Betrayed, Mocked, Seized

Hi, my name is George Sinclair. I'm the lead pastor of Church of the Messiah.

It is wonderful that you would like to check out some of the sermons done by Church of the Messiah,

either by myself or some of the others. Listen, just a couple of things. First of all,

would you pray for us that we will open God's Word well to His glory and for the good of people like

yourself? The second thing is, if you aren't connected to a church and if you are a Christian,

I would really like to encourage you to find a good local church where they believe the Bible,

they preach the gospel, and if you have some trouble finding that, send us an email. We will

do what we can to help connect you with a good local church wherever you are. And if you are a

non-Christian checking us out, we're really, really, really glad you're doing that. Don't

hesitate to send us questions. It helps me actually to know, as I'm preaching, how to deal with the

types of things that you're really struggling with. So God bless.

Father, we are very good at seeing specks in other people's eyes, and we are very poor at seeing logs

in our own eyes. And Father, we know that you desire us to be delivered from this as much as we can

until we see Jesus face to face. So we ask, Father, that the Holy Spirit would fall with gentle power

upon us so that your Word and your Gospel will come home to us and come deeply to our hearts,

that we, Father, are so secure in Jesus and His finished work that we can begin to see those logs

in our own eyes. And we ask this in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. Amen. Please be seated.

So for the first time in 2023, I got invited to speak on Parliament Hill to the Parliament Hill

Christian Fellowship. They meet Fridays at lunch. If you happen to know somebody who works on Parliament

Hill or in some ways, you should let them know there's a gathering of Christians on Friday at

around lunchtime. And so the deal is, they understand that when they ask me to speak,

they get a first draft or first go-through of my sermon on the following Sunday. And that's,

they have to be fine with it. It might be a little bit rough and unpolished. So I began my talk

on Sunday with them, or Friday, with them by saying that I was going to talk about something

that nobody on Parliament Hill could relate to. And then I paused and I said, betrayal.

Which, of course, they all chuckled about because it's something that people who work in Parliament

and work parties are very familiar with. But I did add two other things. Of course,

nobody who's been very involved in the church will also, everybody who's been very involved in the

church are also going to be very familiar with betrayal. And of course, it's a great human problem.

So we're going to look at that today. So if you would get your Bibles out and turn in them to Mark

Mark 14:43

chapter 14, verse 43, we're going to look at a story of Jesus that talks and touches on betrayal,

and also opens the door, well, to many wonderful things. But one of them is how when the gospel grips

your heart, there is a deep emotional beauty to the gospel as it becomes more real to your heart,

which is hard for people on the outside to see, but is hopefully something that grows in us as the

gospel becomes more real to our heart. So what's just happened before this, and I'm going to do,

some of you have heard, I've done this method sometimes of teaching before, I'm going to imagine

that this is maybe one of those British dramas, you know, that has eight episodes or six or ten or

whatever, a series, and you go from episode to episode to see the whole story, or, you know,

something on Netflix or Prime or whatever. And so we're looking at this as if we were writing a play

or the episode, this one episode, and the different scenes within the episode. And what's, in a sense,

if you don't press the skip recap button, what's just gone on before this is that Jesus has warned

the disciples that somebody's going to betray him. He said that anybody, the person who betrays him,

it would have been better if he'd never been born. Jesus institutes what we now know of as the Lord's

Supper or Holy Communion. And then immediately before that, the episode just before, Jesus is in the

Garden of Gethsemane. And it's this profound scene of the disciples not being able to stay awake and

pray with them. And Jesus just being overwhelmed with what was before him and asking the Father,

if possible, that he wouldn't have to die on the cross, he wouldn't have to drink the cup. And

that's immediately, that's just happened before that. And here we come, scene one. Scene one,

the best and the brightest. Scene one, the best and the brightest. And it goes like this, verse 43.

And immediately, while Jesus was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd

with swords and clubs from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Now, they're the best and

the brightest in two senses. The first one is about Judas. Notice that Judas is introduced as one of the

twelve. So why is that significant? I'll tell you a story. Some of you have heard this story before.

