LUKE 9:37-45 HIS GREATEST WORK2012 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Luke 9:37-45 His Greatest Work

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You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2012.

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Well, this morning, as we look at this passage where this boy who is demon-possessed is healed by Jesus, we are going to be looking at the greatest work of Jesus. And so I titled our message this morning, His Greatest Work. And there's three points I'd like to share with you. Now, as we look at these things, we're going to be looking at the greatest work of Jesus.

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Now Matthew and Mark also record the same account for us with slightly different insights and so if you'd like to later on today check it out and get a little bit more detail on some of the things we'll be studying I would encourage you to write down Matthew chapter 17 and Mark chapter 9. There in Matthew 17 and Mark 9 the same account is recorded for us with a slightly different perspective as these other writers got to see it from a different point of view.

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But this morning, as we look at his greatest work, the work of Jesus Christ, we're going to begin working up to that. Kind of the point of that is at the final point this morning. But we start here with the first point, looking at the disciples. And point number one this morning is that the disciples cannot always do his work. The disciples, unfortunately, are unable sometimes to

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Now, as we've been looking at Luke chapter 9, we've been studying a lot about disciples. This chapter really focuses on the disciples and what they're called to do and how they are used by the Lord and how he works in their lives. We saw in the beginning of the chapter how they were sent out before the Lord into the surrounding areas and they were preaching the good news of the kingdom of God. And we saw in the beginning of the chapter how they were sent out before the Lord into the surrounding areas

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We also saw a couple weeks ago, you probably remember, we studied Jesus gave the criteria for how to follow him. And that is that we were to deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Jesus. We also saw as miracles take place that we have our part, the disciples do their role, but then also the Lord has his part in the work as well. And he uses us and allows us to be part of his work in miracles, in the work of his kingdom, and the things that he accomplishes.

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Well, here, though, as we see the first part of our passage this morning, verses 37 through 40,

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We see a different aspect of disciples. And that is that disciples can't always do his work. As I was preparing and studying for this passage this week, I was phrasing it in my head this way, saying, disciples fail sometimes. Because that's what we see happen here. They're trying to do a work that God has set before them, and yet they fail. They're unable to complete it.

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Well, we begin looking at this portion in verse 37 once again. It says, now it happened on the next day when they had come down from the mountain that a great multitude met him. Here we're getting the context for this account that we're about to dig into. It's the next day, Luke tells us. Well, the next day after what? We saw last week Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration.

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where there with Peter, James, and John, he was glorified. His glory was revealed. And there appeared with him Moses and Elijah. There was this glorious mountaintop experience that the disciples were there with the Lord in his glory.

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It was a beautiful time with the Lord, an amazing time with the Father. And we get to learn a principle we see in this account, but we also see in our own Christian experience from this, and that is that many times when there are those mountaintop glorious experiences,

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There are challenges and difficulties that face you when you go down the mountain. Because it's the next day. They head down the mountain. There's this great multitude. And there's this issue of demonic oppression that they run right into. And for you guys, a couple weeks ago we were at the men's retreat. We had a glorious time, right? And Jesus was glorified in our midst. And we got to see him work. And he was working in us. But I can...

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Pretty much assured, I'm pretty sure that most of us, as we came down the mountain, experienced the battles. There was things waiting for us back in Corona. There was things waiting for us back down the mountain. Challenges. And those commitments that we made up to the Lord up there on the mountain were challenged immediately as we came down. And we see that's the case many times.

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Now the college age group is up in the mountains on their retreat this weekend right now and they'll be heading back today. And so I would encourage you to lift them up in prayer and be praying for them because in the same way as they come down the mountain today, there's going to be temptations and challenges and difficulties and traps that the enemy would set and he would like to destroy the work that God did up there on the mountain. And for those of you guys who

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messed up, you know, you fell short in those challenges, I want to encourage you to get back up. Keep on going. Reaffirm in your heart those commitments that you made to the Lord and press on to those things which God has called you to. Well, they come down the mountain from this glorious experience and there's this great multitude that is gathered. There's a big crowd there and in the midst of the crowd is a desperate man. Look at verse 38.

