1 00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:05,400 The Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 5 verse 6 begins this 2 00:00:05,400 --> 00:00:07,800 way. For when we were still without 3 00:00:07,800 --> 00:00:12,080 strength, in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. 4 00:00:12,800 --> 00:00:17,320 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die yet per adventure. 5 00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:19,760 For a good man some would even dare to die. 6 00:00:20,480 --> 00:00:25,800 But God demonstrates His own love toward us in that while we 7 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:30,280 were still sinners, Christ died for us. 8 00:00:31,240 --> 00:00:34,560 That passage has always been very beautiful to me, and 9 00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:38,480 certainly goes along with just about any topic we might want to 10 00:00:38,480 --> 00:00:41,120 discuss when it comes to God and His love. 11 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:44,080 And of course, as I've mentioned from night to night, the book of 12 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:47,760 Philippians is about God the Father and His grace. 13 00:00:48,360 --> 00:00:50,960 Well, of course, the grace of God and the love of God cannot 14 00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:53,960 be separated because God is both love. 15 00:00:53,960 --> 00:00:57,120 He is grace, He is mercy, He is justice, He is all of those 16 00:00:57,120 --> 00:01:00,320 wonderful attributes rolled up into one and then some. 17 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:04,640 And so you can't really parcel out the great attributes, the 18 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:07,160 eternal attributes of our heavenly Father. 19 00:01:07,920 --> 00:01:11,000 I hope as we've gone through Philippians, we've looked at 20 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:13,760 some of the things that might resonate with you on a practical 21 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:16,200 level. We haven't really delved into 22 00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:20,200 the doctrine of Philippians really deep, but nonetheless, 23 00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:23,200 there's been so much hopefully in Philippians that we can take 24 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:27,080 with us and apply. So I hope by now you've gotten 25 00:01:27,080 --> 00:01:29,280 the general thrust of Philippians. 26 00:01:29,560 --> 00:01:33,160 We haven't covered every verse. We won't cover every verse, but 27 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:36,800 I hope maybe you'll go home and at least appreciate the book a 28 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:39,640 little bit more. So with that in mind, and given 29 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:43,280 that the song that we sang is so important here, in just a few 30 00:01:43,280 --> 00:01:44,600 minutes, I want to discuss with you. 31 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:47,600 I'm going to change my topic tonight, not talk about 32 00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:50,760 Philippians, but I want to talk about the song that really I 33 00:01:50,760 --> 00:01:54,120 think is based a little bit on, on our passage in Romans chapter 34 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:56,520 5. You know, before the prayer, our 35 00:01:56,520 --> 00:02:00,560 brother LED this song by Stuart Townsend called How Deep the 36 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:04,480 Father's Love. Years ago, I was at a 4th of 37 00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:06,240 July meeting and I was asked to speak. 38 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:09,039 And you know, it's always hard to know what to speak about. 39 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:11,760 And I got to thinking about the songs in that book. 40 00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:16,480 And, you know, songs really are sermons and songs are really a 41 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:20,280 way that we learn about Scripture and even theology. 42 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:23,120 You know, if you go back, for example, in the Reformation 43 00:02:23,120 --> 00:02:28,240 period in the 1500s, you'll find songs that are just filled with 44 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:30,680 theology. You find great songs like 45 00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:34,440 Amazing Grace, How sweet the sound that saved a Wretch like 46 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:36,360 me. I once was lost and now I'm 47 00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:41,040 found, was blind and now I see. And then you find great songs by 48 00:02:41,040 --> 00:02:45,520 Martin Luther, you found how the mighty fortress is our God and 49 00:02:45,640 --> 00:02:49,600 and songs along that line that just resonate and just really 50 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:52,440 exude scripture and deep theology. 51 00:02:52,960 --> 00:02:56,160 But sometimes that theology is not that which we in the 52 00:02:56,160 --> 00:02:59,440 churches of Christ necessarily always agree with. 53 00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:03,680 But those songs were classics. We have classics today as well. 54 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:05,960 In fact, we sang tonight some Ivan Costa songs. 