Luke 22:20-23

Luke 22:20-23 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed, but woe to that man who betrays him.” They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this.

1 Timothy 1:15-17 Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners — of whom I (Paul) am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever.

Acts 9:1-2 Then Saul (Paul), still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

Even though God planned Jesus' demise on the cross, Jesus says, woe to that man who betrays him. Woe to the man who fulfills God's plan. Judas was that man, and his sorrow over betraying Jesus was so great that he killed himself. So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself. (Matthew 27:5) Judas' decision for suicide was not the only course he could have taken. He could have repented and found the grace and the mercy of God as Paul did. Paul depicts himself as chief of sinners, for he attacked the body of Christ to get rid of any remembrance of Jesus Christ on Earth. If he could have killed all of the followers of Jesus, then Jesus Christ's crucifixion would have been complete. He truly would have put Jesus to death the second time by killing all of his followers. As Judas before him, Paul was following Satan's plan of annihilating the door to salvation, to the kingdom of God. But Paul reveals God used him, the epitome of a sinner, to disclose the greatness of God's grace and mercy towards the world. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. God's patience and long suffering extended even to Paul, scourge of the body of Christ.

Jesus loved Judas and Paul while they were yet sinners. Regardless of their rebellion and their animosity towards him, He loved them. Sadly, Judas chose to kill himself after he discovered his betrayal would lead Jesus to death. However, Paul chose life after he discovered he was betraying God by killing Christians. He chose life IN CHRIST. No matter how troubling our lives become, no matter how difficult other people make our lives, we should always put more of Christ, not less of him, in our lives. We should choose him as the answer to our circumstances, no matter how dire. We should go the extra mile with ourselves and with our enemies. Jesus always goes the extra mile with us. He has unlimited patience with us; consequently, He tells us to love our enemies, to be perfect as He is perfect. Can we treat the Judas and the Paul in our lives with tenderness and forgiveness? Can perfection be won? Yes, but only through Jesus Christ and his grace. He is the only one who can really go the extra mile with enemies. Judas became his enemy when he stole from Jesus, but Jesus never cast him out from his presence. He went the extra mile with Judas. Even at the end when he realized his dastardly deed would lead to Jesus' death, Judas could have received the mercy and grace of the ever loving God, but he chose death over life eternal.

When God stopped Paul on the road to Damascus, Jesus asked Paul why he was fighting him. Faced with the resurrected Lord, Paul repented of his evil ways and accepted Christ as a reality in his existence. As an apostle chosen by the Holy Spirit, Paul lived a different life, one that would bring glory to God. This morning if your heart is heavy, and if you have tried to find answers to your life outside of a total commitment to Christ, submit to him in faith. Repent of your ways and return to Christ with an earnestness in your heart to know and to serve him. He is patient and kind. He will answer your call and give you a life of abundance: a life of grace and mercy. No other life is worth living; no other life will be profitable. Judas could have lived in a disconsolate state for many years, but it would not have been a worthwhile life without Christ. We can live lives of disillusionment and bitterness, lives of rebellion, but they will not be peaceful or profitable unless they are totally committed to Christ. But as Paul discovered, THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST we can live victorious lives. We can live lives God will honor and bless abundantly.

Luke 22:14-20

Luke 22:14-20 When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.” After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

The elements of the Passover foreshadow what is fulfilled in the kingdom of God. We eat the bread, for we will be and are the body of Christ. We drink the wine for we know his blood, his life, will be and is our life. We take the elements to remember him and his work here on Earth, but we also take the elements to remember who and what we are and will be for eternity. When we receive him as Savior, we become new creatures, (all things become new) born again after due season from the loins of the Creator, Jesus Christ. The Passover represents deliverance, deliverance from the bondage of sin and DEATH. We are no longer bound to the physical conditions of this world, the traditions and customs of man, for we have been made new. Jesus had eagerly looked forward to eating this Passover with his disciples because He knew He would soon fulfill the Passover in the kingdom of Heaven. His ministry, his word, and his life would satisfy the wrath of God and release men from the curse of sin, making them children of God, co-heirs with Christ. He is the Passover Lamb; His sacrifice delivers men from the Passover angel of death by placing his blood on the portals of heaven and upon everyone who trusts in his name. We are hidden WITH CHRIST IN GOD, welcomed into the house of the Lord.

