He Did It All for Me

[00:00:00] Speaker A: I want you to take your bibles and open up to Matthew, chapter 26. Matthew, chapter 26. And, you know, be talking about those last few moments that Jesus had here on this earth and what he was willing to do for you and what he was willing to do for me. I think so often that whenever we come to church that we hear and we know the life message of Jesus Christ. And sometimes for some of us, you can say, oh, I've heard that. I know that. It's like, I can recite that. You mean we got to hear that again. But I mean, to tell you one thing. I hope and pray that you never get tired about hearing about what Jesus was willing to do for each and every one of you. And I certainly hope and pray that that light of the gospel, that light that emanates the good news of Jesus Christ, that we're living in a lost and dying world that desperately needs to hear and see that light lived out in each and every one of our lives, that they would see and sense that we would have the love of Christ that is in us as we make an impact in this world that we're living in today. I praise the Lord for the fact that I've been a member here at Choice Hills Baptist Church since July of 1982. And, you know, we've seen a lot of ups and downs and different changes take place. But I want me to tell you one thing. God has always been faithful. Amen. And I praise the Lord for the fact that choice Hills Baptist Church has always been a soul winning church. Choice Hills Baptist Church has always been a gospel preaching church. Choice Hills Baptist Church, probably over the years. Pastor, if we were to tally up how many missions dollars have gone out of this church to spread the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ across this world, I bet it would be in the millions of dollars that has been spent by this church reaching our world for the cause of Jesus Christ. And you know what? My prayer is that God is going to give us 50 more wonderful years to continue reaching our world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Matthew, chapter 26. I want to read a few verses of scripture here, and then we're going to pray and ask for the Lord's blessings and for the Lord's anointing on this service. Chapter 26 and verse number one, the Bible says, and it came to pass when Jesus had finished all these sayings. Now, the sayings that's referred to as back in Matthew chapter 24, when the disciples were asking Jesus, you know, they showed him the temple, and Jesus says, man, don't don't be looking at all these things because there's going to come a day that there's not going to be 1 st left upon another. And Jesus begins to give the discourse about what the end is going to be like, you know, and Jesus is describing the fact that one of these days that he is going to come back again. Though the disciples, at this point in time in life, they couldn't quite understand this. You know, the disciples, even those that Jesus had been foretelling his death, you know, this crucifixion that was going to be taking place, it was hard for them to even comprehend and understand that. Back in Matthew chapter 16, you know, Jesus was asking the disciples, he said. [00:03:31] Speaker B: Whom do men say that I am? [00:03:32] Speaker A: You know, what are people talking about around, you know, when you're out in the villages and, you know, just kind of conversing with people, who are they saying that I am? And some say that thou art Elias. And some say that thou art one of the prophets. And then Jesus looked at those disciples and he said, but who do you say that I am? And Peter spoke up and said, thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. And, boy, what a powerful statement that that was made by Peter. And Jesus said to Peter, said, flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my father, which is in heaven. And then Jesus turned around after that proclamation and started talking about his crucifixion. And Peter, the very one that said that thou art the Christ, the son of the living God, Jesus said, I'm going to die. I want to give my life. And Peter said, man, wait, wait, wait, wait. He said, look, we've only been doing. [00:04:25] Speaker B: This for a little over three years. Not even three years at this point in time. He said, lord, he said, there's no way that this is going to happen. And Jesus turned and looked at Peter and says, get thee behind me, satan. [00:04:35] Speaker A: For thou savorest not the things that be of God. You know, so too often in life, you know, we have our way of thinking about how things ought to work out. But I want to say that I'm glad that my God sees a big picture. Amen. And God sees a big picture in your life. He sees a big picture in my life, even though at times that we cannot always see and we cannot understand these things. And Jesus is now telling what these days will be like. We go to chapter 25, and he begins to tell these parables, the parable of the ten virgins, the parable of the talents. And we come to chapter 26. And it says, and after he