Well, good morning, everyone. Welcome back to the Lord's house as we gather together to celebrate our salvation and forgiveness of sins. And I have just a couple announcements, not many. First one is men are once a month men's breakfast is this Saturday. It's gonna be at Eggs Up Grill in Greer at 745. And the church picks up the tab on that, so please come and plug in if you can. Just a time of eating and fellowship and spending time together. If you wanna get to know guys, if you wanna get to know some of the guys in the church, it's a lot better place to do it than right here, because there's so many things going on. So keep that in mind. Our prayer emphasis for the week is Doug Dowman and his family who are ministering. in New York. And remember, they have a very unique ministry there. They have a home that's set up right on the Appalachian Trail. Isn't that what the trail is? Yeah. And they're offering food and a nice, warm, comfortable bed to some of the hikers. And as they come in and spend time with them, they're sharing the gospel with them. So it's a unique ministry. So keep them in mind as you pray this week for missionary emphasis. All right, for our call to worship, I'm reading from Psalm 69, verse 30, where we read, I will praise the name of God with song and magnify him with thanksgiving. So let's do just that. Let's praise the name of the Lord using songs, using the songs in your bulletin. Think about the words of this music. It's great words, great theology here. So please stand if you're able, and let's sing together. To God be the glory, great things He has done, So love to the world that He gave us His Son, Who yielded His life and was coven for sin. And open the life-gate that we make a way. Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Let the earth hear His voice. Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Let the people rejoice. He'll come to to the Father, to Jesus the Son, and give him the glory, great things he has done. To ev'ry believer the promise of God, The farthest offender who truly believes, That moment from Jesus' forgiveness receives. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear His voice. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice. Who comes to the Father through Jesus the Son, and give Him the glory, great things He has done. Great things He has done us, great things He has done, and great are rejoicing through Jesus the Son. But purer and higher and greater will be ♪ Our wonder, our transport, with Jesus we sing ♪ Praise the Lord, praise the Lord ♪ Let the earth hear his voice ♪ Praise the Lord, praise the Lord ♪ Let the people rejoice ♪ O come to the Father, with Jesus the Son ♪ And give him more glory, great things he has done Facing a task unfinished that drives us to our knees, but in the land of Heaven, a strength which does not believe, we who rejoice to know Thee, The solemn plan we owe thee, you go and make me know. Where forces that divinely, divinely still today, With none to heed their crying, for life and love and peace. A number of souls are dying and passing to the night. We go to all the world with King of all the world. No other name has power to save but Jesus Christ. You gave their lives proclaiming that Jesus died and rose. By, by the same ambition did we yield our power. We go to all the world, with kingdom hope unfurled. No other name is worth to save but Jesus Christ the Lord. O Father who sustains them, O Spirit who inspires, Savior whose love constrains them to toil with healing power, come, coward, as we We go to all the world, and be with all the world. No other name is far to say, but Jesus Christ the Lord. When King and Pope were born No other name was hard to say But Jesus Christ the Lord Amen. Great song and a great message. Please be seated. If we could have our ushers come forward, please, as we receive the morning offering. And again, we thank you for your faithfulness in giving. And we'll have prayer in just a moment. But I want to introduce Monica, who's going to be playing for us this morning on the flute over here. I should have done that last week, and I forgot to do it. So maybe I should announce her two times this week. She is a member of this church and she lives in Texas, so she gets the prize for traveling the greatest distance of being here. You. Good morning. I'll be doing our scripture reading this morning, followed by prayer. As you can see, we have a short passage this morning, so I shouldn't take too long. Our scripture reading this morning comes from John chapter 13. Now before the feast of Passover, Jesus, knowing that his hour had come, that he would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, the devil, having put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands and that he had come forth from God and was going back to God, got up from supper and laid aside his garments. And taking a towel, he girded himself. Then he poured water into the basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel with which he was girded. So he came to Simon Peter. He said to him, Lord, do you wash my feet? Jesus answered and said to him, what I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter. Peter said