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foreign you you you you you to bind their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron to execute on them the written judgment this honor have all his saints praise the lord amen well please take your hymn books and turn to psalm 1. psalm 1 be as in bravo we'll stand as we sing together wow is [Music] is [Music] foreign [Music] uh [Music] oh [Music] foreign [Music] so [Music] well let us pray our blessed god and holy father we gather together on this beautiful day we see the created order and it leads us to consider the great the greatness and the glory of the creator we know that you made all things out of nothing by the word of your power in the space of six days and all very good and certainly it does display your righteousness and your glory and your majesty as well god we live in a in a day and age a world in which there is great chaos wars and all sorts of rebellion amongst men and yet we know our god is in heaven and he does whatever he pleases so we praise you for providence as well god as we gather together on the lord's day we are very thankful for your mercy and your grace and your kindness revealed in the gospel of our salvation so in each of these works creation providence and redemption we see your your hand of might and power and glory and we have benefited greatly from each of these things and as we gather together today may we sing your praises and may we rejoice in your goodness and in your lovingkindness for certainly in the gospel of our salvation you have not dealt with us according to our sin we bless you and we praise you for the life and the death and the resurrection of our savior king we thank you for that life of obedience to the law of god such that we may receive that righteousness we thank you for his precious blood shed at calvary such that our sins are cleansed and forgiven and we thank you for that resurrection that confirms that justification that you bring to your people as a result of your grace so god as we sing and as we pray and as we look to holy scripture may we do so with an eye to bringing glory and honor and worship unto you and may you fit our hearts are right we are to worship in spirit and truth we are to have a reverence and the fear of god because you are not like the the gods of the heathen you are alone you are most high you are glorious you are father son and holy spirit and certainly as we gather together in the midst of such a great god may there be that reverence but may there be that joy and thanksgiving because you have saved us you have given us life eternal you've given us an interest in your son the lord jesus christ so god as we gather together may it be true of us as it was with david that he said i was glad when they said unto me let us go to the house of the lord may we find great blessing and encouragement for our weary hearts in this place may you help us to encourage one another and may you indeed cause us to be built up in our most holy faith and forgive us for all of our sin and our transgression as we consider it in the last hour those those texts and in the scripture that teach that there is remaining corruption in the hearts of your people we confess that now trusting in the precious blood of the lord jesus christ to cleanse us and to wash us and to purify us from all sin as well god we pray for any and all who've come here this morning that are dead in their trespasses and sins we appeal to a sovereign god we ask that you would make men willing in the day of your power that you would promote to produce that conviction for said and sat before sinners the glory of jesus christ as in his office is to save as prophet priest and and king may you be glorified in the salvation of sinners and in the sanctification of your people not just in this place but wherever your people gather together today we know that on the lord's day multitudes of people come to you and we pray that as your word goes forth it would go forth conquering and to conquer that it would not return unto you void but it would accomplish that purpose for which you sent it and as we see in the book of revelation we see it's not just a handful it's not just a few people it's not just one family redeemed by the blood of jesus but it's a great multitude that no man can number and that great multitude comes from every tribe and tongue and people and nation so god bless missionaries today and evangelists bless those charged with preaching the gospel of jesus christ our lord fill them with the holy spirit fill the hearers with the holy spirit and open their hearts to receive the truth as it is in jesus we see that power operated operative in in acts chapter 16 when you open the heart of lydia to receive the teaching of the apostle paul we see it in acts 13 those appointed to eternal life believed and we know and are convinced lord god most high that the savior will not be frustrated the savior will not be thwarted that what he accomplished on the cross what he accomplished with the the resurrection was efficacious for a great multitude so god be merciful today we pray and look with favor upon our children and our young people we long to see them rightly connected to you through faith in our lord jesus christ and god we just commit them to you into the word of your grace and pray that you would give them ears to hear and hearts to receive your word as well father bless the various needs in our congregation we rejoice at the good news that our brother jonathan will hopefully return home tomorrow god bless him and selena and bless all the family and just continue to encourage them and cause them to marvel at your goodness and your grace displayed in this providence as well we pray for the newfounds that you would continue to uphold them to just grant them help and strength and grace be with our elderly folk and those who have ongoing difficulties in terms of the physical challenges associated with life and age and god be merciful to each one in this congregation and help us to find our refuge in you because as we see lord god we have a a world that in large part is in rebellion against you it is getting increasingly more difficult to shine as lights and a crooked and perverse generation hold forth the word of truth but it is not impossible so help us to have the courage necessary help us to have the boldness necessary and help us to see that this is a an application of that second great commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves we pray for all of the churches in canada that they would be faithful in preaching and proclaiming christ and him crucified and resurrected we pray god that you would be honored to to bless that word as it goes forth in this land and we pray that jesus would have dominion from sea to sea we ask that you'd bless those churches in our community we thank you for the faithfulness of the the men here and we pray that they would know the the nearness of god as their good bless the church in surrey the plant and vernon and in dryden and just cause these brethren today to celebrate the grace of god and the gospel of our salvation bless the brethren in honduras we thank you for the ministry that you've given us to to be able to help them in a certain tangible way and we pray that building would be put to good use in the proclamation of the truth of the gospel and for the salvation of sinners in that part of the world and god be merciful to those great needs that are further away from us we think of myanmar and the ongoing warring and fighting there we praise you for your provision to the saints and to the to the compound we thank you that they have this respite in the orange grove and pray god in heaven that they would continue to know your protection we ask that you would bless and sustain and encourage peter and the ministry that you've given to him and cause him to be faithful and wise and responsible in the management of this situation as well god we pray for eastern europe and the situation between russia and ukraine god we just pray there would be a cease fire there we pray god in heaven that those affected those in this region would hear the gospel of jesus christ our lord that prince of peace and that one who grants repentance and faith and may you use the even these tragic events to bring sinners out of darkness into marvelous light we pray for the