Latest / Stornoway Free Church of Scotland - Sermons / Seeing Jesus
Transcript
- 0:00Let me invite you to turn back in your Bibles to John chapter 12, to words that we read from verse 20 to 26.
- 0:11! That's going to be our focus this evening.
- 0:15We have the request from those who are visiting Jerusalem.
- 0:21Sir, we wish to see Jesus.
- 0:25We wish to see Jesus.
- 0:33You can sense the anger and the desperation in the voices of the enemies of Jesus in verse 19.
- 0:47They have witnessed the arrival of Jesus into Jerusalem with celebration, with adoration, and it has pressed every button in the minds and hearts of his enemies.
- 1:04Their exasperation, you see that you are gaining nothing.
- 1:07Look, the whole world has gone after him.
- 1:11They say this despite the fact they put the word out like gangsters, that if anybody knew where Jesus was, they were to tell him or tell them, and they would sort the rest out.
- 1:26You have that in the very last words of the previous chapter.
- 1:28Chapter 11, verse 57.
- 1:30Chief priests and Pharisees had given orders.
- 1:33If anyone knew where he was, he should let them know so that they might arrest him.
- 1:37They're behaving like gangsters, but nobody's listening to them because Jesus has raised someone from the dead.
- 1:43And that carries more credibility than what the religious leaders of the day are doing.
- 1:48And so in exasperation, they cry out that the whole world has gone after him.
- 1:55And then as if to illustrate that very truth, you have some Greeks who were visiting Jerusalem at that time, meandering their way through the crowds to the disciples who would largely have been surrounding Jesus or certainly been very close by.
- 2:13And almost as if an illustration of how the whole world is going after him, here you have these non-Jewish people coming with a desire to see Jesus.
- 2:25In some ways, the words of Jesus' enemies were prophetic, that the whole world has gone after him.
- 2:31Because if we trace the history of the Christian faith, that's exactly what's happened, isn't it?
- 2:35Unlike the other major faiths in this world, whether we think of Islam or Hinduism or Buddhism, they are still strongest in their heartlands.
- 2:45Where these movements began, and other than migration of those from these areas, they haven't really seen growth in any other part of the world, unlike Christianity.
- 2:56Christianity, which is always on the move, whether from the start in the Middle East and heading westwards along North Africa and into Europe and then into North America.
- 3:08And now what we see in our generation, we see the movement of Christianity is going south to South America, to Africa.
- 3:15And it's gone east with more Christians in China than our people living in the United Kingdom.
- 3:19Because the message of Jesus truly has the world going after him.
- 3:26And we tonight are part of that worldwide movement of those who will hear of Jesus.
- 3:33And of course, little did these enemies of Jesus realize how prophetic their words would have been,
- 3:39which is actually one of the things that reoccurs in John's Gospel.
- 3:43People speak about things that they don't actually realize how true they are.
- 3:46But what we see in the ultimate fulfillment, if we have the panoramic view that John himself is given in Revelation,
- 3:55we do see, do we not, that people from every tribe and nation and language and tongue are going to be before the throne.
- 4:02They're going to be looking at this lamb that looks as if it had been slain.
- 4:05But this lamb is alive.
- 4:07This is the Lord Jesus himself.
- 4:10And so this evening, I want us to work through this section from verse 20 to verse 26.
- 4:15Noticing, first of all, that there is a request.
- 4:19Very simply, there is a request.
- 4:22Sir, we wish to see Jesus.
- 4:26And Jesus' life, as you will know, is bookended by unexpected visitors.
- 4:34At the start of his life, near the start of his life,
- 4:38he has these unexpected visitors from the east who want to come and bow down and worship.
- 4:43And here now, towards the very end of his life, he has these unexpected visitors coming from the west
- 4:49to simultaneously bow down and worship the Lord Jesus Christ.
- 4:55The actual, behind the translation we have here, it says that there's a repeated asking that took place here.
- 5:01And it's put the disciples in a little bit of a quandary.
- 5:05Because they know that Jesus has a target on his back.
- 5:09And they know that the enemies of Jesus are looking for any opportunity to try and cause difficulty for him.
- 5:16So therefore, Jesus, speaking to non-Jewish people,
- 5:19at this time of the year, is that going to be, is that going to cause more difficulty?
- 5:23And so Philip goes and tells Andrew.
- 5:26Then Andrew and Philip, verse 22, they went and told Jesus what was taking place.
- 5:32Because eventually they realised, from what they had seen in their front row seat,
- 5:38watching, observing, listening, learning from Jesus,
- 5:41that actually Jesus is someone who welcomes genuine interruptions.
- 5:49They've seen that throughout the past three years.
