Is It I
Matthew 26:17-25
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Introduction:
I. Do We Betray Him With The Motive Of Our Doing
...A. Are The Motives In Our Hearts Such That God Would Be Pleased
With Them?
...B. Are The Motives In Our Hearts Pure And Holy?
...C. If Our Motive Is Anything Less Than For Him To Receive The
Glory, Then We Have Betrayed Him
II. Do We Betray Him With The Message Of Our Speaking
...A. What Shout The 'matter' Of Our Speech Be?
...B. What About The 'manner' Of Our Speech?
......1. The Manner Of Our Speech Should Be In Truth
......2. The Manner Of Our Speech Should Be Timely
......3. The Manner Of Our Speech Should Be Targeted
...C. What About The 'method' Of Our Speech?
......1. Our Method Of Speech Is Not To Be With Enticing Words
......2. Our Method Of Speech Is Not To Be As One Beating The
Air Having Nothing Worthwhile To Say
......3. Our Method Of Speech Is Not To Be After The Wisdom Of
Men But In The Power And Demonstration Of T
III. Do We Betray Him With The Methods Of Our Ministering?
...A. There Is No Substitute For Supplication
......1. Prayer Ripens Souls
......2. Prayer Readies The Speaker
......3. Prayer Releases The Spirit
...B. There is No Substitute for the Scriptures
......1. The Scriptures Provide The Church's Message
......2. The Scriptures Prescribes The Church's Method
......3. The Scriptures Produces The Church's Members
IV. Do We Betray Him With The Manner Of Our Living?
...A. Consider the Actions of a Christian
......1. Pleasures We Appreciate Are Different From The World
......2. Places We Attend Are Different From The World
......3. People We Associate With Are Different From The World
......4. Purposes And Goals We Set Are Different From The World
...B. Consider The Attitude Of A Christian
......1. He Has A Loving Attitude
......2. He Has A Forgiving Attitude
......3. He Has A Heavenly Directed Attitude
......4. He Has A Godly Attitude
...C. Consider the Attire of a Christian
......1. There Is A Book Entitled - Your Clothes Say It For You
......2. Clothes Will Say If You Have A Harlot's Attitude
......3. Clothes Will Say If You Have A Bride's Attitude
......4. Clothes Will Say If You Have A Virgins Attitude
......5. Put Off The Vile Garments Associated With The Old Man
And Put On The Virtuous Garments Associated
.........a. Under Garments ( Colossians 3:12
.........b. Outer Garments ( Colossians 3:13
.........c. Over Garments ( Colossians 3:14
Conclusion:
...1. It Would Do Us All Well To Search Our Own Hearts And Ask
The Question The Disciples Asked
...2. Are We Betraying Christ In The Message Of Our Speaking?
...3. Are We Betraying Christ In The Motive Of Our Doing?
...4. Are We Betraying Christ In The Manner Of Our Living?
...5. Are We Betraying Christ In The Methods Of Our Ministering?
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Is It I
Matthew 26:17-25
Jimmy Chapman
Victory Baptist Church
?/?/2001
Mat 26:17-25
Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover? (18) And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples. (19) And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover.
(20) Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve. (21) And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. (22) And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I? (23) And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. (24) The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born. (25) Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said.
Introduction:
1. Jesus sat down as usual to eat the passover meal with His disciples. "As they did eat" the Lord dropped a bombshell. He had spoken of it repeatedly before, but now He detonated the bomb. Right when everyone was enjoying the feast, He suddenly declared that one of His disciples would betray Him. The joy of the moment turned to sorrow. Each of the disciples searched his heart asking "Is it I?" Peter is recorded as asking "Is it I?" Thomas asked. No doubt each in his own turn asked the same question voicing their self-doubt.
2. None of them could think that he was the traitor; yet, none of them could be sure that he was not. The slumbering possibilities of betrayal lay within each of the disciples heart as it does within the heart of all of us. It is far wiser to cry, "Is it I?" than to boast, "Yet will not I." Beware of becoming overly sure of yourself ever how impossible it must seem or how incredible it must sound.
3. Let none of us say in foolish self-confidence fool ourselves into thinking that the sin or sins which our brother has committed is impossible for us. All sins stem from the same root. "He that trusteth in his own heart is foolish."
4. We all need to say as the Puritan who when beholding a man going to the scaffold said "But for the grace of God, there go I."
5. All the disciples momentarily questioned their own loyalty, but no one suspected the actual traitor. This means the love of Jesus had completely preserved His secret. His love for John and the rest of the group had been the same as the love shown to Judas.
6. The potential for betrayal lies hidden deep within each and everyone of us. "Blessed is the man that feareth always."
7. Betrayal---- Are we guilty of betraying the Lord today?
I. Do We Betray Him With The Motive Of Our Doing
A. Are The Motives In Our Hearts Such That God Would Be Pleased With Them?
B. Are The Motives In Our Hearts Pure And Holy?
Why do I do what I do? What is the reason behind the why?
A very miserly man entered an antique store looking for a gift for a friend. Everything was too expensive, except for a broken glass vase which he could purchase for almost nothing.
He asked the store clerk to send it directly to his friend figuring his friend would think that the vase had been broken in transit. In due time the man received a thank-you card from his friend. "Thanks for the vase," it read. "It was so thoughtful of you to wrap each piece separately."
Oh, that our motives would be pure. It is possible to do a right or a good thing for the wrong reason.
