Sermon #S014 -
(Unrealistc Grace)
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Pastor Snell:  Amen. Luke
chapter 22, and we'll begin
together at verse number 47.
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When you get there, just say,
"Pastor, I'm here." Luke chapter
22 and verse 47, and we will be
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a little bit more brief than
normal today as we share. Luke
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22 and verse 47. The Bible says,
"And while he yet spake, behold
the multitude and he that was
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called Judas, one of the twelve,
went before them and drew near
unto Jesus to kiss him. But
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Jesus said unto him, Judas,
betrayest thou the Son of man
with a kiss? When they which
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were about him saw what would
follow, they said unto him,
Lord, shall we smite with the
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sword? And one of them smote the
servant of the high priest, and
cut off his right ear."
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When you read John's version,
the Bible lets us know that it
was Peter that did the swinging
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and the servant's name was
Malchus. Then the Bible says
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here in verse 51, "And Jesus
answered and said suffer ye thus
far. And he touched his ear and
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healed him. Then Jesus said unto
the chief priests, into the
captains of the temple,
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and the elders which were
come to him, be ye come out, as
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against a thief, with swords and
staves? When I was with you
daily in the temple, ye
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stretched forth no hands against
me. But this is your hour and
the power of darkness."
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But I just want to emphasize
verse 51, "But Jesus answered
and said suffer ye thus far.
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And He touched his ear and He
healed him." Today saints, I
want to talk to you under the
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subject today, Unrealistic
Grace. And I want to just
subtitle this message, He
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destroyed the evidence. Let's
pray. Father, in this little
while, would you say much?
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You promised that your strength
would be perfected in human
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weakness. So Lord, I just want
to connect mine to yours and I
pray that your strength would be
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perfected in my faultiness. So
Lord, would you make your spirit
so dense that it smothers every
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alternative principality. May
faith be multiplied in the
hearing of the word.
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Hide me in the shadows of the
cross that Jesus alone might be
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seen. That Christ alone would
be heard. And at the end of our
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time together, may Jesus alone
be praised. We ask this in the
name of Him who is altogether
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lovely. It is in the name of
Jesus that we pray. Let God's
people say together, Amen?
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[ Congregation: Amen]
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And Amen. You may be seated
in the house of the Lord today.
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Today saints, there are 4 brief
lessons on faith that we learn
from the arrest of Jesus.
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The first thing this story
teaches us, friends, is the
danger of misplaced faith.
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You see, real faith is not about
my wishes. Real faith is
centered on God's will.
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In fact, the only thing
worse than unbelief is misplaced
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belief. You see, when I am
believing in one direction and
God is moving in a different
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direction, it creates
a dissonance in my faith.
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And when that happens, the
assumption is the reason the
belief did not materialize was
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because I did not have enough
belief. But the reason certain
things did not materialize was
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because we attached
faith to a wrong belief.
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In other words, notice, friends,
what Jesus predicted would
happen to His disciples.
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He predicted that all of you
would become offended because of
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me. He predicted that when the
shepherd would be smitten, that
the sheep would scatter.
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He predicted that all of
you would ultimately forsake me.
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But I need you to understand
that even though His prediction
comes true, the disciples do not
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leave Jesus because they have no
faith. They don't leave Jesus
because they are afraid.
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In fact, the narrative of the
disciples forsaking Jesus is not
about people who have no belief.
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It's actually about people
that believe the wrong thing.
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See, the problem is we think
that the disciples flee because
they are ashamed to stand with
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Jesus. That's not true. Do you
realize, saints, that this
moment is actually what the
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disciples have been waiting for?
When Peter told Jesus that, "I'm
willing to go with you to prison
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or the grave", I need you to get
that this is not conjecture.
Remember when Jesus walked the
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earth, they were always
agitating Jesus to lead a
military coup against the
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oppressive government of Rome.
What we read in the text is not
a group of men who are afraid.
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Let's be clear that they are
here for this moment. They are
standing with swords in hand and
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they are ready to paint the
ground red with blood because
they are ready to fight for an
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earthly kingdom. In fact,
friends, there are some who
believe that the betrayal of
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Jesus was not an abandonment of
Christ but He was simply trying
to put Jesus in a position where
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he had no choice except to use
His divine power and understand
that there is simply a
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misapplied belief because
they're wanting Jesus to lead an
earthly insurrection when God's
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goal is to save them
by a Sunday resurrection.
