[0:00] And, continuing on in that chapter, beginning at verse 21, and we're going to read through to 33.
[0:12] So, John 13, beginning at verse 21. After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me.
[0:31] His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him.
[0:43] Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, ask him which one he means. Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, Lord, who is it?
[0:55] Jesus answered, it is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish. Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon.
[1:11] As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. What you are about to do, do quickly, Jesus told him.
[1:23] But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the feast, or to give something to the poor.
[1:37] As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out, and it was night. When he was gone, Jesus said, Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
[1:55] If God is glorified in him, then God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once. Amen. My children, I will be with you only a little longer.
[2:11] You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now. Where I am going, you cannot come.
[2:21] Amen. Amen. We could turn back to John in chapter 13. In your Bibles, as mentioned this morning, we have been preparing for Easter by considering the words of our Lord Jesus and the actions of our Lord Jesus as they're recorded for us in John 13.
[2:45] And these events that were carried out on the night before his crucifixion. And the key verse has been that verse in chapter 13 and verse 1, particularly the second half, which in the NIV reads, Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love, or as the authorized or King James would put it, he loved them to the end.
[3:16] Love them to the end. During the Second World War, the government were very keen to advertise the importance of secrecy amongst the inhabitants of the United Kingdom.
[3:31] And so they used to put up all sorts of posters. There were all sorts of posters about different things, saving electricity and food and so on. But the need to be secretive, to be alert that there may be enemy spies in the midst, in your conversation on the bus or on the train or in the pub.
[3:48] And they would have several sort of catchy phrases underneath these posters. Keep it under your hat. And careless talk costs lives.
[4:00] Loose lips sink ships. And one that was very, very straightforward, very plain. You couldn't misunderstand it. It said, don't talk about troop movements, ship sailings, war work, munitions shipments.
[4:14] But my favorite goes like this. It says, tittle, tattle, lost the battle. Well, we don't need to worry too much about enemy spies today.
[4:27] But I'm sure we've had something of the experience of being unable to speak freely about something in the company that we were in. Perhaps it may have been in the staff room at school or amongst friends at school or university or even amongst family members who perhaps aren't believers and Christians.
[4:46] And so you don't feel able to really talk about the things that you want to talk about because those people might misunderstand what you're saying or it may be something that they're just ignorant of and it would just make no sense.
[5:00] And perhaps there's somebody in that room there and you're just waiting for the opportunity. You're bursting to share with them or to talk with them about an answered prayer or a scripture that's come to you or something like that.
[5:12] Well, when we come to John in chapter 13 and verse 31, we get something, I think, of a similar picture, a similar situation. For verse 30 has told us that Judas went out into the night.
[5:27] He had left the 12 of the 11, rather, with the Lord Jesus in that upper room after the washing of the feet. And he goes out.
[5:38] Jesus sends him out in one sense. But he goes out because we're told in verse 27, Satan had entered into him. And it seems now that only now Jesus has that freedom to speak openly with those that he loves his own about the things that are closest to his heart.
[5:56] It's only now that he's able really to explain to them and to talk to them, as he does over these next several chapters, just precious and wonderful things which were for their ears only.
[6:06] And it seems very much so, by the way that John writes this account, that the exit of Judas was the trigger.
[6:18] The exit of Judas, the betrayer, the false disciple. It was that which released the Lord Jesus to declare, as he does there, now is the Son of Man glorified.
[6:29] Now it's begun. This is the marker. Judas leaving to betray him is the marker. It's the starting pistol, in one sense, of Jesus' sufferings and hardship.
[6:40] Like the first sight of the swallow is the sign of summer, and the first leaves falling, the sign of Easter. Sorry, autumn. So Judas' departure meant that the greatest moment of Jesus' life has arrived, the hour of his death.
[6:55] We've seen that, haven't we, as we've been thinking about that right there in verse 1 of chapter 13. It was just before the Passover feast.
[7:05] Jesus knew that the hour or the time had come for him to leave this world and to return to the Father. And we know, of course, that it's Jesus' heart, his mind.
[7:18] Everything is now focused upon the cross, upon his passion, his death, his bearing of our sin, his suffering in the place of his own. Those that he loved to the full extent.
[7:30] Those that he loved to the end. The end was the cross, where he suffered as the atoning sacrifice for sinners like us. And we know that Jesus' mind had been thinking much about this.
