Let me begin. I want to ask a question that I want you to think about carefully.
! And I'm not asking for you to respond. In fact, I'd prefer you don't.
But just think to yourself, this is the question.
What do I really want the most?
Put it another way, what's most important to me?
What's really most important?
What do I want?
What's most important?
As you think about this, here are some things that may help you recognize,
whether you'd like to admit it or not, what the answer is.
What makes you most happy?
What really just lights your fire?
That you're happy about.
What do you care about so much that you really don't have to be prompted to talk about it?
What are things that get you very irritated?
I mean, fire you up.
I want to confess that different ones of us have been hardwired by God to be fired up in moderately different fashions.
Do you follow what I'm saying?
I mean, some people are very public in their fired up-ness.
Other people are kind of like a slow burn.
They're like a coke fire.
They're hot.
But inside.
What does your moodiness say about what's important?
What causes you to have recurring bouts of anxiety?
Do you know what I'm talking about, anxiety?
It's circling the drain on an idea that you really don't have control over.
Let me come back again to ask you the question here.
What do I really want the most?
What is it that is most important to me?
Now, let me say that if you were to ask the average person on the street, what do you want the most?
What's most important?
Do you know what most people would say?
What would they say?
Tell me.
I just want to be happy.
I wouldn't immediately give the guy the smackdown over that.
I mean, I'm glad.
I appreciate the fact that the individual who'd tell me they really want to be happy didn't at least be so simplistic to say,
I want a million dollars.
I have to tell you that I have added something to my repertoire.
How many of you know that when you call some of these service lines, help lines, at the end of the conversation,
they always say, the last thing they say is, can I help you with anything else?
Right?
I mean, it's always the same thing.
Can I help you with anything else?
And my standard answer right now has been yes.
Of course, there's a long pause, and I wait just for a minute to let them think what's coming next, and I say, free cash.
You know, it's like, it hasn't worked.
But let's come back to the issue.
I want to be happy.
I really do.
Now, if you were to ask any child that has been instructed in the shorter catechism,
what is the chief end of man?
How many of you know?
Raise your hand and wave at me if you know what the answer is to the first question in the shorter catechism.
Raise your hand high.
I want it this high, like this.
Some of you...
Here, watch me.
Like this.
Okay.
Got it?
Okay.
It's all right.
What is the chief end of man?
It is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.
What is the chief end of man?
It is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.
John Piper, in his knockout book, Desiring God, that I would recommend you read if you're inclined to a little bit of sober labor of exceptional worth,
he kind of runs away.
It doesn't run away, but he kind of changes the tack a little bit on that.
He says, the chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever.
So, I want you to think with me this morning of what John chapter 13, 31, and 32 have to say to this subject.
Let me read a passage to you.
When he had gone out, Jesus said,
Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and glorify him at once.
Now, it's not entirely true in every case, but as a general rule, when a word is repeated fairly often, there's a reason.
And it wouldn't hurt us to think, why does the Holy Spirit have so much to say about this subject of glory?
And so, what I want us to do this morning is take these two verses and think carefully about the incredible significance of the cross.
And I want to draw several powerful truths from the fact of these two verses and then bring some practical application to your life so that in the future,
if someone would say to you, what do you really want?
You would say, I want the glory of God.
And I can tell you by personal experience, you won't get there without persistent affection for the Lord Jesus Christ and a deliberate intention to move there.
Because guess how we're naturally wired?
How many of you have a lot of trouble really thinking about yourself occasionally?
You know, just every now and then someone has to bump you and say,
Tim, are you ever thinking about yourself?
You're so wonderful thinking about everybody else.
You know, I haven't had that happen.
But, you know, we want to learn to think about the glory of Christ and the Father.
And this passage hammers it.
So, let's look first of all at the glory of the cross.
And since we're going to spend so much time dealing with the subject of glory, and it's not a word we use very often.
How many of you used glory this last week?
You said, oh, glory.
You didn't.
I've got to tell you, Pastor Brock, who's in heaven, he used glory fairly often.
Anytime something happened wrong, he would say, oh, glory.
When I was a member, I remember hearing him say, oh, glory, over some problem.
He was like, what?
