 We're going to take time to look at Mark chapter 14. We're going to look at verses 12 through 21. I'm going to begin reading here in verse 12. I'm going to read you to verse 15 and introduce our study. I would say this for those who perhaps are watching online for the first time or who are here in person for the first time. The way I teach here in our fellowship is I will lay a foundation to try and bring you up to speed about certain things that are already have already transpired in this gospel so that when we look at these verses together, you have a background, a backdrop that you can view the study by. So that's what I'll be doing. I normally will give you that information. Then verse by verse, I like to build on it so that we get an idea of what each verse is representing. And then I conclude with application. And so that's what we'll be doing today. Let's begin reading together at chapter 14 verse 12. I'll read to verse 15 and we'll get into our study. Mark chapter 14 beginning at verse 12. Now on the first day of unleavened bread when they killed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, where do you want us to go and prepare that you made the Passover? And he sent out two of his disciples and said to them, go into the city and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water. Follow him. Wherever he goes in, say to the master of the house, the teacher says, where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with my disciples? Then he will show you a large upper room furnished and prepared. There make ready for us. And so the last time we were together we concluded our last study with Judas. This was arranging to betray Jesus. The Jewish high priest, a man by the name of Caiaphas, had held a secret meeting with the Jewish high council also called the Sanhedrin. By this time Jesus had become quite a problem for the religious leaders. Multitudes were now following him. Many were coming to believe in him. Even some of the religious leaders had believed in him. When John is writing about this in his gospel in chapter 12, verse 42, it reads, nevertheless, even among the rulers, many believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue. These were leaders. These were rulers. These were the prominent people in the nation of Israel. And it included some in the Sanhedrin. We know that because Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus were followers of Christ. Now ultimately both of them openly confessed Christ, but at first neither one did. We remember the story of Nicodemus coming to Jesus by night. It's recorded in John chapter 3 and Joseph is mentioned later on in the gospel. They both were secret followers, but ultimately they were open in their faith. In John 19, verses 38 and 39 it says later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now, Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about 75 pounds. And so leaders, rulers of Israel, were beginning to follow after Christ, even though some were still secret about it. Now, the Jewish authorities wanted to take Jesus by trickery in order that they might put him to death, but they were concerned that if they killed Jesus, that it would provoke a riot. So with this in mind, the problem was how to take him and to kill him. Again, they were concerned because Jesus was very popular with the people. Mark had told us in chapter 12, verse 37, the common people heard him gladly. So Jesus was very popular amongst the common people. The recent triumphal entry and debate in the temple had revealed the powerful following that Christ had among the crowds from Galilee. So the religious leaders did not desire to provoke a riot among the people. They were concerned about what would occur. You see, they felt they needed to do something, but they weren't sure what they were to do. They were in what we would call a dilemma. In John 11, 47, and 48, it says, the chief priest and the Pharisees called a median of the Sanhedrin. What are we accomplishing? They asked, here is this man performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him. And then the Romans will come and take away both our place, which speaks of our privileges and our nation. Now, Pilate, Pontius Pilate, was very feared by many Jews. History records that Pilate took funds from the Jewish treasury to build an aqueduct. And when the people protested, he ordered soldiers to surround them and massacre them. It is also recorded that he killed Samaritans on Mount Garzim. They had been misled. They believed that Moses had buried sacred vessels on this mountain there in Samaria, and he ordered them to be killed. Now, Luke makes mention of his cruelty in chapter 13 of his Gospel. At verse 1, he says, there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. That refers to Pilate having these people killed as they were offering sacrifice. He gives insight into his cruelty in response to perceived rebellion. So they were afraid. The rulers knew of his cruelty. They thought if they took Jesus, it would provoke a riot. And so what are we going to do? They're questioning amongst themselves, how are we going to get this man? And Judas provided the answer. Judas arranged to betray the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, Satan's influence over Judas had been