The Way Jesus Sees You

0:44 Hey, turn in your Bibles to Mark chapter 3. We're going to be in verses 13 to 19 this morning. And today's going to be a bit of a unique study. You know, typically we are, by design, we talk about it often, an expositional church. We work verse by verse through an entire text. Today we're going to be looking at a list of 12 names, and actually more than 12 names because we hear about the fathers and brothers of some of these people. But we are going to be doing a character study. We're looking at the 12 apostles, and we're going to be looking at about four or five of the guys on this list today to extract some truths from their lives about who they were, and in particular about what characteristic traits they had that enabled them to be used by God. And if we were to walk through each and every one of these, we could probably do like a three or four week series working through the life of each one of these guys.

1:39 But we're going to be covering four or five of them as we ask a question, how does Jesus see us? Hey, have you ever looked back at an old picture of yourself? I'm not talking like from last week. I'm talking about like an old picture of yourself, like a high school photo. You know exactly the one I'm talking about, right? That one photo that every time you look at it, you're like, what was I thinking? I mean, you're looking at the outfit, you're looking at the hair, and you're like, I made some bad choices. Either my mom hated me or my barber hated me. Which one was it? You know, that haircut that made perfect sense back then, but now you look at it and you're just like, I made some bad decisions in life. Like frosted tips. Anyone have frosted tips when they were younger? Right? Justin Timberlake style. Perms. Anyone have perms in the 80s? Woo! What was going on back then? Come on.

2:37 Maybe the dreaded mullet. Anyone have a mullet back in the day? Or how about the bowl cut? Anyone's moms give them a bowl cut until they're like 13 years old? Man, that was me. I'm looking at some of those photos, I'm like, mom, why didn't you love me more? What was up with that bowl cut? Come on, somebody. Like, what was going on? Or how about the outfit that makes you cringe every time you see it? The matching tracksuit, right? Like the Adidas top and the bottom or the Kappa tracksuit that you thought was so cool back then. Or the fluorescent jazzercise jacket. Anybody? Come on, somebody. Anyone wear those fluorescent jazzercise outfits back in the 80s? Or the JNCO jeans that were so wide, you could have hidden an entire family in those suckers. Like they're like human trafficking pants. Like you could just hide people and walk across the border with everybody in those JNCO pants. Some of you had enough hairspray to survive a hurricane. Some of you still do.

3:36 And the worst part is your parents still have all those pictures somewhere in their house so that every Thanksgiving you're embarrassed as you walk through the hall of shame. Like, no, mom, why do you still have that photo on the wall? Unfortunately, I get these photos put up every Father's Day. My mom always sends in this photo of us in matching leather and jeans and a bull cut. I'm like, mom, can you stop sending that photo to the church so that everybody can take part in it? You know, most of us don't want to be judged by an old picture, do we? By an old haircut, an old mistake, or an old season of life. We all want people to see who we've become, not just who we used to be. But that's not usually how people work, is it? We tend to make snap judgments and we tend to size people up in seconds. And once we've made a judgment about somebody, we hold that judgment for as long as we know them. They perpetually are that person that we've sized them up to be.

4:33 Well, he's too loud. She's too shy. He's difficult. That person has their life together. We see someone's personality, their past, their reputation, their failures, and we think we've got them all figured out. And that's exactly how we build teams too, isn't it? When we build a team, we tend to look at someone's outward appearance, their character, their personality, their physical attributes, and we build a team around those things. Now, I want to ask you a question. If you were starting the biggest movement in the history of the world, who would you recruit? If you were starting a world-changing movement, who would you put on your team? Probably the smartest people, right? Probably the best communicators, the influencers, the people with experience, the strong people. We'd probably ask for resumes, references, personality tests, strength finder, Enneagram numbers, a criminal background check, even a social media audit, like, I got to make sure I know everything about these people. Now, let me ask you another question. What are the qualities that God looks for in the people that he chooses to use? What is the criteria for the people that God uses? What are the characteristic traits for the people that God wants on his team and the team that he builds?

6:00 And I ask this question because we tend to think of the disciples as these flawless, super spiritual, super human people who had it all together and are forever immortalized in stained glass. Like, oh, they're the saints. They're these great men and women who did these great things. They were like almost sinless. Even though we know that's not true, we kind of think of them like that, don't we? We think of them as bigger than life, larger than life. And yet that's not the reality. Jesus walks by a lake and he's like, hey, I'll take the fisherman. I'll take the tax collector who everyone hates. I'll take the political extremist. I'll take the guys with anger issues and I'll take the skeptic. And you know what? Throw in the guy who I know is going to betray me at the end anyways. Give me that guy as well. We look at the people that Jesus chooses, the people that he has on his team, and we're like, what are you thinking?

