Synopsis of Sermon 02.11.24

Delivered by Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III

Matthew 26:14-16 NKJV
14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?” And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver. 16 So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him.

I.          INTRODUCTION 

1. If there ever was a person that was famous for betrayal, it was Judas. Judas was real person that betrayed Jesus. All of us will have to deal with a Judas in our lives.
2. It can be difficult dealing with Judas because the betrayal cuts deep. Jesus chose the 12 disciples and Judas was one of them. When you discover what Judas is, you will have to be more spiritual in your response.
3. When you look at this, Jesus left Judas in with the Disciples for 3 ½ yrs, even though he knew he would betray him. How do we deal with betrayers among us?
4. When you look at the Last Supper, Jesus is reminding the Disciples that something was about to happen. He says, “Someone at the table is about to betray me”. This lets you know that this didn’t catch Jesus off guard.
5. Know that there is a potential to be a Judas in all of us. You can start off right, doing your spiritual assignment, but the enemy can ease in and cause you to have a hidden agenda. Jesus will show us that some disciples have hidden agendas.

II.          REMEMBER SOME DISCIPLES HAVE A HIDDEN AGENDA 

• We think our discernment is off when we miss seeing our Judas. Realize that some disciples have hidden agendas. You can do all you can to help people, but when the enemy gets a hold of you, then you can still develop hidden agendas, meant to bring you down.
• The coward rejoices when the Prominent fall.

A.    The Devil Always Uses the People Closest to Us 

1. We can deal with betrayal with people we don’t know, but when it is close to us, it hurts a little more.
2. To betray someone, you have to have access.
3. People betray you because:
   1. Some people can’t handle your anointing. – When someone is anointed, it doesn’t matter what they have. God can still elevate them to amazing places.
   1. Some people can’t handle your assignment – People can do ministry and still have the wrong motive. Everyone can’t go with you to different levels.
   1. Context: In John chapter 12 (please read). Mary comes and wants to wash Jesus’ feet. She anoints Jesus’ feat with this expensive perfume. Judas is the Treasurer, but he’s a crook at heart. He says that they could have taken this perfume and gave it to the poor, instead of wasting it to wash someone’s feet. He really wasn’t worried about the waste. He was worried about his cut being affected.

B.     You Can Do Ministry and Still Have a Motive 

1. Jesus reveals to the Disciples, always let the devil know that you are awake.
2. Jesus says someone is about to betray him. He never mentions the name, yet everyone asks, “Is it I?”. Why would you even ask this, if you didn’t have the potential to betray Jesus?
   1. This teaches us that we all have the potential to be a Judas. 1 Peter 5:8 NKJV says, Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. “

III.          ALWAYS LET THE DEVIL KNOW YOU ARE AWARE 

A.    Publicly Call It Out for What It Is 

1. Jesus calls Judas out while they were at the table. Some of you are so worried about being politically correct, you are scared to call the enemy out.
2. Jesus calls the plot and the plan out. He says, “Somebody at this table is about to betray me”. Jesus never addresses who it was, but when Judas asks if it was he, Jesus says, “You have said it”.

B.     Learn To Release People from The Relationship 

1. Jesus says someone is going to betray him, then he says do it quickly. You got to learn to release people from the relationship. When you release people, its not always better.
2. When you release someone, it’s releasing them to be available to its intended audience.
3. When you are released from a relationship, it makes you available to your intended spouse.
4. Story of the snake and gopher:
   1. There was this snake that wanted to cross the River. He went up to the gopher and asked if he could ride on his back across the river, so that he could get to his family.
   1. The Gopher refuses and tells the snake that he didn’t want to get bitten by the snake. The snake assures the gopher that he would not bite him, if he did this favor for him. After pleading for a while, the gopher finally gave in and let the snake ride his back across the river.
   1. After the snake was safely on the other side of the river, he got off the gopher’s back. The gopher smiles thinking he didn’t have anything to worry about after all.
   1. Suddenly the snake leans back and strikes the gopher. The gopher is taken by surprise that the snake has bitten him! He asks the snake how he could bite him, after he had just done a favor for him? The snake responds, “I guess it’s just in my nature”.
   1. It’s just in some people’s nature for them to harm you. Just like this, it was part of Judas’ nature to be a betrayer.

