The following sermon is brought to you by Capitol Community Church, located in Raleigh, North Carolina. Capitol Community Church is a people awakened to a holy God. If you are searching for a new church home, or from out of town looking for a church to worship with, or simply seeking for answers, Please join us for worship at 10.45 a.m. every Sunday morning and six o'clock p.m. for our evening service. If you have any questions, please email us at info at CapitalCommunityChurch.com. We pray this sermon will help you grow deeper in your walk with Jesus Christ. I invite you to open your Bibles to John chapter 17. If you are new to Capitol or if this is your first Sunday, we do a unique type of preaching here. It's called Bible exposition. It's not where you take an idea and maybe find a few proof texts in the Bible, but rather where you open up the Bible and systematically read it, explain it, teach its meaning, and see what it teaches us about the person and work of Christ, about God, and then ultimately, and finally, lastly, ourselves. So, that's what we do, and now we are continuing our study with really a remarkable, absolutely amazing chapter of Scripture, perhaps one of the most high theology chapters in the entire New Testament, and that is John chapter 17. So as you're turning there, let's pray and ask God to bless our time together. Heavenly Father, Lord, we pray that you would open our eyes to the reality of your glory, that you are God and we are not. and that Christ is God, the second person of the Trinity, equally deserving of glory. Lord, help me, humble man of God, communicate these truths of which are so significant. We ask all this for Christ's sake, amen. We'll look at verse one. I'm gonna read verses one to five. Chapter 17, when Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify your son that the son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. Now, this prayer of our Lord is fascinating to me because it really gives us an insight into our Lord's heart. Remember, this is the night of Gethsemane. This is the Thursday night before Good Friday, when He will be crucified. You can't imagine the anxiety in the disciples' hearts in learning that Jesus is about to go to the cross. And whether He's in the upper room now or whether He's on the way to Gethsemane, it really doesn't matter because this moment is so pressing. And in this moment, Jesus prays. Verses 1 to 26 is a prayer of our Lord, and it's the longest prayer of our Lord, recording in Scripture, and it's the longest prayer recorded in the entire New Testament. And it's almost as if our Lord is allowing us to listen in. Have you ever, when you were a kid, maybe you were in the other room or you were walking by the kitchen and you heard your parents talking about you? And you just stopped and you just started leaning in a little bit and listening to what they were saying. You knew that this wasn't your conversation, but you were interested in what this conversation would reveal about you or whatever. Maybe you would pick up something especially spicy And this is sort of that way that we are leaning in and listening to what Jesus is saying to the Father. And what we'll see is he's gonna say some things later on about us which are really remarkable. So we're leaning into this prayer. And so in that sense, I know Matthew chapter six is often called the Lord's Prayer. You know, what's the Lord's Prayer? Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. You know, we used to recite that before football games and all those things. Really, that prayer in Matthew six is the disciple's prayer. That's where Jesus is teaching us how to pray. This is the real Lord's Prayer. It is also called, since the Protestant Reformation, the High Priestly Prayer. Have you heard that? The High Priestly Prayer. The reason for that is this. is in Leviticus, the high priest, once a year on the day of atonement, what he would do is before the day of atonement, he would stay up all night. and the other priest would be praying for him and helping keep him up. And then the next day, he would consecrate himself by killing a bull, and then he would take two goats. One goat would be sacrificed on behalf of the people. That represented propitiation, a punishment that was laid upon that goat, its life for the life of the people. And then the other goat was sent off into the wilderness. That goat was called the? scapegoat, and that represents expiation, the sin being carried outside of the camp. What did that point to? What Christ would do. Christ stayed up all night in Gethsemane. He asked the disciples, stay awake and pray for me. And then he goes and he consecrates himself, obviously sinless, giving his life as a ransom for many. Now, when the high priest would go into the Holy of Holies, he would make the sacrifice by putting the blood of the goat on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant. Remember Raiders of the Lost Ark? The big golden chest with the angels on top and where the angels were, that is called the mercy seat. And the priest would put the blood of the goat on the mercy seat and he would then pray. and he would pray first for himself. Secondly, he would then pray for the other priests who were ministering with him. And then third and finally, he would pray for all the people of Israel. Well, if you look at the outline of Jesus's prayer in John 17, well, you'll see, first five verses, he prays for himself. Verses six to 19, he prays for the disciples, his disciples that are with him. Verses 20 to 26, he prays for all future Christians, everyone. In other words, what he's doing is he's patterning