6:57 These are the guys? These are the ones that you're gonna use to change the world? See, sometimes we think that unless we're perfect, God won't use us. We think that unless we're sinless, unless we're super spiritual, unless we're superhuman, God won't use us to do his work. But look at some of the other people throughout all of scripture that God used. Abraham was a liar who was willing to let a king sleep with his wife. Noah was a drunk. Elijah struggled with depression and at one point even asked God to take his life. David had sex with another man's wife after he pulled a major creeper move and he watched her taking a bath from his balcony. Like seriously? Samson sacrificed his strength and witness for a booty call. Peter denied that he had ever met Jesus and then he cussed out a crowd.

7:53 These are the people that God chose to use. Nobody builds a team this way. In fact, if our church started a softball team, some of you would become professional scouts overnight, right? You'd be like, oh, I've got this, Nate. I'll find, I'll find the right ones. We gotta get Mike. Mike played college ball. He still runs fast. He's strong. Oh, and Steve, Steve hit 400 in high school, and he's still got it. We got to get these guys before Sagebrush does. We've got to build this team, right? Like, you would be all in on building this team. Why? Because that's how we choose people. We choose talent. We choose experience. We choose what we can see. And that's why I love this passage in Mark. Because we can read this list of names and think, why would Jesus choose them? But maybe that's the wrong question. The better question is, what did Jesus see when he looked at them? Because when we look at people, we only see the external.

8:52 We only see the talent. We only see the experience. We only see the physique, the personality. That's what we see. But what did Jesus see when he looked at them? Because if we slow down, we discover it's much more than a roster. It's a picture of how Jesus sees people. And while everyone else looked at these men and saw hotheads, traitors, failures, nobodies, and skeptics, Jesus saw something no one else could see. He saw what they could become. And here's why that matters, and I want you to write this down. The way Jesus saw them is the same way Jesus sees you. The way Jesus looked at them is the same way Jesus looks at you. aren't you thankful that Jesus sees you different than the rest of the world aren't you thankful that when he looks at you he doesn't just see your character flaws he doesn't just see your personality traits he doesn't just see what you've accomplished or what you've done that he sees something greater that he looks at you and he sees what you can become he sees the end from the beginning because today I want to show you the way that Jesus sees you. And that's our message title this morning, The Way Jesus Sees You. And we're going to look at four things as we examine about five of these apostles.

10:17 We're going to see four things that Jesus sees when he looks at you. Let's read Mark chapter three, verse 13 to 19, as we get introduced to this ragtag crew. And he went up on the mountain and called to him those he himself wanted. So these are the guys he wanted. And they came to him. Then he appointed 12 that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and have power to heal sickness and to cast out demons. Simon, who he gave the name Peter, James, the son of Zebedee, and John, the brother of James, to whom he gave the name, now I'm not even gonna try that one because it's gonna come out inappropriate, so let's move on. That is sons of thunder.

11:16 Let's stop there. We're gonna see again four things that Jesus sees when he looks at you. And the first group that I wanna look at are these guys, the sons of thunder, James and John. And the first thing we see that Jesus sees when he looks at you is that Jesus sees your potential. That is, who you can become. We're introduced right off the bat to these two guys, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. And they're called the sons of thunder. Now, there's a good reason why they're called the sons of thunder, not the sons of encouragement. Not the sons of compassion. Not the sensitive guys. They're called the Sons of Thunder because these were two guys you did not wanna cross. These were two angry, passionate, impulsive, and competitive dudes. You did not wanna cross these guys.

12:10 On one occasion, the Thunder boys wanted to barbecue an entire Samaritan village just because they rejected Jesus. They go to a town, and the people don't accept what Jesus is saying. They don't wanna hear what he has to say. They reject him, and their response is, well, we should probably kill them, right? Like, who in their rational mind thinks that? Like, we go to Española and try to start a campus and they don't want it until we decide to burn Española? Like, hold up, guys, what's going on? They literally tell Jesus, Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven and consume them? Whoa. Jesus turned and rebuked them, saying, you do not know what kind of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And not only could they be harsh, but they could also be very ambitious and insensitive. One of my favorite stories in the Bible, I think it's so funny, so many of the stories in the Bible where you see the disciples interacting with Jesus, they're like office episodes.

13:07 Like it's less the chosen, it's more the office. Like these guys said some wild things and you see their interactions and it's really funny. On one occasion, Jesus pours his heart out to the disciples and he says, hey, in a short time, I'm gonna be crucified, I'm gonna die. I'm gonna be whipped. I'm gonna be tortured. All these terrible things are gonna happen. I'm gonna suffer. And instead of the disciples saying, oh man, Jesus, that's so rough. James and John, the first thing they do right after is they say, okay, yeah, yeah, you're gonna die. Hey, Jesus, can you do whatever we ask of you? That's a weird question. And Jesus obviously knows what they're gonna ask, but I kind of think he wants to hear them say it, so he allows them to. And the first thing they say after Jesus says, I'm gonna go suffer and die, is they say, hey, hey, that's cool. Can we have the best seats in heaven? Like, talk about not reading a room, right? It would be like you going to a doctor with a friend and the doctor telling you, hey, I'm sorry, I have bad news. You only have a week to live.

