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4.4.21 John 1:14 Pastor Danny Gardner · HBCWestminster

• 0:00
  If you have your Bibles, you can open to John chapter 1 and verse 14. John 1, 14 will be our text this morning. In the year 325, A.D. 325, then Emperor Constantine, the first Christian Roman emperor in history, commissioned the historian Eusebius to identify holy sites all over Palestine, what is modern-day Israel. And he told him to begin the construction of churches over each of those holy sites. And only about a decade later, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,
• 0:29
  was dedicated on top of what they believed to be the exact spot where Christ was crucified and buried. That church, considered by many to be the most holy site in Christendom, has been conducting services there ever since for 1,700 years. And last year, the year 2020, was only the second time in those 1,700 years that the resurrection was not celebrated in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
• 0:59
  The first, and the only other time, was AD 1349, during the bubonic plague, the plague which killed a full third of Europe's population. Consider all that the world has seen in that 1700 years. The fall of the Roman Empire, the Dark Ages, the Crusades, the Renaissance.
• 1:19
  The discovery of the New World, the Enlightenment, the Protestant Reformation, the Industrial Revolution. The world has seen famines and plagues and droughts and disease and even two world wars. And yet the resurrection of Christ has always been celebrated at that church despite those world threats. But not last year. Last year, 2020.
• 1:40
  was unique in world history because not only did saints not gather at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, but they didn't gather anywhere else either. It's the first time, I believe, in the church's 2,000-year existence that the saints did not gather to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord. Churches were empty. Their doors were shut. Church bells were silent. Many of their congregants, including our own church, even my own family, sat on their couches.
• 2:07
  and watched as their pastors and worship leaders did their best to provide hope in what was said to be a hopeless situation. And so when I say, He is risen, and you reply with, He is risen indeed, right? Which is our normal tradition. When I say, He is risen, and you reply with, He is risen indeed, church, we've got to make up for a lost year. This one has to count double, all right? Are you guys ready? He is risen.
• 2:35
  He is risen indeed. He is risen. He is risen indeed. Amen and amen. We serve a resurrected Lord, a Lord who is alive. Jesus is not in the grave. We celebrated the crucifixion a couple of nights ago on Good Friday, but today we celebrate that we serve a living and active God who could not be kept in the ground. Amen, church.
• 3:03
  amen that is what we celebrate i'm going to read our text this morning and if you're able to stand in honor of god's word i would ask you to do that just one verse today john 1 and verse 14 which says this and the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we have seen his glory glory as of the only son from the father full of grace and truth would you pray with me lord we pray that you would bless the preaching of your word
• 3:33
  Remind us of the power of the resurrection in light of the incarnation. And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Thank you, church. You can be seated. Well, I am a high school baseball coach. I coach baseball for a local high school here. I love baseball and I love coaching and I love coaching baseball. But I've found that coaching baseball is actually pretty repetitive. I have noticed that I really only have about...
• 4:01
  six things maybe to say, right? If you boiled it all down, and I've been coaching for many years, in fact, decades. I've been coaching high school boys since before my son, who is now in college, before he was even born. I've been coaching high school boys, teaching them how to play baseball. And if you boil down the things that I talk about, I really only have about six things to say.
• 4:21
  I will tell them the team that can't play catch is the team that's going to win. I usually know whether we're going to win based on how we warm up. I'll watch our boys play catch, I'll watch their boys play catch, and I can tell you which team is going to win. I'll say this, put the bat on the ball and good things will happen. If we can't put the ball in play, we will have trouble winning. Just put the bat on the ball, good things will happen. I'll say this to my pitchers, see it in your head and then throw it.
• 4:46
  See it in your head. Imagine it. Visualize it. See it in your head and then throw it. I'll say, have an idea. Don't wait until the ball is hit to you to then decide what to do with it. You've got to know what to do long before the ball is ever hit at you. If the ball takes me that way, here's what I'll do. If the ball takes me that way, here's what I'll do. If I get a ground ball, if I get a fly ball, here's what I'm going to do. I'll tell my boys, never settle.
