You may be seated in the presence of the Lord... Somebody oughta say "amen".. Amen. Those youth & young adults really sang this morning. Whoa! Y’all was tearin’ it up! Amen. Well, if you will recall on last week I began this sermon series on betrayal with you and I started out with the message, "Betrayed!" And boy, did we have deliverance in the house! Amen! Hallelujiah! And so this week, now having laid the foundation about this thing called betrayal, I now want to go a little bit deeper and hopefully even challenge you and move us all to another level as the people of God. Now, I have to warn you that this is going to be a hard word, so I hope y’all got your shout in on last week and sent me all my flowers by now, because after this word you might not like me too much, but i’m gonna preach it anyhow... Can I get a witness up in here? And I wanma use the same text I used on last week, but I wanna focus in on a different verse if I may. Look at verse number 22, Jesus gives Judas the bread dipped in hyssop, and shares it with him even though he knows he’s going to betray him. umm, hmmm. And that’s, that’s what’s really nawing at me & so if I could for just a few minutes as the Holy Ghost shall lead and guide I want to talk from the subject or title of, "How To Treat Your Betrayer." Look at your nieghbor & tell em "Nieghbor, How To Treat Your Betrayer." Ahh, y’all ain’t liking me already.
hmm, My brothers & my sisters, I am convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that this particular text with Jesus washing the disciples feet and then supping with them and still yet even though including his betrayer, even up to dipping the bread in hyssop & sharing it with his betrayer, which if you recall I told you on last week is a sign of honor & respect, shows us by Jesus’ example just how we ought to treat our betrayers. umm, hmm. And I know, I know... You thought that you were supposed to hate the one that betrayed you and pray all kinds of mean & evil against them but i’m here to tell you today THAT’s NOT what God would have you to do. mm, hmmm. And in this particular text here I believe Jesus shows us some ways that we need to treat our betrayers, and I thought maybe I should just go ahead & share them with you the people of God and let you know what they are, so can I go ahead & teach you for a minute? The first way you need to respond to or treat your betrayal is to realize that it has the potential to happen. Yeah, we need to stop living in this unrealistic fantasy world where everything always goes our way and everything is well and everybody’s cool with us and where there’s absoloutely nothing going wrong!! THAT’s JUST NOT HOW IT IS BABY!!! Look in John 13:21, Jesus said, "One of you is going to betray me." He didn’t try to fight it, hide it, run scared from it or move it away, HE KNEW! So he was prepared & he just allowed it to happen & went with the flow! When you’re prepared for something you tend to handle it better! So we need to stop living in this cookie cutter world & GET REAL! Somebody oughta shout "GET REAL!"
Ohhh, but not only that, the second way we need to treat or respond to our betrayers is to recognize & realize that God IS STILL IN ultimate control & have faith in him & do not doubt! You see, we have a problem as believers... We want everything in life to be rosy and peachy keen all the time, but it just isn’t like that! We as the people of God need to begin to recognize the soveriegnity of God in our lives! Look at John 13: 3, watch this now... "Jesus KNEW that the father had put all power under him!" Aww, i’m about to lose it up in here! Jesus said, "I know i’m about to betrayed, I know i’m about to die, I know i’m about to be crucified & hung, but I KNOW A GOD! Ha, ohh I wish I had somebody! WE NEED TO LEARN HOW TO LIVE IN FAITH & STAND ON THE WORD OF GOD! Somebody oughta say "Yes!"
Romans 8:28 says it all "For we know that ALL THINGS work together for the GOOD of those that LOVE the Lord Jesus and ARE THE CALLED according to HIS purposes!" All THINGS! I know I’ve got one more point to make, but I’ve just gotta stop right here & encourage somebody... BABY, I know you’ve been betrayed! I know you’ve been stabbed in the back! I know you’ve been hurt! I know you’re feeling kinda cynical & cautious now, But I just need to drop one thing on Ya, GOD IS WORKING IT OUT FOR YOUR GOOD! Ha, don’t you know, ha, that some of your greatest lessons, ha, your greatest blessings, ha, your greatest elevations come FROM THOSE THINGS THAT HURT THE MOST!! God has sent me here today to tell you that HE IS ABLE! HE IS ABLE, HA! To do EXCEEDINGLY & ABUNDANTLY ABOVE THAT WHICH YOU ASK FOR & OR THINK! I’ve gotta get a move on in this message, but if you know God IS ABLE to it, whatever it is, then I’ll give you seven secconds, to just throw your head back, put your hands up, and SHABOCK GOD! HALLELUJIAH!!
