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All right. Amen. Matthew chapter number 26. The title of the sermon this morning is going to be Relationships That Kill. Relationships That Kill. So basically what we're looking at today is a portrayal of betrayal. I was going to make that the title, but it was just a little too, a little too much, a little too rhymey for me. So we're going to take a look at obviously the fact that Judas had betrayed Christ. We looked at this in depth in the past. So really we're going to kind of step back and take a more broad view and see some different stories in the Bible of betrayal and what that means for us and what we can learn because all of us have given our time and our energy and our care and our love to people only to be stabbed right in the back. And so we're going to take a look at how to deal with that and we're going to take a look at why these things happen. When you understand why these things happen or why does God allow these things to happen, it's very motivating and it will really help you to deal with these things in your life when they do happen. So let's get started here this morning. Look at verse number one, Matthew 26, 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. Now of course the disciples here have been struggling with this because Jesus has been mentioning this to them. They don't want this to happen. Obviously their mindset is on the physical still. Their mindset is, well, all right, he's going to be our king. Maybe he has to go away for a while, but he's going to get our nation out of this Roman bondage, out of this Roman control. And we're going to go ahead and rule the world like we did back in the days of David. But we all know that that's not what happened. That is not what Jesus was teaching. Now just kind of by way of introduction, look at verse number seven. So just skip down to verse number seven because we're talking about relationships that kill. And one of the things that we've been looking at over the past couple of weeks are the fact that, you know, in the church, in the body of Christ, we have to just be comfortable with and understand that the terrors will be among us. Okay? Now that's not to say that we need to audit everybody and be like, are you a terror? I think this person might be, you know, we want to just treat everyone right, respectfully, with edification. And then when it happens, we deal with it and we overcome it. That's just how it has to be. That's the process. Okay. But I think there's something very valuable to be learned here in the final week before Jesus is betrayed. Well, really this is like very short period because remember this chapter here, really you're, you're in the last part of the last week. Like the crucifixion is just about to happen. But if you look at verse number seven, we're going to read that here in a second. Okay. There's an attitude and there's something going on here that I think again is very valuable and very discerning when you learn it. And it can give us some insight on people that may be turning back. So let's look at it. Look at verse seven. So it says this, there came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment and poured it on his head as he sat at me. So here you have this lady. Okay. And she's trying to bless Christ. She's trying to do what she has, what she can and what she can offer. Okay. She has no ulterior motives. She's trying to give what she can. Now look at the response here. Look at verse eight. But when his disciples, okay, notice that plural there, when his disciples saw it, they had indignation saying to what purpose is this waste? Now, when you read this in John and you study it out, it focuses on Judas saying this. Okay. But when you compare scripture with scripture, you get the picture here that all of the disciples were saying this. So they're all filled with indignation and they're all kind of like, Hey, what's going on here? You could have sold that for money and blah, blah, blah. Now, obviously when you take a look and you put these two stories side by side, which we're not going to do today, you get the picture here. You get the fact that Judas was the one actually stirring the pot. Okay. He's the one stirring the pot. And so something that I would say about people that are going to go bad is that they're typically very good at moving crowds. They're very good at manipulation. They're very good at getting people's heartstrings together and tugging them in the direction that they want them to go. And that's what you see here. Now look at the result. Look at verse nine. So they're filled with indignation. So they're upset. Verse eight. Okay. They're like, what are you doing wasting this? Completely overlooking the fact that she's trying to do a spiritual sacrifice, an offering. Verse nine, for this ointment might've been sold for much and given to the poor. And of course in John chapter 12, we learn the fact that the only reason Judas even cared about this to begin with was because he was a thief and he wanted the money. But verse 10, look at what Jesus says. So it says, when Jesus understood it, he said unto them, why trouble ye the woman for she hath wrought a good work upon me. So what I would say here, just again in regards to relationships that kill, when you are dealing with people, okay, one of the things that will often rear its ugly head is super or hyper spirituality. Okay. Which in fact is not hyper super spirituality. It is actually false priorities. Okay. It's virtue signaling. It's, Hey, look at me and how righteous I am and putting other people down. Okay. But what does Jesus say about that? He says, what you're actually doing is you're actually troubling this woman. That's what you're doing. And that's what people like Judas, that's what snakes do. Okay. They trouble people. They trouble those around them by their manipulation. And then they trouble those that are trying to offer and sacrifice and work hard for the cause of Christ. That's what they do. Look at verse 11. Jesus says, for ye have the poor always with you, but me ye have not always. So what does that mean? What Jesus is saying here is you don't understand priorities. You have not been paying attention to what I have been teaching you and who I really am. Okay. So just something to kind of consider and think about as we go through this. Now go to Matthew chapter number 24, Matthew chapter number 24. And so the question now is, as we continue this introduction on relationships that kill, one of the things that we have to remember and be aware of are the three types of people that we as Christians are going to have to get accustomed to dealing with as the day approaches. So every single day that you wake up in your life in this day and age, these three people will increase on some level. Do you remember what they are? Matthew 24, look at verse number 10. What does that say? It says, and then shall many be offended and shall betray one another and shall hate one another. Okay. Verse 11 and many false prophets shall rise and deceive many. So again, as the day approaches, as we get closer to the times that Jesus is mentioning here in this passage, an increase in people being offended and an increase in traitors or those who would betray people and of course false prophets. Okay. These three things are going to abound and these three things are a recipe for absolute disaster. And if you do not understand how these things happen, how to deal with these people, you're going to get destroyed. You're going to get let down and you're going