WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.839 You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian 00:00:04.839 --> 00:00:06.339 Church in Huntsville, Alabama. 00:00:06.820 --> 00:00:09.359 Our passion is to experience and express grace. 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:10.500 Join us. 00:00:11.919 --> 00:00:16.440 It is good to be able to come and show you what I found in 00:00:16.440 --> 00:00:16.740 scripture. 00:00:17.480 --> 00:00:19.000 And so why don't we just start with the scripture. 00:00:19.960 --> 00:00:25.679 And it's John 19, the first 11 verses. 00:00:27.679 --> 00:00:29.940 This is the written word of God. 00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:33.920 Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. 00:00:35.719 --> 00:00:40.980 And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on 00:00:40.980 --> 00:00:43.380 his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. 00:00:43.939 --> 00:00:48.120 They came up to him saying, hail king of the Jews and struck him 00:00:48.120 --> 00:00:48.980 with their hands. 00:00:50.120 --> 00:00:53.700 Pilate went out again and said to them, see, I am bringing him out 00:00:53.700 --> 00:00:57.980 to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him. 00:00:58.939 --> 00:01:02.519 So Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. 00:01:03.159 --> 00:01:05.959 Pilate said to them, behold the man. 00:01:06.259 --> 00:01:07.479 Let me just pause there for a second. 00:01:07.560 --> 00:01:09.780 I think one of the things that Pilate is trying to do is he had 00:01:09.780 --> 00:01:10.899 Jesus beaten. 00:01:12.159 --> 00:01:13.280 He knew he was innocent. 00:01:13.280 --> 00:01:18.120 But he wanted to see if he could get the crowd to see something in Jesus. 00:01:18.320 --> 00:01:20.320 Like that, this innocent man was just beaten. 00:01:20.500 --> 00:01:22.780 And maybe the crowd would go, okay, yeah, let him go. 00:01:23.620 --> 00:01:24.760 But it didn't work. 00:01:24.760 --> 00:01:31.000 When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, crucify him, 00:01:31.120 --> 00:01:31.980 crucify him. 00:01:32.580 --> 00:01:37.740 Pilate said to them, take him yourselves and crucify him for I find no guilt in 00:01:37.740 --> 00:01:38.020 him. 00:01:38.480 --> 00:01:43.780 The Jews answered him, we have a law and according to that law, he ought to die 00:01:43.780 --> 00:01:47.080 because he has made himself the son of God. 00:01:47.740 --> 00:01:51.400 When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid. 00:01:51.400 --> 00:01:56.800 He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, where are you from? 00:01:57.280 --> 00:01:58.820 But Jesus gave him no answer. 00:01:58.920 --> 00:02:02.219 And just another commentary here, because I can't really go into it. 00:02:03.520 --> 00:02:07.320 But you see somebody, Pilate, who has a very casual religion. 00:02:07.840 --> 00:02:09.420 He kind of believes in a lot of gods. 00:02:10.000 --> 00:02:13.099 And so here's something that maybe this might be a god. 00:02:13.819 --> 00:02:17.319 And he's hedging his bets because he's trying to figure out how to placate all 00:02:17.319 --> 00:02:17.939 the gods. 00:02:17.939 --> 00:02:22.680 And maybe there's something he can do to leverage his own interests, his own 00:02:22.680 --> 00:02:23.300 priorities. 00:02:23.419 --> 00:02:25.400 And that's what we see in Pilate, right? 00:02:25.439 --> 00:02:27.419 He's saying, well, maybe this is a god here. 00:02:27.740 --> 00:02:29.120 But Jesus was silent. 00:02:30.219 --> 00:02:31.379 Gave no answer. 00:02:31.819 --> 00:02:32.280 Verse 10. 00:02:32.919 --> 00:02:35.979 So Pilate said to him, you will not speak to me. 00:02:36.400 --> 00:02:38.879 You will not speak to me? 00:02:39.819 --> 00:02:44.460 Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you? 00:02:44.460 --> 00:02:51.120 Jesus answered him, you would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you 00:02:51.120 --> 00:02:51.860 from above. 00:02:52.480 --> 00:02:57.420 Therefore, he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin. 00:02:58.120 --> 00:02:58.900 Let's pray. 00:02:59.300 --> 00:03:03.520 Father, take this powerful word of yours, Lord. 00:03:03.520 --> 00:03:10.920 Lord, and may through what you have shown me, maybe, Lord, it could go from my mouth. 00:03:11.540 --> 00:03:15.000 And Lord, would you do a work in our hearts, including mine? 00:03:15.640 --> 00:03:17.820 Lord, I want to be at the foot of the cross. 00:03:17.860 --> 00:03:24.120 And I never want to be any further than the very base in the foot of the cross. 00:03:24.120 --> 00:03:26.900 And I don't want to be any higher than your feet. 00:03:27.719 --> 00:03:28.939 I just want you. 00:03:29.420 --> 00:03:33.980 And I want your word to go out so that all of us here will want the very same thing. 00:03:34.099 --> 00:03:34.719 Just you. 00:03:35.480 --> 00:03:37.120 You be our only priority. 00:03:38.020 --> 00:03:42.120 You be the only thing that catches our attention, Lord Jesus. 00:03:43.140 --> 00:03:45.439 Holy Spirit, work that miracle in our soul. 00:03:45.740 --> 00:03:46.819 In Christ's name we pray. 00:03:47.040 --> 00:03:47.360 Amen. 00:03:47.700 --> 00:03:47.939 Amen. 00:03:49.080 --> 00:03:50.599 Okay, so it's 1971. 00:03:50.599 --> 00:03:53.759 I was in second grade. 00:03:54.579 --> 00:03:57.340 And my family and I, we were vacationing in Italy. 00:03:58.180 --> 00:04:02.340 And the only reason we could do that was my dad's job took us to Germany. 00:04:02.439 --> 00:04:05.780 And we lived in Germany for first and through third grade. 00:04:07.359 --> 00:04:08.620 And so we go to Italy. 00:04:08.740 --> 00:04:09.780 And so here's the deal. 00:04:09.959 --> 00:04:12.180 Now, if anybody ever asks me, have you ever been to Italy? 00:04:12.240 --> 00:04:13.259 I can say yes. 00:04:13.979 --> 00:04:16.540 But the problem is I was in second grade. 00:04:16.540 --> 00:04:23.460 And all the beauty and all the greatness of Italy was just lost on my second grade mind. 00:04:24.240 --> 00:04:26.600 Case in point, we went to Florence. 00:04:27.160 --> 00:04:30.240 We went to see this Michelangelo's David. 00:04:31.980 --> 00:04:35.860 And it's the most memorable thing that we saw. 00:04:36.360 --> 00:04:38.360 But for second grade reasons. 