Sermon Tone Analysis

Great Reasons to Praise the Lord

Series: The Gospel of John

John 1:14-18

Sermon by Rick Crandall

Grayson Baptist Church - April 6, 2016

(Revised June 15, 2019)

*Sometimes it's hard to praise the Lord.

God knows that, and sometimes He uses little things to put the praise back in our hearts.

*Christian mom, Dayle Shockley told about one of those days.

It was one of those days when everything seemed to be going wrong.

The phone rang non-stop.

Dayle lost one of her contacts down the drain.

Their dryer died, and their dog, Princess, was out on the deck barking non-stop.

*Dayle's head was reeling, so, she told her very young daughter, "Anna, please go tell Princess to be quiet."

But Anna replied: "Mom, Princess is singing 'Jesus Loves Me.' -- I just know it!"

(1)

*Well, probably not.

But Dayle's whole day was turned around when she thought about God's creatures praising Him.

And Psalm 150:6 says, "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. .

."

*Sometimes God uses little things to put the praise back in our hearts.

But the best thing that can put praise in our hearts is the Word of God.

And tonight's Scripture gives us three great reasons to praise the Lord.

1. FIRST: PRAISE THE LORD FOR HIS GODHOOD.

*Jesus Christ was no ordinary man.

He was, is, and always will be the only begotten Son of God!

This truth means that Jesus is just as much God as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.

*In the opening verses of John's Gospel, he declared the absolute truth that Jesus is God.

Calling Jesus "The Word," in vs. 1-3, John said:

1.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2. The same was in the beginning with God.

3.

All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

*Forever in all eternity past, the divine Word Jesus Christ was and is God.

Then through His miraculous birth, God connected His divinity with humanity in a totally unique way.

*That's why vs. 14-15 say:

14. . .

The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

15.

John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.

*"The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us."

Or as Eugene Peterson said in "The Message," "The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood."

For 33 years God the Son moved into our neighborhood.

"The Word became flesh and dwelt among us."

*The word picture for that word "dwelt" is "pitching a tent."

When Jesus came at Christmas, God pitched a tent right here among us.

*Now Mary and I don't do a lot of camping.

In fact, we don't do any camping.

But way back in 1976, Mary and I went all the way from south Florida to Toronto Canada.

And most nights we stayed in a pup tent.

Let me tell you, there is not a lot of privacy in a pup tent!

*To say that God "pitched a tent among us" tells us that He wanted us to get to know Him very well.

And He did this in a way that should have been impossible.

Jesus had to be, and He was born through a miraculous virgin birth.

*And when Jesus was born there was a miraculous connection between divinity and humanity.

Jesus Christ was not half God and half man.

He was fully God and fully man.

The Lord Jesus is 100% God.

All that God is, Jesus is.

*But at the very same time, Jesus is all that we are, except for the sin that is.

God Almighty humbled Himself to become a human being.

Just like us, Jesus learned how to walk and talk.

Just like us, He got hungry and He got tired.

Just like us, He laughed, and He cried.

*Jesus threw up on His mother.

He dirtied His diapers.

Imagine: You are in school and sitting next to you is God!

You go to the store to buy a chair, and the nice young man waiting on you is God!

*Here is the wonder: The God who holds the universe in His hand humbled Himself to become a man.

Jesus made a miraculous connection between divinity and humanity.

2. SO PRAISE THE LORD FOR HIS GODHOOD.

AND PRAISE THE LORD FOR HIS GLORY.

*The Apostle John talked about the glory of Jesus Christ in vs. 14.

There John said this about Jesus: "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."

[1] THIS VERSE POINTS US TO THE PAST GLORY OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.

*Think about how it was when Jesus walked on the Earth.

Again John said, "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. .

."

That takes us back to the word picture of "pitching a tent."

Well, there is some privacy in a tent.

And that's the way it was when God came down to earth and lived among us in the tent of a human body.

*It reminds me of the Old Testament Tabernacle.

On the outside it looked like a plain, ordinary tent.

And much of the time there was nothing special to see.

But on the inside, it was filled with hidden beauty, and the glory of God!

*For the most part, that's also the way it was when Jesus walked on the earth.

But John said, "We beheld His glory!" "We saw His glory!"

This takes us to the top of the Mount of Transfiguration, where Peter, James and John saw Jesus' face shining like the sun!

*The story is recorded in Matthew, Mark and Luke's Gospels.

And I have blended all three Gospel accounts for us, because each version adds something we need to know:

(Luke 9:28) And it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on (a high) mountain to pray.

(Luke 9:29) And as He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening.

(Matt 17:2) and He was transfigured before them.

His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.

(Mark 9:3) His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them.

(Luke 9:30) Then behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah,

(Luke 9:31) who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.

(Luke 9:32) But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him.

(Luke 9:33) Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" -- not knowing what he said.

(Mark 9:6) because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid.

(Matt 17:5) While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Hear Him!''

(Matt 17:6) And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid.

(Matt 17:7) But Jesus came and touched them and said, "Arise, and do not be afraid.''

(Matt 17:8) And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

(Matt 17:9) Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, "Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.''