Letting God Glorify Himself at Our Expense — Santosh Poonen

Yeah, when I consider the work of your heavens the work of your fingers. Does anybody know what is the verse before that? I didn't. I had to look it up. So don't feel bad if you don't. Anybody happen to know?

Without looking. Yes. Oh. Maybe she does. We actually saw it demonstrated. So let's turn to Psalm 8. I love the contrast here and I encourage you family. As we as you think about our memory verses during the week.

It's good that you memorize them and maybe say it over and over again. I have it whenever the verse is posted I Save it as my screensaver on my phone. So that I'm often reminded to go back and look at it and it helps me memorize it and then when I have time I try to go and look at the verse itself in its context and perhaps read the chapter or the verses before and after.

Humanity's Smallness and God's Majestic Love

This is verse 3 when I consider your heavens Psalm 8 verse 3 the work of your fingers the moon and the stars which you have ordained. What is man that you take thought of him? Recently, I had the chance to spend a few nights outdoors.

It was cold, but it was beautiful and the stars were it was out far away from the city lights, so you could see the heavens and Times like that. I think of this verse. There's such amazing beauty there.

What am I this little speck of a speck of a speck of a speck on Earth that You say hey, I want that you God would say I want to pour my divine nature in you. I mean the There's the universe and then there's the Milky Way, which is pretty huge in itself.

And then you've got this solar system within that probably other systems. Star systems, that's what solar system means. It's related to the Sun and then Sun is huge. And then you've got these huge planets and earth is what maybe fourth or fifth on the list of Little small pebbles maybe or specks and then this this little speck that's so big for us.

There's a little littler speck called North America. On that little speck on the speck called North America is a little country called the United States and Then that little speck of a speck of a speck is a state called, Colorado.

And now you drill down and then there's a speck on a speck on a speck on a speck on a speck on a speck. That's me. What is man? That you would lavish your love so richly on me. Well, I Mean, have you ever looked at a little piece of dust and think I want to do something nice for that piece of dust.

That's what God did for me. So what God did for you and I let's never forget that. And all our gathering and praising is wonderful it's acceptable to him, but let's never forget how small we really are.

Christ's Humiliation and Exaltation in Psalm 8

What a privilege it is that God would come down and say I will take on. I will be made in appearance as. This speck of a speck of a speck of a speck of a speck of a speck. God fit into this tiny little speck.

So that we might become the righteousness of God through Christ. That's verse 3 and 4. But before that verse 1 Oh Lord our Lord. How majestic is your name in all the earth you who have displayed your splendor above the heavens?

And then he says but as it were if I could paraphrase Much rather than the stars singing my praise and the mountains singing my praise you think it's intentional that God didn't give the mountains a mouth.

And didn't give the rocks a mouth and tongues. Yes. Because there's somebody else he gave a tongue and a language and a mouth. With which to praise him. Who? Infants verse 2. From the mouth of infants, that's why we like to have the children come up every now and then they sing better than we can from heaven's perspective.

From the mouth of infants and nursing babes you have established strength and the New Testament paraphrase of that says praise. Showing that praise is strength. Because that's the verse that was quoted in When Jesus Matthew 21 when Jesus was coming in the in the triumphant entry.

He says don't you know it's written you experts of the law you missed it. Because of your adversaries to make the enemy and the revengeful seize when I consider your heavens etc verse. And then he says what is man that you take thought of him and the son of man that you care for him.

Yet you have made him a little lower than God. Who is the him? David only knew it as himself and human beings the writer of Hebrews clarifies. This was Jesus. You have made Jesus this Man that you would be mindful of this speck of a dust.

You have made him a little lower than God and a little is putting it mildly. What do you mean a little lower than God. Jesus came down so far? To become the speck of a speck of a speck of a speck of a speck and You crown him with glory and majesty.

You make him drool over the works of your hands and you put all things under his feet. Verse 9. Oh Lord our Lord. How majestic is your name? In all the earth. Yeah. You know we speak in this church often about the new covenant and Unfortunately, I don't hear much preaching about it.