00:04:38.540 --> 00:04:39.700 You know, I'm a second grader. 00:04:40.460 --> 00:04:40.740 Okay. 00:04:40.740 --> 00:04:45.699 Now, the first thing was the lack of clothes was very funny to me. 00:04:46.860 --> 00:04:48.819 And my second grade mind, that was hysterical. 00:04:49.360 --> 00:04:51.960 Second thing that was memorable was giant. 00:04:52.160 --> 00:04:52.780 It was huge. 00:04:54.560 --> 00:04:56.819 And so for about five minutes, I laughed. 00:04:57.420 --> 00:04:58.600 And I thought, wow, that's big. 00:04:58.720 --> 00:04:59.920 I was ready to go. 00:05:00.460 --> 00:05:01.100 I was done. 00:05:02.259 --> 00:05:07.280 Everything great and beautiful about Michelangelo's David was lost on me completely. 00:05:08.000 --> 00:05:08.439 Why? 00:05:08.439 --> 00:05:10.459 Well, I'm a seventh grade mind. 00:05:10.540 --> 00:05:11.139 That's for sure. 00:05:11.519 --> 00:05:13.079 But I had certain priorities. 00:05:14.360 --> 00:05:16.459 And my attention was fixed elsewhere. 00:05:18.759 --> 00:05:22.199 What had caught my attention a lot was the little towns and the stuff that we went through. 00:05:22.240 --> 00:05:23.240 They all had markets. 00:05:23.560 --> 00:05:26.360 And they were all selling trinkets and toys and stuff. 00:05:26.459 --> 00:05:27.879 And I had some money. 00:05:27.939 --> 00:05:30.019 And my dad would give some because you could barter. 00:05:30.259 --> 00:05:33.980 And you could get these great little toys, little trinkets. 00:05:34.560 --> 00:05:35.860 I'm the youngest of five. 00:05:35.860 --> 00:05:37.840 My brother's 10 years older than me. 00:05:37.900 --> 00:05:38.759 This is 1971. 00:05:39.340 --> 00:05:40.439 He was kind of a hippie. 00:05:40.900 --> 00:05:42.759 And I just wanted to emulate him. 00:05:42.819 --> 00:05:46.240 So one of the things I could buy were like necklaces with peace signs. 00:05:46.780 --> 00:05:47.699 You know, like really cool. 00:05:47.780 --> 00:05:48.860 I wanted those things. 00:05:48.879 --> 00:05:49.900 And I loved doing that. 00:05:50.699 --> 00:05:52.060 That had my attention. 00:05:52.199 --> 00:05:55.420 That had another priority in mind. 00:05:55.759 --> 00:05:58.620 You see, when we went to Italy as a family, we camped out. 00:05:58.620 --> 00:06:01.120 My dad was able to bring over a pop-up trailer. 00:06:01.800 --> 00:06:03.079 And so we camped out everywhere. 00:06:03.620 --> 00:06:06.740 And so the rules of the family got relaxed a little bit. 00:06:06.800 --> 00:06:11.139 And what I mean by rules of the family was in my house, we could only have one Coke a week. 00:06:11.560 --> 00:06:13.939 You know, in the South, like one Coke a week. 00:06:14.060 --> 00:06:14.280 What? 00:06:14.439 --> 00:06:14.680 Yeah. 00:06:15.000 --> 00:06:16.579 We were northerners at the time. 00:06:16.660 --> 00:06:17.620 So we were kind of weird. 00:06:17.860 --> 00:06:19.120 But we could only have one Coke. 00:06:20.420 --> 00:06:23.199 On vacation, you could have one or two Cokes a day. 00:06:23.199 --> 00:06:25.680 But not out. 00:06:25.759 --> 00:06:27.159 My dad had five kids. 00:06:27.240 --> 00:06:27.839 He was too cheap. 00:06:27.939 --> 00:06:29.159 He wasn't going to buy Coke out. 00:06:29.259 --> 00:06:30.680 We had to be back at the campsite. 00:06:31.139 --> 00:06:32.159 And you could have Coke. 00:06:32.719 --> 00:06:34.920 You know, I could have snacks, sandwiches. 00:06:35.399 --> 00:06:36.920 I just wanted to be there. 00:06:37.319 --> 00:06:40.339 I wanted to be part of the good life. 00:06:40.579 --> 00:06:42.399 I wanted the good life back at the camp. 00:06:43.259 --> 00:06:47.839 So everything about beautiful and the greatness of David was just lost on me. 00:06:48.319 --> 00:06:51.699 Now, my mom and my oldest sister, she was back from college. 00:06:51.699 --> 00:06:52.939 Both of them are artists. 00:06:53.759 --> 00:07:00.779 And so when they were there, they stood and watched and walked around and talked about what they were seeing. 00:07:01.659 --> 00:07:04.159 It seemed like five hours to me. 00:07:04.259 --> 00:07:06.259 It was probably 30 minutes, maybe 45. 00:07:06.959 --> 00:07:19.219 But they would look and see and comment, like the way the brilliance of Michelangelo, the skill, the marble, the skin of David actually looks like skin. 00:07:19.579 --> 00:07:21.060 There is enough there to marvel. 00:07:21.060 --> 00:07:26.920 In fact, the beauty and the magnificence of that work of art demands our attention. 00:07:27.079 --> 00:07:34.480 The authority of that work of art does just simply demand our attention. 00:07:34.740 --> 00:07:35.879 Every ounce of it. 00:07:35.879 --> 00:07:38.699 Unless you're a self-centered second grader. 00:07:38.699 --> 00:07:39.420 Right? 00:07:39.420 --> 00:07:40.560 Right? 00:07:40.620 --> 00:07:43.620 A self-centered second grader who had different priorities. 00:07:43.620 --> 00:07:49.420 So behold, Michelangelo's David. 00:07:50.360 --> 00:07:52.160 I can say I saw it. 00:07:52.160 --> 00:07:56.240 But I can't say I see it. 00:07:56.300 --> 00:07:57.320 I didn't see it. 00:07:58.020 --> 00:08:01.500 I saw David, but I didn't see David. 00:08:02.620 --> 00:08:04.480 It's completely lost on me. 00:08:05.120 --> 00:08:06.160 The transcendence. 00:08:06.380 --> 00:08:06.800 Everything. 00:08:06.800 --> 00:08:15.520 Because I was sort of captured by toys, trinkets, one to two cokes a day, snacks, the camping, good life. 00:08:16.900 --> 00:08:19.000 Something similar is going on in our text. 00:08:19.860 --> 00:08:24.080 The people who are looking at Jesus when Pilate says, behold the man. 00:08:24.079 --> 00:08:29.060 They missed who Jesus was. 00:08:29.240 --> 00:08:33.299 They missed the magnificence and the beauty of who Jesus is. 00:08:33.379 --> 00:08:34.360 What he came to do. 00:08:34.620 --> 00:08:36.240 Because something else had their attention. 00:08:37.159 --> 00:08:38.559 Something else had their priorities. 00:08:39.600 --> 00:08:42.919 And so I have to ask myself this too. 00:08:43.019 --> 00:08:45.740 But when Pilate says, behold the man, what do you see? 00:08:46.939 --> 00:08:47.899 Who do you see? 00:08:47.899 --> 00:08:54.779 Does the presence and transformative beauty and authority of Jesus feel lost on you? 00:08:56.500 --> 00:09:00.659 Maybe there was a time when it warmed your heart, but now it's faded. 