back to indexBerean Community Church Evening Devotions 3.31.2021
Chapters
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23:58 Matthew 26:14-19
28:13 Matthew 16:21-22
31:56 Luke 22:3-6
34:25 Matthew 26:55-56
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I'm glad we can come together to remember the salvation 00:05:19.300 |
And as we reflect upon that during the whole week, 00:05:23.300 |
we're gonna have our brother Adam Wong come up 00:05:29.300 |
Silent Wednesday, as we think about the events 00:05:31.300 |
that took place leading up to Christ going to the cross. 00:05:35.300 |
Let's take a moment to pray as we enter into time of worship. 00:05:38.300 |
Heavenly Father, we thank you so much, God, for your grace. 00:05:44.300 |
Lord, I pray that as we are coming each night 00:05:49.300 |
may all the various steps that you took continue, Lord, 00:05:58.300 |
Help us, Father God, to reflect on every angle of the gospel. 00:06:02.300 |
Help us to see, Father Lord, the weight of sin 00:06:06.300 |
that we, as human race, have exhibited, Lord, in our lives. 00:06:10.300 |
And I pray, Father God, that all the more we would be seeking you, 00:06:14.300 |
all the more we'd be thankful to you, Lord, for your great work. 00:06:17.300 |
We pray, Father God, that as a lot of us are coming in 00:06:20.300 |
just from our workplaces, perhaps a little bit fatigued, 00:06:24.300 |
Lord, would you grant to us great spiritual energy 00:06:30.300 |
also to be able to hear the words and be refreshed. 00:06:33.300 |
And God, that ultimately, Lord, all things would turn to you 00:06:38.300 |
We lift this time up to you, Lord, that's in Christ, and we pray. 00:07:23.300 |
Lord, when thou could remember the wrongs we have done 00:08:12.300 |
When patience would wait as we constantly wait 00:08:32.300 |
He welcomes the weak, He's the valest, the poor 00:09:32.300 |
What riches of kindness we've managed to miss 00:16:11.300 |
My name is Adam Wong and I'm thankful and excited to share my testimony 00:16:17.300 |
because I believe it might resonate with a lot of you and it testifies to God's grace. 00:16:23.300 |
It's kind of funny, I feel like the last two sharings with Pastor Peter Chung and Pastor Nate 00:16:27.300 |
have basically been just a summary of my own testimony. 00:16:31.300 |
In short, the Lord saved me through showing me my self-righteousness 00:16:35.300 |
and by leading me to faith in Christ alone for salvation 00:16:39.300 |
through the preaching of his word and the reading of his word. 00:16:43.300 |
My whole life I lived in the Christian community. 00:16:46.300 |
I was born into the same church that my parents grew up in 00:16:49.300 |
where they met, where they served, where they were married in. 00:16:58.300 |
I used to say that I first believed it when I was five. 00:17:01.300 |
But when I look back on that confession, I don't believe it was true. 00:17:06.300 |
There was more of a desire to please my parents than to truly repent and believe in Christ. 00:17:12.300 |
But most of my life I thought I was a believer. 00:17:18.300 |
I jumped into serving the church and into leadership roles. 00:17:21.300 |
Why? The same reason why I first professed Christ. 00:17:25.300 |
Out of a fear of man and wanting to please those around me. 00:17:29.300 |
The kingdom I was building was my own pleasure, my own reputation before others. 00:17:38.300 |
Most of my life at church was marked by being the good church boy. 00:17:44.300 |
I would admit that I wasn't perfect so that I wouldn't sound prideful. 00:17:47.300 |
But overall I didn't see my sins as the main issue. 00:17:51.300 |
And it showed how I lived totally different at school. 00:17:54.300 |
I was a bully, a punk, a classically rebellious kid. 00:17:59.300 |
Whatever I could do to be seen as someone reputable or cool or approved by people, I pursued it. 00:18:05.300 |
At school the context was different from church, but the problem was the same. 00:18:14.300 |
I lived these two different lives seeking the approval of man wherever I could 00:18:18.300 |
with a small view of my sin and a small view of God. 00:18:22.300 |
But by the grace of God, he began to shake me from this place of self-centered double living. 00:18:29.300 |
It was in my sophomore year of high school that I began to slowly understand 00:18:34.300 |
that the gospel was more than just a Sunday thing. 00:18:37.300 |
The gospel was more than just a church thing, a tradition from our family, 00:18:44.300 |
It wasn't through some kind of life-changing experience or one particular retreat 00:18:49.300 |
