This broadcaster has 995 podcast archives available on-demand.
Keep up-to-date with this broadcaster on social media and their website.
April 11, 2022 5:01 pm
Welcome to The Encouraging Word between the Bible-based teaching of Dr. Don Wilton.
Today's message called going after Jesus.
Today Dr. John 12 talking about things that we and what changes in our life.
While we do so no, they were available on our website for you right now. DW.org now Dr. Don Wilton have a conversation with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's pray together off all the even in the middle of all of all worship and our praise and all singing now at right. I'm not convinced that we can come anywhere near not even close to where we need to be to express our love and gratitude to you we we worship you today.
We worship you because you are Christ the King. You're alive and you live within our hearts and at this very moment you all speaking you are here with us and we thank you in Jesus name, amen. I don't know if I can say this in the right way but I really love you and I just thank God for you for this wonderful opportunity as we welcome one another. Thousands of people who worship by way of The Encouraging Word broad cost ministry. So today, I invite you to go off to Jesus, you heard me right.
I'm going invite you to go off to Jesus, I'm going to show you where that is in the Bible. So if you have a copy of God's word open your Bibles by whatever means on your On your iPad on your strawberry your laws where your your blackberry. If you have a hard copy like I do. Open your Bible to John's gospel chapter 12 and verse 17.
John's gospel chapter 12 verse 17 I just want to say this to you because this is wonderful news that that we going to be talking about today.
This is what I want to say. We're about to read a passage here that sounds like it goes back in time a little bit like we're not at the two way Jesus rose from the dead, but I'm going to tell you what happened here.
This is the point at which Jesus came and he went back into Jerusalem and people gathered on Palm Sunday and they wave palm branches and they welcomed him back and they were a lot of people there. Can you just imagine with me for one minute. How many people gathered around the steps and the entrances and exits in the Kidron Valley and and way Jesus came. I mean they were thousands of people and they came from everywhere. They were just a lot of people I wonder who was in that crowd. So let me just toss this question.
I wonder who is in this crowd who always who are we those of us who gather on resurrection Sunday well in Jesus time there was a massive group of people that came from every walk of life, and I wish I had time to to kind of delve into it. Maybe we could write a few storybooks about the little children learn about the moms in the dads and the divorcees and the single moms and the widows and the widow is an people suffering with all kinds of sickness and the college students and the haves and the have-nots. I mean everybody was there and and something began to happen because Jesus was there in the Bible actually says I'm not going to read this passage, but the Bible actually says in verse 16, which is before I'm going to begin the Bible say is that it was only often Jesus was glorified that those who loved him his disciples understood everything that they were seeing about Jesus. So what happened was they watched and base soul. And then Jesus came out of the grave the next day or two or a week later and it was then that the disciples began to say wow he is real. We knew it all the time.
He's not fake news. He's not a masquerade.
This is this is real. And then Jesus appeared to over 500 and get this. Then he went back to the Mount of olives and he ascended, he went back up into heaven, saying, don't you worry, I'm going to come back. But while I'm gone. I'm gonna pray for you.
I'm in a pray for every one of you, so it was off to. He was glorified that they understood and it was at this moment in time that all of a sudden some of the people who were there in the crowd realized what was happening. Let me read it to John chapter 12 and I'm just gonna read verse 17, 18 and 19, the crowd that had been with Jesus when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. The reason why the crowd went to meeting was that they heard that he had done this miracle. This sign that watch about the Pharisees saw the Pharisees. This was a group of very religious people. They were all members of the church.
The this was the religious group so the Pharisees said to one another.
You see that we are gaining nothing. Look the whole world is going off the Jesus the whole world is going off the Jesus I believe that that's true right now, our entire world is going off to Jesus and some of you might say to me, will foster that's not entirely true because there are millions of people who couldn't care less. Right. The whole world is going off to Jesus.
Everybody's looking for what only Jesus can do. Everybody wants peace. Everybody wants joy. Everyone wants forgiveness. Everyone wants to behold everyone wants meaning in life. Everyone wants life to matter. Everyone wants to know what happens when we die, we just vanish. We just stop when we go is a just over everyone's looking for what the Bible tells us Jesus can deliver on now they were three groups of people that gathered around Jesus, I just want to tell you about them. First of all, they were those who know him.
Those who knew him. The Bible is full of that. There was just a wonderful group of people that were cold disciples. They were cold.
Follow as they were cold believers and these were people that that all they had a lot of questions and they didn't understand everything, but they believe that Jesus was exactly who he said he was on one of those people. I really do I really believe that Jesus is the son of God.
I absolutely believe it and I really believe that Jesus died on the cross for me. I really believe that God raised him from the dead. I really believe Jesus is alive. Cannot tell you how I really believe that because I know it because he lives in me. My life has been changed, different person.
