Do you define yourself by what others have done to you or by what you do for others in Jesus' name? It's the perspective that makes all the difference. Today, on Turning Point, Dr. David Jeremiah continues his look at betrayal, which Jesus said would increase in Earth's final days. From the world of the end, here's David with the conclusion of his message: In a world of betrayal, be faithful.
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Well, here we go with uh Part 2 of In a World of Betrayal, Be Faithful. The word betrayal is a common word in the New Testament used 121 times. It's translated into a lot of English words like deliver, betray, give over. In the context of Matthew 24, it paints the picture of Christians trying to escape persecution or justify themselves by delivering or handing over other Christians to be judged. In other words, You give up your friends so you can be safe.
You betray your friend in order to protect yourself. The saddest part of Matthew 24:10 is the phrase. one another. You say, why is that so sad?
Well, this is not people outside of the church betraying Christians. No, this is Christians betraying Christians. Christians betraying one another, more accurately, people who claim to be Christians. betraying those who really are. Earlier, I listed some infamous examples of betrayal in the Bible, but there's one more that you probably don't know about that's kind of hidden in Paul's writings, but it's pretty insightful, so I'm going to tell you about it.
It's about a guy named Alexander. He was called Alexander the Coppersmith. Many commentators believe we first meet this guy in 1 Timothy 1.20. When he was saying untrue things about God among the churchgoers in Ephesus. Paul removed him from the church.
along with another heretic named Hymenius. Paul delivered them, according to 1 Timothy 1.20, to Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme. Boy, you don't want to be delivered to Satan, but Paul did that to these two dudes. What happened next isn't certain, but many commentators believe Alexander harbored a deep bitterness toward Paul. and at some point betrayed Paul's whereabouts to the Roman authorities.
And this led to Paul's final arrest, perhaps in Troas. And all this took place during the most dangerous days the church had yet experienced. when Emperor Nero declared Christians as public enemies of the Roman government. If this scenario is correct, Alexander's betrayal led to the imprisonment, trial, the execution of the greatest evangelist and missionary in Christian history. In the final chapter known to be written by Paul, which is in 2 Timothy, Here's what he said.
Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world. Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry. Bring the cloak that I left with Karpus at Troas when you come and the books, especially the parchments.
Now watch. Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works. You also must beware of him, for he has greatly resisted our words. At my first defense, no one stood with me, but all forsook me, may it not be charged against them.
Paul never forgot what Alexander did. I don't know what he did. He hurt him deeply. He undercut his ministry, and as we've already mentioned, he betrayed Paul and got him arrested, and ultimately got him killed. You say, well, that was all in the plan of God.
You don't want to go to the sovereignty of God to explain your evil deeds. He was a vicious, betraying man. I don't know if he ever got it right or not. But I do know he hurt Paul. He betrayed him.
And we see current evidence of Christians being betrayed by family members and neighbors. even by so-called Christian brothers and sisters. We've seen terrible persecution is afflicting the church. Intense pressure is sometimes placed on believers to give up the names of other Christians.
Sounds like what may happen during the tribulation when raw evil will operate on steroids. The machinery of the Antichrist will seek to track down every new believer and force from them the names of other converts. But as we've seen, the birth pains are already occurring.
Some of that is beginning to start. And we watch it, we see it, it's like In the distance maybe even with a pair of binoculars. You see the truth. that Jesus is speaking here. beginning to happen.
And then he says, it will be a world of offense. and a world of betrayal, and third, a world of hatred. As appalling as betrayal is, Hatred is even worse. You say, well, Pastor, what do you mean by that?
Someone may be tricked into betraying you. or they may do so out of weakness, but when the motivation is hatred for you, It's a new level of evil.
Well Jesus said, At that time, Many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other.
Now, this is the second time Jesus has mentioned hate. Back in verse 9, he warned that the world would hate us. We don't like that, but we could almost understand it because the Bible says if it hated Jesus, it would hate us if we're Jesus' followers. But in verse 10, he warned Christians, or so-called Christians. That there would be hatred by other Christians toward them, hatred within the body of Christ.
And that kind of extreme hating will become commonplace in the world of the end. Even within the established church, some Christians or fraudulent Christians during that time will fulfill the words of John. But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes. The pain of betrayal. The portraits of it.
The prophecy of it. That's what's going to happen in the future. That's going to be a part of the culture in the future. You see little pieces of it here and there. Don't get surprised.