But for the most part, you and I don't use, oh, glory.
We don't talk about glory.
We think a lot about it, but we don't talk enough about it.
The idea of glory, the word glory, really carries with it the idea of worth, significance, honor, reputation.
If you were kind of tracking with the different songs we sang this morning, they had a lot to do with glory.
And the biblical word is most often connected with character, not just with events.
And as a reference to that, we will see that when the word is used in Scripture, it is speaking invariably about God and things he's done.
But behind that is not just the act of what he has done, but what it tells us about his nature and his heart.
So kind of mark this in your thinking.
The word glory is about honor, worth, and significance.
And the most common use of the word glory in Scripture is really used in connection with our triune God.
One theologian put it this way, that the word glory is a word that speaks of God in such a fashion that glorifying God means calling attention to his greatness
and showing his supreme value by delighting in him and cherishing in him.
Glorifying God means drawing attention or marking his supreme greatness.
Let me give you an illustration of that.
Over in Matthew chapter 5, remember when Jesus said,
You are the salt of the earth, you're the light of the world.
Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works.
And they say, wow, God is pretty spectacular.
Right?
So there is a sense in which one of the things that we ought to always be thinking about is how does this make God look?
Look, we have had the privilege of hosting Franklin County Board of Election for five weeks in this building.
And I have to tell you that every interaction that our people have had,
whether it's an Awana worker coming in here early to work on Awana on Monday night,
or one of our ladies walking through the lobby,
or someone doing custodial work,
or one of our pastors,
the consistent thing that has taken place is that you as a fellowship have shown kindness
and a sweet disposition to all those people.
Hundreds of them have come through here.
They invited me to go to their honors banquet because of you.
I don't want to go.
I'm going to send one of the pastors.
I shouldn't say that.
But I am not a social animal.
I wasn't born for that.
You know, it's like, but I'll go, you know.
Let your light so shine before men that they will see your good works and what?
Glorify your Father.
Your heart, affected by the glory of God,
has displayed a kindness that has been so exceptional.
That's the common conversation I've heard from hundreds of people the last five weeks.
And so when we think this morning about this issue of glory,
I want you to understand that it means calling attention to His greatness
and showing a supreme value.
Why did we host Franklin County Board of Elections?
At the heart of it is because we are here to show the character and heart of Christ.
Isn't that right?
That's why we did what we did on Monday night.
That's why we're doing the food drive.
We are interested in having other people have an opportunity
to see the character of our God and our Savior.
So here we are in verse 31.
Judas has gone out into the night to betray Jesus and bring about His crucifixion.
Knowing that the cross was only hours away,
here is Jesus now with the remaining disciples,
and here's what He says.
Look at the verse there in 31.
When He'd gone out, Jesus said,
Now!
This is it!
Now is the Son of Man glorified!
Can you imagine that?
Against the backdrop of that brutal rendering of His body,
the absolute vile betrayal of one of His own disciples,
Jesus Christ called the cross the moment of His glory.
Incidentally, He referred to Himself here in this statement as the Son of Man.
He was pointing to His humanity,
which He has taken on for all of eternity,
for the glory of the Father,
and for our redemption.
And here He is looking forward to the cross,
and He says,
Now is the Son of Man glorified.
It's interesting to stop just for a moment
and consider
that He referred to no other aspect of His human existence that way.
I can think of.
There had certainly been moments in His public ministry
that were pretty glorious.
I mean, can you imagine
the glory of Him cleansing the temple?
My Father's house is a house of prayer,
and you have made it a den of thieves,
and it is time for me to bring smack down on you.
And how one man could clean out,
just imagine,
someone stomping in to the Supreme Court
and the White House at the same time
and cleaning both of them,
one guy with nothing but a little whip.
I have to tell you,
the thing that terrified people
was not the strength of Christ,
but the character and holiness of His calling.
And He, that was pretty glorious,
I would think.
He didn't call it that way.
Another thing that I think about is,
remember,
when He was baptized,
remember He came out of the water,
and we have the dove come down,
and we have the voice of God,
and it says,
this is my beloved Son
in whom I am well pleased.
Listen to Him.
That's pretty spectacular.
I mean, how many of you have had God
say something like that
after your baptism?
