Praise the Lord, everyone. Welcome to Imperative Life 00:00:14.41\00:00:18.38 Lessons, I'm Pastor Ryan Johnson, our destination today 00:00:18.41\00:00:23.08 is a quiet servant's orders looking over the shoulders 00:00:23.12\00:00:27.72 of a bloody man as he stares to the mirrored surface 00:00:27.76\00:00:32.43 of the looking pane. 00:00:32.46\00:00:34.13 He's contemplating what Jesus has done for him 00:00:34.16\00:00:37.43 on the backdrop of what he himself has been through 00:00:37.47\00:00:41.40 with Jesus. But getting there however, means a stroll through 00:00:41.44\00:00:46.37 the Upper Room, the ancient streets, and eventually 00:00:46.41\00:00:50.05 the Garden of Gethsemane. 00:00:50.08\00:00:51.65 But before we paint a portrait of the characters in this story 00:00:51.68\00:00:55.98 of this man or of Christ's cowardly disciples or even 00:00:56.02\00:01:00.79 of the disciple who betrayed Jesus, why don't we dig 00:01:00.82\00:01:05.36 into the history to gain a little bit of context to 00:01:05.39\00:01:08.36 walk a mile as it were, even if by armchair study 00:01:08.40\00:01:12.83 in their shoes. 00:01:12.87\00:01:14.54 And of course, before embarking on any journey, we ought to 00:01:14.57\00:01:19.54 pray. Father in heaven, be with us as we look at the 00:01:19.57\00:01:23.95 power of having you as our master. 00:01:23.98\00:01:26.21 In the name, we pray, Amen and Amen! 00:01:26.25\00:01:29.52 Ancient Palestine was a violent contentious place as are 00:01:29.55\00:01:34.56 many places where people are struggling for independence 00:01:34.59\00:01:37.76 against an oppressive government. 00:01:37.79\00:01:39.93 Here's a little history, the kingdom of Israel had split 00:01:39.96\00:01:43.90 into the kingdoms of Israel in the north and 00:01:43.93\00:01:46.67 Judah in the south, eventually Israel in the north 00:01:46.70\00:01:51.71 fell to the Assyrians and over a century later, 00:01:51.74\00:01:55.41 Judah in the south fell to the Babylonians, 00:01:55.44\00:01:58.91 you can read of the fall of of the northern kingdom 00:01:58.95\00:02:01.48 in II Kings and of the approaching fall of Judah 00:02:01.52\00:02:06.02 in the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. 00:02:06.05\00:02:10.26 It was an awful series of days when in the temple in Jerusalem 00:02:10.29\00:02:14.46 was plundered and then later, destroyed, burned, 00:02:14.50\00:02:18.77 many of God's people were taken into Babylonian 00:02:18.80\00:02:21.90 captivity. Daniel opens with his experience being kidnapped 00:02:21.94\00:02:26.88 in chapter one of his book but eventually the temple 00:02:26.91\00:02:30.85 was rebuilt, Praise the Lord, and later under the 00:02:30.88\00:02:34.18 Medo- Persian empire Israel experienced a restoration 00:02:34.22\00:02:39.15 of sorts but it was never quite like it was. 00:02:39.19\00:02:42.32 In the time between of the Old Testament and 00:02:42.36\00:02:46.49 the New Testament, the Greek empire arose and they did 00:02:46.53\00:02:50.53 some awful things to the Jews and to the temple. 00:02:50.57\00:02:53.54 If you are interested in highlights from this 00:02:53.57\00:02:56.30 intertestamental period Google the Maccabean War 00:02:56.34\00:03:01.48 and read why the name Judas became so 00:03:01.51\00:03:04.15 popular among the Jews. 00:03:04.18\00:03:05.71 But moving on through history, each section of the Greek Empire 00:03:05.75\00:03:11.49 was eventually conquered by the Roman Empire and all of this 00:03:11.52\00:03:15.92 war and stirrings up of the waters of humanity 00:03:15.96\00:03:19.39 were accomplished at the edge of the sword. 