55 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:09,360 I think he's one of the best writers ever in this in this 56 00:03:09,360 --> 00:03:11,920 brotherhood ever. And we have others that are 57 00:03:11,920 --> 00:03:15,280 extremely talented. But nonetheless, there's a lot 58 00:03:15,280 --> 00:03:18,720 of really good songs. And those songs are part of our 59 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:20,520 worship for more than one reason. 60 00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:23,120 You know, the apostle Paul in Colossians 3 and Ephesians 5 61 00:03:23,520 --> 00:03:28,160 speaks speaking or teaching one another in psalms and hymns and 62 00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:31,640 spiritual songs. And we sing and we make melody 63 00:03:31,640 --> 00:03:36,520 in our hearts to the Lord. There is a praise element aspect 64 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:39,880 to our singing. There's also a teaching aspect 65 00:03:39,880 --> 00:03:44,200 as with reciprocity, we sing and and we teach one another in 66 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:46,680 song. And you know, sometimes after 67 00:03:46,680 --> 00:03:49,840 the end of a service, we may have really not only had one 68 00:03:49,840 --> 00:03:52,880 sermon, maybe we've had six or seven sermons. 69 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:56,240 Oh, not preaching, but we've sang songs together. 70 00:03:56,720 --> 00:04:00,480 We've let our hearts and our minds and our souls mingle in 71 00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:04,280 the words and in taking those words and using them to praise 72 00:04:04,280 --> 00:04:06,760 God. I really believe that the 1st 73 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:09,120 century church and of course God's people in every 74 00:04:09,120 --> 00:04:12,960 dispensation have been singers. Even in the Old Testament, of 75 00:04:12,960 --> 00:04:15,440 course we had the great singers. We had David, the Psalm, the 76 00:04:15,440 --> 00:04:18,200 sweet singer of Israel. But in the early church, they 77 00:04:18,200 --> 00:04:22,280 sang and probably sang literally the Psalms of David. 78 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:25,600 In fact, that's probably what Paul's Speaking of when he said 79 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:28,400 singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. 80 00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:32,880 Now, we don't have to sing the Psalms exactly, but our songs do 81 00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:36,760 need to be spiritually oriented. They are to build us up in the 82 00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:40,200 faith and build us up in those things that are spiritual in 83 00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:42,560 nature. Well, you know, once in a while 84 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:46,440 I run across a song that I think is just absolutely incredible. 85 00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:50,560 And this is one of those songs #22 in this book called How Deep 86 00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:53,360 the Father's Love. And you know, as I began to 87 00:04:53,360 --> 00:04:56,200 contemplate that song, Stuart Townsend, I think, raises some 88 00:04:56,200 --> 00:05:00,480 things in this song that to me really are on par with some of 89 00:05:00,480 --> 00:05:04,160 those great classics from the Restoration era, the great 90 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:08,240 theologies that really come out of who Jesus was and what God 91 00:05:08,240 --> 00:05:12,200 did for us. And so as I many times do at 92 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:15,720 home, and then even on a meeting sometimes, if one song is song 93 00:05:15,720 --> 00:05:18,400 that I particularly like, or maybe I haven't even heard it 94 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:21,600 before, but it just moves me, I talked through it with the 95 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:23,840 congregation. And so if you want to turn 96 00:05:23,840 --> 00:05:26,640 along, we won't be looking at our scriptures per SE, but I 97 00:05:26,640 --> 00:05:30,440 want to look with you at this song again #22 we just sang it. 98 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:33,960 So maybe the words are fresh on your mind, but have we really 99 00:05:33,960 --> 00:05:36,600 thought about the words? Now? 100 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:38,640 Of course, unfortunately, sometimes a preacher can 101 00:05:38,720 --> 00:05:41,520 pontificate on anything. You know, I think you could take 102 00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:44,720 a fairy tale or, you know, Mary had a lamb and preached to it if 103 00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:47,720 you wanted to. But nonetheless, there are so 104 00:05:47,720 --> 00:05:50,680 many things about this song that I don't know what the author had 105 00:05:50,680 --> 00:05:53,000 in mind. I don't know Stuart Townsend 106 00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:57,200 personally, but nonetheless, he surely had some of these things 107 00:05:57,200 --> 00:06:00,120 in mind that I'm going to discuss tonight as we go through 108 00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:02,120 this song. So he starts up first of all, in 109 00:06:02,120 --> 00:06:06,560 the first stanza, and he says how deep the father's love for 110 00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:08,600 us. We mentioned this morning that 111 00:06:08,600 --> 00:06:11,520 today is Father's Day. And of course fathers, if 112 00:06:11,520 --> 00:06:15,400 they're worth their salt, love their children, they gather them 113 00:06:15,400 --> 00:06:18,160 together, they teach them, they train them up, and then nurture 114 00:06:18,160 --> 00:06:21,760 and then administer of the Lord. God is that to us. 115 00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:24,640 He is our Father. In fact, Jesus taught to pray, 116 00:06:24,800 --> 00:06:29,440 our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. 