[7:43] It turned back to chapter 12, and we know that this is the sense of what's going on, when Jesus says, now is the Son of Man glorified. For in chapter 12, he tells and opens up his heart to his disciples.
[7:56] Verse 27. Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. Thinking of the cross, isn't it? And the suffering. No, it is for this very reason. I came to this hour.
[8:08] Father, glorify your name. So for Jesus, the thought of the cross, the thought of his suffering, is the thought of something which is glorious.
[8:20] Something which is full of glory. And we recognize again how Jesus views the cross. The cross to him was not shame, but glory.
[8:31] It wasn't defeat, but triumph. It's not the end of his life, but the accomplishment of his mission into this world.
[8:43] And as Jesus tells the disciples, he tells them that there are two key figures, who in his death and his suffering will receive glory. Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
[8:57] The Father and the Son are glorified by what takes place at the cross. And it's this truth which is uppermost in his minds.
[9:08] As Judas leaves the room, it's not his thoughts in one sense about himself and the pain and the suffering and the grief, but it's rather the glory that captures his heart and mind.
[9:22] It's the splendor. It's what is being done there, what is being achieved there, what is being caused to be displayed for all the world to see, and the consequences of that.
[9:36] And Jesus says, now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. What does he mean? What is he talking about? Well, there's two senses to the word, or the verb in one sense, to glorify.
[9:51] To glorify can mean, of course, to praise, to honor, to lift high, to exult, and to admire somebody. It's something that we are to do when we come in worship and praise of God.
[10:03] We're to glorify him. As Paul writes to the Romans, in chapter 15, he says this, That's our purpose as a church.
[10:27] That's what we are to do together. We're to honor Jesus. We're to lift high his name, and lift high and exult and glorify the name of God. But there's also this second sense.
[10:39] To glorify means to reveal or to display something glorious, to make it manifest, to show something which is worthy of honor and marvelous.
[10:51] And it was lovely that at the very start of our service, Graham turned our minds to Hebrews 1. For in Hebrews 1 and verse 3, the sun is the radiance, the outshining of God's glory, and the exact representation of his being.
[11:08] Jesus himself, his very life, was a demonstration and a display that God is glorious. And again, the culmination of that is the cross.
[11:20] That place which to the world seems to be so dark and shameful and so awful and terrible. That is the place where God is glorified and revealed for who he is most marvelously.
[11:35] And it's that second sense of the word surely that Jesus means here when he tells the disciples of what is going to happen at the cross. It's going to be that God's glory will be demonstrated.
[11:49] And so I want us to look very briefly this afternoon, this evening, as we think about Easter, as we prepare for the suffering of our Lord Jesus, how is the Son of Man glorified?
[12:00] How is God the Father glorified in the Son in the cross? Well, as we can't help but notice, as we can't help but realize, and it keeps striking us again and again and again and again.
[12:15] And that surely which we must, must, must grasp and take hold of is that in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, we see the glory of his love.
[12:28] We see the glory of his love. That his love is glorious. That his love is marvelous. That his love is the highest and the greatest and the most awesome of love. It was love that took him to the cross to die in the place of his own.
[12:44] As we read in verse 1, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. He showed them the full extent of his love. You see, again, we can't help but take hold of this truth that the love of Christ which is glorified in the cross is not only, if I can put it that way, a general love.
[13:04] As most people would think of the cross, it's not just a general love for the world. Yes, for God so loved the world he gave his son. But we see that in the cross there is a specific love, a particular love, a love for his own.
[13:19] A love for us, dear Christians. For you and I. A love for you and I which extended before the world was made, which chose and determined and purposed to save.
[13:37] A love which with real decision and determination and forethought goes to the cross and says, for these I will die.
[13:48] For these I will pay the punishment. For these I will suffer. In their place. A multitude of men and women who had lived before Christ came into the world and who will live after he came into the world.
[14:06] Generations. Who knows? Isn't that picture of Revelation 4 marvelous where John says, I saw a multitude that no man could number.
[14:17] It's going to be crowded in heaven. In the best possible ways. Crowded yesterday in here, wasn't it? Especially downstairs you had to sort of fight your way to the table to get some food.
