Sermon Brief
Date Written: March 27, 2010
Date Preached: March 28, 2010
Where Preached: OPBC (AM)
Sermon Details:
Series Title: Approaching the Resurrection
Sermon Title: The Rejection of Messiah
Sermon Text: John 12:20-36 [ESV]
Introduction:
Walter Jerry Payton is considered by most people to be either THE best or one of the best RB in the history of the NFL. When most RBs careers last only 3-5 years, Walter’s career spanned a tremendous 13 years.
A 1st rd pick (No. 4 overall) by Chicago Bears in 1975 NFL draft. He led the NFL with a 31.7-yard kickoff return average in his rookie season. In his 3rd year he established the single-game rushing record of 275 yds.
In 1976 AND 1977 he was named the Player of the Year in his conference by THE SPORTING NEWS, and in 1977 the NFL voted him their MVP.
In his 9th season Walter set the NFL Career rushing mark. Ironically enough for us here this morning, Walter accomplished this feat in cold, snowy Chicago in Nov 1984 against our beloved Saints. The next season Walter helped Bears win the Super Bowl and in ‘87 he retired the most prolific RB in the history of the NFL.
Nicknamed ‘sweetness’ by his teammates for his easy going disposition, Walter was a labeled a ‘superman’ by his fans. When looking a his career and accomplishments you might think that Walter was an imposing physical presence and that he was a superior athlete to others in the NFL, but to jump to that conclusion about Walter is wrong.
Walter was 5’11” and barely topped 200 lbs. He was a small man in a very LARGE man’s world of pro football, but Walter played BIG! The main reason that Walter could play and accomplish what he did was that Walter was in the best shape a man could be in… ALL THE TIME!
Walter’s offseason workouts were legendary! He dedicated himself to working harder than anyone else. He was once joined by a teammate for his offseason work out and the teammate did not last a week with him.
Many people looked at Walter and saw a superman… they saw someone they wanted to be like! But what many people never fully understood was that it was NOT Walter’s talent that made him the star he became… although he had talent, it was his work ethic that made him great!
Walter would not be ‘outworked’ by anyone! And those who thought he just showed up and played… they did not know what he sacrificed to be that great! Many teammates stumbled and fell away when subjected to his grueling offseason workout regiment!
People saw Walter’s successes and many wanted to be just like him… but what MANY did NOT see was his year round workouts! Many people, if given the chance would NOT last and would reject him and his workouts!
Now when we look at our passage this morning in John 12 we find the very same thing happening to Jesus! In this passage Jesus the superstar, Jesus is the teacher on the rise, HE is the One with all the crowds flocking to Him to hear His message and to have Him heal them!
In our passage this morning we find that Jesus is so popular that many people wanted to meet Him and follow Him… they wanted to be like Him…
As we look at our passage this morning I want us to begin in v.20 where we can find Gentiles seeking to meet Jesus and get to know Him presumably to become one of His followers! They are taken to Jesus…
However we see in this passage that Jesus revealed to these people what it meant to follow Him… what it meant to be like Him… what it meant to be His disciple, and after Jesus had said these things, we find that many of these men rejected Jesus because what He required was just too much for them!
They were drawn to His success, as many of us are drawn to people who are successful!
We love the popularity and drawing power of success (Jn 12:20-22)
There are so many men and women in this world who are successful and people look up to them and want to either be LIKE them or live a life like they are living.
Many of these successful people are RICH or TALENTED or have a beauty about them that makes them stand out from the rest of the world.
Bill Gates is a great example of a man who had been financially successful in life. For years he has been the richest man in America and one of the richest men in the world!
For years his company, MicroSoft has reigned at the top of the computer world! Many people look to Bill Gates and say to themselves… wow he is lucky… wow I wish I had his life, or I wish I had his success!
Jesus was such a man in His time. Jesus did not start a business like Bill Gates, but Jesus was tremendously successful at what He was doing and He was also very popular and EVERYONE knew who Jesus was… when Jesus was coming to town, everyone wanted to see Him and be near Him.
READ John 12:20-22 [ESV] here
We see these men coming to the disciples wanting to see and follow Jesus. They were in Jerusalem for the Feast of Passover and they heard that Jesus was there too and so they took the opportunity to go and see this man they had heard so much about…
Now the Bible does not describe these men other than they were in Jerusalem for the feast, they were of Greek descent and they were worshippers… lovers of God, and that they had a burning desire to see and meet Jesus!
Now I don’t know about you but if Bill Gates was in town today, and I had the opportunity to meet with him and discuss business and computers, I believe I might make room in my schedule! I believe we can learn from those who are successful in this life, and I would love to sit down with him and garner some business savvy and wisdom from him.