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And see, understand that they
don't flee until Jesus allows
Himself to be taken.
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In other words, they don't
run because they are afraid for
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their lives. They are offended
by Jesus allowing Himself to be
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handcuffed. They are
disappointed that He allows
Himself to be taken.
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There is a disdain that He's
allowing them to be subdued.
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In other words, friends of mine,
there is an offense about what
Jesus is allowing to happen.
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Let me ask the question. Has
anyone ever been offended by
what God allows to happen?
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In other words, you know
that God is able to stop it from
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happening, and yet he allows it
to happen anyway. You can admit
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it today because the truth is
that we have all been offended
in our faith by what God has
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allowed to happen. In other
words, where you believed in
healing but God allowed a
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funeral. You believed for
a proposal but God allowed a
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breakup. You believed for
a promotion but God allowed a
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termination. You believed
for children but God allowed a
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miscarriage. And let me just say
to anybody who is in a place of
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disappointment. See, the reason
we are disappointed is because
there are unmet expectations.
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But sometimes when your
belief does not come to pass,
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it's not because you didn't have
enough faith but sometimes it
simply means that your wishes
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and God's will did not align.
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But be careful friends, how you
handle your offense because if
you're not careful,
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your offense will lead you out
of faith. And the thing I need
you to get about faith today,
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friends, is that faith is not
determined to have its own way.
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In other words, faith will
not just believe for a desired
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outcome but unrealistic faith
can celebrate no matter what the
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outcome. Let me say it again.
You see, baby, faith will only
trust God for a desired outcome
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but when you've got unrealistic
faith, you can believe in God no
matter what the outcome is.
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You see, real faith is able to
absorb some disappointment and
detours along the way because it
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understands. Romans 8:28, "That
all things work together for the
good of them that love God
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and are called according to his
purpose." Let me say it this
way. That faith is clay and not
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concrete. In other words, faith
is amenable. Faith is adaptable.
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Faith is pliable. In other
words, I need somebody to know
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this about faith. That faith is
bi-functional. Okay. Okay. Let
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me say it again. I need
you to know that real faith is
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bi-functional. Now, some of you
all are looking at me crazy
because you may be familiar with
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the term bisexual, and
understand that a bisexual is
simply a person that goes both
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ways. But how many of us know
that we need a bi-functional
faith? You need to have faith
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that goes both ways.
You're all not with me today.
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In other words, I need a
bi-functional faith that can
thrive when it goes well,
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and it can thrive when
things go the other way. See,
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I need us to know that your
faith is no good as long as it's
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homogeneous. I've got to have a
bi-functional faith that can
thrive no matter what the
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outcome may be. Do you realize
that the 3 Hebrew boys had
bi-functional faith?
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Because they said our God is
able to deliver us but even if
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not, we will not worship your
gods or bow down to your image.
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Understand that James
had bi-functional faith.
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For he says, "I'll count it
all joy when I fall into diverse
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trials." Understand that Job had
bi-functional faith for he says,
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"The Lord gives and the Lord
takes away but blessed be the
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name of the Lord." Understand
that David had bi-functional
faith for he said, "I will bless
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the Lord at all times and His
praise shall continually be in
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my mouth." Jesus had a
bi-functional faith, for he
said, "Father, take this cup
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from me but nevertheless not my
will but let your will be done."
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And do I have at least 7 folks
in the church today who are
saying, "Lord, give me a faith
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that goes both ways. Give me a
belief that can thrive when it
goes well but I can thrive when
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it doesn't go well. I want to
have a worship that is not based
upon the circumstance.
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But I want to get to a place
where I can praise Him when it's
well but I can praise Him when
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it doesn't go well because my
worship and my faith is
bi-functional. Are you hearing
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me today, saints?
[ Congregation: Yes]
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So, go back with me, if you
don't mind to the word here in
Luke 22 and verse number 49.