to him, never shall you wash my feet. Jesus answered him, if I do not wash you, you have no part with me. Simon Peter said to him, Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head. Jesus said to him, he who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but he who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not all of you. For he knew the one who was betraying him. For this reason, he said, not all of you are clean. So when he had washed their feet and taken his garments and reclined at the table again, he said to them, do you know what I have done to you? You call me teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If then the Lord and teacher washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is the one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. I do not speak of all of you. I know the ones I have chosen. but it is that the scriptures may be fulfilled. He who eats my bread has lifted up his heel against me. From now on, I am telling you before it comes to pass so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am he. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives me, and he who receives me receives him who sent me. When Jesus had said this, he became troubled in spirit and testified and said, truly, truly, I say to you that one of you will betray me. The disciples began looking at one another at a loss to know of which one he was speaking. There was reclining on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples whom Jesus loved. So Simon Peter gestured at him and said to him, tell us who it is of whom he is speaking. He, leaning back thus on Jesus' bosom, said to him, Lord, who is it? Jesus then answered, that is the one for whom I shall dip the morsel and give it to him. So when he had dipped the morsel, he took and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. After the morsel, Satan then entered into him. Therefore Jesus said to him, what you do, do quickly. Now no one of those reclining at the table knew for what purpose he had said this to him. For some were supposing because Judas had the money box that Jesus was saying to him, buy things, we have need of for the feast, or else that he should give something to the poor. So after receiving the morsel, he went out immediately, and it was night. Therefore, when he had gone out, Jesus said, now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and will glorify him immediately. Little children, I am with you a little while longer. You will seek me, as I said to the Jews. Now I also say to you, where I am going, you cannot come. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this, all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. Simon Peter said to him, Lord, where are you going? Jesus answered, where I go, you cannot follow me now, but you will follow later. Peter said to him, Lord, why can I not follow you right now? I will lay down my life for you. Jesus answered him, will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, a rooster will not crow until you deny me three times. The word of the Lord, let us pray. Father, thank you for another Lord's Day that we are able to come together as a body of believers to worship you. And I pray that your spirit would come now that would fill this place. Bless the preaching and reading of the word. Bless the worship that you would be here amongst us, that you would work in our hearts where they need to be worked on. And we ask for forgiveness of our sins, those that we know and those that we don't know, Lord, that you would give us hearts of humility and repentance that we may go through the week glorifying you in all that we do. We pray for those in the church that are sick and not able to be here that you would be with them, that you will bless them, keep them, heal them, and that your presence will be felt with them this morning. And Lord, we pray for our city, that it would be a bastion of the gospel, of truth, that it would be a known as a place where the Lord's people dwell and the leaders and the inhabitants. And we pray for the same for the state of South Carolina and the United States as well, and the whole world that the gospel would go forth. And that where there's strongholds opposing opposing your church, that you would break them down and give us courage and boldness to proclaim truth. And we pray for wisdom and how to do that here in our and our local church and our own personal lives. We need you to move forward, Lord. We can't do this. The obstacles are too great. Our hearts are too wicked. And we're not moving forward without you. So we ask that you come now, be with us. May your presence fill our heart. And we just ask that you bless the rest of the time this morning and bless our week. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Let's continue using the next song in your bulletin, Holy Spirit, Living Breath of God. Please remain seated as we sing. Holy Spirit, living breath of God, breathe new life into my willing soul. Bring the presence of the risen Lord to renew my heart and make me whole. Cause your Word to come alive in me, Give me faith for what I cannot see. Give me passion for your purity. Holy Spirit, breathe your life in me. Holy Spirit, come abide within, may your joy be seen in all I do. Love enough to cover every sin, in each thought and deed and attitude. Kindness to the greatest and the least, gentleness that shows the path of peace. Turn my striving into works of grace, breath of God, show Christ in all I do. Holy Spirit from creation's birth, giving life to all that God has made. Show your power once again on earth, cause your church to hunger for your ways. Let the fragrance of our prayers arise, lead us on the road of sacrifice, that in unity the face of Christ will be clear for all the world to see. And now before Nick comes to open God's word with us, let's take a moment and just have an opportunity for silent prayer. None of us pray as much as we should. So thank the Lord for forgiving you of your sin, saving your soul. Pray for Nick. Pray for the people around you. Pray for those that are not here. And I'll close for us in a moment. So let's talk to the Lord. Well, Father, we thank you for this time that you've given us, when we can focus on you, your word, and how you want us to live the Christian life. And none of us are going to succeed there completely, Lord. So we ask for grace and mercy. May your Holy Spirit work through Nick, and just apply your words to each heart and each need today as you know it. We pray in Jesus' name, amen. Good morning. Thank you all for the opportunity again. And I'm Nick Franks if I don't know any of you. And that passage was so powerful. I just want to read through it one more time. I bet whoever was doing the bulletin was probably a little nervous. They called their family. We better push lunch plans back about 30 minutes. But hopefully it won't be that bad. This, what we're looking at today is John 13, and the Gospel of John, it's a must-read book no matter what level you're at, you know, whether you're a new Christian or old Christian. You know, in a world where everything, we look at everything immediately in front of us, the Gospel of John really helps you see the forest, not just the, you know, you don't miss the forest just looking directly in front of you, it's just the big picture, cosmological picture of who Jesus is and what he did in his life, bringing us eternal life. So I always recommend it, no matter what level you're at, you know, however long you've been a Christian or not, if you're having a hard time reading the scripture, just pick up the Gospel of John, because it's just, it's the book that is so powerful. and special. Before we get further, let me just pray real one more time really quick for me. And we'll look at john 13. Father, thank you for the opportunity to read your word. We just ask that you come bless this time now. Lord, none of us are worthy to proclaim the truth of who you are and what you've done. And I just ask that you bless the sermon now in Jesus name we pray. Amen. So in John, what we're going to look at today in John 13 is Jesus is entering into the climax of his story. And what we're going to talk about is Jesus's hour. His hour has come. And that's the theme in the Gospel of John. But what does it mean? It has several layered meanings, as we're going to kind of see. But the ultimate meaning is His glory. The time of His glory has come. And if you look, if you know in John chapter 2, we have Jesus doing His first public miracle. And what we see there is they're at a wedding, Him and His disciples. He's there with his mom, and his mom does that kind of like, it's a command in the form of a statement. She says, they have no wine. It's like your mom walks into your room. This bed's a mess. She's not just observing. What had happened, I mean, probably Mary had seen Jesus do stuff throughout his life, maybe seeing him as she knew the power that he had. And she was like, they have no wine at this wedding. Are you going to do something? And Jesus being led by the Holy Spirit, he was like, you know, he probably in the moment he his hour for the glory had not come yet. He didn't feel a piece to move forward with it. But by the time she gets to the statement, By the time she just kind of forces his hand, she looks at the servants and says, do whatever he says. Somehow Jesus was free to perform this miracle. So he tells her his hour has not yet come because Jesus is, he knows the time when he's to be glorified. And it's going to be when he's exalted. And it wasn't just turning water to wine. What we're going to see here is the hour, that this hour has come is something far greater than just turning water into wine. Jesus was about to take on death, eternal damnation, sin, the world, the devil, and suffer the worst fate that any creature of God could possibly suffer. Then he was going to enter hell, proclaim his victory over fallen angels, he's going to rise again on the third day, and in doing so, he redeems countless souls from the grip of all these enemies. When Jesus said on the cross, it is finished, his mission was over and the greatest glory in the history of all creation was bestowed upon him. That is the hour of his glory. So what we are going to look at in this passage is Jesus, this is kind of the initial start. A few verses before this chapter, Jesus says, my hour