30 Pieces of Silver

Amen. And if you can turn your Bibles to John

13, 21 through 22. Amen. And then we will be

turning to Matthew 26, 15. Amen. And as always,

it's up there on the projector. It might be a

little tough to read, but amen. Nonetheless,

it's up there for you to read. Amen. So we'll

start with John. Amen. 13, 21 through 22. And

the word of the Lord reads like this. And after

he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit

and testified. Very truly, I tell you, one of

you is going to betray me. His disciples stared

at one another at a loss to know which of them

he meant. Amen. And in Matthew 26, 15, it reads,

and he asked, what are you willing to give me

if I deliver him over to you? So they counted

out for him. 30 pieces of silver. Amen. 30 pieces

of silver. Let us go before the Lord before we

take our seats. Heavenly Father, Lord, we come

before you today. We give you honor. We give

you glory. Lord, we ask you, Father Lord, to

anoint our ears, God. Lord, to receive your word

today that you anoint my lips of clay. Father

Lord, open up our hearts, our minds, God. Lord,

to receive your word, God, that we would adhere,

God, to what thus saith the Lord, God. Use me,

Father Lord, to speak your word today, God, and

help us, God, to understand the direction, Father

Lord. Help us to understand, Father Lord, the

things that we need to learn and know, Father

Lord. Lord, to strengthen our lives, to strengthen

our walk with you, God, and to strengthen our

spirit today, Lord. Lord, we ask you, Lord, to

have your way in your house today, Father. In

the name of Jesus, we pray. Everyone say, amen.

You may be seated. Amen. I want you to take a

very, very quick journey with me in your minds.

Amen. Picture a very cinematic, a very dramatic

scene. More so like the opening of a very dramatic

movie. You know how some movies start off very

slow, amen, and it kind of just gives you a glimpse

as far as where it's going to take you and, you

know, the plots and the twists that you're going

to encounter before it even starts. You kind

of already know, like, man, this thing's going

to be good, right? Now, I want you to do the

same with me as I describe. the scene and what's

going on here in our text. So just imagine that

it's dark and we're in the garden of Gethsemane,

right? It's dark. Maybe there's some evening

fog, amen, that's rolling through, amen. Maybe

you hear the crickets or the crackling of the

critters in the garden, right? And then suddenly

you hear torches flicker. Through the olive trees.

And then you hear these marching, amen, footsteps

of Roman soldiers, amen. And they're marching

behind temple guards. And then you hear the rattling

of the swords that are hinged onto their wayside,

amen. And you hear the clinging of the swords

wavering back and forth with each and every step,

amen. And then now picture Jesus as he... begins

to, as he finishes praying there and the disciples

are there with him. And I mean, the Bible says

that they were asleep. So they were probably

awakened by all this, confused because they thought

that they were the only ones there. And at the

front of the crowd, as they look up and they

try to picture to see who's with the Roman soldiers

and the guards, and they're kind of seeing through

the fog and through the nighttime, they notice

someone that is standing there. But they noticed

that this figure is not a guard. It's not a Roman

soldier or chief in command. It's their friend.

It's not a stranger. It's Judas. And for three

years, Judas walked beside Jesus. For three years,

he heard every sermon that Jesus preached and

spoke of. For three years, he witnessed every

single miracle. And for three years, he ate at

the same table and broke bread with Jesus. For

three years, he watched blind eyes open, lepers

healed, and dead people raised from the dead.

And now picture him as he walks towards Jesus.

Now mind you, the disciples are standing behind

Jesus and they're probably baffled and whispering

to each other, what's going on and why is Judas

standing on the other side? And why is he not

here standing with all of us? And as he walks

towards Jesus, he doesn't carry a sword with

him. He doesn't open his mouth to any accusations,

doesn't look at any of the disciples. He simply

walks straight up to the master, to the one that

he had access to for three straight years with

a kiss. This is a symbol of affection that becomes

a weapon of betrayal. When he greets Jesus with

the kiss, he says, Greetings, Rabbi. He acknowledges

the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Judas

knows who his master is. He kisses the face of

the one who he loved and the one who loved him.

