Desertion or Discipleship? | Pastor Cody- May 11th, 2025 Mark 14:43-52

earth. And what it's what it is is it's a song of of thanks to God. And uh we are fiercely committed to singing songs uh uh to God, about God, to one another about God. And uh uh we chose this one because of verse four because we give thanks to God for the joy of human love uh brother, sister, parent, child, friends on earth, and friends above, for all gentle thoughts and mild. And so uh as we gather and uh as the saints, we're going to sing this song uh with full hearts that are thankful uh for those that are around us. For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies, for the love which from our earth over and around us lies. Lord of all to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise. Lord of all to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise for the beauty of each hour of the day and of the night. and tree and sun and moon and stars of light. Lord of all to thee we raise. This our hymn of grateful praise. Lord of all to thee we raise. This our hymn of grateful praise. for the joy of human love. Brother, sister, parent, child, friends on earth and friends above. For all gentle thoughts and mind, Lord of all to thee we raise. This our hymn of grateful praise. Lord of all to thee we praise. This our hymn of grateful For thy church that ever more, lifted holy hands above, offering upon every shore, her pure sacriice of love. Lord of all, to thee we raise. This our hymn of grateful praise. Lord of all, to thee we raise. This our hymn of grateful praise for thyself gift divine to the world so freely we give for that great great love of thine peace on earth and joy in heaven. Lord of all to thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise. Lord of all to

hear this our hymn of grateful praise. What love could remember the wrongs we have done missed all the way becomes their son to us with the blood of the shore. Our sins may his mercy is more. Praise the Lord. His mercy is more stronger than darkness. New every morning our sins are already his mercy. What patience would wait as we constantly attend is calling us home. He welcomes the weakest, poor. Our sins they are ready. His mercy more. Praise the Lord. His mercy is more. Stronger than darkness through every morning. Our sins they are many. His mercy is more. But riches of kindness he lavished on us. His blood was the pavement. His life was the cause. We stood in that we could never afford. Our sins they are ready. His mercy is more. Praise the Lord. His mercy is more. Stronger than darkness through every morning. Our sins they are ready. His mercy is more. Praise the Lord. His mercy is more stronger than darkness. New every morning. Our sins they are ready. His mercy is more. Our sins they are ready. His mercy is more. Praise the Lord. Let's pray. Father God, thank you um for allowing us to gather here today. God, thank you for what a special day it is that we can celebrate all the mothers in our lives. God, um I just want to ask your um grace and your mercy upon those God who may not have a good relationship with their mother or just other situations around what could be a happy

day but also makes it difficult. God, just thank you that you are sovereign over timing, sovereign over relationships and everything else that we may be on our hearts. God, I want to pray for this offering today. Thank you for the um gracious gifts that you've bestowed upon us and I pray that you would just use this mightily to further your kingdom God we ask this all in your name. Amen. Today's catechism question is what offices does Christ execute as our redeemer? And there are three of them. The first one is found in Acts 3:22. Moses said, 'The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. The second is from Hebrews 5:es 5-7. So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, "You are my son. Today I have begotten you." As he says also in another place, you are a priest forever after the order of MelkiseDC. In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to him who was able to save him from death. And he was heard because of his reverence. And the last office is found in Matthew 21:5. Say to the daughter of Zion, "Behold, your king is coming to you humble and mounted on a donkey on a colt, the full of a beast of burden. Jesus is our prophet, our priest, and our king." Thank you. When I fear, my faith will fail. Christ will hold me fast. When the temper would prevail, he will hold me fast. I could never keep my soul. Through life's fearful path, for my love is soft and cold. He must hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. For my Savior loves me so. He will hold me

fast. Those he saves are his. Christ will hold me fast. Precious in his holy sight. He will hold me fast. He'll not let my soul be lost. his promises. Offer him at such a cost. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. For my Savior loves me so. He will hold me fast. For my life he bled and died. Christ will hold me fast. Justice has been sisfied. He will hold me fast. Praise with him to endless life. He will hold me fast. Till our faith is turned to side. When he comes at last, he will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. For my Savior loves me so. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. For my Savior loves me so. He will hold me fast. What gift of grace is Jesus my redeemer? There is no more for heaven not to live. He is my joy, my righteousness and freom, my steadfast love, my deep and boundless peace. To this I hope, my hope is only Jesus. For my life is wholly bound to him. Oh, how strange and divine. I can see all yet not I but through Christ in me. The night is dark, but I am not forsaken. For by my side, the Savior, he will stay. I labor on in weakness and rejoicing. For in my need, his power is displayed. To this I hope my shepherd will defend me. Through the deepest valley he will lead. Oh the night has been one and I shall

