And by the way, let me just say this: our interns are doing a fantastic job. If you've not gotten to meet all of them yet, and you need to get to meet Miss Hannah Lawson, she's hilarious. She's country and she fits in here, all right. And so I hope you get to know her. And Alex and Daniel started work this week, if you want to call it that.
And we we're just so glad that I'm picking, and we're just so glad that they're here. And we look forward and listen. By the way, don't forget. And our our air is working. But I see some people fanning, so apparently it's not working really good.
You're bad luck to us, Dr. Lands. And but remember, our interns are here. Reach out to them, minister to them. But remember, you know, God might lead them into full time ministry one day, and it's going to be rough enough.
They need to have good experience in ministry here.
So be a blessing to them, be an encouragement to them, and I know that'll mean a lot.
So I'm going to ask Dr. Jonathan Lands, and and we actually were in college together. I said last year when I was here, I remember during graduation week he won the preacher boy contest. There years ago, and I just always had wonderful respect for him.
So glad that our paths have crossed, and we appreciate Dr. Lands more than he knows. Come on, let's give him a hand today, and we are thankful. Thank you. Take your Bible, please, and find the Gospel of John, John, chapter thirteen, John chapter nineteen.
In John chapter 21, we'll be looking at all three of those as we open the Word today. John chapter 13, John chapter 19, and John chapter 21. While you're finding that, let me say how thankful I am to be back at. Kerwin Baptist, I love your pastor, love your staff. This is when I came here last year.
In spite of the fact there was no air conditioning, I fell in love with this place. I love the music. It was just worth coming back for that. And you get to tolerate my preaching, so I can enjoy your music.
So thank you for all that you do here. Thank you for the opportunity to be back. It's always a good sign when you're invited to a place, but it's even better sign when you're invited back to a place. And I'm thankful for the opportunity. To be here, it's particularly on Graduate Sunday.
I'm looking forward to tonight when the graduates are honored as well. Years ago, C.S. Lewis stood before a room of theologians.
Some of the brightest, most seasoned scholars were present in that room. And after C.S. Lewis completed his lecture, someone raised his hand and asked the question, "Professor Lewis, what is the most profound thought you've ever considered?" Now you would have thought that C.S. Lewis, that prolific writer, that brilliant mind, would have said something lofty, quoting something from the Greek or perhaps quoting some ancient author, but he didn't. C.S.
Lewis, without hesitation, smiled and said, "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so." Of all the brilliance that was in that room. The greatest truth was still the simplest. Jesus loves me. Let me ask you something today. Do you know that?
I'm not asking you. Did you learn it in Sunday school? I'm not asking you. Can you recite the words to that little children's song? But deep down in the recesses of your soul, do you know that Jesus loves you?
And do you know how much he loves you? Because when you realize how much Jesus loves you, it changes you. It changes everything in your relationship to Him.
Now, if you are wondering what kind of love that kind of love looks like, there is a perfect example of that found in the Bible.
Someone who knew how much Jesus loved him. It wasn't for him just theology. It wasn't theory. It was experience, and that man's name was John. Three different times in Scripture, he refers to himself not by what he accomplished, but by what Jesus felt for him.
John chapter thirteen verse twenty three. Do you have it? Say Amen if you do. Look at the text.
Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved. He's referring to himself. I am the disciple whom Jesus loves. Look at John chapter nineteen, verse number twenty-six. We find ourselves at the foot of the cross, and there, John records.
And Jesus therefore foresaw his mother. John nineteen twenty-six. Jesus therefore saw his mother and the disciples standing by, whom he loves. Here's another one, John chapter twenty-one, verse number twenty. There by the Sea of Galilee, Peter has just been restored, and there, in that moment, the Bible says in John twenty-one, verse twenty, and Peter turning about seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following.
Notice that John didn't call himself the boldest, didn't refer to himself as the best. He simply said, "I am the one whom Jesus loved." It was the truest thing about him. You want proof of that? Search out the word love in the New Testament. You're going to find that John used it 38 times in the Gospel, more than any other Gospel writer.
26 times in his first epistle, First John. That's more than Paul, and the next best in Ephesians, where he used it 19 times. And the most profound statement that John ever wrote was this: First John four verse nineteen. We love him because he first loved us. John didn't just write about love; he lived that love.
