Transcription
The word Lora, that brings an epilogue to what we've been wrestling with when things fall apart this week, comes to us from the 23rd chapter of the Gospel of Luke. We ask you not only turn to that Gospel of Luke in the 23rd chapter, but if you're physically able, we invite you to rest on your feet, but together we might reverence the reading of God's Word from Luke chapter 23, beginning in verse number 50.
In the twenty-third chapter of the Gospel Luke, verse number 50, reading out of the New King James Version, begins now: Behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man. He had not consented to their decision. Indeed, he was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before. That day was the preparation, and the Sabbath drew near. And the women who had come with him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how his body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils, and they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.
Which had to hang out in at 56 verse. And they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils, and they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment. As an epilogue to our series today, I want to talk about when there's nothing else you can do. You may be seated in the presence of the Lord.
If in your time of studying God's Word, you would take on the task of creating a timeline of the events that surround the final days of Jesus, you will notice that the final days of Jesus are not ordered by jurisprudence, but rather by God's providence. That will guide the final days of Jesus, not a movement of momentum of the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin Council to give him a fair and just trial, but whether what is revealed is that we serve a God who allows certain things to happen at certain times for a certain reason. That God orchestrates events in our lives to teach us a lesson that prepares us for what's coming down the road.
Hang out in the last days of Jesus and notice that there is an almost urgency and sense of immediacy that presses and pushes the timeline in a way that rushes the last moments of Jesus' life. He shows up to Jerusalem on Sunday. Monday, he turns over the tables in the temple and gets the attention of the Sanhedrin Council. By Tuesday, they've already made a decision to kill him. By Wednesday, they found a co-conspirator named Judas. Thursday, he's arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. Judy, he's arrested around 9:00 p.m., and by 3:00 p.m. on Friday, he's already dead. He's arrested at 9:00 p.m., and within 18 hours, he's on the cross, only to be dead three hours later.
And look at everything that happens in a short period of time. In 18 hours, the 72-member Sanhedrin Council is convened at night, which is illegal, and they get word, and they all show up. And you know, you can't get folk to show up that many folk that time of night. It's a few hours. They gather together, they conspire against Jesus, and convict him on a charge that they know he's not guilty of. Within 18 hours, they drag him to Pilate's house for trial in the midnight hour. Pilate doesn't give a verdict. They take him to Herod. Herod doesn't give a verdict. They bring him back to Pilate. All of this is happening between midnight and 6:00 in the morning. By 6:00 in the morning, a crowd has gathered outside Pilate's house, and within that time period, the Sanhedrin Council has found people that they paid to show up at 6:00 in the morning to lie on Jesus. They show up, they lie. Pilate can't victim of a charge he knows exists enough. He's beaten, he's stripped, he's forced to carry a 120-pound cross through the streets of Jerusalem, up the mountainside of Golgotha, and within 18 hours, he is nailed on the cross to be crucified.
Now, the question that ought to be asked right here is, why the rush? Why were they in such a hurry to get Christ on the cross? The answer is because on Friday, when the sun goes down, the Passover would begin. When Friday sun goes down, it's Sabbath day, it's holy day, and they know they can't crucify Christ during the Sabbath and during the Passover. And so they are rushing, Michelle, to get Christ on the cross because if they don't get them by 3:00 p.m. on Friday, when the sun starts to go down, they know Passover will begin. And when Passover is done, all the thousands of Jews who come to Jerusalem will leave and go back home, and the Pharisees will have missed their opportunity to publicly crucify Jesus in the presence of thousands of folks who can then go back home and tell folk, "This Jesus thing is over." And so there's a rush, Sam, to get them on the cross so thousands can witness it and they can be done with Jesus. So they get him on the cross by noon. By 3:00 p.m., he's dead, and the rush still continues.
Bob teaches us that there's a member of the Sanhedrin Council by the name of Joseph from a city called Arimathea. Joseph goes to Pilate and asks for permission to get the body of Jesus. Joseph knows he's rushing against the clock. It's 3 p.m. Jesus is dead. The sun will set in a few hours. If he doesn't get Jesus off the cross, wrapped up, buried, and seal the tomb by the time the sun goes down, Jews will be prohibited from doing any labor or work. And that means the body of Jesus has one of two choices: either get buried or Rome will burn it. So he's got a few hours to get the body down, to get a body wrap, to get the body in the tomb before the sun sets, because once the sun sets, there's nothing else they can do, and the body of Jesus is going to be burned. Time is ticking.
