Sermon Manuscript

[Video:  “Eagle Eyes - Bumper” - 0:27]

On Monday, April 8, 2024 at approximately 3 PM we experienced a phenomena that will not happen again for another twenty years.  It was a total solar eclipse.  Do you remember where you were when that happened?  I can remember our entire family being excited to watch it take place.  My brother-in-law Chris and his wife Christy, Debbie’s younger sister, and their two kids Olivia and Henry had traveled down from Goshen, Indiana, to watch it.  And we went outside and into a field.  Then we sat and waited and waited.  And finally it happened.  The sky grew dark and even though it was the middle of the day it felt like it was about 10 PM.  Crazy!

Do you remember where you were and how you experienced that moment?  I remember also wearing glasses and looking into the sun to watch it as it got closer and then when the full solar eclipse took place we were able to look up completely into the sun.  It was wild and a bit scary because, of course, you have to be very careful.  Staring into the sun can blind you.  The sun’s rays are so strong and so powerful that if you do that during the day it will irreparably damage your retina and your eyes.  So I remember thinking, “Is this worth it?  Should we really do that?” But we did and it will likely be the last time for a long time that we can do that.

However, did you know that an eagle can do that?  Did you know that an eagle has the ability to stare directly into the sun without any problems?  You see an eagle has some pretty amazing eyes.  Here’s some interesting facts about eagle eyes.  An eagle only weighs about 10 pounds but its eyes are roughly the size of humans.  And yet they are 4 to 8 times more powerful than the human eye.  They are able to spot a rabbit two miles away.  Two miles!  As they get older their eyes adjust and they can even see fish within the water.  And as I mentioned before they can fly high into the sky and stare directly into the sun.

Simply put.  An eagle’s eyes are amazing and they enable an eagle to soar high above and to see that which others cannot.  Well, this morning we are going to begin a series of messages called Eagle Eyes where together we are going to examine some high and lofty truths found within the book of John.  Why John?  Because in ancient Christian art John was often depicted with an eagle because his Gospel focused upon the divine nature of Jesus.  So throughout this series we’re going to listen and learn from John as he flies high into the sky and stares into the Son of God, Jesus, and enables us to see what he sees.  Deep and profound theological truths.

But before we get started let me just start with a word of prayer:

[Prayer:  For God to speak to us through this series and enable us to see Jesus as we should.]

Alright.  So let’s get started.  Turn with me in your Bibles to the book of John chapter 1.  Today we are going to be in verses 1-18.  As you turn there and get prepared, let me share with you a little about the book of John itself.  The Gospel of John was written by a man named John.  John was born in a town called Bethsaida in Galilee just north of the Sea of Galilee.  His mother was a woman named Salome and his father was named Zebedee.  He also had a brother named James which is why James and John were sometimes referred to as “the sons of Zebedee”.  Later they will be called “the sons of Thunder” because of their bold and brash personalities.  But their father was a fisherman by trade and so when his boys became old enough they became fishermen too.

This means that the family was likely poor and uneducated.  Jewish boys would have attended synagogue until a certain age but then if they were not good enough to become like their Rabbi they would have been sent home to continue in the family business.  This likely happened to James and John.  Not surprising.  But what was surprising was that when Jesus came looking for disciples he chose four fishermen including James and John along with Andrew and Peter.

And when John began following Jesus he was at that time a follower of John the Baptist.  But when John the Baptist pointed to Jesus as being greater than him John and his brother began to follow Jesus.  John is also the disciple who referred to himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.”  Not because he was the only one whom Jesus loved but because he was so overwhelmed by the love Jesus had shown to him.  John had been part of Jesus’ inner circle and was there during many of the key events of His life, death, and resurrection.  So John had a special relationship with Jesus and it is out of that relationship with Jesus that he wrote his Gospel so that others would believe in Jesus as he now did.  

