Welcome to Healing Scars with Pastor Burton,
the official podcast of Cross Christian Fellowship,
Route 66, in the heart of Albuquerque, New Mexico,
where Burton is the lead pastor. We're glad you're
here. Let us pray. Father, we thank you for this
time in fellowship and in worship. We ask that
you help us to open ourselves, actually, to...
All the word that you have to speak to us today,
everything that you have to teach us today, and
how it applies to our lives. We ask for the knowledge
and the wisdom to be able to not just accept
it, but to understand it, to let it help us grow
our character and our relationship with you.
Not only do we ask this, but we ask for your
continued hedge of protection over everybody
who's traveling these next few weeks, not just
here, but across the nation. We know this is
a big time of travel for our country, the high
schools, the colleges, and anything and everything
in between. There's a lot of people that are
blessed with the opportunity to take advantage
of some time together and to get out and see
and do something a little different. So we ask
for your safety in those travels, getting them
where they need to be and home again safely.
And we ask all this in Jesus' name. Amen. All
right. So this week, no different than the last
couple weeks. You know, we're in a little bit
of a series here. As Tess reminded us, we're
working our way to Easter. You know, it's that
time of year. A lot of churches are like, oh,
we're going to focus on one thing. We're going
to focus on another thing this day. And we're
going to kind of break things down. And I was
like, I was sitting back and I was praying and
it hit me. It's like, you know, the Lord put
it on me. It's like, no, we're just going to
do the whole month. And we're just going to be
talking about stuff leading up through Easter
the whole month. That's really what this series
is. It's really just to kind of give us a little
bit more focus on what it's all about. And really,
it's the kingship of Jesus and everything that
he had to go through in order for us to have
this blessing. The last couple weeks, we've looked
at the fact that Jesus was the promised king.
Not the king that was wanted, but the king that
was needed. So he's the promised king. And then
last week, of course, we looked at the fact that
he wasn't just a king. He was a suffering servant,
right? The warrior king, but not the warrior
in a traditional aspect that people were expecting.
And through his suffering for his people, we're
able to have new life. That's a beautiful thing.
And it's a wonderful gift. And this week, we're
going to keep on going through, and we're going
to look at the connection between the cross and
the throne of Christ. So as we get started, I'd
like to take everybody on a quick little trip
down memory lane. At least a little bit. Say
most of us. Maybe not all of us, but most of
us the last 20 years are kind of familiar. If
nothing else we've heard, there's like a million
Transformer movies out there now, right? Some
of you might have already picked that up on the
title of today's message, More Than Meets the
Eye. For some of us that are a little bit older,
if we go all the way back to the early to mid
80s, back when they first started. We all watched
that religiously. Yes, as little kids, we watched
that religiously. That was one of the big things
at that time. Transformers and G .I. Joe and
all that kind of stuff. And they had a theme
song, just like everything else. And one of the
big things that was out there was More Than Meets
the Eye. That was one of the lyrics that was
in there. Right? More Than Meets the Eye. You'd
hear it every episode, every week. In fact...
It was the overall arching theme throughout the
entire series. Not everything that you see is
what you think it is, which is kind of cool.
It was a big thing back then because we didn't
just see it in the toys. This theme was actually
stamped on all the toys, the lunchboxes, the
thermoses, the clothing, and anything and everything.
If it was Transformers, it had Transformers there,
whatever the picture was, and then somewhere
on there it was going to say, more than meets
the eye. It was a big thing. You know, you get
the kids today, they think they're nerds and
they miss that completely. They don't realize
how big of a thing that was for us in the 80s.
Even teenagers, it was a big thing. You know,
and the fact was that even, you know, in a simple
sense, you look at it, it's like, okay, you'll
see a car, a truck, an airplane, whatever. But
then it was more than we see because it would
transform into this big robot, right? And had
the story of good and evil. Well, we also see
it in real life. We see things in real life all
the time, and we don't always even necessarily
realize that there's more than meets the eye.
I've got a prime example here for you. You look
at the military. And we see all these TV shows
and all these movies and all this stuff about
the military, right? It shows these kind of superhuman
dudes, usually, doesn't it? These buff, chiseled
guys, especially when it comes to a story about
special forces. Special forces guy, like these
guys come through, they're built like machines,
right? They're the size of refrigerators. They're
tall, they're huge. At least that's how it is
on the screen and in the stories that are shared.
