The Church of Eleven22 - Wk 2: Son

Episode Date: August 23, 2020

The almighty, Sovereign King wants to come into your life as friend and Savior.

Amen and amen. How we doing, church? Everybody good? Looking great. If you got your Bibles, hope you do, we're going to be in two places. All right, so we're a little advanced tonight. We're going to be in Colossians chapter 1 and Hebrews chapter 2. Colossians 1, Hebrews 2, in that order.

I'm also going to hit a little 1 or a little John 1 and maybe John 15. So just buckle up. Here we go. We're in week two of this series called the Trinity. Last week we kicked it off studying the Father. In our time together, we're going to talk about the Son, the Trinity. defined is there are three persons of the Trinity, the Father to Son, the Holy Spirit,

yet there is only one God. I know this is confusing. It's impossible to explain. It's impossible to get your mind around. And though it cannot be comprehended by our human minds, it must be understood through faith. I think maybe the best definition or description is in the Athanasian Creed.

I read this last week. I'll do it again. It states that we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in unity, neither confusing the persons nor dividing the substance that we are compelled by the Christian truth to confess that each distinct person is God and Lord and that the deity of the Father of the Son

and the Holy Spirit is one equal in glory, co-equal in majesty. That's what we're tackling for 30 weeks. So tonight we're going to talk about the Son, the second person of the Trinity. What do you think about when you think about God, the Son, or the Son of God, or Jesus? Some of you, your mind immediately goes to John 316,

for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. Maybe that's what you think about. Or maybe when you think about the Son of God, you go to like some old school Bible movies, and you think of like the carpenter teacher Jesus. Somehow, even though he was Jewish and lived in the Middle East, he looked kind of Scandinavian, you know, with like a bathrobe and a Miss America sash,

blonde hair, no split ends. His feet didn't move when he walked around. He had a British accent, right? And he was kind of effeminate. Can we be honest about those movies? He was a little, hello, I'm a bit. Jesus. Remember that? Maybe that's where your mind goes. Or if you go up Catholic, maybe your mind goes to a crucifix, you know, you grew up in a church and you saw Jesus all the time on a crucifix. Some of

you, when you think about Jesus, maybe your mind goes to eight pounds, six ounce, little swaddling clothes still sovereign, but maybe Jesus. Maybe that's where your mind goes. Well, the two of the most important questions in all of the scriptures have to do with who is Jesus. In Matthew chapter 6 Jesus asked his disciples this very important question, who do you say that I am? And your answer to that question is the most important question you will ever answer in all of your life

because the answer to that question not only determines your identity, it also determines your destiny. And later on, in the same book, in Matthew verse 27, Pontius Pilate says to the crowd, then what shall I do with Jesus who is called the Christ.

So what do you think about when you think about Jesus? Who is Jesus to you? Not that you get your own Jesus, but who do you say that he is? And what will you do with this man named Jesus who is called the Christ? Now you see, regardless of what we think about him, he has always been eternal king.

He steps off of his throne to come on a rescue mission for his very enemies, that is us. He lived the perfect life. He died of sinners' death. He was crucified, dead, and buried. And the reason that he had to borrow a tomb is because he didn't need it. He only used it for three days. And then he gave it back.

Then he was resurrected from the grave. He appeared to over 500 people. And then before he left, he said, Now, I'm going to go and sit at the right hand of God, the Father. And as I go, you also go and make disciples of the whole world. And one day, he will return to make all things new. Shakespeare said all the world's a stage. And all the men and women merely players, they have their exits and their entrances,

and one man in his time plays many parts. That's true for all of us. That is not true for this man named Jesus. He always has been, and he always will be. And in Colossians chapter one, we get this description, not of the baby in a manger, but we get this description of the second person of the treacher. Trinity. Colossan chapter one picking it up in verse 12. The Bible says this, giving thanks to the father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us

from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son. Notice that we are the passive agent here, that every single one of us who are in Christ were at one time we were enemies of God that we were in the domain of darkness. Now, for some of us, the darkness was really dark. It was rebellion like we talked about last week with the lost son or the prodigal son, and we lived in darkness. For some of you, your darkness was your Sunday school class because you were rejecting God with your own religion. But any of us that are in Christ, we have been transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light, that we didn't transfer ourselves,

we didn't sign up for the trip to take the transfer, that we have been transferred from the domain of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of his beloved son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins, that God the Father has redeemed us through God the Son and transferred us into his kingdom. who has kingdoms, kings. That Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, God the Son, is our king.

And you say, how then, how were we transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light? It's this word here, redemption. That God the Father sent God the Son to redeem us. And I want to explain real quick what redemption means, okay? It's a big theological term, but you have done this every time you have done this every time you have redeemed a coupon at Publix. We talk about this all the time.

