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A Picture of the Best of Us - Part 2 of 2

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• All right, let's open our Bibles, if you would please, to Matthew chapter 26. Matthew chapter 26. I preached a message beginning last week, which I entitled "A Picture of the Best of Us," and this is part 2. So if you look at Matthew chapter 26, let's just simply begin reading the first two verses. The Bible says, "And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples, 'You know that after two days is the feast of the Passover, and the Son of Man is betrayed to be crucified.'" Last week I dealt with a picture of the best of us, and I showed how Judas, in one sense of the word, was a picture of us. I pointed out the fact that many times pictures do not flatter us. And even though they are true, many times pictures are easy to the eyes and are easy on the mind in the sense that seeing is often easier than thinking.

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• That's why we always say a picture is worth a thousand words. We only need to look at a picture and then understand it. So sadly, while many pictures are accurate, they're not very flattering as well. So when we look in Matthew chapter 26, Jesus Christ has been betrayed by Judas. And of course, this is in the setting of what you and I would call the last Passover meal and/or the institution of the Lord's Supper. So if you'll note, if you would, the Bible says in verse 2, "You know that after two days is the feast of the Passover." So the Passover was where the Lamb of God was slain. And in this instance, it's the true Lamb of God, for the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 5 and verse 7 that even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. Now, there's a beautiful truth in regard to the Lord Jesus Christ as the Passover Lamb given to us in the book of Genesis. Now, I want you to hold Matthew 26, but I would like you to turn in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 22, because in this passage God is testing Abraham and he tells him to take his only son Isaac and go to one of the mountains

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• in which he will tell him, and then he asked him to sacrifice Isaac. So if you look in Genesis chapter 22, let's begin reading there with verse 1. Genesis 22 in verse 1, the Scripture says, "Now it came to pass after these things that God did tempt or test Abraham and said unto him, 'Abraham.' And he said, 'Behold, here I am.' And he said, 'Take now thy son, thine only son, Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah. Offer him therefore a burnt offering upon one of the mountains, which I will tell thee of.'" Now the interesting thing to me is this: God has just told Abraham to sacrifice his only son with Sarah. Look, if you would, at verse 3: "And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled

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• his ass." If that had been the most of us, we'd have slept in as late as we could have slept in. But no, Abraham got up early so that he could obey the Lord.

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• Now, if you'll skip down—and by the way, it took him three days to get there. So I want you to look, if you would please, beginning in verse 6. Look what happened when they got there to offer the sacrifice. "And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it upon Isaac, his son. And he took the fire in his hand and a knife, and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto his father, unto Abraham, his father, and said, 'My father.' And he said, 'Here am I, my son.' And he said, 'Behold, the fire and the wood. But where is the lamb for a burnt offering?' And Abraham said, 'My son, God will provide himself a lamb for the burnt offering.' And so they went both of them together."

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• Now, the picture is very, very revealing. So what does Abraham, the father, do? He lays the wood upon Isaac, which is typical of the Lord Jesus Christ. He carried his own cross until they drafted Simon the Cyrenian to help him. But I want you to note, if you would, Abraham the father carried the fire and the knife, which speaks there of the wrath and the anger of God the Father. And so here you have the picture of God the Father in His righteous anger and His righteous wrath, and here you have a picture of the Son carrying the wood. Now, I want you to look in verse 7 again, because here's the question that is asked. Isaac said, "My father." And he said, "Here am I, my son." And he said, "Behold, the fire and the wood.

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• I know what we need. But where's the lamb for the burnt offering?" Now look at Abraham's response in verse 8: "And Abram said, 'My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering.' So they went both of them together." Now, I want you to note there was one word missing. The word should not be there, but most people put it there and we think that it should be there when it should not be. So when Isaac asked, "Here's the fire and here's the wood, but where's the lamb for a burnt offering?" Look at what is stated in verse 8: "And Abram said, 'My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering.'" He did not say that God will provide for himself. He said, "God will provide himself."

