Participants: Pr. John Lomacang
Series Code: TWH
Program Code: TWH000014A
|
00:30 This morning I would like to invite you to bow your heads
00:32 with me as we go to the Lord, "The Most Expensive Journey" 00:37 is the title of the message today. 00:41 Gracious Father in Heaven, 00:43 As we open Your word, we pray that You will 00:46 open our hearts. 00:50 Lord Jesus, we are nearing home and sometimes it gets 00:53 almost humdrum as we think of the many centuries, 01:00 the many millennia that the promise of our soon coming 01:05 Savior has been made, but yet not fulfilled. 01:11 So this morning, Lord, strengthen our resolve 01:13 to know that we are living even at the door. 01:19 Give us dedication, Father, to follow through 01:24 that one day we will experience the most expensive journey. 01:30 In Jesus name, I pray... Amen 01:36 Galatians 4:4-5 is where our text is taken from today. 01:44 I thank our graphic designers for such communication, 01:51 "The Most Expensive Journey." 01:55 Galatians 4:4-5, reading and you're hearing... 02:23 The most expensive journey is the journey Jesus took. 02:31 And the Bible says, that Jesus gave His life... 02:33 it often fades into misunderstanding. 02:36 Jesus did not give up a computer company as Mr. Hayward did, 02:39 who sold his computer company in 2000. 02:41 He said he had been traveling for 5 years. 02:44 Jesus planned a journey that would take 4,000 years 02:48 to complete. 02:51 He didn't give up a computer company. 02:54 He laid aside His glory, He laid down His power, 02:56 He canceled, He canceled His omnipresence. 03:02 He's like us now brothers. 03:04 He canceled His omnipresence. 03:07 He took on sinful, human flesh, but despite what He laid aside, 03:13 His preexistence was noted by David the psalmist... 03:16 David says in Psalms 90:2, I don't know how fast 03:19 you can turn to there, but if you can't get there, 03:21 I'm sure our guys will help you with the screen... 03:23 David, the psalmist, speaks of the preexistence, the eternity 03:27 of a God that chose to clothe Himself in human flesh. 03:33 I try to grasp that sometimes, but I cannot figure 03:37 how a God can clothe Himself in human flesh, in human flesh 03:43 not be consumed! 03:48 I think about Mary... Mary became a nuclear 03:54 reactor - within her, flesh was a power that could obliterate 04:01 her very existence. 04:02 She became the temporary garden for the Rose of Sharon. 04:06 She became the vessel out of which 04:08 the oil of gladness would flow. 04:10 She became the den for the Lion of the tribe of Judah. 04:13 And David, the psalmist, speaking of the preexistence 04:16 of this great God, he said... 04:27 ... together - "You are God." 04:31 God came down! 04:33 God came down - if you don't know about this God, 04:37 we live in the perfect setting, tonight - if God is so gracious 04:41 to give us clear skies... 04:42 Tonight - go into your back yard and look up at God's 04:47 workshop - look up at God's handiwork. 04:51 David, the psalmist, says, "There is no place 04:54 where their voice is not heard, night after night, 04:57 they pour forth speech." 04:59 The "380" says, "God put us here. 05:03 Orion says, "God put us here." 05:06 The Sagittarius - they give the names that are earthly, 05:10 but what amazes me is God knows each star by name! 05:15 That's the God we serve, that's the God of love, 05:18 that's the God who took a vacation from hanging 05:21 galaxies to come and spend 33 years down here 05:25 to accomplish my salvation and your salvation 05:29 that one day He can take us on a journey and say, 05:31 "John, let Me show you how I made Orion. 05:35 Let Me show you how I hung the world in space. 05:41 Let Me show you how I kept the sun 93 million miles away 05:47 just far enough so you can be warm and not too far 05:50 that you will freeze to death, that's the God we serve. 05:53 Let Me show you how I made the atmosphere you breathe... 05:56 Just enough oxygen and hydrogen, 05:59 not enough oxygen to kill you and not enough 06:01 hydrogen to blow you up." 06:04 God can do that and science may try to explain the mystery 06:08 of this God, but they cannot do it. 06:10 You see, God is not God because science decided it, 06:15 science is science because God decided it. 06:21 Light did not give speed to God, 06:23 God gave speed to light. 06:25 One day God is going to suspend the speed that light has. 06:32 Oh when I read the book of Daniel and when Daniel 06:35 began to pray... The angels said, "At the beginning of your 06:39 supplication, I was sent and I'm here to tell you, 06:43 you are greatly loved." 06:45 Like a preacher, many years ago, Pastor Connors, 06:50 you don't know who that is. 06:51 In New York City, Pastor CNO, we called him 06:53 "the little man with the big mouth." 06:59 I was raised in preaching that would make the devil 07:03 LEAVE church. 07:05 He talked about the Hebrews in the furnace. 07:10 When they stepped into the flame that could consume, 07:14 how... and by the way, this ain't even the sermon... 07:19 When they stepped into the furnace that can consume 07:22 human flesh... that God called His angels together 07:26 and He said to one angel, "How long will it take you 07:29 to get down there and bring them relief?" 