117 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:33,800 His love though comes to us. His love comes to us as mere 118 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:35,600 mortals. And when you think about the 119 00:06:35,600 --> 00:06:40,320 nature of God, God is spirit. John 424 And those that worship 120 00:06:40,320 --> 00:06:43,680 him and approach Him must do in a spiritual way, in spirit and 121 00:06:43,680 --> 00:06:46,000 in truth when you think about his nature. 122 00:06:46,160 --> 00:06:50,520 And yet we are fleshly and God loved us enough to send Jesus 123 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:53,120 Christ. That's an incredible, incredible 124 00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:57,200 concept because on one level there has to be a disconnect 125 00:06:57,200 --> 00:07:00,560 between US and God. There is the otherness of God. 126 00:07:00,560 --> 00:07:04,320 God is not human. God is not a man, and yet He 127 00:07:04,320 --> 00:07:09,720 sent Jesus to become a man, to take on the form of humanity, to 128 00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:12,960 be tempted, as was mentioned tonight in every point, as we 129 00:07:12,960 --> 00:07:15,040 are Hebrews 4 and yet without sin. 130 00:07:15,840 --> 00:07:19,560 How deep of love does that take? You know, God could have cast us 131 00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:21,360 away. He could have, even in the time 132 00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:24,240 of the Garden of Eden, or in the time of Noah, or in the time of 133 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:26,720 Sodom, Gomorrah just destroyed the entire earth. 134 00:07:27,520 --> 00:07:30,760 But rather, He held out hope through the scheme of 135 00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:34,400 redemption, Even so much so that in the Garden when Adam and Eve 136 00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:37,560 sinned, though he was going to give them the consequences of 137 00:07:37,560 --> 00:07:40,080 their sin. He said the seed of woman that's 138 00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:45,520 Christ would bruise, would crush the head of the serpent, That's 139 00:07:45,520 --> 00:07:47,680 Satan that happened on the cross. 140 00:07:48,120 --> 00:07:51,840 Satan did indeed bruise Jesus, but it was not a wound that 141 00:07:51,840 --> 00:07:54,000 would take away the plan of salvation with the promise of 142 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:56,480 hope. It was a wound that put him on 143 00:07:56,480 --> 00:07:59,240 the cross. But Jesus arose from the dead, 144 00:07:59,720 --> 00:08:04,720 triumphant over the very power death that Satan has to begin 145 00:08:04,720 --> 00:08:07,200 with. So Stuart here just says, how 146 00:08:07,200 --> 00:08:09,560 deep is that love? You know that love, though, is 147 00:08:09,560 --> 00:08:13,120 personal. I believe that God loves you 148 00:08:13,560 --> 00:08:16,320 personally. He loves me personally. 149 00:08:16,760 --> 00:08:19,240 And that's hard because I don't know that I deserve that. 150 00:08:19,720 --> 00:08:20,960 In fact, I know I don't deserve that. 151 00:08:20,960 --> 00:08:25,240 Romans 5 says that while we were sinners, God died. 152 00:08:25,240 --> 00:08:28,520 God sent his Son. You know, again, in this life we 153 00:08:28,520 --> 00:08:31,040 hear about a lot of wonderful things people do. 154 00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:35,520 The firefighter who rushes into the burning building to rescue 155 00:08:35,679 --> 00:08:38,559 the child or maybe sometimes even an animal. 156 00:08:39,039 --> 00:08:43,880 Very altruistic, very giving. And yet that pales in comparison 157 00:08:43,880 --> 00:08:50,920 to deity giving his life for us. How vast, he says, beyond all 158 00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:53,680 measure. You know, God's love for us is 159 00:08:53,680 --> 00:08:55,440 not something you can encapsulate. 160 00:08:55,840 --> 00:08:58,080 You can't put it in a test tube and weigh it. 161 00:08:58,360 --> 00:09:01,680 You can't measure it. It's not something that can be 162 00:09:01,760 --> 00:09:04,560 fathomed. It is deeper than the oceans. 163 00:09:04,920 --> 00:09:07,960 It is broader than the seas. It is higher than the heavens. 164 00:09:08,240 --> 00:09:11,320 And yet it can fit within our heart. 