to have nothing but problems. So again, just by review here, Matthew 24, 11, it says many false prophets shall rise and deceive many. What's the worldwide result of this, of these three types of people? Now obviously there's more, but these are the three main ones that we need to look out for. We'll look at verse number 12 and because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. Okay. You're starting to see that, well heck, we've been seeing this in this country, right? Iniquity abounding. Our politicians, the media, the powers that be, those that have influence, what are they up to? Well, they are up to promoting and legalizing iniquity. Okay. Now here's the problem. You've got the majority of professing Christianity today, okay, who are false prophets. Typically most of them are false prophets, right? Because what do they say? Well, you've got to turn from your sands and blah, blah, blah. Okay. And so what these people do is they tend to not focus so much on the Bible and for several reasons, partially because they don't have the Bible, they use a false version, but what they mainly focus on is you can have your best life now. You can have this now and you're, you know, a better you come to our church and we'll be relevant and teach you a better you and this and that. And they're lying to people. Well, as these days approach and iniquity is abounding and people are dying and getting hurt and being offended and all of these things, people are looking at Christianity like, man, this is a lie. I'm not getting my best life now. I'm not rich like you said I would be. In fact, you're the one that's getting rich off my back. And so therefore you're going to have people offended at those of us who know and under stand the truth. And I'm telling you, some of those people will attach themselves to you in a relationship at some point. And the result is the end of that verse there in verse 12, the love of many shall wax cold, meaning it will not exist, but people will love something in the end times. And what will that be? Well, Paul told us that men shall become lovers of their own selves. So you're going to see an increase in idolatry. Now, if you're a lover of your own self, you're not going to be able to love other people. You're not going to be able to love the word of God because the Bible says that the people who do not love the Bible, people who do not love the word of God are easily offended. And we've looked at that several times. Now leave your place there in Matthew chapter 24 and go to Psalm chapter number 41. So the Bible says great peace have they which love thy law and nothing shall offend them. So if you live in a world or in an area where people just love themselves, guess what? You're going to have offenses all over the place, you know, and don't ever be fooled. Don't ever think that that can't happen in an organization like this or a church like this because it certainly can because you can have people that come into a church like this. And obviously we don't have this here anymore, but you can have people come in and to where they just want to be lifted up. They just want to be told constantly how great they are. They want to preach sermons for certain views and they'll come out, hey, what can I do to get more views? It's like, I'm about to just cut you off. I'm like, what are you here for? Are you here for to, to, to showcase your words of wisdom so that you can be lifted up? I mean, is that what Paul taught was a good thing in first Corinthians? You know, I mean, think about these things. No, it's the word of God that does the work. Okay. It's the word of God. What God's looking for are people with boldness, people that love the truth, they want to take his word and share it with other people. He takes care of the rest. He takes care of how that word works in your hearts and in the hearts of those around you. It's not the man behind the pulpit. Okay. Yeah. He plays a small part in it. Okay. But God needs to get the glory. He needs to get the recognition. Otherwise you're in this for the wrong thing and you are the problem. And in the end, all it's going to do is cause offense. It's going to cause betrayal. It's going to cause issues and that is what we're trying to avoid. So let's move on from that and take a look at some things here in the Bible. We're going to spend a little bit of time in the Old Testament this morning. So you're in Psalm chapter number 41. Now this Psalm here is a Psalm that David had written about being betrayed. So what you're going to see here is David was betrayed by a friend. We'll talk about that friend here in a second and we can definitely learn some valuable insight from this. So let's start here at verse number nine. So David says this, yay, my own familiar friend. Now pay attention to these next four words in whom I trusted. Okay. In whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me. You know, oftentimes when you see that in the Bible, it's a reference to being betrayed. For example, you don't have to turn there. I'm just going to read for you John chapter number 13. So John 13 verse 18 listen to this and I'll explain it. So Jesus says this, he says, I speak not of you all. I know whom I have chosen, but that the scripture may be fulfilled. He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me. Now I tell you before it come that when it is come to pass, you may believe that I am he. So what you have to understand as you're studying Psalm chapter 41 is that this is a Psalm that David wrote about an actual friend that he had that betrayed him. However, it is also a prophecy. Okay. And what is missing here when Jesus quotes this, what he omits, what he doesn't say is what you read there in verse number nine in whom I trusted. Okay. Which is a testament to the fact that Jesus Christ is God and knows all. He never trusted Judas. In fact, when he chose the disciples, what did he say? Have I not chosen ye 12 yet? One of you is a devil. Okay. So don't ever let anybody tell you, Oh, you know, he didn't know that Judas was going to do that in his humanity. Yes he did. He's God. Jesus is fully man and he is fully God. Okay. So let's move on here. Look at verse number 10. So back to David, he says, but thou O Lord be merciful unto me and raise me up that I may requite them. So here's where we start to learn the proper way to deal with being betrayed. Okay. Took a look at a couple of, you know, reasons for that. We're going to get into a big one here in a minute, but David here acknowledging the fact that somebody has turned their backs on him. Somebody stabbed David in the back, lifted up his heel, spiritually, mentally kicked him if you will. And his response here is in verse 10, which is, but thou O Lord be merciful unto me and raise me up that I may requite them. Now you're going to see why he asks for mercy here in a moment when you get the backstory. Okay. But what does it mean to requite them? It means to repay them. Okay. So understand here what David is saying, but thou Lord be merciful unto me. What is that? That is humility. Okay. That is humility because the temptation that you and I have is when no one's looking elbow time right to the face. Okay. Or is that just me? Maybe that's just me. Maybe that's just my temptation. I don't know, but I have a feeling that more than, you know, just me in here has probably had that thought when someone betrays us. But this is the response that we're supposed to have right here. Okay. O Lord be merciful unto me and raise me up. Raise me up. Okay. He doesn't say, all right, I'm