But before Louise and I married, there was a period where I knew her for several years,

and I was in love with her. But she wasn't in love with me. And there's this one season where she's

with, she's dating this other fellow, and we'll just call him Bob. And by coincidence, on a Sunday

night, I arrived at the same time as Louise and Bob at this thing where you'd hear folk music and

eat snacks and stuff like that. And I was friends with them, and I sat with them. And we left our

coats because it was cold, and we went, just Bob and I, to the little window to buy some food.

And I ordered my, whatever it was, coffee probably, and some food. And then Bob comes up, and it's his

turn, and he says, he's looked at the menu, and he says, Louise would like this and this. That's what

I'm going to get for her. And when he said that, it was like a dagger went into my heart because I knew

that I didn't have the vaguest idea in the world what Louise would like. It was a sign of their intimacy

with each other and his knowledge of her that I didn't have. So when Judas is introduced as one of the

12, what it's saying is, imagine that Lisa, Maureen, and myself, and Shannon, and I don't know, and Hudson,

we're with Jesus, and we go to the market because Jesus has come to, he's going to do some speaking

that night, and we've gone to the market to get some food. And we all pick out the things we like.

And then Judas says, I'm going to get those olives because those are the type that Jesus likes.

And I'm going to get that cut of meat, that cut of meat, because that's the type of meat that Jesus

really likes. And the four of us just are looking. Like, we don't have the vaguest idea what olive or

what cut of meat that Jesus would like, but Judas does. He's intimate with Jesus.

And the others, they, Mark doesn't write their title, but what he does is he breaks it down to

who they are. And so how we are to understand that is that they are the best and the brightest. You

imagine Canada, you've heard this before, imagine you get the true elite, like the best of the best

of the best in law, the best of the best of the best in culture, the best of the best of the best in

society, in education, in government, in education, in business, and even in the land. You get the best

of the first nations people who love the land. And you bring all of them together as a group. And

they're the best of the best of the best in Canada. They're the people who most Canadians, we just, if we

needed really good insight or advice about this, that's where we go. They have the training, they have

the knowledge, they have the experience, they have the commitments, they have the social, these are

where we go for that, for these types of just the smartest, wisest, best way forward. And that's who he

has just listed. So in other words, he's just listed the best and the brightest. But you look, and look at

verse 43, they're coming with swords and clubs. Now, one of the things I tell people when I'm trying to

help them to learn how to preach, is that when you come to a narrative, never assume that the next

step of the narrative is necessary. Like, look at what happens next. You see, what happens is, you

know, if you're preparing the talk, you've read the story 20, 30, 40 times, like it's very obvious to

you. And for Christians who've heard this story many times, it's obvious to you. And on one level,

from the point of view of how the gospel describes human sin and power and how the gospel is described,

on one hand, you look at it and there's an internal logic as to why the next thing is going to happen.

But on the outside, it's not obvious that that's the next step. I mean, you know, those of us who

watch certain types of movies and read certain types of books, it could very well be that Judas has

been warned that, in fact, the story where Jesus says that whoever betrays me, it'd be better if

they had never lived, that it's very possible, if there was a modern filmmaker making this story,

that that cuts them to the heart, that they get convicted. And so what they're doing is they're

doing some type of double cross with the chief priests and the scribes. Or maybe that they've now,

he's convicted them of the errors of their ways and they've come to protect Jesus. It's not obvious

what's going to happen next. Like, not really obvious. So what does happen next? Well, let's look.

The next scene, scene two. The mask begins to slip. The mask begins to slip. Verse 44. Let's look.

Now, the betrayer had given them a sign. Actually, more literally would be a signal. The betrayer had

given them a signal, saying, the one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard.

Now, here's a, what the thing which is very interesting about this is that Judas has now had a

second introduction. He's introduced first as one of the 12. The guy, as I said, that if, you know,

we were going to the market, he'd know the olives that Jesus would like better than other olives.

By the way, Jesus would have had favorite types of olives. He would have probably said that his mom

made the best pita bread. I mean, he was human. That's just how it works, right? And so, but so

first he's introduced as one of the intimate ones who knows Jesus really well. And now he's introduced

as the betrayer, as the betrayer. And he gives a signal about how they're going to seize Jesus.