That's one of the reasons we believe God has called us to Emphasize this a little bit more and speak on it, and if you hear that often in this church There's a reason for it to fill up as it were. The messages that are lacking in Christendom and not please understand.

I'm not trying to compare myself with others or Say we're better or worse. God is a judge of that, but I know we know that God has called us For a very specific reason if we didn't have a specific purpose as river of life Christian fellowship.

We just might as well all Join, whatever church is closest to us one that you can walk to you don't have to drive and Because it doesn't really matter. It does and I believe God has called different expressions of his body even within this area to emphasize certain things.

Without comparing ourselves with others without judging others loving everyone blessing everyone we meet but recognizing that there is a purpose with which God has called us here and one of those is to shine the light on the corners of God's truth.

That may not otherwise be talked about very often. Especially as it regard as it pertains to the new covenant but by fear for myself and for us as a church is That this word new covenant can become as they say in the world a buzzword.

It's just our new covenant. We've got this little niche New covenant and it can become something that just flows off of our tongues very easily. Without our really knowing. What does that mean? Now there's plenty of teaching that we have available on the CFC website or even our LCA website about the new covenant.

So not going to go into that. But if you feel like you don't really understand the new covenant I'd encourage you to go sometime and search online for teachings on that from our website and It's important to know that.

Following Jesus as the Essence of the New Covenant

But I want to talk about an aspect of the new covenant today that that has been on my heart for a few weeks. The new covenant is essentially to follow Jesus in such a way that I become like him. Let's turn first to John chapter 17 when Jesus Came and opened the new and living way.

And opened the way into the new covenant you can say He went around with this phrase Follow me. You see that over and over again in the New Testament in the Gospels. Follow me. He was passing by and walking along the beach and the father prompted him and said hey, there's a couple guys over there.

They already knew him. It was Peter and Andrew. Andrew had met him before that and then called Peter and sometime later Jesus is walking by and sees them again and The father says Call them to follow you.

So Jesus goes and says leave your nets and come follow me and they did. Left their nets and followed him. It says he went a little further up the beach and there was their competition. James and John, I mean they weren't the same there were two different groups.

Any fish that James and John caught Peter and Andrew didn't get to catch and vice versa and God says listen you competition. I'm gonna call you to build a church together. So he says James and John you two.

I mean, I wonder if Peter and Andrew are walking by like no not them or no, please. They've been stealing our fish not stealing, but they can make you more money than we are. Something like that. But anyway, God says James John you also follow me.

My point is the call was follow me and That must continue to remain the call that we emphasize if we're going to build the Church of Jesus Christ. It's not. Come and listen to some good teaching and have a good time of singing and let's have some time of prayer and let's hang Out together and eat a meal together and talk have good conversation and you scratch my back.

I'll scratch your back and send a few messages during the week to pep talk each other. No. The call from beginning to end in the new covenant is this Jesus saying follow me. Must continue in everything you hear in this church brothers and sisters and those of you online.

Please know this is our heart. It's always Jesus calling follow me. We may express it in different things. There are different aspects of following Jesus that we might focus on in a message. But through it all it's the same call Jesus saying follow me.

Follow me. Follow me. Follow me if you started. By saying I follow you Lord Jesus when I gave my life to you it doesn't end there today. I've been a Christian for I don't know how many years because I don't remember exactly when I was born again.

When I was a young boy, I believe. But today the call for me is exactly the same as it was when he first called me. Follow me. That's it. Jesus said follow me while I was full of sin. He said follow me.

I'll clean you up. I'll cleanse you now follow me and The call for I remember this story a legend has it or you know. The story that's been passed down about how Peter died. I Don't know if it's true, but it's a there's a spiritual lesson in it.

They were they were Persecuting in Jerusalem the way I understand it. Some years after the day of Pentecost many years later and Peter was trying to escape. And so he ran out of the city and started to knees, you know, I managed to escape and as he's walking he sees in a vision Jesus walking back carrying his cross.

Again, this is I don't know if it's true because I didn't hear it from Peter. So one day I will ask him is that really what happened? But the story goes that as he was going he saw Jesus walking backwards to Jerusalem carrying his cross and Peter asked him Jesus.

