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#20240218 - Sifted to Boldness - Luke 22:24-38 · Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast

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Welcome to the Study of God's Word, recorded live at Calvary
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Church in Aurora, Co To learn more about the many resources
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available through Abounding Grace Media or to tune into our
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live stream services, visit us online at Calvary Co dot Church
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or download our free Calvary Church app.
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Now let's open our Bibles and study God's Word.
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Amen. All right, so as you're in Luke
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chapter 22, if you have a Bible from the back, it's going to be
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on page 728. And where we find ourselves is
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in the middle of the Last Supper.
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So if you're familiar with the last meal that Jesus shared with
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his disciples before he went to the cross, this chapter covers
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much of that. And so, starting at the
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beginning of the chapter, talks about that the Passover is near,
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which is a religious feast that the Jews kept, Jesus kept, and
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then he celebrated the deliverance of God coming for
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his people, that God didn't forget his people in times of
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trouble in extreme testing and stress.
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And so as he prepared to celebrate Passover, the
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religious leaders observed that Jesus influence in his sway was
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growing. The culture was in love with
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this guy and they had to take him out.
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But they had a problem. If they take him out while he's
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popular and they allow their fear to their fear of the people
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to to drive things, then they have to do it quietly.
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And sometimes fear drives us to some of the worst things that we
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can do. Some of the poorest decisions of
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our life are born out of fear. So in verse 3, Jesus takes the
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first communion, Satan comes, he possesses Judas himself, Judas
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is possessed, he runs out, leaves the room and what's going
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on and he goes to the religious leaders and says, look, I have a
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plan, I'll betray Jesus. I will give you over to him.
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You have to think about this because Jesus is Judas personal
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pastor. Jesus has pastored Judas for the
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last few years and he's going to sell Jesus to the authorities
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for 30 pieces of silver. The price of a slave is what
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he'll hand him over for. And so it moves down and talks
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about Jesus sharing the last dinner with his disciples.
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And then in verse 23 it picks up.
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Actually, let's jump up. I'm sorry, let's jump up in
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verse 20 and says likewise. He also took the cup after
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supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood which
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is shed for you. But behold, the hand of my
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betrayer is with me on the table, and truly the Son of man
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goes as it has been determined, But woe to that man to whom he
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is betrayed. Then they began to question
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among themselves which of them it was who would do such a
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thing. What's happening here is Jesus
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tells them, look, I'm about to be betrayed.
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These guys have been following Jesus with the expectation that
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Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus will help them stage a
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revolt. Perhaps they had in their mind
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like the Maccabean revolt 2 centuries before, that they
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would rise up, they would throw off their Roman oppressors, and
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they would have freedom Jesus is sharing with them.
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Look, I'm about to be betrayed. It's not going to play out the
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way that you think, but caught up in the middle of this war,
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this battle in the unseen, or his disciples, his followers,
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and what's unfolding is a battle for their soul, their heart,
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their mind, but also the future of the Church.
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If Satan can kill the church in this room and its infancy, it's
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done. He can snuff it out.
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And so the disciples following Jesus, they don't fully
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understand what it's going to take for them to be committed to
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him. And as they step out and they
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begin to join him and they begin to get a clearer version of
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what's going on. What they're going to have to
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battle in their faith life is whether things are going to play
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out in line with their expectations.
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Are things going to play out like Jesus vision for them is,
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or what their version of it is going to be?
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And see Judas sat at the table with everybody else for years.
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He fit in. He knew how to talk, he knew
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what to say. He was around the ministry that
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was happening. From all outside appearances, he
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was an upstanding guy and that may fit some people listening
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today or who are in the room. And behavior modification,
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changing someone's behavior or how Judas was behaving is not
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the highest goal in life. The transformation of the spirit
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of God needs to be our our highest goal.
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We can look the part, but if we're not transformed, nothing
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practical takes place, the pastor, Charles Stanley wrote.
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God is looking for imperfect men and women who have learned to
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walk in moment by moment, dependence on the Holy Spirit,
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Christians who have come to terms with their inadequacies,
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fears, and failures. Believers who have become
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discontent with surviving and have taken the time to
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investigate everything God has to offer in this life.
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See, of all the disciples sitting at the table, each one
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of them had to make a decision on what to do with the
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information that they were about to get that was coming.
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They could decide a variety of paths.
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They could walk with Jesus. They could be obedient and see
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where the adventure took them. They could become spiritual
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doomsday preppers where they just decide, no, not me, no
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battle for me. I'm going to take my talent, I'm
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going to bury it. I'm going to wait for the storm
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to pass and I'm going to be done.
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And a lot of people fit that description or identify as
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followers of Jesus. Then there's another segment of
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the church who flirts with indulging, a kind of spiritual
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Stockholm syndrome in which they're tempted to fall in love
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with the world that wants to capture them.
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And so in the middle of this battle, there's testing.
