"It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. "But there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. And He said, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father." From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?" But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. "Also, we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?" He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve” (John 6:63-71).
Don’t let anything shake you lose …
Don’t let your grip on Jesus be lost after walking with Him for so long …
Judas lost …
• Personal presence of Jesus
• Powerful fellowship with the apostles
• Personal participation in ministry
• His reward in heaven
There are some priceless lessons we all can learn through the life Judas Iscariot.
1. JUDAS REFUSED TO CHANGE:
Judas saw unbelievable miracles over and over again, yet it was not enough to secure Judas’ complete devotion and loyalty to Jesus.
? Judas started out as a devil and was in ministry of Jesus for 3 years and ended up as a devil. He didn’t change. He refused to change. He started out the same way he ended.
? It’s not enough to be where Jesus is. It’s not enough to hear Jesus, it isn’t enough to witness Christ’s ministry, it’s not enough to associate with other believers. The greatest challenge is to let God change your life.
? Christianity is about transformation. It’s not enough to go to church and hear the Word. We must allow the Lord to change our hearts. We must be transformed by the renewing of our minds! (Romans 12:2) Judas rejected the transformation of his life.
2. JUDAS WANTED TO GIVE SOMETHING, BUT NOT EVERYTHING: (partial commitment)
Judas got upset when the woman with the alabaster box gave her most precious possession to Jesus. Judas thought her worship - washing Jesus' feet with her expensive oil - was waste. He didn’t understand that she was trusting Jesus with all that she had. Too many people want just enough of Jesus to go to heaven, but not so much that it interrupts their life. They’ll trust Him with eternity, but not the day-to-day. If you want all of Jesus, you must surrender all of you!
3. JESUS KNEW JUDAS WOULD BETRAY HIM, YET HE LOVED HIM ANYWAY:
Jesus could have thrown Judas under the bus, but He didn’t. He could’ve kicked him out of the circle, but he didn’t. He offered Judas hope, mercy and grace, and gave him a chance to make the right the choice. As long as you have breath, you have hope. Jesus loves you no matter where your heart is. There is no condemnation or judgment. Jesus isn’t holding a grudge. But don’t abuse His Grace. Choose right now to surrender all to Him and allow His grace to change you.
4. JUDAS KNEW ABOUT JESUS, BUT DIDN’T KNOW JESUS:
When is the last time you spent intimate time with Jesus? Judas said, “Master (Rabbi) is it I?” He didn’t say, “Lord is it I?” You can be a Christian and yet not know Jesus. There is a difference. It’s one thing to acknowledge Christ as king; it’s another to accept Him as YOUR king.
5. JUDAS WAS IMPATIENT WITH GOD:
He had incorrect timing. We cannot give God deadlines insisting on our will and our timing. God does things in His timing, not yours. When we get impatient, we can miss God’s perfect will. Remember “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts’” (Isa. 55:8-9). You can’t try to hurry up God when you must wait.
6. JUDAS WAS CALCULATIVE WITH GOD:
If Christ didn’t bring freedom to Israel in Judas’ timeline, he would take matters into his own hands (which he did) and Jesus paid the consequence by going to the cross.
7. JUDAS CONSIDERED JESUS HIS SLAVE NOT HIS SAVIOR:
Judas sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver to the Temple administration which was the value of a slave. The religious lot were supposed to be ones who should have discouraged Judas do such an act, but they were the ones who encouraged and made it happen. By kissing Jesus on the cheek, Judas considered Him as his equal and later his slave by selling Him off.
8. IF YOU GET YOUR HANDS ON JESUS, DON’T LET GO:
Hold Him fast. Don’t loosen your grip on Jesus, EVER! Once you take hold of Jesus, don’t let go. Don’t let go of your joy, your freedom, your purity, or your hope.
9. IF YOU DON’T FINISH YOUR ASSIGNMENT, SOMEONE ELSE WILL:
If you give up or walk away from what God has told you to do, God can raise someone else up to take your place. Where Judas’ name should be carved on one of the 12 foundations of Heaven (Rev. 21:14), instead it says Matthias (Acts 1:26). God wants to use YOU, but He doesn’t have to. Let no man take your crown (Revelation 3:11). God doesn’t need me. I NEED GOD.
APPLICATION
If you don’t change, you could be headed in the wrong direction, just like Judas. Your future is in the fold, and where you go from here is up to you. Sometimes we have the best intentions with the wrong motives. Sometimes we’re too focused on the end to learn from the means. God has a good and perfect will for you. Surrender your all to Him—your thoughts, your fears, your dreams, your actions and words—and trust His timing!
JUDAS WAS SO CLOSE YET SO FAR!