had finished all these sayings, he saith unto his disciples, ye know that after two days is the feast of Passover and the son of man is betrayed to be crucified. I'm kind of thinking in these disciples mind what was going on, if they were just kind of listening or if they were not listening. You know, it's kind of like I'm hearing what you're saying, but I'm not really hearing what you're saying. And then assembled together the chief priests and scribes and the elders of the people unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas and consulted that they might take Jesus by subtlety and kill him. But they said, not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people. Now, if you would please skip down to verse number 14. [00:06:03] Speaker B: Then one of the twelve, called Judas. [00:06:06] Speaker A: Iscariot went unto the chief priest and said unto them, what will ye give me? And I will deliver him unto you. And they coveted with him for 30 pieces of silver. And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him. Our father God. We ask and pray right now in the name of Jesus, that you'd bless this time of the service. I pray to God that, Lord, that your word's already blessed. But I pray to God, you bless these words that we're about to say. And that, dear God, you give us receptive hearts for God to receive and that most of all, that Jesus Christ would receive all the glory and honor of everything that's said and done this day. And I pray, dear Lord, that if there's anyone that's here that's not saved, oh, God, may you open their eyes to the truth, that they need to be born again. And, dear God, for that one that's gone cold and indifferent on you. I pray, dear God, that, Lord, that you'd speak to their heart, dear God, and draw them back to the place that they need to be, dear Lord, with you. And I just pray, dear Lord, that you would have touch us and meet with us today. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen. You know, the other day when I went to pick up Samuel from his daycare there in boiling Springs, I was really surprised. Normally every day I'm always asked when I pick up, Samuel said, samuel, how was today? Did you do anything exciting? Was there anything that happened? And it just seemed like this. Right out of the blue, Samuel asked me this question. He says, daddy, he said, why do you think did Jesus choose Judas Iscariot to be his disciple when he knew what Judas was going to do. And I mean to tell you what, I'm driving the van and I'm kind of looking back in my rearview mirror and I'm thinking, good gracious. I said, boy, that's a pretty deep thought for Samuel to come up with, asking me that question. Why do I think Jesus would have picked Judas to be one of his. [00:08:04] Speaker B: Disciples when he knew what Judas was going to do? And almost immediately out of my mouth I responded to Samuel. And I said this. I said, because God wanted to give Judas every opportunity to hear and to know about Jesus before one day he would stand before almighty God and become guilty. That's Wayne. You know what? God reaches his hand out to each and every one of us. You know, I was an eleven year old young boy at a church, reedy River Baptist church, just right down the road from us. And the preacher got up and preached the message. I'm not exactly sure what he preached that Sunday, but I came down and I knelt down and somebody prayed with me. And about two weeks later I ended up getting baptized. And I always look back at that time in my life is when I got saved. But I mean, to tell you what, when a person truly gets saved, guess what? Their life will get changed. And my life was not changed. I mean, I was not doing anything differently. I was not really seeking after God. I was seeking everything that the world had to offer. I was looking for that void that was in my life. And I was thinking that the things of the world could fulfill that void that was in my life. And it wasn't until I was 19 years old in the United States Air Force, serving in Las Vegas, Nevada, that I truly heard the gospel for the first time. And I went home that night and got down on my knees. Not because my car was tore up, not because I was in a financial crisis in my life, but I truly wanted to know where I stood at with the Lord. And it was that night that I asked Jesus Christ to come into my heart and to save me. [00:09:49] Speaker A: And boy, howdy he did. [00:09:51] Speaker B: And we sing that song in church. What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought since Jesus came into my heart. I certainly hope and pray that you. [00:10:00] Speaker A: Can say that whether you're a young person today, whether you're a middle aged. [00:10:05] Speaker B: Person, or whether you're an individual like myself. [00:10:08] Speaker A: You're in your sixties. Do you know Jesus Christ as your lord and savior? Have you been born again? Brenda and I, we had her brother up visiting with us. I guess it was last week and Brenda, her heart is very heavy about her family because her dad