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You will not escape testing in your life if you think that you
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signed up to follow Jesus. And there will be no backlash
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for joining up against the Kingdom of darkness, you're
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wrong. But if you think that Jesus is a
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king without power and he doesn't know how to lead an
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army, you're also wrong. So I want you to write down a
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question. If you're taking notes this
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morning, think of a time in your life, and maybe this morning it
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may be right now, that you were deeply tested.
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I have a few moments like that where I felt like the Lord was
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allowing me to be pushed to the verge of not being able to bear
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the kind of weight that it felt like was coming down on my face.
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And when you have that moment, or you at least have it in your
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mind, I want you to ask yourself, did you see it coming
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before it happened? Did you know that that time of
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testing was coming your way? And then I want you to think
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through what was your response and why did you respond that
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way? And the reason why we're doing
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this is because it can be helpful to have a very personal
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exercise to go through as we move through this.
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So let me define sifting for us this morning.
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Sifting was when sheaves of wheat were taken and they were
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shaken and they were tossed. And the point was to separate
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out the grain from the chaff, from what was valuable to what
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just It was around the value, but actually had no substance at
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all. It wasn't good for anything.
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So sift the definition is to examine something thoroughly as
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to isolate that which is most important or useful.
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And a spiritual description of that would maybe be an inward
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agitation to try one's faith to the verge of overthrow.
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You see, the enemy is trying to exact a price from you for
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following Jesus, and his hope is that he will strip you of your
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worth and your value. He will convince you not to walk
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in the authority of the Spirit of God, and then he can do
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whatever He wants. But in the time of testing,
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something is also happening. The Lord is given permission for
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the enemy to test us in order to bring about the things that we
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need to increase our value, to mature our faith, to clarify it,
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in order to allow us to be stable.
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And so I want you to understand something as you're taking notes
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that God allows us to be sifted. There are streams of
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Christianity that believe that you should no longer struggle,
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that you should just speak positively about everything,
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that if you pretend like nothing's happening, nothing
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will happen. I remember asking my pastor
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growing up, why don't we ever talk about spiritual warfare?
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And he goes, because if we don't talk about it, it won't do
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anything with us. And I was like, wow, as a kid I
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remember thinking that's really superstitious, like, that's
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really bizarre, that that's the point.
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But not only is sifting going to happen to you and to me at God's
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watch, but it's also happening by his permission because it's
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growing us. And so we have to have the
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humility to understand that we need to be dependent on the
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Father. We need to allow him to have his
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way, even if it's uncomfortable and puts pressure on us because
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something powerful is taking place in your spiritual walk.
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The pastor FB Meyer wrote this and he goes, you know, I used to
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think that God's gifts were on shelves one above the other, and
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that the taller we grew in Christian character, the more
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easily we should reach them. I find now that God's gifts are
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actually on shelves 1 beneath the other, and it's not a
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question of growing taller, but of stooping lower, that we have
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to go down, always down, to get the best gifts because that's
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how God teaches us. God was going to give his
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disciples a church. He was going to give them a
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spiritual Kingdom, But if you give somebody a church or a
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Kingdom or some level of responsibility and you don't
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prepare them for it, that's just dangerous.
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It's reckless. So God allows us to be tried in
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order to prepare us for the Kingdom that he has.
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So we'll pick up here in verse 24 with an exchange that's
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happening. And this is, this is primarily
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at this point between the disciples and Jesus chimes in
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and he says, now there is also a dispute among them as to which
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one of them should be considered the greatest.
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So you have to remember their context here.
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They think they're stepping into a government.
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They're talking about cabinet positions.
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They're thinking as they're getting ready, moving over to
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the couch that somebody is going to betray Jesus.
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They're wondering who it is. Is it this person?
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Is it that person? I don't know.
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It inevitably leads to a discussion on well, it
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definitely wouldn't be me because I'm awesome and Jesus is
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lucky to have me as a disciple. He's like, well, hold on now,
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I'm a great disciple, I'm actually a better disciple.
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And so then they get into this argument back and forth over
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who's going to be the greatest in the Kingdom and the word that
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it uses here in verse 24 for dispute in the Greek, it says it
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was a heated disagreement. It was not good-natured jabbing,
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and so most likely because Jesus is going to address Peter here
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and there's been an ongoing sore spot around this subject at
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least four times in the Gospels, it was probably between Peter
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and James and John. These are the three that make up
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the inner circle of what Jesus is doing with his disciples, and
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so they're having this heated disagreement.
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Jesus could have settled it by just saying, you know what?
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I'm the greatest stop it. Knock it off.
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But instead we see in John that Jesus gets out a bowl of water,
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he gets a towel and he starts to wash their feet.
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And as he does that in the parallel stories from the other
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Gospels, it's super interesting that Jesus doesn't doesn't
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berate them. He's very tender.
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But he says in verse 25 And he said to them, the Kings of the
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Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise
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authority over them are called benefactors.