And he allowed the love of Christ to define him. He couldn't stop talking about it because he never got over it. I want to tell you: when you understand how much Jesus loves you, it changes everything about you because it's the truest thing about you.
So I ask you today: Do you know Jesus loves you? Not not just do you know the verses, not just do you understand the theology, but do you know in your very heart? Do you really know that Jesus loves you? When you know Jesus loves you, three things happen. Number one, when you know Jesus loves you, you'll sit where others do not sit.
You'll sit where others do not sit. Our first instance is found in John chapter thirteen and verse number twenty-three. There was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples whom Jesus loved. Leaning close, sitting near, get the scene. The evening is the upper room.
The table was set. The candles are flickering low, and the disciples are gathered for a final Passover with the one they had followed for three years. The room wasn't still though. The room was heavy with tension. There were whispers passing across the table, like the winds across dry grass.
And Peter had just refused a foot washing, and and and Thomas had just sat quietly, uncertain about everything. And Simon the Zealot was carrying a defiance and rebellion in his heart with a badge. And then there's Judas. He'd already made the deal. Then Jesus broke that still silence and said, "And one of you will betray me." In that instance, confusion erupted in the room.
The disciples began looking around at everybody else, thinking it's them, not me. Unsure of who that would be, and then there was one that was in that room who wasn't doing that, and his name was John, the disciple whom Jesus loved. While everyone else was confused, while everyone else was accusing others, John just leaned into Jesus with trust. He rested his head against the chest of our Savior, calm, still, and near. There were in that room twelve.
Not five were leaning near. Not four. Not three. Not even two. And just one.
And in that nearness, John gained two things that that no one else had in that moment. And the same is true for us as we find ourselves in confusing times. Would you agree with that? As we find ourselves in sometimes chaotic situations, what we need is not solutions, but sitting near to the Christ. Because when you do that, two things happen.
Number one, you will receive peace in the midst of chaos. Again, that upper room is full of unrest. There's arguing about who's going to sit where. There was one that was going to betray. There was others that were doubting.
It sounds like a Baptist church business meeting. Can I have an amen right there? And just in that place, instead of arguing and analyzing, John leaned in, and he found a peace that no one else in the room had. He rested on Jesus. You see, that's what nearness to Jesus brings—not the absence of trouble, but the presence of peace.
Write this verse in your notes: John four, verse number eight. Draw nigh to God. Say it with me, and he'll draw a knife to you. When I was in Sunday school, there was a kid that was in my Sunday school class. We quoted this, and he always quoted it incorrectly.
He said, "Draw a knife on God, and God will draw a knife on you." That's not true. It's not the spirit of the text. I tell you that. Here's the key. And learn this principle in life: that friend, you don't have to fix everything in the room to be at rest in the presence of Jesus Christ.
It is possible to find yourself in the midst of chaos and still have peace, because your peace doesn't come from the exterior. Your peace comes from the inner relationship that you have with Jesus Christ. You don't have to wait for the room to feel calm. You don't have to have to do anything different. All you need to do is just choose to sit close and hear his heartbeat, and you can then find peace in the midst of chaos.
Here is the second thing: not only do you find peace in the midst of chaos, secondly, you find perception in the midst of confusion. As soon as Jesus said, "One of you are going to betray me," the disciples were confused. They didn't know who that was going to be. They were looking at one another and they were saying, "It must be them." Who is it going to be? And Peter, sitting across the room, mouths over to to John, and he says, "You ask him who it is.
You're closer to him than I am. You ask him who it is." They understood the benefit of nearness. That they could have that. That John had a perception, a unique ability to understand what others may not know. And I want to tell you this morning: peace is not found in public opinion, and perception is not gained by watching the news.
It is when we find ourselves sitting quietly with Jesus, with His Word open, as we draw near, that we find peace and perception in the midst of chaos and confusion. And the only way you find it is when you know that Jesus loves you. When you know Jesus loves you, you'll sit where others don't sit. I still remember the time I held my twin daughters for the first time. April the eighth, two thousand four, Camden Clark Hospital, Parkersburg, West Virginia.
