Our Prayer for 2020

Well, this morning is the first Sunday in 2020.

The chapter of our lives called 2019 has been written and it is complete.

We no longer have the opportunity to add anything to it.

And we cannot change what has happened in the past.

It's in the past.

Just as I wondered if you've taken time to reflect on 2019,

I wonder if you've taken time to think about this year ahead.

Some of you may or may not be into making resolutions and that kind of thing.

Have you taken time to think about not only how the past year went,

but how you'd like this next whole year to go?

What are the things that you hope to see in 2020?

What are your greatest longings for this year ahead?

My hope and my prayer is that as we come to the Lord's word this morning,

that he will give us a bit of a vision for what we can long for and pray for

and strive for in this coming year.

We ended last year, 2019,

by looking at the glorious truth of who this baby was in the manger.

He was the son who was with God and was God at the very beginning.

He became flesh.

He became one of us.

And he lived among us.

He was in our world.

And even though the world was made through him,

John says the world did not recognize him.

We're at the beginning of the story here,

as we look at John's account of the story of Jesus.

And there's a couple of things that John wants to make clear,

just as if you were asked to tell someone about something,

before you tell them the story,

there's a couple of things that I just want to say here at the beginning

and make clear before we get into it.

That's what John is doing here.

And he's already made clear for us

that the story of Jesus did not begin in the womb of Mary.

No, Jesus is the word who was with God and was God

even before everything in our world was made.

And he became flesh.

He came, he lived among us.

And there's more that John wants to make clear.

There's a couple other things that John wants to say

before he gets into telling the story of Jesus.

And one of those things is that

comes to us in verse 14.

And I'll read it for us this morning.

Verse 14 to 18.

If you have your Bible, feel free to open it up to John chapter 1.

John 1 · chapter mention

If you're in the pew Bibles,

the black hardcover in front of you,

that's page 860.

John 1 verses 14.

John 1:14

John writes,

The word became flesh

and made his dwelling among us.

We have seen his glory.

The glory of the one and only Son

who came from the Father.

Full of grace and truth.

John testified concerning him.

He cried out saying,

This is the one I spoke about when I said,

He who comes after me

has surpassed me

because he was before me.

Out of his fullness,

we have all received grace

in place of grace already given.

For the law was given through Moses.

Grace and truth

came through Jesus Christ.

No one has ever seen God.

But the one and only Son

who is himself God

and is in closest relationship with the Father

has made him known.

So what else does John want to make clear to us

before he gets into telling the story of Jesus?

This one,

the word,

the light,

the life,

the one who became flesh,

he was in the world.

He came into our world

and he lived among us.

But the world on the whole

did not recognize him,

says John.

But even though on the whole

the world did not recognize him,

John says this in verse 14.

He says,

we have seen his glory.

We have seen his glory.

It's past tense.

Literally,

we saw his glory.

I want you to imagine for a moment

that John is here with us this morning,

that he's the guest speaker.

You can kind of do it up in your imagination

however you want.

And whether we go back in time to his time

where he kind of appears to us here in the future

and he's here today

to tell us the story of Jesus,

to tell us what he saw.

And he looks you in the face

and he says to you,

we saw his glory.

To which we're all thinking,

well, tell us, John.

What did you see?

What did you see of his glory?

Tell me.

Tell me the story.

You claim to have seen it.

What did you see?

What is John doing here?

He's whetting our appetites

for what's to come.

He's about to tell us the story.

But he wants us to listen closely

because there is something to see here

that is amazing,

that many missed

about Jesus,

about this one.

We saw his glory.

We didn't just see a guy

who was just another man.

We saw his glory.

The glory of the one and only son

who came from the Father,

says John.

And he gives us a bit of a trailer,

a bit of a teaser

as to some of what he saw.

He said,

we saw his glory,

the glory of the one and only son

who came from the Father

full of grace and truth.

We saw how he was full of grace

and full of truth.

And I hope right now

what we're thinking is,

John, tell me,

how was he full of grace?

How was he full of truth?

What did you see?

What did he say?

What did he do

that brought you to write this?

John's going to tell us

as he goes on in the gospel.

He's going to tell us

what he saw of Jesus' glory

and how he was full of grace

and truth.

Those two words,

grace and truth,

John,

he picks them up again

down in verse 17.