00:09:02.259 --> 00:09:08.919 Let me see if I can present a way where we can stand in his presence. 00:09:09.980 --> 00:09:12.679 To sort of stand and gaze upon him. 00:09:13.220 --> 00:09:14.240 Do it together. 00:09:14.860 --> 00:09:16.079 Through the scriptures. 00:09:16.080 --> 00:09:20.620 Asking the Holy Spirit to show us the beauty and authority of Jesus. 00:09:21.379 --> 00:09:22.820 Maybe for the first time. 00:09:23.480 --> 00:09:25.960 And maybe for the first time again. 00:09:27.480 --> 00:09:28.200 So are you ready? 00:09:28.259 --> 00:09:28.680 Let's see. 00:09:29.240 --> 00:09:30.540 I'm going to point out two things. 00:09:30.620 --> 00:09:32.960 I mean there's so much I'm skipping and so forgive me. 00:09:35.220 --> 00:09:36.580 But there's just not time. 00:09:36.960 --> 00:09:40.540 But I'll tell you, these are the things that I pondered as I read through these 11 verses. 00:09:41.660 --> 00:09:43.640 There is a chain of betrayal. 00:09:44.840 --> 00:09:45.280 All right? 00:09:45.279 --> 00:09:46.620 I'll explain what that is. 00:09:46.720 --> 00:09:51.000 But there's a chain of betrayal in what's going on in the scene. 00:09:51.079 --> 00:09:53.819 Where there's all kinds of people that are missing who Jesus is. 00:09:53.860 --> 00:09:54.879 There's a chain of betrayal. 00:09:55.779 --> 00:10:00.000 And the second thing, there is a distraction of a dead-end priority. 00:10:00.919 --> 00:10:02.899 All of which we participate in. 00:10:02.939 --> 00:10:03.600 Both of those. 00:10:04.620 --> 00:10:06.279 Let me talk about the chain of betrayal. 00:10:06.279 --> 00:10:08.100 Look at the last part of verse 11. 00:10:08.839 --> 00:10:11.399 Where it says, therefore, this is Jesus speaking. 00:10:11.819 --> 00:10:16.240 Therefore, he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin. 00:10:16.319 --> 00:10:17.360 Now what does that mean? 00:10:17.740 --> 00:10:20.600 I think one of the things that I would ask you to sort of keep in mind. 00:10:21.720 --> 00:10:23.299 In Dante's Inferno. 00:10:23.740 --> 00:10:25.059 Maybe you're familiar with that. 00:10:25.139 --> 00:10:26.579 I'm not super familiar with it. 00:10:26.620 --> 00:10:29.120 I've read enough to get some nuggets for this sermon. 00:10:29.120 --> 00:10:30.799 But this is really helpful. 00:10:31.460 --> 00:10:40.759 The deepest, deepest part of hell that Dante describes is the ninth ring, which is treachery. 00:10:41.179 --> 00:10:42.980 Another way you'd say it, it's betrayal. 00:10:43.740 --> 00:10:48.799 In that deep ninth, deepest part of hell is a frozen lake. 00:10:48.799 --> 00:10:55.719 And in that frozen lake, there are people in various points of being stuck in that frozen lake. 00:10:56.079 --> 00:10:58.299 And there's four rings around the lake. 00:10:59.019 --> 00:11:03.959 The first ring are people who have betrayed their family. 00:11:04.579 --> 00:11:06.859 And that first ring is named after Cain. 00:11:07.099 --> 00:11:08.019 That makes sense, right? 00:11:08.139 --> 00:11:09.859 Cain, he betrayed his brother. 00:11:09.979 --> 00:11:10.979 He betrayed his whole family. 00:11:12.299 --> 00:11:16.139 Then there's the second ring is the people that betray their friends or their guests. 00:11:16.139 --> 00:11:18.919 And this idea that, you know, you betray your friends. 00:11:19.740 --> 00:11:21.980 The second is our people who betray their country. 00:11:22.220 --> 00:11:26.980 And the final fourth ring, the worst ring of all, are people who betray their Lord. 00:11:27.500 --> 00:11:28.860 And it's named after Judas. 00:11:29.299 --> 00:11:29.899 That ring. 00:11:31.360 --> 00:11:35.659 So, when Jesus is saying, like, who has the greater sin here? 00:11:36.460 --> 00:11:39.699 You know, who has delivered me has the greater sin. 00:11:40.620 --> 00:11:44.500 And so we have to sort of see things like a chain that goes back in time. 00:11:44.500 --> 00:11:46.559 Because you can start with Pilate. 00:11:46.679 --> 00:11:48.679 And you go, yeah, Pilate knows he's innocent. 00:11:48.799 --> 00:11:49.860 But he's still going to turn to Moses. 00:11:49.980 --> 00:11:52.379 He still, he doesn't, he just kind of washes his hand. 00:11:52.500 --> 00:11:55.080 I mean, he doesn't kind of, he actually washes his hands, right? 00:11:57.159 --> 00:12:04.059 But Jesus was betrayed and turned over to Pilate from Caiaphas, the high priest. 00:12:04.460 --> 00:12:06.919 You know, and that's sort of the religious part of the world. 00:12:07.960 --> 00:12:10.539 But Jesus came to them from Judas. 00:12:10.539 --> 00:12:10.779 Judas. 00:12:12.000 --> 00:12:15.839 But what Jesus is pointing to is something that we have to think. 00:12:16.299 --> 00:12:19.879 Because this is cosmic treason on the biggest possible level. 00:12:20.740 --> 00:12:24.259 And we start to get some clues from, if we look at John 13, 2. 00:12:24.379 --> 00:12:30.899 During supper, when the devil had already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him. 00:12:30.980 --> 00:12:34.539 So we know, okay, it was the devil getting Judas to do this. 00:12:34.579 --> 00:12:34.899 Certainly. 00:12:35.099 --> 00:12:36.059 But he had agency. 00:12:36.259 --> 00:12:37.299 And so he's responsible. 00:12:37.899 --> 00:12:39.159 Judas is a betrayer. 00:12:39.159 --> 00:12:40.000 There's no doubt. 00:12:41.459 --> 00:12:44.579 But we have to, what's going on is there's something even bigger. 00:12:45.279 --> 00:12:46.299 And we get a clue. 00:12:47.480 --> 00:12:49.159 Because this goes back to the garden. 00:12:49.559 --> 00:12:50.539 Back to Adam and Eve. 00:12:50.639 --> 00:12:51.379 Back to creation. 00:12:51.579 --> 00:12:53.179 The first three chapters of Genesis. 00:12:54.100 --> 00:12:55.259 John 8 gives us a clue. 00:12:55.379 --> 00:12:56.000 Verse 44. 00:12:56.679 --> 00:12:58.219 You are of the father, the devil. 00:12:58.480 --> 00:13:02.319 And you will be, and your will is to do your father's desires. 00:13:02.919 --> 00:13:05.039 He was a murderer from the beginning. 00:13:05.179 --> 00:13:06.819 So this gets us back to the garden. 00:13:06.820 --> 00:13:16.360 The beauty of Jesus has the potential and will be lost on you unless you see yourself as part of the chain of betrayers. 00:13:16.780 --> 00:13:20.340 Because if you start with Pilate and you go back in time, you go back to Genesis. 