[14:29] But it's going to be crowded in heaven. Not just a few. There is no limitation if I can put it that way upon the cross. There is a glorious and marvelous extension of salvation.
[14:45] Surely the cross is the final word. It's the incontrovertible demonstration of the love of Christ. There is no way.
[14:55] No way. That the devil can tell us that Christ doesn't love us when we see the cross. There is no way that our hearts, sinful though they are, can say, Well, God doesn't love you when we see the cross.
[15:06] There is no greater love than the love of Christ for us, his people. Greater love, he says in chapter 15. Greater love has no one than this. Greater love has no one seen than this.
[15:18] Greater love has no one demonstrated than this. Then he who lays down his life for his friends, you are my friends. However, we find it difficult to grasp and understand what that truly means.
[15:31] Yet we cannot doubt the love of Christ. The outshining of his love is seen in the cross.
[15:44] Here's a verse from a hymn. For us in love he bled. For us in anguish died. T'was love that bowed his sacred head and pierced his precious side.
[15:58] Love is demonstrating. So first of all, yes, the love of Christ is glorified. The Son of Man is glorified because his love is demonstrated. But also, what sort of love is this?
[16:10] And surely we cannot help but look at the cross and see that the love of Christ is a gloriously powerful love. It's a powerful love. It's a strong love. The love of Jesus is real love.
[16:22] It's not weak. It's not sloppy. It's not wishy-washy. It is a love which is effective. A love which accomplishes and performs great acts of mighty power.
[16:35] You see, in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, something was done that no power in all the universe could ever do. Not a hundred thousand million atomic bombs could ever do.
[16:46] Not all the energy and forces and strength and wisdom of man could ever do. But something so powerful that it rocks the very core of the universe.
[17:00] Your salvation and mine. It's an act of triumph, isn't it, in the cross? In the cross we see Christ's love was so powerful that it overcame those three awful forces that are at work in the universe.
[17:16] Those forces which have defeated and imprisoned humanity for countless generations. Satan, the devil, the adversary of God. What did Jesus say when he's thought about the cross?
[17:30] Go back to chapter 12 again. Just after he said, Father, glorify your name. He says in verse 31, now is the time for judgment on this world.
[17:40] Now the prince of this world will be driven out. Satan, who has power and authority, who is the God of this age, at the cross, Christ met with him and dealt him a fatal blow from which he shall never recover, but shall lead to his ultimate and everlasting destruction.
[18:01] Satan, who had beguiled and tricked and deceived and destroyed those who God made in his own image. Jesus has taken hold of and he has cast him out.
[18:17] You have no need to fear the devil, dear Christian. He still roams as a roaring lion, yes. He still is out to destroy as much as he can of God's image in this world.
[18:29] He still is active. But, dear friends, for you and I, Christ has dealt him that blow. He that is in us, John says, is greater than he that is in the world.
[18:43] It's because of the cross. Though Satan may send his emissaries to persecute the church, he may send his false angels to deceive and to lie to the world, for those who are the church of Jesus Christ, Satan cannot stop God from working.
[19:03] He cannot keep you or I out of heaven. He cannot stop us from entering into the inheritance which Christ died. He cannot remove the forgiveness of sins. He cannot take away the eternal life that's been implanted within us.
[19:15] He can do nothing to stop God by his power and grace saving and redeeming and rescuing people. He's a hindrance. And we are to be on our guard against him.
[19:28] But because of the Lord Jesus Christ, because of the cross and his power, Satan has been defeated. We see that other great enemy of mankind and humanity, sin.
[19:44] And again, in the cross, of course, we see that sin has been dealt with once and for all by the Lord Jesus Christ. Sin was the devil's great tool with which he was able to capture Adam and Eve and all their descendants.
[19:58] Sin was that which brought all of humanity misery. Every sorrow, every grief, every sadness that we see around about us is due to sin.
[20:10] And the spiritual death that has afflicted every single son and daughter of Adam and separated them from their creator is due to sin. And the just anger of God and wrath of God against each human being is due to sin.
[20:31] But at the cross, Jesus has dealt with sin. Peter writes to the believers in his first letter, chapter 2, verse 24, and he says this.
[20:45] He himself, speaking of Jesus, bore our sins in his body on the tree so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness.
[20:58] By his wounds you have been healed. The curse of sin, the blight and the plague of sin that has permeated through every part of human nature.
