The Plan To Kill Jesus

[0:00] Amen. The Lord has given me a message for today and actually messages for the next two Sundays.! I went to the Lord in prayer and sought His will for this service today.

[0:16] ! And He blessed me by giving me the next three services. And so I'm excited about that. It makes things a little bit easier when that happens.

[0:26] Sometimes it's really hard. You know, you want to make sure that you've heard the voice of God, to be able to deliver a word to His people, and to be in the will of God. And I feel like that is definitely where we're at today.

[0:37] So this is, we're approaching Passover. The Passover this year in 2025 will begin at sundown next Saturday on the 12th.

[0:49] And it's going to end at nightfall the following Sunday on April 20th. Okay, so this is the Passover. Jews celebrate the Passover. We recognize the Passover.

[1:00] It's something that's very significant to us, the Passover. But we celebrate Resurrection Sunday, which is two weeks from today. We do not celebrate Easter.

[1:13] Disciples of Jesus Christ do not celebrate Easter. Easter's a pagan hijacking of what the holy feast was. It's a hijacking of the Passover.

[1:24] It's a hijacking of Resurrection Sunday by pagan things. There's no Easter bunnies, guys. There's no bunnies that lay eggs. Okay, that's just ridiculous. That's not even natural. Okay.

[1:36] It comes Easter, where Easter comes from. The name Easter is named after an Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring and fertility. It's easily researched, guys.

[1:48] You can go and find that with a quick Google research. You can just spend a few minutes nowadays. And, you know, as a general rule, before you celebrate any holiday and you participate in any rituals of things, it's a good idea before you conduct rituals and things like that to just take a few minutes and research where this comes from.

[2:10] Why are we doing this? Why is this a tradition? And spend a few minutes researching it and see if it has anything to do at all with this book and our apostolic roots, if it can be found in here or not.

[2:23] And so we should be focused on what's in this book. And we don't want to upset God by participating in pagan and idle things.

[2:34] And we want to know what this word of God says. And God says he's a jealous God. He doesn't want to give his glory to nobody else. And our praise and our worship and our efforts and our thoughts and our desires all belong and should belong to God.

[2:48] And so we want to be cautious of those things. Amen. Next Sunday will be the week before Resurrection Sunday. And so you don't want to miss being here next Sunday because not only are we going to have food and fellowship afterwards, that's a good enough reason, but we also will be partaking in communion next Sunday.

[3:08] Amen. So it'll be the first time in our church here that we've partaken of communion. So you don't want to miss next Sunday. It's very important to us as the body of Christ to participate in communion.

[3:21] Amen. So if you'd open your Bibles with me to Matthew chapter 27. Matthew chapter 27.

[3:32] I'll begin reading in verse. Matthew 27 beginning in verse 11. And Jesus stood before the governor.

[3:44] And the governor asked him, saying, art thou the king of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, thou sayest. Verse 12. And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders.

[3:58] Say Pharisees. Say Pharisees. Say chief priests. Say elders. Religious leaders. And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.

[4:10] And then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee? Verse 14. And he answered him to never a word.

[4:21] And so much that the governor marveled greatly. Verse 15. Now at that feast. Say the Passover. At that feast. The governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner whom they would.

[4:36] So every year at the Passover, the Roman occupation, the Roman occupiers of Israel would do the people of Israel a solid and release a prisoner to them.

[4:48] Okay. And so as a gesture of goodwill. And, you know, that's something that would take place every year at the Passover. In verse 16. And they had then a notable prisoner called Barabbas.

[5:01] Verse 17. Therefore, when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas or Jesus, which is called Christ?

[5:13] For he knew that for envy they had delivered him. Verse 19. When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man?

[5:27] For I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him. Verse 20. But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas and destroy Jesus.

[5:43] Verse 21. And the governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas. Verse 22.

[5:54] Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus, which is called Christ? And they all say unto him, Let him be crucified.

[6:05] And the governor said, Why? What evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified. Verse 24. When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult, which means basically a loud crying uproar from a mass amount of people, was made.

[6:29] He took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of this blood of this just person. See ye to it. Then answered all the people and said, His blood be on us and on our children.

[6:45] What a terrible thing. What a terrible thing. Then answered all the people and said, His blood be on us and on our children.