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• In other words, God will give God, God will give Himself. So this is exactly why when John the Baptist saw the Lord Jesus Christ, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." Certainly Jesus Christ now is God in the flesh. You remember that passage in John 1 in verse 14: "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." And then in 1 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 16: "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, and received up into glory." But note what he said: "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh." So Jesus Christ was the true Lamb of God, and He was sacrificed for us.

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• So think about this, if you would, please. Of all the millions, undoubtedly, of lambs that were slain in the Old Testament, all of those lambs pointed to the one true Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

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• Now, when you get to Luke chapter—Matthew 26, and Luke chapter 22, you'll find it there as well. And you have this last Passover meal, which indeed is the institution of what we know as the Lord's Supper.

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• Now, this was a very serious occasion, very solemn occasion, and also a very spiritual occasion. And so this last supper was a serious occasion for Jesus Christ. So you're going to ask, why was it so serious? Well, first of all, he had a great desire to eat this last supper with his disciples. He said in Luke chapter 22 in verse 15, "And he said unto them, 'With desire I have desired to eat this last supper with you.'" So he desired to have that. Secondly, he knew there would be his last meal with them. When he sent them to prepare that meal, he said in Matthew 26 in verse 18, "My time is at hand." And then in Luke 22 in verse 15, he wanted to have this meal, he said, "before I suffer." And then thirdly, he knew that it was going to be at this meal that he was going to be betrayed into the hands of sinners. So if you look in Matthew 26, let's begin reading there with verse 21. I will come back to this passage. "And as they

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• did eat, he said, 'Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.' And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, 'Lord, is it I?' And he answered and said, 'He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. 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 had he not been born.' Then Judas, who betrayed him, answered and said, 'Master, is it I?'

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• He said unto him, 'Thou hast said.' That's equivalent to our statement, 'You said it, buddy.' In other words, you're right.

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• Now, notice if you would, Judas asked, "Master, is it I?" He said, "Yes, it is you."

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• Now, I want you to understand that there is a principle here that you and I must see and must grasp, and we must really and truly understand it. So here it is. When you have the most solemn occasion, the most serious occasion, and the most spiritual occasion, the flesh always acts up. There is never a safe time from the flesh.

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• Now, if you don't believe that, just say, "I'm going to dedicate myself to 30 minutes of uninterrupted prayer." And the next thing you know, you're going to be interrupted 15 times, if not by a phone, if not by someone knocking at the door, some strange noise or some strange thought that goes through your mind that gets you thinking of other things. The same thing with reading the Scripture. I mean, you're going to determine you're going to read the Scripture for, say, a month or you're going to read it through in a year, and you will start out very well. But then something somehow will stop you and you just simply never ever get it done. In other words, the flesh always acts up. It always acts up in a time of revival. It always acts up when the power of God is around because your flesh hates God. That's very simple.

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• I'll show it to you from the Bible. But your flesh hates God.

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• Now, the Bible gives us pictures in the Old Testament that are more clearly seen in the New Testament. Let's see. Here's how this goes. The New Testament is in the Old Testament concealed and the Old Testament is in the New Testament revealed. In other words, you see the truth in germ form in the New Testament—of the New Testament in the Old Testament. And then you see the truth clearly that's concealed in the Old Testament as it is revealed in the New Testament. So let me ask that you turn in your Bibles to the book of Exodus. You hold Matthew 26, please. But if you will turn to Exodus chapter 17, I'm going to give you a picture before we ever look at Matthew chapter 26. So if you'll look into Exodus chapter 17, here is a tremendous statement that is often overlooked. So in Exodus chapter 17, verse 8, look at this.