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It says,

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is this man who cries out to Jesus. He doesn't care how it looks, how it sounds, what people are thinking. In the middle of the crowd, he says, Jesus, take a look at my son. Please, can you help? I beg you. My son, he's my only child. And there's this demonic force that seizes him. Can you imagine how hard it must have been for this father?

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To see his son in this condition. He says when the spirit seizes him, he suddenly cries out. So we learn here it's not a constant thing that's happening, but sometimes his son is fine. You know, they're having a good time, father and son. And then all of a sudden this demonic spirit will seize him and the son will cry out in pain, cry out in agony. And as the spirit seizes him, it causes him to convulse so much so that he begins to foam at the mouth.

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Have you ever been in a situation where someone that you love is in incredible pain, severe pain? I remember recently when we had to take Kim to the emergency room for kidney stones. And man, I've never seen anybody in so much pain.

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And I thought she was having seizures because she was shaking. And the nurse is just like, you know, whatever. But I'm like, this is terrible. It's the worst thing I've ever seen. And you feel just so helpless. As I'm sure this father looked on and he felt so helpless. His son is there in such pain and agony. It's this ongoing, constant thing. He's foaming at the mouth. At the end of the episode, he would be bruised and banged up from the effects of this disease.

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This demon coming against him. Oh, how hard would it be for this father? He's desperate, crying out to Jesus, please heal my son. Now, back in Luke chapter 8, verse 26 through 39, we studied the account of the demoniac.

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And at that time, we spent some time and talked about this idea of demon possession, the reality of it, the fact that it is real, demons are real, demons can possess people, and some of the effects of that. And we studied those things at that time. So I'm not going to get into that aspect of this account this morning, but I would encourage you to look back at that passage and

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If that's something that is. You're not familiar with. You know back in Luke chapter 8. Verse 26 through 39. The teachings are available online. Or you can check with Rob in the back. And get a copy if you need it. But the fact is. The reality is. Demons are real.

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And there is demon possession. And you and I may not see it all that often in our society and in our culture, but it is something that is very real and continues to happen throughout the world. And probably we can expect to see it more and more as we draw nearer to the return of Jesus Christ. So it is something we need to know about and be prepared for. But this man is broken. He's desperate as his son is experiencing these things.

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And he had a glimmer of hope for a moment. Look at verse 40. He says, so I employed your disciples to cast it out, but they could not. I just picture in my mind this glimmer of hope as he hears about Jesus and his disciples and the works that they do. And so he comes to them and Jesus is up on the mountain, but the other nine disciples, Peter, James, and John are with Jesus. The other nine are there amongst this multitude and he thinks, finally, finally,

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salvation for my son. He's going to be set free from this. I implored your disciples. I begged them, please, can you help my son? And he says, but they could not. And so there was this moment of hope as he comes across these disciples, but then this also hopelessness now as they tried, they attempted, they did their best, and they were unable to cast out this demon from this boy.

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Now this is really interesting that they could not cast out this demon because, well, it's the first verse of chapter 9 that we see that Jesus gives his disciples power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases. And he sends them out amongst the cities and towns, remember? And they go out and they cast out demons and they heal. They do these miracles in the name of Jesus there at the beginning part of chapter 9.

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But here it's a little bit later on. And although Jesus had given them power and authority, although they had experience with casting out demons, it wasn't like, hey, we never tried this before, but we'll, you know, we'll go for it. We'll give it a shot. No, they had experience. They'd been used by the Lord in this way before. And yet it says, but they could not. They tried and they failed. Disciples cannot always do his work.

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This was the work that Jesus had enabled them and empowered them to do. It's the work that he had called them to do. And yet they tried to do it and failed. Why is that? Why could they not cast out this demon from this boy? You know, the disciples wondered that too.