165 00:09:11,840 --> 00:09:16,400 Isn't that incredible? God's love can fill our heart, 166 00:09:16,800 --> 00:09:20,760 and our heart can take it too, if we'll let him fill it with 167 00:09:20,760 --> 00:09:24,320 his love. But it's fast, it's so vast that 168 00:09:24,320 --> 00:09:29,000 God, even before eternity began, or even in before the world 169 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:31,920 began rather, and eternity had already made this plan. 170 00:09:31,920 --> 00:09:35,520 You know, Philippians or Ephesians chapter 1, rather, is 171 00:09:35,520 --> 00:09:40,520 a beautiful chapter about the Providence of God, about the 172 00:09:40,920 --> 00:09:45,520 predetermined plan that God would send his Son to die for 173 00:09:45,520 --> 00:09:48,120 us. Now at that point man was not 174 00:09:48,120 --> 00:09:51,200 even created. This was before the world and 175 00:09:51,200 --> 00:09:53,480 yet God already had it in his mind. 176 00:09:53,480 --> 00:09:58,880 Knowing we would sin to sin Jesus Christ, He predestined a 177 00:09:58,880 --> 00:10:03,240 system so that we could be saved even though we had not even been 178 00:10:03,240 --> 00:10:06,840 created yet. Then he says that he should give 179 00:10:07,120 --> 00:10:10,560 his only Son. You know, this idea of an only 180 00:10:10,560 --> 00:10:14,520 son is interesting because we know that sonship, the sonship 181 00:10:14,520 --> 00:10:17,920 of Jesus, doesn't mean that he was spun off from Jesus so that 182 00:10:17,920 --> 00:10:21,360 he was of God rather, or born in the sense of a physical person. 183 00:10:21,920 --> 00:10:25,720 But the idea of sonship is the idea of relationship, the idea 184 00:10:25,720 --> 00:10:29,320 of having the same characteristics and likeness of 185 00:10:29,320 --> 00:10:31,440 God. You know, I have a son. 186 00:10:31,800 --> 00:10:35,720 Many of you have children. They bear the characteristics of 187 00:10:35,720 --> 00:10:37,360 us. They are human. 188 00:10:37,800 --> 00:10:41,280 And of course that's what Jesus elicited from Peter in Matthew 189 00:10:41,280 --> 00:10:43,240 chapter 16. And Peter said you are the 190 00:10:43,240 --> 00:10:46,240 Christ, the Son of the living God. 191 00:10:46,600 --> 00:10:49,760 You have the same attributes. On one occasion the disciples 192 00:10:49,760 --> 00:10:52,360 came to Jesus and said, show us the Father. 193 00:10:52,840 --> 00:10:55,320 And of course Jesus said, have you been so long with me and 194 00:10:55,320 --> 00:10:58,200 say, show us the Father? He said, if you've seen me, 195 00:10:58,600 --> 00:11:03,280 you've seen the Father. And so again, God's attributes 196 00:11:03,280 --> 00:11:06,880 were in his Son. And so when we when they looked 197 00:11:06,880 --> 00:11:08,320 at Jesus, they should have seen him. 198 00:11:08,320 --> 00:11:11,680 But again, Jesus was his only son. 199 00:11:11,680 --> 00:11:14,920 He had the preeminence. There is there was no other, 200 00:11:15,360 --> 00:11:18,040 there was no other part of the Godhead that can be sent to die 201 00:11:18,040 --> 00:11:22,080 for us. And God gave his only begotten 202 00:11:22,280 --> 00:11:24,440 son. You know when I think of that, I 203 00:11:24,440 --> 00:11:26,640 think of over in Genesis chapter 22. 204 00:11:26,640 --> 00:11:29,440 I think it is where Abraham has Isaac. 205 00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:32,920 Now Isaac is of course, the promised son. 206 00:11:33,640 --> 00:11:35,800 Abraham and Sarah couldn't have children. 207 00:11:35,880 --> 00:11:39,080 Isaac is finally born through a providential birth. 208 00:11:39,560 --> 00:11:42,600 And yet then God comes to Abraham and he says, Abraham, I 209 00:11:42,600 --> 00:11:47,280 want you to take your son, your only son, and I want you to 210 00:11:47,280 --> 00:11:52,320 offer him as a sacrifice on Mount Moriah, his only son. 211 00:11:53,120 --> 00:11:55,880 You know, I think we understand perhaps the depth of that when 212 00:11:55,880 --> 00:12:00,160 we consider that it was through that son that the promises of 213 00:12:00,160 --> 00:12:03,040 Genesis 12, we're going to be fulfilled. 214 00:12:04,080 --> 00:12:06,600 Abraham, you know, had been told, it's through you, Abraham, 215 00:12:06,600 --> 00:12:07,880 I'm going to make a great nation. 216 00:12:08,240 --> 00:12:10,720 I'm going to bless the world. And finally Isaac comes along 217 00:12:10,920 --> 00:12:13,560 and now God says, I want you to sacrifice him. 218 00:12:14,240 --> 00:12:17,320 That is so incredible because what must have Abraham thought 219 00:12:17,840 --> 00:12:19,920 my only son and now I'm going to give him up. 220 00:12:20,080 --> 00:12:23,480 And that plan of me blessing the world and becoming a great 221 00:12:23,480 --> 00:12:26,160 nation, it's going to be it's going to be in dust. 222 00:12:26,720 --> 00:12:30,600 But God had a plan to bring that to fruition. 223 00:12:31,200 --> 00:12:35,760 God gave his only son, John 316 for God so loved the world that 224 00:12:35,760 --> 00:12:41,720 he sent his only begotten son. You see, it was done by the best 225 00:12:41,840 --> 00:12:45,760 from the best for the best given to the best of given from the 226 00:12:45,760 --> 00:12:49,520 best of heaven. Then he says to make a Wretch. 227 00:12:49,760 --> 00:12:53,120 His treasure make a Wretch. You know, when we think about us 228 00:12:53,520 --> 00:12:58,120 ourselves and our sins and our unholiness, really when you 229 00:12:58,120 --> 00:13:01,680 think about it, we are wretched. In fact, you know, there were 230 00:13:01,680 --> 00:13:04,440 those in Revelation who thought they were pretty spiritually 231 00:13:04,440 --> 00:13:06,120 strong. And Jesus says you're wretched, 232 00:13:06,200 --> 00:13:08,640 you're, you're miserable. You know, our, our 233 00:13:08,640 --> 00:13:12,120 righteousness, as the Old Testament prophet says, is like 234 00:13:12,120 --> 00:13:14,960 filthy rags. It's nothing, you know, we 235 00:13:14,960 --> 00:13:17,360 sometimes come before God and we say, God, I want you to look at 236 00:13:17,360 --> 00:13:20,160 me and look how good I am and look how much I deserve your 237 00:13:20,160 --> 00:13:21,960 love. We don't deserve God's love. 238 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:24,320 We don't deserve salvation at all. 239 00:13:24,320 --> 00:13:28,400 We are, we are wretched, we are poor, we are miserable, we are 240 00:13:28,400 --> 00:13:29,840 blind. And yet what does God do? 241 00:13:29,960 --> 00:13:35,320 He takes us, cleans our sins, watches us and sets us up to be 242 00:13:35,320 --> 00:13:38,880 his possession, his special people. 