Now, here's the thing which is very interesting. Probably every single one of us has been betrayed.

And many of us have probably been betrayed many times.

And in fact, if I was just to say, this was maybe a retreat, we're going to take a couple of minutes.

I'd just like you to write down on a piece of paper, I know it might be hard,

write down a time that involves you in betrayal.

So something is happening here to Jesus, which is deeply, deeply human.

But there's also something happening here in the story, which if we're attentive,

is going to pierce our hearts.

What is that?

My guess is that if I was to ask you to write down, that had that exercise,

write down betrayal, something involving your life and betrayal,

98% of us would put down a time that we'd been betrayed.

But the fact of the matter is that almost definitely everyone here is also betrayed.

We have betrayed others, betrayed the truth, betrayed a confidence.

What does it say about our heart that when we think of betrayal,

we think of ourselves as victims and not as sinners?

We think of ourselves as victims, passive, and not our active acts of betrayal.

Now I said 98%, several of us, I mean partly that's why there's counseling,

are struggling, maybe we've come here this morning,

just struggling because it's been so hard for us to get over the fact that we've betrayed

something or someone deeply and it's caused lots of trouble and it's hurt us.

But this story, you see, you know, there's a verse in the Bible,

it's not going to be on your screen, I'm just going to say it by memory,

it's Psalm 36, 2.

And, you know, you can take all of the depth psychology that's been developed

over the last hundreds of years.

And obviously there's insights in that.

I'm not anti-reading, I'm not anti-knowledge,

but very few of them can surpass Psalm 36, verse 2, that says,

Psalms 36:2

we flatter ourselves too much to detect or hate our own sin.

We flatter ourselves too much to detect or hate our own sin.

That is a profound insight about human nature.

So if you could put up the first point,

the event that just happened before this,

which you can listen to last week's sermon,

I'm not going to rehearse the whole thing,

is Jesus overcome with anguish and sorrow,

and so overcome that he collapses on the ground,

calling out to God.

And I didn't go into it, and it's a topic for some other day.

This is a prayer that Jesus prays where the Father says no to him.

And Jesus says,

Abba, Father, all things are possible for you.

If possible, may this cup be taken from me.

And he's talking about the fact that on the cross,

he's going to bear the sin and the shame of all of humanity,

every human being that's ever lived.

He's going to have that be on him.

He's going to taste that.

He's going to drink it down into himself.

And the Father says no.

I mean, it's just obvious it says no.

And Jesus, it's obvious as the story goes on,

is fine with the Father's no.

But here's the first point.

It is because Jesus did not betray love and justice

that betrayers and the betrayed

can be made right with the triune God.

See, in a sense, if Jesus has said,

You know what?

The heck with this.

You know, the betrayers and the betrayed sucks to be you.

I'm not going to go through this.

If he had betrayed, in a sense, who he was,

his whole mission, his whole purpose,

and his whole mission and purpose is a mission of love

and a mission of justice.

It is because Jesus did not betray love and justice

that betrayers and the betrayed

can be made right with the triune God.

Now, I talked about the fact that

once you're inside the gospel,

you start to understand its deep emotional power.

And I'm going to get to that in a moment.

So first of all, you see that this story,

we see Jesus is betrayed by an intimate friend,

and he's betrayed by the best and the brightest.

And that would be a deep wound for every single one of us.

But there's also another deep wound

that comes from his intimate friend

and ultimately from the best and the brightest.

Let's look and see what it is.

It's scene three.

Scene three, and it's entitled,

Mocked and Seized.

Scene three, verses 45 and 46.

Here's how it goes.

And when Judas came,

he went up to him at once and said,

Rabbi!

And Judas kissed Jesus,

and they laid hands on him and seized him.

Now, the first thing here is just a bit of a,

I have to bring this up as an aside.

You know, basically what this is showing,

it's really showing us something about Jesus,

is that the normal way he was greeted

was by somebody coming up

and putting their hands on his shoulders,

and he puts his hands on theirs,

and they do a kiss.

Jesus isn't sort of an austere,

an austere, patrician, aristocratic person

who just needs to be, you know,

don't touch me.

