Jesus Is God: What It Means And Why It Matters

This podcast is a ministry of Grand Parkway Baptist Church, helping people know, enjoy, and glorify God.

For more information about Grand Parkway, visit Grandparkway.org.

Amen.

Let's pray together.

Father, because what we just sang about is true, we stand before you as the washed, clean people of God who've been made right with God by God.

And so no one can undo what you've done, God.

You've made us right with you forever.

So we have to learn today.

We have to grow in our understanding today of what it means to be the people that are rightly related to God.

And so, Holy Spirit, lead us into that truth.

As we open up the Bible, let it open us up, we pray, in Jesus' name.

And everyone said, Amen.

You can have a seat if you've got a Bible.

Take it and open up if you would to John chapter 5.

John 5 · chapter mention

John chapter 5.

John 5 · chapter mention

I'll start reading verse 18.

If you don't have a Bible, it's not on your row.

I'm on page 810.

810, excuse me, 890, not 810, 890.

I want to talk to you today about this, about the fact that Jesus is God, what it means and why it matters.

That Jesus is God, what it means and why it matters.

Notice I didn't say why Jesus is God.

And the reason I don't phrase it like that is because I cannot prove what's always existed, what's always been.

It's just that that's the way that creation is set up.

If you're reading the very first verse of the Bible, it says, in the beginning, God created.

Before God created, God existed.

And so he stands alone in the solitude of himself, and he doesn't just stand there by himself, he stands there as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Now I say that, just relax.

If you're visiting today, you're like, dude, that brother just jumped in deep right there.

Because we as we're preaching through the Gospel of John.

And one of the reasons we do that, we preach through books of the Bible, is because it makes you think about things that you wouldn't by nature normally think about.

It involves you in a rhythm of God's word instead of the preference of your life.

You're not ruled by your appetites, you're informed in your understanding.

Now, we preachers struggle with this thought that we've got to make the Bible relevant.

We've got to sell you on how the Bible's relevant.

Just the Bible establishes its own relevance.

You say, What do you mean?

I'm thinking about this whole Jesus is God.

And part of me thinks, hey man, my people know this.

My people love the word.

They've been trained by the word.

They get this.

And I just had this gnawing sense of, hey, I gotta somehow demonstrate.

And then yesterday morning, about 10:30, our doorbell rings.

And my wife looked at me and I looked at her like, I'm not expecting anybody.

You expect anybody?

And I said, joking, it's probably the Jehovah's Witnesses.

It's Saturday.

I get up and go to the door, open the door.

There stands a Jehovah's Witness named David and his daughter.

He's got a little pouch on, he's got an armful of Watchtower magazines.

And I opened the door and I said, I'm glad you came.

He said, Do you have a minute to talk?

I said, I sure do.

I sure do.

Matter of fact, I opened with this.

I said, I'm preaching on what we're going to talk about tomorrow.

And he goes, What do you mean?

I said, What's your name?

He said, David.

I said, David, I mean you know disrespect, okay?

But we are not going to agree, okay?

And here's why we're not going to agree.

Because you what you believe is that Jesus, I said, you don't believe in Jesus.

You don't have a right belief about Jesus.

And if you get it wrong about Jesus, you can't get it right about anything else.

And he said, sounded great.

He goes, No, no, no, no.

We believe Jesus is the Son of God.

I said, I absolutely you believe that.

But let me ask you this question: Is Jesus God?

Oh, no, no, no, no.

We do not believe that.

We do not believe that.

Then if Jesus is not God, his death on the cross means nothing for you.

You're still in your sins because God's not taking care of your sin situation personally, himself, seen to it that it was dealt with once for all.

Oh, no, no, let me show you.

And he got out his little New World translation of the Bible, and he said, I said, Well, that's your translation of the Bible.

Of course.

He said, Well, you, if you have a Bible, you can get it.

I just happen to have one.

Push the door open with my leg, lean back in.

I said, Marcy, bring me my Bible.

She comes out there.

I whipped it out.

I opened up to John 5.

I read to him what I'm going to read to you in just a minute.

We looked in in Colossians chapter 2 that says, In him the fullness of deity was pleased to dwell.

Colossians 2 · chapter mention

We went back to Genesis chapter 1 when he says, Come let us make man because Jehovah's Witnesses believe in God the Father.

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

They believe Jesus was a Son, but He wasn't God, and they do not believe in the Holy Spirit.

You can't call him the third person of the Trinity if he's spirit.

I said, God is spirit.

John chapter 4 says that Jesus said God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and truth.

John 4 · chapter mention

And David at this point, he said, You read a lot.

And I said, Yes, I do.

Absolutely.

David is kind of like slow dancing with a porcupine.

He's like, How do I get unstuck from this?

About that time, it's been going on 15 minutes.

Okay, about that time, the real Christian in our family, my wife, opens the door and says, Would you guys like some water bottles?

And I said, I'd love one.

And she goes, Not you, them.

I was like, I was like, well, I've been talking a lot of these of water.

She goes, I know, I've been hearing you.

And about that time, David said he'd turn in his Bible.

He said, Look here.

In Philippians 2, it says he emptied himself.