07:33 And so the angel with two wings says, "Father, it'll take me 07:37 3 minutes." 07:38 God said, "That's not fast enough." 07:41 And He called the cherubim together with 4 wings, 07:45 and He says, "How long will it take you to get down there 07:48 and bring relief to the Hebrew worthies?" 07:50 And he said, "It will take me 2 minutes." 07:53 The Father said, "That's not fast enough." 07:57 Then He called His seraphim together with 6 wings, 07:59 and He said, "How long will it take YOU to get down there 08:03 to bring relief to the Hebrew worthies?" 08:05 He said, "Father, in a minute." 08:06 "I'll be there in a minute." 08:08 He said, "Not fast enough." 08:09 And He called His Son together and said, "How long 08:12 would it take You?" He said, "Father, I'm already 08:14 there!" I'm already there! Amen! 08:18 He's our ever present help in time of need, 08:20 that's the God I'm talking about this morning! 08:23 The most expensive journey is the Lord Jesus 08:28 that created the everlasting to everlasting... 08:33 try to mess with that. 08:35 Everlasting to everlasting, no beginning, no end. 08:39 Ellen White says in "Desire of Ages," 08:41 "It was Christ that spread the heavens and laid the foundations 08:45 of the earth." 08:46 "It was His hand that hung the worlds in space, 08:49 and fashioned the flowers of the field." 08:51 "His strength settles fast to the mountain." 08:54 "The sea is His and He made it." Psalms 65:6, 95:5. 09:00 "It was He that filled the earth with beauty, 09:02 the air with song and to put all things in earth 09:05 and air and sky." 09:07 Listen, He wrote the message of His Father's love. 09:11 When you look at the sky, you can read the message of 09:14 His Father's love; when you look at the flowers, 09:16 you can read the message of our Father's love. 09:20 When you hear a bird sing, they are singing the message 09:23 of our Father's love. 09:26 A God that I cannot fathom, yet a God who loved me 09:30 so much that He came to give back what Adam had lost... 09:37 For you see, God gave Adam dominion over the earth, 09:40 but Adam forfeited that dominion to Satan. 09:42 Satan then had the dominion and Jesus put into action 09:47 a plan that had been ordained before the earth was, 09:50 and He came 4,000 years later to reclaim earth from 09:55 this viscous landlord called, "the devil." 09:59 When Jesus came into the world, Satan had been waiting 10:03 for this moment for 4,000 years to take a second opportunity 10:07 at defeating the Lord where he had lost 10:10 in the courts of glory. 10:11 He had been waiting 4,000 years for this re-match, 10:16 and what we don't know is when Jesus came, 10:19 He came to the most undesirable place... 10:22 He came under the most disadvantageous 10:25 conditions - human flesh. 10:26 You see, we think that sometimes Jesus couldn't fail, 10:29 but brethren, He could have failed! 10:32 Had He failed, we would forever be subjects of death. 10:36 There would be no resurrection. 10:38 This earth... I sat in a restaurant a few days ago, 10:40 my wife and I, we were having, oh I don't know where we 10:42 were sitting, but we were sitting there and I said, 10:43 she read a particular verse... reading sharing something 10:46 from "Desire of Ages," and she said, "What does that 10:51 mean?" 10:53 And I said, "Honey, let's just think about it this way... 10:55 If Jesus had lost... you see, we see sin in drops. 11:02 You know, we hear about ISIS and we remember Hitler, 11:06 and we remember the terrible atrocities of 6 million Jews 11:10 and we think of slavery, of the millions of blacks that 11:13 died there and we think of Egyptian bondage. 11:16 We think of all the world wars and the multiple millions 11:19 yea - more than a billion that have perished, 11:23 but I said, "Honey, that's nothing - just think of a world 11:26 where Satan has complete control where demons 11:31 are not hidden any longer, they're running up the walls of 11:34 the buildings into the homes and hearts, 11:36 not where evil is happening arbitrarily, 11:39 but it is only evil continually. 11:42 Think of a world where there is nothing good any longer. 11:46 Satan would have had complete control of this world 11:49 had Jesus failed and the breath we take, 11:53 when we take our last breath, if it had not been for Jesus, 11:58 we would never rise again, but thank you for Jesus!" Amen! 12:03 I say, "Yes George is resting, but we're going to see George 12:07 in the new version of George one day, 12:10 the tall version of George." 12:12 He shall grow up and we shall too... 12:16 So I speak to you... Jesus didn't come to be pampered. 12:21 He came to die. 12:23 We're going to talk about the willingness of Jesus 12:27 to participate in our eternal destiny. 12:31 The willingness of Jesus to get me from here to there! 12:37 The willingness of Jesus to be willing to lose it all, 12:41 that I could one day have it all. 12:43 The willingness of Jesus! 12:46 Matthew 26, Matthew 26, come with me, come with me 12:54 to the Passover scene... 