Sermon Brief
Date Written: January 7, 2011
Date Preached: January 9, 2011
Where Preached: OPBC (AM)
Sermon Details:
Series Title: Falling in Love With Jesus
Sermon Title: How Do We Love Jesus?
Sermon Text: John 1:14-32 [ESV]
14 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. 15 John bore witness about Him, and cried out, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks before me, because He was before me.'" 16 And from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, He has made Him known. 19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" 20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ." 21 And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" And he answered, "No." 22 So they said to him, "Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" 23 He said, "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,' as the prophet Isaiah said." 24 (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) 25 They asked him, "Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" 26 John answered them, "I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27 even He who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie." 28 These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing. 29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is He of whom I said, 'After me comes a man who ranks before me, because He was before me.' 31 I myself did not know Him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that He might be revealed to Israel." 32 And John bore witness: "I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him.
Introduction:
[Sing softly] “I love you Lord! I and I lift my voice… to worship You… oh my soul… rejoice! Take Joy my King, in what You hear, may it be a sweet, sweet sound in Your ear!”
We sing those words, but do we live those words in our life each and every day? We say with our mouths that we love Jesus, but does our life reflect that love for our Savior?
If a stranger walked up to you in a crowded mall, when you least expected it… would he or she be able see a love for Jesus flowing out of your life, even if you never spoke a word?
Here is my point this morning… we SAY we love Jesus, but does the way we life our life SHOW the world around us beyond ANY doubt, that we love Jesus? Many of you may be sitting there wondering to yourself, “Well preacher, how do I show the world I love Him? How can I love Jesus like I should?” So the ultimate question for us this morning, how can we love Jesus as He deserves to be loved?
When we look at our passage of Scripture today, we can see that John the Baptist understood what it meant to love Jesus… and the Apostle John writes about 4 very specific ways John the Baptist reveals his love for Jesus:
John Recognized His Sovereinty v.14-15
14 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.
15 John bore witness about Him, and cried out, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks before me, because He was before me.'"
And the Word, became flesh and dwelt among us. The Apostle John wrote these great words about Jesus. Jesus is God and God chose to dwell with His creation in the flesh, that happened with the coming of Jesus. God in the flesh… Immanuel, God with us is how the Angel described it to Mary and Joseph.
And John the Baptist fully understood who Jesus was, even though he had never seen Him before this time… John understood and was willing to submit to the sovereignty of who Jesus is… The God of the Universe!
He who comes after me… John the Baptist was speaking specifically about the Messiah. He knew someone was coming, someone very important and someone to whom he could not hold a candle to… "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks before me, because He was before me.'"
John knew that even though Jesus was born of the flesh some six months after he was born… Jesus was NOT just a created being, but Jesus was God, and HE was before John the Baptist! Jesus has existed from eternity past, and will continue to exist into eternity future… John understood that one thing, but also knew that Jesus was fully sovereign over all creation!
We hear the word sovereign a lot, but do you know what it really means? Sovereign means, monarch or ruler, the KING if you will, it means having supreme power and authority, it represents full and complete excellence in all things. It means that he is self governing, and not ruled by any other!
Sovereign means Jesus is our King, Jesus is our supreme power and authority, Jesus represents the fullness of God! Jesus is completely God and completely excellent in all things! He is self-governing as all authority has been given to Him and NO OTHER rule over Him.
To me it seems as if George Fredric Handel truly grasped the full and total picture of Jesus in his musical masterpiece “Messiah” when he wrote…
“King of kings and Lord of lords…and HE shall reign forever and ever…”
Jesus Christ is Sovereign LORD of ALL. In Matthew 28 Jesus reveals that, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me…” Jesus is our Monarch! Jesus is our Ruler! Jesus is the permanent head of State for the Kingdom of Heaven! Jesus is our King! And we should love Him because of His sovereign love for us!
But not only does John the Baptist recognize Jesus is Sovereign…
John Recognized His Own Role in God’s Kingdom v.23
23 He said, "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,' as the prophet Isaiah said."
John the Baptist understood his role in the kingdom of Jesus… it was all about Jesus, it wasn’t about him. How many times in life do we find ourselves mad at God for one reason or another? Have you ever found yourself in that situation… angry with God about this or that?
I can guarantee you that your anger is NOT based in righteousness, but if you are truly honest with yourself… you will admit that your anger is based in a selfish desire to have what you want or see what you want to come to pass and God has not allowed it to happen.
