1 00:00:03,360 --> 00:00:06,320 Good to have you here. If you haven't opened yet, 2 00:00:06,320 --> 00:00:09,480 please grab your Bible, open up to the book of John. 3 00:00:09,480 --> 00:00:12,440 We're going to be in chapter 12. I've got a feedback in my ear 4 00:00:12,440 --> 00:00:14,880 there, Manuel. Thank you. 5 00:00:15,480 --> 00:00:17,400 That's much better. I know sometimes it's the voices 6 00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:19,040 in my head fought to tell these days. 7 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:23,320 I don't know if you know this, but you know, I said turn to 8 00:00:23,320 --> 00:00:25,520 John, chapter 12. There weren't chapters in the in 9 00:00:25,520 --> 00:00:28,640 the Bible originally. They were only put in there in 10 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:31,600 12/27 ID which you didn't know that. 11 00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:34,680 I'd like you to know that it was a guy named Stephen. 12 00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:37,520 They put it in there. You're welcome. 13 00:00:38,680 --> 00:00:40,680 He also seems to have come from the bluff because he didn't 14 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:43,600 think to put verses in. It took about 300 years before 15 00:00:43,600 --> 00:00:46,200 they put verses in the Bible. Only around the 1500s that they 16 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:49,240 start indicating just theme changes through verses. 17 00:00:49,240 --> 00:00:52,040 But what I want to get draw your attention to if you have one of 18 00:00:52,040 --> 00:00:56,440 these old school hipster Bibles is take a look at the fact that 19 00:00:56,440 --> 00:01:00,720 you also have headings in there. Now, none of this is holy, but 20 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:02,800 all of this is helpful. And the reason why I want to 21 00:01:03,080 --> 00:01:05,360 turn your attention to the headings is because those 22 00:01:05,360 --> 00:01:07,920 headings, apparently Martin Luther was the guy who used to 23 00:01:07,920 --> 00:01:11,240 scratch in the side of his Bible some of the like, you know, 24 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:13,600 major thoughts of the the sections in the Bible. 25 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:16,960 But those, those are there because they help you see a bit 26 00:01:16,960 --> 00:01:18,960 of an overview of what you're about to read or what you've 27 00:01:18,960 --> 00:01:20,200 just read. You know, as you go through 28 00:01:20,200 --> 00:01:22,960 John, as Matt has encouraged you to before you get into the 29 00:01:22,960 --> 00:01:26,040 chapter, like chapter 12 says, Jesus anointed at Bethany. 30 00:01:26,240 --> 00:01:28,320 It's not just so that you can find your place easily. 31 00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:31,760 It's these Bible scholars that have kind of given you a bird's 32 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:34,640 eye view, and I want to use those headings to give you a 33 00:01:34,640 --> 00:01:37,240 bird's eye view of what we are going to go through today. 34 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:40,400 I've actually taken photos of these portions in my Bible. 35 00:01:40,520 --> 00:01:42,600 Literally, you can put up the first one. 36 00:01:42,600 --> 00:01:47,040 So this is my first heading. Chapter 13, verse 18, Jesus 37 00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:50,120 predicts his betrayal. And then the next one a little 38 00:01:50,120 --> 00:01:54,360 further down in my Bible says Jesus predicts Peter's denial. 39 00:01:54,760 --> 00:01:59,520 And then in John 12/20, it says Jesus predicts his death. 40 00:02:00,840 --> 00:02:04,000 So this is great sort of milestones for us to see what 41 00:02:04,040 --> 00:02:07,240 Jesus is about to encounter. But what I want to show you is 42 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:11,640 that he knew it was coming. He predicts his betrayal. 43 00:02:11,920 --> 00:02:15,760 He predicts his denial by Peter, and then he predicts his death. 44 00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:19,520 And that got me wondering. I wonder if he prepared for it 45 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:22,120 or if you just went headlong into it. 46 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:24,720 So we're going to look at this and how he prepared for it. 47 00:02:24,720 --> 00:02:27,400 But first, I want to, I just want to add some weight to these 48 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:30,040 three sections, his betrayal, his denial, and his death. 49 00:02:30,040 --> 00:02:33,080 Because I think sometimes we can become so familiar, just like 50 00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:34,840 we've become familiar with baptisms. 51 00:02:35,080 --> 00:02:36,840 We become familiar with these stories. 52 00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:38,640 You know, you heard them from Sunday school. 53 00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:41,320 And now we revisit it and it's like, yeah, blah, blah, blah, 54 00:02:41,320 --> 00:02:43,920 Judas and what have you. So I want to add just a little 55 00:02:43,920 --> 00:02:46,360 bit of weight to these things before we look at how Jesus 56 00:02:46,360 --> 00:02:49,520 prepared to encounter his betrayal, his denial and his 57 00:02:49,520 --> 00:02:51,920 death. So starting off, firstly, Jesus 58 00:02:51,920 --> 00:02:54,960 predicting his betrayal. Now this is obviously the 59 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:58,680 betrayal of Judas right? Now, I want to show you a 60 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:00,160 picture. I'm sure you're very familiar 61 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:02,360 with this, unless you went to high school on the bluff and you 62 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:03,880 don't have a cultural bone in your body. 63 00:03:04,040 --> 00:03:07,440 But this is a painting by Leonardo da Vinci of the Last 64 00:03:07,440 --> 00:03:09,400 Supper. Now, there's a whole lot wrong 65 00:03:09,400 --> 00:03:10,600 in there. It's daytime. 66 00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:13,400 Those aren't look like Scandinavian elderly men. 67 00:03:13,640 --> 00:03:16,840 But what I want to draw your attention to is the table, 68 00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:20,800 right? That is historically incorrect 69 00:03:20,960 --> 00:03:23,480 by many, many yards. And you lose a lot of what's 70 00:03:23,480 --> 00:03:25,080 going on simply because of the table. 71 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:27,200 I want to show you actually, they would have been around a 72 00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:28,720 triclinium. We've got a photo of a 73 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:31,800 triclinium and that's that's kind of, you know, an 74 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:33,800 archaeological dig of a triclinium. 