What are you doing? He says I'm going again to be crucified since you're going the other way and Peter knew that the the message. It was his time to die. So he turned around and went back. And I think the part I wanted to stress was that he was saying follow me.

The Peter remembered the call that Jesus gave him at the beginning Follow me Peter and then in John 21 right before Jesus departed. He gave Peter the same call. What is it to you about what happens to somebody else follow me and then at the end of his life?

Jesus says follow me in death as well and Peter was crucified and as the story goes he was so Mindful of how unworthy he was even to die in a similar way as his Savior that he asked them to hang him upside down.

On a cross upside down. Can you imagine how painful that must have been? But regardless. That was the call. Peter understood it the disciples understood it and they emphasized that Paul said it follow me.

I'm following Christ all these letters. I write to you Church all these things. I've written to you Titus and Timothy. It's essentially this that you might really follow Jesus. And to follow him all the way to the end.

Christlike Attitude Rather Than Outward Imitation

So what does it mean to follow Jesus because that is the new covenant is to follow Jesus in Everything all the way to the to the end if I see something of the nature of Christ. It doesn't mean doing everything that Jesus did that's where a lot of people also Go astray.

It doesn't mean that I have to because Jesus cast out demons. Therefore I should or because Jesus healed the sick. Therefore I should because Jesus raised the dead. Therefore I should. God may use some in the same way that he used Jesus, but we are called to have the same attitude that Jesus had the nature of Christ the nature of God, which is you know, you could say that the new covenant is Essentially us becoming like God in his nature and that nature is manifest in our attitudes.

More than even our words and our deeds. Let me explain what I mean by that. Because if you look at the words of Jesus and you say I want to follow Jesus then well I only say the words he said that's it and you never hear any other words coming from my mouth.

We know that's not true. You look at the actions of Jesus. He did so many actions. He Lived in Israel and does that mean that we should therefore all live in Israel? No, he. He didn't have a car. He wore certain types of clothing.

He didn't never had a phone. All these things so does it mean that we therefore adopt a lifestyle that looks like Jesus? No, that's not partaking of his divine nature. That's not following Jesus. Following Jesus is in our attitudes.

In your attitude which determines your words and deeds in your attitude if you are like Jesus. Then your words will be Christ like even if they are not Christ copying, you know. There's a difference between Christ copying and Christ like.

Christ copying is I dress like Jesus. I look like Jesus. Which I don't know what that is. I only you know, I live like Jesus and all those things in an outward way. Christ like is an attitude. It's my nature that's becoming more and more Christ like which is changing my attitude towards things and people as A result of which my words are changed and my actions are changed this is what it means to partake of the divine nature what it means to be in the new covenant and To follow Jesus.

The Epistles Reveal Christ's Inner Attitude

I'd like to see that like you to see here in John 17 that you could sum up Jesus's life. And the example that we are to follow when he says follow me. Jesus says follow me what is it that I'm going to follow and I see as I've been meditating on Christ's life and Reading about it in the Gospels and even the teachings about the attitude.

Why do we have the Epistles for example, if you're curious, isn't it enough that we have the Gospels? How did Jesus live see that's exactly what I was just saying and that is if I only had the Gospels I would only know Mostly what Jesus did and said and Luke says that right in the book of Acts the first account what Jesus did and taught.

That's the Gospels Matthew Mark Luke and John in the book of Acts. You get to see what the Apostles or the disciples did and taught. Mostly what they did really in the book of Acts in the Epistles you get what the disciples taught.

Which shine a light into the attitude of Christ into the nature of Christ. That's why those are very very important books. A lot of people like to read the Gospels. They like to read the Bible stories in the Old Testament, and that's good children.

You can start there but as you grow in Christ I hope that the letters of Christ which are the Epistles that would let Epistle means letter Will become precious to you because in a sense they shine a light not so much into what Jesus did because you don't read much About what Jesus did in the Epistles or what he said, but you read why?