- 5:52They've seen that with different people.
- 5:55As he's walking with Jairus to the home where his young daughter is dying,
- 6:02there is the interruption of this woman who's been plagued for the last 12 years with illness.
- 6:10And Jesus sensed power going out from him.
- 6:14And so he stopped and he interacted with her.
- 6:17And she was made well.
- 6:19And so he welcomed that genuine interruption.
- 6:24He welcomed the genuine interruption that children would bring.
- 6:27I don't know if there's many kids in here tonight.
- 6:29But one of the things I say to the schools that I go and visit regularly is that Jesus always had time for young children.
- 6:38And children were very different then to today.
- 6:40I mean, today we almost idolise at times our kids.
- 6:44Because back then they literally were the lowest of the low, but not with Jesus.
- 6:48He would welcome genuine interruptions.
- 6:52Or you think of the blind men hearing that Jesus is walking along.
- 6:57And they're shouting and they're screaming.
- 7:00And to everyone else, this is an irritant.
- 7:01Why can't they just keep their mouth shut?
- 7:04But no, not with Jesus.
- 7:06Because Jesus welcomes genuine interruptions.
- 7:09And of course we can culminate that line of thinking when we land on the cross.
- 7:14Because you think, well, if there was ever a moment where Jesus would be excused for not actually receiving an interruption.
- 7:24It would be as he's hanging on the cross paying for sin.
- 7:27And yet he hears somebody on a cross beside him saying, remember me when you come into your kingdom.
- 7:31And so having come to that conclusion that actually Jesus welcomes genuine interruptions.
- 7:38Andrew and Philip go and tell Jesus.
- 7:41And so we have the third reference in the Gospel of John of Andrew bringing people to Jesus.
- 7:48First of all, he brought Peter to Jesus.
- 7:50He then brings the young boy with his packed lunch to Jesus.
- 7:54And here he is taking these foreigners to Jesus.
- 7:59Now, what an example Andrew is of being somebody who helps other people meet Jesus.
- 8:07What an example to follow.
- 8:09But let's ask the question, why did they want to see Jesus?
- 8:13They've come with this request, we want to see Jesus.
- 8:16The question is why?
- 8:17Why do we want to see Jesus?
- 8:20Had they heard something of the power of his miracles?
- 8:26Had they heard that the authority of the words by which he spoke
- 8:33was in a different league to anybody else?
- 8:38Had they heard that he was a man and a mission?
- 8:41We don't actually know the answer.
- 8:43All of these things or a mix of these things could be true along with many other things.
- 8:46But what we do know is that they wanted to see Jesus.
- 8:51So what will they see when they look to Jesus?
- 8:54What do we see when we look to Jesus?
- 8:57Well, when we look to Jesus, we see somebody who is fully human,
- 9:03with a fully human frame, just like you and I.
- 9:08A frame that needs to be fed.
- 9:10And a frame that needs to be rested.
- 9:15A frame that needs to have water.
- 9:18A frame that could only be in one place at one time.
- 9:23When we look to Jesus, we see someone who was, in that sense, fully human.
- 9:30He became man without ceasing to be God.
- 9:37Because not simply is he fully human.
- 9:40When we look at our Savior, we realize that he is fully divine as well, is he not?
- 9:46Who else in history has had the power to drive out disease?
- 9:51Either by the words that he spoke or by the very touch of his hand.
- 9:57Who else had the power to silence demons?
- 10:01To drive demons away?
- 10:04To free those who had been plagued by them?
- 10:07You live on a windy island.
- 10:09I grew up on a windy island.
- 10:10None of us have been able to ever stop the wind from blowing.
- 10:14Or the swell of the waves.
- 10:15But Jesus could by just uttering a few words.
- 10:18Who else could speak into death and say to a little girl,
- 10:24Wake up.
- 10:26Reaching down into death.
- 10:28Even by his words to bring her back to life.
- 10:30Who alone had the power to decree, declare someone's sins to be forgiven.
- 10:35All of these things are what we would expect.
- 10:37If somebody claimed to be divine, we would turn around and say, prove it.
- 10:41And what we see when we look at Jesus is we see someone who is fully divine and someone who is fully human.
- 10:50It's not some mixture when it's 70, 30 or whatever.
- 10:54Fully divine, fully human.
- 10:55That's who we see when we see Jesus.
- 10:58And he is the one who, having taken this human frame to himself without ceasing to be God,
- 11:06who came on this worldwide mission that all the way through John's Gospel we hear about.
- 11:11He's going to be the Lamb of God.
- 11:12He's going to take away the sins of the world.
- 11:14He's going to be the expression of the love of God.
- 11:17For God so loved the world.