75 00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:37,320 Now, this is the way they used to do dinner. 76 00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:40,840 So you would see in John 12, it actually says reclining at the 77 00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:42,400 table was because they didn't sit there. 78 00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:46,120 They used to lie at the table. And I think that's because, you 79 00:03:46,120 --> 00:03:48,520 know, kept their feet as far away from the food as possible, 80 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:52,040 but they also used to lie on their side, not on their 81 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:53,480 stomachs. They used to lie on their left 82 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:55,080 side. And that the reason for that was 83 00:03:55,080 --> 00:03:58,480 because back in those days, and it's the same, I believe today 84 00:03:58,840 --> 00:04:02,440 in the ancient Near East, your right hand was for putting the 85 00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:06,520 food in, your left hand was for taking the food out. 86 00:04:08,200 --> 00:04:10,880 But the last thing that I want to show you is there was also 87 00:04:10,880 --> 00:04:13,880 specific seating arrangements around this table. 88 00:04:13,880 --> 00:04:17,040 And the reason why I raised that is because people have been 89 00:04:17,079 --> 00:04:21,399 asking, I wonder if we would be able to figure out who said 90 00:04:21,399 --> 00:04:23,960 where. And Jesus was betrayed. 91 00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:27,240 And knowing this adds substantial weight to that 92 00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:28,640 moment. So I just want to we're going to 93 00:04:28,640 --> 00:04:30,240 geek out a little bit. I hope that's OK. 94 00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:32,800 You know, I'm never one to shy away from rabbit holes, but this 95 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:35,320 was a fun one. So Matthew, Professor Matthew 96 00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:39,200 Gray basically plotted where the the disciples were sitting. 97 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:41,200 Lily, you can pop up our very first slide. 98 00:04:41,200 --> 00:04:44,040 So this is my little 2D rendering of that. 99 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:48,800 So on the next slide you'll see this is traditionally where the 100 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:51,640 host would sit. So the host always used to sit 101 00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:54,200 there. It gave easy access in and out. 102 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:56,720 And then in the next slide it will show you that that 103 00:04:56,720 --> 00:04:58,280 obviously is where Jesus is sitting. 104 00:04:59,320 --> 00:05:02,640 And on the next one, something to keep in mind was the guest of 105 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:04,600 honor always used to sit next to the host. 106 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:09,120 So he looked at this and he said, OK, so if we know this is 107 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:11,880 where Jesus was sitting, how could we plot where everyone 108 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:14,520 else is sitting? Well, one easy 1 is where John 109 00:05:14,520 --> 00:05:16,760 was sitting and can show you that. 110 00:05:17,040 --> 00:05:19,320 So that's where John was sitting at the while reclining at the 111 00:05:19,320 --> 00:05:21,760 table. And we know this because the the 112 00:05:21,760 --> 00:05:25,560 Bible actually says in John 1325, when Jesus says I'm going 113 00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:29,680 to be betrayed, says leaning back against Jesus, Jesus. 114 00:05:29,680 --> 00:05:32,920 So he's on his left elbow and he's leaning back against Jesus. 115 00:05:32,920 --> 00:05:35,800 So that's where John is sitting. And another one that we do know 116 00:05:35,800 --> 00:05:39,080 well guesstimated best is Peter. Peter would be sitting over 117 00:05:39,080 --> 00:05:43,280 here, reclining over here. And the reason why they said 118 00:05:43,280 --> 00:05:45,240 that is because when Jesus says, you know, I'm going to be 119 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:47,240 betrayed, everyone's going like, is it me? 120 00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:49,040 Is it me? And Peter's like looking across 121 00:05:49,040 --> 00:05:53,360 at John OO who it is. And also when Jesus washes their 122 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:56,400 feet, apparently comes to the table and it says coming to 123 00:05:56,400 --> 00:05:58,920 Peter. So they assume that Peter's 124 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:00,680 sitting there. Now this has got nothing to do 125 00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:02,440 with the sermon, but it's a lovely rabbit hole. 126 00:06:02,720 --> 00:06:04,760 That is the lowest seat to the table. 127 00:06:05,600 --> 00:06:07,920 Remember when Jesus was saying, hey, listen, whatever you do, he 128 00:06:07,920 --> 00:06:12,160 tells the parable, whatever you do and don't you know, think too 129 00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:15,960 much of yourself and sit at at the head of the table or the 130 00:06:16,240 --> 00:06:18,440 seat of honor. But just now you know, the host 131 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:19,680 comes along and says, sorry for you. 132 00:06:20,360 --> 00:06:22,400 I know you thought you were going to sit to table number one 133 00:06:22,400 --> 00:06:24,960 at the wedding, but actually you see the table just by the toilet 134 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:26,200 door. That's where you need to go. 135 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:28,360 And that seems to be what what Peter got. 136 00:06:28,480 --> 00:06:32,080 And if you follow that rabbit hole, I really think Jesus was 137 00:06:32,080 --> 00:06:35,400 preparing Peter for the the authority in the government and 138 00:06:35,920 --> 00:06:39,040 just the life changing ramifications of his ministry. 139 00:06:39,040 --> 00:06:41,960 And he was trying to teach him subconsciously the greatest 140 00:06:41,960 --> 00:06:44,320 among us needs to be the servant of all. 141 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:46,480 And so he is actually sitting in the servant seat. 142 00:06:46,480 --> 00:06:48,600 But I digress, let's get back to our rabbit hole. 143 00:06:48,760 --> 00:06:53,880 So that leaves one last one that they kind of assume they know, 144 00:06:53,880 --> 00:06:56,880 they figure us best guess where Judas was sitting. 