243 00:13:39,880 --> 00:13:44,200 We are his possession. He owns us as a trophy, if you 244 00:13:44,200 --> 00:13:47,920 will. He owns us and he displays us as 245 00:13:47,920 --> 00:13:49,640 it were, so that the world can see. 246 00:13:49,640 --> 00:13:53,560 These are my children. Then he says, how great, though, 247 00:13:53,560 --> 00:13:58,720 the pain of searing loss. The Father turns his head away, 248 00:13:58,800 --> 00:14:00,720 face away. Now, of course, she's been 249 00:14:00,720 --> 00:14:05,080 describing here the giving of Christ on the cross to make us a 250 00:14:05,080 --> 00:14:08,040 treasure. Jesus dies for our sins, and he 251 00:14:08,040 --> 00:14:13,800 says how painful must that have been for God to look upon his 252 00:14:13,800 --> 00:14:15,600 Son? I mentioned in this meeting that 253 00:14:15,600 --> 00:14:19,520 there's a theological conundrum, difficulty, question, enigma, 254 00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:22,320 whatever word you want to use about what happened on the 255 00:14:22,320 --> 00:14:26,600 cross, because there was that period of time when the world 256 00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:29,680 went black. There was darkness, palpable 257 00:14:29,680 --> 00:14:35,400 darkness over all the land, and it is as if God turned his face 258 00:14:35,400 --> 00:14:38,880 away from Jesus. Now we know that God does not 259 00:14:38,880 --> 00:14:42,240 look upon sin in the truest sense because He does not 260 00:14:42,240 --> 00:14:46,040 associate or identify with sin because He is pure holiness. 261 00:14:46,680 --> 00:14:52,000 But nonetheless, Jesus for a time looks like he becomes sin 262 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:53,360 for us. Now I believe that what Paul's 263 00:14:53,360 --> 00:14:56,400 talking about when he speaks of Jesus becoming the sin is 264 00:14:56,400 --> 00:15:01,440 becoming a sin sacrifice. Jesus offers himself and it is, 265 00:15:01,440 --> 00:15:04,040 it is truly a loss for heaven, is it not? 266 00:15:04,280 --> 00:15:07,200 At least on one level. In fact, Paul and Philippians 2 267 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:09,240 that we've looked at talks about the emptying. 268 00:15:09,680 --> 00:15:12,920 Christ, emptying himself came from heaven to die for us. 269 00:15:13,520 --> 00:15:16,120 Now, how in the world did God feel about that, the Father feel 270 00:15:16,120 --> 00:15:18,400 about that? Again, we don't know. 271 00:15:18,400 --> 00:15:22,000 We're trying to put human emotion and human thoughts into 272 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:26,560 deity, something far above us. But did God miss his son? 273 00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:29,040 Apparently his son missed his Father. 274 00:15:29,800 --> 00:15:33,760 Jesus was constantly speaking to God in prayer, sometimes all 275 00:15:33,760 --> 00:15:37,600 night, praying to his father, even in the garden. 276 00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:42,680 Father, help me through this. Jesus never lost trust in his 277 00:15:42,680 --> 00:15:45,200 Father. There was pain in the cross. 278 00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:48,640 There was a searing loss in the cross so that we might have our 279 00:15:48,640 --> 00:15:52,920 sins forgiven and says as the the father looked down, it's as 280 00:15:52,920 --> 00:15:55,160 if he turns his face away. I mentioned earlier, and I'll 281 00:15:55,160 --> 00:15:57,080 mention this quickly because I don't want to go too long 282 00:15:57,080 --> 00:16:01,560 tonight, that actually Jesus in saying, my God, my God, why have 283 00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:05,480 you forsaken me? That's a cry that lead many to 284 00:16:05,480 --> 00:16:08,480 believe that that God did forsake Jesus because that's 285 00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:11,800 what Jesus says. But now in the context of that 286 00:16:11,800 --> 00:16:17,200 Psalm, Psalm 22, it is a Psalm of victory where it later on 287 00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:21,080 says you will not abandon me. You will not turn your face from 288 00:16:21,080 --> 00:16:23,200 me. And so I think what Jesus was 289 00:16:23,200 --> 00:16:26,760 probably doing on the cross was he was preaching a mini sermon. 290 00:16:27,400 --> 00:16:30,920 You know, those scriptures were known by the Jews and they 291 00:16:30,920 --> 00:16:32,840 probably could have filled in the blanks had they thought 292 00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:35,920 about it. But Jesus as the world is dark, 293 00:16:35,920 --> 00:16:39,160 as Jesus, you know, cries out, why are you for? 294 00:16:39,280 --> 00:16:42,680 Why have you forsaken me? He's really saying God is going 295 00:16:42,680 --> 00:16:46,000 to to acknowledge what I'm doing here and there's going to be 296 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:50,120 victory at the end. And then he says in the song at 297 00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:54,440 the end of the line 1, he says as wounds which mar the chosen 298 00:16:54,440 --> 00:16:58,480 one bring many sons to glory. When I think about this, I think 299 00:16:58,480 --> 00:17:00,720 about Isaiah. You know, Isaiah is really the 300 00:17:00,720 --> 00:17:04,240 messianic prophet. Isaiah 52 talks about Jesus 301 00:17:04,240 --> 00:17:07,599 being beaten and, you know, burying our stripes. 