Wednesday Night Bible Study (4/1/2026)

Delivering The Deliverer - Matthew 26:14-16

Worship

Prayer

Welcome & Quick Announcements

Sunday we are watching the weather but I wanted to let you all know inside or out we will celebrate with Sunrise Service here at 7AM. You see the SON ROSE and HE IS RISEN today, tomorrow, and every day… REGARDLESS OF RAIN COMING FROM THE CLOUDS!!! AMEN!

We will also have children’s church as normal thanks to Mrs Sherry stepping up and leading the children in their own Resurrection Sunday Celebration! Thank you Sherry!

Lastly, we will conclude our 11 AM Service with communion!

So Sunday will be an exciting and BUSY day, so with that we should worship and praise every day, because JESUS IS ALIVE EVERYDAY! Hallelujah!!!

So this evening I want us to turn to Matthew 26.

Matthew 26:14–16 NKJV

14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?” And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver. 16 So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him.

Prayer over the message.

I bet y’all are thinking, well he just said Sunday he don’t preach based on what the calendar says. Hold tight is all I can tell you. We are going to the deep end of the pool this evening and I need y’all to stay with me.

First let’s talk about what is traditionally recognized as an event that occured on this Holy Wednesday. Judas plans to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of SILVER. We just read it. But to really grab the impact here we need to look at who Judas was.

Judas was one of the twelve, we just read that too. Amen. So since we know that we know that...

Judas walked with Jesus

Judas talked with Jesus

Judas prayed with Jesus

Judas witnessed miracles with Jesus

So with all of what we know is it okay tonight to say that at this point Judas was in the INNER CIRCLE?

Of course he was. He even handled the money, no with it coming up on tax time it’s hard to fathom trusting a money man, but nevertheless Judas was ON TEAM JESUS, RIGHT?

So what happened? What prompted Judas to move against Jesus?

Luke is the only gospel that records this,

Luke 22:3 NASB 2020

3 And Satan entered Judas, the one called Iscariot, who belonged to the number of the twelve.

So often when this question as to why is asked this is the answer we hear. THE DEVIL GOT HIM. It was all Satan’s fault. But I want to look at this deeper this evening.

Today we say we are walking with Christ, AMEN? So in that walk we battle with the flesh every day, as to not give the enemy an open door. Now Judas was in real time traveling with Jesus as we just talked about, so he too was walking with Jesus. But if we study the scriptures we see that Judas, like ourselves, had some world that needed to be worked out of him.

Let’s look at John 12:4-6

John 12:1–6 NKJV

1 Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. 2 There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. 3 Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. 4 But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, 5 “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 This he said, not that 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.

So Luke says in 22:3 Satan entered Judas, the how was he able to enter is found here. Judas was GREEDY, and HE WAS A THIEF! The window and the door to enter Judas was WIDE OPEN.

This wasn’t a sudden invasion of Satan out of the blue, Satan didn’t just put the twelve’s name in a hat and draw out Judas, JUDAS MADE HIS OWN PATH, and that path not aligning with God made way for Satan to run on in.

Now think about it when I speak about Peter around this time what comes to mind?

Cut the guards ear, denied Jesus three times, fled from the area and hid.

So when you think about it why didn’t Satan enter Peter? Were there some chinks in the armor? SURE THERE WAS!

But there is also a GIGANTIC DIFFERENCE...

PETER POSSESSED A REPENTANT HEART! AND WHAT DOES GOD LOOK FOR IN SOMEONE???

THIER HEART, AMEN!!!

So Judas was an open vessel for the enemy to enter. His heart was not after God,

HIS HEART WAS AFTER MONEY! HIS HEART WAS AFTER GREED! HIS HEART WAS AFTER HIMSELF!

But WAIT, Judas walked with Jesus, and talked and prayed with Jesus, remember Judas was part of the INNER CIRCLE. HE WAS ONE OF THE TWELVE!

Did you know you can be seated in many circles?

Judas was seated in the inner circle with Jesus, but it wasn’t his heart...

Judas was seated in the inner circle of greed, and it took part of his heart...

Judas was seated in the inner circle of priests and scribes and pharisees, and they offered him what his heart truly desired!!!

You see Judas operated multiple circles, multiple worlds, and while he was straddling the fence in those two circles, Satan knocked the fence down and built a bridge he could cross to fully enter Judas.

Satan didn’t come to Judas and say HI I’m THE ENEMY wanna hang out? That’s not how Satan operates. The devil comes looking like a sheep, he comes looking like an opportunity, he comes looking like a good decision for the flesh...

Satan comes looking like THIRTY PIECES OF SILVER!!!

Now that we have beat Judas up and down here, how’s y’all toes doing? Have they healed up from Sunday?

Good let’s dance on them again...

Are you in the INNER CIRCLE WITH JESUS TODAY? I pray you are.

But more than that are you in any other circle that PULLS YOU AWAY FROM JESUS? Have you made a decision that was in the flesh, one that you are still half in and half out on that has left the front door open for Satan to walk right in?

Now before you answer that, let me remind you...