That you go out to your mailbox or you open your app. I guess you probably don't have to go to your mailbox anymore, but you open your mailbox. Just stay with me, 40 and up crowd, okay? And you look in there and you're like, oh, look, I have a coupon. I have been selected by somebody somewhere to be coupon. I didn't apply for this.

I don't deserve it. It has just chosen me. And so you reach in, you get your coupon out, and you go, wow, I get a free whatever at Publix. And then what do you do? You go to Publix and you get your item, whatever the coupon is, right? Free ham.

That's my favorite one to use. Free ham, because ham's New Testament, New Covenant. By the blood of Jesus, we get to eat ham. Praise God, okay? And so, you go and you get your ham, and what do you do? First, here's what you actually do, because we're sinful people. You look for the shortest line or you go to the 10 item or less line, and what do you do when you get in that line?

You start counting in front of you, and if somebody's breaking the law, then all of a sudden you're a Pharisee. And in your mind, what you say is, Can you not read her count? Because it's got to be one of those two. Anywho, when it's your turn, finally, you put your item up there and they scan it. That'll be whatever a ham cost.

I'm not in charge of the ham buying at the Martin household. I'm the funder. She's the finder. That's our partnership, okay? So, 30 bucks or whatever a ham cost. And then that will be $30. And then you go, ha, ha, ha. I don't know what a ham cost.

Is that an expensive ham? All right, we like nice things in my house. Give me a break, okay? And then you take, you're like, no, no, no, no. I have a coupon, free ham. And then we literally call it redeem. You redeem the coupon. I'm going to give you the coupon.

You're going to give me to ham. Now, is the ham actually free? No, it costs the manufacturer full price, and it costs the recipient that redeemed the coupon nothing. By the blood of Jesus Christ, you have been redeemed. When you get out to the great checkout aisle in the sky one day, and then it costs you your life to pay for all your sins. The coupon that you have is the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus,

and he pays the full price for us, and then we get the free gift of redemption. That's being transferred from one kingdom to another. And now you may be asking, one person is excited. I'm sorry, no, it's too late. You miss it. There's a window. Okay, it's a window. And you may be saying, so tell us more about this eternal king.

Well, I'm glad you ask, because that's what the rest of the text is about. He, this king, the son who has a kingdom. He is the image of the invisible God. That up until 2,000 years ago, God is invisible. You can't see him, and now Jesus is the seeable God. God made visible. If you want to know what God looks like, study your Bible, learn about Jesus, and that's God. In fact, when Jesus was with his disciples, he would basically say to them, if you see me, you see God.

That Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn. Underlap, we're going to come back to it, underline it. The firstborn of all creation. Some translations, which I think are better on this one, say the firstborn over all creation. Verse 16, for by Him, by Jesus, all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible, and in invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things were created through him and for him, through him and for him, through him and for him. Here's what this means. It ain't about you. I know for some of you, it's very shocking to hear this and that hurts your

feelings and you're triggered, okay, get over it. Because it ain't about you. And the moment you can come to that Copernicus moment in your life, Copernicus was the first person to go public with the reality that we are not the center of the universe, that the universe does not revolve around us. It is the most freeing thing on the planet. Because if you think the whole universe revolves around you, then everything in your life has to line up perfectly every time for you to ever be satisfied. Your team has to win. It can't rain every day at five o'clock. Give me a break. All the lights have to be green, you've got to have parking spots right up front. Everything has to line up for you. But when you begin to realize that your story is actually for his glory, then it is freeing for you to understand

that God is at work in all things for the good of those that love him and are caught according to his purpose. It also means that all things were made by him. So remember Genesis 1 last week? In the beginning, God, He's going to create the heavens and the earth. The Spirit of God is hovering over this formless void that is, whatever it was. And then he spoke, we find out in John 1, we'll be there in a minute, that Jesus is the Word, and that through Jesus all things are made. But they're made by him and for him. This is why you are constantly frustrated with the things of this world.

This is why the things of this world are just dissatisfying. It's one thing to live your whole life and not achieve all of your dreams. Sometimes it's a sadder thing to achieve all of your dreams, particularly early, and you realize they weren't that big a deal. Like you just thought, if I could get that job, then I'll be fully and finally satisfied. Then you get that job and you feel like, is this it? Well, the Bible would say, no, that's not it. That you were made for more than just the stuff of this earth.

Ecclesiastity says that eternities has been put in our heart. This is why we have this constant itch at the soul level that the world just cannot fill. Now, we try to fill it with cash and prizes and new cars and dates and swiping and all kind of stuff. We try all the stuff of earth to fulfill these desires, but they just won't do it. you see the reason that you have insatiable appetites at the soul level is because that you and I we are image bearers of an everlasting God Blaise Pascal said that we were created with a god-shaped hole in our souls and then he went on to like invent calculus or something St. Augustine or if you live here St. Augustine he said thou hast made us for thyself o Lord and our heart is restless until it finds rest in thee.