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But not so among you. On the contrary, he who is
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greatest among you, let him be as the younger, or he sorry, and
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he who governs as he who serves. For who is greater, he who sits
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at the table or he who serves? Is it not He who sits at the
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table? Yet I am among you as the one
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who serves. But you are those who have
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continued with me in my trials, and I bestow upon you a Kingdom
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just as my father bestowed upon me that you may eat and drink at
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my table in my Kingdom and sit on the Thrones judging the 12
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tribes of Israel. See, this had been an ongoing
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disagreement because at least one time prior, as they were
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making their way to Jerusalem, James and John's mom approached
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Jesus and said, hey, my kids are really exceptional.
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They're really special. Would you give them the highest
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position in your Kingdom? Jesus is like, OK, yeah, like
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proud mom, you know, And so it doesn't, he doesn't indulge
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that. But then there's another time
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that's recorded where Mom's not there, but James and John come
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to Jesus and say, hey Jesus, could you do us a favor and make
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us great in your Kingdom? And Jesus said you don't even
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know what you're asking. You don't know what you're
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talking about, but whatever was going on, these guys were very
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real people who had very real dreams for their life.
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They harbored very real visions and hopes that they were seeing
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things moving in a direction towards.
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And so they're not that different than you or me.
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But we have to understand that God is not moved by your dream.
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He's not moved by my dream. God created you because he
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dreamed you up, and he has a purpose for you that he gave
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before the foundations of the world were laid.
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And so God's not moved by stuff. He's not moved by ideas of
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grandeur. God's moved by faith.
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We gather here. God responds to faith.
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He responds to his church. God's not responding to the
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carpet. He's not responding to the
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lights, to the building, to the corner that this building was
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built on, but he responds to the people and he responds to us by
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coming and helping us and serving us.
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In verse 25 Jesus says look the world they they exercise
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lordship, but it's self exulting.
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They want to be on top, They want to domineer.
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And he uses the word benefactor, which to these guys culturally
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was very important because it was a word that was inscribed on
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their coins, on their currency, And it would have the word
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benefactor on it and then it would have one of the rulers
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over them who is in league with the Roman Empire, who was
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oppressing them. Their picture would be on it.
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Let's say benefactor. And.
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So in the Roman Empire would take over a new territory and
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the frontiers of the empire, which is kind of where this
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territory was. They would give it to soldiers
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who were exceptional and then they could be have some freedom
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to be a benefactor and a lot of times they were merciless and
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how they handled their people. So Jesus is saying rather let
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you become like in reality, become a servant.
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Don't rule in the sense of seeking authority, seeking
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ambition, being the most important.
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And so we need to understand that God's power doesn't come
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among us because we have a title.
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God's power doesn't come among us because of who we know.
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God's power doesn't come among us because of what we think of
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ourselves. God's power is a byproduct of
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his presence, being among us and with us.
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And so in verse 27, Jesus goes on and he says, for who is
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greater, he who sits at the table or he who serves?
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Is it not he who sits at the table?
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Yet I am among you as the one who serves.
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David Guziak writes in his commentary that in ancient
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China, wealthy people, it was customary for them to grab their
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fingernails to the point of not being able to really do anything
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for themselves. And it was a sign to the culture
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that they were important, that they didn't have to work and
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that others should serve them. Whatever our culture or this
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culture's idea of status was, that's what they were after.
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That's what they were into. That's what mattered to them.
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And so it's not reverse psychology or a life hack.
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Oh, if I really want to get on top spiritually, I'll clean a
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few toilets and Jesus will thank me for it.
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And then I'll be noticed. Jesus is not about us being
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noticed. Jesus is about things of
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substance being done. And these guys.
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It's kind of funny because Jesus was among them for the last
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several years. He never sought his own gain at
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their expense. Jesus wasn't domineering, he
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wasn't harsh. He didn't put them down or
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berate them in order to get something from them.
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The way that Jesus came to live among humanity as a servant was
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powerful, leaving the throne room of heaven to come live
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among people. But you consider the region he
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was in. Where most of these guys were
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from was Galilee. Galilee is blue collar.
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Galilee is not very educated simultaneously, not very
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religious, don't have a high value for it.
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These are people who are working to survive.
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It's pretty rural, They have country accents.
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You picture Jesus talking with a country accent and you would be
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right. That's the culture that he was
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raised in. His disciples had country
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accents. These were guys who were
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fishermen. They were just regular Joes,
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normal guys who came. And Jesus is probably just, it's
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a ridiculous conversation because they're talking about
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how impressed everybody should be by them and how important
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they are, and Jesus is trying to get them to understand.
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No, you need to be compelled by love.
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Because when love is the driver, love is happiest.
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When it is serving the object of its affection.
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And. So if love can't do that, love
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is in pain. See, there's not a lot of
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competition for the worst jobs out there.
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There's not a lot of competition for difficult postures of grace
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for serving other people. You don't often see a line of
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people willing to serve sick kids that are vomiting, or
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people willing to clean toilets, or people willing to do other
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difficult jobs because there aren't a lot of applicants.
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But that's the upside down nature of the Kingdom is not
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drawing people to us, but us being drawn to others because
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they're the affection of God's love.