00:13:20.840 --> 00:13:22.260 Then you turn around and come back. 00:13:22.400 --> 00:13:25.940 Through Pilate all the way to now, you and I have betrayed Jesus. 00:13:27.240 --> 00:13:28.220 It's called sin. 00:13:28.220 --> 00:13:31.759 We have to see ourselves in this long line. 00:13:32.460 --> 00:13:34.399 Now, how do we think about it? 00:13:35.040 --> 00:13:37.240 We think about it because it goes back to the garden. 00:13:37.379 --> 00:13:39.200 What was going on in the garden of Eden? 00:13:41.080 --> 00:13:53.460 See, your betrayal of God's love and his authority is at its most basic when you take the reins of God's authority and you decide for yourself what is good and what is evil. 00:13:53.460 --> 00:14:03.139 In the garden, Adam and Eve reflected the image of God, but only to a point because God said, you shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 00:14:04.300 --> 00:14:05.120 That's all. 00:14:05.740 --> 00:14:12.080 You reflect my image, but you don't get to reflect my image in determining what is good and what is evil. 00:14:12.379 --> 00:14:13.780 And that was the first sin. 00:14:13.860 --> 00:14:14.759 That was the sin. 00:14:16.040 --> 00:14:18.340 I see that it's good to eat. 00:14:18.440 --> 00:14:19.280 I will eat it. 00:14:19.279 --> 00:14:22.379 You know, and Adam goes, yeah, me too. 00:14:23.799 --> 00:14:26.740 They were determining what was good and what was evil. 00:14:27.419 --> 00:14:30.079 And that is our struggle every day. 00:14:30.199 --> 00:14:31.220 We want to be king. 00:14:31.620 --> 00:14:33.139 We don't want Jesus to be king. 00:14:33.259 --> 00:14:34.000 We want to be king. 00:14:34.059 --> 00:14:35.319 We want just a little bit of Jesus. 00:14:35.839 --> 00:14:37.019 We want something in what he said. 00:14:37.159 --> 00:14:40.879 But he didn't quite say that, but I'm going to determine what's good and what is evil. 00:14:41.600 --> 00:14:43.240 You and I have betrayed Jesus. 00:14:43.480 --> 00:14:45.240 You and I have put him on the cross. 00:14:45.659 --> 00:14:47.179 You have to see that. 00:14:47.179 --> 00:14:51.739 You have to see your role in the death of Jesus. 00:14:52.219 --> 00:14:53.620 You and I put him there. 00:14:54.159 --> 00:14:55.120 And what's our response? 00:14:55.199 --> 00:14:55.979 We need to repent. 00:14:56.519 --> 00:14:57.099 We need to return. 00:14:57.379 --> 00:15:01.279 We need to see ourselves putting ourselves first. 00:15:01.819 --> 00:15:06.919 We have to see ourselves as wanting to be God. 00:15:08.259 --> 00:15:09.259 And we can repent. 00:15:09.259 --> 00:15:17.220 See, God's plan is for us to trust, surrender, and enjoy him in communion with him, to know him. 00:15:17.559 --> 00:15:23.439 And the thing that's separating you is your desire to determine for your own life what is good and evil. 00:15:23.639 --> 00:15:26.120 And you must surrender it completely through repentance. 00:15:26.480 --> 00:15:27.899 And when you do, there's forgiveness. 00:15:28.740 --> 00:15:29.679 And you can relax. 00:15:29.779 --> 00:15:31.340 I think Jack Miller said, cheer up. 00:15:31.399 --> 00:15:32.460 You're worse than you think. 00:15:32.460 --> 00:15:34.240 It's true. 00:15:35.480 --> 00:15:37.600 See yourself in that chain of betrayal. 00:15:38.080 --> 00:15:39.680 You and I put him on the cross. 00:15:40.139 --> 00:15:41.000 That's key. 00:15:41.139 --> 00:15:41.900 It's so important. 00:15:42.660 --> 00:15:44.820 Now, that is the chain of betrayal. 00:15:44.980 --> 00:15:51.340 Now, the distraction of the dead-end priority of control. 00:15:51.340 --> 00:16:00.560 One of the ways that ourselves putting ourselves on the throne is we want to control everything in our lives. 00:16:01.280 --> 00:16:05.000 And you can see it through everybody is missing who Jesus is. 00:16:05.040 --> 00:16:08.600 And you will miss him too if you want to control everything in your life. 00:16:09.460 --> 00:16:11.540 And not surrender to Jesus. 00:16:12.280 --> 00:16:16.040 In this passage, you see all these people trying to maintain their control. 00:16:16.220 --> 00:16:18.500 Pilate wants to maintain control over the people. 00:16:18.500 --> 00:16:22.039 And he'll do anything to keep that control. 00:16:22.480 --> 00:16:23.559 He wants to control it. 00:16:23.820 --> 00:16:28.519 He wants to keep the people above him happy with his job and how he's doing. 00:16:28.799 --> 00:16:30.019 And he has to control the people. 00:16:30.960 --> 00:16:34.039 And the religious people are trying to control everything else. 00:16:34.059 --> 00:16:39.440 And they want to get rid of Jesus because it's messing with their, you know, what they're trying to accomplish. 00:16:40.019 --> 00:16:40.659 You can see it. 00:16:40.720 --> 00:16:42.919 It's all about getting and maintaining power. 00:16:43.179 --> 00:16:44.059 Keeping control. 00:16:44.059 --> 00:16:49.539 And that's how Jesus is just lost on them. 00:16:49.759 --> 00:16:51.979 That's how Jesus is lost on you and me. 00:16:52.239 --> 00:16:52.819 We miss it. 00:16:53.299 --> 00:16:53.939 We miss him. 00:16:54.500 --> 00:16:55.399 Look at verse 10. 00:16:56.359 --> 00:17:01.219 So Pilate said to him, you will not speak to me? 00:17:01.639 --> 00:17:03.319 Do you not know that I have authority? 00:17:03.479 --> 00:17:03.899 There it is. 00:17:03.939 --> 00:17:04.539 He's got control. 00:17:04.619 --> 00:17:05.399 I've got authority. 00:17:06.480 --> 00:17:10.200 And yet the irony of, you know, he's saying like, don't you know who you're talking to? 00:17:10.779 --> 00:17:12.000 That's irony, right? 00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:14.819 That word. 00:17:15.039 --> 00:17:18.000 Jesus, I imagine that Jesus would not have said another word. 00:17:18.819 --> 00:17:22.920 He would have stayed quiet if Pilate hadn't mentioned authority. 00:17:23.539 --> 00:17:27.859 Because the next time we hear Jesus speak after he speaks after this, it's from the cross. 00:17:27.859 --> 00:17:34.199 But when Pilate says, don't you know I have authority? 00:17:35.379 --> 00:17:36.659 Jesus can't let that go. 00:17:38.179 --> 00:17:39.439 You can't let it go. 00:17:40.379 --> 00:17:43.379 You know, that's the first thing that Jesus said before he gave the great commission. 00:17:44.099 --> 00:17:45.699 All authority has been given me. 00:17:45.939 --> 00:17:46.939 Now go make disciples. 