or one particular pastor's sermon that I came to understand the truth. 00:18:54.300 |
God graciously broke down my pride through the weekly preaching of his word 00:19:08.300 |
I began to see my deep sinfulness, my hopelessness before God's holy judgment. 00:19:16.300 |
I began to see the wickedness in trying to use God for my glory when it's all about him. 00:19:23.300 |
I saw that left to myself, I turned to sin again and again and again. 00:19:28.300 |
How quickly I could turn something like vacuuming the church into a way to glorify myself. 00:19:37.300 |
While I have maybe even went to church and read my Bible with a legalistic heart, 00:19:41.300 |
by the grace of God, he used that so that I would see my sin. 00:19:45.300 |
Not only that I would see it, but that I would see Jesus. 00:19:49.300 |
That the good news of his blood covers all of that sinfulness that I was starting to feel and see and realize. 00:19:57.300 |
Faith in his work and his resurrection brings life to my soul. 00:20:01.300 |
He is the only way of life, not by my works, not by how much I served, 00:20:06.300 |
not by how long I spent at church, how many dishes I cleaned, 00:20:10.300 |
how much I knew or how much I was accepted by people. 00:20:13.300 |
And the solution was not to dig in deeper once I saw my sin, 00:20:23.300 |
And coming to this truth I realized, if I'm going to look to Christ, I can't live this double life at school. 00:20:30.300 |
If I was one with Christ and if I was called to follow him, then I must be one person. 00:20:37.300 |
Though I've had seasons of doubt looking back even on sophomore year, my confession of faith, 00:20:42.300 |
I've come to believe it was genuine, that there was faith there, even as small as a mustard seed. 00:20:52.300 |
Just as we've heard the last two days, God hates self-exalting religion. 00:20:57.300 |
He hated how the religious elite used worship of him as a way to profit themselves. 00:21:04.300 |
In God's anger and in his mercy and in his love, he exposes that sin to them. 00:21:12.300 |
And while they harden their hearts and remain deluded in self-glory, 00:21:16.300 |
I can say that it's by the grace of God that he allowed me to see my sin and to see my need. 00:21:25.300 |
Someone who didn't feel like he needed to see that, he showed me. 00:21:31.300 |
Not the hours of sermons I listened to or the number of books that I've read that opened my eyes. 00:21:41.300 |
So while I still struggle with the fear of man at times, I'm thankful for his inviting and loving grace. 00:21:47.300 |
How often have I overtly or subtly tried to use him for my glory. 00:21:53.300 |
And in his judgment, I deserve to be left alone to my sin. 00:21:57.300 |
But Jesus was gracious and is still gracious to show me again and again the sickness of my sin, 00:22:05.300 |
the perversion of my self-glorifying church boy ways. 00:22:09.300 |
But all this that I might fall at his feet in desperate need and love. 00:22:16.300 |
A verse that's constantly been coming to my mind is Luke 747. 00:22:20.300 |
For this reason I say to you, her sins which are many have been forgiven, for she loved much. 00:22:29.300 |
Before I didn't realize how much I needed to be forgiven. 00:22:37.300 |
In the coldness and the hardness of my heart, the Lord opened my eyes to see sin. 00:22:46.300 |
By his grace I believe and I want to love him much. 00:23:07.300 |
As we continue to reflect upon this week and just again, 00:23:15.300 |
the various aspects of what Christ has accomplished, 00:23:20.300 |
we're so thankful for everything that Christ has done. 00:23:24.300 |
Thank you Adam for sharing how the Lord has been good to you with us. 00:23:27.300 |
At this time let's take a moment to turn in our Bibles to Matthew 26, verses 14-19. 00:23:45.300 |
And here we see a narrative of what Judas did during this day. 00:23:59.300 |
And it says, "Then one of the twelve named Judas Iscariot went to the chief priest and said, 00:24:05.300 |
'What are you willing to give me to betray him to you?' 00:24:08.300 |
And they weighed out thirty pieces of silver to him. 00:24:12.300 |
From then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Jesus. 00:24:16.300 |
Now on the first day of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus and asked, 00:24:21.300 |
'Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?' 00:24:25.300 |
And he said, 'Go into the city to a certain man and say to him, 00:24:28.300 |
'The teacher says, 'My time is near. I am to keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.' 00:24:33.300 |
The disciples did as Jesus had directed them and they prepared the Passover." 00:24:38.300 |