145 00:06:57,760 --> 00:06:59,880 And they look at the scripture and they look at John and they 146 00:06:59,880 --> 00:07:03,000 see that Jesus was saying when when John leaned back against 147 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:06,120 him, Jesus basically referred to this guy that is breaking bread 148 00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:09,480 with me and dipping his bread in the bowl with me, the one I'm 149 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:12,880 handing this dip bread to. And in the ancient Near East, 150 00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:16,040 they used to share bread and bowl between two or three people 151 00:07:16,040 --> 00:07:20,040 Max. So that leaves one seat for 152 00:07:20,040 --> 00:07:21,920 Judas. This is where Judas was sitting. 153 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:25,600 Judas would have been seated the seat of honor. 154 00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:32,520 And I'll show you that because this is the guy who is not just 155 00:07:32,640 --> 00:07:35,800 a friend of Jesus, not just in the inner circle, but this is a 156 00:07:35,800 --> 00:07:42,200 guy who has only ever been loved by Jesus and honored by Jesus. 157 00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:47,040 This is the one that betrays him, that cuts, and it cuts 158 00:07:47,040 --> 00:07:49,800 deep. This is the one who has only 159 00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:53,160 ever been so honored by Jesus that when he says 1 of you is 160 00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:56,120 going to betray me, they don't go like, yeah, Judas. 161 00:07:56,120 --> 00:07:58,240 Yeah, Vomos. Yeah, It's like, typical. 162 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:00,400 Now you're going to betray him as well? 163 00:08:00,400 --> 00:08:03,000 They had no clue because of how Jesus had treated him. 164 00:08:04,120 --> 00:08:08,920 This is the one who had tasted for himself the water that Jesus 165 00:08:08,920 --> 00:08:11,080 turned to wine. This is the one that was there 166 00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:14,360 watch the bread and the fish be multiplied, multiplied as Jesus 167 00:08:14,520 --> 00:08:17,440 fed the 5000. This is the guy with his very 168 00:08:17,640 --> 00:08:22,840 two eyes saw Jesus walk on water, and last week was there 169 00:08:22,840 --> 00:08:24,800 when Lazarus came back from the dead. 170 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:31,120 How do you prepare for that kind of betrayal from that person? 171 00:08:32,200 --> 00:08:34,320 Do you have someone like that in your life that you've poured 172 00:08:34,320 --> 00:08:38,240 absolutely everything into? How do you prepare for those 173 00:08:38,240 --> 00:08:42,480 moments? So he knew it was coming. 174 00:08:42,480 --> 00:08:44,159 He also knew his denial was coming. 175 00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:48,080 To cut a Long story short, I'm sure you're very familiar with 176 00:08:48,080 --> 00:08:50,320 it. Jesus gets arrested, and he's 177 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:54,120 not taken to be sentenced. And Peter follows and he's sort 178 00:08:54,120 --> 00:08:56,560 of standing around by the fireplace and someone says, hey, 179 00:08:56,560 --> 00:08:59,320 aren't you? Didn't I see you at 3 CR with 180 00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:00,640 him? And no, no, no. 181 00:09:00,640 --> 00:09:04,000 And he changed his fireplace and like, hey, I know you, you were 182 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:05,560 there when it's like, no, it wasn't me. 183 00:09:05,560 --> 00:09:08,360 And hey, guys, I'm sure this is one of his disciples. 184 00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:12,880 And he says in Matthew 26, he says then he began to call down 185 00:09:13,160 --> 00:09:16,200 curses and swore to them, I don't know this man. 186 00:09:17,720 --> 00:09:19,600 And he add a little bit of weight to what's going on here. 187 00:09:21,240 --> 00:09:24,000 And when it says they called down curses, I think like a 188 00:09:24,360 --> 00:09:27,760 typical South African, I think like, I swear, but I didn't do 189 00:09:27,760 --> 00:09:28,960 that to your Bucky. I swear. 190 00:09:28,960 --> 00:09:31,600 You know, it's like it's not what he's saying. 191 00:09:31,600 --> 00:09:36,680 It's not like, believe me, it says he called down curses. 192 00:09:36,680 --> 00:09:39,920 Now that is a transitive verb. And if you're paying attention 193 00:09:39,920 --> 00:09:42,520 in high school, a verb is a doing word. 194 00:09:42,520 --> 00:09:44,880 The transitive verb is when you do it to someone. 195 00:09:45,800 --> 00:09:50,800 So essentially it should say he called down curses on Jesus. 196 00:09:51,800 --> 00:09:55,640 Now that's that's shocking in and of itself, but we lose a lot 197 00:09:55,640 --> 00:09:58,880 of that weight because we aren't part of an honor shame culture 198 00:09:58,880 --> 00:10:00,520 like they were in the ancient Near East. 199 00:10:01,120 --> 00:10:04,320 So I came face to face with honor shame culture a few years 200 00:10:04,320 --> 00:10:06,040 ago. I was asked to baptize the young 201 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:07,960 girl. She had come from the Middle 202 00:10:07,960 --> 00:10:09,760 East. She was an exchange student. 203 00:10:09,760 --> 00:10:12,600 And while she was here she got radically saved and I had the 204 00:10:12,600 --> 00:10:14,800 privilege of baptizing her the day before she flew out. 205 00:10:14,800 --> 00:10:17,760 And we did it in her teachers pool of all places. 206 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:20,480 But it came with very strict rules and regulations. 207 00:10:20,480 --> 00:10:22,640 You weren't allowed to take any photos, you weren't allowed to 208 00:10:22,960 --> 00:10:25,040 post it on Instagram or anything like that. 209 00:10:25,880 --> 00:10:28,400 When I asked her why she said because if my dad finds out 210 00:10:28,400 --> 00:10:30,680 he'll kill me. And I thought it was just 211 00:10:31,080 --> 00:10:34,000 hyperbole. But then I read a book written 212 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:38,360 by one of the Saudi Royals about the atrocities caused under this 213 00:10:38,360 --> 00:10:40,880 religious regime. And time and time and time 214 00:10:40,880 --> 00:10:45,920 again, the book mentions how a father would drown his own child 215 00:10:46,520 --> 00:10:48,080 for bringing shame on the family. 216 00:10:48,080 --> 00:10:51,960 And I realized that she was being serious on a shame 217 00:10:51,960 --> 00:10:54,040 culture. Let that sink in. 218 00:10:54,840 --> 00:10:58,520 A father drowning his own child because of shame. 