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Blue Mountain Academy

The Crisis of Character

Eric Walsh

Character Under Fire

Father God, we thank you for this opportunity to study your word.

We thank you, Lord, for your truth, and for your grace, and for your mercy, for your kindness, and your love towards us.

As we dive into your word tonight, we ask, Lord, that your Holy Spirit would lead us, that he would lead us into all truth.

This is our prayer in Jesus's name, amen.

So our text for tonight come from Philippians chapter 2, in verse 5 it says, "'Let this mind be in you, "'which was also in Christ Jesus.'" And our message tonight is entitled, The Crisis of Character.

So we're going to go from here to John chapter 13, and let me give you a little bit of background into John 13.

John chapter 13 is the story of the Last Supper according to the Apostle John.

What is interesting if you read the whole chapter is that 1 of the shocking events that happens is that Jesus, if you read all 4 Gospels, gives you the full picture, takes off his outer coat, he is dressed like a servant, and begins to wash the feet of the disciples.

Now you would think that this would be received well, but it is not.

In fact, Peter has a major problem with it.

He cannot understand how Jesus, who was to 1 day be a king, would appear as a servant and do the most menial task of washing someone's foot.

But there was someone else who was not happy with what was going on.

You see Judas had hedged the bet that by being close to Christ, by carrying the money bag, by being the most, watch this, the most polished and sophisticated of all the disciples, that he would help to usher in Christ into his kingship and Judas was sure he would be the vice president when Jesus was King.

And so Jesus begins now to tell the disciples, all 12 of them, Judas in attendance at the Last Supper, telling them that Jesus would be betrayed.

And as he's telling them this, we'll jump in at verse 18, Jesus says, I speak not of you all.

I know whom I have chosen, but that the scripture may be fulfilled, he that eats bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me.

This was a shocking statement, can you imagine?

These 12 men have been with Jesus for over 3 years.

They've been going around with Him everywhere.

Now Jesus makes the statement that in fact, 1 of them is going to betray Him.

And that's that word, that phrase there, has lifted up His heel against me.

The other thing that's interesting is that in the book The Desire of Ages, Ellen White speaks, in the chapter where she talks about how Jesus chose the disciples, she speaks about the fact that Judas was not chosen by Christ but pushed on him by the other disciples.

This verse actually corroborates that where it says, I know whom I have chosen.

Verse 19, now I tell you before it come that when it is come to pass you may believe that I am he so he says listen I'm gonna tell you what's going to happen I want you to see what's gonna happen so that when it comes to pass you know that I am who I said I am verse 20 verily verily I say unto you he that receives whomsoever I send receives me, and he that receives me receives him that sent me.

Speaking to his disciples, verse 21, when Jesus had thus said he was troubled in his spirit, watch this, and he testified and said, verily, verily, I say unto you that 1 of you shall what?

Verse 22, then the disciples looked 1 on another, doubting of whom he spake.

And all of them, can you imagine, they start looking at each other side I like I bet you is that brother James over there I bet you is that guy I bet you this and they all start with you know who probably his name came up least Judas verse 23 now there was leaning on Jesus's bosom 1 of his disciples whom Jesus loved.

John was, and the way that this table was set up, they sat, they were like laying on their side, reclined on an elbow, all the way around, and so John would have been the 1 in this area of Christ.

Verse 24 says, Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him that he should ask who it should be of him whom he spake.

Peter couldn't resist, because Peter wants to be the vice president.

Verse 25, he then lying on Jesus' breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it?

Jesus in verse 26 says this, Jesus answered, he it is to whom I shall give a sop when I have dipped it.

And when he had dipped the sop he gave it to Judas Iscariot the son of Simon." Can you imagine?

He says in front of all of them, it's the 1 who I dip the bread with into the, basically into like the gravy, an American way, I dip it in, the 1 I give it to is the 1 that's gonna betray me.

Verse 27, and after the sop, Satan did what?

Jesus then says, that thou doest, do quickly.

What you're going to do Judas, hurry up and do it.

Here's why, because Christ was on a timeline.

On that Friday, it was a very precise hour for the death of Christ.

Jesus was like, if you're gonna do it, brother, go on and do it.

Verse 28, now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him here's how I don't want to call the disciples dense But they're slow to pick up with the hints Jesus is throwing down.

Now, no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him.

For some of them thought because Judas had the bag, the money bag, that Jesus had said unto him, buy those things that we have need of against the feast, or that he should give something to the poor.

What we know if you read the Desire of Ages and kind of from picking up what he did when the woman used the expensive perfume on Jesus' feet, Judas was actually stealing money from the money bag.

Judas was such a crook that when he did a good deed for the disciples or Jesus or someone else, he would pay himself out of the money bag.

Judas would be like, you know what, I help feed all them 5, 000 people, I'm worth at least $20 an hour.

Let me just take that much money out of the bag.

So the disciples, the other 11 thought, he was just doing something for Jesus.

He then having received the sop, went immediately out, and look at what the Bible says, and it was night.

When Satan goes into you and you go out from God, you always go out into darkness.

Darkness is the result of turning your back on God.

Verse 31, therefore when he was gone out Jesus said, now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him." What an interesting statement, isn't it?

Listen, 1 of the 12 has just been possessed by Satan.

He has actually encouraged him to do it quickly.

1 of the 12 is now going to do what he said he's going to do.

Jesus says because of this thing the Son of Man is glorified.

The tale of Judas and Christ at the Last Supper is the tale of 2 characters.

And I don't mean characters like parts, I mean like the character of a person.

Christ's character, Christ has the kind of character where he would wash the feet of those who really should be serving him.

Christ's character is such that he wants to make sure that they're taken care of.

He's willing to be the lowest and the last, but there's another character.

Judas's character is a different character.

And 1 of the big challenges, young people, that you will face in these last days is the character, is the crisis of developing a character like Christ's character.

Because Judas sold Jesus out for 30 pieces of silver.

I want to submit to you that the world is going to try and convince you that 30 pieces of the world's silver is more valuable than Christ.

And if you don't have the right character, that 30 pieces of silver is gonna seem like all you need.

So you gotta deal with character development.

You've got to deal with character development.

Now, let's jump and show you that the world is in a state of Judas.

That is arguably, they would argue, people argue the greatest rapper of all time, the name is Jay-Z.

Notice that on his shirt, I've shown you guys this before, it says, do what thou wilt.

Do what thou wilt is part of the occult law of Aleister Crowley.

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Series

The Crisis of Character

The Crisis of Character

Transcript

Parent Series

Sponsor

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