Real briefly, I want to review the various events of the past few weeks 00:24:43.300 |
using the graphic that our media team shared. 00:24:47.300 |
That on Saturday of the week they came to Bethany and they stayed over at Mary, Martha, and Lazarus' house. 00:24:52.300 |
And the thing about it is, by this time, anywhere Jesus went there was already a crowd. 00:24:57.300 |
There was already a massive crowd and because Lazarus had been raised from the dead, 00:25:02.300 |
there is just this massive amount of people that are trying to always see Jesus. 00:25:07.300 |
That always upset the Pharisees and the religious leaders of the day. 00:25:11.300 |
On Sunday, Jesus enters into Jerusalem and saying there are masses of people is an understatement. 00:25:18.300 |
I mean, there were hordes of people praising him with palm branches, saying, 00:25:23.300 |
"Hosanna, Hosanna," which essentially means, "Save us, save us, O son of David." 00:25:27.300 |
And so, that also upset the religious leaders of the time to the degree 00:25:32.300 |
they were commanding Jesus, "Make them stop." 00:25:36.300 |
And then on Monday, Jesus went into the temple and cleared it, 00:25:40.300 |
disrupting the corrupt economy of the temple, you know, essentially marketplace. 00:25:46.300 |
That, sure, upset the religious leaders of the time. 00:25:51.300 |
Just like we reviewed yesterday, Jesus went head-to-head in heated debates, 00:25:56.300 |
saying parables and describing specific depictions, 00:26:00.300 |
and the Pharisees and the religious leaders knew that Jesus was talking about them. 00:26:06.300 |
And so, that upset the religious leaders even more. 00:26:10.300 |
Essentially, what we see as things are developing is there is a ramping up of the hatred of Christ. 00:26:18.300 |
And Pastor Nate eloquently said yesterday night that there was murderous intent by this time. 00:26:24.300 |
Already, they wanted him to either be quiet, be disproved, or, you know, 00:26:30.300 |
or completely thrown off, or seen as a fake, but by this time, they just wanted to eliminate him, right? 00:26:37.300 |
And what you have, essentially, Judas, I think that Judas was one that was paying attention to all that was going on. 00:26:46.300 |
You see, perhaps some of the other disciples, maybe Peter might have been thinking, 00:26:54.300 |
Because there are a lot of Jews who wanted Jesus to be a revolutionary. 00:26:57.300 |
And perhaps there was a lot of people who were already in the community 00:27:00.300 |
who had angst towards the already established system. 00:27:03.300 |
Clearly, they had angst towards the ruling power, right? 00:27:06.300 |
Maybe the sons of thunder, right? They were like, "Yeah, bring it down!" 00:27:10.300 |
Every time he went head-to-head in a debate, maybe they were just sitting there pumping their fists, 00:27:14.300 |
and going, "Ooh, that's right, burn!" You know? 00:27:20.300 |
I think perhaps Judas was sitting there like, "This crazy guy. 00:27:23.300 |
He told us he was going to die, but look at him, flipping tables, challenging the authorities. 00:27:29.300 |
These high priests, these scribes, these Pharisees and Sadducees, they had temple officers. 00:27:35.300 |
They had security guards. They had soldiers of their own. 00:27:39.300 |
A lot of times, they enacted capital punishment when they felt that certain crimes fit the bill." 00:27:46.300 |
Judas is sitting here like, "This guy is nuts. He's probably going to die." 00:27:51.300 |
Why? Because sometimes, mistakenly, people say the disciples didn't really get it. 00:27:57.300 |
They didn't really know that Jesus was going to go to the cross. 00:28:00.300 |
No, actually, starting from Matthew 16, and even prior to then, 00:28:04.300 |
Jesus was already both hinting and then explicitly told them, "I am going to suffer." 00:28:08.300 |
For example, Matthew 16, 21 through 22 says, "From that time, 00:28:13.300 |
Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, 00:28:16.300 |
suffer many things from the elders and chief priests, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. 00:28:22.300 |
That's when Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, 'God forbid it. 00:28:29.300 |
The disciples knew, they just didn't like the idea. 00:28:34.300 |
Another example, Matthew 17, 22, 23, "And while they were gathering together in Galilee, 00:28:39.300 |
Jesus said to them, 'The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. 00:28:45.300 |
He will be raised on the third day.' And they were deeply grieved." 00:28:51.300 |
So, fact. Not only in these instances, but you can count about five instances where Jesus was explicitly clear. 00:28:58.300 |