just recently passed away. And she said to her brother Mike, she said, mike, she said, when did you get saved? And Mike says, well, you know, he said, I'm not really sure. He said, it's kind of a gradual process, I think. And he began to share with us about how, that he believes that he's saved, but there was no date that he could really nail down. He said, well, you know, I've been in the Presbyterian church, you know, like 17 years, and Presbyterians, we believe different than you Baptists. Well, I want to say something. [00:10:59] Speaker B: I don't care if you're a Presbyterian. I don't care if you're a Methodist, and I don't care if you're a Baptist, Southern Baptist, or whatever. There's only one way to heaven, and that is through Jesus. Amen. He said, you must be born again. And I certainly hope and pray that you can say that in your heart and soul. [00:11:18] Speaker A: Dad, why did Jesus choose Judas to be one of his disciples when he knew what he was going to do? First thing that we see in this passage of scripture that we read this morning is we see the betrayal of Judas. He went into these priests and covenanted with him to say, what will you give me? And I'll deliver him unto you. And they coveted unto him were 30 pieces of silver. I was trying to think about some sort of title that I could give the message this morning. And the only thing that came to my mind was this. He did it all for me. First of all, I see where he was betrayed by Judas. Second of all, if you'll follow me. In Matthew, chapter 26, we come down to verse number 36. They are now in the garden. The passover meal has now taken place. Jesus and his disciples are there. And Jesus has now called Peter, James and John to come with him. But the Bible says in one of the gospels that he goes, a stone's cast away, and that's probably about from here to the back door, further away from Peter, James and John. And he kneels down and he prays, then cometh Jesus with them into the place called Gethsemane. And he saith unto the disciples, sit ye here while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then said he unto them, my soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death. Tarry ye here and watch. Watch with me. And he went a little further and fell on his face and prayed, saying, oh, my father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. You know, from a human standpoint, Jesus Christ realizing in his own mindset what. [00:13:47] Speaker B: Was getting ready to take place. He knew the beating. [00:13:53] Speaker A: He knew the crucifixion. [00:13:54] Speaker B: He knew what the pain and agony from a physical standpoint was going to be. But he also knew in his mind that he would be taking on all the sins of the past and all the sins of the present and all the future sins of every one of us that are here today. And he would be paying the price for you and for me to be saved. And he would be taking the literally, he became sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. [00:14:26] Speaker A: He took my place. And yet, when he was in the garden and he was praying, he was saying, if it's possible, if there is any way that we can do this differently, he said, let this cup pass from me. I was reading some this morning in the Gospel of John and John, chapter 17 is a passage of scripture that we know. It's referred to as the Lord's prayer. So too often when we're looking at the garden of Gethsemane, we're only focused on that one prayer that Jesus was praying, the prayer of allowing this cup to pass from him. And in John 17, Jesus, he says, father, the hour is come. Glorify thy son, that thy son also may glorify thee. The glorification that Jesus Christ was talking about at that point in time was the cross. You know, I'm gonna be honest with you, Judy. In my mind, that doesn't seem like too much of a glorification to me. You know, of course, you know, I don't know if you're like me or not, but I am allergic to something that's called pain. I avoid it as much as possible. It's like, man, if I can get around suffering and pain in this life, Eric, I'm going to do that. Amen. But you know what Jesus, he says, the hour has come. Jesus could sense and see that it was his time that he was now going to go to that cross. He said, as thou has given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him, and this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. Man, you finished reading this entire chapter. And for time's sake, I don't have time to read it all. But you know what Jesus was praying for? He was praying for his disciples, he was praying for unity. He's praying for love. But more importantly, he's praying that God would be glorified through all things. Now, at this point in time in Jesus ministry, we're at the very close of his ministry. Jesus had ministered on earth for these three, his public ministry for these three years. And, Pastor Wood, you've been pastoring here at Choice Hills for, is it right at a year or just over a year now? Just over a year now. And I'm gonna be honest with