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And so. The world likes to chew people
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up and spit them out, but God heals people.
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He binds people up and he sends them out.
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And so. Jesus, no matter how misguided
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these these guys are, in verse 28, he commends them for their
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loyalty because they've they've continued on.
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They've remained through some of the early stages of his
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ministry, where they've been sleeping out in the country,
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they've been sleeping in random couches in different houses, but
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the Lord was leading them. Now He tells them, I'm going to
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bestow a Kingdom on you now, the Kingdom followers of Jesus.
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At this time, we're probably no more than a few 100 people.
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But now, 2000 years later, it can only be guesstimated in the
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billions of people that have come the church around the world
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is booming. This morning as we speak, we
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prayed for the persecuted church.
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The church in Iran and the last 10 years has added a million
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followers of Jesus Christ. The Chinese church is booming.
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Churches that are being sifted, churches that are enduring
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hardship and oppression. These guys are pretty healthy.
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These guys understand the stakes.
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They're not under any kind of illusion of comfort.
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And. So Jesus is trying to prep these
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guys because when he goes to the cross, they're about to be
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marked people and they're going to be haunted and a sifting is
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going to happen because of persecution will come upon them.
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These guys think they're so ready for great things.
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Now sometimes we look at that and we judge them.
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What we should be doing is examining our own heart and
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where we're at, because we're not so different.
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We have to be careful of not rushing ahead of what God has
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for us, even when we're sent by Him.
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You cannot let passion and intensity hijack or rob you of
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stability and longevity and serving the Lord.
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These guys kind of heard Jesus. It went in one ear, not the
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other, but they weren't listening to Jesus.
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A lot of times what happens is these guys, when they run into
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some failure, the temptation will be to get insecure and to
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sit down and stay where they're at and their failure.
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And I want to encourage you that I've had failures.
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I know you've had failures, but you can't live there.
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You cannot allow difficult and hard seasons in your life to
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create in you a victim mentality where you sit down and you give
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up. That is not God's heart for you.
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You may feel inadequate to the task that God is calling you to,
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but you need to know that He's going in front of you and He's
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willing to anoint you and cover you with the Holy Spirit.
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So the second thought as we jump into the next set of verses is
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that Jesus prays for us during the sifting.
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Jesus prays for us and verse 31 it picks up and it says and the
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Lord said Simon. Simon indeed Satan has asked for
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you that he may sift you as we. You talk about a moment that
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makes your blood run cold, that sends a chill down your spine.
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Jesus is telling him that Satan himself, the personal demonic
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being, is after him and called him by name.
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We see this in the book of Job. We see that there was another
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instance where Satan wanted to go after Job.
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And so Jesus tells him this as a warning.
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But then he goes on in verse 32 and he says, but I have prayed
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for you that your faith should not fail.
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And when you have returned to me, strengthen your brethren.
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You see, Jesus doesn't waste his breath.
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When Jesus is our advocate, he's our intercessor.
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He's praying for us. We can be assured that anywhere
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we are going has not taken us down the path that Jesus has not
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already been down. He is not already covered for
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us, and so he's doing a work. Whatever is going on in Peter's
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heart, however inadequate, he may end up feeling.
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But you need to understand that when you follow Jesus and you
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step into a battle and you step into a season where the enemy
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targets you and he's going to shake you and he's going to seek
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to remove anything of value, to leave you as nothing, to fully
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crush you, that the Lord will sustain you.
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His grace is sufficient for us. There's a price to be paid for
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the Kingdom that they're inheriting, for the call of
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following Jesus. And so not only is there a
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price, but there's preparation to be made.
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And when you go through times of hardship and sifting, it changes
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you in a way that only God can use.
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Charles Spurgeon wrote, anytime you see a revival of religion,
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you also see a revival of opposition.
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So we know that Peter is about to go through this time and he's
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going to deny it up and down. He's going to say, no, Lord, I'm
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not going to do that. And Jesus says, look before the
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rooster crows today. So it's after midnight when
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they're talking. So probably in the next 5 hours,
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In the next 5 hours, Peter, you're going to deny me so fast,
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make your head spin. Peter's like, no, that's not me
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you don't understand. And Peter's sincere.
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He's not lying, He's brave, he's being courageous.
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But Peter doesn't understand the stakes because he hasn't been
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that way before. But God knows and God's praying
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for him. Peter would later write in first
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Peter chapter 4, verses 12 through 16.
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And this is a paraphrase from the message, but that says,
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friends, when life gets really difficult, don't jump to the
26:41
conclusion that God isn't on the job.
26:44
Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ
26:47
experienced. This is a spiritual refining
26:51
process with glory just around the corner.
26:55
If you're abused because of Christ, count yourself
26:57
fortunate. It's the Spirit of God and his
27:01
glory in you that brought you to the notice of others.
27:06
If they're on you because you broke the law or disturbed the
27:08
peace, that's a different matter.
