active. It is sharper than any two-edged sword piercing to the division of the soul and of spirit and of joints and marrow and discerning the thoughts and intentions of their heart. And so we ask you to help us this morning. Lord Pierce, through our hearts, transform us by your word that you've given to us. We pray in Christ's name. Amen. Please be seated. My friend said to me, I want to figure God. He said, I want to fully figure God out. I want to study him. I want to know who exactly is this God who makes a claim that I ought to believe in him. I want to have evidence before I believe on who this God is. I want to use my knowledge, my scientific knowledge, my wisdom, everything that I have. I want to be able to capture this God, get to know him, and then maybe, maybe I will believe in him. My two thoughts, well one, that sounds like a man made God. If you can fully figure this God out, it means he must be a created being that you can actually do investigation and experimentation so that you may really know that this God is fully real and then maybe, maybe I will believe in him. The second thought I had was, boy, that sounds like a problem because the God of the Bible that I know says that he descends upon us and reveals himself to us so that we may know him. Uh-oh. We don't choose to know him. He has to come to us so that we may have a knowledge of him. C.S. Lewis once said, speaking of the Trinity, he said, this works, but there are no personalities anywhere else. Until you have given up yourself to him, you will not have a real life or real self. He says, give up yourself and you will find your true self, lose your life and you will save it, submit to death, death of your own ambitions and favorite wishes every day and the death of your whole body in the end. Submit with every fiber of your being and you, you will find eternal life. You know, it is so easy for us to make room for everything else and forget to make room for Jesus in our lives. It is so easy to be caught up in the study of God, if you will, in the theories and methods and the knowledge and the wisdom of this world that tells us this is who God is and we can study that God as the Jewish leaders were doing over here. They knew the scriptures, they knew the Old Testament really well and they were challenging Jesus. Yet what they miss in this verse is that we just read is they completely missed the God they claimed to believe it. It is so easy for us to do the same. So this morning as we were talking about making room for Jesus, I want us to do two things and we're gonna make room for two things which is what I think it means for us to make room for Jesus. One thing that we need to understand is making room for Jesus means making room for the mystery. Making room for the mystery in this life and the second thing is making room for the truth. So let's investigate. What does it mean to make room for mystery? Do we need mystery in our life? Yes we do. Why was Jesus claimed to be equal with the Father which is the claim that Jesus is making here such an atrocious thing for him to say that he just simply drove the Jews to the edge. I've said how could you make that claim that you and the Father are equal? He's basically saying I can do nothing. I cannot do anything on my own accord so to speak but only what he sees what I see Jesus saying what I see the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise. Jesus is here making a claim that he can do nothing by himself. He's claiming equality with God the Father. Not in the sense that he's saying that he's a second rival so to speak that God is one big God and then there's Jesus who is a rival to his deity but rather equally that is expressed as a unity so to speak. So the Father or the Son is utterly submitted to the Father and everything that he has told him what to do. He obeys and we know from the Old Testament. You Testament, we know who the Father is and what he does. The Father is the one who initiates salvation for us. The Father is the one who sends the Father's one commands. The one is he's the one who commissions and grants. What does the Father's do? The Father what does the Son do? The Son responds. He responds by obeying everything that the Father has given to him. He's doing the Father's will. He says in the New Testament that he came to do the Father's will to accomplish his will and then he receives authority from the Father. You know I think it's amazing that Jesus is actually speaking about this unity of their work and action and I think what he's trying to communicate to us is this. That one who is able to do everything perfectly everything that the Father sends him to do must also be as great as the Father and as divine as the Father. Otherwise you could have accomplished perfectly everything the Father wants him to do. You get that complexity there. And then in verse 20 he said we're told the Father loves the Son. It's actually amazing that the language that is used there of the Father's love to the Son. We would expect to be the high and mighty and awesome language of Agape. It's actually the language which is friendship between human beings. A relationship that we can all understand. A relationship that we can actually see and realize. You know some people, some commentators will argue that you know Jesus is basically talking about him learning from his earthly Father becoming a cop into Joseph and all of that but it's really not true. This is the love of God the Father to his Son Jesus Christ and and though Jesus has the power though Jesus has the authority to act on his own to do things on his own because he is perfectly and holy God. He chooses not to why because of the relationship that exists between him and the Father. In essence the people that are seeing Jesus and opposing him the teachers of the law what they're failing to see is they're actually looking at the image of the Father himself. So they're claiming to love God or to be loved by God and yet Jesus stands before their very faces before their very eyes and they don't realize that they're