00:03:19.43\00:03:22.76 Boundaries were established in blood, freedoms lost, 00:03:22.80\00:03:26.53 gained, lost again in flesh, so by the time of Imperial Rome 00:03:26.57\00:03:32.87 which set into local power the Kings Herod along with governors 00:03:32.91\00:03:38.65 like Pontius Pilate. The Jewish community was no stranger 00:03:38.68\00:03:43.52 to violence, vigilantism, lynching's, public executions 00:03:43.55\00:03:48.92 in the thousands, violence was the language spoken 00:03:48.96\00:03:53.13 at even the highest levels. 00:03:53.16\00:03:55.20 Look at King Herod, the builder who murdered his sons, 00:03:55.23\00:03:59.73 his wife, and even babies, and pregnant women in Bethlehem. 00:03:59.77\00:04:04.31 Violence was the language spoken even at the lowest levels 00:04:04.34\00:04:07.74 as is illustrated in Jesus' parable the Good Samaritan 00:04:07.78\00:04:12.51 who helps a stranger that has been half killed by thieves 00:04:12.55\00:04:16.89 and in this environment a man, a carpenter, a woodworker, 00:04:17.22\00:04:23.99 hung out with fisherman and tax collectors and was preaching 00:04:24.03\00:04:29.06 Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called 00:04:29.10\00:04:32.77 the children of God, they shall be conquerors 00:04:32.80\00:04:35.44 but not by shedding innocent blood but rather by the 00:04:35.47\00:04:39.57 bloodshed by the carpenter man who also happens to be 00:04:39.61\00:04:44.25 the Son of God. Blessed He said are the meek, for they shall 00:04:44.28\00:04:49.35 inherit the earth, the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. 00:04:49.38\00:04:53.39 When an odd message among the massacres, a holy vision amid 00:04:53.42\00:05:00.00 the violence, Jesus was clearly a blossoming Rose among 00:05:00.03\00:05:04.10 the weeds, a jewel in the sand. 00:05:04.13\00:05:07.44 He was not one to react violently even if when 00:05:07.47\00:05:12.67 they assaulted Him but His disciples, men of the docks, 00:05:12.71\00:05:18.28 men of the sea cursing and rowdy, ah they were different. 00:05:18.31\00:05:23.28 How many fights and street justice deals have they 00:05:23.59\00:05:27.09 witnessed? What number of crucifixions have they seen 00:05:27.12\00:05:31.06 as children? Two of them were called the sons of thunder. 00:05:31.09\00:05:34.60 One was called Petrus, Peter, Rocky, and the tax collector 00:05:34.63\00:05:39.40 collections were free-lance jobs were as long as the Romans 00:05:39.43\00:05:44.87 got their quota, one could charge whatever premiums 00:05:44.91\00:05:48.41 they wanted. And this is why tax collectors often used 00:05:48.44\00:05:52.08 violence and intimidation to squeeze the populous 00:05:52.11\00:05:56.58 they were gangsters and these were the men whom Jesus chose. 00:05:56.62\00:06:02.42 Just as you and I, flawed people are the men and women 00:06:02.46\00:06:07.40 Jesus chooses. Hmm! 00:06:07.43\00:06:10.57 But those were the men who said unto Jesus in 00:06:10.60\00:06:14.44 Luke chapter 22, verse 38... 00:06:14.47\00:06:17.41 This was in response to Jesus speaking in parable about 00:06:22.11\00:06:26.25 the nearness of prophecy coming to pass. 00:06:26.28\00:06:29.38 This particular exchange occurred in the Upper Room 00:06:29.42\00:06:34.02 as Jesus was nearing the end of His earthly ministry 00:06:34.06\00:06:36.99 He's trying to teach them and they're like we have swords. 00:06:37.03\00:06:41.30 Now because we are nearing our narrative destination, 00:06:41.33\00:06:45.70 let's slow our racing review through history and 00:06:45.73\00:06:51.07 further appreciate the circumstances that led these 00:06:51.11\00:06:55.24 violence taught disciples to proclaim that they were armed 00:06:55.28\00:07:00.35 with swords. 