14:06 And your friend's smiling and saying, really? Can I have your car in house? Like, you're not gonna use it, right? Can I have it? Like, not the time, right? James and John could be calloused, selfish, prideful, insensitive, and unforgiving. In short, they were people just like you and me. Everyone else saw two angry young men, two hotheads, ambitious, selfish, impulsive, dangerous. We would look at these people and say, Jesus, these are all red flags. Like these are not the guys you want on your team. Maybe look for some green flag guys instead of some of these red flag guys. These are not the dudes you want. They're going to be dangerous for you. But Jesus looked past all those external personality traits, and he saw their potential. He saw how their passion, how their determination could be harnessed as future kingdom leaders. And as a matter of fact, the closer they got to Jesus, the more they leaned into Jesus, we see their personality traits almost change, almost become stark differences from anger to love. That passion and determination begins to change how they view the world. Everyone else saw temper. Jesus saw transformation.

15:31 James went from wanting to kill everybody to being willing to die for Jesus himself. John, who was known earlier for his harshness and ambition, became known for his emphasis on love. John went from being a son of thunder to being known as the apostle of love, two opposite ends of the spectrum. Again, everyone else saw temper. Jesus saw transformation. You know, when the unbelieving world looks upon the church, how often do we hear things like, well, that place is just full of hypocrites. That place is just full of people who messed up, who sinned. And the reality is that's exactly what the church is. The church is full of flawed, messed up people who are sinners. We're working through sanctification. We're trying to allow Jesus to change all those rough edges. But that's what the church is. And that's the place that it's supposed to be. It is supposed to be a place for broken people who don't have it all figured out yet, but we're trying.

16:31 We're working through it. We're trying to allow God to change us over time. The world sees problems. Jesus sees possibilities. Jesus doesn't ignore our flaws. Jesus looks beyond our flaws. Jesus knows exactly who you are. Jesus knows the issues that you have, but he doesn't stop there. He looks beyond the flaws to something deeper. You know, just like old pictures, some of us have personalities that we're embarrassed by. Some of us have character traits that we're kind of shameful of. We're quick-tempered, we're impulsive, we're opinionated, we're broken. But God can use passionate and determined people. God can use broken people. Some of us think that our greatest weakness is the things that disqualify us.

17:29 That man, Nate, my personality, I'm just naturally shy so I can't be used by God. I can't be used to do great things because I don't wanna talk to people. Nate, I'm naturally an angry person and so I have a really hard time showing grace and love and we give God this list of character traits that disqualify us, these weaknesses, but Jesus isn't asking you, hey, who have you been up until now? He's asking, who could you become if you followed me? That's my question to you today. Not who have you been? Not what has your life looked like before? My question is, who could you become if you followed Jesus? How could God use those things that you're ashamed of? How could he use them for his glory? Look, you're not defined by your flaws. You're defined by grace. grace doesn't deny your flaws grace refuses to let your flaws define you grace doesn't deny your flaws grace refuses to let your flaws define you and jesus doesn't choose people because of their potential jesus creates their potential again jesus doesn't look and see us the same way the world does jesus didn't choose you because it's like oh this person has really great potential. No, he chose you and then he gave you your potential. We talk all the time the fact that God has an incredible plan and a purpose for your life, but God didn't choose you because he said, man, that person has a great plan and purpose. No, he chose you and then he endowed you with that plan and that purpose, which means if you refuse to come to Christ, you will miss out on the potential that your life has. You'll miss out on the plan and the purpose that he has for you because he's the one who gives it to you. So Jesus sees your potential.

19:25 Number two, Jesus sees your faithfulness. That is to say how you serve today. And for this, I want to look at Andrew. He's one of the names on this list, Andrew. Now, Andrew isn't flashy. Andrew never becomes the famous one. He's not talked about a lot. He doesn't have a lot of notoriety. As a matter of fact, throughout his ministry, he's primarily known as Peter's brother, which, by the way, that's a tough way to live, right? Like everywhere you go, people just know you as, oh, that's so-and-so's brother, that's so-and-so's sister. Anyone have an older brother or sister that when you went to school, everybody just knew you as, oh, that's so-and-so's brother, that's so-and-so's sister. Now, if they were a good kid, that's great, but if you had a mischievous older brother or sister, you walk into class and the teacher's like, oh, great. You must be John's brother, right? Like, oh, I've got another one. That's tough to live, right, in the shadow of somebody else. He was never as intimate with Jesus. He was never used as publicly as Peter.

20:27 He never preached on Pentecost. He never wrote a gospel. He never became the spokesman. He never led the Jerusalem church. Andrew never becomes the hero. He simply kept bringing people to Jesus. That's what Andrew's life was marked by. He continuously brings people to Jesus. He's constantly bringing people to the Lord. He's not striving for the limelight. He's not pushing for the platform. He's simply bringing people to Jesus. As a matter of fact, it was Andrew who brought his more famous brother Peter to Jesus. Andrew was the first one to come and then he brought Peter along. John 1 41 tells us the first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, we have found the Messiah, and he brought him to Jesus. It was also Andrew who brought the little boy with the five loaves and the two fish to Jesus.

