His Kindness And Goodness Towards Us

Thank you, Lord, that this is a day that you've made. We rejoice and we're glad in it. We want to lift up the name of Jesus in this house and I just pray that you would be exalted. Flesh wouldn't be exalted here. In Jesus' name we pray. Reflecting on his kindness and his goodness toward us, those things are not possible without the shed blood of Jesus, without the sacrifice. There's no blessing without the forgiveness of sins. So Jesus gave his life for us so that he could ransom us, pay the ransom for us. Does someone want to check on that? Yeah, let the redeemed of the Lord say so. We got nothing to be proud about. We've got everything to be thankful about. I was thinking about the process and the prophecies and all the scripture that led to the fulfillment of Jesus' death on the cross and how that came about. It must have been hard as a young man when he began to hear the voice of his father and began to realize the purpose in which he came that he was going to give his life as a ransom for many and to allow himself to be obedient in all things even to the point of death on the cross. I wanted to read a little bit, a little unconventional, but how this began, how this, the end events sort of took place. And I was looking in Matthew chapter 26 in verse 6. It says, and Jesus was in Bethany. He was at the house of Simon the leper and all of a sudden this certain woman came in having an alabaster flask, a very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on Jesus' head as he sat at the table. But when his disciples saw this thing, they became angry saying, why this waste? For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor. But when Jesus was aware of it, he said to them, why do you trouble this woman? For she has done a good work for me. For you have the poor with you always, but me you do not have always. For in pouring out this fragrant oil on my body, she did it for my burial. Surely I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her. It's very important for us to understand how the Holy Spirit is speaking. We can get into arguments about different things, especially to do with money, how we should use money or whether we're wasting money or what wisdom looks like. And you can see that as this woman is pouring out this very expensive perfume, it's looking like waste to most of the brothers. But to Jesus, it was preparing him for burial. It was a sacrifice. We don't know what was going on in the heart of this woman. You know, perhaps this woman had used this perfume for some say for prostitution or some other means like that to lure men. And now she was pouring this instrument out and surrendering it completely, her life to the Lord Jesus. And it was anointing him for burial. We know that he paid the penalty for all of our sin. And it became like a sacrifice, a fragrance. The whole room was filled with an aroma. And this passage says all the brothers were angry. But I looked a little closer at it, and I saw that in John chapter 12, it gives a more clear picture of what was happening here. John in chapter 12, starting verse one, then six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany where Lazarus was, who had been dead, whom he had raised from the dead, and they made him supper. And Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Jesus. Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil. You see, it was Mary here of Spikenard and anointed the feet of Jesus. Obviously, it went from his head all the way to his feet and began wiping his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. Verse four, but one of the disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray him said, why was this fragrant oils not sold for 300 Neri and given to the poor? This he said, not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief and had the money box. And he used to take what was put in it. And Jesus said, leave her alone. She has kept this for the day of my burial, for the poor you have with you always, but me, you do not have with you always. Now we get another picture of what was really going on here. In this passage in Matthew, it seems as though the brothers were very concerned about the poor. Why such waste? But then what we see is there was one insurrectionist among the brothers that stirred them all up and began to talk about this waste. But then when Jesus knows the heart, he sees the heart of Judas and he sees this guy has been stealing from this box for a very long time. And he's angry only because the money was not sold and put in that box because he wanted the money. And this thing triggered him. This thing triggered Judas and set him in motion to betray Jesus. And we as brothers and sisters, we have to be careful that circumstances that happen in the day to day life don't trigger us to take a direction which will alter the course of your future. We can be triggered. We can get angry about something and have a because of something that's in us that is unclean. Judas was a thief. There was uncleanness there and he'd been doing it for a while. And now there is a trigger that happens that sets the course of his future. And he's angry and he stirs up the brothers to be angry. And he's saying, you know, you should have give the money to the poor. And Jesus is saying, listen, the poor are with you always. He's not saying we shouldn't be generous and help the poor and the widows. But what he's saying is we need you need to examine the motive and intent of your heart because John 12 says you don't care about the poor, you care about yourself. So we need to be careful because the Lord tests the hearts. Blessed are those who are pure in heart for they shall see God. We want to make sure that our heart is pure and our thoughts are clean because the Lord searches the motives and the intents of our heart. You can