https://www.bible.com/events/49475044

Church of the Nazarene – East Rockingham Campus 

5 Keys of John Part 2 

I am the resurrection and the life. 

We continue in our teaching series in the Gospel of John called “Five Keys of John”. 

The gospel of John was written around 80-90AD, by Jesus’ closest friend; The Apostle John. 

John was the oldest and last surviving eyewitness of the 12 disciples who were with Jesus. 

He is writing for a very specific purpose. He says in Chapter 20:31 “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. 

John believes that the Jesus we discover through the stories in his gospel account is real and alive. And when we come to know who he is and believe in him, we will find true and eternal life. 

‭‭John‬ ‭11‬:‭1‬-‭5‬‬ 

Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 

Mary, Martha, and Lazarus are close friends of Jesus who live in a village just a few miles from Jerusalem. John makes sure we understand that Jesus loved them. 

Lazarus has become ill and it’s pretty serious. The sisters send the message to Jesus “Lord, the one you love is sick.” 

These unique words of Jesus are a clue that something different is going on here. 

‭‭John‬ ‭11‬:‭6‬‬ 

So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, 

In our text, Jesus’ delay has a very specific purpose- He waits so that he might have the opportunity to reveal something to his disciples greater than even death itself. 

His disciples are as confused about this plan as we might be today. The next few verses unpack their confusion, before finally Jesus makes it clear for them in vs. 14 

‭‭John‬ ‭11‬:‭14‬-‭15‬‬ 

So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 

What Jesus is about to teach his disciples, is that knowing him, knowing who he really is and the life he brings, is the most important in their lives. Even greater than the tragedy of death itself. 

Jesus is glad for their sakes, they have this opportunity to know him more. 

‭‭John‬ ‭11‬:‭17‬-‭22‬‬ 

On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” 

The note about 4 days signals to readers that Lazarus is truly gone, any hope of a misdiagnosis is past. 

Martha comes to Jesus bearing the weight of grief and sorrow, yet still confident that even in death, Jesus can bring about something good. There is no rebuke in her words, as she clings to faith in the face of death. 

‭‭John‬ ‭11‬:‭25‬-‭26‬‬ 

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 

Jesus invites Martha to know Him as the resurrection and the life. The future hope she held, was now embodied in the person of Jesus, standing in front of her. He is the resurrection and the life. 

Note that Jesus doesn’t say, “I do resurrection” or “I do life”, he says “I am”. 

I am the Resurrection, I am the power to overcome death, to bring hope in the darkness of death. I am the life, the vital essence of full and real life here and now. 

This is a key to understanding who Jesus is. This is the revelation this whole story has been building up to. The raising of Lazarus that comes next, that’s secondary to seeing this truth. 

This whole seen has ben building to this moment, and it hangs on the edge with one searching question on the lips of Jesus: Do you believe this? 

Friends our journey to discover who Jesus is and the life he came to bring, must stop here and answer that very question for ourselves. 

Do you believe this? 

Do you know Jesus as the power over sin, death, and hell itself- Do you know that in your life? 

Have you experienced resurrection through faith in him? 

‭‭John‬ ‭11‬:‭27‬‬ 

“Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” 

Isaiah 43:10b-11  

Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior. 

INTRO: 

• We begin a new series today — Keys of John 

• Note the purpose for this series.  

• To understand the Book of John more deeply by focusing on five fundamental truths from the Gospel.  

• To grasp the book’s context and purpose while, more importantly, being equipped to live out/practice as a disciple five of its essential teachings 

• Gospel writers purpose/audience 

• Matthew wrote with his fellow Jews in mind and emphasized that Jesus came from Abraham through the line of David and had fulfilled the OT prophecies of the Messiah 

• Mark wrote for the Romans, he presents Jesus as the Servant who came from Nazareth, ministering to needy people 

• Luke wrote for the Greeks and introduced them to the sympathetic Son of Man. 

• John, who was known as the beloved disciple, wrote for everyone, both Jews and Gentiles, with purpose of showing the Jesus is the Son of God:  

• While the first 3 writers emphasize and describe events (where+what) in the life of Christ — John emphasizes the meaning of those events to reveal WHO JESUS IS. 

• One major theme runs throughout John’s gospel:  

• But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. John 20:31 

• The preamble to John—first 18 verses— is critical for reinforcing the preeminence(supremacy)  of Jesus, His pre-existence and His deity.  

