If you can turn your Bibles with me to Hebrews chapter 12 verses 1, 2, and 3. And today will be the final message on these three verses. Okay, I promise. Hebrews chapter 12 verses 1, 2, and 3. Reading out of the NASB, it says, "Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us.

Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him who has endured such hostility by sinners against himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we pray that you would open our eyes, that we may see what you have ordained in your word, Lord God, to sanctify and strengthen your church. Lord, if any of us has been drifting, we've allowed our hearts to be hardened, Lord God, toward the things that you give us.

Help us, Lord, to continue to be softened by your Holy Spirit and your word. We pray that you would anoint this time and let your voice be heard, that your children will hear it and follow you and you alone. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. I don't know how many of you are active on Instagram or Facebook, but I told people that I regularly stalk you.

So it helps me with the church, especially it's growing. If I'm not your Facebook friend, please make me your Facebook friend. Don't make me beg. Friend me so I could connect it and that way I can kind of know what's going on in your life. I observe that based upon what you put on your Facebook page or your Instagram, what you love, right?

Usually you'll highlight certain things that you love and you care about and you put it on your Instagram. I'm not saying that that happens with everybody, but I could tell from a distance that some of you are foodies, right? And all you have, you have no pictures of human beings on your Instagram, like zero, not even yourself.

It's all I see is the years and years of where you've eaten and just delicious food, the best presentation. So I can tell without you saying a word that you are a foodie, that you are willing to drive far distances to get the right food. Some of you are travel maniacs because all I see on your Instagram pictures are the various places that you visited and certain places are beautiful.

It makes me want to go there one day. So I could tell that you enjoy traveling just by what I see. Some of you put up pictures of your friends. Whenever you meet together with somebody, you'll take a selfie, right? And then you'll put it on the Instagram. And then so you have, I see various pictures of who you've had meals with.

And I know some of you who never post anything on Instagram or Facebook until you have your child, right? There's no pictures of you. You don't interact at all. And then all of a sudden you become hyperactive as soon as you have a child and all the pictures that are on there are usually of your children.

Look at the spaghetti on his head. It's like, oh, he used his left hand to cook or whatever. And then so everything that they do is exciting. So your Instagram and Facebook presentation kind of reveals that these are things that you care about. Whatever it is that we care about, we have a tendency to be willing to suffer many things to do that.

Some of you might like traveling, visiting new places, but you may hate airplanes. That's kind of like me. I enjoy seeing new things and going to new places and seeing things. But that process of getting there is torture. I hate being on an airplane. I have a bad back.

And so I literally have to suffer through all that to get to the other end. But the experience that you'll have on the other end is worth it. So if you're a foodie, you may not like driving and you may not like L.A. traffic, but you're willing to go through all of that because you want to get there.

So depending on what you love and how intensely you love something, you're probably more willing to put up with inconvenience and trials to get what you want. Well I say all of this because the motivation behind what Jesus did is clearly spelled out in this passage where it says, "Fixing our eyes on you, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame." You know, previously we looked about how Jesus was going to the cross and he says, "It's time for me to be glorified, that I may glorify you, that you may glorify me." So to think of the cross knowing what it is, and the term glory and the cross really don't fit together, but Christ used the cross to glorify himself, to glorify the Father.

But this term here where it says joy and the cross is another term that is an oxymoron. You would never think that these two terms would be associated with the cross. Because it was human depravity that they came up with this, this creative idea to humiliate somebody not only to carry out the punishment, but as an example so that nobody would want to commit that same crime.

And yet the Bible says the cross was a place where God and the Father was glorified, and then here it says he was able to endure the cross because of joy. He did it because of joy. So what was this joy that was big enough, great enough, deep enough that he was willing to endure the cross?

So the more you love something, the more you are willing to put up with to have it. So the fact that he was willing to endure the cross signifies that the joy that was coming was much greater than whatever he was going to suffer. But what was this joy?

What was it that he had because of the cross that he didn't have before the cross? You may say, well, the Bible says that he was lifted up, he became the King of kings and Lord of lords. Well, he was that before the cross. He was the second person of the Trinity.