IV.          DON’T LET YOUR ADVERSARY CAUSE YOU TO DOUBT YOUR ALLIES 

• The offense is always after your heart. Jesus never lets this get to his heart. The Spirit of Judas is also about collateral damage. Never let Judas destroy your future by letting it destroy your heart.

A.    Judas Was Just One Of The 12 

1. Judas’ actions shouldn’t bring down the whole group.
2. We have to get away from the thinking that one bad apple spoils the whole bunch. The enemy wants to bring about offense.
3. You have to release some things to remove the toxicity at the table. This doesn’t mean the whole table is bad.
   1. How many people don’t go to church, because one church hurt them. How many people do you know that won’t date, because they dated one bad guy?
   1. Don’t generalize a whole group, because of what one person did. Don’t allow what happen to you, put you in a place where you can’t let God use you for the future.

B.     Celebrate Who Stayed Rather Than Be Consumed with Who Left 

1. Don’t spend energy talking about Judas and forget those that are left.
2. Judas went from transformational to transactional. His agenda changed to that of exchange.
3. Jesus never mentions Judas anymore after he left. Jesus just tended to the Disciples that were left.

V.          DON’T LET WHAT HAPPENED DISTRACT YOU FROM YOUR ASSIGNMENT 

• Remember Jesus had an assignment. He was God in Christ. He came to die for the sins in us.
• Everything the Old Testament prophesied, had to come to past in the New Testament. Jesus couldn’t let what happened to him, mess up his assignment.

A.    Those Who Do Bad to God’s People Reap Worse 

1. Keep working in your assignment. Stop waiting on an apology!
   1. Galatians 6:7 NKJV says ”Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.“- We will stand back and let God deal with it! 
   1. Genesis 12:3 NKJV says 3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”- God will curse those that curse you.
2. We study God’s word theologically, psychologically, and socially. Metaphorically speaking, Judas’ suicide shows what can happen when you do harm to God’s people. Judas ended up hanging himself. In other words, his deeds came back to haunt him.
   1. Example: This person did you wrong and later on, they ended up needing a letter of recommendation from you.
3. The Bible says God will make your enemy a foot stool. Don’t try to get even. Let Judas hang himself in his own trap! Don’t try and get even.

B.     The Pain Judas Caused Propels You to Your Destiny 

1. Judas sells Jesus out for 30 pieces of silver. – The 30 pieces of silver was the price for a slave. This was meant to be an insult to Jesus’ worth.
2. The Scribes wanted Judas to point Jesus out. Judas left the table (at the Last Supper) and went straight to the scribes. Jesus went to Garden of Gethsemane after the Last Supper to pray. Jesus prays so hard, blood and sweat comes from his head. At one point, Jesus asked God to let this bitter cup pass from Him.
3. While Jesus is praying, the soldiers are marching. They know how to get there, because Judas is leading them there.
4. While the three disciples were asleep, the Scribes and the Soldiers approached. Peter and two of the other disciples finally wake up. They were supposed to be watching and praying. Judas walks up to Jesus and kisses Him on the cheek. You better be careful who you allow to kiss you.
5. When they began to apprehend Jesus, Peter took out his knife and cut off the Roman soldier’s ear. Jesus put his ear back on and then reminded Peter that if you live by the sword, you will die by the sword.
   1. Prophecy had to be fulfilled. Jesus wasn’t meant to die in the garden. He was supposed to die on the cross, not in a brawl in the Garden.
6. We have to thank God for our Judas. If Judas hadn’t done what he done, Jesus wouldn’t have been arrested! If Judas hadn’t done what he done, then Jesus wouldn’t have been sent through the kangaroo courts, He wouldn’t have stood before Pilot, and then taken up a cross! If Judas hadn’t done what he did, then Jesus wouldn’t have shed his blood for us!
7. Because Judas did what he did, prophecy was fulfilled, and Jesus’ assignment was completed. Now we have the right to die that second death and live again!