21:25 You remember that story where Jesus multiplies that food and feeds 5,000? It was Andrew who spotted this young child and brought him to Jesus. It was also Andrew who was one of the ones in John 12 who brought the Greeks to Jesus. and what I love about Andrew is he never seems bothered that someone else gets the spotlight and that's rare that's rare because a lot of us whether we want to admit it or not we really want the spotlight we really want to be the hero we really want to be the main character we want that main character energy we really want to be the one that everybody knows and Andrew teaches us that obscurity is not insignificance. History celebrates platform. The world celebrates visibility, but Jesus celebrates faithfulness. The crowd is what the world notices.

22:22 Consistency is what Jesus notices. And Andrew is the model for all Christians who labor quietly where God has called them to. We might not know their names as well as the others, but they are known and greatly loved by the Lord. And I wanna let you know today, if you feel like one of those people, if you feel this way, unnoticed, overlooked, nobody sees you for who you are, there is no shame in quietly serving the Lord in the place that he has called you to. As a matter of fact, more Christians could do with this mentality. I think every Christian is always asking the question, well, I need to step out, I need to step out. I think more Christians could do with the truth that God has called you sometimes to stay put. God has called you exactly to where he has you right now. If we believe that God is sovereign, that means you're exactly where you need to be right now.

23:17 And God has a purpose for where you are right now. And yet some of us are constantly looking and we're future oriented. We're constantly looking at what God wants to do later on. But we need to be faithful to the ministry God has given us now. faithful to the platform he has given us now. Even if that means being a stay-at-home mom and changing diapers and making lunches and sending kids off to school and training up arrows to get launched in the world to be future world changers. That is the ministry God has given you. And rather than asking God, Lord, give me the next big thing. Give me the next platform. I want more notoriety. Meanwhile, God's looking at you saying, be faithful to what I've given you. because if you're not faithful to the platform I've given you, why would I give you a bigger platform? We need to be comfortable with staying put. We need to be comfortable in simply being faithful. Be faithful to what God's doing in your life right now.

24:20 Too many people today only want to serve God if they can be seen doing so. They only want to preach the gospel if they can do it from a stage. They only want to labor if it means some form of prominence. And some people think, well, if God would just give me a bigger opportunity, a bigger platform, don't miss the ministry that's right under your nose. This is the mom who, she's having her quiet time. That's her Stanley cup. She's taking a sip of water. her lululemon jacket she just sipped up Lord, I just pray, God, just, I just read this Beth Moore Bible study and she said I'm supposed to live a life that, shut up, Billy, mommy's trying to have her quiet time.

25:12 Lord, I just wanna be used by, Billy, get off of me, I told you. Baby girl, God has answered your prayer and his name is Billy. And Billy is just as important as a leper in India. And what you do for Billy, you do unto the Lord. So every sandwich you make, every diaper you change, every nap you put Billy down for, every errand you run, you are doing unto the Lord. And maybe it's time for you to stop looking at your ordinary everyday circumstances as just that and realize that God wants to do something extraordinary through the place that you're in right now. God wants to do something incredible in the season that you're in right now. And what you do in that season, you do for God. You have permission to approach your life with passion. God doesn't just send people to the other end of the world. Sometimes he sends them to the cubicle next to them to change their office space.

26:06 Sometimes he sends them to the bedroom to help a crying baby. I wanna do something faith-filled though, Nate. You know, there's nothing more faith-filled than being faithful. And maybe God's just asking you to be faithful to what he's already given you. See, God measures success differently than Instagram does. Think about what has come from some people quietly doing what God has called them to do in a small way. There would be no Paul and no worldwide spreading of the gospel if there wasn't Ananias who heard the call of God and discipled Saul. There would be no Samuel and no repentance in Israel if it wasn't for Eli faithfully serving in the temple. There would be no Billy Graham and widespread revival around the world If it wasn't for his friend, you've probably never heard of, Albert McMacken, who invited him to a big tent revival and he got saved. Ordinary people viewing ordinary things as something extraordinary that God could do.

27:05 And because they were faithful in the small things, God did things bigger than they could have ever imagined. Never underestimate what God can do through someone who is willing to quietly do what God has called them to do. Look, the kingdom isn't only built by people on stages. It's built by people who faithfully serve in the shadows. And if you are simply faithful to the small things God has called you to, you'll be amazed at the big things he uses you to do. So he sees your faithfulness. I think some of you needed to hear that today. Number three, Jesus sees your growth. This is who you are becoming along the way. You know, some people, when they get saved, they expect growth to happen overnight. They get saved and they expect that overnight they're gonna all of a sudden have everything change. All their relationships are gonna change. Their marriage is gonna change.

