What Do Your
Enemies Say About You?
D. L. Moody preached to great audiences in Chicago but
then the attendance began to wane. He could hardly gather a crowd. He decided
he needed a change of scenery so he left and went to California. In 1871 he
returned to Chicago to hold a series of meetings. It was advertised that he
would preach one message per week for twelve weeks. One message per week on
characters … Adam first then Enoch and Abraham, Noah and so on. Then he planned
to end the series with 6 messages on the life of Christ. By the third message,
he was preaching again to full houses. He began the last half of the series,
the messages on the life of Christ to over flowing houses. On October 8 in 1871
He preached on the text “What shall I do then with
Jesus who is called the Christ?” As he was speaking the town hall bell began to ring. It was the only
alarm for the towns volunteer firemen to assemble to fight a fire. It was a
common occurrence for it to sound so it created no stir in the people attending
Moody’s meeting. Moody normally preached about 30 minutes but this night his
message went a little long. As he reached the end of his message realizing he
had gone long Moody made what he called the greatest
mistake of his ministry. He did not give and invitation. He dismissed
the crowd by saying, “I want you to go home and ponder
what you will do with Christ over this next week and when we return next week
you can give your response. AS the people left the meeting they found
their city engulfed by the Great Chicago Fire. Many would lose their lives that
night.
Romans 5:6 - 10 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ
died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone
die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare
to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for
us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how
much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! 10 For if, while we were God's enemies, we were
reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been
reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
In the title of my
message today I have posed the question, “What would
your enemies say about you?”
I remember the
story of a preacher being asked to officiate the funeral of a town resident who
did not attend church. In fact he had been known to be
somewhat of a scoundrel in his business dealings around town. As the
minister began to talk about the deceased he described him as honest and a
pillar of the community, a fine man… About that time the widow leaned over to
one of her sons and instructed him to slip up there and make sure that was her
husband in the casket!
What did
Jesus’ enemies say about Him?
I.
The Centurion
Matthew 27:54 When the centurion and those with
him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they
were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God!"
Romans 5: 10 For if, while we
were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how
much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
a.
What would
you call the Centurion that was in charge of the crucifixion of Jesus His
enemy?
b.
Perhaps
he was responsible for leading Jesus through the streets at the end of a rope. Hands bound unable to protect himself from the
vicious assaults of the crowd lining the streets.
c.
Surely, he watched as Jesus was scourged … the whip tearing
away the precious flesh of our Lord.
d.
Maybe he held the nails as they were driven through the
hands and feet of Jesus.
e.
He could
have swung the hammer setting those nails
home!
f.
If ever
there was an enemy of Jesus it was him!
g.
Hear what he says
about Jesus when all is done …
Matthew 27:54 … exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God!"
Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote; …Jesus Christ lived in the midst of his enemies. At the
end all his disciples deserted him. On the cross he was utterly alone,
surrounded by evildoers and mockers. For this cause he had come, to bring peace
to the enemies of God.
II.
Judas
Matthew 27:1-5 Early in the morning, all the chief priests
and the elders of the people made their plans how to have Jesus executed. 2 So they bound him, led him away and handed him over
to Pilate the governor. 3 When Judas,
who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse
and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. 4 "I have sinned," he said, "for I
have betrayed innocent blood." "What is that to us?" they
replied. "That's your responsibility." 5
So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged
himself.
a.
I believe
we would agree that Judas was an enemy of Jesus.
b.
He
betrayed Jesus!
c.
He sold him out for
30 pieces of silver … about the wage of a servant for one year.
Can you be part of the group without being part of the
group?
d.
Can you
live with Jesus for three years and not get what Jesus is all about?
e.
Can you appear as a
disciple and not be a disciple?
f.
Your greatest
enemies in life are the people who stab you in the back!
g.
Judas betrayed
Jesus and Jesus gave us the model of how to handle the situation… Jesus loved Judas anyway!
h.
What did this enemy
say about Jesus?
Matthew
27:4 …," he said, "for I have
betrayed innocent blood."
In the face of a disappointed world betrayal, a
world in which all fixed points have proven to only be an illusion, a world in
which we are anchorless and adrift.
