WEBVTT 00:00:00.880 --> 00:00:06.400 So this morning, we only have two sermons left in the book of John. 00:00:06.639 --> 00:00:07.519 That is amazing. 00:00:07.679 --> 00:00:16.640 We've gone through this verse by verse for the last two years, and today we kick off the epilogue of John's Gospel. 00:00:16.879 --> 00:00:29.839 So if John 1, 1 through 18 was the prologue of John's Gospel, this chapter 21 is the necessary epilogue of his gospel account. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:39.039 And I say necessary because it brings us to closure in John's story that he is telling for us, right? 00:00:39.119 --> 00:00:41.920 That would otherwise have been left unresolved. 00:00:42.320 --> 00:00:53.200 Without chapter 21, we would have been left to wonder what did life after Jesus' resurrection looked like for his disciples before his ascension to the Father? 00:00:53.600 --> 00:00:55.600 What took place in that time? 00:00:56.159 --> 00:00:58.799 What happened to Peter, right? 00:00:58.880 --> 00:01:14.239 The denier who uh had had gone through this horrible, like uh self-doubt, self-uh uh um uh worry in the sense of who is he and and who is he to Jesus and and what happens now, right? 00:01:14.319 --> 00:01:16.000 Where's his restoration? 00:01:16.079 --> 00:01:21.680 And then ultimately we really would kind of still be left guessing uh who wrote this book, right? 00:01:21.760 --> 00:01:27.280 This all kind of comes to this closure with inside chapter 21. 00:01:27.760 --> 00:01:38.799 Now, last week's text, right, John 20, especially verses 30 and 31, it works as a very clear conclusion to the book as a whole. 00:01:38.959 --> 00:01:39.280 Right? 00:01:39.519 --> 00:01:53.920 John articulates the reason that he's chosen to include these stories of which are written in this book is so that the readers may know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and in him have eternal life. 00:01:54.319 --> 00:01:55.280 Right there. 00:01:56.079 --> 00:02:04.480 John could have set the quill and parchment aside, feeling accomplished in his work. 00:02:05.040 --> 00:02:07.599 He had done what he had set forth to do. 00:02:08.080 --> 00:02:12.879 So it begs the question, why would John keep going? 00:02:13.360 --> 00:02:13.759 Right? 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:34.159 Why would John, who through intentional discernment sorted through the countless signs and testimonies of Jesus' life in public ministry, so many so that next week he's going to actually close out the book saying, There are so many things that I could have written about, the world could not have contained them. 00:02:34.400 --> 00:02:43.360 Why does he feel it necessary to bring resolve to this gospel story through a fish breakfast on a seashore? 00:02:43.759 --> 00:02:44.400 Why? 00:02:46.319 --> 00:03:00.560 I believe it's so that you and I could see a picture of everyday discipleship and the continued mission of Jesus' followers through radically ordinary means. 00:03:01.039 --> 00:03:03.919 So that's what I hope to show us this morning. 00:03:04.240 --> 00:03:12.879 The story starts with John bringing us into Jesus' intention in revealing himself to his disciples. 00:03:13.199 --> 00:03:15.520 It opens with why Jesus did that. 00:03:15.680 --> 00:03:18.879 It closes there in verse 14 with why Jesus did that. 00:03:19.039 --> 00:03:27.360 He says in verse 1, after this, Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberius, and he revealed himself in this way. 00:03:27.599 --> 00:03:35.599 And then verse 14, this was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. 00:03:35.840 --> 00:03:45.520 So Jesus is making himself known to his disciples, but also he's making known what their life will be like after his resurrection. 00:03:45.759 --> 00:03:59.599 You see, the disciples are in a city called Galilee, and it's about 70 miles north of Jerusalem, where Jesus had actually revealed himself two times prior to his disciples. 00:04:00.800 --> 00:04:11.840 We see this in Matthew 28, that Jesus had actually commanded his disciples to meet him in Galilee there at the sea. 00:04:12.159 --> 00:04:13.680 Verse 10 of Matthew 28. 