[6:56] Verse 26. I'm just going to actually, before I say that, I'm just thinking, this isn't in my notes, but it just came to me. When Peter preached on the day of Pentecost, he said, The promise is unto you.

[7:07] When Peter preached a message and said, The man you crucified was the Messiah. And they said, What must we do? What should we do? They were pricked in their hearts. And Peter said, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins.

[7:21] And you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost for the promises unto you and to your children. And it was just a month before or so that they were saying that the blood would be upon them and their children.

[7:36] That was free. Then answered all the people and said, His blood be on us and on our children. Verse 26. Then released he Barabbas unto them.

[7:47] And when he had scourged Jesus, that means he beat him brutally, he delivered him to be crucified. Verse 27. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into a common hall and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers.

[8:05] Verse 28. And they stripped him and put on him a scarlet robe. Verse 29. And when they had plaited or plaited a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head and a reed in his right hand.

[8:19] And they bowed the knee before him and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews. Verse 30. And they spit upon him and took the reed and smote him on the head.

[8:30] Verse 31. And after that, they had mocked him. And with the help of the Lord, I want to preach a message from the word of the Lord to us today.

[8:48] And the title of my message to us today is The Plan to Kill Jesus. The Plan to Kill Jesus. Help me pray. Lord Jesus, I pray, Lord, that you be with us today, God, in this heavy word that we have been given to us today.

[9:03] God, help us get through this today. Help us understand what it is that you would have us learn from your word. God, let it penetrate our hearts, souls, and minds today, Lord. Anoint me to deliver the word, God, in the way that you would want it delivered.

[9:15] In Jesus' name I pray. God, I pray that you touch every single one to deliver that your word is being delivered to, that they would receive it gladly. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Amen. You may be seated in the presence of the Lord.

[9:27] We have just read in Scripture in which Jesus was brought before Pilate and is sentenced to be killed by crucifixion. And the total context leading up to this is a culmination of events really that began before God created the earth.

[9:49] For Jesus was the lamb slain from the foundation of the world, Revelation 13, 8. However, for the sake of time and to the point to which God has given and laid upon me to preach today, I will begin to set a foundation for today's message in Matthew 2.

[10:07] Another extensive reading as you're seated in comfort, I'll read to you. Matthew 2, beginning in verse 1. Now, when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem.

[10:25] How many remember the Christmas story and the three wise men? Well, it doesn't say there was three. It just says there were wise men. Verse 2, saying, Where is he that is born king of the Jews?

[10:36] For we have seen his star in the east and are come to worship him. So get the picture. These wise men come from the east and they come to King Herod and they're looking for the king of the Jews, the one that's prophesied to be the king of the Jews.

[10:50] Verse 3, When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him. Verse 4, And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

[11:07] He didn't study scripture, apparently. He didn't go to Sunday school and he didn't know the prophecies. So King Herod brought in all of the priests and the scribes and he said, Hey, these guys say that the king of the Jews, the Messiah is coming.

[11:24] And so tell me, where is the prophecy? I know there's one. I know there's a prophecy about this. Where does it say that he's to come from? So he's trying to find out where is Jesus coming from?

[11:35] Where is he going to be born? And they said, verse 5, And they said unto him, And Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the princes of Judah.

[11:50] For out of thee shall come a governor that shall rule my people Israel. Then Herod, when he had privately called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.

[12:05] So first he wants to know from the Jews and the priests and the scribes, where is Jesus going to be?

[12:15] And now he's asking the wise men, When did you first see this star? When did you first get this? And so he's trying to come up with the place and he's trying to come up with the time to where Jesus is. And so verse 7, And then Herod, when he had privately called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.

[12:33] And verse 8, And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, Go and search diligently for the young child. And when you have found him, bring me word again that I may come and worship him also.

[12:44] Do you guys think King Herod wanted to worship Jesus? Let's find out. Verse 9, When they had heard the king, they departed, and lo, the star which they saw in the east went before them till it came and stood over where the young child was.

[13:02] Verse 10, And when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and fell down and worshiped him.

[13:13] And when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts, gold and frankincense and mirth. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed back into their own country another way.

