Five young college students were spending a Sunday in London. It was sometime in the mid 1800s and as they planned their day they decided to go and hear the famed Charles H. Spurgeon preach. While waiting for the doors to open, the students were greeted by a man who asked, "Gentlemen, let me show you around. Would you like to see the heating plant of this church?"
They were not particularly interested, for it was a hot day in July. But they didn't want to offend the stranger, so they consented. The young men were taken down a stairway…a door was quietly opened, and their guide whispered, "This is our heating plant." Surprised, the students saw 700 people in prayer…asking the Lord’s blessing on the service that was soon to begin in the auditorium above.
Softly closing the door, the gentleman introduced himself. It was none other than Charles Spurgeon.
William Cowper once said, “Satan trembles when he sees the weakest Christian on his knees.” And Samuel Chadwick once said, “The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work and prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom…but he trembles when we pray.”
On this night, as we get into John Chapter 17, what is called the “Holy of Holies in the Temple of Scripture” (John Knox), we hear the wholehearted prayer of the Son to the Father. As we listen in, we will glimpse the innermost being of Jesus, the very nature of God the Son …His purpose, power and mission…and most acutely, most clearly, His love for us.
At the completion of the first temple in 1 Kings 8, Solomon stretched forth his hands towards heaven in front of the people kneeling before the ark of the Lord, and as he prayed…Satan trembled.
In Exodus 32, as the people crafted false gods out of gold in the valley, Moses prayed earnestly to God for their deliverance…and Satan trembled!
In Genesis 18, Abraham stood before the Lord and the bible says that “he came near” and poured his heart out for Sodom…and Satan trembled.
On this night, as it says there in Chapter 17 verse 1, “Jesus having spoken these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father!”” On this night, as Jesus prayed…Satan quaked!
“I’ll kill them all! You’ve made them in Your image! You’ve created them to know You and to love You and to live! I’ll make it my purpose to destroy them…to pluck them off like fine flowers and watch them decay in their selfishness, and their pride and their folly.”
Satan’s pitiful proclamation as he was cast out of heaven. Yet Jesus, God Himself, lifts up His eyes and prays “sanctify them!” And Satan knows, he understands, he perceives, he sees, he hears, he feels…defeat! And he just convulses! This is the Holy of Holies, The Lord’s Prayer…and Jesus begins there in Chapter 17 by lifting up His eyes! And what is the object of His prayer…you!
Here He is at the very door of His demise and His heart is completely focused on what? Others! Even at the cross, as they lifted the cross up and planted it into the ground…the very first thing He said…maybe even as the nails began to bear the weight of His flesh pinned there in excruciating, horrible, unimaginable pain…”Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing!” Even in His most painfilled moment…others! I wonder, is that your heart?
John Harper was a Baptist pastor who was aboard the Titanic. Many tell the story as to how when the boat was sinking…the ship that not even God could sink…he was on the deck helping the women and the children onto the lifeboats. He was actually traveling with his wife and six year old daughter…and first hand accounts tell the story of how his little girl cried for her father as she and her mom were lowered into the life boat that he refused to get in…why?
He was heard calling out, “women, children, and the unsaved first…then all the others!” It’s even recorded that he gave his life jacket to a man who proclaimed to not be saved. (Of course this incredible, amazing story did not make it into the movie…)
Then as the people clung to the boat pieces and floating objects, a man tells a story of Pastor John Harper floating over to him clinging to a piece of wood and simply saying, “sir, are you saved?” The man replied that he wasn’t and then proceeded to get the opportunity to be saved. After, Pastor John Harper floated away but not long after that, again, Pastor John Harper’s piece of wood made its way back to the same man at which time again, same question, “sir, are you saved?”
John Harper died that night…but even in his time of absolute demise, on his heart and mind and lips and actions…others. I wonder, where you’re at today…as you espouse the Lord Jesus as your God…as you claim to know Him and the power of His resurrection…are others your focus? Are you sure you have the right Jesus? Because just like John Harper, on this night…the night of nights…as the Lord lifts His eyes to heaven…on His heart and lips…others…
So many wade through a tough situation, a hard and painful circumstance striving and scratching for their own comfort and needs maybe even praying…maybe even calling out for help…but the superior tragedy is not the situation…its that they don’t know the Lord! The Lord in His darkest moment, in His most intricately horrific pain and suffering, cared nothing of His own needs…His hearts focus, others!
Man you may be in a spot today where you’re going through it at work, or you’re going through it at home, or you’re going through it with this person or that person…let me tell you something…if you’re calling out to Jesus with any other prayer than one that is focused on the blessing and needs of the others involved…then you’re offering your prayers to a false Jesus! You’ve got Him all wrong! The Son of Man did not come to condemn but to save!! Save who? HIS ENEMIES!!
And the advice and counsel of the world will just pour in won’t it? “Get yours, oh that’s not fair for you, you might as well just leave her…you can do better”…satanic at its very core…beware…because the folks that listen to that garbage always end up alone, forsaken and miserable. Every sitcom today, every real housewives of whatever show today…refuse it man because it is, at its very core, the song of the angel who was cast out of heaven!
You know in those situations, you can add to your stress and to your suffering…or you could turn to the true Lord. Just like when you live in a house, you gotta take out the trash or pretty soon your life…I mean your house…will wreak! It will be filled with bugs and rot and decay and stench! Ever watch hoarders? Trash be eating through floors! Well just like with a house, with your life, you gotta take out the trash…you gotta reject those things that are of the flesh, that are just plain bad for you or pretty soon, may…rottenness! Your whole life, decay! (1 Peter 3)
The heart cry of the One Way, the One Truth and the One Life? Others!
