back to index2021-05-23 Run with Endurance Part 5
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If you can turn your Bibles with me to Hebrews chapter 12 verses 1, 2, and 3. 00:00:09.800 |
And today will be the final message on these three verses. 00:00:34.400 |
Reading out of the NASB, it says, "Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses 00:00:38.000 |
surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles 00:00:44.000 |
Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the 00:00:48.280 |
author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising 00:00:55.400 |
the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 00:00:59.200 |
For consider him who has endured such hostility by sinners against himself, so that you will 00:01:07.560 |
Heavenly Father, we pray that you would open our eyes, that we may see what you have ordained 00:01:14.000 |
in your word, Lord God, to sanctify and strengthen your church. 00:01:17.480 |
Lord, if any of us has been drifting, we've allowed our hearts to be hardened, Lord God, 00:01:25.280 |
Help us, Lord, to continue to be softened by your Holy Spirit and your word. 00:01:29.680 |
We pray that you would anoint this time and let your voice be heard, that your children 00:01:40.240 |
I don't know how many of you are active on Instagram or Facebook, but I told people that 00:01:50.440 |
So it helps me with the church, especially it's growing. 00:01:54.080 |
If I'm not your Facebook friend, please make me your Facebook friend. 00:01:59.700 |
Friend me so I could connect it and that way I can kind of know what's going on in your 00:02:05.040 |
I observe that based upon what you put on your Facebook page or your Instagram, what 00:02:15.720 |
Usually you'll highlight certain things that you love and you care about and you put it 00:02:20.520 |
I'm not saying that that happens with everybody, but I could tell from a distance that some 00:02:28.160 |
And all you have, you have no pictures of human beings on your Instagram, like zero, 00:02:34.800 |
It's all I see is the years and years of where you've eaten and just delicious food, the 00:02:40.720 |
So I can tell without you saying a word that you are a foodie, that you are willing to 00:02:47.320 |
Some of you are travel maniacs because all I see on your Instagram pictures are the various 00:02:52.260 |
places that you visited and certain places are beautiful. 00:02:58.360 |
So I could tell that you enjoy traveling just by what I see. 00:03:04.960 |
Whenever you meet together with somebody, you'll take a selfie, right? 00:03:12.040 |
And then so you have, I see various pictures of who you've had meals with. 00:03:15.860 |
And I know some of you who never post anything on Instagram or Facebook until you have your 00:03:25.720 |
And then all of a sudden you become hyperactive as soon as you have a child and all the pictures 00:03:30.320 |
that are on there are usually of your children. 00:03:34.560 |
It's like, oh, he used his left hand to cook or whatever. 00:03:38.040 |
And then so everything that they do is exciting. 00:03:40.040 |
So your Instagram and Facebook presentation kind of reveals that these are things that 00:03:48.280 |
Whatever it is that we care about, we have a tendency to be willing to suffer many things 00:03:54.000 |
Some of you might like traveling, visiting new places, but you may hate airplanes. 00:04:00.000 |
I enjoy seeing new things and going to new places and seeing things. 00:04:03.840 |
But that process of getting there is torture. 00:04:08.640 |
And so I literally have to suffer through all that to get to the other end. 00:04:12.400 |
But the experience that you'll have on the other end is worth it. 00:04:16.200 |
So if you're a foodie, you may not like driving and you may not like L.A. traffic, but you're 00:04:23.720 |
willing to go through all of that because you want to get there. 00:04:27.160 |
So depending on what you love and how intensely you love something, you're probably more willing 00:04:32.360 |
to put up with inconvenience and trials to get what you want. 00:04:39.280 |
Well I say all of this because the motivation behind what Jesus did is clearly spelled out 00:04:45.220 |
in this passage where it says, "Fixing our eyes on you, the author and perfecter of faith, 00:04:49.560 |
who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame." 00:04:55.080 |
You know, previously we looked about how Jesus was going to the cross and he says, "It's 00:04:58.800 |
time for me to be glorified, that I may glorify you, that you may glorify me." 00:05:02.720 |
So to think of the cross knowing what it is, and the term glory and the cross really don't 00:05:08.760 |
fit together, but Christ used the cross to glorify himself, to glorify the Father. 00:05:15.240 |
But this term here where it says joy and the cross is another term that is an oxymoron. 00:05:20.140 |
You would never think that these two terms would be associated with the cross. 00:05:24.880 |
Because it was human depravity that they came up with this, this creative idea to humiliate 00:05:31.800 |
somebody not only to carry out the punishment, but as an example so that nobody would want 00:05:42.480 |