has come, and he says it again in this passage. So he's getting ready to be glorified. His hour of glorification has come. And we're going to look at this passage as we're entering into that time. And I want to look at it in a kind of a weird, maybe unique way. I want to look at what this hour means for Jesus. I want to look at what this hour means for Judas and Satan. And I want to look at what this hour means for Peter. And so first we're going to look at what does this hour, Jesus's hour, my hour has come, mean for Jesus? And obviously it means for him to be, it's time for him to be glorified. In verse 31, we see, now is the son of man glorified and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him immediately. This, it echoes the Isaiah servant passages, Isaiah 49, where it's prophesying about Jesus and it says, I am going to be glorified through my suffering servant. But the road to glory is not one of pomp and ease. It also means for Jesus, heartache, trouble, and extraneous, what we would call, it really is a type of anxiety. As we'll see in verse 21, he says that he is troubled in spirit because Judas is about to betray him. And this distress in his spirit continues building to the point where Luke says when he gets to the Garden of Gethsemane that he is in such distress and turmoil that an angel has to come and minister to him and that he is bleeding blood and he's begging the Father, if there's any other way to do this, do it. So this type of, it really is a type of anxiety, but the difference between Jesus's anxiety and our anxiety is that he's God. So he knows what is coming. He knows that what's coming is the worst thing that can happen to anybody. Particularly him, who's never been separated from his father. He's about to be forsaken, separated from his father, and also endure the wrath. So he knew this was coming. In our anxiety, we think we know what's coming. because we play God. I know they're going to fire me on Friday. Oh, I just know they're going to overcharge me for this bill. We play God like we know it and we worry about it. Jesus is trouble. His, his wrecked heart is based on the fact of he knows what's coming. So, um, this is, this is part of the road. This hour is great distress and heartache for Jesus. It also gives him, we also see as he prepares for this hour, it's his time for leadership towards the disciples. Jesus has this group of people under his care and he has to lead them through what is about to happen. Their whole world is about to be turned upside down and Jesus has to prepare him. and prepare them, and the way that he does that is he teaches by example, and then he gives his final command. So teaching by example, we see Jesus in verses 1 through 21, he washes the disciples' feet, and in doing so, he is solidifying in their mind, he's teaching them in their mind how they are to live in the age that he's about to bring. After... You must consider others greater than yourself. This is totally juxtaposed to how the world operates. And when, after Jesus rose from the grave proving that he was God, creator of everything, he said he was, he proved that with his resurrection. And don't you think the disciples are going to remember this incident? So they think it's just their great teacher who they're not quite sure what he is washing their feet. After his resurrection, his glory, and all the things that are going to come, do you think they're going to remember that God washed my feet? And they're going to remember that if he did that, then I must live my life the same way for other people. So it's a teaching by example. And he also teaches them that who's gonna betray them so they know. So he's, in this final hour, he's just prepping them as much as he can. So he teaches them about Judas also, and further expounds on the idea that he's going away and that's okay. So he's like prepping them, you know, like a good leader would. He doesn't just lead them in the dark totally. But also, he also gives the teaching by example, but he gives this command. He actually gives two commands. He actually commands, one command we don't really like to talk about that much, because he says, as I've washed your feet, you wash each other's feet. And that's something we don't really like to, you know, that's a nice suggestion, but he does say you do this to others. So some people still practice this regularly today, and if it's done right, I think it can be like a good, you know, way to exercise worship. But that's not the major command he leaves us with, thank goodness. He leaves us with the big one. It's the final command, it's the last command he leaves before he dies. He gives to his disciples, he says, I'm giving you a new commandment in verses 34 and 35, that you love one another, just as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this, all people will know you are my disciples, if you have love for one another, after washing their feet, and with them about to see him go and die for them, he tells them to love one another in the same way. Give up yourself for the good of others. And he tells them this, he tells them that this is how the world's gonna know you're my disciples, by the way you live and