Chapter 17 Verse 1
•At the wedding of Cana…”mom, My hour has not yet come.” Teaching in the temple during the Feast of Tabernacles they sought to take Him…but they couldn’t…because His hour had not yet come. Back in the temple the very next day…heart broken over His daughter that they had thrown at His feet..caught in the very act of adultery...her true state He saw…just lost and lonely and scared and blind…and His heart broke for her…so they again sought to take Him, but it was not yet His hour.
•There in the upper room, His flesh trembling with anxiety and fear and power and purpose…knowing His hour approached…so He held His kids one last time…held their feet in His Holy hands. And now, less than an hour later…”Father the hour has come…Glorify Your Son that Your Son also may glorify You.”
•That word for “glorify” there is an amazing word in the Greek…doxazo. It only means glorify when applied to God…because what it literally means is “show them!” Show them Father, Jesus said! Show them how much they mean to You! You see it wouldn’t mean glorify if said about me…because my heart is wicked…its dark man! But God! IS LOVE, HE IS GRACE, HE IS OVERWHELMING! And so GLORY! SHOW THEM FATHER! Use ME!
•Do you hear His cry? Is it yours? Is Christ living through YOU? Man this is no game! This is truth! Are you His disciple! Can you hear Him? Father, show them…Even though it will cost all of Me, show them. Even though I will be like refuse and hated and hurt and destroyed…Father show them…show them You! Man that’s so powerful! Does that not drive you to your knees for being so self-focused and self-seeking! When there is such an opportunity for God to be SO MAGNIFIED…Father show them! My prayer!
•And in that precept, in that truth, in that revelation…the purpose of prayer is made so clear. Prayer is not the way to get God to do our will in heaven. Prayer is the way to get man to do God’s will on earth. Once that is understood, you will find yourself praying in an entirely different manner.
•Jesus says glorify Me Father so that I may glorify You! What is God’s will for the Son? Have you every thought about that? God’s will for the Son is that He might have a bride! And even though the immediate result of Jesus’ prayer is that He will be pinned to the Cross of Calvary, the eternal result is hope and grace and forgiveness for all of mankind!
•It is so radical when a believer finally gets the big picture and stops saying, “God do it my way!” God is not Burger King where we give out orders about how things should be done and then we complain when onions are left on our burgers…He is not Burger King, He’s the King of Kings and He sees what is going to be absolutely the best in the long run.
Chapter 17 Verses 2 – 5
•Jesus says here, “I have glorified You on the earth.” Understand this is the one and only true measurement of success in life. You see those signs on the back of commercial trucks, “How am I driving?” and you get those surveys maybe when you stay in a hotel asking, “How are we doing?” Well just like that I think it’s good for us to say, “How am I doing, Father? Who is receiving the glory?”
•Maybe you are a good mother, a gifted musician, an excellent servant in the church, a wonderful neighbor, a hard worker…but who’s getting the glory? Are you getting the glory or is God? Are you as successful as you think? Because in the end, what’s it all matter? This life will soon be passed, and only whats done for Jesus will last.
•And I love what He says next here…”I have finished the work.” He didn’t say, “I’ve started the work,” or “I was going to get to the work.” He said, “I have finished the work.” There is nothing more to do to secure your salvation but simply believe on the Son of God…Jesus Christ. Salvation is by faith through grace and not of works because the works are finished. Because Jesus completed the task!
•Just like Noah. Noah didn’t spend 100 years piecing together the Ark to the exact specifications given to him by God and then step back and say “you know what, I’m tired…we don’t need a roof!” Man we’d all be sunk! He finished.
•What about you? If you today were to come face to face with God the Father could you say, “Father, I finished the work you gave me…” Here it is…or would there be great loss?
•Saul didn’t finish. Samuel told Saul in 1 Samuel 15:3, “Let not one Amalekite remain”, but Saul let Agag live…you know why? As a trophy because he was the king of the Amalekites. Twenty-five years later, Saul is killed by an Amalekite.
•The Amalekites are a type of the flesh in the Old Testament…what has God called you to do, told you to stop doing, commanded that you give that devotion and part of your life to Him…but you still haven’t. I pray for you…because you may be in year 25 and just not know it…
•It is finished Jesus says here…He said that in one other place also right? On the cross…He paid the full price. He finished the full work. I wonder have you missed that? I wonder have you missed the simple fact that your life, your entire life, belongs in the hands and in the will of the Father?
•Check this out, as we close…
Chapter 17 Verses 6 – 9a
•Jesus has manifested the nature of God through His life, His actions, His cross, His resurrection, His word…but even look…even His name. His name is not God…that is His designation. Lord is not His name…that is His title. His name is Yahweh, or Jehovah…and the name Jesus is actually a combination of two words in the Hebrew…”Ya” (short for Yahweh or Jahovah), and “shua”…meaning salvation. So Jahovah Shua or Yashuah or Jesus….transliterally is Jehovah is salvation! So cool!
•And notice, Jesus’ qualification for them being His…they have kept His word! There in Verse 6. They have received His word…there in verse 8…and they have believed, not just that God exists, but that Jesus was sent by God the Father to save…that implies trust. They receive, they keep, they believe.
•I wonder have you missed it. Have you missed the peace and the power and the purpose and the joy of simply receiving and keeping…believing?
•I was fortunate enough to receive a briefing from a gentleman who has completed two space walks. On one occasion he tells of how his suit malfunctioned and he had some sort of ammonia solution leaking out of the front of his suit which caused a substantial chemical ice buildup. Stable in the absence of elements but highly dangerous when mixed with oxygen. So he had to stay outside of the shuttle and “bake off” as he called it in the sun.
•The interesting part of the story is that he told of how he hadn’t even noticed the beauty of the earth from space until he was slowed down…you wonder why things are so hard all of the time? Could it be that God is trying to slow you down…get your attention…and show the beauty and reality of a life lived unto yourself, but unto Jesus?