Christ is the
foundation, the origin, the way, the truth, the life.
In the face of a culture
of death, a world of killing fields, a world of the walking dead, Christ is
at the head of the resurrection parade, transforming our tears of betrayal into
tears of joy. Giving us dancing shoes for the resurrection party’.
………
On a wall near the main entrance to the Alamo in
San Antonio, Texas, is a portrait with the following inscription: "James Butler Bonham--no picture of him exists. This
portrait is of his nephew, Major James Bonham, deceased, who greatly resembled
his uncle. It is placed here by his family so that people may know the
appearance of the man who died for freedom." … No literal portrait of Jesus exists either. But the likeness of the
Son who makes us free can be seen in the lives of everyone of His true
followers.
Do YOU look like Jesus?
Not in hair and robe … but in heart and mind
demonstrated by obedience ….
III.
Pilate
John 19:1-6 Then
Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2 The soldiers twisted together a crown of
thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe 3 and went up
to him again and again, saying, "Hail, king of the Jews!" And they
slapped him in the face. 4 Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews
gathered there, "Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I
find no basis for a charge against him."5 When Jesus came out wearing the crown of
thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, "Here is the man!" 6 As soon as
the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, "Crucify!
Crucify!" But Pilate answered, "You take him and crucify him. As for
me, I find no basis for a charge against him."
a.
Pilate found
himself in a political mess!
b.
On one
hand he had the church people … the Jews … angry
because Jesus was claiming to be the Son of God! … they wanted Jesus out of the
picture so they wouldn’t have to deal with Him.
c.
… on the
other side He had the Roman Government and their laws. Laws he couldn’t break.
d.
Pilate was caught
in the middle!
e.
Then
Pilate’s wife puts her 2 cents into the mix. “Don’t harm
this man because I had a dream …
f.
Pilate symbolically
washes his hands of the matter
g.
What should I do
with Jesus?
h.
Crucify
Him! Crucify Him!
Pilate is
an enemy of Jesus because he won’t make a stand for Jesus!
John 19: 4 Once more Pilate came out and said to the
Jews gathered there, "Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know
that I find no basis for a charge against him."
John 19:5 … As for
me, I find no basis for a charge against him."
i.
Pilate
did not want to make any decision regarding Jesus … by avoiding the issue he,
by default, became an enemy of Jesus!
An indecisive person is like a blind man
looking in a dark room for a black cat that isn’t there.
"As soon as youve made a reasonable decision,
based on factual information, the time has come for action."
Peter
Marshall, pictured the apostles in front
of an examining board which was appointed to find the next Jesus' from His close
associates. Peter stood there
smelling of fish -- uncouth, uncultured, impetuous, and impulsive. Andrew, James, and John also reeked of fish and lacked
refinement. Philip appeared to
be indecisive. Thomas seemed
cynical. Matthew was
considered a traitor. Simon the
Zealot was a dangerous patriot. Judas was a thief. The NT tells it like it was.
This was a
group not likely to succeed. It is most likely they would not have been chosen
by a board to replace Jesus, but they were chosen by Jesus.
If
you are a Christian … God has called you to ministry! God did not save you to just sit
and soak!
He saved you to be his disciple. To be a living sample of what He is! He called
you to share your story! To live a life in which Jesus lives through you!
I
began by telling you about D.L. Moody
preaching in Chicago in October of 1871 He had preached
the next to last sermon in the series, “What would you do with Jesus?” He
preached to a full house. Because it was late and the fire alarm bell was
ringing at City Hall … He closed his sermon without giving an invitation. As
attendees emptied into the streets they discovered their entire city was on
fire. Many tried to rush home… many were lost in the fire.
Twenty
years later … Moody returned to Chicago to preach the final sermon in the
series he had prepared. He shared his grief over not giving an invitation. Perhaps there were many that would have received
Christ before they perished in the Chicago Fire. Only
in eternity will he know…
There
is an urgency to receiving Christ!
This
could be your LAST chance to receive Him as your Lord and Savior!
This may be
the day that you stop being God’s Enemy!
What will
you do with Jesus?
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