Grace Bible Church
Pastor-Teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin
Sunday,
March 24, 2019
JOB 3:25 "For what I fear has come upon me, And what I dread befalls me.
I know my Lord and Savior and I would be a fool to reject the Divine Call upon my life.
A fool is someone who makes mistakes and does not learn from his actions whereas a wise man is someone who learns from the mistakes and actions of others.
It was Einstein who said The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
Everyone is a genius, but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.
Because the fish does not know what it is and what it does and how to do it and function as Royal Family.
We all need to discover who we are and what we are doing here and what should be our goals because of that discovery.
The sooner you find out and discover who you really are and what you are and why you are here, the sooner you are going to discover the real reason God created you.
Some people don't even want to talk about these things but until we do, we are not really going to discover who we are and why we are here and why have we been created.
This principle that everyone is a genius, but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.
Our Lord appointed the Twelve, including Judas Iscariot, who was an unbeliever, who was not only appointed by our Lord to bear fruit and make sure that the fruit remains.
He is also ordered by our Lord to make sure that but he also was given the authority by our Lord to do some very interesting things such as:
Such as preaching the word; Counseling those in the Word. Performing Many Miracles
We will see some of Satan's power manifested in the simplicity of the signs and the wonders which Satan will use to deceive the world and if possible, deceive the very elect; MAT 24:22; MAR 13:20.
Here's what the citizens in the world today are going to see and observe which is the deception that Satan uses which is really going to be nothing more than MAGIC.
Question: "What is the difference between miracles and magic?"
Answer: Magic and miracles might mean the same thing to some people, but there is actually a tremendous difference between the two terms.
It is proper to say that Jesus worked miracles, but it would be wrong to attribute His works to magic.
Magic and miracles differ in their source: Magic has either a human or demonic source, but miracles are a supernatural work of God.
The Bible speaks of Satan using magic which is called “lying wonders” in 2TH 2:9.
Magic and miracles differ in their source: Magic has either a human or demonic source, but miracles are a supernatural work of God.
A major difference between magic and miracles is that magic draws upon power that is not directly from God, and miracles are the result of God’s power intervening in the devil's world.
Miracles and magic sometimes look the same, but their goals are different.
Magic and illusion (which is used by Satan) distract the eye from reality, while miracles draw the eye to reality.
Miracles reveal; magic hides.
Mar 3:14-15 = Judas who was given the power of God; and the authority of God; to preach and teach the "Word of God," even though he was an unbeliever and not saved or born again.
Judas was a follower of our Lord Jesus Christ and a preacher of the gospel, but there was a doublemindedness about him.
Most of you know and realize, Judas abandoned the faith that he once professed.
- First of all, there was the Commitment He Made.
Commitment back in those days meant a lot more to them than it does for us since we are really lacking in what it takes to keep commitments which is not being a good person or living in morality.
What does it take to keep commitments?
It takes character.
It takes integrity.
It takes virtue.
It takes honesty.
It wasn't because they couldn’t!
It was because they wouldn't.
You major problem is simple, so simple to overcome if you desire to, but the real problem is that: "You are bound in chains to the feminine idol."
Pro 5:22 His own iniquities will capture the wicked, And he will be held with the cords of his sin.
"he will be held with the cords of his sin" is where we get the translation that the man is bound with chains to the feminine idol.
They will make vows and commitments and then not keep them and the sad thing is they don't even try to keep them!
Like the rest of the disciples, he left everything to follow our Lord.
Judas was actively involved in ministry, and he was given remarkable spiritual gifts for that time.
Luke tells us that Jesus called “the twelve” together—that included Judas—and “gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.”
Judas Iscariot was a gospel preacher!
Judas Iscariot was given the gift of healing for that dispensation which meant a specialize priesthood where only a few could have the power of the Spirit, and the Spirit was not in them but upon them.
Judas exercised authority over demons and in a few days after that the demons were gone, Judas went back to join the twelve.
Prin: Active involvement in ministry is a good and wonderful thing; but it is not, in itself, a guarantee of spiritual life or health.
Notice the Lord did not say anything about the works that one does but He said that He never knew them although they prophesied in His name, and in His name they cast out demons and performed many miracles?'
- The Opportunity He Was Given
Judas walked with our Lord for three years.
Judas saw the greatest life ever lived up close and personal.
You can’t have a better model of faith than the Lord Jesus or a better environment for forming faith than Judas had in walking with the Savior.
Judas directly witnessed the miracles.
When Jesus fed the 5,000, Judas was there. He took the bread and distributed it along with the other disciples.
When our Lord calmed the storm, Judas was there.
And Judas also was there when our Lord Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.
Judas heard all the teaching of Jesus our Lord, too.
Judas heard the Sermon on the Mount, so he knew there is a narrow road that leads to life and a broad road that leads to destruction.
With Judas’s own eyes, he saw the clearest evidence.
With his own ears, he heard the finest teaching.
With his own feet, he followed the greatest example.
The human heart is beyond understanding; Jer 17:9 and there is something incomprehensible about a person who abandons the faith they once professed.
Judas’s story contains an important lesson for parents, leaders, and friends who grieve over someone they love who has abandoned the faith. They worry:
Where did we go wrong?
What more could we have done?
Did we fail in our teaching?
Did we fail in our example?
Even the best example, the most compelling evidence, and the finest teaching—the ultimate environment for unconditional faith—cannot, in and of themselves, change the human heart.
- The Choice He Made
Satan made a relentless assault on Judas’s soul, as he makes a relentless assault on everyone who chooses to follow Christ.
The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him; Joh 13:2.
This evaluation overlooks the fact that Judas opened the door to Satan.
Judas had been stealing from the collective money bag, and when he kept this sin secret, Satan entered into him.
Unconfessed sin always opens the door to Satan’s power.
Satan doesn’t gain a foothold in the lives of people who are walking in the light with our Lord Jesus, He only gains access when we open the door.
- The Outcome He Embraced
When you get close to our Lord, one of two things will happen: either you will become wholly his, or you will end up more alienated from him.
The story of Judas reminds us that nothing good can come from giving up on Jesus Christ.
For those who get close, the only outcomes are full devotion or eventual antagonism; and every day, each of us is heading in one direction or the other.
In an age when many are abandoning the faith they once professed, the story of Judas warns us to guard our hearts, lest we drift away.
The story of Judas also equips us to reach out to those who may be close to walking away from the faith themselves.
Finally, the story of Judas reminds us that nothing good can come from giving up on Jesus Christ.