interact with each other in the world. The world says seek relationships for what you can get out of them. How does this benefit me? Does it help me emotionally? Does it help me financially? My people will be different. My people will seek in relationships the betterment of the other person. So that is what Jesus leaves with them in this final command. So we see that's what it means for Jesus. And then what does this hour coming mean for Judas and the devil? So I just wanted to hit on this because what we see when Jesus' hour of glorification comes is that Judas and the devil are fulfilling their God-ordained roles. We see this for Judas in verse 19. He's prophesied in the Davidic Psalm. He says, I am not speaking of all of you. I know ones whom I have chosen, but this is happening so that the scripture may be fulfilled. In Psalm 41.9, he says, he eats my bread, has lifted up his heel against me. This is a quote from David. David had a close accomplice who basically betrayed him when he was in, when Absalom, his son, rebelling against him. And David is the archetype, and the Holy Spirit was writing this and scripting this through David, and Jesus tells us here that he was talking about Judas. So Jesus is telling us that Judas was written about long ago. And we see Satan's fulfilling his God-ordained role in verse 27. This is where he enters into Judas. And in a lot of translations, Jesus tells the devil to go do it and do it quickly because this is his role. This is what God has orchestrated. Now, this is where it gets tricky because it presents us with a tough theological issue. Whether we are talking about Judas or Satan, how can God ordain and orchestrate that they would have two of the worst fates of any creature? Matthew 26, 24 tells us that it would be better that Judas was never born. And of course, Satan's final destination is the lake of fire. So it raises questions about free will and God's sovereignty. How does a perfectly created being, say Satan or, you know, the angels that were in his, that intercourse with him daily, as we see in Job and other places, how does a perfectly created being who lived in the actual presence of God end up as a rebel? And how does Judas become a disciple and decide then to betray the Lord? And Acts 2.23 tells us that Jesus was delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God. So there's nothing that surprises God. There's nothing, everything is under his control. So the testimony of scripture is that God's plan will happen regardless of man's will. But scripture also teaches at the exact same time that every creature has free will and is accountable for the decisions and actions. So the philosophical term for this is antinomy. So antinomy is the idea that two seemingly opposite things exist at the same time. And that is what we see here. So in this passage, it's true that the devil and Judas are playing out their roles in God's predetermined plan, But it's also true that they willfully chose to carry out these actions. So in our closing, we're gonna deal with that a little. Because that is an issue that we have to deal with because that is what the Bible teaches. And we can't just really skirt around it. It's something that we just have to deal with as it is. So finally, let's look at Peter's and then we'll, what this hour means for Peter in this passage. Then we'll look at how it applies to us. So Peter, it's pruning in preparation for Peter. John mentions Peter in this passage a lot, so it's something to take note of. There's a reason why John is mentioning him. He even says that Peter is the one that wanted to know who Judas was. Peter was very important in the early church, so probably John was showing his story, or what brought him to be the person that Jesus would use to minister to the Jews. And this passage highlights Peter's zealousness for the Lord, and that is a good thing. But the Lord knows that if gone unchecked, it could be disastrous for Peter and the church at large. So we see here that Jesus is about to get pruned and he's going to get prepared for what is coming. So we see Jesus reigning Peter first when you look at the feet washing passage. Peter's a big part of that. Jesus gets to Peter, he's washing their feet. But instead of Peter just letting the Lord do what he's come to do, Peter says, no, you'll never do something as despicable or disgusting as wash my feet. And Jesus has to reign him in. If I don't wash your feet, you have no part with me. And so Peter's like, oh, well, not just my feet then, my hands, my head, everything, you know? So Peter is showing his impulsivity and his rashness. So we see that in this passage where he's washing the feet and then, of course, The last part of this chapter, from verses 36 to 38, this is where we really see Peter's zealousness come to fruit, and Jesus dealing with it. Jesus is about to humble Peter, and Peter says, the passage says, Simon Peter said to him, Jesus just got done saying, I'm leaving, you can't come with me. And Peter says to him, Lord, where are you going? Jesus answered, where I'm going, you cannot follow me now, but you will follow me later. Peter said to him, Lord, why can I not follow you right now? I will lay