And Jesus looks back at Judas, not with hatred,

not with revenge, but says, friend, do what you

came to do. Imagine the moment. Imagine the stillness

of that moment. Imagine the disciples gasping

for breath, taken back by what they've just witnessed,

realizing that at the Last Supper, The person

that Jesus spoke of, of whom was going to betray

him, has now been revealed. Imagine the heads

turning and the questions being asked at that

exact moment. The disciples were stunned. Heaven

is silent. Hell is celebrating. But here's a

question I have for each and every one of you

today. Judas being so close to God. walking with

him, eating with him, witnessing everything that

God had done, the miracles, the raising of the

dead, all of that, sitting in his company, leaving

the Lord and being with him at his beck and call.

God was there. He was with him on every journey.

He was with him with every step. How could someone

being this close to God, how could he get here?

How could he be on the other side of the table?

How could he be the one that betrayed the master?

Now Judas didn't wake up deciding that he was

going to betray Jesus. And the kiss wasn't the

beginning. Silver wasn't the beginning. The money

wasn't the beginning. The garden was not the

beginning. The betrayal began long before the

kiss. It began in his heart. It began. In his

mind. The one thing that Judas had. That all

of us have today. That I mentioned a few minutes

ago. Was that Judas had. Access. To God. And

this is where. I want to begin. Judas having

access. The access. To the master. In John 13

18. It reads. I know who I have chosen. Because

Jesus chose Judas just like he chose the other

11 disciples. He didn't choose Judas because

he knew that one day he would be fooled. He didn't

choose Judas because he knew that one day he

was going to make a very grave mistake. Jesus

knew all of this. He knew what Judas was going

to do in the Garden of Gethsemane. He knew who

Judas was when they sat down at the Last Supper.

Yet, he still gave Judas full and complete access

to him. Judas wasn't an outsider. Judas wasn't

an atheist. Judas wasn't a Roman soldier. He

wasn't a Pharisee. Judas was one of the twelve.

And for a short moment, I want to preach on the

topic 30 pieces of silver. Because we need to

understand that it was never about the money.

And it had nothing to do with those 30 pieces

of silver. Judas was one of the 12 of God's chosen.

He sat where Peter sat. He heard what John heard.

He saw what James saw. He had a front row seat

to the kingdom. And consider all these things

that Judas experienced. He saw water come from

wine. He saw five loaves feed thousands of people.

Lazarus walked out of the tomb. Storms obeying

Jesus. Demons fleeing. He heard the sermon on

the mount. He heard every parable. He held the

money back. Which means he was trusted. He was

the treasurer. And you know that to sit in that

position, you've got to be trusted. There's got

to be a level of trust. Judas had that. Or we

should say he had in the bag. No pun intended.

But he traveled with Jesus. He laughed with Jesus.

He ate beside Jesus. He had direct access to

Jesus. Yet sometimes we need to be reminded that

access alone does not equal surrender. I don't

think we realize sometimes the access in which

I'm referring to. I want you to think about a

friend or a loved one that you've kept close

to you. Someone that you've trusted. Someone

that you live with and share your life with.

You know, as I contemplated this, I thought about

my grandfather. There were times because we lived

with my grandparents growing up. And there were

times when my grandfather would go to the kitchen

table. And he would set up his Bibles. And he

would have his commentary in his Bibles. And

you knew when grandpa was getting ready to study

the Word of God, he would take out his magnifying

glass. Because he needed help reading. He would

take out all the heavy artillery, Bishop. Set

it all up. Amen. And every time I saw my grandpa

do this, I would cringe. Now, mind you, I was

a young man. I was a young boy. And during the

summertime when my grandma and grandpa would

have all my cousins there, there was at least

12 or 15 of us. I lost count, but there was a

lot of us there. And as soon as the sun... Amen.

Rose. Amen. And the sun hung high up in the sky.

We all knew it was time to go outside because

back then we didn't have iPads. We didn't have

cable TV. We didn't have none of that stuff.

So as soon as the sun came out, they kicked us

out the house. All of us. It was time to play.

It was time. But I remember these moments because

when I saw my grandpa set all of this material

up. I would just walk out, just anticipating

my grandpa to yell out, Antonio, which is my

middle name, Anthony. And when I was in trouble,

it was David. When my grandpa called me, it was

Antonio. And sometimes the level of my being

in trouble, it would be Antonio. Either way,

I couldn't win. David, Antonio, I was either

in trouble or they wanted me to do something.

Nonetheless, my grandpa would call out, Antonio.