[21:11] Christ put a stop to with power to bring forgiveness and cleansing from sin. But more than that, the power to conquer sin in our own lives. The power to say no to sin.
[21:27] All through the cross. And of course, finally there's that third enemy. Finally in point one, I mean. Not finally in the sermon. Finally in point one.
[21:38] There's that third enemy. And that's death. Death. Death is the consequence of sin. It's the result of sin. Romans 6, 23. For the wages of sin is death.
[21:49] That's the great deception of Satan, isn't it? He says to people, enjoy your lusts. Fulfill your desires. Sin your heart out.
[22:01] Because that's what life's all about. And in fact the reality is that's what death's all about. No human being has ever beaten death.
[22:17] No one has ever been able to cheat death. Or prevent death. Or hold death back. Only the Lord Jesus Christ could not be held by death's grip.
[22:31] Because there was no sin in him until he went to the cross. And there at the cross he submitted himself to the full force of all that death could throw at him.
[22:42] And it threw everything at him. When he suffered in our place. When he died that full death for his people. He tasted death for us. But death could not keep him in the grave.
[22:56] Death could not keep him in the tomb. Because upon the cross he took death's power as it were. He took its energy. Sin upon himself. And crushed it and defeated it. So that death had no power over him any longer.
[23:09] And death has no longer any power over us. Who in Christ have shared in his death and its wonderful accomplishments. Here's Paul as he writes to the Corinthians.
[23:21] 1 Corinthians chapter 15. Where oh death is your victory. Where oh death is your sting. The sting of death is sin. And the power of sin is the law.
[23:32] But thanks be to God. He gives us the victory. Through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through what? To the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. To the suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ.
[23:46] Dear friends. Don't you realize. Don't I realize. That the cross is the source of all the power. That we need. As we stand against those enemies. Satan.
[23:58] And sin. And death. We do feel the devil's assaults. We do feel his attacks. We know his fiery arrows are painful. But what do we do?
[24:09] We go to the cross. And we recognize at the cross. Satan has been defeated. And Christ has triumphant over him. And he has provided for us all that we need. To keep us.
[24:21] Do we feel the weight of our sins? Sin upon us at times. Do we not feel its condemnation? And its guilt? Do we struggle with temptation? As it pulls us away from that which is pleasing to God.
[24:32] Towards that which the flesh desires. Do we go to the cross? Do we go to Christ again? Who is tempted in every way? But apart from sin.
[24:44] And we go to him for the strength. That we might say no to sin. And yes to righteousness. Does the fear of death hang over us?
[24:55] Do we feel its cold icy cloud as it were. Blocking out the light of life? Do we struggle because of the loss of loved ones who have gone before us? And again we find ourselves being crushed by the thought of death.
[25:10] Well it's again to the cross we go. To Jesus. The one who has taken and tasted death for all those who are his. So that death has no power over them. And those that have died in Christ.
[25:26] Live for it evermore. That's the only place of peace isn't it? It's in the death. In the cross. Of the Lord Jesus. And so we see. Jesus says.
[25:37] Now is the Son of Man glorified. He's glorified. In the demonstration of this powerful mighty love. Which saves and rescues and delivers us. From all that would make us afraid.
[25:50] But Jesus says this. He says. Now is the Son of Man glorified. And God is glorified in him. And so we go on. And recognize that in the cross.
[26:01] Not only is the Son glorified. But the Father is glorified. How is he glorified? What do we see that is so glorious. About God.
[26:13] Here's just a few things. Just a few things. First of all revealed in the cross. We see the glorious wisdom of God. See the cross is the solution.
[26:25] To the most difficult. Mind bending problem. That humanity has ever faced. Or will ever face. God was the one who planned.
[26:36] And invented. The solution to this terrible problem. How can a God who is utterly holy. And hating of sin.
[26:47] Be reconciled. And brought into fellowship with. A people who are so sinful. And lawless. How can it be done?
[26:58] Without God acting unjustly. Without some laws being bent. Some backhanders being passed. Who could ever have imagined.
[27:09] Such a way of salvation. That spares the sinful. But fulfills all righteousness. And justice. That's why it's so tragically sad.
[27:20] When we look around us. At the religions of this world. And the distortions of Christianity. In this world. Because they are so pitiful. And so foolish. In comparison to this glorious.