overcome not I but through Christ in me. No faith I know I am forgi the future sure the price it has been paid for Jesus and suffered for my hardened and he was raised to overthrow the grave. To this I hope my sin has been defeated. Jesus now and ever is my peace. Oh the chains are released. I can see I am free and not through Christ in me. With every breath I long to follow Jesus for he has said that he will bring me home. And day by day I know he will renew me until I stand with joy before the throne. To this I hope my hope is only Jesus. All the glory ever more to him. When the race is complete, still my lips shall repeat and not I but through Christ in me. To this I hold. My hope is only Jesus. All the glory ever more to him. When the race is complete, still my lips shall ree and not I, but through Christ indeed in the grace is complete. Still my lips shall repeat. Yet not I, but through Christ in me. Yet not I, but through Christ in me. Father, we thank you for Christ. Thank you for all that he has done for us. Thank you for what he's doing in us. Help us, Lord, to run the race until the end, focused on your glory and his work in our lives. guide us now as we move into the time of teaching. I pray that you would use your spirit in our lives to open our hearts to your word. I pray for Cody that he would be wise and have lots of clarity in his speech. We

pray in Jesus name. Amen. If you have your Bible, and I hope that you do, please turn with me to Mark chapter 14. One quick thing, uh, as is our custom every year, we, uh, uh, take up a a special offering from Mother's Day to Father's Day, uh, where we use these, uh, nifty little, uh, baby bottles for the baby bottle campaign to help out our local pregnancy help center. And so, if you want to take one of these and, uh, maybe it's a game that you play with your kids where as they do different things, they can put money into the baby bottle. or perhaps you're just generous and you just want to give to support a local ministry. Uh remember that we are not just pro pro birth, we're pro-life, right? And so that means uh uh you know supporting moms uh even after they've had their babies and things like that. So be sure to grab one of these on your way out. Um yeah. Uh today we are in Mark 14:es 43-52. uh we are at the betrayal of Jesus Christ. That's why we sang the songs that we chose to uh today is because uh uh we lean upon holy Jesus Christ with all of our being and all that we are and all that we have. Jesus Christ his whole life in fact all of creation from the fall of Adam to now has been moving towards this trajectory uh where this crescendo where Jesus Christ is going to be offered up as the sinless lamb to redeem humanity. Jesus is plan A. There is no plan B. Um but before he goes there, he must suffer betrayal. Betrayal is hard. It It's tough when when someone that you know and that you love hurts you. Some point in time, you're going to experience that. uh it's just the nature of being a human. Um that came to a very clear realization for me in 2014 uh where the church I was a part of started to get really divisive over a

certain theological issue. Uh the doctrines of grace became a a hot button flash point and um it was hard. It was hard. There was a guy in our church that uh he he got really into it and all they wanted to talk about was uh just theology and uh it always went around to that certain topic and it became divisive and argumentative and contentious and he wound up leaving with a bunch of people and because I do hold to those certain views uh it just became almost backbiting and nasty sayings. some people even in the church, even though I was the youth pastor at that time, even questioning whether or not I was a Christian. And that was hard. It's it's it's hard when brothers and sisters do that type of stuff. And so for me, this this passage, it taught me a lot about how to face betrayal, how to how to suffer. Even though I still don't suffer well, I still want to speak up and defend myself and things like that. I I I'm working God is working on me in that. Um but here we see Christ's example and how he he trusted the Lord even in the midst of that and how he still stirred stood firm even when he was faced with tremendous loss even his very own life. And so it's with that thought in mind that we stand together in honor of God's word. As we read Mark chapter 14 vers 43 through 52, God's word says this. And immediately while he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the 12, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Now the betrayer had given them a sign saying the one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard. And when he came, he went up to him at once and said, "Rabbi," and kissed him. They laid hands on him and seized him. But one of those who stood by drew his sword and uh

struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. And he said to them, "Have you come out against a robber with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me, but let the scriptures be fulfilled." They all left him. And the young man followed him with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked. And so, Father, we do thank you for this uh text and what you do teach us through um through this about uh um your perfect obedience in in the face of uh betrayal, humiliation, in the face of all of uh all of the contents of the father's cup of wrath that you drank fully on our behalf, God, you still were faithful and uh you suffered perfectly and you did it to redeem us, Lord. And so, it's with grateful hearts that we say thank you. Thank you for redeeming us. Thank you for uh dying on the cross for our sins. And uh Lord, if there's someone here maybe that they don't know you, Lord, I pray that this Mother's Day that today would be the day that they experience the rebirth, the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. God. Lord, speak to their hearts and cause them to be born again to a living hope. Uh that they may be partakers of your death, your burial, and your resurrection. Lord, help give us spiritual understanding as we apply this passage to our own lives. Help us to not see ourselves as Christ in the passage, but to see you as the suffering servant on our behalf and how we can be your disciple in light of it. Father, we love you and we just thank you for this day in Jesus name. Amen. Well, immediately after the disciples, they get finished praying in the garden. Well, I shouldn't say the disciples get finished praying. They wake up and uh uh Jesus, he gets finished praying and he's teaching the

disciples. He's encouraging them and he sees the torches and the crowds coming down out of Jerusalem into the Kiddran Valley where the garden of Gethsemane was located and he sees Judas leading the way. And Mark he reemphasizes the fact that Judas is numbered among the 12. That is the innermost group of the disciples. These are the men who lived with Jesus. They ate with Jesus. They walked with Jesus. They talked with Jesus. They These are the men who when Jesus would speak in parables, he would take them aside and he would explain to them their hidden meaning. They received special insights from Jesus. And all of these men reaffirmed their dedication to Christ just a few hours ago. And all of them said that they would die for Jesus. And here comes Judas. The Gospels, they call him the betrayer because that's what he is. and he brings along with him hundreds of armed men to arrest Jesus in the dead of the night. Now we know that there were hundreds because uh John tells us that there was a band of soldiers. That word band is understood as a cohort. That is onetenth of a Roman legion. That's 600 soldiers armed with shields and and and and armor and and swords. Plus the Levite guards were sent with clubs from the Sanhedrin and they were they were given authority from the chief priests, the scribes, the elders to arrest Jesus. And Judas had given all these people a signal. And that signal would be the sign of a kiss. For us, a kiss. You you you only kiss those that maybe are your relatives. Maybe I do not come from a very kissing family. My wife does. Um if I go and I visit her grandma, I know I better puck her up. Okay. All right. I'm not lying. She grabs me by the face and uh those

90year-old lips just meet mine and it's different. Some of you just said that's not very funny. Uh but but for kisses, right? Uh we only kiss those that we're really close to and that we hold in in high honor or esteem. In in this culture, uh you would kiss those that you honor, that you respect, that you were disciples of. You would kiss your master. You would kiss your king. you would kiss the the powerful leaders around you on the cheek. That's why in um and and you would kiss family. That's why Oh, got ahead of me there. Uh that's why in Romans 16:16, it tells us to greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you as a way to greet others. And a lot of cultures around our world today, they still practice this. I'm not advocating that we bring it back. It's just what it says. But this sign was none of these things. Wasn't a sign of love. Was not a sign of honor or respect or affection or devotion. It was a sign of Judas's betrayal. The instruction from Judas to the men was when Christ is kissed, seize him and lead him away under guard. Why? Because Judas had chosen personal gain, 30 pieces of silver over loyalty and devotion to Christ. The kiss was a sign of affection. And yet here it becomes a tool of betrayal and it amplifies the deception and the pain. And then Jesus does it or Judas does it. Look at this. And when he came, he went up to him at once and said, "Rabbi and he kissed him." No hesitation. His mind was made up. Satan was in control. Judas, he parrots the words that he had so often spoken, "Rabbi, it means teacher." I was talking with Jim about this passage last week. He helpfully

