‘Focus on the Four’ The Gospel of John Wk. #43– 31 March John 12 27 “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him. 30 Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31 Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33 He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die. 34 The crowd spoke up, “We have heard from the Law that the Messiah will remain forever, so how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?” 35 Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. 36 Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.” When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them. John 12:27-36 Verses 27-30 Unlike the three other Gospels, John shares nothing about Jesus’ time in the G____________ of Gethsemane. Here though, we see Jesus ‘troubled’ by what He knew was approaching. Yet, as in the Garden, He does not seek to a____________ what comes next but, rather, makes clear that what comes next is the very r_______________ He has come. Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures… 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 1 What does it mean to ‘glorify’ God and/or His Name? We acknowledge His g________________ and s________________ through praise, w_____________, obedience and agreement with Him = ‘Talk & Walk’ On God Speaking: What God does for Jesus, He does for every man. When He sends us out upon a road, he does not send us without directions and without guidance. When He gives us a task, He does not leave us to do it in the lonely weakness of our own strength. God is not silent, and ever and again, when the strain of life is too much for us, and the effort of His way is beyond our human resources, if we listen we will hear Him speak, and we will go on with His strength surging through our frame. Our trouble is not that Gods does not speak, but that we do not listen. William Barclay One way we definitely can ‘hear’ God – in S____________________: In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. Hebrews 1:1-2 The ‘f______________’ we should always use to determine if it is God truly speaking: God will not c_____________________ His Word! A Missouri tractor-trailer driver accused of crashing into a pickup truck and killing two people told investigators that "God told me to do it," according to court documents. Adam Housley, 33, of Mountain Grove, was charged Thursday with two counts of second-degree murder in the crash a day earlier that killed Tisha Briggs, 48, and Leo Walker, 47. According to the probable cause statement, a witness told investigators that Housley was looking at his cellphone and didn't hit the brakes before crashing into the back of the victims' pickup truck as it sat at a red light on U.S. 60 in the southwest Missouri town of Seymour. From Fox News in 2017 2 Verse 31 Remember, even though this world is created by God and under His ultimate authority it is also fallen… For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Romans 8:19-22 …and Satan has been g________________ certain, temporary authority in it: The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Corinthians 4:4 However, in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection this world is ‘judged – clear lines are being drawn between the Way of L_____________ and R_________________ and the way of darkness and death. Satan is already cast out in that Jesus has defeated d________________ - the adversary’s greatest asset. Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death - that is, the devil - and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. Hebrews 2:14-15 3 Verses 32-34 The idea of The Messiah or the Son of Man being crucified and dying did not f______ with their understanding of God’s Word: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. Daniel 7:13-14 “‘My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees. They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your ancestors lived. They and their children and their children’s children will live there forever, and David my servant will be their prince forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them forever. My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. Then the nations will know that I the LORD make Israel holy, when my sanctuary is among them forever.’” Ezekiel 37:24-28 You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant, ‘I will establish your line forever and make your throne firm through all generations.’” Psalm 89:3-4 But, the Messiah was going to build an everlasting kingdom through l____________ not m_____________ or f______________. “Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded his empire upon love; and at this hour millions of men would die for him.” Napoleon Bonaparte 4 Verses 35-36 We have said much about the light that Christ was and is in the darkness of this world already so, let’s add this: It is a statistical fact that there is a steep rise in the numbers of conversions up until age 17 and an equally steep decline afterwards. The more a man lets himself become fixed in his ways the harder it is to jerk himself out of them. In Christ, the supreme blessedness is offered to men; in one sense it is never too late to grasp it; but nonetheless it remains true that it must be grasped in time. William Barclay 37 Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. 38 This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: “Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” 39 For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere: 40 “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn—and I would heal them.” 41 Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him. 42 Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved human praise more than praise from God.