• The first eighteen verses of John counter many false beliefs about God.  

• It is a summation of the entire book 

• It is like the overture of an opera or ballet 

• Today’s Key: The Preeminence and Lordship of Christ  

• Church of the Nazarene – Article of Faith II – Jesus Christ 

• 2. We believe in Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Triune Godhead; that He was eternally one with the Father; that He became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and was born of the Virgin Mary, so that two whole and perfect natures, that is to say the Godhead and manhood, are thus united in one Person very God and very man, the God-man. We believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins, and that He truly arose from the dead and took again His body, together with all things appertaining to the perfection of man’s nature, wherewith He ascended into heaven and is there engaged in intercession for us. 

• T.A Noble writes: 

• “It is not enough to know doctrines or theories. It is not enough to know practices and follow them. What is at the heart of the faith is to know God. This is not just sub-personal knowledge about God. This is Person-to-person knowledge of God…but to know God it is not enough to be present when the Church gathers, and it is not even enough to know the Bible by heart. Bible and church are essential. But God’s self-revelation is centered in the Person of his beloved Son, the Word made flesh. We ‘come to the Father through Jesus, the Son.’” 

(SLIDE) John 1:1-5 

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 

• 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.  

• “In the beginning” 

• This refers to the timeless eternity of Genesis 1:1 (In the beginning, God created the heavens and earth).  

• ‘was the Word’  

• Gr. logos –  The idea of the logos had deep and rich roots in both Jewish and Greek thinking. 

• i. Jewish rabbis often referred to God (especially in His more personal aspects) in terms of His word. They spoke of God Himself as “the word of God.” For example, ancient Hebrew editions of the Old Testament change Exodus 19:17 (Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God) to “Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet the word of God.” In the mind of the ancient Jews, the phrase “the word of God” could be used to refer to God Himself. 

• ii. The Greek philosophers saw the logos as the power that puts sense into the world, making the world orderly instead of chaotic. The logos was the power that set the world in perfect order and kept it going in perfect order. They saw the logos as the “Ultimate Reason” that controlled all things. 

• Verse 1 establishes that the universe had a beginning, contrary to the idea that it is eternal.  

• It also states that God has existed from that beginning.  

• Later verses will show that God, in fact, created all that exists. This verse also makes it noticeably clear that this Logos, Jesus, is identical to the Creator: the Word was God.  

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 

• The Word created ALL things that were created. Therefore He Himself is an uncreated Being, as the Apostle Paul wrote in Colossians 1:16:  

• (SLIDE) Colossians 1:16 

• 16 For in him (referring to Jesus) all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 

• And the writer of Hebrews wrote: 

• (SLIDE) Hebrews 1:1-3  

• In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. 

• That the New Testament is full of references to the preeminence and divinity of Christ is difficult to deny. 

Romans 9:1-5 

9 I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit— 2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, 4 the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. 5 Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen. 

Colossians 2:9-10 

9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. 

Titus 2:13  

13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 

Philippians 2:5-7  

5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature[a] God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature[b] of a servant, being made in human likeness. 

Revelation 2:8  

8 “To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. 

• Jesus is not only seen as the Messiah (or Christ) but also equated with God Himself. 

• Jesus repeatedly placed Himself in the place of Yahweh by assuming the Father’s divine prerogatives. He was often doing and saying things that only God has a right to do and say.  

• C.S. Lewis 

• “The doctrine of Christ’s divinity seems to me not something stuck on which you can unstick but something that peeps out at every point so that you’d have to unravel the whole web to get rid of it.” 

• OPPOSITION 

• With all of this — the powers of this present world seek to find every way to deceive men and women, boys and girls, into believing that Jesus is not God — he wasn’t who John clearly says he is in John 1 

• To claim that Jesus is not God makes Christianity a house of cards — it is this reality coupled with the reality of the resurrection that makes the Gospel such incredible news for you and I! 

• The culture and many other faith based groups will challenge your truth claims about Christ Jesus 

• Muslims  

• Mormons 

• Jehovah Witness 

• Deist 

• Atheist 

• State of Theology 2022 (Ligonier Ministries + LifeWay Research)  

• The survey revealed an increase in evangelicals who:  

• Believe God is pleased with worship that comes from outside the Christian faith 

• Deny Jesus divinity 

• Believe the Bible is not literally true for us 

• Believe that religious faith is a subjective experience rather than an objective reality. 