Here’s how he begins it.  He says:

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 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. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Alright.  Stop here for just a moment.  Before we go any further we have to stop and think about  the importance and significance of these opening lines.  These words are some of the most incredible and amazing words ever written in all of history.  Think about it.  He says, “In the beginning was the Word”.  The phrase “In the beginning” is meant to remind you of how the Bible began and how the world was formed because Genesis 1:1 said that “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”  Here John says “In the beginning was the Word.”  Notice that the word for “Word” is capitalized.  It’s a title.  In the beginning was the Word.  Again, this reminds us of creation.  Because how did God create?  He spoke.  He spoke and created all things.  Theologians call this “Creation Ex Nihilo” or “Creation out of nothing”.  God spoke and He created all things.  So in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.  OK.  So the Word was there from the very beginning and was not only with God but was God.  That’s key.  The Jehovah’s Witnesses say the Word was “a god” because they want to teach that the Son of God was a created god but there is no word in the Greek language for the word “a”.  It’s a mistranslation that is purposeful to teach a false doctrine.  Verse 2 then says that “He was in the beginning with God.”  So whoever this Word is, it's a Person.  Do you see what John’s doing here?  And in verses 3 and 4 John will go on to say that “All things were made through him and that without him was not anything that was made.”  So he’s stating this same truth in two different ways.  The positive and negative forms.  The Word of God created all things.  And in Him, verse 4 says, was life and the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it.  Why does John say this?  Well, what was the first thing God said in creation?  He said, “Let there be light” and there was light.  Light shines in the darkness and reveals something.  God was revealing Himself to be the Creator of all things before actually creating them.  And this Word of God was also the Light of God.

Wow!  We could talk about this for hours and I wish that we could.  When I was studying this text earlier this week I came up with 7 single pages of typed notes on these verses and I was just scratching the surface!  There is so much here but we have to continue.  

Verse 6 then says this:

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

Alright.  Stop here.  John the disciple says that there was a man sent from God whose name was John.  This is John the Baptist.  And John says that John the Baptist was not the light but that he gave witness to the Light.  John pointed other people to God and bore witness of the light of God.  And remember John was a follower of John the Baptist and he was told by John that he was not the Light of God but rather was showing people who is the Light of God.

Verse 9 then says:

9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

OK.  So John the Baptist was not the light but the true light was coming into the world.  This true Light was now in the world.  He was the Word of God and the One who made the entire world and yet the world did not know Him.  Think about that!  So the Creator of the world came into the world He created and yet His creation had no idea who He was!  He came to even His own people and they did not know Him!  “But”, John says, “to all who did know Him and who both received Him and believed in Him He gave the right to become children of God.  By the way, that’s the whole reason for why John writes his Gospel.  Underline verse 12 and 13.  Because later in John 20:31 at the end of his Gospel he says that “These things have been written so that you may believe and that by believing you may have life in His name.”  And those who believe, John says, are given the right to become children of God because they have been “reborn”.  Not reborn in the sense of flesh and blood or out of the will of man but of God.  God has reborn each person who has believed and now they are “born again”.  We’ll examine that concept more fully next week.  But for our purposes here John says God is the One who recreates all believers.

He then wraps up this opening topic in this way.  John says in verse 14:

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ”) 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

Wow!  What a powerful statement!  The Word became flesh and dwelt among us!  Memorize verse 14 brothers and sisters!  Because it is huge.  The Word of God who was also the Life and Light of God became flesh, took upon Himself flesh and blood, and He dwelt or lived among His people.  Wow!  What a crazy statement!  The God of this Universe took the form of a man.  The Creator took the form of His own creation and He lived among us.  And John says, “and we have seen His glory, the glory of the only Son from the Father who is full of grace and truth.”  John the Baptist pointed Him out and said that “The One who came after him was greater than him because He was before me.  He was from the beginning!”  And as a result we received grace upon grace.  Grace is unmerited favor.  Grace or unmerited favor from God.  One after another after another through whom?  Jesus!  John finally mentions His name in verse 17.  He says the Law was given through Moses but grace and truth comes through Jesus.  Prior to Jesus no one had ever seen God but now God has made Himself known through the Person of Jesus Christ.  Jesus the Christ.  Jesus the Messiah.