00:04:13.840 --> 00:04:21.040 Then Jesus said to them, Do not be afraid, go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me. 00:04:21.199 --> 00:04:34.480 So the disciples are here, 70 miles north of the city of Jerusalem, where they had previously encountered the risen, resurrected Lord, on two different occasions, and they're there because Jesus had commanded them to do so. 00:04:34.879 --> 00:04:46.959 And as they're waiting, and since they're there by the Sea of Galilee, or Sea of Tiberius was its Roman name, Peter decides to go fishing. 00:04:48.319 --> 00:04:50.720 Now, here's what we should not assume. 00:04:51.199 --> 00:05:01.199 We should not assume that somehow this is a sign that Peter has completely given up on what Jesus has called him to. 00:05:01.360 --> 00:05:15.199 That this sense of defeat has become so overwhelming that he's abandoning the mission and he's just going back to this former way of life of which he once knew, of which he found comfort and identity in. 00:05:16.800 --> 00:05:18.720 Commercial fisherman. 00:05:19.439 --> 00:05:22.639 The story doesn't lend itself to anything other than this. 00:05:23.279 --> 00:05:28.079 Peter and the other disciples, they needed to eat. 00:05:28.399 --> 00:05:28.800 Right? 00:05:28.879 --> 00:05:30.879 We kind of missed this at times. 00:05:31.040 --> 00:05:36.319 We missed the radically ordinary reality of the disciples' life. 00:05:37.199 --> 00:05:39.360 They just needed to provide for themselves. 00:05:39.439 --> 00:05:45.519 They were hungry, and so they were familiar with this way of providing for their needs. 00:05:50.079 --> 00:06:04.480 You see, the disciples, they needed to continue in a radically ordinary way of life, even though they were commissioned to an extraordinary purpose. 00:06:05.519 --> 00:06:10.240 This is what the life after the resurrection of Jesus would look like for them. 00:06:10.399 --> 00:06:20.879 It would be this harmony, this synthesis of the ordinary and the extraordinary, all governed by the power and rule of his kingdom. 00:06:22.079 --> 00:06:27.759 So they set out to fish that night, and they didn't catch anything. 00:06:30.399 --> 00:06:37.920 As dawn is nearing, Jesus is standing on the shore there, and he calls out to the disciples. 00:06:38.160 --> 00:06:43.439 Now, they don't know that it's Jesus because they're about a hundred yards away from the shoreline. 00:06:44.319 --> 00:06:56.560 And we can imagine that the sun has not fully risen yet, casting light on this figure, standing, calling out to them, that there's probably this mist or fog that lays on top of the water. 00:06:56.720 --> 00:07:01.759 And Jesus calls out, Children, do you have any fish? 00:07:03.600 --> 00:07:15.120 What's interesting about what Jesus says is that in the original language, it actually lends itself to a negative rhetorical question more than it does to an actual sincere inquiry. 00:07:15.360 --> 00:07:19.920 It would read more like, Hey boys, you ain't got any fish, do you? 00:07:20.959 --> 00:07:24.000 I like that Jesus is kind of mocking them in some way. 00:07:24.319 --> 00:07:28.800 Hey, you guys obviously don't have anything in your nets. 00:07:29.839 --> 00:07:36.399 Now, I could imagine that this would have grabbed the tired and frustrated fisherman's attention. 00:07:37.279 --> 00:07:41.600 Jesus then tells them to cast their nets on the right side of the boat. 00:07:41.920 --> 00:07:54.639 Now, you and I know at this point in time it was only the Holy Spirit that caused these tired fishermen to listen and put their nets on the right side of the boat. 00:07:54.879 --> 00:07:59.600 If you know anything about fishermen, here's one thing that is true. 00:07:59.759 --> 00:08:07.600 They usually don't take very kindly to a spectator's coaching on how they could do a better job at actually catching something. 00:08:07.920 --> 00:08:08.319 Right? 00:08:09.120 --> 00:08:17.439 If you've ever gone fishing and someone comes up to you like on the trail, all happy and like, hey, have you cast your line over there to see if you're just like, go somewhere else. 00:08:17.600 --> 00:08:18.399 Get away from me. 00:08:18.560 --> 00:08:19.680 I don't need to listen to you. 00:08:19.759 --> 00:08:20.879 I'm already frustrated. 00:08:21.040 --> 00:08:21.279 Right? 