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• All the Bible says is this: "Then came Amalek and fought with Israel in Rephidim." Then came Amalek. Now, I want you to note the timing of Amalek's war with Israel, with the people of God. What had happened in Exodus chapter 12 was the Passover. The blood had been applied. When you get to Exodus chapter 16, there God miraculously provides the manna from heaven. When you get to Exodus chapter 17, God now miraculously provides water out of the rock, because Moses smites that rock. Now, I want you to look in Exodus chapter 17, beginning there with verse 4. "And Moses cried to the Lord, saying, 'What shall I do unto this people?

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• They be almost ready to stone me.' And the Lord said unto Moses, 'Go on before the people, and take with thee the elders of Israel, and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take it in thine hand, and go. Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock at Horeb, and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink.' And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel." So note, if you would, the blood had been applied, the manna had been given, the water has been given, and then in verse 8, "Then came Amalek." Now here's the interesting thing. I want you to stop and think about this. The Bible tells us, which I've already quoted in 1 Corinthians chapter 5 in verse 7, that even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. So now we've just read in the book of Exodus about the manna, and we've also read about the water. Do you remember in John chapter 6, where Jesus Christ said, "I am the bread of life"?

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• They said, "Give us this manna. Moses gave us this manna. Show us that you're the Son of God." He said, "Verily, Moses did not give you that manna in the wilderness, but my Father gave you that manna." And he said, "My Father now has sent the true manna," which of course is Jesus Christ. And when you get to John chapter 7, he said, "I am the water of life. Whosoever drinketh of me, it shall be in him a well springing up into everlasting life." So Jesus Christ is not only the manna, the divine manna.

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• He is our food, our nourishment, our sustenance. He is our water as well.

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• Now, I want you to look in your Bibles in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 at verses 3 and 4. 1 Corinthians chapter 10 verses 3 and 4, this ought to put this together for you. Remember now, this is a picture that is given to us so that we can understand. So in 1 Corinthians 10 verse 3, we're talking about Moses delivering the people. In verse 3, "And they did all eat that same spiritual meat"—that would be the manna—"and did all drink that same spiritual drink." Look at this: "For they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ." So Jesus Christ now, the bread of life, Jesus Christ is the water of life. And you put this together: in Exodus 12 you have the blood applied, Exodus 16 you have the manna given, Exodus 17 you have the water. Jesus Christ is bread and water. Here is the most serious, solemn, and spiritual occasion where God is providing everything. Then came Amalek. Now you have to ask yourself this question: Who was Amalek and why is this important?

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• So if you'll go back in your Bibles to the book of Genesis chapter 36 and look at verse 12. Genesis 36 in verse 12, you're going to find out who Amalek was. So in Genesis 36 and verse 12, the Bible says, "And Timna was concubine to Eliphaz, Esau's son, and she bare to Eliphaz Amalek. These were the sons of Adah, Esau's wife." Now note, if you would, that means Amalek happens to be the grandson of Esau. Now, Esau, you must remember, was one who despised spiritual things. He is the one who sold his birthright for a mess of pottage. And the Bible tells us in Hebrews chapter 12, verses 16 and 17, "Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright." So Amalek was the grandson of Esau, who despised spiritual things. Now I want you to go back, if you would, to Exodus chapter 17. In Exodus chapter 17 you have the war going on here where Joshua is fighting against the Amalekites. So Moses is up on the hill with the rod of God

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• in his hand. And so when Moses raises that rod, then of course Israel prevails. When his hands get weary and he drops the rod, then Amalek prevails. And so Aaron and Hur see what is happening. They put a rock under Moses so he can sit, and they stay up his hands. Now, here's the interesting thing. I want you to look—of course Joshua ends up winning that battle—but look in verse 14 of Exodus chapter 17: "And the Lord said unto Moses, 'Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua.'" Now look what God says: "For I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven." So here's what God is saying: I'm gonna wipe him out. Now there's another verse, and just let me quote it. It's found in Numbers chapter 24 and verse 20. And this is the prophecy of Balaam when he's looking out and he says this: "And when he looked on Amalek, he took up this parable and said, 'Amalek was the first of the nations, but his latter end is that he shall perish forever.'"