- 11:19He declares himself not simply to be the light of the nation, but the light of the world.
- 11:23God, he's the one who's going to gather his sheep from other pens, from other areas.
- 11:28He's going to bring them together.
- 11:30They are coming with this desire to see the one who stands alone as the God-man who has come on a mission to save men, women, boys and girls.
- 11:43And so the request is the wisest request anybody could ever make.
- 11:48It is the wisest focus we could ever have, that we want to see Jesus.
- 11:59And if we have seen Jesus for who he is, not simply fully God and fully man out there, but fully God and fully man who has come on a mission to save us,
- 12:10then making sure that our vision of who Jesus is doesn't get clouded by our responsibilities and by our duties and all the different distractions of this world,
- 12:18well, that's our responsibility.
- 12:20We want to keep seeing Jesus because there is none else other than him, is there?
- 12:28So we see, first of all, in this passage, we see that they've come with a request not to be entertained, not to learn something,
- 12:37but they want to see the Savior.
- 12:40And this request is met in verse 23 and verse 24 with an answer.
- 12:48In fact, verse 23 to 25 is met with an answer.
- 12:52Because frequently when Jesus is initiated in a conversation, whether it's a question or a statement,
- 12:59he frequently replies with a question himself.
- 13:02And he comes not necessarily with the way that people would expect him to answer.
- 13:09He comes in different ways.
- 13:11And this is another one.
- 13:13So, sir, we wish to see Jesus.
- 13:15They come to Jesus.
- 13:17And in response to this, he sees something they don't expect.
- 13:21Because he says, the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
- 13:26And they're going, okay, that's not quite what we were thinking about.
- 13:31They just want to see you.
- 13:33But Jesus is, as ever, multiple steps ahead.
- 13:37And he's going to deal with their request by actually clarifying what it is, who it is, that they're actually going to see.
- 13:47And so he sees and views this as a turning point.
- 13:53This is a turning point whereby here you have non-Jews coming to him with a desire to see him and to know him.
- 14:04And now he sees the hour has come.
- 14:06That the request from these Greeks is a sign in the mind and understanding of our Savior that there is now a different moment that has been reached.
- 14:19Because now is the time that the gospel, the message, the good news that he is about to secure is going to go beyond just the lost sheep of Israel.
- 14:34You'll recall on a couple of occasions that phrase, the lost sheep of Israel, and similar phrases were used to narrow down the scope of Jesus' ministry.
- 14:44That he sent his followers out to gather in the lost sheep.
- 14:52When you had the woman who came desperate for healing for her daughter, she recognized that she was not of Jewish origin.
- 15:00That she was one of the dogs in that sense, the derogatory term of the day.
- 15:06But she recognized that even the dogs would eat the crumbs that fall from the master's table because the scope of Jesus' ministry had been limited.
- 15:14With this request, Jesus sees something change.
- 15:20Because he now moves on to the fact that in light of this request, the hour has come.
- 15:25Because up until this point, the hour is always in the future.
- 15:31It is almost like a drumbeat that is beating at different times throughout the gospel of John.
- 15:41His hour has not yet come.
- 15:43His hour has not yet come.
- 15:45His hour has not yet come.
- 15:46His hour has not yet come.
- 15:48And yet we reach here and his hour has come.
- 15:51We know that Jesus operated to a very different timeline and timetable, didn't he?
- 15:58His family, who up until that point didn't believe in him, thought it would be very straightforward for him to take his miracle roadshow from the north to Jerusalem in chapter 7 for the Feast of Tabernacles.
- 16:10And Jesus reminded them, for you any time is right, but not for me.
- 16:12Because Jesus was living this perfectly obedient life in every single detail, according to the Father's will, according to the Father's timetable.
- 16:23And yet now he realizes something is different here.
- 16:27This is now an occasion that has moved on to the next stage, if you like, of his mission.
- 16:34That with this hour coming, his death and all that is going to unfold with regard to his death and all that his death is going to secure, that's now come closer into view as we have this request from these non-Jewish people.
- 16:55And so this hour has arrived.
- 17:01And he said, it's the hour for the Son of Man to be glorified.
- 17:06And it's that phrase, Son of Man, that stands out.
- 17:09Because if we were there and if we'd had some of the knowledge of the Old Testament that some of the people standing there would have had,
- 17:16their ears would have picked up at the use of the term Son of Man.
- 17:21This would have been loaded with significance for them.
- 17:26It's almost as if they would have looked to somebody around them and said, did he actually see that?
- 17:31He said Son of Man, didn't he?
- 17:33With some of them, their hearts would have began to beat that little bit faster.
- 17:38Because this term was loaded with significance.
