Why You Should Follow Jesus

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Scriptures Cited:

Child Baptism May 3rd 2015

This is the full pastor’s notes. Please keep in mind, that the pastor uses this as a reference and therefore is not word-for-word of the video or audio. These notes are provided for your reference as a pseudo-transcript.

Why You Should Follow Jesus

Jesus over odds
Jesus power over world power
Jesus thinks of others
Jesus fix sin

v -1-4When Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with His disciples over the Brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which He and His disciples entered. 2 And Judas, who betrayed Him, also knew the place; for Jesus often met there with His disciples. 3 Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. 4 Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, “Whom are you seeking?”
Here we move closer to the crucifixion- Jesus is going over to Kidron, to have a pow wow with his disciples- this is a place they had hung out before- there’s a garden there
As they are there Judas, goes and get a detachment of troops to come and secure Jesus
a detachment- isn’t it interesting that Judas, being who he is, goes and get a huge amount of soldiers to come and get Jesus
Scholars dispute about the size of this group- but most people agree that it was somewhere around 5-800 soldiers that were in a detachment
lets just take the low number- 500 people to secure one guy
I think there were probably a couple dozen guys to go get bin laden-
Notice- typically when your enemies come for you, they lack the courage to come alone-
they only have courage because they have convinced other people to come and help them do their dirty work- Judas is no different- he’s all about himself- he’s on the plan to take down Jesus
But Jesus is an odds beater- Odds are something that are always in his favor
Think about it- miracle of a great amount of fish- miracle of loaves and fishes- miracle of healings- miracle of calming the storm
When circumstance looks like things are not going to go well- the track record of Jesus is that he is going to step up and beat the odds
3 Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.
Jesus paid attention in Sunday school!
Isaiah 54:17 No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the Lord
Jesus knew this scripture- his confidence was in God’s ability to be able to accomplish his will

Ryan preaches baptism May 3rd 2015

What does it mean to you?

Don’t worry about the odds!
Part of the problem of the human condition is that we are constantly trying to figure out and plan and scheme the outcome of our lives based on what we see
It all starts with our job- how much money we make- from there- we can figure out what we can buy and what we can do
Then its who we know- what can we leverage from our relationships to be able to scheme
If calamity befalls us, we come up with a plan on how to overcome the adversity and how we can be successful over it
Really three options- 1. try to do everything 2. do nothing 3. trust God
I contend with you that number three is the plan
Psalm 91:7 A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you
We serve a supernatural powerful God that is able to able to much
Ephesians 3:20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
Think about those guys that were there with Jesus- how they must have felt when a detachment of 500 troops showed up-
And then- they realized- “I am with Jesus”
thats the best place to be when it all goes down- to be with Jesus- he’s the odds breaker- he’s the one who is able to make it all happen
Odds stacked against you- make sure you’re with the one who beats the odds- every time

I love this next part of the story- I really never saw it before- or at least I never paid attention to it before
v 5-6 5 They answered Him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am He.” And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them. 6 Now when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
Did you read that? 500 or so soldiers and and words “I am he” these guys “drew back and fell to the ground”
Folks- when you come under the power of God- powerful things will happen to you-
Sometimes even you will fall down under the power of God-
don’t miss this- Jesus said “I am HE”
Jesus deliberately echoes a pattern of themes that are unique to YHWH by using the expression “I am” (Greek: egô eimi; Hebrew: ani hu).
The high density of “I am” sayings of YHWH found in Chapters 40-55 of Isaiah match the high density of “I am” sayings of Jesus in the gospel of John.
The theme of Isaiah 40-55 is the identify of YHWH; the theme of John is the identity of Jesus.
When Jesus echoes the sayings of YHWH in Isaiah, he is clearly applying this “language of deity” to himself as YHWH.
Jesus saying “I am” by itself would prove little; but the pattern of His use in various themes that exactly match Isaiah, create an unmistakable mosaic that is a powerful and irrefutable proof of his deity.
And this power of his deity is an indisputable fact of the Bible
Any theology that doesn’t support the deity of Christ is a false Gospel
Deuteronomy 32:39 ‘Now see that I, even I, am He, And there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand God’s power more powerful
The power of Jesus is more powerful than any other power in or on the world!
What does it mean to you?
You should walk with Jesus- and expect his power to move in your life