By participating in this ceremony, we celebrate being part of his body, his life, his purpose. As the apostle Paul said, Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf. (1 Corinthians 10:16-17) Therefore, we are not to take communion unworthily with anger, unresolved conflict with another, or as a meal to fill our stomachs. As Paul goes on to state, For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. (1 Corinthians 11:27-29) If we rightly discern the body of Christ and his blood, we will partake with clean hearts of thanksgiving and joy as we recall Christ's death and resurrection and our place and role in his body.

Christ used the bread and the wine as symbols of himself and his divine appointment on the cross. He left his followers with clear instructions to take communion in remembrance of him. Many sermons are preached on the meaning of communion: how it should be administered and taken and the dangers of abusing this commemorative meal. Perhaps each of us has different ideas on some of the details, but we can agree on the essentials. Christ broke bread and drank wine with his chosen ones to make sure they understood the meaning of what lay ahead, the meaning of Calvary and a new covenant with God through Christ's broken body and his shed blood. I often weep when I take communion. I weep in thankfulness at the enormity of the price God paid in allowing his dear Son to go to the cross, and I weep in joy that through Christ's willing sacrifice, I am saved from sin, set free from my earthly chains, and made a member of his body. Today, as you remember his death, celebrate your own deliverance, your own freedom from sin, and allow the Holy Spirit to fill your heart with peace and joy because you are God's child, born in sin but adopted into his family through Christ our Lord. As you rejoice, think of those who do not know or have not accepted God's plan and pray He will use you to reach the lost in Christ's name.

Luke 22:7-13

Luke 22:7-13 Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.” “Where do you want us to prepare for it?” they asked. He replied, “As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, and say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ He will show you a large upper room, all furnished. Make preparations there.” They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.

Are your footsteps ordered by the Lord? Jesus and his disciples knew they needed a place to celebrate the Passover. However, Jesus had no place to lay his head. Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head. Since He was not a man of wealth or possessions, He needed God to provide a place. The above scripture indicates how directly and detailed God takes care of his own, even down to describing a man carrying a jar of water as the owner of the house needed. Now, that is detailed and direct! Jesus depended on the Spirit of God to direct his life. He lived his life by faith; consequently, He prayed constantly and listened to the Holy Spirit's directions. Jesus desired to do only the Father's will. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. That is why he went to the cross willingly. To fulfill the Father's will, He needed God's hand in every part of his life. He needed a place to celebrate the Passover, and God provided. The Bible says, anyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. (Matthew 19:29)

God will provide a way if we need a home, if we need a place to celebrate God's kingdom. He will provide a way if we need a friend, brother, sister, or an intimate partner. He will provide a way for us if we have left all to follow him. If we still have reservations about living his life, of committing all, we may end up in the wilderness. He will not provide a way for us to destroy ourselves. There will be no upper room for us, no man carrying a jar of water if we are not seeking his will. There will be no direct and detailed directions if we lack commitment to God's plans. God loves his children and wants to bless them, but only in his context of blessings, not ours. If we are seeking all that we can be for our lives, we are destined to fail, but if we desire to be all we can be for his glory, we will succeed in producing fruit for him. God knows our hearts, our motivations. If we are motivated by flesh, we will reap flesh, but if we are motivated by the Spirit of God, we will reap peace, joy, and life eternal.

The blessings of the Lord follow those who love God and give him their all. But the blessings of God are sometimes hard for us to discern in the flesh. Sometimes struggles and trials are a gift from God. In those times, our faith might waver, but God asks us to continue to believe He is a good God who rewards those who wholeheartedly seek him. Our difficult experiences are times of pumping weights in God's spiritual gym. The last lift when we think we lack strength to continue is always the muscle producing lift. All the others were needed to get to the last struggling lift. When we struggle, when a home is not provided quickly and clearly, when the desired partner is not there, when events do not go the way we thought they should, then we build up spiritual muscles if we continue to live by faith. God continually works on our strength; the Bible indicates the reward of eternal life goes to those who endure to the end, who pump that last iron. If you are weak and somewhat disillusioned, return to your closet and pray. Pray not for a better life, but pray for God's will in your life. This wholesome desire to bring glory to God will result in blessing a hundred times as much as you expected and in eternal life for you. There is an upper room waiting for you. God will lead you to it as you trust him. I love you. Keep pumping that spiritual iron.