Real life is a little bit different than that.
The fact of the matter is, special forces are
actually kind of the smallest of all of us. They
do a lot of cardio, they do a lot of working
out. Through their training. It's not like actually
they just go out and run all the time. Some of
them do. Snipers are in sniper school. They're
running all the time. They're in the lunch line
in the mess hall. You see them. Because that's
part of their training. Which is funny. Because
in their actual job, they don't move a whole
lot. So I guess it's a counterbalance, right?
But the fact of the matter is, like I said, when
you look at these guys, they look a lot more
like this guy. Mike Vining. Sergeant Major Mike
Vining. Now, you look at this guy. You look at
some of these pictures here. You look at him
in his uniform. He kind of looks like a scrawny,
nerdy guy. You look at this guy, and you think
to yourself, he has like an admin job, right?
Like, look at this dork. That's how people look
at him. More than meets the eye. Because, ladies
and gentlemen, Sergeant Major Mike Vining has
one of the most lethal records in the military.
Mike Vining is one of the original members. He
is one of the founding members of Delta Force.
Yes, the Delta Force. He has been on missions
and done stuff in over three wars in time in
between since. Stuff that will be classified
for years to come long after everybody in this
room is gone. He's a bad dude. More than meets
the eye. Not what you would expect. Not by a
long shot. We see stuff all the time, though.
I guess this is a bit of an excessive example,
but, you know, I'm a military nerd. Veterans
do that. But more than meets the eye. So just
something to keep in mind as we open our Bibles
and our apps. Let's go ahead and do that. We're
going to turn to Mark 15. So Mark 15, verses
31 through 32. Mark 15, verses 31 through 32.
The word says, Likewise, the chief priest also,
mocking among themselves with the scribes, said,
He saved others. Himself he cannot save. Let
the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from
the cross, that we may see and believe. Even
those who were crucified with him reviled him.
Jesus could have saved himself, right? We know
this. He is the son of God. This is part of the
Trinity, right? The triune. He had all the power.
He could have wiped his mockers off the face
of the planet. He could have erased him from
all existence like nothing had ever happened.
He could have taken himself off that cross at
any time. He could have changed that narrative
at any time. But instead, because his love for
us, It was so great and so deep. He endured suffering
for us. Suffering that most people today couldn't
even imagine. And there's some people, they're
suffering some pretty heinous things, right?
But what our Lord and Savior went through for
us makes most of that pale in comparison. From
the time He entered that city knowing he was
taking his final steps, that he was going to
be doing all of his final stuff, his final fellowship,
all, anything and everything in between. That
right there, because we have to remind you, our
Lord, he was fully man. Yes, he's fully God,
but he was fully man. And he knew what was going
to come. You think that didn't set in here just
a little bit in that mind, that six inches of
space between his ears? It did. I guarantee it
did. Because that's part of being fully man.
All the way up through his betrayal, his torture,
all the way up through the cross. He loved us
so much that he stayed the course and did what
had to be done. Now to say that the events of
that day in particular when he took the cross
for us was the greatest drama in the history
of man would be putting it mildly. Very mildly.
It was the darkest day that's ever taken place
on God's earth. Not simply because he was being
put to death on the cross, but because he was
taking the sin of all mankind with him. I'm not
just going to say upon himself, he was taking
it with him. Everyone that had been born before,
everyone who was alive at a time, and everyone
to be born later, you and me included. Everybody
in here sinned. Everybody in here has fallen
short of the glory of God. We've all messed up.
Some of us may have messed up this week. Some
of us might have even started off the day messing
up. It happens, right? He took all that sin with
him. Not only did he take it with him, but he
endured. the ultimate punishment, the punishment
that you and I deserve. He did that for us in
his great love. In fact, we're not actually going
to read through all of it for time's sake, but
if we were to go back to Mark chapter 10, verses
32 through 37, we see James and John begging,
begging to go with them when Jesus told them
what was about to come because they didn't truly
understand what he was saying. They heard the
words. I should say they were listening to what
he was saying, but they didn't hear what he was
saying. They weren't picking up what he was putting
down. However, if we do turn to that next verse
though, and Mark 10 verse 38 specifically. So
Mark 10 verse 38, we could see what Jesus said
to them. So on Mark 10 verse 38, the word says,
but Jesus said to them, you do not know what
you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I
drink and be? baptized with the baptism that
I am baptized with? In other words, he's saying,
can you really do what I need to do? And they're
sitting there, they're thinking of him just as
another man. And so they're saying, yes. It's
like, no, no, no, no. Recognize me for me. I
am the Messiah and I am the son of God. You cannot
do what I can do. You cannot take on what I need
to take on. It wasn't just a matter of his death.
