R1670 Tomorrows Best News

We all could use some good news, and we'll find it together today. As a matter of fact, Dr. Don Wilton's message is tomorrow's best news. This is The Encouraging Word, featuring the Bible-based teaching of Dr. Don Wilton, and today we'll head to Matthew and gain some insight on not only what's going on right now in our world, but what we can look forward to with tomorrow's best news. As we study the Word together, know that we are not just presenting this message from Dr. Wilton, but as Dr. Don would say, it's a conversation. And one of the ways we converse is on the phone at 866-899-WORD.

Jot the number down, store it in your cell. We're available 24 hours a day at 866-899-9673. And on our website as well at www.tewonline.org. By the way, while you're there, check out the Pray For Your Spouse resource.

It's online at www.tewonline.org. And now, Dr. Don Wilton. God bless you. I'm so happy to see you. And I just pray that the Lord has enriched your life in every way. We have so much to look forward to. We have a wonderful future, and it is conditioned upon the very things that God is going to speak to us about even today. The Lord Jesus over these last few weeks showed me something very precious, and I'd like to just share that with you today. You see, Matthew's Gospel, chapter 26, tells us about something that happened in the life of the Lord Jesus that was amazing. And at the culminating point of this and beginning to read at verse 26, Jesus said this. Now, as they were eating, Jesus took bread and after blessing it, broke it and gave it to the disciples and said, take, eat, this is my body. And he took the cup and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them saying, drink and drink all of it, for this is my blood of the covenant. It is the covenant of my blood, the covenant which is poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins.

And then Jesus says, I tell you, I will not drink again of the fruit of this vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my father's kingdom. And when they had sung a hymn, and this is a very important statement, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Is it not amazing that the Lord Jesus gathered together this group of people and he brought them into a confined space, set high up on a hill? The place is called the upper room and it sits very high up and the thought occurred to me that the temple mound, Mount Moriah, the place of sacrifice, the seat of God's throne forever. That what took place in the upper room was set on the highest plane overlooking the highest authority, not down on it.

I'm showing you a symbolical picture here. Jesus took this group of people and he took them into this church room. The upper room was literally that. It was a room.

If you would beg my pardon, it was like a church. It was like this group of people who were out there. They were in the world. They were in the marketplace. They were in their homes. They were dealing with fear. They had questions. They didn't know what was going to happen next. They watched what was going on in their world. They watched the governments. They watched their next door neighbors. These were Christian people. They were Christ followers. And Jesus said for just a moment, I'm going to show you tomorrow's best news. You need to know this.

You people need to know this. Are you listening? Are you paying attention? And to get you to pay attention, I'm going to pull you together and I'm going to put some walls around you. I'm going to gather you on the inside of the church where I can speak to you. Where for just a few moments, perhaps I can have your undivided attention.

I'm going to ask you to just withdraw and come together. And so it is that these Christ followers withdrew for just a while into the upper room. They came inside. They left the rain to fall outside.

They just for a moment laid aside their questions about when, how, what or why. And they came to listen to what Jesus had to say to them. Why did Jesus gather his disciples?

That's the question I began to ask myself. And I share with you four thoughts. I think Jesus gathered his disciples, first of all, because he knew himself. It was all about him. Jesus wanted them to look at him without distraction.

So maybe, I don't know, he put four walls around them. Jesus knew himself. Jesus knew that he was the Son of God, slain from before the foundation of the world. Jesus knew why he left his throne on high and came to this world. Jesus knew that. In fact, Jesus knew that he was God. He told them. He said, you see me? You see God. Jesus knew that he was the mediator between them and God.

He knew that. Why did he gather them? Just to have a little ceremony? Go through some kind of ritual? Perform some kind of religious rite? Why did Jesus gather these people?

I suppose in many ways this really could be the only point of it. Because he was Jesus. I think Jesus wanted them to know above anything else that actually nothing else matters. Because he knew this human heart that these, his disciples, he knew about it. He knew how torn they were and how they looked for the right reason to give their money. And when they did, they would give it with strings attached.

And how much they would get upset because somebody stepped on their toes. Or because somebody didn't say the right thing. He knew that and he said, you come together. Gather yourselves. And just look at me. Listen to me. Hear me.

Then obey me. Why did he gather them? Because he knew himself.