He hugged.

I'm not a hugger.

It's a bit of a challenge to me.

But Jesus is a personable guy.

He's with people.

He's with you.

If you were with him back then,

you could have done that with him.

That's who Jesus was.

But what's going on,

it's not obvious in the English.

It's obvious in the original language.

And that is that in the rabbi

is said in a way

which is lavish and showy.

So what he's really doing is mocking.

It would be as if

on Saturday Night Live,

they wanted to bring out

somebody dressed like Trump,

and they'd say,

the next president

of the United States of America!

And if they did that,

everybody would laugh and howl

because they're mocking Trump.

Just to be politically neutral,

it would be as if

just over a year ago

with the trucker's convoy,

Trudeau decided

he would actually go out

to see them.

And the organizers said,

Justin Trudeau,

the Prime Minister of Canada!

And he'd be mocking him,

wouldn't they?

They'd be mocking him.

And that's what Judas does to Jesus.

Judas mocks Jesus.

And if you watch any of those

coming-of-age movies

where the kids are bullied,

and somebody makes fun

of the kid,

and the kid has their

one or two weak,

wimpy,

skinny,

nerdy friends,

and the mocker

is surrounded

by the football team,

the basketball team,

the rugby team,

and every other team,

or all the mean girls,

they're not only mocked,

but they're mocked

in the presence of people

who can overwhelm them

and also don't like them.

And that's what happens

to Jesus.

And being mocked

is deeply wounding.

There is not a single one

of us here

who has not been mocked.

And it is deeply wounding.

And there's also

no one here

who has not mocked others.

And we have flattered

ourselves too much

to detect or hate

our own sin.

But you see,

here is where we

start to have

a bit of a glimpse

of the deep emotional

power and beauty

of those

for whom the gospel

becomes real.

And the gospel

is the good news

of who Jesus is

and what he's done

for you.

And how

he desires you

to be his child,

his friend,

his disciple,

and he will never

abandon you

or forsake you.

And that when you

put your trust in him,

he is the one

who does everything

that needs to have

been done

to make you right

with the creator

and sustainer

and the completer

of the entire universe.

And he has done it

all for you

in your place.

And you put your faith

and trust in him

and you become

his child forever

as the Holy Spirit

indwells you.

You're given the gift

of new life.

But what flows

out of that

is this potential

for deep emotional

connection

and blessing.

You see,

if you think about it

for a second,

in a sense,

in our culture,

there's three primary

rivals to the gospel.

And one of them,

of course,

is Buddhism.

Buddhism.

But what is the

primary image of Buddha?

What is the image

of Buddha you see

in gardens?

You see a well-fed

man with a look

of, in a sense,

peace and indifference

to the world

who has transcended

desire.

Islam.

And when you think

of Islam,

the heart of Islam

is that everything

has been

decided in advance.

And you just need

to accept your fate.

And in the type

of basically

the soft agnosticism

of secularism,

when you've been

mocked and betrayed

and if you have

no friends

because you've been

mocked and betrayed

by your friends,

where do you go

for solace?

Where do you go

for comfort?

But for a Christian,

when you are struggling

with betrayal

or with mockery,

you can pour out

your heart

to Jesus

who has been

betrayed and mocked.

If you could put up

the second point,

Claire,

when you are

betrayed and mocked,

you can pour out

your sorrows

and your fears

to the one

who knows

the full sting

of being mocked

and betrayed,

Jesus.

That is part

of the deep

emotional beauty

and power

once the gospel

becomes more real

to your heart.

Now,

the next part

is surprisingly

relevant.

We live

in a weaponized

country.

Now,

I am not talking

about our military,

which seems

to have procurement

problems

and has

for many decades,

but we all know

that there are

certain topics.

I was just talking

to a fellow,

a non-Christian fellow

on Saturday,

and he knows

that if he wants,

he's now discovered

there are certain things

he can discuss with me

and I won't get mad

at him

and call him names.

And when he talks

about them,

he looks around

and he whispers.

He talks very quietly.

And we all know

that there are

certain types of

truths,

cultural truths

in our country

right now

that if you challenge

them,

you will be

canceled.