combined with the greed of his own heart. John 13 verse 2 simply says, the devil put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot to betray him. Well, when they heard of Judas' willingness, they were glad. They promised to give him money. So for 30 pieces of silver, Judas agreed to betray Jesus Christ. And now he was just conveniently seeking how he might betray him. The word betray, by the way, means to deliver up treacherously. He wanted to treacherously betray Christ, to deliver him up. Now Matthew gives us insight about this in chapter 26 verses 14 and 15. Matthew writes, one of the 12, the one called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priest and asked, what are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you? So they counted out for him 30 pieces of silver. Luke 22, 3 through 6 says, Satan entered Judas, surname Iscariot, who was numbered among the 12. So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains how he might betray him to them. They were glad and agreed to give him money. So he promised and sought opportunity to betray him to them in the absence of the multitude. So he's waiting his opportunity to betray Christ. He made his money, and now he's awaiting his chance to finish the deal. So in verse 12, it says, on the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, where do you want us to go and prepare that you may eat the Passover? And so this is the first day of unleavened bread when they killed the Passover lamb. You see, the Jews observed feasts and religious celebrations throughout their calendar year. They had the feasts of Pentecost or first fruits, celebrating God's provision at harvest time. The feasts of Pentecost, rather trumpets, the festival of rejoicing, calling on God for favor and grace to Israel. They had the feasts of Yom Kippur, which is a high holy day, yearly sacrifices offered for sins by the high priests. They had the feasts of tabernacles or the feasts of booths, commemorating Israel's wandering in the wilderness. They had the feasts of dedication, which is also called Hanukkah, commemorating the Maccabees' victory over Antiochus. They had the feasts of Purim or the feasts of Lot's, which celebrates protection from slaughter in Persia that is written of in the book of Esther. They celebrated Passover also with the feasts or combined with the feasts of unleavened bread. They were separate feasts, but they combined to make an eight-day celebration. It began with Passover, which is a single-day feast, and it was followed by unleavened bread. And both feasts celebrate Israel's deliverance from Egyptian bondage. And in the feasts, they were to eat unleavened bread. Now, why unleavened bread? Well, in Scripture, leaven often represents sin. In Luke 12, verse one, it says, in the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together so that they trampled one another, he began to say to his disciples, first of all, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. So leaven represents sin. Tradition required no fewer than 10 or more than 20 that could eat one lamb. There were over 2 million people in Jerusalem at that time, and they were sacrificing lambs for Passover. And at this time, over 250,000 Passover lambs were slaughtered in Jerusalem. Now I wanna make a quick point about that. All these lambs combined could not permanently cleanse one sin. All of these lambs combined could not permanently cleanse one sin. In Hebrews chapter 10, verses 11 through 14, we read, every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices which can never take away sins. But he having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time sat down at the right hand of God from that time onward until his enemies are made a footstool for his feet. For by one offering, he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. Over 250,000 Passover lambs, but they could not cleanse one sin permanently. There was a constant reminder, every time there was a sacrifice that you needed to be cleansed. Jesus Christ as the lamb of God took upon himself the sin of the world, and by that one offering, we have been cleansed forever. Now as God's lamb, Jesus is about to take away the sin of the world, and he's doing it himself. He's gonna fulfill the purpose of sacrifice and offerings. In 1 Corinthians 5, verse seven, the apostle Paul said it like this. He said, purge out the old leaven that you may be a new lump since you truly are an leaven for indeed Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us. And so it's the first day of unleavened bread when they kill the Passover lamb. His disciples said to him, where do you want us to go and prepare that you may eat the Passover? Luke gives us more insight in chapter 22 when he says in verses seven through nine, then came the day of unleavened bread when the Passover must be killed. And he sent Peter and John saying, go and prepare the Passover for us that we may eat. So they said to him, where do you want us to prepare? When he speaks of where do you want us to prepare? There was a previously selected lamb that is going to be slaughtered by a priest. The men would buy unleavened bread, wine, bitter herbs, dates, apples, pomegranates, nuts and cinnamon sticks. The lamb would be slain at twilight between three and five in