The Truth Hurts
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Handout
The truth is that we’ve all been there.
We’ve all been tricked into believing phony stories.
If I had been one of these sweet gullible idiots…I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it.
But if I found out all the time, energy and emotion that I put into a cause that I believed in all my life turned out to be fake…that would def sting a little.
The Truth Hurts...
When it's not OUR truth.
When it's not OUR truth.
Every one of us has an internal mechanism in our brain that helps us create our “own version of reality.”
We do this either, because we don’t understand something... or because we like “our” version better.
As Jesus speaks with His men, He shatters their reality regarding Who the Messiah is and what Messiah is supposed to do.
They were looking for a fighter.
When Jesus came onto the scene preaching love your enemies and forgive them; He didn’t match their description.
(v.32) But Jesus spoke “openly” with them…
(v.32) But Jesus spoke “openly” with them…
He could’ve let them go on believing in this fictional Messiah, right up to the point where they nailed Him to the cross.
He could’ve let them go on believing in this fictional Messiah, right up to the point where they nailed Him to the cross.
Jesus told the Truth…It just didn’t fit into “their reality.”
Jesus told the Truth…It just didn’t fit into “their reality.”
Not much has changed today, lots of people know the Truth…BUT STILL CHOOSE TO LIVE THE LIE.
The Truth Hurts...
When it means letting go of control.
When it means letting go of control.
The Way To Save Your Life Is To Lose It—(v. 35)
From a human perspective this makes no sense, but from heaven’s viewpoint, nothing else makes sense.
In about 1,000 AD the tomb of King Charlemagne was opened.
(200 yrs...Charlemagne sitting on throne, with a crown still sitting on the skull.
In the skeleton’s hands was a copy of the Gospels…with a finger pointing to this verse,
“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”
Charlemagne was a great king, but in the end, none of that mattered.
( I don't want to surrender control )
WHO am I, IF I'm supposed to follow someone else?
WHERE will I end up, IF I'm not the one who’s in control of my future?
WHAT happens, IF the pain becomes too much for me to follow?
SURRENDER:February 21, 2021 marked 75 years since the death of Eric Liddell. His life was the basis of the movie Chariots of Fire.
While training as a minister in Scotland, Liddell ran competitively and qualified to run in the 1924 Paris Olympics.
After completing his education, he became a missionary in China.
When the Japanese invaded in 1931, foreigners were incarcerated and put in concentration camps.
He prayed for his captors, and served other prisoners, often volunteering to carry loads for weaker men.
He later developed a massive brain tumor that resulted in debilitating headaches and ultimate hospitalization.
Before drifting into a coma and dying, Eric Liddell uttered three words that defined his life: “It’s full surrender.”
He understood that freedom is found in full surrender to Christ.
When I truly deny myself, I have no will but His will.
I have no plans but His plans.
A lot of popular ministries today are focused on self-healing.
They want people to feel good about themselves….They want to build up people’s self-esteem.
Jesus, on the other hand, says:
I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me.
The Truth Hurts...
When it requires sacrifice.
When it requires sacrifice.
( "The truth is I need to change.” )
( It costs: comfort, peace, time, commitment )
“Take Up His Cross”—This phrase had much meaning for the people in Jesus’ day.
Historians estimate that over 30,000 people were crucified by the Romans during Jesus’ lifetime.
So every person who heard Jesus say these words knew what He was saying to them.
In that day, a cross was not a piece of jewelry or a decoration on a church building.
When a man took up his cross, he was beginning a death march.
When Jesus called these people to take up their cross, they knew exactly what He was talking about!
Some people think that the burdens of life are a cross they must bear.
(illness or a physical handicap)
The trials and hardships you face in this life are not your cross!
When Jesus tells His disciples to take up their cross and follow Him, He is calling us to die to ourselves.
Not many people are truly carrying their cross today.
Many are quick to compromise when it makes their way just a little easier.
Businessmen will lie to keep their customers.
Christians will lie to save face and keep from being publicly humiliated.
To take up your cross means that you are willing to identify yourself with Jesus Christ, His death and His word, regardless of what it costs you personally, publically or financially!
To take up your cross means that you are willing to identify yourself with Jesus Christ, His death and His word, regardless of what it costs you personally, publically or financially!
That’s not a side of Christianity you hear about very often!
It isn’t popular to talk about sacrifice, death and suffering, but that is what Christianity is all about!
There are no cheap seats when it comes to Following Jesus.
But it sets us free
But it sets us free
Does the Truth Hurt? Yes....BUT IT’LL NEVER KILL YOUR SPIRIT.
“What doesn’t kill you…ONLY MAKES YOU STRONGER”
And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.
Most of that know that diamonds are one of the strongest minerals on earth because they formed through a combination of high heat and intense pressure...
(Violent volcanic eruption inside earth) (Only a few hrs.)
IF IT WASN’T FOR ALL THAT HEAT AND PRESSURE…
JESUS WANTS US TO KNOW…THAT CARRYING OUR CROSSES DOESN’T MAKE US WEAKER…IT MAKES US STRONGER.
IT MEANS WE’RE CARRYING OUR FAITH IN THE GOSPEL WHEREVER THAT MAY LEAD US.