That, in a sense,

is that certain

opinions

have been

weaponized.

And interestingly

enough,

these next two

scenes

deal

with

weaponizing

statements.

Let's look

at the first one.

It's scene

number four.

It's

verse 47,

weaponizing

Jesus

with a question

mark.

Hopefully,

you can see

it up there.

Weaponizing

Jesus

with a question

mark.

Let's look

and see

what the

Bible says.

Verse 47.

But one

of those

who stood

by

drew

his sword

and struck

the servant

of the high

priest

and cut

off

his ear.

Now,

those of you

who are really

familiar with

the Bible,

you're probably

wondering,

why doesn't

it talk

about Peter?

Why doesn't

it talk

about the

name of

the servant?

Why doesn't

it talk

about what

Jesus does?

And all

of that.

And just

the way

that Mark

chose to

write his

gospel,

often what

Mark does,

the way he

writes,

is he's

less,

in a sense,

preachy.

He's more

the type

that just

puts two

things together.

And those

who really

are seeking

the truth

will see

the contrast

of the two

things.

He doesn't

sort of draw

all sorts

of arrows

to it

and frowny

faces or

something,

thumbs up

emojis,

you know,

and the

other ones

with smiley

faces and

all on the

next one.

He just

sort of

puts the

two of

them together

and in

a sense,

if we're

seeking the

truth,

if we put

the two

stories,

we can

just see

what he's

doing.

And so he

doesn't go

into all of

this stuff.

He just

has this

one incident

of this

guy taking

out the

sword to

defend Jesus

and his

mission.

And then

we see the

second story,

how Jesus

reacts and

what Jesus

does.

It's scene

number five,

verses 48 to

49, and

its title is

The Patient

Speaking of

the Truth.

Right?

Scene four is

weaponizing Jesus

in quotation

marks.

Scene five is

the patient

speaking of

the truth.

Verses 48 and

49, look what

happens in the

Bible.

And Jesus

said to them,

have you come

out as

against a

robber with

swords and

clubs to

capture me?

Day after day

I was with

you in the

temple teaching

and you did

not seize me,

but let the

scriptures be

fulfilled.

Now, some of

your translations

say different

words.

They might have

revolutionary,

they might have

some other word

than robber,

and basically

in English

there's no

really good

word to

translate it.

what links

all of them

is that this

is a person

of violence.

So it's not

the people

trying to get

you to give

them your

password and

your information

by scamming

you with

messages or

emails or

something like

that.

This is the

heart of the

image, whether

you use robber

or brigand

or revolutionary,

it's a person

of violence.

A person of

violence.

So once again,

hear what

Jesus says,

verse 48,

and Jesus

said to them,

have you come

out as against

a person of

violence,

with swords

and clubs

to capture

me?

Day after day

I was with

you in the

temple teaching,

and you did

not seize me,

but let the

scriptures be

fulfilled.

So in a sense,

what we see

here is that

in a sense,

Jesus is looking

at Judas and

says,

Judas,

like,

was I taking

you out into

the desert to

show you how

to fight with

a sword,

and how to

use a bow

and arrow,

and how to

use shields,

and how to

use spears?

Like,

were we robbing

Romans,

and have I been

setting up like a

place in a cave

somewhere where

we've been

stockpiling weapons?

Do you think

that when you

come to me that

I have a sword

and a dagger

and a shield

and who knows

what else,

ninja things

to throw at

people?

people?

And he's

saying the

same thing

to the

chief priests

and the

scribes,

and all

those other

people.

He said,

listen,

you know I'm

not a man

of violence,

and you know

that I haven't

been just

lurking out

in the

wilderness

trying to

hide from

people while

I stir up

rebellion and

revolution.

I sit at

the teacher,

my teaching

is public.

It's open

to everybody.

It's an

open secret.

I just tell

people my

heart.

I just speak

what the

scriptures say.

The scriptures

that you,

the best and

the brightest,

you're supposed

to know these

scriptures.

You're supposed

to be expert

in them.