- 17:42The significance you find in the Old Testament, you go back to Daniel chapter 7,
- 17:45and it talks about this worldwide never-ending rule that will come with the Son of Man, come with the one sent by God.
- 17:55And here is Jesus referencing himself as the Son of Man, as the one who has come.
- 18:05And a little bit like you, I mean all these analogies, they work to an extent and then they don't.
- 18:09But you think of how candidates for the US presidency, when they're about to announce their nomination to put themselves forward as a candidate for their party,
- 18:18that they'll go to a location that's significant for them.
- 18:22And the setting will just be what it needs to be.
- 18:25And the wording will just be what they think it needs to be.
- 18:29And everything will be planned and coordinated for this great statement that they are in this race,
- 18:34and they're going to bring change and whatever else they promise that never actually materialises.
- 18:38But that's how they do things, isn't it?
- 18:41Well, we reverse back a few thousand years, and this is what some of the people there would have been thinking.
- 18:47Here is Jesus.
- 18:48He is, we're at Passover time.
- 18:51And he's talking about himself in terms of the Son of Man.
- 18:56We are now moving on to a new level.
- 18:57The hope that we've been waiting for is about to be realised.
- 19:01And so for the folk who were listening, it was falling into place.
- 19:08And yet what they hadn't realised, didn't realise, perhaps had forgotten,
- 19:15what Jesus had said earlier on in chapter 3,
- 19:19when he talked about that for the Son of Man to be the one who would ascend,
- 19:25he needs to be the one who first of all descends.
- 19:27No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.
- 19:31For Jesus to be this Son of Man, for him to be the one who was going to secure the freedom
- 19:40that they desperately needed, which was on a spiritual level rather than on a political or physical level,
- 19:47then he not simply would have to descend to live among them,
- 19:51but his descent was going to be a descent to death,
- 19:54which is why, again in John's Gospel,
- 19:56Son of Man is quoted in relation to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
- 20:01And so we have this request,
- 20:07and we have this answer that is given,
- 20:10where Jesus is bringing the focus round to what's about to take place.
- 20:17The hour has come,
- 20:19and the Son of Man is now going to be glorified.
- 20:22And the glorification is going to involve a dying.
- 20:28Verse 24,
- 20:30unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains alone,
- 20:33but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
- 20:36He's talking about being glorified in the context of dying.
- 20:43And for us, that seems very odd,
- 20:46because in the occasions that we do speak about glorification,
- 20:49if we do speak about trying to give people the recognition that they deserve,
- 20:56well, that almost involves a sense of exaltation, doesn't it?
- 21:00It involves a sense of prominence,
- 21:02a sense of attention being given in that sense.
- 21:06And yet Jesus is going in the very opposite,
- 21:08and he's talking about glorification in the context of death.
- 21:14Now, we know that as the passage, as the chapters unfold,
- 21:19the glorification in the context of the crucifixion is going to be made clear,
- 21:24again in this chapter, again in the following chapter.
- 21:27And so what the people of the day would class as the greatest humiliation,
- 21:34and what people throughout history have classed as not simply a humiliation,
- 21:39but a conundrum that cannot be solved,
- 21:42if Jesus was who he was, why on earth did he die in that way,
- 21:45is actually going to be the very means of his glorification,
- 21:51in the same way that this seed has to die before life can come from it.
- 21:57So Jesus has to die before this worldwide mission is going to move forward.
- 22:04And so he is receiving this request, they want to see him,
- 22:09and you're going to see me,
- 22:11but you're going to see me in a very different way to how you imagine me to be,
- 22:15because the hour has come,
- 22:17and the Son of Man is about to be glorified,
- 22:19and you think exaltation,
- 22:21but actually it's going to be humiliation.
- 22:24You think coronation,
- 22:26but it's actually going to be crucifixion.
- 22:29That is how you're going to see me.
- 22:33And it reminds us, does it not,
- 22:36that actually we need more than just Jesus' example,
- 22:40outstanding though it was.
- 22:42We need more than Jesus' teaching,
- 22:45authoritative and unique as it undoubtedly was,
- 22:49what we need is the death of a substitute in our place,
- 22:56so that we may be set free and welcomed into a relationship with God.
- 23:05And so the Son of Man,
- 23:07he is at this hour going to be glorified.
- 23:12I suppose in life we've all been in this situation,
- 23:16that when we go through certain events,
- 23:18or we meet certain people,
- 23:20then our lives change.
- 23:22Those of older generations,
- 23:24who in Providence had to endure the war years,
- 23:29were very much shaped by the war years.
- 23:33On a more positive note,
- 23:34when you met your now spouse,
- 23:37then life was never the same after meeting your spouse.