That's what I've been praying for you this week. For those of you that have a restless soul, I pray that he'd break you or bless you whatever it takes for you to find your rest in him. You see, all of creation declares the glory of God, but only image bearers can reflect it and receive it. And all things, including you, were made by him and for him. Verse 17, and he is before all things. And in him, all things hold together. He is before all

things. That means chronologically, that is true, that he is creator, not created. It also means that he is before all things in essence. He's before all things in order and importance, that God does not do leftovers, that God does not do seconds, that he is first. He is before all things. And the reality is, is that in every one of our lives, Jesus will be first. He will either be before all things as our Savior, or he will be before all things as our judge. We will all bow before him. He is before all things, and in him, all things hold together. That means that right now, while we are here at church or watching church whenever you are, then the power of the second person of the Trinity is holding all things together. He is keeping the earth on its axis,

traveling through space at 67,000 miles per hour, while we rotate at a thousand miles per hour, between 93 million and 94 million miles away from the sun. And if we get a little bit too close, we burn up, if we get a little too far away, we all freeze to death. And while his power is doing all that, you thought you were just sitting here. And while his power is doing all that, simultaneously when you breathe in, he is reoxygenating your depleted blood and sending it all throughout your body. And he's phosphorylating your ADP to ATP so that you would have the energy to keep your eyes open and your ears open to listen. And you thought you were just sitting there. You are. You ought to wake up and help me out here, but that's fine. And he's simultaneously,

he's keeping the cosmos in order and by his will your heart's beating. And, and, as if that wasn't enough. And he is the head of the body, the church. That he, the second person of the Trinity, is the senior pastor of the Church of 1122 and through his church, he continues his earthly ministry. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,

that in everything he might be preeminent. In other words, there is not one square inch in all of the cosmos where the resurrected Christ does not rightly declare mine. That before there was a beginning, he was. That he began the beginning. And he is the firstborn from the dead. That word there is proto-toco.

Say prototoco. Good. That means, it's where we get the word prototype. So firstborn is misleading. It's not that he was born first because Jesus wasn't born. He wasn't created. He is the creator. Co-Eternal with God.

It is a position of status. To be the proto-toko means he's the prototype before all creation, and he's the prototype of the resurrection of the dead. So like if a car company is going to build a brand new car, first they build a prototype, and when the prototype works, then they go into production, and all the rest of the cars are like that prototype. And Jesus is, this is so good news,

he is the prototype from the dead. This means that he is the first one to put death to death, to die and not be resuscitated, but to be resurrected and then ascend to the right hand of God the Father. And he was ascended, when he resurrected, he resurrected with a physical body, and then he told his disciples, don't touch me right now, I have not yet been glorified,

that when he gets to heaven, that his physical body, his physical self would be glorified. And like Christ, whoever is in Christ, we too will be resurrected and glorified. See, that's all the 40 and up crowd, amen in right now. You 20-year-olds are like, what's wrong with this? Give it a minute, okay? Give it a minute. This is really, really good news. This means that in heaven we are recognizable, but somehow we can walk through walls that the Bible says that we eat,

glory to God, we ain't Daniel fasting in heaven. Can I get a witness? No, man. It's feast. I swear, I believe it is bacon, rat filet, medium rare in heaven. That's gospel meat, people. All right. And again, how about this? There's no Advil in heaven. Praise God. Praise God. No back pain. None of those massager things where you got to work something out because you tried to play golf too many times in a row. There is none of that because he is the proto-toco from the dead. We will be resurrected and be like him, and he is preeminent. Not just first in sequence, but first in essence. That Jesus is not just like number one on our list.

Jesus is the paper on which we would write all of our lists. He is preeminent. You see, the reality is that you could reorder your entire life, all of your priorities, your job, your money, your family, your relationships, your morality. you could reorder all of your life. And if Jesus is not first, your whole life is out of order. This is why in the sermon on the Mount,

when he says, why are you worried about all this stuff in your life? What are you going to eat and drink and where are you going to live? What are you going to wear? Seek first, the kingdom of God and His righteousness. And then all this stuff, all this stuff seems to sort itself out and take its rightful place. It says, for in Him, in Jesus, all the fullness of God was pleased to do. that he was fully God and fully man.