[13:28] Verse 13, And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream. Saying, Arise and take the young child and his mother and flee into Egypt and be thou there until I bring thee word.

[13:44] For Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. Verse 14, When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night and departed into Egypt and was there until the death of Herod.

[13:59] That it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt I have called my son. And verse 16, Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wrath, and sent forth and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem and all the coast thereof from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.

[14:29] So he, from the time that Jesus was born, there has been intentions and there have been plans made in attempts to end Jesus' purpose and Jesus' life.

[14:44] And King Herod had a plan to kill Jesus. And King Herod, fearing the loss of his throne to the prophesied newborn king, ordered the slaughtering of Bethlehem's infant children.

[14:55] He sent men to Bethlehem to kill all the babies up to two years old. This has become known as the massacre of the innocents. Herod's power, Herod's throne, his status, his way of life, everything that he had was worth more to him than the lives of hundreds and possibly even thousands of innocent babies and children.

[15:17] And we look at this account of a man ordering the massacre and the savage murdering of innocent babies from newborn to two years old as a sickening act of pure evil.

[15:30] It is shocking to us. It is appalling to us to think that such evil could exist in this world, to destroy innocent life, to save your power and status, to kill a baby, to ensure that your throne stays secure.

[15:45] What level of evil must it take to do such a thing? The fact and the reality is that it is not far from most people to be able to do that very same thing.

[15:56] In a recent statistic I saw from the year 2021, there was reported one abortion for every five newborn children in the United States. The CDC reported a total of 626,000 aborted babies in 2021.

[16:12] The world we live in is a dark place. There is spiritual darkness everywhere, all around us, all the time. There is a spirit behind abortion, and it is the same spirit that fueled King Herod to order the massacre of the innocents, and that is a spirit of self.

[16:28] The spirit of self is a protector of self-will and self-power. Whatever a person tells themselves, whatever a person has to say to themselves or to their spouse, to rationalize getting an abortion doesn't matter.

[16:42] The bottom line is that precious baby would be an inconvenience to them. It would be an inconvenience to their lifestyle. It would be an inconvenience to their plans that they have for their life.

[16:53] And that precious baby's life would be a threat to their power and ability to rule their life as they see fit and that they would want, and the baby is looked at as a threat to their throne and their life.

[17:04] And so they murder innocent life for their own protection of power, that they are willing to spill innocent blood to protect their ability to remain on the throne of their life and not to give it up for another, not even for their own baby.

[17:19] A baby would be too inconvenient for them. It would be too inconvenient to have to raise a baby. It would be too inconvenient to have to invest into something else besides themselves.

[17:31] And it would just require too much for them, far more than they are willing to give up. And so they readily kill the baby. Hundreds of thousands of people in this country every year are willing to kill babies and to protect their throne.

[17:46] And King Herod was willing to kill babies and children to protect his throne. In Matthew chapter 19, Mark 10 and Luke 18, you see parents bringing infants and toddlers and small children to Jesus.

[17:59] And at first the disciples tried to stop them thinking it would inconvenience Jesus. But Jesus told his disciples to let the babies and the infants and the children come, for such is the kingdom of heaven.

[18:11] The purpose of the kingdom of God is that we as disciples and ambassadors of Jesus Christ are born to seek and to save those that are lost, to reach the lost with the gospel.

[18:26] Amen. And to help people of this world find a life more abundant in Christ Jesus. To help someone be born again into this kingdom of God as a new baby. We may look at King Herod's plan to kill Jesus by massacring the innocent babies and children of Bethlehem to protect his throne as a wickedly evil act.

[18:45] And we should. We may look at the yearly massacre of hundreds of thousands of innocent babies by parents in America each year to protect their lifestyles, to protect the throne of their own lives as wicked and evil.

[18:58] And we should. But I wonder how we view and consider ourselves in this matter. I wonder how we look at ourselves in this matter. Is it possible that we who cling and hold on to our comfort zones, is it possible that we who cling and hold on to our personal agendas in life, is it possible that we who out of fear of the cost it would cost us in taking the next step in our callings that God has upon our life, is it possible that we are in essence protecting the throne of our lives and in the process killing unknown numbers of innocent babies that should have been born again in this kingdom of God, that could have been born again in the kingdom of God.

