The Restoration of His Glory II

Larry Siegle
02/11/24 - Sun AM

Link to sermon video: The Restoration of His Glory II - L Siegle

Restoration of His Glory II

(John 17:1-5)

Thesis:  How do we understand what Jesus ‘emptied himself’ of in coming into the world to become the redemptive “lamb of God”?

INTRODUCTION

1.  The title of this message is, “Restoration of His Glory”

2.  There is something amazing about what God did in providing fallen humanity

     with the opportunity to receive the “gift of God” of “eternal life” (Rom.

     6:23).

     a.  How does a person know when the “forgiveness of sins” takes place (Acts

          2:38; 3:19)?

     b.  How does a person know when God has given to them the “gift” of “eternal

          life” (John 3:16; Rom. 6:23)?

3.  Last week we began to explore this prayer of Jesus and how important it is for

     us to understand that everything recorded from Genesis to Revelation is HIS

     STORY.

     a.  What is knowledge?

     b.  How important is knowledge?

          1)  Various schools of philosophy define knowledge in a variety of ways:

               a)  “Pramana”-- is a word in India and philosophy that means ‘proof’--

                    Sanskrit roots, ‘outward or forth’ and ‘measurement’ -- correct

                    notion-- the means of acquiring a “correct or true knowledge”

               b) Buddhism--“perception, inference”

               c)  Hinduism--there are “six elements” leading to knowledge.

          2) Knowledge--“awareness of facts, becoming familiar with individuals,

               situations, or a practical skill or ability--propositional knowledge.

     c.  Knowing or knowledge is more than just a collection of factual

          information, or even what we comprehend through the use of the five

          physical senses.

4.  “Church is where we go to learn ABOUT God”--is an unfortunate concept!

     a.  This is my “resume” and it provides a list of “facts” about me (age,

          educational background, life and work experience etc). 

     b.  Read it all day every day and you will know something about me, but you will not know ME.

     c.  Read every story in The Review Newspapers and when you are finished you will know some “facts” about various events taking place in our area.

     d.  Acting on what you read about something is the difference.

TO KNOW KNOWING

1.  The first time the word “knowledge” is found in the Bible is in the book of

     Genesis (Gen. 2:9)--and it is related to a “tree” located in a Garden.

2.  The “tree” is not a magic “tree” with deadly, magical powers that will zap

     Adam and Eve if they disobey the instructions God has given to them.

     a.  God gave them delicious food all over the Garden and told them to eat and

          enjoy.

     b.  Two trees at the very center of the Garden--the tree of life and the tree of the “knowledge of good and evil--blessing or calamity.

     c.  The word “knowledge” is a compound concept in the original language--“to know, knowing” or to “see, knowing”

     d.  The Hebrew word means “through the door of the eye” (very practical).

KNOWING IS MORE THAN KNOWING ABOUT

1.  Jesus, in His prayer (John 17:3) defines the essence and meaning of “eternal

     life” (age-lasting)-- zoe--the GOD-kind of life-- bios--PHYSICAL-kind of

      life.

     a.  Intimacy with God-- (Matt. 11:25-27)

     b.  A Shared Life--This quality of life is ‘shared’ as we walk beside other

           believers (Eph. 4:1).   Our relationship with God is personal but not

          private.

     c.  A Transformed Life-- Those who ‘know God’ and the zoe life, are

          changed, genuinely transformed, molded and shaped into the image of

          Christ (Rom. 8:29; II Cor. 3:18; 5:17, 21).

     d.  A Powerful Life--This kind of life is for our good and the good of those around us (Acts 11:24; 10:38)--Jesus went about “doing good”

     e.  Indestructible Life--(John 8:51), our “age-lasting” life is kept by the power of God as we honor and submit to Him.

THE ‘FACTS’ OF THE GOSPEL DO NOT ‘SAVE’ ANYONE

1.  Relationship with God is not a ‘theology test’ of ‘true’ or ‘false’ questions.

2.  The apostle Paul had a wonderful degree in ‘theology’ (Phil. 3:3-10).

     a.  People do not want to HEAR your ‘theology’

     b.  People want to SEE your ‘theology’ in reality.

3.  “Eternal life” is an amazing quality of life like nothing else!

     a.  It transcends what we think, feel, or see--and it is the present possession of those who enter into relationship with God through Christ (I John 5:10-

          13).

     b.  We may not “see” it, “taste it” “touch it” or “feel it” but it is more real than anything we can experience in our every day ordinary life.

CONCLUSION

1.  Are we coming to the place of seeing what HIS STORY is all about--the depth

     and the reality of what it means to have an intimate, genuine relationship

     with God?

2.  This past Sunday I “saw” someone raised from the dead, right in front of me!

     a.  Someone “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1), was “buried in faith, with Christ in baptism” (Rom. 6:3-5), and was “raised (resurrected) to walk in newness of life”. PRAISE GOD.

3.  Jesus left the “glory” of heaven, “emptied himself” (which we are moving

      toward in our study)--so that WE could become “joint-heirs” “brothers and

     sisters” of Christ (Heb. 2:10), bringing MANY sons to glory to share in the

     benefits of what HE accomplished on our behalf.