persecuted church and our brothers and sisters that suffer greatly for the cause of god and truth may you just continue to uphold them and encourage them and use their witness in a manner that is that is good for those that even persecute them may you bring sinners to a knowledge of the lord jesus christ even in the midst of such things and god we also pray and ask that you would be merciful here in our country with reference to civil government the apostle tells us we're to pray for kings and all who are in authority and lord god we pray that you'd move their hearts to repentance and faith that they would hear the words of david in psalm 2 that they would kiss the son that they would bow the knee to the king of kings and lord of lords and that they would have wisdom to rule in a manner that is consistent with what we see in holy scripture if not salvation if not redemption god give them restraint and exercise that sovereign providence over them such that they would indeed rule in a manner that is good for the body politic and lord god if they continue in rebellion they continue to to make a mess of the job that is at hand and remove them from office we know that you are powerful and we know that you raised up nebuchadnezzar and you took him down you are the god who raised up pharaoh and took him down and we know that you are able that there all the nations are but a drop in a bucket in the hand of a god a sovereign and holy god so lord be merciful and cause us to be able to live in quiet peaceable lives and seeking all godliness and faithfulness and if not father if there is harder days in our future just increase the grace that you give to us give us perseverance give us faithfulness to fight the good fight to finish the race to keep the faith and to do so in a way that brings glory to our blessed god even father son and holy spirit and we ask these things now in the name and for the glory of our lord jesus christ amen well you can turn with me again in your hymn books to 402 402 we'll use a familiar tune and we'll stand together [Music] so is [Music] is [Music] is is oh [Music] foreign is [Music] more [Music] my [Music] you can turn in your bibles to second timothy chapter two for our scripture reading second timothy chapter two remember second timothy is the last letter that the apostle paul wrote before he died it's dated around 1864 and again with his emphasis in first timothy on how timothy was to conduct himself in the house of god the same sort of thing applies here in second timothy chapter or in second timothy 1 to 4. so i'll pick up reading in verse 1 of chapter 2. you therefore my son be strong in the grace that is in christ jesus and the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also you therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of jesus christ no one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier and also if anyone competes in athletics he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules the hard-working farmer must be first to partake of the crops consider what i say and may the lord give you understanding in all things remember that jesus christ of the seed of david was raised from the dead according to my gospel for which i suffer trouble as an evil doer even to the point of chains but the word of god is not chained therefore i endure all things for the sake of the elect that they also may obtain the salvation which is in christ jesus with eternal glory this is a faithful saying for if we died with him we shall also live with him if we endure we shall also reign with him if we deny him he also will deny us if we are faithless he remains faithful he cannot deny himself remind them of these things charging them before the lord not to strive about words to no prophet to the ruin of the hearers be diligent to present yourself approved to god a worker who does not need to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth but shun profane and idle babblings for they will increase to more ungodliness and their message will spread like cancer hymenas and philetus are of this sort who have strayed concerning the truth saying that the resurrection is already past and they overthrow the faith of some nevertheless the solid foundation of god stands having this seal the lord knows those who are his and let everyone who names the name of christ depart from iniquity but in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay some for honor and some for dishonor therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter he will be a vessel for honor sanctified and useful for the master prepared for every good work flee also youthful lusts but pursue righteousness faith love peace with those who call on the lord out of a pure heart but avoid foolish and ignorant disputes knowing that they generate strife and a servant of the lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all able to teach patient in humility correcting those who are in opposition if god perhaps will grant them repentance so that they may know the truth and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil having been taken captive by him to do his will amen so as i said we see a similar emphasis in this epistle that we saw in the first letter to timothy so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of god which is the church of god the pillar and ground of the truth here in chapter 2 he gives a series of commands to timothy and i just want to look at a couple of these notice in the first place in verse 1 you therefore my son be strong in the grace that is in christ jesus the apostle ends ephesians on that same note we are to be strong in the power of his might the christian faith takes perseverance and faithfulness and courage we're not to shrink back from a godless world we're not to capitulate our principles and our truths we're not to say well we can't go ahead and redefine these things to fit the prevailing wickedness of our culture we need to be strong in the grace that is in christ jesus notice secondly paul wants timothy to perpetuate timothy's notice in verse 2 and the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also in other words timothy one of the aspects of gospel ministry is to cultivate men to identify men who potentially are qualified according to first timothy 3 and titus 1 and seek to impart to them the truth of the bible and the truth of sound theology such that they can then teach the church in succession paul does not have any idea that the kingdom of god is all about him paul knows that when he dies the kingdom is going to march on paul knows that when he dies the church is going to continue to meet but if the church is going to continue to meet then the church needs qualified strong men that proclaim paul's truth or proclaim paul's doctrine concerning the gospel of our salvation so the church is to be actively about cultivating men for usefulness in the church and then finally verse 15. paul says be diligent to present yourself approved to god a worker who does not need to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth now pastors do several things in the course of a week but the primary emphasis of pastoral ministry is verse 15. be diligent to present yourself approved not to the people not to the watching world but to god in other words when you study and you pray and you preach you do so in the sight of the glory of god and then notice a worker who does not need to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth so brethren if we're going to take seriously the admonition in verse 2 then what we cultivate them unto is what we find in verse 15. we're not simply trying to raise up men that can drink coffee with the people of god or that can go golfing with the people of god we need men committed to the truth of holy scripture not shrinking back from declaring the whole council of god to proclaim the truth to the church the church the people of god need that encouragement they need that stability as it is we come from six days in the world where much of what we hear are lies and deceit and wretchedness so we come into the house of god to be fed truth to be stabilized to be secured so that we can go back out tomorrow to hear more lies and deceit and non-truth we need that stability foundationally grounded in the word of god be still and know that i am god i will be exalted among the nations i