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And in the account there in Matthew chapter 17, we have the details about them wondering about this. In Matthew 17 verse 19, it says, the disciples came to Jesus privately and said to him, why could we not cast it out? Now this was all happening publicly. There's a great multitude. The disciples here are attempting to cast out the demon from this boy. I'm sure they're pretty embarrassed. So they come to Jesus privately after everybody else is gone and say,

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well, we're really embarrassed, Lord. What happened? How come we were unsuccessful? How come we failed in casting out this demon? Well, there in Matthew 17, Jesus gives them two reasons. Reasons that you and I need to pay attention to. The first one is unbelief. The second one is they were unprepared. Unbelief.

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and unprepared. In Matthew 17 20, Jesus says to the disciples, because of your unbelief. And then he goes on to say, you probably remember that time when Jesus tells his disciples about the faith as a mustard seed. And if you have faith as a mustard seed, you can tell the mountain to be removed and cast into the sea and it will do so. That's Jesus's reply to his disciples who said, how come we couldn't cast it out?

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Jesus says, because you did not believe. You were lacking in faith. It was as a result of your unbelief that you were unsuccessful. But the second part of that is you were unprepared. Because Jesus goes on to explain, Matthew 17, 21, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting. Now by saying this kind, Jesus is giving us an indication here. There's different levels of spiritual entities and spiritual battles and warfare and

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This was a very serious issue that they were facing. It was not a light matter. It was nothing to be trifled with. And Jesus said, you weren't prepared for it. You tried to engage in battle without the appropriate preparation. This kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting. I like the way that Warren Wiersbe describes it. He says, these disciples were lazy in their devotional time while Jesus was away. Jesus is up on the mountain for a couple days.

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And so he says, these disciples, they weren't as diligent in their devotional time while Jesus was gone. And so it put them in a place where they were unprepared. Now the battle was in front of them. The ministry, the work that God had called them to and empowered them and gifted them to do, they're not ready for it. They're unprepared. These are important lessons for us because they're still true today that disciples fail when they do not believe and when they are not prepared.

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We fail today. There's opportunities in front of us. Things that we've been called to. You've been called to make disciples. And yet we have opportunities many times to make disciples, to share the gospel, to reach out and minister to someone. And I'm sure you've experienced the failure in attempting to do so. But it just, it didn't work out so good. Or perhaps you

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Not even getting that far, but just not even attempting at all, even though the opportunity is there. Why is that? Why is it that disciples are not able to do what God has called us and enabled us and gifted us and empowered us to do? Because of unbelief and unpreparedness. I want to encourage you guys, be believing and trusting in God. The scripture is very clear. You and I, we're all called to the ministry.

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We're all called to make disciples. We're all given spiritual gifts where God has enabled us and equipped us to perform a vital role within his kingdom, within his body. Every believer is given a place within the body of Christ, a calling, a great opportunity to be part of his work. But we will fail at that work if we are unbelieving and unprepared. We need to trust the Lord and we need to be prayed up.

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You know, there's a real cost to ministry. It can't really be measured. It's difficult to quantify. But teaching a Bible study, sharing the gospel, praying for someone, there's a cost to it. It's a spiritual drain. I kind of picture it like Moses. Remember when he's holding the rod over the battlefield as Joshua's fighting and his arms grew weary? And as he dropped his arms, then Joshua would lose the battle.

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Then Aaron and Hur came up to lift up his arms so that he would keep his arms raised. It's that kind of thing. There's a real cost. And when we drop our arms because of unbelief or because we're unprepared, there's real results. And people are losing battles. And so we need to be prayed up. We need to be diligent in our devotional time and drawing near to the Lord and seeking Him.

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It's very easy to get lazy and to think, you know, hey, I'll get into the Word later on. I'll spend time with the Lord after this show, after this event, after this thing, later on, one day, sometime. But then around the corner, there's these battles that we weren't prepared for. And so even though we're called to it, we're gifted for it, it's not an automatic, you know, we're successful in every time. We need to be believing, trusting in God, taking steps of faith, and being diligent to prepare ourselves for

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So the first thing we see is that disciples cannot always do his work. Although we've been called to it, we don't always do it because of unbelief or unpreparedness. Now, as we continue on in verse 41 and 42, we see the second point, and that is that healing is not his greatest work. Jesus does a great work here, but he doesn't always do his work.