00:08:21.360 --> 00:08:30.240 So it had to have just been the moving of the spirit in these disciples' hearts to actually listen to this stranger's voice that's calling out to them from the shore. 00:08:30.639 --> 00:08:37.279 And when they drop the net, it fills to such a degree that they're actually unable to haul it in. 00:08:37.919 --> 00:08:47.519 And it's at this moment that John, or as he likes to refer to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved, he had this epiphany. 00:08:49.840 --> 00:08:54.879 He had this realization that it was Jesus who was calling out to them from the shore. 00:08:55.519 --> 00:08:58.799 You see, John had been here before. 00:08:59.360 --> 00:09:00.799 He had been in this moment. 00:09:00.960 --> 00:09:05.679 This scene was too familiar for him to not understand what was happening. 00:09:06.559 --> 00:09:17.120 You see, at the beginning of Jesus' ministry, Jesus had engaged with Peter and the sons of Zebedee, James and John, in a very similar fashion. 00:09:22.080 --> 00:09:32.799 We see in Luke chapter 5 where Jesus had told Peter, after an exhausting night of catching nothing, to cast his net in a deeper area of the sea. 00:09:33.360 --> 00:09:38.960 You see, though Peter was at first a bit apprehensive, he listened to and obeyed Jesus. 00:09:39.120 --> 00:09:46.720 And he had taken in a hall of fish that demanded James and John to come and help bring it in before the boat sank. 00:09:47.360 --> 00:09:49.120 Their nets began to tear. 00:09:49.200 --> 00:09:51.759 They were worried that they were going to go under. 00:09:52.159 --> 00:09:54.960 The catch was too large for them to bring in. 00:09:56.159 --> 00:10:01.919 Jesus looked at an ashamed-filled and fearful Simon and said, Do not be afraid. 00:10:02.480 --> 00:10:05.279 From now on, you'll be catching men. 00:10:06.720 --> 00:10:16.080 So John here, in this moment, you can imagine his brain is just traveling back to this first time that they had ever encountered Jesus. 00:10:17.200 --> 00:10:21.360 And there he knew, he knew that it was the Messiah. 00:10:21.600 --> 00:10:34.879 And at the moment of this realization, he tells Peter, and Peter very zealously jumps up, clothes himself with his outer garment, and dives in to swim to the shore to meet Jesus. 00:10:35.120 --> 00:10:38.879 Now, he's a hundred yards away. 00:10:39.440 --> 00:10:40.639 So this is what this tells me. 00:10:40.799 --> 00:10:42.320 Peter was fit. 00:10:42.559 --> 00:10:49.360 I tried this last summer to swim something of a hundred yards across Lake Norris. 00:10:49.759 --> 00:10:54.879 And um I believed in my soul I was going to die. 00:10:55.039 --> 00:10:57.039 Uh I started to panic. 00:10:57.120 --> 00:11:04.799 It was a mind over matter fight within me, and uh I will never, ever do that again. 00:11:05.039 --> 00:11:09.600 I thought I was fit because I had done some diet for like six days. 00:11:09.840 --> 00:11:13.919 I was not fit uh and I had jeopardized my very life. 00:11:14.080 --> 00:11:18.639 So Peter dives in, swims a hundred yards to be with Jesus. 00:11:19.039 --> 00:11:27.919 The rest of the disciples chose not to abandon the boat or the large catch, and so they come inshore behind Peter with both. 00:11:28.080 --> 00:11:45.200 And as they reach the shoreline, they meet Jesus, risen, resurrected, Messiah, who has started this charcoal fire, and he's been preparing this simple breakfast of fish and bread for them to eat. 00:11:46.399 --> 00:11:54.720 Now Jesus tells them to bring and start actually preparing some of the fish that they have just caught. 00:11:55.039 --> 00:12:07.840 And so Peter kind of realizes that he abandoned the other disciples in the boat, and he goes back to the boat that's now ashore, and he brings this hall of fish over near the fire. 00:12:08.240 --> 00:12:14.559 And there are two details that John includes for us in this story that I think we should pay attention to. 00:12:14.799 --> 00:12:19.120 One that's really important and one that isn't as much so. 00:12:19.679 --> 00:12:23.279 The first one is this the number of fish. 00:12:23.679 --> 00:12:28.879 John records for us that there's 153 fish in the net. 00:12:29.679 --> 00:12:44.559 Now, many scholars, many church fathers have tried to speculate the significance of this number, but if I'm honest, it's it's without very much persuasiveness. 