Prior to that, Jesus also hinted, "The Son of Man must be lifted. The Son of Man must suffer." 00:29:03.300 |
There were enough pre-disclosures, so to speak, that the disciples should have known if they were paying attention. 00:29:11.300 |
But the fact of the matter is, they were just wondering, "Huh? Is that a good idea?" 00:29:20.300 |
Judas essentially then understood Jesus' statements. He understood, you know, point 1A. 00:29:29.300 |
In his eyes, he was thinking, "Oh my goodness, this rabbi of ours, this lord and master of ours, is going to get us killed." 00:29:42.300 |
Jesus is going to get himself killed and us along with him. 00:29:45.300 |
I believe Judas was a calculating man. He was the individual who was taking care of the money bag for the group. 00:29:52.300 |
He was the man, do you remember, when the lady came, broke the alabaster, and was anointing Jesus? 00:29:57.300 |
He was the first one who said, "What a waste! You know, that could have been sold? For the poor, of course." 00:30:05.300 |
He was a quick calculating man who understood Jesus was going to get himself killed. 00:30:11.300 |
And so, as an opportunist, he decides to get in on the game. 00:30:15.300 |
"If Jesus is going to be killed by the Pharisees, then at least I'm going to benefit from it." 00:30:21.300 |
What I found very interesting was that I just always assumed that the scribes and Pharisees were looking for an opportunity to kill Jesus, 00:30:29.300 |
so they kind of egged on one of the disciples. 00:30:32.300 |
Maybe one of the Pharisees came along and said, "Come here. Let me give you some money." 00:30:42.300 |
After reviewing the details of this passage, notice how in this passage in Matthew 26, verse 14, 00:30:48.300 |
it says that Judas actually went and asked this question of them, "What are you willing to give me?" 00:30:56.300 |
And Judas, at this point, didn't even have a plan yet. 00:31:00.300 |
But what he was doing was he was working with both the Pharisees and the temple officers, 00:31:05.300 |
those soldiers I was talking about, to devise a plan from that time. 00:31:10.300 |
And I thought this was really interesting, because at that moment, then, Judas didn't even have everything planned out. 00:31:16.300 |
As a matter of fact, he, in my eyes, didn't even add that much to the plan. 00:31:22.300 |
Do you ever think about that? What did Judas add to the plan of betraying Christ? 00:31:28.300 |
I mean, you could readily see where Jesus was. There was a crowd following him. 00:31:33.300 |
And then I realized this is the only thing, essentially, Judas was adding to the betrayal and the scheme. 00:31:40.300 |
The Pharisees, because of their fear of man, wanted to find Jesus in a secluded moment. 00:31:49.300 |
And so, here in this passage, if you take a look in Luke 22, verse 3 through 6, 00:31:54.300 |
it says, "Satan entered into Judas, who was called Iscariot, belonging to the number of the Twelve, 00:31:59.300 |
and he went away and discussed with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him to them. 00:32:07.300 |
So he consented and began seeking a good opportunity to betray him to them apart from the crowd." 00:32:16.300 |
I'm highlighting these aspects of the story because we're taking a look at Judas and his perspective. 00:32:23.300 |
And to me, what's really interesting about all this is there was such a greed in Judas' heart 00:32:31.300 |
that I believe Satan seized that, entered into him, and played on him. 00:32:36.300 |
Now, just as a quick side note, the story is quite crazy because we recognize that everything that is happening 00:32:42.300 |
is absolutely according to the timetable of God. 00:32:46.300 |
God is so sovereign that everything is falling into place and the Scripture is being fulfilled. 00:32:51.300 |
Nevertheless, Satan is also entering into Judas, fulfilling his schemes and his devices. 00:32:59.300 |
But also, Judas himself is a foolish, greedy man, seizing the opportunity. 00:33:08.300 |
And what Judas is doing is he is trying to, I think, make up perhaps for some lost time. 00:33:16.300 |
If Jesus is going to go out, at least I'm going to recoup a little bit of money. 00:33:20.300 |
What's really crazy about this is the passage in Matthew says that they offered, when he asked, 00:33:25.300 |
"How much will you give me?" they offered 30 pieces of silver. 00:33:28.300 |
When I reviewed that, I was like, "Wait a minute. It's not even gold." 00:33:36.300 |
30 pieces of silver in that time would be worth about five weeks' wage, they say. 00:33:44.300 |