will be exalted in the earth the people of god need that but not people of god sinners unsaved yet come into churches what do they need they need to hear the gospel of jesus christ our lord first they need churches that are open then they need churches that are pastored by men that are committed to a to a second timothy 2 15 mindset and men that will proclaim the glory of jesus as the only savior for sinners who through his life death and resurrection brought salvation to sinners and that all those who believe in him will have everlasting life that's what the church needs today that's what we ought to be praying for in terms of church life and seeking to contribute in our own way in our own town well let us pray our father in heaven we thank you for the clarity of your word we thank you for the consistency of it as well we know back in the old testament ezra set his heart to study the law and then to teach it and we know god that this has been the emphasis throughout the apostle paul in acts 20 tells the the elders to take heed to themselves and to all the flock among which the holy spirit has made them overseers to shepherd the church of god the way we shepherd the church of god is through the preaching and the teaching of the word of god so lord be gracious to us in our generation again be gracious to the various churches in this land and give them the zeal and desire to bring glory to you in the proclamation of jesus christ and him crucified and resurrected and we pray in his blessed name amen well for our final hymn before the preaching you can turn to 286 286 will stand as we sing together [Music] oh is [Music] is is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] foreign is is is [Music] is [Music] trust me oh [Music] you can turn with me in your bibles to john's gospel john chapter 5. john chapter 5 we come to the end of this dis dispute between jesus and religious leaders most likely leaders they're just identified as jews but the fact that they want to undertake to capitally punish him would indicate that they are part of the leadership connected somehow to the sanhedrin or perhaps within the sanhedrin the last section verses 41-47 jesus acknowledges that they reject him he acknowledges that they did not receive his statements concerning his equality with the father so that will be our focus in 41-47 but i want to pick up reading in chapter 5 at verse 16. for this reason the jews persecuted jesus and sought to kill him because he had done these things on the sabbath but jesus answered them my father has been working until now and i have been working therefore the jews sought all the more to kill him because he not only broke the sabbath but also said that god was his father making himself equal with god then jesus answered and said to them most assuredly i say to you the son can do nothing of himself but what he sees the father do for whatever he does the son also does in like manner for the father loves the son and shows him all things that he himself does and he will show him greater works than these that you may marvel for as the father raises the dead and gives life to them even so the son gives life to whom he will for the father judges no one but has committed all judgment to the son that all should honor the son just as they honor the father he who does not honor the son does not honor the father who sent him most assuredly i say to you he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has everlasting life and shall not come into judgment but is passed from death into life most assuredly i say to you the hour is coming and now is when the dead will hear the voice of the son of god and those who hear will live for as the father has life in himself so he has granted the son to have life in himself and has given him authority to execute judgment also because he is the son of man do not marvel at this for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves shall will hear his voice and come forth those who have done good to the resurrection of life and those who have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation i can't of myself do nothing as i hear i judge and my judgment is righteous because i do not seek my own will but the will of the father who sent me if i bear witness of myself my witness is not true there is another who bears witness of me and i know that the witness which he witnesses of me is true you have sent to john and he has borne witness to the truth yet i do not receive testimony from man but i say these things that you may be saved he was the burning and shining lamp and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his life but i have a greater witness than john's for the works which the father has given me to finish the very works that i do bear witness of me that the father has sent me and the father himself who sent me has testified of me you have neither heard his voice at any time nor seen his form but you do not have his word abiding in you because whom he sent him you do not believe you search the scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life and these are they which testify of me but you are not willing to come to me that you may have life i do not receive honor from men but i know you that you do not have the love of god in you i have come in my father's name and you do not receive me if another comes in his own name him you will receive how can you believe who receive honor from one another and do not seek the honor that comes from the only god do not think that i shall accuse you to the father there is one who accuses you moses in whom you trust for if you believed moses you would believe me for he wrote about me but if you do not believe his writings how will you believe my words amen well let us pray our father in heaven again we pray for the ministry of the holy spirit who gave us the word of god to guide us in our understanding of that word of god and help us to see the glory of jesus christ so evidently on display in this chapter it's a controversial section they are leveling gross charges against him and yet god he confirms their allegations affirms that it is in case the fact or it is in case the the truth that he is equal with the father so give us wisdom as we proceed again forgive us for our sin and all those things that darken our understanding we pray in jesus name amen well as we have worked our way through this particular chapter we see in verses 16 to 18 their opposition to the lord now that comes on the heels of verses 1 to 15. we can never forget what caused this debacle jesus healed a paralyzed man at the pool of bethesda jesus gave this man the ability to rise up to take up his mat and to walk that was the initial thing that caused uh concern on the part of the jews they wondered who it was or who does this man think he is to carry his mat on the sabbath day well the man of course passes the buck not in a malicious way but he says the man who healed me told me to carry my mat and walk and so of course they want to find out who he is and when they confront jesus he equals himself with the father my father works until now so i work as well that brings the particular charge in verse 18 that they wanted to put him to death because he being a man made himself equal with god so as we continue in the chapter it's very important for us to listen how does jesus respond does he deflect this does he reject this does he say no it's not true that i i have never claimed to be equal with god he precisely and positively and affirmatively uh says that he is equal with the father he shows that equality in his relation to the father in verses 19 to 23 and in that particular section in verses 20 and 21 he re he he says that he has authority over life and judgment so then in verses 24 to 30 he amplifies that he shows us that two god befitting tasks are his to carry out he has sovereignty over life and he is the one that will ultimately judge the living and the dead and on the heels of that he then brings his witnesses for the defense he says in verse 31 if i bear witness of myself my witness is not true he's not saying he's telling lies he's not saying he's telling falsehoods he's answering a capital charge they want to put him to death for the twin crimes of sabbath breaking and for making himself equal with god which was blasphemy so he takes the biblical paradigm with reference to