actually looking at the smile at the heart of God himself. What an unfathomable mystery, right? This equality of the Father and the Son. The God is one yet he exists as we person that are all both God equal in power and glory. Hard to explain as one as theologians said but he now for us to believe and rest upon them. So we now realize that the revelation of God is finally grounded not just in the love of God for the world John 3 16 for God so love that he gave his only Son right which moves the Father to impart himself God sent his own Son to bear the sins of the world but also in the eternal love of the Father for the Son. A love which moves the Father to to to to to to basically reveal his deeds his actions his heart to his Son. It's not just about God loving us sinners so much that he would send his only Son but the fact that the Father loves his Son so much that he would reveal his will that he will reveal all his deeds to him standing on Holy Ground here aren't we? Imagining and talking about this this marvelous deal this this intimate relationship between the Father and the Son in the history of redemption that they come together as the Son is revealing the Father's will as the Son comes to reveal who God the Father truly is his nature his character his being his whole essence that's exactly what Jesus is doing revealing all of these things to his people and yet the people that are watching and opposing Jesus completely miss it they're more concerned about asking the question why or how could you claim the quality with God and yet Jesus is saying I am God why is this important why is this important for us to know to believe to acknowledge this great mystery that the Son shares equality with the Father you know I don't know if you've heard this argument but it's a it's a real argument there are people who make a claim that they cannot believe in a God who grew the Father who who sends his Son if God was so loving to the world why did he not himself come into the world and die instead of sending his own Son Jesus Christ down the cross what's the flaw there God himself came they refuse to see that God the Father is a share in Jesus sacrifice in his pain in his love for us it is too hard beating as one can we just think that for one second because in our minds we tend to separate right we tend to separate who God the Father is and who who this who the Son is and who the Holy Spirit is failed to see that he is one God yes distinct three persons one God acting in unity to redeem us now you tell me if you can explain what that looks like because I can't Jesus is God that he's the king of kings and Lord of Lord that he's the supreme one in all of our life and because he makes this magnificent this amazing unfathomable incomprehensible claim it means that he confronts us in the way we live it demands a response this magnificent amazing God who exists as the triune God confronts us to respond to him and the question becomes how are we going to live our lives the question becomes are we going to bow down to his Lordship submit to his sovereign will are we going to deny this reality and yes looking into this mystery is a hard thing for us it's it's we're trading as I as I mentioned on holy ground yet we must be filled with joy as God's people in condition conviction that only God himself could have written these words that we read this morning God manifests in the flesh as all would put it no one else Jesus continues here so he shows his divinity which is hard for us to wrap our minds around but he continues to make more bold claims as if he hasn't upset the people as much he says he has the power to give life first 21 now again this guy is know their scripture they know their Old Testament who is the giver of life they know God alone can give life and yes Jesus making the claim I can give life as I wish the time is coming when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who year will live verse 25 what what a mystery again what a miracle that the Jesus gives life that we were once dead in our sins and somehow something that we cannot explain something that we cannot fathom we know our minds by the outworking of the spirit we were dead one day one second and another second we were alive how did that happen one time we were following the desires of our hearts we were seeking everything that our flesh tells us to follow one day we were we were lost in our sin we do not even recognize who we were and one moment our eyes were open and boom we were following Jesus and we have no idea what happened we were dead one time and now we are alive in Jesus Christ it is both a mystery and a simple process what does Paul say moments chapter 10 it's about hearing and believing simple right if you can fast with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved simple right for the heart one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses and is saved simple right but you explain regeneration to me it's a mystery our dead corpse can just come to life and just like that we are alive it's a mystery to me that I no longer live for myself a live for Christ it's a mystery to me that I don't live in my sin that I don't live pursuing the things that I want to pursue of course I want to pursue those things but every time I try to do I find myself being told by my conscience by the Lord by the Holy Spirit this is the way to go it's a mystery to me life is in hand his in his hands alone you know the truth of the matter is we cannot give life we cannot restore life when one person is dead they're dead there's nothing you can do to bring them to life absolutely nothing and in Jesus hands a dead body and one that is alive are the same in his dominion because yes power and I think this is just a wonderful reminder for us that once we are in Christ this life that we have in him this life this eternal life that we have in him is ours forever yes we waiver yes we stumble once in a while but we have been changed forever we will never be the same again our views about life has completely changed been a longer