They were about three weeks early. Little Pipsqueaks, four pounds, so many ounces each. And I fell in love with them instantly. I remember holding those little girls, one in each arm, and they would just—they would just cry like little kittens, and my heart would melt. Quite honestly, the first time I ever saw them was when I saw them on that ultrasound.
It was back when 3D ultrasound was coming out, and I could see the beautiful faces of my daughters. They look like their mother. They're absolutely beautiful. And I remember. Those first nights when my wife and I, Jenny and I, had to care for them.
You see, it's a tag team when you have twins. Anybody have twins here? Understand what I'm talking about? There's, God bless your heart. There's a crown in heaven for you when you get there.
Let me tell you, sir. You don't, you don't wake up and say to your wife, "Honey, the baby's crying." No, you got to get up and help because both babies are crying. And I remember we would sit in their room, and she would hold one, and I would hold the other, and we would rock and feed the babies. And those little girls grew up. I'd come home from the office, and they'd say, they'd meet me at the door, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, and I'd pick them up because I was the hero of their world.
And they would nuzzle their little faces against my neck and give me butterfly kisses. Those were the sweetest days of my life. But you know what? As they've gotten older, it's not changed that much. They're daddy's girls.
If we're at home, we're all sitting in our family room and we're watching television. If we're, if I'm in the recliner, my daughter will come. One of my daughters, sometimes both, if they're both home, they'll come and they'll sit on the edge of the armchair of that of that recliner and they'll lean in and they'll come close to me. Why? Because they're daddy's girls.
They're 21 years old, soon to be 22, but they're still going to stay close. My oldest of the twins, she's older by three minutes. She's going to get married in December. I met the young man at college. He's a preacher boy there at the school, and and they started dating.
And then he came and asked permission to marry my daughter, and I. I did the interview. You, you men, know what I am talking about. And I said to him, his name's Elijah. I call him the prophet.
That's his nickname because he's a preacher boy, and he's Elijah, so he's Elijah the prophet. And I said, the prophet, you understand, you are not just marrying any girl. You are marrying a daddy's girl, son. That comes along with annual performance reviews for the rest of your life. And I leaned into him and I told him, "I said, if you ever hurt my daughter, I own a Bible, I own a gun, and I own a shovel, and I know how to use all three." He thought I was kidding, but I wasn't.
What I wanted him to know was this: that I loved her first. And I want to tell you. The one who loved each one of us first was not our mother or our father. It was Jesus Himself. We love Him because He first loved us.
And when you understand how much He loves you, you can't help but just lean in close. When when when you see him there, you'll lean in and hear his heartbeat. You'll come close and understand that he is the one who is the eternal love of your life. When you know Jesus loves you, you'll sit where others don't sit. Here's the second fall.
When you know Jesus loves you, you'll stand where others don't stand. You have your Bible in John 13. Look in John chapter 19. We now find ourselves at the foot of the cross. And the Bible says in John nineteen and verse number twenty six, when Jesus therefore saw his mother and the disciples standing by whom he loved, that being John, he said unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son.
And he saith unto the disciple, Behold thy mother. And from that hour the disciple took her unto his own home.
Now, before we look too closely at John standing at the cross, I want us to look back at verse number twenty-five. You are going to notice that the Bible says that Mary and a few women were standing by the cross. Circle that, if you would, please underline it, and then notice, if you would, please, in verse number twenty-six, the Bible says that that John was standing by. One's past tense, one is present active tense.
Now, now, before we slight Mary, let's understand something. There's nothing more difficult for a mother than to see her son suffer. I'm not saying to her that she was less than John. In fact, the Bible says she was highly favored because of the opportunity that she was given to to give life to the Son of God here on this earth. But the Bible says that that she just stood by, past tense.
And I dare say the emotion of the moment required that she had to walk away to gain her composure. She wasn't consistently there, but there was one person who was consistently at the foot of the cross, and his name was John. Active, present. Standing by. We know what that means.
Tomorrow morning, when I fly back to Pensacola, the the captain will come on as we begin our taxi and say, "We we're standing by for takeoff." That means we're waiting for the word so that we can go to the air. Or let's say, if I decide I want to fly on another flight, and I want to fly, stand by. That means that I have a ticket, but it's for another flight. But I can take this flight if I just stand by the gate and wait for the opportunity. I'm standing by.
