Making Jesus Known

The new covenant made possible through the death and resurrection of Jesus will never pass away. So here's a church that you've come to attend today. We're not slick, smart, or savvy, but we're smart enough to know that the only thing that matters in your life, in the life of our community, is to have a personal encounter with the risen Lord Jesus Christ. And we're to make Jesus known because of our confidence is in him. How you doing today? Great. It's great to see you. Hey, I come bearing gifts. I don't preach here often anymore. So, going to give out some t-shirts. Some of you are raising your hand back there. Let's go to the left side of the room. She's really loud. Oh my goodness. Dude, you're like the guy at the baseball game that catches the baseball that the little kid wanted. I'm just kidding. Uh, hey, listen. Thanks for being here. I hope that uh uh you've had a great day of worship already. And if you have a Bible, open it to uh 2 Corinthians chapter 3. I was passing out those uh making Jesus known t-shirts because that's the title of this message and the theme of this chapter. And I want to give you a key thought to start us off with that is the most obvious key thought that you've ever heard or you ever will hear. Here it is. What you are known for is what you are making known. You're like, "Duh, thank you, Captain Obvious. Uh, appreciate you coming today." But it is true. What you are known for is what you are making known. You think about it. Uh, churches are known for all sorts of different things. Never is that more on display than on social media, on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook, on a community-driven page where somebody drops in and says, "Hey, uh, what church is the best church I can go to for my kids? What has the most best stuff for my kids?" Uh some people will ask on those pages, uh what church in town has the most, uh amazing concert level worship team? Uh what church in town you just fill in the blank. And honestly, almost all of them seem sort of selfserving commercialismly driven questions. Perhaps most telling is what is not asked on those social media platforms. I have never seen one time somebody asks, "What church in town preaches and makes most clearly the gospel of Jesus Christ every single Sunday?" No one asked that question. No one says, "What church in town would be the best place for me to bring my lost neighbor for them to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and be saved?" You see, like it or not, churches are known for different things. If you think about it, some churches are known for their facilities. back in the day, come to this church because of their crystal chandeliers, or come to this church in a more modern setting because of their LED walls, or their killer children's ministry, immersive children's ministry wings, or come to this church because of this thing or that thing with their facilities. Now, now, don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with having Starbucks like coffee bars in church facilities. There's nothing wrong with having amazing places to come to worship God in. We're thankful for the wonderful facility made possible through the generosity of our people that we get to come and worship in. Most thankful we are for the fact that our facility is airond conditioned. Amen. Get a witness. But we dare not make primary. What God in his scriptures clearly makes secondary. Other churches are known for their fanaticism. Modern-day fanaticism has morphed from jumping pews and snake handling to creating a show and simply stirring the emotions. back in the day and I have found myself quickly becoming a resident authority of back in the day. But back in the day, uh, some churches were known for their impressive coral arrangements, their orchestra pits, their Christmas and Easter canadas or pageantss. Those places were must-see TV during Christmas and Easter. That was their show. It morphed in the 80s and 90s into the Gaither era of concerts and quartets and we would go to such and such church because we love their gospel quartets and their Gaither like ensembles. Honestly, looking back, if we were honest with ourselves, those quartets were more like the ballbearing four. They baldled and we bared it. In more recent days, it has morphed into what is the most talented concertlike worship team. I want to go to that church. That church is known for the fanaticism of their concert level worship teams. We seldom stop and ask if anyone on the stage is living and loving Jesus. Heck, we don't even care if they know Jesus. What difference does it make if they can be Bbop like Bieber? Amen. Some churches are known for their fighting. They're known around town as mean-spirited, always running off pastors and fighting among themselves. Why do you need Friday night fights when you can go to Wednesday night business meetings? My point is is what you are known for is what you are in fact making known. Some churches are known for their finances. they have all the money. Many times if you move to that town and want to find a church, you find that church because they have all the money and that's where in business you can make the most money. But they don't give it, they guard it. Their philosophy is we want to get all we can, can all we get, and set on the lid and poison the rest. And yet the apostle Paul is going to show us in 2 Corinthians 3 that he is going to make this explicit case that every church and every Christian should be known for making Jesus known. God forbid that we are more known for our facilities, our fanaticism, our fighting, or our finances than we are for our faithful, everforgiving, forever friend, Jesus Christ. So, in chapter 3, Paul makes Jesus known by pointing out three things that you and I should live out. Number one, we are to make Jesus known by our confidence. Look in verse 4. 