219 00:10:58,960 --> 00:11:00,920 Now, if you take those two and you put them together, 220 00:11:00,920 --> 00:11:05,640 essentially what Peter is saying when he calls down curses on 221 00:11:05,720 --> 00:11:08,560 Jesus, it's like he was saying given to me, I'll kill him 222 00:11:08,560 --> 00:11:12,320 myself. I don't know that man. 223 00:11:12,320 --> 00:11:14,800 Give them to me, I'll kill him myself. 224 00:11:15,640 --> 00:11:18,560 How does anyone prepare for that? 225 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:28,920 You're closest and it always says Peter, James and John, the 226 00:11:28,920 --> 00:11:32,000 very first mentioned disciple when it groups those together, 227 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:36,000 the inner circle, Peter, James and John, Richard Balkam says of 228 00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:37,920 this. He says this account is one of 229 00:11:37,920 --> 00:11:40,720 the most horrendous and egregious betrayals of 230 00:11:40,720 --> 00:11:44,680 friendship, trust and loyalty that has ever been written. 231 00:11:45,720 --> 00:11:50,680 And Jesus knew he saw it coming. How did he prepare for that? 232 00:11:50,680 --> 00:11:54,200 And then the last one that he knew was coming was his death. 233 00:11:55,280 --> 00:11:58,160 We're nearly through. OK, come to church, They said it 234 00:11:58,160 --> 00:12:00,120 will be fun. They said it's the war. 235 00:12:01,320 --> 00:12:03,760 I'll just say this, if you've seen the Passion of the Christ, 236 00:12:04,240 --> 00:12:06,960 then you have an inkling of what Jesus went through. 237 00:12:07,240 --> 00:12:10,440 But here's the crazy thing. He knew not just that he would 238 00:12:10,440 --> 00:12:12,400 die, but he knew how he would die. 239 00:12:12,840 --> 00:12:16,160 In John 12 it says, if I'll be lifted up, I'll draw all the men 240 00:12:16,160 --> 00:12:17,560 unto me. And right after that it says he 241 00:12:17,560 --> 00:12:22,320 said this to explain how he was going to die, which I think is 242 00:12:22,320 --> 00:12:25,160 the reason why Jesus was sweating blood in the garden of 243 00:12:25,160 --> 00:12:27,640 get 70. He knew what is was coming. 244 00:12:27,640 --> 00:12:32,240 He had walked past men being crucified for years and this was 245 00:12:32,240 --> 00:12:34,320 coming his way. How do you prepare for that? 246 00:12:37,320 --> 00:12:39,960 Well, the best better question is I was like, why on earth 247 00:12:39,960 --> 00:12:43,040 would you preach on this? You know, I'm wearing my Sunday 248 00:12:43,040 --> 00:12:44,560 best. I made the effort to come in on 249 00:12:44,560 --> 00:12:47,840 a long weekend to church and I'm just hearing about death, denial 250 00:12:47,840 --> 00:12:50,600 and betrayal. Two reasons why this is so 251 00:12:50,600 --> 00:12:55,560 important that we touch on it. Firstly, Jesus predicting his 252 00:12:55,560 --> 00:12:57,240 betrayal and his denial and his death. 253 00:12:57,240 --> 00:13:01,400 We find in these three the full weight of every trial and 254 00:13:01,400 --> 00:13:04,240 suffering the human soul could ever endure. 255 00:13:05,840 --> 00:13:10,080 Anything you might go through, He has experienced. 256 00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:14,840 That's the first reason. The second reason why I felt to 257 00:13:14,840 --> 00:13:19,040 deal with this, to lean in on this is because this portion of 258 00:13:19,040 --> 00:13:22,840 Scripture closes where Jesus says, I've told you these 259 00:13:22,840 --> 00:13:25,800 things. I've told you I'm going to be 260 00:13:26,080 --> 00:13:28,760 betrayed and denied and put to death. 261 00:13:28,760 --> 00:13:33,400 I've told you these things because in this world you will 262 00:13:33,400 --> 00:13:37,080 have many troubles. Says I'm telling you this 263 00:13:37,080 --> 00:13:38,520 because you also need to prepare. 264 00:13:38,680 --> 00:13:42,680 You need to do like I'm doing and prepare for betrayal, denial 265 00:13:42,680 --> 00:13:45,480 and death. And as my wife highlighted to me 266 00:13:45,480 --> 00:13:48,320 this week, it doesn't say you might have some troubles, it 267 00:13:48,320 --> 00:13:50,920 says you will have many troubles. 268 00:13:52,240 --> 00:13:54,760 So how did Jesus prepare? Well, this might surprise you a 269 00:13:54,760 --> 00:13:56,160 little bit. I want to show you one verse in 270 00:13:56,160 --> 00:14:00,400 John 11. Verse 54 says the following says 271 00:14:00,400 --> 00:14:02,880 therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly. 272 00:14:02,880 --> 00:14:05,680 The back story to this is what we heard last week where Lazarus 273 00:14:05,680 --> 00:14:08,960 was raised from the dead. The heading in my NRV Bible says 274 00:14:08,960 --> 00:14:13,200 the plot to kill Jesus. So therefore Jesus no longer 275 00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:15,800 moved about publicly among the people of Judea. 276 00:14:15,800 --> 00:14:18,240 Instead, this is how he prepared for what is coming. 277 00:14:18,560 --> 00:14:21,680 He withdrew to a region near the wilderness to a village called 278 00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:24,320 Efrain, where he stayed with his disciples. 279 00:14:24,840 --> 00:14:28,680 That's it. Now it's sort of hidden in plain 280 00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:30,560 sight. If you've done like Matthew, 281 00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:34,000 Matt has been encouraging us to and read through the book of 282 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:37,160 John, you might be able to join some dots when you see there 283 00:14:37,160 --> 00:14:41,480 that Jesus again is withdrawing to the wilderness because right 284 00:14:41,480 --> 00:14:44,360 at the very beginning you found before he even started his 285 00:14:44,360 --> 00:14:50,760 ministry, Jesus withdrew for 40 days before even praying for a 286 00:14:50,760 --> 00:14:54,640 single sick person before preaching a single word before 287 00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:56,400 his ministry. He withdrew came back in the 288 00:14:56,400 --> 00:15:00,880 power of the Holy Spirit after ministry of the days of 289 00:15:00,880 --> 00:15:03,520 ministering in crowds and miracles and all the rest of it. 290 00:15:03,520 --> 00:15:07,960 We see the Bible says early in the morning, Jesus withdrew to a 291 00:15:07,960 --> 00:15:12,200 quiet place to pray at the heart of his ministry when the crowds 292 00:15:12,200 --> 00:15:15,560 wanted to make him king, wanted to give him the corner office 293 00:15:15,800 --> 00:15:18,200 when you know, with Gaza saying, listen, if we could bottle that 294 00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:19,960 wine, you know, we could sell it on Timu. 295 00:15:19,960 --> 00:15:24,920 And then it was demanding to make him the be all an end all 296 00:15:24,920 --> 00:15:28,600 of all their passions and desires and he could we find it 297 00:15:28,600 --> 00:15:35,680 says Jesus again withdrew before his ministry during ministry, 298 00:15:35,680 --> 00:15:38,240 the heart of ministry and the depths of pain and grief when 299 00:15:38,480 --> 00:15:42,640 when John the Baptist was beheaded, Jesus withdrew before 300 00:15:42,640 --> 00:15:46,000 he chose his 12 disciples or some major decisions. 