00:17:47.259 --> 00:17:48.519 This is such a key word. 00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:51.980 And so verse 11, Jesus speaks up. 00:17:52.059 --> 00:17:53.099 He breaks his silence. 00:17:54.740 --> 00:17:59.400 You would have no authority over me unless it had been given you from above. 00:18:00.480 --> 00:18:03.119 Therefore, he who delivers me over to you has the greater sin. 00:18:03.240 --> 00:18:04.180 We know what that means. 00:18:04.879 --> 00:18:10.379 But what keeps you from seeing Jesus in your life, having a deep relationship with him, 00:18:10.759 --> 00:18:14.180 is your tendency and my tendency to hold on to control. 00:18:14.180 --> 00:18:19.880 In this picture of Jesus here where we see him, where Pilate says, you behold the man, 00:18:20.980 --> 00:18:23.140 it's possible Jesus was unrecognizable. 00:18:23.259 --> 00:18:24.539 He had been beaten so bad. 00:18:24.720 --> 00:18:25.860 But he's standing there. 00:18:26.360 --> 00:18:31.720 And of all the people in this scene, and I dare say all the people in the world at that time, 00:18:31.820 --> 00:18:35.620 all the people that have ever existed, all the people that will ever exist, 00:18:36.039 --> 00:18:40.220 in that moment even, Jesus was calm. 00:18:41.980 --> 00:18:43.880 And you can trace it back to the garden. 00:18:45.180 --> 00:18:48.140 Not so much the Garden of Eden, but yes, but the Garden of Gethsemane. 00:18:48.259 --> 00:18:52.600 Because the night before he was, in the night when he was betrayed, 00:18:52.759 --> 00:18:56.940 when he was in the garden and he was praying, he said, 00:18:57.440 --> 00:18:59.680 what's about to happen to me, Father? 00:18:59.779 --> 00:19:02.539 He called it the cup, the cup of God's wrath. 00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:04.700 Take it from me, please. 00:19:05.580 --> 00:19:07.580 But not as I will, but as you will. 00:19:07.880 --> 00:19:10.320 Jesus is giving this picture of full surrender, 00:19:11.019 --> 00:19:12.820 absolute surrender to the Father. 00:19:12.819 --> 00:19:16.679 And it creates in him a calm spirit, 00:19:16.960 --> 00:19:19.500 a very powerfully calm spirit, 00:19:19.819 --> 00:19:23.240 while everyone else is trying to maintain control. 00:19:23.720 --> 00:19:24.960 Jesus has turned it over, 00:19:24.960 --> 00:19:27.400 and he's the calmest one in the bunch. 00:19:29.880 --> 00:19:33.240 Do you think maybe you would see Jesus more clearly, 00:19:33.920 --> 00:19:35.759 powerfully, gratefully, wonderfully, 00:19:35.759 --> 00:19:40.100 if you stopped trying to control so much and trusted more? 00:19:40.099 --> 00:19:44.159 We, because of the sin in us, 00:19:44.240 --> 00:19:46.959 because we're wanting to maintain control and be God 00:19:46.959 --> 00:19:48.480 and determine what's good and evil, 00:19:48.959 --> 00:19:51.439 we think if we can control everything, 00:19:51.619 --> 00:19:53.219 then we'll be calm. 00:19:53.220 --> 00:19:57.220 That is not the way to a calm soul and spirit. 00:19:58.220 --> 00:20:05.220 The distraction and illusion of control is the battle of trusting God's wisdom over your wisdom, 00:20:05.680 --> 00:20:10.480 his power and authority over your sad power and delusional authority. 00:20:10.480 --> 00:20:14.360 When you can see the power, authority, and wisdom, 00:20:15.160 --> 00:20:17.960 when you behold the man, 00:20:19.759 --> 00:20:22.180 fully God, fully human, 00:20:22.579 --> 00:20:24.460 when you behold him deeply, 00:20:24.620 --> 00:20:28.660 and the Holy Spirit begins to transform your soul, 00:20:28.660 --> 00:20:32.440 you will find the driving aim of your life 00:20:32.440 --> 00:20:36.080 will increasingly become 00:20:36.080 --> 00:20:39.759 to listen to him, 00:20:40.019 --> 00:20:41.360 to be with him, 00:20:41.840 --> 00:20:44.640 and not control your life, 00:20:44.940 --> 00:20:48.019 but it'll be a life of deep, deep surrender. 00:20:50.120 --> 00:20:52.860 Oswald Chambers, my favorite quote, 00:20:52.940 --> 00:20:55.100 the secret of walking with Jesus 00:20:55.099 --> 00:20:59.019 is showing no concern for the uncertainties that lie ahead. 00:20:59.759 --> 00:21:01.819 It's a beautiful picture of surrender. 00:21:03.179 --> 00:21:05.419 It's a beautiful picture of discipleship. 00:21:06.439 --> 00:21:07.119 All right, so, 00:21:08.039 --> 00:21:10.980 if you want to see Jesus in a deep way, 00:21:11.539 --> 00:21:12.399 to know him, 00:21:13.139 --> 00:21:14.699 see yourself in the chain of betrayal 00:21:14.699 --> 00:21:15.779 and repent often. 00:21:17.339 --> 00:21:20.639 If you want to see Jesus more clearly than you ever have 00:21:20.639 --> 00:21:21.919 and to know him more deeply, 00:21:21.920 --> 00:21:26.720 get rid of control, 00:21:26.980 --> 00:21:28.180 the illusion of control, 00:21:28.519 --> 00:21:30.160 and surrender and trust Jesus. 00:21:31.700 --> 00:21:33.060 But let me say this. 00:21:34.660 --> 00:21:35.600 You can't. 00:21:38.220 --> 00:21:39.820 You have to, you can't. 00:21:40.340 --> 00:21:41.940 I know you're desperate for this, 00:21:42.019 --> 00:21:43.340 but the truth is you can't. 00:21:44.320 --> 00:21:46.140 Let me see if I can explain. 00:21:48.360 --> 00:21:49.600 Let's go back to David. 00:21:49.740 --> 00:21:51.200 Let's go back to Michelangelo's David. 00:21:51.920 --> 00:21:54.240 This was the statue that was doomed 00:21:54.240 --> 00:21:55.539 from the very beginning. 00:21:56.259 --> 00:21:58.820 Michelangelo was the third of, you know, 00:21:58.880 --> 00:22:00.500 three artists that were commissioned 00:22:00.500 --> 00:22:01.620 to create a David 00:22:01.620 --> 00:22:03.360 that would be part of the series 00:22:03.360 --> 00:22:05.180 of biblical characters. 00:22:06.420 --> 00:22:09.420 And so this is like sort of the late 1400s. 00:22:11.740 --> 00:22:14.400 The original artist that went to pick out the marble, 00:22:14.519 --> 00:22:15.800 he went up to the Alps, 00:22:15.940 --> 00:22:18.400 the Italian Alps in Tuscany, northern Italy, 00:22:18.400 --> 00:22:20.620 and he picked out the slab. 00:22:21.720 --> 00:22:23.320 And he wasn't very good at it 00:22:23.320 --> 00:22:25.180 because you come to find out later 00:22:25.180 --> 00:22:27.600 that it had too many imperfections in it. 00:22:28.620 --> 00:22:31.280 And this artist made the work even harder 00:22:31.280 --> 00:22:33.759 because what you do when you pick out the slab, 00:22:33.980 --> 00:22:35.519 you sort of prepare it for the journey. 