pointed out that Judas only ever called Jesus rabbi. Peter and John and Philip and Thomas, they called Jesus Lord. Peter, John, and a lot of the other disciples, they called Jesus master. We know Thomas later on will call Jesus God. But Judas only ever saw Jesus as a teacher. H how do you view Jesus? Is he simply a teacher or is he your Lord and Master? But even knowing what Judas was going to do, Jesus doesn't say, "Get away from me, you snake. No. In Matthew, we see Jesus continually loving Judas. He said, "Friend, do what you came to do." And here is the proof of moral blindness and the depravity of man. It's when we take signs of goodness and beauty and they are used for sin. For Judas, his concern was only that the arrest would go smoothly, that everything would just work out for him in the end. And yet, it was Judas's planning and plotting that ins snared his eternal soul. 30 pieces of silver for an eternity in hell. The shocking truth, the most shocking thing is that Judas could live so close to Jesus for three and a half years and he could still betray Christ like this. I mean, as as Christians, as as moms, and as dads, we care deeply about the eternal state of our children. We do. and and we pray for them and we intercede for them and we're like, "Lord, deal with their hearts. Deal with their minds. Deal with their actions. Please, Lord, save them." And we do that. Sometimes we like to think to ourselves, if I could just get others to see what I've seen about Jesus, maybe then they will get saved. Or if if they could meet Christ like I've met Christ, then their lives would be changed. But the fact is that apart from the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, no one will be

saved. It takes God working in our hearts. This is why we pray for our children. This is why we pray for it. Our goal is not morality. Our goal is not for them to be good or decent human beings. Our goal is them for for them to come to know Christ and for them to be born again to a living hope. Amen. That's what we want. And that takes prayer. It takes faithful ministry. It takes constantly sharing the gospel. Judas, he saw all these things. He knew Jesus and he knew that this man. He He knew the word. The word became flesh and he knew it and he rejected it in his heart. This was a man that heard all the special revelations and the teachings and he had gone out and done the ministry and he had seen the the waves calmed. He had seen the the the dead raised. He had seen the the 5,000 fed. He had seen all of these things. And yet his heart was still hardened to the person of Christ. And he had the apostles convinced didn't he? But he was a snake ready to bruise the heel of our Lord. And then Judas, he sealed his fate with a kiss. That word kiss in the Greek is a fileo. It's where we get our word uh brotherly love or affection from. Uh in here it's an intense word. It's catapileo which means to kiss fervently. It's a prolonged one. It's a kiss toward someone that you love. And yet in this instance it drips with absolute horror. Look at what the scriptures say. Proverbs 27:6. Faithful are the wounds of a friend. Profuse are the kisses of an enemy. And why did Judas have to do this? Well, remember it's it's sometime between two or 3:00 a.m. Why did he have to kiss him? It's it's dark outside. It was likely a clear night because we know based off the authority of other scriptures, it was a cold

night. So, apart from the light of the moon, there's there's very little illumination in the ancient world. Maybe they had torches, but even then, you got a dozen men standing there. They're all dark featured with with likely beards. None of the none of the Romans knew who this Jesus was. It's likely that the Levite guards maybe saw Jesus in passing at the temple, but many of them may not have seen Jesus. And so, they had to go with a very obvious sign rather than pointing in the dark to a dark featured man. That's him. He walked up and he kissed him. And yet and yet Christ, he moves forward with that bitter cup that he must drink to make atonement. Verse 46, it says they laid hands on him and seized him. That word laid hands carries the idea of forcible grabbing to do violence to. That word seized is creteo which is the root word for that is cattos which means power. So you got this forceful subduing of the Lord Jesus. He's being thrown down, jerked around. This fulfills the prophecy found in Psalm 55. It says, "For it is not an enemy who taunts me. Then I could bear it. It is not an adversary who deals insolently with me. Then I could hide from him. But it is you, a man, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend." That's the kind of person that betrayed Christ. We used to take sweet counsel together within God's house. We walked in the throne. Earlier in the week, what were they doing? They were in the temple. And Judas got to listen to all of that teaching. But Peter's not going to take this sitting down, is he? Luke, he writes for us. And so when those around him saw what would follow, they said, "Lord, shall we strike with a sword?" And in Luke and in John 18, Peter, he lashes out. He cuts off Malchus's ear. Peter's thinking, "Well, I'm not going down without a fight. Even if I must die, I will never betray