you. If Pastor Wood would say to us, you know what? I'm feeling like God is leading me to go elsewhere and minister, I think. [00:17:39] Speaker B: All of us would say, wait, wait. What are you talking about, man? You've only been here for a year. And, you know, even if it would stretch out to three years, we'd say, where are you going to? You've only been here for three years, and you're going to up and go somewhere else? Well, that's probably what was going through those disciples mind. [00:17:55] Speaker A: They're thinking, man, we're just starting to. [00:17:56] Speaker B: Get a little traction here. And our crowds are growing. And, man, there's such great receptivity that we're seeing with the people, and we're seeing the numbers grow. Great things are happening. But Jesus is saying, but I'm getting ready to leave you. There's a new chapter that's getting ready. [00:18:14] Speaker A: To enter into your life. And I'm gonna tell you something. Every one of us, you live long. [00:18:20] Speaker B: Enough, and there's gonna come that, as I always like to say in our ministry, that wonderful word called change will take place. [00:18:30] Speaker A: Brenda and her family, you know, with her dad passing, they had to go through all of his. The house and get rid of everything. And. And this past, what was it, Thursday? The house. They sold the house. And Brenda, she said, you know, it's so sad. She said, my dad's house is sold, and now somebody else owns it, and it'll no longer be the family's house. And yet that's a chapter that has taken place. And Brenda and I was talking about this, and I said, you know what? In reality, it never was your dad's house. It was something that was just on loan. And you know what? In all honesty, we hold onto things so tightly, like our cars, our homes, and, you know, possessions and money. But I'll be honest with you, they are all just given to us for a short period of time. Jesus and his disciples were there, and Jesus was praying in the garden when he prayed that prayer in the garden. He said, oh, God. He said, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. But that wasn't the end of that prayer. He said, but nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done. [00:19:49] Speaker B: The very. One of the very last prayers that Jesus prayed while he was on earth, it was denied. [00:20:02] Speaker A: It can't happen. [00:20:04] Speaker B: This is the way it's going to be. So Jesus was betrayed by Judas. He was denied by the father when he prayed. If it be possible, let this cup pass from me. [00:20:25] Speaker A: The third thing that I see in this passage of scripture is he was deserted by his own disciples. Verse number 56. After Jesus prayed and the soldier said, now, come. And Judas is there with him. And when you read the gospel, Judas says, the one that I go up to and kiss will be the one that you want to arrest. Now, whenever I read that Pastor wood, Samuel says, kiss. Good gracious. [00:21:05] Speaker B: They kiss each other. [00:21:06] Speaker A: It's like, well, I had to say to Samuel, I said, well, samuel, you realize it, in some parts of the world, that's a very common form of expression of greeting one another. Just not right here in South Carolina, I can tell you that much right now. Amen. So don't you guys come up trying to be kissing on me in verse number 56. But the Bible says, but this was all done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him and fled. You know, being betrayed by Judas, being, I guess I could say it like this, declined in his prayer. Let this cup pass from me. Now, thirdly, we see him being deserted by those disciples. The very ones that you had been with for those three years, the ones that you thought would always be right by your side now have left you alone. You know, I. Pastor, I'm sure that you probably preach this many a times, and yet the thought that's running through my mind is, what's the matter with these guys? [00:22:25] Speaker B: You know, why don't they stand and fight? Amen. Like real men. [00:22:31] Speaker A: And yet, I'm going to be honest with you. If I knew that this building was catching on fire right now and I would see flames licking out of the ceiling tiles and stuff, and stuff falling down, do you know what would be running through my mind, Judy? I'm out of here. Amen. [00:22:44] Speaker B: I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm out of here. [00:22:47] Speaker A: I'm thinking about me. And then after my composure would kick in, I would be thinking, wait a second, now. I need to try to go back in there and try to help everybody else get out of the building. Self preservation kicks in. You know what? It's easy to say what you do without being in a situation. But until you get into that situation, you really have no idea. I think what we ought to be willing to say is, but by the grace of God. God. You know what? Without you, I'm liable to do the exact same thing that those disciples did. I would just run and flee away. I know what they were thinking. This lynching, you