[19:37] Oh, God, help us, God, from this having a spirit of self that we would look to our own lives and try to protect our miserable lives that we have on this earth.

[19:48] We are like a vapor in the wind is our life, the Bible says. And what are we willing to do? Are we willing to protect that? Are we willing to reject the calling that God has upon our lives to be in his kingdom, to reach the people in our families and to reach the people in our workplace and to reach the people all around us and the people in this city because we don't want to be available to God and his calling upon our lives because of what it would cost us.

[20:14] God, help us if that's our attitude. Jesus Christ is God's purpose manifested and expressed. God so loved the world he gave his only begotten son.

[20:25] And the whole point and the purpose of God getting off of his throne and putting on flesh was to die for the sins of humanity, to offer a way back through him, through the sacrifice and the shedding of his own blood, through the man Christ Jesus.

[20:39] And now he has given to us a ministry of reconciliation. Amen. We are called into the kingdom and given a purpose to reach out to the lost and carry the name of Jesus as ambassadors.

[20:52] Amen. But if we reject that plan that God has for us, then we reject Jesus. If we don't plan to let Jesus and his great purpose take his place on the throne in our lives, then we, in essence, we plan to kill Jesus in our lives.

[21:07] And in the process, we become responsible for unknown numbers of lost people that we were intended to reach and that probably we could only reach in our lives. It's a massacre of innocence if we do that.

[21:20] God, help us not to do that. God, help us to have a fervent passion for your kingdom, Jesus. God, help us, Lord, not to have a spirit of self, God. Help us, Lord, to be concerned about the person next to us, the soul.

[21:34] Help us not just look at people as other humans, but look at the eternal soul that they possess that needs to be saved and needs to be born again in the name of Jesus. Amen.

[21:44] And then there were the Pharisees. The Pharisees. And if you remember in our reading, Matthew chapter 2, verse 3, when Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled in all Jerusalem with him.

[21:58] Not only was King Herod worried about Jesus messing up his plans, the Bible says all of Jerusalem was troubled. There were a lot of people concerned about losing something.

[22:10] A lot of people wanting to protect the power and influence they had. Mark chapter 3, verse 6, And the Pharisees went forth and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.

[22:24] They right away from the beginning were wanting to work with the Pharisees, wanting to work with the Herodians, the people of Herod's house, and to find a way to destroy Jesus.

[22:37] The religious leaders, the religious authorities were threatened by Jesus and his plans, so they planned to kill Jesus.

[22:48] The Pharisees, they were so self-righteous. They were so self-righteous, and they had such authority with those people that they led, in the sense that they were, in a sense that they're actually worse than King Herod, in this sense, because they were supposed to represent God.

[23:07] They were supposed to be the spiritual authorities in the Jews' life at that time, and they were supposed to represent God, and here they are, not being true spiritual leaders. And you see all the things, all the contention that Jesus had with the Pharisees in the Gospels, and he would call them hypocrites, and that they would polish the outside, but the inside was filthy, and all these things that he would accuse them of being hypocrites.

[23:34] And there was a time when Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath day of a withered hand, and because it was on the Sabbath, and they were so self-righteous, and all they cared about was the letter of the law, and that we were not supposed to work on the Sabbath, they were focused on those self-righteous things, and couldn't see that a miracle just happened, and a withered hand was just healed.

[24:00] And that self-righteousness, and then they were concerned about losing their power with the people, and they saw Jesus as a threat. And now today, we are to be spiritual leaders.

[24:12] We are to lead people in our lives out of spiritual darkness into the light. But if we become so self-righteous and so religious that our hearts become numb to the plan and the purpose of God, and that is to show and demonstrate the grace and mercy of God to the lost people around us, if we forget that, then we plan to kill Jesus' mission.

[24:34] We participate in the plan to kill Jesus and his purpose on this earth. Amen. And we cannot fall into the self-righteous trap. We cannot become satisfied with religious practices.

[24:46] We have to be focused on the work of the ministry and the reaching of the lost. When we come together in the house of God to learn about his word and to worship and to praise him, that's not the culmination of our relationship with God.

[25:00] That's not the culmination of what our purpose is in the kingdom of God. This is just a cherry on top. Amen. The real work begins when you leave out of this house, and you go and you face the world that you live in, and you have to walk through the miry darkness and the nastiness of this world and be a light for Jesus.