And yet the Bible says the cross was a place where God and the Father was glorified, and 00:05:48.960 |
then here it says he was able to endure the cross because of joy. 00:05:55.760 |
So what was this joy that was big enough, great enough, deep enough that he was willing 00:06:04.540 |
So the more you love something, the more you are willing to put up with to have it. 00:06:10.320 |
So the fact that he was willing to endure the cross signifies that the joy that was 00:06:15.360 |
coming was much greater than whatever he was going to suffer. 00:06:23.000 |
What was it that he had because of the cross that he didn't have before the cross? 00:06:29.080 |
You may say, well, the Bible says that he was lifted up, he became the King of kings 00:06:48.560 |
He didn't need the cross to be sitting at the right hand of God. 00:06:51.700 |
All the glory that you can think of that God had, he had before the cross. 00:06:57.460 |
So what was it that he was looking forward to, to enjoy, that even the shame and the 00:07:03.500 |
suffering that was coming because of the cross, he was willing to endure? 00:07:08.460 |
Now I remember the first time wrestling through this. 00:07:11.100 |
You know, I read this passage, I memorized this scripture, this part of it, and you know, 00:07:16.860 |
typically we kind of hone in on, fix your eyes upon Jesus. 00:07:22.740 |
And then you hear a lot of sermons about not to be entangled with things that are encumbrances 00:07:31.500 |
And so you've probably heard a lot of messages on those things, but one particular day I 00:07:36.100 |
was fixating on the joy that was set before him. 00:07:43.440 |
So I was combing through scripture and looking up commentaries and I realized a clear thing 00:07:48.660 |
that he was saying, that the joy that was set before him is referring to me and you. 00:07:56.700 |
Everything else that you and I can think of as his exaltation, he had that and then some. 00:08:02.020 |
But what he didn't have before the cross is us. 00:08:06.120 |
And the Bible describes how he came to restore that joy in us. 00:08:11.500 |
In fact, Ephesians chapter 1, 7-9 says, "In him we have redemption through his blood, 00:08:15.500 |
the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to his riches of his grace." 00:08:20.660 |
His arms not being twisted, God the Father didn't grab him by the throat and say, "You 00:08:27.260 |
Sinners were not the ones who forced him on the cross. 00:08:29.940 |
He volunteered, walked in, even as he was agonizing over the pain that was coming, he 00:08:38.260 |
And he says this laying down of his life was a lavishing of his love toward us. 00:08:43.940 |
According to his kind intentions which he purposed in him. 00:08:46.900 |
Ephesians chapter 2, 4-5 says, "With God being rich in mercy, because of his great 00:08:51.740 |
love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive 00:08:57.100 |
together with Christ, by grace you have been saved." 00:09:02.060 |
I think I've mentioned this enough in our sermons, in our Bible studies and throughout 00:09:06.260 |
the years, that you and I live in a generation where his love and mercy has been emphasized 00:09:14.740 |
to the point where people have a very shallow understanding of his holiness and justice. 00:09:20.420 |
It's almost kind of like a given, like, "Oh, come God, come God doesn't answer prayers. 00:09:25.860 |
People walk into brand new churches and say, "Oh, they didn't do this for me." 00:09:28.860 |
So we have this entitlement when we come to God, "Why doesn't God do this for me?" 00:09:37.380 |
Very weird thing to ask to come into the presence of God and think that God owes you something. 00:09:44.660 |
But because of the way that the gospel has been preached in our generation, an average 00:09:49.100 |
person walks into church expecting God to love them, expecting God to be merciful. 00:09:55.220 |
So it's important for us to understand the balance that the cross is the perfect glorification 00:10:00.440 |
of his justice and holiness along with his love. 00:10:05.220 |
But having said that, as important as God's justice is, as important as his love is, if 00:10:12.380 |
we stray from understanding that the love was the primary motivation of why he came, 00:10:21.700 |
the damage that that does is equally harmful as emphasizing just the justice. 00:10:29.000 |
He says the primary reason why he came is because he loved the God, so loved the world 00:10:36.040 |
So the gospel is a glorification of God's love toward us. 00:10:41.420 |
He was willing to suffer the shame, the agony, the pain, the rejection, humiliation, all 00:10:47.180 |
because there was joy waiting for him that this cross was going to produce. 00:10:54.140 |
We often think about the nation of Israel, and after we read the Old Testament, our primary 00:11:02.660 |
emotions or primary idea of the relationship between Israel and God is that God must be 00:11:12.220 |
He's putting up with them, like I want to crush you, but because I made a covenant with 00:11:20.300 |
So the picture that we have oftentimes is God is just about to strike, and right before 00:11:27.140 |
he hammers them, he's like, "I made that covenant. 00:11:35.260 |
Well, that's not how his love for Israel is described. 00:11:39.520 |
