R1424 Going After Jesus

Welcome to The Encouraging Word, featuring the Bible-based teaching of Dr. Don Wilton and today's message called Going After Jesus. Today Dr. Wilton takes us to John 12, talking about the things that we pursue and what it changes in our life. While we do so, know that we're available on our website for you right now at TEWonline.org.

Now, Dr. Don Wilton. Join me as we just have a conversation with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's pray together. Our Father, even in the middle of all of our worship and our praise and our singing and our adoration, I'm not convinced that we can come anywhere near, not even close to where we need to be to express our love and our gratitude to you. 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 are 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 broadcast ministry. So today, I invite you to go after Jesus.

You heard me right. I'm going to invite you to go after 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 app, on your iPad, on your strawberry, your raspberry or 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 we're going to be talking about today.

This is what I want to say to you. 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 tomb where 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 waved palm branches and they welcomed him back. And there were a lot of people there. Can you just imagine with me for one minute how many people were gathered around the steps and the entrances and exits in the Kidron Valley and where Jesus came? I mean, there were thousands of people and they came from everywhere. There were just a lot of people. I wonder who was in that crowd.

So let me just ask this question. I wonder who is in this crowd. Who are we? Who are we, those of us who gather on Resurrection Sunday? Well, in Jesus' time there was a massive group of people.

They came from every walk of life and I wish I had time to kind of delve into it and maybe we could write a few storybooks about the little children and about the moms and the dads and the divorcees and the single moms and the widows and the widowers and people suffering with all kinds of sickness and the college students and the haves and the have-nots. I mean, everybody was there. And something began to happen because Jesus was there. And 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 says that it was only after 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 they saw 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 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 going to pray for you.

I'm going to pray for every one of you. So it was after 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 you, John chapter 12, and I'm just going to 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 meet him was that they heard that he had done this miracle, this sign. Now watch about the Pharisees. So the Pharisees, this was a group of very religious people. They were all members of their church. This was the religious group.

And the Pharisees said to one another, you see that we are gaining nothing. Look, the whole world is going after Jesus. The whole world is going after Jesus. I believe that that's true right now. Our entire world is going after Jesus. And some of you might say to me, well, pastor, that's not entirely true because there are millions of people who couldn't care less.

Right. The whole world is going after Jesus. Everybody's looking for what only Jesus can do. Everybody wants peace. Everybody wants joy. Everyone wants forgiveness. Everyone wants to be whole. Everyone wants meaning in life.

Everyone wants life to matter. Everyone wants to know what happens when we die. Do we just vanish? Do we just stop? Where do we go?

Is it just over? Everyone's looking for what the Bible tells us Jesus can deliver on. Now, there were three groups of people that gathered around Jesus.

I just want to tell you about them. First of all, there were those who know him, those who knew him. The Bible's full of that. There was just a wonderful group of people. They were called disciples. They were called followers. They were called believers. And these were people that, oh, they had a lot of questions and they didn't understand everything. But they believed that Jesus was exactly who he said he was.

I'm 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 a cross for me. I really believe that God raised him from the dead. I really believe Jesus is alive. Can I tell you how I really believe that?

Because I know it, because he lives in me. My life has been changed. I'm a 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 after Jesus because I know him.

How about you? Do you know one of the reasons why I go to church? I know you're going to look at me and say, well, you better go. You're the pastor. You know, I can't even wake up in the morning and tell my wife on Sunday morning that I'm going to go and play golf.

She won't let me. I know you all look at me and say, well, you know, you're the pastor. You're supposed to be there.

Do you know that I actually want to be here? 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 Genesis vibe. I love to be in worship together.

I just love the word of God because I know him. It's like my wife Karen. She and I have been married going on 41 years. You'd think that she'd start getting really tired of me and you probably are right. So why do I just want to be with my duckling all the time?

Anyone want to explain that? 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 her, love to travel with her, love to be with all the time. Why?

Because I love her. I can see myself in this crowd. There were those who knew him, but then there was another group of people. There were those who sought after him, those who seek him. They were just curious. They were curious.

I understand that. Curiosity, what is this about Jesus? There was a large group of people out there that just sought him. They heard that he really was someone extraordinarily special, that he wasn't just an ordinary man. In fact, they heard the rumor, you know, that he even claimed to be God.

I mean, blow me down. Can you imagine that? Did you hear about this man that goes to Galilee and they catch a whole lot of fish when he says fish on that side? He teaches them, and he loves them, and he heals them, and he makes them whole.

How can you explain it? There was a group of people that said, you know what? I've got to find out more about Jesus. I love that.

Is that you? Please forgive the interruption. We'll 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, tewonline.org, you're missing out on a powerful resource about praying for your adult children. It's on our website right now at tewonline.org. That's the place you'll find many resources like this. My book, Saturdays with Billy, is about an extraordinary relationship with a precious man who impacted lives across the world. You don't want to miss this opportunity to be inspired by his life too.

Again, that's just one of the many great resources you'll find at tewonline.org. Now back to today's great teaching with Dr. Don Wilton. Because I'm so grateful that I can promise you something.