his prayer after the prayer of the high priest. That's why it's called the high priestly prayer. This morning, what we are going to look at is the first section of that prayer. What Jesus prays for on behalf of himself. It's a very interesting thing to think about, isn't it? What would Jesus pray for? If I'm there in this moment and I'm sitting there with Jesus and I have to guess what he's going to pray for, I would say, well, he's probably gonna pray for strength. to carry through with the sacrifice, or perhaps he's gonna pray for success in the atonement that he is going to make, that he will pray for its efficacy. But what Jesus actually prays for is quite startling. It's actually revolutionary. to your worldview. I know 25 years ago is when I really first read this chapter. And it changed my life. I pushed against it a little bit at first. Because it just seemed odd to me what Jesus prayed for. But if you can push through your initial wall against it, you push through into what is called God-centered Christianity. Because what Jesus prays for, surprising to us, is that he would be glorified, and the Father would be glorified. What does Jesus care about most? Have you ever asked that question? Not do we care about most, but what does Jesus care about most? And what he cares about most is that He and God the Father, God the Spirit, not mentioned in this passage, would be glorified. Look at what he says, verse one. When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven. That was a normal way of praying in the ancient world, to lift up your eyes to heaven. We're used to just, you know, every head bowed, every eyes closed. They would often pray looking up because heaven is where God resides. And so he prays looking up, and he said, Father, the hour has come. And this reference to the hour throughout John's gospel refers to the cross. It refers to the atonement. Remember at Cana, Jesus' mom, Mary, said, look, they've run out of wine, what can you do about it? And Jesus says, woman, what does that have to do with me? My hour is not yet here. Well, his hour has been pointed forward into the future, but now it is here. And Jesus says, Lord, in this hour, Look at this, look at this, this is mind boggling. Glorify your son. Glorify your son that the son may glorify you. I looked up that word glorify this week in the Greek lexicon, it's doxazo. Listen to this definition. I think I put it in your notes, but listen to this. To render conspicuous, that means easily seen, and glorious the divine character of God and his attributes. To render conspicuous the divine character of God and his attributes. What Jesus is saying is this, Lord, at the cross, may my character and my attributes be seen by all and then marveled at. That's what he's saying. That's what he's praying. And the question that I ask is why? Why would he pray that? It seems egotistical to us. Okay, in this moment, you're about to make atonement for your people, you're dying for their sins, you're going through all this, and you're concerned about your glory? It comes across very off-putting. Why does Jesus pray this prayer? Why this obsession? If you read the whole High Priestly prayer to verse 26, it is an obsession. His glory. This morning, I wanna give you five reasons why he prays this. And if you can understand these five reasons, my hope and prayer is that you will cross that continental divide from being a man-centered Christian to being a God-centered Christian. Because Jesus, as you'll see, is a God-centered Christian. First reason. One, because He is the Son of God. He is the Son of God. There is only one in the universe who has intrinsic glory, and that is God. The Shekinah glory of God is that light that radiates outward from the presence of God. It is a manifestation of his attributes. He is so excellent that he literally exhibits light. Remember the angels when they appear to the shepherds, they're shining bright and the glory that they are displaying on the shepherds is not their glory. They've come from the presence of God, there to Bethlehem fields. And then that glory of God is radiating outward. Moses goes up on the mountain, he's in the presence of God, you remember, he comes down, he puts like a veil over his face. His face is shining, not his own glory, it is the shining glory of God refracted from his face. So God has glory. And only God is to be acknowledged to be the one that has ultimate glory. So the reason why Jesus says, glorify me, can have only one answer. Because he's God. He's God. Listen to these Verses from Isaiah. Isaiah says this, Isaiah 42, 8. I am Yahweh, the Lord. That is my name. My glory I give to no other. Isaiah 48, 11. My glory I give to no other. God is jealous that he be the only one glorified. That he be the only one praised and acknowledged. Now when Jesus was on this earth, that glory, that radiant glory, was veiled in his humanity. Except at one point, y'all remember? the Mount of Transfiguration. The Mount of Transfiguration, he just flung it open and Peter, James, and John saw the refulgent glory of Christ. So Jesus praised this because he is God. And if you look at verse one, this is interesting to think about. He says, it is in this hour, the hour of the cross, Lord, that I want you to display my glory. How does the cross of Christ display the glory of Christ? We think so much about the cross in terms of what it means for us, and that's important. It is for us. But what does the cross say about Jesus? Well, the cross, Paul says this in Romans 117, that in the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed. That at the cross, the righteousness of Christ is