going to go watch a bunch of YouTube shorts and TikTok videos on motivation and I'm just going to be a greater me and I'm going to rise up and I'm going to make sure I grind these people into the ground and into dust and I'm going to be the true alpha male. It's going to be me, me, me, me, me. No, that's not his attitude. Okay. You guys know what I'm talking about. These videos are all over the internet. Like you, you need to outwork these people. You need to do the you, you, you, you, you be careful guys of that stuff. I'm telling you, it sounds cool. It might motivate you, but what it doesn't do is help you. Again, you're a Christian. You guys are born again. You're in the body of Christ. You don't get to play by the rules of the world. Okay. That might work for the world. It won't work for you. This is your application. This is what you do when people betray you. Oh Lord, be merciful unto me and raise me up, meaning beyond my side. Help me expose the fact that they are the lives, expose the fact that they are the ones that are losers, that they are, um, trash that they need to be put down. That's what he's saying here that I may require them. So he does acknowledge the fact that he wants payback, but he wants that payback in the proper way. Now what modern soft soap Christianity will tell you is you need to forgive everyone for every single thing and that's how you overcome it. That's not what you're seeing here, is it? When people betray you, it hurts. And depending on that betrayal, okay, the level of it, obviously I'm not talking about somebody said, Hey, I'll meet you up for lunch tomorrow and then they don't do it. You're like, Oh, you betrayed me. It's not my friend. They don't like me. Someone didn't say hi to me. Okay. No. Okay. Let's, let's, let's dial this back for a second here. That's not betrayal. Okay. That's you being weak. That's what that is. That's you being weak and easily offended, which only shows the world only shows us that you don't really love the Bible because you don't have thick skin. You're not tough. You can't hang. You can't handle it. Okay. This is the attitude we can ask for payback. We can ask for God to do that, but we have to do it the right way. We have to do it the way that David did. Remember we're supposed to speak to ourselves in Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, right? So again, this is doctrine. No one's going to come to, Oh, you can't use that for doctrine. That's very rude of you. You know, it's just like this person who last night, you know, I was studying and I was just finishing this up and it's like, you get a one star review from Google. I'm like, all right, I'll bite. I'll look at it. You know, and it's just like, you don't know Jesus. You've never read the Bible and all your people are trash and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And if you were to read and she lists like five, you know, Bible verses or something like that, you know, you would know that Jesus would never talk about human beings the way that you do. He would never pray for the destruction of other people. He would never talk to a Jew the way that you talk about Jews and blah, blah, blah. It's like, can you display your ignorance any more than that? I mean, look, she, you, you could probably read her this passage here and try to explain. She'd be like, that's not the Bible. That's the Quran. We're not supposed to repay anyone no matter what they did. Okay. When you start telling people that, when you start telling somebody who's been molested, Oh, you just need to forgive that person. You just need to be okay with that. You know what you're doing? You're offending that person just as much as the person that did the offense. Okay. That's what you're doing. Hey. And when you get betrayed on the level of the day we got betrayed here, guess what? This is biblical. This is what you do. Now again, we got to remember we want to fight the flesh, right? We got, you know, cause, cause like me, I'm just like, Ooh, no one's looking. I'm going to get them, man. I just hope I, you know, and that's bad. That's wrong. I'm just being honest. That's the flesh. Okay. But thank God that we have these principles. Thank God that we have these Bible verses that we can study, memorize, and actually apply so that we don't do what the flesh wants you to do. So what do we do when we get betrayed? Verse 10, but thou Lord be merciful unto me because guess what? We all get on each other's nerves from time to time. It happens. Okay. It does happen. We all make mistakes too. And then what I mean, all, all of us do me included, we make mistakes. And so that's why we need to ask the Lord to be merciful unto us and for him to lift us up that we may repay. But what does that look like? What does that repaying actually look like? Well, look at verse 12 and as for me, thou upholdest me in my integrity and saddest me before thy face are faced forever. Okay. So what David is referring to here, believe it or not, is actually chastening. Okay. Because when David writes the Psalm, when David has this experience, he's actually being chastened from God. Okay. And again, I'll come back and break this down as to why here in a minute. Now look at verse 13, blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting and to everlasting. Amen and amen. Okay. Now go to second Samuel chapter number 15, second Samuel chapter number 15. Second Samuel chapter number 15. What you're going to find here in this passage is David in betrayal. Like I'm talking big time betrayal. So what had happened if you're not familiar with the story is that David had a son named Absalom. Okay. David made some bad choices prior in his life. And he's at a point now to where his own son who's obviously all grown up, he's, um, the Bible says he's without blemish. So he's very physically attractive as a person. And what he's been doing is he's been working overtime to basically win the hearts of the people of the land. And what he's trying to do is overthrow his father. Okay. And so that mission is going on now. And in that process, he actually took one of David's friends, one of David's most admired, most lifted up counselors named Ahithophel. Okay. And Absalom, David's son had won him over to his side and now they are trying to kill David. So let's look at a couple of verses here. Second Samuel 15, look at verse number 30. So the Bible says this, and David went up by the ascent of Mount Olivet and wept as he went up and had his head covered and he went barefoot and all the people that was with him covered every man, his head, and they went up weeping as they went up. Okay. So kind of Mount, you know, Mount Olivet weeping. David's on the run. He's being betrayed. Obviously, what does this picture? Okay. This picture is the betrayal of Christ. Look at verse 31. And one told David saying, okay, and here's the bad news. Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, Oh Lord, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness. Okay. That's your Psalm 41 application. That's your Psalm 41 verse 10 application right there. Lord be merciful unto me and lift me up. Lift us up in the way that God will do that is when we have this prayer. Okay. Remember guys, David was a man after God's own heart. So when we're betrayed, we take that attitude and we say, Lord, be merciful unto me. Forgive me for the things that I've done. I accept my chasing. I accept anything that I've done wrong. Okay. What God will do is he will make your enemies look foolish. And that's exactly what winds up happening in the story here. Okay. God literally adheres to David and he says, okay, and he does turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness, even though it wasn't foolishness. God intervenes, saves David's life. Unfortunately, Absalom and these guys all die. And of course, David, you know, he's sad. That's his son. He wanted to resolve the issue. He wanted this thing to basically, you know, go away. But it was, it was too far gone. Absalom had done too much. Even his men knew that and it was just a very bloody, a very messy situation. And we've taken a look at why this happened. Okay. This happened because of what David did to Bathsheba, which leads me in to the main point of this sermon here. Why did Ahithophel turn on David? Okay. Because when you study this out, you could see that Ahithophel, the Bible says that when he spoke, it was as the oracles of God. So like he was a mighty counselor when he said something was going to happen or we should do something in this manner. That's how it was done because he was always right. Okay. We had a gift from God. He was very smart, a very wise person, but he turns on David and takes Absalom's side. Now, why is that? Well, when you study who Ahithophel was in relation to David, you'll know that he was Bathsheba's grandfather. Okay. So what does that mean? Well, that means now he's kind of like David's grandfather in law. He's in the family. Okay. Again, what did David do to Bathsheba? Well, he had her husband killed. Okay. It was just a dark story. Very, very difficult story. And so what I'm saying here is that that offense, that bite is probably what Ahithophel carried with him all the days that he was counseling David. And eventually when it came time and it seemed like he was down, you know, it's a good time to kick him. It's a good time to hop on someone else's side. Okay. He did it. He took that chance and he joined forces with Absalom, but he did it to his own destruction. And so what I want to say here is remember this, that offenses are often times the cause for betrayal. Okay. So here's, here's a little principle that I follow. Okay. If I've made a mistake and I've offended somebody in a bad way, maybe, you know, I don't know, just said something, didn't realize I was being offended, but they got offended pretty bad. I, you know, I will apologize. I'll be like, okay, Hey, you know, we need to make this right. But from that day forward, I will never let you close to me. Never. This is what I do. You do whatever you want. Okay. This is what I do. I will never let you get close to me. I will never let you counsel me. I will never, you know, I will help you. I'll give you the shirt off my back. I will welcome you, but you will not get close to me or my family. Okay. You say, well, that's pretty harsh. That's not forgiving and forgetting. No, that's me understanding stories like this in the Bible. God wrote these things. God preserved these things for our admonition so that we could learn. Okay. Think about it. David caused a great offense in this family. Okay. What happened? Well, the minute the world got to David and smashed him down and the devil was coming after him. Okay. That person that he offended earlier on in his life, took that as a chance to try to wreck him. Okay. Take that, put that in your toolbox. You may need it. You might think I'm crazy. You might say, Oh, you know, I'm not doing that. You know, fine. Okay. But understand these stories. Now turn to Proverbs chapter number 18, you know, further proof to you why I do this. And we're talking about relationships that kill. Okay. Well, one relationship that's very clear in the Bible that can kill is when you have offended somebody. Okay. Think about David's relationship with Absalom. Okay. David was a great King, but he wasn't the best husband and he wasn't the best father. Just be honest. This is fact. Okay. And there's another story that we could get into where one of David's other sons had basically wanted to have a, or did have a forced relationship with his half sister and David was like, okay, you know, don't regard this thing. Let's just kind of sweep this under the rug. Okay. Absalom saw that and Absalom became offended and guess what? Later on in his life, what does he decide to do? I'm going to get back at my dad. Okay. Many, many, many, many years later. So what I'm just trying to tell you is be careful. If you've offended somebody, you want to watch out because they may be staying close to you to get to you. Okay. And again, you're going to see this as we go forward from here. You can still have a quote unquote relationship. You just have to categorize that person properly. You just have to understand that that person is not going to ever be my friend as in a close friend. We can work together. We could do projects together. We can be civil. We can live peaceably. We could do all of those things. However, you don't get close to me. Hey, that is the way it is. And by the way, if you know somebody, you guys know people that are easily offended. They're always getting offended over every little thing. You better be careful. You better be careful and protect your heart and not give those heartstrings to that person because you could be setting yourself up for absolute destruction and disaster. Proverbs 18 look at verse number 19. The Bible says this, a brother offended. Okay. A brother offended is harder to be one than a strong city and their contentions are like the bars of a castle. This means it's next to near impossible to win these people back once the offense has occurred. Why is that? Because we're dual natured. We have the old man, we have the flesh and the flesh hates, absolutely hates, abhors not being number one. Okay. And so when offenses occur, even if you have the new man, that flesh is always like, remember what they did to you? Remember what they did? Remember this? Remember that? Okay. And so we have to be careful. Now go one chapter over. Let's go to chapter number 19 and look at something here real quick. Just remember offenses are often the cause for betrayal. Now sometimes that's not the case. Sometimes people are just psychopath. They're just reprobate and their purpose is to, I'm going to try to take this church down. I'm going to creep in there. I'm going to, I'm going to act like them and they're not even offended. They're just on a hell bent mission to destroy churches. They come in and try to wreak havoc and destroy. So there's that category too, which we're not talking about today. Okay. Offenses are the cause of betrayal and we know that a brother offended is harder to be won. It's still possible, but I'm telling you the way that you're going to win that person back is if you can get them from the offended category to the arms length category where you're living peaceably with them. Okay. Okay. That's, that's how it has to be. Arms length, peaceable, you're edifying, you're still making this thing work, but they're not getting close. They're not your, your, your, your closest counselor, your advisor, like a Hithofel was to David. It's not going to work anymore. Guys, you got to realize that. Proverbs 19, look at verse five, a false witness shall not be unpunished. A false witness like Judas, a false witness like those who betray. Okay. Let's get back on track here for a second. A lot of times like when, when, when you get stabbed in the back, one of the things that you're going to notice are lies. They will take things that you said, take things that you did and they'll put their own spin on them. Or sometimes they'll just completely