• Most religions and people in general are ok with Jesus as: 

• A wise teacher that lived and taught a good moral LIFE 

• One inspirational man showing a part of the truth that makes up a small part of the many paths to TRUTH. 

• A great prophet 

• A created creature and lesser ‘divine being’ then God himself 

• A way to gain knowledge, and goodness, and “love”, and your best life. 

• But it all changes when you declare Jesus EXCLUSIVELY as LORD: 

• The WAY 

• The TRUTH 

• The LIFE 

• BOTTOM LINE: 

• JESUS IS GOD IN THE FLESH—HE IS PREEMINENT—HE IS THE LORD—HE IS ETERNAL—HE IS THE CENTER OF ALL OF CREATION  

• “Observed C.S. Lewis, the brilliant and once skeptical Cambridge University professor who was eventually won over by the evidence for Jesus, 

• ‘I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say.  A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher… You must make your choice.  Either this man was, and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse.  You can shut him up for a fool … or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God.’”  

• If Jesus is who he claims to be, then your conclusions about him, one way or the other, speak more of who you are than anything else.  

• You can’t change what is true.  

• You can only change your orientation to the truth.  

• So, who do YOU say that Jesus is?  

• If you claim today that Jesus Christ is the center of your existence then the evidence of your life should reflect that reality 

• Matthew Henry 

• “In John we learn to put our faith in Christ as the eternal Son of God, and the true Messiah and Savior of the world, that we may be brought to receive him, and rely upon him, as our Prophet, Priest, and King, and to give up ourselves to be ruled, and taught, and saved by him.” 

Colossians 1:15-20  

15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. 

https://www.bible.com/events/49471790

Church of the Nazarene – East Rockingham Campus

5 Keys of John Part 1

The Preeminence and Lordship of Christ

We are beginning a new teaching series in the Gospel of John called “Five Keys from John”.

The gospel of John was written around 80-90AD, by Jesus’ closest friend; The Apostle John.

John was the oldest and last surviving eyewitness of the 12 disciples who were with Jesus.

He is writing for a very specific purpose. He says in Chapter 20:31 “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

John believes that the Jesus we discover through the stories in his gospel account is real and alive. And when we come to know who he is and believe in him, we will find true and eternal life.

John 1:1-2

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

The first 18 verses form an introduction to the whole book. The themes and theological ideas that John sets out here in the beginning will shape the entire narrative of this gospel.

Our teaching text today is not just a nice point to start a book, for John it’s key to understanding who Jesus is.

In the beginning, was the word, was Jesus…

Jesus extends beyond the beginning we read about in Genesis. He always was.

The word was with God, and the word was God- Jesus was with God, and distinct from him, and at the very same time, he is God. God and Jesus are one.

Jesus is Lord, from the beginning.

John 1:3-5

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Jesus is the central figure in creation. Nothing that has been made without him, and as we will see in the next verse, nothing has life without him either.

When John talks about life and light in his gospel, he is often referring to spiritual realities. So what we also read here is that Jesus is the source of true and lasting spiritual or eternal life.

Light is the revelation, the revealing grace that allows us to see our true spiritual condition.

He is the life, and the light. This is a preview of the saving action of Jesus that will come to full display later in the gospel.

When John talks about darkness, it’s not about an absence of light. It’s about the presence of evil.

Jesus has the power and authority over the forces of evil. Evil has not, nor will it ever overpower Him.

Friends, this is Jesus. The expressed wisdom of God made flesh. One with God from before the beginning.

Creator, author, and sustainer of life.

Savior of the world, defeating darkness, bringing salvation and the light of eternal life.

This is Jesus. Lord, at the very heart of all of creation, of life itself.

A.W. Tozer says “What we believe about Jesus is the most important thing about us.”

I invite you to consider your answer to the question “Who is Jesus?”

I especially want you to think about the answer your life, your actions, your desires and drives, how would they answer the question: Who is Jesus?

Is he the center of your life, or if you were really honest, you are in the center of your own life.

Maybe your career, your family, your relationships are at the center today, and you need to allow Jesus to have his rightful place in your life. To surrender that place to him, allowing the person and life of Jesus to RULE in your life.

The Gospel of John is an invitation to know Jesus, and today, this is an invitation to know him as Lord of you life.