12:56 Come with me where Jesus has now been brought 13:02 face-to-face, face-to-face with the ominous reality 13:08 that in just two more days, this plan of nearly 4,000 years 13:17 would have its greatest impact on his life. 13:21 Matthew 26, and we're going to look together at verse 1 and 2 13:31 Matthew 26:1-2, the Bible says... 14:00 Now stop... When Jesus echoed those words, 14:07 there were disciples there that had seen Jesus 14:11 in precarious situations before... 14:14 They had heard how Jesus, when there were several attempts 14:18 made to arrest Him, to incarcerate Him, 14:22 that Jesus just vanished, He disappeared. 14:25 His father removed Him from the scene because His hour 14:28 had not yet come, but now in the words of Jesus, 14:33 He is saying, "The Son of Man will be 14:35 delivered up to be crucified." 14:37 What do You mean, Lord? 14:38 You see, there was a man there that had made it up, 14:43 an action of life to get financial gains by selling 14:48 his Lord on several occasions and he always came out richer. 14:53 What many people don't know is that the moment you 14:55 play with God, the moment you play with God... 14:59 your actions will become your chains and Judas used 15:05 God for personal gain, personal aggrandizement. 15:09 While the Passover was being prepared, Judas was laying 15:13 the groundwork for the betrayal of Jesus. 15:16 Look at Psalm 55:12-13, Psalm 55:12-13... 15:22 "These things were prophesied, Jesus came to fulfill the words 15:25 that were prophesied in some cases 700 years, 1,000 years, 15:29 500 years before Jesus came 15:32 to fulfill all the words of prophecy. 15:34 The psalmist, David, says in Psalm 55:12-13, he said... 15:56 Notice what he said... Jesus was speaking about man, 15:59 and He says, "A man my equal," in other words 16:03 Judas, you and I are just like each other. 16:08 The difference though between you and Me is the 16:10 prince of this world has come and he does have something 16:13 in you, but the prince of this world has come and he has 16:16 NOTHING in Me, but we are equal, I'm a man 16:20 just like you're a man, my companion, 16:23 and my acquaintance. 16:25 Judas made up his mind to use Jesus for his own 16:32 personal advancement for his own personal financial gain. 16:37 And Zachariah tells exactly what Judas' intentions were. 16:42 Zachariah 11:12- it's not an easy book to find, 16:46 but it's going to be on the screen, follow carefully... 16:59 In other words, if this price that I said is not good enough, 17:02 then don't give it to me. 17:03 The Bible says... 17:08 Money gained that is the betrayal of Christ 17:12 the wages of sin will always be what? Death. 17:16 In Matthew 26:14-16 now reveals to us the fulfillment 17:24 of the words of Zachariah the prophet. 17:27 Matthew 26:14-16... 17:41 I want to pause for a moment... 17:46 This in and of itself is a scary proposition. 17:51 It's an odd thing to consider that a man who spends 17:55 every day with Jesus... 17:58 How can you spend EVERY DAY with Jesus and end up 18:04 betraying Jesus? 18:08 Judas had privileges that we will not know in this life. 18:13 Judas was there when Jesus fed the 5,000. 18:16 He was there when Jesus healed the sick and in some cases 18:20 raised the dead. 18:22 Judas had first hand inside information 18:27 into prophecies that the multitudes had never heard. 18:30 The Bible says when Jesus was alone with His disciples, 18:33 He gave them insights... He gave them insights 18:38 that the multitudes would never receive, 18:41 and Judas had this inside information, he had the 18:45 knowledge of the Son of God that almost all humanity 18:49 did not have the privilege to embrace, 18:53 and yet Judas... that's why you can't play with sin 18:58 because sin, what happens when sin comes in, 19:01 we are no longer in control of something that's more 19:04 powerful than us. 19:06 So Judas allowed sin to come in and there was no 19:09 telling and I say this today... There is no telling 19:11 to the depths that sin will take a person once we 19:15 open the door to it, so as we read this, 19:17 Judas is not in control. 19:24 What are you willing to give me? 19:28 The words should have frightened him. 19:31 What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you? 19:38 And they counted out 30 pieces of silver... 30 19:48 Judas should have asked himself the question... 19:52 "Can I buy eternity for 30 pieces of silver?" 19:59 And the sad commentary in verse 16... 20:06 And I did the translation for $3,840, 20:13 Judas sold the King of Eternity. 20:23 Now they're sitting at the Feast of Unleavened Bread 20:27 and verse 21 comes into play... 20:43 And the Bible says, "And they were exceedingly sorrowful." 20:47 This is not in my script. 20:56 Can you see it? "Is it I?" "Is it me?" 20:59 "Is it me? Is it I?" 21:02 And the Bible says... 21:15 And I could imagine at that moment, 21:17 the most uncomfortable setting, the disciples begin to examine 21:21 each other's faces and surely there's one that did not 21:27 scan the room - he's sitting there in the most 21:29 uncomfortable of a situation choosing not to draw any 21:35 attention to himself which, in fact, draws 21:39 attention to himself. 21:41 You know the harder you try not to draw attention, 21:44 the easier it gets for somebody to see your intentions. 