I can imagine this is what these men thought about meeting Jesus, they were going to ‘see what He was like’ and get to know Him and pick His brain and gain wisdom from their experience! I am sure that Jesus knew why these men were coming… they had expressed a desire to follow Him!
There are many people in this world we can look up to and attempt to be like, and for the believer, Jesus is THE ONE person we are called to strive to be like in all areas of our life!
Jesus is the PRIMO example of how to live life and how to serve God and as a believer we should desire to be as much like Him as we can…
However, many times we want to experience all the success, but we are clueless on how that success was produced! Our desire is to be on top, but we do not understand what it takes to get there! Leading to my next point…
We seldom see what produces success (Jn 12:24-26)
Bill Gates is probably the MOST successful business man who has ever lived in our United States, his business savvy and technical acumen have changed the way the world does business… Bill Gates changed the world of business by his sheer will and by hard work and long hours!
Many people see the success and riches of Bill Gates and don’t understand that he got there by DOING something… what they do NOT see is how Gates produced that success in his life! The following 10 items were attributed to Gates in a speech to a HS commencement ceremony…He told them…
9 Rules of life…
Rule 1: Life is not fair -- get used to it!
Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world expects you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.
Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president of a company until you earn both.
Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.
Rule 5: Flipping burgers is NOT beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping -- they called it opportunity.
Rule 6: Don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them and don’t repeat them!
Rule 7: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off!
Rule 8: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
Rule 9: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.
Now we can see that Bill Gates has a great understanding of sacrifice and hard work. He knew that these things ARE the key to success. But when we look at our passage this morning we can see that Jesus knew the keys to success in serving God! Jesus understood that sacrifice and surrender were what it would take for these men to follow Him… for these men to be a part of the kingdom.
Read John 12:24-26 [ESV] here…
So how can we learn to be a successful follower of Jesus? How can we learn to emulate Jesus? Well I can tell you one thing for certain, you cannot simply wish yourself to success and a spiritually fulfilling life! We cannot simply PRAY for that to happen… we can also NOT sit idly by in our church pew and EXPECT it to happen!
For us to experience the fullness of God’s salvation and the joy He has promised, it is going to take a great deal of hard work and sacrifice on our part!
In our passage this morning we see Jesus setting forth a few principles that we can and MUST use to see how hard it WILL be when we say, “Jesus I want to follow you!”
First we find that Jesus said… “you will have to die before you can produce fruit” He was using the analogy of a grain of wheat being planted, but from the death of that one grain, many other grains are born and harvested!
Second, Jesus said if you loved your own life…you were useless, but if you were willing to surrender your own life, God can use you!
Finally we find Jesus telling those around Him, if you want to follow Me… then you have to be willing to SERVE Me! Serving Jesus will be honored by God!
In Mark 8:34 [ESV] Jesus told those around Him, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
For us to be like Jesus, we have to learn to surrender to Jesus! For us to be a ‘success’ in serving God we have to learn to do what it takes to experience that success.
Jesus tells us it is that we have to deny ourselves… we have to die to ourselves… we have to be willing to serve Him and take up whatever cross He places before us…
Just as any athlete will never experience success without rigorous sacrifice and effort! Just like any businessman will never succeed without understanding that things will NOT be handed to him… We too, as Christians, will NEVER be who God has called us to be until we are ready and willing get up, get out into the world and make the necessary surrender to Him!!
I find it really very sad for me to even say these words, but the call of Christ is something that many people who have accepted Christ as Savior… these people choose NOT to answer God’s calling on their lives!
These people are left in their own world, their own comfort zone and ultimately in their own universe… alone and without God… totally alienated from their Creator!
Do you know what success is? Do you know how to experience success? This world is filled with commercials about how to get rich without really working… how to get something for nothing in this life… but what it boils down to is if you are willing to put in the time and effort… you will be blessed!
Spiritually speaking we know that God works pretty much in the same way… we cannot work to gain our salvation, but after Jesus saves us, then we are sent out into the world to share Him with all we come to know.
And that is where we end up here this morning… we can SEE what God wants of our life, but are we answering the call? Are we putting in the arduous hrs and hard work that produce fruit? Serving God is something that is going to take us FAR outside our own comfortable lives… out of our secure comfort zones! There are not too many who see the path of Jesus and then seek to walk it faithfully!
We reject that which takes us out of our comfort zone (Jn 12:37)
But I am here this morning telling you that I stand here with a heavy, heavy heart… why is that pastor? Well, I know there are some of you sitting in this room today who will NOT make it to heaven… you will not see the Savior as your eternal Lord, but you will only see Him as your sovereign judge and condemner! If you are here today and you do NOT know the eternal peace of your Creator, then I urge you to hear me on this one point!!