Tammy Wynette said, "We're to stand by our man." How many of you remember that? The altar will be open for you at the end of the service. We know what it means to stand by, and there is John. At the foot of the cross, when others have walked away, he remained. When they retreated, he endured.
When they excused themselves, and as the dust of betrayal had settled and the clamor of denial had just gone down, there John is standing by the cross. Imagine Jesus on that cross, bloodied and battered. The ignominy of his death, the sorrow of his suffering, and he looks down and he doesn't see the blind man who he gave sight. He doesn't find the leper who who was made clean. He didn't even find Lazarus, the one that he took out of that tomb.
He sees none. Doesn't see Judas the betrayer. He's gone. He doesn't find Peter the denier. He's gone.
The rest—they've all scattered like dry leaves in the fall afternoon. But there's one. It's John. The one who leaned on Jesus at the table now stands beside him at the foot of the cross. And friend, I want to tell you something.
When you know how much Jesus loves you. When you know he loves you deeply and personally and unshakably, you don't run. You stand. When others turn away, you you stay close because the love that sits near is a love that stands firm. There's three ways that John's standing is marked in the life of every believer.
Number one, when you know Jesus loves you, you'll stand by with closeness. John wasn't standing on a hilltop looking down. He he wasn't hiding behind a pillar. He was near enough that he could see the cross. In fact, if he couldn't lean on his chest, he would linger at the cross.
He he didn't want to be absent from the presence of Christ. He was so close when Jesus looked, he saw him, and then Jesus saw his his mother, and he said, "Behold your mother." That that's the kind of trust that doesn't come from distance. It's the kind of trust that comes from closeness. Closeness still matters because a life that is lived at a distance eventually will be a life that's lived lived in drifting, and a faith that stays close to Christ will grow. Deepen and bear fruit, even at the foot of the cross.
You'll stand by with closeness. Secondly, you'll stand by with commitment. John didn't just show up and snap a picture to put on his social media account and then disappear. He wasn't a tourist at crucifixion. John was the one who came and he stayed.
He stayed when the sky turned black. He he stayed when the earth began to quake. He he stayed when every reason to leave was prevalent in his life. But in that moment, standing for for John wasn't convenience. It was commitment.
Some followers are committed to the crowds and to the cheering, but but John was committed to to the to the following of Christ when the crowd even cursed. I remind you, Romans one verse sixteen says, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ." Paul wrote in Ephesians six verse number thirteen, "Having done all, to stand, where to stand." John didn't just love the ministry. Get this—he didn't just love Jesus's ministry. He loved Jesus. He just wasn't in for the healing.
He was there when he was hurting. He he had a commitment. He he stood with closeness. He stood with commitment. But I want you to notice.
Thirdly, he stood by with courage. Let let's not romanticize this moment at the foot of the cross. To stand there at the foot of the cross with one of the accused was dangerous. Roman guards, in orders of force, stood by and stood guard. They were cold.
They were ruthless. They were brutal. They watched everyone scanning to see that there was not going to be an insurrection or anything could happen that would ruin the Pax Romana, that Roman peace. In that moment, crucifixion was the tool that brought about that great peace through power. Religious leaders from the Jews would walk by and they would sneer, spit, and were satisfied that this one who claimed to be the king.
Was now on the cross. Oh, make no mistake. This moment was not a time of polite sorrow. This was a public, political, painful execution. And there, John stood as close as he could, lingering at the foot of the cross.
He took a stand that required courage in the midst of a culture that was opposed to the one on that cross. And may I say to you that many of us are finding ourselves in that same situation. But sometimes standing for Christ doesn't look quite that dramatic.
Sometimes standing for Christ is just as quiet as kneeling on the fifty-yard line at a football game. When I say the name Coach Joe Kennedy, he's from Bremerton, Washington. After every football game that he coached, he always went out to the fifty-yard line and he would kneel quietly. He didn't invite all of his football team players to come. He he just went out quietly and did that.
But you know what? Some folks in the community didn't like that. They came to the coach and said, "Now, coach, you can't do that. You can't kneel on the fifty-yard line after the football game and you can pray." They didn't ask him to curse. They didn't ask him to compromise.
All they asked him to do was stop kneeling and praying after the game. Coach Kennedy wasn't loud about it. Didn't have a spotlight. Just one man with broad shoulders, with knees bent, whispered a prayer of gratitude on the fifty-yard line, and you would have thought that the world was coming to an end. He was suspended.