So he didn't need the cross to have glory. He sat down at the right hand of God. He's God. He didn't need the cross to be sitting at the right hand of God. All the glory that you can think of that God had, he had before the cross. So what was it that he was looking forward to, to enjoy, that even the shame and the suffering that was coming because of the cross, he was willing to endure?

Now I remember the first time wrestling through this. You know, I read this passage, I memorized this scripture, this part of it, and you know, typically we kind of hone in on, fix your eyes upon Jesus. You need to endure, right? And then you hear a lot of sermons about not to be entangled with things that are encumbrances or sin that so easily clings to us.

And so you've probably heard a lot of messages on those things, but one particular day I was fixating on the joy that was set before him. What is this joy that he's referring to? So I was combing through scripture and looking up commentaries and I realized a clear thing that he was saying, that the joy that was set before him is referring to me and you.

To me and you. Everything else that you and I can think of as his exaltation, he had that and then some. But what he didn't have before the cross is us. And the Bible describes how he came to restore that joy in us. In fact, Ephesians chapter 1, 7-9 says, "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to his riches of his grace." His arms not being twisted, God the Father didn't grab him by the throat and say, "You better do this." Sinners were not the ones who forced him on the cross.

He volunteered, walked in, even as he was agonizing over the pain that was coming, he volunteered to lay down his life. And he says this laying down of his life was a lavishing of his love toward us. According to his kind intentions which he purposed in him. Ephesians chapter 2, 4-5 says, "With God being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ, by grace you have been saved." I think I've mentioned this enough in our sermons, in our Bible studies and throughout the years, that you and I live in a generation where his love and mercy has been emphasized to the point where people have a very shallow understanding of his holiness and justice.

It's almost kind of like a given, like, "Oh, come God, come God doesn't answer prayers. How come they don't do this for me?" People walk into brand new churches and say, "Oh, they didn't do this for me." So we have this entitlement when we come to God, "Why doesn't God do this for me?" Which is a very weird thing to ask.

Very weird thing to ask to come into the presence of God and think that God owes you something. But because of the way that the gospel has been preached in our generation, an average person walks into church expecting God to love them, expecting God to be merciful. So it's important for us to understand the balance that the cross is the perfect glorification of his justice and holiness along with his love.

But having said that, as important as God's justice is, as important as his love is, if we stray from understanding that the love was the primary motivation of why he came, the damage that that does is equally harmful as emphasizing just the justice. He says the primary reason why he came is because he loved the God, so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.

So the gospel is a glorification of God's love toward us. He was willing to suffer the shame, the agony, the pain, the rejection, humiliation, all because there was joy waiting for him that this cross was going to produce. We often think about the nation of Israel, and after we read the Old Testament, our primary emotions or primary idea of the relationship between Israel and God is that God must be so frustrated with Israel.

He's putting up with them, like I want to crush you, but because I made a covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, I just can't. So the picture that we have oftentimes is God is just about to strike, and right before he hammers them, he's like, "I made that covenant.

I can't deny myself." So he's just holding back. Well, that's not how his love for Israel is described. In Isaiah chapter 62, verse 5, it says, "For as young man marries a virgin, so your sons will marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so your God will rejoice over you." I mean, he describes his love for the nation of Israel in the most intimate relationship between a young bride, in the honeymoon stage, where you just can't wait to get together.

He says the most intense love that we are able to experience, he says that's the way God loves his people. Zechariah chapter 2, verse 8, it says, "For thus says the Lord of Hosts, 'After glory he has sent me against the nations which plunder you, for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye.'" You know that term, the apple of his eye, actually comes from this text, right?

I remember trying to do research, and I Googled and asked professors, "What does this mean, apple of his eye?" Well, apple of your eye is the part of your eye, you know, just basically the sensitive area in your eye, where all it is saying is, when somebody tries to come and touch you, what's your instinct?

Your eyes don't get big like that, right? Instinctively, what happens? You close your eyes to protect your eyes, instinctively. So if I come over there, right, and I just go like that, and if I get too close, 100% of you, unless something's wrong with you, your natural, instinctive response is to protect your eyes.

He's describing his love for the nation of Israel, that if anybody comes and touches you, it'll be like them touching the apple of my eye. Instinctively, without even thinking, without calculation, he's going to act to protect his people. That's how he describes his love for the nation of Israel.