Ben. My plans of going outside and playing with

my cousins were canceled. Because there were

moments where I would sit there and my grandpa

would speak to me in Spanish. And he would hand

over the English Bible to me. And he would tell

me to read along as he read in Spanish, he would

ask me to read in English. And I would read out

loud and, you know, sometimes I would sit there

and I would say, well, Grandpa, how come I can't

go out and play? How come you're calling me,

Grandpa? Why do I have to be here? It's hard

in here. We have no AC. We had one of those big

old swamp coolers. You had to go outside every

like hour to fill up with water. Amen. And so,

you know, someone had to go outside to do it.

But I would say it's so hot in here. Why would

you? And I remember this young man, I would complain

a lot until I finally got a little older and

I was realizing what my grandpa was doing. Now,

mind you, all of my cousins, they all had their

different relationships with my grandfather,

but this was mine. And now that I'm older, I

understand. That it was a privilege to sit on

the table with him. My pastor, excuse me, my

grandfather has passed away and he's gone on

to be with the Lord. But my grandpa was also

a minister. He went to Bible college. He was

an assistant pastor. He would have became a pastor.

I didn't understand what my grandpa was doing.

My grandpa in his own way was training. He was

teaching. He was lifting. He was encouraging.

And now, you know, as I sit there, as I sat here

and I was thinking and pondering on these things.

I thank God for those times and I thank God for

those moments because even though we all had

our different relationship with my grandfather,

the one thing that I had privilege to was access

to his wisdom, access to his teachings, access

to his understanding, access to his knowledge

of the word of God. And as I see ministers and

pastors and bishops would come and they would

come visit my grandpa, they would sit down and

you knew it was business because he would go

out to the back far table. And that's where they

would go to talk. And a lot of times these are

the conversations that I would have with my grandfather

was that back table. And so I want you to understand

and grasp that when we talk about these things

and we mention that these 12 men had access to

Jesus Christ the way we do now because the veil

ripped. And even though God is not here, he was

then there manifested in the flesh. They could

hear his voice and they could hear his prayers.

They could hear his teachings. This was the access

that they had. This was the access that Judas

had. This is the access that I am referring to

today. The countless hours, amen, of sitting

beside my grandfather as he read his Bible, reading

the scripture, learning the word, listening to

him pray, watching his life. These moments are

the moments that shape me. And those are the

moments that help shape the 12 disciples. But

being close to someone changes you. Amen? Can

you all agree? Being close to someone like that

changes you when you allow it to. When you allow

it to change you. When you take in what you're

being told. When you're taking in the understanding.

When you're taking in the teachings. When you're

taking in the lessons. If you allow it to, if

you allow it to, it will shape and it will mold

you. Romans 12, 2, it reads, And do not be conformed

to this world, but be transformed by the renewing

of your mind, that you may prove what is good

and acceptable and perfect will of God. Closeness

to God will change how you think and how you

view the world around you. Jesus had something

even greater than all that we all have today,

is that he had Jesus all to himself. Yet proximity

never replaced personal surrender. Even being

that close to Jesus, Judas became the one who

betrayed him. In Hebrews 4 .16 it says, Let us

therefore come boldly to the throne of grace,

that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help

in time of need. We have access because the veil

was torn, as I mentioned a few minutes ago. We

have that same indirect access. We have that

same proximity. We have that same closeness today.

But that doesn't mean that there is not room

for us to make a mistake and deny what we have.

What Judas only experienced physically, you and

I now get to experience spiritually. But here's

the key. Here's the takeaway. John 15, 5. It

says, I am the vine. You are the branches. He

who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit.

For without me, you can do nothing. Abide in

me. Now notice Jesus doesn't say, visit me. Jesus

doesn't say attend church every Sunday. Jesus

doesn't say just listen to the sermon and you

will be okay. What is Jesus saying? Jesus is

saying to remain. To stay connected. You can

know scripture. You can serve in ministry. You

can carry the highest and the most prestigious

position in the church. You can stand on the

platform. You can sing on the praise team. You

can preach the sermons. But you can still lose

your way. Revelations chapter 2, 4 -5. It talks

Revelation 2 · chapter mention

about the church of Ephesus. Amen. And how FES,

they had doctrine. They had works. They were

praised for it. They persevered. They had talent.

They had ability. They had all these things.