•Paul had a harder life than anyone in this room yet he was also more full of joy…why? Because he found this out…he said in Galatians 2:20…I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but I live on in the awesome reality of the one who loved me and gave Himself for me. I pray you too find this…
John 17 vs 1-8
Calvary Chapel Cherry Creek
October 28, 2012 • Pastor Matt Korniotes
John 21 vs 15-25
February 3, 2013 • Pastor Matt Korniotes
Chapter 21 Verse 15 •What we’re about to see here is an exchange between the resurrected Jesus and a very broken Peter. We’ve known Peter to be impulsive…we’ve also seen him reckless and brash…if you recall when Jesus was carrying around the water basin that night in the upper room…Peter objected… •When many began to fall away from following Jesus, John tells us in Chapter 6 that Jesus looked at Peter and said, “Will you leave Me also?” And Peter replied magnificently, “Where else would we go? You have the words of everlasting life!” And Mark tells us in Chapter 8 of his Gospel that Jesus once asked Peter who he said Jesus was and Peter responded immediately and brilliantly, “You are the Christ!” Truly a high point… •But then directly after that in Mark Chapter 8 we read how Jesus told the disciples of all the things that the Christ should suffer for the cleansing and rescuing of all men…and what did Peter do? He took Jesus aside and Mark tells us…in an act of open confrontational impulse…he rebuked Jesus! And Jesus’ response was certainly alarming, “Get behind Me Satan for you are not mindful of the things of God, but of the things of men.” •You see that was Peter’s issue all along…and that’s our issue also…as Peter shows us precisely what it means to honor God with your lips but indeed have a heart far from Him. To be mindful, preoccupied with the things of this world, the issues of today and now rather than the things of God. •Well what are the things of God? That we may be mindful of them? Simply put, His will, His ways! For you and I to love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength…yet what do we often do? We love ourselves with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength! Don’t we? We think we are all that! Man that God would have us be happy and have what we want? Man we may not be as mindful of the things of God as we think… •(Billy Graham Funny Story). You see His plan and will for each of us is that our minds would be utterly filled with thoughts and concerns of His glory, His grace…and our strength, our energy to be used not to please ourselves and gain worldly junk, or some sort of name or earthly credentials or accomplishment…but to be spent worshipping Him in our moments, in our circumstance and our situation…in our arguments and in our trials… •What are the things of God? To know Him…and to know Him is to love Him…and to love each other just as Jesus has loved us…and how’s that? How did He love us? In what manner? Yes, you are thinking now and its true, He loved us all the way to the cross…but have you ever considered that the manner in which He loved us was utterly, completely, whole-heartedly one-sided!? The Bible says that while we were His enemies, Christ loved us to death! •That is to be mindful of the things of God man…to grow so close to Him, to know Him so personally, to be filled with His Spirit, the Spirit of power, a sound mind, purpose, eternity and love to the point that they don’t have to love you back, they don’t have to treat you kindly…in fact they can scourge you, spit on you, mock you, shove a crown of thorns into your forehead….and yet, your love for them remains…and beyond simply remaining, it-is-shown! •The mind of Christ, the Bible would call it…the fruit of the Holy Spirit, God’s will…Peter had issues. But it’s interesting here as we peer into this final scene of John’s Gospel, where they are…they are on the beach around what? A fire of coals. •No doubt as Peter sat there with the Lord he was reminded of another fire of coals. One we find in John 18:18. The fire of coals where Peter stood and warmed himself, mindful of his physical discomfort, driven by his fear and faithlessness…yet here this fire of coals roasting this meal, at dawn on the beach, prepared by whom? Jesus. •Peter, I wanted to teach them, you rebuked Me. I wanted to wash your feet, you refused Me. I wanted you there with Me, you denied Me. I told you to wait for Me, you went fishing. I wonder how deep was Peter’s sorrow as he sat there at this fire of coals…entirely exposed. I wonder if he was prepared to hear words of rebuke that morning…you know, in a way, he probably even desired it… •Just like Peter I find myself so utterly sick of me sometimes. Sick of my failures, sick of having to live in this futile state, ya know…sick of not being good enough…but God’s grace washes over me as I sit with Him and peer into my fire of http://coals...in absolute honesty with the One who already knows me completely…no doubt as Peter was this morning…broken as he must have realized, he must have thought upon that last fire of coals that he was around…warming himself, mindful of his own comfort… •And then utter honesty with the Lord. What do you mean by honesty, Matt? Well understand, we cannot be healed until we are first honest. If you continue in thinking that he’s the problem or she’s the problem, or they are the issue for your discomfort, for your pain, for your anger, for your sin…then you are lost. Unless you are willing to turn from your sin, you are not willing to turn towards the Lord. And what we’ll see here in this account is a great healing, a great restoring…an utter renewal of Peter because he is indeed willing to be exposed…he is, maybe for the first time…honest. •You see it’s in the Greek. Hidden for you to find by John…by the Lord…as Jesus says to Peter, “Simon, do you agapeo Me more than these?” Now agapao is the Greek word for supreme, ultimate love…self releasing and unconditional love…it is the love that God has for us…it is the love displayed upon the cross the of Calvary. Agapeo describes a love that is in love with giving love. It is the love that we are to have and to show and to live out as disciples of Jesus Christ. It is the love that fills our hearts when we are born again. •"Peter, do you agapeo Me more than these?" What were the "these"? In the Greek the word is tuton which literally means, these things, these matters…maybe He’s referring to the fish, the breakfast…maybe the fishing…Peter’s livelihood. "Do you love Me more than your livelihood, Peter? Do you love Me more than the great success in your chosen profession? Having the height of success that morning in carrying to shore 153 large fish, do you love Me more than that, Peter? •Or the "these" could be referring to the other disciples because recall the conversation Peter had with Jesus in front of them that we read about in Matthew Chapter 26 and Mark Chapter 14 when Peter said, “even if all of these leave you, I will never…” In essence saying, "Lord, I am more faithful, and I love You more than