You are discovering that Jesus is exactly who he says he is. It doesn't matter what CNN News says. It doesn't matter what Fox News puts out. It doesn't matter what Hillary Clinton has to say.

It doesn't matter what anybody says. I'm just going to tell you, Jesus is real. And the Bible says those that seek him will find him. And some of you today are about to find the real Jesus because you're going after him.

He has this crowd there and Jesus was beginning his journey to the cross, to down 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 I am 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 going to bring all believers with him.

He's going to march down the Mount of Olives through the Kidron Valley, through the Golden Gate. He's going to go back onto the Temple Mount right there at Mount Moriah where 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 who will shed his blood because without the shedding of blood there can be no forgiveness of sin. And do you know the Bible says that then he's going to take all the believers and he's going to march all over there to the battlefields of Armageddon and he's going to conquer Satan and all the armies of the world and he's going to set up his kingdom in Jerusalem. And do you know after a thousand year reign the Bible tells us that Jerusalem is going to become God's headquarters for heaven forever.

Excuse me. I'm not talking about Jerusalem pie in the sky. Revelation chapter 21 says 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 mankind. And all of those of us who have been washed by the blood of the Lamb are going to be citizens of the kingdom of heaven forever and forever. Are you someone who knows him? You got a lot of reason to celebrate today because he's alive. Are you someone who seeks after 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, pastor, is it as simple as that? Yeah. 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 here, there were those who knew him, there were those who sought after him, but there was a third group. There were those who rejected him.

I mean, they wanted him out of there. It seems like from his very birth. By the way, do you remember 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, do you know that when Jesus was born, there were people who hated him? Remember Herod? You know what Herod wanted to do with Jesus?

Get rid of him. And you know, here in the Bible, this group of people called these religious people, I 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 saw these crowds and I think they began to wring their hands and they said, gosh, here we are and we're going after him because we want to stone him. We want to crucify him. We want to get rid of him.

He's an upstart. He's a usurper. 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 they said, oh, well, you know, goshy, gosh, gosh, gosh. I mean, look at this. The whole world is going after Jesus. Do you know that in parts of our world today ISIS are singling out Christians more than any others because they serve Jesus? Do you know that in Egypt the orthodox coptics, otherwise known as the cops, are being killed left and right by militants? Do you know that in the United States of America today you can stand up anywhere, do anything, say anything, tell anybody anything. But if you do so in the name of Jesus, watch out.

Watch out. Do you know that on our school campuses today? You could probably tell your fellow students you're 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.

They'll single you out. You know, there were three groups of people, those who knew him, those who sought after him, and there were those who rejected him. Why did they go after Jesus? Why did these three groups go after Jesus?

Number one, because he came as a baby. Those who knew him like the shepherds, they worshiped him. Those who sought after 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 after Jesus, these three groups? Because he lived as a miracle maker. Those who knew him, oh, from the turning of the water into wine in Cana of Galilee, on down the road, the many people who had been made whole again, they celebrated. Those who sought after 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 after 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, they just loved him. They wept, they couldn't get over it.

You can see them in the crowd. You can see them kneeling at the cross. Those who sought after him did so in wonder and amazement and very soon came to believe that he indeed is the Christ, even some of the Roman soldiers who stood there. And those who rejected him, they licked their chops because they really thought they finally had him, including Satan, who thought, aha, killed him at last. Talk about killing Jesus.

We did it, they said. Why did these people go after him like this? Because he rose triumphantly as a savior. God raised him from the dead. Those who knew him came to celebrate him, stand in amazement of him. Those who sought after 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 recoiled in fear, knowing that he was alive but refusing to believe that he was the Christ.

Why did they go after him? Because he ascended as a promiser. He went back to the Mount of Olives and the Bible says he was taken up as a promiser.

A promiser of what? A promiser 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 at the right hand of the Father. But he's promised it and stopped there. He said, I promise you, I'm going to come back. Which was really the final, not conclusive, but final reason why the whole world went after him was because he is coming back as the deliverer.

He's coming back. Do 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 a twinkling of an eye. Nobody knows when that's going to happen. We're going to give you signs of time. We're going to show you the constellation of the European Union. We're going to teach you deep things about the state of Israel. We're going to teach you about the Gog and Magog, the evil that comes from the northern regions. We're going to show you about a cashless society. We're going to teach you about the fulfillment of prophecy. We're going to let you know that the time is near. But God only knows.

But here's the bottom line. Because he's coming back as deliverer, 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 who are alive and remain, if he comes, if he comes now, if he comes tomorrow, if he comes next week, or if he comes in the next, who knows? I'm ready. Being ready, that's the question. You've been listening to Dr. Don Wilton teaching and preaching from the pulpit.

Now, as he steps into 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? Dear God, I know that I'm a sinner, 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 news. If you just prayed with Dr. Wilton to give your life to Christ or rededicate your life, we're here to pray with you right now at 866-899-WORD, and send you free resources Dr. Wilton wants you to have. That's 866-899-9673, or meet us on our website at www.tewonline.org. Dr. Wilton wants to pray for you and give you these resources at 866-899-9673.