27:57 They're gonna be reading the Bible eight hours a day. They're gonna stop cussing. They're gonna stop drinking. They're gonna stop doing all these things. And this is sanctification and it is true. We should be sanctified. But sometimes we can try to speed up and rush sanctification. We can try to make all the outward things look the way they're supposed to look, and we can rush God in his process of growing you to our own detriment. But God sees who you are going to become in the end. He sees who you're becoming along the way. And for this, I want to look at Philip. Philip is completely different than Andrew, totally different. Andrew was all about faithfulness, faith. Philip is Mr. Analytical. He's Mr. Does Not Compute. He's Mr. Everything Has to Make Sense. Now, we don't know too much about this apostle. We do know that he didn't do too well in a test that Jesus posed to him concerning the feeding of the multitude.

28:55 In John chapter six, we mentioned it a second ago, the five loaves and the two fish. When Jesus fed 5,000, he posed a question to the disciples. And again, I love these scenarios because I got a picture. Jesus did this often where he would pose a question. And I got to imagine all the disciples because they hardly ever got the question right. If you read it, it's like 90% of the time, they failed miserably. So you gotta imagine there comes a point when he starts asking a question and the disciples start like averting their, hey, I gotta go check on something over there. Don't call on me Jesus. I don't wanna have the wrong answer. It says, when Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming towards him, he said to Philip, where shall we buy bread for these people to eat? He asked this only to test him. Thanks, Jesus. for he already had in mind what he was gonna do. He just wanted to see what Philip was gonna say. Philip answered him and he said, eight months wages would not buy enough food for everyone to have a bite.

29:51 Wrong answer, Philip. Then he goes to Andrew. Andrew, it's your turn. Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother spoke up and he said, here's a boy with five small barley loaves and with two small fish. Jesus said, have the people sit down. it would appear that Philip failed the test why he was too taken up with his own understanding and abilities see Andrew looked with eyes of faith Philip looked with eyes of logic there's no way we can feed all these people now that's not to say that these two are incompatible logic and faith as a matter of fact some people could do with a little more of each Some people are so logic-filled. Everything has to make sense. Everything has to compute. Everything's about rational logic that when God calls them to something, they're so scared to step out in faith because it doesn't make sense.

30:44 It's not logical. Look, oftentimes the things that God's gonna call you to do are not logical. They're faithful. Now, on the other hand, there's some people who are all about faith. Everything is so faith, faith, faith. And it's like everything's a mystery. And there are, again, flowers in the hair, super weird. and they have no logic at all. And it gets them in trouble all the time. They'll say things like, well, God really told me that I was supposed to do this. I'm gonna marry this person. And then they don't get married and you're like, well, was that God or God really told me that I'm supposed to move to New York City and I'm supposed to do this. And then two months later, they're back and you're like, that wasn't God talking to me. It's everything is all faith, faith, faith and there's no logic and they get themselves into trouble. Remember, we're supposed to be wise as a serpent, gentle as a dove. We have to hold in contention and a little bit of tension the faith and logic. They both work hand in hand.

31:37 God wants you to be faithful, but he still wants you to be wise. He still wants you to be smart. Philip wasn't rebellious. He simply struggled to see beyond what made sense. Anyone in here struggle to see beyond what makes sense? It doesn't make sense. And how often do our friends tell us about something God's doing in their lives? and rather than encouraging them and praying for them, we become Mr. Logic. Well, I don't know, that doesn't make sense. Have you really thought about all the things? Have you thought about all the angles? Have you thought about all the consequences? And we become like the Holy Spirit for them. But we're not encouraging them to take a step of faith, we're encouraging them to just stay put and stay safe.

32:20 Because it doesn't make sense. Jesus says, feed 5,000. Philip starts calculating. Does not compute, cannot work, too many people. Andrew starts looking. Andrew naturally brings the little boy. Philip naturally calculates the budget. Andrew thinks about possibility. Philip thinks about probability. But I love that Jesus doesn't give up on Philip. Jesus keeps stretching. He keeps growing Philip's thinking. Every miracle Jesus does, every sermon Jesus preaches, Philip's growth, Philip's faith stretches a little bit more. he believes a little bit more he sees a little bit more he takes another step forward he keeps on stretching he keeps on growing then at the last supper he said to jesus lord show us the father and that'll be enough for us jesus again teaches him patiently don't you know me philip jesus says even after i've been among you for such a long time anyone who has seen me has seen the father how can you say, show us the Father? Jesus never gave up on Philip. He kept teaching him, kept guiding him. I bring this up to let you know that maybe you're that logical person. I think more of us are those logical people than we'd care to admit. Because faith is hard. It's scary taking a step in faith. But even logical people can grow in faith. So don't use your logic as an excuse for why you never do anything for God. Well, I'm just a logical person. Okay.