As the suffering servant, he was going to take
all that sin upon himself and our punishment
with it. Not only that, here's some foreshadowing.
Here are two of his disciples, two of his closest
friends, two people he considered family. And
they're wanting to go with him. He said, no,
no, no, you can't. Those two positions that are
going to be next to me are reserved for someone
else. They're not mine to give to you. They've
already been given to somebody else. Right? That's
basically what he's telling them. That you can't
do it. It's not on you. They had other work.
They had other ministry to attend to. Those places
that were next to him were going to be used as
examples. Examples. It's one of those things
that we commonly miss when we look at the cross
and we look at the people that were next to him.
The place of man had been replaced also as an
example. This is one of those more than meets
the eye moments. Let me paint this picture. Let's
turn to Mark 15. Let's go back to Mark 15, I
should say, and we're going to look at verses
6 through 7. We're going to look specifically
at that person. So Mark 15, verses 6 through
7. Word tells us now at the feast, he was accustomed
to releasing one prisoner to them, whomever they
requested. And there was one named Barabbas who
was chained with his fellow rebels. They had
committed murder in the rebellion. People wanted
rebellion. Rebellion was happening. Barabbas.
He was one of the people directly involved. He'd
actually been directly linked to the murder of
somebody else. He was a murderer. He wasn't just
a rebel. He was a murderer. A violent person,
a violent man. And not only that, his punishment,
of course, was to face the cross for that murder.
Why? Well, the cross, I'll remind you, was reserved
for the worst of the worst because this man was
looked at as a threat. He was a threat. Directly
to the government. He was a threat to Rome. Who
was he rebelling against? Who was in control?
Rome. As far as the Jews were concerned, which
is why they said, hey, we want him released.
He was a local hero. He was a hero. As far as
they were concerned, nobody ever thinks of that.
They're just like, oh, he was a rebel. He was
a murderer. Yeah, but to the common man, he was
one of them. So they looked at him as a hero
because he was standing up to the man. Looking
at the very men who were holding him down. You
know, today we like to say, you know, with an
iron boot, right? They didn't really have boots
back then. Kind of, but not really. Not like
the way you look at them today. But they were
vicious in the way that they held people down.
The way they enslaved people. The way they taxed
people. And here he is in revolt. He's taking
people out. Kind of the way we looked at people,
the troops who found Saddam Hussein and took
him out, right? Like, oh, look at these guys.
They're heroes. They were heroes. Absolutely.
Don't get that wrong. Barabbas in his own way?
Yeah, he was a hero. We forget that. You know,
unlike Jesus, though, he was a revolutionary
hero. He was what they were expecting from Jesus.
Someone who was going to come in, change things,
and elevate them back to where they need to be.
Who's going to come in and lead the revolt to
take out the Roman leadership. Even his name
carries an irony here. Barabbas. Let's look at
that. It comes from the Aramaic and Hebrew words
of Bar and Abba, meaning son and father. In other
words, his name means son of the father, or depending
on how it's translated, son of God. Who replaced
his place on the cross? The son of God did. Jesus
Christ did. Ooh. Foreshadowing. Even up to the
last minute. We don't recognize that. People
today, it's like, oh, I wonder what my name means.
We'll look that up online. We study our Bible
and we find out, hey, guess what? The place was
always reserved for him. The Son of God. Are
we seeing it yet? Are we seeing the connection
starting to come into place? The man who wasn't
really a threat in the big scheme of things was
given reprieve. Whereas the man who came in peace
and love to change the world was seen as the
biggest threat and put to the cross. It shows
the theological and moral turmoil that was going
on in that day. We see a lot of that today, don't
we? Theological and moral decay. Even the word
has warned us. It's just like in those days,
people are seeing bad as good and good as bad.