If you do it again, when you come back after your suspension, you'll be dismissed. The next game, he went and he prayed on the fifty-yard line, and he was fired. What was his crime? Was quiet faith. But there, as he knelt, no slogans, just surrender.
Heaven saw it. And I'm glad to say our Supreme Court saw it and said, "By the way, if a man wants to kneel on the 50-yard line and pray quietly, it's considered protected speech in America today." Because one man stood. I think of Pastor Andrew Brunson, missionary in Turkey. One day he's sharing Christ in his church, and there as he sharing Christ, the Turkish police come and they gather him and they take him away and place him behind bars, accused of espionage. That Turkish prison was cold, and the silence was loud.
He he was fearful, like a stray dog curled up in a corner somewhere. For two years he stood. He would not renounce his faith. He would not step back from his faith. And finally, after two years and some work with the American government and our president, the doors opened and he came out.
He was thinner. He was quieter. But he was still standing because when you know how much Jesus loves you, you can't help but stand with courage. I think of Casey Bernal. Back years ago, when before the commonness of school shootings, when she was 17 years of age, she was a new believer.
She was sitting in the in the high school library at Columbine, and you know the story. Those those those shooters were wandering through the rooms, just taking the life of anyone they could find. And one of them walked through the library and asked the question, "Do you believe in God?" And Casey quietly whispered, "Yes." She loved Jesus, and in that moment, her life was taken. And I remember, after all of that occurred, that little word "yes" became a became a moment of of conviction for the culture of teenagers across the country. Because when they heard her story, that when she whispered "yes," that she loved Jesus, others were challenged because.
Another seventeen-year-old stood because of the love of Christ. In the kingdom of God, courage doesn't always roar.
Sometimes it kneels quietly. Other times, it's isolated in a prison cell.
Sometimes it just simply whispers, "Yes." Doesn't always wear a cross around its neck.
Sometimes it carries the cross. Doesn't always make the headlines, but it always matters. I want to tell you, the courage to stand may not take you to a cross, but it may take you to a courtroom. It may take you to a classroom. It may take you to a locker room.
It may take you to a break room. It may even take you to your own living room. But when that moment comes, when you know Jesus loves you, you'll stand. You don't have to shout. You don't have to argue.
You just stand, because when you know Jesus loves you, you'll sit where others don't sit, and you'll stand where others don't stand. Here's the third thought, and I'll be finished. Those are always the most blessed words of a message that the preacher could ever say. When you know Jesus loves you, you'll sit where others don't sit. You'll stand where others don't stand.
But thirdly, you'll serve in ways others don't serve. Fast forward a couple of weeks after the resurrection to John chapter twenty one. You'll remember that that John and and Peter are fishing. Peter was the one who led. He said, "I go fishing." And that day, as the sun began to rise, the morning mist clung to the shoreline, and there on the seashore, the fire crackled and smoke was going up into the air.
And there was a breakfast that was made. It was simple. It was just bread and fish and Forgiveness. Days earlier, Peter had denied that he'd even known Jesus. Three times he swore he didn't belong to that Galilean.
But now the risen Christ invites him to a breakfast, not for shame, but for restoration. And there were three denials, and now there's three questions. Simon, son of Jonas, love us, thou me. Oh, Jesus intentionally went back to his original name—not Peter, not the Matthew 16 declaration, but to the original birth name, Son of Jonas. And each time Peter answered, "Yes, Lord," and each time Jesus responded, not with rebuke, but with calling.
Feed my sheep.
Now, if you're a student of Scripture, study this when you get a chance. The first time that Peter is called, he says, "I'll make you fishers of men." But through the sifting of sorrow and sadness, it was then that that God transformed his ministry, not to be just a fisher of men, but to be a shepherd to feed the sheep. And that's where Peter's ministry began anew. It was where, in spite of his failure, he was shaped by that failure, and because of that, he was able to be used in such a way that he was the mighty evangelist of the day of Pentecost. In that moment of grace, though, Peter's flesh still reared up a little bit.
I'm glad to know that. Mine does too. Say Amen if you agree. And Peter, as he's just received restoration, and he's been told to feed the sheep, he he begins to look around. And John chapter twenty one and verse number twenty picks it up.
