Grace and Peace Home Worship Guide for June 21, 2020 Opening

Grace and Peace Home Worship Guide for June 21, 2020

Opening Prayer

Call to Worship Psalm 65:1-4

Song1 “Better Is One Day”

Scripture John 6:60-71

Sermon2 “Take A Good Look” Pastor Jonathan Olsen

Prayer

Giving3

Song “In Christ Alone”

Benediction 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, 28

1 Lyrics are provided in this PDF. 2 A full transcript of the sermon is provided in this PDF. 3 You can give online through our website, our church app, or by mail. Better Is One Day In Christ Alone

How lovely is Your dwelling place, O Lord almighty In Christ alone my hope is found, He is my light my strength my song For my soul longs and even faints for You This Cornerstone this solid Ground, firm through the fiercest drought and storm For here my heart is satisfied within Your presence What heights of love what depths of peace I sing beneath the shadow of Your wings When fears are stilled when strivings cease My Comforter my All in All, here in the love of Christ I stand CHORUS: Better is one day in Your courts, better is one day in Your house In Christ alone who took on flesh, fullness of God in helpless babe Better is one day in Your courts than thousands elsewhere This gift of love and righteousness, scorned by the ones He came to save (Than thousands elsewhere) Till on that cross as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied For every sin on Him was laid, here in the death of Christ I live One thing I ask and I would seek, to see Your beauty To find You in the place Your glory dwells There in the ground His body lay, light of the world by darkness slain (REPEAT) Then bursting forth in glorious Day, up from the grave He rose again And as He stands in victory sin's curse has lost its grip on me CHORUS For I am His and He is mine, bought with the precious blood of Christ

My heart and flesh cry out for You the living God No guilt in life no fear in death, this is the power of Christ in me Your Spirit's water to my soul From life's first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny I've tasted and I've seen, come once again to me No power of hell no scheme of man, can ever pluck me from His hand I will draw near to You, I will draw near to You Till He returns or calls me home, here in the power of Christ I'll stand

Better is one day, better is one day Better is one day than thousands elsewhere

CHORUS

The following are questions that can be used for personal reflection or group discussion on Pastor Jonathan’s June 21st sermon:

1) What is hardest thing in the Bible for you to accept as true? What makes it so hard for you? How have you fought to believe it?

2) What would you say to someone who asks you what Pastor Jonathan meant in saying “you can hang out with Jesus and not believe in Jesus”?

3) What most tempts you to stop following Jesus? The offensiveness of the Gospel? The presence of evil and injustice in the world? The imperfections and hypocrisy of churches and other Christians? Other? How can you fight to remain in Jesus?

4) How did Peter respond to Jesus (verses 66-69)? To what degree does his words reflect your attitude towards Jesus today?

June 21, 2020 “Take a Good Look” Pastor Jonathan Olsen

John 6:60-71

60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?”61 But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.”(For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) 65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” 66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” 70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” 71 He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.

What’s difficult in the teachings of Christianity (or the teaching specifically of Jesus) for you to accept? Maybe it's the mysterious doctrine of the Trinity - that there is one God in three distinct persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). Maybe it’s the fact that Jesus was one person and yet had two natures - a divine nature and a human nature. He is God and man in one person. Maybe it's the mystery that the Holy Ghost of God simultaneously resides in every single believer and Jesus Christ all over the world. I want to encourage you to take a good look at yourself. Take a good look inside of your heart and think about what you really do with, how you really react to (at least in your heart) hard teachings from the Bible from Christianity from Jesus himself.

Well today we see a mass exodus of some of Jesus’ earliest followers. And that is their response to some of his hard teachings. And by way of outline:

1. Take a good look: will you fight? 2. Take a good look: will you believe? 3. Take a good look: will you remain?

Now for several weeks we've been studying what's known as the the bread of life discourse. Jesus and many of his curious followers were in a town called Capernaum. And specifically, they were in the Jewish synagogue in Capernaum and Jesus taught that he was the bread, the true sustenance from God, he was the bread of heaven from God for eternal life. The only way to have eternal life is to take him in to eat and drink upon him to feast upon him, by faith. By believing and accepting that he is the provision of God for eternal life, if you will believe. And what one person calls an appendix to the bread of life discourse, we come to our passage today.