00:07:00.38\00:07:01.72 Such aggression had practically been baked into their past, 00:07:01.75\00:07:07.42 it was their reality their boast their burden. 00:07:07.46\00:07:11.99 In John 14 after promising that He would come again 00:07:12.03\00:07:17.03 and receive us to Himself, Philip had proclaimed 00:07:17.07\00:07:20.77 show us the Father and that will suffice. 00:07:20.80\00:07:23.77 To which Jesus responded, all this time I have been with you 00:07:23.81\00:07:28.08 and you still ask to see the Father. 00:07:28.11\00:07:29.98 I imagine that later the echo of those words came to them 00:07:30.01\00:07:35.08 when they remembered how they had boasted that they had 00:07:35.12\00:07:38.79 two swords among them all this time I've been with you 00:07:38.82\00:07:42.49 an you still brandish swords. 00:07:42.52\00:07:45.49 But the point is these men were the product of their environment 00:07:45.53\00:07:50.50 programmed by centuries of Darwinian politics at it were 00:07:50.53\00:07:55.97 survival of the fittest, retaliatory in nature. 00:07:56.00\00:08:00.34 Their survival instincts had yet to surrender to faith in God. 00:08:00.38\00:08:05.88 At its root, a sword is a simple device. It's basically a handle 00:08:05.91\00:08:16.59 with a blade, the handle is for holding and manipulation 00:08:16.62\00:08:21.16 the blade, well that's for business. 00:08:21.20\00:08:22.90 Now a well-made sword is a product of millennia of culture 00:08:22.93\00:08:27.67 and purpose and engineering a well-made sword is balanced 00:08:27.70\00:08:31.81 forged, functional, and beautiful sometimes it is named 00:08:31.84\00:08:36.58 passed down from generation to generation marinated 00:08:36.61\00:08:40.95 in the wars and confrontations the victories and defeat 00:08:40.98\00:08:44.92 that gives it personality. 00:08:44.95\00:08:46.29 But a simple sword, the sword for instance that a fisherman 00:08:46.32\00:08:52.19 might carry, that's most likely a crude weapon you know 00:08:52.23\00:08:55.86 purchased for the price of a few extra fish probably 00:08:55.90\00:09:00.24 shoved into the belt and slightly hidden under the 00:09:00.27\00:09:03.17 outer cloak. I wonder who it was among the disciples of Jesus 00:09:03.20\00:09:07.64 that owned each of the two swords mentioned in Luke? 00:09:07.68\00:09:11.78 Well, we know one was Peter as we will see, 00:09:11.81\00:09:15.48 but the other be swordsmen. I don't know his identity 00:09:15.52\00:09:19.92 but when you picture these men bearing arms 00:09:19.95\00:09:24.03 even as Jesus washes their feet it is anathema to the spirit 00:09:24.06\00:09:30.07 of love that Jesus invokes in John chapter 14 verse 17. 00:09:30.10\00:09:35.67 It flies in the Upper Room experience in Luke chapter 22 00:09:35.70\00:09:42.71 verses 14 to 16, it says... 00:09:42.74\00:09:45.88 Then it says in John chapter 13 verse 4... 00:10:08.77\00:10:12.31 And then Matthew picks up the narrative in 00:10:34.63\00:10:37.13 chapter 26, verse 26... 00:10:37.17\00:10:39.50 You know what this is. Yes. The washing of feet 00:10:54.75\00:10:58.42 the breaking of bread, the drinking of grape juice 00:10:58.45\00:11:01.09 this was his first Communion a ceremony with us, 00:11:01.12\00:11:05.66 the last supper before the cross, a solemn moment, 00:11:05.69\00:11:10.30 a deep experience, Jesus condescending to wash our 00:11:10.33\00:11:15.90 dirty feet and to teach us humility and love. 00:11:15.94\00:11:20.21 Jesus showing symbolically the nature of His mission, 00:11:20.24\00:11:25.05 it was heartbreaking, it was moving, and to think 00:11:25.08\00:11:31.52 throughout the entire communion with Jesus, Peter had a sword. 