He said what he said, what was it about his nature and his attitude? That's why for example you have a verse in Philippians 2 verse 5 that says have this attitude. In you which was also in Christ Jesus not have these words or have these actions or drink eat the food that Jesus ate or drink.

The food water that or the liquid that Jesus drank have this attitude. That is what it means to partake of the divine nature, and I see that Jesus life could be summarized in This that he only sought his father's glory in Everything that he did it was only this.

I only want to seek your glory Lord. So read this in John chapter 17. This is a prayer that Jesus prayed after a little message. Preached to his 11 disciples the way I understand it by now. Judas has left to go betray him.

He's left with his 11 close disciples. And he's giving handing off the baton to them as it were and he's encouraging them he said I'm gonna send you a helper called the Holy Spirit and Then after he finishes teaching them these things he says I'm gonna pray For you, and he prays to the father in a way that they could hear him.

And then he says father the hour has come. Glorify your son. Now if you stop there for a moment says well Jesus. I thought you were very humble. What is this glorify your son business now Jesus has the right to be glorified because he is God.

It's always been God. He was he was speaking about the glorification that comes through his being crucified and bearing the sins of the world. Defeating death and the grave through his resurrection and being raised up in the heavenlies.

But even in that glorifying of the Son you see what he says. So that the Son may glorify you. This was Jesus only objective, and I see that throughout his life whether Jesus suffered reproach or was honored.

Because Jesus did receive some honor there were Greeks who came from a long distance to see him. Herod wanted to hear him preach. Herod was the ruler of his area. The crowds would gather to see him preach or hear him preach or to see him do miracles.

And he was a popular person in some sense. Had a large gathering and then at other times a few minutes later. They would want to kill him and stone him and throw him off a mountain. And then they eventually did kill him and no matter what his outward life looked like up or down despised or honored it was this.

Let you let your name be glorified father. I only want you to be glorified and this dear brothers and sisters is the essence of the new covenant. I see is to seek the glory of God in all things. I talked about that verse a couple weeks ago in Ephesians 5 verse 10, which is become my daily motto verse.

Seeking What Pleases the Lord

Not just daily like hourly like constantly through the day. You know Ephesians 5 verse 10 right let's look at it again quickly. We looked at it a couple weeks ago Ephesians 5 verse 10. Well, let's read verse 8 first if your Bible has it like mine verse 9 is in parentheses that means The Holy Spirit through Paul is just explaining something in passing.

But the sentence really you can read verse 8 and verse 10 together. Ephesians 5 verse 8 you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. So we're talking about following Jesus. Following Jesus is more than just saying I was once in darkness now I am in light.

That's the testimony of a lot of Christians. I was once in darkness now. I am in light, okay. The Holy Spirit says let's see if you're really in the light. You were formerly in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord and so walk as Children of the light let the fact that you are in the light now be seen by how you walk that you're following Jesus.

That means it's not that I'm translated from the kingdom of darkness Into the kingdom of light and I'm just sitting there with my legs crossed waiting for Jesus to come and take me home he says walk as children of the light prove to the heavens and prove to Everybody you meet that you are in the kingdom of light by how you walk.

Continuing in verse 10. How what does it mean to walk in the light? We read in verse 10 trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord this I'll tell you honestly brothers for and sisters for a number for a while now has been my constant prayer.

I find in the middle of the day if I have a little gap. Maybe I'm sitting on my computer and you know about to do this or something else. There's a little gap, you know those gaps in the day you have where it's like.

Nothing really that you have to focus on there's a little gap before that next thing you have to focus on. I find this prayer coming up from within my heart Lord I want to learn what is pleasing to you seeking to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.

I just want to know that Lord and I'll tell you my dear brothers and sisters if you pray that prayer in faith He will answer. If you say Lord, I want to learn what is pleasing to you, and I really believe you'll show it to me He will answer it.

Now, let me give you a practical example. Let's say you're there in the workplace. You say Lord What is it that should be pleasing to you? Let's say you're Doing the dishes and there's a pile of laundry that you're trying to juggle both, right?