No.
Terrify me if it did.
And it won't.
Let's try another one.
The transfiguration.
I mean, that was pretty spectacular.
In fact, if you were to read
in the Apostles' Epistles,
well, that's a word full, isn't it?
The Apostles' Epistles.
Don't go there.
But in Peter,
remember when He says,
we beheld His glory.
When He was on the Mount
of Transfiguration,
it wiped Him out.
We beheld His glory.
Did Jesus refer to the transfiguration
as the moment of His glory?
No.
He says this.
He says,
now,
the cross,
that's my hour
of glory.
I can't help,
and I debate whether I should or not,
and here I go.
So, I remember years ago
when Mel Gibson came out
with his, you know,
what was that movie?
I'm forgetting.
The Passion.
Okay.
And pretty spectacular.
I remember someone got up
in Cedarville Chapel
and said,
and I heard this by way of rumors,
so I don't know it to be firsthand,
but someone said,
this was going to be
the most significant
evangelistic event
since Pentecost.
How many of you know
what hyperbole is?
Jared?
Over-exaggeration.
It's like,
hello?
Anyway,
I,
the Passion of the Christ
kind of made clear
that he suffered,
but I got to tell you,
the suffering of Jesus
is not the thing
that brought glory
to his name.
I heard,
I read on the internet,
of course,
everything you read
on the internet
is true,
but I heard on the internet
that Morocco,
a fish,
fisherman,
was put through
a grinder.
That's pretty spectacular,
right?
You know,
it's like,
yuck,
bad.
Jesus suffered,
but the thing that is glorious
is not his suffering
particularly.
The thing that is spectacular
about Christ
is all of the above.
And as we read there
in verse 32,
and skip ahead,
it says,
now is the Son of Man glorified
and God is glorified in him.
Okay?
What we understand,
actually the latter part of 31
is what I meant to say,
we understand that Jesus
saw the cross
not only as the means
of his glory,
but he also saw the cross
as the means
of his Father's glory.
Jesus brought glory
to his Father
by dying on the cross
for our sins.
And that is what is meant
when the text says
God is glorified in him.
Jesus understood
that his perfect
and willing obedience
to the Father
glorified the Father.
Father.
And I wonder
whether or not
you think about the cross
first and foremost
as being something
that glorifies Christ.
Think about it.
Most of us,
when we think about the cross,
our first thought
is to bring ourself
into the frame.
You know,
hey,
the cross
is tremendously
significant to me,
right?
Were it not for the cross,
I would be a sinner
directly on my way
to hell
and have no hope
of redemption
lost forever.
I did a funeral
on Friday
that was
a wonderful
gospel opportunity,
but it broke my heart.
The sorrow
in that room
was palpable.
It was just,
it was there.
And were it not
for the fact
that I had
the sweet privilege,
by the way,
funerals are
captive audiences
for me.
Do you understand that?
I'll take any funeral
you throw my way.
Any funeral.
So long as I get
to be free
with the gospel.
And here,
I can say to people
whose hearts
are broken
in the face of death,
there is only
one hope
for you
and it's Jesus Christ
who died on the cross
and rose again.
And so here is Jesus
as he looks
towards the cross,
he looks
at that event
and he says,
this is it.
Now I'm going to give you
a summary
of the Bible.
Genesis chapter 3
verse 15,
remember when
God shows up
in the garden
and is talking
to two individuals,
Adam and Eve
and he brings
the snake
into the conversation
and he says,
listen,
he will crush
your head
and you will
bruise his heel.
It is called
proto-evangelism.
The first
indication
of the gospel.
And how does
the story end
over in Revelation
chapter 5?
what we find
there is this
just absolutely
wonderful picture
of the glory
of Christ
in heaven.
And as people
are worshiping
God in chapter 4
of Revelation
and Christ
in chapter 5,
do you know
how they address
Jesus over and over
again in chapter 5?
What do they say?
Worthy is the
lamb.
I don't know
about you
but that gives me
cold chills.
I like to know
that the story
didn't happen
just kind of
like a warm night
and mushrooms
popping up.
God put a lot
of thought
into this
and pulled it
off over
millenniums.