Alright, alright, I’ve gotta hold my piece just a little while longer, yes, uhh, huh.. But the third way you need to respond to your betrayer, and i’m about to lose some of y’all here, is in love, mercy, & forgiveness. UH OH, I didn’t get any Amens on that! You ARE TO LOVE YOUR BETRAYER! Yeah, I said LOVE! Jesus went to great lengths with Judas, giving him an honored seat, washing his feet, dipping the bread in wine & giving it to him, to show Judas love & forgiveness & mercy, despite the fact he KNEW Judas was his betrayer! How many of us could say we’d wash our enemies, or even let alone our friends feet? I find that hard, even for myself! The word says that "We are to love our enemies!" Aww, and I believe that they may be one of the hardest things, ha, for us as believers to do, ha, but if you love, ha, your enemies, ha, that’s your ticket, ha, to go to a WHOLE nother level in God!!! Can I keep it real with ya, for about seven more minutes? Can I go ahead & preach, ha? Look at this text, ha, once again, ha, we find ourselves, in John chapter 13, ha, look at verse number one, ha, it says "Knowing that the time was near, he now showed them, ha, the full extent of his love".. You know that them, included Judas, his betrayer, can I get a witness? He showed his betrayer, ha, the full extent of his love, ha, y’all, ha, ain’t hearin’ me. But the word says, that the evening hour, had come, & after the meal, Satan had already prompted Judas to betray Jesus, ha, but Jesus says, "I know I’ve got all power from above under me!" You’ve GOT POWER, ha, over your betrayer, ha... Well, I kept on reading, haha, & it said, Jesus got up, wrapped a towel around his waist, ahha, & he filled a basin with water, ha, & he began, to wash his disciples feet, Judas included, he didn’t disclude him, ha, he didn’t count him out, but he showed him love, shout "yes!" Look at, ha, verse 6, it says he came to Simon Peter, who said "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus said "You do not realize now what I am doing, ha, but you’ll understand, ha, later." Peter says, "No, ha, you’ll never, ha, wash my feet!" And Jesus said, "If I don’t wash ya, you have No part with me." That means, ha, he made Judas a part of him, ha, even, unto betrayal!" Aww, but look at, versep 10, after Peter says "yes" to Jesus, Jesus says, "A person who has had a bath, needs only, to wash his feet, his body, is clean!" But not every one of you, is clean! He was talking, about Judas, I need, ha, to get up outta here, ha, so can I please, fast forward, ha, about 12 verses? Jesus goes on to finish, ha, washing, his disciple’s feet, & then, talks about servitude, but that’s a WHOLE nother message!!!!
Jesus closes out, this chapter, ha, by giving Judas, an honorary seat, and by doing the equivalent, ha, of what we would call toasting a friend, ha, by dipping, the bread in wine, ha, & handing it to him! You’ve GOT TO LOVE YOUR BETRAYERS! I know it’s hard! I know it seems impossible! But with GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE! Ask God, to help you to love, ha, your enemies! Can I keep it real, ha, & tell you, ha, one more thing!!!! I’m about to lose it, ha! But I hear God saying, "Some of y’all are asking, ha, well, what if I choose not to love, ha, my betrayer?" Well, I’m sooo glad, ha, ya asked, ha! If ya never, ha, love your betrayer, ha, I believe that there’s something called curses, ha, & you’ll live, ha, under the curse, ha, of your betrayer, ha! Well, what is the curse, ah, of your betrayer? you’ll begin to live life, caught up, ha, in the act of that betrayal, ha, you’ll hunker down, ha, you won’t enjoy life, you’ll become cynical, of every relationship, you’ll become skeptical and paranoid of everyone around you, & you’ll begin, ha, to see everyone & everything around you, ha, through the lense, ha, of that betrayal, and I don’t know about you, ha, but that’s no way, ha, TO LIVE!!!!! Can I tell you, ha, just one more thing? Then i’m going on home & i’m closing, ha, the book!!! I hear God saying, ha, one more reason, ha, why you might wanna love, ha, your betrayers, is because, ha, the truth of the matter is, ha, that sometimes, ha, in life, you were the betrayer! You WERE THE JUDAS! You were the one, ha, who betrayed, ha, somebody else!!!!! And then well, you were the betrayer, ha, but you were the same one, ha, seeking love, seeking mercy & seeking forgiveness!! And so you should want the same, ha, for somebody else, ha, that you want, ha, for yourself!!! So you oughta love your betrayer, ha, LIKE SOMEBODY LOVED YOU!!! LIKE JESUS LOVED YOU!!!!! SHOUT YES!!! SHOUT YES!!!!!!!! SHOUT YES!!!!!!! YEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Alright, i’m i’m closin’ the book, I done screwed with y’all enough. I told y’all this wasn’t gonna be an easy word. But I had to preach it, I had to let it go. Whew! You’ve gotta be careful, how you treat your betrayer... Remember that it could always be the flip side around, & you be the one, betraying somebody else. Also have faith in God, and know that he is able, and lastly, realize that betrayal is a reality of life, but it is a reality that God can get glory out of your life for. Amen....Amen. Well, I’m going to leave it alone for now... I’ll bring part three of this message next week, Lord willing. But there may be somebody here, you don’t know God in the pardon of your sins, the doors of the church are open now for you to come. All of god’s people are standing to thier feet...
(Inv. To Discipleship.)
