Point Community Church
The teaching of Point Community Church in Austin, TX.
Point Community Church
Gospel of John: Obedience Unto Death, John 19:17-42
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So we're going to be reading this morning's scripture. It starts in John nineteen, uh starting on verse seventeen. And he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called the place of a skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. There they crucified him with his with him with two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. Pilati also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin and in Greek. So the chief priest of the Jews said to Pilate, Do not write the King of the Jews, but rather this man said, I am King of the Jews. Pilati answered, What I have written, I have written. When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier, also his tunic. For the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. So they said to one another, Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to see whose it shall be. This was to fill the scripture which says, They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. So the soldiers did these things, but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary, the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, Woman, behold your son. Then he said to the disciple, Behold your mother. And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.
SPEAKER_00After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said to fulfill the scripture, I thirst. A jar full of sour wine stood there. So they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, It is finished, and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Since it was the day of preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath, for the Sabbath was a high day, the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. He who saw it was borne witness. His testimony was true, and he knows that he is telling the truth, that you also may believe. For these things took place that the scripture might be fulfilled. Not one of his bones will be broken. And again, another scripture says, They will look on him whom they have pierced. Jesus. After these things, Joseph of Arimaa was also a disciple of Jesus, who secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bounded it in linen, in linen clothes with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Now, in the place where he was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.
SPEAKER_04So I've teared down significantly in order to make sure I can I can fit as much as I can in here. So if you guys want to turn your Bibles to uh the book of John, chapter 19, we're gonna pick up uh where we left off last week. Now, just as a precursor, um uh towards the end of the message there last week, really one of the prevailing themes that came out was the truth. That we can't know the truth. You know, it's one of the things that he he really mentioned a couple times.
SPEAKER_05And that not only knowing the truth, but he went further and said, you should believe it. He kind of made this call and say, hey, just don't know the truth, believe the truth. And so naturally, in the progression of this story and this narrative, it would make sense then that John goes on to say, hey, don't just know the truth and believe the truth, obey the truth. And that's just taking it a step further, especially considering the difficulty with which Jesus was under.
SPEAKER_04So you heard uh as they read through the 22 verses there, there's quite a bunch of material, and it would just really not make sense for me to try to go everything, go over everything that's there. But I do want to highlight a couple of points just in this first section, uh, as we kind of ask ourselves the question of uh what do we learn about Jesus from this text?
SPEAKER_05What do we learn about Jesus from this text? Now there's a lot that we learn, but I'm gonna be highlighting just one thing and showing you a couple of different aspects of this narrative so that we can kind of ourselves enter into what's happening there. So again, John chapter 19, and before I jump into that, I want to do two things. I want to read just a scripture verse here, and I also want to pray. So the verse that I want to read is found in 2 Timothy chapter 3, verse 16. It says, All the scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training up in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete and equipped for every good work. The reason I read that is because we believe here that the Bible is in fact the Word of God. That it was written by men, but inspired by God in every jot and tittle. So that what we have today is an accurate reflection and representation of what God wanted us to know. So I won't say anything more. If you want to know more about that, you can visit our website and our mission statement section. There's a part about the Bible, and you'll have some good supporting uh references there. Let us pray. Father, I thank you.
SPEAKER_03Lord, you know that certainly I cannot do justice to what is written here, Father.
SPEAKER_05And this is where the incredible gift that you are real and present in this place comes to life. Because I cannot, for the life of me, do anything to change anyone here. But you, oh Holy Spirit, can. So that is in fact what I'm praying, God. I pray that your Holy Spirit would be here, would be in our hearts, would be in our minds, would be tilling the soil of our lives so that when the implanted word comes, it would bear fruit. God, help us to just release all barriers. Help us to put down all barricades. We don't want to hold up anything against your word. God, help us to just surrender even at this moment and to allow your Holy Spirit to have its work. We thank you in Jesus' name. Amen.
SPEAKER_04So, as I mentioned, there's a lot in this text, a lot. And it's gonna be really difficult to get through it, but what I want to do is highlight a couple of points.