33:56 God will keep growing you. God will keep stretching you. God will keep leading you. And guess what? He's patient. He'll take his time. He doesn't expect you to wake up tomorrow and be like, I'm going to India. Now, if he calls you to go to India, do it because he's God. He knows what he's doing, but he'll be patient with you. He'll lead you. He'll guide you. Even if you're logical, you can grow in faith. See, Jesus sees not only where Philip is, he sees where Philip is headed. And some people get discouraged because they aren't where they want to be spiritually. Look, neither was Philip. Jesus isn't frustrated by where you are. He's committed to taking you to where you're going to be. He's committed to where he's taking you. And guess what? God is more patient with your growth than you are. He's more patient than you are. Your faith might be small today, but Jesus is patient enough to grow it tomorrow. And Jesus never mistakes, not yet, for never, because Jesus sees your heart. And that's our fourth and final point, and that is that Jesus sees your heart. This is who you really are before him. And for this last point, I want to look at Judas. Dun, dun, dun, right? You can almost hear the music when the name is read. Judas. Dun, dun dun. Like nobody had Judas on their short list for baby names, did they? Like Judas and Hitler right up there together. Like don't name your kid either one of those names. There's no good Judases. There's no good Hitlers. Like they're not good names. His very name is synonymous with evil and treachery. And while everyone else represents someone that Jesus changes, Judas represents someone that refused to be changed.

35:45 But there's more to Judas than that. If Judas were alive in 2026 and he were to walk through these church doors and you met him in the lobby, he wouldn't be the sinister evil man that you would suspect. He wouldn't have a long handlebar mustache that he, hmm, okay, like he's twisting his mustache and he has a hat on and squinty eyes, plotting how to foil your plans for lunch for the day. He wouldn't be some comic book villain that you would expect. Rather, he would appear very upright, seemingly considerate, and very religious. He'd be at church every Sunday. He'd say all the prayers. He'd do all the things.

36:27 You know, it's amazing to think that Judas was one of the original 12, right? From the beginning, he was there. He heard the great teachings of Jesus. He heard with his own ears Jesus say, not everyone that says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven. You would think like, ding, ding, ding, Judas, that's you. Come on. He's talking to you. He personally heard Jesus' words and teachings on hypocrisy. He personally heard Jesus' warning about the tares and the wheat. He personally saw the miracles. And he had countless opportunities to believe. not only was Judas exposed to Jesus's words and miracles but he appeared to the others as a good person so much so that nobody suspected him of being a betrayer they all just thought this is Judas he's really righteous he's a good guy he's got it together he appeared considerate caring for the poor upon seeing the woman washing Jesus's feet with her tears and anointing him with expensive perfume, Jesus said, this should have been sold and the money should have been given to the poor. You imagine the other disciples are like, yeah, yeah, yeah. What Judas said, like we're always getting the wrong answer, but I think Judas nailed it. Yeah, we should do that.

37:44 Judas is so generous. What a good guy. He really loves the poor. But the verse continues on. It says this, he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief and he had the money bag. Again, what did the world see? They see the external appearance. What no one knows, the heart, that's what Jesus saw. Judas proved, just like Pharaoh before him, that the same sun that softens the wax hardens the clay. And the more that Judas saw, the harder he became. And yet, in spite of all of that, Jesus extends the same love and forgiveness to Judas that he did to the other 11. In the upper room on the night that Judas would betray him, Jesus greets Judas with a kiss. Jesus washes Judas's feet, again, showing that he is a servant serving his disciples.

38:42 He loved Judas. And prior to identifying Judas as a betrayer, it says he was troubled in spirit. he was troubled in spirit and he said one of you will betray me and the disciples were perplexed they said lord who is it again Judas was so good at pretending he was so cunning that no one suspected him it's not like Jesus said hey someone's going to betray me they're like we've got our money on Judas we've been actually running like tabs on this we've collected bets everyone thinks it's Judas. We've been telling you for months, Jesus, it's Judas. No, nobody knew he had fooled everyone except for Jesus. And when they asked, Lord, who is it? Jesus answered, it is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it. He then dipped the bread and gave it to Judas. everybody trusted Judas but Jesus knew Judas nobody suspected Judas he looked the part he sounded the part he served the part he looked committed faithful even spiritual and in giving the bread first to Judas Jesus not only was showing to John who would betray him he was proving to Judas that he knew all along what was in his evil heart to do. He was showing Judas, I know you. I know what's in your heart. And Judas gets up and he flees. He runs away and he ends up selling Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. And we know the rest of that story.

40:19 Only Jesus saw what was really happening. Only Jesus saw the one thing that nobody else could see, his heart. and the reality is, is that Jesus sees and knows exactly what is in each and every one of us. He knows our hearts. He's the only one who does. The people here in this church, the people who look at you, the people who judge you, who think they've got you all figured out, all they see is the external. Maybe they look at you like James and John and say, man, that person's so angry. They're definitely a Judas. They don't know you. Jesus sees your heart. He sees your potential. Maybe they see how shy you are and they say, that person's so shy. They're never gonna be used by God. They're never gonna be used to spread the gospel. They don't know you.