Baptism May 3rd 2015

The power of Jesus can take down the enemies of GOD

See- what I believe is that Jesus is alive and that he is actively working on my behalf
I believe that he is involved in my daily life and that he is able to use his power in my life
the truth is that some people are afraid of the Jesus power- its a scary thing
I want to tell you a story of when I got thrown back by the power of God
Happened a couple of times in my life
But this type of thing can’t be forced- people can fall down because everyone else is- or because someone nudged them
when it happens- you wont see it coming-
But this power- this “I am he” power is available for you- in your life
2 Corinthians 6:7 by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,
Walk with Jesus- he beats the odds! He has the power to throw the enemies of God on their tails!
The book of Matthew paints a picture of when they came for Jesus-
Matthew 26:53 Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?

7 Then He asked them again, “Whom are you seeking?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” 8 Jesus answered, “I have told you that I am He. Therefore, if you seek Me, let these go their way,”
“let these go their way”
Jesus, about to be arrested and taken away, in the midst of it, still is thinking about others
At this moment, he could have had his guys go against their guys and rumbled
but no- let these go their way- Jesus knew that this was something that he was going to face alone
This part of Jesus, the laying down of his life is his choice- for HIS people
John 10:18 No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.”
The demonstration of Jesus in this story is a demonstration of “Others” a heart condition that is focused on the needs of others, the safety of others, the future of others
Matthew 20:26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave,[d] 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
That is the life that Jesus lived out- a life concerned with others- their welfare- their eternal place.
Right now- as you sit- Jesus is at the right hand of the father praying on your behalf. HE LOVES YOU enough that he DIED for you!
Here’s what it means to you-
You’ve got to make your life about others- inside and outside the church
the American ideal of selfishness at all costs does not pay the bills.
God knows what you are doing and who you are doing it for and why you are doing it
But we need to move past this idea of taking care of number one at the expense of everyone else
I love this verse- Philippians 2:3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.
This is a verse that is for the CHURCH for who we are as PEOPLE-
Do you consider others better than yourself? Are you looking for ways to serve them?
Romans 12:10 ESV Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.
How?
Give people stuff, help people move, give up your time, let your stuff go, give people money, help them out, give them rides to the airport, buy the meal, buy the coffee, say nice things to them when you’re down,
quit thinking about yourself.

This is my favorite part of the story-
Listen to what this over zealous disciple does
9 that the saying might be fulfilled which He spoke, “Of those whom You gave Me I have lost none.” 10 Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. 11 So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?”
This disciple, because of his passion for the savior, draws his sword and cuts off the ear of one of the attackers
can’t blame the guy- I would have probably done the same-
but here’s what happens in this story- Jesus didn’t like it- He tells the guy to put away his sword
why? Jesus knows that this is his destiny- that this is where he is supposed to go and what he is supposed to do- so he tells the guy- “put away your sword”
Jesus didn’t really get upset with him or condemn him- just simply- put that away
And then this Luke 22:51 But Jesus answered and said, “Permit even this.” And He touched his ear and healed him.
Pulls the sword, cuts off an ear, makes a mistake- Jesus fixes it- heals the guys ear
God can fix your mistakes

I dont know about you- but I can’t count how many times I’ve pulled out the sword of my life at the wrong time and ended up cutting off someones proverbial ‘ear’
but by the grace of God- I have seen the hand of Jesus come in and heal that ear! I have see him come in and repair that which was broken- or that I had broken- because of his grace and mercy
what a wonderful God we serve! What and awesome savior!
psalm 37:24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him with His hand.
Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus,[a] who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
Philippians 3:13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,

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