Even as he pronounces judgment upon the nation of Israel to discipline them because of their disobedience, he says, Isaiah 49, 15, "Can a woman forget her nursing child?" Of course, this is a rhetorical question. He's not asking a question, he's like, "Can they?" Can they do that? No, he's saying, "Of course not." The most sacrificial love that he can describe is a young mom who's nursing her child, and can she have no compassion for the son of her womb?

But obviously the answer is a resounding, "No, of course not." Of course a nursing mom can't forget her child. Of course she's going to have compassion on her. But even these may forget, but I will not forget you, that his love is even greater than that. Even as he is pronouncing judgment, he says that, "I will not, I cannot forget you," because he loves them this much.

As Jesus is coming into Jerusalem, as Jesus is coming to Jerusalem, he recognizes that they're going to end up rejecting him. Even his disciples are going to run. You would think that the natural response of Jesus would be, "I've done as much as I could." God was so angered with the nations that at one point he wiped them out in the flood like Noah during the time of Noah.

But yet he's coming into Jerusalem knowing that the very people that he's been patient with, that he loves, are going to reject him. His disciples are going to run. And instead of being angered, he has compassion. It says he was weeping over the nation of Israel, wanting them to turn.

You know, every part of Scripture, even though, even in his anger, it is an expression of God's love for us. Oftentimes we look at the book of Revelations and we say, "Wow, God is truly wrathful." A third of mankind dying because of disease. And you see these instances where you have the seal judgments, you have the trumpet judgments, and you have the bowl judgments, and every time a judgment comes, it gets more intense.

And you look at that and say, "Wow, God is truly wrathful." Revelation is not a revelation of the wrath of God. Because the true wrath of God is not expressed in the Bible. All it says was, "The end shall come and you will be judged." The end. That's where the true wrath is coming.

All that we see in the book of Revelation is a warning for sinners to turn. Every bowl judgment, every trumpet judgment, every seal judgment is God pleading with the sinful world to turn and to repent. If He was done with the nation, there is no drama of Revelation. There's no seal judgment, bowl judgment.

You just, "I've had enough. You're crushed. The end." He just moves on. But even in His judgment, God is being patient, wanting sinners to repent and come to Him. That's why the Bible says that when one sinner repents, all of heaven rejoices. And that's exactly what the Bible says, that He was willing to endure the excruciating pain, the humiliation, the rejection from His own people because of joy that He sees on the other side, meaning you and I.

That we would be restored to what we lost. Ephesians 1, 4-5, it says, "Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love, He predestined us to adoption." Whenever the term predestination comes, it always causes a stir in some people.

It's like, "Oh, this seems random. He predestined, He elected. Arbitrarily, He just chose some and He didn't choose the other." He says, "No, it was not arbitrary." He says, "In love, He predestined us to adoption." In love. Now, I can't explain to you how all of that works. I can only tell you what it says.

And what it says is, predestination is because of His love. Election is motivated by His love. He elected us, predestined us as sons through Jesus Christ Himself according to the kind intention of His will. He didn't just forgive our sins. In this pursuit of His own joy to save us, He didn't just say, "You know what?

I'm going to prevent you from going to hell. I'm going to die if you cover you with my son's blood." And if all He did was not kill us and not send us to hell immediately, we would owe the rest of eternity to thank Him because He saved us from eternal judgment.

But that's not how the Bible describes our salvation. In Romans 8.15, it says, "For you have not received the spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received the spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry, 'Abba, Father.'" "Abba, Father." "Abba, Father" is the most intimate term between a child and his father.

"Abba, Father." "Daddy." Or "Appa." Right? I remember when my children were younger, at some point, you know, turned 10 maybe, 11 or 12, and right around that age, they got to start to being cool. You know what I mean? And their friends' opinions of them start to matter more than it should.

And so they kind of make their transition where right up to about 12 or 13, everything that they know, they ask you first. "Daddy, does this mean this?" It's like, and then you say yes. And it's like, "See?" So their truth comes from their parents. But at some point around 13, 14, all of a sudden, everything you say has to be tested by their friends.