302 00:17:07,880 --> 00:17:10,960 He is marred for our our transgressions. 303 00:17:11,280 --> 00:17:15,720 And Jesus, the chosen lamb, you know, in the Old Testament, 304 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:19,079 before the Passover and other sacrifices, they would take the 305 00:17:19,079 --> 00:17:21,000 lamb and it had to be a perfect lamb. 306 00:17:21,160 --> 00:17:23,720 They would put that lamb up especially for the Passover and 307 00:17:23,720 --> 00:17:26,760 they would watch it for a number of days and study it to make for 308 00:17:26,760 --> 00:17:30,200 sure it was the perfect specimen to be offered. 309 00:17:30,880 --> 00:17:36,040 Jesus came as the Lamb of God. That takes away the sins of the 310 00:17:36,040 --> 00:17:39,520 world, the perfect lamb. But what was his purpose? 311 00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:44,400 Just to be a sacrifice, just so God could say, look, you know, I 312 00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:47,920 could sacrifice. No, it's, it was for to bring us 313 00:17:48,280 --> 00:17:50,600 to glory. This is a quote from Hebrews. 314 00:17:50,600 --> 00:17:56,200 You know, it is through Jesus that we as Christians are 315 00:17:56,200 --> 00:18:00,200 brought to glory in Christ. And then he says in verse 2, 316 00:18:00,240 --> 00:18:05,080 behold the man upon the cross. Behold the man. 317 00:18:05,160 --> 00:18:09,040 That was the words by the way of Pilate before the cross, Pilate. 318 00:18:09,120 --> 00:18:11,240 Pilate, of course knew that Jesus was innocent. 319 00:18:11,720 --> 00:18:15,000 And yet he presents Jesus to the mob and says, behold the man. 320 00:18:15,240 --> 00:18:18,400 You know, really in reality, Jesus was innocent. 321 00:18:18,400 --> 00:18:20,160 Pilate knew that. I think maybe some in the 322 00:18:20,200 --> 00:18:23,280 audience, the crowd knew that, but they cried out. 323 00:18:23,280 --> 00:18:27,320 They clamored for the death of Jesus, but then this writer 324 00:18:27,320 --> 00:18:30,560 takes it to the cross. Behold that man upon the cross. 325 00:18:31,240 --> 00:18:35,000 You know again, Jesus is there, He is bloody, He is dying, He is 326 00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:37,720 nailed to the cross. He has been spit upon, He has 327 00:18:37,720 --> 00:18:39,480 been abused, He has been scourged. 328 00:18:39,600 --> 00:18:41,200 He has a crown of thorns on his head. 329 00:18:41,960 --> 00:18:45,440 Think about that. Think about how dark of a scene 330 00:18:45,440 --> 00:18:49,160 that was that humanity could treat another human that way. 331 00:18:50,280 --> 00:18:52,240 My sins, he says upon his shoulders. 332 00:18:52,920 --> 00:18:57,200 Had we been able to strip away the physicality of that scene 333 00:18:57,240 --> 00:19:01,920 and really see it before what it was, we would see a Lamb of God 334 00:19:02,280 --> 00:19:06,360 with the sins of the world being passed, cast upon Him. 335 00:19:06,840 --> 00:19:11,240 He becomes not sinful and not sin in my view, literally 336 00:19:11,240 --> 00:19:14,320 because He is deity. But He becomes the sin 337 00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:17,080 sacrifice, just like in the Old Testament. 338 00:19:17,760 --> 00:19:21,360 He is paying the price, in other words, for our sin. 339 00:19:22,080 --> 00:19:25,160 That burden was being placed upon His shoulders, as it were. 340 00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:31,040 And then he says, ashamed. I hear my mocking voice call out 341 00:19:31,280 --> 00:19:34,040 among the scoffers. That is one of the most poignant 342 00:19:34,400 --> 00:19:38,480 and haunting parts of this song. You know, I wonder, if I had 343 00:19:38,480 --> 00:19:40,720 been in the Garden of Eden or Garden of Eden, Garden of 344 00:19:40,720 --> 00:19:45,080 Yosemite, and the mob was coming, would I have stood and 345 00:19:45,960 --> 00:19:49,360 been like Judas? Would I have really in some 346 00:19:49,360 --> 00:19:53,680 ways, been willing to sacrifice Jesus to betray Him? 347 00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:58,080 I wonder, you know, in the campfire where Jesus was being 348 00:19:58,080 --> 00:20:01,120 tried and, you know, Peter's there, would I have been next to 349 00:20:01,120 --> 00:20:03,560 Peter? Would I have cursed and swore 350 00:20:03,560 --> 00:20:05,080 that, oh, I don't even know the man? 351 00:20:05,920 --> 00:20:09,720 You know, sometimes I think we meet Judas and we meet Peter and 352 00:20:09,720 --> 00:20:12,240 we meet others who deny the Lord. 353 00:20:12,240 --> 00:20:16,320 And he looks a lot like us. He looks a lot like what we are. 354 00:20:16,320 --> 00:20:20,520 Would we have been in that crowd below the cross mocking Jesus? 355 00:20:21,080 --> 00:20:24,280 Maybe because that's why we've what we really felt, or maybe 356 00:20:24,280 --> 00:20:27,240 because we were afraid not to, because we were afraid that we 357 00:20:27,240 --> 00:20:28,960 might be identified as a follower. 