So he he was not God because he emptied himself.

My wife's walking back in the house.

She just turns and says, What did he empty himself of?

If he's not God, what did he empty himself of?

At that point, David was lost.

David was like, Ah, he looked at me.

I was like, You're on your own, dude.

I live with her.

I am not getting between the two of you.

He said, Well, I said, here's what she's saying.

I said, if you're reading John 17, and we'll get to John 17 about the year 2020, stay with me.

But in John 17, Jesus is praying in his high priestly prayer, and he says this to his father.

He says, Give me back the glory I had with you before the world began.

And I looked at David, I told David that.

I said, Now, David, when he emptied himself, he gave up some of his glory because he couldn't come to the earth just fully God.

Because, and David said, Because no man can look upon God and live.

I said, That's exactly right.

So he gives up some glory and he takes on the form of a servant.

And he walked on this earth.

And so he's fully God and he's fully man.

He goes, No, you cannot believe that.

I said, It's all through the Bible.

I've showed you about six or eight places.

Now, here's the deal, David.

Arguing with me is like wrestling with a pig.

You just get muddy and the pig likes it.

David's like, you like it, don't you?

Oh, I love it.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I said, You won't believe me, but when the doorbell rang, I said to my wife, it's probably Jehovah's Witnesses.

And my wife standing on the door, she goes, Yeah, he did say that.

And I said, So David, look at me.

I love you.

I bless, I bless you.

I grabbed David and hugged him.

David was like, that was awkward.

He goes, I'll come back with some literature.

I said, I'll be here with the Bible.

Now, why do I tell you that?

Because we live in a culture full of people that don't think rightly about Jesus.

And I would say to you what I say to all of them, if you get it wrong about Jesus, you can't get it right about anybody or anything else.

Here's what the Bible says.

Now, we'll pick up last week where Wade uh left off.

He talked about Jesus heals this man that's been laid in a pool, uh the pool of Saloam for 38 years.

And Jesus heals him on the Sabbath, and it makes the Pharisees crazy.

They're like the HOA in your neighborhood.

You left your trash can out for two minutes.

I mean, they're just riding around trying to catch Jesus doing something wrong, okay?

Here you live in that neighborhood too, right?

Yeah.

Mine is like, hey, did you know?

Did you know I have a life?

Why don't you get one?

But anyway, uh, they fine you when you say that.

Uh here's what the Bible says, John chapter 5, verse 18.

John 5:18

This is why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him.

Because he was not only breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own father, making himself equal with God.

Because David said on my porch yesterday, he goes, Jesus never claimed to be God.

I said, I'm preaching this tomorrow, right here in the Bible.

Now, by the way, just by way of introduction, all those verbs there, seeking, breaking, calling, they're all in continuous form.

In other words, it's not a past-completed action.

They were seeking for three years of his public ministry.

Everywhere Jesus went, these people were seeking to find a way to kill him.

Because he claimed to be God.

Okay?

What does that mean?

And why does it matter?

Verse 19, look at the first word.

So Jesus said to them, Look at me, beloved.

What Jesus says in a res is a in direct response to what he knows they think and believe.

So Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing.

For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.

For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he himself is doing.

And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel.

For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life, to whom he will.

The Father judges no one, but he has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father.

Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.

Truly I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life.

He does not come into judgment, but is passed from death to life.

Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, 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 also to have life in himself.

And he has given him authority to execute judgment because he is the Son of Man.

Verse twenty-eight, do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in their tombs will hear his voice and come out.

Those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

When we say Jesus is God, what does it mean, and why does it matter?

Let's take the first one, break it in two pieces.

What does it mean?

It means four things.

By the way, after Jesus makes the initial statement in verses 18 and 19, he uses four what's called the Bible is originally written in Greek, and they're referred to as four of these gar statements.

Gar is a Greek word for our English word for.

The Bible, Christianity in the Bible is a set of, it's not just these vague ideas, it's a set of propositional truths that kind of stack up like jingle.

They kind of stack up on each other.

And so what Jesus says, and when I say, what does it mean?

It's right there in those four little statements in verse 19.

So Jesus said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing.

Here's the first one.

For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.

The first one is simply this word here, imitation.

Imitation.

Now, keep in mind as you listen to this first part of the sermon, that the way Jesus relates to his father is the way he wants us to relate to the Father.

He doesn't just do things for the sake of doing things.

He's kind of winking at us and saying, hey, see, this is what a relationship with God looks like.

And so I say imitation, what do I mean?

He says, hey, whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise.

My concern in the church in America is that we're so bogged down and trying to figure out affection that we never get to imitation.

Let me say that again.

We're so bogged down in affection.

Does God love me?

Why does God love me?

I did that.

Can you believe I did that?

Does God still love me?

We're so tied up inside in that.

Or it sounds like this: if God really loved me, then why would God allow this to happen?

For some of you, it's not God loving you.

It's hey, if God's a loving God, why did all this stuff happen over here?

And we never get past that thought process into thinking about what is imitation?

Whatever the Father does, that's what I do.

My life is supposed to be synced up with intimate uh uh proximity to God like that.