the afternoon. Some of its blood would be sprinkled on the altar and then taken home and roasted in preparation for the evening meal. And so he sent his two disciples. He sent Peter and John. So with so many in Jerusalem, they had assumed that Jesus made prior arrangements. Now notice verse 13. He sent out to his disciples, said to them, go into the city and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water, follow him. Wherever he goes in, say to the master of the house, the teacher says, where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with my disciples? And so they were to follow a man who was carrying a pitcher of water. That was gonna protect them from any plans of Judas. Had Jesus announced the location, Judas could have informed the priests. And so the teacher says, where is the guest room? So that gives us a hint that the owner of the guest room is a follower of Jesus. Now in this command, Matthew 2618 adds another detail. He said, my time is at hand. So that reveals that Jesus knew that his mission was on a timetable. There was a precise hour that it would be completed. So in the gospel of John, Jesus made a comment about this, his time or his hour. And let's remember that for just a moment. Remember back in John chapter two in Canaan of Galilee at a wedding feast, Mary, his mother had approached him and said, they have no wine. And Jesus spoke to her concerning that. And he said in John two, verse four, he said to her, woman, what does your concern have to do with me? My hour has not yet come. So from the very beginning, the Lord Jesus Christ knew that he was on a timetable, that there was a precise time related to him, his ministry and his ultimate death. Later on, John wrote that the Feast of Tabernacles was about to be observed and Jesus' brothers had told him that he should go and perform works. He said to him, any man who wants to be known, it's gonna do things openly. You ought to go and do some things there. Well, Jesus spoke to them in John seven, six and eight, six through eight, and he said, my time has not yet come. Your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify of it, that its works are evil. You go up to this Feast, I'm not yet going up to this Feast for my time has not yet fully come. It's interesting how he said to them, the world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify of it, that its works are evil. So don't be surprised by the way when you're as a believer, not the most popular person because the world hated Christ, they're gonna hate those who follow him too. Now, Jesus made it clear that his mission was almost complete. In John 12, verses 23 and 24, Jesus answered them saying, the hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified. Truly, truly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. In other words, the time has come. In John 12, 27, my soul has become troubled. What shall I say? Father, save me from this hour, but for this purpose I came to this hour. And so he said, go and do this. In verse 15 again, he will show you a large upper room furnished and prepared, there make ready for us. Verse 16, so his disciples went out and came into the city and found it just as he had said to them and they prepared the Passover. So they prepared, they had bottled lamb, it had been sacrificed in the temple, they brought it to the house, they roasted it, they provided unleavened bread, wine, bitter herbs, everything that was proper for the feast and they waited to celebrate Passover. And so verse 17 in the evening, he came with the 12. Now, as they sat and ate, Jesus said, assuredly I say to you, one of you who eats with me will betray me. Mark doesn't give us a very complete look of what took place that night. If you're interested, I'd encourage you to read John chapters 13 through 17 because there are greater details into what took place that night. What we have here is a picture of Jesus. He's reclining, he's on his left side. He's on a pillow or a couch. He uses his right hand to reach for the food on the table. All of them are reclining as they eat their meals. So as this is taking place, verse 18, Jesus said, assuredly I say to you, one of you who eats with me will betray me. Let that set in for just a moment. Can you imagine how stunned his loyal men must have been? For over three years, they had been walking with Jesus. Every day for three years, they walked with him everywhere. They would camp out next to him. Oftentimes they'd be by fires and he would speak to and minister to them. They were with him continually. And as they were with him continually from the time he said, come, follow me. They left things behind to pursue him. From that moment, they had had tremendous experience with Jesus Christ, imagine that. They heard the most amazing messages that have ever proceeded out of the lifts of any man. On one occasion, the Pharisees had sent some people to arrest Jesus and they came back empty handed and the religious authority said, where is he? And the men said, we have never heard anyone speak like this man. This man, as he speaks, the wonderful words that he speaks were so entrancing that there was no way we were gonna take him. And these men were with Jesus in that way. They would walk with him and they would speak to him. They camped