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• So I want to ask you a question. Skip down now to Exodus chapter 17 and let's begin reading verse 15: "And Moses built an altar and called the name of it Jehovah Nissi. For he said, 'Because the Lord had sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.'" Now, wait a minute. Hang on. How in the world is the Lord going to have war with Amalek from generation to generation if he smites him utterly according to verse 14, wipes out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven? And how is it in Numbers chapter 24 and verse 20 there

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• he's to be destroyed forever, and yet now it says the Lord's going to have war with Amalek from generation to generation? Well, let me tell you, Amalek as a people were wiped out, just like the Scripture says. But when God said He's going to have war with Amalek from generation to generation, it is the principle which Amalek represents that continues. Well, what does he represent? I'm going to show you. I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 25. Deuteronomy 25, and you're going to see this, I hope, in the New Testament. But look in Deuteronomy chapter 25.

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• And let's begin reading there with verse 17. Deuteronomy 25 verse 17. Look at this. God says, "Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way when you were come out of Egypt." Now, wait a minute. Just stop right there. "Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way when you were come out of Egypt." He says, "Remember." Now look in verse 18: "How he met thee by the way." In other words, Amalek purposely, premeditatedly pressed the attack. He was the initiator. Israel did not attack Amalek. Amalek attacked Israel. So mark this down: Amalek is someone or something that will purposefully, premeditatedly press the attack. He will initiate the attack. So he said, "How he met thee by the way, and smote behind most of thee"—attack from the rear when you weren't looking—"even all that were feeble behind thee"—attacked the weak—"when thou was faint and weary; and he feared not God." Now look what it says: "Therefore it shall be, when the Lord thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. Thou shalt never forget it." Now,

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• wait a minute. When you look in verse 17, God says, "Remember what Amalek did to you." Now in verse 19 He says, "Thou shalt never forget it." Even though God has wiped out Amalek as a people, there's a principle that you and I are to never, ever forget. And we have to understand that Amalek is a type of our flesh. God said, "Remember." Esau was the one who hated spiritual things. Amalek here, he feared not God, the Bible said. He had no concern for God. No. God says you're never, ever forget him. Now the reason God is gonna have war with Amalek from generation to generation is the reason that you and I are never to forget is that Amalek is a type of the flesh. So let me just quote this. You can find this in Romans 8, verses 6 through 8. Listen to what the Bible says: "For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." Hang on now, "because the carnal mind is enmity against God.

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• It's not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." Listen, verse 8: "So then they that are in flesh cannot please God." Nothing our flesh can do can please God. Nothing. And Amalek is a type of the flesh.

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• Now, I want you to understand this. In the most solemn and serious and spiritual occasion, the flesh attacks. It'll sneak up on you from behind. It'll purposely press the attack. It'll hit you when you're weak and weary. It'll hit you when you're faint and faltering. It doesn't care because it does not fear God. Now I want you to turn back to Matthew chapter 26, because in Matthew 26 we have the institution of the Lord's Supper.

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• We have the last Passover which Christ ate with his disciples, and before he was betrayed into the hands of sinners. Now, so, I want you to look at what is happening in Matthew 26. First of all, Christ announced that he was going to be betrayed by one of the twelve. Let's go back to Matthew 26 and begin reading there in verse 21 and look what happens. "And as they did eat, he said, 'Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.' And they were exceedingly sorrowful and began every one of them to say unto him, 'Lord, is it I?'"

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• Peter asked that question, "Is it I?" Nathaniel asked that question, "Is it I?" Andrew asked that question, "Is it I?" John asked that question, "Is it I?" Look in verse 23: "And he answered and said, 'He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. The Son of Man goeth as 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.' Then Judas, who betrayed him, answered and said, 'Master, is it I?'"

