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Faithfulness or Fleshliness?
12 Plays4 days ago
Series: Faithfulness to Jesus
Mark 14:12-52
Recommended
Transcript
The Hard Road Ahead
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and i was in boot camp, right above our barracks was this sign that hung and it simply read, easy is for the other guys.
00:00:13
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And we saw it every time we went into the barracks and we left the barracks. And it was a daily reminder that what lied ahead was not gonna be easy.
Perseverance in Faith
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And I think, friends, the same reminder is important for us as Christians to tell each other from time to time that the Christian walk is not easy.
00:00:36
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Being faithful is not easy. Trusting that God is in complete control is not easy. Relying on the Spirit to guide your steps is not easy.
00:00:50
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But you know what is easy? Thinking that we're in charge. Relying on ourselves. Trusting that we know best and that our way is best.
00:01:01
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All those things come really easy. And I thought to myself this week, why is that? Why is it that those things, these worldly things, these things of the flesh come easy?
00:01:16
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These are the very things we'll see in scripture that are in the opposition to the spirit.
The Battle Within
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So if you're sitting here this morning and you're born again, meaning you've given your life over to Christ, you too still will have this struggle with the flesh.
00:01:31
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The Apostle Paul describes this constant tug of war, this constant tension between the desire to do that which is good and the draw of our sinful nature. And he tells us in Romans 7, 18, for I know that nothing good dwells in me that is in my flesh.
00:01:48
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For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability in and of myself to carry it out. In other words, I know the way God wants me to go, but yet I still want to go my own way.
00:02:05
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It's this internal struggle between the desire of the flesh and the leading of the Spirit. It's the struggle between my way and His way. It's a struggle between trusting in me or trusting in Him.
00:02:18
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It's a struggle between relying on myself or relying on Him.
Trusting God vs. Self
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It's a matter of faithfulness and a matter of obedience, neither of which come easy.
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This is what we're going to look at today and in Mark chapter 14 as we continue or continue our journey today. Two avenues, two paths, either trusting in God or trusting in self. self And you'll see that through our outline that hopefully you have in your bulletin. One path leads to faithfulness and the other leads to unfaithfulness.
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We'll first look at Jesus Christ. who is our positive model, second we'll look at the disciples who are our negative model, and then third we'll ask ourselves how do we apply this to our lives today.
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Mark chapter 14, if you have your Bibles please take them out. um Why do I always ask to take out your Bible when it's displayed right there on the screen? That's a great question. um What you are doing is you are modeling to those who are non-church members what this church practices.
00:03:20
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and it is that we are rooted in God's Word. And so when we study God's Word, I want to see God's Word. I want to see that in your hands, and hopefully you came prepared. If you didn't, there is a Bible in the seat back in front of you.
00:03:33
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ah Why is this really important? Well, next Sunday there will undoubtedly be visitors here for Easter. And what a fabulous demonstration as a church family that when we begin to go to God's Word, ah we hear everybody turning pages.
00:03:49
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It's a sweet sound to the pastor's ears is when y'all are flipping the pages of the Bible. Mark chapter 14 this morning deals with the disciples' lack of faithfulness in two seasons, in the evening watch and the midnight watch. And we're going to see how ah their unfaithfulness is contrasted with Jesus' faithfulness. Let's start Mark chapter 14, starting in verse 12, we'll pick up.
00:04:16
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says, On the first day of the festival of unleavened bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, Jesus' disciples asked him, Where do you want us to go to prepare the Passover meal for you?
Preparing the Passover
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And so Jesus sent two of them into Jerusalem with these instructions. And here are the instructions. As you go into the city, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you. Follow him.
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At the house he enters... Say to the owner, the teacher asks, where is the guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciples? He will take you upstairs to a large room that was already set up.
00:04:53
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This is where you should prepare our meal. And so the two disciples went into the city and found everything just as Jesus had said, and they prepared the Passover meal there.
00:05:06
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What's shown for us at this beginning scene is a question that's posed by the disciples to Jesus. Jesus simply tells us where we're going to eat the Passover meal.
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Now imagine if you were these two disciples for just a second. Here's what Jesus tells you and I want you to follow real closely with me. Go into the city where there's a man carrying a jar of water.