Then we see the Roman soldiers who are mocking
Jesus in verses 16 through 20, same chapters,
Mark 15, 16 through 20. What were they doing?
They were hitting him. They were spitting him.
They were talking trash. They were dressing him
up, right? Playing Barbie with him in a way.
Like, oh, let's dress him up. Let's put a purple
robe on him. Why purple? Oh, the color of royalty.
Let's put a crown on his head. They weaved together
a crown of thorns, much like what we have hanging
up at the top of our cross, right? They weaved
together a crown of thorns, and then they just
put it on him. They pushed it down into the flesh
of his scalp. Anybody in here ever picked up
a rose and been cut by the thorn of a rose? What's
the first thing we do? We kind of withdraw. It
hurts. He wasn't able to withdraw and he had
several thorns being pushed down and forced into
his flesh, cut and tearing into him after he'd
already been cut and torn through his torture.
Let me ask you this. Why a crown of thorns? What
was the purpose of the thorns? There has to be
something significant here, right? And there
truly was. There truly was because it actually
goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden.
The very first curse that God actually put on
the earth. The first curse. So if we go all the
way back to Genesis chapter 3. Yeah, the very
beginning basically. We're going to go to Genesis
3 verses 17 through 18. I'm going to give everybody
a moment to go there because I know we're kind
of flipping back and forth a bit today. But Genesis
3, verses 17 through 18. The word states, Then
to Adam he said, Because you have heeded the
voice of your wife, and you have eaten from the
tree of which I commanded you, saying, You shall
not eat of it. Cursed is the ground for your
sake. In toil you shall eat of it all the days
of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall
bring forth to you, and you shall eat the herb
of the field. Thorns and thistles brought forth
from the ground. This is actually the first place
when we read the Bible that we actually see God
invoking a curse. And you look at who it's for.
Curse is the ground for your sake. Not for God's
sake, for man's sake. Guess what they didn't
have back then? How did Adam and Eve walk around
the garden up until the point that they ate from
the fruit? Naked, right? Nothing but their birthday
suit. They didn't have shoes. They didn't have
sandals. If they were lucky at that point, I
don't like using the word lucky, but let's face
it, I should say if they were blessed at that
point, maybe they'd worked up some calluses so
it wouldn't be so bad. But you know what? Even
with those calluses, it was bad. Those calluses
couldn't have been that great because the fact
that God said, hey, there's going to be thorns
and thistles coming from the ground. What did
those thorns and thistles do? They cut into their
flesh. A reminder, a constant reminder of their
sin. They already had the constant reminder of
their nakedness. It was so intense, in fact,
that the Lord, after they'd already covered themselves,
he actually made them clothing. Right? Vanity
had already set in. You know, we think of curse
and we think of sin. Sin was in the garden, yes,
because of Satan. Satan had brought it into him.
However, it hadn't afflicted mankind or anything
yet. Matter of fact, when Eve ate from that fruit,
it hadn't fully set in yet. It wasn't until Adam
came after her and he partook of the fruit as
well because he still had the chance. He still
had that choice because God had talked to him
directly and said, don't do it. Eve didn't have
that conversation. She wasn't there yet, right?
So it was easier for Satan, it was easier for
the serpent to trick her into eating it. It's
like, but did you really hear that? Or is that
just what your husband said? Right? That little
bit of doubt. Whereas Adam had spoken directly
with him. He'd gone for a walk with the Lord.
He had spoken with him. So he had that firsthand
knowledge of what was actually said. And he still
chose to eat anyway. That was when sin was truly
loosed on the earth. The first act of rebellion
of man. So man was cursed. And it was Jesus who
scripture refers to as the last Adam. Let me
remind you that. We have the first Adam in the
garden. We have Jesus, scripture tells us, as
the last Adam. So it was the first Adam who allowed
sin to be loosed into the earth. It was the last
Adam who was going to bring the cure for that
sin, the answer for that sin. So we're going
to move forward again. We're going to move forward
to the upper room during the feast of the Passover,
John 13. So John 13, you go ahead and get there.
We'll go into that verse here in a second. But
in John 13, Passover, I'll remind you, we say
that a lot in church. It's become one of those
words that's churchanese, right? Passover was
the feast that was being held for the ceremony.