SPEAKER_05So, as they were reading, um, we kind of find ourselves on this scene on this mount, this hill of Golgotha, okay? Which is Aomaic for skull, right? Or in Latin, talvadia, which means Calvary. So, which is why you hear it called Calvary all the time. Same exact thing. Now, we don't know exactly where this location is, but we imagine that it sits somewhere outside of the northern wall, most likely where the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is today. Around that location. Now, it says that Jesus carried up his cross, right, to this place. Now, what you're seeing there is typical Roman practice of the criminal who's under punishment taking his cross, bearing his shame, and walking up the Via Dolorosa, the way of suffering to the place of the skull. And he's gonna lay down, this is the practice, when they crucify him, what what he'll do is lay down on his back with the cross beam underneath. And then they'll drill spikes through his hand, very probable. On occasions, they'll tie him up. But they they they nail these spikes right through his hand. So here at this point, and we haven't got to the garment point, but you'll see that all his clothing is gone. It's not like in the movies, he's hanging there naked. But for now, he's still on the ground and they're pounding these spikes through his wrists or through his hands. And then what they do is they take a rope and they hoist him up because the perpendicular beam is actually permanently in place on this hilltop. It's permanently in place there because this is a common practice for the Romans, so they have him there on display for everybody to see, and they hoist Jesus up. Now, keeping in mind that he had just received 40 lashes minus one, so his body is tattered, frayed. And they hoist him up, and he's on display for all to see. Now, on occasion, they'll put like a little wooden dowel somewhere around his buttock so that he can sit. This is not a kindness, this is actually an effort to prolong agony. Because it allows him to rest temporarily so that he lives longer. And the moment they kick it out, his body hangs, he doesn't have the strength to lift it up, blood fills his lungs, and soon after, asphyxiation. This is this is what's taking place. Jesus is being crucified. So it says that Pilate wrote an inscription and put it in the cross, put it on the cross, and it read Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. Many of the Jews read this inscription for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic and Latin and Greek. The common tongues of the day, Aramaic for the Hebrews, Latin for the Roman soldiers, and Greek for the tongue that was popular at the time. So everybody can see it, right? He's on a hilltop. This criminal is charged with sedition. Capital punishment. He's starting riots, they say. We know that's not true. He's claiming to be the king, wanting to usurp the emperor's strength. We know that's not true.
SPEAKER_02But that's what they say.
SPEAKER_05So I want to bring to light, as we're walking through this, four things that I speak to somebody that speak to something in particular. The first is, as we move down the text a little bit, it says, So the soldiers did these things. Verse 25. But standing by the cross of Jesus were Mary, his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary, the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene, four women. When Jesus saw his mother, the disciple whom he loved, when Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, Woman, behold your son. Then he said to the disciple, Behold your mother. And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. Now, some would use this text to kind of create a matriarchy. Saying that in this sense, John is trying to teach us that Mary is the mother of all disciples. And that John typifies all disciples, so that all disciples, that is, believers here, should then come up under the authority of Mary. But that's not what we believe. Because that's not what Scripture teaches. Scripture, in fact, is teaching that John goes on to take care of Mary. But what we're seeing here, I think, is John pointing to something more important. Jesus wasn't married. He didn't have kids. And I think to myself, who's next in line of importance? I think mom. I think mom's important. I think my mother's important. I imagine you think your mother's important. I hope you do. You wouldn't be here without her. And John is kind of just very, very loosely alluding to something here. He's alluding to the humanity of Christ and his care for his mother at a time of peril. He wants to make sure that she is taken care of. Now, the main thrust of the book of John is not the humanity of Christ. The main thrust is that Jesus is the Son of God. In fact, you go to John chapter 1. In the beginning was the word, and the word became flesh. Verse 14, same chapter. And then we beheld, and then the word became flesh, and we beheld the glory of the only begotten Son. So the Word became flesh. And we beheld that glory of the only begotten Son, Jesus. Jesus, the Son of God. So John's pointing to the humanity of Christ. So we see then, verse 28, he says, after this, Jesus, knowing that all things, that all was now finished, said to fulfill the scripture, I thirst. A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of sour wine on a hissop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus received the sour wine, he said, It is finished, and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. There's two things there. He thirst. My goodness. I was saying this earlier in the pre-service, you know, I have TVs, I have cell phones, my house. We even have some like, you know, mechanics and electronics and things like that. You know what they never do? Like when I'm watching TV, it just never stops and takes a break from like being on and says, Ruben, man, I've been playing TV for you all day, dude. I'm parched. Like, I'm so thirsty right now. Could