Glory in His Love - Part 1

[0:00] I'm going to read the entire section, 31 and 35, but we're going to focus on a very small part of it this morning. When he had gone out, Jesus said, now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.

[0:20] If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and glorify him at once. Come, little children, yet a little while I am with you.

[0:35] You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, where I am going, you cannot come. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another.

[0:51] Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this, all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

[1:09] Amen. That is the word of the Lord. Please be seated. Thank you, choir.

[1:26] Always good to see y'all up there, and more than that, hear ya. Thank you. I still want to let, when can I join the choir and get my solo?

[1:37] He said Saturday. My man. Voice lessons at four, okay. I'm down with that.

[1:55] I'm just a stepbrother. Thank you. Living in Miami, we had to become familiar with hurricanes.

[2:07] The weather forecasters would put up satellite views of them as they headed toward Florida.

[2:22] And, you know, Miami is the tip of Florida. So, whenever there was a hurricane, whether it went to the Gulf or to the Atlantic, we were always wondering, are we doomed?

[2:33] Now, you would see a circle, not the circle of swirling wind, but in the center, in the very center called the eye, it's clear.

[2:46] Can you see it? You've seen this before, so if you can't see it, you've seen it before. But if you can see it, lights are bright. But in the very center, there's a dot. And that dot's called the eye.

[2:58] And in that place, there is relative calm and even light. But the hurricane is always moving.

[3:10] How fast is moving will depend on the circumstances. So, the eye eventually moves.

[3:22] And wherever it has been, gets hit with all the wind and the rain and the full force of that hurricane.

[3:36] In our text, the hurricane of darkness is in motion. It's swirling and howling to destroy the glorious one.

[3:52] But in the upper room, where we are in our passage, in the upper room, our Lord and his disciples are bathed in light and peace.

[4:03] Because they're in the eye of the storm. In this scenario, knowing he is leaving, what is uppermost in the mind of Jesus?

[4:19] What is uppermost in his heart? What are the first things he wants to get clear to his men before the eye moves?

[4:30] And the hurricane of darkness descends upon him? Jesus knew that what his disciples needed most was to understand his glory and his love.

[4:45] So, I have to ask you the question, are you experiencing and seeing his glory and his love?

[4:58] If it was important for them, it's very important to us. Notice how our text began.

[5:09] When he had gone out. That's Judas. We saw last time in the text before. Judas has been sent out into the darkness of the hurricane by Jesus to betray him.

[5:25] He's caught up in the hurricane. But he has nothing to tether him. He's being swept up and swept away by it.

[5:36] His going out is the final signal for the impending death and departure of the Son of God.

[5:49] Jesus is leaving. So, the first thing I want you to notice here in this passage is that Jesus came for glory.

[6:01] Glory is the point. Verse 31 and 32. Now our Lord, the Son of God in human flesh, reveals his heart. Now, that's fitting that he's revealing his heart now because Judas, who was sent out, cared nothing for the heart of Jesus.

[6:20] So, now Jesus gets down to it. He's sharing with his disciples the end result of his coming to save us. What is about to happen?

[6:31] You know what it is. This is the night before. His betrayal. What's about to happen is the cross. But more than just the cross, he and his father will be glorified.

[6:47] That makes the cross of Jesus oh so different than any of the many crosses that have occupied the Roman Empire. The Romans who got it from the Persians were especially good at crucifixion.

[7:04] Many Jews have been crucified. But this crucifixion was going to be oh so different. Five times.

[7:14] In verses 31 and 32. Five times. Glory is mentioned directly. Five times. It's important.

[7:27] Twice in reference to the Father and three times in reference to Jesus the Son. The cross is certainly, yes, about God's love.

[7:39] But Jesus says it is also about divine glory. Don't miss it. It's not just about you.

[7:52] It's about the glory of God. You all know the first catechism question. What is the chief end or what is the chief purpose? What is the great purpose of humanity or man?

[8:04] To glorify God and enjoy him forever, right? John Piper, who was one of my favorite Baptists. I love the Baptists. He said, let's ask God that question.