00:11:31.55\00:11:38.06 You got to wonder how many times we come to church 00:11:38.09\00:11:44.13 armed, not with the word of God, I don't know, 00:11:44.17\00:11:51.04 but with the swords of our tongues, oh have mercy. 00:11:51.07\00:11:54.68 With spew-cutting words that cut our hearts of our brethren 00:11:54.71\00:11:58.41 and sister and then in Matthew 26, verse 30 00:11:58.45\00:12:03.99 the Bible states... 00:12:04.02\00:12:12.59 To the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus wept as they slept, 00:12:13.50\00:12:18.60 where Jesus prayed as they were passed out. 00:12:18.63\00:12:22.27 We're told in Luke 22 and verse 44 that great drops of blood 00:12:22.30\00:12:27.74 mingled with sweat flowed from Jesus' brow, 00:12:27.78\00:12:31.75 a sure sign of great stress. Yes, Christ's stress response 00:12:31.78\00:12:38.45 was so great that blood leaked from His capillaries 00:12:38.49\00:12:42.59 and invaded the sweat glands and all that time, 00:12:42.62\00:12:46.83 through all that agony, the fate of the world hanging in the 00:12:46.86\00:12:51.53 balance, the disciples slipped with their swords. 00:12:51.57\00:12:57.21 And that friends, that is how one side of our coming 00:12:57.24\00:13:04.25 confrontation has the history, the mentality, and the humanity 00:13:04.28\00:13:09.38 to bring blades to a prayer meeting brawl. 00:13:09.42\00:13:14.12 But hold that thought, and lets change perspectives here 00:13:14.16\00:13:20.10 for even now in the narrative the opponents of Christ 00:13:20.13\00:13:24.93 His betrayer. The religious leaders and some Roman soldiers 00:13:24.97\00:13:30.41 are making their way to the mount with orders to arrest 00:13:30.44\00:13:34.31 Jesus. Let's learn a bit about them shall we? 00:13:34.34\00:13:37.78 The gospel of John Chapter 18 verse 3 states...It says... 00:13:37.81\00:13:46.45 That word band of men is Spiera in the original Greek 00:13:57.33\00:14:02.54 and it means a cohort or a tenth part of a Roman Legion. 00:14:02.57\00:14:07.01 So soldiers came to grab Jesus by his betrayal Judas was 00:14:07.04\00:14:13.31 probably trying to force Jesus to manifest His power 00:14:13.35\00:14:17.45 and become king on earth. 00:14:17.49\00:14:19.32 Judas had followed Jesus but as is evidenced in certain 00:14:19.35\00:14:23.29 Bible verses including the one where Mary anoints Jesus' 00:14:23.32\00:14:28.10 feet. Judas never felt that Christ used his resources 00:14:28.13\00:14:33.67 to greatest affect, so now in the garden he hopes to cast 00:14:33.70\00:14:38.37 Christ in a more confrontational role and notice the Bible 00:14:38.41\00:14:43.18 said that He had received this mob. 00:14:43.21\00:14:46.35 That sounds tense, doesn't it? 00:14:46.38\00:14:48.85 I wonder what His receiving of the mob was like? 00:14:48.88\00:14:53.02 Did the mob really respect Judas? 00:14:53.05\00:14:55.66 Seeing that he was a traitor, a snitch, or was traveling with 00:14:55.69\00:15:01.53 these soldiers to Gethsemane an example of what is meant by 00:15:01.56\00:15:05.50 holding the tiger by the tail. 00:15:05.53\00:15:07.84 Judas was probably scared to death. Okay. 00:15:07.87\00:15:12.94 We are only two steps from our destination 00:15:12.97\00:15:16.04 there was an officer of the Jewish leadership 00:15:16.08\00:15:20.95 who was not among the mob and his name was Caiaphas. 