In Isaiah chapter 62, verse 5, it says, "For as young man marries a virgin, so your sons 00:11:44.960 |
will marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so your God will rejoice over 00:11:52.820 |
I mean, he describes his love for the nation of Israel in the most intimate relationship 00:11:59.060 |
between a young bride, in the honeymoon stage, where you just can't wait to get together. 00:12:04.220 |
He says the most intense love that we are able to experience, he says that's the way 00:12:12.700 |
Zechariah chapter 2, verse 8, it says, "For thus says the Lord of Hosts, 'After glory 00:12:17.240 |
he has sent me against the nations which plunder you, for he who touches you touches the apple 00:12:23.920 |
You know that term, the apple of his eye, actually comes from this text, right? 00:12:30.000 |
I remember trying to do research, and I Googled and asked professors, "What does this mean, 00:12:37.700 |
Well, apple of your eye is the part of your eye, you know, just basically the sensitive 00:12:43.260 |
area in your eye, where all it is saying is, when somebody tries to come and touch you, 00:12:55.140 |
You close your eyes to protect your eyes, instinctively. 00:12:59.340 |
So if I come over there, right, and I just go like that, and if I get too close, 100% 00:13:04.500 |
of you, unless something's wrong with you, your natural, instinctive response is to protect 00:13:13.860 |
He's describing his love for the nation of Israel, that if anybody comes and touches 00:13:18.900 |
you, it'll be like them touching the apple of my eye. 00:13:22.500 |
Instinctively, without even thinking, without calculation, he's going to act to protect 00:13:28.220 |
That's how he describes his love for the nation of Israel. 00:13:32.220 |
Even as he pronounces judgment upon the nation of Israel to discipline them because of their 00:13:36.940 |
disobedience, he says, Isaiah 49, 15, "Can a woman forget her nursing child?" 00:13:43.900 |
He's not asking a question, he's like, "Can they?" 00:13:50.480 |
The most sacrificial love that he can describe is a young mom who's nursing her child, and 00:13:56.220 |
can she have no compassion for the son of her womb? 00:13:58.820 |
But obviously the answer is a resounding, "No, of course not." 00:14:02.540 |
Of course a nursing mom can't forget her child. 00:14:04.860 |
Of course she's going to have compassion on her. 00:14:07.300 |
But even these may forget, but I will not forget you, that his love is even greater 00:14:14.700 |
Even as he is pronouncing judgment, he says that, "I will not, I cannot forget you," because 00:14:23.400 |
As Jesus is coming into Jerusalem, as Jesus is coming to Jerusalem, he recognizes that 00:14:34.880 |
You would think that the natural response of Jesus would be, "I've done as much as I could." 00:14:42.760 |
God was so angered with the nations that at one point he wiped them out in the flood like 00:14:52.080 |
But yet he's coming into Jerusalem knowing that the very people that he's been patient 00:14:56.000 |
with, that he loves, are going to reject him. 00:14:59.800 |
And instead of being angered, he has compassion. 00:15:04.400 |
It says he was weeping over the nation of Israel, wanting them to turn. 00:15:12.240 |
You know, every part of Scripture, even though, even in his anger, it is an expression of 00:15:17.920 |
Oftentimes we look at the book of Revelations and we say, "Wow, God is truly wrathful." 00:15:28.860 |
And you see these instances where you have the seal judgments, you have the trumpet judgments, 00:15:33.600 |
and you have the bowl judgments, and every time a judgment comes, it gets more intense. 00:15:37.900 |
And you look at that and say, "Wow, God is truly wrathful." 00:15:42.560 |
Revelation is not a revelation of the wrath of God. 00:15:46.960 |
Because the true wrath of God is not expressed in the Bible. 00:15:51.760 |
All it says was, "The end shall come and you will be judged." 00:15:57.880 |
All that we see in the book of Revelation is a warning for sinners to turn. 00:16:03.600 |
Every bowl judgment, every trumpet judgment, every seal judgment is God pleading with the 00:16:12.600 |
If He was done with the nation, there is no drama of Revelation. 00:16:24.500 |
But even in His judgment, God is being patient, wanting sinners to repent and come to Him. 00:16:32.520 |
That's why the Bible says that when one sinner repents, all of heaven rejoices. 00:16:38.480 |
And that's exactly what the Bible says, that He was willing to endure the excruciating 00:16:43.560 |
pain, the humiliation, the rejection from His own people because of joy that He sees 00:16:56.640 |
Ephesians 1, 4-5, it says, "Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, 00:17:01.600 |
that we would be holy and blameless before Him. 00:17:08.960 |
Whenever the term predestination comes, it always causes a stir in some people. 00:17:17.600 |
Arbitrarily, He just chose some and He didn't choose the other." 00:17:24.400 |
He says, "In love, He predestined us to adoption." 00:17:28.800 |
Now, I can't explain to you how all of that works. 00:17:34.400 |
And what it says is, predestination is because of His love. 00:17:42.440 |