What does that look like?

The Bible talks about it in Ephesians chapter 5, verse 1.

Ephesians 5:1

Paul makes this statement.

He says, Therefore, be imitators of God as beloved children.

Hear it again.

Therefore, be imitators of God as beloved children.

He says, Hey, when he says beloved, he's saying, hey, the love part's taken care of.

Be imitators of God as beloved children.

That word beloved in the Greek, it's it's the Greek word agatos, and it means this.

I brought the word.

So I want you to look at these beloved, esteemed, dear, favorite, worthy of love.

Look at this again.

I'm I'm putting them up there for a reason.

It means when he says, therefore, be imitators of God as beloved children.

What he's saying when he says, beloved children, he says, this is the way God thinks about his children.

He thinks about you as esteemed, dear, favorite.

That's a very powerful word in our family.

We have two daughters, and every time I turn around, each one's reminding me that they're my favorite.

They'll do something and go, hey, that's brought to you by your favorite daughter.

And so, uh, and by the way, they got that kind of thinking from me.

It is my fault.

Because one night we're at the dinner table, my wife sits down this delicious spread of food.

The kids have got all the water and the silverware and the napkins, and my wife says, Hey, why don't you pray?

And I said, Yeah, let's pray.

And I said, God, thank you that you tolerate these women, but I'm your favorite.

Amen.

Now my kids laughed, and my wife just kind of looked up and like, Really?

Why don't you pray for real now?

And I said, I just did.

Picked up my knife and fork and just kept cutting it.

Now, can you feel how arrogant that sounds?

Some of you are like, Yes, how can you do that?

Because that's what the Bible says.

That's why the Bible describes the way God feels about me.

When he says, Hey, be imitators of God as beloved children, as the esteemed, dear, favorite, worthy of love.

Some of you here are still trying to figure out if you're worthy of God's love.

You never have been and you never will be, but the fact that he gave it made you worthy, qualified you for it.

I was in my office this week talking to a young man.

The conversation ended, and I gave him something, slid across my desk, and he kind of looked at it and he got a little emotional and he pushed it back and he goes, I don't deserve that.

And so I just pushed it back and I said, I ain't giving it to you because you deserve it.

I'm giving it to you because I want you to have it.

God gives you his love because he wants you to have it.

And see, here's the thing: you you've got to embrace your identity before you could ever even think about imitation.

And what Jesus is kind of telling us is, hey, what does this mean?

First of all, it means imitation.

If you just think about what does it mean to be the beloved, here's why I put those words up there.

Which one of those is the hardest one for you to believe to be true about you?

Which one do you look at and just think, man, there's no way that can be true?

How about that word deer?

If you want to get a conversation started next time you you're out eating with friends or you're at home, and somebody says, Hey, who wants to pray for the food?

Raise your hand and say, I'll pray and pray something like this.

Lord, thank you for this food.

Everything we have comes from you.

And by the way, this is your beloved favorite speaking.

Amen.

And be prepared for, especially all the Baptists in the room, to be like, Well, I'll tell you what, you're just prideful and arrogant.

No, that's what it means to be beloved.

And I'm not saying don't get it out of balance.

But what does it mean?

First of all, it means imitation.

Secondly, it means affectionate revelation.

Affectionate revelation, verse 20, for the father loves the son and shows him all that he himself is doing, and greater works than these he will show him so that you may marvel.

Don't miss that.

Especially if you're a teenager in the room right now.

These cats were in a twist because Jesus professed that, hey, hey, God's greater these things he's done, and greater he's gonna show me.

The father loves me, he's gonna show me all that he himself is doing, and greater works than these will he show me so that you may marvel.

Now, ask yourself this question.

Do you ever wonder if God wants to relate to you in such a way that it causes those around you who doubt him or don't necessarily care for you, but it causes them to marvel.

Affectionate revelation.

Somebody asked me in the first service, they said, Hey, where were you last week?

I said, I went and interviewed for a job, it didn't go well, so I came back.

Uh here I am.

I knew I should have worn a suit.

No.

I went and spoke at a I went and spoke at a disciple now.

Uh there's about 260 teenagers in the room, just a cesspool of hormones.

I mean, just a throbbing mass of depravity.

You got small group leaders, you got parents, like, we want to come and hear this guy.

There's over three, about 350 people crammed in this room.

We're in the green room, by the way.

When I go speak at things, people love me.

They have a green room for me.

I had a little room, me and the band were back there.

I had a big old tub of MMs and pretzels and chips and popcorn and a coffee machine.

They said, We know you like coffee, and here's a bottle of water.

And we sat back there like the kings of Leon before the sessions would start, just notching on food and talking.

And every time they would say, the youth pastor would say, Hey, Neil, tell the band where you're going, so we can make sure we're on the same page.

I just took a section of 2 Corinthians 5, just walked through it.

And the second session, Saturday morning, I said, Hey, yeah, uh, we're in this part right here.

And one of the big things I'm gonna talk about is that Paul says, therefore, propositional truth statement, therefore, we no longer regard anyone according to the flesh.

And I'm gonna tell these students the problem with your life, the reason you're not interesting, the reason you're small and catty and jealous and contentious and scorekeeping and arrogant, yes, yeah.