The Bible says, "Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved." John, he seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved, following, which also leaned on his breast at supper and said, "Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee?" And then Peter, seeing him, saith unto the Lord, "Lord, what shall?" This man do, and notice what Jesus says, verse twenty-two. Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Just follow thou me. Can I give it to you what Jesus said in the King John version? Mind your own stinking business, Peter.
What is it to you that he is called to do something different than you're called to do?
Now, here's the thing. John didn't have to know what the next step was. All he needed to know was that Jesus loved him. His service wasn't based on competition and comparison. His service was based on a calling.
He didn't need applause. He didn't need to match someone else's path. He he just needed to follow. And I want to tell you, when you love Jesus the way Jesus loves you, your call will be so personal that you can't help but do what He's called you to do. You see, not everybody feeds sheep as a shepherd.
Not everybody writes letters from a prison. Even in the church, not everybody holds trembling hands in hospitals, and not everybody works in the nursery taking care of the children. But what we are called to do matters, because if it's done in love for Him who loved us, it's the will of God for our lives.
Now let's just notice this. I'm almost there. I promise you. My landing gear is down. I've gotten clearance from the tower.
We're going to get out of out of here very shortly, so we can all go to Cracker Barrel. Say Amen right there. Y'all don't need a Cracker Barrel around here. Here's the three ways that John served. Number one, he served in his ministry.
His ministry was unique. He cared for Mary, Jesus' mother. You remember at the cross in John chapter nineteen, the Bible says that Jesus looks down and he sees John, only John, and he says to to Mary, to John, Behold, thy mother. From that hour, the disciple took her into his own home. There, as Jesus hung on the cross, suffering, bleeding, and dying, dying, he looked down and he saw John, and he wasn't assigned to church.
He wasn't given a title. He was given Christ's mother. Take care of her. She's your own, yours now. Oh, you say that's not a lofty opportunity.
I want to tell you. I remind you, she was highly favored. Can you imagine the dinner conversations around the table? Hey, Mary, tell us that story again when Gabriel came to you, when he first appeared and he told you you're going to be with child. Hey, hey, Mary!
Tell us about that trip from Nazareth down to Bethlehem, and how you barely made it. And there, in that manger's cave, you delivered the Son of God. Hey, Mary, what was it like when you saw your son, the the one who was raised from the dead and resurrection, raised others from the dead? Hey, Mary, did you know? Did you really know?
Who he was when you held him for the first time. John didn't receive a famous role that afternoon, but he received a sacred one. And faithful love always makes room for personal ministry. His ministry was that he cared for Jesus' mother. Secondly, consider not only his ministry; consider his prophecy.
He was the one that recorded the revelation of Jesus Christ. After he and And and Mary and his family have moved to the to Ephesus. He's then cast into Patmos. There he's left aside, and there he receives what we call the Book of Revelation. That that prophecy that is so unique.
There, isolated and forgotten, exiled there on that rocky island. He he he was by himself. He he saw something that was unique, a vision so radiant, so rich, so powerful that it's now. The final book of our Bible. He saw the throne of God.
He heard the song of the redeemed. He he watched the lamb take the scroll, and then he was instructed to write, as Revelation one verse one says, to write the revelation of Jesus Christ to his servant John. He, the one who leaned in there in the upper room, he, the one who stood by there at the cross, is now the one who receives the lifting of the veil, the apocalypse, the unveiling. He sees Jesus, and that that that vision that he received was not received through effort. It was received.
Intimacy. You received a glimpse of eternity as he leaned against his heart. Oh, consider not only his ministry and his prophecy, but notice thirdly his legacy. The Bible says that all of these were going to die, but of all the deaths of the disciples, his was the natural death. All the other disciples, they had died by martyrdom, one by one.
They were stoned, they were crucified, they were burned, they were beheaded. But not John. John died the natural death. He lived into old age. He became the final witness, the last living voice who had seen Jesus with his own eyes and touched him with his own hands and heard his voice with his own ears.
And Peter, while he died by martyrdom on a cross, he said, "I don't want to die like my Savior died." Upside down, but John, rather than dying by martyrdom, died by grace, with a long life, a finished assignment, and a legacy of endurance and tenderness and truth. It wasn't an easy road, but it was a faithful one. God gave him the gift of finishing well. I'm here to tell you, when you know how much Jesus loves you, it'll change you. It'll change the way you serve.