I. Take a Good Look: Will you fight?

Now the numbers have people dwindled down a little bit from the large crowd and the Jewish leaders in the synagogue to just the disciples in general (not just the 12) – those who were curious and following Jesus. And they say to him, this is a hard saying! Who can listen to it? Of course the question is, what is it they were referring to? Well this that they're referring to this is a hard saying. Who can listen to this hard saying who can grasp it who can get it who can get their minds around it?

Well it's the very thing that was troubling the Jews. It was troubling the leaders of the Jews. First of all, Jesus said that he functionally was greater than Moses. “It was great what God did through Moses for the people hundreds of years ago. But I am the true bread of heaven. And Moses was pointing to me. I am the greater Moses.” And the hard saying (who can believe it? Who can get their minds around it? Who can listen to it?) Also has to do with what Jesus said last week that we studied. “Look I’m going to give you… give my flesh… myself… over to the world. I'm going to give it for the world.” Which of course is a foretaste, it's a preface, it's a beginning word that he would give his life to death - his perfect innocent human life to death on a Roman cross to absorb and take on the eternal anger of God so that anyone who trusts in his death and in his resurrection three days later would be forgiven of their sins. “I'm going to give my life for the world. Not just for the Jewish people. But for anyone from every tribe and tongue and nation who will believe in me.”

Of course the hard saying also has to do with what Jesus said last week when he said, “You need to eat my flesh and you need to drink my blood.” Now he was talking about taking him in by faith. Eating and drinking by faith taking him inside of your soul - not inside of your body. But as they were listening to him they were hearing him and they were thinking literally. So what he is saying is way too hard, it's way too difficult, too complex to understand and accept it. It's unconscionable for the Messiah (which he claimed to be) to talk this way about himself.

But he knows their grumbling. He knows their complaining. In fact it's the exact same word that we saw back in verse 41 when the Jews were grumbling at and complaining:

41 So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”

Now, not only the official Jewish leaders, but now some of those following him as well. “semi believing in him.” Certainly curious about him. Grumbling and complaining about what he has said. He knows they’re grumbling. He knows they are complaining. He also knows why. That's not hidden from him. And it's not hidden from him when it's in you as well.

What does Jesus say and teach… what does Christianity say and teach… what does the Bible say and teach… that seems to be too hard for you to accept? Take a good look inside of yourself and ask, “Why? Why is that so hard for me to believe? Why is it so hard for me to accept?” Is it simply because you just don't like it? It doesn't fit in with your life? Or maybe you think it's not fair? Maybe it's just so hard to get your mind around?

It's OK. It’s ok to ask. We should be asking. We should be taking a good look inside of ourselves and then being honest with what we see, taking it to God himself, taking it to his Word, taking it to his people… taking a good look inside of yourself. Will you fight to understand and accept what Jesus has to say even when it's a hard saying?

Or will you only believe if it's neatly packaged for you… easy to understand… and if it's not then you just cave in to grumbling (like we see here), or unhealthy skepticism, or unbelief. And if that's what we do, the question that we need to ask ourselves is, “What does that say about who has the true and ultimate and final voice over our lives?” It says, that we do.

But our voices are very, very deceptive and we are often our worst counselors.

But you know even in knowing their grumbling hearts and the grumbling and complaining inside of their hearts, Jesus doesn't condemn them. And he doesn't just go trying and find a whole bunch of new friends which can be our tendency sometimes when people disagree with us (“We're just going to go find some people that do agree with us!”). What does he do he engages their grumbling he engages their unbelief and he asks, do you take offense at this? Now the obvious answer is yes. But he asked it anyway.

Now the word offense here in the original language is the word Get our English word, “scandal.” “Is it scandalous? Do you think this is scandalous what's going on? Some kind of deceptive, moral offense that trips up and entraps others and causes a great outrage? Is that what you think is going on with me in my teaching?” The answer is yes. That's exactly what they think. They think there's a new false religion on the scene. And so they are offended by all this. But in verse 62 Jesus takes it to the next level when he says, “Well what would you think, what would you think if you saw the son of man, if you saw me ascend to where I was before? What if you saw me going back to where I said I came from? I came from heaven - what if you saw me going back there as well? Would you fight for me then? Would you fight to believe in me then? Take a good look at yourself – will that be enough? Is that what you need you know? It was soon to come. After his death and resurrection he would ascend to heaven. Would that be enough?