[8:17] What is the chief end? What is the great purpose of God? His answer? To glorify himself and enjoy himself forever. Trinity, living in perfect unity and companionship for all eternity, doesn't need us.

[8:39] But the nature of glory and of love is it demands to be seen and enjoyed. Jesus doesn't glorify himself, but in seeking the Father's glory, he is glorified by the Father.

[8:58] So you can't truly glorify one without glorifying the other. If you dishonor one, you dishonor the other.

[9:10] First of all, let's ask the question, what does our Lord mean by glory? One source, this comes from the Old Testament in particular.

[9:20] Like many of the teachings of Christ, they come from the Old Testament. The Old Testament word for glory is kavod. It speaks of heaviness or weight.

[9:35] You see, in ancient times, the greatness of a man was determined by the weight of his assets. The richer the man was, the weightier was the accumulation of his silver and gold and precious jewels.

[9:51] The world represented the greatness of this man and the surrounding community. So the weight of his wealth determined the measure of his influence in their community.

[10:07] When it comes to God. God is the ultimate super heavyweight of the universe. For all the cattle on a thousand hills and all the jewels and gold and all the treasures in their universe, not just in their earth, in the universe belong to him.

[10:34] So when we talk about the glory of God, it means he weighs heavy on us. So we can't ignore him.

[10:50] We can't ignore him. The glory of God reflects the substance of his holy character. You could say, in short, the glory of God is a display of his infinite grandeur and vast greatness.

[11:04] All of his attributes are wrapped up in perfection in his glory. His holiness, his sovereignty, his righteousness, his love, his wrath, his mercy, all of it is wrapped up in his glory.

[11:23] Jerry Packer is helpful here in his concise theology. He says, God's goal is his glory. Not divine egoism, but divine love.

[11:33] In the Old Testament, as I said, the Hebrew word for glory spoke of God's weight, his worth, his wealth, his splendor, and dignity, all of which are present when God is said to have revealed his glory.

[11:49] The Shekinah, the Shekinah cloud of light that looked like fire was a sign of God's active presence. When you saw that, you knew God was present right there and moving and doing and revealing his glory.

[12:04] We see now the fellowship of love for which God's rational creatures, that's us, were and are made. We were made for this.

[12:16] And for which fallen human beings have now been redeemed. We've been redeemed by Christ's blood on the cross, spoken to us in the great gospel.

[12:30] We were redeemed for glory. To once again be able to see that glory. See, that's the nature of being spiritually dead in your sins.

[12:41] You don't see the glory. You can't see the glory. But once you are made alive by the Spirit of God, as the gospel goes forth to you and the Spirit makes you alive, once you are alive, now, for the first time, you can really see the majesty and the glory and the holiness of God.

[13:07] We've been restored. We can now see his glory and give him glory with our lips and lives. This is at the very heart of what makes us human and brings us the greatest joy.

[13:25] God glorifies himself because he knows that's what we need most to see. We were made for it. In the book of Exodus, you know the story, Moses asked God to show him his glory.

[13:41] Remember? And let's look at that. It's going to be on the screen. And God spoke. I will make all my goodness pass before you and I will proclaim before you my name.

[13:55] The Lord, Yahweh, the Lord. And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But he said, you cannot see my face for man shall not see me and live.

[14:08] And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

[14:21] Keep in steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children to the third and fourth generation.

[14:38] And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worship. Moses acts to see the glory of God. And what does God show him?

[14:52] He declares his character to him. He tells him what he's like. He tells him who he is. He is not just the light, you know, that shines forth.

[15:03] No, God's glory is seen in his character, how he relates to us and to all of his creation. He is compassionate and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love.

[15:19] That's the glory of God. And where do we ultimately see that? When you think about the compassion and the kindness and the mercy and the beauty of the living God, where do you see it most?

[15:42] Creation. No, but you do see it. You know, in the face of Christ Jesus. Jesus is the glory of God made manifest that we might see it and touch.

[15:58] We might come close and look him in the face. Because he told Moses, you can't see me and live. God is spirit. And he revealed himself in what's called an anthropomorphism.