Right? You tell them something, and then they'll turn around and ask their friends, "Is that true?" And then they'll say yes. "Okay." Right? Or they'll say, "Oh, my friend said this." And they start to challenging you at some point. So I remember when my kids were right around that age, they started to change from "Daddy" to "Dad." And I remember hearing that for the first time, and I didn't want it.

"I'm not ready for you to grow up yet." So I forced them. Not yet. Right? "I'm not ready to let go of you yet." Because that relationship that I had with my children, I wanted to hold on to as long as possible. Right? I think every parent knows exactly what I'm talking about.

Right? To this day, they call me "Daddy" and "Mommy." And I know it may sound weird from the outside, but that's because I want that relationship with them. Right? That term that is being used here, "Abba, Father," is the most intimate term that can be used between a father and a child, where God says, not only did He save us from eternal damnation, He raised us up as adopted children to call Him our "Abba, Father." Anybody else that calls me "Daddy" would be weird.

Right? Nobody would call me that. Only my own children. This love relationship with my own children will be calling me "Daddy" or "Mommy." He says He's using that term to say He raised us up for that purpose, so that He can have us for Himself, to love us. He said that's the joy that was waiting for Him on the other side.

You know, Apostle Paul, you know, this man who hated the Gentiles, he was willing to murder because he was so nationalistic about his Jewish identity. It's that man who says in the Thessalonians how he loved these people that he used to hate like a mother, a nursing mother, and as a gentle father.

You know, we may look at that and psychologize this and say, "Well, you know, maybe Apostle Paul has more estrogen than an average male, and that's why he has these compassions." You know, maybe that's one. That's his personality. He has a nurturing personality. I mean, look at Apostle Paul before he met Christ.

See if you see any estrogen in this guy. I mean, this guy's gung-ho. He's willing to die for Jesus or die for his purpose. He says what he says because he is simply reflecting the love that he experienced with Christ. That was not generated within himself. He was simply showing the love that Christ gave him.

That's why in 1 John 3, it says, "See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us that we would be called the children of God." Behold, look carefully and see what it is that you and I have. Again, everything that we do repeatedly eventually becomes mundane, whatever it is, right?

That one point, you know, you're so excited about something, but after you have it for a while, it becomes mundane. Even food. Oh, I love this, but you have it all the time, every day, you know. It's like, oh, we're having beef. I remember when I was younger, you know, steak was—it's not like today where it's like, oh, I want steak, so you have steak tomorrow, right?

When we were younger, steak was not available. We would go to Sizzler's and that was like a huge event. Huge event, once or twice a year, right? But now it's like, we have steak every day. I had steak Thursday, so let's have something today. I had sushi on Wednesday, so let's have something else.

Everything we do repeatedly, we have a tendency to allow that to become mundane, right? The love of Christ is one of those things that if you allow it to become mundane, it affects everything else that we do. And that's why he says to behold, to continue to gaze upon Christ, who is the beginner and the perfecter of our faith.

As soon as the love of Christ becomes something mundane, it affects your worship, it affects your prayer life, it affects evangelism, it affects your fellowship, the true fellowship, right? Not just gathering of people and doing stuff together, but true fellowship. It affects everything that we do. He says that everything that he endured on the cross was for the joy set before him.

Sometimes we think of sanctification as somebody who's not disciplined to be more disciplined, or somebody who didn't know the Bible to know the Bible. We didn't pray that we ought to pray. All of these things are external things that we ought to strive to buffet our bodies and make it our slaves.

But the primary understanding of sanctification is to restore God's glory in us that we've fallen short of. You know what God's glory, God's image is? He created us to reflect him. And that's what we've been separated from. So when he restores us, he's restoring that image. Let me give you an example.

I remember when Zachary, our second child, was born. I remember the joy that he brought to us because he had a little dimple on one side of his mouth that you can only see when he smiles. It's not pronounced. In fact, I don't know. Is he sitting here somewhere?

Everybody keeps looking over there. I don't even know if he still has it to this day, but when he was a kid and he would only see it when he cracks a smile. The reason why it brought us so much joy is because Esther has the same dimple. When she smiles, it's only on one side.