know, mob that's coming to get Jesus. They got swords. [00:23:41] Speaker B: They got staves. And I see that there is something bad getting ready to happen. I don't want it happening to me. [00:23:49] Speaker A: And so they deserted Jesus. And then the last thing that we see happening is the denial by Peter. Jesus, he said to Peter, says. Peter said, you know what? You're going to deny me this night? [00:24:13] Speaker B: And Peter says, lord, he said, there is absolutely no way that I would ever deny you. [00:24:18] Speaker A: And likewise, all the disciples, they begin to chime in and say, yeah, there's no way that I would ever deny you. And whenever Jesus was arrested in the garden, they all scattered and ran away. And the Bible says, and Peter followed afar off. And it says in verse 69 of chapter 26, now, Peter sat without the palace. And the damsel came unto him, saying, thou also was with Jesus of Galilee. But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayesthenne. And when he was going out into the porch, another maid saw him and. [00:24:58] Speaker B: Said unto him, thou art there. This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. [00:25:04] Speaker A: You know, just the wording there. Moses. It's kind of like, you know, that she kind of looks and sees him. [00:25:09] Speaker B: And she's pointing him out. Hey, hey, hey. Here's another one of his disciples here. It's like, hey, no, no, no. Not me. [00:25:16] Speaker A: You got it wrong. And again he denied with an oath. I do not know the man. And after a while came unto him. They that stood by and said to Peter, surely thou art one of them, for thy speech betrayeth thee. I was reading in one of the other gospel accounts. And it said that the very one that Peter had cut the ear off of saw him, said, you. [00:25:49] Speaker B: I know you. I remember you. [00:25:52] Speaker A: You were in the garden. [00:25:53] Speaker B: Matter of fact, you're the one that swung the sword and cut my ear off. [00:25:57] Speaker A: And Peter began to curse and to. [00:26:00] Speaker B: Swear, saying, I know not the man. [00:26:04] Speaker A: And the Bible says that when the rooster crowed, that Jesus was there looking at Peter. And Peter remembered the words of Jesus and went out and wept bitterly. There's a transition that takes place at this point in time. We see now that there has in chapter 26 and verse 59 that there is a trial that is now going to be taking place. The Bible says in verse 59 now, the chief priests and the elders and all the council sought false witness against Jesus to put him to death, but found none. [00:26:55] Speaker B: Yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. And at last came two false witnesses. [00:27:03] Speaker A: I want to be honest with you. It sounds like the news that I'm reading right there when I read this about all of these false trials and allegations that go and take place and the political turmoil that we see taking place in our country right now. [00:27:16] Speaker B: But, you know, when I see Jesus now before the Sanhedrin and Jesus before Caiaphas and Jesus before Pilate, I see. [00:27:26] Speaker A: That there is a fake trial now taking place. Mark, chapter 14, verse 65. You might want to turn there with me, please. Mark, chapter 14 and verse number 65. There's not only the fake trial, but then there is the beating of Jesus, the Bible says, and some begin to spit on him and to cover his face and to buffet him and to say unto him, prophesy. And the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands. The wording there in verse number 65, to cover his face literally means they blindfolded him. And in a mocking way, they were. [00:28:11] Speaker B: Saying, who was it that hit you? You're really the son of God. You know all things. You can prophesy all things. Well, then, who hit you? Boom. [00:28:23] Speaker A: Pastor Wood, when I was in the military, in basic training, whenever the guys would mess up, we had something called a blanket party that we'd do, because whenever somebody in your platoon would mess up, it wouldn't just simply mess up. [00:28:36] Speaker B: For them, but it would mess it up for everybody. [00:28:38] Speaker A: And so at nighttime, when it was. [00:28:40] Speaker B: Time to go to bed, well, then some of the guys had the bright idea, we're going to get this guy's. [00:28:44] Speaker A: Attention and we're going to let him. [00:28:45] Speaker B: Know, you better not be messing up anymore. And so they'd go and throw a blanket over. Then everybody would jump on top of their blanket and pound the guy, and he couldn't see who was doing it. And in one sense of the word, this is what was taking place with Jesus. [00:29:01] Speaker A: There was a fake trial. There was a blindfold beating. And then there's Jesus before Pilate. 