He elected us, predestined us as sons through Jesus Christ Himself according to the kind 00:17:53.760 |
In this pursuit of His own joy to save us, He didn't just say, "You know what? 00:18:00.880 |
I'm going to die if you cover you with my son's blood." 00:18:04.320 |
And if all He did was not kill us and not send us to hell immediately, we would owe 00:18:11.840 |
the rest of eternity to thank Him because He saved us from eternal judgment. 00:18:17.720 |
But that's not how the Bible describes our salvation. 00:18:21.080 |
In Romans 8.15, it says, "For you have not received the spirit of slavery leading to 00:18:24.980 |
fear again, but you have received the spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry, 'Abba, 00:18:32.480 |
"Abba, Father" is the most intimate term between a child and his father. 00:18:43.080 |
I remember when my children were younger, at some point, you know, turned 10 maybe, 00:18:49.880 |
11 or 12, and right around that age, they got to start to being cool. 00:18:56.520 |
And their friends' opinions of them start to matter more than it should. 00:19:00.920 |
And so they kind of make their transition where right up to about 12 or 13, everything 00:19:13.720 |
But at some point around 13, 14, all of a sudden, everything you say has to be tested 00:19:21.240 |
You tell them something, and then they'll turn around and ask their friends, "Is that 00:19:29.640 |
And they start to challenging you at some point. 00:19:32.080 |
So I remember when my kids were right around that age, they started to change from "Daddy" 00:19:40.320 |
And I remember hearing that for the first time, and I didn't want it. 00:19:52.760 |
Because that relationship that I had with my children, I wanted to hold on to as long 00:19:59.240 |
I think every parent knows exactly what I'm talking about. 00:20:03.880 |
To this day, they call me "Daddy" and "Mommy." 00:20:06.500 |
And I know it may sound weird from the outside, but that's because I want that relationship 00:20:13.080 |
That term that is being used here, "Abba, Father," is the most intimate term that can 00:20:18.080 |
be used between a father and a child, where God says, not only did He save us from eternal 00:20:23.040 |
damnation, He raised us up as adopted children to call Him our "Abba, Father." 00:20:30.560 |
Anybody else that calls me "Daddy" would be weird. 00:20:39.000 |
This love relationship with my own children will be calling me "Daddy" or "Mommy." 00:20:43.760 |
He says He's using that term to say He raised us up for that purpose, so that He can have 00:20:51.840 |
He said that's the joy that was waiting for Him on the other side. 00:20:56.600 |
You know, Apostle Paul, you know, this man who hated the Gentiles, he was willing to 00:21:02.880 |
murder because he was so nationalistic about his Jewish identity. 00:21:08.000 |
It's that man who says in the Thessalonians how he loved these people that he used to 00:21:11.920 |
hate like a mother, a nursing mother, and as a gentle father. 00:21:17.880 |
You know, we may look at that and psychologize this and say, "Well, you know, maybe Apostle 00:21:21.480 |
Paul has more estrogen than an average male, and that's why he has these compassions." 00:21:30.720 |
I mean, look at Apostle Paul before he met Christ. 00:21:37.480 |
He's willing to die for Jesus or die for his purpose. 00:21:41.960 |
He says what he says because he is simply reflecting the love that he experienced with 00:21:50.640 |
He was simply showing the love that Christ gave him. 00:21:55.080 |
That's why in 1 John 3, it says, "See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us 00:21:59.040 |
that we would be called the children of God." 00:22:02.160 |
Behold, look carefully and see what it is that you and I have. 00:22:10.320 |
Again, everything that we do repeatedly eventually becomes mundane, whatever it is, right? 00:22:19.240 |
That one point, you know, you're so excited about something, but after you have it for 00:22:25.880 |
Oh, I love this, but you have it all the time, every day, you know. 00:22:33.080 |
I remember when I was younger, you know, steak was—it's not like today where it's like, 00:22:37.720 |
oh, I want steak, so you have steak tomorrow, right? 00:22:39.960 |
When we were younger, steak was not available. 00:22:43.000 |
We would go to Sizzler's and that was like a huge event. 00:22:51.360 |
I had steak Thursday, so let's have something today. 00:22:53.720 |
I had sushi on Wednesday, so let's have something else. 00:22:56.640 |
Everything we do repeatedly, we have a tendency to allow that to become mundane, right? 00:23:04.640 |
The love of Christ is one of those things that if you allow it to become mundane, it 00:23:12.680 |
And that's why he says to behold, to continue to gaze upon Christ, who is the beginner and 00:23:20.420 |
As soon as the love of Christ becomes something mundane, it affects your worship, it affects 00:23:27.340 |
your prayer life, it affects evangelism, it affects your fellowship, the true fellowship, 00:23:35.980 |
Not just gathering of people and doing stuff together, but true fellowship. 00:23:42.300 |
He says that everything that he endured on the cross was for the joy set before him. 00:23:48.820 |