down my life for you. Jesus replied, will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, a roaster, not a roaster. A rooster will not crow until you deny me three times. Again, Peter displays his zealousness and saying his zealousness and love for the Lord and wanting to go with him. And he's saying I'll lay down his life and I think he would the Lord. The Lord and Peter would do that. I think he was willing to do that in his mind. He would do that, but the Lord. Knows that for Peter, it's still too much about Peter. And so. The Lord. with those he needs to prune, he prunes. And this is where he says, tells Peter, you're gonna deny me three times before the rooster crows at dawn. And Peter, I bet, didn't even believe him. He was like, oh gosh, this guy's probably going crazy. There's no way I would deny him. And then of course, he goes on and that third time he denies him and Jesus looks right at him That's when the wound, that's when the severance happens. He denies Jesus a third time, and I think the gospel said it was to a little girl. And as soon as that happens, Jesus looks at him, and Peter's wrecked. He's humbled. So that's a big part of entering into this hour of glory was doing with Peter. He was preparing him for the rest of his life in ministry. So what does all this have to do with you? So how can we draw out of this passage what this John 13 in preparation for Jesus's hour of glory have to do with you? Well, in relation to Jesus, it's the love of Jesus for us. We know on this side of the cross what went on to take place from here. Jesus took the death and wrath we so greatly deserved. He defeated all of his enemies and he paid for our sins once and for all. We are free to be God's children because of what Jesus did in this hour. But it's important to note that as we see the torment in Jesus's heart beginning to grow here, that at any time, Jesus could have said, I'm done. He could have walked away. He did not have to do it. He could have called the whole thing off. In John 10, 18, Jesus says, no one has taken my life away from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have the authority to lay it down and I have authority to take it up if I want. The father has given me this commandment. So he's directing the show this whole time telling Satan to hurry. and marching on to the worst experience any creature can face, going through extraneous torment to the point where he's sweating blood. And guess what? He didn't stop. He could have stopped any moment. He could have said, no, this is too much. I'm not going to be separated from my father. But he did it. That is the kind of God we serve. He wasn't forced to do this by the father. It was God's plan. And God, Jesus in total submission, gave it to him. God's love for him said, you can choose. He said, my commandment from the Lord, you can take up your life if you want, or you can leave it. And he didn't take it up. He went to the cross willfully. This is what separates Jesus among other gods. Everything else that we make a god demands, takes from us. Jesus is the only God that gives to us and gives to us freely and in total love. And the other thing that we can take away is looking at Jesus's last commands. If you're a father or you're a general and you're on your deathbed, you're not just shooting the breeze. You're not going to talk about something. You know, you're not you. If there's things that you need to be said, if you're in your last hour of life, you say the most important things that need to be said. And what does Jesus say before his death? Death, love one another as I have loved you. This is how people will know that you are my disciples. He's been with them and taught them long enough that what he's basically showing is that when I secure your relationship with the father, the fruit of your vertical relationship is seen by your horizontal relationship, particularly with your brothers and sisters. And that's the way it works. The reason why the loving other people Jesus emphasized so much is because that is a reflection of your security and attachment and relationship with God, is how you're willing. If God is your everything, then you benefiting other people in your relationship is a joy, is what you're called to do. Seeking the betterment of other people in your life is what you do because you've been given everything. And Jesus, who went to the cross his own accord and gave you everything." So that is the last commandment before he dies, and then before he ascends, his commandment is, go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, commanding them, teaching them all that I've commanded you. And again, the fruit of that commandment is love the Lord with all your heart, mind, body, and soul, and love your neighbor as yourself. So Jesus is, when Jesus secured for us, we are now free to lay down our lives like him. And that's important. If we find ourselves being selfish with our time, with our resources, with our love, usually there's a disconnect vertically, or there's something that's hindering our relationship with God. But we know that Jesus has made a way that he can deal with any of those hindrances, hangups, weights, or sins that separate