witness evidence and he invokes witnesses for the defense deuteronomy 17 and 19 specify that in a capital trial you had to have a plurality of witnesses before you could proceed to execution so jesus says my testimony is not valid in a court of law on its own so he invokes the testimony of john the baptist he invokes the testimony of his own works which the father gave him in verse 2 36 vis-a-vis the healing of the lame man at bethesda and then he invokes the witness testimony of his father and then of the scriptures in verses 39 to 40. and so in summary fashion in verses 41 to 47 he essentially tells us they didn't agree they didn't confess they didn't believe they didn't bow down they didn't come to him they didn't receive him and so jesus rebukes them as a result of their maltreatment or mistreatment of the son because as he has said repeatedly and will say once again if you do not receive the son then you do not have the father if you do not believe on the son then you have no relationship with god there's no sort of pseudo-spirituality out there where persons have a right relationship with god who have not believed the gospel of jesus christ our lord that is simply a thing that does not exist so let's look at this closing passage in john 5. under two heads first the rejection of the son in verses 41 to 44 and then secondly the accusation by moses in verses 45 to 47. now notice in 41-44 two things we need to consider first the lack of honor from men and secondly the absence of the love of god in them again jesus would probably be thrown out of churches today if he spoke the way he spoke or if he spoke the way today that he spoke in the gospel narratives he says things that were probably not well received and just incensed and infuriated his hearers when he told them things like he tells them in this particular section you can see why they expressed outrage against him we can't justify it because they're godless vile wretches who are denying the only son and the father who sent them but you can understand it from a human perspective if you're a sinner and you hate christ and christ rebukes you or reproves you you typically don't say hey that's great may you do that some more they did not like him they despised and hated him and it ultimately culminates in the passion narrative but notice this lack of honor from men so in verse 31 he says if i bear witness of myself my witness is not true he says a similar thing in verse 41. i do not receive honor from men what does he mean by that notice in verse 44 the same languages is given how can you believe who receive honor from one another and do not seek the honor that comes from the only god we need to understand what honor means in this particular passage honor typically or the greek word translated here as honor is usually translated or often times translated as glory so jesus is not saying i do not receive glory from men he is speaking about honor and this means honor as enhancement somebody enhances your character with the way they view you or recognition of status that's what's in view recognition of status i do not receive recognition from of status from men i'm not dependent upon it in other words he has asserted asserted a person a particular status you being a man make yourself equal with god verse 18. and then he affirms that status he says that is precisely my status not a son by creation not a son by adoption but the son of god by nature because of eternal generation which he speaks of in verse 26 and so it's the recognition of status that's in view here he says i don't depend upon that he had his own self-consciousness he knew of course who he was he's not the hippie jesus of jesus christ superstar that sort of wandered around palestine uh wondering what he was all about or doing what he was doing for those of you who are young you probably don't remember that it happened in the 60s jesus christ superstar it was a musical and you had this sort of confused christ that really didn't know what he was all about and i think at times people have that understanding and it's absolutely incorrect jesus always knew who he was jesus had that self-consciousness jesus according to his humanity read the old testament about himself jesus according to his humanity searched the scriptures and grew in understanding and wisdom according to luke's gospel so he knew what he was about but he means i'm not dependent upon the testimony of man i'm not dependent upon a recognition of status by virtue of man i have my own understanding and i have these several witnesses i've got john the baptist who testified i've got the works that i've done that testify i've got the father who testifies and i've got the scriptures you search the scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life but these are they which testify of me so he understands all too well who he is it doesn't need to be the case that men confess him as the son of god for him to be the son of god he is irrespective of whether we confess him or not that's what he means there when he says i do not receive honor from men the lord does not depend upon the recognition of his status from them he makes a similar statement over in john 8 in a similar context where he is disputing with the religious leaders notice in john 8 at verse 54 jesus answered if i honor myself my honor is nothing it is my father who honors me of whom you say that he is your god now remember these persons these jews that he's speaking to they're not the common heathen of our day and i'm not trying to denigrate anybody here but they had an understanding of the old testament this is why when in the next point we see him say i know that you don't have the love of god in you brethren that had to challenge them at a very foundational level every jew lived in light of the shema in deuteronomy 6. hear o israel the lord our god the lord is one and you shall love the lord your god with all your heart soul mind and strength for jesus to say i know that you don't have the love of god in you these people didn't just sit there and say wow that's an interesting perspective you can see later why in chapter 8 and in chapter 10 they pick up stones to throw at him because he is a revolutionary as far as they are concerned he is challenging not only the biblical and the theological but the political in first century israel and he has become a burden to them and upon them the lord does not receive honor from men not that he isn't entitled not that his status shouldn't be recognized from every creature everybody every being everything but he's not dependent upon it as in some sort of validation that it is as they think that's what he means in that particular instance gil says but his sense is that in asserting his equality with the father and in producing the testimonies he did in proof of it his view was not to obtain honor and applause applause among men but to vindicate himself and glorify his father now notice secondly he points out the lack or the absence of love for god in their hearts notice in verse 43 or i'm sorry verse 42 he gives the statement but i know you that you do not have the love of god in you he gives the reason in verse 43 and then he gives a question in verse 44. but let's first look at his declaration in verse 42 but i know you that you do not have the love of god in you curious statement isn't it they don't know him as far as they're concerned he's just a self-appointed man that that thinks he's god's son or thinks he's equal with god they have no understanding whatsoever they have no concept of him whatsoever they can't make heads or tails out of him whatsoever he's an enigma he is a conundrum he's a walking riddle in israel in the first century the commoners loved him the people that were sick and needed healing loved him the people that needed food loved him everybody received him not everybody but people had this at least positive reception on the surface not these fellows these fellows despised him and didn't want to learn anything notice there's no question there's no what do you mean when you say these sorts of things what what do you mean it would have been a great opportunity for jesus to discuss you know trinitarianism could have explained to them how trinitarianism isn't inconsistent with monotheism in fact i think that's what jesus is doing in this particular passage i don't want to read too much