the others…" Yet pride comes before the fall…and Peter had fallen... •And Peter replied, “Yes, Lord. You know that I phileo you.” Lord, You know. I love that. Brokenness. Contriteness. So many say they are the way they are…they live the way the live…because of someone else…so many say they know nothing of the Word of God because they have no time…so many say that they struggle with this sin or that sin because of what happens to them or what they’re around or whatever…but God has called us to accountability, responsibility and truth. If we are honest, our own failures and sins are our own…they are not the choices of others…they are OUR choices man…and Peter here is so honest. Jesus says, do you love me unconditionally, Peter replies…no. •“Lord, my heart is filled with fondness for you. But You know and I know that I have no strength. He’s basically saying here, before I told you I loved you more than any other, then my life denied you…I won’t do that again, I can’t…I’d rather be exposed and close to you then dishonest and following you from afar…therefore, others may agapeo You…but of them all, I am the least…I am fond of you Lord. •Many of us play the game that Peter is no longer willing to play. Lord You are my everything, My strength, My Lord and My God…then Mark 9 hits…and we aren’t willing to die to sin and self. When it comes to sin in our lives, when it comes to money, when it comes to booze, when it comes to sex out of wedlock, when it comes to drugs, when it comes to loving and serving others and living our lives not for ourselves and our own comforts but for the Lord’s will and worship…we so readily deny Him. And we think it normal. We call upon His grace…we are so busted… •We say we’ve received grace? Man, I’m under grace! We proclaim our own lack of relationship…Biblical grace, will always, always, always result in purposeful obedience to God’s ways. It’s Romans Chapter 1 Verse 5. “Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith!” What do you mean, Matt? That doesn’t even make sense. I thought that grace meant that we are free and forgiven? It does and you are! You are free to live man! Live a life free from the deception and decay of evil. •Charles H. Spurgeon once noted, “A man who has within him this hope of perfection (which grace is) finds that it does not give him license to sin. I have heard a thoughtful person say, “If I had a good hope of being saved and knew that I would go to Heaven, I would live as I liked.” Perhaps you would, but then you have not that hope—and God will not give it to you while you are in such a state that you would like to live in sin. If a Christian could live as he liked, how would he live? Why, he would live absolutely without sin! If the Lord would indulge the newborn nature of His own children with unrestricted liberty, in that unrestricted liberty they would run after happiness! The unrenewed heart would run to sin, but the renewed heart quite as eagerly loves to obey the Lord. •Folks call upon grace as a license to sin all the time and in so doing they themselves pronounce their disagreement with the Word of God. Peter won’t go there…instead He is honest with the Lord, emptied of his own pride for the first time in his life…and in so doing, he is ready to take on the greatest honor of responsibility for the Lord. What? •I know what you’re thinking. He just told God that he didn’t love Him…true, but understand…he just showed God that he loves Him so much, he’s no longer willing to trust in himself and risk dishonoring the Lord! “Lord, You know!” Epic! This honesty, this brokenness, this love lived out…is to believe, is to follow, is what it means to press in to the Lord…only this love, none other. Peter has offered the other…the superficial love, the lip service lover, the passion filled pledge of allegiance…and he has failed…here in his seemingly darkest moment, he has finally turned the corner…absolutely poured out in front of the Lord and thus now, the Lord can use him! He’ll fail no more… •“Tend My sheep” the Lord replies. Well done man. You’ve finally began to learn to trust in Me Peter. To trust that I won’t forsake you…that I’m worth it…that all this life of being big Peter…living for you…its all worthless…time for your life to change man…welcome to My service…and then a second time… Chapter 21 Verse 16 •Again, Jesus asks agapeo, Peter responds phileo…”Tend My sheep, Peter.” Quit fishing, turn from the frustrations of your wanderings Peters…feed My little ones and tend my flock… Chapter 21 Verse 17 •A third and final time…Simon, son of Jonah…little boy…are you ready to grow up? Do you love Me? This time…phileo. Jesus meets him right where he’s at…Peter, are you fond of Me? This time Peter weeps…he knows full well what is happening here…he knows that he can’t answer this high call of the Lord to unconditional, powerful love…and he is grieved and he says to Jesus, “You know all thing…You’ve always known…You know that my wretched heart is capable of nothing but to be fond of you…” And Jesus no doubt places His hand upon Peter and finally responds…feed ‘em son… Chapter 21 Verses 18 - 19 •“Peter, when you were young, you wanted to give your life for Me. But you didn’t. You backed down. Well look, you won’t again and when you’re old, they’ll carry you off…and do the same to you as they did to Me.” But Peter wouldn’t have that…Peter would demand to be crucified upside down proclaiming to not be worthy enough to even die as Jesus died. •And Jesus says, even so, “Follow Me…” Chapter 21 Verses 20 – 23 •A bit of competitiveness between Peter and John? Possibly. A bit of companionship between Peter and John? Maybe…but ultimately Jesus clears it all up for Peter…You want to make it? Eyes up son! Doesn’t matter what I’ve asked or said of anyone else…you are to follow Me…no one, nothing else… •And notice Jesus doesn’t say John would live until He returned…He simply said John’s days were in His hand…and church history tells us John was poisoned, boiled and exiled before he would finally die…but Jesus doesn’t tell this to Peter…why would He? Chapter 21 Verses 24 – 25 •And thus we conclude John’s Gospel. But John says, “hey, this is just the beginning of the story…your story…of your great and awesome relationship with the One of whom I have written…”
John 21 vs 1-14
January 27, 2013 • Pastor Matt Korniotes