The last half of verse 17,

John says this.

He says,

grace and truth

came through Jesus Christ.

He's making a little bit

of a different point here

using the same two words.

The first point he made

was that Jesus is full

of grace and truth.

He has these qualities.

But now here in verse 17,

he's saying grace and truth

come through Jesus Christ.

And we're not going to get into

all the details of this verse here,

but he's comparing Jesus

to Moses in verse 17.

For the law was given

through Moses.

The law,

God's law,

was given,

and this is implied,

to people

through Moses.

Grace,

however,

grace and truth,

God's grace

and God's truth

came

and again implied

to people

through Jesus Christ.

So it's both.

He is full of grace

and truth

in himself

as a person.

The Lord Jesus is.

But he has also

come into our world

to offer us something.

To give us something.

To give us

God's grace

and God's truth.

What does John say

in verse 16?

He says,

out of his fullness

we have all

received

grace.

This is not just

grace and truth

for us to see

and look at.

This is grace and truth

for us to receive

and to take

for ourselves.

Just as the law

was given

through Moses

so that the people

could have it

in the same way.

God is giving

his grace

his generosity

his gift

his blessing

his truth

to people

and it's coming

through

his son

Jesus Christ.

How does it work?

How do we get it?

How do we receive it

for ourselves?

Again,

John is whetting

our appetite

so that as we go on

in the story

we can look for that.

How do we get this grace

from God

and this truth?

The last thing

that John

wants to make clear

before he gets

into the story

of Jesus

comes in verse 18.

He says this

no one has ever

seen God

but the one

and only son

who is himself

God

and is in closest

relationship

with the father

has made him

known.

No one has ever

seen God

says John

and the way he says

this is quite emphatic

it's no one

has seen God

ever.

Now those of you

who know your Bible

well

might be a little

puzzled by that

expression.

Maybe you can think

of a time or two

back in the Old Testament

where it seems

as though someone

saw God.

One of those

times was

Jacob.

Jacob

a man

appeared to him

one night

and he wrestled

with that man

and at the end

of this

wrestling

with this man

the man said

you have wrestled

with God

and Jacob

at the end

of that whole

encounter

he named

the place

and he said

this

he said

because I saw

God

face to face

and yet my life

was spared.

So it seems

as though

Jacob saw God

in one sense

though it was

in the appearance

of a man.

Abraham also

if we remember

back to our last

series

he had an

encounter

with God

like this

the three

visitors

came

to him

and one

of them

was the

Lord himself

in human

form.

Abraham

spoke to him

face to face

like he would

to any other

person.

He offered him

hospitality

food to eat

and drink

and he bartered

with him

about Sodom

and Gomorrah.

Abraham,

Jacob and

others

had encounters

with God

like this

where they saw

God

and God

I guess

appeared to

them

made himself

known to

them in

human form

took on

the form

of a

human

being

and spoke

to them.