justify anything. We don't want to self-justify ourselves because we get ourselves into a bad way. Now we see what happens here. Verse 14 of Matthew 26, then one of the 12 called Judas Iscariot. He went to the chief priests and he said, what are you willing to give me if I deliver Jesus to you? This is right after this. What are you willing to give me if I deliver this Jesus to you? And they counted out for him 30 pieces of silver. And from that time, he sought an opportunity to betray Jesus. You see what the love of money can do? The love of money can make you wise in your own eyes. But in your heart, you could be a greedy thief and not even know it. And then you come to a place where even Jesus himself, you get bitter and angry with him because he's doing things that are not wise. Because you self-justified your stealing and your lying and your deceitfulness. You believed your own lies and now all of a sudden in your anger, you sin. You go and you say, listen, I'm going to kill two birds with one stone here. I'm going to get what I can out of this deal. And I'm going to humble Jesus because Jesus humbled me here in front of my brothers. And you know what? We have to be okay with being humbled by Jesus. Because there's sometimes if we don't humble ourselves, we're going to get humbled. And in this case, it had to do with money and it had to do with pride. Judas got humbled in front of the brothers. So he went and he made a plan and he set the plan in motion and he later would regret the plan. We have to be careful because sometimes we take decisions that will affect the course of the future for others and for ourselves. And it's not just so easy to find forgiveness for some of these things. Judas never found forgiveness for this thing. He found condemnation is what he found. So we go from there and Jesus begins to prepare the Passover and they're going to eat the Passover. And then we look in verse 26, he says, Jesus took the bread and he blessed the bread and he broke the bread and he gave it to his disciples. And he said, take this and eat this. This is my body. His body was broken for us. So this is where they're preparing the Passover. The initial Passover was established in Egypt before they came out, the plagues had come. And then the last plague was to put a death blow on the firstborn. And he sent an angel of death and he instituted Passover and he told them, instructed the people of God and everybody, even the strangers, whoever would associate with the people of God, even see Gentiles included in this year. There were other peoples that joined them. And when they came together and they participated in those things that God had commanded, it became a law unto them as well. And God became their people. And so it was that as they were eating the Passover, he gave specific instructions that the blood was to be put on the doorposts and on the lintel of the homes so that when the angel of death would come, he would pass by whenever he saw the blood. I'm telling you, it is important for us. It doesn't matter what men teach about the blood of Christ. It's not like semen. It's not like saliva. It's the shed blood of Christ and the death of the cross. Together we have the communion. And when the angel comes, if he does not see the blood, there is no passing over. Death will come to that house. And in the New Testament, as brother shared, he has a revelation from Hebrews 9 that we are God's house and we are God's building. And when God comes and he enters into heaven itself now, because he said heaven is my throne and also the earth is my footstool, so we become part of heaven. Even on this earth, you say, sounds like a heresy, but he says you are seated with him in heavenly places. I am you and you and me. So heaven is his throne and the earth is his footstool. Where is the house you built for me? Where is the place of my rest? And brother Sean shared, on this one will I look. On the one who is humble, who is contrite and trembles at my word. That's the one where the blood is applied. That's the one. When we're humble and we're obedient to what God says, the blood is applied. We're whiter than snow. That's the justification. So it's not only enough that his body was broken, but it had to be that perfect, spotless lamb of God. In the shedding of blood of bulls and goats as a reminder year by year. But the blood on the doorpost and on the lintels, that is what is the key for death to pass over. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. He says in Ephesians 2, you were dead in trespasses and sins, but he made us alive together with Christ. And this is where the communion is instituted, where he also goes on from here. And he says, then he took the cup and he gave thanks and he gave it to them saying, drink from it, all of you. For this is the blood of the new covenant, or this is the blood of the covenant, which was shed for many for the forgiveness of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink the fruit of this vine now until the day when I drink it anew with you in my father's kingdom. And then they sang a hymn and they headed out to the Mount of Olives where he was in the Garden of Gethsemane, where he would endure the last trial, the last temptation, the last test to seek to save his life. Communion is instituted with the bread, which is his body, which was broken and with the wine, which is the blood of the covenant. You can't have one without the other. You can't just take one without the other. They both signify the death, burial, resurrection, and Jesus now entering into heaven itself and not without blood, it says in Hebrews 9. And he offered for us by one sacrifice forever, those who are being sanctified. That's the finished work of the cross right there in the offering of blood and making atonement on the mercy seat for us. And we know that when Christ is