[25:18] That's when the real work begins. It's on Monday morning and in the workplace. Amen. It's in your family. If your family's not saved, your mission's filled as your family. That should be your priority.

[25:30] Amen. And we can't get just like a self-righteous, well, I came to church, I'm good, and I don't worry about nobody else. Amen. We can't have that kind of self-righteous attitude. We can't just get caught up in religious practices.

[25:43] We have to be focused on the work of the ministry and the reaching of the lost. Amen. And that's why we have been given the power and the spirit of Christ in us, the power of the Holy Ghost, so that we could be witnesses to the world around us.

[25:56] And then there was Caiaphas in the Sanhedrin. Caiaphas was the high priest in the Sanhedrin, which is like the Supreme Court of the Jews, had agreements in place with the Romans.

[26:09] John 11, verse 47. John 11, verse 47. Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council and said, What do we do?

[26:21] For this man doeth many miracles. If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him, and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.

[26:33] Verse 49. And one of them named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, You know nothing at all. Nor consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people and that the whole nation perish not.

[26:51] And this spake he not of himself, but being a high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation and not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together and one the children of God that were scattered abroad.

[27:08] That's deep and we can go a long ways on that. That's not the purpose today. Verse 53. Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death. Caiaphas, the high priest, and the Sanhedrin feared that they would lose their power and influence over their people to Jesus, and then the Romans wouldn't consider them relevant anymore.

[27:30] The Romans, the occupying power, considered the Pharisees and the scribes and the Sanhedrin and the high priest as significant because they had a lot of influence with the people.

[27:42] But Jesus was gathering a lot of followers. People were going to Jesus because of his miracles, and so they saw him as a threat to their power and their stability with the Roman Empire that was in control.

[27:55] And so they made plans to kill Jesus as a solution. And disciples of Jesus Christ who compromise the mission, in essence, kill the plan and purpose of Jesus if they do it for cultural acceptance.

[28:10] It's easy sometimes to try to water down the gospel to please society, to please the government, or to please what's culturally accepted, to avoid conflict or to avoid any real effort in the kingdom of God.

[28:25] And in doing so, they are choosing an easy path over the path of carrying a cross. Amen. As a disciple of Jesus Christ. And I'm preaching about the plan to kill Jesus.

[28:37] And I don't want us to be any part of that plan. I'm not going to worry about the pressures of society. I'm not going to worry about the pressures of the culture that's anti-Christian. Amen.

[28:48] And it's anti-being a disciple of Jesus Christ will bring persecution. It will bring all sorts of different things. I'm not going to worry about that. I'm going to worry about making sure that I'm part of the plan of Jesus, not a plan to kill the mission of Jesus.

[29:02] Amen. And so, and then there's Judas. And then there's Judas. In Matthew 26 and 14, You got to get this.

[29:26] This is Judas, one of the 12. One of the 12 called apostles. One of the 12 apostles following Jesus. And he went to the priest, the chief priest, and said unto them, What will you give me?

[29:39] And I'll deliver him unto you. And they made a covenant with him for 30 pieces of silver. And from that time, he saw opportunity to betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.

[29:52] Judas was one of the original 12 apostles. Judas had seen firsthand the miracles that Jesus performed. Judas saw Jesus face to face. Jesus, Jesus no doubt, ministered to Judas on a level that only God can do.

[30:05] And so why would Judas sell out to Jesus for 30 pieces of silver? Why would he participate in that plan to kill Jesus? The plan to kill Jesus for just 30 pieces of silver.

[30:18] Why would any disciple of Jesus Christ, after experiencing Jesus, after being baptized in his name, after receiving his spirit inside of them, why would they plan to kill Jesus and destroy his purpose?

[30:31] Why would you walk away from this? Why would you backslide? Why would you leave Jesus after all that? And it comes to the spirit of self. They become inward thinking.

[30:42] They betray Jesus for self-gain. Like Judas, they plan to kill Jesus in the mission when it no longer serves them. And it gets to the point where some sacrifice may have to take place, where some persecution may have to come and take place in order for you to continue with Jesus.