I used to think about the Trinity like a piece of cherry pie. You like cherry pie? Let's talk about that, so we can't eat it right now. You know, like with three big pieces. Like there's a whole pie, and if you cut it into three pieces, and you looked at it from the top, there were like three distinct pieces, but if you got down below the first layer, it was just all cherry pie. And I thought like, all right, that's the father, that's the son, that's the Holy Spirit,

but then there's just one God, all the cherry pie. Now, it's heresy because that's called partialism, so it doesn't work. Because in actuality, what it would be is if you took out the Jesus slice and put it on your plate, all of the cherry pie would be in that piece. And all of the cherry pie would be in the piece that was the father and the piece that was the Holy Spirit. And you're like, well, that doesn't make sense. I'm telling you, if you think your little pea brain can fit the Godhead, then you're

too dumb to talk to. It would be like taking a Dixie cup to the ocean and be like, I want to get that in here. It ain't going to fit, do you understand? There's no more all than all, and the fullness, all of God, was pleased to dwell in the person of Jesus. And through him, to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven making peace by the blood of his cross, that one day when Jesus returns, he is going to make all things new.

He did not only come to say, souls, he came to make all things new. And you, and you, if you have put your faith in Jesus, this ain't, this ain't them, this is you and you who once were alienated and hostile and mind doing evil deeds. A lot of us don't have to think a long time ago when that was us, amen? He has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death. in order to present you holy and blameless. This is our new 1122 greedy. Remember last week when somebody says, how are you doing?

I want you to say holy and blameless. And they were like, what do you? You ain't holy or blameless. And you're like, I know, but I was once alienated and hostile in mind doing evil deeds. But now I am reconciled in his body, not my body. I didn't do this. He did this to me by his body of flesh and his death in order to present me, holy and blameless and above reproach before him.

that God is omnipotent. I mean, he's all powerful. He does what he wants whenever he wants. That he is omniscient, he is all knowing. He is omnipresent. He is in all places. John says that this way. As I go to John, you go ahead and get ahead and start to Hebrew.

It's kind of hard to find. It's towards the back. John 1 says this, in the beginning was the word, that Greek word there is logos. John's writing to a Greek audience. The Greeks use this word logos or logos as like the, this this Greek idea of like ultimate consciousness. And he says, in the beginning was the word

and the word was with God and the word was God. Not either or, both and. Again, how do you do that? How can you be with and be? Well, we can't, but he can't. The word was with God and the word was God. He was in the beginning with God and all things were made through him

and without him was not anything made that was made. this is how we know Jesus was not made that he was the maker and yet when you get down to verse 14 it says and this logos the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we have seen

as glory glory as of the only son from the father full of grace and truth that God the son the second person of the Trinity the word became flesh literally in Greek and taberned knackled among us, set up a tent, a physical like bodily tent among us.

Eugene Peterson in the message paraphrases it this way. And the word became flesh and moved into the neighborhood. The God from heaven seeing us in our need like sheep without a shepherd didn't just pray for us, didn't just feel something for us, but like the ultimate missionary stepped off of his throne where the angels gather around and sing, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come. And he put that on hold and he put on flesh and he dwelt among us. Now when we read that he put on flesh, we don't think that's a really big deal because we, that's all we know is flesh.

But he was in the perfection of heaven in the presence of his heavenly father in the glory of God. And he stepped from there to this cesspool, we call our fleshpool, we call our heaven. earth. Now, I don't have to speak a lot about it right now. You can just watch a little news and be like, yep, it is a cesspool. And he stepped into it, and I don't know if this is, this is not how it worked, but in my mind, this is how my mind works. When Jesus makes the announcement, all right, I'm heading in. It's about Christmas. I've got to go. Imagine the angels are like, you're going down there? He's like, yeah, I'm going to become one of them. They're like, are you serious? What? And maybe they just lean in and said, just whatever, you just do. Just, just, just,

just don't get it on you, you know? When I would read this when my babies were little, little, little, man, my wife would like chlorox them, you know what I mean? I mean, if anything was dirty, we would just double wash and triple. You remember this? We were on a trip one time. Notice that a trip, on a vacation, vacation, me and Gretchen, Tripped, kids are there. So it's a trip. We've got to go to the bathroom, pull over to the truck stop, and I got my little, this is when we just had JP, he's about one year old, and I'm taking him into the truck stop, and I'm, and I walk into that place and it looked like a wet St. Bernard came in there and just shook off.

You're like, oh my goodness. You're trying to open doors with your feet. And I just was like, just whatever you do, don't get it on you. Okay, this is like heaven speaking to the perfect son of God going, just don't get it on you. And the word who created all things for him and by him puts on flesh, vulnerable little baby in a manger. Flesh. and moved into the neighborhood of humanity. What kind of king does that? Hebrews 2 describes the kind of king that does that. Hebrews 2 8 to 18 says this.

Now, in putting everything in subjection to him, that's Jesus. He, that's the Father, left nothing outside of Jesus' control. And at present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. Can I get a witness? Like we don't walk around Jacksonville and all of Jacksonville is subject to Jesus. That's not how it's working right now. But we see him for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus,

crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death so that by the grace of God, we might taste death for everyone. He might taste death for everyone. that Jesus steps into humanity as a man to go to the cross that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. This is called substitutionary atonement by our king. He keeps going, verse 10, for it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist. We've talked about that already. in bringing many sons to glory should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.