[16:09] He revealed himself in human understanding. So Moses could get his head around him. God is so above our thinking. He has to stoop down to speak baby talk to us so we can understand.

[16:30] Moses sees this glory. Here's the glory of God being proclaimed in who God is, his character, his nature, his love.

[16:41] He does the only thing you can do. He falls down and worships. That's what is supposed to happen when we see Jesus.

[16:52] In him we see the glory of God in shoe leather. We see the glory of God in human form, as it were, above and beyond us.

[17:05] But yet one of us. And the only response when you see him is worship. This is how we know God.

[17:19] So in our passage, how would Jesus and the Father be glorified? Well, the Son glorifies the Father by obedience, even to the point of death, to save the people the Father has given him.

[17:31] In his horrific death and miraculous resurrection, Jesus, the Son of God, will glorify his Father, will exalt his Father, will declare his Father's character, compassion, and dignity, and honor.

[17:47] All of that glory, I was telling you about a minute ago. All of that will be seen as Jesus submits to the Father, even to a point of death, because that was the plan they agreed upon before the world was even created.

[18:01] He submits to that plan with joy. Then the Father glorifies the Son by resurrecting him and giving him the supremacy above all.

[18:24] Well, you know that's true. Philippians chapter 2. Who, though Jesus was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of man, and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

[18:51] Therefore, God, that's the Father, has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name.

[19:03] So that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth. And every tongue confess, what is the name that is above every name?

[19:17] Not Jesus. That every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

[19:30] Lord. The name of Jesus was common. There were lots of kids named Jesus or Yeshua. That's not the names above every name.

[19:43] Lord. To the glory of God the Father, that we will call him Lord. That we will call him God. God. The Romans understood that.

[19:54] When the Christians refused to call Caesar Lord, because they worshipped some of the Caesars, they worshipped Caesars as a deity.

[20:07] They made them do it. Emperor cult, it was called. But when the Christians said, no, we can't call Caesar Lord. There's only one Lord.

[20:18] His name is Jesus. They died. God. Because they'd rather die than bow their knee to any other Lord than Jesus.

[20:31] When you see the glory of God in Jesus, that makes perfectly good sense. But if you don't see the glory. Jesus says in our text that God the Father will glorify him at once.

[20:48] I think that speaks of three days later, he will rise up from the dead. At once. Because Peter said it to us in Acts chapter 2, 24.

[20:59] God the Father raised him up, loosened the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. I love that. I love that.

[21:10] That's preaching. That's, oh, that's beautiful. He says it was impossible for death to keep his hold on the Lord Jesus Christ. Impossible.

[21:22] Because in him is life. And his life is the light of men. You can't keep life down. Mutual glory, therefore, is the business of the Godhead.

[21:37] But before resurrection Sunday, Good Friday looms very close. The betrayal of Jesus, of Judas, was actually the beginning of the glory.

[21:50] It was the beginning of the glory. Now is how our text begins. Now. But once again, we see the upside down nature of God's kingdom.

[22:02] Because neither the Jews or Gentiles saw any glory in crucifixion. There was no dignity. No honor. No splendor in crucifixion.

[22:13] Men were crucified naked and exposed. Gasping and agonizing death as the worst kind of criminals. First Corinthians reminds us, Paul speaking.

[22:25] For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified. A stumbling block to Jews and folly to the Gentiles.

[22:36] But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ. The power of God and the wisdom of God. That's what the cross shows us.

[22:50] God reveals his power to save and transform sinners. Through the cross. And displays his wisdom through its message.

[23:02] He's glorified there. You see, the cross is deaf to human philosophies and human power. The cross says, you got nothing. Because at the cross, in weakness, Jesus defeats our sins.

[23:16] And he defeats all the forces of darkness arrayed against God and his people. The cross is victory. Colossians 2. And you who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh.

[23:32] God made alive with him. Him is Christ. Having forgiven us all our trespasses by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with his legal demands.

[23:45] This he set aside. Nailing it to the cross. Watch this. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame by triumphing over them in him.