00:12:44.879 --> 00:12:47.440 I think it's a theological stretch. 00:12:47.759 --> 00:12:55.120 I think it's even a theological grievance to try and ascribe some deeper meaning into the number of fish. 00:12:55.360 --> 00:12:56.399 And why do I say that? 00:12:56.799 --> 00:13:03.600 Because for us, we can try to always find meaning beneath everything within scriptures. 00:13:03.840 --> 00:13:10.639 And there's times where there is a deeper meaning there, and we need to try and understand and dig deeper into it. 00:13:10.799 --> 00:13:14.399 But sometimes a number is just a number. 00:13:15.840 --> 00:13:29.279 And so I'd submit that the number is given here and even observed by the disciples in the story out of sheer amazement to the miraculous provision that Jesus had just supplied for them. 00:13:29.519 --> 00:13:35.279 They counted the fish because their curiosity was driven by astonishment. 00:13:35.519 --> 00:13:37.279 And I think it's as simple as that. 00:13:37.440 --> 00:13:39.279 There's just like, how many, how many fish are even in here? 00:13:39.519 --> 00:13:41.519 We were up all night trying to, we got nothing. 00:13:41.600 --> 00:13:41.919 How many? 00:13:42.159 --> 00:13:43.279 One, two, three, four. 00:13:43.440 --> 00:13:43.759 Like that. 00:13:43.840 --> 00:13:45.440 I know, I know I would do that. 00:13:45.600 --> 00:13:49.200 I know I have certain problems up here that would make me do that. 00:13:49.279 --> 00:13:51.279 I'd be like, I gotta figure this out, you know, right? 00:13:51.360 --> 00:13:54.639 And so I think they're just astonished at what they were seeing. 00:13:54.960 --> 00:13:56.639 And so John's just like, it was crazy. 00:13:56.720 --> 00:13:58.720 There's 153 fish in there. 00:13:59.120 --> 00:14:09.120 But there's this second detail that I think we will skip over that's actually more important and finds its parallel in the text. 00:14:10.799 --> 00:14:13.759 John tells us that the net did not tear. 00:14:15.440 --> 00:14:17.039 Now, why is that important? 00:14:17.759 --> 00:14:26.960 You see, there's an evident parallel to this revealing moment here in John 21 to the earlier one in Luke 5. 00:14:27.200 --> 00:14:35.759 In Luke 5, the fish were so large in number that the net tore, and the disciples struggled greatly to bring in the catch. 00:14:36.159 --> 00:14:41.759 But this time, this time there was an observed strength. 00:14:42.960 --> 00:14:54.320 The net did not tear, and though the disciples may have had to put forth great effort to bring it in, the strength of the net supported their work. 00:14:54.879 --> 00:15:11.519 It's as if John is working to cause us to see something about the nature of the mission that Jesus has called them to, specifically in light of a resurrected Lord who empowers and governs over it. 00:15:12.159 --> 00:15:16.639 You see, they will struggle in their work to be fishers of men. 00:15:17.600 --> 00:15:25.519 But the great multitude of the harvest will be drawn in through the power and providence of the fullness of God. 00:15:26.559 --> 00:15:32.320 It was as if Jesus was giving confidence to his disciples. 00:15:32.559 --> 00:15:34.639 I've called you to be fishers of men. 00:15:34.799 --> 00:15:49.360 The harvest will be such great in multitude that it will feel even laborious to try and draw it, but it will be drawn by this net, by this power and providence of the fullness of God, that you don't have to be afraid. 00:15:50.720 --> 00:15:58.960 You see, John closes this section of the story with Jesus nourishing his disciples with the breakfast that he's prepared for them. 00:15:59.200 --> 00:16:04.159 He gives them the bread, he gives them the fish, he calls them to come have breakfast with him. 00:16:05.039 --> 00:16:08.799 The disciples are now with Jesus. 00:16:09.519 --> 00:16:16.720 They are with Jesus in fellowship with him, enjoying the comfort and strength of his presence. 00:16:17.840 --> 00:16:27.759 And here's what I would submit is the essence of this story that John had to incorporate as a part of the epilogue of his gospel. 