00:05:35
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right first First century Jewish people listening to this would have thought that's strange right there because the men don't carry the water. The women carry the the jugs of water. That's the first thing they would have been thinking.
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But I want you to go out and find this man that's carrying a jug of water and wherever he goes, follow him.
00:05:57
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Whenever he goes to this particular house, as you're following him, when you get to that house, you'll find the owner of that house. And you'll say to this guy, the teacher says, where's the Passover room?
00:06:08
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He will show you exactly where it is. It's going to be upstairs. It's going to be fully furnished. It's going to be prepared and ready to go. And it says, the disciples did as Jesus had asked. And sure enough, everything he said to the detail came true.
00:06:24
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There's a distinct sense when you read this, it's almost scripted.
The Betrayal Foretold
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It's almost as if Jesus already knows what's going to happen. but ahead of time. Do you get that feeling here?
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He's sending them out, hey, go out and find this man. Now, if you and I were tasked with this, go out into Cameron, downtown Cameron. There's going to be a man standing out with a jar of water.
00:06:51
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Would we just go and find this strange man standing out there with a jug of water? Well, we'd probably say, what does this guy look like? Who's this guy's name? What if there's more than one guy carrying water?
00:07:04
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It doesn't say the disciples asked any of these questions. Wait second, Jesus. You want me just to follow this stranger to wherever he goes, to whatever house he goes into?
00:07:16
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Yes, I do. As matter of fact, when you get there, i want you to go ask the homeowner. The teacher asks where the room is. My first question would have been, how does that homeowner know who the teacher is?
00:07:31
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But it's almost as if Jesus knows everything ahead of time and exactly how it's all going to play out. I think these questions are valid questions that you and I would normally ask ourselves, but Jesus and st instructs and the disciples obey, even if it doesn't make sense.
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They don't pause. They don't ask for clarification, which is probably what I would have done. Matter of fact, When I am quite often prompted by the Spirit, that is my first inclination as a fallen human.
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Lord, can I get some clarification on that, please? Lord, we want to serve diligently. It doesn't matter. Send Kim and I anywhere in Texas.
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Wait, Cameron? Are you sure, Lord? Can I get some clarification on that?
00:08:23
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Friends, you and I are aren't all that different when it comes to that. When the Spirit leads, there's only one response. It is response of obedience.
00:08:35
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Are we going to step out in obedience? Are we going to step out and continually step out? And as we step out, we get to see God's plan unfold right in front of us. Not only does Jesus know the beginning from the end, not only does he know everything that's going to take place, we see it unfold right here in this next section in the Last Supper.
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Look with me here, verse 17 on.
Gethsemane Vigil
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says, And in the evening Jesus arrived with the twelve. And as they were at the table eating, Jesus said, I tell you the truth, one of you eating with me will betray me.
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Greatly distressed, each one of them asked in turn, Am i am i that one? And he replied, It is one of you twelve who is eating from this bowl with me. For the Son of Man must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago.
00:09:27
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But how terrible it will be for the one who betrays him. It will be far better for that man if he had never been born before. Jesus knows exactly what's taking place before it takes place.
00:09:41
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He knows there's one among them who will betray them. He knows it's going to be Judas.
00:09:48
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And it's interesting how the disciples reply when he says it's one of you 12. Can you imagine if it was 12 of us and we're sitting there around the table with Jesus and he says, which one of you, one of you 12 are going to be the ones that betray me.
00:10:05
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Some of ya are looking to your left and right right now. Friends, he already knew who was going to betray him. He knew the beginning from the end. It's a picture of God's sovereignty. Not only does he say that, he says, ah just as it written before, just as was written long ago in the scriptures, for the Son of Man must die.
00:10:25
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pointing to his suffering mission. Never again will I drink from the fruit of the vine until that day, verse 25 says, in the future, in the future eschaton, there will come a time in that day when I drink in the new kingdom of God.
00:10:37
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He knows the beginning from the end and he knows the disciples will respond a certain way. Look with me in verse 27. It tells us exactly how the the disciples will respond. It says, on the way Jesus told them, all of you will respond.