you give me a drink? Nothing, none of my mechanics have ever done that. Thing is, Jesus wasn't a machine. He wasn't some figment of our imagination. He had thirst. He was a real man. And John's pointing it out. Not at the least to say of which, he's also recording what actually took place. So he's pointing out the humanity of Christ. It is finished. That's not a thing God would say, is it? I mean, God finishes things right, but not in the same way you and I finish things. When he created the world on the seventh day, he was like, oh, it is finished. No. He rested. His work continues. The Bible says in the book of John that Jesus was actually doing some miracles on the Sabbath. And one of the religious leaders said, What are you doing working on the Sabbath? Because they didn't understand it either. They thought, hey, you don't do anything. Everything finishes on the Sabbath. And he says, My father works until today. And so do I. So when he says it is finished, what does he mean? I mean, in a certain sense, he's talking out of his divinity. The fact that he's fully God. When he says it is finished, he means for sure, he means definitely that, hey, this redemptive work for which I was sent, it's been accomplished. The suffering I had to endure, it's finished. My love for you has reached its apex. It's not over, but it's as much as it can possibly be. It is finished. And of course, there's his man that is dying and withering. And is also saying, It is finished. Lastly, here, we move down to verse 33. It says, But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood, a flow of blood and water. Here's John just capping everything off, pointing to the humanity of Christ. Now, lots of people have different theories about this text and what that blood and water was. The most common notion is that when the when the soldier went through Jesus with a spear, that he pierced his heart and that blood mingled when it also pierced the periodical sac, and blood and water came out. That's the prevailing thought. More commonly believed because if that were to happen, it would mean the pericardial sac would have to be somewhere adjacent to the chest, which it's not. Thus signifying that that flow of liquid and blood would actually have to like kind of jump over a little gap, fill the lungs, fill the chest cavity, and then pour out. And that's not likely to have happen. Now, more recent studies on cadavers have shown that cadavers that suffer extreme chest cavity damage without perforation will actually accumulate up to two liters of liquid in a lining between their lungs and their ribs. With a thicker, heavier liquid settling at the bottom and the water-like fluid at the top so that when piercing happens, it pours forth as blood and water. Now, is John actually giving us like a medical journal? Is that what he's doing? No, he's not. What he is doing is speaking to the people of his time and recording what actually took place. Some people are already beginning to think that Jesus didn't really have a body. He just came in spirit. And if he didn't have a body, he didn't really die. But the prevailing thought of both the Hellenistic culture and the Jews of the time is their bodies were primarily composed of two elements: blood and water. The humanity of Jesus matters. John is pointing it out for a reason. You know, if I owe you, and I hope I don't, if I owe you $100, you might be willing to take a hundred bucks in return to pay off that debt. Now, if you're savvy at all, you'd probably say, Well, I want that money back with interest. So you're not going to take less than what I owe you, but you might take exactly what I owe you. You'll certainly take more than what I owe you. You just won't take less. So, how do our sins get paid for? What is the cost? What is the price? Well, we're a lot of things, us people, but we're not less than human. And how could Christ pay the price if he was less than what we are? The humanity of Christ matters because without it, there's no forgiveness of sins. Because he can't be less than what we are. He's more. So where does that bring us? So we see that the humanity of Christ is important. It's real. We're now at the new tomb. Right? They crucify Christ, he dies. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus come along, and it says that they came in secret for fear of the Jews. And I just want to point something out here. Some of us can read that and be like, shame on you, Nicodemus. Shame on you, Joseph. Fear of the Jews in secret. But you know what? Here's the thing. A chapter later, all the disciples are inside of a locked room behind a closed door because of fear of the Jews. Jesus himself, throughout the course of John, multiple times, he ducks out secretly because his time had not yet come. So while they came in secret, disciples they were, nonetheless. And I'm willing to bet for fear of something. There's been a time or two where you have maybe been afraid to be a Christian. So we're right there with them. Now we're in this new tomb. A new tomb, primarily, because you can't bury a criminal body inside of a family tomb with non-criminals. It would defile the whole tomb. And of course, the Jews don't want that. So he needs a new tomb. But they don't know that they're serving the greater purpose of God, that that new tomb is exactly what a king would have. And here you have Nicodemus bringing all this, what, 75 pounds of spices? It's unheard of for a commoner. But Jesus was no common man. Extra biblical material will point to kings and queens being buried with 80, 100 pounds of myrrh and aloe like this. Jesus is King. Nicodemus knew it. Joseph knew it. So then I imagine what are what are the disciples feeling right now? What's going through their mind? They just lost their leader. They just lost him. What are they thinking? John chapter 1, verse 21 says, or chapter 1, verse 49. Nathanael answered him, Rabbi, you are the Son of God. You are the king of Israel. That's what one of the disciples says. Moving forward, chapter 6, verse 14, it says, When the people saw the sign that he had done, that is, the sign that Jesus had done, they said, This is indeed the prophet who has come into the world. Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself. John chapter 12. Verse 12. The next day the large crowd had come to feast. I'm sorry, the next day the large crowd that had come to feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel. And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it just as it is written, Fear not, daughter of Zion, behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey's cult. What were the disciples thinking? They were thinking that Jesus was the promised Messiah. They were thinking that Jesus was the king. They had been oppressed by the Egyptians, by the Babylonians, now the Romans. They wanted to get out from underneath that. They wanted the tables to turn, and they thought Jesus was the answer. But he's dead in a tomb. Three days. Silence. They don't hear from him. And here's where I think that we today. I asked the question, what were the disciples thinking about? What does it matter to us? Here's where I think we enter into the narrative. 2,000 years later, we join the story. Because like the disciples, we ask, Where is God? Where is God in this madness? Where is God in all this mess? So I said earlier, I imagine myself, I'm driving, I get a ring, I pick up my phone. Hey, this is Goddard. My son's school, this is Goddard. We got to inform you there's been an accident. Of course, my heart jobs. And I zoom over to the hospital. And I get there just in time to see my wife collapsing in the arms of a man, a physician I've never seen before in my life. And she looks over at me. And she just says, He's gone. And what do you say in a moment like that? What do you say? But where is God? Or maybe you're standing next to a bed. And you're hearing the monitor beep and beep and beep, and then it flatlines. And you think to yourself, you know what? I'm gonna be sad. But the person standing next to this bed is enraged. No, it can't be. You're not going out like that, old man. You're not getting away with it that easy. You were supposed to protect me and take care of me. You're not getting out of it like this. You let them abuse me. And in that moment, you say, Where is God? You sit across a table from someone you used to sit next to. And as the man in the suit next to her is just talking, it doesn't even make sense to you. It doesn't make any sense. Because you're thinking, where did it all go wrong? What happened? We used to love each other. And the only thing you can hear is the sound of a ballpoint pen rolling across the table as the signature crosses the line. And you're divorced. And everything you thought was going to succeed fails. Where are you, God? Scenarios are endless, financial. You've been a savvy businessman, but one bad business decision, and all of a sudden, it's all gone. The house you could afford, you can't anymore, much less you're concerned with actually putting food on the table for your family. God, where are you? Married five years, two kids, sleeping in the bed next to your wife, and she goes to sleep, and you cry every night because nobody knows that you've been attracted to men your whole life. And you have to wrestle with that by yourself. And you say, God, where are you? So this is where we all come in. Because every one of us here, in the 10,000 woes that fill our hearts, have asked the question, God, where are you? The third point here is how is Jesus different from other religious leaders? He's different for a lot of reasons. But one of the greatest reasons is that Scripture, time and time again, tells us that something is going to happen. And then years later, that something actually takes place. And there is no other religious leader in the world. There is none. And I love to study this sort of thing. There's no religious leader of which hundreds of prophetic words have been given and then fulfilled like Christ. None. Now, some people hearing that might say, well, that's not good enough. I want a complete knowledge of God before I believe in that man. Here's the thing. You don't have a complete knowledge of anything. I hate to burst your bubble. Well, I know my wife loves me, so I love her back. Really? You know in the recesses of her heart how she loves you, when she loves you, why she loves you, what she would do for you, when she would do it? No, you don't. You chose a school to go somewhere? Did you know every student that graduated? Did you know what they went on to be? Did you know what they did with the rest of their life? Of course you don't, but you choose a school. We like to insist that we need complete knowledge before we choose God. The fact is, that's a lie. We don't have complete knowledge of anything. But here, Jesus is different because he fulfills scripture again and again and again. So there it talks about his garments being torn apart by soldiers. Psalms 22, verse 18, they divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. Now, it seems like that was just taken right out of the text there, out of the narrative of Jesus. The difficulty with that is that a thousand and forty years before Jesus was on the scene, this was written. Now, if I asked you to craft a narrative about anybody you could imagine, do you really think that hundreds of points of your story would come to pass one thousand years later about a particular person? I'm sorry. I'm a realist. But I like to think logically, and I don't think realistically that's logically possible. Something supernatural has to happen for that to take place. It says that he thirst. Psalm 69, 21 says, They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst, they gave me sour wine to drink. Isn't that what we just read in the text? But again, we're looking at something that's over a thousand years before that text in John took place.