00:15:20.98\00:15:27.62 his office, the High Priest, the Kohen Gadol formerly 00:15:27.66\00:15:36.83 the Kahana Rabbah. Now remember that Aaron himself, 00:15:36.87\00:15:41.60 brother of Moses was the first appointed High Priest 00:15:41.64\00:15:45.67 the role changed over the centuries but eventually 00:15:45.71\00:15:49.94 the High Priest became the religious and even political 00:15:49.98\00:15:54.68 figure among the Jews until and unless there was a 00:15:54.72\00:15:59.82 sitting king. High Priest's used to be chosen from 00:15:59.85\00:16:04.56 the paternal line of High Priest and they got 00:16:04.59\00:16:08.50 complicated through history surprise, surprise, 00:16:08.53\00:16:10.87 but when the Greeks ruled, the Greeks began to dictate 00:16:10.90\00:16:15.44 who would be High Priest. 00:16:15.47\00:16:16.81 And when Rome took over it also dictated who would 00:16:16.84\00:16:21.41 be High Priest, he told him so men were appointed, 00:16:21.94\00:16:26.51 they were deposed, they were appointed, such that by the time 00:16:26.55\00:16:31.02 the average tenure of a High Priest was only four years. 00:16:31.05\00:16:37.16 Annas was High Priest for ten years and then a new 00:16:37.19\00:16:41.76 Roman guy came and removed him and Ananus son Eleazar 00:16:41.80\00:16:46.37 was appointed High Priest, Anna's other son got 00:16:46.40\00:16:50.27 assassinated and Eleazar got removed, are you getting 00:16:50.31\00:16:53.78 the picture here? And Anna's son-in-law became High Priest. 00:16:53.81\00:16:57.78 And who was that son-in-law? Caiaphas. 00:16:57.81\00:17:01.45 Caiaphas was the official High Priest of the Jews 00:17:01.48\00:17:07.56 during this cut-throat time in history, struggling for 00:17:07.59\00:17:11.79 political dominance and longevity when a man named 00:17:11.83\00:17:15.30 Jesus came along working miracles and being called 00:17:15.33\00:17:19.63 the coming King of Israel. 00:17:19.67\00:17:21.47 So of course Caiaphas cahooted with Judas to capture Christ. 00:17:21.50\00:17:26.14 Annas was still alive and influential and they both had a 00:17:26.17\00:17:32.31 vested interest in killing Jesus. 00:17:32.35\00:17:34.32 So, back to the garden, among the soldiers, among the ruffians 00:17:34.35\00:17:40.12 and the rabble, Caiaphas the paranoid High Priest of the Jews 00:17:40.16\00:17:45.29 sent his own servant to observe and the servant's name 00:17:45.33\00:17:51.80 was Malchus. Malchus came to the garden to supervise and 00:17:51.83\00:17:58.51 and observe the arrest of Jesus Christ and there 00:17:58.54\00:18:03.88 the stage is set, we are but one step away from our destination. 00:18:03.91\00:18:11.52 Jesus says to His disciples in Matthew 26:46 00:18:11.55\00:18:16.39 And there they are an armed mob coming with torches 00:18:24.70\00:18:29.10 and swords and handcuffs Jesus and His disciples with their 00:18:29.14\00:18:33.84 two swords... 00:18:33.88\00:18:35.21 Jesus asks in John 18:4 00:18:37.85\00:18:40.18 Ahh, don't you like it? 00:18:47.49\00:18:49.36 Moses, way back in Exodus asked God who He is amidst the 00:18:49.39\00:18:55.13 burning bush and God says, I am, so here in the garden 00:18:55.16\00:19:00.24 Jesus says I am He and the mob falls to the ground 00:19:00.27\00:19:05.67 as Jesus says His name. 00:19:05.71\00:19:07.58 You know one recalls David as he faced Goliath 00:19:07.61\00:19:11.28 he said you come with swords and spear, but I come in the name 00:19:11.31\00:19:16.62 of the Lord. There's power in the name of the Lord, haha. 00:19:16.65\00:19:20.76 But the mob, after falling they recover, 00:19:20.79\00:19:25.79 and after identifying himself again they take Jesus 00:19:25.83\00:19:29.73 and this is when Peter steps forward with his sword... 