And while Joseph is hurrying to get the body down, to get the body wrapped, to get the body buried, the Bible tells us that there is a crowd of women that have followed Jesus all the way from Galilee. These are not some sisters who just showed up at the last minute. These are some sisters that have been with him since his ministry began. But this, this crowd has Mary, his mama, who've been there from the first moment. This crowd has Mary Magdalene, who loved him so much that she broke open fragrant, expensive oil and washed his feet with her hair. This, this crowd had Mary and Martha, who loved Jesus and would do anything for my. I wonder if Jairus's daughter was there. I wonder if the woman with the issue of blood was there. I wonder if the woman from the well at Samaria was there. Our wonder Peter's mother-in-law was there. I wonder if the over woman had showed up. All the women that Jesus had blessed, they're now following Joseph as he buries the body. Henry, don't miss this. They're following behind a dead body because for them, it's not over yet. They find it hard to accept that it ended like this. They find it hard to process how things could have gone so wrong, so bad, so quick. They find it hard to acknowledge that their dreams have now been shattered. And sometimes in life, we find ourselves following behind a dead thing because we hope that we can do something more to save it. Just about some he preaching to you right now, and they're following it. Watch this, because they want to anoint his body properly. The problem is, the sun is going down. And now that the sun is going down, the laws of Sabbath have prevented them from being able to anoint the body of Jesus. They wanted to do more, but now all they can do is watch it be buried. Their heart wanted to do more, but all they can do is watch it be buried. Love it, because I come by here to tell you that life and the Lord will sometimes put you in a place where all you can do is watch it be buried. Come on, come a light. And the Lord will put you in a place where there seemingly nothing else you can do. Your hands are tied. Your last move has already been made. All the options have been played out. There are no more tricks up your sleeve. There are no more speeches you can give. There are no more pleas you can offer them. No more "I'm sorrys" you can render. There's no more "Can we try again?" You're in a place where there's no more time on the clock, and all you can do is watch it be buried. And that's it. So place, which is why you know claps right around here, because it's hard to stand and watch something be buried that you hope you could save.
And when the Lord puts you in a place where your hands are tied and you realize there's nothing else you can do, there's nothing else you can say, there's no more move to make, in that moment, when it seems like there's nothing else you can do, let me use these sisters to teach you what you ought to do. Can we hang out right there? When you don't know what else to do, these sisters teach us what we ought to do. When it seems like there's nothing else you can do, the Bible says that they went home and they prepared oils and spices. Hang out right there. They go home and they don't sit sorrowful and sad. They don't sit pathetic trying to process how it went down. They're not wallowing in their pity and their pain, but the Bible says, watch this, they are preparing oils and spices. The word that ought to jump up off the page is "prepared," because beloved, you don't prepare for what has already happened. You only start preparing when deep inside your heart, you believe that something else is about to happen. Can I preach right here? That when you don't know what else to do, you ought to prepare for the next chapter and believe in your heart that no matter how bad it went down, we serve a God who's not finished yet, and God has another chapter that God is calling you to get ready for. Oh, we, I don't know who I'm preaching to right now, but I wish I had some job things who would say, "Please be patient with me. Does God ain't finished with me yet? That God has more. God wants to do. God is calling you to believe that your story is not done." And I need you to get prepared, believing that God's gonna do something else. Don't know when, but he will. Don't know who, but he will. Don't know what time, but he will. I just believe that God isn't finished yet. The words of tomorrow, day. No matter what disappointment you've been incurred, no matter what pain you've dealt with, no matter how much your heart has been broken, I want you to believe that if you're still here today, that God is not finished with you yet. The Bible says that eyes have not seen and ears have not heard. Maybe you ain't even dripped about how good God wants to be. The Bible says, "I know the thoughts I think for you, the plan I have for you." God isn't done yet. Who can I? Can I preach this right here? Just watch this, watch this Whitfield. The Bible says that they're preparing, but they're preparing after the sun is going down. What? They're getting ready in the dark. It's getting dark, and they're still believing something better's on the way. Now, now, not, not a problem is for many of us, we like it's dark, we don't get ready, we give up. When, when we don't know what's going to happen, we don't get prepared, we throw in the towel. And here are some sisters who see the sun going down and decide to get ready for what God. How can you believe God when it's getting dark? How can you trust God when it's getting worse? How can you be excited about God when it seems like it's going from bad to worse to worse? I was struggling with this till I remember something Dr. Judy taught in Bible study. She reminded us that in Jewish culture, the day is not marked by sunrise, sunset. In Jewish culture, the