But you know what happened? Their hearts drifted

away from God. Their hearts drifted away from

their first love. And when we forsake our first

love, we forsake our God. Access to Jesus is

a privilege. Abiding in Jesus is a choice. In

1 John 2, chapter 2, verse 6, it says, whoever

claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.

That if we keep his commandments, as it says

in John 15, 10, that we will abide in his love

and we will have kept his father's commandments

and abide in his love. We need to understand

that these choices have to be made daily. Every

morning that we wake up, we have a decision to

make. We have a choice to make. The most coveted

positions will not protect you. Amen. The ministry

will not protect you. Amen. Your mom, your father,

your dad, your brother, your wife, your husband

cannot protect you. You have to make the decision

for yourself. Choose you this day whom you shall

serve. Every day that we wake up is a decision

to keep his commandments. It is a decision to

live for Christ according to his word. So if

access was not enough, Then what happened before

the betrayal? Something changed in Judas' life.

Something changed in Judas' mind. It wasn't his

hands because he used his hands to work. It wasn't

his feet because he used his feet to walk with

Jesus. It wasn't his body because he was physically

there with God. What changed in Judas? The thing

that changed in Judas was his mind. This brings

us to point two, which is the entry. First is

access to Jesus Christ, full access to God. Now

we're going to talk about what happened to Judas.

Amen. In Luke 22, verse 3, it reads, Then Satan

Luke 22:3

entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who has numbered

among the twelve. I probably butchered that.

But we're talking about Judas. Satan entered

Judas. And notice that Satan didn't force Judas.

Satan did not threaten Judas. Satan did not come

by way of a friend, a family member. He didn't.

He entered Judas. What does that mean? What does

that tell us? That tells us that there was an

opening. Judas was, he left his gates unguarded.

Judas left an opening and the devil was able

to enter. How could a man of that statue, how

could a man that close to God allow something

like this to happen? How could someone who was

hearing the sermons, watching the miracles as

they happened, listen to the parables, walking

and talking with God, eating with God, how could

something like this happen to Judas? John gives

us another detail to this. In John 13, 2, it

says, And supper began being ended, the devil

having already put into the heart of Judas, Simon's

son to betray him. There was a deposit that Judas

allowed to be made. Where? In his heart. The

devil had already prompted Judas. The devil had

already compromised the gates. Satan, before

entering, entered through a thought. The thought

came first. Then the agreement. Then action.

We need to understand today that our thoughts

will determine our behavior. Proverbs 23, 7 reads,

for as a man thinketh in his heart, so shall

he be. Do you know how powerful you are today?

Do you know how powerful you are? Do you know

how much power God has given you? The Bible speaks

about speaking with boldness and speaking with

authority. Amen? Amen? Amen. That he has given

us power. Amen? A peace and of a sound mind.

The Holy Spirit, right? He's given us that as

a weapon. He's given us that to recover. He's

given us the Spirit of God to run to, to be saved

from. Amen? To inhabit in. A safe place. That's

what he's giving unto us. But do you know how

powerful you are that if you allow a simple thought

to be deposited into your mind, into your heart,

do you know that you have the ability to feed

that thought? To feed what was placed into your

heart? Sometimes we allow people to do this to

us. Sometimes we allow situations to compromise

our walk with Christ. Sometimes we allow situations

to compromise our trust in God, our trust in

our brothers and our sisters, sometimes even

in our spouses. Because the Bible said that the

devil is lurking and he roams to and fro as a

roaring lion. Don't think for once that the enemy

sleeps. You know what he does? He just waits

in the weeds. He hides in the weeds. He hides

in your home. He hides behind the pot way, way,

way, way back, amen, in your cabinet. And it's

always the one that I cannot find. And it's just

way back there and you got to pull everything

out, right? He hides in those places because

he doesn't want you to know that he's there.

And he's listening. He's listening to the argument.

He's listening to the conversation. He's listening

to the things that you are sharing with your

loved ones. Amen. He's listening to the things

that you're going through. He's hearing those

things when you're walking in your kitchen, in

your living room, and you're saying to yourself,

man, this is too hard. I don't think I could

do this anymore. You know what, pastor? He just

doesn't understand. I think we should do this

or that. Or you know what? My wife, she doesn't

understand me. Or my husband, he just doesn't

get me. And he hears. conversations and then

suddenly amen you get a thought plopped into

your head well maybe you should leave your husband

well you know what you've gone to Bible College

you know the Word of God why don't you go start

your own church Why don't you leave your church

and go somewhere else? They don't appreciate

you there. Nobody sees you there. Nobody understands

you there. Why don't you just go and leave? And

then you know what we do? Because we're not guarded.