[24:00] In him. Triumphing. All the forces of darkness. He's talking about rulers and authorities. All the spiritual forces of darkness and the people that they use.

[24:14] Are defeated. In that very place of weakness. In that very place of folly. In that very place that was scorned.

[24:27] There God does his triumphant, victorious, glorious work. It's upside down. We don't get. That's not how the world thinks.

[24:38] The world saw Jesus as a victim. They saw him as another dud. Another would-be Messiah. Crushed by the Romans.

[24:49] No. But when your eyes are open to see the glory, you see the cross totally differently.

[25:02] The cross was the devil's worst nightmare and biggest mistake. And in this somewhat, Jesus our Lord displays what it really means to be devoted to God's glory.

[25:21] He shows us. And he equips his people to live for his glory. As one pastor wrote, Knowing God and beholding his glory is foundational to everything in our lives.

[25:34] God's glory must be primary and all else a far distant second. We exist for his glory. God created us for this high purpose.

[25:46] This must be our chief end. Otherwise, we have squandered our lives. If we're not living for his glory, we are squandering our lives.

[25:58] That's why Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10 31, So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God. He writes again in Colossians 3 17, And whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

[26:19] Whatever you do. See, the glory of God takes over everything in us. We have no decisions to make. But that the glory of God is not there to push us toward the right way.

[26:35] Everything. For Christ's glory, we are to present our bodies as servants. John 13 and his living sacrifices.

[26:49] Romans 12. He did it for us. That's what Jesus did on the cross. He presented his body a living sacrifice. Truly for the glory of God.

[27:01] And now you are equipped by him through the gospel, through trusting in him, through your union with Christ, your spiritual union, you are being equipped to follow him in doing the same.

[27:14] As he served, so we are to serve. And if we are saved by Christ, and he pursued the Father's glory with his life and death, then our reason for living and dying must be seeing and praising his glory.

[27:30] And the glory of the Father. Well, let me begin to wrap this up with some applications, I think, or some more.

[27:43] We experience his glory, listen, as we daily surrender our lives to his will and way. Daily. We die to self and pick up our crosses and follow him. There is dignity, honor, and future eternal splendor in living that way.

[28:01] See, the world misses his glory because his philosophy is me first, or family first, or tribe first, or nation first. Listen, family.

[28:12] It is not for God and country. That is not the Christian's motto. That puts country on the same level as God. And that is what we see.

[28:24] Country wins. It is for God, period. Christ and his kingdom alone are the undisputed priorities of the Christian, of the disciple of Jesus.

[28:40] There is nothing that rivals that. You don't put anything on the same level as that. If you do, it's an idol. It becomes an idol. And idols have a way of taking over.

[28:51] Because idols obscure your vision of the glory of God. So yes, even those of us who call ourselves Christians can miss the glory.

[29:10] We can miss the glory too. And we do. Something gets in the way. And that's exactly what the devil is doing. He wants to obscure your vision.

[29:23] He can't take away the glory. But he can hinder you from seeing it. If you're letting. How do you come to the word?

[29:37] Do you come to the word of God looking for principles? For wealth? For wealth? For happiness? God is on a principle. He's a divine being in three persons.

[29:51] He is to be related to in love. You can miss the glory looking for principles and not a relationship. Some come to the word in a hurry to fulfill an obligation.

[30:05] You read as little as possible. We don't meditate on it. But check it off. Our spiritual to-do list. And you will leave those times of Bible reading without encountering the God of the Bible.

[30:20] You will miss the glory. We got to slow down. Make time. I don't have time. I'm so busy. You make time for everything you want to do.

[30:34] I don't believe that. So when people think they don't have no time, I'm just like, you're lying. Don't tell. Do not tell me you don't have time for something. Because I know. If it's important, you will make time for it. That's human nature.

[30:46] We all do it. You have time to sit for a moment. And soak in the word of God. If you're looking for the glory.

[30:59] And here's the good thing, folks. If you look for the glory, he will reveal it. He will reveal himself. Go to the Bible like Moses. Show me your glory.

[31:12] Show it. You see, that's how Moses survived pastoral leadership. He had to pastor two million folk.