Christ." But I want you to think about this. This is actually the closest where God's plan came to failure. And the reason is is that if the emotions uh and and the adrenaline goes up way too high, all of the disciples in Jesus are slaughtered there in the garden. And Jesus's name is forgotten at this point. He had to go to the cross. He had to make full atonement for our sins. And so while Malchus is grabbing that new hole in the side of his head, Jesus, he yells above the crowd, "No more of this." And he touched Malchus's ear and healed him. And then Jesus, he turns to Peter. He says, "Peter, put your sword into its sheath. Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?" and how easy it is for us to be out of step with Christ when we think that we're serving him, when we think that we're even defending him. But we must remember that this even in the chaos, even in the most heinous act of all of human history, God is still in control for us. We look at this and we go, "Man, he's right on the precipice. Things are about to explode." But God was still in control. Look at what it says. Men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst. As you yourselves know, this Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and fornowledge of God. You crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. And it's with that perfect control, that perfect authority under the Lord's perfect plan that we see Jesus, he said to them, "Have you come out as against a robber with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day, I was with you in the temple teaching. You did not seize me, but let the scriptures be fulfilled." The NIV, it reads that part of having

come out as against a robber. It reads, "Am I leading a rebellion?" And then there's this rebuke because they know what they're doing is inherently evil. It is not good. Anything done after like 11 p.m. typically isn't good. And the reason that they came at this time was why? Because they were afraid of the crowds. The people, they were celebrating Jesus just the day before. It sounds kind of like what the secret police do in places like China and other communist countries. Arrest are made at night. Why? Oh, the victims are going to be confused and less likely to resist. And all the neighbors are asleep, so they're not going to be able to get out there and protest. All this evil is done under the cover of darkness. And yet Christ, he still goes along with the father's plan. And this teaches us about Christ's resilience because Jesus had some options, right? Jesus, he told Peter in this situation, "Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my father and he will at once send more than 12 legions of angels?" He had some options here. If he didn't want to go to the cross, he didn't have to go to the cross. He could have called down a legion of angels, 12 legions of angels, and decimated everyone and everything. And yet he didn't. Despite that betrayal, despite the abandonment, Jesus, he remains obedient to the plan set in motion before the creation of the world. And he trusted God's purpose even when it meant that he was going to suffer. Even though it meant that he was going to die and the

motivation was because it was God's will. Out of his love for the father, he went to the cross for us. Out of his love for you and his desire to redeem you, he went to the cross. Not for your human approval, but for your redemption. So what does that teach us? It teaches us firstly that we should trust God completely because in trials you and I, we are going to go through it. And yet for you and I, we cannot abandon God's plan for our lives. We're called to walk in faithfulness along the path that he has for us. Some of your paths are going to be great and and and blessed and wonderful. Others of you, your paths are going to be dark and fading and kind of scary sometimes. We don't choose the path that the Lord has for us. We can either walk in obedience or disobedience. Where are you going to be? We should trust God completely on the path that he has us on. Secondly, it teaches us to stand strong in the Lord. It teaches us to stand strong in the Lord. We oftentimes think that faithfulness comes in the big moments, right? We we look at Luther and we think uh here I stand. I can do no other. So help me God, right? We think that comes in those moments. And yet for Christ and for Christians in general, it's we prepare ourselves through a lifetime of prayer and communion and fellowship with God. and we're invited to participate with him in this in our pursuit to the father by belief and faith in the atonement of Christ. We never outgrow our need for the gospel. We continue in the gospel. That's how we grow. It teaches us also about hope. And we have the advantage of of knowing how the story ends. We have the advantage of seeing the the disciples being restored to Christ. And they do some amazing things in the kingdom of God. What happened? What caused these