Because we're not firmly, amen, standing in the

word of God like we should be. We're caught and

we're made vulnerable in those moments of weaknesses.

And then we start to entertain those thoughts.

You know what? You are right. They don't see

me at my church. Or you know what? You are right.

You know what? My wife, she, she, I've been married

for 20 years. You know what? She doesn't get

me. I'm probably better off over here. Or you

know what? My husband, he, you know what? I'm

better off with that other guy. And then the

thought started. And it starts to grow and it

starts to grow and it starts. It's almost like

a like like an anvil. That's right. It starts

off small. It starts. And then it starts to grow

and it gains momentum because every day instead

of praying and instead of rebuking these thoughts

and instead of coming against the enemy every

day, we're feeding into it. We're feeding into

it. We're feeding into it. And then by the time

you know it, your thoughts are now controlling

and now determining your behavior. You have now

become a slave to your own thought. That's how

powerful you are. That's how powerful you are.

That you can create something in your heart.

You can create something in your mind. And over

time, you feed it and you feed it. And now you

become a slave to it. This is what happened to

Judas. This is how spiritual warfare works, my

friend. This is how spiritual warfare works,

church. This is how spiritual warfare works,

brother, sister. The enemy doesn't begin with

your behavior. The enemy begins with a suggestion.

Every action starts with a thought. James 1,

14 through 15, it says, but each person is tempted

when they are dragged away from their own evil

desire and enticed. Then after desire has convened,

it gives birth to sin. And sin, when it is full

grown, gives birth to death. Each person is tempted

when they are dragged away by their own evil

desire. evil desire. What does that tell you?

You know what that tells you? That when you stop

praying and you stop trusting and you stop reading

your word and you slowly start to let go, you

know what starts to happen? You start drifting

away. You start drifting away. Judas started

drifting away. He started drifting away. Amen.

I can imagine Judas when the Lord said, hey,

Judas, come on. It's time to eat. Oh, you know

what, God? I got this thing to do over here.

You know what? I'll catch you guys later. Hey,

Judas, come on. It's time to read the word. Come

on. You got the 11 here. Come on. You're the

only one left. Oh, you know what, Lord? I got

a headache. I got a headache. I got a headache.

I know you can pray for me, Lord. I know you

can in my head. But you know what? I must sit

this one out. I think I need to drink more water.

It's too hot in here. I think I need to take

a break. I need a time out, Lord. Or the new

one. I need a mental health day. I need to step

away. And don't mind. There's nothing wrong with

that. There's nothing wrong with that whatsoever.

But we need to understand what this does to us.

And these things come and we think that they're

a good thing. We think that sometimes it's good

to take a break. And it is. But you have to recognize

and have discernment when you start to drift

away from the master. When you start to step

away and now you're too far gone. And now you're

at a point where you don't realize, how did I

get here? Notice the progression. First it's

desire. Then it's conception. Then it's sin.

Then it's death. Sin has a pregnancy. It begins

small. It grows quietly. Then eventually it gives

birth. Judas' decision to betray Jesus wasn't

about the 30 pieces of silver. It wasn't about

that at all. In Matthew 26, 14 to 15, it says,

then one of the 12, the one who called Judas,

went to the chief priest and asked, what are

you willing to give me if I deliver him over

to you? So they counted out 30 pieces of silver,

and from then Judas watched for an opportunity

to hand him over. In the book of Exodus, 30 pieces

of silver was the legal price required to compensate

an owner if an ox had gored a slave to death.

Because you know they worked out in the field

and back then they didn't have tractors. They

didn't have John Deere. They had John Ox. And

if you know what an ox looks like, these things

are huge. They're these huge beasts, right? And

back then they used them to pull the plow. If

a slave was injured and a slave lost his life,

this was the compensation for a slave. This was

the price of a slave. This also shows how lowly

the chief priest valued Jesus. Not everybody

that you go to for help is going to value your

God the same way you do. And this is why we need

to be careful. And this is why, especially now,

and you want to know what prompted this thought,

this sermon today? It's because all the stuff

that's going on in the world today and everything

that's going on around us, you know what we are

busy doing? We are busy paying attention. What's

going on in the Middle East and what's happening

here and there was a shooting here and there

was something here and this person here and we

got to do this and we're distracted. We're distracted.