21:48 Judas is sitting there and then the words of Jesus are echoed 21:53 in verse 23 and 24 and I summarize it this way... 21:57 "Woe to the man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. 22:02 It would have been good for that man if he had not been born." 22:18 When I read that text, my mind fast-forwarded to the day 22:23 when Jesus said, "Behold I come quickly." 22:25 Then He says, "Every eye will see Him, even those 22:31 that pierced Him." 22:35 That day, Judas bought reservations in that crowd. 22:42 Not the every eye that will meet Him in peace, 22:45 but the eyes of those that betrayed Him... 22:49 the Jewish leaders, the Sanhedrin's, the Pharisees, 22:53 the Scribes... 22:55 You see, Satan found a way into the disciples' hearts. 22:58 Judas, he led him to betray; Peter, he led him to deny; 23:05 and there were disciples that were about to abandon Jesus. 23:09 Look at verse 45 and verse 46 of Matthew 26, the Bible says... 23:36 Jesus is with His disciples; they choose not to remain awake. 23:40 And Jesus, seeing Judas approaching with the mob 23:44 to arrest Him, said, "See my betrayer... and I must say, 23:48 I don't know about you, but it would have been a shock 23:50 to me to see one of my elders in the crowd 23:54 that is about to betray me. 23:57 Is that one of my deacons? 24:00 Is that one of the Sabbath School teachers? 24:03 Is that who I think it is? 24:08 And I could almost see the expression on the disciples' 24:10 faces as they see Judas approaching for the Lord 24:14 knew it and He said, "He's going to betray Me; 24:18 He's going to betray Me, He's going to kiss Me 24:21 on My cheek and He's going to betray Me." 24:24 And Judas made the pact, "The one that I kiss, 24:26 that's the one." 24:28 Betrayed the Lord with a kiss. 24:36 And He spoke these words that opened the ears of Judas... 24:40 He spoke these words to the arresting mob, 24:44 and He said in Luke 22:53... 25:01 The hour had come that had foreshadowed 25:07 the price of our redemption. 25:10 The hour had come that your redemption and my redemption 25:16 demanded a sacrifice. 25:18 The hour had come for the spotless Lamb to begin 25:24 to give His life, to shed His blood, to be broken 25:27 for your sin and for my sin. 25:30 The hour had come and in human flesh, Jesus dreaded the hour, 25:35 but as the Divine One, He said, "This is your hour, 25:39 and the power of darkness." 25:40 On one side, humanity would have run for his life, 25:44 but on the other side, Divinity submitted. 25:47 Can you say "Amen" to that? 25:49 He submitted because He thought not of the cross 25:53 and the shame... He thought - oh listen... 25:55 He thought of the eternal fellowship with you and me! 26:05 And I could hear the angels say, "Father, are You sure 26:09 You want those people to come up here?" 26:17 And Jesus said... Now I don't have any 26:20 proof to this, but I think I'm right... 26:23 "Jesus said, "When I'm done, they'll be all right 26:29 to come into the kingdom." 26:31 He who has begun a good work in you will do what? Finish it. 26:34 Brethren, it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, 26:39 but we do know that when He is revealed, 26:41 we shall be like Him for we will see Him as He is. 26:46 I'm staying in there! 26:47 God is still filing me... Come on somebody! 26:50 God is still chiseling me. 26:52 I plan on the redemption of Christ being applied to my life. 26:57 I don't deserve a robe, but God has loved me so much 27:02 that He has a robe with my name on it. 27:04 It's gonna fit... Come on somebody! 27:06 It's gonna fit, He's got a mansion being built for me. 27:09 I plan on occupying that! 27:11 The saddest story of all, Lord Jesus... 27:16 The saddest commentary of all was uttered by 27:21 Jeremiah the prophet, "The harvest is past, 27:25 the summer is ended and we are not saved." 27:33 If, for whatever reason, my eyes are closed in death 27:36 before Jesus comes, I want reservations 27:41 in the first resurrection. Amen! 27:45 I don't want to come out of my dusty bed 1,000 years 27:48 later thinking that this IS the first resurrection. 27:51 I want to hear the words, "Well done thou 27:53 good and faithful servant." 27:56 I want to hear the words, "Come ye blessed of my Father, 27:58 inherit the kingdom prepared for you," and I've seen 28:01 some things that might be termed 28:03 kingdoms, but I want to tell you this... 28:05 There is no "Disney World" that can match the creative ability 28:09 of God Almighty! 28:10 There are no penthouses that Trump could build; 28:15 there is no Taj Mahal that the Indian architects 28:18 can put together - the most perfect building in the world, 28:20 they say, until they see the New Jerusalem, 28:23 they will not know perfection. 28:27 But I don't want heaven for the kingdom, 28:28 I don't want heaven for the mansion... 28:31 If I only have a sleeping bag, I'll be glad that I'm there. 28:36 I want to be able to thank my Savior, 28:42 that when this adversary sought to consume me, 28:46 my Lord was there to rescue me. 28:49 When the adversary sought and fought with every known 28:55 sin of mine to remind the Savior that I'm not worthy 28:59 of eternal life, Jesus said, "My blood, My blood, 29:03 I apply to him My blood and he will be in My kingdom!" 