Sometimes we think of sanctification as somebody who's not disciplined to be more disciplined, 00:23:54.300 |
or somebody who didn't know the Bible to know the Bible. 00:23:59.420 |
All of these things are external things that we ought to strive to buffet our bodies and 00:24:05.260 |
But the primary understanding of sanctification is to restore God's glory in us that we've 00:24:22.420 |
So when he restores us, he's restoring that image. 00:24:29.100 |
I remember when Zachary, our second child, was born. 00:24:33.940 |
I remember the joy that he brought to us because he had a little dimple on one side of his 00:24:50.900 |
I don't even know if he still has it to this day, but when he was a kid and he would only 00:24:56.380 |
The reason why it brought us so much joy is because Esther has the same dimple. 00:25:04.360 |
So I remember when he was an infant, every time he would crack a little smile, that one 00:25:10.220 |
And for everybody else, we would look at that and say, "Really?" 00:25:15.140 |
That little tiny little hole in his face brought so much joy to me. 00:25:19.780 |
It's brought so much joy because it was a reflection of his mom. 00:25:26.580 |
So I remember Esther and I just being so in love because of that tiny little dimple. 00:25:39.640 |
God created us for his pleasure, but when we withdrew from him, that image was tainted. 00:25:46.220 |
So when he saved us, he saved us in order to restore us and to restore that image in 00:25:52.940 |
And the more that we reflect who he is, the greater joy that it produces in him. 00:26:01.300 |
Sanctification isn't just externally behaving differently than you did before you met Christ. 00:26:05.780 |
It's that glory, that image that he created us for being restored. 00:26:11.420 |
That's what he's referring to when he says he endured the cross because of the joy set 00:26:16.500 |
In Colossians 3, 8, it says, "And have put on the new self who is being renewed to a 00:26:21.660 |
true knowledge according to the image of the one who created him." 00:26:25.700 |
That's how salvation is described, that we would be transformed to the true knowledge 00:26:34.060 |
2 Corinthians 3, 18, "But we all with unveiled face beholding in a mirror the glory of the 00:26:39.660 |
Lord are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord 00:26:47.780 |
So as we gaze upon his glory, his dimple is getting deeper in us. 00:26:53.900 |
His eye color, his heart, his desire, his righteousness, his love, all of that is beginning 00:27:03.520 |
As we behold his glory and we are being transformed from one lesser form of glory to greater form 00:27:13.660 |
2 Corinthians 15, 46, "Just as we have borne the image of the earthly, we will also bear 00:27:22.860 |
So when the Bible describes and tells us early on in Hebrews, he says, "To enter the throne 00:27:33.140 |
We have a tendency because of our works-based mentality, we have the tendency to think that 00:27:39.820 |
when we're doing well, we did righteousness and we gave and we were disciplined that we 00:27:43.820 |
can come into the throne of grace with confidence. 00:27:46.180 |
But when we're not doing well, you know, we're kind of like, "Oh shucks, I don't deserve 00:27:53.100 |
And we're kind of barely, we'll get in because that's the only place we can get in. 00:27:58.420 |
There's something inside of us that constantly thinks that we need to be worthy. 00:28:03.700 |
But when he says to come to the throne of grace with confidence, he's saying because 00:28:07.300 |
you're coming into your Abba Father's throne. 00:28:10.060 |
Yes, he is the King of Kings, but that's your Abba Father's throne. 00:28:15.820 |
You know, as children, you know, we think, "Oh, you know, my parents have..." 00:28:22.220 |
At one point when you mature, right, hopefully all of you are already there, you realize 00:28:27.860 |
how much every parent has suffered for you, right? 00:28:33.560 |
Every parent, even the ones that you're mad at, they all sacrifice and suffer for you. 00:28:41.700 |
Imagine coming in one day, it's like, "You know, I'm going to make it up to you. 00:28:43.580 |
I'm going to give you a car, a nice car, right? 00:28:51.140 |
And then give it to your parent and say, "Now we're even." 00:29:00.560 |
There is no way you can match, because every parent sacrificed everything they had in order 00:29:09.540 |
You would have to give your life and do what they did to say you matched it. 00:29:16.560 |
It's a, every gift that we give is a gift of gratitude, recognizing what they've done 00:29:21.500 |
But there's no way that you can exchange what they've done for a simple car. 00:29:27.580 |
See, in the way that we approach Christ, that we have this mentality that if I'm more righteous, 00:29:32.620 |
if I do more, somehow we have a better standing before God because we've done more and God 00:29:39.620 |
The primary thing that He, the reason why He wants us to come to Him is because that's 00:29:46.940 |
The very reason why He died and He suffered is that it gives Him joy to have us in His 00:29:53.720 |
It gives Him joy to see us, to be near Him, to reflect who He is. 00:30:04.060 |
He loved us and that's why He did that, but He says He loves us. 00:30:08.900 |