Laundry and dishes and so and there's something else that and the meals still need to be cooked. And all these things going on in the middle you have this little gap of a thought says Lord I just want to seek what to learn what is pleasing to you and You might think the religious person would think well.

So just go forget about the dishes and the laundry and the meal that needs to be cooked and go lock yourself in your bedroom. Forget about your kids for a little while and just fast and pray for the rest of the day.

That's religiosity. The Lord doesn't always say, you know, what is pleasing to the Lord is not always Fasting in prayer, even though that's good. It's not going out on the street and evangelizing because you come back home and that pile will still be there and the kids will be hungry and so Seeking to learn what is pleasing to the Lord after you pray that prayer.

After I pray that prayer. More often than not I just continue doing what I'm supposed to do next which is maybe I have another work meeting or I've got Write this email or I've got to do that. Other thing.

I've got to go take the kids here or or For you moms making them the meal or doing the laundry or whatever. You're continuing to do what? You were planning to do but you're seeking to learn what is pleasing to the Lord in your heart.

This is having the attitude of Christ because that's what he throughout the day. Jesus was saying father. What is pleasing to you? What is pleasing to you? I love that verse in Romans 15 verse 3 keep a finger here.

We'll come back to it Romans 15 verse 3 Keep your finger in John 17. That is this is why we are a church where we encourage you to bring your Bible because we go to a lot of verses and It's good to follow along and read with me family.

It's very important. Don't just rely on my or you're hearing it read it With me so you see it in your Bible for even Romans 15 verse 3 even Christ Did not please himself. But as it is written the reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.

Christ did not please himself. So throughout the day his prayer was Lord. What father? What is pleasing to you? I don't want to please myself. I don't want what I do next to be determined or to be driven by a what will please me.

What will be good for me? I? Don't want to say that word to my spouse or to my children or reply to that text message out of a what will please me because Christ never pleased himself and The essence of the new covenant is to follow Christ in every area.

It ought to be said about Santosh at the end of his life. Santosh never pleased himself. Now there were times when I did the times of ignorance. God is overlooked now He commands all men everywhere to repent.

I I've repented of all not just sin. I've repented of pleasing myself. When's the last time you repented of pleasing yourself, I'm not asking you that question like in a pointed way I'm asking myself that question Lord.

Have I recently repented of the fact that so many of my decisions are made out of wanting to please myself. And I want to repent of everything that's on Christ like and if Christ didn't please himself it ought to be said about Santosh.

He didn't please himself either. The times when he did were forgiven and cleansed in the blood of Jesus Christ and now He's always seeking only to please God. Because that's what it means to follow Jesus now I'm belaboring this point and taking time with it because it would be a tragedy if I say I was a follower of Jesus.

That's what Christian means. And then I get to the end of my life and Jesus shows me what it actually meant to follow him. Which is here in his word and the Holy Spirit reveals to us. And I realized man there was so many things I didn't follow him.

Where you know, I followed him with Forgiveness of sins and I followed him in you know, he the truths. He showed me about justification and being filled with the Holy Spirit, but then Jesus went over this way in not pleasing himself.

And me calling myself spirit-filled and forgiven and justified and baptized in water and all that stuff went this way in pleasing myself. And I continued on my very merry way because I didn't read God's Word.

That would have showed me no, but Jesus went this way Santosh. He kept quiet in that situation in the conflict at home and you said something you didn't follow Jesus and I know for my own life how I can go days weeks months even years.

Not even knowing that I've I've strayed from following Jesus so far. In little things like this in our attitudes. Following Jesus in not pleasing ourselves. Let's go back to John 17. Like I was saying ultimately Jesus sought the glory of the Father in everything.

God's Glory at Any Cost

That's what drove his life and he says here in verse four I Glorified you on the earth having accomplished the work which you have given me to do. Jesus finished the work that. Thank you Jesus finished the work That the Father gave him to do and He says that finishing of the work wasn't so that I could say I have finished the work.

See, I the Lord recently peeled back some covers some layers of selfishness in my life. And that's where this is coming from where I I started to see that my desire to be holy and to finish the work That God placed me on this earth to do was so that I could say at the end of my life.