[31:00] Because God's always trying to bring you higher in your walk with him. He's always trying to take you to a higher place spiritually. Amen. And to do that, it takes sacrifice.

[31:10] And you're going to come across a point in your life where there's a line there that if I cross this line, it's going to cost me something in this world. It's going to cost me more time. It's going to cost me more money.

[31:22] It's going to cost me being the one sitting on the throne of my life. And am I willing to take a step past that line? If I do, I would lose these things.

[31:33] And I guarantee you today, more people walk away from this truth for a lot less than what Judas did for 30 pieces of silver. I don't know how much money 30 pieces of silver would equate to today.

[31:45] It sounds like it could potentially be a lot. If I had 30 pieces of silver, even today, it would probably be a pretty good amount of money. I don't know if it was a year's wage or what it was. But I guarantee you that there's people that walk away from God after all the things that God has done for them, after God's picked them up from where they were and placed them on solid ground and gave them a namesake and a promise of eternal life and cleaned up their lives and they walk away from God for what?

[32:13] Because somebody offended them or somebody said something wrong or they didn't shake their hand or right when they thought they should. All kinds of different excuses I've heard over the years of living for God while people walk away.

[32:25] And I guarantee you it's even less than 30 pieces of silver. Amen. And we can't become one of those that would just walk away from God for any reason at all, much less 30 pieces of silver or some other insignificant thing in life.

[32:41] Amen. And so when we chase our own gain instead of God's glory and God's purpose, we repeat Judas' steps. When we're worried about what we are going to get out of it, when we're worried about what we might lose if we cross that line, then we're repeating Judas' steps.

[32:59] Jesus Christ was the manifestation, the physical appearing of God's purpose for this world. The thing that we need to understand today is through this word, and that is through this message today, is that either we're advancing the plan and the purpose of the kingdom of God or we're partaking in the plan to kill Jesus and his purpose.

[33:23] Amen. You're either doing one or the other. If you're not advancing it, then you're participating in killing it. Amen. Or being a hindrance to it. And the spirit of self is the spirit that we need to reject today.

[33:37] The spirit of self allowed King Herod to look at his self in the mirror and just adjust his cute little crown just right, while in the background the voices of mothers trying to cling to their babies while they're being murdered so he could protect his power.

[33:53] And it didn't faze him or bother him at all. That's how deep in darkness he was. The spirit of self caused the self-righteous hypocritical Pharisees to look past miracles that God himself in flesh there in front of them, the one that they knew the scriptures.

[34:13] King Herod went to them to find out where Jesus was going to come from. They knew the scriptures better than anybody. They read the scriptures day in and day out. That's all they studied. They knew everything there was to know about God in that day.

[34:27] They were looked at as spiritual leaders. And they were so self-righteous and caught up in their spirit of self that Jesus, God himself, is standing before them. And they reject him.

[34:37] And they're more concerned about what they're going to lose over what they could have gained if they just recognized who's standing in front of them. And it's the spirit of self that consumed Judas, a chosen apostle, to forsake what he knew and to choose 30 pieces of silver over his own salvation and the salvation of others that probably only he could have reached through his ministry that was now no more because he hung himself in all his condemnation.

[35:06] Amen. If you would stand with me, many planned to kill Jesus. Many planned to kill Jesus. And ultimately, they were successful. They were successful. As we read in the beginning, he was led to be crucified.

[35:21] Jesus was innocent and he was viciously murdered. But here is the irony of it all. Here's the irony of it all. Even God had the plan to kill Jesus. Even God had the plan to kill Jesus.

[35:33] That was the plan. That was the plan. That's the only reason why he put on flesh and to come into this world. It wasn't to provide a miracle. Although that was great. It wasn't to provide us a better way of life here on this earth.

[35:47] It wasn't to provide us a miracle to get through to the next day. No. It was to die on a cross for our sins so that we have an opportunity to be reconciled back to God and to have an opportunity to experience him and his spirit inside of us.

[36:02] That one day when we die or when God comes back for his church, it's that spirit in us that's going to catch us away. Amen. And we're going to get to see Jesus. Amen. Amen.

[36:14] That's the irony of it all. The death, the burial, the resurrection. It was all God's plan. The plan was that God himself would come in the form of a man. Jesus was the lamb slain before the foundation of the world.