That word founder there, it doesn't mean he started it. Another translation is like champion. Should make the champion of their salvation perfect through suffering. The idea here is you remember the event, David and Goliath, then there are two armies, and they each choose a champion. This is the word here. And the champion for the bad guys is Goliath, and he's a giant, so that makes sense. And then the champion that comes out for the Israelites is David, and that doesn't make sense.

It's not what they expected. Just a shepherd boy, he plays the heart and writes the 23rd Psalm. And he would put his life on the line on behalf of his people. This is what Jesus is. that Jesus puts his life on the line for his people. For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder, the champion, the substitute,

of their salvation perfect through suffering. For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why, listen to this, he is not ashamed to call them brothers. Look at me. Jesus is not ashamed of you. Think about it. Jesus is not ashamed of you.

Have you ever been with somebody and they've been ashamed of you? Then you don't have teenagers. If you have teenagers, this is going to happen to you, okay? I can remember the first time I pull up to school and I'm like, all right, buddy. And they're like, you know, people are watching. And I was like, oh, my gosh, this is happening. Okay? Think of how shameful we are in the presence of a holy and righteousness.

king. And yet Jesus, the perfect king, the perfect son, is not ashamed of us. In fact, he's proud to call us brother. He's proud. The other day at my house, JP, my 14-year-old comes rushing out back. Gretchen and I are

sitting out back, looking at the birds and watching flowers bloom. He comes rushing out back. And he's like, Mom, Mom, Reagan is about to bring all these random girls into our house. We're like, okay. What's the problem? He's like, well, and so he left and went our neighbors. So then I go inside and it's not all all these random girls are two of our

friends. She's in a bike gang. They ride there's about 10 girls ride bicycles around my neighborhood and we call them the bike gang and I don't know them. Now listen, here's the thing. If these two 10 year old girls were to just open my door and walk into my house, I wouldn't be rude to them but I would not let them Jen just like put on their bathing suits and come swimming in the pool with me. That would be highly inappropriate. I wouldn't let it happen. I call the police. I do something, right? But why do I let these two girls that I had never met before in my life come into my house and swim in my pool?

Because they're with my daughter. They're with my daughter. And she says to me, these are my friends from my school, and they live in our neighborhood. And because, not of who they are, but because of who they're with, I say, everything I have is yours. Come on, jump in the pool, pat my dogs,

just don't mess with my birds. That's what we do. In a similar way, who in the heck are we? to think we can just march up to the king of kings in heaven and just be like, I can come in and swim in your pool? On your own apart from Christ? No, you cannot. But basically what the writer of Hebrews is saying is you get to walk into eternity,

the way these random girls aren't random because they're friends of my daughter, get to walk into my house. And the king of the house, the father of the house says, it's not because of who you are that you get to come in this place, It's because who you are with, and Jesus has his arm around you saying, this is my brother. He is not ashamed of you. He says, I will, now he's going to quote some Old Testament here. I will tell of your name to my brothers in the midst of the congregation.

I will sing your praise. And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, behold, I and the children God has given me. This is prophecy about the coming Christ. Verse 14. He says, since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death that is the devil,

and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. Apart from Christ, this is us, that we are fearful of death and we are subjects to lifelong slavery. And then Jesus, our king, our conqueror, our champion, puts on flesh, shows up in the neighborhood, and then takes on the thing that all of us fear the most, which is death. And even if you're not fear of being dead, all of us are afraid of getting dead. You understand the difference? And Jesus takes it on and sets us free and puts death to death. Verse 16, for surely it is not the angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham.

That means people of faith. Verse 17. Therefore, he had to be made like his brothers in every respect. So that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted. There's a lot there. Let me break it down. That Jesus had to be made like us to put on flesh.

so that he could be the substitutionary atoning sacrifice for the sin of all mankind. But he didn't just stop there. But he also has suffered when tempted, and he has been tempted, just like we are tempted. This is why Hebrews says that we have a merciful and empathetic high priest. Here's what I mean. Again, the second person of the Trinity, for whom and by whom all things were created, with just a word spoken out of his mouth. The preeminent one.

The God made visible, the one who by his power holds everything together, and yet he became a man, born as a baby, raised as a lower middle class carpenter, and was tempted and experienced all the same things we do. Have you ever lost some friends? You ever had some people that made promises to you and they didn't keep them? Jesus knows how you feel.

You ever been betrayed with a kiss? Jesus knows how you feel. You ever have family problems? Jesus' family showed up and tried to baker at him while he's preaching. That's a fact. You ever lose somebody you love? You can't stop the tears?

