Do You Hear What I Hear?
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Remember Genesis 1.1… it is a recollection of that. It does not mean a specific point in time- it means , or assumes, a timeless eternity. God was the original “to infinity and beyond” advocate.
Word- logos- it refers to the emphasis on meaning of a spoken word. In this context it refers to personality expressed in communication. What is God like? Look at Jesus- it will show you precisely what God is like.
It has creative power- Psalm 33.6
6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
God’s word had creative power and called the universe into being. John is telling us that the “Word” is the source of all that you see and existed before all that the material world consists of.
John is telling everyone something- Jew and greek alike- thatthe significance of the Incarnation for the world and not just a limited geographic location.
The word was with God- it means “face to face.”
The Word was God- not another God or another being in the same rank- but one and the same. This unity is not just similarity- it is oneness.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
This is repetitive by design. A summary of verse 1 in a succinct effective restatement.
Remember John 8.58
58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
Life (zoe)- either the principle of physical life, or more likely, spiritual life. 36 times in John.
Christ is the perfect embodiment of Life- what it is … and what it should be! He is the benchmark. His lifeis the light of men- God’s purpose and power are made available to us, and He is our ultimate hope.
5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
light and dark are powers of good and evil, common metaphors and imagery in John’s day.
Darkness cannot overcome the light of the word. Nevertheless, Satan always tries to cloud, or darken, the thinking of those who encounter the light.
Think about the times when Jesus is speaking in spiritual terms, and all his listeners can understand are physical things.
19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body.
4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water?
11 After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” 12 The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep.
Satan strives to shut out, or darken, the light of Christ’s gospel message into their lives.
This truth, that Satan wants to block out the light with darkness, helps us to understand the ministry of John the baptist which is introduced in the next vers.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
The human agent to present the Word of God was John- sent from God. There are people who come into our lives. There are people whose lives we come into or stumble into.
John didn’t come or stumble- he was sent.
Sent from God. This is the most important word in this verse. His sending was from the Highest Authority. His function is defined by John 1.7
7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.
Witness is a Johannine word. It is an attempt to establish testimony that Jesus is the Son of God.
John would testify that he was only the forerunner of another who would give them the Holy Spirit, and that they must repent in anticipation of meeting him.
John says John the Baptist was not the light, but a testimony to him.
8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
John came on a human level to tell about God’s light. And our need for it.
What have we learned in John 1.1-8? God’s Word, who is God, was with God, and is an eternal being… spoke the world into existence and spoke to the world he spoke into existence now has stepped into the world he created by word with His living Word-Jesus. He has given life to the expression, “Don’t listen to what people say- watch what they do..
John (the writer) wants us to see the Word- the creating Word- as coming into, stepping into the creation that He created! The Lego master just stepped into His own Lego house!
In Genesis 1, the climax of the story is the creation of humans in God’s image. In John 1, the climax is the arrival of this human being- the Word- become flesh. In fact, John 1 and the Word becoming flesh is the climax of the story that began in Genesis 1- it was God’s plan all along.
So what has happened since the beginning of the story to the climax of the story , the birth of Jesus? God has been speaking with words. He once spoke by writing on a wall with a hand that just appeared. He once spoke through a donkey. The phrase, “The word of the Lord came to:” .... and you fill in the blank- it could be Moses or Jonah or Adam or any one of the OT characters. He spoke through and to prophets and seers. But one thing is common- He spoke with words. A string of intelligible, sensible words either verbally or written down.
Words.
Our words are important- but just think for one minute how important God’s words are! he spoke over and over and over again- but we didn’t hear God’s words in the right way. We didn’t hear Him speaking. And he knew it, but he was patient with us over centuries in His story until the climax- the birth of Jesus.
Listen to Deuteronomy 11.18-25
18 “You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 19 You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 20 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21 that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens are above the earth. 22 For if you will be careful to do all this commandment that I command you to do, loving the Lord your God, walking in all his ways, and holding fast to him, 23 then the Lord will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations greater and mightier than you. 24 Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours. Your territory shall be from the wilderness to the Lebanon and from the River, the river Euphrates, to the western sea. 25 No one shall be able to stand against you. The Lord your God will lay the fear of you and the dread of you on all the land that you shall tread, as he promised you.
