0:08 So, the next time you're tempted to speak rudely or harshly or gossip or say something that will make others will put down others or uh silly talk, what should you say? 0:28 The preschool class told us, "Put your sword back in its sheath cuz he who lives by the sword will die by the sword." It's a good remember. We don't carry swords these days. But we have a right there a tongue that is more powerful than a 0:46 sword even. So, take that to heart what our children reminded us of. And how do we do that? Consider Jesus who when he suffered when they reviled him he didn't revile back. 1:06 While suffering, he uttered no threats. Oh, don't you think everything within Jesus, he was tempted in all points as we are hanging on the cross. How easy it would have been at the last moment of his life to just say a little 1:22 word to that soldier who was nailing him into the cross. Even something like, "You know, I'm doing this for you." with a bitter judgmental attitude a condemning attitude. 1:40 There was nothing of that in Jesus. Consider him. Consider him. Consider Jesus your high priest. Hebrews 3:1. And you say, "Usama Tosh, how do I do that? How do in that moment of temptation when I'm tempted to lust, tempted to get 1:58 angry, tempted to react, how can I prepare for those moments so that I don't react the old way like I used to? He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. You we cannot do it, dear brothers and sisters, unless we are filled with the Holy 2:16 Spirit. It's the continual filling of the Holy Spirit. I've come to see more and more it's the continual life of being filled with the Holy Spirit that keeps us prepared for those moments that we can't prepare for. When something 2:36 catches you off guard and that temptation suddenly comes upon you, it's too late almost to prepare for the battle. The battle's already you're in the thick of the battle already. When your wife suddenly brings up something that irritates you or or your 2:55 husband brings up something and it you felt like it said the wrong way. Um by then it's too late. You're in the thick of the battle already. It's too late to learn how to fight the enemy. We must seek to continually be filled 3:12 with the Holy Spirit. I hope that every moment of every day when you think about it at least the cry of your heart is Lord, pour out your spirit within me. I need a filling from you today. That is the cry of my heart. I want to 3:27 tell you honestly, God is my witness. Anytime I catch myself thinking, I cry out, Lord, I want to be filled with your spirit right now. Here's my cup. It's a little bigger than a cup now, Lord. You've given me so much already. I want 3:41 more. I lift it up to you. Fill me, Lord. I need it. Not because I'm being tempted at that moment, but because I know there's a temptation coming. And I thank God so much for that promise. He will baptize you. He will. Dear brothers and sisters, I know many 3:57 of us have conversations where you we talk about what does it really mean? How do I know if I'm in filled and all that? I I don't know. I can't explain it. I really believe that I can explain salvation, explain a lot of other things 4:11 as a teacher, but I find that when it comes to explaining the work of the Holy Spirit, I'm at a loss for words. I simply say what the Holy Spirit says. If you ask, you will receive. Open your mouth wide, he will fill it. 4:28 And there may be all kinds of excuses. Well, like I've been doing this or I've been trying, I've been opening my mouth, I haven't been filled. I don't know how to explain it. Very simply, God is no respecter of persons. 4:40 He's a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. That's just the plain and simple truth. And if you want to be filled with the Holy Spirit and you're not filled with the Holy Spirit, I just say, go and seek him. Don't don't 4:52 look back on the past. Don't beat yourself up over oh, I've been wasted all these years. That's fine. I know I used to be discouraged when I thought about the years I wasted, but not anymore. There's no reason to be discouraged at 5:07 all this moment, 11:18 on April 21st, 2024. No reason to be discouraged. Why? Because the Holy Spirit is available to you right now. Jesus is waiting to baptize you with the Holy Spirit. He is. For an experience. I'm not talking about 5:26 ministry and all those kinds of things that a lot of people aspire for. I'm talking about being like Jesus. No bad moods, living a disciplined life, having control over my tongue, having control over my eyes. I don't need to wait for another year to 5:42 be 30 or 50 or anything like that. I'm already past both of those. Um Today is the day of salvation. You need power to be like Jesus. Anyone who says he's a Christian must live today and on Now, it's already 11:19 on April 20th, 5:59 21st, 2024. Anyone who says he's a Christian, a follower of Jesus, must live as Jesus lived. And that ought to drive us to our knees and say, "Lord, I haven't sought for the power of the Holy Spirit like I should. Help me, Lord. Full pour out your 6:19 spirit." Now, I do believe the Lord there are times when he does, and uh uh I'm not saying that he will pour it out on you on you right now. He can. Believe it. If you have laid everything on the altar and uh you're humble, 6:37 two things. If you've really given up everything and you're truly humble, I believe you will be filled with the Holy Spirit. I want to speak a little bit today though on why it was that Jesus, I see as I meditated on the life of Jesus, 6:53 why it was that he lived this life that could not be pulled down to anything on this earth ever. Jesus lived a life where nothing on this earth could pull him down. And I want that life. I hope you do. I 7:11 hope that's why you're a part of this church. Not because the singing or the preaching or friends here or anything like that. I hope there's a hunger within each of you, my dear brothers, dear sisters, and your children, 7:25 that you want a life that cannot be pulled down into this the things of this earth. This is the life Jesus had. It's not uh figuring out how to not be pulled down. How am I going to figure out how to not let the things of this earth attract me 7:43 and pull me down. I spent a lot of years trying it that way. I'm going to grit my teeth. I'm going to try harder and somehow this today I'm not going to let the love of this world pull me into this world. Whether it's lust of the eyes, lust of 7:57 the flesh, or the boastful pride of life. I'm not going to do it. And then I would make it. I could do it for some time. But then I would fail. I And I found that what Jesus offers us instead is a life. Let me start by 8:15 showing you a verse that some years ago transformed my life. I was sitting right in this room, somewhere over there on where I usually sit. A verse in Hebrews chapter 7. I forget exactly what year it was. Maybe 2018. No, sorry. 2008. 