• 5:09
  Never settle. If you're on first base, you want second. If you want second base, you want third, right? If you had a double, you want a triple. Never settle. One base is never good enough. Two base is never good enough. One run is not good enough. We want more. We want more. We want more. I'll say this. Infield is not a position. Infield is an attitude. Infield is an attitude. And there is no way that ball can get past you. You're a hockey goalie, right? There's no way if it gets past you, we lose. No way. No way. No way. I only say about six things.
• 5:40
  Do you ever wonder if God feels the same way about us? Do you ever wonder if he's looking down at us and thinking, you know, I only say about six things. I've repeated myself again and again and again. I feel like I'm saying the same six things over and over and over for years and decades and centuries and millennia now. I've only said about six things and I just keep saying those six things over and over. And I'm surprised as he's looking down on earth, I'm surprised they haven't gotten it by now.
• 6:09
  I did some quick research this week on how many times the Lord commands us in his word not to be afraid. I found dozens of references, Old and New Testaments, dozens of references which say something like, do not be afraid, a command from God to his people. Do not be afraid. I found it dozens of times, but my favorite is this, Joshua 1 and verse 9, when it says, be strong and courageous.
• 6:39
  afraid do not be discouraged for the lord your god will be with you wherever you go do not be afraid do not be discouraged for the lord your god will be with you wherever you go and this promise given originally to joshua is that if the lord's presence is with him then he need not live in fear and yet
• 7:03
  If there is one emotion that I believe has gripped our nation and indeed our entire world more strongly than any other emotion in the last 12 months, I believe it is fear. Fear has crippled us. Fear has paralyzed us. It's fear of sickness and fear of death, fear of rejection, fear of cancellation, fear of progressive liberalism, fear of being thought a racist or a bigot or a hypocrite.
• 7:34
  Fear. And I've been surprised at how many, even within the Christian ranks, those who claim to practice the presence of God, who say, yes, the Lord is with me wherever I go. I've been surprised at how many, even who make that claim, have fallen to the same fear as those who know not the Lord of all creation.
• 7:54
  And so I was taken when I came across A.W.'s Tozer's statement, which now was uttered more than 75 years ago when he said, a frightened world needs a fearless church. A frightened world needs a fearless church. What many are most is afraid. And what the world needs most...
• 8:18
  is believers who are unafraid and i have been impressed with how pastors across our country have figured out creative ways to encourage their people small groups by zoom game nights on google meet visitation through windows i've been impressed with how many pastors have figured out how to preach to a camera in a room by themselves and church i'm doing that right now i'm in a room by myself preaching to a lens and that is harder than i thought it would be
• 8:48
  But more than that, I've been impressed with how many Christians have taken a stand for truth this year. How many have drawn lines in the sand over sound doctrine, over the gospel, over the value of the church? And I can't believe we've even had to have that fight. Is the church essential? I mean, two years ago, everybody on earth would have said, yes, the church is essential. Then 12 months ago, we all closed. I've been impressed with how many have fought the good fight.
• 9:16
  How many have fought to open their churches, have fought to minister to their people, have fought to advance Christ's kingdom, but at the same time, if I'm honest, church, my heart also breaks because not all, not all Christians, and not even all of our beloved Highlanders are winning the spiritual war. Some have fallen away, I think probably because of fear. Maybe it's because of wrong thinking. Maybe it's just because of silly arguments.
• 9:47
  But some have forsaken their faith. Some have forsaken their savior. Some have forsaken the bride, his church. And church, make no mistake. This world is going to hell. Man, that's a strong statement to make on Resurrection Sunday. I know, but it is the truth.