The Bible says, This is going to happen. It will be full-blown in the future, even though we're only seeing little bits and pieces of it now. But I don't want to ever leave these messages without answering the question.
So, what do we do? If we realize that we're living in a world where betrayal happens, Well So I got some ideas for you. All right? First of all, choose your friends carefully. It's amazing how we're influenced by the friends we choose when we're 13 or 19.
or any other age, how easily we're drawn into unhealthy relationships. young people in junior high and high school and college. One of the worst things that happens in our culture today is bullying. And people being destroyed by folks they trusted. You know, so many stories of people who share pictures that should never have been taken, but they share those pictures with friends only to discover their friends.
delight in betraying them and destroying their lives. I just would say to you, make sure your friends. are really your friends. I mean, I know friendships go through ups and downs. But we need friends who will remain loyal to God and to us when all is said and done.
I'm going to give you some verses about friendship that I think are really helpful. These are tucked away in the book of Proverbs, and you wouldn't find them unless somebody pointed them out to you. But listen to this. Proverbs 12, 26 says, The righteous should choose his friends carefully. For the way of the wicked leads them astray.
Do your friends help you draw closer to God? Or do they push you away from God? That's the question you need to ask. When I'm with my friends, do they make me want to love God more and be a better Christian? Or are they pulling me away from my love for God and being a Christian?
If you have friends that are taking you in the wrong direction and you follow them, guess what? You're going to end up where they end up. in the wrong place. destroyed, betrayed, and they don't care. And you know, you can have a friendship with somebody who's not a Christian if you're leading them toward Christ and not being led by them away from Christ.
But that's the key. Where's the influence, and which direction are you going in this relationship? You say, Well, Pastor Jeremiah, I have this friend, I like this friend, but they hate Jesus, they don't like the church, and all that.
Well, I'm going to be their friend so I can lead them to Jesus. How's that going? Yeah, I mean that's the question you should ask. How's that going? If you're not leading to Jesus, they're leading you away from Jesus.
And you'd be better off just to say, Lord, I need a new friend. Here's another verse in Proverbs that says this: A friend loves at all times. and a brother is born for adversity. What happens with your friend when you're going through a tough time? Are they there helping you?
Are they there encouraging you? Or are they off to play games somewhere else? Take a moment and recall a recent time of pain or difficulty in your life. Who was there to help you? Who was present with you?
And with whom have stood During this time of struggle that you're going through right now, do you really have friends? You know what I discovered? When you go through a really difficult time in your life, you find out who your friends are. When I had cancer, I found out I had some friends I didn't know, and I had some that I thought were that weren't. Difficulty sorts things out, doesn't it?
You look up and say, oh, look who's still here. And whatever happened to OJ. We need friends who will be honest with us, friends who will tell us the truth, friends who will keep us from mistakes or missteps. Here's another proverb. Faithful are the wounds of a friend.
But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. The best way to avoid people who are stumbling blocks or betrayers or hateful is to nurture a handful of rich relationships with people who are sold out to Jesus Christ. If they are loyal to him, guess what? They'll be loyal to you. That's the key.
That's the test. Find people who are loyal to Jesus. Connect with those people and they'll be loyal to you.
So, choose your friends carefully. Just a little free. Family council, thrown in for free. Number two. Choose your friends carefully.
Stay focused on your purpose. Here's an interesting thing about Jesus. Do you know what Jesus did when he was betrayed? You should read it because if you're not looking for it when you read it, it'll just pass right by you.
So, let me help you. Jesus knew what Judas was going to do. Judas had left the upper room to inform officials where Jesus was. And Jesus knew this. He knew Judas was up to this.
But Jesus had stuff to do before this happened, so he didn't run off and hide someplace or go get help. The Bible says he gave the disciples the greatest sermon of his life. In the Kidron Valley, Jesus. Offered his longest prayer recorded in the Bible, John 17. In the middle of betrayal, Jesus remained focused on his purpose.
He knew it was coming. We don't know it's coming. It hits us blind. But Jesus knew it was coming, and he preached his longest sermon and prayed his longest prayer. and just kept marching forward.
You know, that's what we have to do. Even later, after he was arrested because of Judas' betrayal, Jesus remained steady in the awful work before him. He didn't let the betrayal derail him. Instead, he continued forward even to the cross. Hebrews says that Jesus, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross.
Despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. But, you know, when you get betrayed, you can get all inside yourself and. Why did God let this happen to me? And get on your own case. The Bible says betrayal is going to come and you're going to feel it.
Somebody's going to do something that'll hurt you. What do you do? Keep your eyes on the goal and keep marching forward. You will discover that when you do that, it's the greatest therapy you feel there could ever be. If you stop and pout and think about it, It can take you out of the game and you don't want that to happen.
Betrayal can be so painful, so agonizing. That we're unable to focus on anything else. We don't let it go. Our hearts get bitter. We chew on the possibility of revenge.
We make up speeches. I've made up a few speeches in my car and preached them out loud to people who've hurt me. What a dumb thing to do. When you're betrayed, choose to focus not on yourself. but on your purpose.
Be like Jesus. Choose to live above the mindset of bitterness. Pour your life into the work God has called you. This is the best way to say it. Staying focused on your purpose will allow you to keep your pain in perspective.
And you won't get lost. Third. Choose your friends carefully. Stay focused on your purpose. Pursue loyalty.
Loyalty and commitment are often unpopular because they require us to think of others rather than ourselves. But the beauty of loyalty. counterbalances the bitterness of betrayal. We see evidence of that beauty in this scripture. Revelation 2.10.
Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer indeed. The devil's about to throw some of you into prison that you may be tested. And you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful unto death. And I'll give you the crown of life.
In a world of betrayal, we need to pursue the kind of loyalty that inspires others. to remain faithful in their commitment to Christ. Don't falter or give up doing good so you can concentrate on the bad that's been done to you. You've just now joined the other team. And you don't want to do that.
And then this is maybe the hardest one. And I have to honestly tell you, when I put this together, I knew there were a couple of verses in the Bible about this, but I didn't know. That the body of work on this particular subject was so large. And I'm going to share it with you because. This may be a hard thing to do, but it is not in doubt as to what the scripture says.
We know from Jesus that people will betray us, even people who call themselves Christians. This is going to happen. We can count on it. With that in mind, how should we respond? This is one of those questions to which the Bible gives a very simple answer.
And it gives it over and over again.
So you might think, well, I just missed the context here. No, it's in another context. In fact, Here we go. Proverbs 25. twenty one and twenty two.
If your enemy is hungry, Give him bread to eat. And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, for so you will heap coals of fire on his head, and the Lord will reward you. Matthew 5, 43. You have heard it said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.
And we're right about ready to say, at this point, are you kidding me? And then there's Romans chapter 12. Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse. Do not repay anyone evil for evil.
Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live in peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written, it is mine to avenge. I will repay, says the Lord. This is about the only time some of you ever try to do the Lord's work.
He says it's his work to take revenge on the enemies, and you try to do his work. Let him do his work, and you do what you're supposed to do. And then there's 1 Peter 3:9. Did you know this was all here? Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless.
For to this you were called that you may obtain a blessing. The Bible says we are to flip the script. And take this out of the hands of the enemy and take control of it. How do we do that when people hurt us? We go out of our way to find a way to bless them.
Maybe the hardest one for me has always been pray for those who spitefully use you. I'm sure there have been a lot of strange prayers offered up in response to that encouragement. Lord. I know I'm supposed to pray for this guy. What he did to me.
I don't really want to do it, but Okay, okay. Butch him if you can. Uh You know what? I'm telling you, that's kind of the way it is when we're really honest, isn't it?
So do good to those who hate you. That's how you deal when you're betrayed. Don't act in kind. Here's what we do.
Somebody hurts us, and we want to hurt them worse. And if we do, then they find a way to hurt us worse. And it keeps going down and down and down. And you have to draw a line in the sand and say, not on my watch. It's not going to happen on my watch.
I'm going to turn this thing around. And if he wants to mock me because I took a pie over to him, Instead of getting mad at him, that's his problem. I tell you most of the time it just melts people. and they don't know what to do. And then number five, count on the character of God.
That brings me to this final suggestion. This was the conclusion Joseph made after years of processing his brother's betrayal. Here's what I love. This is Genesis 50. Most of you know this.
Do not be afraid, for I am in the place of God. But as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about it as this day to save many people alive. When Paul was sold out by Alexander the coppersmith, He pressed on to write his final book, 2 Timothy. with the resolution of finishing his race and keeping the faith. And that final epistle contains these words.