8:35 Or 2009. Uh None of you were here at that time yet. But the Lord was doing a work here in this place and in my own heart for what he's doing now. He was preparing this place, even this building, for what he's doing in our midst now. In 8:50 Hebrews chapter 7, my dad was here for a conference and we heard about an indestructible life. And God planted a seed in my heart during that conference from this verse, Hebrews chapter 7, verse 16. I hope you will make it uh 9:08 foundation in your life as well. Dear brothers, dear sisters, dear children, your young people, this is the life God wants you to have. Jesus has become a high priest for us. That's just a paraphrase the previous verses so that we can understand verse 9:26 16. Not Jesus has become your example and your forerunner. And you share the same blood as Jesus and you are able to follow his example. That's what the writer of Hebrews is saying cuz he talks about a forerunner in chapter 6. 9:44 So, you want to follow Jesus. You want to have this control over your tongue and control over your moods and control over your eyes and how you speak to your spouse and to how you interact with the world. Yeah, you want to be like Jesus 9:57 lived untouchable by the world as it were. And he says, he is your example. You can follow him because his connection with you is not on the basis of a law of physical requirement. In other words, it's not because you're physically 10:14 related to Jesus that you can be like Jesus. I mean, you can say that my children can be like me because they're related to me. They look like me a little bit. They can act like me. Like father, like son, they let us say. Why? Because 10:28 there's a physical connection. And he draws the the comparison to Aaron and all the high priests who followed that all the other high priests had to be directly descended. You had to be able to look into the genealogy of 10:44 Eleazar and say, oh yeah, yeah, you're by blood you're connected to Aaron, sure, you can be a high priest. But if not, all the way I believe to Zacharias. But if not, you couldn't be a high priest and so anybody who served in the 10:58 temple could say, I'm here. Could even stand before God and say, Lord, you've called me to be here because I'm a descendant of Aaron. I have that physical connection. And then came a priest called Melchisedec who had no father and no 11:12 son, they say. No genealogy at least. I believe he had a father or son, but didn't have a genealogy. It's not recorded. To a Jesus is a high priest according to the order of Melchisedec to show us that our right and our privilege to be 11:27 priests in God's temple is not on the basis of this physical connection, but what? What is it then? Is it the blood of Jesus? No, read your Bible carefully. It is through the power of an indestructible life. So, just like 11:44 uh Aaron's sons had that blood in them, that life, physical life, that they got through Aaron, we have a different life, not physical, a different life from Jesus that makes us priests in God's temple as well. 12:04 What is that? It's an indestructible life. The life that Jesus had was an indestructible, some translations say unshakeable, incorruptible. That means in the world that we see change and decay all around I see. In 12:21 the midst of that, there was one life that was here in this world that could not change and could not decay. No matter how much it the the decay and the change came at it, came at him, this life 2,000 years ago could not be touched, 12:39 could not be corrupted, was never corrupted. And Jesus offers you that same life today. This is the life he says you can have. And if you have that life, it's no longer you trying, Lord, I I I got corrupted again. Oh God, I decayed 12:54 again. Lord, I changed again. I fell again. Do you want an unshakeable, indestructible, uncorruptible, incorruptible life? Jesus comes to offer it to you. How do we get this life? It's by following Jesus' example. And that's why I asked if we could sing 13:14 this song today, Lest I forget Gethsemane, Lest I forget thine agony, Lest I forget thy thorn-crowned brow, Lest I forget thy a for me. When Jesus offered you offered us this unshakeable life, it came at a cost to him. We heard about 13:32 that even yesterday when we broke bread. It cost him something. And that's why he wept. And that's why I believe that the reason many of us don't partake of this life, I didn't for many years, is because I'd forgotten Gethsemane, I'd forgotten Calvary. 13:50 I'd forgotten the mourning and the weeping with which Jesus pre preserved himself in godly fear. Let's turn to the book of Hebrews chapter 5. For Jesus to offer me this life and for that life that Jesus had to be preserved, 14:08 it wasn't just hunky-dory, nice and easy, just coast along. This life, this eternal life that Jesus offers us, is not a life where you know, you just live here and you put your feet up on a on a footstool and flip on the TV and say, 14:21 "My life is incorruptible." No, it's not like that at all. How did Jesus, having been given this life from the Father, he says, "As the Father has life, he has given to the Son, and the Son gives to anyone whom he chooses." Read that in John chapter 5. 14:35 All the way from verses 19 through verse 30, you can see it. Jesus emptied himself, he was still God in person and identity, but he'd emptied himself and said, "Father, I'm going to give an example for Santosh and for all these 14:48 other of my followers who will come after me by emptying myself and depending on you constantly to fill me with this life, this incorruptible, indestructible life." And so he lived every moment of his life like that, dependent on the Father. 15:05 And his dependence was so perfect, so complete, so thorough that the Father was always able to give him that life, so that throughout his life he was completely incorruptible. Nothing on this earth could touch him. You know, when I hear that, when I heard 15:19 that, What it 15 years ago. I said, "Lord, I want that. I see corruption in me all the time and I keep trying and I keep trying. I want this." And the I think that that day we heard from Hebrews 5:7. How did Jesus preserve this life? 15:39 He saw this the life was so precious. This is much more precious than gold. It's like this gold that could easily be tarnished. This precious liquid, this precious thing that could easily be tarnished and he watched over it. He made sure nothing 15:52 could ever touch that life. How did he do it? Oh, let's just go out to eat today. Let's just um flip on the watch the sports. I'm more worried about the score and what's going on with my team and how did I do in the draft and all this 16:06 stuff. Hebrews 5:7, "In the days of his flesh, he God in flesh offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the one able to save him from death." From this 16:24 What was death? Jesus died physically, so it wasn't the physical death. It was this corruption of the life that he had. That would be death. The moment this life that God wants to give you and has given you some portion 16:39 of becomes corrupted, you're going to die again. Because the moment you put one drop of poison into the purest liquid, it is poison through and through. And the moment you allow one drop of this world, this corrupt world to come 16:55 into that incorruptible life, it's corrupted the whole thing. And Jesus was so wary, so careful. He says, I this with loud prayers and supplications with with with prayers and supplications, loud crying and tears to the one who was able to save him from 17:15 death and he was heard because of his godly