But to ensure things remain spiritual here and to keep things in the moment, in verse 63 Jesus says only the Spirit - only the Holy Ghost can give life - true spiritual life. The flesh - our flesh - what's natural about us – is to no avail. It's of no spiritual help whatsoever. Back early on in John chapter 3 verse 6 Jesus said:

6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

We are naturally born of the flesh. We cannot produce anything of spiritual good unless the Holy Spirit first works spiritual life in us. We are dead.

By the way you can you can actually see the Trinity at work here as you think about God being the one that draws people to Jesus, Jesus being the bread of life and the need to believe in him, and the spirit being the one who gives that life. The triune God is the God of all grace who saves!

It's a SPIRITUAL life that Jesus has been referring to with all the images of bread and flesh and blood. His word about all of these things are to be taken in: we are to eat, to drink by faith because he speaks “spirit and life.” It's spiritual life - it's the very life the very spiritual life that you and I need. Jesus speaks it to us if we will believe. Some people think there's actually a reference here to Jeremiah (in the first part of the Bible the Old Testament the Jewish scriptures). Jeremiah chapter 15:16 which reads this: Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts.

Take a good look do you fight to take in the words of Jesus? Even the hard sayings of Jesus? They are life. They are spirit. They are spiritual life. They are spiritual life that is true.

Well next week see you take a good look will you believe.

II. Take a Good Look: Will You Believe?

64 But there are some of you who do not believe.”(For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) 65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” Now those disciples that were listing and maybe some of us as well might be offended here. Because Jesus is saying, look you can hang around him you can listen to him, You can have a healthy curiosity of him, but not truly believe in him. Remember he is speaking to followers here. He's speaking to people who were walking with him and watching him and listening to him.

Of course it's it's good - it's more than good to attend worship services and prayer meetings and home groups, obviously in person, but even now in this season virtually. It's good and right to be with other believers even if you're not yet a believer. It's good for you to be with believers. It's good of course for you to seek Jesus (as people were doing here in John's gospel).

But we can do all of those things and still not believe in him. And much like the disciples of the 1st century you and I need this warning as well. We need to take a good look inside of ourselves and see where we really are in relationship with Jesus.

How might you rest in your pursuit of Jesus rather than his finished work for you? How might you rest in all of the things that you're doing for Jesus - reading your Bible, and praying, and sharing him with other people, and trying to love and serve others? All things believers should be doing! But we're not to rest in those things. That's a temptation for all of our hearts, to think good about ourselves in light of what we do, rather than in light of what Jesus has already done… by dying on a cross in the place of every sinner who continues to sin… To secure full and final pardon from God in light of all of their sins… all because he died and shed his lifeblood… and on the third day was raised as evidence of the final victory that he had taken on God's judgment, but he had overcome even that for all who will believe in him and his death and resurrection. Is that alone what you rest in? Or are you tempted to rest in how good of a Christian you are, forgetting that your heart is still dark and desperately wicked?

How might you be tempted to rest only in his easy sayings like “love God.. Love other people”… things that seem pretty obvious… but in claims that might be a little more difficult and hard, you don't rest in them? Something that might be hard and difficult to rest in now and these days that we're living in is that God is sovereign. God is completely sovereign and mysteriously in control of all things. How does this work with racial profiling and racial injustice and all the biases we see right now and sins specific and in general? How does that work that God is sovereign?

Well Jesus is clear that you can hang out with him and not believe - sometimes revealed by how we relate to hard truths. It's OK to wrestle. What we're being warned against here is falling away, and turning our back on him (as we will see in just a moment). And the reason why Jesus can say all the things he's saying here is because he is the all knowing God. He knew from the beginning - not just the beginning of having a following and the beginning of his ministry - but the beginning of time, who would and wouldn't believe in him. This isn't just true in the 1st century - he knows what's in the human heart today.