demonstrated. Have you ever asked the question, how do I know that sin will be punished? A guy named Rob Bell wrote a book a few years ago, I remember this, it was big in evangelicalism, called love wins. Y'all remember this? He just said God's love just wins in the end. That God will just forgive. That God will essentially just take the Hitlers and the Pol Pots and people who have committed heinous sins and us who have rebelled against God, that God will just simply sweep it under the rug. Love wins. And what the cross says is, no, no, no, no, no. God is a just God. And sin cannot just be excused, but it must be paid for. So if anybody ever says, does, will evil be paid for? How do you know that there's a hell? How do you know that that is in the future? Well, I know because it's already been demonstrated at the cross. that Jesus went through that hell in six hours on Calvary for me. So I know he's righteous. The righteousness of God is revealed. And yet it also reveals the love of God, the grace of God. But God demonstrates his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. How do I know that God is gracious? How do I know that he is merciful? If we didn't have the cross, we would just be banking on promises, but promises not demonstrated. The promises of God's grace and mercy have all been shown to you 2,000 years ago at the cross. So the cross becomes for us not just a place of execution and barbaric torture, which it was, the cross for us becomes a place of worship. where the glory of Christ is on display. It's a wonderful thing. And we are meant to take a step back and simply worship. Worship Christ. Jonathan Edwards used a word to describe who Christ is, and it's a wonderful word. It just kind of, it sends chills down my spine when I think about it. excellencies. Christ is excellent. We don't think about the excellencies of Christ. That he is completely transcendent. That through him the cosmos was created. The angels bow down in worship. He upholds the universe by a word. that all the nations are but a drop of the bucket to Him. And yet He comes and takes on our humanity and is meek and lowly and lives for us and goes through the cross. It is transcendent meekness, Edward says. He is excellent. And so when you see the excellencies of Christ, you say, wow. He is truly deserving of all the glory. I say at the end of every service, I'll say it again today, and I hope it means something more today. Romans 11, 36, for from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever and ever and ever. Amen. So let me ask you, Christian, how big is your vision of the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you see him as worthy of glory? We sing a song here. I love this song. It's to the tune of Auld Lang Syne, all glory be to Christ. All glory be to Christ, our King, because he is the son of God. That right there is the essence of Christianity. is where you become stunned at the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. So that's the first reason he's the son of God. Second reason why Jesus prays for his glory, for the glory of his grace. For the glory of his grace. We've already talked about this somewhat, but the cross is the display of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. The reason why God orchestrates history the way he does is to display his glory in redemption. I want you to stay with me, think about this. Have you ever wondered why does God allow Satan the serpent to come into the Garden of Eden and deceive Eve and Adam? Why? Could God have stopped it? Yes. Could God have annihilated Satan and thrown him into the lake of fire as soon as he rebelled? Yes. Why does God allow Satan to deceive Adam and Eve, all of humanity, plunged into sin, evil, terrible things? Why does God allow that to happen? for the display of His grace. Because, what is grace? It is unmerited favor. It's unmerited favor. So, sinners are given unmerited favor through Christ, and then what is the result when you experience unmerited favor? Praise. glorifying Him. Look at verse 2, what Jesus says. He says, since you have given Him, since God the Father, you have given the Son authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given Him." That verse has loaded theology all the way down through it. Really, that verse is at the heart of the Protestant Reformation, it's at the heart of what St. Augustine taught, it's at the heart of what Paul taught, it's what Jesus is praying. It's a reference, look at this phrase, to give eternal life, and then look at the last clause, to all whom you have given him. Think about that for a second. The Father, God the Father, that's who is the referent, has given some sinners, to the Son. And Jesus says that I have this authority given to me by the Father to give those people eternal life. Those people that the father has given him. What's he talking about? He's talking about something called the doctrine of election. The doctrine of election. I want you to turn over to the book of Ephesians chapter one. Turn to the right. About six books. Ephesians chapter one, and I want you to start in verse four. Ephesians chapter one, verse four. This'll play with your mind a little bit, okay? So, read carefully. Even as he, that's the father, chose us, talking about salvation. In him, in Christ, he chose us. Now look at this phrase. When did he do this? Before the foundation of the world. Whoa. So now we're getting into the divine decrees of God. So what he's saying is, is that some people were chosen by the Father in Christ when? Before sin. Before Adam and Eve had even sinned, people are chosen in Him for salvation. I mean, this