[27:32] Glorious. And wise. And amazing. Plan of God. Only God could have thought of that. Only God before the world was made.
[27:43] Could have planned. And purposed. And determined. To save in the way that he did. That his people. Would be rescued. By the substitute of his own son.
[27:55] In their place. Taking on humanity. The plan of salvation. Is a pure stroke of genius. That baffles and puzzles. The majority of people.
[28:06] In our day. Even the great scholars. And wise men. But it is so very simple. That a young child. Can grasp it. Believe it. And rejoice in it. How could God do such a thing.
[28:18] Except that it glorifies his wisdom. Paul in 1 Corinthians. In chapter 1. Verse 25. Says this. For the foolishness of God.
[28:30] Is wiser than man's wisdom. And the weakness of God. Is stronger than man's strength. Here's the wise God. When we put our faith.
[28:41] In the loving God. We are putting our lives. In one who is supremely wise. We are trusting in one. Who knows what's best. We're putting our trust.
[28:52] In someone who. Who puts. All of our intellectuals. And all of our great brains. In the shade. The greatest thoughts.
[29:05] Of the greatest men. And women of all time. All put together. All collected into one space. Are as much value. As one tiny speck.
[29:17] Of dust. In comparison to all the weight. Of the wisdom of God. Which is the universe. Can we doubt him.
[29:29] Can we doubt. That he will not continue. To do all things well. Who has shown such wisdom. In his glorious work. Of securing us. For himself. Can we doubt him. In all the variations.
[29:40] And the ups and downs. Of life. That he is still. At work. At planning. And accomplishing. And fulfilling his wise counsel. And purposes. No we can't doubt him.
[29:53] We needn't doubt him. We can trust him. We can rely upon him. We can prove him. In the cross. Again. We have the proof. Of that fact. Here is the wisdom.
[30:04] Of God glorified. But also. Of course. In the cross. We have the faithfulness. Of God glorified. And revealed. The cross. Is the fulfillment. Of God's promises.
[30:15] Throughout all of history. Just a matter of moments. After sin. Entered the world. God made that glorious promise. To Eve. And to Adam. That there would come.
[30:26] Someone. Who would deliver them. And save them. He says to the woman. I will. Says to the devil. Rather. For the hearing of Adam and Eve. I will put enmity.
[30:37] Between you and the woman. Between your seed. And hers. He will crush your head. And you will strike his heel. It's the beginning of the promises.
[30:48] It starts small. But like that mustard seed. That Jesus spoke about. The wonderful promises. And the plan of God's salvation. And redemption. Throughout the Old Testament.
[30:59] Begins to grow. And to blossom. And to bear fruit. We begin to see. What God is doing. What God has promised to do. What God has promised to do. Leading up to that time.
[31:14] When a savior would come for sinners. When a perfect sacrifice. Would be given for sin. Everything that was taking place now.
[31:25] In the death of the Lord Jesus. In his suffering. Was to fulfill the promise of God. That had been spoken. Thousands. And hundreds of years earlier. And God was working it.
[31:37] And fulfilling. And being faithful. Jesus remember. As he speaks to those two disciples. On the Emmaus road. He says to them. How foolish you are. How slow of heart to believe.
[31:47] All that the prophets had spoken. Did not the Christ have to suffer these things. And then enter his glory. Beginning with Moses. And all the prophets. He explained to them. What was said.
[31:58] In all the scriptures. Concerning himself. That's why the Old Testament is so valuable to us. Dear friends. We're not New Testament Christians. We're Bible Christians. Because the Bible tells us.
[32:10] Here's a God who keeps making promises. And keeps showing us. And keeps leading us. And keeps telling us of Jesus. And in one sense. If you start in Genesis. And you didn't know where it ended.
[32:21] If you could see. Then there'd be this. Oh. I want to get further on. I want to find more. Because it's building up. It's building up. It's building up. Amen. So here is a faithful God.
[32:40] His word we can take and lean upon. With all our weight. Will he fail to keep his promises to us? Who did not fail to fulfill his promise to send his son?
[32:54] Will he not promise and keep his promises to us? Each day. When he has been so faithful to give so much? Surely not.
[33:08] The faithfulness of God is seen. In the cross. Two final things dear friends. We see that in the cross is glorified the holiness of God.