[36:29] Amen. The plan was in place to save us before we were even created. And in need of saving, the plan was already in place. And they all planned to kill.

[36:41] And they did kill Jesus. But the good news is he's alive today. He's risen. He's not in a tomb anymore. Amen. He rose again on the third day. And all those that made plans and plotted to kill Jesus and all those that attempted to hinder the work of the Lord with their spirit of self and all those who tried to kill Jesus and his purpose ultimately only destroy God's purpose in their own lives and their own families.

[37:07] And we read it in the beginning. When Pilate saw that he could not prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of this blood of this just person.

[37:19] Ye see to it. And what was their answer? They said, all the people said, his blood be on us and our children. And that's exactly what it will be. His blood will be upon them and their children.

[37:32] When you reject the plan of God and you plan to kill Jesus and to kill his plan and purpose, the only ones that you are killing and destroying is yourself and your closest friends and family.

[37:43] And at the end of the day, it is the Herodians, the Pharisees, the Sanhedrin, Judas, and those other betrayers like them that lose out on eternal life. But the mission, the plan, the God in Christ, Jesus remains in advances regardless.

[38:00] And today, Jesus is glorified glorified and his mission has advanced and his gospel has been preached all around this world today. And here we are even in use and preaching the gospel of God.

[38:11] And we find ourselves today in the kingdom of God. And I want to make sure that I don't allow the spirit of self to cause me to plan to hinder or kill the mission Jesus has given to me.

[38:23] This is what we need to understand, that God's purpose and plan will come to fruition with us or without us, but it's better for us if we are involved. Amen. It's better for us if it's with us and that we get involved in the kingdom of God that we've been called upon.

[38:39] And all those that plan to kill Jesus were never going to be able to stop him. He was not going to be stopped. It was all part of the plan. And they did, all they did was destroy their own eternal salvation in the process.

[38:52] And it's better to plan to follow Jesus than to plan to kill Jesus. Amen. Before you leave here today, find an altar today. Sacrifice self today.

[39:02] We can't have a spirit of self. And I'm telling you right now, we all fight this. Don't think that I must be preaching to somebody else. I'm preaching to me. I'm preaching to you.

[39:12] I'm preaching to you. I'm preaching to you. I'm preaching to you. I'm preaching to you. I'm preaching to you. I'm preaching to you. I'm preaching to you. I'm preaching to you. Just so you're all clear who I'm preaching to. I'm preaching to every person in this place.

[39:23] We all battle a spirit of self. It is part of the human condition. It is the flesh that we carry every single day that we have not been glorified from.

[39:34] Amen. One of these days, we're going to get a new body. Amen. I'm looking forward to that. One of these days, we're going to get a new body, and we're going to get raised up out of here, and we're going to see Jesus, and we're going to be glorified and all these things.

[39:45] But right now, what are we doing? What are we doing right now? Who's winning right now? Is the spirit of self winning in our lives? Can we be honest?

[39:56] With each other today? Can we be honest with ourselves? Amen. What are the next steps in the direction that God's trying to lead us that we need to go? Because of what are we going to reject it?

[40:06] Because of what it may cost us? Have we been praying enough? Have we been neglecting prayer? Have you been avoiding coming to services? Have you been avoiding witnessing to your family and friends?

[40:19] Have you been neglecting the word of God in your life? Has the word of God been neglected in your life? Have you been prioritizing yourself in the things that you want and care about over the things that God wants you to be pursuing in your life?

[40:35] Has God put a calling on you to go do something and you've not fulfilled that? Do you know that you're called to do something in the kingdom of God and you're rejecting that?

[40:45] You're pushing that down the road? You're not being obedient to that calling? I want us to take time today before we leave. Find an altar. Find a place to pray and make sure that we're right with God.

[40:57] Make sure that we're walking exactly where God wants us to walk and the way that God wants us to walk with him. We've got to make sure that we're close to God and that we're following his statutes that he has in our lives.

[41:09] We don't want to be a part of the plan to kill Jesus. We don't want to be part of the plan that kills Jesus in our lives. We don't want to be part of the plan that kills Jesus in our family, amen, and the people around us that are depending on us, amen, to be part of their salvation experience that only we can reach them.

[41:30] There's people in your life only you can reach.