But there's a second reason. I think Jesus gathered this group of people because he knew them. How much Jesus knew them. After all, he created them. He made them.

He knit them together. He determined the breath of life in them at the very moment of conception. Because he is life.

Indeed he is life. Please forgive the interruption. We'll be back with the completion of today's message from Dr. Don Wilton in just a moment. But Dr. Don wants me to remind you, we are here for you. He reminds us it is so critical for each of us to know that God is with us and will never leave us or forsake us. But it's also a part of our ministry to let you know that we're available for you.

24 hours a day, our phone number, 866-899-WORD. We'll connect you with one of us, happy to talk or listen or pray any time, day or night, 866-899-9673. We'd also love to connect you with resources, whether it's Dr. Wilton's son, Dr. Greg Wilton's book that we've been talking about all last month, or sees fresh new opportunities to pray for each other during love month. Hope you're having a great love month. As a matter of fact, here are the details about this very unique way to pray for your spouse.

It's easy to celebrate Valentine's Day by buying candy and flowers. But when was the last time you actually prayed for your spouse? Join Dr. Wilton as he unpacks a powerful message on the forgiving family.

Plus you will receive 31 days of prayer books for my husband and wife. This offer set will help you learn how to support each other through prayer and how important forgiveness plays in the family. Not only are marriages under attack, the family is also under attack. Support your spouse through prayer and see what God does in both of your lives. Commit to praying 31 days for your spouse. Commit to praying 31 days for your spouse. Let God change your spouse.

Let God change your family. Call us today at 866-899-WORD and request the February offer for your gift of $25 or more per set. Thank you for your support of the encouraging word. When you're there, you'll see devotion at the top of the screen. Click on that. And you can either have one sent to you email-a-phonically every morning, like I like to have, or like my bride. You can get one in your hands, sent to you absolutely free.

All the ways to sign up are on our website, again, at www.tewonline.org. Now back to the conclusion of today's message, tomorrow's best news with Dr. Don Wilton. Why did he gather them? Because he knew himself.

But there's a second reason. I think Jesus gathered this group of people because he knew them. How much Jesus knew them. After all, he created them. He made them. He knit them together. He determined the breath of life in them at the very moment of conception.

Because he is life. And he knew all about them. He knew their personality dispositions, their hot buttons. He knew their struggles. He knew the grief of their hearts. He knew the questions that they had. Jesus gathered them together because he knew them.

But you know, there's something even more important than that. I think Jesus gathered them because he loved them. He really did.

From Peter to Matthew to John to Mark. He loved them. He loved them the way they were made. He loved them evidently with all of their ways about them. He loved them.

Why? I don't know. They were quite a bunch. These were supposed to be the spiritual leaders. They sure behaved strangely sometimes.

And it wasn't over yet. Some of them didn't even realize how strange they were going to behave. So he just gathered them in the upper room. He gathered them because he knew himself. Because he knew them. He gathered them because he really loved them. Why does Jesus love us like this?

Why does Jesus love me? But there's a fourth reason he gathered them. He gathered them, I think, because he commissioned them.

He commissioned them. Do you know it was to those he knew and those he loved that he said, You, leave here and go out into the world. The world? You mean where we just came from? You mean we've got to go back home? You mean we've got to go back into the traffic? You mean we've got to go back into our disease?

You mean we've got to go back into our stocks and bonds? Jesus said, Go, you, go. He gathered them because he had commissioned them. He called them in from. And then he sent them out too.

He commissioned them because they were his disciples. And he loved them. And he knew them. And he knew everything about out there. He got it. And Jesus wanted them to be able to go back out into the world with tomorrow's best news.

Not the worst news. And if we watch the trail, if we just keep our eyes on them, here's what happened. They did. He showed them something amazing. And then they got up and left.

Literally, this is what happened. They walked out the door of the church. They walked into the Kidron Valley. They crossed over the gates of hell.

They encountered the traffic. Oh, the first destination was called the Garden of Gethsemane. Do you know what happened there? Some of them fell asleep while he prayed. Do you know what happened right there?

I'm talking about like the next day in the go into all the world. Some of them, the first thing they wanted to do was to pick up a sword and chop someone's ear off. Do you know what happened out in that world with these same people? They were affronted, they were requested, they were persecuted. Some of them were crucified upside down. It was Jesus who met them in one room. Why did Jesus instruct them?