301 00:15:46,320 --> 00:15:51,520 Jesus withdrew before he faced the toughest week of his life 302 00:15:51,520 --> 00:15:55,360 and ultimately his death. Jesus withdrew, and when you see 303 00:15:55,360 --> 00:15:59,160 that, you see there's this constant withdrawal and then 304 00:15:59,160 --> 00:16:02,960 return, a retreating and a returning and a retreating. 305 00:16:02,960 --> 00:16:05,800 And it's not a retreating out of like retreat, retreat. 306 00:16:05,800 --> 00:16:09,160 The enemy is coming. It's a retreat to seek the face 307 00:16:09,160 --> 00:16:12,960 of our heavenly Father, to root himself in his word and his 308 00:16:12,960 --> 00:16:16,240 ways, to remind himself, as we've been doing in worship of 309 00:16:16,240 --> 00:16:18,800 who this God is. You're a God who does great 310 00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:21,920 things. And having retreated, then he 311 00:16:21,920 --> 00:16:26,720 seems to return to the ring. And this retreat and this return 312 00:16:27,440 --> 00:16:33,200 is so profoundly important for you and I, because just as he 313 00:16:33,200 --> 00:16:37,160 said he's going to be betrayed and denied and be put to death, 314 00:16:37,160 --> 00:16:42,680 he's also said that you and I will face many troubles. 315 00:16:44,640 --> 00:16:47,920 And if we are not people who are retreating and returning and 316 00:16:47,920 --> 00:16:51,520 retreating and returning, we're going to die in the ring. 317 00:16:53,240 --> 00:16:56,360 So what does this look like? 3 very simple practical 318 00:16:56,520 --> 00:16:59,760 applications of a life of retreat and return. 319 00:17:00,800 --> 00:17:03,280 And I want to apply it to our heads, to our hearts, and to our 320 00:17:03,280 --> 00:17:08,839 homes. So firstly I want to ask you the 321 00:17:08,839 --> 00:17:12,560 question, is there a habit of retreat and return? 322 00:17:13,520 --> 00:17:16,440 Is there a habit of getting into the Word of God, pressing into 323 00:17:16,440 --> 00:17:18,599 His presence, putting a life before Him? 324 00:17:18,920 --> 00:17:21,800 If not, I can tell you one of the first places that you're 325 00:17:21,800 --> 00:17:23,880 going to be undermined by the enemy, and that is in your head. 326 00:17:24,760 --> 00:17:28,880 I discovered recently that apparently we think 6200 327 00:17:28,880 --> 00:17:32,560 thoughts a day. Now by thoughts, they define it 328 00:17:32,560 --> 00:17:38,840 as a distinct shift in focus. Now we're a bright bunch, but 329 00:17:38,840 --> 00:17:44,160 6200 shifts in focus in a day. But here's the crazy thing. 330 00:17:44,880 --> 00:17:50,320 They say 80% of those shifts in focus our thoughts from our past 331 00:17:51,080 --> 00:17:57,080 influencing our presence and changing our future. 80% is 332 00:17:57,080 --> 00:17:59,600 literally on repeats like it was. 333 00:17:59,720 --> 00:18:02,880 It's almost like a pre loaded scripts to come and undermine 334 00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:05,080 everything that God is doing is like, yo-yo, yo, hey, I've got 335 00:18:05,080 --> 00:18:08,360 this opportunity. Yeah, but you know, I don't 336 00:18:08,360 --> 00:18:10,600 really deserve it. This thing just comes and washes 337 00:18:11,080 --> 00:18:13,720 and undermines over and over and over again. 338 00:18:14,040 --> 00:18:19,200 And without a retreat, we don't get the renewal of our minds, 339 00:18:19,200 --> 00:18:20,760 you see, Because here's what's important, right? 340 00:18:21,480 --> 00:18:25,240 Your thoughts forge your beliefs. 341 00:18:26,040 --> 00:18:29,600 Your beliefs dictates your decisions, and your decisions 342 00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:33,360 shape your actions. OK, so if your thoughts are left 343 00:18:33,480 --> 00:18:35,840 unchecked because you're always in the ring, you're never 344 00:18:35,840 --> 00:18:39,760 retreating. Your thoughts essentially are 345 00:18:39,760 --> 00:18:44,800 shaping every decision that you make these thoughts on repeat. 346 00:18:44,960 --> 00:18:48,320 And here's the crazy thing, the Bible says I will remember your 347 00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:51,440 sins no more. Which means that we're living 348 00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:53,800 remembering things that God doesn't remember. 349 00:18:54,520 --> 00:18:57,280 We have been shaped by things that God has cleansed us from 350 00:18:57,280 --> 00:18:59,800 and renewed us from. Which means what's so important 351 00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:02,440 is we need our mind. We need the mind of Christ. 352 00:19:02,440 --> 00:19:05,600 We need our minds to be renewed. And so one of the reasons why 353 00:19:05,600 --> 00:19:09,520 you end up getting absolutely trashed in the ring is simply 354 00:19:09,520 --> 00:19:12,680 because you're not retreating. You're not allowing the word of 355 00:19:12,680 --> 00:19:16,240 God to come and renew your mind. And instead you carry those 356 00:19:16,240 --> 00:19:18,520 things that happened in your teen years and the way you were 357 00:19:18,520 --> 00:19:21,880 rejected by your primary school teacher and your father didn't 358 00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:24,560 say, I love you enough. And those things never get dealt 359 00:19:24,560 --> 00:19:26,480 with. And you take an absolute 360 00:19:26,480 --> 00:19:29,640 hammering in the ring. And God will never entrust on 361 00:19:29,640 --> 00:19:32,120 you something that is going to fall apart because of the 362 00:19:32,120 --> 00:19:34,200 foundations, the cracks in your foundations. 363 00:19:34,480 --> 00:19:40,280 And so you live like this anemic, empty life of dry bones, 364 00:19:40,280 --> 00:19:45,120 as Matt was saying, simply because, well, you know, I'm not 365 00:19:45,120 --> 00:19:48,160 really a reader, You know, I'm a guy. 366 00:19:48,840 --> 00:19:51,600 I know the ladies like how they love highlighting their Bibles 367 00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:53,960 and it's a cup of coffee and it's a lovely Instagram, but I'm 368 00:19:53,960 --> 00:19:58,240 not really that person. But Jesus was. 369 00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:10,000 What's your excuse? Yeah, I read this morning. 370 00:20:10,800 --> 00:20:13,760 This is my retreat. You know, we, I'm sure you know 371 00:20:13,760 --> 00:20:16,880 the Bible says in Romans chapter 3 that all have fallen short, 372 00:20:17,400 --> 00:20:19,840 all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. 