And I'm saying all this stuff, and the band is going, and the youth pastors go, Yeah, I've been with him before.

I could probably say those things.

And by the way, students, look at me.

I would say the same thing to all y'all.

You're not interesting people.

You find other not interesting people who lie to you and tell you, you're interesting, you're awesome.

Oh, I love the way you think too.

Neither one of you are interesting.

You will throw your own parents under the bus to get your way.

You will lie, you will cheat, you will make out with your best friend's boyfriend, you'll text a guy that you know your best friend likes just because you're catty.

And here's now, by the way, don't check it.

We're going to Second Baptist.

Look at me.

Here's why you'll do it.

You'll do it because I said to the band, I said, because, hey, we we just regard everyone according to the flesh.

We think what you see is what you get.

You're like the guy who went to the 3D movie and forgot to get the glasses.

And I told these kids who I love, you can't even see into the dimension you were created to live in.

And these kids didn't get offended like some of you.

No, I said there's a whole spiritual dimension to life, and you guys are missing out.

That's why you're not interesting.

That's why you're small and boring.

And these kids are so deluded, they came up and thanked me for telling them that.

One of them's mom was in the back.

She came up and she's like, I thought, oh, great.

Oh, you're being hard on my kid.

And she goes, Oh my God.

Thank you so much.

My daughter was Sarah in the front row that you were talking to by name.

Yeah, because when I speak to, I call them by name.

Hey, you right here, what's your name?

And they're like, I wish somebody talked to me like that when I was 17.

Like, well, I gotta go.

Bye.

I don't know what to do with the affirmation.

I'm like, meh, meh.

So we're back in the green room, and I tell them this, and they said, So I said, yeah, so I'm gonna talk about that, just not regarding people according to the flesh.

Because you just go through life boring.

You'll go through life doing math.

Two plus two equals four.

And never hear the music of your just inward, divine, accepted belovedness.

And so they go, Oh yeah, oh, we're gonna change the song, we're gonna do this song.

So that's great, ma'am.

I want to think about that some more.

The youth pastor says, Hey, let me pray.

And when he said that, my spirit leapt up in me, and I just turned to one of the guys in the bay.

I said, Hey, I don't want to go out there and talk about not regarding people according to the flesh, about just regarding people according to the flesh and not doing in here.

So I got some.

Let me ask you a personal inappropriate question.

Can I do that?

Everybody in the room was like, I said, How do you and your wife doing financially?

And he goes, Well, uh, I said, don't give me a lame answer.

Everyone struggles, okay?

Everyone looks at their bank account and goes, What?

I mean, but this is an issue for y'all.

And he went, Yeah, it is.

I said, What do you need?

He said, uh, I really we need a car.

I drive a 2008, like Toyota Camry or Corolla or something.

I got a wife and a 14-month-old kid, and it breaks down every other month.

Aren't you on staff at this really big church y'all are also proud to be a part of?

Well, I mean, don't be hating on my church.

I'm not hating on your church.

But the Bible says in James chapter 5 to these to these unjust landowners that said, You've withheld the wage from those who mowed your field and reaped your harvest, and their cries have reached the ears of the Lord.

James 5 · chapter mention

That ain't a good thing to oppress people in the name of Jesus.

And it was beyond awkward at that point.

And they're all like, and I said, I don't, I don't, I'm just like a church.

I just, I just when we talk, I'm not gonna go out there and talk to these kids about don't regard people according to the flesh and regard you according to the flesh.

Because you got some sadness in you that is born of injustice, and you should ask yourself why you take it.

I looked at the youth minister and said, You can pray, and he's like, uh, oh, okay.

Here's what I'm saying, students.

I'll be I'll do your disciple now right now.

You would be a lot more interesting if you stopped living in the physical and started living in the spiritual.

Because that's what you're created for.

Until then, you're just a kid walking around in a 3D movie with no glasses on.

That's the big deal.

There's a big deal taking place all around you.

So when I say affectionate revelation, what I mean is God loves you so much.

He's not going to leave you just to live the life you want to live.

Hear me.

So if you're just kind of going through life, just living the life you want to live, ask yourself: why doesn't God reveal things to you?

Why has God just left me here to quote those great theologians, the eagles, as a prisoner of my own device?

See, some of you think, oh, I'm smooth.

My parents don't know.

It's worse than that.

Look at me.

Look right here at my big five head.

That's not a four head, that's a five head.

What am I saying?

That's about an eight-head.

Look at me.

It's not that.

I think y'all take comfort in, yeah, I'm sneaky and deceptive, and I got apps buried in my phone, my parents can't find.

Hey, you you ain't got the glasses on.

Put the glasses on and you see it like this.

God has given me over to these smaller appetites.

And I'm never gonna experience that affectionate revelation I was created for.

And if you're sitting there right now just thinking, well, whatever.

I'm talking to you.

Yeah.

What does it mean?

What does it mean?

Thirdly, it means life.

It's verse 21.

He says, for as the father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.

Hear that?

For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life.