It was symbolic, right? This is where the sin
of man, where we would go and we would take our
sin, we'd confess our sin, we'd put our hands
on the sheep, and it was to transfer our sin
to that lamb. That was to be sacrificed. Right?
That's what the Passover was. This was that big
feast that was held for our sin to be transferred,
for that sacrifice to be made. Right? The sacrificial
lamb. This is what that last supper was when
they were all gathering. And when supper was
finished, What did Jesus do? He stripped down
as a servant and he began washing the disciples'
feet, right? Like he took everything off. He
took a towel, he draped it around his cloth or
his waist. And from there, hopefully we're all
already in John 13. We're going to look specifically
at verses 6 -8 now. So he's down here washing
everybody's feet. In John 13, verses 6 -8, the
word tells us, then he came to Simon Peter. And
Peter said to him, Lord, are you washing my feet?
Jesus answered and said to him, what I'm doing,
you do not understand now. But you will know
after this. Peter said to him, you shall never
wash my feet. And Jesus answered him, if I do
not wash you, you have no part of me. Look at
the way this is worded. This is very specific.
If I do not wash. You. He's not just washing
feet here. As a servant king, yes, he was serving
his people. He was setting an example, right?
He was already speaking of what scripture truly
meant. He was putting it into context that was
truly needed. But this event was much more than
that. He was washing feet. What were the thorns
and thistles supposed to cut into? The feet.
What do we call the bottom of our feet? We called
it the same thing back then. The soul, yes. What
was he doing? He wasn't just cleaning the feet.
Yes, he was symbolically cleaning the soul of
the disciples' feet. But in going to the cross,
let's put this in perspective. If I do not wash
you, you will have no part in me. If we are not
cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, we have no
part with the Father or with the Son or with
the Holy Ghost. Ah, more than meets the eye.
This is not incredible. When this all came through
to me, I was like, whoa, this is amazing. This
is that part that most pastors miss. It's not
talked about in churches. This is what this actually
meant. This is what he was doing. Those thorns,
those thistles, that representation of this sin
loosed on the earth, a constant reminder of our
sin. And what did the thorns and the thistles
do? They cut into that flesh. They tear it up.
What does sin do to us spiritually? It cuts into
us. It tears us apart. It creates a barrier that
grows up and keeps us separate from the Father.
We cannot go back into the garden until we're
cleansed by the Lord Jesus Christ and are welcomed
back into heaven. Those thorns and thistles wiped
away. The soles of our feet. Our Lord preparing
cleanse our various souls to wipe out the smudge
of sin on each and every single one of us. So
he does this. If you don't let me do this, you'll
never be with me. He was about to take his place
on the throne. But in order to do that, he had
to prepare his people first. People needed to
be properly prepared. It was told over and over
in the Old Testament. Jesus himself predicted
that this is going to come. People were listening,
but they weren't hearing. They weren't connecting
the dots, but they were about to. So he goes
to the cross. And again, even the people who
were crucified to him were examples. They were
examples. In Luke chapter 23, verses 32 through
43, you go ahead and turn to Luke 23. Let's take
a quick look at the men who are with him. I'm
going to kind of go through a big part of this,
you know, just for time's sake. But the men who
are being crucified with him. The one, just like
everybody else who was there, mocked him, ridiculed
him, didn't believe in him as the king of kings
and the lord of lords. Didn't see him as the
messiah, just saw him as another man going to
the cross. It's like, ah, they said he's a bad
dude, he must be a bad dude. Let him hang. I'm
hanging, let him hang with me. That's how he
was looking at it. The other, knew he was a sinful
man, recognized the fact that he was a sinful
man, and even said, hey, this guy's innocent.
It's like, we deserve what we're getting. We're
sinners. We're messed up. We done did some bad
stuff. We're not good hombres. But this dude,
he should not be hanging here with us. He recognized
Jesus as a good man, as a good shepherd. While
everybody else was mocking him, the other one
saw him as the blameless lamb. So we see the
two things that await us in the two men that
were on the cross next to Christ. One, a man
who continues to mock him, turn from him, being
condemned to eternal separation from the Father.
And the other, a good example, confess to sin,
recognize the fact that he's a sinner. It's like,
yeah, I'm a sinner. I did it. I deserve to be
here. What we should all be doing is like, yeah,
I'm a sinner. I've done messed up. I deserve
the punishment. This guy doesn't. We recognize
that he's our good shepherd. We confess our sin.