Preacher! How can you ask this of me, I have done all the things the Bible requires to be saved! I walked the aisle! I prayed the sinners prayer! I confessed my sins to God! I have been forgiven… Preacher you just don’t know what you are talking about!
Well, I pray that you are right, and I am wrong, but when I read Scripture I see that salvation is FAR MORE than a mere verbal commitment to God! Salvation is supposed to bring about a total and clean break from your past… salvation comes from God and it only comes as a matter of total and complete surrender to Christ… I cannot say this any more clear… Salvation is a total and complete MAKEOVER of your spiritual life!
If you have been saved, your life should be SO radically different from what you were that the world will sit up and take notice! And you will grow in your faith and share your faith with others!
We have so many people today who fall into one of two categories when it comes to rejecting Christ! The first category we can read about in John 12:37 [ESV] “37 though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him…”
People like this will never surrender fully to Jesus. They see His love for them, they see His sacrifice, they feel His mercy and are told of His grace and forgiveness… but regardless of what they see or hear, they will NEVER believe because they want everything their own way… they want to be in complete control!
When Jesus laid down these requirements and then told His disciples what was going to happen to Him in Jerusalem, and when He did, there were many people who turned away and left!
They did this because Jesus had set out some pretty difficult standards! These people felt that living for Jesus cost TOO much! He wants too much of them! So they turn away in spite of what they can see in Him!
This group is sad, but at least we know where they stand before Christ. We know that they have turned away from Jesus and there is nothing we can do to get them to turn back!
We are called to be reconcilers and restorers to the faith… but without God Scripture is clear that these people are doomed to an eternity in hell and separated from God… and yet they turn and walk away from God’s salvation!
But there is another group, which I find to be saddest of all! This 2nd group is FAR sadder than those in the 1st group! This 2nd group is the group who see Jesus, and then desire to be like Him, they confess their sins to Him, they pray to Him, and they claim to be His disciple!
However, when the chips are down and its crunch time…they turn their backs on Jesus! They choose to live a life pleasing to themselves rather than a life pleasing to God!
Read John 12:42-43 [ESV] at this time…
42 Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.
In these verses we can see that those who had believed in Jesus privately were unwilling to confess it publically because they sought the approval of human authority… they loved the praise of man more than they wanted the fellowship of God.
There are many people who desire to be successful in their walk with Christ, but they are not… they are not successful because they are attempting to do it on their own! They make excuses for their spiritual breakdowns and sulk in their lack of surrender to Christ!
They want to be a successful Christian but they are NOT willing to do what it takes to become one… they are NOT willing to deny themselves… they are NOT ready to take up the Cross Christ has given them… and because of that, they are NOT ready to follow Jesus!
These people are willing to profess Christ within the church walls, they can speak the church language to each other, and in the presence of other believers they may even appear to be bold… BUT they are not willing to confess Christ in public in fear of rejection… fear of losing the respect of friends or human authority…
People when you come to know Jesus you are called to a radically different life! Yes it is going to take great courage on your part to live as Christ calls you to live! Yes it is going to make you feel uncomfortable from time to time! Yes it is going to put you at odds with the world and more than likely with your friends, co-workers and neighbors!
But, sadly there are TOO many professing believers who are simply NOT willing to proclaim boldly the Christ they claim to serve! What they don’t realize is… that when they refuse to surrender and submit… what they are actually doing is rejecting Christ whom they claim to serve!
I know that we all long to be successful in whatever we do… we look at role models and think how great it would be if we were like them. Many believers today look to Jesus as their role model, and want to be like Him, but are not willing to do what it takes to live as they should!
These people are not willing to completely surrender themselves to His service! They talk a good game and they desire the success of being a good Christian, but they won’t let go of their selfish desires… they won’t surrender to His calling on their lives!!
If you are here today and you do not know Jesus…in a personal and saving way! I am here to tell you that some 2000 yrs ago He died for your sin, gave His life for your salvation! He wants to forgive you and make you part of His family… he is calling to you today… come to Him and confess your sin and allow His forgiveness and salvation to overwhelm your life.
Today you have the opportunity to know the Creator of the Universe… won’t you come and allow Him to change your heart and change your life!
Today you may be here and you have professed Jesus as your Savior, but like Peter and all the other disciples, when push came to shove, you leave Jesus behind and you do NOT live for Him as you should! You deny Him by your lifestyle and by you unwillingness to surrender fully to him!
Today you have an opportunity to surrender to Him, to make things right between you and Him! I call on you to come… As Bro Steven comes to lead us in our hymn of invitation… Jesus Paid it All… I urge you to come! Stop denying what Christ desires for your life… accept His calling and surrender to His will today! Won’t you come?