live for self living for Jesus you know I we can go on talking about spiritual death and what what Jesus is really alluding to here and what does it look like for us to have the spiritual life and there's so much that we can talk about but I'm just going to mention this you know it is true that we've been we've been we've been raised into life in Christ Jesus that we're truly alive in him and and that's all that's all that's all Christian life that's all identity now but we need to always be reminded that the Christian life is not a static life you are not just raised from dead into life and okay now I'm living so here we are we stand and wait for Jesus to come back and take us to heaven the Christian life is not a static life it's not a dead life it's a life that keeps on growing it's a life that keeps on maturing in Christ otherwise we're gonna find ourselves dying slowly you know you know what I mean our life is a life of repentance it's coming before the Lord every day and and being sensitive to our sins and fighting sin every single day otherwise we're gonna find ourselves in a complacent place in a really dark place dying spiritually again what a privilege it is for us to be followers of Christ right I think Jesus is reminding us here speaking of those who truly truly as hatred verse 24 says whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me as eternal life he does not come into judgment but as pass from death into life there's no condemnation for us for in Christ Jesus that we get to enjoy the rights and privileges for what it means to be children of God that our sins have been taken away as far as the east is from the west he has taken our sin away the Jesus has fully satisfied the Father's demands on our behalf and so for us to look forward to that final day we look forward to it with joy not with trepidation not with fear or with conviction with joy and I mean even being reminded of our life right now you know death seconds right we know the work in the die but we know that death for us is not the end right that is just beginning of awesome stuff of being with Jesus and then Jesus shows us in verses 27 through 28 that he's divine he also has authority he alone can bring the dead to life but he also says he's the only judge the Father has actually given him the authority to be the judge of all mankind before him every knee shall bow and every time confess that he is Lord you know we tend to think that we can judge right you have attempted judging other people I do that all the time and yet we can never judge perfectly because sin just messes our judgment our arrogance our prejudices our self-interest our self-righteousness all of those things affect how we can judge others yet Jesus is perfect it's a perfect judge he has no self-interest so to speak so what difference does it make what difference does it make if Jesus claims his divinity Jesus claims this power that he has in Jesus claims there's authority that he has what difference does it make for us in life if Jesus is truly the Son of God if he's truly the one who holds the keys to life and death if he truly is the one we will all stand before on judgment day then I make the claim that it makes the difference all the difference in the world the question is are we willing to live like it do we live as if Jesus is truly divine equal with God as if Jesus truly has the power and the authority in our lives Jesse Raya once said for the hand that was nailed to the cross is Almighty he is mighty to say as we sang this morning and that's really the truth for us right I mean the Jesus confronting us with this reality of who is we must respond and the question is if this is the Lord of Lords if this is the one who holds the key to life and death if he is the one who controls all things if he is the one who's been given the power by God the Father in all of things then we must respond to him either we will reject him or we will make room in our lives for him to reign and rule in our lives again see as Lewis said in the mouth of any speaker who is not God these words would simply imply what I can only regard as silliness and conceit unrivaled by any character in history you must make your choice either this man was and is the Son of God or else a madman or something worse you can shut him up for a fool you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God we must make room for the mystery we must make room for the truth in verse 30 Jesus continues with the same thought I can do nothing on my own as I hear I judge and my judgment is just because I seek not my own but the will of him who sent me continues verse 31 if I alone bear witness about myself my testimony is not true so he has read the Old Testament he understands what they call the Mishnah which made the claim that none may be believed when he testifies by himself or of himself there must be two witnesses or else your witness is not true Jesus is not saying what does not mean that if he says anything about himself it must be false but that if the burden of evidence to support the tremendous claims has been making exclusively depend on his own self attestation his witness must be false what is true however he says beginning to show his witnesses that bear witness of him he says John was sent he bore witness about me he bore witness about the truth his witness was insufficient because he was human witness obviously yeah Jesus is still pointing to John the Baptist who came preaching repentance and faith and basically showing the people that are opposing to him you you you believe in him or for a little while you you you saw his is shining light so to speak and then Jesus offers this glowing tribute if you will to John the Baptist he says he was he was a lamp lamp which burns and shines we also know what a lamp that's right a lamp does not light itself it has to be lit and he says John preached repentance John as we've been looking through this study of the book of John has always been pointing to Jesus he wants to decrease so that Jesus may increase and John is not