[31:26] Listen, and those folk have been delivered from Egyptian bondage. For centuries, they were used to worshiping, listen, the Egyptian gods as well as the Lord.

[31:39] They had false gods among them. Moses told them to put them away. Joshua will later tell them to put them away. They were still there. When you're used to worshiping false gods, when you become a, when God snatches you and delivers you by grace.

[31:56] Because they didn't deserve to be delivered. He delivered them by grace. That's you too. Me and you. He delivers. You still have a life. Though your old life is dead, the old practices want to hang around.

[32:09] And so Moses found that these people were just unruly at times. And so he was losing his mind.

[32:21] Moses, they threatened to kill him. They drove him to drink almost. No, I'm sorry. He didn't. That was Noah. Forty years in the wilderness, these people were killing him.

[32:41] How was God? God knew that was going to happen. How was God going to keep Moses going? How was God going to keep Moses from, I'm going back. I'm leaving. I'm walking out into the desert.

[32:52] And if I die, I die. But I ain't stand with these crazy folk anymore. How was God going to keep Moses going? He showed him his glory. But don't get it twisted.

[33:05] It wasn't just once. He put up something called the tent of meeting. The tent of meeting was when God would say, Moses, hey, come here, boy.

[33:19] No, I'm joking. Moses, get out of here. Listen, lead them folk, come here. And he would meet with Moses in the tent of meeting. Time and time again. And Moses would come out. His face would be shining.

[33:32] Why? Because he saw the glory. He kept going to the tent to see the glory of God. And that's what kept him going. That's what kept him excited about God. Even in the midst of people who were driving him crazy.

[33:45] He didn't go into the promised land because he got so mad at them. What kept him going? What would keep you going? As the hurricane hit you.

[34:00] As the hurricanes of darkness hit your life. They keep coming. They won't stop coming in this life. Don't be surprised by the spiritual hurricanes that hit you.

[34:10] Don't be surprised. It's part of growing up in this world. It's part of being human in this fallen creation. The hurricanes will keep coming. But listen. If you will stop and see the glory.

[34:24] He will put you in the eye. And give you those moments of refreshment. Where you bathe in the light. In the midst of the hurricane. You're bathing in the light of Christ. You're beholding his majesty.

[34:36] His glory. His dignity. You're feeling his love and his compassion. We need those moments. Because guess what? The eye will move. And the winds will come.

[34:50] And what's going to keep you going? You saw the glory. You know the glory is real. You know the glory is true. I don't care what everybody else says.

[35:01] You know. You know. And guess what? That glory will keep you going all the way into eternity. Where you will bask in the glory of God forever. Hallelujah.

[35:11] Hallelujah. But if you don't see the glory. Then you're living. For your own glory.

[35:26] You're going to live for somebody's glory. You don't see the glory of God. In the face of Christ Jesus. You're living for your own dignity. Your own honor.

[35:38] Your own prestige. You're living to make your name. Glorious. To be somebody. And you have to defend that.

[35:52] Because other people around you are doing the same thing. And so your kingdom will clash with their kingdom. And you're always in a fight with the other fallen kingdoms of this world.

[36:04] Trying to make your name glorious. It's a lose-lose situation. You're in the hurricane.

[36:16] You're in the dark. And the only way out. Is to cry out to Jesus. And say show me your glory. Take my eyes off me.

[36:29] Help me to know you. Forgive me of my sins. Oh take me. Show me. Open my eyes that I may behold.

[36:41] That I may know your love. And if you cry out to him. Even in the midst of the hurricane. He will break through.

[36:53] With the beam of his holy light. And shine upon you. And your chains will fall off. And your heart will be free.

[37:03] And you will rise and go forth. And follow him. That is the good news. May God bless you to hear it.

[37:14] Father. May your word find us. May your glory envelop us. Open our eyes each and every day. Make us glory hounds. Seeking after your glory.

[37:27] Not our own. But yours. So that our lives will reflect Jesus. And our hope will be in nothing less. Than Jesus' blood.

[37:38] And your righteousness. In his name we pray. Amen. Amen.