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But it's not his greatest work, and we'll get to that in the last part of our passage today. But let's look again at verse 41. It says, Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here. Before Jesus does this healing and restoring work, he makes this statement, which sometimes we think it's a little bit harsh or severe.

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As if Jesus is angry and frustrated and just kind of fed up, you know, like, how long do I got to put up with you fools? But you know, the things that Jesus say, they're the truth. And so although we don't like the truth a lot of times, it is the truth. He's not just trying to be mean. He's not just fed up and just lost his temper for a moment. He's calling our attention to realities that exist in that generation, but in our generation as well.

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He's addressing the generation. He says, oh, faithless and perverse generation. So he's referring to the whole generation, the people as a whole. Now amongst the crowd, there were the disciples who were unbelieving. They were unprepared. They weren't able to cast out this demon. We also know from the other accounts that there's religious leaders there arguing with the disciples and giving them a hard time. We know that there's this boy who's hurting, this father. He's addressing the whole crowd, the whole scene.

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And he says, faithless and perverse generation. It's interesting, the word faithless, it's a slight variation on the word that we've just been talking about with the disciples, unbelief. It means the same thing. It's a lack of faith. Now this is a completely accurate statement regarding the generation that Jesus is ministering to.

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This is part of the reason why they're in the predicament that they're in, why this boy is in the condition that he's in, because as a whole, the generation is unbelieving. They're not trusting God. Their hearts aren't right with the Lord. They're faithless. At the same time, this is a very accurate word to describe our generation as well, as a whole. We're faithless. We're unbelieving. This generation is not seeking after God.

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Our nation is not seeking after God. I mean, this is very accurate. Not only faithless, but perverse. Now, perverse sounds a little bit severe and harsh to us, but the word means distorted or turned aside from the right path. And again, this is a very accurate picture of that generation and this generation. That we're distorted. That our minds are twisted. That we don't see things accurately. And we've gone off the right path. We're not

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Where God wants us to be. And we don't see things the way that God sees them. That was that generation. That is this generation. Faithless and perverse or distorted. Now here's the good news. 2 Timothy 2.13 tells us, if we are faithless, he remains faithful. So even when we're unbelieving, he is still faithful. And that's what we see happening in verse 42.

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It says, and as he was still coming, that is the boy, the demon threw him down and convulsed him. Then Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father. So he says to the crowd, you guys are lacking in faith and you're distorted. You're not on the right track. Your perspective is incorrect. Bring your son to me. I'll do a work. Now this demon is

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Gives it one more shot. And he begins to convulse the boy and sees him once again. Jesus shows that he is Lord. He rebukes the demon and says that he heals the child and gives him back to his father. He heals him and restores him. Now, this is such a beautiful picture, not only of, you know, what Jesus did with that boy and his father, but of Jesus's work as a whole. If you just want to summarize the work of Christ, this is what he does. He rebukes the enemy.

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He heals the individual and He restores the individual to the Father. This is the work of God. This is the work that Jesus came to do and continues to do. He defeats the enemy, heals the individual, and restores us in a right relationship with our Heavenly Father. And so that's what Jesus does with this child. He heals him. The Father takes him to Jesus and He's healed and restored.

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You know, people will continue to mess up and fail. You and I, we've been gifted by God and called by God to minister to one another. And yet at the same time, there's going to be those occasions where we don't fulfill the ministry that God's given to us. But the good news is, even when we fail each other, you can still go directly to Jesus. And even when we're faithless, He is faithful.

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He is able to work powerfully. I think it's a good lesson for you parents. Take your kids to Jesus. You know, you sought the disciples. You asked this person, you asked that person. It's not working. Your kid's still a mess. So you sought Dr. Phil. Your kid's still a mess. You read the books. Your kid's still a mess. Listen, take him to Jesus. Seriously, take him to Jesus. Teach him how to walk with the Lord. Teach him to hear the Lord's voice. Teach him to know Him.

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Because he can do the healing and restoration work that no one else can. And so Jesus does this great work. He demonstrates he's able to work powerfully. He heals and restores when no one else can. But as we continue to look at this passage, this still is not his greatest work. It's part of his work. It's part of what he came to do. But it's not his greatest work. His greatest work we see here.