We confess who he is. And just like that man,
we will hear Jesus say something very similar
for us. In Luke 23, verse 43, what does Jesus
tell him after he's confessed it and recognized
that Jesus is blameless? Jesus said to him, assuredly,
I say to you today, you will be with me in paradise.
You recognize that I'm innocent, that I'm up
here for the sin of others, and you confess the
fact that you are a sinner and you have done
bad. Guess what? That's all I've asked. You'll
be with me in paradise. Two examples. Recognize
heaven. Continue in the ways of the world. Eternal
separation from the father condemned to the fiery
pits of hell. That's scary. Is this why he told
his disciples, you don't know what you're asking.
You can't do it. It's not even my place to give
you those places have already been set by the
people who have earned those positions. It wasn't
what was expected. It was a moment of more than
meets the eye. Because in order to ascend to
the throne, Jesus had to go through the cross.
That was his path. That was his gateway to ascend
to the throne. That was the doorway for his path.
He had to go through the cross first. Because
I remind you, he didn't come just to serve one
people. He wasn't just the king of the Jews.
He wasn't here to serve just one earthly kingdom.
He was here to serve all of mankind, the Jews
and the Gentiles. Yes, one kingdom, but one kingdom
for them all. Right? It's kind of like Lord of
the Rings, the Hawaiian ring to rule them all.
One kingdom for his faithful, for those who believe
in him, for those who confess him and confess
their sin and follow him. God's kingdom, the
heavenly kingdom. The place that we all want
to be, not the other place. Came to serve us
all. To all who are present. And all who were
to come. Jesus was on the cross. As far as all
the people who were concerned at that time, because
they, like I said, they were listening, but they
weren't hearing. They weren't connecting the
dots yet. So as far as they were concerned, the
rebellion was done. Everything was said and done.
There was nowhere else to go. That's it. That
was the man who was supposed to do it. And he
went out like nothing. Sad day. They're depressed.
They're sad. Even the disciples did what? They
went in the hiding. Like, you know what? We were
there. We were championing him. It's like, it's
going to be worse for us when they catch us.
The kingdom that they were looking for, the kingdom
that they were expecting, gone without a trace.
Gone before it even truly started. Because they
didn't recognize what was actually happening
in front of them. They didn't know the glory.
They didn't know the testimony that was to come,
the witness that was about to come three days
later at the resurrection of Christ when the
tomb was empty. Granted, nobody could see it
in the future to predict that, but you know what?
It was already foreshadowed. It was already told.
If they'd actually paid attention to Scripture,
they'd have recognized it, but we don't do that.
We look for the immediate, right? Like even today,
what are we looking for? That instant gratification.
Okay, we're all going to be saying, okay, cool.
We stopped paying attention to the rest. We got
what we wanted. Boom, the rest is gone. But three
days later, the tomb was empty. The return of
the one true king. Witnessed by hundreds. Hundreds.
And we could see that not only in the Bible.
But even in pagan scripture, or I should say
pagan scrolls and accounts from that time, those
people, even in Rome, who didn't believe in him
as the Messiah, but recognizing the fact that,
hey, something big just happened. That the sky
had darkened, that the earth had shook. People
believed dead were back. We forget about that
part of it. When Jesus left the tomb, it wasn't
just him. Others were raised from the grave,
just like Lazarus. Right? Big things, miracles.
And he was out there to be seen so people knew
it was truly him. Witness the glory of God before
all man. The proof of God, the proof that he
is the son. The power of God in his reign over
all of creation. The hope for all of mankind.
Because without him returning from the grave,
we wouldn't have the hope that we have today.
He would have just disappeared into the annals
of history. Jesus' crown wasn't meant to be a
crown of gold. He couldn't be a crown of gold
because he wasn't just another king. He wasn't
just from a bloodline to be royalty. He wasn't
royalty elect. He was the king of kings and the
lamb of lambs. His crown could not be the same
as anybody else's. It had to be different. Hence,
a crown of thorns going all the way back saying,
hey, it's not just for you. I do this. I do this
for all mankind, everyone who has come and everyone
who is to come. past, present, and future. You
know, we like to say the best there is, the best
there was, the best there ever will be. Jesus,
that's it. He did it. He lived it. He did it
for us. He came to serve all people for all of
time. Not just to be another king. It was a crown
of pain, suffering, torment, and blood. Bloodshed
and love. The key word being love. So let's look
a couple, we're almost there, I promise you.