27. Matthew, chapter 27, verses 23 and 24. And the governor said, why? What evil has he done? I mean, what has he done? [00:29:29] Speaker B: But they cried the more, saying, let him be crucified. [00:29:32] Speaker A: And when Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing but that rather, a tumult was made. He took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this. Notice where he says, this just person. See you to it if you back up. In verse number 19, it says, when he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife, that is Pilate's wife, sent unto him, saying, have thou nothing to do with that just man? For I have suffered many things this day in a dream. Because of him, Jesus is now before Pilate. Pilate recognizes the fact that Jesus has done nothing wrong. Jesus has is not worthy to be crucified. But the religious leaders of that day, all they could see in their mind was blood. And they wanted to get rid of Jesus because Jesus was threatening their livelihood. [00:30:25] Speaker B: Jesus was threatening their fake priesthood that. [00:30:29] Speaker A: They had up there. [00:30:30] Speaker B: They were just going through the motions, but nothing was really real at all. And I'm afraid today that, yes, we're in Greenville, South Carolina, and yes, we live in the Bible belt, but there's so many of us. We know the gospel backwards and forwards. But you know what? We can spit it out. We can tell people about it. But I want to ask you a question. Is it real in your life? Is Jesus real in your life? [00:30:56] Speaker A: Pastor Whittemore, you and Mary Lynn left on Friday. At our ministry, there's a lady. I always see her. She never comes to the services. She's always kind of walking around. She has her hands like this, and she looks like she might be in her, you know, sixties or so. But it's like, you know, you kind of think at a senior facility, like, why is a person so young? Why are they there? Dementia, having Alzheimer's. It can affect anybody at different stages of their life. And I walked up to her. Her name's Peggy. I said, peggy. I said, how are you doing? I said, is everything okay? You know what she said to me? She said, do you believe in demons? Do you believe in demons? She said, I'm afraid. I said, peggy, let me pray with you right now. And I laid my hands on that dear lady, and I prayed for her. Afraid. Fear. So many individuals today, they know about God up here, but do they truly know the Lord in their heart? You know, we're not here at Choice Hills Baptist church just trying to get people to become religious. And as Pastor Wood was saying during Sunday school, we're just not wanting people to think, well, I've repented of my sin. I'm no longer drinking, no longer smoking. I'm no longer cussing, and I don't go to beer joints anymore. And I'm not shacked up anymore with that girl. Well, maybe not with that one. Yeah, okay. [00:32:32] Speaker B: But I'm no longer doing that, and so therefore, I must be saved. I'm gonna say that you can clean up the outside, but the outside is not really the important thing. It's the inside. I do believe that once the inside gets truly changed by the grace of God, the outside will also change. [00:32:50] Speaker A: Amen. [00:32:51] Speaker B: But we're not trying to get people to dress like and look like each of us. We're just wanting people to come to Jesus and be truly saved and born again. Amen. That's the message. And if you will allow Christ to come into your heart and to save you, he not only will give you hope for the future, he'll give you peace in this life, and he'll give you confidence that God is with you always. [00:33:22] Speaker A: Jesus is now with the soldiers we see there in 27 and verse 28, the Bible says, and they stripped him, put on him a scarlet robe. And I think that the pictures and statues that we see of Jesus when he's hanging on that cross, I don't think that they quite picture it exactly the way it was. Jesus no doubt hung on that cross naked, writhing in pain as those nails were driven through his hands and to his feet. The humiliation. The soldiers mocked him in verse 29. And when they had planted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head and a reed in his right hand, and they bowed the knee before him and mocked him, saying, hail, king of the Jews. And then they beat him. Verse 26. Then release he barabbas unto them. And when they had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. I can remember Pastor Craig telling us here at Choice Hills, you know, he always preached the gospel, and he always gave it such a vivid description, talking about the cat o'nine tails and how the cat o nine tails was a whip that was made out of leather thongs, and they would embed glass and broken bone and pieces of lead into those strips of leather straps. And whenever they would whip somebody and. [00:35:08] Speaker B: Beat them, that those leather straps would. [00:35:11] Speaker A: Literally wrap around their body, and they would dig into the flesh. And then the man that was giving the beating would jerk it back, literally jerking pieces of skin off the person's body. And normally in roman times, when they would beat somebody, they would tie their hands up and they would stretch them up on a pole so that the torso would be totally