bothered by pointing to himself he only wants to point people to Christ you know as I was thinking about John's witness and how Jesus is bringing this out I couldn't help but think about how we view the preaching of God's Word and how we witness I mean how how often people mock and reject the preaching of God's Word right and one of the claims I often hear when people talk about preachers is hypocrisy right let's say what but they they're out doing all these things and they accept money and some of them fall some of them do wrong things they lie and all these things and and I'm reminded that the work of every preacher in fact the work of every believer is to point others to Jesus Christ not to ourselves as the old saying goes right when we preach the gospel when we share our faith when we bear witness of who Jesus what are we doing we are simply beggars that are pointing out the beggars where to find the bread that's exactly what we're doing and so when people accuse us and sang war but you fall but you sin and you tell them exactly I do but there's a difference I am experiencing the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ in my life I'm submitting my life to Jesus I'm confessing and going to him where are you going there's all there's also another part so Jesus points to the people here that they listen to John the Baptist for a little bit he actually says that for a little bit you enjoyed his standing right right what does that remind us in terms of listening and hearing God's word how often do we hear God's word for as long as God's word is saying the things that we want to hear the moment we hear God's word prick or ears and convictors of ourselves or I can't believe that that can't be true that's exactly what they did the moment that John the Baptist began to point them to the truth of the God's word and what that was supposed to be believing I'm out of here but if you tickle their ears and said exactly what they wanted to hear or we can say for that friends we gotta be careful when we hear God's word I think sometimes we in fact I would argue most of the times when people debate and question preachers when they're preaching God's word most often than not it is our heart that has the issue it is because I don't want to hear because I know where I've been and Jesus says there's a far greater witness than John the Baptist he says you've already experienced the things that I came doing all my works the things that the Father sent me to come and accomplish they bear witness the miracles I mean can you think about it they've just been confronted with Jesus feeling a lame man that it's been lame for 38 years hello if I'm able to do all this marvelous amazing things come on now you don't believe I am who I say I am and the works that Jesus has come through this really is entire mission right his miracles his death his resurrection every redemptive work that Jesus came to do every healing every renewal every every freedom that he provided every lifting up every comforting every guiding that Jesus provided for people all of those things were the works of the Father sent him to do so that the world may know that he truly was the Son of God and the question continues to be why wouldn't the Jews believe him why wouldn't they believe him why was it so hard you know why what does believing require Mark said it requires faith faith is a gift of God you know we're so often blinded from seeing God working in our life it is so easy for us to look upon these people that are opposing Jesus and think well what was wrong with you guys he was right there you couldn't see him that this was really the messiah this was Jesus and yes yet how many times do we ask for sign from God how many times do we ask for miracle from God and when they happen we're still left the same way we want someone once said the chief seat of unbelief is not the mind it's the heart see by refusing to believe in him they show that they don't believe in the thought of that they claim to believe because you can't you can't make a claim that you believe in God and he keys right there staying at your face talking to you and you say you can't believe in him we're so quick to in our lives shift blame right give excuses as to why we don't believe if you share faith with people you will hear all kinds of reasons why people do not want to believe he'll give you theological reasons ontological reasons scientific reasons you name it they'll go through the list and telling you but what about this what about the contradiction in whatever book they think there is a contradiction but you know the truth is as it was back in the day unbelief does not arise from want of evidence it really doesn't unbelief rises from want of will to believe unless the spirit of God fills someone with life and breathe into them they are dead you can't see it I can't feel it they have no will they have no desire to follow Jesus the truth is he has to come and breathe life into them then finally John points to my favorite verse 39 the witness of scripture he basically tells them you're doing such an awesome job you're digging into the old tells me you're digging in scripture you're reading it and you're finding or you think you're finding eternal life there but you fail to see Jesus in it but the unseen God has spoken and disclosed himself in the written scriptures Jesus can see them he says oh yeah true you're diligently studying the scriptures the secret writings but your study is unfruitful you know why because you're looking to the scriptures to give you life instead of looking to scriptures to point you to the one that gives you eternal life this book cannot save you this book points you to the one who is going to save you can hold it it secretly as you want you can do anything that you want to do it but it ain't going to save you if you don't find Jesus Jesus is not talking about hearing just hearing and listening to his word but he means for being he means submitting to what the word says means trusting and believing that the word of God is true isn't it