27:10
But if it's because you're a Christian, don't give it a
27:13
second thought. Be proud of the distinguished
27:17
status reflected in that name. See, when you're being refined,
27:23
there's a process here of your value coming to the surface and
27:27
the Lord buffing out the rough edges in your life, in your
27:31
spirit. And sometimes that happens like
27:34
it says in Hebrews 12 through a lot of shaking.
27:37
And Malachi, chapter 3, verse three, that speaks of the Lord
27:42
and it says he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver,
27:47
and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them as gold and
27:50
silver that they may offer to the Lord an offering in
27:54
righteousness. You see, the verse describes
27:58
somebody being refined. It describes God as sitting
28:01
while it's happening. And.
28:03
Sometimes we feel that. We feel God is sitting and he's
28:08
watching and we start praying prayers like God, where are you?
28:13
Why are you letting this happen? I know the enemy has to get
28:16
permission from you. Why is this happening?
28:19
And me. And as the refiner sits next to
28:23
what's being refined the silver, what you need to understand is
28:26
that he's watching the fire, the furnace intently.
28:32
He has to because he has to be so engaged in the process that
28:36
there's no other distraction as things are unfolding.
28:39
Because should the process go a moment too long, the silver will
28:44
cease to be valuable because it will be injured.
28:48
See your trials. My trials don't come for me at
28:52
random. They're part of a carefully
28:56
crafted process to strengthen and grow me and you in areas
29:01
where you're lacking. And so, according to tradition,
29:05
when the silversmith is ready to check the silver, he knows that
29:09
the refining process is done when all the dross is off and he
29:13
can look into his creation and he can see his own image
29:18
reflected back. And when he can see his image
29:22
reflected back at him, he knows that the process is complete and
29:26
he can take the metal out of the fire so that it's not ruined.
29:31
Don't let feeling inadequate cause you to resist the call of
29:35
Christ when he's asking you to go somewhere with him.
29:39
The disciples had their issues for sure.
29:44
You have your issues. For sure I have my issues.
29:48
But it hasn't stopped Jesus from calling me and allowing me to be
29:52
a part of what he's doing. Hallelujah.
29:55
There's a man in 1521. In a 1522 AD, he went by the
30:01
name Yonker Yorg. He worked in a little room.
30:06
He had a full beard, shaved his head, very little furniture in
30:09
the room. And what had happened was four
30:12
years previously, this guy had had a hit put out on his life
30:19
because what he had done had upset the Holy Roman Emperor and
30:23
had turned Western civilization upside down.
30:27
And so in his pursuit of truth, in fixing different errors, it
30:32
was clear that he was going to be murdered.
30:36
People were allowed to murder him if they saw him without
30:39
retribution. And.
30:41
So this man has been sequestered, and Frederick the
30:46
Third, the Elector of Saxony, organized a kidnapping of him.
30:51
It was a fake kidnapping to take him away and hide him in
30:55
Wartburg Castle in Germany. See, the man's name was Martin
30:59
Luther and most people thought that he was dead.
31:03
But what he was actually doing was copying the New Testament
31:06
into the common language of the people so that the people would
31:09
have access to the word of God. And you look at the world and
31:13
you think, man, why wouldn't you want people to have truth and
31:17
knowledge and understanding? Like, you should be grateful for
31:19
that. But that's not how the world
31:23
approaches Jesus in his ministry.
31:25
It's antagonistic. And so.
31:27
Even though this man was following the call of the Lord,
31:30
he would not be rewarded in the world system, but he'd be
31:33
rewarded by the Lord. You see, we don't get to choose
31:37
our call, but you do get to choose your response and what
31:41
you're going to do with that. You see, the other disciples had
31:44
to be watching Peter, listening to this and thinking a few
31:48
different things. All right?
31:50
Peter's twice our age, mid 40s, most of us early 20s, maybe late
31:55
teens. Peter is a capable businessman.
31:59
He's a fisherman. He's in partnership with James
32:01
and John, so he's not dumb. He knows how to do things.
32:06
Peter is the boldest by far of all of us, and he's part of the
32:11
inner circle. And so if Peter is not going to
32:14
make it, what does that mean for me?
32:18
And if their eyes were on Peter, the fear could have become
32:21
intoxicating. It could have gained traction to
32:23
the point to where it would have demoralized them from even
32:27
stepping forward into the call that God had given them.
32:30
But you see, our hope is not in people.
32:34
Peter may have had a chill for a moment, and the guys were
32:38
sitting around daydreaming about their crowns and their Thrones
32:42
and what the Lord was going to do, talking about who was going
32:44
to be the greatest. And now we're going to rule a
32:46
Kingdom. But Jesus knew what was coming
32:50
for them. And as they're daydreaming often
32:53
as we're daydreaming in our lives, Jesus is focused on the
32:57
mission that he has for you. And.
33:01
So the Kingdom of darkness is being threatened.
33:04
They'd already had some success in winning away Judas.
33:08
He attempted Jesus first. Jesus didn't bite and so now
33:12
he's coming for Peter. But the you hear that Satan has
33:16
asked to shift to you is actually plural.