fabricate the most ridiculous, wild story you've ever heard in your life. And you're like, how in the world could you even come up with that and think that people would believe it? Okay. Like how is this even possible? Think about that for a second and read the rest of the verse. Proverbs, yeah, Proverbs 19 five, a false witness shall not be unpunished and he that speaketh lies shall not escape. That is the comfort for you and I. Okay. When you get stabbed in the back and these people running around flapping their gums and lying about you, you better know their lies, their actions shall not escape. At some point in time, whether it's in the here and now or 30 years from now or at the judgment seat of Christ, at some point their lies will be exposed. They will pay for what they did. Again, this goes back to Psalm 41 Lord be merciful unto me and lift me up that I may repay or requite them. Okay. That's the application here. That's what we have to do. Now you can leave this area of the Bible and go all the way to the New Testament. Go to Galatians chapter number five, Galatians chapter number five. What I want to do now is I just want to kind of talk here about the poison of offense. Okay. Again, we understand that offenses are the cause for betrayal. Okay. Judas obviously offended. He's not saved. He's a devil. He doesn't like this. He's in it for himself. He's a thief. He's all of these things. Okay. And what does he do? He takes the first chance he gets to go and get paid to betray the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what people do for us. You know, if we're taking a look here at this story with David and Absalom and Ahithophel. Okay. Again, Ahithophel, Absalom, they carried the poison of bitterness. They carry this with them for their entire lives until it was the right opportunity. Okay. So I want you to think about something here. Okay. David's not a snake. Okay. David obviously just in the flesh, made a bad decision and Ahithophel got bit. Okay. I'm sure he wasn't the only one that got bit. What you need to understand here is that I've said this before. I think it was Sydney that reminded me of this. I said in a sermon a long time ago that where there's people there's problems and where there's snakes, people get bit. I'll take it a step further for this sermon. Okay. So where there's people, there's problems. Where there's snakes, people get bit. And where there's snakes, like the type that we're talking about, there's people getting injected with venom. And that's what we need to understand how to deal with here because that's what you see in Ahithophel. It wasn't the bite that did it. People can recover from a snake bite. People can recover from most bites unless you get chomped out by a saltwater croc or a shark or something like that. Okay. So don't email me on that. We understand that. That's obvious. Okay. Super obvious. But it's not a snake bite that kills you. What is it that kills you? It's the poison. It's the venom. It's what's injected in you. If you don't deal with it, if you don't treat it, that's what destroys you. And that's what we're dealing with here. And Paul actually kind of loosely addresses this here. Look at Galatians chapter five in verse number 12. So again, he's dealing with the Judaizers that came in. Okay. The, the super spiritual Zionists that want to bring you back to the law. Okay. And they're troubling the churches of Galatia. And he says this verse 12, I would, they were even cut off, which trouble you. Meaning they're kicked out. Just, just pushed out of the church. Okay. Gone. Verse 13, for brethren you have been called unto Liberty only use not Liberty for an occasion to the flesh. And here it is, but by love serve one another. Okay. So you have people in these churches here that are offended because some people are seeing what's going on and they're like, Hey, this isn't right. And other people are like, Oh, I think it's okay. I think we can coexist and kind of work together. And Paul's addressing this and he's like, Hey, you know, by love you guys need to serve one another. Verse 14 for all the law is fulfilled in one word. Even in this thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself. Again, thy neighbor there is not referring to just anybody in life. Okay. You live on Fairview. Well, whoever your neighbor is, even if it's a master or a pedo, you know, or, or an alphabet person, a sodomite, you got to love them. No. Okay. It's a member of the body of Christ. I've proven that set like several ways. I don't want to get into it right now, but look at verse 15, but if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed of one another. So it's not just the bite, but it's the devouring. Okay. It's the way it's what comes out of the bite that actually consumes, that actually destroys other people. And all of us in here get bit from time to time by snakes, by people in our families at work, wherever, in church, whatever. Okay. What do you do about it? Go to Acts chapter number 28, Acts chapter number 28. I'll show you a picture of how this works. So if anybody knows about being bit and devouring, it's definitely the apostle Paul. Okay. Last chapter here in the book of Acts, unless you're of that crowd that believes in Acts chapter 29, you're probably not going to last too long here. Acts chapter 28, look at verse number two. Okay. So this is after, you know, kind of a long story, but basically, you know, Paul's on his way to Rome and get on board a ship. Paul warns these guys, Hey, you know, if we go and set sail, we're going to get destroyed. God intervenes and helps them, but they lose their ship and they wind up on this island with a barbarous people here. And these people wind up taking care of the apostle Paul and all the prisoners that were able to save their lives by the help of God. Look at verse two, Acts 28. So it says this, and the barbarous people showed us no little kindness for they kindled a fire and received everyone because of the present rain and because of the cold. Now look at verse number three. And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat and fastened on his hand. So here we see the apostle Paul physically getting bit by a snake, getting bit by a viper. Okay. You say, well, what kind of snake was this? Just like a garter snake, you know, just not venomous. No, it was obviously a viper, obviously a venomous one because look at what the people say in verse four. And when the barbarian saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, he said among themselves, no doubt this man is a murderer whom though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live. Okay. That's human nature. That's kind of how we think sometimes, right? Look at verse five. He shook off the beast into the fire and felt no harm. Think about that. He shook the beast into the fire and felt no harm. Why is that? Well, obviously the most basic reason is because Christ had given them these powers, given them this, this opportunity here to, uh, to not allow this venom to, to, to kill him physically. Okay. This was part of the signs and wonders. Remember the Bible says that a Jew seeks after a sign and these things were done as signs confirming that Christ had come and ordained these people. Okay. But this actually means something else for us here today. These aren't just bedtime stories or Sunday school stories. Well, this is what happened back then. It doesn't mean anything for you today. No, it does mean something for you today. And let me show you that. Look at verse, uh, yeah, look at verse six says, how