00:22:35.860 --> 00:22:37.000 You chip away at things. 00:22:37.040 --> 00:22:38.019 You kind of have this general idea 00:22:38.019 --> 00:22:38.820 of what you're looking to do. 00:22:38.860 --> 00:22:39.980 And so you got to make it lighter. 00:22:40.680 --> 00:22:41.840 And so he began to chip away, 00:22:41.900 --> 00:22:43.440 not doing a really good job at that. 00:22:43.440 --> 00:22:46.840 In fact, he created an awkward hole 00:22:46.840 --> 00:22:49.660 right in the middle of this giant slab of marble. 00:22:51.519 --> 00:22:53.299 One thing I read said this, 00:22:53.380 --> 00:22:55.200 it was hard to see how this stone 00:22:55.200 --> 00:22:58.759 was ever going to become a plausible human form. 00:23:02.180 --> 00:23:06.100 The journey of the 18 foot, 24,000 pound slab 00:23:06.100 --> 00:23:08.940 from the Alps in the northern region of Tuscany 00:23:08.940 --> 00:23:12.460 took two years to get this slab to Florence. 00:23:12.460 --> 00:23:14.940 It's now a two and a half hour drive. 00:23:15.680 --> 00:23:17.039 Okay, so in the 1400s, 00:23:17.120 --> 00:23:20.160 it was hard to get this slab there. 00:23:21.680 --> 00:23:23.680 They had to go over rough terrain, 00:23:24.259 --> 00:23:26.600 go down the Mediterranean Sea, down the coast, 00:23:26.700 --> 00:23:29.400 go up the Arno River, get out of the river, 00:23:29.779 --> 00:23:31.500 travel even more slowly 00:23:31.500 --> 00:23:33.480 and end up in the Florence Cathedral. 00:23:34.200 --> 00:23:36.420 And once that slab was there, it was on its side 00:23:36.420 --> 00:23:39.420 and it sat in the Florence, 00:23:39.600 --> 00:23:41.380 in the courtyard of the Florence Cathedral 00:23:41.380 --> 00:23:44.300 for three decades, 30 years. 00:23:44.740 --> 00:23:47.700 The people in the neighborhood called it the giant, 00:23:47.820 --> 00:23:48.720 like ironically, right? 00:23:48.760 --> 00:23:49.960 They knew it was supposed to be David, 00:23:50.220 --> 00:23:52.380 but there's the giant and it's winning. 00:23:53.140 --> 00:23:55.120 Because the people that came and looked at the slab, 00:23:55.240 --> 00:23:56.980 they noticed this is terrible. 00:23:57.240 --> 00:23:58.080 There's too many things. 00:23:58.160 --> 00:23:58.920 This is unusual. 00:23:59.100 --> 00:24:01.280 There's nothing we can do with this slab. 00:24:01.279 --> 00:24:06.240 It was weather-beaten for 30 years, rain and hail. 00:24:07.000 --> 00:24:10.460 It experienced the disrespect birds show public works of art 00:24:10.460 --> 00:24:11.160 in our cars. 00:24:13.000 --> 00:24:16.079 It was hardened in the sun, became brittle. 00:24:17.039 --> 00:24:18.579 Now, let's just pause there for a second. 00:24:19.799 --> 00:24:20.940 This is a picture of us. 00:24:21.119 --> 00:24:23.660 This is a picture of how it goes in our lives. 00:24:23.660 --> 00:24:27.700 You know, we're in over our head most of the time. 00:24:28.900 --> 00:24:30.320 We feel rained on. 00:24:30.980 --> 00:24:34.019 We feel alone and don't know anyone who really can relate. 00:24:34.560 --> 00:24:35.620 Life can harden us. 00:24:36.000 --> 00:24:36.680 We become brittle. 00:24:36.800 --> 00:24:37.420 We fall apart. 00:24:37.519 --> 00:24:38.740 We become angry and bitter. 00:24:39.560 --> 00:24:42.140 We're giants too, giant messes. 00:24:44.420 --> 00:24:46.640 Listen to this opening. 00:24:47.380 --> 00:24:48.440 Gosh, I love this. 00:24:48.759 --> 00:24:50.140 John Ortberg has a new book, 00:24:50.160 --> 00:24:51.880 and this is the introduction, and it's in it. 00:24:51.880 --> 00:24:53.740 And I thought, oh my gosh, this is beautiful. 00:24:54.300 --> 00:24:55.980 See if you can hear yourself in here. 00:24:59.860 --> 00:25:01.380 I can't fix my family. 00:25:01.620 --> 00:25:03.220 I can't keep my job. 00:25:03.400 --> 00:25:04.960 I can't salvage my reputation. 00:25:05.160 --> 00:25:06.640 I can't protect those I love. 00:25:07.080 --> 00:25:08.440 I can't stand the pain. 00:25:08.920 --> 00:25:09.960 I can't stop drinking. 00:25:10.480 --> 00:25:12.040 I can't stop binge eating. 00:25:12.360 --> 00:25:12.980 Binge watching. 00:25:13.500 --> 00:25:14.180 Binge spending. 00:25:14.520 --> 00:25:15.120 Binge working. 00:25:15.640 --> 00:25:17.180 Can't stop looking at porn. 00:25:17.900 --> 00:25:19.400 I can't find a spouse. 00:25:19.860 --> 00:25:20.840 I can't stay married. 00:25:20.839 --> 00:25:22.559 I can't forgive my ex. 00:25:22.939 --> 00:25:24.099 Can't make a friend. 00:25:24.519 --> 00:25:25.359 Manage my temper. 00:25:25.639 --> 00:25:26.439 Save money. 00:25:26.740 --> 00:25:27.299 Be grateful. 00:25:27.659 --> 00:25:31.000 I can't get my skin, teeth, hair, thighs to look right. 00:25:31.679 --> 00:25:33.819 I can't cure my cancer with positive thinking. 00:25:34.179 --> 00:25:35.480 I can't please my parents. 00:25:35.859 --> 00:25:36.779 Can't have kids. 00:25:36.879 --> 00:25:38.059 Can't get the kids to leave. 00:25:38.619 --> 00:25:40.259 Can't get my child to come home. 00:25:40.740 --> 00:25:41.480 Can't open up. 00:25:41.599 --> 00:25:42.399 Can't shut up. 00:25:42.699 --> 00:25:43.299 Can't sleep. 00:25:43.659 --> 00:25:44.519 Can't stop worrying. 00:25:44.939 --> 00:25:45.799 Can't quit comparing. 00:25:45.980 --> 00:25:46.819 Can't feel joy. 00:25:47.139 --> 00:25:48.319 Can't see my abs. 00:25:48.319 --> 00:25:50.599 Can't get enough likes. 00:25:51.240 --> 00:25:52.919 I can't understand what I do. 00:25:53.079 --> 00:25:54.939 For I have the desire to do good. 00:25:55.079 --> 00:25:56.460 But cannot carry it out. 00:25:56.619 --> 00:25:58.419 For I do not do the good I want to do. 00:25:58.480 --> 00:25:59.779 But instead I do the evil. 00:26:00.659 --> 00:26:02.099 I do not want to do. 00:26:02.419 --> 00:26:03.659 I can't bear criticism. 00:26:04.039 --> 00:26:05.259 I can't stop criticizing. 00:26:05.919 --> 00:26:06.759 Can't believe. 00:26:06.899 --> 00:26:07.700 Can't walk away. 00:26:08.000 --> 00:26:09.339 Can't make myself want to live. 00:26:09.460 --> 00:26:10.339 Can't fix the world. 00:26:10.599 --> 00:26:11.779 Can't fix myself. 00:26:12.099 --> 00:26:13.159 I can't run the show. 00:26:13.160 --> 00:26:16.100 No wonder we self-medicate. 00:26:17.420 --> 00:26:21.019 No wonder we try to forget the road. 00:26:21.140 --> 00:26:22.080 The rough roads. 