in us, it's just as if we've never sinned. That's how God is able to see us. That's how he's reconciled us to himself through the blood of his cross. Yet Judas, Judas took another decision. Judas went after the money. Judas made a compromise. He was angry. He was bitter. His greed got the best of him and he seemed as though he was going to get justice. You know, there's a scripture that says, be angry and don't sin. Don't let the sun go down when you're angry. You know, it can happen. Children can get angry with parents. But you better be careful that you don't hang on to your anger. It will turn to bitterness and unforgiveness. You'll find yourself praying the Lord's Prayer till you're blue in the face. Forgive me of my sins. But if you don't apply the last part, which says, as we forgive everyone who sinned against us. And you'll find yourself with unforgiveness, bitterness, resentment, and you'll be a miserable person. And you will feel the guilt of your sin. Because when the blood is applied and we're whiter than He doesn't cover over sins like in the Old Testament. He takes it away. And it's a tangible feeling of being lighter, feeling liberated, being able to breathe like someone was sitting on your chest. You just take deep breaths and you feel, thank you, Lord. He's taken away the guilt of my sin. Not just the guilt of my sin, having cleansed my conscience from dead works, because that's what the blood does. It cleanses our conscience. So it's just like we never committed those sins. We know of them, we can think about them, but we don't feel the guilt. There's no more shame. Because He who knew no sin became sin for us. That we might become the righteousness of God. I can hear him even now saying, what will you give me if I give him to you, if I betray him? What will you give me? Brother, be careful. Man's life does not consist in the abundance of things he possesses. I'll tell you that for sure. We can't serve God in money. You're going to love one, hate the other. And if you compromise in the area of money, it's just a matter of time. You'll find yourself like Jesus. You'll find yourself like Judas, betraying Jesus for money. You can think that you're wise and you know lots of scripture. But you know, I'll tell you something, Solomon was wise and he knew lots of scripture. A lot of it's written because he spoke it. It was recorded but didn't do him much good when it comes down to bowing the knee to other gods and idols. Worthless idols. Idols of gold and silver and bronze, making shrines and temples unto them for his wives. It's important just to obey rather than sacrifice. God doesn't delight in burnt offering and sacrifice. He desires obedience. Simple childlike faith, just obey it, even though you don't understand, even doesn't make sense. Why should I obey? Because mommy and daddy said that's why. And one day you'll get a revelation that God said and that's why. It's important for us not just to analyze these scriptures, to talk them away, but to to do the word of God. Blessed are those who do the works of God. Verse 31, Jesus began to speak to them and he said, all of you will be made to stumble because of me this night. It is written, I will strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered. There is a fulfillment of what was written that was going to happen. But after I've been raised, I will go before you to Galilee. And Peter said, even if all are made to stumble because of you, I will never be made to stumble. You can have the best intention. You can have all kinds of zeal. But I'll tell you that all will be made to stumble. If you're not walking in covenant with the Lord, and if you're not walking in faith with him, and if the blood is not on the on the sacrifice in your life, then we're going to find ourselves in a bad way. Doesn't matter how much zeal, how much passion, how much commitment, how much loyalty you have. We stand by grace, my friends. And if we get proud and we think that we stand by some other means, you'll find yourself licking the pavement in Hastings. I've seen it 100 times. It doesn't take much. God is opposed to a proud heart, but he gives grace to the humble. It's not how we come from a good home. And you know, that will never happen to me. You'll be amazed what happens to good folks when they become proud. God is able to humble them and bring them to their faces. So it happened that Peter said, I will never deny you. And Jesus said in 34, surely I say to you before the rooster crows, you will deny me not once Peter, but three times you'll deny me. And Peter said, even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you. Well, let me say this, let God be true in every man a liar, because you don't know what we're but for the grace of God. That's why we shouldn't become wise in our own eyes, we should choose the fear of the Lord. So it came to pass as Jesus was going to get 70, he took three brothers with him, Peter, James, and john. And he said, sit here a while, and I'm going to go pray over there. And when Jesus went over there, his soul was exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. And he said, Please stay here and watch with me. And he went a little farther, and he fell on his face. Jesus fell on his face, and he prayed, Oh, Father, if possible, if it's possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. When he came back to his disciples, he found them there sleeping. And he said to them, he woke them up. And he said to them, Could you not watch with me for one hour. Brothers, it's important that we are watchful in our prayers. Because the enemy is not just like a roaring lion with no teeth. He is a roaring lion. And he has teeth and I've seen many brothers devoured by him. The enemy has devoured and taken down many brothers who've been doing well spiritually. I've seen them go back to addiction, back