SPEAKER_02Next it says, broken. Talks about Jesus, his legs not being broken.
SPEAKER_05Right? They go and the religious leaders ask for his body, and they say, we've got to make sure he's dead if we take him down. So they break the legs of the one thief on the one side, and then on the other side they break the legs of the other thief. But with Jesus, they pierce him, but why don't they break him? Why don't they break his legs? They break his bones. Exodus chapter 12, verse 46. It shall be eaten in one house. You shall not take any of the flesh outside of the house, and you shall not break any of its bones. What is it talking about? Well, in this text in particular, it's talking about the Passover lamb. And it's saying that when the people of Israel were in Egypt, the last plague that came about was death. But in order for death and for the Israelites to pass from death to life, sound familiar? A lamb had to be sacrificed. His blood put on the doorpost. And then that spirit of death would pass over that home, giving them life. And so Jesus here as the perfect lamb of God, sacrificed for humanity without a single broken bone, his blood not on the doorpost, but on the cross, so that we could pass from death to life. And it's common for John to do this. John chapter 1, verse 29. Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. And when John heralds this, they're getting prepared for the feast of booth, the feast of tents, right? So it's like Christmas for us. We all know Christmas and all the things that come along with it. And you read a book somewhere down the road in another country where they don't celebrate Christmas, or you just see one in a store somewhere, you see a Christmas tree, and you go, oh, a Christmas tree. Why? Because you've celebrated Christmas your whole life. You know what it is. It's not foreign to you. They celebrated the feast of Booth every year, and every year, part of that tradition. They know in the Day of Atonement as well, what do they know? That in the Day of Atonement, Leviticus chapter 16, it says that they take a goat and a lamb. They let the lamb go and they sacrifice the goat for the sins of the people of Israel. So John points to that. He says, Behold, the Lamb of God takes away the sins of the world. So when he says that, everybody there who celebrated the Day of Atonement every year of their life knows exactly what he's saying. So John uses this lamb-laden language all the time.
SPEAKER_02Lastly, it says Zechariah chapter 12, verse 10.
SPEAKER_05And I will pour out the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and please for mercy, so that when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him as one mourns for any only for an only child, and weep bitterly over him as one weeps over their firstborn. It's important. Scripture reveals. We know and believe that it reveals Jesus. All the New Testament writers knew it. John knew it. Jesus himself knew it. He says this, Luke 24, 27. Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted, that is Jesus, beginning with Moses, the first book of the Bible and all the prophets, the last books of the Old Testament. Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he, Jesus, interpreted for them the things concerning himself in all of Scripture. He knew that all of Scripture pointed to him. John knew it, the New Testament writers knew it. The Bible points to Jesus. So what does this suggest about God? What does this suggest about God? And I'm using that term suggest because there's some things that are explicit in this text, and there's things that are not. What I'm going to talk about right now are some pretty lofty things, hard truths, but they're there. And I implore you, mind for these sort of things in your word. Don't just scrape the surface. Have depth to your relationship. Look into the word of God and ask him to reveal you the truth therein. The first thing we see. It suggests that he knows a lot. As we mentioned before, we believe the Bible is the word of God. He must know a whole lot, God. If a thousand years before something takes place, he can actually predict it. I mean, how great is his knowledge? How vast is his understanding? That text we read suggests that he knows a lot. The Bible takes it a step further and says that he knows all things. 1 John chapter 3, verse 20, part B. God is greater than our heart and he knows everything. Isaiah 40, verse 28. Have you not known? Have you not heard the Lord is everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth? He does not faint or grow weary, his understanding is unsearchable. This text suggests it, but the Bible declares it. God knows all things. Nothing is hidden from his purview.