is just stunning. If you're a Christian, what does that mean? It's personal. He chose you, that you were on the mind of God and He chose you before the world was created. For what purpose? that we should be holy and blameless before him. What motivated him to do this? In love. He loved us before we were born, before we were created, before we were constituted sinners and rebelled against him. In love. He predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ. according to the purpose of his will. So we're talking about a divine decree that God established before the foundation of the world. Now look at this next phrase. This next phrase will knock your socks off. To the praise of his glorious grace. So we often stop, oh, he loves me. I'm so thankful that he loves me. I'm so glad God that you love me. I'm so glad that you worked this salvation for me. But what's the end of all this? What's the end? The end game is the praise of his grace. I have stood at the ocean and just thinking about this reality. And I asked myself the question, why God? Why? Why would you choose me? I'm so unworthy. Such a humble background, why would you choose me? And the only response I can have in that moment is thankfulness and worship. that He lavished His grace upon me even though I am an undeserving sinner. So Jesus, if you turn back to John 17, He has this authority to bring eternal life to all that the Father chose to receive it. And let me give you a couple scriptures that reference this. Matthew 11, 27, Jesus says, all things have been handed over to me by my Father. And no one knows the Father except the Son. And listen, anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him. So if you know the Father and you know the Son, it's because Christ has chosen to reveal Him to you. Another one, John 6, 39. This is the will of Him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that He has given me, but raise it up on the last day. Jesus will lose none of the sheep whom the Father has given him." That's John chapter 10. So, when most people encounter this doctrine, what's the natural response? It's the Romans 9 response. Lord, why do you only choose some? That's the question that Paul poses in Romans 9. Why only some? And Paul responds under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit with the divine answer. Who are you, oh man, to question God? Answer back to God. In other words, it's the mind of God. We have to trust that God is just, that God is merciful, that God is loving, but there is no reason given on why he chooses some and not others. But that's not the question really that is revealed about this in the New Testament. Why this is revealed to us is to comfort us. So the question we should be asking is not why do you not choose all, but why did you choose me? And then you praise God. So Jesus is saying, look, all of this is meant to be for the glory of His grace. The ultimate deciding factor in salvation is grace and Jesus coming for you. So have you ever had that moment where you just praised Him? Thank you, Jesus. Thank you for drawing me, for bringing me into the kingdom. It's all of grace, Spurgeon would say. Not just the offer of the gospel, but the fact that you pursued me into the gospel. That's the second reason. So first, Jesus is the son of God. Second, for the glory of his grace. Third, and this is so wonderful, He prays that he might be glorified so that we might know him. Look at verse three. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. Notice how Jesus describes the quality of eternal life. We would think, okay, eternal life is heaven, right? We think of eternal life as something distant in the future. Or it's escaping hell, that Jesus saves us from hell. And of course, both of those things are very true about eternal life. But that's not how Jesus defines eternal life. He says, the essence of eternal life is that they know the one and true God in Jesus Christ whom you have sent. The Greek word for know, gnosko, refers not just to ethereal head knowledge, but a knowledge of intimacy. You know your siblings, or you know your parents, or you know your spouse, not just because you studied them for a test, but because you spend time with them. You might have little arguments with them, or you might have debates with them, or your parents might be, you know when they're gonna tell you to do the chores that you need to do. You begin to know them because you interact with them. And that's the type of knowledge that is often referred to in the scriptures. It's not just a head knowledge, but it is a knowledge of relationship. And what Jesus says is, is that right there is the essence of eternal life. that you have a relationship with God and a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. And you see him and then you know him. And Jesus also said, this is so important, that the only way to get into that relationship is through him. John 14.6, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. So you used to have, and you still do to some extent, what you call mystics. And there's Christian mystics, and there's Buddhist mystics, and it's basically I'm going to go meditate, or I'm gonna go up on the high mountains, and I'm going to put myself in a transcendent place and wait for the communion to happen. And I'm just gonna be ready, I'm gonna be open. And some people do this with Yahweh, the one and true God, in the name of Christ, and other people do it with all sorts of religions. But what Jesus is saying, look, this relationship can only occur when you come to the Lord Jesus Christ in faith. He is the only way into this relationship. Because