us from the Lord. So we can do that in order that we can, we can go to the Lord, deal with that in order that we can love others as Christ's love does. So that's how we can look to Jesus and how it applies to us in this passage as he's getting ready to go. into his hour of glory and then quickly I'll hit on Judas and Satan because that is the sovereignty issue is a big deal we know that in relation for us this hour of glory when it came about Satan was defeated he's a he's a defeated foe he's basically like the chess mat they're still playing chess but the game's over There's no way that he could defeat God, but he's trying to take as many souls with him to the lake of fire as he can. So that's the state we're in, but he's like a dog with no teeth. He's got a lot of bark and he can deceive, but his ultimate power over your soul and life has been taken away. So that's a big thing, of course, when Jesus entered his glory and rose from the dead. But in relation to the theological issue we discussed, Some of the things of God are going to be a mystery to us. We have to let God be God and trust him and trust that he is good. And the way Paul frames it in Romans 9, I don't go through all of it, but he states this in Romans 9. What if God, although willing to demonstrate his wrath and to make his power known, endured with great patience objects of wrath prepared for destruction? And he did so to make known the riches of his glory upon objects of mercy, which he prepared beforehand for glory, namely us, whom he also called not only from among the Jews, but also from among the Gentiles." So in this passage, Paul basically says, let God be God. In this passage, he uses Pharaoh as an example, which parallels almost perfectly with Judas. likely the devil. And all through Exodus, we see that God says, I'm going to harden Pharaoh's heart so they will not let you go. And then all through Exodus, Pharaoh hardens his own heart. And for us, we really have to come to the place where we can have peace with God's sovereignty. So if that's an issue that we wrestle with, it's something that you have to deal with, struggle, and come to a belief in it. Because that's what the Bible teaches. And when you do, the weight and peace that you get is the fruit of that is incredible. Because the pressure for you is lifted. The pressure for you trying to save your loved ones, the pressure for you trying to manipulate people into the kingdom is gone. You can trust that God is working and that God is going to do it. And he will, because he has to do it. So that's a tough issue, but it's an issue that once you grasp, it enhances your spiritual life so much. So that's in relation to Judas and Satan. So we're going to look at Peter in closing. When you look at Peter in this passage, how does it apply to you, or what can you take from And one of the obvious things that comes from Peter that a lot of people talk about is relationship to Judas. So both of them, Peter, like Judas, sins greatly against the Lord, betrays him in a way. And the difference is that Peter was broken over his betrayal and Judas regretted it. and tried to take matters into his own hands. He tried to correct it. He tried to fix it. He had no, the results of it, he wasn't happy with, but he didn't go to the one who could make it right. He took matters into his own hands. He tried to manage his own sin. He tried to cover up his own sin. And so with Peter, he was wrecked. Excuse me. The Lord says, a broken and contrite heart I will not despise. If, in our sin, we don't try to manage, we don't try to cover it, we need to confess it and let the Lord deal with it. We have to come to the Lord. And that's a big difference in the way Judas and Peter responded. Judas was, his, Judas, Judas was weeping over his actions, and he wished he would have done a better route. Peter was weeping when the Lord looked at him. It broke his heart, what he had done to the Lord. And I thought about this this week. There's a song that I was listening to. Have you ever thought about how Adam felt in the garden? He was walking with God when he, entered into sin, it was over for him. The regret and the shame that he would have felt is on a level like Peter's or maybe worse, but the Lord, you know, the Lord rescued Adam too. So in our sin, even if it's as hopeless as being expelled from the garden where the angels, it's like you're at a club and the angels have to kick you out. there's still hope you know so that's what Peter Peter still had that hope Judas thought there's no way God's gonna take me back so I'm gonna deal with it Peter said if God doesn't take me back I'm done so that's kind of the difference if G God is our only hope or maybe I can do things to make God love me and that's the big difference but I want to end applying that the Jesus and Peter interaction at the end of the chapter. Peter wants to go with the Lord and he tells him, I will lay down my life for you. Jesus looks at him and says, will you lay down your life for me? And Jesus knew that he would. He knew that Peter was willing to. He knew that he was going to. But we see that Jesus. Has to. Has to have let him deny him three times to humble him. I'm a lot like