Yes, Lord, I finished the work that you've called me to do. And then I in an imaginary conversation. I imagine that I reached the end of my life. Yes, there were. I was born in sin. I lived in sin and I was born again translated into the kingdom of light and Even then sometimes I fell the Lord slowly brought me back up and I then I followed him and I served him made myself available to be used by him and and finished the work which he gave me to do or what I thought was what he gave me to do and I Imagine that as when I reached the end of my life, I came to God and God says, okay Santos.

Well done. Now I'm gonna send you to hell. What would my response be. And I had to pause there for a moment say well Lord that doesn't make sense. I Served you. I Gave up for you. I Obeyed. I denied myself.

When there was that opportunity to lust I didn't lust, you know when there was that opportunity to get angry I didn't get angry and I did this other thing and I prayed and I fasted. Who do I sound like?

The Pharisee and My mind went back to that story that Jesus told where there were two people standing and the Pharisee said father. I deserve heaven. God I deserve heaven. That's essentially what the Pharisee was saying.

I deserve heaven because I've done this did that other thing look at my home. Look at my children look at that other thing. And so if God was to say to me in the end of my life Yeah, you did all these things.

I'm gonna still send you to hell. What would my response be? And in the back of that same church building was a tax gatherer. Jesus said Who said Lord, I'm a sinner. Just can you be merciful to me. And I was convicted over the the thought that when I when I was born I was a sinner and I knew it.

I didn't know it. Then when I right before I was born again when I was born again, I was a sinner and I knew it. What have I become today? Am I all of a sudden not a sinner? I was a sinner when I was born.

I was a sinner when I was cleansed now. No, I'm not a sinner. I'm I've got some good works Lord. Don't treat me like all those other sinners. Now bear with me. Don't know there's an end to this. But the what the Lord showed me was that I could think of my pursuit of Christ and my Wanting to be like him and finishing the work that he sent me to do and even perhaps getting there somehow and thinking Lord.

Look, I finished the work that you sent me to do and I expect to hear well-done good and faithful servant. And I sort of straighten my collar because I'm the good and faithful servant. That's not what Jesus was talking about at all.

And to follow Jesus is to have this attitude let I want to talk about that for a moment because Jesus lived a perfect life for 33 years. Please the father please the father please the father so much. So that a couple of times the father was so excited by how pleasing his son was to him that he even shouted it from heaven.

You read it Matthew chapter 3 at his baptism and then in Matthew 17 again. The father is I picture it like the father was like you guys on earth. This is my son. I'm so happy with him. I'm well pleased with him and After 33 years of a faithful life of pleasing the father.

What did Jesus hear his father say? I'm gonna send you to hell. I'm gonna forsake you. Do you want to follow Jesus? Have this attitude which was also in Christ Jesus who when he heard the father say I'm gonna have to forsake you son and I think Jesus knew this before he came down to the earth but there was some sense in which here in his humanity fully God and fully man when he When the when he was there and Gethsemane and which is after what we're reading here in John 17 and the reality of it.

That the father would forsake him on the cross and he would have to be forsaken for those three hours on the cross. So that and become sin who knew no sin. That I might be the righteousness of Christ were told later in 2nd righteousness of God in 2nd Corinthians 5 He became sin he was forsaken by God that's what hell is forsaken by God and I thought of Jesus.

We're thinking about following Jesus right where he goes. I want to go and Jesus Followed and sought the father's glory so thoroughly. So completely so without any selfishness at all that when the father said Yes, you've lived a faithful life.

I'm going to send you to hell at the end of it to suffer Hell, which is much worse than all the physical suffering that he suffered. Jesus wrestled with it. Here's why he wrestled with it because for him, you know He only sought the father's glory and for him the father's glory and the father's presence Were always the same thing.

He's he. He lifted he gave the father glory by his unity with his father. This is the glory that I've given them that they may be one as you and I are one. That was seeking the father's glory. But for the first time Jesus was facing the the situation that the father's glory was Separate from his presence with the father that for the father to be glorified he would have to forsake his son Jesus and he'd never faced this before and He said well, this is this is difficult father.