to alcohol, back to drugs, back to sexual sins and all that. The enemy is out there to destroy us. But God is able to keep us from falling. If we continue to look to him to watch and pray, lest we enter into temptation, lest we deny him. So it happened that he told them these things. And he said, Listen, watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation, verse 41. For the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Our flesh is weak. We can be doing really well in the morning, have a devotion, spend two hours in the Word. In the afternoon, you get on your phone and you get tempted with sexual stuff. It can happen that fast. We have to be vigilant and watchful in our prayers. We can't take a day off. We can't take an afternoon off. We can't allow our eyes to just wander, right? Because the eyes are like an open grave. The scripture says they never have enough. And so we need to have an eye single for the Lord. I always set the Lord before my face. That's what the writer said. Job says, I made a covenant with my eyes. I would not look at a young woman in my lust, in my desire. We have to be careful. We can also have a lust for things. We can get a lust for money. We can get a lust to make a name for ourselves. We want people to respect us. We want honor from men. We didn't get it in our lifetime. It doesn't matter what it is. We can have a lust for whatever it is, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, or the lust for the boastful pride of life. We want to be esteemed, whether it be as a preacher or a man of God or in some profession. Our motives, we don't even know them half the time. And we spend and are being spent for things in the flesh that do not profit. It's better to put our heart and our soul into seeking the Lord and being watchful in our prayers, lest we get led astray. And he came and he found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. And he left them and he prayed the same. And then he came another time and he said, the son of man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Verse 45, rise, let's be going. And while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the 12, he came with a great multitude. Boy, he made friends in a hurry, didn't he? Came with a great multitude with swords and clubs. And in they came from the chief priests and from the elders of the people. Now his betrayer had given them a sign saying, whomever I kiss, he is the one, seize him. And immediately went up to Jesus and said to him, greetings, rabbi. And he kissed him. Before this happened, when they were eating and drinking the cup, all the disciples, they asked one another, Jesus said, one of you is going to betray me. And he said, well, all of them came and said, Lord, is it me? Lord, is it me? Because I think something in them realized that there was a capability in them to betray the Lord. You know, they wanted to believe the best. They said, we'll never deny you. You know, obviously we'll never betray you, which is one worse. But yet they all asked him, is it me, Lord? Is it me, Lord? And he said, the one who dips his hand in the dish. And Judas asked him, is it me? And he said, you said it. But even having told him, you said it, it didn't change his mind. He'd already made a decision. His course was already set. And here he comes. Greetings, rabbi. And he gives Jesus a big kiss on the cheek, a brotherly kiss, greeting him with a brotherly kiss. I think of a scripture, and I have it written down here in my Bible. It says from Matthew 15 verse 8, it says, these people honor me with their lips. They honor me with their mouth, but their hearts are far from me, and their worship towards me is in vain. We can come and we can say, I love you, Lord. And I lift up my voice to worship you. But God looks at the heart. Is it with a kiss? You honor me this morning? You give me lip service? While your heart is greedy for money? Well, you'll do whatever it takes to get more? We wonder why the spirit of God doesn't move in our life, in our homes. It's because things have been hit off kilter. The house is being built and it's crooked. We have to be careful that we build in such a way that the house stands steadfast. We talk about having a heritage, right? Leaving a legacy. We can leave a legacy with money and with business and, you know, with being successful and all that and having integrity among the people. But how does Jesus see us? You know, Judas was seemingly leaving himself a legacy there, talking about the poor and all that, and even convinced all the brothers to defend his cause. Yeah, what about the poor? How come we're not giving to the poor? But our hearts can be greedy. Our hearts can be evil. We can miss Christ while we're giving him lip service, sitting in church, singing their songs, making long prayers. Talked about two men who went to pray and one man said, thank you, Lord, making fastings three days a week, making some good prayers. You know, thank you, Lord, I'm not like these sinners that go to Joshua House and all that, saying these kinds of things. And meanwhile, the man was there. He didn't even have enough confidence to look up, beat his chest and said, Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner. He said, which one went home justified? God looks at the heart. It's not that the one man committed a thousand more sins than the other. He said one man was repentant and the other man was self-righteous. If we become self-righteous, then we're going to leave our prayer times and our gatherings just exactly the same. But if we can humble ourselves before God, as Brother Dan shared, when that onion gets smaller, first the skins come off easy in the beginning, and then it gets tougher to get them off. They get thinner and they get hard. Our hearts can be like that. We need to allow the Lord to get at the deep things of the