Incredible!  This is what is known as the Incarnation.  It’s the doctrine which sets Christianity apart from all others because it’s the teaching that Jesus is God.  No other world religion or cult teaches this truth.  This is the truth that separates Christianity from all others.  Jehovah’s Witnesses believe Jesus was a created god.  The Mormons believe you can become a god.  The Muslims believe Jesus was a prophet but not “the Prophet” we should listen to or Muhammed.  Only Christianity teaches that God became a Man and that the Word became flesh!  He existed prior to the Incarnation as the Word of God but having been born and taken on flesh.  He is now the Son of God and the One whom God has revealed Himself through.  It is in Jesus Christ that we see the fullest and best expression of God because He was God and in Him we can know God and through Him we are saved by God.  This is also why it is the name of Jesus by which all men are saved.  Acts 4:12 tells us “there is no other name under heaven by which all men are saved.”  No other name.  Not Moses.  Not Muhammed.  Not Charles Taze Russell or Joseph Smith or Mary Baker Eddy or the Buddha or any other religious leader.  There is no other name under heaven by which we are saved.  And why is that?  Because when Jesus took the form of a Man God took the form of a name.  Prior to Jesus He was known by many descriptions but now God has a name.  And now Jesus is the name of God.  This is what is known as the Incarnation.  The truth that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”

This week within your Core 52 chapter called The Incarnation the author Mark Moore begins the chapter in this way.  He says, “John 1:14 is one of the most extraordinary claims ever made.  The idea it expresses is what theologians call the Incarnation.  It’s the claim that the God of this universe wrapped Himself in the frailty of human flesh.  In short, God became a man.”  And he goes on to describe how for many in this world this claim is ridiculous and utterly unthinkable.

And yet if this is true then it completely changes what we know about God and how we should live for Him.  Because the incarnation of Jesus Christ is the greatest revelation of God Himself but also His desires for your life and mine.  What He did in Jesus He wants to do in you and He wants to do in me.  So let’s think about how we can respond to the incarnation together.

Here’s three steps.  First of all, allow God to come near you.  Allow God to come near you.  If the incarnation of Jesus Christ teaches us anything then it teaches us about a God who desires to come near to you.  When John opened his Gospel with the words “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God” he was speaking about God’s Plan from the beginning.  His Plan was always to draw near.  He’s not a God who is distant.  He’s not a God who is separate.  He’s not unengaged within our world or uninterested in your life.  No, quite the opposite.  God loves you and me and others so much He came into our world, took the form of a Man, and chose to experience what we experience so that we might experience Him like never before.  In other words, He drew near to us so that we might draw near to Him.

This is different from other views of God within other world religions.  It’s also different from what Jesus taught us about God.  Because when He spoke about God He often referred to God as His Father or our Father who is in heaven.  Father is a relational term.  He also taught His disciples that He and the Father are one.

In John chapter 14 there’s an important story within John’s Gospel that occurs in the Upper Room on the very night Jesus will be arrested before being crucified.  Jesus says in John 14:6 to His disciples, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.”  To which Philip responds, “Show us the Father?”  And Jesus says, “Have I been with you so long and you do not know Me, Philip?  Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father.  So how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”  Jesus’ point is that He is both the Way to God but also God Himself.  Through Him God had drawn near to them and they could draw near to Him.

God wants to draw near to you.  Let Him.  Allow Him.  He is already present so allow Him to come into your life and to come close to you.  That’s His desire.  Allow God to come near you.