into it but notice his reference at the end of verse 44. he says the only god now think about the context he being a man is making himself equal with god he affirms that reality and yet doesn't posit the existence of a plurality of gods there's only one god consistent with that one god of holy scripture is trinitarianism the father the son and the holy spirit these men don't understand that but these men didn't ask anything about that so jesus goes to where he knows with reference to their heart and their status before him verse 42 but i know you that you do not have the love of god in you he knows based on his divinity he knows what's in all men right he came to his own his own received him not john tells us that and for john 1. but he knows according to his humanity brethren i can tell at times when people are with me in the preaching and they're not i can tell at times now everybody's going to smile and perk up a little bit and not look at their watch for the next two minutes you can kind of get the feel where people are at it's intriguing some of the old covenant old testament language with reference to rage or fury or anger has to do with nose nostrils flaring you get that right somebody calls you out on something and your nostrils flare that's not a good look for you that typically means you haven't received it well or when persons kind of do like this when you want to have an open conversation there's there's a bit of you know body chemistry that persons can read certainly jesus according to his humanity knew that they were not picking up what he was putting down they did not follow him they did not receive him they did not believe him and jesus goes to the heart of the problem notice i know you that you do not have the love of god in you this means they do not have love for god now that implies infers and argues that therefore they don't have god's love for them but the focus of jesus indictment is that they themselves do not have love for god again a revolutionary statement to persons that are well versed in the old testament that persons who expressed their love and devotion to yahweh of israel might take exception with what do you mean you know that we don't love god what do you mean you know that we don't have any desire for the true and living god well jesus expresses this notice in john 8 again same sort of a thing 8 42 jesus said to them if god were your father you would love me for i proceeded forth and came from god nor have i come of myself but he sent me and then in verse 47 he who he who is of god hears god's words therefore you do not hear because you are not of god and then when we look back at john chapter 5 we have to conclude that their response is similar to john 8 and 10. though they didn't pick up stones to throw at him they were nevertheless his enemy they were nevertheless refusing they were nevertheless not only not going to come to him but they were nevertheless going to despise loathe and seek opportunity to rid the world of him and then notice as well verse 42 i know you that you do not have the love of god in you we've already seen this in john's gospel go back back to john 3 for just a moment john chapter 3 at verse 18 he who believes in him is not condemned but he who does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten son of god now notice in verse 19 and this is the condemnation that the light has come into the world and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil for everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light lest his deeds should be exposed but he who does the truth comes to the light that his deeds may be clearly seen that they have been done in god but look at that in verse verse 19 this is the condemnation that the light has come into the world and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil so over in john 5 verse 42 i know you that you do not have the love of god in you jesus sees things more perceptively than we do now that's an obvious statement right jesus will always say things more perceptively than we do but when you think of somebody who does not have love for god you think of murderers you think of pedophiles you think of rapists you think of bank robbers you think of you know tyrants and government you don't think of the religious you don't think of the self-righteous you don't think a person steeped in the bible persons who confess the shema and say that this is true of that brethren sin is sin if it's licentiousness vis-a-vis crack dealing and murder it's sin but if it's self-righteousness and pharisaism it is sin and those sinners need the same grace they need the same blood they see they need the same savior see christ doesn't say you're not like those robbers and those murderers and those crack dealers and those prostitutes because you have a little bit of love for my father he doesn't do that their actions demonstrated what was true at that foundational level the fact that they reject the savior means they reject the one who sent him whether you're a crack dealer or a legalist the problem is is that there is a lack of love for god most high now when i say legalist i mean you know positively i think we all have a bit of the legalist in us and i think we all have a bit of the licentiousness in us but i'm talking about reigning sin this idea this kind of a mindset where these men are so approving of themselves that they feel the need to put their nose into the business of the savior king and call him to account and he does so that's what's amazing he doesn't just say oh no you don't love me you don't believe on me so forget about it he answers them in great detail he answers them with glorious answers or or with with logical inferences and connections to biblical theology all throughout the bible and yet they refuse him they reject him so notice that brings us to the reason look at what he says i know you that you do not have the love of god in you probably at this point it would have arisen in their heads well how do you know right wouldn't you somebody said to you i know that you don't have the love of god in you that'd be a pretty powerful statement wouldn't it if somebody said to you you're professing christian you're religious you read the bible you confess the shema you confess trinitarianism and somebody says i know that you don't have the love of god in your heart you probably get pretty upset by that but the next thing would be well what's your proof what's the reason why would you posit such a thing why would you make that kind of a declaration jesus supplies that information notice in verse 43 i have come in my father's name and you do not receive me here's how i know that you don't have the love of god in your hearts because him whom god sent is in your midst and instead of coming to me receiving me believing on me you want to kill me you want to deliver me up to the cross ultimately prove positive that there was no love of god in their heart was the fact that he had come in his father's name and you do not receive me notice with reference to receive that's what it means to to come according to verse 40 and what it means to believe in verse 47 belief is what is absolutely crucial in the savior for all sinners everywhere but the bible uses metaphor come to jesus how by belief receive jesus how by belief faith in him so christ is using those metaphors to indict them and to show them that the love of god is absent from their hearts because the one in the father has sent you have rejected him now he makes this curious statement in the middle of verse 43 he says i have come in my father's name and you do not receive me if another comes in his own name him you will receive now there's a lot of people that think that what he's talking about here are false christs the the that he's talking about the antichrist he's talking about false prophets that he's talking about any kind of pretender or any kind of faker that comes in the name of god most high i don't know that that's the point i think the point is is in verse 43 i have come in my father's name which means clothed in his authority and if another comes in his own name not clothed in the authority of the father him you will receive you have this axe to grind with the lord jesus christ the one who has come from the father but if others come whether they be antichrist whether they be false prophets whether they