heart, to search us and to try us and to see about these unclean ways in us that he might take us deeper with him. The scripture says deep calls unto deep at the noise of thy water spout. He has deep dealings with his people. All your billows have passed over me. You wonder what's going on. Lord, why are you allowing all this hell to break loose on us? Why are all these billows going over me? Because I want you to go deeper, because there's these hard layers of self-righteousness and pride, and I need to chisel them off so that your heart would become soft, that you would have compassion. Sometimes we hear him say these words, go learn what this means. I desire mercy. Go learn what this means. I desire compassion. Sometimes we write a check and we put it in the box. Well, that's good. But God would rather us fill the altar with tears and go home and make changes in our life. That's more important to him. It's not the poor he's concerned about. It's the poor in spirit. It's the contrite in heart. That's what pleases God. That's the sacrifice of God, not a check to pay for the poor. Yes, it's good to help the poor, but what's more important is to be poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. I thought of another scripture when I was reading this passage. Greetings, rabbi, and he sends a kiss. Proverbs 27:6 says, faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy, they're deceitful. Here's Judas bringing deceitful kisses, one intention to fulfill his promise, because he got money for doing a job for the devil. Better to have a friend strike you and be a kindness, tell you something about, hey man, be careful, beware of covetousness. You know, life doesn't consist in the abundance of things a man possesses. Recently, you know, all of a sudden the siblings are all talking, and you know, there's an inheritance to be divided coming up in the near future, and boy, everybody's got their knife out, we're ready to carve the turkey and see who's going to get the nice portions. And I thought of a scripture, and Jesus had a man come to him and said, tell my brother to imbibe the inheritance with me. And I was thoroughly convicted when I thought of the scripture. The Holy Spirit brought it to me, brought it to remembrance. He says he's going to bring things to remembrance, and the Holy Spirit's going to teach us. I made some calls. I said, what do you think? How should I handle this? I called some real respected brothers, some real respected ones. And somehow in my spirit, I felt as though it wasn't the word from the Holy Spirit, and then the Holy Spirit gave me some good counsel, said beware of covetousness. Write the inheritance off in your heart, buddy. Life does not consist in the abundance of things a man possesses. Tell my brother to imbibe the inheritance with me. I deserve it. If we set our heart on an inheritance, you're going to die a miserable man. You'll be one of the most miserable men, because money does not make you happy. The more you have, the more you try to figure out how you're going to keep it, how you're going to invest it, and what you're going to do with it, and you're worried about people ripping you off and stealing it. The man who does not have, but he's rich toward God, that one has righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. We're going to wrap it up here. One brother grabbed his sword, cut an ear off, because Jesus told him to take a sword, and Jesus, not in this passage, but another took the ear, and he said, those who live by the sword die by the sword, and he healed a man. He said, if we were, if my kingdom was of this world, my servants would fight, but we're not supposed to be fighting for our rights, fighting for our dignity, fighting for our reputations, and fighting for our money. If you want to fight, the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God. Fight in prayer. Watch and pray. Fight for your children's salvation. Fight for your family's salvation, that the devil wouldn't destroy them. Stand in the gap. Be one of those wailing women. It said, who will call for the wailing women, who will weep, and wail, and mourn, and sigh, and lament over the abominations done in the house of God, to intercede, to be an intercessor? Fight for that. They took Jesus. They led him away. They spit in his face. They beat him. Others struck him. They said, prophesy to us, if you're the Christ, which one struck you? Peter sat outside, and there was a girl there, said, you're one of them, and he denied. A little while later, there was another girl there. She said, I'm sure your speech gives you away. You were one of them. He called down curses. He lied, and called curses, and denied the Lord. They all ran away, but Peter, he made the absolute fool of himself. Exactly as the scripture said, three times, he denied the Lord, called down curses. I don't know the man. I don't know the man. And immediately, the rooster crowed, and he remembered what Jesus had said. Brothers, sisters, we stand by grace. We don't stand because we're smart guys, or we know lots of scripture. We've got it all figured out. We stand because God says we stand. And if we remain humble, and little in our own eyes, then God is able to keep us from falling. And may we never become proud, and look down on others. Because they fell, because they denied the Lord. And may we never betray the Lord, especially with a kiss. Peter remembered the word, and he had said, and the rooster crowed, and he went out, and he wept bitterly, and he repented. And Jesus told him, he said, you're going to deny me, but he said, after you return, strengthen your brothers. We don't want to deny the Lord by our actions. It says in Titus in chapter 1, verse 15 and 16, it says, to the pure, all things are pure. But to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure. Even their minds, even their consciences become defiled. They profess to know God. They honor him with their lips. But by their actions, they deny him. Being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified. Disqualified, that word is 7 to 8, ad hocimos, a reprobate. We don't want to be reprobates. We want to be sons of God, daughters of God. May the Lord help us not to deny him, but to confess and renounce our sin, to keep short accounts with the Lord. Don't let the sun go down when you're angry. Make things right with your husband, with your wife. Make things right with your brothers and your sisters. Forgive your enemies. Love those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Bless and don't curse. Ask the Lord for the grace to overcome. Ask the Lord to keep you from the love of money, to keep you from being boastful and proud, for seeking to make a reputation for yourself. Sometimes it's not about money, it's about reputation. Wanting to seek honor from one another. Seeking honor from men. The last thing I wanted to share is a scripture that the Lord showed me from Luke 9. Luke 9, 23. Then he said to them all, if anyone desires to come after me, being Jesus, let him deny self. The opposite of denying self is denying Christ. If you're going to love self, you're going to deny Christ. You'll deny him by your actions. But if you want to come after Jesus, you're going to have to deny self. Just as Jesus denied self when he went to the cross, you also are going to have to pick up your cross and follow him. It says, take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life in this world will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. And what profit is it to a man if he gained the whole world and he himself is destroyed or lost? Make sure the choices that you make every day, they're life and death choices, some of them. That we take them to prayer before we go and marry some divorced woman and think that we're going to get God to bless us. Or we go and we commit sexual sin and think there's an easy fix and easy forgiveness and greasy grace. Or we decide we're just going to use and hope for the best and come back and return as always before. This isn't guaranteed every single time. And judgment delayed is not judgment denied. For everything that the man does, we have to give an account of it in the day of judgment and even every idle word that we speak. Verse 26, I want to leave you with this. It says, whoever is ashamed of me and my words. You know, some of us, we're ashamed, Josh, to come up here and testify what God has done in my life. We're ashamed. We're worried about what people are going to think. Maybe we have a little lisp or something. We cannot be ashamed of the Lord. If we're ashamed of him, he's going to be ashamed of us. It's not about how your speech is so awesome or when you pray, you know, what do people think if the prayer is not very good? We want, we're praying to the Lord. It doesn't matter what anybody thinks. And if you're worried about what people think, there were people who believed in Jesus, but when they were in the synagogue, they wouldn't confess him because they were afraid they were going to get put out of the synagogue. If you become ashamed of the Lord Jesus himself at your workplace, you're one of those secret Santas. You know, you're one of those secret service Christians. We did this thing called secret Santa. What a demonic thing, Santa. Secret service Christians. You're a Christian, just nobody knows. Wow, you must be one of the wisest Christians there ever was. I'll tell you, you will get a surprise on that day because the scripture says, whoever is ashamed of me and my words, of him the son of man will be ashamed when he comes in his glory and in his father's glory with the angels. We need to be careful that we're not ashamed of the Lord. I'm not saying everybody has to rush up here and say something, but I'm saying that we do not want to be ashamed of Jesus. And if anyone asks you of the hope of why you're different, they're going to know you're different because you're not going to be putting them down. You're not going to be mocking them. You're not going to be making light of them. Why are they doing the things they're doing? Because they are not regenerate. You're born again. You're a new creation. Of course, if you see a bug flying in the darkness and a cockroach crawling in a dark corner, of course, this is what they do. They hide because they're of the darkness. We're of the light. Let your light shine before men. So when people say, oh, you're a Christian. Yes, I'm a Christian. Oh, you're one of them and they have a big laugh. You know what? It shouldn't even bother us one bit because Christ bled and died for us. We want to be associated with Jesus. I'm not ashamed of the gospel, Paul says in Romans in chapter 1 verse 16, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes. Don't be ashamed of Jesus or he'll be ashamed of us. May the Lord give you grace to walk boldly, to stand with confidence. Ask for the Holy Spirit. There are people who were fearful when the persecution was breaking out. Peter was fearful. He denied the Lord, you know, and the church was fearful. And then they prayed for the Holy Spirit to give them boldness. And it says the whole place shook and they all began to proclaim the word of God boldly. And then the persecution goes up and all those firebrands were spread out and lit fires all across Europe there, wherever they were in Asia or wherever in the Mediterranean. And the gospel went out everywhere because they all spoke the word of God boldly. May the word of God go forth from you boldly in whatever way, whether it be by your actions, whether it be giving an answer of the hope that you have. You know, may the Lord give you the grace to confess him before men because he will confess us to his Father in Jesus name.