41:12 Jesus sees within you your faithfulness and what you're doing that no one else sees behind closed doors. Maybe they look at you and say, man, that person, they've got it all together. They've got it figured out. They're really righteous. They're really holy. They don't know you. Jesus sees your heart. And if it's pretend, if you're just really good at fooling other people, if you're just really cunning, no one else knows that except for Jesus and you. You realize that? Jesus sees your heart. The only other person who can see your heart is you. The only other person who knows if there's real transformation and life change is you. If there's real relationship is you and Jesus. initial appearances can be deceiving. Look, the danger isn't looking unlike a disciple. The danger is looking exactly like a disciple without ever surrendering your heart.

42:08 That's the danger. Being around Jesus isn't enough. It's not. Judas shows us that. He was around Jesus for his entire earthly ministry. Being around Jesus, being in proximity, close to Jesus, it's not enough. You must be changed by Jesus. And Judas wasn't ruined by one bad decision.

42:34 He slowly resisted Jesus until his heart became hard. The question isn't, do people think you're a Christian? The question is, what does Jesus see when he looks at your heart? That's my question for you as we bring this to a close. Not do people think you're a Christian, but what does Jesus see when he looks at your heart? I wanna close by reading an illustration from Tim Hansel. And he asked the question that, what if Jesus had submitted the resumes of this ragtag group to a modern management group? And he tried to get help in hiring the perfect team. Well, the results might read something like this. To whom it may concern, Thank you for submitting the resumes of the 12 men you have for management positions in your new organization. All of them have now taken our battery of tests and have not only run the results through our computer, but are also arranged personal interviews for each of them with our psychologist and vocational aptitude consultant.

43:37 It is the staff opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in background, education, and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise that you are undertaking. That's true. They do not have the team concept. We would recommend that you continue your search for persons of experience in managerial ability and proven capability. Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given to fits of temper. He seems far too impulsive to be in a position of oversight. Andrew has absolutely no qualities of leadership at all. The two brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, place personal interest above company loyalty. They also seem to be quite impatient with others, and due to this impatience and ambition, they could one day become disgruntled employees. Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine morale. We feel it is our duty to tell you that Matthew has been blacklisted by the Greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau.

44:44 One of the candidates, however, shows great potential. He is a man of ability and resourcefulness, ambitious and responsible. We therefore recommend Judas Iscariot as your controller and right-hand man. All of the other profiles are self-explanatory, sincerely yours. HR looks at these people and says, reject Peter, reject James, reject John, reject Andrew, reject Philip, hire Judas. Jesus says, you only see resumes, I see hearts. You look at James and John and see people who are difficult, angry, and impetuous, I see potential. You look at Andrew and see someone who is soft-spoken, quiet, and unnoticed, I see faithfulness. You look at Philip and see an analytical, faithless, struggling individual, I see growth. And you look at Judas and you see someone who looks like a disciple with ability and ambition, I see the heart. And today, right now, Jesus sees you. Some of you only see your failures and you walk in here with shame over your personality, who you used to be, the things you've done, Jesus sees your potential. Some of you feel overlooked.

46:08 Jesus sees your faithfulness, what you do behind closed doors. Some of you feel like you're growing too slowly. Jesus sees what you're growing into. He sees you for who you truly are, for who you can become, and he wants to change you and in turn use you to change the entire world. And someday, every one of us will stand before the only one who sees beyond appearances.

46:36 And we will hear from him, either well done, good and faithful servant, or depart from me, I never knew you. And all of that will be based on what he sees within you, what he sees in your heart. You can't fool him, you can't trick him, you can't pull the wool over his eyes. He sees your heart. We need to move from asking, can Jesus really use someone like me to a much deeper question? Have I truly given Jesus my heart? Know this, the devil will always be there to whisper in your ear, you think God would listen to you? You've gone too far. You're not good enough. Look at who you are and what you've done. Jesus is looking at you right now and saying, I see exactly who you are. I know exactly what you've done. I know exactly what you struggle with, but I see you for who you can become.

47:36 Satan will always try to keep you from the cross. The Holy Spirit will always draw you to it. And you can call out to God right now. Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. Look, that's not for weak people. the world looks at Christianity and says, that's for weak people. That's for cowards. I'm not weak. I can fix my life myself. Christianity is a crutch. No, Christianity is not a crutch. It's the whole hospital. It's the whole hospital. I need it all. Give me the wheelchair and the gurney and the fluids and the med. I need it all. when we come to Jesus and say, Lord, will you take me just as I am? Will you look at me and see something different than the world sees? Will you give me potential? Will you give me a plan? Will you give me a purpose? Will you see the things that I do for you that nobody else sees?

48:33 Will you help me to grow maybe slowly into the image that you want me to look like as you form and shape me? The only way that can begin is if you invite Jesus to examine in your heart, to look on the inside, say, Lord, search me and know me. My going forth and my coming out, know who I truly am. Lord, I give it all to you. Take me and use me. Lord, we thank you that you see us, Lord, not just for who we are right now, but for who we can become. Lord, we're thankful that you don't look at us the way the world does. But Lord, you look at us with different eyes. So Lord, I pray for the people in here who feel like they're just too rough around the edges to be used by you.

