Inspire Ohio 2014: Crisis at the Close

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Advent HOPE Kettering

Jason Sliger

Crisis At the Close: The Trials

Father, it's been a rich experience so far, just peeping into the life of your dear son.

And we've seen some amazing things, some things that we want in our own life.

And so Father, as we continue to watch this whole story play out in the next scene of the trials of Christ, Lord, speak to our hearts again.

I pray that we will fall at the foot of the cross and be broken and remolded and shaped into the men and women that you want us to be.

So our theme text as we sing in our theme song, what's our theme text?

Revelation 14 4, we're looking at the 144, 000 here in this particular passage of Scripture.

Revelation 14.4, some of the characteristics of these precious people that will be alive on earth when Jesus comes.

The Bible says, and These are they which were not defiled with women, for they are virgins, they are spiritually pure.

Where so ever he goes, wherever the Lamb leads, they will follow.

And as we looked in the spirit of prophecy, the servant of the Lord tells us that we will only be able to follow the Lamb in the courts of heaven above if we first follow him here below.

We're looking at the crisis at the close and we're comparing between the crisis at the close of the life of Christ, the last 48 hours of his life, and the crisis at the close of this earth's history.

And as we're making these parallels, we're looking for tools that Jesus used to make it through his crisis so we can use those same exact tools to make it through the hour of crisis that comes our way.

Now I want to share with you a passage of scripture that has become very precious to me in my personal walk with the Lord, 1 that I've spent a lot of time meditating on just recently, and that's in 1 Peter 2, verses 21-23.

The Bible says this, for even here unto were you called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that ye should follow in his, what?

Who did no sin, Neither was guile found in his mouth, who when he was reviled, reviled not again.

When he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously." That's who we are trying to follow here.

Now, as we look at this passage here in 1 Peter 2, again, usually it's looked at in a general sense that Christ is our example in all things, and as true as that may be, there is a specific application to the passage here, because Peter says he's looking at the suffering of Jesus and how as he suffered in his suffering that is an example to us in how we should live our lives when a time of suffering comes our way.

Now, the word that's translated here in the Greek for example, it is the only time that it appears in the New Testament.

I like it when I stumble across the word that's only used once in the New Testament because there must be some significance to it.

And the Greek word that's used, for example, in the Greek language, it is a word that is used for students when they were learning how to write the Greek alphabet.

And what they would do is they would be given a copy of the Greek alphabet, and from that copy, they would copy down their own copies, and that's how they would learn the Greek alphabet.

And so here Peter is telling us that as Jesus suffered that he is our example.

What Peter is saying is that Jesus is who we are to copy when our time of suffering comes upon us.

And he tells us exactly, he doesn't just stop there, but he tells us exactly how Jesus responded in his time of suffering.

What's the first thing that the Bible says there?

Here he is in the most trying time of his life.

Judas is there right in his intimate space And the Bible says, who did no sin.

Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth.

He didn't say things back to try to hurt other people, who when he was reviled, reviled not.

When he suffered, he threatened not, but he committed himself to him that what?

Now this is something that we have a hard time doing as human beings because we want to control things ourselves.

And so we get put in difficult situations and the natural tendency of a human is to take control of the situation ourselves.

The natural tendency is not to say, Father, what do you want me to do?

Natural tendency is, I know how to deal with this.

But the Bible tells us that when Jesus was in this situation, he didn't threaten them, but he relied upon him that judges righteously.

He depended upon his father and let his father be the 1 who judged his accusers.

Beautiful, beautiful description here of Jesus.

The example that is given to us as we come into the time of his trial.

Now, so far what we have seen in our last few studies together is that in the last days, we will have a similar experience to Jesus in the sense that we will have a Judas experience.

There will be those that will betray us, those of our own household, we're told, will be our worst enemies.

We also will have a similar experience in the sense that we will have a Judas experience.

We also will have a similar experience in the sense that we will be persecuted by those that are nearest to us, and maybe even those that are within the religious community.

We're also told in Bible prophecy that the church and state will unite together just like it did with Jesus in the time of Christ.

Church and state came together and the result was the persecution of God's son.

The result will be the persecution of us.

We have these things that are going to happen in our lives, but we have an example that Jesus didn't have.

Somebody should be thanking the Lord for that.

You see, Jesus had to depend upon His Father and just figure it out between Him and His Father.

But I thank the Lord that I don't have to figure it out, that I can look to Jesus and say, He is my example and I'm going to follow Him.

But the burning question is this tonight.

Why does God allow human beings to persecute His children?

Now it is perfectly obvious that the father could have prohibited what happened to his son if he chose to, but he didn't.

Why does He allow these things to happen?

Now there probably could be a variety of answers to that question and I'm sure a lot of those answers will be spoken about at GYC perhaps directly or indirectly.

But what I would like to pose to you this evening is that God allows these things to happen as it happened to his son and will happen to us as a demonstration.

The word demonstration is defined as the action or process of showing the existence or truth of something by giving proof or evidence.

God allows these things to happen as a demonstration.

He is using His Son to demonstrate to us the love of God in humanity.

He is using his son to demonstrate to us how we should live in our hour of crisis.

And he is going to use you and he's going to use me as a demonstration in the last days that the devil's accusations that God is an austere and stern God who is requiring things that are impossible as human beings, the whole basis of the great controversy, he's going to use you and he's going to use me as a living demonstration that the devil's accusations are wrong.

And what a royal responsibility God has given to us.

What a beautiful opportunity he's given to us to be a living demonstration to others of what God can do through a heart that is surrendered to him.

1st Corinthians jot it down chapter 4 verse 9 the Bible says this for we are made a spectacle unto the world and to angels and to men.

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Crisis At the Close: The Trials

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