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• He said unto him, "Thou hast said." In other words, "You said it, buddy. You have nailed it." Now, here's what I want you to note in this passage. Each one of the disciples questioned himself. Each one asked, "Lord, is it I?" Each one was concerned as to whether or not they would be the one who would deny Christ. Secondly, I want you to note in this passage that our Lord told his disciples exactly what was going to happen. He not only told them exactly what was going to happen, He even quoted the Scripture that prophesied what was going to happen.

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• So if you look in Matthew 26 beginning there at verse 31: "Then said Jesus unto them, 'All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.'" So our Lord said, "Here's what's going to happen. You're gonna all be scattered for me. You're gonna all be offended in me." Now he quotes from Zechariah chapter 13 and verse 7, for he said, "As it is written," or "for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad." So Zechariah 13 in verse 7 says this: "Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts. Smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered, and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones." So our Lord then had already told them what was going to happen. He quoted from Scripture to prove what was going to happen. Now He said, "All of you shall be offended in me this night." Now the word "offended" happens to be the Greek word skandalizo. It is where we get our English words "scandal" and "scandalize." In this instance, the word "scandal" here means to

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• stumble or one who gets his foot entangled. It literally means that all of these disciples are going to desert Christ. They're going to forsake Christ. They're going to run away and leave him alone.

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• Now, I want you to hold Matthew 26, but I want you to turn over very quickly to the book of Mark and look in chapter 14. Mark chapter 14. And look, if you would please, at verses 50 through 52. Mark chapter 14, beginning there with verse 50. Look what happened: "And they all forsook him and fled." Now that would be the eleven disciples, every one of them. Judas has hanged himself. "And they all forsook him and fled. And there followed him a certain young man having a linen cloth cast about his naked body. And the young men laid hold on him. And he left the linen cloth and fled from them naked." Now practically every scholar that you would run across will say this is Mark stating what happened to him. He was the one with the linen cloth. And when they grabbed him, he let them hold the cloth and he ran off naked. But they all forsook him and fled. Now I want you to go back to Matthew 26. This is our passage.

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• So I want you to look, if you would, in Matthew chapter 26, beginning in verse 33. Now, please keep in mind this passage is in light of what our Lord told his disciples. It is in light of the prophecy that he quoted. So in Matthew chapter 26, when our Lord tells them, "You're all going to flee, you're all going to desert me." So Matthew 26, look in verse 33: "Peter answered and said unto him, 'Though all men should be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.' Jesus said unto him, 'Verily I say unto thee, that this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.' Peter said unto him, 'Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee.'" Are you looking? "Likewise also said all the disciples." Peter said, "I'm not going to be offended. I'm not going to be scandalized. I'm not going to get my foot entangled. I'm not going to fall. I'm not going to run. I'm not going to desert you." Likewise, said all the apostles.

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• Now go back, if you would, very quickly to Mark chapter 14. I want you to see this again. Mark 14. Look, if you would, beginning there with verse 27. Mark 14 verse 27: "But Peter said unto him, 'Although all shall be offended, yet will not I.' And Jesus said unto him, 'Verily I say unto thee, that this day, even this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice.'" Here it is: "But he spake the more vehemently, 'If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee in any wise.'" Here it is: "Likewise also said they all." Hmm. Now Peter was the one who enunciated this. He was the vocal one. He was the spokesman. And Peter made sure that our Lord understood that he would be the man that would never forsake Jesus Christ. And then all the other disciples chimed in. Now I want you to look back in Matthew 26. Now remember this: all over we're saying, "We're never, ever going to deny you. We're never, ever going to flee. We're going to protect

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• you. We're going to guard you. We're going to be with you through thick and thin." Here we go. Look, if you would, in Matthew 26 beginning there with verse 36: "Then cometh Jesus with them into a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto his disciples, 'Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.' And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, James and John, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then said he unto them, 'My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death. Tarry ye here'—look at this—'and watch with me.'"