“On the other side of the lake the crowds welcomed Jesus, because they had been waiting for him. Then a man named Jairus, a leader of the local synagogue, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come home with him. His only daughter, who was about twelve years old, was dying. As Jesus went with him, he was surrounded by the crowds. A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding, and she could find no cure. Coming up behind Jesus, she touched the fringe of his robe. Immediately, the bleeding stopped. “Who touched me?” Jesus asked. Everyone denied it, and Peter said, “Master, this whole crowd is pressing up against you.” But Jesus said, “Someone deliberately touched me, for I felt healing power go out from me.” When the woman realized that she could not stay hidden, she began to tremble and fell to her knees in front of him. The whole crowd heard her explain why she had touched him and that she had been immediately healed. “Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has made you well. Go in peace.” While he was still speaking to her, a messenger arrived from the home of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue. He told him, “Your daughter is dead. There’s no use troubling the Teacher now.” But when Jesus heard what had happened, he said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith, and she will be healed.” When they arrived at the house, Jesus wouldn’t let anyone go in with him except Peter, John, James, and the little girl’s father and mother. The house was filled with people weeping and wailing, but he said, “Stop the weeping! She isn’t dead; she’s only asleep.” But the crowd laughed at him because they all knew she had died. Then Jesus took her by the hand and said in a loud voice, “My child, get up!” And at that moment her life returned, and she immediately stood up! Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. Her parents were overwhelmed, but Jesus insisted that they not tell anyone what had happened.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭8‬:‭40‬-‭56‬ ‭

https://www.bible.com/events/49469036

Church of the Nazarene – East Rockingham Campus 

Miracles Part 4 

Jairus followed Jesus anyway, will you? 

Today we are going to talk about one of the hardest things to wrestle with as we consider miracles- And that is God’s timing 

As we conclude our series on Miracles this morning, I want to answer what may be the one question you’ve been asking as you’ve listened. Not Who? Or What? Or Where? But: WHEN? 

Throughout this series, we have defined a miracle as:An extraordinary work performed directly by the power of God in our natural world for His glory. Works that reveal his word, presence, and love in our world. 

We are seeking to open our hearts and minds to the reality that Jesus is still doing miracles today. We want to be people who have eyes to see the power of God at work in our lives and in our world, and to give him praise and glory. 

‭‭Mark‬ ‭5‬:‭21‬-‭23‬‬ 

When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” 

Jairus is like the executive pastor at the local Jewish synagogue. He was in charge of taking care of the details of the service, seeing to the daily affairs of things. He was a man of prominence, of authority and good reputation. Not someone you see making rash decisions or actions. 

But today he’s desperate. He needs a miracle, and He approaches Jesus, of all things, begging for it. 

The language here indicates that Jairus didn’t just ask once, it was over and over. His only daughter was dying. She was in her final hours of life, and time was of the essence. Jesus, I need you NOW. 

‭‭Mark‬ ‭5‬:‭24‬‬ 

So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 

The language here literally means that the crowd was pressing in around Jesus so hard, they were crushing him. 

Through the crowd presses another person seeking a miracle from Jesus. A woman who has been suffering from bleeding for 12 years. She believes that if only she could touch Jesus’ clothes, she could be healed. She has faith and she is determined to get to Jesus. 

She makes it through the crowd, close enough that she can reach out and touch just the corner of Jesus’ garments. She is healed IMMEDIATELY. 

Among the crowd no one even notices. No one except Jesus. 

He knows that miraculous healing power has gone out from him, and he does what must have seemed like the un-thinkable to Jairus. 

Jesus stops. 

He takes precious moments to set her free from years of stigma and shame. Precious moments that had to be agonizing to Jairus. 

‭‭Mark‬ ‭5‬:‭35‬-‭36‬‬ 

While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?” Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” 

In this moment, in the whirlwind of emotions that Jairus is going through, he has a choice. 

He can give into anger at Jesus for not doing anything. He can allow resentment to fuel bitterness and in desperation he can walk away to be in his pain alone. He can believe the report of his peers “it’s no use to bother Jesus anymore. It’s over” 

OR 

He can believe Jesus words that faith is enough. Jairus can surrender his timing, his thoughts of how it all should have worked- he can lay that down, and choose to trust Jesus anyway. 

Jairus had a choice, just like you and I do when God’s timing doesnt match our own. 

Friends, Jairus chose to follow Jesus anyway. 

Will you?