4 and 5 it says such is the confidence we have through Christ before God. It is not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything as coming from ourselves but our adequacy is from God. That first little word in verse four uh throws us back to the previous words in verses 1 and three when he says such. He's referring back to verse one of chapter 3 when he says, uh, are we beginning to commend ourselves again or do we need like some letters of recommendation to you or from you? We're not commending ourselves. We're not here building our brand. Uh, we don't have letters of recommendation. There's not a social influencer that can tell you about our church. Paul says on the contrary our confidence such is the confidence he says we have through Christ our confidence is in Jesus Christ our adequacy if we have any is from God that's why he would write later in Galatians 6:14 God forbid that I should glory I should boast save in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ through whom the world was crucified to me and I unto the world. Listen, we have said for years we aren't smart enough, savvy enough, or slick enough to do anything else of value than to point people to Jesus Christ. Prior to coming here about 12 and a half years ago, I'd read a a business book and a marketing book called Love Marks written by a guy by the name of Kevin Roberts. It's a fascinating read and and actually the little template or the little graph that you have in your notes that'll be on the screen as well became sort of a template for me as I thought about how I wanted us to create what is now crossurch and its collective of churches. uh Roberts points out in the business world and companies and in products there are four quadrants that you can choose to live in that first quadrant in the upper leftand corner he calls brands. He says those are associated with things that have low love but you have high respect for. As you're listening to this message taking notes you might think of some brands out there that that come to your mind. If I was writing in my notes this morning about brands, secular brands that have low love and high respect, I would write the word Walmart. I go there almost every week. Many times I run into some of you that are there as well. But can I be honest? I don't love Walmart. Matter of fact, we got home yesterday from running some errands and my wife said, "We have one more errand to run. Uh, we need to go to Walmart. Do you want to go home first and me go or go with me?" I said, "I think the wise thing to do would be to go home first." But I respect it. Everyday low prices, everything under one roof. It's a great business plan. I just don't love it. I'm not going to bleed and die for Walmart. But I'm going to go probably sometime this week to get something that my wife forgot to get yesterday at Walmart. Some churches fall into this upper left quadrant of brands. Uh maybe a church you grew up in, super traditional church. You you don't love it, but but you respect what they've done over the years. Maybe if we broaden the conversation for churches, maybe denominations, you don't love them, but you respect what they stand for and the work that they do. Brands, he says there's a second quadrant, there's that lower left quadrant called products. Those are things that he says we have low love and low respect for. That might be the worst place to be. I I don't know what you would write in in that lower left quadrant of things that you have low love and low respect for in the secular world. For me, it would be cereal boxes. Who designed those things? I mean, you can never open the cardboard part correctly. Once you finally get through that, you try to open the plastic part. You can never open that correctly. Who else in the room like me have like six cereal boxes full of stale cereal at their home because of those stupid cereal boxes? I mean, you'd think Captain Crunch after all these years could get it right. Low love, low respect. When it comes to churches, churches that are constantly fighting probably live in this quadrant of churches. We don't love them and we don't respect them. Then he moves to the lower right quadrant of fads. He calls a fad something that has high love but low respect. There are so many things over the years that have jumped onto the market. We think we have to have them. I don't know what you would write in that lower right hand quadrant of fads, low respect but high love. If I had to write