be it they looked when he should have swollen or fallen down dead suddenly, but after they had looked a great wild saw no harm come to him. They changed their minds and said that he was God. And of course that all gets ironed out. Paul never accepted that kind of worship and they get, they get corrected. So again, remember it's not the bite that stays with people. It's the venom. Now leave your place there, but go to Mark chapter number 16 and we'll put something together here and I'll show you that this is a picture of application that we could do today when vipers come out of the fire to bite us. Okay. And I'll show you that here in a second. Mark 16 look at verse number 17. So again, the end of the Gospel of Mark here, Jesus giving the sending instructions and he mentions this here and this is what everybody in a Pentecostal world gets wrong. This is what a lot of people in the new evangelical community cannot seem to figure out. Okay. But we get this here. Verse 17 these signs shall follow them that believe. Stop right there. These signs shall follow them that believe. Okay. So the Pentecostal says, well, see if you're really saved and filled with the Holy Ghost, guess what? You'll be able to take up a viper, take up a serpent, go preach a sermon on stage, and if it bites you, you're not going to feel a thing. You might feel those fangs go in, but you're not going to drop dead. Look, there's all kinds of YouTube videos of people getting bit by snakes doing that stuff and going to the hospital or even dying. I seen one not too long ago. I don't know if somebody in here sent it to me, but somebody did. And whoever you are, thank you because that proves my point. Okay. We know that in today's day and age that that doesn't happen. You go play with those vipers and they bite you. There's a good chance you're going to physically die. But guess what? These signs do still follow us who believe today. The question is how and what does that look like? Look at verse 18. So Jesus is saying, well, let's read the rest of verse 17. So and these, these signs shall follow them that believe. In my name shall they cast out devils and it says they shall speak with new tongues. Verse 18, they shall take up serpents and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them. They shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover. Now there's not a bunch of stories in the Bible of disciples taking up serpents and you know, testing and you know, let me and whatever. The only real, I guess, clear story we have is what we just read in Acts chapter 28 where there's a fire going and a viper jumps up and fastens his fangs on the apostle Paul's hand. Okay. And it didn't hurt him. It didn't kill him. And the people were like, okay, there's something supernatural going on here. There is something of God happening here. Okay. So we get that. We understand that. Now what you have to do if somebody comes at you with this and says, well, it says that they shall follow them that believe not just the apostles. Explain that to me. That's a good question. It really is a good question. But the better question is, do you have the understanding? Can you explain this to another person who may be confused? Look at verse 19. So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up in heaven and sat on the right hand of God. Verse 20 and they went forth and preached everywhere. The Lord working with them, it was the them disciples and apostles and confirming the word with signs following a men. Okay. With signs confirming with signs following a man. It already happened. There are no more old Testament Hebrews or no more old Testament Jews of that era alive today. Therefore, these signs went away. However, there is great application when you pair these two stories together. These things were already fulfilled in the physical as a sign to the Jews, but the spiritual application is still alive and well today. You say, great, what is it? What this means for you and I is that when we get bit by these snakes, when these people betray us and they stab us in the back and they bite us with their fangs and they inject us with their venom, it doesn't have to kill you. It doesn't have to destroy you. You have the ability to shake it off and put it in the fire just like the apostle Paul did. Okay. That's the answer to Mark 16 verse 17 when it says, well, these signs shall follow them that believe. Okay. You understand it was already fulfilled. Read the rest of the passage. It was already fulfilled during their time. The way it's fulfilled today is spiritually. So when these snakes come at us and they attack us and they bite us, we go to Psalm chapter number 41 and we get that application that David applied and guess what? We apply that to our lives. We say, Lord, be merciful unto me and lift me up that I may requite them, that I may repay them. We do it the Bible way. We do it the word of God's way. We do it Christ's way. Okay. The way that we know that works, the way that's available for us today, you don't have to live with that venom inside of you. If you do, you will fall over dead spiritually. You will lose relationships. You will lose all sorts of opportunities. You will have nothing but problems. Okay. So we understand that. Go to, go to Romans chapter number 12, Romans chapter number 12. So you know, kind of loosely, I would say that what David did is he bit Ahithophel by his actions. David's not a snake, but what the devil does, right? The devil's like, oh, there's an open wound there. Well guess what? I'll go fill it with something. Okay. And that's what you got to understand too inside the church. Okay. Brothers can be offended and once they are, they're harder to be one than a strong city. It's, it's nearly impossible. Okay. And this is why I preach so much about not being offended. Not to mention we're going through Matthew and it's just kind of like all over the place. And so we have to, you know, we have, we have to address these things. But the idea here is, and what we need to remember is that we don't have to let their venom, okay, infect us. We have the ability to shake it off into the fire. Now you got, you gotta be wondering, well, how in the world do you do that? Well, there's several ways you can do what David did. Okay. And you get that prayer going and you check yourself and you say, Lord, be merciful unto me. And you ask him to lift you up. Right. And to expose your enemies and to turn their counsel and their made up lies into foolishness. And that's what he will eventually do because you're the one that's humble and you know, the best way to talk to God, the best way to see results from the Lord is by your humility. God resisted the proud. The Bible says, when you put that pride away and you put that, you know, you don't look at yourself as super duper important. Oh man, I'm really somebody and they offended me. I'm going to get them back. Boy, it's going to be good and it's going to be grand and it's going to be glorious when you can squash that down. And I get it, man. It's hard. It's so hard. I'm up here as a pastor telling you, I struggled because it's very difficult, but you can do it. It is possible. It is very possible. Okay. Now here is a perfect picture of what it looks like and it comes from the apostle Paul. Romans 12, look at verse 16. So he says this, be of the same mind, one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. Okay. We just talked about that. Don't be wise in your own conceits. Don't be conceited. Don't be, you know, focused on the me and me. Look at, look, I've