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I need you to see a couple of
things in the word before I take
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my seat. The Bible says here in
verse number 49, the Bible says,
"When they which were about him,
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so what would follow?" They said
to the Lord, they said unto him,
"Lord, shall we smite them with
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the sword?" Then the Bible says,
and one of them, talking about
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Peter, smote the servant of
the high priest and cut off his
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right ear." You see, the second
thing this story teaches us,
friends of mine, is that God
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don't fight battles that you
start. [ Congregation: Laughing]
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See, God fights the battles that
He starts but He doesn't fight
the battles that you instigate.
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Are you all with me, church?
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Let me say this way and I talked
about it in a book. I remember
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one day, we were at our house.
Me and my youngest son were
working downstairs and my two
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oldest kids were upstairs
playing. I told my youngest son
to go up to his older siblings
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and tell them to begin cleaning
up their room. Now, I need you
to know that my youngest, he's
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so excited to be able to tell
the older 2 what to do. That he
marches up there, and I hear him
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shout from downstairs, "Brooke
and Jaden, start cleaning up
your room." Now, the problem is
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the older 2 are not going to
recognize the authority of the
baby boy. So, they mock him and
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send him back downstairs without
any positive response or
affirmation. So, he comes down
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and he begins weeping and he
says, "Daddy, I told them to
clean up but they did not do
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it." I said, "Son, this time
when you go, don't just tell
them to do it. I want you to
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tell them, Daddy said to clean
up your room." And understand,
that when they go upstairs the
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second time, he marches up with
some parochial swag up the steps
and when it gets to the top of
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the steps, he gets a little bass
in his voice, and he says, "This
time, daddy said for you to
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clean up your room." And then
all of a sudden they begin
moving and adjusting their
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behavior because this time, he
did not ask in his own authority
but he asked in the name of his
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daddy. Is there anybody that
knows that when you come in your
own authority, principalities
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are not going to move? But when
you come in the name of Jesus of
Nazareth, that doors have to
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open. That things begin to move
when you ask in the right name.
Are you all hearing me today,
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saints? But then, so what
happens is, over the course of
the day, as we are working
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downstairs, he came down and was
like, "Daddy, what else do you
want me to do?" So, I said, "Go
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up again and tell them Daddy
said do some reading." Go back
up again and say Daddy said, do
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this chore. So, he's loving
working beside me because he's
used to acting in my name.
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But then he makes one mistake.
The thing got just a little bit
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too good to it. So, I told him,
"It's okay, son, if you go
upstairs and watch television."
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So, the other 2 were already
watching television. So, he
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walked upstairs. I just said
go watch TV and I hear him say,
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"Daddy said give me the remote
control so I can watch what I
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want to watch." Now, this time
the other 2, they sniffed this
out. And guess what? They come
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and say, "Daddy, did you
say to give him the remote?"
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See, what happens is I withdraw
the authority of my name for a
command that I did not send.
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See there, we are wondering why
certain things we don't get in
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His name because He withdraws
His authority from commands that
he did not send us to do.
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Are you hearing
me today, saints?
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Third thing quickly this teaches
us, friends of mine, is it
teaches that your pain should
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never replace your purpose. Now,
what I'm going to share quickly
is just a general principle for
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life and happiness. Do you
realize that the last miracle
that Jesus did before the cross
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was to pick up a severed ear and
reattach it to someone's head?
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Now, I need you to
understand, friends of mine,
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one of the things you'll notice
if you read the scriptures is
that Jesus never used His power
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in aid of himself. That He only
used His power to benefit or
blessed or help others that
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stood in need of mercy or grace.
Are you all still with me,
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church? Now, I need you all to
get that what makes this
impactful is not just that Jesus
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healed him but what impresses me
is the timing. You remember
friends, He's just come out of
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the Garden of Gethsemane. He has
just finished sweating great
drops of blood as he cried out
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unto the Lord. In other words,
He is in a place of His own
despair as the weight of His
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personal passion is crushing all
the way down on Him. In other
words, He's got a group that's
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come to arrest Him. They're
about to go and beat him.