So I remember when he was an infant, every time he would crack a little smile, that one dimple would go in. And for everybody else, we would look at that and say, "Really?" That little tiny little hole in his face brought so much joy to me. It's brought so much joy because it was a reflection of his mom.

That little dimple, that tiny little one. So I remember Esther and I just being so in love because of that tiny little dimple. The Bible says that we've lost this image. God created us for his pleasure, but when we withdrew from him, that image was tainted. So when he saved us, he saved us in order to restore us and to restore that image in us.

And the more that we reflect who he is, the greater joy that it produces in him. That's what sanctification is. Sanctification isn't just externally behaving differently than you did before you met Christ. It's that glory, that image that he created us for being restored. That's what he's referring to when he says he endured the cross because of the joy set before him.

In Colossians 3, 8, it says, "And have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the one who created him." That's how salvation is described, that we would be transformed to the true knowledge of the one who created him, to reflect him.

2 Corinthians 3, 18, "But we all with unveiled face beholding in a mirror the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord the Spirit." So as we gaze upon his glory, his dimple is getting deeper in us.

His eye color, his heart, his desire, his righteousness, his love, all of that is beginning to reflect off of us as we what? As we do what? As we behold his glory and we are being transformed from one lesser form of glory to greater form of glory. That's how he describes sanctification.

2 Corinthians 15, 46, "Just as we have borne the image of the earthly, we will also bear the image of the heavenly." So when the Bible describes and tells us early on in Hebrews, he says, "To enter the throne of grace with confidence." We have a tendency because of our works-based mentality, we have the tendency to think that when we're doing well, we did righteousness and we gave and we were disciplined that we can come into the throne of grace with confidence.

But when we're not doing well, you know, we're kind of like, "Oh shucks, I don't deserve this." And we're kind of barely, we'll get in because that's the only place we can get in. There's something inside of us that constantly thinks that we need to be worthy. But when he says to come to the throne of grace with confidence, he's saying because you're coming into your Abba Father's throne.

Yes, he is the King of Kings, but that's your Abba Father's throne. You know, as children, you know, we think, "Oh, you know, my parents have..." At one point when you mature, right, hopefully all of you are already there, you realize how much every parent has suffered for you, right?

Every parent, even the ones that you're mad at, they all sacrifice and suffer for you. Imagine coming in one day, it's like, "You know, I'm going to make it up to you. I'm going to give you a car, a nice car, right? It's an expensive car." And then give it to your parent and say, "Now we're even." Imagine how offensive that would be.

There is no way you can match, because every parent sacrificed everything they had in order so you can live. You would have to give your life and do what they did to say you matched it. There's no way. It's a, every gift that we give is a gift of gratitude, recognizing what they've done for you.

But there's no way that you can exchange what they've done for a simple car. See, in the way that we approach Christ, that we have this mentality that if I'm more righteous, if I do more, somehow we have a better standing before God because we've done more and God is more at peace with us.

The primary thing that He, the reason why He wants us to come to Him is because that's the very reason why He died. The very reason why He died and He suffered is that it gives Him joy to have us in His throne. It gives Him joy to see us, to be near Him, to reflect who He is.

God loves us. It's not He loved us. He loved us and that's why He did that, but He says He loves us. You ever think why Jesus was constantly praying and again, our thought immediately is He needed energy. He needed energy because He had so much He needed to do.

He needed to pray so that He could be regrouped and be strengthened so that He could go out and do more work. That's not a lie, but you ever think that maybe that's where Jesus wanted to be more than anywhere else? That He just went there because that was His home?

Even if He had all the energy He needed, that's where He knew the love of Christ most intimately. He just did it because that's where He wanted to be. It wasn't a task to be done. That's where He found rest. That's where this love relation, He just went to the Father's throne because God loves Him and He loves God.

That's it. You ever think of prayer and your intimacy with Christ in that way, not just like, "Oh, I'm a Christian. I need to do this. You know, I need to make disciples bear fruit, so I need to pray and I need to do this." You ever think that maybe that when God wants us to come to Him just simply so that He can enjoy you and so that you can enjoy Him?

Because that's the primary thing that He says while He did all this other stuff. The Bible does say that, but the primary thing, primary reward for our God was ourselves. Not only did Christ endure for the sake of joy that was coming as a result of His suffering, joy is the primary motivation why we endure.