00:10:51
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desert me for the scriptures say God will strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered not some of you maybe
00:11:01
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all of you will desert me right this picture of sovereign control you all fall away because it is written friends he he's in control he's in charge And we could trust him in the evening watch when the dark clouds come on the horizon.
00:11:23
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And he shows us how we go about that here in verse 32. Look with me. Verse 32 says, They went to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and Jesus said, Sit here while go and pray.
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If you're somebody who writes in your Bible, just mark a number one right next to that. He took Peter, James, and John with him, and he became deeply troubled and distressed. And he told them, my soul is crushed with grief to the point of death.
00:11:50
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Stay here and keep watch with me. And he went a little further and he fell to the ground and he prayed, if you're marking your Bible, put two. And he prayed that if it is possible, that the awful hour awaiting him might pass him.
00:12:06
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Abba, Father, he cried out, everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine. And then he returned and he found the disciples asleep. And he said to Peter, Simon, are you a asleep?
00:12:22
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Couldn't you watch with me even one hour? Keep watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body or the flesh is weak.
00:12:34
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And then Jesus left them again and he prayed Mark 3. He prayed the same prayers before. And when he returned there again, he found them asleep. For they couldn't keep their eyes open, like some of you.
00:12:48
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And then they didn't know what to say. And when he returned to them a third time, he said, go ahead and sleep. Have your rest. But know the time has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of the sinners.
00:13:01
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Up, let us go. Look, my betrayer is here.
Obedience and Reliance
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It tells us here, friends, three times. That's why i had you, Mark. Three different times Jesus goes out to pray.
00:13:13
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Three times he goes to pray, three times he returns to the disciples with the same command, be alert. This is our Greek word, gregoireo, meaning to be on watch, to be awake, to stay alert.
00:13:29
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But it says all three times they they simply failed. They fail to be obedient to the call of remaining alert, but Jesus, who is our positive model, who remains faithful in prayer, he sits and prays in third verse 32, he goes and prays in verse 35, and it says that he went away and prayed in verse 39. Friends, it's here in Gethsemane that Jesus is taxed beyond his human limit. He's thrown into great distress, the Bible tells us.
00:13:59
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knowing that the torture and the pain and the suffering and the death that lies just days away. But what's more agonizing than the physical torment, that the physical suffering that he will endure is the em abandonment he will feel from the Father.
00:14:15
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As Jesus faces the judgment of God upon sin, being made sin for mankind and becoming a curse for mankind so that they might escape God's wrath that Jesus is about to face at Calvary.
00:14:29
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And it's ah in this context, friends, that he cries out, Abba, Father, all things are possible. Remove this cup, this drink offering from me, but not my will, but thy will.
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Not my way, but your way.
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Not my flesh, but your will.
00:14:52
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He's committed in deep prayer here, not trusting the f flesh, but trusting the Spirit.
00:15:00
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Each time he goes back and he warns the disciples, beat be careful, be alert. Temptation's on on the prowl. Be ready. He shows us what to do in the midnight hour, that we remain in prayer in prayer, empowered by the Spirit and not falling victim to the flesh.
00:15:19
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That's Jesus. That's our our positive model.
00:15:23
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What does it look like for you and I? Because we're going to step into the disciples section here next. and And quite frankly, when you read your Bible, I want you to to place yourself as a disciple.
00:15:34
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This is quite often the the way we do as a Bible teacher. As you're studying, you think to yourself, where often am I in this story? Well, um I'm going to tell you, friends, you're right here in this next section, so pay attention.
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The disciples in the Last Supper, when they're confronted by Jesus, who says, every one of you here, listen up, one of you is going to betray me, all of them say what?
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Not me. Not me. No, no, one of you will, not me.
00:16:08
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Matter of fact, when confronted by Jesus, that all will be scattered, even though the text doesn't explicitly say it, I'm going to tell you all of them said, not me. Peter, being the outspoken one of the bunch, said, Lord, definitely not me.
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i will I will never deny you.
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Even if I must die together with you, I will never deny you. But instead of denying himself, which is the very core teaching which Jesus was doing, Peter goes on and does what?