Moses also

in a sense

saw

God

when he was

kind of in the

region of

Sinai

and during

that time

before they had

entered the

promised land

it says this

in Exodus

33

now Moses

used to

take a

tent

and pitch

it outside

the camp

some distance

away

and he called

it the

tent of

meeting

and

he basically

tells us

that Moses

would go

out to

this tent

to meet

with God

and it

says this

in verse

11 of

chapter 33

the Lord

would speak

to Moses

face to

face

as one

speaks to

a friend

so it

seems from

these

examples

that in

at least

some sense

some people

have seen

God

but in

another

sense

in the

sense

that

John

means

no

one

has

ever

seen

God

and

I think

one of the

best examples

of this

is with

Moses

and it

comes right

after this

it says

that he

spoke

to Moses

face to

face

as one

speaks to

a friend

and then

in the

very next

section

the very

next

encounter

that's

described

that Moses

has with

God

this is

what it

says

it says

Moses

he asked

God

for something

he said

show me

your glory

and the

Lord

agreed to

his request

the Lord

said

I will

cause

all my

goodness

to pass

in front

of you

and I

will

proclaim

my name

the Lord

in your

presence

but

the Lord

said

you cannot

see

my face

for no

one

may see

me

and live

so even

though

Moses

had spoken

to the

Lord

face to

face

in one

sense

there was

still a

sense

in which

he had

not

seen

the

Lord's

face

not

in

not

the

Lord

in

the

fullness

of

his

glory

the

Lord

said

you

can't

see

my

face

in

the

fullness

of

my

glory

and

live

and

so

what

does

the

Lord

do

we

kind

of

sang

a

song

already

that

really

ties

in

with

this

he

hideth

my

soul

in

the

cleft

of

the

rock

the

Lord

comes

up

with

this

arrangement

so

that

he

can

show

some

of

his

glory

to

Moses

the

Lord

said

there's

a

place

near

me

where

you

may

stand

on

a

rock

when

my

glory

passes

by

I

will

put

you

in

a

cleft

in

the

rock

and

cover

you

with

my

hand

until

I

have

passed

by

then

I

will

remove

my

hand

and

you

will

see

my

back

but

my

face

says

the

Lord

must

not

be

seen

so

there

is a

sense

in

which

no

one

has

ever

seen

God

not

in

the

fullness

of

his

glory

and

there's

two

reasons

at

least

why

the

first

is

owing

to

our

own

sinfulness

we

are

sinners

we

are

rebels

God

is

holy

he

is

righteous

he

is

eager

to

bring

justice

and

to

do

good

and

so

we

can

only

get

so

close

you

cannot

see

my

face

for

no

one

may

see

me

and

live

the

second

reason

that

we

cannot

see

God

is

is

owing

to

what

one

preacher

referred

to

as

our

creaturely

weakness

we

lack

the

capacity

to

do

it

Jesus

will

tell

us

just a

couple

chapters

later

in

John

that

God

is

spirit

in

Paul's

letter

to

the

Colossians

he

says

for

the

sun

is

the

image

of

the

invisible

God

and

again

in

1st

Timothy

1

verse

17

he

is

the

invisible

God

God

is

spirit

he

is

invisible

we

can't

see

him

with

our

physical

human

eyes

they

don't

have

the

capacity

to

see

spirits

and

so

in

that

sense

no

one

has

ever

seen

God

and

we

might

perhaps

speculate

a little

bit

that

even

if

God

was

to

make

himself

known

in

the

fullness

of

his

glory

right

in

front

of

our

faces

we

just

we

couldn't

handle

it

the

analogy

that

I

kept

thinking

of

as

I

was

thinking

through

this

was

when

we

look

at

the

sun

maybe

you

have

seen

a

sunrise

or

sunset

or

two

with

the

short

days

that

we

have

been

having

and

you

try

to

look

at

it

and

just

take

in

the

beauty

of

it

but

then

you

can

only

look

so

long

before

you

start

to

see

funny

as

you

look

around

at

everything

else

if

you

stare

too

long

at

the

sun

it

will

do

permanent

damage

to

your

eyes

we

weren't

meant

to

look

right

at

it

our

eyes

aren't

made

for

that

they're

made

to

see

everything

else

in the

light

of

the

sun

in

the

same

way

if

we

were

to

come

face

to

face

with

the

fullness

of

God's

glory

he

would

be

too

bright

dare

I

say

we'd

be

incinerated

we

weren't

made

to

handle

to

take

in

all

of

who

he

is

right

there

face

to

face

not

with

these

bodies

not

as

we

are

and

so

in

those

senses

in

the

sense

of

the

fullness

of

God's

glory

no

one

has

ever

seen

God

we

can't

because

of

our

sin

because

of

our

creaturely

weakness

and

incapacity

but

here's

the good

news

that

John

writes

he

says

but

the

one

and

only

son

has

made

him

known

this

is

the

good

news

that

John

wants

us

to

know

even

before

we

get

going

in

the

story

this

one

this

guy

Jesus

the

Christ

he

has

come