into that, I'd write um cuz I grew up in the 70s. I I'd write mood rings. Remember those? Told you exactly how you to feel, whether you're feeling good. I I don't know. Am I a bad mood? No, I'm not in a bad mood, honey. I'm in a good mood. Look at this mood ring says. though had to have it. We loved them. Really didn't respect them. Another one that I might write into that lower right hand quadrant is pet rocks. Remember those? Some of you still have them. Actually, I'm I'm dealing with two dogs in our home, large dogs. And I'm thinking pet rocks might be a better option. You don't have to feed them. You don't have to groom them. You don't have to take them to the vet. You don't have to pick up their poop. Right. Pet rocks. Maybe not a bad plant. How many of you have some fidget spinners in a drawer somewhere? Man, I just love those things. I got to get one, but I'd never use it. It's gone. Let me give you the the biggest in my mind modernday fad. It'll be gone. Trust me. Kale. Can I get an amen? Like somebody convinced you eating bitter weeds was a good plan for your health. If you just had more kale in your diet, you'd be much better off. Churches built on fanaticism are many times simply fads. They may be here one day, but they will be gone tomorrow. Please, please, please, please remember, you cannot build a skyscraper church on a chicken coupe foundation. Then he moves to the upper right hand quadrant. Love marks. That's the name of the book. And love marks are things that have high love and high respect in the secular world. and products and companies. We might I don't know what you'd write in there, but one of the things I would write in there is Russell Stover's candy. Can I get an amen? Like that stuff is so good. I think it's going to be around forever. We Nobody doesn't love Russell Stover's candy. And I have found sugarfree Russell Stover's candy. And for the nutritionists in the room, don't mess up my world, but I think in my head that I can eat an unlimited s supply of Russell Stover's candy and never gain an ounce. It's good for you. Matter of fact, I woke up in the middle of the night just last night doing what old men have to do. You can fill in the rest. And while I was up going to the restroom, I thought, I think I'm going to have some Raffle Stover's candy. So, at 2 in the morning, I did just that. I walked into the cabinet and got me a piece of Russell Stover's candy. I don't know what else you would write into that upward white upper right quadrant. Uh maybe companies like Apple. We love Apple today. Apple looks like it's going to be around forever. We don't know that for sure, but it s sure seems like it. But right now, Apple has a lot of high love and high respect. Have you ever walked through the mall and seen the Apple store? Every other store is empty. The only store with people in it is the Apple store. We love our Apple computers. I carry in my hip pocket my Apple phone at all times. I've recently bought an Apple Watch. It's amazing. Just before I got up here, it told me I needed to stand. It It's about to tell me I need to set. It's going to tell me. It's like having your wife with you at all times. It tells you what to do every minute of the day. They're awesome. They're a love mark. When it comes to the church though, the only word or name that deserves a place in the upper right hand quadrant of love marks is Jesus Christ. And a church that has committed itself to making Jesus known. Write this down. It's a key thought. Fads fade, but Jesus stays the same. Amen. Fads fade, but Jesus stays the same. Hebrews 13:8, one of my favorite verses in the New Testament. It says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday. He is the same today and he is the same forever." Think about it. Jesus is the same yesterday. He is the one who invaded history. You did you know when Jesus was born he bent the date lines of time around his manger cradle? You and I and the rest of the world measure time by the very existence of Jesus Christ. That's a love mark. He is the same yesterday, but he is also the same today. That is he infuses reality. He's still alive and well today. He was resurrected from the grave. And you ask me how I know he lives. He lives within my heart. He infuses our daily reality. That's a love mark. And Jesus is the same forever. He inhabits eternity. And life is worth the living just because I know he lives and he lives for all of eternity. That is a love mark. High love, high respect will never fade away. Write this down. The only love mark for the church and the Christian is Christ alone. Indeed, as the old hymn says, the things of earth grow strangely dim. In other words, they fade in the light of his glory and grace. We make Jesus known because of our confidence. Our confidence is in Christ alone. You see, Jesus is not what you need. Jesus is all you need. Secondly, Paul says, "We make Jesus known because of our covenant." I'll read all these verses in just a moment, a rather lengthy passage, verses 6- 11. But quickly, let's look at this covenant. This old covenant brings death. But but he says, "The new covenant that we're under brings life." Look at verse six. It says, "He