Chapter 21 Verse 1 •Now this is intriguing because John doesn’t say, “Jesus came to them.” He says, “Jesus showed Himself to the disciples.” What’s significant about that is the idea there in the Greek is that Jesus was already there with them, yet unseen. The word in the Greek is phaneroo which quite literally means, “to make visible what is invisible.” •And I dig that because just as Jesus was at all times with them yet at this moment John says He simply physically manifested, Jesus is at all times with you and I! We may not always feel that way, we may not always want it that way, but nevertheless He is always with us. What great comfort it must have been for John when this clicked…and what great comfort it is, what great strength it will bring, when it clicks with us too and we place our trust in the One who will never leave us nor forsake us. Chapter 21 Verse 2 •Notice only seven disciples names…only seven disciples are together at this time. Where are the other 4? We’re not sure. John doesn’t say but it’s interesting that the number is 7. Possibly why John decided to close out his Gospel with this account as he thought upon this day and realized that it was seven of them which is the Biblical number of completion…and the Holy Spirit impressed upon his heart…pens down. •And I like how John introduces the folks. Peter first, Thomas second, then Nathaniel…finally John mentions himself and his brother and two un-named disciples. There’s a lot going on here. •First notice, and I believe this is significant, Peter, Tomas, Nathaniel all mentioned first and in that order. Who cares? So what? Well wasn’t it Peter who failed the Lord miserably…denying Him three times? Yet here he is, mentioned first. And wasn’t it Thomas who doubted the testimony of the others regarding Jesus being raised from the dead? Yet here he is, mentioned second. And wasn’t it Nathaniel who when Philip came to Him and said, “we have found the Messiah,” wasn’t it Nathaniel that didn’t believe saying, “can anything good come our of Nazareth?!” Yes! •Yet here they are, mentioned first, second and third by John among the disciples. And I love that because the order of grace is foreign to the minds of men! God uses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise, the weak things to put to shame the mighty…God has chosen the things which are not to bring to nothing the things that are…such that no flesh should glory in His presence. (1 Corinthians 1) You see these are they that had been forgiven much, received much grace and therefore they loved much…and that love qualified them to lead. I love that! •And then John here throws us a curve ball and refers to himself as the Son of Zebedee…maybe it’s because they’re about to go fishing or maybe it’s to compliment and complete his own biography in a way. Several times John has written about himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” And now, here he refers to himself as the son of Zebedee…And I like this because it’s as if he’s saying that first and foremost I identify with Jesus…and along with that, I am the son of Zebedee…a fisherman. •You see when God calls you to Himself, He doesn’t wipe away who you are…your personality, your life, your family…No! He doesn’t remove your programming and key-in the programming of a worship robot. That’s religion. God’s not into that! The Bible says that He redeems you! Slanted towards hell, bent on sin…dark and destructive our tendencies…then when the Lord enters our hearts, our minds…our lives, the Bible says that we are renewed…we are no longer being conformed into the image of the world…the image of selfishness and greed and lust and death…but we are being transformed by the renewing of our minds as we walk out the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12) •And so John, he is the disciple of Jesus. The one that finds it absolutely remarkable and impactful that that Jesus would love him…yet he is also Zebedee’s son and in that there is the freedom and liberty to simply know Jesus…to enjoy real relationship…not robotship! •And then there are these two other disciples. John apparently can’t remember their names. I’m not sure I buy that. So why are they unnamed? That we may believe (Chapter 20 v31)…these two other disciples, as we look at this together…it’s us…you and me. Place yourself there with them on this beach on this day as Jesus just shows up. John says, you’re a part of this story too…John’s a pretty clever guy. Chapter 21 Verse 3 •Notice the disciples here, they’re brand new at this walking by faith bit. For the past 3.5 year they have followed Jesus, watched Jesus, heard Jesus, chillaxed with the Lord…but now things are quite new. Now they are to walk by faith. Now they are to learn to listen to the Holy Spirit…they are to learn to trust and wait upon the Lord… •Its just is if they are new Christians…what you and I experience today as we go from making our decisions and charting our daily course based upon what we see, what we perceive sensually with our five physical senses…we take in the information, we compute the calculations and we make our plans. We react you see to our sight… •But as a follower of Jesus we must live by faith…faith in the Lord and His ways and His truth…and therefore all of these things we see, hear, smell, touch and taste…they are all to be filtered through the truth of God’s Word and God’s ways so that we remain upon the path that follows the Lord…because truly that is the pathway to righteousness…the course, the decision, the action that will lead to life, joy, peace, purpose, power and love… •But this is something that requires a maturing process, this walking by faith business…its so very different than what we are used to in the flesh and many times the way you feel you should go is in direct contrast with what the Word of God would say about your specific situation and it is at that moment that you have a decision to make…walk by faith and follow what God’s word says…or walk by sight…? •The Bible says in Proverbs 14:12, “there is a way that seems right to man but its end is the way of death.” And in our daily decisions as Christians, in our choices of how to deal with a matter or with a person or with just how you choose to spend your time…as Christians, day by day we learn this to be quite true…but it takes time…and directly proportionate with your progress in choosing the things of the Lord, taking up your own cross and denying your flesh, directly proportionate to that will be your spiritual growth and maturity…as God would say, “well done, you’re faithful to the measure of faith that I have given…I can trust you with more.” And as you follow closely after Him, press into Him, choose Him…He will choose you the Bible says and more and more and more revelation will be given… •But just like those who are early in the faith or immature in the Spirit, frustration will set in. “Where is God? Why hasn’t He showed up yet? What am I supposed to do…just sit here and wai?” Yes Peter, that’s exactly what you are to do…wait upon the Lord…but here he grows restless and John tells us he proclaims…well I’m going fishing! •But notice, he takes his homies with him…or better stated, they followed him. Happens to us too. We grow restless, we take matters into our own hands rather than resting and trusting in the Lord and what happens…man we carry our peoples out to sea and waste a bunch of time…we waste theirs and we waste ours…they caught nothing all night. Interesting how the restlessness comes at night and the wasted time comes within a time of darkness… Chapter 21 Verse 4 •Now it could be that they were far enough off the shore that they simply couldn’t identify Him as Jesus, not being able to see Him well enough…plus it was