Notice I didn't use the word perfect so I don't need any of you writing me notes I didn't say that I am a changed person because the Lord Jesus has come into my heart.
I'm one of those I can see myself in the crowd. I go off to Jesus because I know him. How about you do you know one of the reasons why I go to church. I know you're gonna look at me and say what you better go you the pasta you not call it even wake up in the morning until my wife on Sunday morning that I'm going to go and play golf. She won't let me.
I know you will look at me do that. Well, you know you the you the pasta you supposed to be the do know that I actually want to be here and and more than that.
I just love it I love listening with the choir and the praise team love listening to Jared and the band and the geniuses vibe I love.
I love to be in worship together. I'll just love I love the word of God because I know him it's it's like my wife Karen. She had not been married, going on 41 years, you'd think that she'd start getting really tired of me and and you probably alright so why, why do why do I grab why do I just want to be with my duckling all the time. Anyone want to explain it.
I love to be around my duckling you know I love holding her hand. I love to just sit and have a cup of tea with love to travel with their love to be with all the time why because I love I'm I can see myself in this crowd. There were those who knew him. But then there was another group of people there with those who sought off to him those who seek him. They were just curious.
I would curious. I understand that curiosity, what is this about Jesus. There was a large group of people out there that that just so they heard that he rarely was someone extra early special that he wasn't just an ordinary man that they heard the rumor you know that that even claim to be God, I mean, blew me down. Can you imagine that. Did did you did you hear about this.
This man that's goes to Galilee and and and they catch a lot of fish when he says fish on that side and he teaches them, and he loves them and he heals the Eddie makes them whole and and how can you explain at this just some and they was a group of people that said you know what I go to find out more about Jesus, I love that that you please forgive the interruption will be back with the rest of today's message with Dr. Don Wilton in just a moment, but if you haven't been to our website lately. T EW online.org you're missing out on the powerful resource about praying for children is on the website right now at tewonline.org, he that's the place to find many resources like this.
My book Saturdays with Betty is about an extraordinary relationship with a precious man impacted lives across the world.
You don't want to miss this opportunity to be inspired by his life to again that's just one of many great resources you'll find T EW online.org now that today's great teaching with Dr. Don Wilton's. I'm so grateful that I can promise you something you are discovering that Jesus is exactly who he says he is. Doesn't matter what CNN uses is not what Fox News puts out.
It doesn't matter what Hillary Clinton has to say doesn't matter what anybody said.
I'm just going to tell you, Jesus is real and the Bible say is those that seek him will find him and some of you today are about to find the real Jesus because you going off to him. Yes this crowd. They end Jesus was beginning his journey to the cross to die on the cross so that we would be forgiven of our sin and then to be raised up, conquering sin and death and the grave and then to ascend up into heaven to be seated at the right hand of the father in heaven saying to us, listen, don't worry about him coming back. I'm coming back for you. I'm coming back and you know something the Bible says that he's going to come back.
He's going to land on the Mount of olives. He's gonna bring all believers with him.
He's gonna march down the Mount of olives through the Kidron Valley through the Golden gate. He's going to go back on to the temple mount right there at Mount Moriah when Abraham offered Isaac the place of sacrifice, where God showed us this is how it's going to happen. It's not going to be because of the sacrifice of Isaac or because of anything that any human being can do.
It's only going to be because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ will shed his blood because without the shedding of blood there can be no forgiveness of sin. And you know the Bible says that, then he's going to take all the believers in. He's going to Montréal over there to the battlefields of Armageddon and he's going to conquer Satan and all the armies of the world needs gonna set up his kingdom in Jerusalem and you know after the thousand year reign. The Bible tells us that Jerusalem is going to become God's headquarters for heaven ever excuse me, I'm not Jerusalem pie-in-the-sky Revelation chapter 20 1C is the new Jerusalem came down from heaven from God, and God said from now on I am going to make my dwelling place on earth among man kind and all those of us who have been washed by the blood of the Lamb are going to be citizens of the kingdom of heaven for ever and for heaven are you are you someone who knows him. You got a lot of reason to celebrate today because he's alive.
Are you someone who seeks off to him. I want to invite you to give your life to him. Turn your heart and life over to Jesus you say wait a minute's is it as simple as that. You Bible says that if you confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, and you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you will be saved. I'm so happy to tell you that. So the first two groups show they were those who knew him.
There were those who sought off to him. But there was 1/3 group.
There were those who rejected him coming. They they wanted him out of the it seems like from his very birth, by the way, do you mean when Jesus was born. Sorry, I don't want to take you back to Christmas, but just for a second because if you haven't started your Christmas shopping. You need to because it's almost here. Just go back to crit. Do you know that when Jesus was born. They were people who hated him member Herod you don't, Herod wanted to do with Jesus.