33:18
So it's meant for all the disciples in the room.
33:20
Even though he's directly addressing Peter and he says
33:24
like hard times are coming for you, but Jesus comforts him, the
33:29
enemy will not be able to crush you because I'm praying for you.
33:36
I'm praying for you and doesn't stop with that, he says.
33:41
I'm praying that your faith would not fail the point of
33:45
prayer for Jesus. The line of defense that Jesus
33:47
draws around his people is the point of faith.
33:51
Jesus will allow you to be pushed.
33:54
He will allow you to be stretched.
33:55
He will allow you to endure things that may feel difficult
33:59
because you're in the middle of growing pains.
34:02
He's growing you up into him. And.
34:06
Failure has a demoralizing and corrosive effect on the mind and
34:11
the spirit. And sometimes those failures
34:14
stick with us as an acute sting for years.
34:18
We go back and we replay it in our mind like a broken record
34:21
over and over and over. And I've known failure.
34:26
I'm sure you've known failure. And what's powerful about this
34:30
is Jesus understands that. For all of Peter's talk and
34:33
Peter sincere, Peter hasn't been this way before, and Peter is
34:38
not going to be able to go to prison with him, and he's not
34:41
going to be able to die for him. If he can't stand up to a
34:44
servant girl in a courtyard 5 hours from now, Peter will find
34:50
himself swearing at her, denying that he was ever any part of
34:55
what Jesus was doing. But Jesus tells Peter, I've
34:59
prayed for you that your faith would not fail, even though it
35:01
falters. And then he speaks to Peter with
35:04
certainty when you have returned.
35:09
Strengthen your brethren. You see in the hardships, the
35:13
difficulties that we go through. Satan was excited to give Peter
35:18
a brutal shaking. Jesus was giving Peter a word of
35:21
knowledge, a prophetic word here.
35:24
And we're watching this playing out.
35:26
But we can be so comforted because we know that whatever is
35:29
allowed to take place in our life, whatever God chooses for
35:33
me and for you, it's good and it's right.
35:39
And. So the Lord will take whatever
35:41
is given and he will keep the value and he'll make it fit for
35:46
the King's granary. He's going to take care of that,
35:50
and that's comforting as we pass through hard times, David wrote
35:54
in Psalm 27, verses 13 and 14. I would have lost heart unless I
35:59
had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the
36:02
land of the living. So wait on the Lord and be of
36:05
good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart.
36:08
Wait, I say on the Lord guard your faith.
36:13
You. See, Peter would be uniquely
36:14
qualified to leave the church after the sifting.
36:19
Peter would understand the power of God's grace, the reach of God
36:23
that goes far beyond anything that we would choose to grasp or
36:26
hold on to ourselves when it comes to relationships.
36:30
Jesus is sitting here telling Peter I'm praying for you while
36:34
he's aware that Peter is getting ready to betray him.
36:37
But Jesus is pastoring Peter. We don't get to choose what will
36:44
happen or when. We will get tested.
36:47
For some of us, it was the moment we made a profession of
36:50
faith. We got off of our knees and the
36:52
enemy throat punched us and the game was on.
36:55
That was it. And we've just been in the
36:56
battle ever since, and we're aware of it.
36:59
For others like Peter, you make it a few years in, you start to
37:03
get falsely confident. This isn't so hard.
37:07
I don't know what everybody's upset about like this.
37:09
This is pretty easy. And then BAM, the enemy comes
37:13
and attacks him when he was overconfident, when he didn't
37:16
have his footing. Some make it all the way through
37:20
their lives and they don't finish well.
37:22
They get attacked and beat up at the very end.
37:25
But whatever it is, just know that the Lord can use you coming
37:31
through these sifting times. You see, the Lord was about to
37:34
make Peter the leader of a church that the gates have held
37:38
themselves, could not stand against.
37:41
That's the reason why this church is here today.
37:44
Because the church did not fail. Because Jesus is praying for the
37:48
church. Jesus has a purpose for the
37:50
church even in times of sifting and hardship.
37:54
You see, Peter's leadership with Paul wasn't due to his strength,
38:00
but he's coming through the fire with his character intact and
38:04
allowing the spirit of God to use him.
38:07
And. So as Peter's talking and he's
38:10
talking about, you know, I'll go to prison, I'll die for you,
38:13
I'll do all these things. What's interesting is the
38:16
Trinity is at work on his behalf.
38:18
The Father sent the Son to Peter.
38:22
The Son called him. The Son is advocating for him,
38:25
praying for him. It's that the spirit of God, the
38:27
Holy Spirit, can come on Peter and use him.
38:30
And it's the same for us. And often we find ourselves in
38:36
places where we're daydreaming. We don't understand the stakes
38:39
and reality of men's souls, women's souls that are on the
38:42
line. And like Pastor Ed says, it's
38:45
our job as leaders to define reality for people at times.