You're supposed

to, your whole

vow of your

life is that you

will study them

and that you

will put them

into practice

and that you

will guide us

and you're

supposed to

know those

things and

all I've done

is all I've

done, all I've

done is say

time and time

again, let the

scriptures be

fulfilled.

Here are the

scriptures, let

them be fulfilled,

let them be

lived, let them

be for us

now.

That's all I've

done.

See, what's

going on here

is Jesus just

speaks the truth

patiently.

But Judas

and the best

and the brightest

have believed

lies.

They have

believed lies.

And everything

about this

story shows

the very nature

of the lie.

You see, people

of the lie

love darkness,

not light.

People of the

lie know that

because there's

nothing underneath

a lie that

you need to

control the

narrative.

You need to

have force.

You need to

weaponize lies.

You need to

have no witnesses.

You need to

control the

narrative.

You need to

multiply lies.

You need to

set inquiries

which just

boldly,

bold-facedly

lie.

You need to

scream your

lies.

The truth can

be whispered.

lies must

shout you

down,

must badger

you,

harass you,

frighten you

into agreeing

or being

silent.

If you could

put up the

third point,

Claire.

When you

put your

trust in

Jesus to

be your

Savior and

Lord,

he saves

you from

the people

of the

lie and

makes you

a citizen

of the

realm of

truth.

When you

put your

trust in

Jesus to

be your

Savior and

your Lord,

he saves

you from

the people

of the

lie and

makes you

a citizen

of the

realm of

truth.

This is

all the

Old Testament

teaching.

This is

going right

back to

Genesis

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3.

Did God

really say?

Did God

really say?

And even

Adam said,

yeah, you

know, did

God really

say?

I think

that looks

like a,

he just

doesn't want

me to be

like a

God.

That's a

good path

to go.

And no,

I didn't

eat.

And no,

I didn't

do that.

And it's

not my

fault.

It's their

fault.

I'm not

being

imperialistic

with this

because in

fact the

message of

the gospel

is that

every human

being is

born as

a citizen

of the

people of

the lie.

Every

human being.

It's not

that I'm

only a

person of

the truth.

I was

born a

citizen of

the people

of the

lie.

Part of

God's

common

grace to

humanity

is that

the lie

doesn't

overwhelm

you.

I think

that probably

for those

of you who

are Christians

and you

know that

the

unforgivable

sin,

I think

what the

unforgivable

sin is

describing is

a person

who so

consistently

closes their

mind and

their heart

and their

affections

to the

truth and

so completely

and utterly

believes the

lie and

multiplies the

lie that a

time comes

when they

can no

longer know

the truth.

They just

can't.

It is

lost to

them.

But most

of us and

those of you

watching are

not in that

place and

God in his

common grace

keeps us that

we both believe

lies but also

seek the

truths and

wrestle with

them.

And it's not

saying that

Christians are

all now

perfectly

virtuous and

only seek

the truth

because the

fact of the

matter is

that we

don't.

We Christians

live in what's

called the

already and

not yet.

On one hand

when I give

my life to

Christ the

Holy Spirit

indwells me.

Jesus makes

me born again

but I'm still

a sinner.

I still have a

big part of

me which is

part of the

people of

the lie.

But here's

the thing.

Here's the

thing.

that the

gospel forms

me to be

a person of

the truth.

And that

doesn't just

mean knowing

the truth of

the scriptures.

It means

knowing the

truth of

the world.

It means

knowing the

truth of

how economics

works.

It means

knowing the

truth of

how science

works.

It means

in a sense

that we

should not

just use

evidence-based

science which

by and large

in the media

means they're

about to

lie to us.

Generally

speaking in

the media if

you see

evidence-based

policy or

science it

usually means

they're going

to lie.

Sorry.

Maybe we're

going to get

banned from

YouTube.

But really

believe it.

That you want

evidence.

Like the

truth is your

friend.

Jesus is your

friend.

He's the

truth.

Clarity is

your friend.

And we want

to know the

truth about

things that are

going on in

our neighbors,

in our own

life, our own

heart.

It's emotional

truth.

It's aesthetic

truth.

It's moral

truth.

It's scientific

truth.

It's economic

truth.

It's administrative

truth.