daybreak and most likely not particularly bright yet…or •It could be that there is a bit of a parallel here with the account of Mary not recognizing Him at the tomb. There certainly is a similarity in the Greek. Actually the phrase, “did not know it was Jesus,” is the same phrase we find in the earlier account, back in verse 14 of Chapter 20… •Mary was distraught with sorrow, eyes filled, vision blocked with tears…but we talked about this, how it was backwards in a way…because she was weeping at an empty tomb that is the present cause for our rejoicing! She had lost nothing, yet was wailing as if she had, and because of her angst she totally misses that Jesus is right there with her. And remember we talked about how we ourselves weep at empty tombs in our lives…for no reason man…when we should be rejoicing! •And here, these seven…restless…and so they go out and return to their worldly vocation…occupied with their bodily needs and therefore they weren’t even expecting Jesus…they too can’t recognize Jesus even though He’s right there with them! Surely these things are written for our learning man! •We can become so angry for anger sake, or so bitter for bitter sake, or so self pitiful for nothing! When as an act of our own free will we can simply trust in the Lord, turn the dag-on corner and rebuild what was lost in our marriages, start a-new with that neighbor that sends his dog to our yard to leave us gifts…we can decide to love, we can wipe our eyes of our self-full tears and start to look for Jesus man…and in so doing, He’ll be found. He promised! •We can get so immersed in making money, being somebody…moving on UUUUPPP! And we sit back and say, “well God has richly blessed!” Really? At the expense of what? Your family? At what cost? Your ministry unto God’s people? That’s God’s blessing? I’m not so sold that! How do you know that’s not a clever trick to water you down bro? What is it all going to be man when we stand in eternity and you give an account… •You know you might ask someone what is the most important thing in their lives and they might say, “my children.” And then they accept a higher position at work which requires much more time from them and they show what really is important to them…These men are out fishing, trying to get a meal, trying to make a living…and Jesus – RIGHT THERE – yet they knew not. Tragic. Chapter 21 Verse 5 •I love this. Here they are in their toil. Worthless man…catching nothing. Frustrated…maybe the others are muttering against Peter you know…and Jesus calls out to them! Just calls to them right where they are at. He doesn’t wait until they come back to shore…He doesn’t send a wind of delusion to drive them to their knees in submission…not His style man. He just speaks to them. I love that. •And look what He says, “Hey sinners! Hey um, ya’ll tired of being losers? You rebels!” No. He says, “children.” In the Greek that’s pideon which literally means, “my little guys.” Man I want those eyes. I want that heart! Those are the eyes of grace…that is the heart of love and power and purpose…that even though all of these men are a complete mess, Jesus greets them with a smile and with the love of family! •And He asks them, “Do you have any food? Have ya caught any substance?” And they answer Him, “No.” These guys are all right with me…because I must say that many who need substance and life from the Lord, which is only where it comes from…when asked how they’re doing…”ah, I’m just fine.” That attitude will leave you right where you’re at. “My little ones, do you need Me?” Is what Jesus is asking…they’re response…the right one…”yes, we have no food of our own…” •Jesus says, “No problem, I’ll hook you up.” Chapter 21 Verses 6 – 10 •Jesus is so cool and this is so practical…hey guys, you’ve being doing it the wrong way…in your own strength, try the right side of the boat…try doing it the right way…man just try it…and they did…and look, MUCH substance! So much that they had plenty to share, plenty to go around man! •And immediately John perceives that it is the Lord, he’s used to the Lord doing the miraculous…and so am I, man…and then Peter tweaks! I love Peter. He just throws off his fisherman’s gear and cannon-balls! Awesome man. I dig Peter, he’s a knuckle head true and he’s far from perfect true, but man I want to be like him as I see him here…”the Lord’s over there!” SPLASH! •And as they near the land Jesus has a fire of coals ready and He says, “bring some of the fish…I’ll meet you right here and we’ll enjoy them together!” Man this speaks to me…Jesus calls out to them, tells them…reveals to them the right way…they obey…there is much much substance, so much that many can and will and are filled…and then, we enjoy it together…that intimacy is so sweet in my life…and notice, where did it all come from? Jesus! •Alone, I’m aimless, pointless, the ministry is unfruitful…but then God provides…everything…and all I do is walk through the open doors in obedience and He brings about a great catch…great substance…and then we sit and enjoy it together on a fire of coals that He has readied…so all sufficient you see…so cool and so intimate. Chapter 21 Verses 11 – 14 •Mighty Peter, given great strength in the Lord’s service. 153 large fish…maybe 2 or 3 pounds each…that’s a heavy pull…but Peter is able…and John mentions that the net is not broken. And that encourages me. Because if God calls you to it, He will get you through it. He called them to obey Him and catch all those large fish…then He structures miracle after miracle around their obedience and brings them all the way to a wonderful intimate meal. He calls you to the same…
John 20 vs 19-31
January 20, 2013 • Pastor Matt Korniotes
Chapter 20 Verse 19 •And so the church is assembled on Sunday, the first day of the week, which we continue in still to this day, yet they were behind closed doors, and the word there in the Greek actually means that they were behind “barred” doors. Locked doors. Why? John tells us, “for fear.” •Why were they so afraid? Were they breaking the law? No. Were they conspiring against Rome? No. Were they doing anything at all, or guilty of anything at all that would have caused them to fear in such a way to lock themselves in a room in acknowledgement of some sort of alarm? Well, you could say they feared because of their association with Jesus…ok, not bad, but remember the Jews and Romans had already killed Jesus…Jesus was gone in their eyes…the threat was removed…so why are all 10 of theses men (Thomas was not there and Judas was gone) cowering in a locked room together? •Because they are not filled with the Holy Spirit. It’s quite simple to me. They are not in the Spirit. It’s not until verse 22 when they receive the Holy Spirit from Jesus Himself that we see them act no longer out of fear. Why? Why would having or not having the Spirit matter…because the Bible says in 2 Timothy 1:7 that, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” •Therefore, in what Paul is saying to Timothy, when someone is moved with fear, motivated by fear, leaning