358 00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:33,200 You see, there were people there mocking Jesus, yelling out, come 359 00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:35,320 down. You saved others, you know, save 360 00:20:35,320 --> 00:20:39,040 yourself. Jesus bore it all. 361 00:20:40,040 --> 00:20:45,160 And then he says it was this. It was my sin that held him 362 00:20:45,160 --> 00:20:49,440 there until it was accomplished. You know, through the years, 363 00:20:49,440 --> 00:20:53,560 scholars and theologians have discussed who killed Jesus? 364 00:20:53,640 --> 00:20:57,520 Who murdered Jesus? Was it the Romans who killed 365 00:20:57,520 --> 00:20:59,160 Jesus? They were the ones who drove up 366 00:20:59,240 --> 00:21:03,120 the nails, apparently. Was it the Jews who for envy 367 00:21:03,280 --> 00:21:06,560 offered him up? Maybe they were responsible. 368 00:21:07,160 --> 00:21:09,720 Who was it that really killed Jesus? 369 00:21:10,480 --> 00:21:14,720 And of course, some say, well, you know, sin held Jesus to the 370 00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:19,160 cross and it did. Others say love was what held 371 00:21:19,160 --> 00:21:23,320 Jesus to the cross and it was. You see, all of those things 372 00:21:23,320 --> 00:21:25,280 came into play. But we have to remember what 373 00:21:25,320 --> 00:21:30,440 Jesus had said in John 10. John said in 10, Jesus says no 374 00:21:30,440 --> 00:21:35,400 man takes my life for me, but I lay it down willingly. 375 00:21:36,080 --> 00:21:41,120 And so Jesus, you know, he was on the cross by his own will. 376 00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:44,920 He could have called, as we sometimes think, 10,000 angels 377 00:21:45,480 --> 00:21:47,840 to destroy the world and set him free, but he didn't. 378 00:21:48,600 --> 00:21:53,920 He maintained his position as the Lamb of God until it was 379 00:21:53,920 --> 00:21:55,840 accomplished. You know, that phrase also has 380 00:21:55,880 --> 00:21:59,160 deep theological meaning at the end of Jesus life. 381 00:21:59,200 --> 00:22:02,440 Jesus says it is finished. Just simple words. 382 00:22:02,440 --> 00:22:06,000 And sometimes I think perhaps we don't fully grasp any of the 383 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:08,400 depth of some of these words of Jesus on the cross. 384 00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:09,760 There were seven sayings, by the way. 385 00:22:10,080 --> 00:22:12,520 They're very short, very pithy, very, very to the point. 386 00:22:12,520 --> 00:22:14,960 But what does it mean that it is finished? 387 00:22:15,680 --> 00:22:18,160 Well, of course you could say, well, his life was finished. 388 00:22:18,640 --> 00:22:22,160 Well, that's true in the sense that his physical life was being 389 00:22:22,160 --> 00:22:25,880 taken away from him, and so it was just about time for him to 390 00:22:26,120 --> 00:22:28,520 give up the ghost or the spirit and die. 391 00:22:29,320 --> 00:22:33,760 You can say, well, it's finished in that the old law was taken 392 00:22:33,760 --> 00:22:37,040 out of the way and, as we sometimes say, nailed to the 393 00:22:37,040 --> 00:22:40,800 cross. And so there was a end of that 394 00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:43,720 Old Testament regime. In fact, when Jesus died, the 395 00:22:43,720 --> 00:22:47,280 veil of the temple, which again kept people from looking into 396 00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:50,680 the most holy, was torn in two from top to bottom and rent in 397 00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:53,200 two, opening the way to a new system. 398 00:22:54,160 --> 00:22:59,520 But what does it mean when he says again, you know, it was our 399 00:22:59,520 --> 00:23:04,000 sins that held him there? Well, I'm sorry I got off the 400 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:09,560 track, but anyway, I'm sorry. Anyway, my mind is not working 401 00:23:09,560 --> 00:23:13,280 too well tonight. But anyway, he says, I know that 402 00:23:13,280 --> 00:23:14,880 it is finished. That's where I'm at. 403 00:23:16,600 --> 00:23:22,440 That word there in Greek is tetelestai and it's the words 404 00:23:22,440 --> 00:23:27,600 apparently that were put at on a bill of sale when somebody paid 405 00:23:27,960 --> 00:23:31,680 the full cost, paid the full price, they would stamp it with 406 00:23:31,760 --> 00:23:36,640 tetelestai or when someone had completed some great project, it 407 00:23:36,640 --> 00:23:39,880 would be described as telesty. That's the word Jesus used here. 408 00:23:40,440 --> 00:23:44,960 In other words, everything that Jesus had planned he now has 409 00:23:44,960 --> 00:23:47,280 accomplished. And then he goes on to verse 410 00:23:47,280 --> 00:23:49,960 three. He says I will not boast in 411 00:23:49,960 --> 00:23:53,440 anything. No gifts, no power, no wisdom. 412 00:23:53,440 --> 00:23:54,760 You know, this is an echo of Paul. 413 00:23:55,480 --> 00:23:57,960 Paul said, I'm not going to glory in anything but Jesus 414 00:23:57,960 --> 00:24:00,840 Christ being crucified. He makes that point over and 415 00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:02,120 over, especially to the Corinthians. 416 00:24:02,120 --> 00:24:04,360 He says, you know, when I came, I didn't come with Excellency of 417 00:24:04,360 --> 00:24:07,360 speech. I came to preach the gospel. 