into

our

world

to

make

the

unseeable

one

known

to

us

so

that

in

a

sense

we

might

see

him

so

that

we

might

know

him

in

a

way

that

we

otherwise

couldn't

the

prophets

they

were

only

so

good

what

they

were

able

to

communicate

and

reveal

about

God

but

the

son

is

able

to

make

God

known

in

a

way

that

the

prophets

couldn't

even

hold

a

candle

to

what

does

John

say

the

one

and

only

son

who

is

himself

God

he's

not

just

a

man

he is

himself

God

and

is

in

closest

relationship

with

the

father

because

of that

close

relationship

the son

has

with

the

father

he's

able

to

make

known

who

God

is

to

us

in a

way

that

we

never

could

have

before

and

so

again

John

is

whetting

our

appetites

as

we're

about

to

move

forward

and

work

through

the

gospel

of

John

and

the

weeks

and

months

ahead

what

are

we

looking

to

see

what

are

we

hoping

to

find

there

we're

hoping

to

see

as

John

did

the

glory

of

the

son

we're

hoping

to

to

know

God

better

because

that's

why

he's

come

to

make

God

known

and

so

as

we

journey

through

the

gospel

of

John

in

the

weeks

ahead

I

want

you

to

imagine

that

these

words

are

in

one

sense

the

same

as

having

John

with

us

here

as

a

guest

speaker

if

you

were

to

ask

him

so

what

did

you

see

this

is

what

he

would

say

and

as

we

ask

those

questions

tell

me

more

tell

me

more

this

is

what

he

would

say

and

I

hope

and

I

pray

that

as

we

work

through

this

series

that

we

will

see

the

glory

of

Jesus

in

a

way

that's

deeper

than

we

ever

have

before

that

we'll

get

to

know

God

better

as

I

was

thinking

about

this

started

to

think

that's

really

a

good

desire

to

have

not

just

for

Sunday

mornings

when

we

come

to

listen

to

the

word

but

perhaps

that

could

be

our

desire

our

longing

our

big

resolution

our

big

hope

and

dream

for

this

year

we've

just

crossed

the

threshold

from

2019

into

2020

I

don't

know

about

you

but

I

have

hopes

for

this

year

ahead

I

have

dreams

I

have

things

that

I'm

longing

for

in

my

own

life

and

in

our

church

in

this

community

and

my

family

in

my

relationships

with

people

but

what

is

that

thing

that

I

should

long

for

most

what's

that

one

thing

that

I

should

ask

God

for

more

than

anything

else

the

thing

that

is

supremely

valuable

that

will

make

all

the

difference

in

this

year

what's

the

thing

that

I

want

to

look

back

on

2020

as

being

the

year

that

that

happened

I

want

to

look

back

on

2020

and

remember

it

is

the

year

that

I

saw

just

as

John

did

the

glory

of

Jesus

in

a

deeper

way

than

I

ever

had

before

I

want

to

remember

2020

is

the

year

that

I

got

to

know

God

in

sweeter

deeper

more

precious

ways

than

I

had

known

him

before

and

I'm

crazy

enough

to

believe

that

if

we

make

that

our

great

longing

our

great

prayer

request

for

the

year

that

every

other

area

of

our

lives

will

be

affected

as

well

our

marriages

will be

changed

our

parenting

will be

affected

our

relationships

with other

people

that are

broken

that are

struggling

will be

affected

our

work

will be

affected

when

we

catch

a

glimpse

of

God's

beauty

of

his

glory

I'm

crazy

enough

to

believe

that

every

area

of

our

lives

will

change

for

the

better

in

all

those

little

resolutions

and ways

that we

hope

as well

so I

want to

invite

you

along

with

myself

to

make

this

your

prayer

for the

whole

year

for

2020

this

this

that

this

would

be

our

church

prayer

the

prayer

that

Moses

prayed

Lord

show

me

your

glory

this

year

2020

help

me

know

you

better

I

want

to

know

you

I

want

to

see

your

glory

let's

pray

that

now

Lord

Jesus

we

read

these

pages

some

of

us

many

times

we

don't

want

to

read

them

again

and

just

see

nothing

just

see

the

same

old

story

that

we've

read

Lord

we

want

to

see

your

glory

we

want

to

be

captivated

by

your

beauty

by

your

grace

by

your

truth

we

want

to

know

what

we

otherwise

couldn't

about

God

because

of

what

you

said

and

did

and

so

we

pray

and

ask

that

this

would

be

a

year

that

we

would

be

captivated

by

you

Lord

we

don't

want

to

be

as

the

story

of

this

year

captivated

by

the

light

that

comes

out

of

our

phone

screens

or

televisions

we

want

to be

captivated

by

the

light

that

comes

out

of

your

glorious

radiance

and

presence

the

light

that

we

see

through

your

son

Jesus

the

image

of

you

the

invisible

so

work

in our

hearts

give us

eyes

to see

give us

ears

to hear

help us