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As we go on in the next couple of verses, verse 43 through 45, his greatest work is yet to be accomplished. But when it is accomplished, Jesus says it will be accomplished through betrayal. His greatest work will be through betrayal. This is a little bit difficult for us.

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We don't understand God's plan. You know why? Because we're faithless and perverted. So let's check it out. Verse 43. It says,

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I mean, what we've seen thus far is pretty incredible. And as we picture ourselves in this scene and we understand what this father was going through with his son, it was an incredible work. And he must have been just beyond words to express with joy. But it's not Jesus' greatest work. It wasn't the most important part of this passage. How do we know that? Well, because when he does this work, it says that everyone's amazed at the majesty of God.

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And they're all marveling at the things which Jesus did. So there's this kind of celebration going on. This, whoa, can you believe it? Look at what God's done. Oh, this is so amazing. That's what the crowd's doing. But while the crowd's kind of celebrating and rejoicing, Jesus pulls his disciples inside and says, hey guys, while they're rejoicing and celebrating, let these words sing down into your ears. I need you to know there's something more important. There's something bigger than this.

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He says, "...the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men." He tells his disciples, "...I know this is exciting, but don't get confused about why I'm here." Because Jesus didn't come to be popular, to get excited crowds. He wasn't here to set up an earthly kingdom, which he could have done. But that's not what he came to do. He came to accomplish something bigger, something greater.

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But he would be accomplishing that through something you and I would not expect if we didn't know the story. It would be through betrayal. He was going to be betrayed. The disciples had a hard time with this. Look at verse 45. It says, but they did not understand this saying. And it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it. And they were afraid to ask him about this saying. So the crowd's celebrating. Jesus says, hey guys, come here, come here.

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Let this sink down into your ears. I'm going to be betrayed. And the disciples are thinking, what is he talking about? I don't get it. I don't understand it. They did not understand. And that is a reality that you and I are familiar with today as well, isn't it? We don't always understand what God's doing. We don't understand. What is he talking about? I mean, there's this amazing work of healing, but Jesus is telling his disciples,

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That's not the most important thing. This isn't my greatest work. What was Jesus' greatest work? It wasn't walking on water. It wasn't turning water into wine, although people really like that miracle sometimes. It wasn't restoring sight to the blind or casting out demons. His greatest work, of course, was the cross.

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Where he took your place and my place. Where he received the penalty for your sin and my sin. Where you and I, at one time, we were destined, we were deserving of judgment from God. Eternal, complete, permanent judgment absent from the presence of God. But Jesus reversed all of that and gave you and I the opportunity, the hope of eternal life.

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That we could be forgiven. That we could be restored to the Father and have that future, that hope of eternity with Him. That was Jesus' greatest work. Lord, help us to get it through our thick heads. That's His greatest work. We have to be reminded of that because like the disciples, we get confused. And we look around at the things that we have, the things that we've been blessed with,

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the people in our lives. And we think, this is the greatest work that God's done. He gave me the house that I always wanted. I got the job I was looking for. It's so great how God's working in my life. And it's amazing how we forget about the cross as we look around at this life and the blessings that he bestows upon us. His greatest work was the cross. And he accomplished this greatest work through a means that you and I would not expect.

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Because as Isaiah 55 tells us, God's ways are not our ways. Right? It says as the heavens are higher above the earth, that's how far above his ways are than our ways. They're completely different, his ways and our ways. But we forget. We forget about the cross. Jesus accomplished victory through defeat. It's not the way that we would do it. It's not the way that we would plan it. But it is the way that God has done it. We do not understand victory.

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And you know why we don't understand? Because we're faithless and distorted. Our view is skewed. We don't see clearly. And we get confused. And we forget the cross. Think about it this way. These two elements mentioned here in this passage. If you were to get the option, which would you want to partake of? Healing a demon-possessed boy or being betrayed? Which one would you choose? Of course, we'd all choose the healing, right?