• 10:09
  This world is on its way to hell and the Apostle John probably said it a little better Maybe a little more gently in first John 2 17 when he said this world is passing away along with its desires But that is what that text means This world is passing away The world is on its way to hell and the truth is that this world will try to take as many people with it to hell as possible Listen to Colossians chapter 2 in verse 8 See to it
• 10:36
  that no one takes you captive by hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human traditions and not on Christ. In other words, everyone is talking, everyone is preaching, everyone is talking. The problem is not everyone is telling the truth. You will hear all kinds of opinions about how to fix the world. The problem is they don't work. They are based on hollow and deceptive.
• 11:04
  philosophy on human tradition and not on christ listen to second timothy chapter four and verse three for the time is coming he says when people will not endure sound teaching but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions
• 11:20
  The time is coming, he says, when people won't want to hear the truth anymore. They'll just want to hear the truth according to them. They will redefine reality in order to suit their own needs. They will only endure teaching that pleases their own ears, but not the true bride of Christ. The true bride, which stands on God's word alone, will prevail. The true bride will keep pressing forward and she will do so without.
• 11:48
  And the question we will answer this morning is, how? How can the church of God move forward without fear? Why can we live in a world full of fear, saturated in fear, marinating in fear? Why can the believer stand firm and fearless? And the answer can be found in one verse. It's John chapter 1 and verse 14. How can we be fearless? Because God.
• 12:18
  is with us our god has made his dwelling among us our god lives with us and we can very honestly church practice the presence of god well the gospel of john begins by calling jesus the second person of the trinity the son of god the one whose resurrection we celebrate this morning it begins by calling him the word and in verse 1 we read that the word is timeless
• 12:49
  The Word has existed from eternity past and will continue to exist when time as we know it comes to an end. The Word, according to verse 1, is God himself. There is nothing true about God that is not also true of the Word. It continues in verses 2 and 3, calling the Word the creator and sustainer of all things. In verses 4 and 5, it calls the Word the source of all life. In verses 6 to 13, it calls the Word the source of all light.
• 13:19
  And there are countless voices providing messages that promise to alleviate the struggles of life and to answer the questions that trouble us. We hear political and economic voices arguing that if we will just reallocate or reorganize or restructure, we can build the sort of world where equity and charity prevail. But church, none of these has any hope of restoring what has been broken. It cannot heal broken hearts.
• 13:46
  The solution to the world's problems cannot be found in economic stability or carbon footprints or education or taxation of the wealthy or tariffs or foreign policy or job creation or housing markets. The solution will most certainly not be found in embracing gross sexual perversion. The solution will not be found in socially bludgeoning our enemies. The solution can only be found in the next verse, verse 14.
• 14:12
  and my hope and honest prayer this resurrection sunday is that you will hear this resounding clarity that the only hope that mankind has is in the incarnation of christ god becoming man living a perfect life offering his own life on the cross being buried and then rising from the dead and that through your belief
• 14:37
  in that message that you would be born again and so allow me to begin you'll notice first in verse 14 that when christ came he actually became a human he didn't just appear to be human he actually became a human and look at verse 14 the word it says became flesh that means that he took upon himself the entirety of human nature
• 15:08
  Christians most often don't have any problem believing in the deity of Christ. Most often what we have a hard time with and where our eyes go cross-eyed and when we kind of mentally check out is when we try to figure out the humanity of Christ. Many, in an effort I think to kind of excuse Christ's humanity, will explain it away by saying something like, Christ was God in a bod.
• 15:33
  But this text does not say that Christ took on flesh. That's not what it says. It says that he became flesh. Jesus was more than just God in a bod. His humanity was not just some costume that he put on for a little while. J.C. Ryle has described it this way, like ourselves, and that's important to note.
• 15:55
  Like ourselves, he was like us in every way. Like ourselves, he hungered and thirst and ate and drank and slept and was wearied, felt pain, wept, rejoiced, marveled, was moved to anger and compassion, just like you. Having become flesh, taken a body, he prayed, he read the scriptures, he suffered when tempted.