SPEAKER_02The next thing this text suggests about God, it suggests that God has plans for individuals and groups.
SPEAKER_05The Bible would even take it a step further, and the Bible teaches that he has plans and purposes for individuals, groups, and all people. Proverbs chapter 19, verse 21 says, Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. I have my ideas, I have my concepts, my notions, my thinking. Many are the plans of a man, the mind of a man. But what prevails, what succeeds, what stands, is the purpose of the Lord. So we see from this text that He has plans for individuals. Jeremiah 29, 11 through 13 says, For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans for your welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Here, Jeremiah is recording the words of God as spoken to the exiles of Israel. He has a purpose. I know the plans I have for you, for future and for hope. He has plans for groups of people, he has plans for individuals, he has a purpose for your life. Isaiah chapter 46, verse 9 through 11. It says, Remember the former things of old, for I am God and there is no other like me. I am God and there is none like me. Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times, things that have not yet done. Saying, My counsel shall stand and I will accomplish all my purpose, calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country, I have spoken and I will bring it to pass. I have purposed and I will do it. He says, Here you go. He says, Here I am. I'm the beginning, and I set the end. And he goes back. I said it from the beginning. And my plans will not fail. How encompassing is that? He calls the bird from the east, the wise man from a far country. His thoughts are gods. He plans everything. So seeing this, we know that God has a purpose and a plan for our lives. That he has a purpose and a plan for groups and for all things. We can, in fact, looking back on him knowing all things and having a purpose and a plan for all things, and we can say the following. That the events and the people therein and the decisions they made leading up to and culminating in the crucifixion, death, and burial of Jesus Christ, he knew. At worst. At best, he knows all things past, present, future, and the depth of his knowledge is unsearchable. That's the sort of God we serve.
SPEAKER_02I would say in last place, what this shows us about God is that he has the ability to carry out these plans in the universe. In Romans chapter 1, verse 20, it says the following.
SPEAKER_05It says for his invisible attributes, that is God, his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived since the creation of the world. He has the power to not just know and to plan, but to cause. You know, it's one thing if you and I were talking about something we're driving by a piece of land and we're like, oh, that lot looks really good. You know what I like to do? I like to purchase that lot. I'm telling my wife this. I like to buy that lot. I like to make a medical facility, and then I want to fill it with the best doctors that exist on the planet. I want to put them in there, and I want to give free health care to everybody. I mean, those are great and lofty plans, but do I have the power, the resources, the permits, the people to pull it off? That's a whole other story. And so here, Paul says that God's eternal power. Now, just to give you a little understanding of the words being used here, you and me, from dust we came till dust we return, right? So our bodies, our flesh here, not to be morbid. We're all mortal. We go on. This life finishes in our bodies in the dirt. So mortal means I have a beginning, finite beginning, and I have a finite end. But our spirits are immortal. Right? So our spirits, they have a finite beginning, but they have no end. They keep on living. But God is eternal, he has no beginning and no end. An essential attribute of his nature is his power. And his power, like him, is eternal. It has no beginning and no end. So, what is this text suggesting about God? He knows all things, he plans and purposes all things, and he has all the power to carry out every plan and purpose of his. That is what scholars would call the sovereignty of. So this text is pointing us to a supreme power and authority. Jesus is pointing us to that supreme power and authority. Isaiah 55, 8 through 9 says, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than yours, than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. I read this because I know if you're following, tracking with me here, you might be thinking to yourself, one or two things, that is awesome, man. God is so good. How incredible! How amazing, how majestic, how wonderful. But you also might be thinking, that's blasphemous. How could you say that? How could you say that about God? That he's over all things. All things? That he's there even for the bad? That he has a purpose and a plan and all those things? That his power allows it to take place and come to pass? How could you say that? The only evidence I offer is what's here. Having all knowledge, he sent his son to the cross. Having all ability to plan and purpose things for his good, he sent Christ to be butchered on the cross. Having the power to stop or to carry it out, he sends his son to the cross. What am I supposed to think? The most horrific event of mankind took place on the cross. Everything else falls under it. So if God was present here, he's present with us always. He's purposing and planning always. He's carrying out and fulfilling always. It's a hard truth. But it's not me. It's the word of God.