C. If Our Motive Is Anything Less Than For Him To Receive The Glory, Then We Have Betrayed Him
"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."
God deserves the glory, desires the glory, and is due the glory.
He should get the glory in the most ordinary and trivial acts of life as eating and drinking; and yet the command is so vast that nothing we do or say should escape His getting the glory.
Colossians 3:17 "Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus."
II. Do We Betray Him With The Message Of Our Speaking
Are we guilty of talking about everything under the sun, but cannot talk about Jesus?
A. What Shout The "Matter" Of Our Speech Be?
Do we find it easy to talk of baseball, football, fishing, racing....but seldom do we ever let others hear the name of Jesus fall from our lips.
Our speech identifies us "Thy speech betrayeth thee" --
Peter's dialect showed that he was a Galilaean, and as most of Christ's adherents came from region, it was inferred that he was one of Christ's disciples. Oh for a speech that identifies me as one of His.
He who created speech desires that we use it for him.
B. What About The "Manner" Of Our Speech?
1. The Manner Of Our Speech Should Be In Truth
"Speaking the truth in love"
2. The Manner Of Our Speech Should Be Timely
Spoken at the right opportunity.
3. The Manner Of Our Speech Should Be Targeted
Our speech should be targeted toward the lost who need to hear of the saving message of Christ and toward the saved who need to be admonished to faithfulness in all things.
C. What About The "Method" Of Our Speech?
1. Our Method Of Speech Is Not To Be With Enticing Words
2. Our Method Of Speech Is Not To Be As One Beating The Air Having Nothing Worthwhile To Say
3. Our Method Of Speech Is Not To Be After The Wisdom Of Men But In The Power And Demonstration Of The Holy Spirit
Truth without love is brutality, but love without truth is hypocrisy.
People care little about how much you know until they know how much you care.
III. Do We Betray Him With The Methods Of Our Ministering?
We have to do God's work in God's way.
E.M. Bounds once said, "The church today does not need more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use -- men of prayer, men mightily in prayer."
The Lord is often betrayed by adopting the methods of the world.
You cannot do the spiritual work God called you to do using natural methods.
A. There Is No Substitute For Supplication
Trying to substitute supplication with something else is futile and a foolish attempt to circumvent doing the work of God the way He wants it done.
Consider the importance which should be given to prayer.
1. Prayer Ripens Souls
The story is told of five young ministerial students, who before their ordination, spent a Sunday in London. They wished to hear Spurgeon speak. While they waited for the doors of Metropolitan Tabernacle to open, a stranger approached them. "Gentlemen," he asked, "Would you like to see the heating apparatus for the church?"
They politely said yes. The man led them down some steps, and then opened a door. In a low voice he remarked, "Here, sirs, is our heating apparatus." There, before the eyes of the five young ministerial students, were 700 people bowed in prayer, seeking God's blessing on the service about to begin in the auditorium above. The unknown guide, they found out later, was Spurgeon himself.
2. Prayer Readies The Speaker
Pulpit power is the result of prayer power.
A story is told of a district denominational superintendent who asked a pulpit committee, "How big a man do you want?"
"Well," they answered, "We are not overly particular. Just send us a man who can reach Heaven when he is on his knees"
3. Prayer Releases The Spirit
A.C. Dixon once wrote, "When we rely upon organization, we get what organization can do; when we rely upon education, we get what education can do; we rely upon eloquence, we get what eloquence can do. However, when we rely upon prayer, we get what God can do."
B. There is NO Substitute for the Scriptures
1. The Scriptures Provide The Church's Message
"Gospel"
2. The Scriptures Prescribes The Church's Method
"the foolishness of preaching"
3. The Scriptures Produces The Church's Members
"to save them that believe"
IV. Do We Betray Him With The Manner Of Our Living?
Are we living such a life that what we say we are is not enforced by what we do? Are we recognized as being a Christian?
A. Consider the Actions of a Christian
1. Pleasures We Appreciate Are Different From The World
2. Places We Attend Are Different From The World
3. People We Associate With Are Different From The World
4. Purposes And Goals We Set Are Different From The World
B. Consider The Attitude Of A Christian
1. He Has A Loving Attitude
2. He Has A Forgiving Attitude
3. He Has A Heavenly Directed Attitude
4. He Has A Godly Attitude
"By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."
C. Consider the Attire of a Christian
1. There Is A Book Entitled - Your Clothes Say It For You
2. Clothes Will Say If You Have A Harlot's Attitude
Proverbs 7:10 - "the attire of a harlot"
3. Clothes Will Say If You Have A Bride's Attitude
Jeremiah 2:32 "a bride her attire"
4. Clothes Will Say If You Have A Virgins Attitude
2 Samuel 13:18 "with such robes were the king's daughter's that were virgins appareled"
5. Put Off The Vile Garments Associated With The Old Man And Put On The Virtuous Garments Associated With The New Man
Colossians 3:10, 12-14
a. Under Garments (Colossians 3:12)
b. Outer Garments (Colossians 3:13)
c. Over Garments (Colossians 3:14)
Conclusion:
1. It Would Do Us All Well To Search Our Own Hearts And Ask The Question The Disciples Asked "Is it I?"
2. Are We Betraying Christ In The Message Of Our Speaking?
3. Are We Betraying Christ In The Motive Of Our Doing?
4. Are We Betraying Christ In The Manner Of Our Living?
5. Are We Betraying Christ In The Methods Of Our Ministering?