418 00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:11,240 I don't want to know anything but Jesus Christ and him 419 00:24:11,240 --> 00:24:14,040 crucified. You know, we boast in a lot of 420 00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:16,520 things today that give us meaning and life. 421 00:24:16,520 --> 00:24:19,400 Maybe it's our money or maybe it's our status or maybe it's 422 00:24:19,400 --> 00:24:21,720 our families, or maybe it's even, you know, our 423 00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:25,480 relationships in the church. But in reality, none of that 424 00:24:25,480 --> 00:24:29,040 makes any sense or means anything without Jesus. 425 00:24:29,600 --> 00:24:32,880 And so he says, but I will not boast in anything but Jesus 426 00:24:32,880 --> 00:24:35,760 Christ, his death and his resurrection. 427 00:24:36,480 --> 00:24:39,240 Why? Why not boast in what we have? 428 00:24:39,880 --> 00:24:43,640 I mean, why not think this life is tough and the person who dies 429 00:24:43,640 --> 00:24:46,840 with the most toys wins? Because we can't take any of 430 00:24:46,840 --> 00:24:49,320 that with us. None of that is important. 431 00:24:49,320 --> 00:24:53,880 None of that means anything at all in the, the, the, the grand 432 00:24:53,880 --> 00:24:58,400 scheme of, of eternity. It is only in the resurrection 433 00:24:58,400 --> 00:25:02,960 of Jesus Christ that we have the power of life over death. 434 00:25:03,640 --> 00:25:07,200 And then he says, why should I gain from his reward? 435 00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:11,920 You know, Jesus bore the shame for the joy of the cross before 436 00:25:11,920 --> 00:25:14,120 him. He completed this great 437 00:25:14,280 --> 00:25:16,840 sacrifice and now he's in heaven. 438 00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:20,760 Why should I gain from that? What did I do to deserve it? 439 00:25:21,080 --> 00:25:22,240 And really the answer is nothing. 440 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:24,800 You know, we don't merit salvation. 441 00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:28,680 Yes, there are things that we do to comply to the demands or the 442 00:25:29,240 --> 00:25:32,720 overtures of God, but we do not deserve it. 443 00:25:33,560 --> 00:25:35,720 Then he says, I cannot give an answer. 444 00:25:36,160 --> 00:25:37,680 I don't know why God loved us enough. 445 00:25:38,200 --> 00:25:39,960 I don't know why God loved us so much. 446 00:25:39,960 --> 00:25:44,480 Rather, he says, but this I know with all my heart. 447 00:25:44,840 --> 00:25:50,120 His wounds have paid my ransom. You know, this idea. 448 00:25:50,120 --> 00:25:52,640 And that's a deep theological question of what does this 449 00:25:52,680 --> 00:25:54,600 ransom thing mean? Because you'll find that, you 450 00:25:54,600 --> 00:25:57,760 know, Paul talks about, you know, the the ransom that Jesus 451 00:25:57,760 --> 00:26:00,080 paid. You know, Jesus certainly wasn't 452 00:26:00,080 --> 00:26:02,280 paying Satan just to get us out of trouble. 453 00:26:03,080 --> 00:26:06,760 No, he gave his life a ransom because he loved us. 454 00:26:07,480 --> 00:26:10,920 He bought us back. We were, as it were, slaves on 455 00:26:10,920 --> 00:26:15,680 the oxygen block of sin, being ready to be auctioned off, if 456 00:26:15,680 --> 00:26:19,440 you will, into nothingness, into oblivion, into a world of total 457 00:26:19,440 --> 00:26:21,920 degradation and total worthlessness. 458 00:26:22,720 --> 00:26:27,880 And Jesus comes along with his blood and he says, I'll buy that 459 00:26:27,880 --> 00:26:31,840 wretched person, I'll take him her, I'll clean them up. 460 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:35,480 I will wash their sins away. I will give them status as part 461 00:26:35,480 --> 00:26:40,120 of the family of God, and I will make something of that person. 462 00:26:40,920 --> 00:26:43,760 You know, the beauty of Christianity is no matter how 463 00:26:43,800 --> 00:26:49,680 unsuccessful we think we are in life, we can be successful in 464 00:26:49,680 --> 00:26:55,680 Christ because he's the one that ultimately gives us the value 465 00:26:56,240 --> 00:26:59,360 that is eternal. And so again, this song is just 466 00:26:59,360 --> 00:27:01,400 a neat song. I hadn't even seen this song for 467 00:27:01,400 --> 00:27:03,160 a long, long time. It's not in our books at home. 468 00:27:03,720 --> 00:27:05,920 But nonetheless, it's such a beautiful song. 469 00:27:05,920 --> 00:27:09,720 And So what I want to encourage you to do is as you sing songs, 470 00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:13,720 think about the words, think about the scriptures or the 471 00:27:13,720 --> 00:27:17,040 concepts of scriptures that might be in behind those songs, 472 00:27:17,040 --> 00:27:21,760 because I can guarantee you that the writer was thinking in a 473 00:27:21,760 --> 00:27:25,920 scriptural vein when he wrote those words. 474 00:27:26,560 --> 00:27:30,080 So they're sermons for us. We learn well as we close 475 00:27:30,080 --> 00:27:33,040 tonight and close the meeting, how deep was God's love? 476 00:27:33,840 --> 00:27:37,960 So deep, Deeper than the oceans. And tonight, if you're not a 477 00:27:37,960 --> 00:27:42,200 Christian, you can, you can be part of that depth by obeying 478 00:27:42,200 --> 00:27:46,040 the gospel of Jesus Christ, hearing the gospel, the good 479 00:27:46,040 --> 00:27:50,240 news, believing it by faith, reaching out, repenting of your 480 00:27:50,240 --> 00:27:55,120 sins, confessing Jesus as the Lord and Savior, Son of God, and 481 00:27:55,680 --> 00:27:57,680 then having our sins washed away in baptism. 482 00:27:59,240 --> 00:28:02,240 If you've taken those steps and you find yourself amiss or away 483 00:28:02,240 --> 00:28:05,560 from God, we'd be happy to pray with you tonight too, while we 484 00:28:05,560 --> 00:28:06,440 stand and while we sin.