You ever think why Jesus was constantly praying and again, our thought immediately is He needed 00:30:18.400 |
He needed energy because He had so much He needed to do. 00:30:21.880 |
He needed to pray so that He could be regrouped and be strengthened so that He could go out 00:30:28.000 |
That's not a lie, but you ever think that maybe that's where Jesus wanted to be more 00:30:36.640 |
That He just went there because that was His home? 00:30:39.960 |
Even if He had all the energy He needed, that's where He knew the love of Christ most intimately. 00:30:47.400 |
He just did it because that's where He wanted to be. 00:30:55.360 |
That's where this love relation, He just went to the Father's throne because God loves Him 00:31:01.640 |
You ever think of prayer and your intimacy with Christ in that way, not just like, "Oh, 00:31:07.600 |
You know, I need to make disciples bear fruit, so I need to pray and I need to do this." 00:31:11.800 |
You ever think that maybe that when God wants us to come to Him just simply so that He can 00:31:21.560 |
Because that's the primary thing that He says while He did all this other stuff. 00:31:25.600 |
The Bible does say that, but the primary thing, primary reward for our God was ourselves. 00:31:35.520 |
Not only did Christ endure for the sake of joy that was coming as a result of His suffering, 00:31:48.520 |
If Christianity has become nothing more than a checkoff box because you have accountability 00:31:54.860 |
and somebody's going to call you out if you don't do it, you're going to be shamed. 00:31:58.120 |
If that's your primary motivation to get to the next level or to be a good Christian, 00:32:02.880 |
if that's your primary motivation, eventually Christianity becomes a tremendous burden that 00:32:11.440 |
You will work hard, but it's not producing joy. 00:32:17.960 |
Just like it says, as a result of the fall, you will work, you will labor, but the end 00:32:22.080 |
result is going to be thorns and thistles, and at the end, it doesn't produce life. 00:32:29.600 |
He's writing this letter to people who at what point did all that God required of them 00:32:35.920 |
Here's chapter 1034, "For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the 00:32:40.880 |
seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and 00:32:51.240 |
They were drifting because they lost their joy. 00:33:01.760 |
They find joy in everything else, but with Christ as an obligation. 00:33:10.240 |
And because of that, you go through the motion at church, do what's expected at church, but 00:33:21.920 |
That's where it produces rest for you, somewhere else. 00:33:25.480 |
That's why we're constantly escaping, whether it's through media, whether it's through purchasing 00:33:31.600 |
things, whether it's through friendship or traveling, because Christianity has become 00:33:37.840 |
In Hebrews 11, 24-26, it says, "By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called 00:33:52.160 |
Nobody offered a billion dollars if we don't walk with Christ. 00:33:56.480 |
He said he didn't consider that, choosing rather to endure ill treatment. 00:34:01.180 |
He went from Pharaoh's house to being ill treated with the people of God, then to enjoy 00:34:08.240 |
He realized that whatever temptation was there was only temporary, verse 26, "considering 00:34:12.960 |
the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasure of Egypt, for he was looking 00:34:19.840 |
The reason why he was able to overcome that temptation is because he was tempted with 00:34:23.760 |
greater temptation for the joy that was coming in Christ. 00:34:28.640 |
He didn't just will himself to follow Christ. 00:34:33.000 |
It's because he believed that there was greater joy in Christ. 00:34:37.840 |
First Thessalonians 1, 2-4, it says, "We give thanks to God always for all of you, 00:34:42.880 |
making mention of you in prayer, constantly bearing in mind your work of faith, labor 00:34:52.740 |
What's the difference between work of faith and labor of love? 00:34:55.000 |
If you're a Christian and you have faith, you are working in some capacity. 00:34:59.400 |
Some of you are more mature, some of you are more disciplined, some of you know more theology, 00:35:05.560 |
So you can't be a Christian if you don't have faith. 00:35:10.080 |
But along with faith, he says, to labor of love. 00:35:14.680 |
And you know the difference between doing something because you love something versus 00:35:18.440 |
doing something because you're supposed to do it. 00:35:33.160 |
These are the questions that come from somebody who's in burden. 00:35:39.400 |
And I'll do it because I'm supposed to do it. 00:35:48.160 |
So you do Bible study Tuesday and then you never open up your Bible. 00:35:51.960 |
Because Bible's a project that you're supposed to do. 00:36:06.840 |
Everything that we do, it just becomes a project. 00:36:09.280 |
So some of you are good at projects and some of you are not good at projects. 00:36:17.140 |
Labor of love is ultimately what produces joy. 00:36:31.280 |
Jonathan Edwards in his book Religious Affections describes true affection versus false affection. 00:36:37.960 |
And he says in his book, hypocrite is someone who is using God to get something else. 00:36:43.520 |