fear. What does it mean for God himself to have godly fear? Because he was a man, tempted. Now, you and I men, we're not God. We think we can survive without godly fear. 17:34 Oh, that we might learn the fear of God more. The true fear of God, the fear of God that causes us to depart from evil. The fear of God that causes such a reverence where I say, "Lord, I can't afford to just go on with my life like I 17:49 used to last week or even yesterday. I can't, Lord. It's just my thoughts have just been so earthly minded, so full of the corruption of this earth." Just pause for a moment, friends, brothers, sisters, children. What did 18:02 you think about yesterday? Now, we spend a good chunk of the evening here, but before that, what what did you fill your mind with? Don't have to tell me. Judge yourself. Examine yourself. And see, was it this reverence? I'm 18:17 saying that we have to be religious and only talk about the Bible and have, you know, super spiritual talk. That's not what I'm talking about at all. But in everything you did, was it based on a fear of God, on a godly fear? 18:29 Underlying anything that you said, maybe you played with your children, maybe you you had some fun, you were out with the animals, or I don't know, whatever it is that you did, but underlying all of that was a foundation of the fear of God in 18:40 your life. That if anything came in to corrupt it in the midst of these earthly activities that you were doing, you were ready for it because the fear of God was there. This is how Jesus lived his life. He was heard because of his godly fear. 18:55 Why did Jesus have to have godly fear as God? Have you pondered that? Does God have to have godly fear? When he's a man, he did. So that he could show me, Santosh, an example. Santosh, this is the way. Fear me. Fear me, and you will be set 19:12 free from from sin. So, it's following Jesus' example and so that's why we sang, "Lest I forget Gethsemane. Lest I forget how it was, Lord, that you preserved your life there in Gethsemane." Lest I forget the agony that you suffered, the agony 19:27 that Jesus suffered that we sang about. I know you've heard this in the church before. It's not on Calvary. There was an agony that he suffered there. But there was an agony that we sang about that he suffered in Gethsemane. 19:39 Want you to think about that some, not just today when I speak, but when you go home and this week when you're tempted or even before you're tempted every morning say, "Lord, show me Gethsemane. Show me Gethsemane where you said, 19:56 'Father, if it is your will, let this cup pass from me, but not as I will. Your will be done.' Show me, Lord. What did that cost you? What was the explosion of your heart that caused the blood the sweat to come out like blood? 20:16 The agony that comes not from other people piercing Jesus. That came not from other people See, when the soldiers stuck the No, before that, when they when they uh put the nails into his hands, what do you think came out? Blood. 20:30 When they stuck the nails in his hand, blood poured out. The blood by which we are forgiven. But long before that blood poured out from Jesus, you know, in Gethsemane, the night before that. Before they pierced his hand, blood 20:43 poured out. From what? From the agony inside of him. An agony that said, "Father, I want to do your will. And it's going to cost me so much." And the intensity of that battle between his will and the Father's will was so great that the blood the sweat 21:01 came out of his pores like blood. I've never seen a movie that accurately describes that. I've seen movies that show Jesus on the cross and the blood on his face when they whipped him. I don't think it's appropriate perhaps. 21:15 I don't think you could describe it. Why? Because it was an internal struggle Jesus was going through. It was a struggle in his will, in his mind. And in his soul there where he says, "Father, not my will, but yours be done." And this conflict and this 21:28 conflict. Have you been tempted? Oh, we all have. It's a rhetorical question. Men, when you're tempted to lust, young men, when you're tempted and you feel that that that that intensity of the temptation to look with lust. 21:43 Or whatever the temptation might be. Sisters, you have temptations that temptation to say that word and you just get it off your chest, blow your mind, blow your top. Just say it. Okay, you feel better now that you said it, you 21:54 got it over with. No, that temptation before that there's an agony, there's a there's a pain, there's a tension that you're feeling. And the moment of temptation that Jesus felt much greater. And the intensity there of his temptation 22:11 throughout his life to me, the intensity was at its greatest to me in Gethsemane. Where it was so great. Think about the pull between flesh and spirit. The flesh wars against the spirit and the spirit wars against the flesh. And the 22:24 intensity is so bad and the pulling is so great that it bursts from inside of him like blood. I'm not trying to be gory. I'm not trying to move you through pictures or anything like that. But this is the Jesus who says, "Now, 22:39 when you're tempted to do your own will." You say, "Ah, the temptation was too great. I I tried for 5 minutes and my wife just got on me too much and I just said it." 5 minutes of a little temptation like something like that. Something earthly 22:53 usually. My children, you know, got me in a bad mood because of something they did. Broke that thing, so I got upset. And and I Do you want to be freed from that? Do you want to live a life that's incorruptible? Untouchable? I want it. Indestructible? 23:11 I want it. And the way, dear brothers and sisters, is through following Jesus' example. So, he went on to sing, "May I be willing, Lord, to bear daily my cross for thee. Even thy cup of grief to share, thou hast borne all for me." 23:29 See, Jesus had an undying commitment to never do his own will. That's it. Let's turn to John, chapter 6. And this is the secret, dear brothers and sisters. I have I believe it to be true because I see it in God's word. I've proved it to be true to some extent 23:47 in my life. I'll tell you honestly, not to boast, but simply I say I've I found an answer after years. Most of you are younger than me. You don't have to wait till even you get to be my age, but age is no no consequence. It doesn't matter how 23:59 old you are. But today, if the Holy Spirit can open your eyes to see the secret to why Jesus had and preserved this un- incorruptible, indestructible, untouchable, unshakable life, it's because he had an undying 24:16 commitment to never do his own will. He had an undying commitment to never do his own will. That means from the moment he was born, actually before that, from the moment he came down from heaven, at some point before Jesus was born, 24:34 began the work when Jesus said, "Father, I will go." You know, you read in Isaiah 6, the God says, "Whom shall I send?" And Isaiah says, "Here I am, send me." Um I think even before that, in Genesis, chapter 3, was a 24:52 conversation in uh in heaven. I'm using my imagination here. God is watching Adam and Eve sin. God is watching you and I sin there with Adam and Eve. Our sin was there. God knew all the sins I would commit as he was watching Adam and Eve sin for the 25:10 very first time on this earth. The first human sin. And God asks, "Whom shall we send?" And Jesus says, "Here I am, send me." in heaven. 