tight and taut. So that there would be no way that they could try to protect themselves with their arms. So Jesus was beaten by those roman soldiers. And then they mocked him. Hail king of the Jews. Placing the crown of thorns upon his brow. I'm sure that they didn't do it gingerly, carefully, but I'm sure that they just probably just pushed it upon his head and spit upon him and bowed. [00:36:06] Speaker B: The knee and hail Caesar. Hail king of the Jews. [00:36:18] Speaker A: And yet, Karen, he did that for you and for me. I like that one song that is sung when Jesus was on the cross. I was on his mind. He knew me, yet he loved me. What Jesus was willing to do for you and for me, you know, that speaks about sacrifice, giving of oneself. You know why choice Hills Baptist Church is able to celebrate 51 years of being in the ministry is because there have been people at this church that have sacrificed and given themselves for the cause of this ministry. Whenever the going got rough, some tucked tail and they left. But you know what, Pastor Wood? There's been a number of people at this church that when the going got rough, they said, that's okay. I'm not going anywhere, Karen. I'm staying right here. You know why? Because this is my church. This is. God called me here to this ministry. This is my spiritual home, and I'm gonna stay here. I'm not here for any other person. I'm here because I know that God wants me here. Will there be sacrifices that have to be made? Oh, yes, there's gonna be sacrifices that will have to be made. I can remember when I was in Bible College going to Tabernacle. You know, at that time, this church was a southern baptist church. And, boy, I got all sorts of ribbing from those guys at Tabernacle. Man, you go to a southern Baptist church. Can't believe that those guys didn't realize at that time. But Pastor Craig, he would have preached to hide off in anybody that call themselves independent Baptists. I mean, I don't see too many preachers willing to go toe to toe with Jesse Jackson on tv. Amen. Pastor Craig didn't care. He said, reputation. I have no reputation. I'm not worried about it. [00:38:23] Speaker B: You know, you want to go around, let's go round. [00:38:25] Speaker A: Amen. [00:38:26] Speaker B: That's the kind of guy he was. I was kind of drawn to that. He was just kind of crazy. [00:38:34] Speaker A: That's all right. But you know what? He loved Jesus, just like our pastor loves Jesus. You know, we're all different. Amen. But God uses us because we are different. [00:38:47] Speaker B: It took me three years to figure that out. When I moved to Las Vegas, because I was trying to be a preacher like this other guy that I heard preaching, and I said, man, I'm going to preach and pattern myself after this guy. And it's like, after three years, the Lord began, began to say to me, James, I have saved you to be yourself. Quit trying to be like somebody else. Be the person that I've saved you to be. Because there's only people that will relate to you. And if you're always trying to be somebody else, they'll never, you'll never reach those people. [00:39:20] Speaker A: Choice Hills isn't like the church down the street. Choice hills isn't like, you know, Hampton park or Tabernacle or Southside or whatever those churches are. This is Choice Hills Baptist Church. And so don't judge this church by the church down the street. We're not that church. The sacrifice, the beating, they crucified him. We see on the cross Matthew, chapter 27. I'm just. Matthew 27, 39, 43. We see the crowd that's mocking him. We see the thieves that were on the cross. [00:40:03] Speaker B: The crowds are walking by. Oh, he saved others but himself he cannot save. In one of the gospels, it talks about how that when they walked by. [00:40:10] Speaker A: That they were wagging their heads back and forth and saying, oh, come down off that cross. [00:40:15] Speaker B: And if you only come down off the cross, we'll believe in you. He saved others, but himself he cannot save. [00:40:21] Speaker A: I want to tell you what, if I was Jesus and I was hanging on that cross and they were spitting on me, and they were mocking me like that. I'm going to tell you what James Burgess would do. I would have sent some lightning bolts right out of heaven and sent that crowd straight to hell right then and there. Amen. I know that might be shocking to some of you, but I don't have that kind of mercy. I don't. [00:40:41] Speaker B: They spitting on me, wagging their heads, mocking me. Oh, yeah, come on off that cross. [00:40:45] Speaker A: We'll believe in y'all and say y'all believe in. [00:40:48] Speaker B: You might not believe in me right. [00:40:50] Speaker A: Now, but you're gonna believe in me in about a split second when you find yourself in hell. Boom. Kinda reminds me in the Old Testament, that wasn't it, Elijah. The kids came out and said, oh, go up, thou bald head. Bald head. Man. He had had enough about people kidding him about his bald head. And finally he called some bears out of the woods and ate up