My friend, no matter who you are and no matter where you are in relationship to Jesus, he knows exactly what is in your heart today. He knows if you believe. He knows if you don't believe. He knows if you're not sure what it means to believe. He knows if you're just pretending to believe. He knows it all. We can't fake him out.

My oldest son Gabriel who's 16 and my youngest son Nathaniel who's 2 - they have this game. Usually involves a ball that really can involve anything. Gabriel's right hand it, will hold that ball, and will pretend to throw it up in the air, but actually come down and put in his left, and say, “Nathaniel! Look! Look!” You'll see Nathaniel looking for where is it where is it And then Gabriel will put it back in his right hand, and put his hand behind nathaniel's head, and say, “Oh look it's here!” Or he'll look up point up in the air and say, “Look there it is! There it is! Let me catch it!” He pretends to catch it and takes it from his left hand and puts in his right hand, “Here see!” And Nathaniel is always kind of in shock when he sees it. He can't believe it!

But you know if Nathaniel tried to do that with Gabriel it wouldn't work. Gabriel knows the game that Nathaniel is trying to play with him. Gabriel wouldn't be fooled, not like Nathaniel is.

And you know that's Jesus with us. He cannot be fooled. He knows the games that we're playing. But he also knows that the heartache and the confusion that we are experiencing as well. We see him time and again much like here not condemning, but willing to engage. The key is we take whatever we have in our hearts to him.

Now Jesus also knew who would betray him (we'll get to more of this months from now). But the point here is this: Jesus is not persuaded he is not persuaded or fooled by fictitious religiosity. Wherever we are, he's not persuaded or fooled by fictitious religiosity. He knows who truly believes in him and who does not. So what he does here is, he repeats words he's already said. In John chapter 6 verses 37 versus 44 we read:

37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.

44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

And then we see here in verse 65 that Jesus says, well this is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father grants it. We can pretend we can think we're good to go with what we do or what we understand but only the father can bring us to Jesus. Because of our sin we’re in need of divine intervention, and that's what we have in the gospel of Jesus! Jesus willing to come down from heaven as the bread of heaven to be the salvation sustenance for anyone who will believe that he lived on this earth as a man in perfection accordance with God's law… an innocent life so that his life could be handed over to death on a cross and he could be accepted as a sufficient substitute for you and for me… He was put to death by the judgment of God - the eternal judgment of God - so that eternally you'd be free from God's judgment if you believe in his death and his resurrection. This is the gospel. This is God's divine intervention. This is God bringing you to Jesus if you will believe. Will you?

III. Take a Good Look: Will You Remain?

66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” 70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” 71 He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him. Sadly many of the followers no longer wanted to follow no longer wanted to walk with Jesus because things were too hard. And it's it's good for us to ask and to be honest as we take a good look at ourselves and ask, “how are we tempted? What is it that tempts you to walk away from Jesus?” Every follower is tempted to walk away by something. There's something that's pulling on our hearts. Something is pulling on our minds. Something is pulling on our lives. Or something we can't get our minds and hearts around. What is it that tempts you to walk away from him? Is it the fact that people really will spend eternity in hell if they die with without believing upon Jesus - even if they haven't heard of him? Which is a reminder that we need to get the gospel out to the nations especially the places that have never heard of him!

How about all the racial injustice that we're seeing in our days - is it just too much? If God's really good and he's really sovereign how can this happen? Are you tempted to just walk away from him, and live for social justice rather than for Jesus – instead of doing social justice in light of him?

What about all the imperfections of the church? Every church is imperfect. Ever church has issues every single congregation! Does that make you just want to give up? Is it just too hard? Is it just too hard to persevere?

What about all the hypocrisy you see in in Christians and in Christianity? It is costly to continue to follow Jesus… to remain in the faith… to remain walking with him. People will think you're out of your mind. People think you're not dealing with reality sometimes. Sometimes people just don't want anything to do with you. Much like we see here as people are leaving Jesus.

Will you stay the course? Will you remain and not walk away? He's not going anywhere! He's not leaving you if you are his! Why would you leave him?