SPEAKER_02Finally. Picking up now on where we left off next week. What is this verse teaching us overall? And for that I take you to Philippians chapter 2. Chapter 2, verse 5 through 8.
SPEAKER_05Here's what it says. Have this in mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus. Who, though he was in the form of God, he did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men, and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross. This is it. This is what John is showing us. He makes no bones about it. He's pointing back again and again. Look at the scripture, look at the fulfillment. See who did it? It was Jesus. He knew he was supposed to, and he accomplished it. It is finished. My work is complete. Jesus was obedient even to the point of death on the cross.
SPEAKER_02For us, what does that mean? For us, it means different things. But at least it means our own obedience.
SPEAKER_05If you're gonna believe what I've been saying here, what Nick said the week before, and Harley the week before, if you're gonna believe that this is true, the next step is obedience. Obedience to what you feel God is calling you to. Now, maybe you're here, maybe you're here, and you didn't grow up in church and you've never even been to a service, and this is your first time at one, so you're completely like, I have no idea what's going on. But something about what I'm saying is resonating as true, and I have to believe that because I believe this is the word of God. Something I'm saying is resonating as true. For you, what's your step of obedience? Well, I would say, one, just being here. I think that's a step. I would say something as simple as, you know what? Don't walk away without anything. Just, why don't you take a Bible? They're free. If you don't have one, look under the seat in front of you. There's one there for you. And just be willing to go home and read the book of John. And ask the question before you do. Maybe just mumble out the prayer, God, if this is you, show me who you are. That's it. Now, maybe, maybe you have been to church, and maybe you're kind of more of, you know, a doubting Thomas because you grew up in church and you saw things not go the way they should, and it's left you with a sour taste in your mouth, rightfully so. And maybe you're even past that and you're a little skeptical because of what you've seen, or you're cynical because of what you've seen. I would say obedience. Just being here again. That's a step. But who cares about what anybody else thinks? Who cares about what anybody else says? I can't live my faith, my worldview can't be based on somebody else's feelings or mistakes. And I encourage you to just read through John. Simple prayer. God, I don't even know if I believe in you. In fact, part of me hates you. But with nobody watching behind closed doors, I'll take this step. I'll read and I'll pray. Now, maybe there are others of you here who have been in church and still are, and you feel like you know the truth, but you, like many of those skeptics, like many of those people who haven't yet had the opportunity to know Jesus, you say, I've been through too many dark times in my life. Too many of those moments where I say, Where is God? And for you, for you I say, hold on to this truth. Hold on to this truth. Go back and read John 19, verse 35. I've written these things so that you might believe. I've written them so that you might believe. John 20, 31, so that they're believing in Christ, you might you might have eternal life. You might have life in my name. And if you are someone who says, I believe this 100%, it's true, it's a matter of fact. Well, I'm I'm I'm ecstatic about that, but don't stop there and obey. Go to your children, let them know. Someone, when I was in my most difficult time of life, this is where God was. This is how he showed up. This is what he did. This is how he brought me through it. You don't have kids, go to your co-workers, let me tell you about the goodness of God. Let me show you what he did in my most dire, my dire hour. Let me show you what he did. We are called to obedience, just like Jesus. No matter where, no matter when, will we listen and obey?
SPEAKER_02So, in conclusion, many of you have suffered a great loss or endured great pain. You've even experienced defeat and felt abandoned. You have questions for God? And that's normal. I'm not promising that God will answer all those questions for you.
SPEAKER_05But I am saying that if you surrender to him, he will cause all things to work out for your good. For those who love him and are called according to his purpose. Let's pray.
SPEAKER_02Father, I just thank you, Lord. I thank you for this time. And I know that your word is true.
SPEAKER_05And no matter how much, Father God, we take great lengths and go to great pains to abandon you, you never abandon us. So I just pray, Father, that during this time, Lord, that you would be working in our hearts, that you would be exposing this truth, that you would be molding us to conform to the image of your son. That we, like him, during the most adverse times of life, where we question God, can raise our voice and say, The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Amen.