cowards who fled away from God to be restored and changed the entire world? What changed? It was seeing the resurrected Christ. That's what it was. And Christ's victory gives us power to endure. That's why Paul, he writes, "But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." In 14:15, God's word was getting into the hands of people um and the gospel was going out and uh the church at that time was teaching falsehoods on a wide scale. John Hus, he was a an early reformer in Bohemia and people were getting really worried uh because less and less money was coming from Bohemia at that time. And so um he was asked to come to a church council to explain his teachings that the church at that time considered heretical things like salvation by grace alone through faith alone and Christ alone things like that. and he was guaranteed safety. All that the meeting was supposed to be about according to uh uh letters that we have is that they wanted to learn what is this teaching and it was a message sent with goodwill. Come and let us learn from you. And at that he was betrayed. He was ordered to recant. But yet he chose to trust the Lord to stand strong and to endure in the hope of the gospel. And as a result, he faced death and he was burned at the stake while singing a hymn of praise to God. You know, you and I, we have the privilege of living in a time where the worst that we might have to endure is people thinking that we're too passionate about Jesus. That's pretty much the worst that we have to endure. My desire and prayer for my own life is thou would live for Christ. not just fight, not just be willing to die, but to live completely for him. And I hope that's your prayer, too. Now, Christ's

prophecy about the disciples fleeing is fulfilled in verse 50. It says, "And they all left him and fled." And John tells us exactly how that happens. Jesus answered, "God, told you, I am he. If you seek me, let these men go." This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken. Of those whom you gave me, I have not lost one. The disciples, they got away as quickly as possible. Because you see, it's much easier to fight for Jesus than it is to die for Jesus. This shows us our our third point, which is the disciples abandonment. 12 men with two swords was no match for 600 men armed to the teeth. over 600 ready to spill blood if need be. Fear got them. It overwhelmed their conviction, their commitment to Christ. But Christ had all known all along that this was exactly what was going to happen. I doubt that was much comfort to him as they scattered into the Kiddran Valley. They ran fast and the prophecy that Christ shared was fulfilled. The fact is is that in order for them to stand, it would have taken a supernatural act of God to work in their hearts. To stand for Christ, to lay your life down is not a natural thing for us to do, is it? It's why the way of Christ makes humans naturally stumble. That's why he's called that that chief cornerstone upon which we stumble. Here it says the natural person does not accept the things of the spirit of God for they are folly to them. They are foolishness and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. And that's the way of Peter. He was about the natural path. How many times did Peter miss the point? He missed it. And it was because he was viewing things through a worldly lens instead through the lens of Christ. Back when uh Christ said that he was going to Jerusalem to die, what did Peter do? Jesus, he speaks plainly to him and Peter says, "No, Jesus, that's

not going to happen to you. I won't let it happen to you." He was thinking through natural eyes, not through spiritual eyes. So you see to be offended in Christ to stumble at him in biblical language means to be totally staggered by his ways and that is the key to opening our eyes to spiritual understanding and it's something that God alone brings. These things God has revealed to us through the spirit for the spirit searches everything even the depths of God. For who knows a person's thought except the spirit of that person which is in him also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world but the spirit who is from God that we might understand the things freely given to us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the spirit interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the uh sorry ex accept the things of the spirit of God for they are folly to him and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things but is himself to be judged by no one. For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. So for you and I, how can we guarantee that our spiritual eyes have been opened? Well, it's actually quite simple really. Did I go back? Yeah. Sorry. The simple fact is is you have to ask yourself, do you know the Lord Jesus Christ? That's what it boils down to. Do you know Jesus? Not do you know of him. Judas knew of him. But do you know God? Do you have communion with God? Have you been saved? Have you been born again to that living hope? And perhaps you're here because it's Mother's Day and your mom wanted

you to come. And I thank God for that. You're exactly where you need to be. Maybe she just told you, "I really, really, really want you to come and be at church with me today." Maybe you're kind of like the disciples. At some point in time in the past, you ran from God, completely run away. There's a lot of reasons why people run away. The root cause of it oftent times is fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of rejection. Fear that the cost may be too high. Fear that God might lead you to do something more. Maybe you think that God's calling you to do something better with your life, but you're kind of content with where you're at. Perhaps there's fear of making massive changes to your life. Or maybe even giving up your life. The good news is that the fear might cause us to run, but faith causes us to return. You see, Peter, he didn't flee forever. Jesus sought him out just like he seeks you out right now. And Jesus restored Peter. Look at what it says. When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs." He said to him a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend my sheep." Said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep." See, if Christ can restore Peter for his faithful faithlessness, he can restore you, too. So, ask the Lord to restore you. Ask the Lord to renew those commitments that you may or may not have made to the Lord. Ask the Lord to save you. Ask the