38:50
And Jesus doesn't pull punches. He doesn't tell Peter what he
38:52
wants to hear. He just tells Peter what's going
38:55
to happen. So if you're keeping notes, this
38:59
is the final point. And I want you to understand
39:03
that God's desire for you is not that you would be sifted to
39:05
nothingness. God's desire is that we are
39:09
sifted for boldness, that Peter would step up with a testimony
39:15
that he would move forward in power.
39:17
And you see, Jesus didn't just see Peter as he was now.
39:21
Jesus saw Peter's future. Jesus saw the future of a spirit
39:25
filled man that would stand up on Pentecost and lead 3000 other
39:29
people into the Kingdom of God. And one of the special marks of
39:33
the early Church of the Holy Ghost was a spirit of boldness,
39:38
AB Simpson wrote. You see, we don't want to waste
39:42
the sifting. We want to embrace the
39:44
refinement of God in our life. My wife is a teacher in one of
39:47
the schools that she had taught at before she came on staff here
39:52
was in Colorado Springs and it had a phrase as they were
39:55
training new teachers and they were getting ready to grow kids
39:59
and they would say go slow to go fast.
40:05
Go slow to go fast. Sometimes you get caught up in
40:08
the grind. You want to jump ahead.
40:10
These guys are ready to rule. They were ready to do things for
40:13
Jesus, but they didn't have the character that they needed yet.
40:17
And so they're trying to go really, really fast.
40:19
And Jesus slows them down so that they.
40:22
Can go fast. At Pentecost so they can go fast
40:26
as the church begins to spread around the world.
40:30
And maybe this morning you're in a place where you just want to
40:32
skip to the end and Jesus is slowing you down and telling you
40:37
listen. You need to go slow.
40:40
You need to build a weight bearing foundation, and it's
40:44
usually at this point in the process where a lot of people
40:47
will either shut down or they refuse to move forward with God.
40:51
They'll become suspicious of God and their faith journey and in
40:56
their hearts, and it becomes a situation where it's like, well
40:59
fine, if I can't have it this way, I don't want to do it.
41:04
The Parable of the Talents Matthew chapter 25 describes
41:09
this guy who sees the talent that God's given him and he
41:13
decides he's going to hide it because then he can protect
41:17
himself. His comfort is his highest
41:20
priority. Everybody else is investing all
41:22
the way, all the way around doing different stuff, and he
41:24
hides it. And the master comes to him and
41:27
he says, all right, what is the return that you have on what
41:30
I've given you? And he says, oh, and I still
41:33
have it. The Master is not super pleased
41:37
and he says I had it. Because, see, I knew you were a
41:39
harsh person and you were difficult, and so I didn't want
41:44
to take a chance on you hurting me, punishing me.
41:49
And it grieves the Father's heart, because that's not who
41:52
God is at all. But if the enemy can't outright
41:56
destroy us, he'll try to make our heart go cold towards the
42:00
Father. Let's see Jesus goes on here.
42:04
In verse 35 it says, And he said to them, When I sent you without
42:07
money bag, knapsack and sandals, and Luke 10 did you lack
42:12
anything? So they said nothing.
42:15
And then he said to them, But now he who has a money bag, let
42:19
him take it, likewise A knapsack.
42:22
And he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one.
42:26
For I say to you, that which is written must still be
42:29
accomplished in me. And he was numbered with the
42:31
transgressors, For the things concerning me have an end.
42:37
So they said, Lord, look, here are two swords.
42:40
And he said to them, it's enough.
42:43
So Jesus is telling him, you guys, you don't understand.
42:47
The world invited you in. You were popular culturally.
42:51
We were having a moment. It was trendy because people
42:54
were getting healed. Different things are happening.
42:56
You need to understand that I'm about to be betrayed, and if
43:00
they're going to kill me, they're not going to treat you
43:02
any better. Persecution is coming.
43:06
The future is not going to look like it looks right now.
43:10
And so when I sent you out before, you had that.
43:13
But Jesus also tells them, I'm going to send you out as sheep
43:17
as. Lambs in the.
43:18
Midst of wolves, you see, Jesus tells them.
43:21
Persecutions coming. Things are going to be
43:24
difficult. But guess what?
43:25
Jesus still is saying I'm still sending you out.
43:29
You're still going to go, but you need to be wise about how
43:33
you go and what you do. And he's speaking to them
43:35
spiritually. And they pull out their swords
43:37
and put it on the table like Jesus.
43:39
Here we pulled our weapons and we have two.
43:43
It's like guys, 11 fishermen from the country with two swords
43:48
are not going to be able to stop what's coming.
43:51
You don't understand what I'm saying.
43:53
What I'm saying is you need to be united in your focus.
43:56
You're still being sent, and you need to be wise in what I have
43:59
for you, because instead of fighting amongst yourselves,
44:03
there's a dying world where the souls of people are at stake.
44:08
And it's rough out there, but it's where my heart is and I'm
44:12
sending you in that direction. And so Jesus says it's enough,
44:16
basically. Like, what are you guys talking
44:18
about? And we.
44:20
Need to understand. That the strength of our faith
44:23
will decide if we're willing to trust God in the dark and the
44:28
season where you can't see what's coming for you.