4,000 years later, he actually comes down to this earth. But what did that entail? The journey 25:28 began when Jesus decided, "Father, I will not do my own will. And I'm going to come down and do your will." And the father says, "Okay, you got to go now." From the day he was born, he showed us an example here on this earth. And here's what was the 25:43 characteristic of Jesus' life, the theme, the motto of Jesus' life. He says, "I'm committed to one thing and one thing only. I will never do my own will, no matter what happens, no matter how hard it feels, no matter how much 25:56 the temptation is, no matter how much I'm pressed, no matter how whether I have a headache or not, no matter how sick I am, no matter what is going on around me, there's one thing and one thing I'm committed to. I will never do 26:07 my own will." This is the secret. Can we make a choice today, a decision today, dear brothers and sisters, children? By the power of God, by the grace of God, I will never do my own will. It will change your life. It's changing mine, I tell you. 26:26 John chapter 6, verse 38. I have come down from heaven never to do my own will. That's it. We've heard it often. My dad has said, "This is the one-line autobiography of Jesus. I've come down from heaven never to do own do my own will, but the will 26:45 of him who sent me." I have come down from heaven never to do my own will. This was the commitment that Jesus had. What is your commitment? I want to go to heaven. Lord, if they come and persecute me, I won't deny you. Peter said that. And sure enough, 27:01 minutes later, they came and he denied him to a little girl. So, all these, Lord, I will stand with you when the persecution comes. The persecution is coming. I'm going to stand with you. That's all fine and dandy. It's just words, like it was for 27:15 Peter. Why? You know why Peter denied Jesus? Because he didn't have this undying commitment to never do his own will. And when Jesus said, I'm going to go to the cross because I'm never going to do my own will, Peter said, "No, no, no, 27:30 Lord, forbid it. You can do your own will. You're Jesus, after all." And Jesus said, "Get behind me, Satan. You're trying to shake me from the one commitment I have." I want to tell you, dear brothers and sisters, even as I thought about what to 27:44 share this morning, this has become my commitment afresh. And I hope it will be yours, as well. Lord, I'm not interested in preaching lot of sermons and being a servant or being an elder, preacher, RLCF, or all this I I don't care about 27:58 any of that anymore. I want to tell you honestly, Lord, I have one commitment alone, and that is I never want to do my own will. Will you help me, Lord? If you make that your cry, will you fill me with your Holy Spirit so that I have 28:10 power to never do my own will? Children, you have a wonderful life ahead of you if you can make this your goal. This is your commitment, never to do your own will. Thus, and verse in the 39, he goes on to say, "This is the will of him who sent 28:26 me, that of all that he has given me, I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day." You see how Jesus didn't lose anything, then? He didn't lose So, now I say, Lord, of all the things that you've given me, what have 28:39 you given You've given me a wife. You've given me children. You've given me a flock to care for. You've given me gifts, whatever. I I I to use it. You give me a job. And you've given me a responsibility to take care of my 28:50 family. All these things He says, "You won't lose any of it." Why? Because I have only one commitment. Husbands, what is your commitment? Is it to provide for your wife? I want to tell you that commitment you won't be able to keep up it. 29:03 Someday you'll fall. Many husbands are trying to keep up that commitment to provide for their families. Make it your commitment to never do your own will. As simple as that. Only the will of him who sent you. It'll change your life. 29:18 Some years ago, the father the Lord asked me this question. Very recently, I'd say last three or four years. What's What's your goal in life, Santosh? And my answer to the Lord was, "It's to build your church, Lord." And then the Lord showed me this verse. 29:34 I thought it was a good ambition. Lord, I want to build your kingdom. Sounds good. I want to serve you, Lord. He says, "Santosh, your commitment is misguided. It's slightly off. It's not okay all the way off like some heathen people 29:48 in the world. It sounds good, but it's still off. And whether you're 1° off or 359° off, you're still off. Or 180° off, you're still off. There's only one commitment. Sharpen it today, dear brothers and sisters. Sharpen it. I don't know where each of 30:04 you are in your life in terms of this commitment. Lord, I will never do my own will. You sharpen it. And because I looked at this verse. I said I was saying, right? My my answer to the Lord was, "Lord, I want to build your 30:19 church." And I was kind of, you know, said it with, "Lord, I'm Aren't you happy with me? I want to build your church. I don't want to make money. I don't I used to be interested in those things. But now my my interests have 30:28 refined. My commitment has been refined. I want to build your church." And the Lord said, "No, I need to refine it further to one thing. Never do your own will." Because verse 37, he said, "How did Jesus build his He didn't go 30:44 looking for hey, come join our church, come the masses, the masses, the masses. Go out into the college campuses, go out here, go out on the streets, go out and do this, go out and do that." That's how Jesus built his church. 30:55 Because Jesus wasn't here to build a church. He was here to do the will of the Father. And there are so many misguided preachers. I'm not thinking of anybody, I'm not judging anybody. I was one of them. Misguided. Thinking I would need 31:08 to do more evangelism. I need to go out there street preach. I need to go out there and hand out tracts. I need to go out there and start a college ministry, do this, do that, go out tell the lost, reach the lost, reach the lost, reach 31:17 the lost. I believe very much in reaching the lost, but there's a love that supersedes that. There's a song that I my kids and I heard on the radio, just happened to be on the on Christian radio. It says, "What would Jesus do?" He would love 31:29 first. I thought that sounds right. But it's a little bit misguided. I think most of the Christendom is thinking he would love others first. That's not what Jesus would do. He loved his Father first. Thou shall love the Lord thy God 31:44 with all thy heart, all thy strength, all thy might, all thy soul. The second is like it, love your neighbor as yourself, but that is second. And Jesus loved his Father first. If that's what the song's talking about, I'm all for singing that song. Jesus 31:57 would love first his Father. And Jesus, remember the statement I just made, Jesus had an unwavering commitment, undying, unwavering commitment. You couldn't shake Jesus. Didn't matter if it