next to him, ate meals with him, spoke to him, asked questions of him. They had 24 hours of fellowship with God in the flesh and they heard the most amazing things proceeding out of his mouth. The messages that he spoke, the things that he said, the wondrous words that he would speak. They were there to hear him as he gave these incredible messages, the sermon on the mountain, various other places, they heard him speak. They heard him as he spoke these messages and they were just entranced by this man. They would puzzle over the parables that he would speak. On one occasion, they even went so far as to ask him, can you please explain to us what you meant by that? Because Jesus would say things that puzzled even them and he said to the others it's not given to know these things but to you it has been given and he explains to them these parables but they heard him speak these incredible messages. They puzzled over his parables. They would ask him their questions. They watched him as he performed amazing miracles. Amazing miracles as he turned water into wine as a demon comes running out of the tombs and rushes him and they see Jesus casting the demons out that hurt a swine, the legion. They saw the majesty of Christ, the power of Jesus Christ that it would cast out the demons, that he cleansed the lepers, those that nobody would have anything to do with it were not to have anything to do with it. They were the walking dead. Literally they were people who are symbols of sin does. Makes a separation and just tutorifies and they saw him as he cleansed the leper. They saw him when he's still a storm and they saw him when he walked on water. They were there when he made the cripple to walk. Can you imagine that? And he forgave sins. He gave sight to the blind, gave speech to the mute, hearing to the deaf. They saw him when Jesus, Peter, James and John went into Jeres's to see Jeres's daughter, a little girl who had died. And they heard him when he said unto her, tolitha kumi, young girl, I say unto you, arise from the dead, they saw it. When he was walking outside of a city called Nane and there's a widow with a procession, as they're taken her dead son, he stops and he tells the young man to arise. They saw that and recently Lazarus had been dead for four days, for four days. And when Jesus arrives, he's told, he's been dead for four days. By now he's putrefying, he stinks. The Bible tells us in that passage that he wept and he stood outside of that tomb and he said Lazarus come forth and here comes a span with these grave cloths and he says remove those cloths so that he can walk. They saw it. They heard words that were wondrous. They saw works that caused them to marvel. They saw him open the eyes of the blind, healed the deaf, caused the mute to speak, forgave sins. They saw him do so many things. They walked with him for three years throughout Israel. They spoke with him. The way that we said, oh, I wish I could speak face to face with God, they did. They asked their questions, camped out, slept near him. John was so close to Jesus he could even place his head on his chest and speak to him. And they loved this man. They loved Jesus with an intense love. Now he's at a celebration, Passover, celebration of deliverance from Egyptian bondage. And as they're there, it's almost casual how he says, one of you is going to betray me. They have food in their mouths. And he makes this unbelievable statement. Luke 22, 21 says, behold, the hand of my betrayer is with me on the table. One of you, my trusted and beloved friends, one of you will surrender me up. One of you who celebrates Passover with me will betray me. Now John writes in chapter 13 of his gospel that Jesus said, I'm not referring to all of you. I know those I have chosen, but this is to fulfill this passage of scripture. He who shared my bread has turned against me. He who has sat at my table as a friend or a family member, one that we have eaten together and laughed together and enjoyed each other's company. You shared my bread and you betrayed me. In John 13, 21 and 22, when Jesus said these things, he was troubled in spirit and testified and said, most assuredly I say to you, one of you will betray me. Then the disciples looked at one another, perplexed about whom he spoke. Judas was an apostle. Judas was respected. Judas was trusted by his companions. None of them thought it could be he. None thought it could be their trusted treasurer, Judas, the one who's so concerned for the poor. The one who recently was upset over that ointment that was what he called wasted. None of them thought it could be the trusted treasurer, Judas. But Jesus had prepared them, even though his men would not receive it. He had clearly told them he would be betrayed. In Matthew 17, 22, the son of man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men. Well at that time he hadn't said that his betrayer was one of them. He hadn't said it's one of you, my trusted disciples. So when he says that, the announcement takes them by surprise. They begin to be sorrowful, it says in verse 19. And to say to him one by one, is it I? And another said, is it I? They began looking at one another. They began to speak among themselves about what he had just said in Luke 22, 23. They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this. They