Get rid of it.
You know here in the Bible. This group of people colder. These religious people always find that so sad very sad, but they were these Pharisees and Sadducees. They looked around they became.
I think somewhat exacerbated by this they sold these crowds and I think they began to ring their hands and they said that we all and we going off to him because we want to stone him. We want to crucify move want to get rid of him. He's an upstart easy user but we don't like what he's doing.
He's robbing our treasury. He's diminishing our authority. He's taking the people away from us. He's teaching them disloyalty against our church. He's telling them to follow him instead of follow us. Let's get rid of him and they began to wring their hands and finally they threw up their hands in verse 18 and verse 19 and they looked at one another and I said oh wow, you know, glossy, gosh, gosh, gosh I mean look at this, the whole world is going off the Jesus you know that in parts of our world today. Isis are singling out Christians more than any others because they serve Jesus you know that in Egypt the Orthodox Coptic's otherwise known as the cops are being killed left and right by militants.
You know that in the United States of America today. You can stand up anyway do anything, say anything. Tell anybody anything.
But if you do so in the name of Jesus or child watch out you know that on our school campuses today. You could probably tell your fellow students you about anything any religion, any persuasion you can be an open, atheist, agnostic anything in between, but you get up and say I believe in Jesus and I love him with all my heart that will single you out. You know, there were three groups of people. Those who knew him. Those who sought off to him and they were those who rejected him, why did they go off to Jesus why did these three groups go off to Jesus someone because he came as a baby. Those who knew him like the shepherds, they worshiped him. Those who sought off to him came to find out what this birth was all about, and those who rejected him, devised any plot they could to be rid of him, why did they go off to Jesus. These three groups, because he lived as a miracle maker.
Those who knew him, all from the turning of the water into wine in Cana of Galilee on down the road.
The many people who'd been made whole again.
They celebrated those who sought off to him, stood there and watched and wondered, and many of them came to believe in him and those who rejected him, became incensed by the miracles that he did because it showed them up because it affronted something in them because they didn't want holiness and righteousness. Why did they go off to Jesus because he died as a lamb Bible says he went as a lamb to the slaughter. That's what the Bible says those who knew him, but I just loved it. They where they couldn't get over you can see them in the crowd.
You can see them kneeling at the cross. Those who sought off to him did so in wonder and amazement very soon came to believe that he indeed is the Christ. Even some of the Roman soldiers. He stood there and those who rejected him.
They lick for chops because they really thought they finally had him including site is thought kingdom up lost. Talk about killing Jesus. We did it by said plat why these people go off to him like this because he rose triumphantly as a savior, God raised him from the dead. Those who knew him came to celebrate him standing amazement of him.
Those who sought off to him stood in wonder and amazement that the same one who had been crucified. Rose triumphantly from the grave and those who rejected him. They recoding fear knowing that he was alive but refusing to believe that he was the Christ, why did they why did they go off to him because he ascended as a promise or he went back to the Mount of olives. The Bible says he was taken up as a promise or a promise of what a promise her that he would intercede for all people like you and me that he would be praying for us. Jesus himself praying for you and for me now.
That's what he said he would do it the right hand of the father, but he's promise didn't stop they he said I promise you I'm I'm I'm going to come back, which was really the final, not conclusive, but final reason why the whole world went off to him was because he is coming back is the delivery. He's coming back. You know that the Angels came right there to those disciples as they looked up they said the same Jesus who went up is going to come back down again literally bodily in person in a moment in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye. Nobody knows when that's gonna happen we going to give you signs of time we gonna show you the constellation of the European Union we going to teach you deep things about the state of Israel. We had to teach you about the Gog and Magog. The evil that comes from the northern regions we going to show you about a cashless society we going to teach you about the fulfillment of prophecy we going to let you know that the time is near. But God only knows because the bottom line because he's coming back is deliver all those who know him have nothing but joy in him. Those who are with him will be accompanying him anyway and those of us tomorrow night if he comes he becomes. Now comes tomorrow becomes next week will becomes in the next. Who knows, operating being ready. That's the question you can listing the Dr. Don Wilton teaching and preaching from the pulpit.
Now, as he steps in the studio. Open your heart to what he wants to share next are you ready to give your heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ. Why don't you pray this prayer with me right now they're gone. I know that on the center and I know that Jesus died for me on the cross today, I repent of my sin and by faith I receive you into my heart. In Jesus name, my friend.
I welcome you today into the family of God. This is exciting new just prayed with Dr. root of the give your life to Christ to rededicate your life and are here to pray with you right now 866-899-WORD and send you free resources. Dr. what you have. That's 866-899-9673 or meet us on our website@twonline.org Dr. what to pray for you and get you these resources that 866-899-WORD 967