Our words reveal our hearts and our minds, our intentions. Jesus is God’s “Word” to reveal God’s heart and mind to us. See John 14.9
9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
Jesus is also God’s last word- having spoken time and again through prophets, judges, kings and circumstances- he now speaks finally in this Word, Jesus. See Hebrews 1.1-3
1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
Why did God speak for centuries and centuries and we didn’t get it?
Why , when God spoke in the birth of Jesus, do people still not get it?
John told us: John 1.5
5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
The darkness cannot comprehend it.
I want you to imagine, for a moment- that you are in a sound sleep in your bedroom. You have pulled the blinds so no streetlight or moonlight can come in. You have a totally dark room- and the lights don’t work. The light on your nightstand- out. the other lights in the room? Kapoot. The blinds aren’t open and can’t be opened. And you have to make it to the door to get the door open to let in the light.
Now some of you said, no problem. Right? You know where everything is in your room and you can make it to the door with no problem. Okay. But there’s one more thing.
the furniture has not only been moved, it is still moving. In the darkened room where you can see nothing. You are effectively blind. And everything is moving. Your night stand, your dressers, your knick knacks, the jewelry box, your slippers, your robe, your everything is randomly moving around the room. You really need light.
Now, before you go any further, let’s acknowledge that I have gone to great lengths, absurd lengths, to make this difficult. Right? This could never happen in real life. Or could it? I’d submit to you that it does happen. Every moment of every day. And has for every day since the first climax of the story in Genesis 1- the creation of humans.
The darkness is Satan’s best efforts to darken the light of Christ in this world.
For some of us it is food- for others of us it is alcohol, drugs, sex or porn, or something else.
It’s hobbies and good unfulfilled intentions, bad relationships and the temptations that come with them.
It’s covid and cancer and careers.
It’s shopping and consuming, spending and paying bills.
It’s even possibly christmas itself.
Because everything that takes your eyes off of the true light of Christ and onto anything else is the darkness that is shutting down the light of Christ that is shining into your darkness.
Yesterday I was driving from Mercy hospital, up I77, into the Belden Village area at about 65 miles an hour. And I looked at my dash and there was a stink bug inside the gauges on my car! Do you know what I did? i focused on that. I wondered, will he let out his stink? What if he crawls out of there and onto me? And while all of this looking and watching the stink bug is going on my speed begins to drop- traffic has gotten off the 62 ramp and is now getting on 77 at the onramp- and i am mesmerized, dangerously so, distractedly so- by this stink bug that is crawling inside my dash.
And that is what allows the light to be squelched in our lives- hobbies, and food, and sickness, and alcohol, and drugs, and shopping and consuming and covid and cancer and even Christmas- blinds us to the very light that we need in our darkness.
Remember, now, you’re under the blanket and it’s pitch dark and you’re going to make a run for the door to let some light into your situation. Hint #1: You’ll never make it. The dresser will hit you in the head on the way. Hint #2: There’s light in the room already- you just have been focusing on everything else that isn’t light. You’ve been looking at all the darkness.
You see, God’s been in the room my whole life: I just have focused on everything else except Him. He’s been speaking and shining- pushing the flying dressers out of the way and making sure I didn’t get killed by the falling night stand- He’s been there; I’ve just been focusing on everything else that I think I want or need to see.
When I Focus On The Distractions I Miss The Main Attraction: Jesus!
When I Focus On The Distractions I Miss The Main Attraction: Jesus!
You shall therefore lay up this Word- JESUS in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind HIM as a sign on your hand, and HE shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 19 You shall teach HIM to your children, talking of HIM when you are not sure if you can continue, and when you are walking in the most difficult of circumstances, and when you are resting in His Peace, and when you wake up each new day.. 20 You shall write them on the welcome mat of your home and on your refrigerator door, 21 that your life and the lives of those you love may be many- in fact eternal.
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”