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• "And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, 'O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.' And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep. And he saith unto Peter, 'What, couldst thou not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.' He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, 'O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.' And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then cometh he to his disciples, and said unto them, 'Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed

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• into the hands of sinners.'" Here is what I find absolutely astounding. Here are these disciples who said, "I will never deny thee. I will die with thee. I will be with you through thick and thin. It doesn't matter what happens. Lord, we will never leave you." And they could not even stay awake to guard him for one hour. Isn't that astounding? They were so vehement. They were so determined. "No, no, no. This will never happen. We will never." And they can't even stay awake and pray with him. They can't even stay awake and watch to make sure no one slips up on him while he is praying. Not for one hour. My goodness.

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• I hope you are beginning to see Amalek, the flesh. Look how proud, arrogant, and haughty the flesh is. The flesh believes itself to be bold and brave and powerful, yet it's exceedingly and extremely weak and sorry. Have you ever noticed in your dreams, even daydreaming, when you are thinking about encounters with wicked enemies or encounters—have you ever stopped to think about in your dreams, daydream or nightdream?

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• You're always the victor. You always come out on top. But that's not the way it is in reality. You don't always come out on top. And the truth of the matter is, anything the flesh does is wicked and unacceptable before God. Now look, if you would, Matthew 26 and verse 56. Here it is in black and white. Matthew 26 and verse 56, the Scripture says, "But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him and fled." Now, forsaking Christ—bad enough and wicked enough in and of itself. But Peter did not just forsake him. Peter also denied him three times. And I'm going to show you something amazing. If you look in Matthew chapter 26 beginning there with verse 69, look at this. Here's the three times that Peter denied Christ. "Now Peter sat without in the palace. And a damsel came unto him, saying, 'Thou also was with Jesus of Galilee.' But he denied before them all, saying, 'I know not what thou sayest.' And when he was going out into the porch, another maid saw him

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• and said of them that were there, 'This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth.' And again, he denied with an oath, 'I do not know the man.' And after a while came unto him they that stood by and said to Peter, 'Surely thou art one of them, for thy speech bereath or betrayeth thee.' Then began he to curse and swear, saying, 'I know not the man.' And immediately the cock crew. And Peter remembered the words of Jesus, which said unto him, 'Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.'

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• And he went out and wept bitterly. Did you hear what I just read? The first time Peter denied the Lord was a damsel came to him, a little maiden, a little girl, a little woman, a young woman. The second time, verse 71, "and when he was going out on the porch, another maid said unto him," another little girl. Twice, this big, strong, rough, tough fisherman who said he would never deny Christ, troubled under two little girls. That's amazing. You remember one of them was the doorkeeper. She had no authority, she had no power, she was a doorkeeper. She just let people in and out. And even she, when she asked about him and said, "You're one of them." "No, no, no.

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• I don't know the man." Wow. So here's the question. What happened to this big, bold, rough and tough fisherman? What happened to all those other disciples who were so vehement that they would never desert Christ, they would never deny Christ? Well, the truth is, then came Amalek. Amalek was their flesh. They trusted in their flesh. Anytime you trust in the flesh, you bring yourself under a curse.

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• So let me show you. Look in your Bibles to the book of Jeremiah, chapter 17. Jeremiah 17. And let's begin reading there with verse 5. Jeremiah 17. Notice if you would please with verse 5. Here it is: "Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord." Anytime you trust in man, anytime you trust in yourself, in your power, in your strength, in your ability, you're departing from the Lord. God says, look at this: not only cursed be that man, he tells you what he's going to be like. "For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited." In other words, worthless. Then he says in verse 7: "Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat

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• cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither cease from yielding fruit." So he says here's the difference between the man who trusts in his flesh and the man who trusts in the Lord. When you're trusting in the flesh, you're under God's curse and you're gonna be like the heath in the desert, you're gonna be like a drought, nothing is gonna work, everything's gonna be worthless. But when you trust in the Lord, you're like a tree planted by the river, planted by the water, and everything you do is going to prosper and there's not going to be any drought for you because you're by the riverside. Now, glory in the flesh, bragging in the flesh, trusting in the flesh, boasting in the flesh are all condemned in Scripture. There is a curse placed upon it. So, let me show you.

