something years of following him about this again right I hope you're laughing cuz you know what I mean like I just thought I'd be farther along than I am and I'm just awestruck at his patience like here we're having the same conversation again I wouldn't put up this nonsense with my kids I wouldn't man we if over a period of 20 years we're having the same conversation every six weeks they've me some serious repercussions for that and yet here's God steadfast going I don't want to break your hand here Matt but I'm gonna break it if you don't lay this down you're trying to carry something that you have not bend as a that's mine it's not yours lay it down and there are times that the collision of Jesus is authority with my desire feels like death if I let it go and here's what I've learned about myself as of late and there's just me taking a shot to be vulnerable weaponize this if you want I'll be ready for it sometimes I don't trust him like I just really wonder will you really will you really and what's sad is like I I know no matter what I try to do I can't get what I want right and and so just my own sweet conviction of Jesus putting me in this text for this weekend for what's going on in my own life is a confrontation yet a get a can like I want to wit myself but he doesn't want with me I think I am far more surprised at my failure than he is and there are just certain really things that are really dear to me that it's hard for me to trust him and I don't know why he's been so faithful I don't know any reason other my own flesh and and him loving me enough to sanctify me showing me things that I didn't know we're there and so I'm not I'm not trying to soft sell you on anything following Christ is dying to yourself it's self-sacrifice it's willing to be confronted a million times between he and glory knowing that God is for you and not against you and to have him exposing you what you thought was no longer in you over and over and over again and be met by grace met by steadfast love met by kindness over and over and over again and that should make us marvel let's pray father thank you for these men and women I thank you for this text thank you that this is about you Jesus in you is life and you is judgment so when you is hope so we turn to you put our eyes on you ask that you would increase our faith grow our hearts and affection for you will you restore all will you restore wonderment will you restore beauty for us we are half-hearted creatures for many of us Christianity is an add-on it's not of no importance and it's not of infinite importance it's just just moderately important and so we just want to kind of tack it on like we would where we work out or what our hobbies are or the other things we've got going on and I just ask that in your mercy spirit of the Living God that you would call us up and into life that's found in Christ and it's for your beautiful name I pray amen

Channel: The Village Church Resources

Views: 16,098

Rating: 4.852941 out of 5

Keywords: Matt Chandler, The Village Church, Heaven on Earth, Gospel of John, That You May Marvel

Id: 94tXDUnBrlo

Length: 37min 44sec (2264 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 11 2019