And here is
Jesus
looking at the
cross
as the moment
in history
where the plan
of redemption
ordained by
the Father
and the Son
and the Holy Spirit
before the foundation
of the world
was coming
into full fruition
and evidence.
Now notice
what we read
in verse 32.
If God is glorified
in Him
God will glorify
Him
in Himself.
How many of you
just don't raise
your hands
but a question
how many of you
have struggled
with giving glory
to other people?
You are just
the most holy group
I've ever been around.
Let me ask the question
a little slower
because I may have
confused you
a little bit.
How many of you
have struggled
with giving glory
to other people?
How many of you
this is a little
more comfortable
how many of you
have tried to diminish
the glory of other people?
They buy a new car
and you think
they shouldn't have
one that good.
And so
when you have
an opportunity
to make an observation
about their car purchases
you have something
to say about
no that's not a car
I'd buy.
I'd be more frugal
and I'd probably
give at least
$30 of the whole
entire process
to missions.
You know
I'm generous
to a fault.
We always
we're
thinking about
ourselves
too often.
By the way
the little sidebar
I've probably
said it more
than once
people that think
a lot about
themselves
are invariably
pretty unhappy.
How many of you
have learned that?
Just one of you.
the rest of you
are still learning.
Okay?
People who think
a lot about
themselves
are invariably
unhappy.
Back to the text.
When we
give him
glory
he is
glorified
and the one
who gives him
glory
is glorified.
The math
is bulletproof.
He that
exalts
himself
shall be
abased.
That means
you try to
puff yourself
up
he is going
to do
what?
He's going
to let
the air
out of
your tires.
If you
humble
yourself
what is
he going
to do?
Huh?
What?
What's he
going to do?
If you
would
by the way
you have
the responsibility
of humbling
yourself
and the
way to
humble
yourself
is by
remembering
God is
on the
throne
and he
is supremely
significant
and it's
all about
him
and when
you humble
yourself
he will
do what?
He'll put
just a little
more air
in the tires
to help
you.
Do what?
Does anybody
know what
his intention
is?
It is not
so you get a
big head
and start
taking credit
for you.
You know
what?
I gave
glory to
God
and now
I'm
pretty
special.
Down
it goes.
Okay.
Back to
the text
because I
want you
to focus
on the
text.
Here we
are.
There's
verse 32.
If God
is glorified
in him
God will
also glorify
him in
himself.
So keep
in mind
that one
of Christ's
goals in
his final
words to
his disciple
before the
cross was
to give
them hope
in a truth
that would
prepare them
for what
was coming.
That's
important to
understand.
Here were
his disciples
who were
going to be
absolutely
trashed,
blown out
by the
cross.
Their
hero,
the one
they'd been
following for
three years,
was going to
hang on the
cross and
suffer the
most cruel
death.
And their
entire
worldview of
life was
going to be
just shattered.
He says,
don't worry
about it.
Don't worry
about it.
That which I
am doing on
the cross is
all for the
glory of God
and I want
you to
understand the
math.
When I
give glory
to the
Father,
he'll see
to it that
glory comes
back to
me.
Jesus
wanted to
see,
Jesus wanted
his disciples
to see more
than his
physical
suffering.
He wanted
them to
understand that
there was
more that was
going to take
place than
his separation
from the
Father.
Behind the
suffering that
he was going
to endure
was the
most merciful,
the most
wonderful,
the most
noble,
the most
dramatic
display of
the wisdom
and love
of God
of all
of eternity.
Forever.
When people
think about
Christ,
they will
think about
the cross.
Do you
understand that?
And what
Jesus also
wanted his
disciples to
understand is
that his
death for our
sins according
to the
Father's will
was all
for the
Father's
glory.
And at
the same
time,
his Father
would act
for the
glory of
his Son.
There is
an if
in the
logic here.
Look at
the passage.
If God
is glorified
in him,
that's a
condition.
God will
also glorify
him in
himself.
If God
is glorified,
God will
glorify the
one that
brings him
glory.
Will you
kind of fix
that in
your minds?
How many
of you
understand
that?
Let me
try some
of this
perverse
Christian
math for
you.
Here we
go.
Are you
following
me?
It is
more
blessed
to...
The word
blessed
actually means
happier.