Jesus knows how you feel. You ever had to not have enough money to pay your bills? Jesus knows how you feel. He didn't have enough money to pay his taxes. He had this cool trick though. He went fishing and caught the is crazy. And remember, we'll talk about it later.

You ever been treated unfairly? He knows how you feel. You ever found yourself in a place and you went before God with all the emotion and angst, even depression and anxiety? And basically your prayer before God was, are you sure?

You mean this is how it's got to go? Can this go another one? way. God, if there be any other way, you ever prayed like that? Jesus knows how you feel. You ever been rejected by a marriage partner? Jesus knows how you feel. He is the groom that came to get his bride. And one day he looks over the wall in Jerusalem. He's on the Mount of Olives and you can look over the wall down into Jerusalem and there was his marriage partner who had rejected him and he began to weep. in that situation and say, oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem. Oh, I wish I could gather you like a chicken, like a mother hen,

gathers her chicks under his wings. You ever been hurt? Jesus knows exactly how you feel. It says that he had to be made like his brothers in every respect. You see, when you think about Jesus, it's not some random movie character from a long time ago or some ethereal sky fairy up there that may or may not be there, that Jesus, the God man, stepped out of heaven, and the all-powerful God

becomes one of us to save us. To save us. This is the kind of God we serve. This is called the incarnation. We talk about it normally at Christmas, that the word became flesh and dwelt among us. But he had to become like one of us, because how else would we know who he is? You see, this is silly, but it's the only thing I can think of that will describe it. I share this story annually, but it's about that time. When I was in college, I lived, the best place I could afford was not awesome, okay? And this apartment next to my apartment got condemned, and they tore it down to the slab. And then I had some neighbor kids that lived in a couple floors under me,

and they would ride their big wheels on that slab. In case, you don't know what a big wheel is because it was too dangerous. So at big wheel, it was like, One big wheel in the front that would last for about two weeks, and then it would get a hole in it, and it would go like that. But in your mind, that was like the engine. It was like a Harley, and these two little fat wheels on the back, and then you could do power slides.

And it was just high enough that they couldn't see you when you came out from a car, so that way you were sure to die. Okay, that's what it was. But we had them. That's why we're tougher in y'all. Anyway, so... It's a kid getting on his big wheel and he'd ride around and the thing, and I'd have to walk through that little vacant lot with the slab on my way to class,

and then there were these huge like carpenter ants that would crawl around on the slab. And so what this little kid would do that lit a couple floors under me. He was psycho and he would take, he would like run over the ants with his big wheel. And he would get going, he'd find a line of them, he'd power slide through him just in, you know,

little ant parts would be going, and you could hear him. It was terrible. Well, after a couple of times, the ants would disappear, you know, it's just basic hunting pressure. And so then what he would do is he'd go back into his house and he'd get jelly

and he put jelly on the slab. He'd just take jelly and just put it on the slab. And apparently one of the ants would just, you know, tweet it out. Hey, man, it's free jelly everywhere. Come on. And there'd be jelly pelluzza with just everybody would show up, million ants. And so then he'd wait until all the ants got all up on the jelly,

and then he'd get his big wheel out, and I'm talking about it was murderous. He would just run over him, just with this little psycho, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, just running over all the ants. Now, I don't really care much about ants at all. But if I did look down on the ants and have compassion for the ants and I wanted to save the ant, how could I possibly save the ant? How could I communicate with an ant?

I can't. I could stand out there and just declare things. Here you, hear you, ants. I'm here with good news. Psycho boy's on his way. And if you just move to the vacant lot across the street, his mom won't let him cross the street. Therefore, that is the promised land. Follow me.

None of them would follow me. Because I don't look like an ant, speak like an ant. They would just, even if they lined up and tried to listen, they would just be like, those shoes are enormous. That's all they would get. So what would I have to do? I would have to become an ant and grow up like an ant and speak ant language. And one day at just the right time, when I had enough influence,

I would stand before the ants and say, brothers and sisters of the ant colony, do not fall for the, I know the jelly is sweet on your little pinch your things, but surely your head will get squished by the big wheel, follow me into the promised land, and then whoever followed would live. In a similar way, not the same. The Bible says that therefore Jesus had to be made like his brothers in every aspect, to experience what we experience and speak the language and eat the food

and get tired and hungry and all of those kind of things, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God to make propitiation for the sins of the people. people. That he lived a perfect life. He fulfilled all of the righteous laws of God that we know as the old covenant. He nailed every single one, every single time he never messed one up. That he was perfect. He was righteous. And then he went to the cross to be the propitiation as our faithful high priest. You see, according to Leviticus chapter 16, one time a year on the day of Atonement, the Jewish people just called it the day, that the high priest, he'd get all these