Peter. If I had to like, if I had like a personality matchup, definitely like Peter. I remember I was overzealous. I became a Christian later in life. And in my spiritual formation class in undergrad, we were going to a retreat for the weekend. It was just a silent retreat. So we were going to eat and, but you didn't talk for two days, you know, but I told my professor, I don't, I want to fast too. And like, I want to go and I want to fast too, you know, because I was just wanted to be so spiritual. And I did things like that because I was zealous, you know, but the Lord has humbled me over the years because the thing that happens is so these big things, the big things, like if I asked any of you here, or if you were any of you were forced, if you, if you love the Lord and somebody forced, you said, I'm going to kill you if you don't deny the Lord. Everyone here would probably be willing to die. You'd be willing to die for the Lord. Because the big things are easy. The big things are easy in the moment. The big things that happen, you do them, and they go by fast. The hard thing is the day-to-day, moment-by-moment obedience. That is much harder than giving yourself up to be burned, prophesying in tongues. You know, all these things that Peter that Paul and Jesus say on that day, they're going to come to me and say, we did all these things. You know, I gave up my life to be burned for you. And Jesus says, get away from me. I never knew you. Because the big things, becoming a pastor, becoming a ministry leader, saying and doing all the right Christian things, those are the easy things. Jesus knew that if Peter wasn't checked, then he was going to put his faith in all these great things he was doing. You need to put your faith in me and walk moment by moment in obedience with me, and that is where true spirituality happens. And so that's a big thing for people like Peter and people like me, is that I think I'm such a good Christian because I do good things, like these big grandiose things. The true Christian seeks the moment by moment obedience, which is far harder than any kind of big external showing, if that makes sense. So that's what we have to get at as believers. When we look at what Jesus has done in this hour, Like, it's so selfish for us to continue on with our life that we wake up in our day, we check our phone, we go about, we get our coffee. And if we do all that without even going before the Lord saying, help me, I need you, I want to give this day to you, that is a problem because we can't do this on our own and we don't have to do it on our own. And Jesus, in this hour, There's so many things to pick out of this, but he is for us and he is everything that we need to get through this day. And so it really is a call, um, to follow him and seek him in everything. Um, because he's proved himself, who he is, how much he loves you and what he wants for you in your life. And so, uh, yeah, there's a lot in John 13. It's great. There's so much more, but, um, Yeah, that's it. We see the relation, we see how the hour, how Jesus, what we draw from Jesus in this hour, from Jesus and Satan for Peter and how all that applies to us. It's just a robust, robust ideas to think about as we live for Jesus. So let us pray. Father, thank you for this time. Thank you for your word. And we do oftentimes, like Adam and Eve, we sow fig leaves, thinking that you won't notice the sin and shame behind them. That we say the Christian thing, we post the Christian thing on Facebook, we stand for the right thing, we stand against pain is sin, and we are open and bold about it, Lord. And oftentimes those things are just fig leaves that we're covering up our own sin and shame. Lord, help us to forsake being gods of our own life and help us to let you be the God of our life. And we see in this passage that you are worthy, that you didn't have to go to the cross. You chose to do that in spite of all that cost you and lord help us to live our life as a object of gratitude for that when we ask all this in jesus name thank you nick let's close by using the next song in your bulletin wonderful merciful savior if you'd like to use the book it's in the black book page 131 Yeah, please stand, I'm sorry, yeah. Wonderful, merciful Savior Precious Redeemer and Friend Who would have thought that a Lamb Could rescue the souls of men? Oh, You rescue the souls of men You are the one that we praise. You are the one we adore. You give the healing embrace our hearts always hunger for. Oh, our hearts always hunger for. Counselor, Comforter, Keeper Spirit we long to embrace You offer hope where our hearts have Hopelessly lost the way Oh, we hopelessly lost the way You are the one that we praise You are the one we You give a healing embrace Our hearts always hunger for Our hearts always hunger for Almighty infinite Father Faithfully loving Your love Here in our weakness You find us Falling before Your throne You are the one that we praise You are the one we adore You give the healing and grace Our hearts always hunger for Oh, our hearts always hunger for For our benediction, I'm reading from Philemon, verse 25, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Have a good Lord's Day.