was his mother pleading with him, "Dear son, come, just 32:13 they need some wine." He says, "No, I have an unwavering commitment, Mother, I love you. You've taken care of me. I know what all you suffered for me when you bore me and the reproach and shame, but Mother, you're trying to shake me 32:25 from an unwavering commitment to the Father." I think Mary understood it later on and she just backed off and said, "Yes, whatever, tell the servants whatever he does, do tell tell do it. Can can you be shaken from this 32:41 unwavering commitment? Is there somebody? Is there a wife, a husband, a child, a father or mother, a brother or sister, or even your own self that can shake you from that unwavering commitment? Are you attached to something or somebody here on this earth 32:56 in a way that you can be wavered and shaken from that unshaking commitment to never do your own will? It's no wonder your life is unshakable then. It has been mine for years and he said, "Lord, I don't want to ever be shaken 33:12 from this commitment to never do my own will." Even if it's the dearest one to me trying to pull me to do my own will. You don't You think Peter was close to Jesus? Oh, he was close to Jesus. So close to Jesus. I think he was one of the closest, 33:30 definitely in the top three closest people to Jesus. Of uh in the last year of his life. In the last week of his life. And this closest friend of him comes around Jesus. I have a feeling it was privately that Peter came to Jesus and said, 33:47 "Lord, really, I'm your friend. You know, we've been through a lot together. Imagine the pride of Peter thinking, I'm going to tell Jesus what to do." Puts his arm around Jesus and says, "Jesus, you've encouraged me so much. 33:58 Here's my turn to encourage you. This going to the cross and all. No, you don't have to do that. You don't have to take up your cross. Really? You You've been so You've been so good for us already. Think of all the wonderful things, the 34:11 miracles. Lord Jesus, you've done this and done that and I heard the voice from heaven saying, "This is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased." And then I heard it again on the Mount of Transfiguration. The Father himself bore 34:21 witness to you. This is my beloved son. What do you mean take up the cross? And Jesus said, "Satan, get behind me. Peter, you're so close to me. I'm afraid that you could easily try to waiver me and with loud crying and tears that 34:35 night I believe before that Jesus had said, "Father, you put a burden on my heart. I'm crying out, save me from death." And then 10:00 that morning Peter comes and says, "Jesus, don't die." Peter and and Jesus recognizes it. This 34:51 is the voice of Satan in Peter. Get behind me, Satan. You cannot shake me from this unwavering commitment I have to never doing my own will. Oh, that we would be his church. Oh, that we would follow him in this example. 35:07 Here it looks I mean I'm sure every one of us hearing this thinks, "Yes, Lord, I'll do it." It's when It's when It's in our homes, in our relationships in the marriage, in our relationships with our children, in the workplace, in your schools, 35:18 children. Oh, God wants you to have an unwavering children, please listen. God wants you to have an unwavering commitment to him. This will save you. This will preserve you. When you're with your friends, whether you go to school outside or not, 35:30 wherever you are, you're interacting with the world around you. You're looking at the world, even if you are a little bit protected from it now. You can see the world, but when you see the world and you're tempted by all of those 35:39 things, oh, that you will have an unwavering commitment that you will never do your own will. And ask God, say, "Lord, make this my unwavering commitment, unshakeable commitment." Romans chapter 15 verse 3. Romans chapter 15 verse 3. 36:08 Even Christ did not please himself. Even Christ did not please himself. You know, when he was in that wilderness and he was tempted to turn the stones to bread. He was faced with a very valid 36:26 pleasing of himself. See, I don't think necessarily it's talking in verse three about Christ did not please himself by watching pornography, which wasn't even then at that that time. It's not talking about that. Yes, it's true. Jesus never pleased 36:41 himself by looking with lust on a woman, ever. He never did, not even for a fraction of a second. In fact, he was so pure that a sinful woman could come and be at his feet at the end of his life. And he was He might have been tempted, I don't 36:55 know. Maybe he was beyond the temptation at that point, but regardless, there was purity in every interaction of Jesus, so pure. But what was That That's That's one thing. I I I hope none of you is interested in pleasing yourself with 37:08 that kind of sin. But what was it that Jesus it also is talking about deeper levels of Christ not pleasing himself when it's okay to? It was perfectly okay. There was nothing in the law that forbid Jesus from eating bread that day when he had fasted for 40 37:24 days. In fact, a few minutes later he was going to eat. So, there was nothing wrong There's nothing sinful in him eating that bread. It just wasn't any bread there. And he knew he had the power to turn those stones to bread, but it would have 37:37 been pleasing himself. Oh, he was hungry. I've never come close to fasting for 40 days. I sometimes do juice fast where we just avoid solid, and I tell you, all I can think about is food. And if you put food in front of me, I I 37:51 it would take everything within me to I I need that. We're on a little bit of a diet nowadays, and I tell you, watching some of you guys eat that yummy naan last night was hard for me cuz we're not eating gluten. Can you imagine what it was like for 38:03 Jesus? 40 days of not eating at all? And then the devil brings the perfect temptation. He says, "Nothing sinful. I've tried, Jesus, to get you to sin with outward sin." No, the standard of sin is that That's the reason I'm using the world standard of 38:18 sin. Jesus, I've tried to get you with pleasing yourself with outwardly sinful things, horrible things. I've tried for 30 years. You I I haven't been able to shake you at all. I'm going to try a little bit something good, a little bit 38:29 different. Something that looks good. What's wrong with that? Yeah. I I don't find any verse in the Bible that says I can't do that. A lot of Christians are living by that. God, I don't find a verse in the Bible that says I can't do this, so I'm going to do 38:40 it. That's not the question to ask. Are you pleasing yourself? That's the question to ask. Are you doing your own will? Then it's sin. It was sin for Jesus. And do you want an unshakeable Do you want an indestructible life? Then make your 38:53 standard of sin what it was for Jesus. If I please myself once, I will sin. Oh. I want that life, brothers and sisters. I do. I really mean it. I hope you do, too. And so, Jesus, because he had been What was he doing in the wilderness? Loud crying and 39:12 tears. It was the days of his flesh. Was he just sitting around just doing nothing? No, Lord, but save me from death. Save me from death. I don't know what trap the devil's going to put in front