00:26:22.480 --> 00:26:23.560 The rough seas. 00:26:23.960 --> 00:26:24.940 The raging river. 00:26:25.300 --> 00:26:27.980 The long arduous journey that we have been on. 00:26:28.019 --> 00:26:30.240 Only to find ourselves sideways in some courtyard. 00:26:31.380 --> 00:26:36.040 Just feeling the pain of a life that we can't control. 00:26:36.600 --> 00:26:38.220 And we can't do. 00:26:38.220 --> 00:26:46.200 Sometimes we have been following Jesus for a good while. 00:26:46.279 --> 00:26:47.880 But maybe you have hit a wall. 00:26:48.000 --> 00:26:50.819 And you feel like a slab stuck on your side. 00:26:52.740 --> 00:26:55.720 What used to thrill you about Jesus seems lost on you now. 00:26:57.700 --> 00:27:01.160 The way for Jesus to not be lost on you though is this. 00:27:01.640 --> 00:27:04.660 Is to see him through the eye of desperation. 00:27:05.640 --> 00:27:06.920 All the I can'ts. 00:27:06.920 --> 00:27:08.980 I know you're desperate. 00:27:09.580 --> 00:27:10.640 I know you are. 00:27:11.640 --> 00:27:13.019 I hear it all the time. 00:27:13.100 --> 00:27:14.480 I hear it in my own voice. 00:27:15.880 --> 00:27:17.440 But that's how you see Jesus. 00:27:17.580 --> 00:27:18.720 Is to be desperate. 00:27:18.880 --> 00:27:21.860 And to give up on all the things that you say you can't do. 00:27:22.580 --> 00:27:23.920 Absolutely surrender them. 00:27:24.960 --> 00:27:26.539 You need to be rescued. 00:27:28.259 --> 00:27:29.560 And that's one thing we say. 00:27:29.640 --> 00:27:32.000 You could say Michelangelo rescued the slab. 00:27:32.060 --> 00:27:32.740 He sure did. 00:27:34.080 --> 00:27:35.720 You know he made it look like flesh. 00:27:35.720 --> 00:27:37.200 And that's what Jesus does with us. 00:27:37.200 --> 00:27:37.480 Right? 00:27:39.000 --> 00:27:40.339 He gives us a heart of flesh. 00:27:40.400 --> 00:27:41.299 We had a heart of stone. 00:27:41.380 --> 00:27:41.660 Yes. 00:27:41.940 --> 00:27:45.640 But there's one last thing I want to point out before we come to the table. 00:27:48.360 --> 00:27:53.259 Historically statues of David were done after the fight. 00:27:53.259 --> 00:27:56.039 And so if you see statues prior to Michelangelo. 00:27:56.039 --> 00:27:58.599 You know they had him holding up Goliath's head. 00:27:58.720 --> 00:28:02.200 And David had his foot on the chest of Goliath. 00:28:03.279 --> 00:28:06.740 But Michelangelo has David looking over at Goliath. 00:28:07.799 --> 00:28:09.099 Before the fight. 00:28:11.099 --> 00:28:14.339 It's a deep picture of trust in God. 00:28:14.339 --> 00:28:18.500 And that's where we want to be. 00:28:19.699 --> 00:28:20.639 Here's David. 00:28:21.959 --> 00:28:23.079 I'm going to kill this giant. 00:28:23.159 --> 00:28:24.379 But I trust God. 00:28:25.740 --> 00:28:28.839 When you can put your hands down and say I can't. 00:28:29.599 --> 00:28:30.519 I can't. 00:28:31.959 --> 00:28:35.480 And you turn and behold the man. 00:28:36.460 --> 00:28:38.019 Jesus the son of God. 00:28:38.740 --> 00:28:39.599 Fully God. 00:28:39.860 --> 00:28:40.799 Fully man. 00:28:43.099 --> 00:28:44.200 And see Jesus. 00:28:44.660 --> 00:28:45.160 See him. 00:28:45.279 --> 00:28:47.940 He has been staring down his enemy Satan. 00:28:49.240 --> 00:28:50.220 Since the garden. 00:28:50.400 --> 00:28:51.500 When the curse was pronounced. 00:28:52.839 --> 00:28:54.960 And so as you look at the man with the face of David. 00:28:56.319 --> 00:28:58.880 This is a picture of who Jesus is. 00:28:59.200 --> 00:28:59.779 He is our king. 00:28:59.880 --> 00:29:00.299 King David. 00:29:00.440 --> 00:29:01.360 Jesus is our king. 00:29:01.720 --> 00:29:03.220 He's our warrior king. 00:29:03.220 --> 00:29:06.460 The warrior is alert but calm. 00:29:07.980 --> 00:29:09.400 Equipped but patient. 00:29:10.480 --> 00:29:11.700 Daring but confident. 00:29:11.860 --> 00:29:12.740 That's our Jesus. 00:29:13.900 --> 00:29:15.180 Victory is certain. 00:29:17.519 --> 00:29:18.220 You can't. 00:29:19.779 --> 00:29:20.860 But he did. 00:29:22.019 --> 00:29:23.160 Jesus defeated death. 00:29:23.259 --> 00:29:27.400 Rose from the dead to give life to broken, brittle, flawed souls. 00:29:27.600 --> 00:29:28.220 Like Michelangelo. 00:29:29.120 --> 00:29:31.140 He gave us a heart of flesh. 00:29:31.140 --> 00:29:32.519 But took away the stone. 00:29:33.880 --> 00:29:35.600 Our king rescued us. 00:29:35.720 --> 00:29:37.620 And he is sculpting us into his image. 00:29:38.360 --> 00:29:38.720 How? 00:29:39.400 --> 00:29:40.759 It's through the difficult roads. 00:29:41.839 --> 00:29:43.519 The rough and painful seas. 00:29:43.660 --> 00:29:46.299 The disorienting rivers that we experience in life. 00:29:46.720 --> 00:29:48.920 Sometimes a life of relative obscurity. 00:29:49.039 --> 00:29:50.160 You're stuck on your side. 00:29:50.460 --> 00:29:51.839 He takes all of that. 00:29:52.259 --> 00:29:55.700 To teach us that ultimately we are not in control. 00:29:55.839 --> 00:29:56.759 And when we surrender. 00:29:57.279 --> 00:29:58.339 We get Jesus. 00:29:58.339 --> 00:30:01.160 And that's all you need is him. 00:30:01.160 --> 00:30:05.759 Suffering and waiting are all part of the journey closer to Jesus. 00:30:06.540 --> 00:30:08.040 He is our only priority. 00:30:08.180 --> 00:30:10.240 Your only priority in life is to know Jesus. 00:30:10.720 --> 00:30:11.220 That is it. 00:30:11.279 --> 00:30:11.880 To know him. 00:30:12.340 --> 00:30:16.420 And he uses all of that for you to stand before him and see the beauty. 00:30:17.000 --> 00:30:18.040 And he can be trusted. 00:30:19.540 --> 00:30:23.420 He invites us to come and sit in his presence with all of our sin and our pathetic kingdom. 00:30:23.420 --> 00:30:27.960 Come to me all you who are just exhausted from life and you will find rest. 00:30:28.920 --> 00:30:31.000 It's this notion of slowing down. 00:30:31.120 --> 00:30:32.519 Be like my mom and my sister. 00:30:33.200 --> 00:30:33.900 Be artists. 00:30:34.980 --> 00:30:35.940 Be artists. 00:30:36.400 --> 00:30:38.519 Not patrons who are there to be served. 00:30:39.380 --> 00:30:40.420 No, you are an artist. 00:30:41.920 --> 00:30:43.440 And stand and look at Jesus. 00:30:43.840 --> 00:30:46.480 And see the beauty of him. 00:30:46.480 --> 00:30:49.640 Stop being a second grader. 