They're eventually going to
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crucify him. But the thing I
like about Jesus is that even in
the midst of His pain, He does
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not allow His pain to become a
substitute for His purpose
because, in the moment of His
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passion, He takes some time out
to pause, and be a blessing to
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somebody else. You see, one of
the things that we learn from
Jesus is that sometimes you can
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borrow gladness by giving a
little gladness. I know you all
don't want to hear this. See, in
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the midst of His pain, He takes
some time to stop the pain of
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Malchus. In other words,
I need you to know that this
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becomes a part of His pattern
throughout the entirety of the
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cross experience. That in the
midst of His suffering, He
pauses to heal Malchus that even
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as they hurl insults at
Him, He pauses to pray for their
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forgiveness. When He's being
dragged through the street, He
pauses to give John instructions
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on how to care for his mother.
When the two thieves that once
insulted Him when they confess
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Him, He begins to pause and say,
"In this day, I say to you, that
you will be with me in
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Paradise." See, the thing that
we learn from Jesus is that when
He is in a place of personal
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pain, He does not forget the
purpose for which He has been
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called. See, sometimes we wonder
how is it that He was able to
handle the burden of the cross.
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The reason He was able
to handle His own burden was
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because He was able to lift the
burdens of those that He entered
into contact with along the way.
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What I'm saying to somebody
today is that, when you're in a
bad situation, don't just sit
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around and wait for it to
get better in order to bless
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somebody else. How many of us
know that if you start blessing
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somebody else, the blessings you
give away will become like a
boomerang or where are you all
00:20:10.51\00:20:18.51
at? Has anybody ever played with
a boomerang? That when you throw
it away, if you position it at
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the right angle, it'll come back
to you? What I'm saying, beloved
is that when you make a
00:20:25.62\00:20:32.09
happiness deposit, what's
going to happen is you'll get a
00:20:32.13\00:20:35.83
happiness return. See, the
problem with the church in our
time is we make the mistake to
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say that when it gets better,
Dr. Dent, I'll be a blessing.
But the reason you can't have
00:20:41.77\00:20:50.55
that disposition is how many of
us grown folk know that life
will never stop hurting?
00:20:50.58\00:20:52.75
In other words, there ain't
going to never be no season
where you got all the money you
00:20:52.78\00:20:59.19
need and everybody likes you and
everything is going perfect and
ain't no pain in your body.
00:20:59.22\00:21:05.69
How many of us know that you
don't wait till it gets right to
00:21:05.73\00:21:09.93
serve? [
Congregation: Applauding]
00:21:09.96\00:21:11.57
You learn how to serve until
things get right. Are you all
00:21:11.60\00:21:15.54
hearing me today? In
other words, friends of mine,
00:21:15.57\00:21:17.34
I need somebody to understand
that some of us got to learn to
serve our way out of sickness.
00:21:17.37\00:21:23.18
See, I need somebody to get that
you don't save your way out of
poverty. You share your way out
00:21:23.21\00:21:30.02
of poverty. Oh, your faith is
not unrealistic today. See,
there's somebody who's saying,
00:21:30.05\00:21:37.09
"Pastor, it's bad in my
marriage." But I need you to
know, it won't get better when
00:21:37.13\00:21:41.56
your needs get fulfilled. It
will get better when you start
fulfilling some needs.
00:21:41.60\00:21:45.03
Is there anybody that
understands that marriage works
best when we operate like
00:21:45.07\00:21:52.81
waiters and not customers?
[ Congregation: Applauding]
00:21:52.84\00:21:55.01
Okay. In other words,
there's somebody who's saying,
00:21:55.04\00:21:57.11
"Pastor, I'm going to wait till
COVID is over in order to find a
way to be in ministry."
00:21:57.15\00:22:02.15
How many of us know, COVID ain't
going nowhere soon so you've got
to find a creative way to be a
00:22:02.18\00:22:09.39
blessing to somebody else. What
I'm saying to somebody is that
until it gets better,
00:22:09.42\00:22:15.63
you've got to make it better for
somebody else. And that what you
00:22:15.66\00:22:21.50
give, guess what? God is
going to send it back to you.