373 00:20:21,520 --> 00:20:24,320 Now when you're rehashing your past, that thing can come back 374 00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:25,600 at you. You know, all have sinned and 375 00:20:25,720 --> 00:20:27,360 fallen short of the glory of God. 376 00:20:27,360 --> 00:20:28,360 You know, I'm going to be preaching. 377 00:20:28,360 --> 00:20:30,600 I'm thinking like you're Lord my past. 378 00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:32,960 If anyone knew, I sort of genuinely, I need to flee the 379 00:20:32,960 --> 00:20:35,360 city kind of a thing. You know, we're we're well aware 380 00:20:35,360 --> 00:20:36,640 of that. And then I read this morning in 381 00:20:36,640 --> 00:20:40,360 Hebrews 12, it says, see to it that you don't fall short of the 382 00:20:40,360 --> 00:20:43,520 grace of God. And it was like God came in 383 00:20:43,520 --> 00:20:45,880 there and just said, Hey, my boy, just wake up. 384 00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:50,720 Stop being so fixated on the things I've forgiven you of the 385 00:20:50,720 --> 00:20:54,280 things I've delivered you from. You are actually in, in essence, 386 00:20:54,280 --> 00:20:56,120 falling short of the grace of God. 387 00:20:56,480 --> 00:20:58,920 The fact that I love you, that I pursue you, that I'll be there, 388 00:20:59,080 --> 00:21:03,880 I'll help you preach this. And it requires a retreat. 389 00:21:03,880 --> 00:21:10,800 And when you retreat and return. But because we burn ourselves 390 00:21:10,800 --> 00:21:15,160 out here in our own strength, the enemy has an absolute field 391 00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:17,440 there. And I want to add some weight to 392 00:21:17,440 --> 00:21:20,160 that because the second thing is it's not our heads, it's our 393 00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:21,840 hearts. When we were in the Middle East, 394 00:21:21,840 --> 00:21:24,360 Auntie Kendall was preaching on the betrayal barrier. 395 00:21:24,360 --> 00:21:27,160 I don't know if you've heard that sermon, but I had the 396 00:21:27,480 --> 00:21:29,200 privilege of having lunch with him. 397 00:21:29,200 --> 00:21:31,520 And I was asking him a little bit more about this betrayal 398 00:21:31,520 --> 00:21:34,760 barrier because if you don't know RT Kendall, he's an 399 00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:37,880 unbelievable Bible scholar and preacher and teacher. 400 00:21:38,120 --> 00:21:41,360 And he has been in the ministry, I think almost 70 years. 401 00:21:42,520 --> 00:21:44,160 And so we're talking about this betrayal barrier. 402 00:21:44,160 --> 00:21:45,520 And he said something fascinating. 403 00:21:45,520 --> 00:21:48,840 He says, you know, what he has found in ministry is that people 404 00:21:48,840 --> 00:21:52,920 just like you and I, Jesus loving church, attending Bible 405 00:21:52,920 --> 00:21:57,600 reading, Christians who face what Jesus faced, these 406 00:21:57,880 --> 00:22:01,920 betrayals and denial and death. Those of us who face these kind 407 00:22:01,920 --> 00:22:05,640 of things without a retreat and return pattern. 408 00:22:05,640 --> 00:22:10,040 He said he is found in his ministry. 9 out of 10 people 409 00:22:10,040 --> 00:22:15,240 that face that fall away from God, fall away from the faith. 410 00:22:16,680 --> 00:22:19,080 Have you ever said, yeah, I won't go back to that church 411 00:22:19,080 --> 00:22:25,320 because he says all it is is a sign of a lack of retreat and 412 00:22:25,320 --> 00:22:30,440 return because in our retreating, we are preparing to 413 00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:33,360 climb back into that ring to face that betrayal and the 414 00:22:33,360 --> 00:22:35,960 denial and the death of Jesus face in our retreating. 415 00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:40,840 We're getting to understand the heart of God like he had to redo 416 00:22:40,840 --> 00:22:44,320 with me this morning. Get reminded that he's he's for 417 00:22:44,320 --> 00:22:45,520 you. I know it doesn't look like 418 00:22:45,520 --> 00:22:46,840 that. I know you've lost that big 419 00:22:46,840 --> 00:22:48,880 clients, but the God is still in there. 420 00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:50,520 He's still fighting your battles. 421 00:22:51,640 --> 00:22:56,480 He still works for those who wait, and in the retreating we 422 00:22:56,480 --> 00:22:58,960 get to understand His ways, that His ways are higher than our 423 00:22:59,040 --> 00:23:00,880 ways. His thoughts are higher than our 424 00:23:00,880 --> 00:23:03,240 thoughts, and we get to see something of His plans and 425 00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:07,720 purposes in the thick of the battle and we get to discern the 426 00:23:07,720 --> 00:23:10,240 way through. One of my favorite chapters that 427 00:23:10,240 --> 00:23:13,840 God drags me back kicking and screaming time and time again is 428 00:23:13,840 --> 00:23:17,120 Psalm 5. It says morning by morning. 429 00:23:18,520 --> 00:23:20,640 I lay the pieces of my life on your altar. 430 00:23:20,960 --> 00:23:23,400 This is the retreat. Morning by morning I come, and 431 00:23:23,400 --> 00:23:26,360 like Lord, this is my day. It's Monday again. 432 00:23:26,600 --> 00:23:29,320 Morning by morning I lay the pieces of my life on your altar. 433 00:23:29,320 --> 00:23:32,520 Here I am, your invited guest. I'm waiting for fire to fall, 434 00:23:32,640 --> 00:23:36,080 and I'm waiting for direction to get me through enemy lines. 435 00:23:36,600 --> 00:23:39,400 Psalm 5. Look it up, memorize it, live by 436 00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:42,160 it. I'm waiting for direction to get 437 00:23:42,160 --> 00:23:48,000 through enemy lines and having had the download, having had God 438 00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:51,520 speak, having had something of the whispers of his plans and 439 00:23:51,520 --> 00:23:54,800 purposes, then I can return in the strength and power of the 440 00:23:54,800 --> 00:23:57,480 Holy Spirit and the knowledge of his way forward. 441 00:23:57,600 --> 00:24:01,680 But because none of I mean, I say none of us because so many 442 00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:06,920 of us hard behind the excuses of well, I'm not a reader. 443 00:24:07,040 --> 00:24:11,200 The Bible is too complex. You know, the the big guy up 444 00:24:11,200 --> 00:24:14,600 there don't quite know what to say because we don't even start. 445 00:24:15,960 --> 00:24:18,440 We never get to the point where he can show us and give us 446 00:24:18,440 --> 00:24:21,480 direction through enemy lines. And instead we walk straight 447 00:24:21,480 --> 00:24:23,920 into time and time and time again. 448 00:24:25,600 --> 00:24:30,440 And according to RT Kendall, 9 out of 10 of us end up being 449 00:24:30,440 --> 00:24:32,840 punched drunk because we're unprepared. 