A lord, a rabbi, a master, even to this individual, walking with him for three years, 00:33:51.300 |
and yet for a single month's wage, he'd be willing to say, "Deal. I consent." 00:34:00.300 |
And what I like to say is this. When an individual gives into one's greed, it makes the individual absolutely foolish. 00:34:07.300 |
The plan is so foolish, Jesus himself calls it foolish. 00:34:10.300 |
The plan is so foolish, when you read it, you kind of wonder, 00:34:13.300 |
truly, Judas didn't even add much to the entire scheme of things. 00:34:17.300 |
As a matter of fact, in this passage I want to highlight for you, in Matthew 26, verse 55 through 56, 00:34:23.300 |
it says, "At that time, Jesus said to the crowds who had gathered," 00:34:26.300 |
so this, right now, what I'm reading, is when the people actually try to come and seize Jesus, 00:34:31.300 |
he asked this question, "Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me, as you would against a robber? 00:34:37.300 |
Every day I used to sit in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. 00:34:42.300 |
But all this has taken place to fulfill the scriptures of the prophets. 00:34:59.300 |
And then the funny thing about it is they're trying to avoid a crowd, but there was already a crowd. 00:35:07.300 |
But essentially, when I think about this, I think about, as a reflection and meditation, 00:35:13.300 |
there is such a greed in Judas' heart that we can reflect on. 00:35:18.300 |
We ask the question, "If we are tempted with this, I guess, expectation of what is Jesus going to avail to me, 00:35:29.300 |
what kind of benefit, or perhaps if Satan would tempt us with this kind of complaint, this is a waste of time. 00:35:38.300 |
Or perhaps the angst and frustration that perhaps we live in this day, where Satan puts these foolish words into our head, 00:35:48.300 |
where we start to complain and say, "I'm tired of living paycheck to paycheck. 00:35:55.300 |
I'm tired of going through the village and having to pick up the leftover grain." 00:36:01.300 |
Those kinds of sentiments, what does that reveal? 00:36:06.300 |
I think those kind of sentiments are the sentiments essentially pervasive in this generation. 00:36:16.300 |
When Judas is tempted with this betrayal, this disloyalty, 00:36:22.300 |
I wonder if his reason and rationale for him following Jesus in the first place is actually the exact same reason why he is betraying him now. 00:36:33.300 |
If Judas thought like the rest of the disciples, "Hey, Jesus, look at you. 00:36:43.300 |
So now tell us who's going to be on your right and left." 00:36:50.300 |
"Yes, Jesus, tell us who is going to be on your right and left." 00:36:56.300 |
And so what's really interesting about this is with Judas' greed and his looking to Christ for some kind of benefit, 00:37:03.300 |
even if at least you're going to gain me this 30 shekels, 30 silver. 00:37:13.300 |
But what I liken it to is somebody who has Jesus in their garage. 00:37:20.300 |
I believe one of the grave sins of this generation is a lot of time people like holding on to Christ as something of value, 00:37:32.300 |
They'll like to have him in his garage just in case we need him. 00:37:35.300 |
But when the opportune time comes, we might have a garage sale. 00:37:40.300 |
Because at least if I sell it, then I'll have some money. 00:37:44.300 |
What's really crazy about all this, again, is we can reflect on lots of different things. 00:37:50.300 |
Oh my gosh, incredible amounts of vanity that Judas would walk with Jesus for so long and be able to betray him in that moment. 00:37:57.300 |
But in the end, when greed takes control of the heart, we would do all kinds of heinous things. 00:38:04.300 |
And so as a reflection and challenge to us, I want to ask you, 00:38:07.300 |
do you have any of these discontent, disappointed sentiments, perhaps even a grumbling complaint against Christ? 00:38:20.300 |
If that is the case, we have to be very careful, amen? 00:38:23.300 |
Now what I would like to highlight by way of closing thought is not so much Judas, 00:38:29.300 |
because there is still nevertheless Jesus who is exhibiting incredible amounts of composure. 00:38:37.300 |
What I'm trying to say is, today, although it is Silent Wednesday, 00:38:42.300 |
let us not just simply think about Judas the sinner, the betrayer, 00:38:45.300 |
one who is, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, it must have been better for you not to have been born," 00:38:50.300 |
because woe is the one who would betray the Son of God. 00:38:53.300 |