00:30:52.680 --> 00:30:54.220 Wanting toys and trinkets. 00:30:54.559 --> 00:30:56.559 The casual good life. 00:30:57.819 --> 00:30:58.259 Control. 00:30:58.579 --> 00:30:59.180 Go to Jesus. 00:30:59.500 --> 00:31:01.460 Be with him and say, take it Lord. 00:31:01.559 --> 00:31:02.299 You change me. 00:31:02.620 --> 00:31:03.319 I can't. 00:31:05.180 --> 00:31:06.460 Slow down or you will miss him. 00:31:06.920 --> 00:31:07.559 You will miss him. 00:31:08.900 --> 00:31:09.500 Do this. 00:31:10.160 --> 00:31:14.200 Ask God to show you an area of your life where he is inviting you to trust him more deeply. 00:31:14.880 --> 00:31:15.599 Just start there. 00:31:15.599 --> 00:31:16.199 Go before him. 00:31:16.240 --> 00:31:17.299 Be quiet before him. 00:31:17.939 --> 00:31:19.799 Lord, show me an area of my life. 00:31:19.919 --> 00:31:21.159 I need to trust you more clearly. 00:31:22.039 --> 00:31:25.299 And you will see yourself there trying to maintain your little kingdom. 00:31:26.019 --> 00:31:27.240 And he will strip it from you. 00:31:27.980 --> 00:31:30.500 Because the deeper the trust, the deeper you know Jesus. 00:31:31.059 --> 00:31:34.279 The deeper the trust, the deeper your surrender of your control. 00:31:34.819 --> 00:31:39.559 The deeper the trust, the deeper the ability to slow down. 00:31:40.359 --> 00:31:42.519 Don't let all of this get lost on you. 00:31:42.980 --> 00:31:43.679 See Jesus. 00:31:43.899 --> 00:31:44.579 Be with him. 00:31:44.579 --> 00:31:45.779 You can't. 00:31:45.819 --> 00:31:46.319 He can. 00:31:46.819 --> 00:31:49.980 Behold the man, Jesus Christ, the son of God. 00:31:50.720 --> 00:31:51.319 Amen. 00:31:52.379 --> 00:31:52.839 Okay. 00:31:52.839 --> 00:31:56.019 We get to come before Jesus. 00:31:56.019 --> 00:31:58.279 We get to see him. 00:31:59.579 --> 00:32:03.919 He has created a picture more beautiful than David. 00:32:04.579 --> 00:32:07.619 And this picture is one of a meal. 00:32:07.619 --> 00:32:14.839 And this meal is something he invites us to as a means of grace. 00:32:15.159 --> 00:32:21.459 Something to shape our soul so that we put our hands down and we surrender more to him. 00:32:21.460 --> 00:32:26.860 These are the words of the institution of the Lord. 00:32:26.859 --> 00:32:30.099 Paul writes them in 1 Corinthians 11. 00:32:30.099 --> 00:32:34.000 I received from the Lord that which I passed on to you. 00:32:34.500 --> 00:32:37.480 That the Lord Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed took bread. 00:32:37.839 --> 00:32:41.519 And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, take and eat. 00:32:41.639 --> 00:32:43.639 This is my body which is broken for you. 00:32:44.179 --> 00:32:45.679 Do this in remembrance of me. 00:32:45.680 --> 00:32:51.440 In the same way after supper, he also took the cup saying, this cup is a new covenant in my blood. 00:32:52.039 --> 00:32:54.820 This do whenever you drink it in remembrance of me. 00:32:54.900 --> 00:32:59.980 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you show forth the Lord's death until he comes. 00:32:59.980 --> 00:33:02.140 So here's the thing. 00:33:02.380 --> 00:33:06.740 As a follower of Jesus, we want to go after him. 00:33:06.799 --> 00:33:09.880 And Jesus says the way that we go after him is we deny ourselves. 00:33:10.500 --> 00:33:16.579 We see ourselves in the chain of betrayal and we deny ourselves because we don't want our way. 00:33:18.140 --> 00:33:19.599 Deny ourselves and we die. 00:33:19.720 --> 00:33:21.160 We pick up our cross daily. 00:33:21.900 --> 00:33:23.279 And we follow Jesus. 00:33:23.839 --> 00:33:28.960 And the way that we can feed our souls is just remember how he rescued us. 00:33:28.960 --> 00:33:30.059 What it cost him. 00:33:30.120 --> 00:33:36.360 And the blood and the broken body is what cost him a way to redeem us and rescue us. 00:33:36.779 --> 00:33:38.019 And there's something else though. 00:33:38.420 --> 00:33:39.600 Jesus gives this picture. 00:33:40.620 --> 00:33:45.559 We see all the way through scripture and in Revelation that there is a marriage supper of the Lamb. 00:33:45.640 --> 00:33:49.680 There is a feast that will be more magnificent than we can imagine. 00:33:49.680 --> 00:33:55.140 But as we take part of this, as we enjoy these elements, 00:33:55.140 --> 00:34:00.940 that one day when we're in heaven, the marriage supper of the Lamb, we'll be able to say, 00:34:01.740 --> 00:34:02.720 I know this. 00:34:03.800 --> 00:34:05.080 I know this. 00:34:05.160 --> 00:34:06.040 I know this meal. 00:34:06.840 --> 00:34:08.700 I know this feeling. 00:34:08.820 --> 00:34:14.400 I know this sense of just absolute joy that comes from surrender because I'm feeling it in a greater way. 00:34:14.480 --> 00:34:16.539 But there are days I know those times. 00:34:16.660 --> 00:34:18.280 This is what this is. 00:34:18.280 --> 00:34:20.540 It points to that day. 00:34:21.180 --> 00:34:23.880 He can be trusted and you can surrender all to him. 00:34:24.220 --> 00:34:24.980 But I would say this. 00:34:25.040 --> 00:34:28.380 If none of this, if this is being lost on you, you don't quite know Jesus, 00:34:29.240 --> 00:34:31.080 stay where you are rather than coming up. 00:34:31.840 --> 00:34:35.280 And just tell Jesus that I repent. 00:34:36.660 --> 00:34:40.800 I repent of anything that I thought I would do to earn your favor. 00:34:40.800 --> 00:34:46.640 However, just ask God and he will forgive you and he'll tell you, cheer up your worst than you think. 00:34:48.120 --> 00:34:49.380 But do that work. 00:34:49.840 --> 00:34:55.120 But this is for people who know this meal and want that meal one day in heaven. 00:34:55.380 --> 00:34:57.600 But more importantly, they just want Jesus. 00:34:57.920 --> 00:34:59.300 That's what we do. 00:35:00.300 --> 00:35:03.200 And so, Father, thank you for this. 00:35:03.780 --> 00:35:05.100 Thank you that we see Jesus. 00:35:05.260 --> 00:35:08.080 I pray that's even more clear in our hearts and our souls. 00:35:08.079 --> 00:35:16.179 And, Father, as we take this meal, as we look forward, and as we need things in our lives, 00:35:16.219 --> 00:35:17.699 we need you in a deeper way. 00:35:18.219 --> 00:35:19.699 Father, just bless our souls. 00:35:20.199 --> 00:35:21.659 In Christ's name, amen. 00:35:22.799 --> 00:35:26.299 For more information, visit us online at southwood.org.