them kids. I'm just glad that Jesus isn't like me. Amen. [00:41:14] Speaker B: The thieves were on the cross, they were doing the same thing to Jesus, mocking him. But one of the thieves that was on the cross said, wait a minute. [00:41:23] Speaker A: Wait a minute here. [00:41:25] Speaker B: This man has done nothing amiss. He's done nothing wrong. He shouldn't be crucified. We, yes, we are receiving our just punishment for our reward, but this man. [00:41:38] Speaker A: Has done nothing amiss. And in the middle of that crucifixion, he looked at Jesus, and as he. [00:41:46] Speaker B: Was on that cross, he looked over. [00:41:48] Speaker A: At Jesus and said, jesus, would you remember me? Wow. And Jesus said to that thief on the cross, he said, this day thou shalt be with me in paradise. In the midst of the mocking, in all the ridicule, there was something I like to call grace. Even in those final minutes that Jesus was on the cross, there was grace that was there. You know, when a person needs to come to Jesus and get right with God when he's speaking to you, when he's dealing with your heart, you know, a lot of individuals, they think, well, man, I got plenty of time to get right with God. I got plenty of times to make a decision for the Lord. In reality, you don't. The Bible says, behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, today is the day of salvation. [00:42:42] Speaker B: The time that you and I need to do business with God is when God is knocking on our hearts door and God is speaking to you and God is saying, you know, you're the. [00:42:52] Speaker A: One that's dealing with doubt. You're the one that's dealing with fear. [00:42:56] Speaker B: You're the one that's worried about the future. You're the one that's got that health issue that you've told no one about. But I know about it. What are you gonna do about that? [00:43:06] Speaker A: There might be some of you here right now, and you know what? You're looking for a church home. But you keep coming back here to choice Hills Baptist Church. Let me just say something. If God's bringing you to choice Hills Baptist Church, what you ought to do is go ahead and get it settled right now. God, is this the place that you want us to serve? Then you know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna pull up and plant my tent stake down here, and I'm gonna be a member of this church, and I'm gonna build this church for the glory of God. When we were there in Las Vegas, our little church was so small, we probably had 25 people that were coming at that point in time. And the May family came to our church. They had two teenage daughters, and they. [00:43:45] Speaker B: Came and brother May was wanting to join our church, but his daughter says, but, daddy, they have no youth program. And you know what brother Darryl May said? He said, that's exactly right. And if we don't stay, they'll never. [00:43:58] Speaker A: Have a youth program. And he led his family to stay at our church. And brother Darrell's been my close friend for all these years. He had an old saying, where there's a will, there's a may. And whatever needed to be done, he was willing to do it. Are you willing to do the same? Are you willing to make sacrifice? Are you willing to give of yourself? Or maybe today God is speaking to your heart and saying, you need to get off the fence, and you need to truly believe this message about Jesus that you're hearing this morning. Many of you have heard it many, many times, but maybe this morning it's resonating with you. It's speaking to you. It's reminding you of the great price that Jesus was willing to pay for your sins and what Jesus was willing to do on your behalf. The last thing that we see when Jesus is hanging on the cross. Matthew, chapter 27 and verse number 46. And about the 9th hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, eli, Eli, lama Sabathony. That is to say, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? The last thing that I see about Jesus, he was not only betrayed by Judas, declined in his prayer. Let this cup pass, passed from me. Deserted by the disciples, denied by Peter. But now he is forsaken by God. What does it mean to be forsaken, Judy? To be forsaken. What pops in your mind? The first thing. Someone that is forsaken is alone. That's the top answer. Alone. My God, the father, my God, the Holy Spirit. Why hast thou forsaken me? Why hast thou left me alone? And I believe the idea, Judy, is this. That God literally had to turn his back on Jesus. When Jesus was taking our sins upon himself. There's a song. It goes like this. Once a mandeh whom we know as a son of God hung upon a cruel tree. He suffered pain as no mortal man he took my place he did it all for me. When I step just inside those gates, those gates of pearl and the master's face I see I'll gladly kneel at his nailed, scarred feet oh, praise the Lord he did it all for me each drop of blood was shed for even me when the savior cried bowed his head and died oh, praise the Lord oh, praise the Lord he did it all for me.