But let's actually focus on the Son of God, who is to be appreciated for His incredible composure. 00:39:00.300 |
When I think about the events leading up to this week, 00:39:03.300 |
I mean, I think about like Jesus knowing what He knows in terms of what is filled in the heart of man. 00:39:11.300 |
Jesus knew all along that there would be a betrayer. 00:39:15.300 |
Jesus knows when people are asking Him questions, "Tell us, Jesus. Show us a sign, Jesus." 00:39:21.300 |
He knows what is contained in the heart of all those who would ask Him and accuse Him. 00:39:25.300 |
When He is walking into the city in Jerusalem, all these individuals praising Him and giving Him branches, 00:39:36.300 |
When He is debating, when He is engaged in all the teaching and the debates and the fierce combats with the scribes of the day, 00:39:49.300 |
And while Judas thinks He's secretly going and making a deal, is Jesus not aware? 00:39:57.300 |
Tomorrow, during the Passover, Jesus calls it out, "He whose hand is on the table with Me will betray Me." 00:40:05.300 |
And all the disciples are like, "Not me. Not me." 00:40:10.300 |
And He could have easily said, "And you will deny Me, and you will run, and you will..." 00:40:18.300 |
When I reflect on the passages when Jesus says, "I did not come to judge," 00:40:23.300 |
every single step of the way, I'm sitting there thinking, "Thank You, Lord, because if I were You, 00:40:28.300 |
I would sit there and call out every single person. 00:40:37.300 |
And then even here, to be aware that Judas is doing this, and then has the audacity come with the rest of the disciples 00:40:46.300 |
to share in the meal where Jesus is instituting the new covenant, 00:40:50.300 |
and He's explaining to them, "This is My body broken, My blood shed for you." 00:40:59.300 |
I can't imagine that. I can't imagine, like, sometimes you put yourself in the shoes, 00:41:04.300 |
thinking that this is the bread broken for you, and you would just look and be like, "Not you." 00:41:13.300 |
We thank the Lord. Lord, thank You that You did not come first to judge, 00:41:22.300 |
And so, Scripture talks about the greatness of Christ. 00:41:26.300 |
1 Peter 2, verse 21-24, says, "For you have been called for this purpose, 00:41:32.300 |
since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, 00:41:37.300 |
who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth. 00:41:41.300 |
And while being reviled, He did not revile in return. 00:41:48.300 |
And then I would add, "While being betrayed." 00:41:51.300 |
Right? "While being betrayed, He did not react, 00:41:56.300 |
but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously. 00:42:00.300 |
And He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, 00:42:03.300 |
so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. 00:42:15.300 |
when Christ entered into that scene and was going to the cross, 00:42:21.300 |
the scene is horrific because there's just so much corruption, waywardness, and sin around Him. 00:42:29.300 |
And what would feel natural if you put yourself in His shoes would be, 00:42:32.300 |
"You should just judge all of them right now." 00:42:36.300 |
And so we praise Christ, and we pray in appreciation. 00:42:42.300 |
What great composure, what great dedication to fulfill Your merciful, saving grace. 00:42:50.300 |
Would you take a moment to examine your heart? 00:42:56.300 |
Is there any grumbling complaint upon Christ, disappointment in your heart? 00:43:01.300 |
But also, let's quickly turn that around to say to the Lord, 00:43:06.300 |
"God, we appreciate every aspect of what You've done, 00:43:10.300 |
even making sure that You walk through all of these necessary steps, 00:43:16.300 |
but that Your mercy would be fulfilled upon the cross." 00:45:17.300 |
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim 00:45:59.300 |
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim 00:46:40.300 |
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim 00:47:15.300 |
and all the things that You have accomplished, 00:47:19.300 |
we also reflect upon the fact that in Your great humility, 00:47:26.300 |
that would cause you to experience the humiliation 00:47:29.300 |
to allow yourself to be betrayed by a simple human being. 00:47:40.300 |
And, Lord, I pray, God, that these moments of review 00:47:46.300 |
that God, from remembering, we would adore You. 00:47:49.300 |
And I pray, Father God, that not only in this moment, 00:47:54.300 |
You would cause us to walk with You in such a way, God, 00:47:57.300 |
that we're lifting up to You our praise and thankfulness 00:48:02.300 |
We thank You. It's in Christ's name we pray. Amen.