of me, but save me from it, Lord. 39:22 Save me from it, Father. And the Father saved him. At that moment, the Father gave him more of that life, exactly like he needed it, and the word that he needed it. He didn't have a Bible handy that he could just turn to 39:34 Deuteronomy chapter 8. No, he says, "Man shall not live by bread alone." Where did Jesus get that word from? The Father gave it to him. In that moment, cuz he was a man like me. He was a human being like you. And Jesus as God and man received the 39:51 word from the Father because he had this godly fear. And with that word, he got the devil out. He didn't try to greet his Jesus. Okay, yeah. Help me, Lord. No. He resisted the devil. When the devil came at him with that 40:05 temptation, he didn't fight the temptation like, "Oh, you're going to fight. Okay, no. Run away from the stones. Turn away from the stones. Everywhere you look is stones." I mean, that's all there is in the wilderness. You turn this way, stone. Turn that way, 40:17 stone. Do you feel like that in the temptation? How are you going to overcome? Years ago, I remember when I was trying to fight lust in my own strength. I would walk around with my head down thinking the only way to be free from 40:27 lust is walk around not looking. Just look down. I became a very unsociable person and it didn't work. I have found a different secret, dear brothers and sisters. The life of Jesus. We're in that moment the Father gave him 40:42 a word, the sword of the Spirit. It is written, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by the every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." And the devil fled in that moment. You have the sword of the Spirit with you 40:59 to fight the devil. Use it. Fight against the devil. SAY, "SATAN, GET AWAY from me. Man shall not live. I've made it my commitment to only No, never do my own will and to only do the will of the Father like Jesus did." Tell Satan, "I have come down from 41:16 heaven. I've not come down from heaven. I've been born on this earth not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me." Like Jesus. John 6:38. Quote that to the devil and see if he will not flee. We defeat him by the word of our 41:29 testimony and we did not love our lives until death. Satan is defeated by the word, the sword of the Spirit. This is a sword. You know, of all the armor of God, there's only one that's an attacking piece of the armor. That's the sword. 41:45 Yeah, the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, shoes shed shod with the gospel of peace, all that. But the one that you're given to attack is the sword. Use it. Know it. Read it. Meditate on it. 41:59 So, that's how he defeated Say, "He never pleased himself, but as it is written, the reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me." See, the life that Jesus chose was says, "Are they going to speak evil of you, Father? Let it come on me." 42:15 The world was looking for somebody to blaspheme. For God to blaspheme, and they found it in Jesus. That's how I interpreted it. Jesus said, "I'll come down from heaven. Father, they don't know you. They haven't seen you. When they curse at the 42:27 air, they're they're just cursing at the air. Not at you, God, but they're cursing at the air. Let me come down to the earth, and let the reproaches of those who reproach you fall on me. I'll be the one to take the hit." 42:40 Turn to Psalm This is a quote from Psalm 69. The last part of verse 9, Psalm 69 verse 9, "The reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me." This is a 43:00 prophecy about Jesus. The evil speaking, the shame, the filth that they wanted to throw at God, they threw it at Jesus. We found somebody, a target, to throw our reproaches on. That's what Jesus suffered at Calvary. The reproaches of those who suffered who 43:18 who reproached you The reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me. But look at what he says before that, verse 9. You know that this is where he said, "Zeal for your house has consumed me." Jesus had such a zeal to never do his 43:33 own will. I love it. I want that. He was burned up. He You know, they they remembered when he whipped the money changers in John 2 and elsewhere. "Oh, zeal for thy house has consumed me." They thought he was talking about 43:49 this house. Yeah, that was it, too. But you know, long before Jesus whipped the money changers in the temple, he whipped the lusts of his flesh in his temple. He had a flesh just like ours, not sinful flesh, the likeness of sinful 44:05 flesh. But when those temptations came up, he whipped them. That will that wanted to raise itself up against the will of his father, he whipped it, SAID, "GET OUT OF HERE." AND, that's what qualified him to whip the money changers. The money changers 44:19 didn't know that. Even the disciples didn't know that. There are many people claiming to whip the money changers today, and they haven't defeated their own money changers inside their own heart, inside their flesh. Before you speak out against anybody, 44:33 judge yourself. This is what Jesus did. For 30 years, he went into the same temple every year and saw the money changers, and father said, "Not yet." Don't you think it grieved him? Those money changers when Jesus was 12 44:46 years old, the father said, "It's not not your will, Jesus. I know your will says, 'Turn the tables over and whip them out.' You could do it. You're 12 years old. You could do it, sure." The father said, "No." And, Jesus said, 44:58 "Not my will." As much as it grated against him to see them taking advantage of it. And, for another 18 years, he would watch it going on and not do a thing. Why? Because he had one unwavering commitment, "I'm never going to do my 45:12 own will." And, one day the father said, "So, Jesus, you've been cleansing the money changers out. You've been You whipped that that will. You put denied yourself. You denied yourself. You denied yourself. You denied yourself. Now, chase them out." 45:28 A zeal for his house, zeal for the father's house consumed him. You know what consumed is? It's like it burned him up. And, this is the life he offers you. Do you want a life that you get burned up with a desire to never do your own will? 45:41 Then, I don't have to preach. We don't have to preach say, "Brother, never do your own will. That's the secret to a happy marriage. Sister, never do your own will. That's the secret to a happy marriage. Do you Children, never do your 45:51 own will. That's the secret to being a having a happy home." We don't have to preach such things because the You've received it from Jesus himself. His life has consumed you. It's burning up. That's why I love that him, burn fire of 46:04 God, my ransom soul possessing, come and burn it all up, Lord. Fill me with the same zeal to never do my own will like you had, Lord Jesus. What a different life we live. Indeed, Matthew chapter 26. We'll see what it was like for Jesus in 46:23 Gethsemane. Here, I as I was thinking about this, I see there's two types of temptations that we face. One is temptations that God wants us to avoid. 