00:16:29.600 --> 00:16:36.080 Being with Jesus begins with listening to and obeying him. 00:16:37.200 --> 00:16:42.879 Being with Jesus begins with listening to and obeying him. 00:16:43.440 --> 00:16:54.559 You see, here in the epilogue of John, we're given a picture of everyday discipleship, of what effective mission is going to look like. 00:16:55.919 --> 00:17:04.480 And how a relationship with Jesus is established and sustained in this post-resurrection reality. 00:17:04.720 --> 00:17:14.000 It's not primarily through the extraordinary, but through the radical ordinary that being a disciple truly happens. 00:17:14.240 --> 00:17:15.839 And we miss that. 00:17:16.319 --> 00:17:29.039 We miss that you and I are called to an extraordinary purpose in seeing dead hearts come to life and be saved by the finished work of Jesus the Messiah. 00:17:29.680 --> 00:17:31.920 We miss the extraordinary reality of this. 00:17:32.160 --> 00:17:42.880 And we fail, but the more devastating part is we failed to connect the radically ordinary to the extraordinary purpose of which we've been called. 00:17:43.200 --> 00:17:51.680 The changing of diapers, the making of lunches, the punching in the data at our cubicle, whatever we find ourselves doing. 00:17:52.240 --> 00:18:00.160 Fishing on a seashore, we fail to connect it to the extraordinary of which God has called us to. 00:18:00.559 --> 00:18:03.359 But that's where discipleship happens. 00:18:04.400 --> 00:18:09.359 And I would argue that's where Jesus' voice is calling out to you most. 00:18:12.559 --> 00:18:28.400 You see, at Sacred Mission, we say that a disciple, a disciple of Jesus is someone who is learning and teaching others to be with Jesus, be like Jesus, and do what Jesus did. 00:18:28.559 --> 00:18:33.359 This is what we are defining discipleship here at Sacred Mission. 00:18:34.079 --> 00:18:41.680 Being with Jesus has always started with listening and obeying. 00:18:42.720 --> 00:18:50.640 And even in life after his resurrection, nearness with him would come through the same exact means. 00:18:51.680 --> 00:19:04.720 You see, Jesus' first public message, after he was baptized publicly and driven into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil, he comes back out onto the scene. 00:19:04.799 --> 00:19:06.319 And what does he preach? 00:19:06.799 --> 00:19:11.759 He preached, repent and believe, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 00:19:13.039 --> 00:19:19.680 Essentially, to be with me, to be with me, you gotta listen and obey. 00:19:21.440 --> 00:19:23.519 That's the message of the kingdom. 00:19:24.319 --> 00:19:31.279 Hear the preaching and obey through repentance and faith. 00:19:33.359 --> 00:19:39.920 To hear the proclamation of his kingdom and to submit to his ruling reign as eternal king. 00:19:40.240 --> 00:19:43.680 This was the first step to be with Jesus. 00:19:43.920 --> 00:19:49.119 But the life of a disciple would be marked by continuing in the way of which they had begun. 00:19:50.240 --> 00:19:59.359 Martin Luther, the father of the Reformation, tried to recapture this as he was combating the state of the Roman Catholic Church. 00:19:59.599 --> 00:20:05.759 The very first point in his 95 Theses, of which he nailed to Wittenberg's door, was this. 00:20:06.160 --> 00:20:16.400 When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said repent, he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance. 00:20:18.400 --> 00:20:25.920 A disciple's life is consumed with listening and obeying. 00:20:27.680 --> 00:20:29.599 It's consumed by it. 00:20:30.319 --> 00:20:42.720 The longing for our soul to be with our master is satisfied through our attentive ear and our joy-filled obedience to his voice. 00:20:44.160 --> 00:20:50.240 You see, this is also the essence of the great commission given to us by Jesus Himself. 00:20:50.400 --> 00:20:53.279 We see this in Matthew 28, 19 through 20. 00:20:53.519 --> 00:20:56.000 Go, therefore, and what are you going to do? 00:20:56.160 --> 00:21:10.799 You're going to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe or obey all that I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you always to the ends of the world. 00:21:11.119 --> 00:21:22.240 You see, disciples are people who are learning and teaching others to be with Jesus through listening to and obeying him. 00:21:24.960 --> 00:21:32.880 There in Galilee, in this story that John gives to us in his epilogue, the disciples were distant from Jesus. 