day is marked by sunset, sunrise. That a day in Jewish culture doesn't begin when the sun does. A new day begins when the sun says, "You are head." Read Genesis. The Bible says, "And the evening and the morning were the day." That, watch this, in Jewish culture, the day began when it gets dark. The next day starts when the sun goes down. God is doing a new thing when the darkness comes over your life. I wish somebody caught back that when it gets dark, it's not when you give up. When it gets dark, it's when you realize that God is up to something and God is about to open a new day in your life. Okay, okay, okay, okay. All about four people got it. Uh, I, I took my son on Friday to go see Spider-Man. Spider-Man came out. We want to go. She's moving. So let's see Spider-Man. And while we're in the theater waiting for the movie to begin, I got a phone call from Rosetta. I knew it was a business call. I had to take, but it didn't disturb folk. They were in the theater. So I told my younger son, Cooper, I said, "Listen, Daddy's got to go out and take a call. Number one, y'all don't do nothing. Don't go nowhere. No talk to nobody. Number two, I don't want to miss the movie. So say, Cooper, call me when the movie starts so I can come back in the theater. I've got a business call I got to take. I don't want to disturb theater. Don't go nowhere. Don't move. Don't talk to nobody. Call me when the movie starts so I can come back in the theater. I don't want to miss the movie. Call me when the movie starts so I can come back in the theater." I go out to talk to Rosetta. In about 30 seconds, Barbara, I got a phone call from Cooper. I switch over. I say, "What?" He said, "Daddy, the movie's about to start." I said, "Cooper, the movie is not about to start. I just left the theater. The previews weren't even on." I've only been going 30 seconds. "Call me when the movie starts." So I said, "Cooper, the movie is not about to start. I just walked out of the theater. Call me when it's are about to start." Said, "Daddy, I'm telling you, the movie is about to start." I said, "Cooper, how do you know the movie is about to start?" He said, "Cuz the lights just went out." And since the lights just went out, we know the movie is about to begin. I don't know who I'm preaching to at 9:30, but somebody, I want you to know that it is getting dark in your life, and the lights are going out, and you don't know what else to do. That's just a sign that God is getting ready to start the next chapter. He, peace. He, he's about to start. So when it gets dark, it seems like there's nothing to do. That's when you prepare for the next chapter. Can't give you number two. When it seems like there's nothing else to do, not only should you prepare for the next chapter, but number two, you are to persist in God's commandments. Keep doing what God commanded you to do. While stopping, the Bible says they went home, knowledge they prepare, but they rested on the Sabbath. Watch that last race, according to the commandments. Instead, listen, we know what the Bible says. Bible says in Exodus chapter 20, verse 8, to keep the Sabbath day holy. And so, even though Jesus is dead, and even though our hearts have been broken, and even though all we can do is watch it be buried, it, even though that's not how we pray things would wind up, we're still going to obey what God told us to do. God said, "Keep the day holy." We're going to keep it holy. We're going to obey even when we're disappointed. We're going to obey even when we're brokenhearted. We're going to obey even when it didn't go down the way we wanted it to. We're still going to do what God commanded us to do. Let me tell you why that's such a real word, because in seasons of extreme disappointment, we excuse disobedience. Yeah, when, when it hasn't gone down the way we thought it should, that's when we convince ourselves that God will give us a pass on his word. I know what you say. I said it myself. When your heart's broken, just what you say, "God understands. God knows what I've been through." And since he's a merciful God, and we wind up convincing ourselves that we can live life on our own terms and no longer abide by the Word of God. I mean, really, what's the point in forgiving if they don't change? What's the point in praying if don't nothing happen? What's the point in getting up every Sunday, fighting that crowd, trying to get a parking space, coming in here, praying you don't get put in overflow? [Applause] Telling us you got to remember inside is holding a seat for you. If you go through all of that, and all hell still breaks loose in your life, and we wind up excusing our disobedience by our disappointment. But these women are a model to us that even when life has not turned out the way we think life ought to turn out, that does not mean we abandon the principles of God's Word. Because here's a newsflash: when your heart is broken, God's Word still works. When life hasn't filled out the way you want, God's Word still works. When you haven't got what you desire, the Word still works. I wish I had about five Bible readers who know that even in the midst of extreme disappointment, the Word still works. So when you don't know what to do, here's what y'all to do. You ready? Obey His Word. When you didn't get, watch the world. Here's what y'all to do. Love your neighbor as yourself. When you didn't get what you want, here's what y'all to do. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your path. Pray without ceasing. Wait on the Lord and be of good courage, and He will strengthen your heart. Forgive them that despitefully use you. Pray for them that standing your way. Fret not yourself over evildoers. Hold to God's hand and trust God's Word. [Applause] It seems like there's nothing else to do. You want to persist in His commandments. You are prepared for the next chapter. CAG, you're number three, real quick. And you ought to learn to be passive when God is in charge. I would tell me folk, Texas, um, the women want to anoint the body. They want to lay their hands on the dead body, but the Sabbath says you can't touch it. They want to put their hands on it, but the law of God says you can't touch it. They want to put their hands on it, but God says you got to leave it alone. Okay, okay, okay. It took about 12 seconds for some of y'all guys. So here's the good news and the bad news of you. The bad news, the bad news is, there sometimes comes a moment when the Lord tells you, "Take your hands off it." There comes a moment when the Lord tells you, "Stop dealing with it." This is for somebody right here. You, you, you can't fix this. You can't change this. You can't save this. And you are wasting the resources of your life trying to put your hands on something God told you to let go on. Now gets quiet because, because with your PhD, in your GS-13, you believe that if you put your hands on something, you can turn it around. Somebody once you know that your best efforts are futile when the Lord says, "Take your hands on that." That's the bad news. You gotta take your hands off. Let me give some Hallelujah good news. Then when you take your hands off of it, God [Applause] God will put His hand on it. Cuz sometimes you gotta take your hand off for God to put His hand on. And when you let go, you can let God have His way. Is there any witness in the house that when you let go of it and put it in God's hands, that God will take care of it? I don't know who I'm reaching to tonight, but I want someone to know that your hand is interfering with the hand of God. Your efforts are standing in the way of God's will. And the hardest thing in the world to do is step back and let God have it. But let me see if I can help you understand why. I found this out watching one of my favorite TV shows. I like to cook. One of my favorite TV shows is Barefoot Contessa. I, I like Ina Garten. Yes, I do. As a soul sister with with no suntan, but she can. Ina, Ina. And one of her shows was making homemade rolls. And I, and I like homemade rolls. No non-governmental store-bought homemade rolls. And I know is teaching how to make homemade rolls. And she taught us how to make the dough with the right amount of flour and yeast and water and butter. And then after the dough is made, she began to teach people how to knead the dough. Now, if you don't know what kneading is, that's when you got to get your hands in it, and you break it down, and you're mixing it and molding it. Your hands are kneading the dough. You're kneading it with your hands. Your hands are all in it. She said, "But you got to be careful because you can over-knead the dough. You can have too much hand in it and cause it to break down." So after you've kneaded it correctly, she says, "You got to take your hands off of it. You got to wrap it up and let it rest so the yeast can make it rise." You just missed it. There comes a moment when you got to take your hands out of it and let it rest so the yeast can make it rise. Because as long as your hand is in it, it will never rise. As long as your hand is in it, it will never be what it's supposed to be. I don't know who I preach it to right around here, but somebody, the word of the Lord to you is, it's time to stop kneading and let that thing rest so God can make it rise. You got to take your hands off of it and let God do what God wants to do. Would you know somebody's up? Take your hands off it. Take your hands off it. Huh? It's our power. We got to go. That's I want you to prepare for next chapter. Are we persisting God's commandments? I want you to be passive while God's in charge. But watch the fourth thing you got to do when it seems like there's nothing else to do and all you're doing is watching it be buried. Watch this is pastoring me. You've got to prioritize coming to church. Yeah, I said it before, I take it back. I add more to it. You've got to prioritize coming to church when, when the bottom of your life has dropped out and your dreams have been dashed against the rock and your heart has been broken. That ain't the Sunday the miss church. Can I teach in the Bible? Bible says, knowledge that they prepare and not only do they sit still and not only do they trust God, but they kept the Sabbath. And part of the service is to worship. These sisters made a decision that even though Jesus is dead, we're gonna worship. Even though our hearts are broken, we're gonna worship. Even though we don't know what's going to happen next, we're gonna worship. Even though it got dark before it got better, we're gonna worship. Even when we don't have any idea of what God is up to, we're gonna worship. When Pilate has done us wrong, we're gonna worship. When the Fed Hedren still occupies the house, we're gonna worship. When things don't look like they're going in our favor, we're gonna worship. When we don't have a reason to lift up hands, we're gonna worship. When we don't have any money in our pocket, we're gonna worship. When the doctor says, "I got cancer all over my body," I'm still going to worship. You've got to have a commitment to worshiping God. Now, let me tell you why it gets quiet here, and I've done because we live in a generation that easily excuses themselves from worship. Church for this generation has become pseudo-optional. When we ain't got nothing else to do, if it's Christmas or Mother's Day or Easter, if the family's in town, [Applause] we want them to think we go to church every Sunday. We excuse ourselves with things like, "Well, you know, it's been a long week and I need to rest today. Mom, I've been busy and I've got errands to run. You know, the grocery store is not crowded on Sunday