be pretenders whatever it might be you'll receive them christ actually has that authority from on high as the one who has come from the father he is the christ of john 1 18. no one has seen god at any time but the only begotten son who is in the bosom of the father he has declared him and yet you reject him he says you reject me so i've come in my father's name you don't receive me but if another comes in his own name him you will receive he is describing or illustrating or underscoring once again his consubstantiality or his equality with the father jesus didn't come in his own name jesus didn't come in his own authority jesus came from the father how many times just up until this point in our study in john's gospel has jesus emphasized that he's sent by the father that sending by the father means he's clothed with the father's authority that he is not the son by creation he's not the son by adoption but he is the son by nature so if a pretender comes a fake comes or false comes then you're going to go ahead and believe in him and all the while reject the genuine article it's like somebody who finds you know fool's gold and and sells real gold to go buy that that piece of property where the fool's gold is what are you nuts you're giving up especially in this economy you're going to get rid of real gold real money and you're gonna get fake stuff the real article is right before them the one who is equal with the father because of the glory of the triune god and they don't rejec they don't receive him they don't believe in him they don't come to him and now notice on the heels of that his question in verse 44 how can you believe who receive honor from one another and do not seek the honor that comes from the only god this is not confined to this particular instance notice in john 12 43 we're going to see these same depraved traits throughout these men as we work our way through john's gospel notice in john 12 42 nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in him but because of the pharisees they did not confess him lest they should be put out of the synagogue cancel culture first century religious style notice in verse 43 for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of god see jesus knows his audience he knows who he's dealing with he's not just throwing out invective or vitriol to be a mean fellow he is upbraiding them at that foundational level they have no love for god and that no love for god is manifested in their rejection of the son remember in verse 23 he does not honor the son does not honor the father verse 24 he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me verse 38 but you do not have his word abiding in you because whom he sent him you do not believe he summarizes all of that in verse 44 how can you believe who receive honor from one another and do not receive the honor that comes from the only god again i think the background here of the only god reference is likely deuteronomy 6. it's likely israel's monotheism so jesus in a context where they're stumbling over monotheism affirms trinitarianism and his own equality with the father cyril of alexandria says now he says only to distinguish god from the gods of the gentiles he does not put himself outside the honor of the only this is very important brethren and i i hope you get it i hope you listen jesus is not putting himself outside the only god jesus is putting himself inside the only god jesus is including himself remember the charge of verse 18 you being a man make yourself equal with god he's affirmed it all the way to this point do you think he's going to abandon ship now and say well i'm not uh the only god i'm not of the nature of my father no he's including himself so he says only to distinguish god from the gods of the gentiles he does not put himself outside the honor of the only after all the fullness of the holy and consubstantial trinity ascends as we have already often said to the one nature and glory of the divinity beautiful wonderful amen if you missed it text me email me write me carrier pigeon me i will send you that cyril of alexandria quote because it's money jesus is not putting himself outside of the only god if he spends verses 19 to 40 to affirm that he is the son by nature why in verse 44 would he abandon that and say oh yeah you guys are right i'm not really equal with my father he's affirming it trinitarian categories the son eternally begotten of the father has the nature of the father now notice secondly and finally the accusation by moses in verses 45 to 47. i i i can't imagine how much how how better to portray this situation he's already said to them i know that you don't have the love of god in your hearts i mean if smoke isn't coming out of their ears and their nostrils aren't flaring like that by now when he tells them what they really think of moses imagine saying to a jew you have no concern for moses you disregard moses you you don't care about moses brethren that's huge don't ever for a moment think that jesus was not a lightning rod or a controversial figure in his walk through israel in the first century dropping bombs like these on the religious leaders oh you could hear it on cnn oh and then he had the goal to say this oh and then he had the goal to do this and oh then he had the goal to say that he was actually equal with the father he would have been condemned and he was condemned and that's what ultimately led to his crucifixion notice two things here the accusation by moses and verses 45 and 46 and then the rebuke by the lord jesus notice verse 45 do not think that i shall accuse you to the father much depends on the definition of accused it means what we think it means nearly always it's used as a legal technical term to bring charges in court specifically here before god's tribunal so bring charges in court specifically here before god's tribunal do not think that i shall accuse you to the father now i don't think that jesus means that he has no role or activity in the accusation of sinners or in the condemnation of sinners remember in the previous section in chapter 5 verses 28 to 30 he speaks of himself as being the judge of all men the dead will hear the voice of the son of god and all who are in the graves will arise the the righteous to everlasting life and to the uh unrighteous to everlasting death so not suggesting that he's not somehow involved in the the penal sanctions or in the punishment of sinners it's probably more akin to what we see in john 3. you go back there for just a moment john 3 at verse 17 for god did not send his son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved right when you ask the question of the bible what's the coming of the son of man with reference to his first mission well it is to save his people from their sins right it is to live it is to die it is to be raised again the third day such that all who look to him in faith will have everlasting life his ministry when he comes is to seek and to save that which was lost luke 19 10. remember that instance with zacchaeus everybody grumbles because jesus promises zach is i need to go to your house and eat dinner everybody grumbles and whines and complains because this guy's a really bad sinner and why would jesus ever want to be around him because the son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost but if you look at verse 18 he who believes in him is not condemned but he who does not believe is condemned already jesus doesn't need to come in the first coming to condemn the world the world's already condemned he's coming to save sinners out of the world the same thing is true in here here in john chapter five i'm i'm not here to accuse you i'm here to answer your charge i'm here to confirm that i am equal with the father but in terms of accusation there's another one in your history there's another one in your lives there's another figure that you need to take into consideration it's moses who accuses you it is moses who indicts you it is moses who upbraids you notice in verse 45 do not think that i shall accuse you to the father there is one who accuses you moses in whom you trust now the word trust is used here there uh there and then he says you don't believe so we wonder how does he how can they trust in him and not trust in him how can they believe in him and and not believe in him well it's the same thing as verse 39 you search the scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life but these are they which testify of me you you show your allegiance to and you confess your your devotion to the writings of moses but moses wrote about me so you're betraying a fundamental commitment here just as i know you don't have the love of the father in you when or the love for god in your hearts because you reject me so i know you don't love moses because you reject me in other words everything in terms of scripture is all about jesus he is the scope of scripture as we noted in john 5 at verse 39 do not think that i shall accuse you to the father there is one who accuses you moses in whom you trust and then notice he gives a very simple so simple that people in the 21st century should be able to get it a simple logical syllogism to illustrate his point he says for if you believed moses you would believe me for he wrote about me logic that even our civil authorities could get logic that even judges on the bench could get logic that all of us in the pew can get right if you do not believe in christ you reject moses it's the same argument that he made relative to the father i know you don't love god because you've rejected him whom he sent i know you don't love moses and i know you don't trust his writings because moses wrote about me and if you deny me then you reject moses right everybody see very very easy logic very simple deduction very simple in the sense that we easily get it but so did they they would have been incensed at this point now notice that leads him to rebuke them in verse 47. he says if you do not believe his writings how you believe my words you see he not only makes himself equal with the father according to their charge in 5 18 but he shows himself superior to moses because if moses is writing about jesus if jesus is the content of the pentateuch then jesus is more glorious than moses himself isn't that a wonderful deduction that he brings out they wouldn't have said yes they would have said no we hate this man and we want to murder him he's foul he's polluted he's horrible he's telling us that we don't love god he's telling us that we don't believe moses again brethren if you don't see controversy in the life and ministry of jesus you're not reading the gospel narrative christianity and culture very often in the history of the world i know this is going to be a shocker clash there are people out there that despise our christ there are people out there that despise his word there are people out there that despise his ethics just look at abortion look at euthanasia for the practical fruits of people who despise our christ look at this emphasis on sexual perversion today for a demonstration of persons that despise our christ look at the infatuation with a naturalistic explanation of the world look at the love for darwin out there why because they hate our christ they want to remove the world of the one for of him and through him and to him are all things they want to get rid of that which they hate now when we ask the question how did moses write about jesus well moses wrote about jesus a lot the first instance is in genesis chapter 3 at verse 15 where god promises there will be a skull crushing seed of the woman who will decimate the devil the blessed statement of our christ in the hands of moses jesus says that you're rejecting me indicates that you do not believe genesis 3 15. we move on in the writings of moses to genesis 22. that instance when abraham is told to take his son his only son the son that he loves up to mount moriah the future side of the temple and there sacrifice him well isaac figures out we've got the wood we've got the fire but we don't have the sacrifice dad what does abraham tell him he tells him the lord will provide and when abraham's about to drop the knife into isaac the angel of the lord stays his hand they look back and what do you see a ram caught in the thicket of the bush that becomes the substitute for isaac and then we have moses writing about the lamb of god moses or john the baptist rather in john 1 29 says behold the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world where do we find that in the writings of moses we call it the book of leviticus it's a big book and it is very detailed about blood atonement it's very detailed about how sinful guilty man stands in the presence of a holy god so moses wrote about jesus all throughout leviticus what about numbers well john 3 helps us because there was this type that took place in the wilderness in numbers 21 the children of israel were whining and grumbling i know surprise but they were whining and grumbling so god sends fiery serpents to bite them to punish them to bring punitive sanctions upon them and then moses cries out for assistance and god says build a brazen serpent raise it up in the wilderness and ever whoever looks will live well that's what jesus is isn't it that's how he interprets it in john 3 14 he says just as moses lifted up the wilderness and the the serpent in the wilderness so must the son of man be lifted up so moses wrote about jesus in genesis he wrote about oh i missed exodus exodus again deliverance redemption power the display of god's mighty right arm bringing his people out of bondage he writes about him in leviticus he writes about him in numbers what about in deuteronomy deuteronomy 18 there's a promise of a prophet like me moses said him you shall hear so moses wrote all about the lord jesus christ and these men rejecting christ display a rejection of moses if you do not believe his writings how will you believe my words it's just not gonna happen because i'm the content the subject matter of what that godly man in history wrote about for your benefit and for your blessing and i've come in the flesh the glorious uh incarnation of the son of god again back to the prologue the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory the glory as of the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth yet they didn't have our eyes to see they didn't have hearts to interpret they didn't have the the the the power of the spirit abiding in them such that they could make heads or tails out of this so jesus rebukes them jesus reproves them and jesus ends this particular dispute with the religious leaders on that note you don't have the love of the father and you certainly have no regard for moses perhaps that's one of the reasons why in chapters 8 and 10 it's even more heightened in terms of the nature of the combat well in conclusion summary of the chapter the charge is leveled against the savior in verse 18. the answer is given by christ throughout the rest of the chapter i'm sure that early on i mentioned how jehovah's witnesses they take 518 passages like it and they say well that's what they thought they thought that jesus was asserting equality with the father yeah and they were right they were absolutely positively bang on and jesus confirmed them in that assertion of making himself equal with god such that in chapters 8 and in chapter 10 they want to pick up stones to throw at him because as far as they're concerned he is guilty of the sin and crime of blasphemy blasphemy was a punishable offense a capital offense under leviticus 24. and so these men did know all too well what he had claimed and what he had asserted but they continue to reject and resist those claims and those assertions secondly and this is a bit of a test for all of us what do we think of the sun i mean i think that's ultimately what we get at the end of chapter five isn't the big question always what thank you of christ isn't it doesn't it all roads come back there in terms of religious discussion theology and bible how do i know if i'm saved how do i know if this person is saved how do i know if i'm going to heaven what do we think of christ if we reject him and we resist him and we despise him then we're not saved but if we believe on him we've come to him we've received him we have faith in him that's a blessed sign that we're heaven bound now in terms of these particular men the rejection of the son manifests a rejection of the scriptures verses 39 and 40. again if you have a willingness to search the scriptures and an unwillingness to come to christ things are not good in your soul you've missed the point of the scriptures secondly the rejection of the son manifests a lack of love for