00:21:33.119 --> 00:21:35.279 They had not seen him for several days. 00:21:35.359 --> 00:21:41.680 They had journeyed on foot 70 miles north to be on this shore. 00:21:43.759 --> 00:21:46.640 And even in the boat, they were a hundred yards away. 00:21:46.720 --> 00:21:52.640 They were so far away from their vantage point they couldn't even see who it was that was calling out to them. 00:21:53.920 --> 00:21:56.799 They felt the effect of their separation. 00:21:57.839 --> 00:21:59.279 Their work was frustrated. 00:21:59.359 --> 00:22:07.279 They caught Nothing and even the ordinary task of providing themselves with food to eat was absolutely ineffective. 00:22:08.000 --> 00:22:20.720 But then they heard the voice of Jesus and they obeyed his command, and that is where their nearness with him began to be reclaimed. 00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:51.680 You see, many of us, if we really think about this, we relate a lot more to the disciples' frustrating, empty-handed evening expedition than we are able to with their fellowship with the master over a simple breakfast where their hearts felt full again. 00:22:53.119 --> 00:23:06.319 Right, many of us in this room, I believe we can relate to the frustrated, empty-handed catch than we can with the fireside chat over breakfast. 00:23:07.200 --> 00:23:12.240 Because often our lives are marked by feeling distant from him. 00:23:14.000 --> 00:23:27.759 When I do a lot of pastoral counseling meetings, when I'm just chatting with people, it's an overwhelming experience that is being communicated to me that they feel distant from Jesus. 00:23:29.359 --> 00:23:38.799 You see, it's concerning that this is a more common feeling than Christians declaring that they feel intimately near Him, with Him. 00:23:40.160 --> 00:23:42.240 There's got to be a reason for that. 00:23:43.039 --> 00:23:43.359 Right? 00:23:43.440 --> 00:23:49.519 There has to be a reason that many of us relate more to Jesus being distant than we do to him being near. 00:23:49.599 --> 00:23:54.240 And what could be the root cause of this felt experience for us? 00:23:56.480 --> 00:24:00.720 I think it's that we listen to and obey other voices. 00:24:02.960 --> 00:24:05.759 Now, that seems really simple, doesn't it? 00:24:06.000 --> 00:24:07.279 Hey, good job, Justin. 00:24:07.359 --> 00:24:08.799 How hard you work on that one? 00:24:12.880 --> 00:24:17.200 But the reality is we do this constantly. 00:24:18.799 --> 00:24:30.559 You and I seek out to listen to, and our lives are marked with obedience to other voices around us way more than they are to the voice of Jesus. 00:24:30.799 --> 00:24:41.440 You see, we live in a culture where there's an endless amount of voices that we could listen to, and that are even calling out for our attention to be given to them. 00:24:41.920 --> 00:25:08.079 Whether we're in a situation of anxiety, stress, work issues, parenting difficulties, relational frustration, spiritual stagnancy, there's a red ocean of books, podcasts, videos, articles, seminars, influencers, experts, and fools all trying to sell us that their voice is the one to listen to and obey if we want to fix the problem. 00:25:11.119 --> 00:25:25.039 You see, with our open information society, the content creation of how-to every facet of our existence is beyond overwhelming. 00:25:26.960 --> 00:25:28.720 And so, what do we do? 00:25:29.599 --> 00:25:38.799 You and I have conditioned our very souls to seek out other voices to listen to and obey. 00:25:40.160 --> 00:25:48.319 That we might find some relief, that we might find some progress in the situation that we are experiencing. 00:25:50.960 --> 00:25:53.039 This is the challenge of it all. 00:25:53.599 --> 00:26:18.559 We actually may feel at some point in this that we've become a better parent, or that we're actually in a healthier relationship, or we have reduced our anxiety, but yet we still feel distant from the voice who is the true and everlasting answer for any situation that we will ever face in this life or the one to come. 00:26:22.079 --> 00:26:36.960 You see, I don't think it's a coincidence that Jesus taught, seek first the kingdom of heaven and his righteousness, and all of these other things will be added unto you. 00:26:38.160 --> 00:26:40.640 Seek first his voice. 