If Christianity has become nothing more than a checkoff box because you have accountability and somebody's going to call you out if you don't do it, you're going to be shamed. If that's your primary motivation to get to the next level or to be a good Christian, if that's your primary motivation, eventually Christianity becomes a tremendous burden that you will not carry for long.

You will work hard, but it's not producing joy. All it produces is what? Thorns and thistles. Just like it says, as a result of the fall, you will work, you will labor, but the end result is going to be thorns and thistles, and at the end, it doesn't produce life.

All it produces is death. He's writing this letter to people who at what point did all that God required of them because of joy. Here's chapter 1034, "For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one." Why were they drifting?

They were drifting because they lost their joy. It wasn't producing joy for them anymore. They find joy in the world. They find joy in traveling. They find joy in food. They find joy in everything else, but with Christ as an obligation. That's what a good Christian does. And because of that, you go through the motion at church, do what's expected at church, but you feel alive somewhere else.

That's where it produces rest for you, somewhere else. That's why we're constantly escaping, whether it's through media, whether it's through purchasing things, whether it's through friendship or traveling, because Christianity has become a burden. In Hebrews 11, 24-26, it says, "By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh and daughter." Think about the temptation.

You and I are not tempted with that. Nobody offered a billion dollars if we don't walk with Christ. He said he didn't consider that, choosing rather to endure ill treatment. He went from Pharaoh's house to being ill treated with the people of God, then to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin.

He realized that whatever temptation was there was only temporary, verse 26, "considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasure of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward." The reason why he was able to overcome that temptation is because he was tempted with greater temptation for the joy that was coming in Christ.

He didn't just will himself to follow Christ. It's because he believed that there was greater joy in Christ. First Thessalonians 1, 2-4, it says, "We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in prayer, constantly bearing in mind your work of faith, labor of love, and steadfastness of hope." You notice a difference here?

What's the difference between work of faith and labor of love? If you're a Christian and you have faith, you are working in some capacity. Some of you are more mature, some of you are more disciplined, some of you know more theology, some of you are more giving. So you can't be a Christian if you don't have faith.

But along with faith, he says, to labor of love. And you know the difference between doing something because you love something versus doing something because you're supposed to do it. There's a huge difference. What's the difference between giving? Right? I'm obligated. How much? What's the maximum? You know, what is required?

Is this mandatory? These are the questions that come from somebody who's in burden. Burden because I have to do it. And I'll do it because I'm supposed to do it. Versus somebody who loves this. It's like, oh, Tuesday's Bible study. So you do Bible study Tuesday and then you never open up your Bible.

Because Bible's a project that you're supposed to do. We pray. Oh, we have praise and prayer. So we pray. So we pray and we're done. We've done it. We're finished. Versus somebody who's laboring in prayer. Fellowship. Everything that we do, it just becomes a project. So some of you are good at projects and some of you are not good at projects.

But that's not what he called us to do. Labor of love is ultimately what produces joy. Because we have joy, we end up laboring. Jonathan Edwards. Jonathan Edwards in his book Religious Affections describes true affection versus false affection. And he says in his book, hypocrite is someone who is using God to get something else.

On the surface it looks the same, but God is being used that if I'm faithful, if I'm a good disciple, if I'm obedient, if I read enough, if I have enough theology, that there is good that God's going to bring upon me. And so if your mindset is that, when things don't work out, all of a sudden we start to question the goodness of God.

Why didn't he answer my prayers? Why doesn't he give me this? How come everybody else has it but I don't have it? If Jesus is a primary source to get something we want. And he said those are false affections. That's not biblical affection. But he says God didn't call you, he said, but true affection for Christian is someone who has found Christ to be the supreme joy.

The greatest joy is found in Christ himself. And that's what he means by if you drink of the things of this world, you will go thirsty again. If you eat of the bread of this world, you will be hungry again. Momentarily, you may be satisfied. But you will have to do this over and over again.

But the water that I give you will well up into eternal life. And if you drink of it, you will never thirst. The bread that I give you will well up into eternal life and you will never go hungry again. Christ is not just pointing the right way. Christ's primary call is to himself.

Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden. He didn't say, come over here so I can tell you where to go. He says, come to me. He wants to restore that glory that you and I had, the very reason why you and I were created to re-imprint that on us.

For his joy and for our joy as well. In Psalm 1611 it says, you will make known to me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy. In your right hand there is pleasure forever. Do you believe that? Is that what you're pursuing? In John 17 verse 13, Jesus says in his priestly prayer, but now I come to you and these things I speak in the world so that they may have my joy made full in themselves.

He came not to burden us of more things to do. We're not saying that righteousness and fighting sin, in fact the very next passage it says, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in resisting sin. So it's not that he's not telling us that we need to fight against sin.

But the primary call from a sinner to be saved is to come and restore that love relationship with the creator. To enjoy his presence as he enjoys our presence. And it is that love that he uses to measure everything. When that love is not there, it affects our fellowship.

It affects our worship. It affects our prayer. It affects our joy, our very life. John 10, 10 it says, a thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. You notice here, the life he's referring to is not opposite of death where, you know, everybody exists forever.

He's not saying that he's going to get people who are not existing to exist. That's not what he's saying. The Greek word for that is bios. The word he's being used here is zoe. To feel alive is another word to say to joy. That he may restore the joy that he intended.

And to restore that when we fell from that joy. To love. This love that he gave us is not something that you and I can muster up ourselves. Let me, I want to conclude with this passage of love in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, right? Which is often used in weddings when a boy or girl is inspired by the beauty of whoever they're watching and they write a love letter, 1 Corinthians 13, because you're godly, right?

Or you take that and you put it up on a wall so that you can be reminded of this beautiful love. But I think in many ways that we apply this the wrong way, right? Maybe not wrong. Maybe it's too extreme a word. That it's not complete in the way that we use it.

The reason why he writes Corinthians is because this church, in their passionate pursuit of religious superiority, who's better? Who's more righteous than the other? And so people started to compare. You know, the people who are disciples of Peter are more righteous. People who are disciples of Apollos, he's more polished speaker, so he's more righteous.

Oh, Apostle Paul went around, risked his life and planted all these, he's more righteous. And so in their pursuit of religious righteousness, it caused divisions in the church. Who's better? Who's not better? And so this division, again, the core problem was they were competing for righteousness and then that caused all kinds of divisions in the church and once the division came in, they started tolerating all kinds of sin within the church.

And so it is within that context that he is writing to them, the primary thing that you ought to be pursuing is love. If I speak with tongues of men and of angels but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge, let me stop right there.

All mysteries and all knowledge. That means like you've mastered the Word of God. You've mastered the Old Testament. You've mastered Leviticus, the book of Numbers. You've mastered everything that the Bible has to teach. It says you have all knowledge and all prophecy. And if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, wow.

If somebody came and said, "Mountain, move!" Right? Our church is going to blow up to 10,000 tomorrow because people think there must be a man of God over there. He moved mountains. I've seen that before. But he says even if you have faith to move mountains, right, even if you have faith to remove mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.

Right? Do you think he really meant this? You better say yes because this is the Bible. Of course he meant it. It's in the Bible. I can have all of this stuff and yet you do not know love is nothing. Verse 3, "And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor and if I surrender my body to be burned." He's talking about somebody who's being martyred.

This guy is so committed. He's willing to die for the name of Christ, die for the gospel. Even in his death. If I surrender my body to be burned but do not have love, it profits me nothing. Wow. It must be important. So I need to practice this. Everything is measured by this love, right?

Discipline is important. Prayer is important. Knowledge is important. Sacrifice is important. But the primary thing that we are judged by is by our love. So let's practice this. Do it. Starting from today. Just do it. Okay? Nike commercial. Just do it. Stop your whining. Start loving unconditionally, right? Today.

Finished. Right? Obvious question is like, "How? How do you do this?" Let's meditate. Let's meditate. Let's draw a picture of a heart in our head and just focus. Really focus. Love, love, love, love, love, love. How much meditation do you need for your heart to be like, "Oh, I love that man." Does that work?