We're heading for home. First one here, John
3, 16, and it says what? For God so loved the
world that he gave his only begotten son, that
whoever believes in him should not perish, but
have eternal or everlasting life, right? Love.
Well, that's God's love. But if we flip back
just a little bit more to John 15, verse 13,
Jesus himself, he upped the ante on that because
he is God, right? And he said, greater love has
no one than this, than to lay down one's life
for his friends. It's like, I'm here. I love
you. You are my closest friends. You are my friends.
You are my family. And I'm going to lay it down
for you. Laying it down for you. You and you
and you and you. Love. No greater love. Greg
Keener once wrote, Why does Christ's crown come
with suffering? Good question for all of us to
reflect on. Why does the crown of Christ come
with suffering? Goes on to say, he knows that
the way to free humanity from sin and death is
for him to take on the shame and sorrow of sin
that humanity has. There it is right there. Loving
God is not. It doesn't always mean that we want
to face the things that God has called us to
face. But what it does mean is facing those things
anyway. Call it bravery. We put a lot of words
to it. You know what the Bible calls it? You
know what God calls it? Obedience. Obedience.
And we all have those things in our life that
we fight to stay away from. I'll give you a prime
example from my life. I was in band for a long
time. I played a lot of instruments. I started
off with the flute. I went to percussion. We
had a very small percussion section. Matter of
fact, there were three of us, so we'd all rotate.
You know, the snare, the bass, the timpani, the
bells, the chimes, the xylophone, the pipes,
all that stuff. The cymbals, we had a kit we'd
rotate on, much like this one over here to my
left, right? I'd free up the other two people
so they could play the other stuff that needed
to be played for a specific song. I had one bad,
bad band director. He was not a good person.
Not a good person at all. And because of him,
I walked away from band. It didn't matter that
I had even changed schools. I'd gone to a great
school with a great band director. I was at the
Mexico Military Institute. Great school, great
band, great director, and I still refused to
go back to the band. Would not do it. The only
time I'd pick up an instrument and play, I was
very selfish. It was at home when nobody else
was there. When nobody else was there. We're
talking mom and dad at work. Everybody's out
of the house. It was for me and me alone. That
was it. And then I left. I go in the Marine Corps
and I did not take a single instrument with me.
Not one. I came back and it was a very, very
slow path because it was like, hey, you know
what? I still want to play instruments. I want
to go back to it. And then I started playing
again. But same thing. It was at home. The privacy
of my own home. Typically when my kids weren't
even there. If they were there, I got this handy
gadget that I could plug into my guitar and then
I could plug headphones into it. They wouldn't
hear anything. I could sit in the back playing.
I could plug in my computer or my MP3 player
or whatever so I had music to play with. They
wouldn't hear any of it. It was all for me. It
was very selfish. Then I was serving at a church.
They're looking for someone to play bass. There
were a few people who knew I played bass. I'm
going to point at this one specifically because
they're asking, they're begging, they're pleading.
They need a bassist. If you're interested, come
and see us after service. I wasn't interested.
I had no plans. So this stinker, I love you,
mom. Yes, I'm pointing the finger at her because
God bless her. She listened to what the Lord
put on her and she did what the Lord said. My
kiddo, he's next door. He's with the kids with
the kids ministry. And here I am thinking, no,
she's just going over to pick him up and we're
going to leave. We're going to go to lunch. No,
and here she comes with Pastor Tim and she told
him. And Tim comes up, he says, hey, I hear you
play bass. Yeah, a little bit. I'm learning.
Hey, I want to introduce you to somebody. So
he takes me over and he introduces me to the
music director. Oh, yeah. Hey, come and play.
No, no, no. He said, OK, no pressure. Come to
our rehearsal. Let's just play together a few
times. We'll see how you feel about it. I went
to rehearsal twice. He says, hey, you'll be here
on Friday, right? What? You'll be here Friday.
Try as I might, I couldn't find an excuse. I
didn't have a good one. I was like, okay, fine,
I'll be here. Hardly anybody's here on Friday.