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Yeah, sign me up for that one now. Betrayal? Save that for Pastor Dion. He needs that. I'll take the healing. Let me heal somebody. Why? Why would we choose that? Because we're faithless and distorted. You see, our minds are backwards. We don't see things the way that God sees them. And so Jesus says, let this sink down into your ears. There's something about that phrase. I don't know what it is, but I could say it all day long.

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Let it sink down into your ears. Let's get it through our thick skulls. We need to grasp hold of this truth. The way that God works is not the way that we would work. And so the result is, in reality, suffering is more important than miracles if it's God's will. Suffering in the will of God is far greater than miraculous works. You know, the Apostle Paul had to learn this lesson.

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Remember there in 2 Corinthians chapter 12, as he talks about, he had this thorn in the flesh and it was hurtful, it was painful, it was agonizing, it was irritating. And he cried out to the Lord, Lord, take this from me. And remember the Lord's response. He said, my grace is sufficient for you. My strength is made perfect in weakness. God was teaching Paul a lesson. Suffering is more important than healing in the will of God.

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And so Paul concluded in 2 Corinthians 12.10, Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. So we learn the lesson. Oh Lord, you use suffering, you use brokenness, you use my weakness to show your strength, to accomplish your work. It was a 180 turn of his understanding.

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We think, Lord, take it away because then I'll be able to serve you better. God says, no, you'll serve me better when you're broken. You'll serve me better when you're humbled. And so he says, I take pleasure in infirmities. You and I, we don't normally take pleasure in infirmities. You know why? Because we're faithless and perverted. That's the truth. That's the reality. I know that's not a pleasant thing, right? You're feeling like, whew, I feel so great right now, right? No. I know. But it's the truth. It's the reality. It's the reality.

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Listen, God can do much more through your brokenness than he can through miracles. Let this sink down into your ears. You know, we would present it to the Lord, our thoughts, our ways this way, right? God, I've got a great idea. I mean, this is brilliant. You're going to love it. Why don't you use me as an example of blessing and abundance and wealth? And everybody will just see how blessed I am and they'll come and I can tell them about you.

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It's a great idea, God. You should really do that. You know, some people go on the mission field to Africa. Lord, send me to high society, man. Give me a Lamborghini. I'll go minister to those rich people, right? As if, you know, we want God to attract people to himself through covetousness. That's not the way God works. He's not trying to attract people and say, look, you can be so wealthy. You can have so much in this world, in this life, if you just come to me. No, that's backwards. But that's the way that we would do it.

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If we had our way. Because we're faithless and distorted. We've got things backwards. We need to let it sink down into our ears. That God desires to use brokenness. Difficulty. Suffering. To accomplish his greatest works. Think about Joseph. Remember Joseph there in the book of Genesis? God used Joseph in a mighty way. To save his family. And preserve the entire Hebrew nation. How did he do it? Well Joseph was mocked. Rejected.

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Now it tells us there that the disciples did not understand that

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But there at the end of verse 45 it says, and they were afraid to ask him about this saying. I like that because I can relate to that really well. Because honestly, I'm a little bit afraid to ask too. What does that mean for me? You use betrayal and suffering and difficulty to accomplish great works. What does that mean for me? Never mind, I don't want to know. We're afraid to ask. You know, you pray for God to work within your family. I'm sure that you do. You have those loved ones.

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And you pray, Lord, please reach them. Please let me make an impact in them. And we figure as we're making that prayer, we pray, Lord, do this. And we're thinking, you're going to be using me to do some miracles. You're going to be having me preach or share the scriptures and do a Bible study. You're going to do something great. But what if the best way for God to reach your family is through your suffering? Would you still be like Isaiah and say, here I am, Lord, send me?

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Oh yeah, send me to, you know, stand up and preach. Send me to work some miracles. But what if the best way is for you to be broken, humbled, and in your weakness, he's made strong. God can do his work through disease, through financial bankruptcy, through terrible disaster. That's when he does his greatest work. And so we're praying for God to work, but a lot of times it's distorted.

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And we're thinking, hey, I'm available, God. If you want to bless somebody and do something, you know, pour out lots of wealth and work some miracles, I'm in. We're praying to be a witness. We think God's going to bring people. We're going to build relationships, you know. Start a Bible study. Start a church. It's going to be amazing. But it might be in rejection and betrayal and being cast out that God will do the work.