animals. And the first thing he would do is he'd sacrifice a bull and he'd burn it and then he would cleanse himself and he'd put on these special high priest clothes and he would make atonement for his own sin and then he would go into the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant was kept, the box that kept the broken law of God. And then he would take the blood of a lamb and he would shed the blood of the lamb and he would sprinkle it over the ark of the covenant and on the top of the ark of the covenant was the throne of god and there was a seat there called the holy seat or the mercy seat in hebrew it's hylisterium the translation of hylisterium is the propitiation seat and he would make propitiation for the sin of the jewish people propitiation means a payment that satisfies that's what it

means a payment that satisfies and you say well why does that why does payment have to be made for our sin? Because we serve a holy and a just God. And for God to overlook sin, it would be unjust. For God to say, you know what, don't worry about it coming here. Let's just hug it out. Would make him an unjust judge. And God is holy and God is righteous and He is just.

And through Jesus Christ, he is the just and the justifier. So when the Bible says that Jesus is our high priest and our perpetuation, then at the cross, what Jesus did is he did not have to make atonement for himself and cleanse himself before he went to the cross, but he went to the cross as the sacrificial lamb. This is why John the Baptist, his cousin, before he baptized him, said, Behold the Lamb of God who comes to take away the sin of all mankind. Pupitiation means that when Jesus says it is finished, no more sin. sacrifice is needed. And on the cross, when Jesus says, it is finished that our sin debt is paid in full.

Literally, the word he said is to tell us die. And it means the payment has been made. The payment has been satisfied. That Jesus is the propitiation for our sin. That means that the payment has been made, that God's justice has been satisfied. Let me tell you why this is important for you. that means that if you were in Christ, he can't be dissatisfied in you. He's not ashamed of you. Yeah, but I mess up. Yeah, but he didn't at the cross. And God made him who was without sin to be sin for us, that we would be made the righteousness of Christ.

So for anyone that believes that when Christ died on the cross, that counted for me, then it's paid for. It's finished. This is why I had tattooed right here to tell us die on my arm. Let me tell you why. I probably shouldn't tell you this. When I preach, I do like this. And it is easy for me in front of you to forget that because of the cross of Jesus Christ, the performance and the pretending are over.

And oftentimes, in my yet-to-be-perfectly sanctified mind, I begin to think that me doing this somehow influences the way God feels about me. But when I look down and I see Tatellis die, I'm reminded, not just here, but in all places in my life, but it happens here for whatever reason more than anywhere else. I am just reminded, it doesn't matter if it's a crappy sermon. He's my father and he loves me. And Jesus is my brother and he's proud of me. And the same is true of you, no matter what's going on in your life.

And that he is the propitiation for our sin. And if he's the payment that's satisfied, God can't be dissatisfied in you anymore. Ever, ever, ever. And so he does this, that the king of king, steps off of his throne, comes and pays the price for us. And this is crazy to me. and even then he's still not a king looking for subjects, but looking for friends. He's not looking for a people to rule over,

but he is inviting people to discover and deepen a relationship with him. This is the way he will say it. Jesus himself in John chapter 15, he's about to go get crucified, and he says this. He says, greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends, if you do what I command you.

no longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing, but I have called you friends. The king of kings, the almighty sovereign, creator, preeminent, Lord of Lord's One, goes to the cross and says, I want to be your friend. Listen, when it comes to theology, I can get my head around the fact that I can't get my head around God. That bothers me very little. Deuteronomy 2929 says, there's some mysterious things. that God only knows, and then there's some revealed stuff that we can get our mind around.

That bothers me none. What's hard for me to get my head and my heart around is the reality is that he wants to be our brother and friend. You see, the point is this. The Almighty sovereign king wants to come into our life as a friend and as a Savior. So I need a little help on this sermon. I've spent 40-some minutes. I don't know how many.

Trying to describe him to you. But I've told you 100 million times that I'm not a very good preacher. It's moderately delivered, exceptionally received. So there is a really good preacher. He passed away in 2000. He was a pastor at Calvary Baptist Church from 1953 to 1993. His name is S.M. Lockridge, and the S&M stands for Shadrach Mishak. If you name is Shadrach Mishak Lockridge, you have no choice to be an amazing preacher.

Amen? And so would you give me three and a half minutes and let pastor Lockridge, just try to explain the second person of the Trinity. Check this out. Bible says, my king is the king of the Jews. He's a king of Israel. He's the king of righteousness. He's the king of the ages. He's the king of heaven. He's the king of glory. He's the king of and he's the lord of laws. That's my king. I wonder, do you know it? My king is a sovereign king. means of measure can define his limitless love. He's enduringly strong. He's entirely sincere. He's eternally steadfast. He's immorally graceful. He's impurely powerful. He's impartially merciful.