29:12 The high priest, Caiaphas, hired the Roman leader, 29:16 Valerius Gratus, and his intentions are revealed 29:26 in Matthew 26:57. 29:44 When I read that verse, I thought to myself, 29:46 "This had to be a plan," because you know what? 29:49 You can't lay hold of Divinity! 29:54 You can't arrest God! Did you get it? 30:00 You can't handcuff Divinity! 30:05 Jesus, by thought, could have turned the ropes 30:08 of the arresting mob into water! 30:11 They could have been trying to tie Jesus' hands, 30:14 but they could not get a knot because Jesus 30:16 just thought them loose. 30:18 You ever thought about it? 30:20 In the garden, He is arrested... this is deep... 30:23 In the garden, Jesus is arrested and Peter takes His sword 30:26 and cuts off one of the ears of the soldiers... 30:28 Jesus loses Himself, fixes the ear back and then 30:33 binds Himself again. Come on! 30:36 He says, "Hold on, let Me uncuff myself for a moment, 30:40 he needs a surgery," puts the ear on and just 30:43 puts himself back into the restraints of the soldiers. 30:47 They laid hold on Jesus... how can you lay hold on 30:50 the Alpha and the Omega! 30:53 How can you arrest the beginning and the end? 30:55 How can you arrest the one who gives you breath? 31:00 He could have looked at them and they could have 31:01 ceased to breathe! 31:05 But He loved us so much that He submitted to the process. 31:11 And they accused Jesus until they found... 31:14 They continued accusing Jesus until they found something 31:16 that He was guilty of. 31:18 They found something that Jesus was guilty of... 31:23 Matthew 26:64... Yes, He was guilty - what was He guilty of? 31:28 Listen to what He was guilty of... 31:29 You know Jesus was silent for a long time, 31:32 but there came a moment when Jesus broke His silence 31:34 because they hit a chord of truth and Jesus 31:37 only responded so that the words He said to them 31:42 will be remembered when He breaks the clouds of glory. 31:47 Verse 64... "Jesus said to him, "It is as you said." 31:53 What did they ask Him? WHAT did they ask Him? 31:58 Verse 63... 32:19 Can you see Jesus saying "Nevertheless?" "Nevertheless.." 32:29 What a day that will be! 32:32 No longer a crown of thorns, but a crown of glory. 32:36 No longer robes stained with blood, 32:38 but the pure, white garment of the risen, all powerful, 32:42 saving King no longer bound, but FREE! 32:48 No longer chastised but glorified! 32:53 No longer locked in a tomb but free for all eternity. 32:57 You're going to see me, but not like this! 33:01 You gonna see me again, but don't get mixed up, 33:03 I'll remember you even if you don't remember me. 33:08 I'm not gonna look like this, so get a good look! 33:10 See, you see, we would have really worked that good! 33:12 But in the humility of His heart, He didn't rub it in. 33:15 He said, "You're going to see Me." 33:18 And in Matthew 27:1-2... They take Him to the 33:23 Roman governor... 33:25 They take Him to the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate... 33:34 What AMAZED me is these were Sabbath-keeping folk! 33:41 They kept the Sabbath! 33:46 They had the right diet... 33:51 Oh I must say this - it fits right here... 33:55 You gotta have more than the right diet and the right day, 33:57 you gotta have the right relationship. Amen! 34:02 Clean colons can still result in corrupt hearts. 34:08 They plotted against Jesus to put Him to death... 34:14 They said, "Wait, let me put on my robes, let me put on my 34:19 elder, my Pharisee robe, my scribe robe, 34:22 let me put on my best garment and let's present 34:26 ourselves to the governor." Verse 2... 34:37 Oh, if I could have been an angel at that scene! 34:43 I must say to you today... Jesus was not in the 34:47 journey by Himself, I am sure that the angels 34:51 of heaven... hear me carefully, the ANGELS of heaven were 34:54 told by the Father - "Do NOT intervene." 35:02 I can almost hear the anxious flapping of the tips 35:05 of the angels wings... "Just give me the word, 35:07 just give me the word, just give me the word." 35:13 Oh, one angel - in the Old Testament, 35:15 how many did they kill, I forgot the number, 186,000, 35:20 but that's when they mess with man, 35:23 but now you're messing with my Redeemer, my Creator. 35:25 You are messing with THE MAN! 35:27 "Father, just give us the word." 35:30 I could see the angels... "Just tell us." 35:34 They would have turned that arresting mob into VAPOR 35:39 had the Father given the word. "Just give us the word!" 35:44 The EARTH would have shook in trepidation at the mighty 35:49 forces unleashed in the hearts of those loyal angels. 35:56 The earth would have resonated like an atomic 35:59 blast at the rapid pace of these angels to come and to 36:04 secure the release of Jesus. "Father just give us the word." 36:11 But the Bible says, "God said, "Don't do it." 36:13 They allowed Him to be brought into the hall of Pilate. 