00:19:29.76\00:19:38.71 You know what? let's have the Bible tells this part. 00:19:38.74\00:19:44.31 Peter swung, attacked, pulled the trigger. 00:20:01.30\00:20:06.94 Now Peter was a fisherman, he was not trained in swordsmanship 00:20:06.97\00:20:13.07 he had no technique, no form, you know a trained man 00:20:13.11\00:20:16.88 might have lunged to pierce Malchus's heart but Peter 00:20:16.91\00:20:20.72 who flung nets for a living, he swung in rage and desperation 00:20:20.75\00:20:26.59 and he cut off Malchus' s ear. 00:20:26.62\00:20:30.16 Now, if he had chopped at Malchus and he would have also 00:20:30.19\00:20:35.46 gotten his shoulder possibly, but Peter went for the head 00:20:35.50\00:20:40.24 and Malchus most likely ducked away causing Peter to graze 00:20:40.27\00:20:46.98 his skull and cleaved the right ear which meant 00:20:47.01\00:20:51.08 that unless Peter did a backhanded swing, 00:20:51.11\00:20:55.45 Peter was most likely a lefty. 00:20:55.48\00:20:58.85 And being a lefty might also explain why he was able to get 00:20:58.89\00:21:02.32 the drop on Malchus because opponents are always expecting 00:21:02.36\00:21:06.49 a right-handed attack, but Peter grazed Malchus' s skull, 00:21:06.53\00:21:12.43 possibly tearing the cheek, breaking the bones like the 00:21:12.47\00:21:17.01 zygomaticus, the sphenoid, hmm, hematomas anyone? 00:21:17.04\00:21:21.21 He might have fractured the occipital bone, 00:21:21.24\00:21:24.08 this was a serious injury and Peter would certainly have been 00:21:24.11\00:21:28.62 killed for it. But then, Jesus! Isn't that the start of every 00:21:28.65\00:21:35.39 testimony, I would have been lost but Jesus. 00:21:35.42\00:21:39.06 I would have been destroyed but Jesus, Jesus does 00:21:39.09\00:21:44.50 what He did in Genesis chapter 2, He does what He does 00:21:44.53\00:21:50.47 in John chapter 8, He stoops in the dust, Yes, 00:21:50.51\00:21:56.91 stoops in the dirt and picks up Malchus' s ear and 00:21:56.95\00:22:02.18 makes him whole, restoration, put him back together. 00:22:02.22\00:22:06.35 Luke chapter 22, verse 51, it says... 00:22:06.39\00:22:11.79 And they led Jesus into the city hauled Him before Annas 00:22:19.00\00:22:23.94 and Caiaphas, the servant's master and they had Jesus killed 00:22:23.97\00:22:28.68 shamed, beaten, shamed, stripped, shamed, crucified, 00:22:28.71\00:22:34.22 and now we arrive at our destination. 00:22:34.25\00:22:36.72 A quiet servant's quarters looking over the shoulder 00:22:36.75\00:22:42.22 of a man as he stares into the mirrored surface of the 00:22:42.26\00:22:45.59 looking pane, he got a brand new right ear. 00:22:45.63\00:22:49.20 And oh how fine his healed oracle must look, no scars, 00:22:49.23\00:22:54.60 no ringing in his head, his skull has been reconstituted 00:22:54.64\00:22:59.37 he is healed, he's whole, but his blood is 00:22:59.41\00:23:05.51 still on his shirt isn't it? 00:23:05.71\00:23:07.05 A strange and powerful juxtaposition of circumstances 00:23:07.08\00:23:11.59 sort of spins its own narrative doesn't it. 00:23:11.62\00:23:15.12 The testimony of what Jesus has done for him, 00:23:15.16\00:23:18.23 the evidence of what he has been through, the hurt and 00:23:18.26\00:23:21.60 the halleluiah all visible at the same time, 00:23:21.63\00:23:25.03 what's the lesson here Malchus, servants of Caiaphas? 00:23:25.07\00:23:29.87 who even now pushes to kill the Messiah. 00:23:29.90\00:23:32.94 As you look at yourself in the mirror, what's the message? 