Maybe three reasons. Because he knew that without forgiveness, there is no future. He knew that those same disciples would sit in their churches with hearts of unforgiveness and it doesn't work. And he knew that the Great Commission had at the very heart of everything that death and burial and resurrection of Jesus, which means that all who come to Jesus because of his blood will receive the forgiveness of sin, will be set free. They wouldn't be set free because they voted for this group or that group.

Or because they got the angriest or because they brandished the biggest sword. They were set free because Jesus forgave them and liberated their hearts. Without forgiveness, Jesus wanted them to know there is no future. And it begins with you and me and none of us deserve forgiveness. Maybe why Jesus instructed them was because without acceptance, there is no meaning. That little word there without believing, holding, clinging to the cross, without knowing that you know that you know that you know that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God. You can make millions, but you'll die with no meaning in your heart.

You'll die empty. Maybe the reason why Jesus instructed them was because without this message, there's no hope. So here we are. Look at him. Look at Jesus. For me personally, in the middle of a beautiful season, I'm sitting here just reading this and all of a sudden, you'd think I'd get this after all these years. After all the Lord's Supper services I've been in.

After all the fellowship and after all the studies. But all of a sudden I saw Jesus gathering me inside his body, taking me back into the womb, closing everything off, preventing me from seeing the traffic, asking of me to stop and pay attention to him. And all of a sudden I found myself paying attention and I listened to him. He began to speak. Jesus took the bread. He broke it and he said, my son, this is my body broken for you. Eat it.

When you do, remember me. Then he took the cup and he said, drink. This cup is the new covenant because of my blood.

Without the shedding of blood, there can be no forgiveness of sin. And I took the cup and I drank it. Then he turned to me and he said, now, pastor, I got work for you. I got some work for you to do. I want you to go outside. I want you to point people to Jesus. Every time you do, you're proclaiming my death until I come back again.

You talk about tomorrow's best news. And all of a sudden I saw two groups of people. One are a group of people seeking a sword. And the other group of people seeking a savior. Which one are you?

What a challenge. You know, sometimes when Dr. Don is preaching, it just as if God's word becomes a mirror for each of us to look into and decide how God is speaking to us and what we must do. May we never hear God's word preached and remain the same, instead may be ready to change. You've heard Dr. Wilton as he's been preaching and teaching from the pulpit. Now, as he steps into the studio, open your heart to what he wants to share next.

Well, hello again, my friends. Are you ready to give your life to Christ? You know, you've been listening like this and God has been speaking like this, hasn't he?

And he's speaking to your heart. I'd love to help you give your life to Christ right now. Why don't you pray this prayer? Make this your prayer because you know that God not only hears our prayer, but he answers our prayer too. Pray this prayer with me. Dear God, I know that you love me very much.

I believe Jesus came and died on a cross just for me and that he gave his life for me. Right now, I confess my sin to you and by faith, I receive you into my heart and into my life. In Jesus' name I pray. Well, if you've prayed that prayer right now, in just a moment we're going to send you some information.

I want you to listen real carefully because you can take note of that. We've got the means by which we can connect together and I want to connect with you because you're part of my family. You're part of the family of God. You are my brother, my sister in Christ. God bless you today. Just moments ago, while Dr. Don was praying, you were praying along with him, echoing that desire to start afresh with Jesus Christ or to rededicate your life.

You need to know Dr. Wilton wants to rejoice and pray with you and for you in the growth of the next steps of your life. We have wonderful resources Dr. Don wants you to have absolutely free. If you just gave your life to Jesus Christ or rededicated your life to Christ, call us at 866-899-WORD.

That's 866-899-9673. And we'd love to send these resources right away to you. As a matter of fact, you can also connect with us on our website, www.tewonline.org. We're there to answer your questions, sign you up for daily devotions and more.

That's all online at www.tewonline.org. Okay, just before you go today, I just want you to know how much I love you. You mean so much to me. And I just want you to know that with all of the things that we've talked about and the way in which God is speaking to your heart right now, we are the encouraging word and we are available to you 24-7, morning, noon, night or day. You can call a friend, one of my friends right now and they will encourage you, pray with you, listen to you. Isn't it great to have people around us who really care about us? You are not alone. God bless you and be encouraged.