It's philosophical

truth.

It's religious

truth.

It's truth.

And the

gospel forms

us to be

people of the

truth.

How does the

story end?

I have to wrap

up.

Well, it ends

with a cliffhanger.

Scene six is a

cliffhanger.

Look at what it

is.

Scene six is

carried, verses

50 to 52,

carried off by his

enemies, carried

off by his

enemies.

Look, it

happens in

verses 50 to

52.

And they all

left him and

fled.

And a young

man followed

Jesus with

nothing but a

linen cloth about

his body, and

they seized him,

but he left the

linen cloth and

ran away naked.

They flee to the

point of

nakedness.

To bring it to a

close, if you

could put up my

fourth point.

What is the

gospel?

I have already

said that one

way to understand

the gospel is

that because

Jesus did not

betray love and

justice, he is

the one who can

make betrayers and

betrayed right with

the triune God.

It's also to

understand that when

Jesus died, it was

the humble one

dying for the

proud.

It was the

faithful one dying

for the betrayers.

And it was truth

himself dying for

the followers of

the lie.

That is the

gospel.

The truth

himself dies for

those of us who

love lies.

The humble one

dies for those of

us who are proud.

The faithful one

dies for those of

us who are

betrayers.

That gripped by

who he is and

what he's done, we

might begin that

walk towards

humility.

That we might

begin that walk

towards being

people who are

known by our

faithfulness.

to being ones who

are known by our

pursuit of truth,

are willing to be

corrected, are

looking for

information, our

willingness to

change our minds

as we hear

arguments, not

weaponized threats.

In the face of

weaponized threats, we

might be silent, but

we say that is a

lie.

four things are

going to be very

brief, but you can

take pictures of

them if you want.

If you put up number

A or letter A, ask

the Lord to make the

gospel so real to your

heart that in every

facet of your life, you

will recognize and

reject lies.

ask the Lord.

Could you put up B?

Ask the Lord to make

the gospel so real to

your heart that in

every facet of your

life, you will humbly

seek to know the

truth, believe the

truth, and speak the

truth.

Ask the Lord for

this.

C.

Ask the Lord to make

the gospel so real to

your heart that you

will stop flattering

yourself too much to

detect or hate your

own sin.

Ask the Lord for

this.

First, the gospel

becomes real, and

then in the security

of the gospel, you

can look at the state

of your own heart.

And finally, D.

Ask the Lord to make

the gospel so real to

your heart that you

will not be so quick to

condemn the weakness

and failure of

others.

the disciples all

fled.

And it's easy for us

to condemn them.

But we don't know what

we would do in that own

case.

It doesn't mean that what

they did, I'm not saying

it wasn't wrong, but

there's a very powerful

part of us to condemn

others when we see

weakness in their lives.

So ask the Lord to make

the gospel so real to

your heart that you will

not be so quick to

condemn the weakness and

failure of others.

and please pray for me

that these four truths

would be real in my

life.

Invite you to stand at

this time.

Please stand.

Let's bow our heads in

prayer.

Father, we ask that the

gospel would become more

real to our hearts.

Father, if there are

there, those here or

those watching for whom

they have not yet come to

a point of putting their

trust in Jesus and knowing

him as their Savior and

Lord, Father, we ask that

the Holy Spirit would help

them to turn them to you.

help them to say that that

is what they know they

now need.

Maybe, Father, for some of

us who have been away from

the Lord for a long time,

we thank and praise you

that you have not been

away from us and that you

have never abandoned us

or let us go and that you

delight in the repentance

and return of your people.

And, Father, for all of us,

we ask that the gospel would

be more and more real to our

hearts, that we would

reject lies, that we would

pursue the truth, that we

would be very slow to

condemn and that we would

be open to the illumination

of your word and the

illumination of the Holy

Spirit to see those ways,

those devices and desires

within our own heart

whereby we flatter

ourselves too much to

detect our lies, our

betrayal, our mocking,

our lack of forgiveness,

our lack of generosity,

our lack of just, Father,

make the gospel real to our

hearts.

And we ask this in the name

of Jesus, your Son and our

Savior.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

theme, Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.