Luke 22:1-6

Luke 22:1-6 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people. Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. They were delighted and agreed to give him money. He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.

John 12:4-6 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

Jesus loved Judas; He chose him as his disciple. He chose him to have eternal life with God. He chose Judas for good purposes, not bad. But Judas chose this world; he chose money. He was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. Judas betrayed himself when he betrayed Jesus. Because his mind was centered upon the cares of this world and not upon the kingdom of God, he traded away his birthright as a son of God for a bowl of porridge, a few silver coins. Sadly, at the end of Judas' life, we see that he loved Jesus too. When Judas realized that Jesus was condemned to death, he was so distraught that he killed himself. He probably did not believe they would carry out their threat to kill Jesus. Judas' manipulation, his hypocrisy, his desire for wealth, contaminated his allegiance and commitment to his Lord. What a sad ending for a man who was chosen by the Son of God for noble purposes.

Although Judas was called as a disciple his lack of integrity, his embezzlements, finally caught up to him, leaving him vulnerable to sin. By giving Jesus over to the world for money, for a perceived better life, Judas succumbed to his basic flaw of selfishness. Wealth was his betrayal threshold. Where is your threshold? Where will you cross over to the world and give up on following Jesus? Do you have a threshold where your allegiance to Jesus could end? Is there a place where you, too, will turn from Christ? Do you blame God for not answering certain prayers or do you feel anger over a time when you think He did not protect you when you thought He should have. Precious people in our lives sometimes die before their time, and as we watch their struggle with death, we wonder, "Where are you God, why don't you intervene?" Is that the situation where we will collect our thirty pieces of silver: live life as we desire, forgetting this Jesus thing? Some find the cares of this world pulling them towards this threshold of betrayal. In a desire to gain wealth, they cut corners in their dealings with men. Perhaps they consistently fail to tell the whole truth about items they buy or sell. Judas was a thief before and after he betrayed Jesus. Gaining wealth was a driving force in his life. Some people give up their birthright because of inordinate sexual desires that lead them to flirting, searching for illicit relationships. The scriptures show Judas stepping over the threshold of betrayal when he gave Jesus up for a few coins. What would cause you to give up Jesus?

The amazing aspect of the above scripture is that Satan entered Judas. Judas tasted of the best experiences with Jesus. He walked with Jesus, slept and ate with Jesus. He knew Jesus' heart, his environment, his life; yet, he allowed Satan to enter him. In his heart, he walked away from Jesus. The Bible warns Christians, It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. (Hebrew 6:4-6) Judas put Jesus on the cross as surely as if he pounded the nails. His act of betrayal was the first step to the crucifixion: putting Jesus to public disgrace. When we walk away from Christ in our lives, when we say we don't want anything to do with this Jesus, we place Jesus to an open shame. My friend, do not let anything come between you and Jesus. Don't let drugs, lust, bitterness, anger, hopelessness, self-deprecation, money, fame, relationships, loneliness, debauchery, or anything else come between Jesus and you. My dad always advised, "Hang on to Jesus, for He will never leave you nor forsake you."

Luke 21:34-38

Luke 21:34-38 “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.” Each day Jesus was teaching at the temple, and each evening he went out to spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives, and all the people came early in the morning to hear him at the temple.

1 John 2:9-11 Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.

1 John 2:15-17 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world — the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does — comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

Our God loves you, but a life lived for him by faith should be a pure life. James said, show me your faith by your works of righteousness. Paul said, The acts of the sinful nature: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21) A life of faith, a life committed to God, is not one focused on this world. Christians do not add Christ to our lives; He is our life. We do not enter the kingdom of God through faith and then go about our lives as if we are not kingdom dwellers. Jesus said, the kingdom of God is in you. But, if we continue life as we once lived, we are demonstrating we really don't believe that God has established the kingdom within us, or that we are part of the body of Christ.