They'll see I'm horrible and I'll get to leave.
It didn't happen. The Lord opened up a door to
get through to me. He introduced me to two great
musicians. Matter of fact, Pastor Mike, who was
one of the people, well, who was the main person
who came in to help us with revamping our system
for our live music and here with our speakers
and our cables and our new computer and soundboard
and all that kind of stuff. God bless him. To
this day, one of the best guitarists I've ever
played with. And then Pastor Jonathan, who's
now a lead pastor out in Phoenix. He's our keyboardist.
Later on, Jason would come in the door. Phenomenal
percussionist. Now the youth pastor at that same
church. And they changed it. So I went in one
Friday. The Lord changed my heart. He softened
it and found the way to get me to be obedient.
And I played every Wednesday, Friday, and twice
on Sunday in addition to rehearsals on Tuesday.
Four years. Not for four years, but I mean F
-O -R. Four years. Now I'm going to pick on my
wife a little bit. Because for the longest time,
it's like, you should come and play. You should
come and play. No, no, no, no. I don't do that.
Look at how we're blessed today. Again, obedience
to the Lord. And with obedience, she will tell
you just as much as I will. When you are obedient
to the Lord and you listen and you actually do
what you're supposed to do, you find great joy.
You enjoy doing it. She herself has even said
it's changed how she's played and what she plays,
as opposed to some of this music that she used
to play. Now, more and more, it's the same stuff
that we hear and hear. Is it not wonderful? Is
it not a blessing? We enjoy it. Even when our
amplifiers aren't necessarily working the way
that they should. But that's obedience. That's
the obedience that the Lord has asked for. You
know, as I said before, it doesn't mean that
we always want to face what God calls us to do,
but we choose to do it anyway. So when the test
arrives, Jesus summoned all of his disciples
and said, hey, ready or not, here it comes. Are
you going to be obedient or aren't you? When
it comes to us as his believers, as his followers,
he's doing the same thing. Ready or not, here
it comes. Are you ready? Are you going to do
it? Are you all talk or are you going to walk
the walk? Because it's going to be a hard walk,
but it's going to be worth it. It's going to
be worth it. Because indeed, doing the right
thing for the right reason isn't always easy.
Sometimes the hardest thing you can do is going
to be the thing that comes from that place of
love. And of course, love coming from obedience
to the Lord. It's the Lord's love. It's not just
yours. It's him working through you. That's why
we have those sayings. Love hurts. Right? And
also, heavy is the head that wears the crown.
Not just the crown of gold, but the crown of
thorns. Heavy is the head. but with nothing but
love from the heart. On that note, let's pray.
Father, we thank you for sending us the king
that we needed, not the one that we wanted, not
the one that we were expecting, but the one that
we needed. You foretold it all. You told us this
is going to happen. Even in the hours leading
up to it, you continue to warn us and show us.
You kept telling the world, hey, this is about
to happen. And you're telling us the same thing
today. We don't need to just listen to you. We
need to hear you and recognize. We have to know
and recognize the fact that we have all sinned.
We have all fallen short of the glory of God.
So because of that, we confess, yeah, we've done
messed up. We've fallen time and time again.
We've turned our back time and time again. We
have sinned when you've put it plainly in front
of us and we've still chosen to do the wrong
thing. Please forgive us. We ask that you keep
molding us. Keep helping us to become those people
that you would have us be. Use us. Point us in
the way that you would have us go. to be in front
of the people you'd have us in front of, to do
the work that you have set for us to your glory
and not our own. We ask that you continue to
grant us knowledge and wisdom through our relationship
with you and we recognize that those are two
very, very different things. And not only that
you grant us the knowledge and the wisdom, but
how to apply them to our lives and to the benefit
of others to shine that light to you and your
glory and your kingdom. Please keep giving us
that hand when we stumble, giving us that hand
up. We don't ask for a hand out. We ask for that
hand up. Help us to remember to never take our
eyes off of you and to know and to continue to
know that in all that we do and all that we see
and all that we experience, that there is still
so much more than meets the eye. We thank you.
We love you. We pray all this in the name of
your son, Jesus. People said, amen and amen.
Remember, as you leave here today, you are loved
and you are blessed. So go and be the church.
Thank you for joining us at Healing Scars with
Pastor Burton. Until next time, take care and
God bless.