00:26:41.200 --> 00:26:44.400 We've been given the Holy Spirit. 00:26:45.839 --> 00:26:51.680 How many days, weeks go by that we take that for granted? 00:26:51.920 --> 00:27:00.319 That we don't even consciously recognize that reality that the Spirit of God that raised Christ from the dead lives in you. 00:27:00.880 --> 00:27:22.640 That we have the very revealed word of God in Scripture, that He has spoken and revealed Himself to us, His people, His image bearers, of what He desires out of us, of how we can flourish in every aspect of our life if we listen and obey, but yet we chase after other voices as if it's insufficient what our God has done. 00:27:23.359 --> 00:27:26.319 And we wonder why we feel so distant. 00:27:30.079 --> 00:27:42.799 You feel distant because you've listened to the counsel of fools rather than to the very God who breathed life into your body. 00:27:44.640 --> 00:27:46.559 That's why we feel distant. 00:27:48.960 --> 00:27:51.839 What if we rearranged our priorities? 00:27:54.559 --> 00:28:02.079 What if we ordered our hearts toward listening to the voice of Jesus before we ever sought out the voice of others? 00:28:03.119 --> 00:28:13.680 I believe this would be the effect that we would be joyfully surprised by the nearness of his presence and the change in our situation. 00:28:15.759 --> 00:28:36.559 I don't know if it's just coincidence or God, uh, but when I seek God, when I seek to hear the voice of the Lord calling to me, when I seek him through his word, when I am near to him, my problems diminish significantly. 00:28:36.880 --> 00:28:41.839 Or it's at least my preoccupation with them almost vanish. 00:28:43.599 --> 00:28:52.880 It's fascinating the comfort and healing that intimacy with Jesus truly brings for us. 00:28:55.440 --> 00:28:59.759 You see, so much of our energy is spent on being better versions of ourselves. 00:28:59.920 --> 00:29:04.880 This is the endless pursuit of a self-love culture of which we find ourselves in. 00:29:05.440 --> 00:29:09.200 But what if this life was really about being near to him? 00:29:10.079 --> 00:29:20.000 And in being near to him, we truly experience the best part of ourselves. 00:29:21.680 --> 00:29:24.559 Fellowship with him, communion with him. 00:29:25.839 --> 00:29:29.920 You see, we want the best us apart from nearness with him. 00:29:30.160 --> 00:29:36.160 We want to strive in our own work and labor and effort and scraping and clawing to be our better self. 00:29:36.240 --> 00:29:39.440 And Jesus just invites us, come have breakfast with me. 00:29:40.960 --> 00:29:44.319 Come and listen to my voice, come be near to me. 00:29:44.960 --> 00:29:52.880 And it's in that intimacy, a better version of you, more than you could ever think or imagine, is waiting. 00:29:55.359 --> 00:29:57.039 And I think that's good news. 00:30:00.160 --> 00:30:08.319 You see, I think the gospel shows us that the very best versions of ourselves are truly realized, the more intimate we become with Him. 00:30:09.839 --> 00:30:13.039 We're never going to get there by listening to and obeying the voice of others. 00:30:13.279 --> 00:30:17.279 We must first listen to and obey His. 00:30:18.960 --> 00:30:25.279 But church, ultimately, our hope is not in how well we listen and obey. 00:30:25.920 --> 00:30:34.000 Our eternal hope to be with Jesus is found in his listening to and obeying the voice of the Father perfectly. 00:30:34.720 --> 00:30:40.000 You see, Jesus perfectly listened and obeyed even unto death. 00:30:41.200 --> 00:30:44.240 Why are we able to be with Jesus? 00:30:45.200 --> 00:30:48.640 Why is Jesus with the Father? 00:30:49.599 --> 00:30:54.480 Because he perfectly listened and obeyed. 00:30:55.440 --> 00:31:01.119 There was never a moment where Jesus listened to the voice of others, though they called out for his attention. 00:31:01.440 --> 00:31:06.880 Never did he fail to obey the Father's voice even unto death. 00:31:07.119 --> 00:31:17.200 In John 14, Jesus said to his disciples, I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. 