And sometimes when you're distracted, or I should

say all the time when you're distracted, that's

when we give way to the enemy. That's when we

give way to those thoughts. Because your eyes,

your ears, and your mouth are gates. The Bible

says that we should pray so that the Lord, the

Spirit, will guard our hearts and guard our minds.

Amen. That there's a spiritual hedge around our

mind and around our hearts. So that when the

devil fires off those fiery darts, the Spirit

of God is going to protect us from every thought,

every worry, every concern. So that our main

concern would not just be pleasing our spouse,

not just be pleasing our boss, not just be pleasing

our children, not just doing what we have to

do, but pleasing the Almighty God. The interesting

thing about the silver and why Judas' betrayal

was never about the money, because remember,

Judas was a treasurer. He had access to money.

And John tells us that Judas would dip in every

now and then. Yeah, that's right. In John 12,

4 -6, he said, but one of his disciples, Judas,

Simon's son, who would betray him. He said, why

was this fragrant oil not sold for 300 denarii

and given to the poor? Then he said, not that

he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief.

And he had money, and he had a money box. And

he used to take what was put in it. This is another

reason why it had nothing to do with the money.

The betrayal didn't have nothing to do with 30

pieces of silver. He regularly stole from the

money bag. And if Judas wanted money, he had

access to it. 30 pieces of silver was not life

-changing wealth for someone who already was

stealing. 30 pieces makes no sense. But because

it wasn't about the money. The silver was the

visible transaction. But the thought that was

planted in his mind, the thought that he was

entertaining, was the invisible battle. At the

last supper, Jesus says, one of you will betray

me. And the disciples, as they sat there shocked,

they looked at each other and they asked Jesus,

well, who is it? The Lord. Is it I, they asked?

Is it me? Am I the one that's going to betray

you? No. It was Judas. Because outwardly, he

looked normal. Outwardly, he looked fine. While

he was sitting there at the last supper, he looked

like the other 11. While he was walking with

God, he looked like the other 11. While he was

sitting there listening, he looked like everyone

else. Outwardly, the outward appearance looked

fine and it looked okay. But that wasn't the

truth. Because internally, the battle was taking

place. And our greatest battles are the ones

that are invisible. The ones that... cannot be

seen the ones that cannot be heard the ones that

we are toiling in our hearts we are toiling in

our minds we are going back and forth struggling

with a thought struggling with the situation

struggling with the concern these are the battles

this is spiritual warfare For we walk in our

flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal,

but mighty in God. Pulling them down, strongholds,

casting down arguments, every high thing that

exalts itself against the knowledge of God. Bringing

every thought into captivity to the obedience

of Christ. We've got to take every thought captive.

Paul doesn't say take every action captive. He

doesn't say take every habit captive. He doesn't

say take every addiction captive. He says take

every thought captive. Because if the thought

isn't captured, the thought will capture you.

Eventually, your thoughts will capture your mind,

your heart, and they now control your behavior.

You ever talk to someone and you ask them, What

happened? What's going on? What transpired? What's

the first thing they tell you? I don't know how

I got here. Right? In all my years of counseling,

in all my years of helping young people, and

even married couples, I wasn't even married then.

And I was counseling and I was put in front of

situations and circumstances that I might not

have been, amen, physically involved in. But

there was some understanding of what was happening.

And every single time I asked that question,

I got the same response. I don't know. It's all

a blur. It starts with a thought. It starts with

a thought. Above all else. Guard your heart for

everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4,

23. We must guard our heart and we must guard

it with everything we have because everything

flows from it. We must understand that we cannot

negate this. We cannot, amen, forget about this.

We cannot, amen, dismiss this. We must understand

that those battles and those things that we struggle

with and we encounter all. happened in our hearts

and in our minds while outwardly everything seems

fine and everything seems to be okay and this

is the misconception and this is why social media

is so dangerous because we only see what people

want us to see we only see the things that people

want you to see they don't show you the argument

that happened before the picture They don't show

you the back and forth because they couldn't

decide on where to go to vacation or on vacation.

They don't show you the struggle that they have.

They only show you the smile and all the good

things that take place. And so there we are.