he is the only atonement for sins. Jesus says you must repent, that means turn from your sins, turn from all your works righteousness, and trust him in faith. And the moment that you trust him in faith, you have, present tense, eternal life. Notice that's what Jesus says. He doesn't say this will be eternal life. He says this is, present tense, eternal life. The moment that you trust him, eternal life is something that you already possess. And then when you die and your soul goes into the presence of the Lord, the only difference is is the place that you experience this eternal life is different. But it's not a new reality, it's the same reality. It's just now you're in the presence of the Lord. But we enjoy the Lord's presence here. So Jesus is saying, Lord, this is the portal, the cross is the gateway in which my people will come to know me and know God. That's what he's saying. And so we have a responsibility to press into that reality. In two weeks, I'm gonna do a message on that. on knowing God, just John 17 three. But we have this urgency to press in to this reality of knowing him because this is the abundant life. I have come that they might have life and have it abundantly. The greatest joy that you will ever know is in knowing him. I have counted everything as loss. except for knowing Christ. All of it pales, I count it all as rubbish compared to Christ. We have to ask ourselves, do we love the things of God or do we love God? Psalm 1611, you make known to me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy and at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. You were created with, I think it was C.S. Lewis who said, a God-shaped vacuum in the heart. You were created to know God. Augustine, Saint Augustine said, our hearts are restless until they are found in him. And so this eternal life, this revelation of the character of God is something that we are to press into, that we find our joy in Him. And that right there is the mark of a born-again Christian. If what I just said about knowing Christ, knowing God, just said, eh, that doesn't sound fun to me. There's 10,000 things I'd rather do than press into that. I'd rather work jigsaw puzzles. You might not be born again. Because the Christian, what the Holy Spirit does, is the Holy Spirit ignites a passion to know Him. Where you say, get everything out of the way. I'm going to Bible studies now, I'm going to churches like this, which teach the Bible. I am pressing in. to know him because I find him infinitely delightful. That's the mindset and the heart of a born again believer. So that's the third reason why he prays that he would be glorified is so that we might know him and find our joy in him. Fourth, and this one is really remarkable. He was chiefly motivated by the Father's glory. What motivated Jesus through his ministry? Look at verse four. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. So Jesus says, this is what you gave me to do. I worked for your glory. Now, it's almost as if here he's speaking about his work on the cross and the resurrection in the past tense. He's looking at it all and saying, look, I've accomplished it, and I've done it all. Look at the motivation. To glorify you on earth. This right here is the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we need to press into this. that He burned with a holy passion for His Father's glory. This is what He wants to display at the cross. Let me give you several other places where Jesus says something similar. Jot these verses down. John 12, 23, the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. John 12, 27, now is my soul troubled and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. but for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name. John 13, 31, now is the son of man glorified and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and glorify him at once. And then Peter says, Acts 3.13, the God of our fathers glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over. So this right here is the drumbeat of our Lord's ministry. He says, I am going to carry out my father's will, and yes, I'm going to save sinners, but it all ultimately is for the greater purpose of the glory of God. Jesus says in John 4, 34, my food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish this work. I emphasize this because one of the things that I hear all the time in modern evangelicalism, all the time, is that when Jesus came to this earth and lived this life and sacrificed himself on the cross, what he thought about most was you and me. That when Jesus died on the cross, what he thought about most was you. I hear it all the time, but the fact is it's wrong. It's incorrect. It's inaccurate. It's not true. Because it's not what Jesus thought about ultimately. Now hear me say, he did think about you. He did think about me. He loves you. But it's a matter of rank. I'm not pitting these against each other, I'm saying one is higher than the other. He thought about you, but he didn't think about you ultimately. What he thought about ultimately was the glory of God. And that is the continental divide right there. Is the cross about ultimately about how great you are? Or is the cross ultimately about getting you to a place where you can see how great he is? I remember once I was at a Ligonier conference down in Orlando. and John Piper was one of the speakers this year, and he asked a question to the congregation. I'll never forget this question. He said, do you feel more loved by God when you view the cross as making much of you? Or do you feel more loved by God when you understand that the cross allows you to make much of