00:22:21.54\00:22:24.27
[ Congregation: Applauding]
00:22:24.31\00:22:26.84
The last thing I like about this
before I take my seat. See, this
story teaches us that our God is
00:22:26.88\00:22:37.89
so good. He's so into your
salvation. Do you know what
He'll do? He'll destroy the
00:22:37.92\00:22:52.20
evidence. You see, there was
the reason that Jesus healed the
00:22:52.23\00:23:04.18
soldier's ear. You realize,
saints, that at this point,
their evidence against Jesus is
00:23:04.21\00:23:13.09
kind of shaky. They're looking
for a reason to bring a charge
against the disciples. But at
00:23:13.12\00:23:20.13
this point, they don't have a
good reason to bring a charge
against the disciples.
00:23:20.16\00:23:27.00
So, when they move towards Jesus
and Peter takes the swing and
cuts off the soldier's ear,
00:23:27.04\00:23:37.11
you realize the Roman soldiers
are like, "Yep, we got them
00:23:37.15\00:23:44.45
now." In other words, they've
got a reason to file assault
charges so they can crucify
00:23:44.49\00:23:56.60
Peter right next to Jesus. Do
you realize that the ear of
Malchus was supposed to be
00:23:56.63\00:24:10.71
exhibit A in the prosecution
against the disciple Peter? They
couldn't wait to bring a
00:24:10.75\00:24:18.59
bleeding Machus into the court
to testify that Jesus' disciples
are invoking insurrection
00:24:18.62\00:24:24.89
against the government of Rome.
But understand when Jesus picks
up the ear and puts it back on
00:24:24.93\00:24:33.07
the head, what Jesus is doing
is He's destroying the evidence.
00:24:33.10\00:24:39.17
He just shut down witness number
one so no charge can be brought
00:24:39.21\00:24:46.05
against Peter because Jesus got
rid of the evidence. See, the
reason it's such a great miracle
00:24:46.08\00:24:53.82
is because this miracle
foreshadows justification.
00:24:53.86\00:24:58.86
See, justification is not where
God says, "You're not guilty."
00:24:58.89\00:25:03.67
It's simply where you're
declared righteous in the face
00:25:03.70\00:25:09.64
of obvious guilt. See,
justification doesn't mean
you're falsely accused. It means
00:25:09.67\00:25:16.68
that accusation is true. It
means you did do it. It means
your DNA is all over the scene.
00:25:16.71\00:25:26.82
That the devil got your
fingerprints all over it. But
when you're justified, it just
00:25:26.86\00:25:35.73
means that when the devil came
to bring an accusation, he had a
list of all of your
00:25:35.76\00:25:42.37
transgressions. But when he got
to the courtroom, all of your
sins had been covered in the
00:25:42.40\00:25:52.31
blood of Jesus. So, he says,
"Judge, give me a minute. I had
some evidence. I had some proof.
00:25:52.35\00:25:57.99
But I can't find it." Why can't
he find it? Because Jesus
covered it in His blood. He
00:25:58.02\00:26:09.03
blotted it out in His
righteousness. He sealed the
record so that it cannot be
00:26:09.06\00:26:18.97
found. And how many of us can
praise God because you are
guilty? You did it. The darn
00:26:19.01\00:26:29.08
accusation was true but you've
been justified because Jesus got
rid of the proof. Jesus removed
00:26:29.12\00:26:39.39
the evidence and you receive the
pardon not because you're good,
not because you're deserving,
00:26:39.43\00:26:44.13
but because His grace is so
unrealistic. If you're thankful
that your case has been thrown
00:26:44.17\00:26:53.04
out, that the ransom has been
paid, that the record has been
expunged, give Jesus praise.
00:26:53.07\00:27:06.02
Give Him praise in his place.
[ Congregation: applauding]
00:27:06.05\00:27:10.46
See, the reason the accuser has
been cast down, that accuses
them before God day and night is
00:27:10.49\00:27:18.67
because your record has been
expunged. There is no accusation
00:27:18.70\00:27:25.44
that can be made because all of
your sins have been covered and
preserved and hidden by the
00:27:25.47\00:27:39.82
righteousness of Christ, and
expunged through the blood of
the Lamb. Hallelujah to the lamb
00:27:39.85\00:27:50.07
today. (Breath
of Life Theme Music)
00:27:50.10\00:28:41.05
[END]
00:28:41.08\00:28:56.06