You won't be so upset when you get slighted. Why do they get that opportunity and I don't get that opportunity? Why do they do that and I don't get to do that? Or why do I have to do this and nobody else will do that? You ever hear that around this church?
I hear it in my own heart sometimes. And what I have to do is take my focus off myself and my surroundings and place my eyes on the Savior who loved me. And in doing so, that faithful closeness will lead to a fruitful calling. You don't have to be famous. You don't have to be first.
You just need to be near, near to His heart. Sit where others don't sit. Stand where others won't stand, and serve in ways that others don't serve. When you know Jesus loves you. I'm going to give you a closing story, and I'll be finished.
Don't put your shoes on just yet; it's not time to go. I'm going to tell you up front the story that I tell. I get a little emotional in because this was from my time in pastoring. There was a story that's just dear to my heart.
So if if I'm up here blubbering, just blubber along with me, so I don't feel so bad, even though you don't feel like blubbering. I was in West Virginia, pastor there for 24 years. I had the benefit of seeing the the cycle of church life. I saw children born. I saw them married.
I saw them have children. It was it's a wonderful cycle to spend your life in the ministry. One of the things that I enjoyed was getting to know those people in those early years. We had a couple in our church, Lyle and June. They were there the very first Sunday.
They were elderly. They retired from from their work. I remember June particularly was an operator at Bell South. How many of you remember the old Bell South? She was one of the ladies that would be on the phone when you dialed zero to to get the operator.
Those of you from 2000 on may not remember what or know what that is. June was a sweet, godly lady, always faithful in attendance, always soft-spoken, always sat on the third pew on the piano side. She sang alto in the choir, rarely ever missed a service, and always had a kind word and just quiet strength.
Some time after that, Lyle passed away. She became a widow, and she was part of our widows' ministry. And then her health began to fail, and she received the diagnosis that is probably the most devastating diagnosis: she received the diagnosis of Alzheimer's. I remember she was placed in a memory care unit there in Parkersburg. As the light of her memory slowly dimmed, she began to slip away.
Her daughter would come and visit her every day. I and our staff would come by and visit her, regardless of whether she knew who we were. In fact, quite honestly, she didn't recognize the pictures on the wall. If you'd ask her who her husband was, she wouldn't remember his name. She didn't know her children's name.
I remember one day I decided to go by and see her. It was my my day to make the the nursing home visits. I went by to see her, and I timed it so I would be there when her daughter would come. She always came around noon to help feed her. And as I was sitting there, her daughter came in and she came over and gave her mama a hug.
And she said, "Now, preacher, I just want you to know, every time we we come together, every time I come, I always sing to my mama before before I eat." She leaned over and hugged her mama and put her mouth up to her to her ear, and she began to sing, "Jesus loves me, this I know." For the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong. They are weak, but He is strong. And in that moment, June's lips began to move. With a bare whisper, she said, "Yes, Jesus loves me." Yes, Jesus loves me.
Oh, I was weeping. Here was a godly woman who had forgotten her husband's name, who didn't even recognize her children, didn't even know what year it was. But deep in the recesses of her soul was the greatest truth anyone could ever know: Jesus loves me. I want to tell you: if that doesn't touch your heart, your heart's too cold. Because when you know Jesus loves you, you'll sit where others don't sit.
You'll be close to Him when others are away. You'll stand where others don't stand, and you'll serve in ways others don't serve. Why? We love him because he first loved us. Would you stand to your feet for just a moment?
Every head bowed and every eye closed. In a moment, we'll have a time of invitation. I want to ask you a very pointed question: Do you know Jesus loves you? I'm not asking you. Do you know the song?
The theology? Do you have a theory? I'm asking you. Do you know for certain? Do you know in the deep recesses of your heart Jesus loves you?
If you have grown cold in that love, and it is possible the love of many will wax cold in the last days, the Bible says. If you've grown cold in that love, you need to come today and say, Lord, I want to fall in love with you again. I don't want to be a member of the Ephesian church who's left the first love. I want to have that love real in my heart, so I can sit with you daily, and stand when the world is opposed, and serve, and when you call. In a moment, I want you to just be honest before God.