Does that ever work for you? Somebody wrong you or somebody who's difficult to love, you just go into your closet and memorize two verses like, "Oh, he said to love. I forgot. Sorry, I don't love." Okay. The hardest thing to practice in our Christian faith is this very thing that he says.

If you don't have, it means nothing. Even martyrdom doesn't mean nothing. It doesn't mean anything if you don't have this. So how do we have this? Right? I mean, nothing causes us to feel more helpless than to try to practice love with somebody that you don't want to love.

It drains us. It sucks the energy out of us. I mean, it's miserable. It feels good to take some vengeance sometimes. It feels good. It's like you're releasing some pressure. Of course, we would never admit it, but our flesh feels good about it. But you try to love somebody that is hard to love or maybe even deliberately trying to hurt you, it's not in us.

It's not in us. The best advice you'll get is keep your friends close and keep your enemies even closer, meaning keep your eye on them. Keep your eye on them. That's the wisdom of this world. But to love them like the way he loved us while we're blaspheming, while we were yet sinners even as we confess our love, we so easily forget and are strayed.

To practice that love, that's not in us. No amount of meditation, no amount of hard work, no amount of self-discipline is going to change your inner being and all of a sudden start to love people that are hard to love by our flesh. That's why the Bible says, when Paul says, "It is the love of Christ that compels me." It is only when his glory is restored that all we are doing is a reflection of his love.

Because you dig deep down inside, you're not going to find love. You dig deep down, you discipline and you're like, "Resolved! I'm going to do this!" Deep inside you don't find that. You find selfishness. Anything that I need to do for me to survive, for me to have pleasure.

Sanctification is when we behold what he's done for us and it begins to reflect, reflection of his love. So 1 Corinthians 13, as beautiful as this is, it isn't first and foremost, "You better do this." First and foremost is a description of his love for us. His love for us.

So he wants us to behold his love and once we behold his love, once we are inspired by his love, once we are transformed by his love, then let that love reflect off of you. Then the world will know that you are my disciples. That you are near me, that you love me because you are doing only what you can do because you're my disciple.

So I want to read this text to you again, but I want you to read it not as a command for you to follow, even though obviously it is also a command, but I want you to see this as a description of God's perfect love for us. So don't think about this is what I need to do.

Think about what he has done and I want to read this passage and I want you to reflect upon this. Okay. Verse 4, "Love is patient. Love is kind and is not jealous. Love does not brag and it is not arrogant. Does not act unbecomingly. Does not seek its own.

Is not provoked. Does not take into account of wrong suffered. Does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth. Bears all things. Believes all things. Hopes all things. Endures all things. And love never fails." Think about every part of this verse. He was patient with us. He's kind toward us.

He's not jealous. He does not compete with us. Does not brag. He's not arrogant. He's not unbecoming. Not seeking his own, sacrificing for us. Imagine if God was provoked every time we sin. Does not take into account wrong suffered. That once we repent, he forgives and he forgets. Imagine if he didn't do that.

Does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with truth. Think about all the things even to this day that he's bearing with us. He believes all things. Hopes all things. Endures all things. And his love never fails. He's calling us to reflect this in our lives. Not to produce this in our lives, but to reflect this in our lives.

Verse 12, "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I also have been fully known. But now faith, hope, love abide, these three. But the greatest of these is love." Do you love this Christ as he loves you?

He loves you. That's why when he said, "If you ask for forgiveness," he's faithful just to forgive you of all your unrighteousness because he is eager to forgive you. He's not reluctant to forgive you. He's eager to forgive you. Why is he so eager to forgive us? Because he loves us.

Just like every parent is eager to forgive their children because they want that relationship to be restored. He's eager to forgive us. That's why he tells us, "Come. Come to the throne of grace with confidence. Don't stiff arm him." Because that's the reason why he died for us, so that we would come.

"Come, all who are weary and heavy laden. I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." I pray that we would all, every single one of us, would find this rest in the love of Christ.

Let's take some time to pray again as we ask our worship team to come. Have you been drifting? Is your heart hardened? Are you weary and heavy laden? When's the last time you really beheld this love? You know it intellectually, but when's the last time the glory of his love affected you so deeply that you desired that above everything else?

That you're willing to suffer to have more of it? Let's take some time to pray again as our worship team leads us this morning.