Being a
genuine
heartfelt
giver
is more
enjoyable
than being
a greedy
self-focused
circling the
drain thinker.
Right?
Jesus said
this,
he who
saves his
life will
lose it.
He who's
interested
in his
glory is
going to
lose it.
He who
loses his
life gives
glory to
the one who
deserves it,
namely God,
will be
glorified.
If God
is glorified,
God will
glorify the
one that
brings him
glory.
I'll not
leave off the
last little
part of the
verse here,
but the
little statement
that is made
in himself is
pointing out a
very interesting
theological fact.
How many of
you got your
hands around
the Trinity
issue?
I mean,
it's like you
got that one.
It's, you
know, you
can answer
that.
It's like,
yeah.
How can,
what's it
saying is
that when
God the
Father gives
glory to
the Son,
guess what
happens?
It comes
how?
Back to
the Father.
How do you
separate the,
well, if
Jesus, we're
all into
this, if I
give him
glory, I'm
not going to
have some
left for
me.
No.
God, in
glorifying his
Son, there's
a nice little
word coming
here, that
glory redounds,
redounds.
That's got a
ring to it,
just a simple
one, it's not
a hard one,
it just means
it comes back.
So God,
Jesus gives
glory to the
Father, and
the Father gives
glory to the
Son, and we
wrap up the
story by here's
the statement,
and it comes
back, it just
comes back.
So here's some
closing thoughts
on glory and
the cross.
Listen, I want
to say this
carefully, we
diminish the
glory of God
and the glory of
Jesus Christ when
we think about
the cross as
only being about
us.
I think that's
important to get
our heads around.
them.
The truth of
the matter is,
is our first
thoughts about
the cross, and
am I blessed by
the cross?
Are you blessed
by the cross?
That is undeniably
true.
But our first
thought about the
glory of the
cross should be
that it magnifies
the unbelievable
glory of God.
Our appreciation
for the cross
should first of
all reflect our
appreciation for the
glory of God.
Yes, he died for
us, but Jesus
also died for the
glory of the
Father.
And it is
appropriate in
this passage to
see that his main
goal was to
glorify the
Father.
That was the
most important
thing he had in
mind.
Remember in the
garden when he
prayed, if it's
possible, let this
cup pass from me?
Nevertheless,
what?
In essence, what
he was saying is
it's about you.
And I want to
appeal to you that
it is noble, it's
appropriate for us
to appreciate the
significance of the
cross in redeeming
us.
But more than
that, the
significance of the
cross is the glory
that redounds to the
character of God
and to Christ.
And so we who
seek to follow
Jesus should be
focused on living
our lives for
his glory.
Jesus was willing
to live and Jesus
was willing to die
for the glory of
the Father.
And that's the way
it should be for
us.
So try this.
The next time you
think about how
many of you have
ever had a
conversation and
left and then
afterwards thought of
things you could
have said, should
have said, wish
you'd said, and
are glad you
didn't.
One of the
advantages of being
68 is that I've
had so many
absolute bombs in
things I said off
the cuff that I've
at least learned to
pace myself.
That's it.
You know, it's
like, yeah.
But then my little
old perverted mind
still goes in
circles, you know,
I could have said
this.
Yeah.
I should have.
This would have
helped, you know.
No.
So, I want you
the next time you
find yourself going
in that hamster
cage logic.
How many of you
understand what I
mean by hamster
cage logic?
How many of you
ever seen hamsters
getting exercise in a
cage?
You know, just
like, it's a very,
very little circle and
they're just worked up
to death, you know.
Hamster cage logic.
That's when you are
the center.
You know, and so
next time you find
yourself thinking that
way, just stop and
say, just a minute,
Tim, Tim, stop,
stop, stop.
How does this bring
glory to God?
How does this bring
glory to God?
How does this bring
glory to God?
We should be focused
on living our lives
for His glory.
Another little truth
that I want you to put
your hands around here
is that God honors
those who honor Him.
God honors those
who honor Him.
There is no heavenly
logic in the Word
that proposes that a
man who defies the
Scripture in being
self-focused and about
himself is ever going
to receive the glory
and the encouragement
and the strengthening of
the Spirit of God.