upon fear as a reason for a specific action or way of life, then they are filled with spiritual weakness, utter selfishness and a warped mind. Do you see why I say that? If Paul said that the opposite of power, love and of a sound mind is fear…then fear is the opposite of those three things…therefore fear, at its root…is weak, self-righteous confusion. •And so when someone justifies sin with fear…”I was afraid and so I did this…Matt, you don’t understand how afraid I am of losing my situation…losing my money, losing my job…how afraid I am of him or of her...” it takes me right back to the Garden man…”Adam, why are you hiding?” “Because I am afraid,” Adam replied… •I know in that moment, when someone says that, texts that, tweets that…I know exactly how to pray for that person, how to minister to that person…and unfortunately I’ve found that ministering to folks that are motivated by fear is one of the hardest battle grounds there is…because the center of fear…is pride. Care and comfort and concern for me, myself and I…makes me quite afraid of all kinds of circumstances…and what ifs… •365 times in the Bible we are commanded to “fear not.” Why would God devote so much to this topic throughout the Bible? Because I have seen and you have seen some of the absolute worst decisions we ourselves and others have made were made out of, or motivated by fear…and in that, the enemy is served. •So what’s the remedy? We’ll see in verse 22…The Holy Spirit…the Spirit of power, love and a sound mind! The remedy is following Jesus closely! That will run the fear right out of you! The Spirit of the Lord and spirit of fear cannot co-habitate. “Well I am close to the Lord but I am still riddled with fear.” Well, I’m not so sure…you may know about the Lord, but I would ask you to take a close look at your intimacy with Him. •What do I mean by that? Look I can sit close to the TV but it doesn’t make me close to newscaster. I can look him right in the eye and reach out to touch him…but I have no personal knowledge of him. No intimacy. •And many have mistaken knowing about Jesus with knowing Jesus. The plain truth is that the one that is close to Jesus will resemble Him. That’s the mark. That’s the tat man. You can tell me all day how close you are to the Lord…how He is your strength…your Commander…but I will always, and everyone will always read your character. How you treat people, how you serve others, how you handle tough situations, how you handle correction… •James 3:6 calls the tongue a world of evil and therefore it is not to be trusted…we can’t take people at their word man…we can take God at His for sure…but you cannot get a pulse on someone’s character by what they say…”I’m a disciple of Jesus” but their life doesn’t add up…not sure if we can buy that you see… •Jesus said, “you are indeed My disciples, if you abide in My word…if you do as I have commanded you…if you live out the precepts and truths found in God’s word…” You cannot fake that…and truly you don’t follow God’s word to be close to Him…you live out God’s word because you already are! And therefore you do not walk in weakness, you walk in power…you do not walk in selfishness, you walk in love…and you do not walk in confusion…being warped and making horrible decisions that lead to continued strife, further decay, you walk in sound mind! •And I love the scene John describes here for us because the disciples are there and then all of sudden Jesus is right in the middle of them! And notice His first words to them. “Where were all of you when I was hanging on the cross?” “Why are you all sitting around doing nothing?” You see they may have expected a reprimand from the Lord as He stood in their midst, yet He brings with Him peace… •You might feel that way also. That if the Lord were to come into your life, the secret places of your life…that surely He would bring reprimand…let this scene change your heart and remove your fear…Jesus brings with Him peace…peace is always a mark in a situation, in a family, in a church, in a person…that Jesus is in their midst…and look that peace doesn’t have to be global…it can’t always be enterprise wide…your husband still may be a taz-manian devil spinning around the house in anger and strife…your parents may still be at eachother’s throats…your coworkers may still always have beef…but you don’t have to… •Some folks in the church may be continually stirring up strife and passing around sin…but when they come to involve you in their sinful discord, you don’t have to share in their sin! You can follow Jesus, stay close to Jesus and in that (and only that) can you minister to them with power, love and a sound mind. This peace is further than circumstantial tranquility…this is an inner peace…and that is what Jesus brings… •I love this…they may have expected reprimand…Jesus says, “peace!” •I heard a story this week of a pastor and his wife buying a house. And in this house was a room that had a white carpet. May be a good idea for a DINK (dual income, no kids) but not so much for him and his wife as they had three daughters. One day his wife and he went out and bought a white couch to match the white carpet (this is a true story by the way) and therefore created in their home what they called, “the white room.” •Quickly the rules were laid down…no eating in this room, no drinking, no playing…this room is for viewing only…but one day, some months later he was in there cleaning and he pulled up one of the cushions to clean under it and there on the underside of the cushion was a huge pink stain! Knowing his wife would eventually find it, he called her in and they examined the blemish together. •Standing in the white room, they summoned their children. As their three girls were standing there in front of them, he reached towards the couch to flip over the cushion. Just then, their youngest daughter bolted! She headed up the stairs and hid and quickly her father went after her. •He called her name a few times. She didn’t answer. He began to check the rooms eventually finding her in her closet with her head buried in her knees. She was crying and didn’t want to look up at her father. He knelt down and placed his hand on her back… •He writes this story and says, “I wonder what she thought my response was going to be. Did she think I would get angry? Did she think I would yell?” They went downstairs together and the little girl told her mom and her father what had happened. •She let out a secret that she had been keeping for months. She had spilled the fingernail polish and then had tried to clean it up but as she scrubbed and scrubbed, the stain just got worse. She eventually flipped the cushion over to hide what she had done. •She told them how she had felt sick to her stomach everytime they were in that room…sick with fear that they would find out. And then she looked into her fathers’ eyes and asked a question that broke his heart…with eyes full of tears she asked, “Do you still love me?” •Maybe that’s where you’re at today. You’ve stained your life so badly, tarnished your