Sadly some will fall away. We see it here. But as long as they are alive they can return. So follower of Jesus - you who are remaining, walking with Jesus right now, remember that if someone falls away, as long as they're alive, they still have the opportunity to return by God's grace. And so we need to fight the subtle temptations to self righteousness if we see someone fall away, and we just kind of roll the eyes of our hearts, and ask “what the world are they doing? What is their problem?” We need to pray for them, and plead that God would have mercy upon them. And we need to remember that we're not really that different ourselves. In first Corinthians chapter 15, the great 1st century church leader, the Apostle Paul, writes this about himself:

10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain.

That's the only difference between a believer who remains, and someone who falls away and walks away like we see here… it is God's grace. God's grace keeping you. God's grace protecting you. God's grace leading you to God himself. God's grace is the difference maker - not how great the believer is.

We see here people are throwing in the towel. They sadly don't want to do the Jesus thing anymore. So it's just the 12. Just the 12 remain. Just the inner circle, they’re left. And Jesus asks them, “Hey do you guys want to walk away as well? You kind of want to join the majority?” And Peter who is often the ambassador of the 12 replies with what's functionally a four point sermon. He says says, “Lord… master… the one we submit to… we are following you. You are the one we submit to as our Lord, our master, our king.

“Secondly, to whom shall we go? You are the Lord! We believe in you we've never encountered anyone like you. No one has ever done or said the things that you have done and said. We believe. Where are we going to go? There's nowhere else to go. No other religion is true. Lord where are we gonna go?”

“Thirdly, you have the words of eternal life. You showed us over and over and over again you are the bread of life. You are from heaven. You are the key to unlocking eternity.”

“And we’ve come to believe 4th you are the holy one of God. You are the set apart one you are the anointed one. You are the Christ. You are the Messiah. When we read our Jewish bibles, the whole story, all of the stories are one big story that point to you. You are greater than Moses. You're greater than everyone that we see in the Old Testament. You are God.”

Peter got it. But instead of praising Peter Jesus says, “Did I not choose you the 12?” Of course he did. That ought to cause great comfort! But then he says, “but one of you is a devil.” A false accuser. A deceiver. A liar. A traitor. A false believer. A wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Think of the sting this would be to the ears into the hearts of the 12. Of course Jesus was talking about Judas. Who after three years of intimacy and ministry in life with Jesus would betray Jesus. Judas went to church. Judas had all the right answers. Judas took communion. And yet he didn't have saving faith. He didn't truly know Jesus. I've quoted this passage before but it doesn't grow old… Matthew chapter 7 verses 21 through 23:

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

You can do things even in the name of Jesus. You can go on a missions trip. You can serve in Sunday school. You can help. Help clean up the church building and the church clean up days. You can be at every church event. You can talk the talk… but still not know him, as it was true for Judas.

Now they didn't know who Jesus was speaking of at this point. So this would all be a little shocking to the system and it ought to cause every single one of those disciples - all 12 of them - to take a good look and see where they really are with Jesus. “Do I really believe? Am I the traitor? Am I going to be the one who betrays Jesus? What does my life say about my relationship to Jesus?” The very questions you and I ought to be asking. Because we can hang out with him… we can hang out with his people… and yet not know him, and not have saving faith in him. Do you?

CS Lewis is a relatively famous Christian author and he once wrote these relatively famous words now: “Christianity if false is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance - more important than anything else in the world. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”

There's no grey with the importance of the teachings of Christianity - in particular the teachings of Jesus, the subject of Christianity. There's no kind of “ish” importance. Black and white my friends. It’s either true or false. It's either everything or it's nothing. Take a good look inside of yourself. Even with your greatest moments of faith weakness, or areas of life where you struggle the most … who is Jesus to you? Is he the bread who's come down from heaven to rescue you? Is he your personal Lord and savior? Do you trust in his life and his death and his burial and his resurrection and ascension into heaven for you? He came here to rescue you. He came here on a rescuing mission. Even with your ongoing faith and sin struggles. He's faithful. Who is he to you? Is he the faithful one who will surely do it? He will if you've trusted him.

And part of trusting in him and believing in him and following him is sharing him with others. With all the restrictions that we still have in this bizarre season the Lord is entrusted to us… we’re to be creative to share him with others, that they too might have the opportunity to say yes to the bread of heaven for their sustenance with God forever.