Judas walked with Jesus, talked with Jesus, prayed with Jesus, ate with Jesus, witnessed miracles with Jesus. He was IN!

So you may say, of course I am I pray every day, I am thankful, and I walk with Jesus. And knowing y’all I don’t doubt one time that you are fully committed and your heart is like that of Peter, repentant and after God’s own heart.

But what about the people we meet in this walk with Christ?

I bring that up because that is an area I think the CHURCH as a whole needs to work on. Not just this CHURCH BUT THE CHURCH!

The Great Commission is laid out as what we are supposed to do and it’s what FURTHERS THE KINGDOM OF GOD...

So that inner circle I’ve been talking about all evening long, that is the KINGDOM CIRCLE. When you are in it, you have to be fully in it. Will we make mistakes ABSOLUTELY! But the heart of repentance is still there. But where Judas fell short is he was straddling more than he was fully in, and he fell prey to the enemy because of that straddling.

Today we have some modern advantages, the BIBLE is in so many different languages it’s hard to keep up with. The complete Bible almost 800 languages, the New Testament almost 1,800 languages. We have computers and cars and planes, and phones, and the list goes on. We have so many tools to share the Gospel. But how do we share it in a manner that does not lead to people straddling between the WORLD & the KINGDOM?

The answer to that is actually found in The Great Commission, JESUS SAID GO FORTH AND MAKE DISCIPLES, HE DIDN’T SAY GO FORTH AND MAKE CONVERTS.

I see people, I see preachers, and I see churches who speak about people converting to Christ. Now don’t get me wrong THAT IS GLORIOUS AND SOMETHING TO REJOICE ABOUT...

BUT IT CAN’T STOP THERE, WE CAN’T WALK WITH JESUS AND TALK WITH JESUS AND FAIL TO ACTUALLY TEACH PEOPLE ABOUT JESUS!!!

John 3:16 is powerful, it’s true, and it is where salvation begins, BELIEVE!

But conversion is the START NOT THE FINISH for what we are called to do...

We make disciples by DISCIPLING PEOPLE! TEACHING THEM, SHARING WITH THEM, CARING FOR THEM, BEING ON THIS JOURNEY WITH THEM!!!

It’s not here it the foot of the cross NOW GOOD LUCK TO YOU.

WE CAN’T SCATTER SEED ON DRY GROUND!!!

THE WORLD IS DRY GROUND, IT TAKES WORK TO TILL THE WORLD UP AND GIVE FRESH GROUND FOR THE TRUTH TO BE RECEIVED!

IF THE SEED IS JUST SCATTERED ON TOP THE BIRDS WILL FEAST ON IT, THE SUN WILL DRY IT UP AND MUCH LIKE JUDAS, IT WILL DIE FROM THE INSIDE!

Judas had an issue with SELF BEFORE JESUS. Judas has an ISSUE WITH SELF BEFORE ANYTHING OR ANYONE ELSE!

Can I tell you tonight that if you celebrate by saying “I met him and asked him did he know the Lord as Savior and he said no, BUT BECAUSE I ASKED HE DOES NOW!” then you’ve made a good start, but let me ask you this...

What’s his story?

What’s his background?

What’s his heart looking like?

Or even more simple...

What’s his phone number?

What’s his email address?

When are you going to meet with him again to see how he’s doing and how you can help him?

HOW WILL YOU DISCIPLE HIM?

“But I lead him to Christ”! Great but if you didn’t check the soil, or the forecast, or you didn’t make a plan to water and fertilize… GUESS WHAT?

THAT SEED IS JUST LAYING ON TOP OF DRY GROUND. NO ROOTS COMING!!!

Let’s go back to Judas one more time and I’ll be done...

Judas said WHAT WILL YOU GIVE ME IF? If shows Judas looked at Jesus as a commodity!

What do we do if we share the gospel and leave? We use Jesus as a commodity, we go post on Facebook about what just happened and the Food Lion, or we can’t wait to tell people in church about the event, and again I’m not saying don’t be excited about sharing the Gospel...

I’M JUST SAYING GOOD START NOW LET’S GET TO WORK....

If we become overly excited about the DECISION and forget the DISCIPLING, we are guilty of what Jesus warns about, WE SHOULD NOT LEAD ANYONE ASTRAY.

We are equipped tonight with A HOLY GHOST POWER than we can’t begin to comprehend! EQUIPPED Y’ALL! WE ARE READY TO SHARE, TO LEAD, TO TEACH, TO DISCIPLE!

We are ready to fulfill the GREAT COMMISSION.

WE CAN LEAD PEOPLE TO THE CROSS, BUT WHEN THEY GET UP AND PICK THIER CROSS UP TO FOLLOW JESUS THEY NEED SUPPORT, THEY NEED COMMUNITY, THEY NEED THE CHURCH...

THEY NEED YOU AND ME!!!

JESUS IS THE CHRIST, NOT THE COMMODITY!

WE STEP INTO ALIGNMENT, ONE CIRCLE, ONE HEART, ONE CHRIST!

AMEN!