morning. Families coming to town, I got to get the house cleaned up, got to get the linens done. I've got things on the oh, I know, I know. Um, I'm not going today because, cuz not choir in singing, okay? I guess I'm not going today because I heard the pastor a preaching and I ain't going through all that to here associate assistant Reverend nothing." [Applause] So you see how you last them? You see how you laughing these system a decision that they're going to worship because they understand that a worship has nothing to do with who's preaching. Worship has nothing to do with who's singing. Worship has nothing to do with what so week has been like. The original word for worship derives from an old English word called worth-ship. That worship originally had a pH in it because what we're into God was determined by how much God was worth. And so the simple God and worth anything to you because you think you made it by yourself. And so you don't have to come on Sunday. But there's some folks that know that if it had not been, I feel little Baptists right there, if it hadn't been for the Lord, it got hand had been on my life, I wouldn't be alive today. And when I think about how much he's working, I will worship Him. Is there anybody in Albert Street this morning who can declare that God is my all and all? That He is the source of my life, and I worship Him because of what He's worth? That even, even when things haven't gone my way, His worth goes up. Hear me, beloved. God's worth goes up when life goes down. Okay, uh, I'ma help you, um, help you out in the spirit of 444. And we're dealing with economic empowerment. Some y'all even know what I'm talking about. [Applause] In spirit of economic empowerment, I, I made a decision that I'm going to start investing my money better. I want, I want to invest my money. I'm looking at at the sunset, and I want to make certain that I walk off on my own terms and nobody rolls on me off the pulpit. I'm walking out on my own terms. And because they, I want to invest correctly. Now, you need to know that I'm type of guy that when I get into something, I need to learn all about it before I get in. And I, I jump all the way down 110. I'm extra. I'm dramatic. That's the way I am. I got to learn everything. So before I started investing, I wanted to read up on how to invest your money correctly. And while reading up on investing, I found out that there are two types of seasons in the New York Stock Exchange. Let me teach them to you. One is called a bull market, and the other is called a. There's some investors in the house. A bear market. There is a bull market, and there is a bear market. And likewise, there are two types of investors. There are bull investors, and there are bear investors. Please don't lose me. You are either a bull investor or you are a bear investor. Now, for those who don't ascend this winged bull and bear, the best way to understand the difference is to remember how each animal attacks. A bull attacks by lowering its head and charging up. A bear attacks by standing up and swiping down. A bull charges up. A bear swipes down. If you remember that, then it's easy to know the difference. A bull market is when things are going up. A bull market is when stocks are on the rise. A bull market is when there's surplus in the economy. A bull market is when Clinton wasn't awful. [Applause] Huell is on the ride. A bear market is the exact opposite. A bear market is when the stocks are falling. A bear market market is when recession is in the wind. A bear market is when the bottom is dropping out. And there are two types of investors. There are those that only connect when things are going up. There those that only get on board when it's soaring high. There are those that only show up when it's going in their direction. But then there are some bear investors. Those who get on board when the bottom is falling out. Those who invest when the prices are dropping. Those who get in when it looks like it's headed in the wrong direction. Now, what you don't understand is that bear investors usually make more money than bull investors. Why is that? Because folks who get on when it's going down recognize that sooner or later, it ain't got no choice but to come back up. And when it comes back up, your profit is higher. Goodbye Alfred Street. May the Lord bless your mighty good. But I come by to tell you, there are two types of worshipers in church. There are bull worshipers who can only wave when everything is going right. There are bull worshipers who can only worship when all the bills are paid. I'm not preaching to you. I'm looking for some bear saints who declare, "What is going down? When the bottom drops out, when all hell breaks loose, I will bless the Lord at all times. I will worship Him at all times." Is there any bear worshiper who can declare He's worthy when it goes wrong? He's worthy when it doesn't look good. He's worthy. Hey, tell somebody, tell them, "I'm a bear. I'm a bear. I'm a bear." Hey. [Music] Come on. When you don't know what to do, get ready for what God is about to do. When you don't know what to do, hold to the Word that still works. When it seems like there's nothing else to do, make your way into the house of God and learn when it's time to take your hands off. God have His way. Yes. What about me, Lord? I pray today because somebody like me is facing a moment when they know it seems there's nothing else they can do. Despite their desire, all they can do is watch it be buried. But in that moment, God, I believe that Your hand is still mighty. That my story is not done. And that I can step back and let You have Your way. And I commit myself to worshiping You while I wait because Your worth goes up when my life is going down. You are worthy to be praised. And we thank You, God. In Jesus' name. Amen.