- 23:41When we go through certain events,
- 23:43when we meet certain people,
- 23:45our lives are changed,
- 23:46and they are not the same again.
- 23:50Jesus goes on to talk about our lives being changed
- 23:54when we see the identity of Jesus Christ,
- 23:57and we see the mission of Jesus Christ.
- 24:02That when we recognise that he is the Son of Man
- 24:04who was glorified in his crucifixion for us,
- 24:08then life changes.
- 24:10Verse 25,
- 24:11whoever loves his life loses it.
- 24:14Whoever hates his life in this world will keep it forever.
- 24:18If anyone serves me,
- 24:19he must follow me.
- 24:20And where I am,
- 24:21there will my servant be also.
- 24:24If anyone serves me,
- 24:26the Father will honour him.
- 24:29This is telling us the outworking of seeing Jesus
- 24:31is that we're going to see ourselves very differently.
- 24:35We're going to see our lives very differently.
- 24:38We're going to see our acts of service very differently.
- 24:42This is where we take the teaching of Scripture,
- 24:45and we could maybe talk about it in a theological sense,
- 24:48and now the practical implications of that,
- 24:51because seeing Jesus for who he is
- 24:54changes how we view ourselves
- 24:57and how we view others.
- 24:59Jesus makes it clear here
- 25:01that a love of the self
- 25:02actually leads to self-destruction.
- 25:06But the converse is true,
- 25:08is that when we actually have a love for our Saviour,
- 25:12and all that will come to us from that,
- 25:14including the various different suffering and struggles
- 25:17that will come our way for having a living faith,
- 25:20then the reward is so very different.
- 25:24And so seeing Jesus
- 25:26changes how we view ourselves
- 25:29and how we view others.
- 25:32It moves the agenda from ourselves
- 25:36to others
- 25:38in a way that it was not like that before.
- 25:44Let me illustrate.
- 25:46Some of you will have heard of a guy called George Muller.
- 25:47He lived a long time ago.
- 25:50He was an evangelist,
- 25:52and he also helped initiate
- 25:55and then organise orphanages,
- 25:57cared for tens of thousands of children
- 26:00in the day,
- 26:02back down in the Bristol area.
- 26:04He was asked at one point,
- 26:06what was the secret
- 26:07to his effectiveness
- 26:10as a follower of Jesus?
- 26:14And he bowed his head
- 26:16and he answered along these lines
- 26:19that the secret of his effectiveness
- 26:21was the day he died.
- 26:24And he bowed his head a little more.
- 26:27The day I died
- 26:29to my opinions,
- 26:31to my preferences,
- 26:33to my taste,
- 26:37to my will.
- 26:39The day I died
- 26:40to the approval
- 26:42or censure
- 26:44of this world.
- 26:46The day I died
- 26:48even to the approval
- 26:49and blame
- 26:50of my brothers
- 26:52who didn't understand
- 26:54some of what I was doing.
- 26:56He's illustrating
- 26:57in a very clear way
- 26:58what happens
- 26:59when somebody meets Jesus.
- 27:01that our lives
- 27:03are turned
- 27:04the right way round.
- 27:06And our perspective
- 27:07about our rights
- 27:10and our preferences
- 27:12and our desires
- 27:14and our demands
- 27:16go off
- 27:16in a different trajectory.
- 27:19The effectiveness
- 27:19of this guy's
- 27:21ministry and life
- 27:23was orientated
- 27:26around seeing
- 27:27Jesus for who he is
- 27:29because that exposes
- 27:31us for who we are
- 27:32and in light
- 27:34of what we are
- 27:35then we wish
- 27:36his will to be done
- 27:37and not our will
- 27:38to be done.
- 27:40And so
- 27:40the surprising
- 27:43greatness
- 27:45of what Jesus
- 27:47promises us here
- 27:48is that those
- 27:49who do see our lives
- 27:50through the lens
- 27:53and rubric
- 27:54of who Christ is
- 27:55actually have the honour
- 27:57of the Heavenly Father
- 27:59resting upon us.
- 28:02Let me look at this
- 28:03from a slightly
- 28:04different angle.
- 28:05There was a guy
- 28:06in the 1960s
- 28:07called
- 28:07J.W. Tucker.
- 28:09He was a missionary
- 28:10and
- 28:12he was actually
- 28:13martyred
- 28:14for his faith
- 28:15in the
- 28:16I think it was
- 28:17the Congo
- 28:17DR Congo
- 28:18or the other Congo
- 28:19I'm not sure which.
- 28:21He was martyred
- 28:21for his faith.