By the way, down there in verse 25, Jesus is not sarcastic, but when you're smarter than everybody you ever talk to, you come off that way sometimes.

Verse 25, he is talking to them about them.

And it's not that he's so smart, they're so religiously stupid, they don't even hear it.

Look at verse 25.

He says, Truly, because after these four presuppositional statements, truth statements, he just says, verily, verily, which means truly, truly.

And he's just kind of saying, Hey, you guys can't see this.

Verse 25.

He says, Truly, truly I say to you, an hour is coming, and now is here when the dead, that would be you.

He's talking to these people, the dead hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.

For as the Father has life in himself, so he's granted the Son also to have life in himself.

And these people don't get it.

Jesus is saying, Hey, the people that are spiritually dead, they hear my voice because the Father has life in him and I am also God.

I got life in me.

Now, when we say that Jesus is also God, look at me.

We're not saying that here's God and Jesus is this competing deity.

No, no, no, at all.

The Son is always subordinate to the Father.

He submits to the Father.

It's the Garden of Gethsemane where he says, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.

But nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done.

He always, that's why he says, Hey, I do the things I do because of the Father.

When I say life, what I mean is that the Bible teaches that God is self-existent and that He is, He has life in Himself, and His life depends on no one else to sustain him.

He's self-existent, okay?

And so, human beings, we are derived creatures.

Our life comes from God.

Now, however, if the Son is going to do whatever the Father does, then he has to possess what only the Father possesses.

In this case, it's life.

It's the prologue of John's gospel, the first four verses.

We talked about it when we first started John.

In him was life.

Verse 4, John 1, 4, in him was life, and that life was the light of all men.

We talked about that word life is Zoe.

It's not bios.

Bios is a reference to just biological life.

Zoe is this, by way of reminder, Zoe is the absolute fullness of life, both essential and ethical, life real and genuine, a life active and vigorous, devoted to God.

Hear this next part.

Blessed in the portion, even in this world, of those who put their trust in Christ.

Look at me.

Mom and dad, parenting tip.

If you're teaching your kids that this is, when the when the Bible says, even in this world, don't teach your kids that Christianity is, hey, you become a Christian and you just gotta go through life miserable, your whole life, just kind of sad, and then at the end, oh, we get to go to heaven.

Because your kids aren't interested in that.

They'd rather smoke a little herb and get crazy on the weekend.

Because you're boring and your Christianity is lame.

I wish y'all could see your faces right now.

Y'all are like, dude didn't preach last week.

He's all backed up in there.

And your kids are like, keep talking.

I might be interested in this Jesus.

He's interested in you.

And it's not just, oh, I'm just gonna be miserable, but I love Jesus.

Y'all go ahead and sin.

I love Jesus.

No, that's not Zoe.

That's not the John 10, 10.

Jesus said, I am come so you may have life and have it to the full.

Have it more abundantly.

Have it on a level beyond anything you could ever think about.

Why, why don't people, you see, when Jesus says this, he can't give what he doesn't have.

But if he only he has life, then what he's saying is that in him is life.

If that's true, and it is, what he's saying is, hear this.

I want you to relate to me in a way you relate to nobody or nothing else.

We'll get to it next week.

In verse 39 of John chapter 5, Jesus says to these people, he says, You search the scriptures because they testify of me, but yet you refuse to come to me so that you may have life.

John 5 · chapter mention

Look at me.

If you're anything to hear this, Jesus didn't come to make you religious, he came to give you life.

Now, if Jesus came to give you life, then it stands to reason that from God's perspective you're spiritually dead.

He said, You can search the scriptures, you can read the Bible.

By the way, I didn't tell David this, but if it comes back, I'll tell him, hey, David, smart people are prone to get involved in cults because you like to search the scriptures and find these little minute details that no one else knows.

Then you go around ringing doorbells and just vomiting on people, your your worldview that is horribly unbiblical.

It's like my mom.

Love my mom.

Stay with me.

I'm not disrespecting my mom.

Take my mom out to eat, hardest working person I've ever known.

So every time I take my mom out, I tell my mom, get whatever you want.

My mom gets the menu, and my mom reads everything on the menu.

Out loud.

She'll go, oh, oh, they have a smoked salmon dip as an appetizer.

And then she reads the price.

$9.99.

Who can afford that?

My mom was born in Minnesota, now lives in East Texas, so it's a strange mix of Duluth and East Texas.

And then my mom reads every appetizer.

Ask my wife after the service, every appetizer, and then she starts reading up, oh, crab legs,$32.

Oh Lord, those must be big.

I'm like, mom, get the crab legs.

I don't care what you get, mom.

Just we'll be a table, 15 people.

My mom's down the end with her reading glasses on, squinting, reading everything out loud.

And then she gets done with that.

She picks up the drink menu off the table, the one you order off of, and she opens it up.

And she just looks at it and she goes, Oh, a peach bellini.

What is that?

And I'm like, ask Marcy.

And she's like, and she's just reading.

And then she reads the dessert menu.

Oh, bread pudding,$8.99.

Oh, but it has a caramel sauce.

And I'm like, I got the waiter saying, hey man, give us a bread pudding over and give it to my mom, okay?