When our focus is removed from Jesus, our perspective about the kingdom and about God is radically changed! However, when we are focused ON Him and locked in on what He wants, our perspective is where it needs to be.
This is because its all about Jesus! It is never about me… that doesn’t mean He won’t meet a need you have, or fulfill a desire you wish for… but it does mean that your priorities must always be focus on HIM!
We can see in our verse this morning that John was being approached by important religious people of his day… they were asking him all about his ministry, and the focus was on HIM, but John quickly told these men, that it was NOT about him, but it was about the One he had come to pave the way for… it was about the Savior!
So often in our lives we can get caught up in how important we THINK we are, or how important we WANT TO BE… OR even how important we want OTHERS to think we are! But what we must always understand as Christians is that it is NEVER about us, but it is always about Him!
Let me give you an example of what I mean. For much of the past 30 years there has been a war of sorts going on in churches all across this country. People fighting back and forth over an issue they deem to be highly sacred and important!
I am speaking about what I would call the “worship wars” of the past 30+ yrs. I am speaking about how people have battled it out tooth and nail over traditional or contemporary songs… over choruses or hymns… over style of music!
The traditionalists says that the contemporary is not reverent and does not honor God, and they say they don’t like the style of music! The contemporary side says that the traditional approach is dead and dying and has lost touch with today’s generation and it’s boring!
I know that there are those of you sitting in the pews today that have these very feelings about one side or another of this argument … but what I am here to tell you today is that the ENTIRE argument is off base and irrelevant! That is because the entire argument is about US and what we like and what we want! It has lost its focus!
TRUE worship happens when the OBJECT of that worship is adored and exalted! Our focus in worship can NEVER be the style of song… it can never be about what we like or don’t like… our focus in worship must be directed to Jesus! The object of our worship!
When you come to church to worship on Sunday morning, if you are more worried about what sort of songs we sing, what style of music we play, whether the pastor reads from his notes or preaches without notes, if the sermon is too long for you… if any of these things are your focus… YOU are not worshiping the Lord, but you are here for the wrong reason…you are here for YOU!
Church and worship is NOT about YOU! It is about serving Jesus! It is about worshiping Jesus, and if you say, “Well preacher I just can’t worship if I don’t like the songs… your focus is on yourself and NOT on Jesus!”
If you say, “I can’t worship if the sermon is over 20 minutes… your focus is not on Jesus but its on your own pleasure and you are NOT worshiping Jesus… you are not focusing on the right thing!
John told them “I am a voice crying out in the wilderness…” I want us to understand how meek and meager that statement is! Imagine yourself in the middle of the desert or in the middle of the forest, or even in the middle of downtown New Orleans…
John was not interested in results or recognition, but John was focused on the right thing, obedience to God’s calling for his life and that was to be the one telling of His coming! John understood his place in the Kingdom!
John recognized the sovereignty of Jesus and also recognized his place in the Kingdom of heaven, but we can also see how…
John Acted on His Role in Gods Kingdom – v.26-27
26 John answered them, "I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27 even He who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie."
John understood his role and he was willing to submit himself to action for Christ in the Kingdom. His service to Jesus was based on his understanding of what Jesus was coming to do, and who Jesus was, and his role in Jesus’ kingdom… we too must act as John…
God leads us down a path where many times we do not understand why He wants us there… we don’t understand or don’t want to do what He has called us to do… but God is calling us to act on His behalf in this world! As Christians we are all called into some sort of service.
You might be sitting in the pew this morning saying to yourself, “Preacher, God hasn’t called me into any ministry…” Well in answer to that, let me share 2 points that clarify something for you! FIRST, God is always calling all of His children; you may not know where God is calling you because you are not listening for His voice!
If you have sin in your life, you are not going to be able to hear the voice of God as clearly as you need to! Sin in your life, deadens the sound of God’s voice in our hearts, and when we cannot hear God, when we cannot feel God, when we cannot SEE God in the circumstances… we have to learn to trust in Him… go to Him for forgiveness and remove that barrier that keeps us from hearing His voice!
You may not be listening to God’s voice, but another aspect is that you have heard God’s voice and you have not acted upon His calling! You have ignored God’s call…
John was sent by God to warn the people, to call them to repentance, to baptize them INTO that repentance, and to lay the path for Jesus who would come after him. John’s duty was a duty totally focused on Jesus, there was NO room for John the Baptist to focus on himself or what he wanted or did not want! His was a duty of submission and obedience.