Do you know him? He's the greatest phenomenon that has ever crossed the horizon of this world. He's God-Bun. He's a sinner's savior. He's the centerpiece of civilization. He's unparalleled. He's unprecedented. He is the loftest idea in literature. He's the highest personality in philosophy. He's the fundamental doctrine of truth theology. He's the only one qualified to be an all-sufficient savior. I wonder if you know him today. He's the supply strength. For the weak, he's available for the tempted and the tribe. He sympathizes and he saves. He threatens and sustains. He guards and the sick. He cleanses the lepers. He forgives sinners.

He discharges debtors. He delivers the captives. He defends the feeble. He blesses the young. He serves the unfortunate. He regard the aid. He rewards the diligence. He's unifies the meagre.

I wonder if you know him. He's a key to knowledge. He's a well-sprang of wisdom. He's a doorway of deliverance. He's a fast way of peace. He's a roadway of righteousness. He's a highway of holiness. He's a gateway of glory.

Do you know him? Well, his life is massless. His goodness is limitless. His mercy is everlasting. His love never changes. His word is enough. His great is deficient. His reign is righteous.

And in york is easy. And his burden is lighter. I wish I could describe him. So, yes, he's indescribable. He's incomprehensible. He's invincible. He's irresistible. Well, you can't get him out of your mind.

You can't get him off of your hand. You can't out live him and you can't live without him. Well, the Pharisee couldn't stand it, but they found out they couldn't stop him. Pilots couldn't find any fault in him. Herod couldn't kill him. Death couldn't have him and the brave couldn't hold him. Yeah. So do you know him?

Not know about him, not agree theoretically, but do you know him? Not only did Jesus come, live a perfect life, suffer and die. He's resurrected from the grave, ascended to the right hand of God, the Father, and he appears to the Apostle John on the island of Patmos in his glorified state. And he says, John, I want you to write these things down, and he starts writing letters to churches. And one of the letters that he tells John to be ascribed for is to this, the church in Ephesus.

And so he's talking to church people and he says this, he says, behold, church people, I, the son of God, the second person of the Trinity, the king of kings, the preeminent one, I stand at the door

of your life, of your heart, and I knock. And if anyone hears my voice and lets me in, If anyone believes that when he died on the cross, that Titalistai, that counted for you. Then I want to come in and have a relationship. I want to come in and eat with you and you with me. Behold, he stands at the door and knock.

And if anyone would hear his voice and let him in, he would come in and eat with you. The sovereign king of the universe who died on the cross wants to have a relationship with you and call you friend. I want to give you the opportunity to do that in this moment right now, whether you're watching online or if you're any one of our campuses, would you bow your head, would you close your eyes? I want to ask you this question. Do you know him? Do you know him? And if in this moment for the very first time you hear the knock of the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity,

Jesus himself knocking on the door of your heart, and for the very first time you want to surrender your life to him, to admit it, I'm a sinner in need of a Savior, I believe that somehow when he died on the cross that accounted for me. And in this moment, I want to open up that door and invite him in to have a forever relationship with God through his son, Jesus Christ. Then if that's you, would you just tell him right where you are? Just admit your sin, put your faith in Christ, confess him as Lord, and the Bible says that you will be saved.

And if that's you, whether you're online or at one of our campuses, would you raise your hand? Would you say, Father, here I am? I surrender my life to the Lordship of Christ. I hear you knocking on the door. I too want that relationship with you. Our good and gracious Heavenly Father, God, we thank you and we praise you for the person, the work, the life, death, the resurrection, and the future coming of Jesus Christ, our brother, our Lord, and our Savior.

And God, we know, well, we don't know, but we know that we don't know how big you are. may you teach us how relatable you are because you want to have a relationship with us. God, I thank you that it's not by works that that relationship happens. It's not by sacrifices anymore of bulls and rams and sheep, but it is through the cross of Jesus Christ that we are reconciled under you and transferred from a domain of darkness into your kingdom, the kingdom of life. So God, I thank you for salvation. and I pray by the power of the Holy Spirit that we would walk as citizens of your kingdom.

We prayed in Jesus' name. Amen. Church, would you please stand as we respond. We respond by bringing our ties and offerings. We respond by praying. I hope you will come with the boldness of a child to his father to the altar and pray, and we respond by singing. We're going to sing one of my favorite songs that Madeline wrote from our team that it counted for me.

we're going to sing the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. So let us sing and let us bring and let us pray. Let's respond. Hey, everybody. I'm Pastor Adam Flint. I'll lead our global multiplication team. We pray that God use this sermon to help you discover and deepen a relationship with Jesus Christ. And that he would do that alongside of you belonging to a healthy gospel center church where you live.

And again, I hope this message grows you and your love for Jesus Christ. Thanks for joining us.