We're scrolling and we're feeding into it. We're

feeding into it. And now we're comparing ourselves.

And now we're judging ourselves. How come I don't

look like that? How come I can't get a new car?

Why doesn't God bless me like that? And why doesn't

that? Thoughts. Things start to happen in our

minds. And then when you're approached or you

come to church and the preacher is saying, hey,

come to the altar. God wants to speak to you.

God has something for you. We stand there and

we say, no, I'm okay. No, I'm fine. No, everything's

okay. When deep down inside we're breaking apart.

When deep down inside we are crying. When deep

down inside we are concerned. When deep down

inside we are losing hope. Judas finally came

to that point. He came to that point of hopelessness.

It's my third and last point. Judas came to the

point after his betrayal. Because after he betrayed

God came regret. First there was remorse. Then

the return. And then the repercussion. In Matthew

27, 3 -5. Then Judas, his betrayer, seeing that

he had been condemned, was remorseful and brought

back the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests

and elders, saying, I have sinned by betraying

innocent blood. And they said, what is that to

us? And you see it. Then he threw down the pieces

of silver in the temple and departed and went

and he hung himself. You know, I think this is

where they get the term, let them hang themselves.

Because sometimes we keep pulling on that rope.

We keep pulling on that rope because nothing's

happened yet. Everything's okay. Everything's

fine. I don't got to repent. I don't got to be

in church. I don't have to give my tithes. I

don't have to pray. I don't have to read my word.

I don't have to trust in God like the word says.

I'm okay. Everything's fine. Until it's not.

And I know right now this word sounds grim. It

might sound ugly. It might sound, amen, maybe

not so much encouraging, amen, because it's not

just meant to encourage us. It's meant to remind

us. It's meant to remind us that we must stand

guard each and every day. We must stand guard

each and every moment. We have to be on guard,

not because we are fearful, but because we are

aware of what could happen. So Judas in first

shows remorse. The betrayer seeing what he had

done. Amen. Amen. He was remorseful. And he realized

this. And he said, I've sinned. But it was too

late. The thought he entertained now owned him

and became a reality. And Paul makes a very important

distinction. Amen. If I could have the pianist

come up. He makes a very important distinction.

He says, godly sorrow brings repentance that

leads to salvation and leaves no regret. But

worldly sorrow brings death. Godly sorrow brings

repentance, but worldly sorrow brings death.

And remember Peter? Remember when the Lord told

him that he was going to deny him three times

when the cock crowed, right? And the Bible says

that when that happened, the difference between

Peter, amen, and Judas was that Judas showed

remorse, but the Bible said that Peter wept uncontrollably.

Peter not just regretted what he did, but he

repented. And what he had done. And that's the

difference between remorse and repentance. We

can feel bad because of what we've done. We can

feel bad because of what we said. We can feel

bad, but once you put it out there, you can't

take it back. And sometimes, sadly, the things

that we say and the things that we do, it's irreversible,

Brother Isaac. You can't take it back. It's already

done. But we can't make the same mistake that

Judas made. We can't just show remorse and think

that everything's okay because it's not. The

outward appearance might show, but inside we're

dying. We've got to do what Peter did and repent.

The difference between Judas and Peter, that

he showed remorse, Peter repented. Then Judas

tried to return the silver. He said, no, no,

no, you can have it back. You can have it back.

You know what? The money wasn't worth it. I don't

know what I was doing. I made a mistake here.

The Bible says that he threw it on the temple

floor. The chief said, the priest, what good

is this? What is this for now? This doesn't mean

nothing to us anymore. The silver never satisfied

Judas. In the end, it only condemned him. What

we have value today means nothing tomorrow if

it isn't from God. For what profit is it for

a man to gain the whole world and lose his own

soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for

his soul? Then sadly came the repercussion. Because

when we sin, there are repercussions to our sin.

I know we don't like to hear that. You'd rather

hear that everything's going to be okay as long

as you repent. Yes, it will. But we can't get

away with the things that we choose to do. Why?

Because it was a choice. And even though the

Bible said when he was speaking about Judas,

he was talking about prophecy being fulfilled.

God knew what Judas was going to do. But Judas

still had a choice. Judas could have rebuked

that thought. When that thought entered into

his mind, into his heart, Judas could have rebuked

it and told the devil to flee, told the devil

to leave. Judas made a choice. And the Bible

said that after he had done this and he threw

the money on the floor, the Bible said he went

and he hung himself. He departed from the temple.