been studying the thesaurus, you know, my vocabulary is better than yours. I'm going to, I'm going to get 10,000 views. I'm going to get all, I'm going to get, I'm going to blow things up. Okay. As soon as you start acting like that, God's like, okay, it's just a matter of time before he push you down. And that's embarrassing. And you don't want that. You don't want to play that game. Verse 17 recompense to no man, evil for evil, provide things honest in the sight of all men. Some people read this and say, see, you can't get back at anybody. And that's true, but I can apply Psalm chapter 41 and that passage there. And I can ask the Lord to lift us up or to lift me up or to lift you up or whoever up so that you can get your payment back. You just got to do it the right way. We saying, don't you have your own accord, you know, commit an act of evil against somebody just because they did it to you. God has a process that he wants you to follow in order to glorify him. When you get bit by the snakes, you get betrayed when you're in a relationship that you finally realize is going to kill you in some way, shape or form. Verse 17 so, or 19, 18. I'm sorry. If it be possible as much as lieth in you live peaceably with all men as much as possible. Now sometimes it just isn't possible. There are some people and you guys definitely know this and you know the crowd. Okay. You can't live peaceably with them. It's just not going to happen. However, okay, if it is possible, then do it. Do what you need to do to make that happen. Okay. You can keep people at an arm's length and still make them feel comfortable and make them feel okay, but not let them close. You can do that. Okay. That is considered living peaceably. Okay. That is part of shaking that venom, that venomous snake off into the fire. I'll prove it to you further. Look at verse 19, dearly beloved avenge, not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath for it is written. So what are we being told here? Give place unto wrath. There is a place for wrath and if there is a place for wrath, there is a process for wrath and we've already looked at that process. You can get that from Psalm 41. Okay. It is written again. It goes back to the Bible, back to the process. Vengeance is mine. I will repay saith the Lord. It is the Lord that repays. Okay. That's not contradicting what David said. David just said it a little bit differently. Be merciful unto me and lift me up that I may requite them. So he's asking to be lifted up. He's asking for the counsel of his former friends to be made into foolishness and put down so that he can be victorious. But he's pointing to God. He's pointing to the Lord to do this. And that's the same thing that Paul's saying here. He's just quoting a different Old Testament passage where God clearly states, vengeance is mine. I will repay. Okay. Now that doesn't mean that you have to forgive and you know, forget and I don't care. You know, they stole your life savings, you know, the, you know, whatever it is, you know, they beat up your kids. You know, you don't have to trust everyone. Okay. When people have done serious betrayal and told lies and stabbed you in the back, you just have to know this relationship can never again be like it once was. I cannot let you close to me because you will try to kill me in some way, shape or form. That's the mindset that you've got to have. However, okay, with the wisdom of the word of God, you could still keep that person edified if possible. Okay. And I'm not talking about the world. I'm not talking about those people. I'm not talking about the sodomites or anything like that. Okay. I'm talking about so-called brothers that may have offended. Okay. You can still, you know, as long as like, for example, let's say somebody tells a bunch of lies about me. Okay. Which has never happened before, but someday it might. I'm being facetious, but anyways, let's say these people come back and go, Hey, I apologize. You know, I learned that we've got some bad information and you know, we want to be friends again. Okay. Well, I'm not going to let that happen. Okay. But I'll definitely forgive because you asked and you're supposed to be a brother in Christ. Okay, fine. You know what? But guess what? Things are never, I'm never going to let you back to where you once were. Does that make sense? I'm never going to let you get close. I'm never going to let you have that ever again. That's what I do. You do whatever you want to do. Hey, you want to, you do whatever you want to do, but let me just remind you. Okay. Why is it that some people constantly run back to abusive relationships with people, with their long lost cousin, you know, with a narcissist. Why is that? Because they don't have the wisdom. They don't understand these stories. They just don't get it. They just don't have the heart to tell people or to actually say, you know what? You're not getting in. You're not getting access. It's not happening. You already bit me once. I got rid of your venom. It was an ugly process. I don't want to go through it again. I don't have to go through it again. When you can learn those facts, understand you will be better off in your own life and you're going to save yourself some physical health too. Okay. Because their venom doesn't just affect you mentally and spiritually. It actually vexes your bones. It does bodily harm to you. It really does. Oh, sticks and stones will break bones, but names will never hurt you. It does hurt. It does more damage than you think. And if you just think about these things and apply the wisdom of the word of God, okay, you're going to keep yourself safe. You're going to keep yourself in a better position. So vengeance is mine. I will repay saith Lord verse 20. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him. If you thirst, give him drink. For in so doing thou shall keep coals of fire on his head. That is how we shake the snake in the fire like Paul did. That's how we apply that by applying this. Be not overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good. That's the solution and that's hard to do. But the question is do you trust the word of God? If you trust the word of God and you apply the word of God, what this is telling you, you will get the same results that David got. You will get the same results that the apostle Paul got. You will get the same results that the disciples got. Okay? When you read through the New Testament, you know what you don't find? You don't find page after page after page. Remember when Judas did this and Judas did that, right? There's what he did. There's a little bit of a reminder and it just didn't seem to bother him. Okay? They got the message after the resurrection like, oh, this is what it's about. And they went forth conquering and they conquered and they turned the world upside down. They started all kinds of churches. They got all kinds of people saved and they fought battles and they drew lines in the sand and they pushed the word of God through this world. They could not have done it if they were still filled with the venom that Judas had injected them with. So at some point we need to realize that they shook that beast off in the fire as well. And that is what you and I are called to do. So we're getting close to being done. Go to Matthew chapter number 27. Matthew chapter number 27. We're going to take a look at why. Okay? Because a lot of times we'll get emails, we'll get calls and heck, even sometimes I have this question, you know, why is it that God lets us literally just, I mean, go through