On the surface it looks the same, but God is being used that if I'm faithful, if I'm 00:36:47.640 |
a good disciple, if I'm obedient, if I read enough, if I have enough theology, that there 00:36:53.840 |
And so if your mindset is that, when things don't work out, all of a sudden we start to 00:37:03.360 |
How come everybody else has it but I don't have it? 00:37:05.400 |
If Jesus is a primary source to get something we want. 00:37:14.880 |
But he says God didn't call you, he said, but true affection for Christian is someone 00:37:27.800 |
And that's what he means by if you drink of the things of this world, you will go thirsty 00:37:32.320 |
If you eat of the bread of this world, you will be hungry again. 00:37:37.440 |
But you will have to do this over and over again. 00:37:39.760 |
But the water that I give you will well up into eternal life. 00:37:43.440 |
And if you drink of it, you will never thirst. 00:37:47.360 |
The bread that I give you will well up into eternal life and you will never go hungry 00:38:00.720 |
Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden. 00:38:02.840 |
He didn't say, come over here so I can tell you where to go. 00:38:09.520 |
He wants to restore that glory that you and I had, the very reason why you and I were 00:38:23.440 |
In Psalm 1611 it says, you will make known to me the path of life. 00:38:29.480 |
In your right hand there is pleasure forever. 00:38:36.340 |
In John 17 verse 13, Jesus says in his priestly prayer, but now I come to you and these things 00:38:41.180 |
I speak in the world so that they may have my joy made full in themselves. 00:38:45.860 |
He came not to burden us of more things to do. 00:38:52.020 |
We're not saying that righteousness and fighting sin, in fact the very next passage it says, 00:38:57.440 |
you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in resisting sin. 00:39:01.180 |
So it's not that he's not telling us that we need to fight against sin. 00:39:04.700 |
But the primary call from a sinner to be saved is to come and restore that love relationship 00:39:15.300 |
To enjoy his presence as he enjoys our presence. 00:39:20.460 |
And it is that love that he uses to measure everything. 00:39:26.500 |
When that love is not there, it affects our fellowship. 00:39:39.100 |
John 10, 10 it says, a thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. 00:39:42.460 |
I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 00:39:46.740 |
You notice here, the life he's referring to is not opposite of death where, you know, 00:39:54.820 |
He's not saying that he's going to get people who are not existing to exist. 00:40:08.180 |
That he may restore the joy that he intended. 00:40:12.940 |
And to restore that when we fell from that joy. 00:40:19.420 |
This love that he gave us is not something that you and I can muster up ourselves. 00:40:26.100 |
Let me, I want to conclude with this passage of love in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, right? 00:40:31.740 |
Which is often used in weddings when a boy or girl is inspired by the beauty of whoever 00:40:41.660 |
they're watching and they write a love letter, 1 Corinthians 13, because you're godly, right? 00:40:48.180 |
Or you take that and you put it up on a wall so that you can be reminded of this beautiful 00:40:53.740 |
But I think in many ways that we apply this the wrong way, right? 00:41:00.740 |
That it's not complete in the way that we use it. 00:41:05.700 |
The reason why he writes Corinthians is because this church, in their passionate pursuit of 00:41:21.940 |
You know, the people who are disciples of Peter are more righteous. 00:41:24.980 |
People who are disciples of Apollos, he's more polished speaker, so he's more righteous. 00:41:28.980 |
Oh, Apostle Paul went around, risked his life and planted all these, he's more righteous. 00:41:33.340 |
And so in their pursuit of religious righteousness, it caused divisions in the church. 00:41:42.340 |
And so this division, again, the core problem was they were competing for righteousness 00:41:49.420 |
and then that caused all kinds of divisions in the church and once the division came in, 00:41:53.660 |
they started tolerating all kinds of sin within the church. 00:41:58.380 |
And so it is within that context that he is writing to them, the primary thing that you 00:42:04.860 |
If I speak with tongues of men and of angels but do not have love, I have become a noisy 00:42:12.940 |
If I have the gift of prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge, let me stop right 00:42:24.300 |
That means like you've mastered the Word of God. 00:42:29.620 |
You've mastered Leviticus, the book of Numbers. 00:42:34.020 |
You've mastered everything that the Bible has to teach. 00:42:36.460 |
It says you have all knowledge and all prophecy. 00:42:40.700 |
And if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, wow. 00:42:51.380 |
Our church is going to blow up to 10,000 tomorrow because people think there must be a man of 00:42:58.020 |
But he says even if you have faith to move mountains, right, even if you have faith to 00:43:03.260 |
remove mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. 00:43:13.380 |
You better say yes because this is the Bible. 00:43:20.780 |