has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the spirit. For the letter kills, but the spirit gives life." That is the letter or we might call it the law is what gives death. The law is grace. The Old Testament, think of the Ten Commandments and all of that, but it was never intended to give life. And if all we had was the law, all we have, all we would have is the verdict of death living over us. But the spirit and the grace and the gospel of Jesus brings life. Think of the New Testament story of the woman taken in adultery. Now, the facts are undisputable. She was actually an adulterous woman and yet she was taken in adultery and caught there and she was brought to Jesus by the religious leaders of the day, the scribes and the Pharisees. And they had large rocks in their hand and they were about ready to stone her because that's what the law said they should do. And Jesus, they said, "What say you, Jesus?" And Jesus said, "Well, I've got a plan." Not only looking at their exterior, looking at their interior, he says, "He who is without sin cast the first stone." You remember the story? One by one, they dropped their rocks, walked away. Then Jesus looked up and said to the woman,"Woman, where are thy accusers?" And she looked around and says, "There's there are none." And he said, "Neither do I accuse you or condemn you. Go and sin no more." A beautiful picture of the difference between the two covenants. The old covenant is death, but the new covenant is life through Jesus Christ. Secondly, he says, "The old covenant brings condemnation, but the new covenant brings justification." Look at just verse 9 here. It says, "For if the ministry that brought condemnation had glory, the ministry that brings righteousness overflows with even more glory." One brings condemnation, the other brings righteousness or justification. And then Paul points out, "The old covenant was fleeting, but the new covenant is forever." Look at verse 11. For if what was set aside was glorious, what endures will be even more glorious. That's what was set aside. That's fleeting. What endures, that's forever. Heaven and earth will pass away. But the new covenant made possible through the death and resurrection of Jesus will never pass away. So here's a church that you've come to attend today. We're not slick, smart, or savvy, but we're smart enough to know that the only thing that matters in your life, in the life of our community, is to have a personal encounter with the risen Lord Jesus Christ. And we're to make Jesus known because of our confidence is in him. Our covenant is in him. And finally, our countenance is from him. Look at verse 12. Since then, we have such a hope, we act with great boldness. We are not like Moses who used to put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from gazing steadily until the end of the glory of what was being set aside. But their minds were hardened. For to this day, at the reading of the old covenant, the same veil remains. It is not lifted because it is set aside only in Christ. Yet still today, very sad verse. Yet still today, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts. But whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the spirit. And where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. We all with unveiled faces are looking in into a mirror at the glory of the Lord. And we're being transformed into the same image from glory to glory. This is from the Lord who is the spirit. Now, careful readers of chapter 3 would have already noticed a reoccurring word and a consistent theme in this chapter. As a matter of fact, 2 Corinthians chapter 3 uh from theologians perspective is known as the glory chapter in the Bible. No less than 13 times in this short chapter does the word glory or glorious appear. Glory here, glory there. Glory to our right, glory to our left. Glory above us, glory below us. Glory in front of us, glory behind us. Here's some glory. There's some glory everywhere is glory, glory, glory. Here's a key thought about this glory. Moses reflected the glory. That's all he did. You know, he went up to top of Mount Si. He got the Ten Commandments. He saw God face to face. And the shina glory of God shone on Moses. It wasn't his glory. It was just reflected glory that he had and it was short-lived. It lasted a very short time and even after it had faded. He continued to well the wear the veil over his face to pretend there was still glory there. But Jesus is the one who revealed glory. And now because he lives in our lives, we are to radiate that glory everywhere we go. Let me give you some thoughts about this glory. First of all, it is an unveiled glory. I like the fact that the veil has been lifted. You know, when Jesus died on the cross, one of the significant things that happened in the temple was that the veil of the temple was rent in two. That which separated the inner courts, the presence of God from the outer courts where the people lived was rent in two. We now have an unveiled glory. No longer do we see through a glass darkly, but now face to face. The Bible says in John 17:17, "No man has seen the father at any time. The only begotten son which is in the