44:32
Peter didn't understand the stakes in the battle that were
44:35
playing out in the unseen, but it was coming for him
44:39
nevertheless. But you know who also was there
44:42
was Jesus. And you have to be willing to
44:45
trust God in the dark, because your eyesight is really, really
44:48
bad. But the future is clear to Him,
44:52
the Apostle. Paul reiterates.
44:54
In Philippians chapter 3, verses 12 through 14.
44:58
Not that I have already attained or I'm already perfected, but I
45:02
press on. But I may lay hold of that for
45:05
which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.
45:08
Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended, but one
45:12
thing I do forgetting those things which are behind, and
45:16
reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward
45:20
the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ
45:24
Jesus. Your sifting and your hardship
45:27
is not for the tailspin or downward spiral of your life.
45:31
It is part of the upward call of God.
45:34
Do not sell God so short as to take what you're feeling in this
45:39
moment as a lack of care or power on his part.
45:44
As the worship team comes back up, I want to encourage you by
45:48
telling you a story. There was a man named Jim
45:51
Elliott who was a missionary to Ecuador in the 1950s, and his
45:57
unique call was to go with the native tribes and the indigenous
46:01
tribes, and he was going to take the gospel to them.
46:05
But as he's preparing to go, he spends a lot of time with the
46:09
Lord just being intimate, journaling, writing different
46:12
things down. And what he doesn't know is that
46:16
his call will ultimately lead him to his death.
46:20
It will lead him to his martyrdom.
46:22
Not because he didn't have a gun, he did.
46:24
He just wasn't willing to use it to send somebody else to hell so
46:28
that he would be safe and so. He wrote a phrase.
46:32
In his journals, he was considering the call that the
46:35
Lord laid out in front of him, no matter how difficult it would
46:38
be. And he wrote a question.
46:41
And I would encourage you to ask yourself this question.
46:43
Today it's 3 words. Am I ignitable?
46:51
Am I ignitable? Can the Lord use me where I am
46:55
today? Can the Lord use you where you
46:58
are today? The way you're living your life,
47:01
the way you're making your choices.
47:03
You might be in the middle of something and say, you know
47:05
what, Pastor? I'm super dry.
47:06
I'm spiritually dry. I don't feel anything.
47:11
But I would encourage you that when you're trying to light a
47:13
fire, dry things burn the best. Amen.
47:16
And so the Lord will use whatever you bring to him and
47:20
allow you to be moved by him. But I also understand that it's
47:24
a choice we have to be willing to offer ourselves as a willing
47:29
vessel, as a sacrifice, in order to move forward.
47:35
You know, it reminds us of grapes, and that only crushed
47:38
grapes can bring sweet wine. Maybe.
47:42
You're in a season, right? Now of crushing and then the.
47:46
Crushing and the new. Wine that he's trying to make in
47:48
you. You have to decide, are you
47:50
going to resist it or are you going to?
47:53
Allow. Christ to bring newness and
47:56
freshness out of you, and maybe you're.
48:00
Being crushed. In your family, maybe you're
48:03
being crushed. In your marriage, maybe you feel
48:05
like you're being crushed in your job or just in your spirit.
48:09
You're sorrowful. But whatever time you may have
48:12
left. Among us, the minister, whatever
48:15
time God is giving you, it's his time and he wants to use it with
48:20
you. So is there anyone?
48:24
In here, who would slip up their hand and just say, yeah, I'm
48:27
being crushed and it's brutal. Thank you.
48:30
Thank you. I.
48:32
Want to ask? You would.
48:34
You be willing to stand up where you are.
48:38
I'm not trying to embarrass you because we've all been in the
48:41
seasons of crushing. If we haven't, it's coming.
48:44
So be encouraged. Those who are standing in the
48:49
room, I want those of you who are sitting to go near to them
48:53
and put your hands on them. So if you guys are comfortable,
48:57
if you get up, you see somebody without someone.
48:59
Bianca's here in the front, Connor, if you'll come up, but
49:04
they want to make sure everybody has someone.
49:07
But you see, when the ministry of God comes into a room, the
49:11
church has the ability to use their gifts in partnership with
49:16
the Holy Spirit to bring encouragement.
49:20
And those of us that that are being crushed, the Lord sees
49:24
you, the Lord is with you, and the Lord knew it was coming, and
49:28
he's going to take care of you and pull you out.
49:31
So we're going to sing a song here, but I want to encourage
49:34
you ask them their name and pray with them while the worship is
49:38
going on and just let the Lord minister through the priesthood
49:40
of believers. We pray that you've.
49:43
Been encouraged by this Bible study delivered live from the
49:46
sanctuary of Calvary Church for prayer.
49:48
Call us at 87730 Grace. That's 877-304-7223.
49:57
To listen to this message in its entirety or to join us for our
50:01
live stream services, visit us online at Calvary, Co dot Church
50:06
or download our free Calvary Church app.
50:09
Be blessed as You Worship Jesus this week.