The enemy will always start with the lie. First,

He will take it. He'll tell you to take the lie.

Then He'll tell you to hide the lie. Then once

you've gone too far and there's no hope, now

you have to die by that lie. What is the message

today? What is the Lord trying to say to us?

The Lord is saying, guard your heart, guard your

mind. Because you have a relationship with me.

Because you have access to me. Because my spirit

is in you. And we have to understand that it

is a privilege to carry the name of Jesus. It

is a privilege to be called a son and daughter

of a living king. More so, your relationship

with God is the most precious thing that you

could ever have, church. And we are living in

a day and age where the devil is not looking

just to kill. The devil is looking to destroy

you. Just because everything's okay today doesn't

mean that it's going to change tomorrow. Look

at what we started and we opened up with. This

young boy was just living his life healthy, strong.

laying with the siblings, no worries or cares

in the world, and now we're sitting and laying

in an ICU bed with no answers. I'm not telling

you that we need to focus on, you know, sickness.

I'm not saying that. I value my health. I value

my peace. I do. I treasure it. The peace that

God has given me is far worth any amount of money

that I could ever obtain. Honestly. Because I

have the peace of God and the peace of mind.

Allows me to make the decisions I need to make.

Allows me to live the life that God had called

me to live freely. Without hindrance. Without

distraction. I want you to stand with me. The

message is today. To guard your walk with Christ.

Guard your relationship with God. Value the teachings.

Value the sermons. Value these moments in these

times. And let's not forget that it happened

to the one of the twelve. It happened to the

one that God called, that God hand -chose himself.

If it happened to Judas, it could happen to you

and I. You and I could be on the outside looking

in. You and I can find ourselves in a situation

tomorrow not knowing how we got there. Not knowing

what happened. But then remembering we gave way

to a thought. Remembering that we gave way to

a whisper. Remember, everything that is contrary

to the word of God is from the devil. If it's

not about love, if it's not about peace, if it's

not about salvation, if it's not about sacrifice,

if it's not about repentance, if it has nothing

to do with these things, then it's not from God.

These things we need to rebuke. These things

we need to tell the devil to flee. The Bible

says that if you do so, he'll what? He'll flee.

He'll go. If you want to come to this altar,

you can. But if not right there where you're

standing, I want you to close your eyes. I want

you to lift up your hands towards heaven. amen

and if there is any weaknesses that you find

in your walk with God right now maybe you're

not praying the way you should be praying maybe

you're not fasting the way you should be fasting

maybe you're not reading the word amen maybe

you're not doing the things that you should be

doing maybe you're giving ear to a thought maybe

you're lending your heart to a voice amen that

is not a godly voice maybe you're giving yourself

to ungodly counsel amen maybe you haven't reached

out to your pastor you haven't reached out Bow

to your leadership for help. Maybe you just don't

want to say nothing because you don't want to

look bad or you don't want people to think that

you're struggling. Whatever it is today, amen,

God is here. God is listening. And God will respond,

amen. God will give you the strength. God will

give you the wisdom. But you have to make the

decision today. You have to make the choice today.

Judas has a choice. You have a choice today.

Choose you this day whom you shall serve. Every

day, church, it's got to be Jesus. Every day,

it's got to be Jesus. Every day, it's got to

be God. Lord, I know I'm struggling. It's got

to be Jesus. Lord, I know my faith is windowed.

It's got to be God. Lord, I know I'm not doing

it. It's got to be God. I've got to trust you.

Lord, I've got to follow you. Lord, I've got

to give everything that I need to give to continue

to walk with you, to continue to talk with you,

to continue to hear from you. His relationship

is the utmost important thing, the most precious

thing that we have. Maybe this doesn't hit with

you. Maybe this isn't the type of preaching or

sermon. For us to get excited about and smile

about. But let me tell you something. When the

devil has a hold of your children at 1 o 'clock

in the morning. When that sickness has gripped

your body. When those situations have occurred.

It's not pretty. It's not pretty. Sometimes it's

ugly. Sometimes things don't go our way. And

sometimes we don't understand. But it's in those

moments that we need to remember that God is

on our side. That he would never leave us nor

forsake us. That we have the almighty and we

have the hope that everything is going to be

alright. Everything is going to be okay.