began to wonder, have I done something that endangered you? One by one they asked, am I the one? One of the things that's interesting is even if they would have had, which they would have had, a clean conscience that doesn't excuse them. Perhaps they had done something, perhaps they're going to do something. In 1 Corinthians chapter four, verse four, Paul says something interesting about that kind of thing, about having a clean conscience and all. He said, I know nothing against myself, yet I'm not justified by this. But he who judges me as the Lord, I may not be aware, I might even be able to go so far as to excuse myself, I wouldn't do that. I've never done something like that. He says, but even that, just because I may not see something that's wrong in me doesn't mean that I'm completely clean. So they begin to wonder, am I the one? In Matthew 26, 25, Judas who was betraying him answered and said, Rabbi, is that I? And he said to him, you've said it. By your own words, you've condemned yourself. It seems that his men did not connect what Jesus had just said to Judas. They might not have heard what he said or they couldn't understand. But he says in verse 20, it is one of the 12 who dips with me in the dish. Well, the problem with that is all of them had done this. They had all been sharing of that. That made it no clear to them. But he goes on in verse 21, the Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would have been good for that man if he had never been born. Imagine that for a moment. None of this is an accident. My death is fulfilling scripture. In the Old Testament book of Isaiah 53 verses four through six, surely he has borne our griefs, carried our sorrows. Yet we esteemed him strict and smitten by God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace was upon him and by his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53 goes on into verse 10, it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He has put him to grief. When you make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Judas became an instrument of God's plan of salvation. Judas decided to reject Jesus, but God used his evil decision for good. When I was first saved there was a rock opera. There were no such things as rock operas at first, but they had invented them. And one of those first ones was Jesus Christ Superstar. Some of you may have studied that in ancient history, but they have the Judas figure who's a sympathetic figure in the playing. I saw the play when I was in London, I saw the movie when it was brought out here. And Judas plays a sympathetic character. As a matter of fact at a certain point, he blames Jesus for Judas. Judas blames Jesus for his own deception. You knew all the time is what he says. And I was a brand new Christian with this rock opera came out and I thought to myself, that does seem a bit unfair. And yet think about it this way, if you will, for a moment, who had greater opportunity than Judas to know God? He walked with Jesus for three years. Jesus even gave him the ability, along with the others, to perform miracles. He did amazing, he saw Jesus. He saw Jesus for three solid years. He heard the same words, he saw the same works. He performed the same works himself. He saw all of those things. So many things that John in his gospel says that Jesus did so many works that all the books and all the libraries of the world can contain the details of all the things he did. Judas saw those things. And yet when it came down to it, his heart was never Christ, it was never for Jesus. It was for himself. And he wanted to sell Jesus out. When he saw that, the 300 denies worth of ointment that he said was a waste, when he saw that going, he knew I could have pilfered from the bag, I could have lived like a king. That's an awful lot of money that I just lost. And he said, we could have sold that and given to the poor. And everybody thinks that, yeah, Judas is a great guy. No, Judas was a thief and he was a liar. And what he did is he found a way to get his 30 pieces of silver. He found a way to make his money. And that's what he did. He sold Jesus Christ, the sinless lamb of God. He sold him for the price of a slave. That's what he did. If there's anybody on the face of the earth who's ever had more opportunity to know Christ than Judas, I would like to know who that person would be. Because he spent time with Jesus. But when it came down to it, he wanted his money more than he wanted a master. There's a guy in the scripture who said, I won't go deeply into detail about this. It reminds me of Judas. His name is Demis. Some of you have read of Demis. I've taught on Demis when we went through Second Timothy in chapter four. Demis was a companion of the apostle Paul. He went on ministry missionary trips. He was there with Paul when Paul was in prison. Demis knew ministry. He was associated with the men who were greatly respected as missionary preachers of the gospel. They would hear the name Demis and they would think good things about him. He was a guy who traveled with Paul. He was traveling companion. If you walked in the room and there were Christians there and Demis walked in, Demis was the one that they would stand in and recognize and honor. It's Demis. This is a guy travels with