Part 6
following Jesus
What I want
to want
What do we want to want?
Most of us don’t become
Christians with the intent of following Jesus. We become Christians because we
were told obedience pays and disobedience doesn’t. We become Christians hoping
that spirituality will fill a hole in our souls. We become Christians hoping
God will fix us or fix someone we know. Eventually, our agendas clash with
Jesus’ and we have to decide whether we’ll abandon him or follow.
Gods hand can’t be forced; and his will can’t be
thwarted
Matthew
26:6–16 (NLT)
6Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of
Simon, a man who had previously had leprosy.
7While he was eating, a woman came in with a
beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume and poured it over his head.
8The disciples (Judas) were indignant when they saw
this. “What a waste!” they said.
9“It could have been sold for a high price and the
money given to the poor.”
10But Jesus, aware of this, replied, “Why criticize this woman for doing such a good thing to me?
11You will always have the poor among you,
but you will not always have me.
12She has poured this perfume on me to
prepare my body for burial.
13I tell you the truth, wherever the Good
News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and
discussed.”
Judas Gets frustrated because he is not getting his
way!
14Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples,
went to the leading priests
15and asked, “How much will you pay me to betray Jesus
to you?” And they gave him thirty pieces of silver.
16From that time on, Judas began looking for an
opportunity to betray Jesus.
Jesus is betrayed
Matthew
26:47–50 (NLT)
47And even as Jesus said this, Judas, one of the
twelve disciples, arrived with a crowd of men armed with swords and clubs. They
had been sent by the leading priests and elders of the people.
48The traitor, Judas, had given them a prearranged
signal: “You will know which one to arrest when I greet him with a kiss.”
49So Judas came straight to Jesus. “Greetings, Rabbi!”
he exclaimed and gave him the kiss.
50Jesus said, “My friend, go
ahead and do what you have come for.” Then the others grabbed Jesus and
arrested him.
There are certain trains that once they leave the
station can’t be brought back
Matthew
27:2–8 (NLT)
2Then they bound him, led him away, and took him to
Pilate, the Roman governor.
3When Judas, who had betrayed him, realized that
Jesus had been condemned to die, he was filled with remorse. So he took the thirty pieces of silver back to the leading
priests and the elders.
4“I have sinned,”
he declared, “for I have betrayed an innocent man.” “What do we care?” they
retorted. “That’s your problem.”
5Then Judas threw the silver coins down in the Temple
and went out and hanged himself.
6The leading priests picked up the coins. “It wouldn’t be right to put this money
in the Temple treasury,” they said, “since it was payment for murder.”
7After some discussion they finally decided to buy
the potter’s field, and they made it into a cemetery for foreigners.
8That is why the field is still called the Field of
Blood.
·
Judas is gone
·
Jesus is
arrested
·
And Jesus dies
·
And We see Gods
hand can’t be forced
Gods hand can’t be forced; and his will can’t be
thwarted
·
In a strange,
dramatic, Hollywood sort of way
·
Judas in trying
to force his will
·
Judas by
staying focused on his will and agenda
·
Plays a part in
your salvation and mine
·
And Gods will
was accomplished
·
Gods will
unfold in Judas attempt to force his will
·
Gods hand can’t
be forced
·
Gods will can’t
be thwarted
We are more like Judas then we think
·
When we start
to follow Jesus, we hope our will and Jesus will is in sink
·
But if it’s not
we want our will
·
And as the
conflicts a rise
·
When his will conflicts
with our will
·
That’s when we
start to learn so much about ourselves
·
You will start
to feel like we must do something that is not natural
·
Because our
wills, (ours and Jesus) will be in conflict
·
And we will
either stay a consumer or become a follower
These are defining moments!
·
This is when we
step out on faith
·
This is when
our itty bitty tiny faith intersects with Gods will and Gods becomes alive
·
It’s in these moments
a follower in born
·
It’s when we
learn to trust God
·
It’s when we
stop seeing him as something to get what we want
·
And we start to
see him as our father
·
Who wants nothing
from us, only things for us
It’s when I want what you want, more than what I
want
·
Followers
really want what he wants more than we want what we want
o We have all seen it
o When people give something up
o Or change course in their lives to follow Jesus
·
And because of
sin the battle rages in us all to follow our own will
·
And some people
find it too hard to give up their will and wants to follow
o They feel they will lose out on some thing
o Od miss out on something
·
But the reason
you see people take huge steps in faith and follow is because they took the
little steps first
Let me scare you a little
·
Jesus didn’t stop
Judas from making a mistake he could come back from
·
And Judas didn’t
stop Jesus form accomplishing what he came to earth to do
·
Some trains can’t
be stopped, some sin can’t be fixed, forgiven, but never fixed
·
And if Judas
was here I think he would tell you something like this:
Blessed is the one who chooses to do the will of God
rather than attempting to impose his will on God!
·
Blessed is the
one is when the opportunity comes
·
Blessed is the
one when there is a fork in the road
·
Blessed is the
one that when the conflict arises
·
Blessed is the
one when Gods will isn’t their will
·
Chooses Gods
will over their own
At the end of the day
·
No matter how
connected you are
·
No matter how smart
you are
·
No matter how
good you are
You can’t force Gods
hand or get in the way of His will getting done!
·
That’s a good
thing
·
Because we aren’t
God
·
And that when
we ask for stupid things God can say “NO”
·
So Follow,
because he can’t be forced anyway
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