- 28:22He was attacked
- 28:22he was killed
- 28:23he was bundled
- 28:24into the back
- 28:25of a truck
- 28:26and then he was
- 28:28thrown into
- 28:29the
- 28:30Bomo Kande River
- 28:31apologies for the pronunciation
- 28:32it's probably incorrect
- 28:34Bomo Kande River
- 28:35where his
- 28:37remains
- 28:37were then
- 28:38eaten by crocodiles.
- 28:41Some 30 years later
- 28:43a friend
- 28:44of this man
- 28:45Tucker
- 28:46went back
- 28:47to that country
- 28:48and he heard
- 28:49what had happened
- 28:51after
- 28:51the martyr
- 28:52of J.W. Tucker
- 28:53he heard
- 28:55that
- 28:56there was
- 28:56one person
- 28:57who actually
- 28:58came to a faith
- 28:59when Tucker
- 29:00was alive.
- 29:01He was a local
- 29:02policeman
- 29:02and the policeman
- 29:04came to
- 29:05see Jesus
- 29:05and to
- 29:07follow
- 29:07Jesus' feet
- 29:08to live his
- 29:09life for Jesus
- 29:10things changed
- 29:11and he had
- 29:13this burden
- 29:14placed upon him
- 29:15by God
- 29:16for this
- 29:17particular group
- 29:18that had
- 29:19murdered
- 29:20J.W. Tucker
- 29:21but he just
- 29:22didn't know
- 29:23how to
- 29:23connect
- 29:24the message
- 29:25of Jesus
- 29:25to them
- 29:26until one day
- 29:28somebody told him
- 29:29of a tribal
- 29:30tradition
- 29:31for that
- 29:32people group
- 29:32and the tradition
- 29:34went something
- 29:34like this
- 29:34that if the
- 29:35blood of any
- 29:36man flows
- 29:37in the
- 29:37Bomo Kande River
- 29:38we must
- 29:39listen to
- 29:40his message.
- 29:42The policeman
- 29:43heard this
- 29:43and he thought
- 29:44that's my key
- 29:45so he went
- 29:46to this area
- 29:47and he said
- 29:50that sometime
- 29:51a man
- 29:52was killed
- 29:53and you
- 29:55threw his
- 29:56body
- 29:57into the
- 29:58Bomo Kande
- 29:59River
- 29:59where he was
- 30:01then eaten
- 30:02by crocodiles
- 30:03and his
- 30:04blood
- 30:05flowed
- 30:06through
- 30:07that river
- 30:08before he died
- 30:10he left me
- 30:12a message
- 30:12so at that
- 30:14point
- 30:14it's all ears
- 30:15the blood
- 30:17of anyone
- 30:17flowing
- 30:18in the
- 30:18Bomo Kande
- 30:19River
- 30:19we need
- 30:19to listen
- 30:20to his
- 30:20message
- 30:20and so he
- 30:22said he
- 30:22left me
- 30:22a message
- 30:23he left
- 30:24me a message
- 30:24about God
- 30:25the God
- 30:26who made
- 30:26everything
- 30:27that we
- 30:27have
- 30:27a message
- 30:28about the
- 30:29God
- 30:29who made
- 30:29everything
- 30:30who loved
- 30:30this broken
- 30:31world so much
- 30:31that he sent
- 30:32his son
- 30:32into this
- 30:33world
- 30:34and his son
- 30:35lived a perfect
- 30:35life in this
- 30:36world
- 30:37in fact he was
- 30:39the only one
- 30:39to ever live
- 30:40a perfect
- 30:40life
- 30:40and do you
- 30:41know what
- 30:41happened to
- 30:42his son
- 30:42that his son
- 30:43ended up being
- 30:44crucified on a
- 30:44cross
- 30:45not for his
- 30:46own sin
- 30:47but for the
- 30:48sins of his
- 30:49people
- 30:49for the sins
- 30:50of the world
- 30:51and as he
- 30:52explained the
- 30:53gospel to
- 30:54this tribal
- 30:55group
- 30:55many of them
- 30:57were converted
- 30:58so 30 years
- 30:59later when this
- 30:59friend of G.W.