Paul. But at the end, his epitaph, the final thing we hear about, Demis is a very simple statement that Paul writes in Second Timothy four when he says, Demis has forsaken me, having loved this present age and has departed for Thessalonica. Having loved this age. He, all he saw, the miracles, the ministry. At the end of the day, all Demis ended up seeing was an old man by the name of Paul who was in a jail cell wishing he had some books and he had something to wrap around his shoulders because he was so cold. And that's what Demis saw. Judas saw 30 pieces of silver. That's what he saw. All those words, all those words, the miracles, the debates, all of those things. To be around a campfire with Jesus Christ. Jesus asked that incredible question. Who do men say that I, the son of man, am? Oh, some say that you're Jeremiah, Elisha, John the Baptist, one of the prophets. But who do you say I am? When the apostle Peter says you are the Christ, the son of the living God. Judas was there. He, Jesus pronounced the blessing. Blessed are you, blessed are you Simon by Jonah. Flesh and blood has not revealed this unto you but my father in heaven. You have received divine revelation as to who I am. Judas was there. And they do was amongst the crowd as they were walking with Jesus shortly there after arguing amongst themselves who was the greatest. And that was the thing that Jesus didn't want in his disciples. This argument about preeminence in the kingdom because the greatest in the kingdom is the servant of all and Jesus is the servant of all and there's no one greater than him. But Judas didn't see that. At the end of the day, Judas wanted 30 pieces of silver. Woe to the man by whom the son of man is betrayed. In John 17, verse 12, Jesus is praying. He said, well, I was with them in the world. I kept them in your name. Those whom you gave me, I have kept. None of them is lost except the son of perdition that the scripture might be fulfilled. I'll close with John 13, 23 through 30 where it says, one of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved was reclining next to him in Simon Peter. Motion to this disciple said, ask him which one he means. Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, Lord, who is it? And Jesus answered, it is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish. Then dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the scarier son of Simon. As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him, what you're about to do, do quickly, Jesus told him. But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the feast or to give something to the poor. As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And then we have these words, and it was night. Someone said, he stepped forth from light into darkness from the presence and guidance of the light of the world to be possessed by and guided by the prince of darkness. God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. When we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another in the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son cleanses us from all sin. The one who says, I know him, but does not keep his word as a liar and the truth is not in him. Judas chose to walk in darkness because his soul was already dark. What did it take for him? 30 pieces of silver. What does it take for many today? A night with somebody in their bed, a night boozing, a night doing some drugs. What does it take? Somebody leaving something that I can pick up and walk away with, known for myself. What does it take? Sometimes the cost is very cheap. People are willing to sell their soul for nothing, for nothing. What will a man give in exchange for his soul, Jesus said. And some of you know very well how cheaply people will sell their soul for nothing, for some dope, for sex, for some alcohol, for something they can steal, for some power, for man's honor, they'll sell their soul. Judas was willing to sell Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. We need to be aware that the enemy wants us to do the same thing he tempted Judas to do, to just sell out and walk away from Jesus, having loved this world like Demas and forsaking him. We need to keep our eyes on the Lord, especially in these last days when there are so many distractions. What we need is for believers to awaken to the reality of who we are and the reality of who Jesus is. And to live as if we're living in the last days which we are, and to share the love of Christ and the forgiveness that God gives to us with as many people as we have opportunity to share. Why? Because the night is coming because the day is ending. When the night comes, there's no more time to work. So the church needs to be awake and aware even right now. Serving the Lord with all that we have within us and loving Jesus and others and telling people the truth. Because with Jesus there's an abundance of forgiveness of sin, there's a new life. We can have everlasting life if we yield to him and say, God be merciful to me, I'm a sinner. And most if not all of us in this room have already done that. But perhaps there may be one or two who hasn't. And if you haven't, today's the day for you to give your heart to Christ because it's either Jesus or Judas. It's your choice. Father, we ask that you would work in our...