Lord to work in your heart. And if you got questions about what that means, talk to your mom, talk to me, talk to someone about what God is doing in your heart. So, let's kind of put a put a bow in this a little bit for us here. Um, and and really summarize everything because Jesus's obedience during Judas's betrayal and the disciples abandonment, it fulfilled God's plan to secure salvation through the atonement, through the the crucifixion. And when you are betrayed or when you're going through a really tough season, you can trust the Lord's plan just as Jesus did by relying on prayer and the promises of God. And if you strayed from Christ, repent and believe the gospel, his finished work on the cross. And this assures us that God's redemptive purpose cannot be thwarted. It cannot fail. And it offers us hope and direction. Then you can get plugged into a church. Get continue to grow in trust in the Lord and grow in obedience towards Christ. Head, heart, hand, head. God wants you to know that Jesus's obedience and betrayal shows God's plan to save cause us to trust and to return to him. And because God proves his control in the midst of evil and betrayal and abandonment, much more, we can trust him and we can come to God with all of our needs. Part God wants you to believe that his plan of salvation through Christ's atonement is certain. It is sure. It will not fail. Jesus's obedience in the face of that betrayal and that abandonment perfectly fulfilled the father's plan to redeem his people. And that's an unshakable plan. And it assures you and I that Christ's death and resurrection guarantees our salvation. And it's a guarantee for every person that trusts in Jesus Christ. In hand, God wants you to trust in Christ's finished work by responding to his faithfulness with repentance for our own

faithlessness. So spend time with the Lord. You know, maybe you need to just right now just repent and say, "God, I I need you right now. I need to I need to come back." I pray that that's your prayer today. As a result of that, I pray that you would also learn what it means to abide with him in prayer, studying the scripture, joining a community group or Bible study, getting plugged in exactly where the Lord needs you to be. And so God, we do thank you for this day that you've given to us. We thank you for your word. We thank you for your example of u of perfect suffering uh in the midst of uh the most heinous betrayal. Lord, you uh you are the example and not just the example, but you are the the one that gives us full atonement for our sins. We ask Lord that you would continue to work in our hearts and in our lives. I ask Lord for uh anyone here that maybe they don't know you as their Lord and Savior. That today would be that day that they trust in you. Lord, for maybe those who have wandered, Lord, help them to know um that uh you take us back even when we're faithless. Lord, you remain faithful. So Lord, I I just pray for that, Lord, that you would work in our hearts. Help us to learn faithfulness and obedience, motivated from grace, love. Father, just please work in our hearts. We love you so much. We thank you for your mercy and your kindness, Lord, in Jesus name. Amen. Let's all stand and let's worship together. When I fear my faith will fail, Christ will hold me fast. When the tiptor would prevail, he will hold me fast. I could never keep my hold. Through life's fearful path, for my love is soft and cold. He must hold me fast. He will hold me fast. He will hold me

fast. For my Savior loves me so. He will hold me fast. Those he saves are his delight. Christ will hold me fast. Precious in his holy sight. He will hold me fast. He'll not let my soul be lost. His promises, but by him at such a cost. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. fast. For my Savior loves me so. He will hold me fast for my life. He bled and died. Christ will hold me fast. Justice has been satisfied. He will hold me fast. Praise with him to endless life. He will hold me fast till our faith is turned to side when he comes at last. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. For my Savior loves me so. He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. For my Savior has me so. He will hold me. And that is a promise that you can take to the bank that the Lord Jesus Christ holds you if you trust in him. That's my prayer for you today. Lord, we do ask that you would uh give us a blessed rest of our Mother's Day. Uh help us, Lord, to honor our fathers and our mothers uh to the absolute best of our abilities. God, we just thank you so much for the example of uh the faithfulness of Christ. Lord, help us to learn obedience from a place of love and gratitude. Uh that we would walk in faithfulness toward you. Thank you that you do promise to receive us to yourself. Uh thank you for the promise that you will never leave us nor forsake us. Uh Lord, we just ask that you would help us to abide in those truths that we would walk faithfully before you all the days of our lives in Jesus name. Amen. Amen.

She was thinking like I think I picked up this time. Radiant condition.