00:16:39
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Denies Jesus three times. His trust was not in God, but in himself. And his own ability to remain faithful. Now want you to to listen because this is really important for those of you who are...
00:16:51
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ah God-fearing believers here this morning. Do you realize that even in your desire to remain faithful, you can go about that all wrong?
00:17:04
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You can go about trying to be faithful in your own strength, and you'll fail time and time again. Matter of fact, you'll be a Peter, and you'll be one of these disciples here as well.
00:17:15
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But Jesus says the right way to remain faithful is to be empowered by the Spirit. It's the spirit that keeps us going.
00:17:26
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It's the spirit that enables us to follow and obey and to be alert.
00:17:33
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And it's the spirit which in the hour of temptation is the one that's able to take that temptation and and allow you not to fall victim to it. One thing I heard A.W.
00:17:46
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Tozer wrote in The Means and Excellencies in one of his writings He said, understand the life of the believer is not one without temptation.
00:17:56
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Not once does the Bible tell you if you become a God-fearing believer that you won't be tempted. But it says, with the power of the Holy Spirit, you will have the ability to overcome.
00:18:12
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Will you be faithful? Will you rely on the Spirit? Will you be committed to prayer? Or will you be like the disciples and have heavy eyes? Right? Will you be tired and not alert?
00:18:25
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Jesus is the faithful one. The disciples were unfaithful. He was alert. They were not. He prayed. They didn't. He obeyed. They didn't. He remains and they flee. He trusts God the Father and they trust the flesh.
00:18:41
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Brothers and sisters, it's a struggle between the flesh and the spirit. It's a struggle between my way and his way. It's a struggle between trusting in me and what I think is best or trusting in God and what he knows is best.
00:18:53
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it's ah It's a struggle between relying on me or relying on God. And it's it's a matter of faithfulness and obedience which can only be accomplished through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Desertion and Shame
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And I almost thought we have plenty of time just by the way. There's two verses in here which close out this section of scripture which... in and of themselves is quite strange. And I thought, I could easily skip these two, and you would never know any different.
00:19:23
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But I think ah think it would be prudent just to look at verse 51 and 52 here, because it gives us a real reason, a real outcome, if we're unfaithful.
00:19:36
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If we know Jesus and follow Jesus, but we don't choose to go his way, instead we want to go our way. Verse 51 and 52, read with me. it's It's a strange one, but I want to explain it. 51 and 52 says this.
00:19:56
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Let's go to 50. It says that all the disciples deserted him and ran away. 51 says one young man following behind was clothed only in long linen shirt. And when the mob tried to grab him, he slipped out of his shirt and ran away naked.
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And you're like, where in the world does this fit into the story?
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If you'll remember at the very beginning when we started teaching and studying Mark, the call to the disciple was simple. Leave everything and follow me. right That was the initial call for the disciple.
00:20:33
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Here this man, in the midnight hour, as Jesus is betrayed and all the disciples scatter, literally leaves everything, including his clothes, so that he's not a disciple.
00:20:49
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so that he runs away from Jesus. but It's this picture of a real consequence to not going the way of Jesus. It's this picture of total abandonment of Jesus by his disciples.
00:21:01
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Dr. Curavilla says this, he says, the motif of leaving everything to become a disciple has now become the disgrace of leaving everything behind to become a not disciple.
00:21:14
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He said, nakedness or nudity in the Bible often depicts disgrace or shamefulness. And the real consequence of failing to remain faithful to Jesus is shame.
00:21:26
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And I think, friends, this is why this portion ends our scripture today. It's it's a real consequence to not trusting in the positive model of Jesus.
00:21:37
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So how do we apply this to our lives today? Just quickly, a couple of quick ah quick points, I think, directly from the
Trusting God's Control
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scripture. If you're someone who's taking notes and you have your pen, which I hope you are, the very first point is for you.
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God is in control and you are not. Repeat after me. God is in control and I am not. One more time. God is in control and I am not.
00:22:03
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Does that give you sense of comfort? Or does that give you anxiety?
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J.C. Ryle says, unlimited in power, unrivaled in majesty, and not thwarted by anything outside of himself, our God is in complete control of all circumstances.