450 00:24:34,240 --> 00:24:36,760 And we never darkened the door of the church again. 451 00:24:37,360 --> 00:24:41,520 And that Bible remains closed. And so I'm fighting for your 452 00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:49,160 futures. Because if we don't, you know, 453 00:24:49,160 --> 00:24:54,800 they say statistically just joining a life group makes it 454 00:24:54,800 --> 00:25:00,000 500% more likely that you'll still be in church in five years 455 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:05,960 time, 500% more likely that you'll still be here. 456 00:25:05,960 --> 00:25:08,720 Why? Because in life group you get 457 00:25:08,720 --> 00:25:11,920 this moment where sometimes if you're not retreating, you can 458 00:25:11,920 --> 00:25:14,000 at least drink from and draw from others. 459 00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:24,040 Retreats 500% more likely just in adding to your relationship. 460 00:25:24,520 --> 00:25:30,200 Time of retreat and return and retreat and return for our 461 00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:32,760 heads, for our hearts, and then for our homes. 462 00:25:36,080 --> 00:25:37,800 I love. I love me a good rabbit hole. 463 00:25:39,200 --> 00:25:41,720 And so this week we've been chatting. 464 00:25:41,760 --> 00:25:48,280 We got a trauma psychologist friend and just the wealth of 465 00:25:48,280 --> 00:25:52,600 wisdom and insights into human psychology and our ways and 466 00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:53,800 tendencies and everything like it. 467 00:25:53,800 --> 00:25:56,240 We went down a proper rabbit hole this week. 468 00:25:58,200 --> 00:26:00,760 But what I've discovered literally has changed my life 469 00:26:00,760 --> 00:26:05,400 and and changed my my view of myself and situations and 470 00:26:05,400 --> 00:26:07,840 everything like, you know, I want to in closing, I just want 471 00:26:07,840 --> 00:26:11,440 to share what what she shared. And I'll frame it like this. 472 00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:15,200 I don't know if you've ever had that experience where you had a 473 00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:17,600 really good friend and all of a sudden they just kind of cut you 474 00:26:17,600 --> 00:26:19,040 off. You know, blue ticked, you 475 00:26:19,040 --> 00:26:22,720 ghosted you, you know, you get a thumbs up or AK. 476 00:26:22,720 --> 00:26:24,440 You know, you send a nice long Hey, how's it? 477 00:26:24,440 --> 00:26:26,560 And it's just so click, click for hours. 478 00:26:27,240 --> 00:26:30,000 Or maybe a colleague, you know, a colleague who always used to 479 00:26:30,240 --> 00:26:34,560 be in your corner and now all of a sudden it seems like they're 480 00:26:34,560 --> 00:26:36,760 just undermining you and criticizing you. 481 00:26:36,760 --> 00:26:38,600 And you don't quite know where's this come from? 482 00:26:38,880 --> 00:26:42,440 You know, that person who really was, you know, fanboy or your 483 00:26:43,040 --> 00:26:45,280 cheerleader. And now it just seems like they 484 00:26:45,280 --> 00:26:47,600 don't like being around you. I don't know if you've ever had 485 00:26:47,600 --> 00:26:49,680 that. And and she was saying in those 486 00:26:49,680 --> 00:26:53,720 moments, what often happens is we begin to sort of navel gaze, 487 00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:56,440 like, what have I done? You know, it's obviously my 488 00:26:56,440 --> 00:26:57,680 fault. I've said something, I've done 489 00:26:57,680 --> 00:26:59,240 something. What what's gone wrong? 490 00:26:59,240 --> 00:27:02,160 And how did this happen? And she essentially said 491 00:27:02,360 --> 00:27:07,640 actually that hostility, it's far more complex than than we 492 00:27:07,640 --> 00:27:09,360 imagined. That hostility is not 493 00:27:09,360 --> 00:27:12,200 necessarily. And most times she says it's not 494 00:27:12,200 --> 00:27:16,640 because of you, but because of what's hidden deep within them. 495 00:27:18,840 --> 00:27:23,560 So follow me on this. So she's saying what they've 496 00:27:23,560 --> 00:27:28,480 done because they don't have a retreat in return, instead of 497 00:27:28,480 --> 00:27:31,080 bringing it before God, what they've done is because they 498 00:27:31,080 --> 00:27:34,320 haven't dealt with these things in their quiet place, they've 499 00:27:34,320 --> 00:27:38,400 ended up burying that brokenness and that darkness and that guilt 500 00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:40,200 and shame. So they've they've got a 501 00:27:40,200 --> 00:27:45,120 repository of rejection, maybe that buried shame or unspoken 502 00:27:45,120 --> 00:27:47,760 fears. And then you come along. 503 00:27:48,720 --> 00:27:51,320 The best way to describe what you do to them and what they do 504 00:27:51,320 --> 00:27:53,800 to you. My dad always tells us the story 505 00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:56,480 of when he was wanting to build our jungle gym when we were 506 00:27:56,480 --> 00:27:59,840 kids, he went to the backyard and he used, I think it's called 507 00:27:59,840 --> 00:28:02,200 a guala. It's like a steel pole of the 508 00:28:02,200 --> 00:28:03,520 shop. And, you know, you jab it in the 509 00:28:03,520 --> 00:28:06,560 ground to sort of like lift the soil before you dig holes. 510 00:28:07,200 --> 00:28:09,560 And he put that guala in. And the first time, he said it 511 00:28:09,560 --> 00:28:11,880 felt like he had been shocked because this thing just 512 00:28:11,880 --> 00:28:16,320 reverberated through his spine because he later discovered that 513 00:28:16,320 --> 00:28:18,440 when they built the house, they dumped all the rubble in the 514 00:28:18,440 --> 00:28:19,880 backyard. And, you know, it's just sort of 515 00:28:19,880 --> 00:28:23,000 level things out. And he just hit this, this piece 516 00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:26,320 of stone underneath there and it sends shocks through his system. 517 00:28:26,680 --> 00:28:28,800 And she was saying essentially that that's what happens. 518 00:28:29,920 --> 00:28:32,920 You have an encounter with someone and they've got 519 00:28:32,920 --> 00:28:35,920 something buried down deep inside because they lack the 520 00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:38,560 retreat part of their relationship with God. 521 00:28:39,960 --> 00:28:43,440 And you come along and you're the trigger and you get the 522 00:28:43,440 --> 00:28:45,960 backlash. Because essentially she says 523 00:28:45,960 --> 00:28:48,640 what happens is you come on the scene and you're like a mirror 524 00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:50,880 to that brokenness. The the very thing that they're 525 00:28:50,880 --> 00:28:53,640 trying to hide, the very thing they're trying to suppress, you 526 00:28:53,640 --> 00:28:56,240 expose. And she said, for example, your 527 00:28:56,240 --> 00:29:00,120 confidence highlights the insecurities. 