I can have all of this stuff and yet you do not know love is nothing. 00:43:26.340 |
Verse 3, "And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor and if I surrender my body 00:43:31.580 |
He's talking about somebody who's being martyred. 00:43:38.260 |
He's willing to die for the name of Christ, die for the gospel. 00:43:46.180 |
If I surrender my body to be burned but do not have love, it profits me nothing. 00:44:09.780 |
But the primary thing that we are judged by is by our love. 00:44:40.180 |
Let's draw a picture of a heart in our head and just focus. 00:44:49.700 |
How much meditation do you need for your heart to be like, "Oh, I love that man." 00:44:59.980 |
Somebody wrong you or somebody who's difficult to love, you just go into your closet and 00:45:04.200 |
memorize two verses like, "Oh, he said to love. 00:45:13.700 |
The hardest thing to practice in our Christian faith is this very thing that he says. 00:45:23.420 |
It doesn't mean anything if you don't have this. 00:45:28.060 |
I mean, nothing causes us to feel more helpless than to try to practice love with somebody 00:45:44.580 |
It feels good to take some vengeance sometimes. 00:45:51.860 |
Of course, we would never admit it, but our flesh feels good about it. 00:45:56.900 |
But you try to love somebody that is hard to love or maybe even deliberately trying 00:46:11.420 |
The best advice you'll get is keep your friends close and keep your enemies even closer, meaning 00:46:25.860 |
But to love them like the way he loved us while we're blaspheming, while we were yet 00:46:33.220 |
sinners even as we confess our love, we so easily forget and are strayed. 00:46:43.780 |
No amount of meditation, no amount of hard work, no amount of self-discipline is going 00:46:49.380 |
to change your inner being and all of a sudden start to love people that are hard to love 00:46:54.540 |
That's why the Bible says, when Paul says, "It is the love of Christ that compels 00:47:02.060 |
It is only when his glory is restored that all we are doing is a reflection of his love. 00:47:09.420 |
Because you dig deep down inside, you're not going to find love. 00:47:13.760 |
You dig deep down, you discipline and you're like, "Resolved! 00:47:22.980 |
Anything that I need to do for me to survive, for me to have pleasure. 00:47:29.100 |
Sanctification is when we behold what he's done for us and it begins to reflect, reflection 00:47:37.220 |
So 1 Corinthians 13, as beautiful as this is, it isn't first and foremost, "You 00:47:48.380 |
First and foremost is a description of his love for us. 00:47:57.020 |
So he wants us to behold his love and once we behold his love, once we are inspired by 00:48:04.820 |
his love, once we are transformed by his love, then let that love reflect off of you. 00:48:10.280 |
Then the world will know that you are my disciples. 00:48:14.420 |
That you are near me, that you love me because you are doing only what you can do because 00:48:22.320 |
So I want to read this text to you again, but I want you to read it not as a command 00:48:30.200 |
for you to follow, even though obviously it is also a command, but I want you to see this 00:48:35.960 |
as a description of God's perfect love for us. 00:48:40.520 |
So don't think about this is what I need to do. 00:48:42.680 |
Think about what he has done and I want to read this passage and I want you to reflect 00:49:19.820 |
Does not take into account of wrong suffered. 00:49:24.600 |
Does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth. 00:50:17.980 |
Imagine if God was provoked every time we sin. 00:50:27.040 |
That once we repent, he forgives and he forgets. 00:50:32.620 |
Does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with truth. 00:50:40.060 |
Think about all the things even to this day that he's bearing with us. 00:50:59.380 |
He's calling us to reflect this in our lives. 00:51:03.460 |
Not to produce this in our lives, but to reflect this in our lives. 00:51:08.580 |
Verse 12, "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. 00:51:12.020 |
Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I also have been fully known. 00:51:17.740 |
But now faith, hope, love abide, these three. 00:51:33.140 |
That's why when he said, "If you ask for forgiveness," he's faithful just to forgive you of all your 00:51:38.620 |
unrighteousness because he is eager to forgive you. 00:51:50.500 |
Just like every parent is eager to forgive their children because they want that relationship 00:52:09.120 |
Because that's the reason why he died for us, so that we would come. 00:52:18.420 |
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will 00:52:26.660 |
I pray that we would all, every single one of us, would find this rest in the love of 00:52:32.360 |
Let's take some time to pray again as we ask our worship team to come. 00:52:50.720 |
When's the last time you really beheld this love? 00:52:53.640 |
You know it intellectually, but when's the last time the glory of his love affected 00:52:59.800 |
you so deeply that you desired that above everything else? 00:53:05.000 |
That you're willing to suffer to have more of it? 00:53:11.080 |
Let's take some time to pray again as our worship team leads us this morning.