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that he desires to do. Let this sink down into your ears. Lord, help us to get it into our minds, into our hearts. Help us to grasp hold of this truth. Jesus said in Luke chapter 6, verse 22, he says, "'Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you, and cast out your name as evil for the son of man's sake. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy.'"

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For indeed, your reward is great in heaven. For in like manner their fathers did for the prophets. Does that accurately describe our life? People hate you because of Jesus and they exclude you. And you go, woo! Yeah! It's awesome. No. People hate us and exclude us. And we go, oh man, life's so terrible. You've got to pray for me, man. I've worked so hard. Why? Because we're faithless and distorted, guys. That's the point. We see it backwards.

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Listen to what Peter says in 1 Peter 4.19. He says, therefore, let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to him in doing good as to a faithful creator. He says, look, if you're suffering according to the will of God. Now, if you're just, you know, in rebellion, seeking after sin, you know, making people angry. Well, that's a whole different kind of suffering. That's not what we're talking about. But you're seeking the Lord and you're suffering.

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You're doing what God puts upon your heart and you're suffering. You're suffering according to the will of God. He says, let them commit their souls to Him in doing good. Commit yourself. That's the faith part. Trust yourself to the Lord. He knows where you're at. He knows what you're going through. He knows how much it hurts. He knows how difficult it is. And He says, great. My strength is made perfect in your weakness.

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Commit yourself to him. Trust him to work all things together for good to those who love him and are called according to his purpose, just as he promised. Trust him. Commit yourself to him as to a faithful creator, Peter says. We need to readjust our sight so we're not distorted any longer.

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And recognize that the troubles that we face, the things that we go through, are not because God's trying to get rid of us or He's angry with us, He's trying to punish us. No, He is seeking to do a far greater work than He could do through blessings and prosperity and no problems in our life. He can reach people far greater, minister to people much better through our brokenness, through our weakness, through our suffering. Let it sink down into your ears, Jesus says.

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I'm going to be betrayed. The greatest work is yet to come. Now, this thought here as we conclude is incredibly appropriate and timely for us to consider as we head into communion together. Ushers, you can go ahead and get ready. The worship team, you can make ready. As we prepare our hearts now for a time of communion together,

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I would ask you, let this sink down into your ears, that Jesus' greatest work was upon the cross. It was his greatest work previously, right now, and for all of eternity. He's not going to do a greater work. His greatest work was at the cross. That's where he accomplished victory.

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This work that he accomplished there at the cross is so great that hypothetically, this isn't the case, but hypothetically, if he did nothing else for you and you never had another blessing from him, he never did anything else good and you lived in the sewer eating sewer food and drinking sewer water. His work is so great we would still have reason to praise and worship him because this life is temporary and the work that he has accomplished is for all of eternity. His greatest work

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on the cross. It's amazing how we forget that. And we look around at our lives. We look at our house. We look at our car. We look at our family. Whatever. And we think that's the greatest work. But then when we lose those things, it's like God has abandoned us. Because our faith was in the wrong thing. We're faithless. Distorted. And so this is an opportunity this morning to readjust our hearts.

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To have a clear perspective, not a distorted perspective. An accurate understanding to grasp hold of the truth that what Christ did for us upon the cross is the greatest work He could ever do. Far greater than even you and I can understand. He did not give us elements or an institution to remind us of how He walked on water. He didn't give us something to remember the fact that He cast out demons. But He did give us something to remember.

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That he died upon the cross for us. And he called us to do it often. To remember, to reflect. Why? Because this is the most important thing. He gave us the bread which represents his body which was broken for us. That we could be set free from the bondage to sin and death. That those chains were broken as his body was broken. And then his blood was shed. He gave us the cup to remind us of that. For the remission of sins. That we could be washed clean.

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that we could be clean, that we could stand before God as if we had never sinned by faith in Jesus Christ. This is His greatest work. Let's not take it for granted. Let's not forget. Let's grasp hold of the reality. Amen? We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.