36:17 The "Desire of Ages" said, "When the Savior was 36:19 brought into the judgment hall, Pilate looked upon Him 36:22 with no friendly eyes." 36:24 You ought to take the time to read that in "Desire of Ages." 36:26 It will pull you in... It will pull you in. 36:30 We read the whole chapter... It will pull you in. 36:33 See, Ellen White says that "Pilate was so used to, 36:37 he was so accustomed to condemning even innocent men, 36:42 that having been awakened urgently, his intention was 36:47 to just take care of this real fast." 36:50 When he walked in, he had to look like... 36:52 "Who is this guy?" "Who is HE?" 36:58 But when he saw the face of Jesus, 37:05 the innocence of the Lamb, this pure Lamb arrested 37:14 his attention for he understood what Jesus was accused of, 37:18 but when he looked in His face, Ellen White said, 37:22 "He had had to deal with all kinds of criminals, 37:30 that is Pilate did, but NEVER before a Man bearing 37:35 marks of such goodness and nobility had been brought 37:41 before him. On His face, he saw no sign of guilt, 37:44 no expression of fear, no boldness or defiance. 37:48 He saw a Man of calm and dignified bearing whose 37:53 countenance bore not the marks of a criminal, but the 37:58 signature of heaven." Who is this guy? 38:05 Being troubled by the peace on the face of Jesus, 38:07 Pilate turned to the Jewish leaders and he went out to them. 38:14 "What accusations do you bring against this Man?" 38:20 When you read the story, you find that God over and over 38:23 tried to save Pilate over and over, He tried to save Pilate, 38:26 but Pilate's trap was - he was more concerned about 38:29 maintaining his POSITION than he was in humbling 38:35 his heart. 38:37 He was thinking about - "If I give in and let Him go, 38:41 and they declare Him innocent, and turn over the verdict 38:45 of the Jews, they'll no longer have my support, 38:47 I'll no longer have theirs and I may get voted out next term. 38:50 Well you know the rest of the story, 38:54 he lost his position anyhow. 38:56 But when he asked the priests what accusation 39:02 do you bring against this Man, Ellen White says the priests had 39:05 hoped that Pilate would now inflict the death penalty on 39:08 Jesus without giving him a hearing, but there was 39:11 something in the prisoner that held Pilate BACK! 39:18 "Why can't I condemn Him?" 39:25 So Pilate decided... John 18:31, Pilate decided, 39:34 "I've got to find a way, I've got to find a way." 39:38 He had the authority, but he chose not to use it. 39:44 In John 18:31 reveals the heart of Pilate... 39:57 In other words, "Pilate, we need your help to carry 40:01 this out," but when you read the story, it is very clear... 40:03 the Jews had condemned, they had tried, they had 40:08 convicted and they had condemned Jesus. 40:10 That is why when you look at the history of the Jewish Nation 40:14 ...hear me carefully... When you look at the history 40:16 of the Jewish Nation, and they said, 40:19 "His blood be on us and on our children," 40:22 the hardship that the Jewish Nation has forged was a 40:27 voluntary hardship they called down on themselves 40:33 the judgments of God. 40:36 It's clearly delineated in Scripture. 40:39 They just asked for Rome to sponsor their derision of Jesus. 40:44 It was not a coincidence. 40:45 Even though Jesus died for you and for me, 40:48 Satan used the instrument of the Jewish leaders 40:52 to lead even the nation itself and to this very day, 40:56 you go to New York... we're natives of New York. 40:58 You go to New York - Jews have no dealings with Gentiles. 41:04 But I praise God there is a movement called, 41:08 "Jews for Jesus," no salvation outside of the 41:13 name of Jesus. 41:15 You see, what Pilate did not know he was paused 41:17 between life and death, heaven and hell. 41:19 So when the Jewish leaders refused to cooperate, 41:21 Pilate turned to them and said, in Matthew 27:11, 41:25 look at what he said, look at what he said! 41:27 He turned to Jesus, when he could not get a 41:31 satisfactory response from the Jews, he turned to Jesus. 41:36 The Bible says in Matthew 27:11... 41:51 And Ellen White said, "That when Jesus repeated those words, 41:57 His countenance lighted up as if a sunbeam 42:04 was shining upon Him. 42:06 For a moment Divinity flashed through humanity 42:11 and Pilate saw it and it frightened him at that moment. 42:15 "It is as you say," and all of a sudden the 42:18 light of God's glory shined through the flesh of humanity. 42:26 But God was working on saving Pilate... 42:29 God loved even Pilate! 42:34 Trying to find a way to save the man, 42:36 so He gave his wife a dream, Matthew 27:19... 42:59 Oh, my brethren, when I read - when I read... 43:05 thank God for insight behind the curtain. 43:10 Servant of the Lord revealed the agony that Pilate's wife 43:16 suffered because of the purity and the justness of Jesus. 43:24 And she sent him a text, she said... 43:27 "Don't have anything to do with that man." 43:32 God showed her... Ellen White says she saw 43:35 Jesus on trial in the judgment hall. 43:38 She saw His hands tightly bound as the hands of a criminal. 43:42 She's dreaming - God is giving her a dream. 43:45 She saw Herod and his soldiers doing their dreadful work. 43:49 She heard the priests and rulers filled with envy and malice, 43:53 madly accusing Jesus. 