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• Since you are in Jeremiah, let's go back in our Bibles to Jeremiah 9, and then we're gonna go to the New Testament. We'll look in Jeremiah chapter 9, if you would. Jeremiah chapter 9, and look what the Bible says in verse 23: "Thus saith the Lord, 'Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might. Let not the rich man glory in his riches, but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in all these things I delight,' saith the Lord." God said, if you're going to glory, don't glory in anything but me. And if you look in your Bibles now to 1 Corinthians chapter 1, 1 Corinthians chapter 1, and let's begin reading there with verse 26. 1 Corinthians chapter 1. Notice if you would please, verse 26. Notice if you would what the apostle says. He says, "For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called"—some maybe, but not many. "But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world to

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• confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are." Now here you have to ask this question. Why has God chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise? Why has God chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty? Why has God chosen the base things of the world and those things which are despised? Why has He chosen these to bring to pass all these things that are? What? Why? Here's why: verse 29, "that no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: that, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let

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• him glory in the Lord." Wow. Anytime we trust in the flesh, anytime we lean upon the flesh, anytime we glorify the flesh, we're departing from the Lord. Now I want you to listen to this. You know the Scripture tells us that they that are in the flesh cannot please God. That's what he said in Romans 8 and verse 8. So let me make some applications and try to tie this together for you.

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• How is this a picture of all of us? Because here is a hard lesson, probably the most difficult lesson that you and I will ever learn, and that is this: that our flesh hates God. And there's not one thing that our flesh can do that will please God. Our flesh hates God. The picture that is given to us in Matthew 26 of Peter and the other disciples should be clear to us that any time we trust in the flesh, we are going to fail and we're going to fall. Just stop and think: if those disciples who were with Christ for three years, if they had no strength in themselves to stand, how can we who have not been with him personally for three years? In other words, our flesh is absolutely worthless. Now I want you to look in your Bibles in the

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• book of Galatians chapter 5, because we are told exactly the problem that I've just enunciated. So if you look in Galatians chapter 5 beginning there with verse 13. Galatians 5 verse 13, watch this. He says, "For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion of the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." Now hang on, look at verse 15: "But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another." I've often wanted to do this. I have not done it yet. I've wanted to preach just one message on that one verse, which I'm going to entitle "Cannibal Christians." That's what he said: "But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another." And the truth is that is exactly what happens

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• in Christianity because most people have no knowledge of their flesh and that their flesh hates God, and they end up destroying everything because they're following their flesh. Now watch what he said: "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth or fights against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would." So whenever you do that which is normal and natural, that's what's fleshly. When you do that which is contrary to the flesh and that which is supernatural, that's the Spirit. So look, if you would, and think about this with me. All of the fleshly efforts in our churches—and what is worse is that we're trusting in those fleshly efforts rather than in the Lord and in His Word and in His Spirit. We have all kind of fleshly programs, all kind of gags and gimmicks and gadgets to attract people and to get them to come.

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• We don't trust the Word of God. We don't trust the Holy Spirit. No. In fact, I was with a pastor this past week and he was telling me about a church not too far from him where they do anything and everything to get people to come. They've given away a bicycle. They've given away a pony. They've given away a car just to get people to come. And they called him.