00:31:17.680 --> 00:31:28.240 He has no claim on me, but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. 00:31:28.960 --> 00:31:31.920 Look at what Jesus said here for just a moment. 00:31:32.240 --> 00:31:44.480 The extravagant love of Jesus for the Father was put on display for the world to see by his listening to and obeying his voice. 00:31:45.119 --> 00:31:48.160 Think about the missional opportunity that we have. 00:31:48.319 --> 00:31:54.079 We want to see our neighbors, we want to see our family members, our coworkers come to saving faith in Jesus. 00:31:54.240 --> 00:31:58.000 Jesus says, This is how the world will know that I love the Father. 00:31:58.240 --> 00:32:02.079 I'm going to listen to his voice, I'm going to obey him unto death. 00:32:02.799 --> 00:32:07.200 What does that look like for us in the everyday, ordinary means of this life? 00:32:07.440 --> 00:32:13.359 Does the world know that you love Jesus because of what you posted on Facebook or who you voted for on November 5th? 00:32:13.440 --> 00:32:16.160 Or does the world know you love Jesus? 00:32:16.799 --> 00:32:23.680 Because they can witness and observe the way that you listen to his voice and obey him, even when it costs you everything. 00:32:29.279 --> 00:32:30.640 See, Jesus listened. 00:32:31.680 --> 00:32:35.839 Jesus was obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 00:32:35.920 --> 00:32:40.799 And it is because of that truth, church, that we are able to be with him. 00:32:44.319 --> 00:32:46.960 With the Father forever. 00:32:48.079 --> 00:32:49.759 So I'll close with this. 00:32:50.720 --> 00:32:54.880 Our true spiritual state is that we can't be distant from Jesus. 00:32:55.119 --> 00:32:56.480 He has us in his hand. 00:32:56.559 --> 00:33:04.960 The reality of our soul is that we are with him, seated with him in the heavenly places, because of grace and faith in his finished work. 00:33:05.119 --> 00:33:07.200 Are we able to be with Jesus? 00:33:07.359 --> 00:33:10.000 That is a true reality of our spiritual state. 00:33:10.079 --> 00:33:19.200 But we live in this already not yet where we don't feel and experience the nearness with him that we have because of his finished work. 00:33:22.400 --> 00:33:24.079 We will be with him forever. 00:33:24.240 --> 00:33:29.759 Nothing can separate us because the voice of the Father was all that the Son would ever hear. 00:33:30.000 --> 00:33:32.000 I'm so thankful for that. 00:33:32.400 --> 00:33:39.279 That because of Jesus' listening and obeying, I am eternally with my Redeemer. 00:33:40.640 --> 00:33:48.880 And I long for the felt realization of that truth to be a soul experience that I have daily. 00:33:51.599 --> 00:33:53.759 Are you connecting those dots? 00:33:54.240 --> 00:33:56.720 Because of his finished work, you're with him. 00:33:58.240 --> 00:34:04.400 But because of the absence of our faithfulness, we feel distant from him. 00:34:05.519 --> 00:34:10.880 I want my soul reality to match this life's experience. 00:34:14.480 --> 00:34:18.480 Let us not dismiss this reality. 00:34:19.360 --> 00:34:25.760 My prayer for us is that our lives would be marked by being with Jesus. 00:34:26.400 --> 00:34:29.360 Our lives would be marked by being with Jesus. 00:34:30.320 --> 00:34:33.199 I believe you share in this desire. 00:34:33.360 --> 00:34:36.960 I want the world to know that I love Jesus. 00:34:39.039 --> 00:34:43.760 And I'm going to show them that most by listening to and obeying his voice. 00:34:45.360 --> 00:35:03.679 To listen for his voice in scripture, to listen for his voice in meditation and prayer, by depending on the Spirit for the strength and courage to obey him in a hostile culture that is adamantly against him. 00:35:05.440 --> 00:35:11.440 This is how a disciple lives to be with Jesus. 00:35:14.960 --> 00:35:20.559 Let us not dismiss the radically ordinary means of discipleship. 00:35:21.760 --> 00:35:23.599 He's speaking to you here. 00:35:26.079 --> 00:35:34.159 He will speak to you tomorrow and the day after and the day after through the ordinary means of everyday life. 00:35:35.679 --> 00:35:46.880 You see, it started with this thing called discipleship, and it will continue through our response to the voice of our Savior. 00:35:47.119 --> 00:35:47.760 Amen.