528 00:29:01,360 --> 00:29:04,120 Or maybe you're really disciplined and it highlights 529 00:29:04,120 --> 00:29:06,880 and, and shows up some of the really bad decisions that 530 00:29:06,880 --> 00:29:10,120 they've made in life. Or you're super compassionate 531 00:29:10,120 --> 00:29:11,760 and they're like, yeah, oh, you're just trying to make me 532 00:29:11,760 --> 00:29:16,080 look bad and cruel. Or you are free and full of 533 00:29:16,080 --> 00:29:19,680 faith and joy in life and they're full of fear. 534 00:29:20,640 --> 00:29:23,280 And she said, basically what happens is you're walking on the 535 00:29:23,280 --> 00:29:25,160 scene and you become that mirror. 536 00:29:25,320 --> 00:29:27,920 And instead of dealing with the darkness, instead of dealing 537 00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:29,520 with that, they rather destroy the mirror. 538 00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:31,840 And so they destroy the relationship. 539 00:29:31,840 --> 00:29:34,680 They create distance. They they'll sabotage anything 540 00:29:34,680 --> 00:29:39,040 like that just to get rid of this thing that you're exposing 541 00:29:39,040 --> 00:29:43,280 in their lives. Now, when I heard that, it made 542 00:29:43,280 --> 00:29:46,200 a heck of a lot of sense for a lot of dissonance within 543 00:29:46,200 --> 00:29:48,280 relationships that I've had over the years. 544 00:29:48,760 --> 00:29:52,840 And she ended with us. She said just knowing that helps 545 00:29:52,840 --> 00:29:55,160 you deal with that situation with wisdom rather than 546 00:29:55,160 --> 00:29:59,760 woundedness right now. That makes perfect sense. 547 00:30:01,600 --> 00:30:04,800 It's document documented psychologically. 548 00:30:05,280 --> 00:30:08,080 It's in the textbooks. And we can go, yes and Amen to 549 00:30:08,080 --> 00:30:10,240 that. But here's the problem. 550 00:30:13,320 --> 00:30:20,840 You and I are them and they, because you and I are the ones 551 00:30:21,040 --> 00:30:24,320 not retreating. You and I are the ones that have 552 00:30:24,320 --> 00:30:28,840 buried these things, our darkness and our disappointments 553 00:30:29,160 --> 00:30:31,960 instead of dealing with them, instead of bringing them to 554 00:30:31,960 --> 00:30:34,880 Christ. And a lack of retreat and return 555 00:30:34,880 --> 00:30:38,680 means that we walk around and instead of being like Jesus, 556 00:30:38,800 --> 00:30:42,360 retreat and return. We're like Judas come out 557 00:30:42,360 --> 00:30:46,520 fighting. We destroy relationships, we 558 00:30:46,520 --> 00:30:50,480 undermine, we distance because it hasn't been dealt with. 559 00:30:54,600 --> 00:30:57,800 We're talking about this and my wife said let's drop the mic 560 00:30:57,800 --> 00:31:03,360 moment. She says in light of this, if 561 00:31:03,360 --> 00:31:08,640 we're like Judas, she says if we don't deal with our demons, they 562 00:31:08,640 --> 00:31:15,360 will raise our children. If we don't deal with our 563 00:31:15,360 --> 00:31:20,560 demons, they will raise our children because what is not 564 00:31:20,560 --> 00:31:30,400 transformed gets transferred. And so it's so heavy, but this 565 00:31:30,400 --> 00:31:32,040 is your future we're talking about. 566 00:31:33,560 --> 00:31:36,040 This is your family we're talking about. 567 00:31:36,800 --> 00:31:40,040 This is what comes next generationally. 568 00:31:40,680 --> 00:31:44,360 And we treat it like another Monday morning quiet time. 569 00:31:44,680 --> 00:31:49,000 I mean, he's got time for that really, because we are so 570 00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:53,320 insular and so small minded and so short sighted that we do not 571 00:31:53,320 --> 00:31:58,160 realize the power and the example that Jesus set in a 572 00:31:58,160 --> 00:32:02,720 constant retreat and return. Retreat and return for your 573 00:32:02,720 --> 00:32:06,640 head, your heart, your home, for your family, for their futures 574 00:32:07,440 --> 00:32:11,960 in a simple, easy to especially in these days. 575 00:32:11,960 --> 00:32:17,880 I mean, you can find a Bible reading plan for ADHD, color 576 00:32:17,880 --> 00:32:22,320 blinds, left footed, Western province supporting Christians. 577 00:32:24,760 --> 00:32:29,880 There's hope for all in this day and age That you have access to 578 00:32:29,880 --> 00:32:33,480 the greatest minds who have ever applied themselves in unpacked 579 00:32:33,480 --> 00:32:36,000 scriptures. That if you come here on a 580 00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:38,840 Sunday and you haven't got a clue what this bluffo is saying 581 00:32:39,080 --> 00:32:41,720 and you can go home and you can find the best of the best to 582 00:32:41,720 --> 00:32:47,280 unpack and allow you to be delivered from set free from 583 00:32:48,160 --> 00:32:51,840 empowered by the Holy Spirit and time of retreat. 584 00:32:54,640 --> 00:32:58,720 But we look down on it because I'm not really that guy. 585 00:32:59,800 --> 00:33:02,920 So this is my charge. Very simply, taking 30 minutes 586 00:33:02,920 --> 00:33:06,520 to make one point. Could we become a people who 587 00:33:06,520 --> 00:33:11,760 retreat and return and retreat and return and we retreat and we 588 00:33:11,760 --> 00:33:16,840 get into the Word of God that is living and active, the Word of 589 00:33:16,840 --> 00:33:20,440 God that can give life to those dry bones and bring dead things 590 00:33:20,440 --> 00:33:25,080 to life, The word of God that cuts between spirit and soul. 591 00:33:25,640 --> 00:33:28,000 We retreat into the presence of Jesus. 592 00:33:28,000 --> 00:33:30,960 You know what Jesus says in Isaiah 61? 593 00:33:30,960 --> 00:33:34,000 He says this is what I was anointed to do, to bind up the 594 00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:38,920 broken hearted free captives, release prisoners from darkness, 595 00:33:39,320 --> 00:33:41,720 to give a crown of beauty instead of ashes, oil of joy 596 00:33:41,720 --> 00:33:44,720 instead of mourning, a garment of praise instead of a spirit of 597 00:33:44,720 --> 00:33:47,480 despair. And he just says, come retreat 598 00:33:47,480 --> 00:33:49,240 with me. Let me work on you. 599 00:33:49,240 --> 00:33:53,080 Let me set you free. Let me strengthen and encourage 600 00:33:53,080 --> 00:33:54,480 you. Come retreat. 601 00:33:54,480 --> 00:33:59,640 Let me deal with those scary ungodly thoughts in your head. 602 00:33:59,880 --> 00:34:02,080 Let me set you free from the chains in your heart. 603 00:34:02,080 --> 00:34:06,120 Let me bring my Kingdom into your home so that you can return 604 00:34:06,360 --> 00:34:10,760 free from your past, free from your prison, but filled with the 605 00:34:10,760 --> 00:34:13,600 Holy Spirit and with power, so that you can lay hold of that 606 00:34:13,600 --> 00:34:15,639 foods. Christ has laid all of you. 607 00:34:16,880 --> 00:34:17,239 Amen.