00:23:32.97\00:23:36.71 That though you've been saved you should never forget 00:23:36.75\00:23:41.22 how Christ delivered you, maybe, possibly the lessons deeper 00:23:41.25\00:23:46.39 That though Christ redeems us His own blood was spilled to 00:23:46.42\00:23:49.72 make it so. 00:23:49.76\00:23:51.09 Did Malchus realize that to save him from his injury 00:23:51.13\00:23:54.76 yeah, even His own issue of blood, Jesus' own blood 00:23:54.80\00:23:59.67 would be spilled. Caiaphas sent Malchus to arrest Jesus 00:23:59.70\00:24:04.27 but rather it being Malchus' prisoner. 00:24:04.31\00:24:07.01 Jesus was his emancipator, haven't we all stood before 00:24:07.04\00:24:12.41 the mirror and contemplated ourselves in light of what 00:24:12.45\00:24:15.88 Christ has done? What Christ can do, are you right there 00:24:15.92\00:24:19.25 right now, forgiven but the blood is still on your shirt. 00:24:19.29\00:24:25.39 Undeserving but desperate, well then Malchus, servant of 00:24:25.43\00:24:33.03 Caiaphas, well then brother, sister, servant of addiction, 00:24:33.07\00:24:41.71 iniquity, sin, Jesus has given you another chance. 00:24:41.74\00:24:46.41 Maybe it's time for a new master. 00:24:46.45\00:24:52.42 Maybe it's time to give Jesus a try. 00:24:52.45\00:24:57.99 You know, I actually knew a woman a recovering drug addict 00:24:58.03\00:25:03.43 who didn't like to look in the mirror, 00:25:03.47\00:25:05.93 she used to say she could see all the city miles 00:25:05.97\00:25:10.11 she didn't like what she saw when she glanced into the 00:25:10.14\00:25:16.28 looking pane. But you know what there's more than one way 00:25:16.31\00:25:20.82 to view one's self? 00:25:20.85\00:25:22.18 When you read the word of God and we see what Jesus 00:25:22.22\00:25:28.49 has done for us, it not only sheds a light on who He is 00:25:28.52\00:25:33.80 it sheds light on who we are. 00:25:33.83\00:25:36.90 And by God's grace, we would study with this sister 00:25:36.93\00:25:41.37 and as we would break open the word and we would 00:25:41.40\00:25:45.11 read about Jesus the Christ the Savior, 00:25:45.14\00:25:49.11 despite her best efforts was looking in the mirror 00:25:49.14\00:25:54.25 and she saw herself. 00:25:54.28\00:25:57.45 Oh like one day in the past, I'd seen myself, just like you 00:25:57.49\00:26:04.39 maybe seeing yourself in that strange juxtaposition. 00:26:04.43\00:26:10.30 between the hurt and the hallelujah appreciative 00:26:10.33\00:26:18.07 of what God has done for you but still aware of everything 00:26:18.11\00:26:23.21 that He's brought you through. 00:26:23.24\00:26:25.45 Is that you? 00:26:25.51\00:26:28.38 It was her, I remember when it was me and the question was 00:26:28.42\00:26:36.29 posed to this young woman, same question that was posed to me 00:26:36.32\00:26:41.16 years ago and now the question that I pose to you. 00:26:41.20\00:26:45.80 Hey, isn't it about time for a new master? 00:26:45.83\00:26:53.54 I got good news Jesus is still accepting. 00:26:53.58\00:27:02.02 Father in Heaven, It is time for a new master 00:27:02.05\00:27:08.82 and that master is You. 00:27:08.86\00:27:10.86 The only mastership that doesn't bring bondage but brings freedom 00:27:10.89\00:27:16.16 the only servanthood that comes with emancipation. 00:27:16.20\00:27:22.24 We are tired, we are beleaguered but we see what you have done 00:27:22.27\00:27:27.04 for us and now Lord juxtaposed between the hurt and halleluiah 00:27:27.08\00:27:32.38 we choose You. Save us. 00:27:32.41\00:27:36.82 In thy name, we pray. Amen. 00:27:36.85\00:27:39.65 You know God has plans for you, you just walk with your hand 00:27:39.69\00:27:42.89 into His hand and He will lead you to His destination. 00:27:42.92\00:27:46.73 May He bless you, friends and as always be encouraged? 00:27:46.76\00:27:54.04