these situations, you know, why does God allow relationships that kill? Okay. Well, hopefully by now you get it. You understand that one of the reasons why is because he's already given you the recipe to overcome it. He's given you the tools to break through and to shake the snake in to the fire. Okay. But I want to show you something here. Look at Matthew 27 verse 46. So it says this, in about the ninth hour, so this is during the crucifixion, in about the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice saying, Eli, Eli, that is to say, my God, my God, why has thou forsaken me? And why has thou forsaken me? Remember we are in Christ and there are times where we get forsaken just like he did. He warned us this would happen. He told us this would happen. I mean, it's all throughout the gospels. It's all throughout the Bible that we will go through periods of time where we get betrayed, where we have a relationship with somebody that is trying to kill us. Maybe not physically, most of the time not, but mentally, spiritually, academically, I mean economically, all these other ways. Okay. And here even Jesus is asking this question, my God, my God, why has thou forsaken me? So at this moment, Christ understands there is no turning back. He's about to step into eternity. He is about to go somewhere and we know that that's somewhere in his health. Okay. Now turn to Acts chapter two and look at verse number 24. So this is where he went. Think about this process. Dies on the cross, buried in the tomb, three days, three nights. During that process, okay, this is what a lot of people miss in professing Christianity today, but it's a fact and it's true. And to be honest with you, I've mentioned this before, you know, whenever I'm out soul winning and I have to explain this to somebody, it's almost like they're, oh, okay, that's what it says. And they believe it. I very rarely have anybody challenge this. It's usually the guy or the quote unquote connections pastor down at Discovery Church or, you know, the media pastor over at the Summit Church and wants to email, I can't believe he's believed that Jesus went to hell. It's not what it says. It is what it says. It's crystal clear. Let's look at this. Okay. So I mean, obviously Jesus on the cross understands what's happening and in his, his, his humanities, he cries out, my God, my God, why has thou forsaken me? Well, we're in him. We feel that way too. But he goes through hell literally. Look at what the apostle Peter says in verse 24. Okay. So he's quoting here. David, he says, this is whom God has raised up, talking about Christ, having loosed up pains of death because it was not possible that he should be holding of it. Verse 25 for David speaketh concerning you. I foresaw the Lord always before my face for he is on my right hand that I should not be moved. Therefore did my heart rejoice and my tongue was glad. Moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope because thou will not leave my soul in hell. Neither will thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. And then he reinstates it later in the chapter. Okay. So on the cross, I mean, think about the, the fact that Jesus bore the sins of the entire world on himself. Okay. And he's on the cross. He's in agony. He's dying. He knows this is where he is going to go. Okay. But he also knows and he also understands that hell can not hold him. That's why it says here very clearly in verse 24 whom God has raised up, having loosed the pains of death because it was not possible that he should be holding of it. And what I think that God is showing us here as an answer to the question, why is thou forsaken? Okay. When you feel like, man, you know, I feel like I'm literally going through hell right now. I gave my heart, I gave my time, I gave my soul and energy to some people and they stabbed me in the back and they made up lies. They're literally dragging me through hell and you're going to be asking God, Lord, why are you dragging me through hell? Why does it seem like that? And I think that sometimes God drags us through hell because he knows that your enemies are not fireproof. I think that's why. Think about that for a second. Knows that your enemies are not fireproof. He's going to take you through these situations and raise you up and bring you out. Okay. Jesus told his enemies in the Gospel of John very clearly that where I go, you cannot come and you cannot follow me. That's what he said. Knowing that he would make this circuit from the cross to the grave to hell and then back up. Okay. They couldn't follow that. Okay. So his enemies chase him and his enemies follow him. Okay. And he does this. He does this sacrifice for all of humanity. And guess who gets caught down there. Guess who can't escape the flames. Those who reject him, those who hate him, those who mock him, those who don't want anything to do with him. And more often than not, that's how your enemies are. That's how our enemies are. Okay. These terrors, these traitors, these people that come in and want to go along to get along because they're infatuated with the internet or a documentary that they saw. And they think, wow, this is the place for me. And then they get here and think I could be a superstar. And then when they realize it's not about glorifying flesh, it's not about glorifying humanity, it's about pointing to God to get offended. And they get upset and they say, you know what, since I can't get my way, I'm going to take you down. I'm coming for you. But you know what? We just shake it off. We apply Romans 12. We apply Psalm 41. And we ask the Lord to be merciful unto us. And we ask him to lift us up that we may repay, meaning that he may repay because we're in him. That's biblical. That's how we do it. That's how we understand to fight against those that betray us. So just remember that God will allow you to go through hell sometimes. He will take you through these trials sometimes because he knows your enemies aren't fireproof. You are. You have the Holy Spirit inside of you. You are saved. Okay? And just like hell and these pains of death could not hold Christ, they cannot hold you either. And when you remember that, you will be able to overcome these things and do your mission, which is to edify your brethren and to evangelize the lost. That's why we are here. We are not here to glorify ourselves. Okay? If we could just get more people to wake up and understand this, we would have more victories than you could possibly imagine. So with that being said, we're going to finish right there and we'll take a look at some other things in Matthew 26. We've already kind of covered a lot. Matthew 28 during Easter and stuff like that. So we kind of skipped around. So we're really almost done with this study in Matthew. So we'll kind of look at some other things next week, finish this up. But before we close, I do want to mention something that I forgot during the announcement time. And that is if you're going to do the Noctua Drop Soul Winning Challenge, if you wouldn't mind meeting me at that table at 12 o'clock, I just want to talk to you about the details for the Noctua Drop Soul Winning Marathon next Saturday. And again, with that being said, let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Thank you so much, Lord, for allowing us to be able to gather here this morning and just pray that you'd bless the fellowship after the service, soul winning and everything that we have going on. Chilli potluck and bring us back safely tonight. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.