I'm going to be honest with you. There's times I don't feel that way. I forget how much He loves me, and I come to you as a friend. I will pray for you. With every head bowed and every eye closed, no one looking around.
Could I be your friend who prays for you in this moment? Would you just simply, with an uplifted hand, say, "I need to know Jesus loves me more. I need to focus on that." Thank you, sir. Anyone else across the auditorium? Thank you, sir.
Thank you. Anyone else? I need to just fall in love with Jesus and how much He loves me. Thank you, ma'am. I see your hand.
Anyone else? Anyone else? Maybe you're here this morning, and you've never experienced the love of the Savior. You've not been saved. Everything I've spoken about is for the believer.
But if you're here today, you can become a believer. You can know Jesus as your Savior in a moment of invitation. These folks are already here, kneeling and praying. If God has spoken to your heart and you say, "I need that love. I need to know that He died for me, so that I can have eternal life." If you'll come on that first verse.
We have counselors who'll be here. Who'll take the Word of God to show you how to be saved, how you can know that you're saved. I want to encourage you to come and take that first step. Maybe there's something else in your life, some burden that you're carrying on your own. You need to just give to the Lord.
Why don't you do that this morning? In this moment of invitation, I pray you'll just fall in love with Jesus, who loves you with eternity in mind. I pray you'll see how much He loves you, and let it change you. I'm going to pray. When I conclude my prayers, she'll begin to play the hymn of invitation.
You come as God speaks to your heart, Father. I thank you for this time that we've had to share around your word. Thank you for the kind attention of this congregation. I pray that this will not just be in vain, another meeting, another moment where we have opened your word, but this will be a time where our our heart is called to challenge, to know how much you love us. I pray that you'll call us to be close to you, and that we'll we'll strive to do that every day.
There are some in here today who need to take a stand, and may they find by your love take that stand. There are others who need to serve in ways that only they can serve, but they're allowing everything else from the exterior to influence the inner knowing of their heart of your love. I pray that they'll settle that today, and for that one who doesn't know you as Savior. May they come to know you in that personal relationship. I pray.
Take your word, Lord, and may we not be hearers only, but may we be doers. May we leave this place changed because of the work that you're doing in Jesus' name. Amen. She's beginning to play as God speaks to your heart. You come now in this time of invitation.
All I give you all the glory for all you've given me. You have filled my life until I overflow. All I have is yours to use, anyway you choose. You are Lord of all, so how can I say no?
So I'll say yes, Lord, yes to your will and to your ways. Yes, glorious, I will trust You and obey. When Your Spirit speaks to me, with my whole heart I'll agree, and my answer will be yes, glorious. Anna's going to continue to play. Our heads are bowed, and our eyes are closed.
I want to. Thank you to those that raised their hand, made it known. I want you to know we're here, we love you. I also want you to know that even after the service, if there's something inside that you don't have that peace, but you know you're on your way to heaven. I'll be out front.
Our staff will be here. Doctor Lands will be here. We'd hate for you to leave. Not. Knowing for sure that you're saved, you can't question that Jesus loves you after a message like that.
But there's a reason why He loves you, and that is so that He can save you. And I want you to know that being a good person is great, but that doesn't save you. If you don't know today, know before you go. And I want you to know that we're here. Lord, I love you today, and I thank you for those that came.
And Lord, I pray that you would continue to work in hearts. And Lord, thank you for the wonderful, wonderful message straight from your word. And thank you, Lord. I needed reminded—just the simple fact—to know that Jesus loves me. Lord, it's one of the First lies that Satan told all the way back in the Garden of Eden.
And Lord, I pray that you would help us not to let Satan get in, inroad into our hearts and minds. Lord, I thank you for Doctor Lands. Thank you for the words that he shared. And Lord, I pray that you'd continue to work in hearts. Lord, I know what some of our people are going through and dealing with, and Lord, that the fact that with everything else going on, and betrayed by this person or that person, discouraged through reports, doctor, and other things, but in the middle of it, to just know that I'm loved by Jesus, Lord, I pray that you would allow that to permeate hearts today.
We sure do love you. Jesus' name, we pray, Amen. That was a blessing to you. Say Amen today.