49:28 They're just too messed up. They're just too broken. They're too angry. They're too shy. They're too whatever. Lord, you see within them their potential, who they can become. Lord, would you encourage them? Would you build them up? Would you strengthen them to let them know that they can be used by you? Lord, I pray for the person in here who feels overlooked, who feels like no one ever sees who they are or what they do and they're starting to get tired, Lord. They're asking you for something bigger, something greater. Lord, would you just give them your grace and your love? That Lord, you see their faithfulness, you see what they do in the shadows that no one else does. Would you strengthen them? Lord for the person who feels like they're growing too slowly yes they can see changes in their life from who they once were but they feel like it's moving too slow they want it to move faster they're impatient Lord would you comfort them would you let them know Lord that you see the changes they've made you see the growth they've made and you are patient with them as they continue to be transformed into your image and Lord I pray for the person in here who's like Judas.

50:41 Lord, the reality is just like that Josiah Queen song says, we're all like Judas. But it's even worse because Judas betrayed you for 30 pieces of silver and we so often do it for free. Lord, we put on a mask. We walk the walk. We talk the talk. We put on a good show. Nobody else suspects us. They look at us and say, that person, they've got it all together. But Lord, you've always been after one thing, our heart. And Lord, only you can see their heart and only they can see their heart. And as they look right now, they realize their heart has not been given to you. And I want to really briefly give you an opportunity to give your heart to Jesus. We're over time, so I'm not going to have you come forward and do an altar call. But if you're sitting here right now and you've never given your heart to Jesus. I'm not going to ask you if this is a first-time decision or rededication, because honestly, all of that doesn't really matter. The question is, have you given your heart to Jesus sincerely? Not have you come forward and said a prayer before? Have you given your heart to Jesus? Or are you just pretending? Is it just a show?

51:51 if you want to right now give your heart to the Lord, to ask him to come into your life and forgive you of your sin, to set a place for you prepared for you in heaven, would you just raise your hand up right now? You're saying, Nate, pray for me. I want to give my heart to Jesus. I don't want to be a Judas. I'm rough around the edges, but I want Jesus to fix those rough parts. I want Jesus to see within me a plan and a purpose and a potential. Amen. Right here in the middle to the front. Just raise your hand up high.

52:27 I see you. A couple of you over here to my left. Several of you over here in the middle to my right. In the back to the left. Up in the balcony. Just put it up high. you're really responding to Jesus, not to me. If the Holy Spirit is speaking to you right now, drawing you to the cross, listen to him, not me. The devil will always pull you away from the cross. The Holy Spirit will always draw you to the cross. Anyone else right now, as the Holy Spirit speaks to you, you want to give your heart to Jesus right here. Amen, I see you. Over here, I see you.

53:06 Yes. Lord, I thank you for all these people who have raised their hand acknowledging their need for you. Lord, I pray this wouldn't just be another thing they do, but Lord, this seed that you begin to plant within their life would grow up into a mighty tree that produces much fruit, that the work you've begun, you will complete, that you would truly grab a hold of their heart. And right now, as we're continuing to pray in just a second, I'm going to ask you to do something bold. I'm gonna ask you to stand up in your seat and be counted and identified as a follower of Jesus Christ and say a prayer to accept him in your life. And this is the part where a lot of people, they get lost. They're like, wait a second. I'm all about the hand raised when heads are bowed. I don't wanna stand up. These people think I'm a Christian.

54:00 Well, as we just saw in this story, it doesn't matter who thinks you're a Christian. All that matters is what Jesus thinks about you. That's what matters. That's what's important. And you're not doing this for anyone else. You're doing this for Jesus. And he died on the cross publicly for you. Will you stand publicly for him? Because if you can't stand for Jesus in a room full of people that love him, how are you gonna do it out there in a world that hates him? So on the count of three, I want you to take a bold step. I'm gonna count down from three. And when I hit one, I want you to stand up and I'm gonna lead you in a prayer to receive Jesus Christ. Are you ready? Three, two, one, stand. Come on. You stand up. You want to give your heart to Jesus right now. Amen. You stand up. I saw your hands. Jesus sees your hearts. If you raise your hand up right now, you stand up. There is no shame in this. I'm standing because I'm a sinner. I have displeased God. I have done things in my life that I'm ashamed of. Jesus wants to change your life. If you were in the balcony, the family room, the amphitheater, you stand up right now. And I'm going to lead you in a prayer to receive Jesus Christ.

55:06 Those of you who are standing, you've made the best decision of your life. You're gonna go home tonight. You're gonna put your head on your pillow. You're gonna know you just made the best decision you've ever made. So I want you to say this prayer out loud, but I want you more importantly to mean it from your heart because that's what Jesus sees. The words are just words. The heart is what matters. Say these words out loud after me. Believe it in your heart. Lord, I know that I'm a sinner. I know that I've done many things that have hurt you. but Lord I believe you died for those things and I believe you rose from the dead so Lord I invite you into my life forgive me of my sin I turn from my old life and I turn to you fill me with your Holy Spirit