- 31:00Tucker went
- 31:01there there
- 31:01were thousands
- 31:02of Christians
- 31:03in that
- 31:04tribal group
- 31:05who had come
- 31:06to faith
- 31:07on the basis
- 31:08of somebody
- 31:09who was willing
- 31:10even to suffer
- 31:11to the point
- 31:12of death
- 31:13so that people
- 31:14might see
- 31:16Jesus
- 31:16because seeing
- 31:19Jesus
- 31:19is so
- 31:21remarkably
- 31:22serious
- 31:23because seeing
- 31:25Jesus
- 31:26and keeping
- 31:26our eyes
- 31:27on Jesus
- 31:27is
- 31:29where we
- 31:31must be
- 31:31in these days
- 31:32of communion
- 31:32as we see
- 31:34Jesus
- 31:34our minds
- 31:35inevitably
- 31:36focus on the
- 31:38cross
- 31:38don't we
- 31:38and they focus
- 31:40into the cross
- 31:40that place
- 31:41where we see
- 31:41the glory
- 31:42of God
- 31:42displayed
- 31:43with the
- 31:44holiness
- 31:45of his
- 31:45justice
- 31:46and the
- 31:46depth
- 31:46of his
- 31:47love
- 31:47on that
- 31:48cross
- 31:49we see
- 31:49the remarkable
- 31:51dual truths
- 31:52there
- 31:53that we
- 31:53are perfectly
- 31:54known by
- 31:55God
- 31:55and yet
- 31:56simultaneously
- 31:56perfectly
- 31:57loved by
- 31:58God
- 31:58because
- 31:59the glory
- 32:00of Jesus
- 32:00that we
- 32:02need to see
- 32:02and respond
- 32:03to
- 32:03is what
- 32:04we see
- 32:04on the
- 32:04cross
- 32:05so with
- 32:06all of that
- 32:06being said
- 32:06what takeaways
- 32:07do we have
- 32:08from a passage
- 32:08like this
- 32:09this evening
- 32:10let me ask
- 32:12you first
- 32:12of all
- 32:12have you
- 32:13seen
- 32:13Jesus
- 32:14do you
- 32:16want
- 32:17to see
- 32:18Jesus
- 32:19the Bible
- 32:21makes a
- 32:22promise
- 32:22that
- 32:24those who
- 32:25seek
- 32:25will
- 32:26find
- 32:27don't
- 32:29rest
- 32:29until you
- 32:31have seen
- 32:31and savoured
- 32:33bowed
- 32:34before
- 32:34the living
- 32:35Lord Jesus
- 32:36for yourself
- 32:37and if
- 32:39you
- 32:39have
- 32:40seen
- 32:42the Lord
- 32:42Jesus
- 32:43how wonderful
- 32:45it would be
- 32:45to glorify
- 32:46the Lord
- 32:46Jesus
- 32:47by being
- 32:48like Andrew
- 32:49and helping
- 32:50other people
- 32:51to see
- 32:52the Lord
- 32:53Jesus
- 32:54because
- 32:55what more
- 32:57could we do
- 32:57for our family
- 32:58and friends
- 32:59and communities
- 33:00and country
- 33:01than help
- 33:02people
- 33:03to see
- 33:04Jesus
- 33:05and if
- 33:07we want
- 33:08other people
- 33:08to see
- 33:09Jesus
- 33:09then
- 33:09as I
- 33:10alluded
- 33:10earlier
- 33:10on
- 33:10we need
- 33:11to make
- 33:11sure
- 33:11that we
- 33:11are keeping
- 33:12our eyes
- 33:12on Jesus
- 33:13that we
- 33:14are setting
- 33:14our affections
- 33:16on things
- 33:16that are above
- 33:17where Christ
- 33:17is
- 33:18that we
- 33:19have our eyes
- 33:20fixed on him
- 33:21there's much
- 33:22that can
- 33:22distract us
- 33:23some good
- 33:25things can
- 33:26distract us
- 33:26and some
- 33:27not so good
- 33:28things can
- 33:29distract us
- 33:29but keeping
- 33:31our eyes
- 33:31on Jesus
- 33:32is so very
- 33:33very precious
- 33:34and perhaps
- 33:35even
- 33:36there may be
- 33:37some of us
- 33:37this evening
- 33:38who
- 33:38have seen
- 33:40the preciousness
- 33:42and the
- 33:43delight
- 33:44and the
- 33:46wonder of
- 33:46how this
- 33:47saviour
- 33:48could love
- 33:49someone like
- 33:50me
- 33:50someone like
- 33:51you
- 33:51but you've
- 33:52not yet
- 33:53made that
- 33:54known
- 33:55that Jesus
- 33:55is precious
- 33:56well maybe
- 33:58it's time
- 33:59isn't it
- 34:00to let other
- 34:01people know
- 34:01that you have
- 34:02seen Jesus
- 34:02and you
- 34:04do savor
- 34:04Jesus
- 34:04and you