the father and i don't want to pick on all those people out there that have this generic spirituality are you religious no i'm i'm spiritual it just sounds so hyper pious doesn't it oh well he's spiritual i'm just a you know sinner saved by grace that sounds some somewhat offended uh that's a bit offensive but but but i'm i'm spiritual i i have a relationship with god in in my own way in your own way what does that even mean in your own way typically it means you've refashioned god into a servant to do your bidding typically because we want god for certain positive benefits but we don't want god for certain negative implications we want god to bless us and to serve us and to always make us wind but yay walking through the valley of the shadow of death is not something a god should bring to me so so there's this super spiritual mentality out there that has no regard for jesus christ if you don't have christ you don't have the father if you haven't believed on jesus you don't love the father third the rejection of the son manifests their pride and their love of the praise of men look at verse 44 how can you believe who receive honor from one another and do not seek the honor that comes from the only god the brother reminded me of of hebrews 11 this morning without faith it is impossible to please god and the one who comes to god must not only believe that he is but that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him there's certain truths certain statements certain declarations or propositions about this god that you need to understand and know you need to appropriate them by faith with reference to these men they rejected the son and it manifested their own pride and their own love of the praise of men they didn't seek the honor that comes from the only god they didn't court the favor of the father by rightly receiving the son they reject the sun they despise the sun they want to murder the sun on trumped-up charges that are false he didn't sabbath break and he didn't blaspheme in making himself equal with god and then the rejection of the son and this target specifically the jews is a rejection of moses the jews today are still looking for the messiah that's what differentiates judaism and christianity as far as christianity is concerned messiah has come messiah is our lord jesus christ all of the prophets all of the law pointed to him the lord jesus interprets it that way in luke chapter 24 he interprets it that way in mark uh john 5 39 you search the scriptures these are they which testify on me so jews today are waiting for messiah well according to messiah they hate moses or they rejected moses or they don't care about moses now i'm not suggesting you get on facebook this afternoon or twitter and get into some war over this with with your jewish friends or whatever but this is the rub you cannot claim to love the writings of moses and reject the person of our lord jesus christ and then finally the big emphasis in the passage is on the consubstantiality of the son with the father he is in fact equal with the father the equality with the father is seen in the son's testimony concerning himself verses 19 to uh 30. it is seen as well in the con confirmation of the witnesses the baptist he declares in 134 that this is the son of god it is declared by the works of jesus vis-a-vis the healing of the man at beth bethesda it is testified by the father and by the scripture he is equal with the father our confession of faith is consistent with monotheism in chapter two paragraph three in this divine and infinite being so the oneness of god divine simplicity essence or substance in this divine and infinite being there are three persons or subsistences the father the word or son and holy spirit of one substance power and eternity each having the whole divine essence yet the essence undivided the father is of none neither begotten nor proceeding the son is eternally begotten of the father the holy spirit proceeding from the father and the son all infinite without beginning therefore but one god who is not to be divided in nature and being but distinguished by several peculiar relative properties and personal relations that's a great summary statement of the doctrine of the trinity and everything that christ says here is consistent with it he doesn't exclude himself from the only god but he is equal with the father and our confessional statement ends underscoring the practical benefit of trinitarianism i think this is a a problem in the church today or in churches today oh that's just so theoretical it's so hard for me to wrap my mind around that god is one and three it's really not in this divine and infinite being the oneness of god the singularity of god at the essence level or substance there are three persons i mean you may not fully understand every jot and diddle of it but in terms of a proposition it's not contradicts contradictory it's not paradoxical we're not saying god's one in one sense and three in the same sense that would be a paradox it would be a contradiction it would be logical foolishness but in terms of our understanding of the doctrine of the trinity again people think well i i yeah i just you know i know there's one god and three persons okay that's fine but our confession ends with this note it says which doctrine of the trinity is the foundation of all our communion with god and comfortable dependence on him what a beautiful thing you mean my knowledge of god what i know of god how i understand god produces and promotes in my own heart comfort yeah later in the high priestly prayer jesus is going to give us the very essence of eternal life john 17 3 and this is eternal life that they may know thee the only true god and jesus christ whom thou has sent see what heaven is going to be it's not going to just be looking at all the blessings he has given us but looking at the blesser himself marveling at the goodness of god most high marveling at the triune nature of our blessed father son and spirit it is a glorious truth it is the truth of the bible and if we reject that truth we put in its place an idol and we're not worshiping the true and the living god the final observation comes from john 20 30 and 31 john writes his gospel john gives us an account of the signs in the gospel vis-a-vis the healing of the paralyzed man at bethesda so that you might believe that jesus is the christ the son of the living god and that by believing you may have life in his name do not leave here like these jews do not leave here resisting and rejecting and saying oh no he can't really be equal with the father even though he says he's equal with the father and verse after verse after verse come to him john 5 40. 40 receive him by faith believe in him look to him in the language of john 3 14 and 15 just as moses lifted up the serpent what happened they looked and they lived the same is true with the son of man you look to him in faith and you will live well let us pray our father in heaven we thank you for your word we thank you for the teaching of our our blessed savior and we know it was controversial then it's controversial now but it's glorious it's wonderful the fact that our blessed savior is equal with the father that he is the second person of the triune god who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven we praise you for his work of redemption we praise you for his current session at the right hand and we look forward to his coming again in glory to judge the living and the dead and may it be the case that we will be cleansed in his blood and clothed in his righteousness and ready to meet him on that day and we ask in jesus name amen we'll turn to 564 as we close out our worship singing a hymn of doxology to our god you [Music] yes [Music] is [Music] grace of the lord jesus christ and the love of god and the communion of the holy spirit be with you all amen god thank you for the lord's day thank you for this rest that we have and our blessed savior thank you for the fellowship of the saints and the communion of your people we praise you for the ministry of the holy spirit we pray god that you would help us to sanctify the day to call this day a delight and bring us together together and bring us again together tonight that we may worship you as a church body and we pray through jesus christ our lord amen we can be seated for a brief time of meditation you