[33:20] The holiness of God. In the cross we see that God is so holy that he must judge sin. With impunity. He's not a God who can bypass sin.
[33:32] He's not a God who can turn a blind eye to sin. Where he finds sin he must deal with it justly and faithfully. With holiness. And when he sees sin even upon his spotless, sinless, wonderful son.
[33:45] Even there he will punish sin. And will meet sin with the judgment it deserves. Hebrews 10. Verses 10 and 14.
[33:56] The apostle writes and says this concerning Jesus. By that will. That's God's will.
[34:07] God's will and purpose. By that will we have been made holy. Through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus once and for all. Verse 14. Because by one sacrifice.
[34:19] He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. God does not treat sin leniently.
[34:32] When we look at the cross we see just how serious sin is. We just see how costly it is. We see how God hates it. How can we feel any differently about sin?
[34:44] How can we entertain it in our lives? How can we say it's okay and it doesn't really matter. When we see that it costs the son of God to suffer and to die for that sin. When we see that God was so angry and hating of that sin.
[34:58] That he punished it upon his son. That he turned his face away. That he would not look upon him. As he bore all our wickedness.
[35:13] The cross displays to us a holy God. A holy God who hates sin. But wonderfully it displays to us a God who satisfies his holiness in the cross.
[35:28] Where sin is dealt with once and for all. Do you hate sin? Do I hate sin as much as God hates sin?
[35:42] Do I hate it as it lives in my heart and my life? Will I do everything possible to eradicate it? To not give it a place? Or will I put up with it a little bit?
[35:54] And say it doesn't really matter. Is my desire to be holy? Is my prayer to be holy? It's God's will for you and for me.
[36:05] Be holy just as your heavenly father is holy. Thank God he's cleansed us of our sin. Thank God that we stand before him as those who are forgiven. And those who are holy in his sight.
[36:17] But there's a holiness to be brought out as it were. To be brought out in our lives. In our living. In the conversation. That shows that God has done a work in us.
[36:27] Which has permeated every pore of our being. There's one last thing here dear friends. There's many more things.
[36:38] But one last thing in this sermon. One final glorious attribute that we see in the cross. That we see nowhere else really. That we see which is the greatest of all God's attributes.
[36:52] The most glorious grace of God. Grace of God. Why should a God who is so holy and hateful of sin.
[37:04] With wisdom plan the solution for our sin. Why should a God who is so faithful to his promises. And so faithful to truth.
[37:15] Determined to save sinners like us. Why should he make atonement for sin. To rescue such wicked law breakers as us.
[37:27] There's only one reason isn't there. It's not because we deserve it. It's not because we've earned it. It's not because of anything that we can do or will ever do. For God.
[37:37] It is purely. Only. Solely. Because of his grace. His undeserved favor to us. Grace is gloriously seen in the cross.
[37:50] As the sinless and holy son of God. As the sinless and holy son of God. Suffers and dies in the place of a sinful and unworthy people. Somebody has put grace in this way.
[38:02] Using each letter to represent a word. God's riches at Christ's expense. Grace.
[38:12] God's riches. At Christ's expense. And it's there at the cross isn't it? Oh grace. That we could never ever ever deserve.
[38:26] What did we deserve? We deserved judgment. From a holy God. We deserved condemnation. From a just God. We deserved eternal separation. From a God who is pure.
[38:38] Too pure to look upon evil. But in his wisdom. In his love. In his faithfulness. His son came. And suffered for us. And did it.
[38:50] He did it. How does Paul feel about the cross? Surely the same way that we must do or so.
[39:05] Galatians 6.14 He says this. May I never boast. Except in the cross.
[39:16] Of our Lord Jesus Christ. Through which the world has been crucified to me. And I to the world. Is the cross all our glory?
[39:29] Is it glorious to us? Is it our boast? Is it that which we exalt more than anything? Is the cross our delight? Does it cause us every day to fall before the God?
[39:43] In worship and praise and thanksgiving. Does it cause our lives to be centered and trained and directed? That we may please him.
[39:55] And love him. And serve him. Who has done so much for us. May it be. That we can say as well.
[40:06] May I never boast. Except in the cross. Of the Lord Jesus. Well let's sing together. Let's sing together. Let's sing together. Let's sing together.