him? Let that question sit for a moment. And again, it's not that Christ doesn't love you. It's not that Christ doesn't make much of you, he does. But the end game here of what he's saying is that Christ saved you, this is his mission, so that you might glorify him. And in so doing, you find your ultimate joy. It's important that we get this and understand this because if you ultimately make Christianity about you, then the bottom of your well is ultimately you and not God. And that's shakable because you're shakable. The bottom of your well must be God. And the end of your praise must be him. And then when you get that right, now your life falls into order. What should motivate you in everything that you do? answer the same thing that motivated Christ. The glory of God. That's it. There's not even a close second place. The chief end of man is to... Man, we got some catechism people here. The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. Do you think God wants you to be happy? Absolutely, but it's to be delighting in His glory and seeing the wonderful glory of Christ. Listen to this verse. Memorize this verse. Psalm 46, 10. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. God will be exalted. It's the glory of Christ that is ultimate in the Father's glory. And we have to understand that. If we miss it, we'll go through our lives missing the main thing and we'll miss the true essence of Christianity. And countless people in America are on that road. Because so many people are afraid to say that you're not ultimate. That's not a selling message. What do I want to hear? That I'm great. that God loves me and has a wonderful plan for my life and that God really is about me and helping me accomplish all the things that I wanted in my sinful flesh before I was even a Christian. That's what people wanna hear. It's not this message of ultimate transcendent glory that you exist for him. All right, fifth and finally. Jesus prays this prayer so that we might see his glory forever. Look at verse five. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. Jesus is talking about before creation when he and the Father and the Spirit and perfect triune unity, were the only existing entity, and their glory was just shining. And Jesus says, Father, unveil this glory when I ascend into heaven. And I want you to do this, he tells us, if you look at verse 24, for a reason. He says, Father, I desire that they also, the disciples, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am to see my glory that you have given me because you love me before the foundation of the world. So Jesus's prayer is that he would be glorified in this refulgent glory in heaven so that we might see him. Question, was that prayer answered? Absolutely. Revelation 5.13, that John says, he sees the vision and every creature in heaven and under the earth is praising Christ and his glory is displayed right now in heaven and people are just awed at his glory. Something to think about. The writer of Hebrews says, Hebrews 12.2, that it was for this ultimate purpose that he endured the cross. He says, for the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Yes, he is very much about love for us and saving us, but what he is envisioning is this ultimate day where we are in the throne room, seeing his glory and praising him. And Jesus says, that's my joy right there. is the marriage supper of the Lamb and the praise of my glory and the satisfaction of my people. So, three quick questions here. And these questions help gauge whether or not you have crossed over from being a man-centered Christian to a God-centered Christian. First, is your ultimate joy in His glory? Is your ultimate joy in His glory? Second, is your mission in life to see the Father glorified? I don't just mean that as a tagline or a t-shirt emblem, but is your mission in life at all cost to see God glorified, whether by life or by death? Third question, do you know God personally? That's a biggie. Do you know God? And if you do, are you pressing into that relationship or are you going through the motions? Today is the day of repentance and today is the day of salvation. If you don't know God, listen to me. Repent. Trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. And today you will enter into this relationship. And you will have present tense eternal life. If you have this relationship, push out everything that is hindering you from knowing Christ. You're watching Netflix too long. Turn it off. Pick up your Bible. You have bad relationships. Lose them. Get better friends. They're right here, sitting in the pews next to you. Push off everything that is hindering you from knowing Christ. Press in to knowing Him. And again, all of this is for what? His glory. His glory. Do you believe He loves you? He does. And in His love, He wants you to get it. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, Lord, we pray that we would see your glory, that we would honor you, and Lord, that we would be stunned by you, that we would press into this reality, that we would know you, and Lord, that we would base our lives on what you base your life on, which is your glory. God may anyone here who does not know the living Christ, know the living God, trust Christ in faith, repent of their sins, and come to know the glorious God, the glorious Christ, and their lives forever changed, and their heart filled with hope of eternal life. We thank you, Lord, for these realities. Oh, Lord, we thank you. And it's to you we pray, in Christ's name, amen. Thanks for listening. For more sermons, information, and events, check out our website at capitolcommunitychurch.com.