Disenchanted and Sincere: Side by Side
(Mark 14:10-21)
1. We have all met negative, cynical, bitter folks who claim to follow Christ but really don’t like Him and they don’t love His people. They may profess to be seekers or questioners, or are rethinking their faith. In reality, they are disenchanted and progressing toward abandoning their faith — or so redefining what they believe that they are Christians in name only.
2. Some disenchanted people turn to sarcasm and mockery. No respect at all.
3. New Zealand, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- Members of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, otherwise known as Pastafarians, registered their first official marriage celebrant in New Zealand.
The group announced the news on its Facebook page, although the first couple that was set to be married by the new celebrant decided to call off their wedding.
"Our happy couple made the Wise Decision (after traveling together for several weeks) to NOT tie the noodley …
The celebrant, referred to as the Ministeroni, will travel across the country to perform wedding services free of charge. Couples will only be required to pay for her travel expenses and make a donation of between $150-$800 to the church.
The group, whose members are known for wearing colanders on their heads, won the right to perform marriages in New Zealand on Dec. 10, 2015, and registered its first celebrant on Feb. 13.
4. The contrast between a goofy bunch of people using the privileges recognized for serious churches and the sacrificial, mission-driven nature of true churches is obvious. But such contrasts are not always so obvious.
Main Idea: The contrast between Judas and the other disciples was not obvious, until their hearts were revealed.
I. Judas TYPIFIES the Disenchanted Who Betray Christ (10-11).
We all know what it is like to feel demoralized. One young blogger writes, “Today, I took my driving test for the first time. The instructor stopped it after less than ten minutes, and insisted she drive back to the test center "in the interest of public safety."
Disenchantment is worse: “a feeling of disappointment about someone or something you previously respected or admired; disillusionment.” Judas was disillusioned.
A. You cannot betray one with whom you were not once ALIGNED.
[show photo 1, Judas confers]
B. The typical development of DISCONTENT
1. We nurture disenchantment: we embrace wrong/unrealistic EXPECTATIONS.
2. Frustrated expectations produce emotional DISTANCE and WHINING.
3. As we become more disenchanted, we become ENTRENCHED.
4. Then we ISOLATE ourselves from others who would challenge our bitterness.
I John 5:1-2, “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.”
5. We ignore our personal VACILLATIONS (forgetting how we once were).
6. We seek out PRETEXTS to justify our wrong or selfish choices.
[show photo 2 Pretext]
C. Why did Jesus’ enemies NEED Judas?
II. The Other Disciples, Despite Their Many Flaws, Were SINCERE (12-21).
A. They OBEYED the Lord and trusted His direction.
1. Jesus probably arranged this location
2. The Jewish people would typically loan out space for celebrating Passover
B. They were willing to do the MENIAL grunt work of preparing the meal.
Beware of people who think they are above pitching in, the menial. Beware also of people who fawn over high profile people who serve. Pres., pastor, pope, doctor.
[show photo 3, Preparing Passover]
C. When Jesus revealed that one of them was a traitor, they were humble enough to question if it was THEM. [show photo 4 Is It I?]
1. This impresses me so much.
2. The people who say, “I would never do that” are more likely to do it!
3. A truly humble person who is in touch with his real thoughts knows he or she is capable of great sin.
4. Those who trust in their own hearts, as Proverbs tells us, are fools. Proverbs 28:6, “He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But he who walks wisely will be delivered.”
D. Jesus PREDICTED Judas’ treachery, but predicting it does not mean STOPPING it.
One of the great lessons of life is this: predicting behavior or understanding behavior does not necessarily mean you can prevent behavior; often powerless
E. Jesus example: God has a PLAN that will be fulfilled.
1. Jesus new specifically what would happen.
2. But, although Jesus chose to follow God’s will, He did not always like God’s will…as we shall see in Gethsemane…
3. We don’t have to like it, either; in some ways, we are more to be commended when we do God’s will but would prefer not to … more of a sacrifice.
God wants to transform our hearts; He wants to purify them. He begins the process now, but, until we are in heaven, we must trust Him, not our hearts.