bosom of the father, he has declared him." It is an unveiled glory. It is also an unfading glory. Look at verse 17. It says that now the Lord is the spirit and with the spirit of the Lord there is freedom. We all with unveiled faces are looking as in a mirror at the glory and it's unfading. The glory of Jesus isn't a fad or a fanatic's facade. It is forever and ever. And finally, it is an unearned glory. He says we go from glory to glory. That is from the Lord who is the spirit. Uh we can't earn, merit or deserve God's glory. It is a gift from our heavenly father made possible through through the life, the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But I want to be very careful here. While it is an un earned glory, I want you to know it is not an unattainable glory. You today can touch his glory. Remember in the New Testament the story of the woman who had an issue of blood and we don't know exactly what the physical condition was. She just was very very sick and likely would not live unless this sickness was healed. She'd been to every doctor. She'd been to every person, every pharmacist. She'd been to everyone that she thought could be bring help. And nothing had helped. And finally, she said, "I need to get to Jesus." And so she did. She went out looking, trying to find Jesus. When she found him, he was surrounded, as he often was, by a dense crowd of people. But she wasn't deterred. She said, "I'm just going to push my way through the crowd." And she thought, "If I can just touch the hymn of his garment. If I can just touch the hymn of his glory, I will be made whole." And so she did. She reached out as Jesus walking by, reached through the crowd, touched the hymn of the garment of Jesus, and at the moment that happened, she was made whole. And at the same moment, Jesus turned, pivoted, and said, "Who touched me?" And she said, "I did, Lord." And that moment, that sick woman who was healed reached out, touching the hymn of his glory, and she was healed. What is true of her is true of you. Whether you be in this room or you're watching online, if you repent of your sin and ask Jesus into your heart, you can be saved. You can be on the pathway that goes from glory to glory. And if we were honest, there are some of you that are sitting in this room, some of you watching online that you don't know what's going on, but something mystical is in in your understanding is happening in your heart. You feel what I would call the tug of glory. It is the conviction of the Holy Spirit that is drawing and wooing you and convincing you of your lossness and your need for Christ. And I would just say that if you are feeling that tug of glory, you can also reach out and touch heaven's glory. You can have a a a saving relationship with Jesus Christ that would leave you singing what that woman in the New Testament with the issue of blood must have left singing. And what many like us cascading down through the choruses of history continue to sing. He touched me. Oh. Oh, he touched me. And oh, the glory that floods my soul. Something happened. And now I know he touched me and he has made me whole. Some of you that follow me on social media noticed last uh Monday I asked you to pray for a pastor friend of mine whose son uh had a serious accident a week ago today. Tim Traber is one of my favorite preachers in our town. And I have others that are not my favorites. I am not everybody's favorite. But Tim's a great guy. Loves the Lord. Matter of fact, if you get mad at Andrew sometime, you're looking for another church, go to Tim's church. He's just a good man. And Tim's son, Lawson, was in a freak accident. He's 13 years old. He's trying to bulk up, get ready for uh soccer season and basketball season, doing what most 13-year-old boys are doing, bulking up, eating kale, all that stuff. And in his room with his exercise equipment, there was a malfunction. Somehow part of the exercise equipment got wrapped around his neck and he was suffocated, was without oxygen for at least 2 minutes, unconscious when they found him. his brother and then his mom. They rushed him to the hospital. He was at Thunderbird Banner Thunderbird Hospital last week. I saw him on Tuesday. Went to visit them and he was still comeomaosse on a ventilator. Tim communicated to me and to the rest of social media publicly that it was literally life and death for Lawson. We all prayed. Many of you prayed last Thursday morning. Lawson woke up and uh I love his first two sentences. I think I can be friends with Lawson. His first was, "I love sports." But his second, more important than that, is I love Jesus because he has saved me. Listen, if you're feeling the tug of heaven, you can be saved just like my young friend Lawson. Not from physical harm, but from spiritual death, and you can know him. You can touch the hymn of his glory. You can leave singing, "He touched me. Oh, he touched me." and all the glory that floods my soul. Something happened and now I know that he touched me and he's made me whole. And if you're already one that has been touched by his glory, you should be about radiating his glory this week and looking for any and every opportunity to make Jesus known.