quite a challenge that Jesus challenges them by pointing them to the Old Testament and says if you don't see me there how will you believe now what a great challenge to us in the in this side of heaven that we don't only just have the Old Testament but the New Testament we have no excuse we have no excuse on this side of heaven not to see this Messiah Hebrews 412 as I prayed this morning in my prayer that the word of God is living and active sharper than any two-edged sword piercing to the division of soul and spirit of joints and narrow and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart that's true again the question we want to ask is how come some people never experienced the transforming power of the word of God do you ever wonder that if that is God's word that is living and active and that's all this amazing thing that pierces through people's hearts and it's pierced your own heart and you wonder why does it why doesn't it seem to work on someone else's heart you know again as I said the truth is the spirit has to come and do some work there but they also are the things that do happen in all lives right and sometimes we may have a wrong approach to scripture memorizing scripture thinking that that will save us again the Jewish leaders were here studying ink and paper but they never went beyond it and sometimes we can do that we can be great Bible students and fail to make room for Jesus it's like someone studying a window instead of looking through the window to see the realities of the gospel that lays out there you know we immerse ourselves in scripture and when you come to God's word we don't try to force us our self-interest when you come to God's word we're not trying to find arguments for our theological and political positions so I'm libertarian or independent so I'm going to search the scriptures to see what proves that my position is true I'm credo Baptist or paedobaptist or whatever it is so I'm going to search the scriptures to see if it's true or not not that I may find the truth of God we must let God's word speak to us we must let the Holy Spirit illumine his word we must let God God's word speak to us so that we may humbly submit to it and in the scriptures we find Jesus we commune with him we meet with him but notice the irony here that Jesus reminds them that he doesn't come seeking praise from man but what are they seeking they seek glory from one another he says if anyone comes you're going to believe them just like that but I come in my father's name not in my name or any other's name in my father's name the father that you claim to believe and yet you reject me why the religion was a religion that was based on merit it was a religion that couldn't make room for Jesus friends you know we can be caught up in our own religion that cannot make room for Jesus our traditions or methods or theories are theological traditions you name it we can make room for those things and fail to make room for Jesus and Jesus finally tells them that he's not the one who's going to come accusing you who's going to do it the man they put all of their hope in Moses you some of them believe that Moses was actually interceding for them in heaven he says if you don't believe Moses words how you're going to believe in me suppose you were to get a ticket to fly to Dubai and stand on the amazing magnificent tallest building that stands at 2,772 feet tall the virgin caliphah suppose you were to stand there and you were able to see the whole of Dubai and the it's just the whole Mediterranean and you're just standing there overwhelmed and just thinking how magnificent is this place and I can see almost from horizon to horizon and just the the sky the just everything you're standing on the tallest points the tallest building on the face of the earth soaking it in enjoying the beauty and here's your friend that's called your friend Steve I'll just stick on Steve for the sake of Steve and he comes in and he says oh wow this is amazing and he looks at the window and then he starts touching the window and he goes like oh man this window is so marvelous it's amazing look at this look at the glass let me see is it hard enough is this real glass you would look at him and think there must be something completely wrong with you if you do not recognize where you're standing right now all you're doing is looking at the window and trying to determine whether the window is made of glass or what and here is a place that you can see the beauty of where you are the magnificence of where you are the awesomeness of where you're standing friends do you know where you stand this morning do you know what has captivated your heart what must be capturing your heart it is God's word it is it is the mystery of who Jesus is the mystery of his word of his true instead of looking at the window and enjoying what the window has what what it's made of we ought to be looking through the window to see the realities of the gospel of Jesus Christ you have been set free you have been raised from life from death into life your life in Christ Jesus that is what needs to captivate your heart you need to make room for this Jesus because he is awesome because he is beautiful because he is incomprehensible please don't miss it by looking at the window look through it what Jesus we do thank you this morning for your word that you give to us and it is so easy for us to be caught up in our prideful things in our theories and our traditions our theologies and everything else that climbers for attention and completely missed to make room for you allow us to welcome you into our hearts whatever that looks like for each one of us allow us to enjoy soaking up the joy that it is to know you as you have revealed yourself through your son Jesus Christ through the mystery through those things that have been made so clear for us to understand through the difficulties of life through the trials of life confront us with yourself and allow us to respond to you by submitting ourselves fully to you every day and all day we pray this in your holy name