43:55 She heard them say: "By our law, he ought to die." 44:02 She saw Pilate give Jesus to the scourging after He had 44:05 even declared, "I find no fault in Him." 44:07 He said, "I find no fault, but I'll whip Him 44:09 and then I'll let Him go." 44:12 How do you whip a man that you declare innocent? 44:15 She heard the condemnation pronounced by Pilate, 44:17 and saw Him give Christ up to the murderers, 44:20 and she said, that when Pilate could not... 44:24 The Bible said when Pilate could NOT... 44:27 make a decision, he gave Jesus to the mob, 44:31 and Inspiration says that had it not been for the Roman 44:36 soldiers, the mob would have torn Jesus apart. 44:41 But there was a prophecy that had to be fulfilled, 44:45 "Not a single bone would be broken." 44:48 God's plan knows no haste, but it knew no delay, 44:53 Jesus must not die before the cross, 44:59 but Jesus must die on the cross. 45:03 She saw the cross uplifted on Calvary. 45:07 She saw the earth wrapped in darkness and heard 45:10 the mysterious cry of Jesus, "It is finished." 45:13 And still another scene met her gaze... 45:16 Pilate's wife saw Christ seated upon the great white cloud 45:20 while the earth reeled in space, and His murderers fled 45:24 from the presence of His glory. 45:25 With a cry of horror, she awoke and at once, 45:29 wrote to Pilate the words... 45:31 "Have nothing to do with this man." 45:40 Instead of letting Him go, Pilate said, 45:46 "I am innocent of the blood of Jesus." 45:52 And he made the worse mistake of his life. 45:59 I'm beginning to close the message... 46:01 The choice... John 18, turn there with me. 46:08 John 18- This story covers Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, 46:12 each one giving a vignette of the trial, the scourging, 46:18 the crucifixion of Jesus. 46:21 John 18- You see there was a pagan custom that was 46:30 somewhat of an "out." 46:32 When the governor could not come up with a verdict, 46:35 he left it to the people to decide and at the annual feasts, 46:42 Pilate would give the people the choice as to which 46:46 prisoner to free - a pagan custom. 46:50 And he thought by doing this, he would disconnect himself 46:55 from the betrayal of Jesus. 46:59 And so we pick up the story in John 18 and we're going to 47:04 look together at verse 39... 47:34 How do you look at an innocent Jesus? 47:38 How do you look in the face of your Redeemer? 47:43 How do you look at the Man that gave you a name, a life, 47:51 a mission, a message? 47:54 How can the Jewish leaders look at the Savior that gave 47:58 them the standing that they have and say, 48:05 "We don't want Him, we want Barabbas." 48:13 Inspiration tells us and excuse me for using so many quotes 48:22 today, but I tell ya, I couldn't put it better... 48:26 I couldn't even find my own words to replace 48:32 these words of Inspiration. 48:35 "Desire of Ages," and by the way, the "Library of Congress," 48:40 the "Library of Congress" has listed the book, 48:45 "Desire of Ages," a secular source - has listed the book 48:53 "Desire of Ages" as the best book ever written 48:58 about the life of Christ! Amen! 49:01 Preachers of so many different denominations quote this book. 49:06 It doesn't matter what they are and you can tell when they 49:09 preach where they got it from. 49:11 She says, "Christ had been rejected, Barabbas had been 49:15 chosen... Barabbas they were to have. 49:19 Listen carefully... In making this choice, 49:22 they accepted him, who from the beginning, was a liar, 49:27 and a murderer. 49:29 Satan was their leader. 49:31 As a nation, they were to act out his dictation. 49:36 His works they would do, his rule, they must endure. 49:43 That people who chose Barabbas in the place of Christ, 49:46 Listen carefully... were to feel the cruelty of 49:51 Barabbas as long as time should last. 49:58 You trace the history of the Jewish Nation, 50:00 not coincidental, let His blood be on us and on our children. 50:08 And now my closing words... if somebody could come 50:10 and play the piano, just play something softly 50:13 for me, Danielle. 50:15 You see, today, before we continue to the next trek 50:19 of the trial - the redemptive journey of Jesus, 50:24 we've got to make a decision today... 50:27 For to go to the next stage in this journey, 50:32 if you don't know Him as your King, 50:36 you'll fall into the same trap as did the Jews. 50:43 The last text, John 19:15: "But they cried out, "Away with Him, 50:51 away with Him, crucify Him." And Pilate said to them... 51:01 One more attempt to free Jesus... 51:04 "Shall I crucify your King?" The chief priest answered, 51:11 "We have no king but Caesar." 51:16 Inspiration tells us... "They had rejected God as 51:24 their King, henceforth, they had no deliverer. 51:30 They had no king but Caesar. 51:35 As I close, I must ask you today... 51:41 "Who is your king?" 51:45 Is it the rulers of this earth that are temporary 51:51 and fleeting? 51:53 Is it the life you want to sustain apart from the 51:59 life of Christ? 52:00 Who is your king? 52:04 There is no one that can choose anybody other than Jesus 52:08 that can find peace and hope and everlasting assurance 52:15 outside of choosing Christ. 52:18 So my question to you today is quite simple... 