And my mom's like, oh, well, if you insist.

She just loves to read the menu.

Now, why do I tell you that?

To just hold that and then come over here with me.

Look at me.

Friday night.

Marsha and I went with some friends to Carabas, right down here across from the mall, okay?

Walked in, sat down.

The girl put some menus down.

I just shoved it aside.

People we're with looked at me like, Are you not eating?

I'm like, no, I'm about to get my grub on up in here.

Uh I don't need to look at the menu.

Hey, most places I go eat, I don't look at the menu because I know what I want.

So when the lady came, she goes, Yes, are you ready to order it?

Yes, I want the chicken brine with the sauteed spinach and a Caesar salad.

And she goes, Oh, that didn't take long.

It doesn't take long when you know what you want.

I know why I'm here.

And so they're all ordering, blah, blah, blah.

How many of y'all know what chicken brine is?

Some of y'all are like, I got nothing.

Let me tell my friend here from Dallas in the front row what chicken brine is.

Chicken brine is a dish.

It's two grilled chicken breasts, slathered with goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes, and then covered in a reduction sauce.

Whoo! It comes with a side of sauteed spinach with thinly sliced garlic in there.

It is delicious, and a perfectly prepared Caesar salad with some hot bread and some oil and Italian seasoning to dip it in.

Now, why do I tell you that?

When I go to Carabas, I don't go to read the menu, I go to enjoy the meal.

My mom likes to read the menu.

The Pharisees, these people that want to kill Jesus, they spent their whole life reading, searching the scriptures because they testified Jesus.

They got all the facts figured out, but they do not know how to enjoy the meal.

I said I'd like to ask you this question.

Do you know how to enjoy the meal?

Are you just searching the scriptures because they testify of Jesus and you want to have a great orthodoxy and no orthopraxy, where you practically enjoy all that God makes available.

The last thing what does this mean?

It means judgment.

You still with me?

You got all somber there for a minute.

I thought I lost you.

Y'all are like, we got to think about this.

We got to think about it.

It means judgment.

It's verse 22.

He says, For the father judges no one.

He's given judgment to the son, that all may honor the son just as they honor the father.

Hear that again.

The father, God judges no one.

But he's given judgment to the son.

Why?

So that everybody may honor the father.

And this is what I pointed to my friend David yesterday.

I said, David, it says right here that he's God's given all judgment over to the Son, that you may honor the Son just as they honor the Father.

Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.

I said, David, Jehovah's Witnesses do not honor the Son, therefore, you could not be honoring the Father.

Well, you make some good points.

And I said, David, I'm not trying to win a religious argument.

I'm trying to deliver you from deception.

This whole thing that you're a part of is not built and based on the truth.

Oh, I I I do not have the right, I do not have the right magazine.

I will come back with the right magazine.

The right magazine's right here, David.

We got the right magazine.

It was the sad part.

His 14-year-old daughter was standing behind him just doing this.

No.

See, what do you mean?

Judgment.

Here's what that means.

Look at me.

There's a lot of people walking around with theologically incorrect tattoos.

They say this, only God can judge me.

I saw a guy the other day at the grocery store.

He had tattooed on his neck, right like a necklace.

Only God can judge me.

He looked a little scary, so I didn't bring it up with him.

But I was sitting in the I mean, he had the Mr.

T starter set, the three gold chains, the wife beater shirt on, the white undershirt, but looked like he'd been in a gang or something.

I was like, uh, it's 41 degrees.

Why are you wearing that?

I don't want to know.

But I'm sitting at the Atlanta airport one time waiting to catch a plane, and the guy, two chairs over, has it on his forearm.

Only God can judge me.

And he has a bunch of other tattoos.

I think those are beautiful.

I'm looking.

You ever stare at somebody and they catch you staring?

Then there's nowhere to hide.

You're like, uh-oh, uh.

And I said, hey, hey, I like your tattoos.

That one about only God just would.

If that was wrong, would you want to know?

And he said, Man, you're tripping.

I said, I don't know what that means, but if that was wrong, would you want to know?

What do you mean?

Only God can judge me.

And I said, uh, theologically, that that's not accurate.

God, God is going to judge no one.

The Bible even says God Himself judges no man.

Paul's talking to these people in Acts 17, theoretically, because he's smart people, and he says to them, Hey, God, hey, in the times of ignorance, God has overlooked in the past, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent because he has fixed the day when he's going to judge the world.

Hear this, in righteousness.

And of this, of this fact, he's going to judge the world in righteousness.

Remember that phrase, gonna judge the world in righteousness, because everybody says, You can't judge me.

You're hating on me.

You're just being judgmental.

God's gonna judge anybody, he's gonna judge the world in righteousness.

And Paul says, of this he's given proof by raising him from the dead.

I said, Hey, only God can judge me.

God's not gonna judge you.

You're gonna be judged.

We're all gonna be, everybody in this airport is gonna be judged by Jesus because he came, lived a sinless life.

The Bible says he was in all points, tempted as we were, and yet without sin.

And so you're gonna be judged in righteousness by the righteous judge who never sinned.

So he goes, Well, what do you mean?