• 16:13
  submitted his human will to the will of God the Father, and finally, in that same body, he really suffered and shed his blood, really died, was really buried, really rose again, and really ascended into heaven. When he became flesh, he really did become one of us. Fully. He was fully human. Now, that does not mean that he ceased being God.
• 16:39
  Jesus emptied himself, it is true, of external marks of glory. He was called the carpenter's son. His divinity was veiled. His power was hidden. But at no time did Christ cease being God, because God cannot cease being God. But for a moment in time,
• 17:00
  For 33, 35, 36 years, somewhere in there, the second person of the Trinity laid aside the voluntary use of his attributes in order to become like us in every respect. Listen to Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 15. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
• 17:29
  You know what I love about that verse, church, is this promise. Whatever you feel, Christ has felt. Whatever weakness you feel, he endured. Whatever temptation you endure, he endured. Whatever you've lost, Christ has lost. And whatever you're going through, Christ will help. He will help.
• 17:55
  He is our high priest who is able to sympathize with our weakness because he's been there just like we are. He really did become a man. But notice second, that when Christ came, he dwelt among humans. He dwelt among humans. He didn't just become a human. He actually lived with us. It's not like when he came, he came as a 35-year-old the day before he would be crucified.
• 18:25
  Right? Can you imagine? What if he just showed up as a 35-year-old, had never lived a stitch of time before, just showed up, died on the cross, rose from the dead? His total earthly presence was about four, five, six days. That's not what the Bible says. The Bible says that he actually wanted to live among us. Look at what verse 14 says. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Dwelt among us. Now, this verb for dwelt
• 18:51
  is employed in the Greek version of the Old Testament for the tabernacle of God. It's the same word, tabernacle. As God had dwelt with Israel in the tabernacle in the desert, so now he dwells with us in the person of Christ. In fact, you and I now are called the temple of God. He lives within us even today. And that's the kind of idea
• 19:19
  that John was trying to get across in verse 14. He lived among his people. And this is why when Peter, James, and John saw the glory of Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration, they offered to build tents, tabernacles. One for Jesus, one for Moses, one for Elijah. Because Peter in that moment recognized the very presence of God living amongst humanity.
• 19:45
  God didn't just want to come and save us from our sin in just a quick, brief week. He wanted to live with us from beginning to end. And church, I would ask, have you built a tabernacle in your heart for Christ? His desire then was to dwell among his people, but church, that desire has not ended. He still desires to live in his people, among his people.
• 20:13
  He wants to dwell with you and in you. He wants to do more than vacation with you, right? I mean, it's not just a temporary thing. He doesn't want a hotel in your heart. He wants to live with you. Christ wants more than shared custody, right? That's how we often treat him. Like I'm going to be with the world for the week and then I'll give Christ weekends and holidays. That's literally what most people do.
• 20:43
  It's like shared custody among divorced parents. Right? I get the kids on weekends and holidays. And Jesus wants more than that. He wants every day of your life. He wants to live in you and with you. Make Christ a dwelling place in your heart. Notice finally that when Christ came,
• 21:06
  He put God's divine glory on display. And I love this in verse 14. He put God's divine glory on display. Look at verse 14. The word became flesh. We talked about that. More than just appearing to be human, he actually was human, even though he didn't cease to be God. He dwelt among us. He doesn't just vacation among us. It's not shared custody, weekends and holidays.
• 21:30
  And it says, we have seen his glory. Glory is of the only son from the father, full of grace and truth. He put God's glory on display. One major reason for Christ becoming a man was to put on display certain divine attributes. Okay, so we were meant to look at Christ, but to see God.
• 21:57
  When we looked at Christ, we were meant to see the Father. In fact, multiple times he even said that. When you see me, you see the Father. I am at work, the Father is at work, and I am at work. What the Father does, I do. That's what he said. You're supposed to look at Christ and see God, learn about God by looking at Christ. For instance, without the incarnation of Christ, if Christ had never become a man, God may have felt...