46:43 And the other is temptations that he wants us to face. I don't know if you've thought about this before, but there are temptations that you might have faced or maybe facing that God didn't want you to face. It It wasn't his plan for you to face 46:57 that temptation, but you're facing it. Why? We see that here. So, Matthew 26, let's begin reading in verse 36. Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane and said to his disciples, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." Matthew 26, verse 36. 47:15 And he took with him Peter and two sons of Zebedee and began to be grieved and distressed. And then he said to them, "My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death. Remain here and keep watch with me." Jesus was about to be tempted with 47:31 something. And before that, he sensed this temptation's coming. And his life was a life of constantly crying out with loud crying and tears full of godly fear to be saved from death. And because that that godly fear, he's sensed a prompting from the Holy 47:47 Spirit, "Go over there and pray. You need to go and pray. Get away by yourself." I I don't know if you ever face that. Sometimes I do ran- randomly. And if I can, I try to get away privately. Otherwise, I just go and lock 47:59 myself in my mind for a little while and say, "Lord, I I need to get away with you." This is what Jesus was doing. It was so intense, he needs to go away and he couldn't even trust the other eight disciples. It was so intense, he says, "I need to 48:13 go privately." So, he took he's left the eight, says, "You guys pray here. Three of you come with me. Let's pray here." And then he went away further. He says, "You guys watch over here. I need to really be by myself." This was an intense battle that Jesus 48:28 was facing between his will and the will of the Father. And he went a little beyond verse 39 then and fell on his face and prayed saying, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me, yet not as I will, but as you will." 48:45 Cried out saying, "Lord, if it is possible, Father, if it's possible, I don't want to drink this cup. If it's possible, let it pass from me. Lord, that that cup's already filled up, but it's coming. I sense it's coming to me, 48:56 but please let it go on. Don't let it stop here. What I would like is if this cup doesn't stop here and you make me drink it. I see the cup coming from a distance and Lord, but one thing you know, Father, I'm I'm on undying 49:09 commitment. I'm never going to do my own will, but I'm just asking you, Father, if it is your will, this cup that's coming here, let it pass by. Let it be for somebody else or for nobody else. But, if you do allow it to stop here, 49:25 there's one thing I'm committed to, Father. You know this. I'm never going to do my own will. Never. Even if it is this most difficult of temptations I'm about to face. You've heard about it, the cup of suffering that Jesus had to drink was for those 3 49:40 hours on Calvary when he would be forsaken by his Father, something he had never experienced before. He The Father had to forsake him. The Father had to turn his face away because of my sin. Otherwise, it would have been me that he 49:55 was turning his face away from and forsaking. And I if he had forsaken me, I would have been abandoned to hell forever. But because it was Jesus, the sinless lamb of God, God himself and man, standing there, hanging there, 50:10 the Father still had to turn his face away for a period of time. But Jesus was saying, "Lord, it's I know it's only 180 minutes, but that's 1 second longer than I've ever experienced break of fellowship with you. I've never 50:25 experienced my entire life, Father. I've had everything else. They've beaten me, they've whipped me, they've put nails into me. All of my friends have run away from me, and they've called me all kinds of names, and I've kept quiet in all 50:35 these things, Lord, but there's one thing I've never experienced, and that's you forsaking me." And hours before he was to experience it, he saw this cup coming. He says, "Father, that's the one thing I don't want. But I'm still I have only one unwavering 50:50 commitment, and that is that I will never do my own will." And here for the first time, his will and the Father's will were in conflict over fellowship with the Father. It had never happened before. Every other time, it was a battle to remain in fellowship 51:07 with the Father because turn the stones to bread or jump off from the from the top of the temple or bow down and worship Satan or speak evil to others when they speak evil to you or do this or do that or do your own will. 51:20 It was always my will at the expense of fellowship with the Father, break of fellowship with the Father. If I do my own will, fellowship with the Father will be broken. Jesus survived um um overcame in all of those. But now it was a temptation of do your 51:37 own will or continue to have fellowship with the Father. Now what? I want both, Lord. Fellowship with the Father, that's the most precious thing I've had, or my own will? And Jesus said, I have one unwavering commitment. 51:52 I will never do my own will. And Father, if you say that you have to break fellowship with me, that's your will. I'll surrender. I'll submit. Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. What beautiful words. Um 52:11 verse 40, and he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And said to Peter, "Do you think Jesus was tired?" Oh, he was tired. He was as tired as Peter was. I think he was more tired. And he said to Peter, "So, you men could 52:27 not keep watch with me for 1 hour?" It's only been 1 hour. He'd been praying and they don't know what agony Jesus was going through. Oh, lest I forget thine agony. Peter forgot. He saw Jesus look and he's like, "You look kind of worried, Jesus. Everything 52:41 okay, man?" Jesus says, "Peter, you have no idea. I need to go off by myself because you're not the kind that knows how to watch and pray. You just sleep is more enjoyable for you. Ah, I'm tired. I need a little bit more sleep. I can't I need sleep. I 52:57 haven't gotten sleep in a while, so I'm going to sleep. Jesus said, "I I can't sleep. In fact, I'm not going to sleep. They're going to hang me on a cross tomorrow." Jesus knew that. You think Jesus was entitled to one last 53:09 night of sleep before he was crucified and beaten? Of course he was. But it was a time to watch and pray because the battle was intense. My will or the Father's will? I tell you, dear brothers and sisters, if if you love sleep too much, if you 53:24 love food too much, if you love pleasing yourself too much, that's why you will fall into temptation. Jesus said, "You can't keep watch with me for 1 hour." Listen to what he says, "Keep watching and praying that you may not 53:38 enter into temptation." By then it was too late for Peter. The The eyelids were too heavy. He'd already hadn't been watching and praying before that. And no wonder when the temptation he was And when the little girl came he was 53:51 just led like a slave. Yeah, I DON'T KNOW JESUS. WHY? CUZ HE WASN'T WATCHING and praying. These are the temptations that God doesn't want you to fall face. Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is 54:09 weak. And if your flesh is big, then you're full of weakness. You just give in to that temptation. But if you're full of the spirit of God, then there's a willingness to say not my will. Why did Jesus say not my will? Because he his He was full of the 54:24 spirit. He had crucified the flesh, crucified the flesh, crucified the flesh, crucified the flesh with his lust and desires. He was full of the spirit all of his life. We're full of the flesh. It's no wonder we're weak. 54:38 Our flesh is fills our entire being. All I want is me, myself, me and my family, and that's about it. Maybe some of my friends. I'll do some charity here and there. My flesh, my flesh, my flesh. The flesh is weak and will always fall, but 54:52 the spirit is willing. He went away again a second time, verse 42, and prayed, "Father, if this cannot pass" He didn't get an answer. He still thought maybe the cup will pass unless I drink it. But he says, "If this" Look at how his his his words have 55:04 changed a little bit. First he says, "If it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." He goes and talks to the disciples. Come back and he sees the cup is closer now. He says, "Okay, Father, if this cannot 55:17 pass away unless I drink it, your will be done." He had come to that place where he thinks, "Not even my will anymore." He says, "Your will, Lord. Your will." Before that he was asking. See the continuing prayer of Jesus. He said, 55:30 "Father, I don't know. Is Is it possible this cup is some distance away? Can I still Is it still your will for this cup not to be there? That's my will is to not drink the cup. Is that also your will? I don't know, Lord. Show me, Father. Show 55:43 me, Father. As it gets closer, he's the Father says, "No, it is my will for you to drink the cup." He says, "Okay." No longer my will. By watching and praying while the others were sleeping. Again, he came verse 43 and found them 55:57 sleeping for their eyes were heavy. Whose eyes? All 12 of them including Jesus. The 11 disciples and Jesus. Their eyes were heavy, but Jesus was living in godly fear. He says, "I can't sleep, Father. This is life or death." 56:12 Spiritually. Are you at that place, dear brother, dear sister? Do you wonder why you haven't been filled with the Holy Spirit? Because it's uh yeah, okay, if he doesn't fill me the Holy Spirit, I still can go to job my work tomorrow and get a paycheck. 56:24 Money is more important to me. For Jesus' sake, what money did he have? He had hours to live. This is life or death. And he was being tested with this most important test of all to waver at that last moment from his undying commitment 56:39 to never do his own will. And he couldn't sleep. When we get to the place where our burning desire is to never do our own will and to only do the will of the Father, and that's why we cry out for the baptism of the Holy Spirit, I tell 56:51 you, no matter how tired you are and how little sleep you've gotten, you'll stay up all night. We've read the testimonies of men and women like that who are so desperate and thirsty, they they stayed up all night crying out to God, "Lord, I 57:03 want your power to never do my own will. I want never to be shaken from this commitment." Watch and pray so that you may not enter into temptation. You know that Jesus told them to pray this. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed 57:16 be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And what comes next? Lead us not into temptation. 57:31 He taught them to pray at the very beginning. That means if you're praying in the morning, say, "Lord, I know there's a bunch of temptations I'm going to face that you want me to face because temptations will make me stronger, but there's a whole bunch of 57:42 others you don't want me to face." And you and I have gone our lives probably just I whatever temptations come my way, I guess I'm supposed to face them. The Lord convicted me about that. He says, "I I didn't want you to face that 57:56 temptation. Why did you go there? Why did you put yourself in that place? IF YOU HAD BEEN WATCHING AND PRAYING, YOU WOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT THAT TEMPTATION was coming and you would have gone this way." You would have learned from the example 58:05 of others so that you don't make that same mistake. Watch and pray. Brothers and sisters, children, watch and pray so that you will not enter temptation. Some of you will go to school tomorrow. Others of you will do school at home. 58:17 There's a temptation that's coming to you tomorrow for which you must watch and pray today. Watch and pray today. I know it feels good. You think, "Why why do I need to watch and pray? My life's pretty good." There's a temptation that's coming 58:29 to do your own will for once. James 1 says that every every man is tempted when he is carried away. How does that happen? James 1:14 58:48 says, "Each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust." How does that How does that happen? Carried away because you weren't watching and praying. Can you carry away a rock that is firmly planted into the ground? Can you? No. 59:05 But if you're just driftwood, just driftwood sitting there, yeah, you can be carried away by the stream. Just drifting down down. But if you're a rock, a tree that's firmly planted by the river, you're not Do you ever expect a tree that's 59:18 that's planted by the river to get carried away in big earthquake or something like that? Psalm 1 talks about a tree that's firmly planted by the river. Get this picture of a stream that's flowing. There's the tree that's receiving nourishment from the 59:31 river and this driftwood that's just getting passed on by. Every man is in is temp- uh tempted when he's carried away. Are you carried away into temptation? Then watch and pray. Watch and pray. For the temptations that you cannot 59:47 avoid. Now, I want to briefly close with that. What's the secret? An unwavering commitment to never do your own will always be broken. Remain broken. Remain broken. Say, "Lord, my unwavering commitment, my unshakeable, undying commitment is I will never do my 1:00:04 own will. Will you help me to that?" And that's the way you will overcome the temptations that God does want you to face. There are those, too. 1 Peter chapter 4, we'll close with this. 1 Peter chapter 4 verse 1. 1 Peter 4 1:00:19 verse 1. Therefore, since Christ suffered in the flesh, since not in the body in the flesh. Since Christ faced these temptations, denied himself, had an unwavering commitment to never do his own will. Therefore, since Christ has suffered in 1:00:37 the flesh, arm yourself also with the same purpose, with the same commitment. Make the same commitment. Arm yourself. Arm yourself means pick up the battle. Pick up the sword. Pick up the shield saying, "From this day onward, Father, 1:00:49 by your grace, by the power of the Holy Spirit, I too will have the same undying commitment to never do my own will." This same purpose. Because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin. If you suffer in the flesh 1:01:05 this unwavering commitment that I will never do my own will. I will suffer in the flesh. He who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin. We sang that one song, "Who dies with thee, O Word Divine shall rise and live again." 1:01:23 Who dies with thee, with Christ, O word divine, shall rise and live again. Let it be so. Amen.