00:22:26
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Causing or allowing them for his own good purposes and his plans to be fulfilled exactly as he has it willed. In other words, God is in complete control of all of life's situations.
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That includes your marriage, your kids, your family, your finances, your health, everything. Everything is under his purview. He has it in control. Nothing is going to catch him by surprise.
00:22:51
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For some of you, this is great joy and great peace. peace But for some of you, this causes great anxiety. Some of you need to stop trying to do God's job this morning. He has it.
00:23:02
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Trust me, he's he's got it under control. You need to stop worrying over those kids, whether they're young or they're older. If they're off in college, you need to quit worrying about who they're talking to or who they're associating with.
00:23:15
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If they're off running with the wrong crowd, did you not plant the seeds in their life before they went away?
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You need to stop worrying about those kids and you need to start trusting God 100% showing that he is in control of your life and that you are not. I just put a note this week. This is one of your first things for homework.
00:23:37
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Find one way that you can just demonstrate this week that God is in control of your life and not you. um know what that looks like in your life, but but that's your homework. Second, God's way, not my way.
00:23:49
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Isaiah 55, 8 states this, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. Often we have plans for our lives that look vastly different than what the Lord's plans are for our life.
00:24:04
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We often think it's going to go A, B, C, and D, and he says, no, you're going to go A, you're going to go Q, you're going to come back to B, then you're going to go to P, because I'm trying to get you all the way to Z. But you've got a lot of life lessons to learn.
00:24:21
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I listened to this young lady that was teaching the other day, and she was distraught about her older daughter who has gone completely secular, um multiple partners, multiple failed marriages.
00:24:40
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And she's interviewing somebody and this lady says, um ah my prayer for my older daughter is that she'll wake up. And she says, Lord, how long is it gonna be? How long are you gonna let her damage herself and all the relationships that she has? Lord, why will you not just bring her home?
00:25:02
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And she said it was in that moment that the Lord reminded me, don't you remember how you used to live? And I let you traverse life for quite a long time being an unbeliever.
00:25:15
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And she said, and in that moment I was convicted. That God is indeed in control and he is indeed leading the lives of those. So if you have grown kids who are out and wayward, today's that message for you.
00:25:30
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God's way, not my way.
00:25:34
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Third, the Spirit leads and we follow. When we trust in God's power and we submit to His will for our lives, we can conquer the flesh by walking in the Spirit. And I'll just tell you now, probably one of the most confusing things that people often get wrong in the Bible, what does walking in the Spirit look like? I hear what you say, Pastor, walking in Spirit, what does that look like?
00:25:54
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Can I give you just a real quick word? Walking in Spirit simply means that you're in God's Word, you're abiding in Christ, and as the Spirit leads, you respond. When the Spirit leads, you respond. What does that mean? Well, when the Spirit tells you and leads you, hey, you need to pull off on the side of the road and help that person whose car is broken down, it's instead of driving past them, guess what you do?
00:26:17
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You stop and help that person. You respond in obedience. and The more you do that, the the more the Holy Spirit fine-tunes you so that you're listening for and you're ready to step out in faith and respond.
00:26:34
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Practical application, if you're studying Proverbs and you get to Proverbs 22.9, it says the generous will themselves be blessed for they share food with the poor. And after you're reading this and you're praying on it and you ask the Lord to reveal an opportunity this week for how you can apply this and then you you see this person in the parking lot of the grocery store and they're in desperate need of food or money or assistance, do you simply take your cart and move away from them Or do you go, you know, I'm gonna help that person right now because I just read in Proverbs 22 this morning, i should I should help out the poor.
00:27:11
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it's it Friends, it's not I really detest this word coincidence because it's not a coincidence. It's the Lord, it is the Holy Spirit leading you and testing you to see whether or not you'll respond in faithfulness. Will you step out?
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Will you watch how the Spirit brings someone into your sphere to be helped this week? And will you respond generously? Friends, being faithful is not, everybody say it, easy.
00:27:42
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But easy is for the other guys.
00:27:45
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Trusting in God that he is in complete control is not easy. Relying on the Spirit to guide our steps is not easy. But may we be a people who trusts in God alone, who are prayerfully dependent upon the Spirit so that we might overcome the flesh. Amen. Amen.