Today, I know this ONE thing… if you are a believer, God is calling you to do something, in your life, in your family, in your neighborhood, in your community… FOR HIM!
You may not understand it, or like it, but God is leading you to obey Him and the question is are you willing? I’m sure that John was not thrilled about his ‘position’ in the kingdom, but Jesus told His disciples that there was no other man born of woman as great as John…
I have said this before and I will continue to say it because it is a biblical principle that is proven over and over again, when you honor God in your life, God is going to honor you!
Are you willing for Jesus to be the Lord of your life? Are you willing to know your place in His kingdom today? Are you willing to accept your place in His kingdom? God is calling you, are you ready to act on that call today?
John recognized Jesus was sovereign, John recognized his role in the Kingdom, and John acted on his role and was obedient to God’s calling! But there is one final point I want to make this morning… it is not so much a step as it is an underlying principle to live our lives by and that is…
John Always Remembered “Jesus is Lord & Savior” – v.29
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
John was able to do great things in his ministry, but John always remembered what the ministry was all about, it was about lifting up Jesus, not about advancing an agenda, or building a ministry, or even building a church… it is all about glorifying Jesus and lifting up His name!
We are human, and we have human frailties and faults. We can recognize the Lordship and sovereignty of Jesus. We can recognize our place in His kingdom. We can accept and begin to act on the calling of Christ in our lives… but we are still human and there can be times… NO… let me change that… there WILL be times when our pride rears its ugly head and we forget who Jesus is…
We can get wrapped up in all this obedience that we lose sight of who we are being obedient to… Have you ever seen someone so wrapped up in serving at the church that they lost sight of what it meant to be a Christian? What it meant to serve God?
Our church is supposed to be the light of Christ in our community… a city set on a hill so to speak! We are to be the beacon of light that shines the love of Christ on a lost world! Sometimes we get so caught up in doing church… we miss out on the love!
I could point out specific examples, but I am sure you ALL have run into a situation in your life where this has either happened TO you when YOU got caught up in doing and serving and lost sight of WHO you were serving… OR you were on the other end of things when another believer got caught up and lost sight… lost focus!
The point I am trying to point out here is that John the Baptist was a man of great influence in his day. He held a reverent awe toward God, he lived a holy life, he recognized the sovereignty of Jesus, he understood his role in the kingdom, and he acted in obedience to God’s calling…
But the most important thing for John was that he never lost sight of the fact that Jesus is LORD and Savior! Look what he says here in v.29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
It is my prayer that we become a church FILLED with this sort of believer, one who sees God for WHO He is, sovereign ruler over our lives! One who understands their role in the kingdom and don’t think that they have to do things THEIR way, but submit to the calling God has for their lives! One who takes action… actions of obedience to the calling of God on their lives!
But more than anything, let us become a body of believers that first and foremost always acknowledges Jesus as the Lord and Savior of humanity… OUR Lord and Savior! Jesus is our Sovereign Lord… the King of kings… the Lord of lords… His kingdom shall know NO end…
But understand that Jesus, even though the King of all things and sovereign over and above all things… He was willing to give that up for us! Paul tells us in Phil 2 that even though He was sovereign, he set it aside and stepped away from that position to enable Himself to provide salvation for us by dying on the cross… to bring salvation to us… to those who could not obtain it on their own… His is King of all… He is Lord over all… but He gave up Himself, to be our Savior…
Conclusion:
A pastor in California gave an invitation one Sunday Morning & a 5yr old boy came down. The pastor didn’t know if he was old enough to understand salvation, so, he took him back to his office to ask him some theological questions.
The more the pastor questioned the young boy, the more confused the young boy became! Finally the little guy held his hand up and said “Stop!” and then he said, "Pastor, today you said that if I would come down and trust Jesus to save me – HE WOULD! Did you really mean that or not?" The pastor did not ask this young man another question!
Far too often we try to make the simple and clear… complicated and cloudy! Jesus is our Sovereign Lord who has called us to come to him! He says, ‘come to me all who are weary and I will give you rest!’ He says, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except thru Me…”
Today I am calling those of you here today who do not know Jesus, to come to Him… come to the sovereign creator of this world, your creator and Lord! Come and surrender to His calling on your life! Submit to Him today and receive His salvation… his forgiveness, and His blessing! Come as Jason comes to play our hymn of invitation… Jesus is calling you today… will you answer? Stand as we begin to sing!