- 34:06want to
- 34:06serve
- 34:06Jesus
- 34:07in the
- 34:08strength
- 34:08that he's
- 34:08given to
- 34:09you
- 34:09and if
- 34:09that's
- 34:09the case
- 34:10well come
- 34:11and join
- 34:11us
- 34:12be with
- 34:12us
- 34:12as we
- 34:13see
- 34:13our
- 34:14saviour
- 34:14and as
- 34:15we
- 34:15savor
- 34:15him
- 34:15at his
- 34:16table
- 34:16this
- 34:17coming
- 34:17Lord's
- 34:18day
- 34:18if we're
- 34:18spirit
- 34:19and well
- 34:19amen
- 34:20let's
- 34:20bow our
- 34:21heads
- 34:21as we
- 34:22pray
- 34:22father
- 34:22thank you
- 34:24for a
- 34:24passage
- 34:24like this
- 34:25there's
- 34:25so much
- 34:25in it
- 34:26we pray
- 34:27that you
- 34:28would help
- 34:29us to
- 34:29think deeply
- 34:30upon what
- 34:31your word
- 34:32says to
- 34:32us
- 34:32and again
- 34:34we pray
- 34:35father that
- 34:35if this
- 34:37has been
- 34:37a season
- 34:38whether a
- 34:39long season
- 34:40or a short
- 34:41season
- 34:41whereby our
- 34:43vision of
- 34:43Jesus has
- 34:44been clouded
- 34:45by other
- 34:47things
- 34:47father we
- 34:49pray that
- 34:49these clouds
- 34:50might be
- 34:50lifted
- 34:51and that
- 34:52we would
- 34:53have a
- 34:54clear vision
- 34:55of the
- 34:56wonder
- 34:56of the
- 34:57saviour
- 34:57who loved
- 34:58us
- 34:58and gave
- 34:59himself
- 34:59for us
- 35:01we pray
- 35:02this in
- 35:02his name
- 35:02amen
- 35:03we're going
- 35:06to conclude
- 35:07my singing
- 35:07in psalm
- 35:08number 22
- 35:09psalm 22
- 35:11from the
- 35:11sing psalms
- 35:12verse
- 35:12of the
- 35:12psalter
- 35:13you'll
- 35:13find this
- 35:13on page
- 35:1427
- 35:15psalm 22
- 35:17from verse
- 35:1827
- 35:18on page
- 35:1927
- 35:19psalm 22
- 35:23verse 27
- 35:25page 27
- 35:26and we
- 35:29sing these
- 35:30words
- 35:30through the
- 35:32lens of our
- 35:32understanding of
- 35:33who Jesus
- 35:33is
- 35:34that these
- 35:35words
- 35:35remind us
- 35:37and can only
- 35:38really apply
- 35:38to our
- 35:39saviour in
- 35:40that sense
- 35:40the whole
- 35:41earth will
- 35:41remember him
- 35:42and turn
- 35:43towards the
- 35:43lord their
- 35:44god
- 35:44all peoples
- 35:45will bow
- 35:45down to him
- 35:46the nations
- 35:46of the world
- 35:47abroad
- 35:48down to
- 35:49verse 30
- 35:49posterity
- 35:50will serve
- 35:50the lord
- 35:51and generations
- 35:52still to come
- 35:53will tell a
- 35:54people yet
- 35:54unborn
- 35:55the righteous
- 35:56acts that he
- 35:57has done
- 35:57we're going to
- 35:58stand as we
- 35:58praise god
- 35:5927 to the
- 35:59end
- 36:00the whole
- 36:05the whole
- 36:05the whole
- 36:06earth will
- 36:07remember him
- 36:11and turn
- 36:13towards the
- 36:15lord their
- 36:17god
- 36:18all peoples
- 36:21will
- 36:23the
- 36:30the
- 36:30the
- 36:31!
- 36:32!
- 36:33the
- 36:33!
- 36:34the
- 36:40lord
- 36:41and
- 36:43and
- 36:44!
- 36:45the
- 36:46!
- 36:47!
- 36:48the
- 36:48!
- 36:49the
- 36:50earth
- 36:52will
- 36:53!
- 36:54the
- 36:54earth
- 36:56will
- 36:58feed
- 36:59and
- 37:00worship
- 37:01with
- 37:03an
- 37:04offer
- 37:05in
- 37:07all
- 37:08those
- 37:09whose
- 37:10destiny
- 37:12is
- 37:14dust
- 37:15will
- 37:16hum
- 37:17!
- 37:18the
- 37:19need
- 37:21need
- 37:22need
- 37:23need
- 37:23need
- 37:47And generations still to come
- 37:55will tell the people yet unborn
- 38:02the righteous acts that he has done.
- 38:12Until the Lord returns,
- 38:14Orantly calls us home.
- 38:15May the Lord bless you and keep you.
- 38:17May the Lord make his face to shine on you
- 38:19and be gracious to you.
- 38:21May the Lord turn his face towards you
- 38:22and grant you his peace.
- 38:24And the people of God said, Amen.