Second, invite God to live inside you.  Invite God to live inside you.  Because the incarnation not only teaches us about a God who desires to come near you but also a God who desires to live inside of you.  And just as God dwelled within the Person of Jesus He can dwell within you too.  If you want Him to do so.  But you’ve got to invite Him in.  Or as John said you’ve got to receive Him and believe in Him.  Because to all who believe and receive will become children of God.  That’s what John said in verses 12 and 13.  It’s the first promise of his Gospel given to all believers.  But to believe and to receive you’ve got to invite.

And all of us need to do this.  If you’ve never been in a relationship with God allow Him to draw near but invite Him inside.  Give your life to Him.  Make a choice.  Make a decision.  Tell God you want Him to not only be a part of your life but the very center of it.  Invite him inside.

And then ask him to change you.  Because the third and final step is this:  Ask God to change you.  The first step was to allow Him to come near to you.  The second was to invite Him inside to live in you.  But the third is the most important.  It’s to ask Him to change you.  Because when God comes inside of you He’s going to want to change you.  He will want to clean that which is dirty and rearrange that which is out of order.  He will want to change some of your thoughts, habits, and patterns in life.  He might want to address your relationships with others.  Let Him.  He might want to address your priorities with how you spend your time and money.  Let Him.  He might want to change the way you think or speak or dress or view people.  Let Him.

Whatever God wants to do, let Him do it.  And ask Him to do it.  Ask Him to change you and mold you and shape you into the image of His Son.  Because that’s a question He can’t wait to answer.  That’s a request He can’t wait to fulfill.  God knows that when He draws near to you and then is permitted to live inside of you and then is asked to change you that He will create within you something brand new.  Something truly special.  Something that will honor Him and bring to Him the glory that He alone deserves.  Because that’s what happened in Jesus.

John said in verse 14 that in Jesus “we have seen the glory of God, glory as of the only Son from the Father”.  And the same thing will happen in your life and mine.  When we give our lives to God and allow Him to come incarnationally into our lives and to live within us and change us from within we will become a completely different person and the world will take notice.  Because we will bring glory and honor to Him.  But we have to ask God to change us.

So let me ask you this question:  Will you live incarnationally for Jesus?  Will you recognize that the incarnation of Jesus teaches us both what God did in Jesus’ life but also what He wants to do in ours?  And will you allow Him to come near to you?  Will you invite Him to come inside of you?  And will you ask Him to change you?  Because when you take those steps of faith God will respond in your life like never before.  Why?  Because that is His desire for all of our lives and that is how we will be blessed by Him and bring Him glory.  But do you want that in your life?  I desperately do.  I can’t speak for you but I don’t want my life to glorify me.  I want my life to glorify God and to glorify Jesus so that others might see what God has done in me and through me and say, “Wow.  If God can do that for him what could he do for me?  If God can do that in his life, what could He do in mine?”  That’s what I want.  But if you and I want that then we must both choose to live incarnationally for Jesus.  So is that what you want or not?

Last year when the moon covered the sun in a total solar eclipse it was an opportunity to see something that was truly spectacular.  It’s a moment where the moon, which is 400 times smaller, is placed in a particular location within its orbit to make it appear to be much larger.  And as a result, the sun becomes completely blocked.  And when it becomes blocked people are able to see that which could not be seen before.  For example, the ancient Babylonians were able to understand what was called the Saros Cycle or the time between solar eclipses by studying them.  The Greeks were able to develop tools to determine the next ones.  Maybe most stunning was how a solar eclipse was used to prove Einstein’s Theory of Relativity by observing how gravity helped to bend the sun’s light.  Solar eclipses help us to see that which we cannot.

The same is true for you and me.  When the Son of God comes into your life and mine and lives within us He radiates from us and enables others to see that which they could not before.  They see God at work within us and they see Jesus glorified through us.  And that’s what He wants for you and for me.  He wants us to allow Him to draw near, invite Him inside, and then for us to ask Him to change us.  Because when we do He will be glorified.  Let’s summarize it like this: 

God wants to live in you so Jesus can be glorified through you.

Let’s pray.

[Prayer:  For God to come inside us and change us from within.]

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