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• He owns a furniture business. And they wanted him to donate some furniture to them so that they could give it away. He said, "No, I don't think so." You know, listen, if you get people with hot dogs, you're going to have to give hamburgers and steaks to keep them. If you get them with bicycles, you're going to have to give them motorcycles and cars to keep up. It's just that simple. I mean, when you stop and think about this, every preacher knows today you cannot build a huge ministry just by preaching and teaching the Word of God, because people don't want it. They want entertainment. And so what we're doing, we're trusting in the flesh. We're trusting all the gags and all the gimmicks and everything to get people in. And there's a vast difference between genuine Holy Spirit convicted and converted converts and those that man's conviction brings to Christ. You look at the turnover in the average church today. I remember—and I could tell you this church, I'm not going to—but I preached in a church one year. They had three to four hundred people in that church. The church was packed out every night.

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• I went back the next year preaching in the same church. Still had three to four hundred people in it, but only recognized two or three families. The turnover was almost a hundred percent. Well, what happened? Well, obviously, if you get them with gags and gimmicks, you got to give them something else to keep them. But there's another reason, I think, and that's 1 John 2 in verse 19, where God said, "They went out from us, that it might be made manifest that they were not of us; for had they been of us, no doubt they would have continued with us." So the proof that you've ever genuinely been converted and drawn to Jesus Christ is that you continue. I'm just simply saying we're talking about the flesh. And then came Amalek.

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• If God were to send, by His infinite grace and mercy, a sweeping revival tomorrow, where hundreds will be swept into the kingdom of God, and people getting right with God left and right, it would be 24 hours before the flesh somewhere would act up. Then came Amalek. Ah, let me tell you something else. We should learn from this, that we should never brag and we should never proclaim that which we will do and that which we will not do. What did Peter say? "I will never deny thee." And yet he did. Likewise said they all. I've had people say, "I will never deny Christ. I'll die first." That sounds good. I would like to say that myself. But I got news for you: if a man came through that door with an AR-15 loaded with a 60-round magazine and he looks at you and he says, "Deny Christ or die right here," you know what? Your flesh wants to live. Your flesh is going to make every rational argument as to why you should deny Christ.

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• Your flesh is not going to lie as silently and as obediently upon the altar as did Isaac. Because your flesh hates God and it loves itself and it wants all that it wants all the time. And if Peter and the other apostles failed by trusting in the flesh, how much more evident it is that we will fail if we trust in the flesh. That is what is happening in our churches. That is what's happening in our lives.

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• We don't realize the fact here in Matthew 26, the last Passover that Christ had with his disciples, the institution of the Lord's Supper, in the most solemn, serious, and spiritual occasion, then came Amalek. "We will not deny thee. We will not flee. We will not forsake thee." And they couldn't pray with him for one hour. Your flesh hates God. I've gotten to the point where I can only confess that fact to God. I apologize for it. And this is why the Bible says flesh and blood shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Anytime God blesses us, we have to watch out for Amalek. Because our flesh is still flesh. Our Lord said all flesh is as grass. It has no stability.

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• It has no real substance. It has no backbone. It's here today and it's gone tomorrow. Here's a picture of us, not only in Judas, who's willing to betray Christ for his own lusts, and here's Peter and the other disciples willing to deny Christ to save their own skins. So we need to make sure that you and I cry to the Lord daily and ask God to preserve us and protect us.

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• Listen, not just from our enemies, from ourselves. What did the Apostle Paul say in Romans 7 in verse 18? "I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing." There's nothing I can do, he said, to please God. But then there's another verse, Philippians 4:13, where he said, "I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me." It's not the flesh, it's Christ. It's not the flesh, it's the Spirit. It's not the flesh, it's the Father. We need to trust in Him and lean upon Him and not our flesh. The picture that we see today is we're trusting in our flesh. May God change that picture and enable us to trust in Him in every area and every sphere of life. Well, let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we do pray for ourselves, Lord, that you would help us to be holy, to be godly, and that we may walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh. And that we may, Lord, honor thee, and Lord, not trust in ourselves, our determination, our will, anything about us. Help us, Father, to trust only in thee. And give us grace, Lord, that we may walk with thee and that we may walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh, for your honor.

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T20:12:46Z