But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me.
so that the message might be preached fully through me and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also, I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion, and the Lord will deliver me from every evil work, and preserve me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Perhaps the key to processing the betrayal we experience as followers of Jesus Christ is reckoning that for every person who deserts us, God has blessed us abundantly with more. People that don't desert us, and with his own unending faithful love.
Friends are going to fail us. We're human. And some of you have those stories and Maybe you talk about them now and again. Don't let them be a part of your history. Don't let them define you.
Don't be defined by what other people do to you. Be defined by what you do in the name of Christ. to be an encouragement for other people.
Well, I have a story to tell you at the end. My poor wife, she has to hear all my stories before anybody else does. I told her this story and You'll understand. When they get done, she loved it and I loved it. Because it's about a dog.
And it's a true story, and it leaves an amazing impression. I'll honestly tell you, when I read it, I had a hard time. Start shedding a tear. In 1850, John Gray arrived with his family in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland. Though he was a gardener by trade, there was a shortage of work in the city.
So, John joined the Edinburgh Police Force as a night watchman, and every evening. He walked the streets to ensure the safety of the people of that little village. John Gray did not walk alone, however. His constant companion was a little sky terrier named Bobby. No matter the temperature or the weather outside, John and Bobby could be seen walking together through the streets at night.
Alert. or any trouble or any cry for help. After many years of performing his job with dedication, John Gray died from tuberculosis. he was buried in a cemetery called Greyfriars Kirkyard within the city. Bobby the Terrier refused to leave his master's side.
Every day he came to spend long hours lying by John's grave. At first the Kirkyard gardener attempted to shoe him away. But after months of witnessing Bobby's faithfulness, the gardener made a small shelter so the little dog could be out of the weather while continuing his silent vigil. The dog was later named Gray Friars Bobby. And he visited his master's grave every day for 14 years.
until he also passed away. The residents of Edinburgh erected a granite fountain outside the cemetery with a statue of Bobby on the top. You can still read his headstone today. Gray Friars Bobby died 14th of January 1872, aged 16 years. Let his loyalty and devotion.
Be a lesson to us all.
Now you can all sniffle and But you know, that's a great story. we could learn From that dog. I know there's a lot of people here that know more about animals than I do. That's not an uncommon trait for dogs. There's a lot of stories about that, but here's a great story.
And they made a statue of it. If I ever get to go there, I'm going to go look for that statue. Let's learn the value of loyalty. We can talk about betrayal and we need to understand it, but the way we deal with betrayal is to determine we won't betray someone, we'll be loyal. We'll be like this loyal dog.
and be faithful Every day of our life, let it always be said that followers of Jesus are faithful and true, even in a world of betrayal. Be faithful. You know, there's always been something special when you. You say of a person, he's a faithful man. She's a faithful woman.
And that ought to be said about all of us who are Christians. We ought to be faithful. Faithful to our Word, faithful most of all to our Lord, faithful to our families and to our churches. And in this day and age when So much betrayal is going on. Our faithfulness becomes a beacon light to a dark world, and we have the opportunity to show the difference.
Tomorrow here on Turning Point we're going to talk about, in a world of lawlessness, how to be kind. You know, sometimes the things that happen in the world get under your skin, and you just, if you're not careful, you respond in kind. And God gives us a different way. We'll talk about that tomorrow. Don't forget to get your copy of the World of the End for your gift of any size during the month of April.
Simply say, Please send me the World of the End, and we'll do it. We look forward to hearing from you and we thank you for your special gift. It's your gift that helps us and our book we hope will help you. Have a good day. Our message today originated from Shadow Mountain Community Church and senior pastor Dr.
David Jeremiah. Will you take a moment to tell us how our ministry is an encouragement? You can write us at Turning Point, PO Box 3838, San Diego, California 92163. Visit our website at davidjeremiah.org slash radio or call 800-947-1993. Ask for your copy of David's book, The World of the End, with a special Be the Answer bookmark, yours for a gift of any amount.
You can also download the free Turning Point mobile app for your smartphone or tablet, or search in your app store for Turning Point Ministries to access our content. Visit davidjeremiah.org slash radio for details. That's davidjeremiah.org slash radio. This is David Michael Jeremiah. Join us tomorrow as we continue the series The World of the End on Turning Point with Dr.
David Jeremiah.