And I said, Well, no one can say, Oh, you don't understand because you don't know what it's like.

He knows what it's like, he was in all points tempted as we were, and yet he didn't give in the way you and I give in.

And he said, That's some dope bleep.

And I in inside, I sound all kind.

Inside I'm thinking, thank you, Lord, he's not gonna beat me up right here.

Because he was a large man.

And he said, so, and I said, So I just for his word, I'm a preacher, I'm flying back home, no big deal.

Just saw that I see that a lot, but he ain't judging anybody.

Jesus is the perfect, righteous God.

So no one's gonna stand before God and say, I got a raw deal.

Because God judges the world in righteousness.

If he's gonna judge the world in righteousness, he needs a righteous standard by which he evaluates your life and my life.

And that righteous standard is Jesus.

That's what it means that Jesus is the Son of God.

Second question, why does it matter?

Why it matters very quickly?

Just three simple reasons.

Number one, God has always been present with his people, he's always been present with his people.

He's a very available God.

In the Old Testament, he comes to Adam and Eve, creates them for fellowship with him.

They sin, they screw it up, they have to be expelled from God's presence out of the garden.

God begins to relate these people called patriarchs in the Bible.

Uh, and then he sets his affection on Israel.

You have the Ark of the Covenant, the manifest presence of God that goes with the people of God, pillar of cloud by day, pillar of fire by night.

The Old Testament's winding down.

God prophesies to a prophet Isaiah, a virgin shall conceive and give birth uh to a son, and you shall call his name Emmanuel, which means God with us.

God kind of saying, Hey, the way of you relating to me is going to change.

It's going to find a more intimate expression.

Jesus is born of a virgin, conceived of the Holy Spirit, did not and did not inherit a sinful nature.

Therefore, he does not have the capacity.

He can be tempted, but he doesn't sin.

He takes upon humanity so he can be the Son of God and the Son of Man lives a sinless life and he dies on the cross.

And so when we say, hey, God has always been present with his people, Jesus before the cross, he's getting ready to leave.

And he says to his disciples, I gotta go.

And they're like, Why?

And he says, So that the comforter, the Holy Spirit, will come.

And he says, This, I will not leave you as orphans.

I will not leave you as orphans.

And they're so comforted by that.

Ask yourself today, in what ways am I comforted by the presence of God?

Last night, Marcy and I were going to meet some friends for dinner, and we stopped by the hospice up here on Brook Street and saw our friend Dot Breedland, who's probably got three days to two weeks to live.

We hung out, laughed, and cut up, and we got ready to leave.

I put my hand on her forehead.

And she reached her hand out and I said, I never missed the opportunity to hold the hand of a good-looking woman.

I took her hand in my hand.

Dots in her 70s, eight.

I don't know how old she is.

And I put my hand on her forehead and I said, Hey Dot, let me tell you something.

God's going to walk with you all the way through this.

Yea, though I walk through the valley in the shadow of death, you don't have to fear any evil because God's with you.

His rod and his staff, they comfort you.

On what basis can I say that?

Because God has always been present with his people.

Second thing, why does it matter?

It makes him fit for the work of redemption.

It makes him fit for the work of redemption.

Because Jesus is God.

He's sinless, perfect, then he's qualified.

It's why, I don't want to get into it.

It's why in the book of Revelation you see people around the throne of God and they're just sad because no one's worthy to open this seal.

And all of a sudden, John the Revelator says, And I looked, and a lamb, and someone looking as if a lamb that had been slain comes walking out, and heaven rejoices and says, Worthy is the lamb, because with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and nation and tongue and people.

Worthy is the Lamb.

Why it matters.

Lastly, is just this because God has personally done something about your sin.

Back to my friend David.

I said, David, see, here's the problem.

Here's the difference in you and me.

You're out here knocking on doors, ringing doorbells on Saturday morning because you've been taught this is an essential part of it, this is a necessary piece for your salvation.

He says, Yes.

How else are we going to be saved?

I said, You think God is so incapable that He needs your help?

You need to go knock on a hundred doors every Saturday in order to get into heaven?

He says, Well, don't you do good works?

I said, all the time.

Well, see, you agree.

No, I don't.

You do them so that I do them because of.

He goes, What do you mean?

I said, You do them so that you can get into heaven.

Hopefully, you've done enough.

I do them because I'm already getting into heaven.

That's a done deal.

I'm the beloved of God.

I think I'm his little buckaroo.

His daughter is behind him, just kind of going, silly rabbit.

Tricks of forgive.

I looked over at that shoulder.

I said, I believe that.

I just think every once in a while he looks down and says, It's my little buddy Neil.

My wife, every once in a while, is like, oh, I wish you wouldn't say those kind of things.

I'm gonna die saying those kind of things.

I don't want to waste my life just reading the Bible and knowing Jesus' facts.

Anybody got any spiritual questions?

Kidding me?

Hey, what do I mean when I say God has personally done something about your sin?

Here's what I mean, and I'll shut up and we'll go eat lunch.

Here's what I mean.

On the cross, the wrath of God is satisfying the justice of God on behalf of the people of God.

Let me say it again.