52:23 If you choose Jesus as your King and you want His life 52:33 to be applied to yours, His blood to purge your sin, 52:37 His righteousness to cover your guilt, 52:40 His plan of salvation to replace your plan of despair... 52:47 If today you want to be in the kingdom of the redeemed, 52:51 walk the road of the shame that one day, 52:54 you'll share the road of the glorious. 52:57 If that's your desire today, I want you to stand with me... 53:03 for you see, Jesus was arrested that we could be set free. 53:09 He was declared guilty that we can be declared innocent. 53:13 He was condemned that we could be pardoned. 53:16 He walked our road that one day we can walk His road! 53:21 One day, we, by His grace shall be those that experience 53:30 the most expensive journey. 53:34 One day we shall mount up with the wings of the redeemed 53:39 for the most expensive journey. 53:42 One day Jesus will escort us as we near our heavenly home, 53:50 and He will say to those guarding the gates of the 53:53 New Jerusalem, "Lift up your heads, oh ye gates and be ye 53:58 lifted up ye everlasting doors and we in the train of His 54:01 glory, covered by the light of His righteousness, 54:04 shall be filled with the awesome realization that we are nearing 54:09 home! We are nearing home! 54:12 And Jesus will call through time and eternity... 54:15 "Lift up your heads, oh ye gates and be ye lifted up 54:19 ye everlasting doors and the King of Glory 54:21 shall come in. 54:22 In the train, the redeemed of the ages, no longer marred 54:27 by sin, no stain of disease, perfect in His righteousness, 54:33 covered in His glory, no sadness, no despair, 54:41 and we will hear the conversation between Jesus 54:44 and the angels guarding the gate. 54:46 Ellen White says that to get into the New Jerusalem, 54:49 you gotta have a gold card. 54:51 Every angel has a gold card! 54:53 Don't know what it means, but I believe it means 54:55 the righteousness of Jesus, what do you say? 54:58 And Jesus will say, "Lift up your heads, oh ye gates, 55:02 and be ye lifted up ye everlasting doors 55:05 and the King of glory shall come in," and the angel 55:08 hearing the retinue of the redeemed, 55:11 on the trail of Jesus, heaven, time and space 55:15 being split as we thunder to our eternal home... 55:20 The angel will say, "Who is the King of Glory?" 55:23 And Jesus will say in our behalf, "The Lord, 55:27 the Lord strong and mighty, He is the King of glory." 55:31 I say again, "Lift up your heads oh ye gates and be ye 55:35 lifted up ye everlasting doors and the King of glory shall 55:37 come in," and Isaiah the prophet says, "The words of Jesus 55:43 open wide the gates that the nation that keepeth 55:48 His law may enter in. Amen! 55:52 And we're going to come... 55:53 I don't know how it's going to happen, 55:54 but I'm gonna be there. Come on somebody! 55:56 You gonna be there? Yes! 55:58 I'm going to be there by God's grace - I'm going to be there. 56:00 I may be sinful, but I serve a sinless Savior. Amen! 56:07 And he's going to cover me one day with that robe. 56:10 He's going to cover me one day with that robe and I'm 56:12 gonna look for who I used to be and I'm not gonna find me. 56:15 I'm gonna get a new name, a name of anonymity. 56:17 I will no longer be called by my former name. 56:20 But He will give us double honor by His redemptive grace. 56:25 Even when He called... The other day my wife 56:28 and I were having prayer on the bed together... 56:30 And there are days when she prays for me and there are days 56:33 I pray for her and I said to her, "Honey, when Jesus 56:38 ... we are so connected... I said, "When Jesus calls 56:42 the names of the redeemed to give their crowns, 56:47 He might say, "Tom, come get your crown; Mike, come get 56:54 your crown; Jason, come get your crown, but He's going to 56:58 say, "John and Angie, come get your crown." 57:01 I said, "Honey, we are so inseparable, He is going to 57:03 call us together!" 57:06 "You wanna be there?" She said, "I'm gonna be there." 57:08 I said, "I'm gonna be there too." 57:11 Today brothers and sisters, we've all got the privilege 57:13 of being there - not for the crown but for the glory! 57:19 Not for what we have to gain, but because of what Jesus 57:25 was willing to lose that we might have eternal life. 57:31 Our heads are bowed, our eyes are closed... 57:33 Heavenly Father, As we look at the train of trial 57:41 and tribulation... as we once again contemplate 57:46 the scenes of Your great redemptive act, 57:52 we are moved with hearts of decision and today 58:00 every one of us standing here, we must make a decision. 58:03 Who is our King? Who is our King? 58:09 May we leave here today knowing that JESUS is our KING. 58:15 No longer a crown of thorns, but a crown of glory. 58:19 No longer a slain Lamb, but a risen Lamb. 58:26 Lord Jesus when that day comes, when that day comes, 58:30 help us to know that we can only make it 58:33 because we need You every hour. 58:37 And so, Father, every moment, every hour of every day 58:43 work out in us, through us and for us this eternal plan 58:50 of redemption. 58:52 In Jesus name we pray... And God's people said, Amen! |
Revised 2017-11-15