• 22:26
  distant he's calling us to do things that he doesn't know he doesn't understand how hard it is right we're down here suffering he's up there in heaven enjoying himself he may have felt very distant and uncaring but in christ we see the heart wrenching compassionate heart of god it was jesus who when he looked across that field of galileans his heart was broken he had compassion on them because they were lost
• 22:56
  They were lost and like sheep without a shepherd and his heart broke. It was Jesus who, when he looked over Jerusalem, said, oh, I would have gathered you together. I would have gathered you together. And he lamented over Jerusalem's unbelief, their disbelief in their Messiah, the rejection of him. You see in Christ the compassionate heart of God. And so you learn that God is a compassionate God. Without the incarnation, we might have assumed.
• 23:25
  that god didn't love us what did god ever do for us i mean he just created us he stuck this tree in the garden knowing that we were going to sin and then he just left us just kind of spin out i mean we very easily become deists like god created everything and now he's just leaving us alone to fend for ourselves but in christ we see the sacrificial love of a crucified savior
• 23:52
  Church, if he didn't love us, he wouldn't have come to save us. He would have left us to our own devices. Now, Jesus, in the same way, displayed the glory of God like had never been seen in human history. In Christ, that glory, the glory of God himself, took up tangible form and was even touched, 1 John 1 says.
• 24:21
  Now think about what this would mean to a Hebrew who would have been familiar with the Old Testament. That distance that they had felt, that even fear, that unapproachable fear, even frightening fear of the presence of God now in Jesus was shown to be meek and gentle, caring, caring and gentle. Church, God, he could have, when he was...
• 24:53
  creating this divine plan, the divine plan of redemption that I am going to go to earth and to save my own people, he could have taken any form he pleased. He could have been threatening and domineering, but he chose instead to display his glory through sacrifice for a people whom he created. He instead of being domineering and threatening came
• 25:22
  and offered to kill his own son they and even in that moment they had rejected him they had rebelled against him it's not like he was dying for a people that loved him he was dying for a people who had rejected him romans chapter 3 says no one seeks for god we are all evil we have all turned aside isaiah says we have all like sheep gone after our own way for the lord has laid on him christ the iniquity of us all he chose even in our rebellion to go to the cross anyway
• 25:54
  Listen to Romans chapter 5 and verse 8, but God shows his love for us. And that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Church, the greatest display of God's glory, greater than burning bushes, greater than parting seas, greater than manna falling from heaven, the greatest display of God's glory was the incarnation of Christ. God taking on flesh, becoming like us in every aspect,
• 26:25
  dwelling among us, displaying the glory of God. The greatest display of God's glory was the incarnation of Christ, his crucifixion, his burial, and yes, indeed, his resurrection. Is our world frightened? Yes. Perhaps more than ever before, at least in our lifetimes. Our world is a mess. There is turmoil and tension and disunity, division. There is fear.
• 26:55
  And what does a frightened world need? A frightened world church needs a fearless church. And why can we be genuinely fearless? Because our eternal creator became flesh, just like us. And so he knows exactly what it's like to be us.
• 27:14
  And he dwelt among us. He lived among us and he offers to live among us still. And through him, we see the glory of God, the self-sacrificing, crucified and resurrected glory of God. And so we, like Joshua, can be strong and courageous. We don't need to be afraid. We don't need to be discouraged because the Lord, our God, is with us wherever we go. And God, I pray that that message would resound in our hearts.
• 27:44
  God, I pray that we would move forward this Resurrection Sunday, that we would move forward without fear, knowing that you go with us wherever we go. God, thank you for the risen Lord Jesus, that as we hear continued music now and sing praise to his name, and even at Highland this weekend, enjoy baptisms, which are such a clear demonstration of being buried in Christ and raised to newness of life. God, I pray that we would rejoice.
• 28:14
  that you became flesh and that you made your dwelling among us and that you make your dwelling among us still by your spirit and in our hearts. And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.