true self with sin so deeply that you’re afraid of people knowing. You’re afraid of God knowing…You know after that little girls parents comforted her, reassured her that no stain would ever keep them from loving her…that stain didn’t go away. You know its still there to this day but this little girl, shortly after that, started telling the story of the stained white couch! •After that she liked to show people the stain and tell them what happened. Why? Because a stain that once represented shame and guilt and fear of rejection…now represents love, grace, security and acceptance. THAT is the essence of what is wrapped up in this moment between Jesus and His disciples…between Jesus and your secrets, your shame, your sin…”Peace with you.” Chapter 20 Verse 20 •I like to call this…perspective. I have 20/20 vision. Which means I see clearly without glasses…here we have chapter 20 verse 20…and if this is the lens through which we view the world, through which we view eachother, through which we view God and through which we view the mirror…then we will be as these disciples…glad. •This word glad is “chairo” in the Greek. It is a form of the word “charis” meaning grace and it literally means to be very well…to thrive…oh that we would have 20/20 spiritual vision…that we would look upon the One who was pierced for us…who has paid our debt…and place our everything in Him… •Just a verse ago…they were filled with fear…now notice, Jesus comes, their perspective is clarified…and their fear turns to gladness. Precisely what the Word of God continues to do today in our lives… Chapter 20 Verse 21 – 22 •I love this…He comes to them, He calls them to His service and then He enables them…He fills them with the Holy Spirit! And notice how He does this…John tells us that Jesus “breathed on them.” The word in the Greek is “empysao.” Guess how many times that word is used in the Bible…once. Hold that thought… •Here the disciples…they are born again. Born again? Yes! In Genesis 2:7 we read, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man…came alive…born into a living being!” But then God set man in the Garden of Eden and He said to Adam, of all the fruit of the Garden you shall eat, but of the fruit of the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat for in the day you eat of it…you shall surely die. •And what did Adam do…he ate…and in that day, his spirit…died to sin. The wages of sin are death man and that day, the perfect communion that man had with God, the bond of purity in the Spirit…died just as God warned… •Now fast forward to Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus in John Chapter 3. He said to Nick, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born AGAIN, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nick protested…how can a man be born twice? Jesus answered, “because a man must be born once of water…the physical birth…and once of the Spirit.” •This is that moment for the disciples man…Just as God breathed life into Adam and Adam became a living being…Jesus breathes life into the disciples and they become ALIVE in the Spirit! Born again unto God…the bond of spiritual communion, reestablished through the price paid upon the cross! Through the Savior Jesus Christ! •And notice, I believe firmly that the Bible is clear in that if you are set free, then you are free indeed. If you are saved, born again by the Holy Spirit, then you cannot be unborn…your salvation is secure because it is not predicated on your righteousness…but on the righteousness of Jesus which is established forever and ever! And therefore, this word here in the Greek…only once. You don’t see this happening again and again in the lives of the disciples…they are saved here, born again here, the price on the cross paid, here they believe and are glad to receive Jesus…and I believe this sole use of this word is simply a gift from the Lord to set that precept in stone for us. Blessed assurance we might sing… Chapter 20 Verse 23 •In Mark Chapter 2 we find a scene where Jesus pronounced forgiveness to a paralyzed man and the Pharisees were all up in arms. “Only God has the right to forgive sin,” they said in Mark 2:7. And they were right. Well what then does this verse in John mean? •It means exactly what is said in several other places in the Bible. That we are His ambassadors man! An ambassador according to Webster is an empowered and approved messenger…a representative or agent of a higher power! That means that it is not we ourselves who provide forgiveness of sins…in and of ourselves we are but dust…no no no we don’t provide forgiveness, man we proclaim it! On behalf of our Leader, or Lord! •To one who says, “I don’t feel forgiven,” it is our responsibility to say, “according to the Word of God, if you open your heart to Jesus Christ and believe in Him, your sin is gone!” Conversely, to the one who says, “I won’t follow Jesus, I’m into meditation or religion or I’m just going to go my own way,” it is our responsibility to say, “your sin remains because only the blood of Jesus has the power to wash it away!” •And so no we aren’t little gods man that is blasphemic theology…thou shalt have no other gods before me…the Lord wrote on the tablets…but rather we are God’s little reps upon the earth…and let me tell you, just as many have gotten this wrong and claimed to have the authority to pardon sin, MANY have totally missed that a Christian IS to live as if they are here on temporary assignment, representing Jesus! •If I took a did a survey today and asked Americans, “Do you believe it’s important to eat right and exercise?” mostly all of them would say, “yes, I believe that.” Americans overwhelmingly say their health is important. But the most popular food at state fairs is a bacon cheeseburger with a bun made out of two Krispy Kreme donuts! You’re charged extra if you want chocolate covered bacon! Which is worth every penny in my opinion. I mean logically speaking, if you’re going to eat a donut bacon cheeseburger, you might as well put some chocolate on your bacon! •But its just like that I find with folks that wear the badge of Christianity today…they say they believe, they rock the cross tattoo but when it comes down to being a real deal, radical on-the-clock agent for Him, His Word and righteousness…man they’re eating the bacon! Their lives resemble the world…let that not be said of you Christian…represent Christ…encourage people to the Lord, teach them truth by your own life…correct them in their sin, rebuke them in their painful cruelty and anti-christ-like selfishness…lest you be found to be like salt that has no flavor… •We’re out of time and I know we didn’t get that far in the text this morning but I pray that we have gotten quite far in your desire for intimacy with Jesus…because that is what will enable you to live your life unto the Lord, in power, purpose, stillness and resolve. I pray that as you leave here today, you do so with a renewed sense of who you are in Him and what your life could and should mean…lived out in the wonder of His grace!