On the cross, the wrath of God, God's personally, I told David, hey, God, he goes, Well, how can you be so sure?

Because God personally has seen to it, he has secured my redemption and my forgiveness.

And the book of Hebrews says, hey, I don't have to stand like one of those priests offering day after day the same sacrifices that can never take away sin.

When my high priest Jesus offered for one time one sacrifice for sins, and he is sat down at the right hand of God, he's done.

So I could just enjoy all that he's accomplished.

On the cross, the wrath of God is satisfying the justice of God on behalf of the people of God.

That's why, beloved, when we say that Jesus is God, this is what it means, and that's some of why it matters.

Let's pray together.

Now, if you're a guest, just relax.

We like to teach the Bible and then give you a little space to think about it.

It's been a full service.

We dedicate a couple beautiful young ladies to God.

We sang songs in worship to God, and we just plowed deep in a passage in God's word.

Ask yourself what you walk away with from that.

What stirs in you?

What do you want to think about when you get home today?

What do you want to think about when you drive to work tomorrow?

What do you want to journal about?

What do you want to pray to God and say, you know, God, I want to I want to get some clarity around that?

Or maybe you just want to say, students, hey God, I want to put on the 3D glasses.

I'm tired of being a one-dimensional teenager.

There's a luminous Jesus frolicking wildly on the fringes of your imagination.

And the Bible says of our great God that He's able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond anything we could ask or imagine.

Let's think about this for a moment.

Father, I pray that as a result of what your word said today, that it would change the way we think about the Bible.

It's not a list of rules or regulations, it's affectionate revelation.

It's it's revelation coming from a God that just kind of says, Hey, when Jesus, you said, Hey, watch the way I relate to my father.

That's why you prayed in the in your high priestly prayer in John 17.

Father, I want them to be one the way you and I are one.

I want them to learn to relate to you by watching how I relate to you.

I pray for our students that they get some adults around them, some moms and dads in their houses that relate to you in such a fascinating, intoxicating way that they would be tired of being one-dimensional.

So, Holy Spirit, just breathe life on us today.

Don't leave us to ourselves.

Oh man, that's just boring.

We're tired of that.

So, even so, Lord Jesus, come.

Come, Lord.

Breathe life into us.

We pray in Jesus' name.

And everyone said, Amen.

If you're a guest, thanks for being part of our service.

Uh, as someone probably said to you earlier the service on the on the back of some of the seats in your row, there's a guest card.

Hopefully, you've had a chance to pull one of those out and fill it out.

If you haven't, would you make the chance before you leave and just drop it in one of these offering boxes, the wooden boxes by the doors?

And for the rest of us, if today's the day that you worship God through obedience or generosity, that's where you do that as well.

Make let me make you aware of two things by way of announcement.

Number one, uh, we have a marriage conference coming up, the Intimate Mystery Conference with Dan Alender, May 4th and 5th.

I cannot stress to you what a big deal this is.

Uh, I will just say that I know some of you know who Dan is, some of you are like, I don't know who that is.

He's a phenomenally gifted, quirky, funny, anointed man.

Those are my favorite kind.

I had a friend here from out of town on Friday, and he saw the poster and he's like, dude, how'd you get Dan Allender to come here?

And I said, It has nothing to do with me.

I think Dan has friends here in the city.

But anyway, he agreed to come, and I said, Yes, come on.

I will I want you to come.

And so it's$65 a person.

It's$130 for a couple, is the best investment you'll make in your marriage this year.

I promise you.

You can register online, our church's website, just grandparkway.org.

Last thing I'll remind you of is our women's retreat.

It's coming up in April.

The dates are the 13th and the 14th, and you may go, why is that 12th in parentheses?

Because a lot of our women go up on like Thursday night and just do nothing to the glory of God.

They just, yes, I hear you over here.

Mm-hmm.

That's right.

You men get up off of us, take these kids.

Uh yeah.

I asked my wife, I said, What's the parentheses?

The first time they did it, and she goes, Hey, sometimes we just need to disconnect from all our responsibility and just kind of bask in our identity.

It's just women who just love God and each other.

And so we just need to just detach and decompress.

And I was like, You ain't gotta yell at me.

I just asked, why is it in parentheses?

So, hey, men, look at me.

Don't ever make your wife feel bad or guilty about giving herself what she needs.

And so let's work to make sure our wives get to be a part of this.

And if possible, go up on Thursday and just do nothing but hang out to the glory of God.

It's an incredible weekend plan.

They're registering in the lobby.

If you have any questions, you can register online.

You can see Marcia, our women's pastor.

We'd love to help you with that.

If you have any questions about anything you heard today, we can pray with you, myself, or some of our staff and elders will be available down front, okay?

Uh look at me.

Our service went a little long today.

I'm not apologizing.

Uh, we don't hurry like a baby dedication.

We don't we think it's a sin to hurry through that.

We think it's a sin to hurry through the Bible.

And so uh I just want to speak to that.

If you're kind of like, hey, uh there you go.

Stand to your feet.

Hold your hands out.

You're the esteemed favorite.

The beloved of God.

Worthy of loving.

It is yours because of Jesus.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.