WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH JESUS?

RESURRECTION SUNDAY 2023

Good morning church – and welcome. I want each of you here to realize two things before we begin the message – one is love – God loves you and I love you. As you pastor I love you and pray for and have been praying about the message God wanted for this Easter – Resurrection Sunday. The second thing is that you are here for a reason. I honestly believe that every message God prepares for this church if for each one of us – you and me alike.

I pray that God speaks directly to your heart and soul this morning.

We recognize every Sunday, but especially this Sunday the fulfillment of God’s plan. God sent His Jesus to live a perfect human life, resist temptation, teach the way back to God and die a horrific, humiliating and most excruciating death for our sins. Only to roll the stone away on the 3rd day and walk out of the tomb – to resurrect back to life in physical form – not spiritual form but physically resurrect – they could touch Him, He could break bread.

Sin separated us – blood is the payment for sin – Jesus said He would die and come back – He did what He said He would. He died for you sins and mine but the story doesn’t stop there – other people have died because of someone’s sins – but no one ever came back from death – death and burial – 3 days in the tomb – this is what He did for us – what are we doing with Him?

Luke 9:23 – Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.

Jesus doesn’t want fans – He specifically says followers

Fan – is cheering where the going is good and you are winning – but don’t show when the losing streak hits – talks bad about the coach and players – only remembers the good ol days. The Grateful Dead had followers – they followed them wherever they went and they had a name – Dead Heads

Jesus has followers too –they are called Christian

Jesus had fans and followers – today, as we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior – we are going to look at the life of one of His fans, the dangers of being a fan of Christ, and an introspective look at where we stand – fan or Follower

Let Us Pray!

WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH JESUS?

1. Who is Judas – Mark 3:16-19 – He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Thief – John 12:6

Betrayer – Mark 3:19, 10:4

Traitor – Luke 6:16,

Devil – John 6:70

or

Disqualified – 1 Corinthians 9:27 (Paul fears it might be said of him) – But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

2. Why was he called?

a. To serve as a warning –

i. Jonah – Go to Nineveh

ii. Jacob – deceived his father – whatsoever a man sows he shall reap

iii. Esau – don’t sell your birthright it cannot be given back

iv. Saul – Agag and the Flock

John 6:65, 66 – But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.

John 6:67-71 – So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him.

John 17:12 – While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

John 6:70 – have I not chosen the 12 and one of you is the devil

Psalm 41:9 – Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.

John 13:18 – I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled, ‘He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’

3. When and Where was Judas?

Environment –

Walked with Jesus

Witnessed Miracles

Student of Jesus

Ate Passover with Jesus

Betrayed with a kiss – 30 pieces of silver – price of a slave

Billy Sunday played outfielder for the Chicago White Stockings from 1883 – 1888 and retired from baseball with Philadelphia Phillies 1890. He is widely considered the most influential American evangelist during the first two decades of the 20th century. Billy Sunday nailed the environment problem with Judas when he said - Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than going to a garage makes you an automobile.

John 12:4-8 – But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial. For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”

He had a head knowledge

He liked the fame

He liked the power

He was a fan of Jesus

4. How did Judas transition from disciple to deserter?

Only Judean – rest were Galilean – speech was different

Made money holder for group – greed – love of money separates us from God faster than anything else

Not part of the inner 3 – jealous of others

Hypocrisy – The only time that Jesus is severe is not when sinners seek Him out, nor when the woman taken in adultery is driven to Him by those who would stone her with stones, nor with the thief on the Cross, but when He faces hypocrites; He can have no tenderness for them.

Hypocrisy remember these 2 things –

It requires a Moral Standard – knowing what God says and choosing to go against it

Jesus condemned religious hypocrisy

Matthew 10:5-11 – These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food. And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart.

Judas deceived the other disciples through hypocrisy – we must check ourselves with the same standard

Galatians 6:7 – Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.

2 Timothy 3:13 – while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived

2 Corinthians 11:3 – But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

Sin – Slow progress – slow fade by Casting Crowns

Be careful little eyes what you see It's the second glance that ties your hands As darkness pulls the strings Be careful little feet where you go For it's the little feet behind you That are sure to follow

It's a slow fade When you give yourself away It's a slow fade When black and white have turned to grey And thoughts invade, choices made

A price will be paid When you give yourself away People never crumble in a day

It's a slow fade

5. What are you doing with Jesus, His Death, His Resurrection?

Are you – living near to God or With God?

Fan or Follower of Christ?

Head knowledge of Christ or Heart Knowledge – Lau Tzu

The distance between your head and your heart is only twelve inches, but it's the difference between information and transformation. It's not enough to invite Jesus into your mind. You have to open the door to your heart of hearts. Nothing entangles the emotions like sin. And if you sin long enough, it feels like a Gordian knot that seems impossible to untangle. The problem isn’t that the truth needs to make a long journey from the head to the heart; the problem is that the truth in the mind isn’t big enough or real enough to capture the heart, so it makes very little difference to how a person actually lives.

It is never too late to switch from Fan to Follower

Is Jesus a passenger – copilot – or captain of your ship? It is never to late to get out of the driver’s seat and let God be in control instead of you being in control

It is never too late to move from living near God to living WITH God

It is never too late to move the knowledge of God – head

To Relationship with Him – to the heart

As we close – we close where we start – Jesus said specifically what you must do to be His Follower

Luke 9:23 – Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.

Matthew 16:24-26 – Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

What are you personally doing with Jesus? This Resurrection Sunday – what are you doing with His Resurrection – have you taken up your cross to be His follower or have you set it down and settled for just a fan?

What are you doing with the Good News of His resurrection? It is more than knowledge – it is change – it is being born again – it is being a follower

James 2:19 – You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!

How do you go beyond belief of

How has your belief transformed you from a fan into a follower?