Many Americans believe in the kingdom of God, but probably most are not in the kingdom of God. If you attend any of their funerals, they usually indicate the deceased loved one is in the kingdom of heaven, regardless how evil the person lived his or her life. However, this is not the scriptural. The impure, the unrighteous, and the faithless will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Having faith in Christ impels us to live pure and righteous lives through the power of the Holy Spirit. The FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT will always be a product of a true believer. Of course, grace and mercy flows to those who believe, but to those who really do not commit their lives to Christ, who believe only with their lips, they are still under judgment. In 1 John 2 we see that if anyone hates his brother he still is in darkness. We also see in John that if anyone loves the world or anything in the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Otherwise, we must love God more than anything else in this world. This is the message of the cross, the message of salvation.

Wow, how difficult then to please God? No, to please God we put our trust and hope in Christ. We illustrate that trust and hope by living a life of dedication and servanthood. Do we fail? Yes, often, but our hearts are saddened by our failures. But, we keep on living for Christ to the best of our abilities. This world and the things in it should grow strangely dim as we walk with Christ. His magnificence, holiness, and love should draw us closer to his breast. We should want to recline on his shoulder every day, interact with him with loving words. Our hearts should desire to pray and to sing songs to him constantly. He should be our everything, the very essence of our lives. If He is not, we need to seek a deeper walk with him. If we do not, the end of time for the world or for our lives will come upon us like a trap. One day we will be living and breathing in this terrestrial life and the next day we will be standing in the celestial before the Almighty God. What will our response be to him? Will we have to confess, "Yes Lord, I placed you in the back room of my life. I pulled you out on Sunday or special days. I brought you forth when I needed your comfort, but in general you stayed the background of my life." Or will we say, "Lord, my LIFE, my BREATH, my BEING, thank you for being near to me all my life. Thank you for being with me as I maneuvered life's pathways, thank you LORD that I am yours and you are mine."

The world believes in the kingdom of heaven, but Christians abide in the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, as citizens of another land, let us live our lives circumspectly. Be always on the watch that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man. A life of faith is a life of action motivated by Christ in us the hope of glory. No less will be accepted by God. Do you believe in the Kingdom of God? Good! But the demons believe also. To enter as a citizen of the kingdom of God, you must believe Jesus is the Lord and HE IS THE LORD OF YOUR LIFE. When you are presented to the Son of Man, you will be wearing your robe of righteousness because you trusted in Christ as Lord and Savior.

Luke 21:29-31

Luke 21:29-31 He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

Matthew 12:25-28 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

Matthew 21:31 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.

Mark 1:15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”

Mark 10:14-15 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

Luke 17:20 Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.”

1 Corinthians 15:50 I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

Many Christians have made the kingdom of God a place of flesh and blood, a place similar to our present world but better, cleaner, holier. Many are looking for this kind of kingdom when Christ returns. But the Bible clearly states flesh will never inherit the kingdom because the kingdom is amorphous, not limited to one time or space, for it can exist within people. The Bible also states you must be like an innocent and unsophiticated child to partake in this never ending kingdom. Jesus indicates many mature, knowledgeable, religiously correct adults will miss entering into this kingdom. He told the chief priests and the elders of his day, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. If it is so difficult to enter, how do we enter this kingdom, and when does it begin? Jesus said, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

If flesh and blood cannot enter the kingdom of God and if it does not come with your careful observation, then the kingdom must be of the Spirit. If a childlike spirit or faith is necessary to enter, then knowledge and experience are not qualifiers for admission. If the despised tax collectors and prostitutes ARE ENTERING the kingdom of God ahead of the religious leaders, then qualifications must not be about lifestyle or personal worth. What then? Repent and believe the good news! To all who believe that Jesus Christ is God, and that He has come in the flesh to save men, to them He has given the kingdom of God. Jesus made the kingdom near, for HE BROUGHT THE KINGDOM OF GOD TO MEN through his death and resurrection. He did not make a way for us to enter; He is the way, the truth, and the life for all mankind. When we unite in him with childlike faith, we become the body of Christ, his kingdom on Earth. When we pass from this life to the next, we leave this world behind, but the kingdom goes with us, for He is in us through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus warns us that in the last days, false prophets would say, the Lord is here or He is there. He wants us to discern spiritual realities, to know where He is and to abide in him, allowing him to abide in us. He wanted his sheep to hear his voice and to obey the Spirit's leading. Since the kingdom of God has come to all who believe, we should stand firm in confident faith, knowing the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Romans 14:17) We should be full of this joy and peace, sharing our faith with those who do not know the Lord. Jesus said people would know we are his disciples by our love for others. Today, we have the privilege and the responsibility to love those around us, the ones who are easy to love and the unlovely, the outcasts of society. Jesus set the example for us of kingdom thinking and living. While He hung on the cross in the throes of death, He cried out, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:24) If you have anger, bitterness, rage, and unforgiveness in your heart, you are living beneath your privileges as a citizen of God's eternal kingdom; you have lost sight of Christ's life and his call upon your life. Return to him, give him the hardness of your heart, and He will restore you to perfect union with him, for He loves you and never leaves you. Rise up, church, and let the kingdom thrive within you and through you.

Luke 21:12-19

Luke 21:12-19 “But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. This will result in your being witnesses to them. But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. All men will hate you because of me. But not a hair of your head will perish. By standing firm you will gain life.

This prophecy has been fulfilled throughout the ages since Jesus' death. By standing firm, Christians have gained eternal life and not a hair of any Christian's head has perished eternally. God knows his own and protects them. However, when we look at our temporal lives, when we look at the historical accounts of the church, we see a lot of physical hair and heads perishing, a lot of Christians losing their lives because of their testimony for Christ. They will put some of you to death. Stephen and James lost their lives. Stephen died after giving Holy Spirit inspired words and wisdom to a violent, evil crowd of Jewish people. Yes, lives have been lost because of the testimony of Christ. The "good news" of Christ's resurrection is not very popular. And if it ever is popular, we must wonder whether the message is real or a substitute for giving one's own life for Christ.

Jesus tells the disciples they will place their lives on the line for him. He informs them the last days are days of travail not necessarily deliverance from harsh circumstances. We often seek a gospel that preaches deliverance from evil in this present world. We desire a message that says Christ makes us "ALL THAT WE CAN BE." However, the message of the cross is not a carefree life and self-actualization: it is a call to die to ourselves, to embrace Christ's death and life, and to live to do his will, not ours. This message often runs contrary to our earthly hopes and dreams. Although God sometimes grants our wishes, He asks us to fulfill his plans, not ours. In yielding and committing to the will of God, we find true freedom and eternal life.

Yes, persecution does come to God's people. Death has its earthly reign, but Christ won the victory over the world and the grave. We are no longer citizens of this earth; we are aliens, strangers, looking for a heavenly city built by God. As we pass through, we are new creatures, the "born again" crowd. People lacking commitment will resent that message, wanting the assurance of eternal life, but not wanting to give everything to God. They may allow God in the areas of their lives where they want him, but they don't want God in every part. They willingly share their testimony in a friendly crowd, but they don't want their faith exposed to an unruly, godless crowd. But Jesus says, if you are consistent in your testimony, when they lay hands on you and persecute you, this will result in your being witnesses to them. As humans, we often want to avoid challenging circumstances or to move to a safer place to escape persecution. We protect ourselves from testifying in an unwelcoming environment. But Jesus says, He will give us the Holy Spirit to enliven our words, to prick the hearts of the ungodly. I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.

Your testimony will not win the lost in your secure living room, in a lonely desert, or on some isolated hilltop. Your testimony belongs at YOUR WORK PLACE, THE GROCERY STORE, the highways and byways of life. In the above scripture, Jesus lays a heavy responsibility on his beloved disciples by placing them in the maelstrom of life, on the edge of distruction. Jesus tells them they must stand firm, commit a hundred percent. Yes, that is difficult. We might rather see someone else's life on the line than ours. We want our own little enclave of safety where we can raise a few goats and chickens, plant a garden, care for our families, and live for the Lord by ministering and testifying to the wind. But God asks for our lives now, before they become a shell in death. He asks us to work while it is yet day. When people prepare to bury your earthly shell, will the Christians say, "This person gave a hundred percent for the Lord," or will they say, "This life was lived in the backroom of life, protecting itself all the way." I know the angels rejoice when sinners are saved and when believers come home to their eternal reward. They sing praise to the Father for a life dedicated to God as a "new creature." Rejoice today and give God your first fruits. By standing firm you will gain life.