God, I've got to say
this carefully.
I think our
preponderance today
on all the heartaches
and sorrow that I see
in many people's lives
is most often a
reflection of the fact
that they're not very
focused on the only one
who they will focus on
for all of eternity.
Does that make sense?
Huh?
Everybody listen.
What we're doing now
is warm up for the
main event.
Now, thankfully,
when we're there,
we're not going to be
obsessed with all the
other things going on
around us,
but it doesn't hurt to
focus on hitting the
ball properly.
The ball, the thing
that we're focused on
is the glory and
supremacy of Christ,
and if that's what
we're going to occupy
ourselves with in
eternity, we ought to
understand that when
we honor God, He lifts
us up.
When you make much
of yourself, when
you're obsessed with
your own sufferings,
when you're just
overwhelmed by your
own mistreatment or
circumstances, and when
you think you're better
than others or more
deserving, the fact of
the matter is that God
steps out of the way
and He lets you run
your own unhappy path.
He will not bring glory
to the one who does
not glorify Himself.
Finally, the day is
coming when all will
honor Him.
That is stunning to me.
Do you understand
that?
The thought is
profoundly encouraging
for one.
The thought is
profoundly troubling
for another.
Do you think that in
hell, the unrepentant
sinner will not bring
glory to God?
And what is the
answer?
The unrepentant,
hard-hearted,
absolutely rebellious
sinner in hell will
bring glory to God.
All will glorify God.
God will glorify God.
And I would encourage you
to recognize that one of
the things that we who
know Christ are going to
do is we are going to
spend eternity enjoying
His presence, just
lavishing in the absolute
joy of bringing glory to
Him.
Get the picture for me
here.
Here is a boy who is
dating a girl.
And the girl is really
pretty insecure and a
little bit obsessed with
herself.
They're standing on the
beach during their
honeymoon.
And it is the most
spectacular sunset.
And the guy in all his
innocence says to the
girl that he's just
married, honey, isn't
that spectacular?
And she says, what?
You're not thinking about
me?
Get a life.
Okay?
I've bumped into people who
have no imagination of what
the joy and glory of heaven
is going to be like.
Do you know what it's
going to be?
It is going to be occupied
with the one absolute
supreme God and Savior of
this universe.
And we will worship Him
forever.
So there's some of you here
this morning that need to
do what I had to do this
week.
There's some of you that
need to say, you know,
God, I have spent too much
of my energy thinking
about me and it's not been
very productive.
I repent.
And I, with conscious
deliberation, pray that you
would help me glorify you.
There's some of you here
that actually need to put
feet to that prayer and go
talk to other people and say,
you know what?
The way I've treated you is
reflective of the fact that
I've been all about me and
not about Him.
Do you know what really
strains relationships?
It's when we take God out of
the picture and insert
ourselves into His place.
It just makes messes.
Your wife probably knows
you've been doing it.
She just doesn't have the
nerve to tell you.
But go ahead and suck it up
and let her know the fact.
I got the memo.
I heard pastor's sermon and
the Holy Spirit convicted me.
I've been a self-focused
person and the reason I've
been such a jerk is I've not
been worshiping Christ.
There's some of you here
this morning that do not
know the Lord Jesus Christ
and there is no remedy for
your soul except in Jesus.
And here's Jesus looking at
the cross and He says the
first thing about this is the
glory of the Father.
He also died because He
loves you.
He died to offer to you
complete forgiveness for all
of your sins.
And for you to walk out the
door and say no thank you
or I don't really care about
what you have to offer is a
sobering thought.
I want you to ponder that.
Let's close in prayer.
Our precious Father in God
this morning as we think
about our Savior, the
glorious work on the cross,
we marvel.
We're beside ourselves when
we think of how you planned
redemption.
willingly taking your Son to be
our sacrifice.
And we're thankful for how the
story ends.
We will spend all of eternity,
we who know you, in worship
before your throne saying,
worthy is the Lamb.
we want that expression to be
well practiced.
And so we, with humility,
commit ourselves to live lives
that bring glory to your name,
not our own.
We rededicate ourselves to that
great and holy purpose this
morning for the glory and the
testimony of Christ.
And we pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen.