Christ's Thoughts at the Time of the End

A penny for your thoughts. Have you ever heard that? When bad things are happening around us, how do we handle our thoughts? Particularly, for instance, as we're now approaching the time of the end. And, you know, there's an interesting scripture about the time of the end, which is in Matthew 24, Matthew 24 verse 7, and it says, for national rise against nation, and brethren, you just have to watch the news. And nations are starting to get edgy one against another. How are we going to have the G7 meeting, I think, this coming week or something like that?

Well, for the first time, G7 meeting this coming week, the G7 people have agreed that at the end of it, they will not sign. They will all comply to whatever is going to be said.

The first time, they're going to say, well, we're not going to sign. So you can see it's rubblings. So things, as you watch these things, what sort of thoughts do you and I have in our minds? Then continue reading in verse 7, in kingdom against kingdom, pestilences. That's diseases. I mean, you hear about Ebola virus, you hear about this, and then you've got Zika, and then that, and then it comes and then goes, and something else comes and crops up, and illnesses. And then earthquakes. Now, the word earthquakes is actually very interesting because the word earthquakes in Greekia is the word called seismos.

It's actually used, that word, same word, is used in Matthew 8, 24. In Matthew 8, 24, it's talking about Christ is in a boat and the disciples in a boat, and there's a big tempest, bad weather, which the Bible calls it seismos, the same word, bad weather, and Christ is fast asleep, quite comfortably, waking up and says, hey, you know, we're gonna sink.

But it's the same word that is translated as earthquakes. So, reading in context, it could also mean any things that affect bad weather. So, think of it as agitations in the weather. Today we call that climate change. Or it could be earthquakes, it could be tornadoes, it could be all these things, shakings, whether of the earth or of the wind or whatever it is, all these things. So brethren, things are changing. For instance, I don't know if you knew, but this past week, at 3 p.m. in afternoon in Sao Paulo, now Sao Paulo is the biggest city in Brazil, with over 20 million inhabitants. Sao Paulo alone has got more people than the whole Portugal. In fact, it's got twice the population of Portugal, which is only 10 million.

So, Sao Paulo alone is twice in population the size of Portugal. At 3 p.m. in Sao Paulo, it was peach-dark night. The street lights had to come on, everything, the cars, it was peach-dark. And people in Brazil are saying, well, God is giving us a warning sign. Well, whatever. But the point is, they are burning a lot of the Amazon now, and it created a big cloud that was so thick that it blew over there, and it became peach-black. That smoke covered so much that they could not... it was like night. It was interesting.

Kathy and I were leaving Luanda towards the airport, and the sun was up in the sky. And I said to Kathy, I can't believe. We can look into the sun. The sun was up in the sky. We could look into the sun. Perfect! Because it was Saint Mac and whatever it is, that you could look at the sun without a problem. It was just kind of... think of it like a full moon. Okay, it still gave light. It was still daylight.

But it could look at the sun. The Reverend, we live in times... it's not just in the U.S.A. where things are happening. It's around the world. It's around the world. Where there's tornadoes. I mean, a couple of maybe months ago, we heard there was a big fire in Siberia, in areas where I was thinking, in my mind, Siberia is like, quote-unquote, not east, but in my mind, it's like the North Pole, you know what I mean? And there's a big fires of areas which were huge areas.

I say, what? And we see the conflicts in the Middle East. We've got that report that we get every week about different news. And we've seen of recently, because like two weeks ago was the anniversary, or yeah, the annual anniversary of the destruction of the temple in the Hebrew calendar is the ninth or the sixth thing to be corrected of that month. And we see now certain pressures there, because some being perceived by some people that some Jews are going into that area, and polluting according to certain different religious groups, they're polluting that that mosque there and things like that.

So you see these things are building up. We see trade wars building up. I remember the days of Mr. Armstrong used to say, the next thing that you're going to see is trade wars. Well, it took 40 years, but now it looks like we had a hiatus or a kind of a gap, but things are building up. So when we see all these things, what are our thoughts? Do we have fear? Do we have trepidation?

Some people get very depressed. Others have anxiety. Now, so what are our thoughts as we approach the time of the end, or may put it another way, what are our thoughts? What are our thoughts when you and I go through a trial? It could be health, could be whatever it is, which is kind of you see you're not being healed and you start having certain questions in your mind. And you know time is short. Maybe not just time is short, Christ's coming, but time is short, maybe in our lives, because you see you got this deadly disease and you're just getting worse and worse. So today, brethren, I want to draw a lesson from Christ's example, because because Christ, on that last day that he was betrayed and he died, he said certain things.

And you know, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. So that is kind of an indication or a possible indication of what was in Christ's mind and what were his thoughts on his last day. Understand, as we're looking to Philippians chapter 2, Philippians chapter 2, verse 5 through 9, Philippians chapter 2, verse 5 through 9, it says to us, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. So, if we are told to have Christ's mind, it really is good for us to try and understand a little deeper about what possibly Christ could be thinking on that last day of his human life before he died. So, understand that he says he was in the form of God. Do not consider the robbery or identity theft to be said that it is equal to God, but he emptied himself, made of no reputation, becoming a human being, and he humbled himself even more. He eyes the mental attitude of humility to actually die on the cross. But what sort of thoughts would he have in his mind? Number one, that in beautiful thousands of years that he had to do this, maybe even more than thousands. But the moment had come that now this was like the day the hour. What could have gone through his mind? Imagine you and I are going through a stressful situation and you and I know this is it. It's the last few hours. What could be going through your thoughts? And so, we want to consider Christ's thoughts by looking at three specific sort of events that happened on that last day of Christ's life.

And then I leave it to you to think about how you can apply it yourself. And the first one is that I call it the final prayer, but it was not really his final prayer, but I call it the final prayer that he gave in front of his disciples after the foot washing, after he speaking to them on that evening after the Passover. And then he concluded that Passover ceremony, let's call it that, with a prayer. And then he concluded that Passover ceremony, that prayer is basically one chapter in the book of John, which is John 17. So let's go to John 17 and in John 17, because there we see Christ's prayer. And brethren, I think that when we pray, we are actually laying out our thoughts before God. That's how I see it. When I'm praying, I am laying out my deeper feelings and emotions before God. I mean, sometimes we don't have words to explain when we pray. We just say, God help me to pray because I don't have words. But in John 17, we can see our Christ from the first few verses. He's basically from verse 1 through 5. He says, Father, you sent me and I have fulfilled what you asked me to do. It's like saying, you sent me to do a job and for these three and a half years, mission accomplished. That's what he said. I've done what you asked me to do. Mission accomplished. Full fold. And then he says, therefore, give me the glory that I had with you. It was restore me to the place I was with you before all this. And that's what we see today. He's sitting at the right hand of Christ. That's what he says. He had it before he came, before he emptied himself. So imagine what his thoughts could have been. But consider the spread. And what is the spread all about?

His prayer is a prayer for us, not for him. You see, he knows that in the next couple of hours, he's going to be betrayed and he then is going to be crucified. He knows all this. Do you know what his prayer in front of the disciples is? About us. He's praying for us. And that just shows the type of mind in the most approaching, the most difficult trial of his life. Put it another way. That he had to give his own life for it. That is just the grace and the love of God towards us, his love towards us. His thoughts were on us. And he says, look at verse 6. I have manifested your name to the man whom you've given me out of the world, that they may be yours. And you gave them to me and they have kept your word. His thoughts are on us as his disciples. And look at verse 11. Now I am no longer in the world. Well, technically you were still in the world for a couple of more hours. And yes, after that, after you'll be dead for three days and three nights, then yeah, you would not be in the world. But you were basically saying, look, for all practical purposes, I'm no more in the world. He knew that this isn't. It's finished now. I'm no more. But these are in the world. It was us. We're still in the society.

And I come to you. He knows my job is finished. I'm going back.

Holy Father, keep through your name those whom you have given me, that they may be one as we are.

It's basically saying, keep them in your name. Do you know what that means? It means keep them safe in your name. Protect them in your, in your boat, in your family. They're yours. Protect them. Keep them safe. And how? Through unity. That we, as brethren, may be one as Jesus Christ and the Father are one. Now, we, for us to be one, does not mean that you and I cease to be individuals, and now suddenly we're just one person. But we're still individuals. So that unity is a unity of thought and a unity of doing things that we may work together in unity. That's what it is. So keep them united. That's what it means. Like you, God, the Father, and I, the Son of God, we are one. We are united. We are one. Just in a sense, think of it, like husband and wife are supposed to be one flesh. They're supposed to be one, not one being, but one in unity working together. Look a bit further in verse 15. It says, I do not pray that you should take them out of the world. I'm not praying that, yeah, they're going to be isolated, they're going to be hermits, and they're going to be whatever. No, because there are big important lessons that we're going to learn to be in the world. But that you should keep them from the evil one, that you may protect them, guard them from the evil one, which is Satan. Brethren, Satan hates us.

Satan habores you and I. But for God's grace and protection, you and I would have been extinct the moment we committed to follow God. God is protecting us. And therefore, he has very limited... Look, Satan has a lot of power, but God has limited his influence to one, basically, of deception. That's really what he is, is the great deceiver of deception. So how does he deceive you and I and mankind?

You know, we are told, be careful, Satan, because it's like a roaring lion seeking who made the vow. But it's fascinating to have lived in Africa and watched a lion hunt. And you've got a group of bucks. What is the lion doing? He's watching it carefully. And what he wants is to create or look for an opportunity that there is a split or a division of a buck or a deer or whatever it is from the flock. Satan's tactic is divide and conquer. That is Satan's tactic, divide and conquer. I then add an extra word to it. I quite often say, divide, conquer and destroy. Because that's his ultimate goal. Not just divide and conquer, but to destroy.

So what causes division? Now think about it. Division is the opposite of unity. And that's exactly what Christ was praying at the last moment, that you may be one. In other words, that you and I stay one because Satan wants to split us.

Now let me ask you a question. What causes division? What causes separation? What causes divorce? Yes.

In the Church and amongst people and in a family relationship, there's basically two things. Two things that cause division. In the Church, number one, is doctrinal differences. Doctrine, teaching. And two, how we treat one another. In other words, how we say it when there are those differences. It's basically two differences. Two reasons of division in the Church. Doctrine and how people are treated. Rightfully or wrongfully? Perception. Now, what causes division between people? Say for instance, people. What causes division to them? Differences of opinion or value statements. I've got a difference of opinion. I see it this way and you see it that way. I see these differences, just like in the Church's differences of doctrine. Yeah, it's differences of opinion. And how we handle, how we answer, how we say when there are these differences of opinion. What causes divorce and troubles in marriage? Differences of opinion. For instance, child rearing, how do we use the money, whatever. Differences of opinion about specific instances. And how we handle these differences. Can you see the commonality? Whether it's in the Church, whether it's different people, whether it's in in marriage, there's a commonality. It's two things. Differences of opinion, differences. And how we handle those differences. That's what it is.

Because of these differences, what people do. Once these differences are magnified, because we kind of get emotional and we say it a little bit stronger, and then the other one says a bit stronger, and then the other one says a bit stronger, and it gets, and it's an atomic explosion, and you have a divorce.

And then what you have? You've got separation. You've got divorce. Now once you have that separation, it will never be the same. It will never be the same.

People may come afterwards and say, oh well, I can't understand why you separated him, but you have to go back to what I call the Genesis.

You've got to understand why is this separation. You've got to go back to the Genesis, what caused this separation. What were the differences of opinion, right or wrong, correct or purely perceptions? This is where Satan plays his master stroke. He takes these differences of opinion and kind of like puts extra little fire into it, puts extra gas into the fire, and yeah, yeah, yeah, look at what he said, oh look at what she said, oh look at what is, oh no, you know, he's the accuser of the brethren, right? That's it, look at us, and this thing gets bigger and bigger and explodes.

What was Christ's prey at the time, just before he died? That unity, unity for us to be one. You know, brethren, you and I have a model prey. You have, how many times have you said, our father, heart, you never, we've got a model prey. Let's look at that model prey, which is in Matthew chapter 6. Matthew chapter 6. And you know that, and I want to concentrate just on one verse, but let me just go to it, you know, starting in verse 9, and you know, it's a model prey. It's like an outline for us to, when we pray, obviously we're not going to pray repetition. No, Christ says, don't give repetitious prey. So, but you have this outline when you pray. But then we get to verse 13, and we get to a concluding statement that sometimes we really don't get it. Maybe we do, but sometimes we don't. And he says, do not lead us into temptation. Why are that? People says, how can God lead us into temptation?

But then he says, deliver us from the evil one. Can we think about this and put them together in a clear, logical sense? In the Dabi translation, a Dabi is, you probably, most of you don't know what Dabi is, but Dabi is like a literal translation, very literal kind of word for word, very literal. In the Dabi translation says, lead us not into temptation. Think about that. Lead us not into temptation.

Subtle difference, very important difference. Instead of, do not lead us into temptation, it says, lead us. So God leads us with not into temptation, but the other way. What leads us into temptation? Our own carnal mind, our own carnal fleshly sense. That's what leading us into temptation. And we are praying God, lead us not that way. Because Satan, the enemy, the evil one, is pushing us that way. Not only is our carnal mind going that way, but the evil one wants us to go the that way. And that's why it says, deliver us from the evil one.

There's some paraphrased versions of the Bible that are not encouraged. But sometimes they put something in in a way that is kind of, oh, that's interesting. One of them is a version that paraphrases, usually the problem of paraphrases, is that the writer has his own mindset of what, for instance, a certain doctrine is. So in his paraphrase, he's going to convey his mindset. And a lot of the biblical paraphrases is because, I'm not saying these people are trying to deceive you. I say that in their good cautious, because they come from a different paradigm and mindset than what they believe. They're trying to put it in a simple language for you to understand. But one such is called the message. But they translate the or they paraphrase the statement in an interesting way. It says, keep us safe from ourselves.

Keep us safe from ourselves. Remember when I said earlier on, when Christ is saying, keep us in God's name, protect us from the evil one. Basically saying the same thing as in this model prayer. Keep us safe from our own carnal mind and weakness and flaws. And you know brethren, when I look back at my life, God has kept me safe from myself many times. And I thank God. And I don't mean just in words. I mean, I've done some silly things that God pulled me out of it. I mean, one of them. I was in the city I was born. I was in a beach. There was nobody in that beach. And it forced miles. It was low tide. And you couldn't walk for miles. And there was an island on the other side. And I walked and I walked and I walked for about an hour. And the water was still at the island. And I wanted to get to the island. And you know, this is a shock infested. And I walked and I walked for about an hour. I'm going to walk. I'm going to walk. And I looked and just jumped from Yaponawat. And the water became too dry.

And for some reason, God is mercy. Say, George, look back at where you came from. So I looked back where I came from. And land was nearer than the island.

And I said, you're mad. Walk back. And as I walked back, for a whole half an hour walking back, the water stayed like this. Why? Because the tide was coming up.

And I can hardly swim. I'm a bad swimmer. I would have been dead. And you know what? Nobody knew I had gone to the beach. There was nobody in the beach. There was nobody. They would have never found me. A shark would have had an appetite and I would be gone.

Keep us safe from ourselves.

That's what God does for us. So God has, I mean, I've had situations where I could have been in a car accident. And I don't know how. I was with my daughter once and there was a huge beam, beam of a truck in front of us that just came out of a beam about this side and start bouncing in front of our car. We could not get away. This is nothing you can do. And you know what? That beam would have gone straight. We were going like at about 60 miles or whatever it is. It was a highway and this beam was coming towards us. And just as it bounced in front of us, it turned and hit the bonnet of the front of the car, hit the top of the, and hit the back. And my daughter and I, we looked at ourselves and said, thank God that was a miracle. I don't know how. Because we were about being dead. God keep us safe from ourselves or from other people that do things because maybe they then wrapped the beams properly and whatever it is. I can remember another situation I was driving and I was going with the salesman, the company I was working for, we were going on a country road and the guy in front of us, the boat came loose and the boat bounced in front of us and bounced over our car. The guy said, this guy said to me, I know you're a Christian because this would have not happened otherwise. You know, God, and I've got many other situations, God protects us and we've got to give God thanks. But the question is, do we really trust God? Because when it says yeah in verse 13 says, for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory. In other words, you, God, have the power to intervene for us and He does.

If it wasn't for that, you and I, we all would have been dead because Satan hates us.

Are we aware of Satan's devices? I mean, you read in 2 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 11, are we aware of Satan's devices? But you know you need to read that in context. Because when you read in context, you got to go back to 1 Corinthians. There was a man that was having illicit sexual relationships with his father's wife. And then Paul says, hey, get that person out of church. But in a loving kind way, but hey, you got to confront. You can't sweep the problem underneath the carpet and give it to somebody else. You got to address it. And then later on, he repented. So we get into 2 Corinthians and he says, we ought to forgive and let that person back in church. And then he says, because if we don't, you're going to cause a lot of sadness to that person. So it's how we treat people in situations. And then he says, we are not ignorant of Satan's devices. You see, when we don't forgive, and this whole model of prayer is about forgiving, we got to, if we start holding bitterness, and therefore when there are these differences of opinion and things like that, we got to be careful how we handle it. And if we don't forgive, we allow a little bitterness to grow in us and gets bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger and Satan keeps reminding you, oh, he said this, oh, she said that, that, that, that, that, and the thing explodes.

Brethren, you have children, and you don't want to see your children fighting and bickering. Do you? Do you want to see your children going around and around? You, as a dad or as a mom, you're going to say, come on, guys, make peace, you know what, don't you? That's what Christ was saying, praying for unity, make peace. And God is our dad, our Heavenly Father. He wants peace. So he wants us, through the power of his spirit, to work in peace. And therefore, Christ, in John 17, later on, in keeps emphasizing that point, and from, for instance, verse 20 to verse 23, you can read that in your own time, he then shows how he wants us to be united. So the first lesson we gather from Christ's thoughts in a trying time is that he was concerned for others, not for himself. Now, whether you and I are going through a trying, difficult time, it's so easy to only think about me, myself, and me. But Christ was putting other thoughts into his mind, and that is very enlightening. So the point number one is when Christ was confronted with his biggest trial in his life, he showed concerns for others and prayed that we would do our part with God's Holy Spirit so that there would be unity. Are we learning from that? Now, let's look at the second example, and that's actually another prayer, because as he walked out of there, you know, then he walked into the garden of Gethsemane, and then he went to pray privately, and he left most of the disciples except for three. Look at Matthew 26. Matthew 26 verse 36. Matthew 26 verse 36.

And then he says, Yah. Then Christ went into a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, Such Yah, while I go and pray over there. But he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, you know, James and John, and he began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.

Brethren, you know, this was like seconds, you know, okay, the prayer three times, you know this, but literally it was just seconds before he was betrayed by Jesus. You know that. So he knew, this is it. This is it. So he's now going through a situation that is extremely difficult emotionally. I mean, you can imagine his emotions, his feelings, and he said, Oh, my father, if it is possible, let the scap pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. Imagine you, you for instance, have a serious disease, and you know you've got just a few hours of life. The disease had reached, and you say, God, please heal me. But you know that it might not heal you. But he says, not my world, you will. Now imagine that at that moment, God had provided a situation that Christ would have not died, and he wouldn't have had to go through that.

Is it because that's thinking at this level, like a human level, like you have a health issue, and there's a big crisis there. And he says, well, imagine that had happened. What would it have been of your salvation, my salvation? You and I were not at a savior.

So God's mind is not thinking at this level, he's thinking at that level. And you and I sometimes cannot comprehend or understand why you and I are going, or some of our relatives or friends or whatever it is, are going through a huge health trial or whatever trial it may be. We don't get it because we're thinking at this level. You and I need to think at that level, says, not my world, but your world, Father. Maybe we don't get it. And maybe we'll never get it in this age. We'll never understand why in this age. But you know what? In the world tomorrow, you'll understand it. When you resurrect it and you see the results of that, you will get it. But maybe now you don't.

So then, you know, he's the disciples. When are we the disciples? And what are they doing? Those three. You know, Peter, James and John. Well, they are laughing at good snooze. Oh, good snooze! And then he said, he said, he came to his disciples, found him sleeping. Verse 40. He said, what? Could you not watch with me for one hour? Brethren, this is written for us as a lesson. As a lesson.

Brethren, we need to pray for events around us. As we see these events around us, maybe the wall is falling apart. We are now at the time of the end. We can see what's going to happen to us, what's going to happen to our children, what's going to happen to our loved ones. And remember, it's going to get much worse. Really, I've got to be straight. It's going to get much worse. Our faith is going to be tested to the extreme. Christ's faith was tested to the extreme. But you know, you look at scriptures like Revelation 14, 12, where it says, this is the patience of the saints.

Those that keep the commandments and the faith of Jesus. Yeah, these things are going to get worse, yeah, these things are going to get worse. Because in that context, talking about the beast power and all that, and then those people that follow the beast and the mark, etc., are going to be judged. Why? You and I have to have faith there's going to be a judgment. This will get sorted out. Unfortunately, we have to go through it. Because God's not thinking at this level, He's thinking at that level. So we learn from Christ's thoughts. So in this specific example, we have to learn to persevere, to be patient. Because there's going to be a judgment, and God will sort it all out in due time.

And whenever you and I are tempted beyond our limits, you and I have to have absolute faith, like Christ had, that He can leave it, and we can leave it in God's good hands. That I will be done, not my will. And then later, in the next day, so those are two examples I have. The first one was when He was praying to the disciples and said, let him be united, be one. Important because Satan was a creative vision. The other one is when the trial gets heavy, it's easy to say, why isn't God intervening?

But we have to get down to the point that He says, let your will be done, not my will. We've got to accept that. And thirdly, this is the time He was at the cross. You know, at the time I was at the cross, we have recorded seven statements that Christ gave while He was at the cross. Now think about it. He was just about dying. He was undergoing excruciating pain. The word excruciating comes from being a cross, cruse, extremely cross pain. You know, that's, there's so painful that a word like excruciating came out of it. So, He was going through this. And let's look at those seven statements and draw a lesson from that. What He was thinking about. The first one is in Luke 23. Luke 23.

Luke 23 verse 34. Luke 23 verse 34.

Luke 23 verse 34. He says, Father forgive them, for they do not know what they do. You know, the very first thing is forgiveness. When you and I are going through a difficult trial, are we prepared to let go and forgive? And that is so true. That's so basic. Although it's not the point that I want to focus in, but when you and I are going through a trial, we just have to forgive. I mentioned that earlier on, you know, to have unity, you've got to forgive. His second statement is just a few verses later in verse 43. And in verse 43 he says, He says, Yeah, as surely I say to you today, you will be with me in paradise. So you know the situation about where to put the emphasis and the comma, and I read it to you by putting the comma in the right place. I say to you today, you will be with me in paradise. Obviously, you wouldn't be in paradise the same day with Christ, because Christ was going to die, and going to be in the grave for three and a half days. So it was not that. But Christ was telling him at that moment that that person would be in the second resurrection with Christ. So that's fine. So he in this case is showing compassion to other people that are suffering, going through a trying time. He is showing compassion to others, fully understanding God's plan, and be able to show compassion, be able to give to others. So that also shows the sort of mind he has. But again, still not the point that I want to focus on. The third one is in John 19 verse 26. John 19 verse 26.

And then he says, when Jesus therefore saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved, standing by, and there was John. Because John wasn't right. He saw his mother and he saw me. He just wrote, the mother and the disciple. He loved, stand by. He said to his mom, to his mother, woman, there's your son. And then he spoke to John, to his disciple, behold your mother. And from that hour on, that disciple, that's John, took care of her. So now you can see he is caring for his loved ones. Again, that outgoing concern for others. You see, under an extreme stress, Christ was thinking of others.

But now, I want to really focus on the next three statements. So remember, I said there's seven, so I've covered so far, three. So the next three statements, and this is the lesson I want to draw out, which is explaining these three statements. The next statements, and it's described in John, I beg your pardon, in Matthew 27 verse 46. Matthew 27 verse 46. So let's get down to it. Matthew 27 verse 46. And it also appears in Mark 15.34. But we're just going to read it in Matthew 27 verse 46. And it says, and about the ninth hour, that is about three o'clock in the afternoon, so he was just about to die, because we know he died about the ninth hour, about 3 p.m. Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthami.

Which means, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Now, yeah, we have a time of deep seated emotion.

And this, look at what he said. Now, what was he saying? Well, there's a lot of debates. Well, you know, the father was forsaking, turning his back on him. Was that really?

Now, there is a thing that, for instance, when you say something, sometimes, like for instance, you say for instance, you know a rhyme, and you just say the first verse.

And immediately the people that know that rhyme know exactly what you're saying, all the following verses. Isn't it something that happens? You know, you say like the first verse of a poem. For instance, you say, the Lord's my shepherd. I don't have to say anything else. You know already what I'm gonna say next, don't you?

You can actually kind of recite that in your mind. But all you need to say is, the Lord's my shepherd. Now, let's turn to Psalm 22. Now, remember what Christ said here. And let's restate it again. Eli, Eli, Sabatami. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Now, let's go to Psalm 22. Psalm 22. Let's read verse 1.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Think of it. It's like a thought trigger of the other song, of the rest of the song. Isn't it? It's a thought trigger of the rest of the song.

So let's read this. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me? And from the words of my groaning. Have you ever been in an exceedingly difficult trial? Let me ask you. Have you ever been in a trial? Could it be health? Could it be financial? Could it be and you don't see a way out? And you've been praying to God and you say, God, why don't you answer my prayer? Isn't it? Why are you forsaken? Why are you not answering? Have you ever had that emotion?

Now, let me ask you a question. At that moment, do you think God has left you?

Do you think God has left you when you say that? Obviously, no. But it's an emotional statement of deep feeling inside you that you say, why are you not helping me? What's going on?

And this is applicable to us as well, because I'm taking this to say, how does it apply to us? And we'll continue verse 2. Oh, my God, I cry in the daytime, but you do not hear. And in the night season, and I am not silent. You've been at trial and you say, I'm asking God at night. I'm asking God during the day, and this trial is not lifting up. What is going on?

But you never doubt God, because you say, but you, God, are holy. You were enthroned in the praise of Israel. Our fathers trusted you, they trusted you, and you delivered him. They cried on you, and they were delivered. They trusted you, and they were not ashamed. You know, you're saying this to kind of encourage yourself in a way, but you're saying, I know, I don't doubt God, but you say, why am I going through this? Look at verse 6. Look at verse 6. But I am a warm. Now think about it. With Christ, yeah, he was a warm. He was like a piece of junk in front of those people. He's just like, I'm a warm, and no man, and no man, a reproach of man, and despised by the people. That's what they were doing to Christ. All those who see me ridicule me. And you can see it's in encapsives, because it's referring to Christ. This was what Christ was thinking at that time. He was reciting this psalm, and in that time of great suffering, he couldn't recite the whole thing, you know, but he recited the first. And can you imagine how the others came? The other thoughts were going through his mind. They shoot out the lip, and they shake the head, saying, He trusted in the Lord. Let him rescue him. You've seen that. People were saying, hey, why doesn't God get him out of there and heal him? And get him out of this. He prayed for others, and others were healed. What's wrong with him? That's what it is. Let God deliver him, Christ, since he delights him in God. But you are he who took me out of the womb. You might be trust while in my mother's breasts. I was cast upon you from birth from my mother's womb. You have been my God. Be not far from me, for trouble is near, for there is none to help. Can you see what was going through Christ's mind? You don't have to go very far. It's right, yeah. Many bulls have surrounded me. In other words, all these people are attacking him, bulls. But think about it. The demon world was also surrounding him. Strong bulls of ancient. That's demons have encircled me. They were saying, ha ha, he's going to get it now. They gape at me with their mouths. This is now talking about people like a raging and a roaring lion. A roaring lion, comparison to Satan, remember? So you see, people in Satan, the demons, we just... And Christ knew this was going through. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax. It has melted within me. My strength is right up like a pot shirt. My tongue cleans to my jaws. Now let me ask you, when your tongue cleans, clings to your jaws, what's happening in your mouth?

You are thirsty. And that was the next sentence Christ cited. Let's look at it. Keep a finger then in Psalm, and look at John 19 verse 28. John 19 verse 28. That is the first statement of Christ in the cross that comes after why forsaken me. Then in John 19 verse 28, he says, And after this Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, I thirst. So it is as if he is in this moment of him mentally going through the Psalm, and this, and then he says, I thirst. And keep your fingers there because we're going to go back to the same section in John. But before that, let's go back to Psalm 22. So then he continues, You know, my tongue clings to my jaws, you brought me to the dust of the earth, for dogs have surrounded me. The congregation of the wicked has enclosed me. They pierced my hands and my feet. The day pierces his hands and feet. I count all my bones. They look at me. They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cost lots. Wow! This was prophesied, and Christ now is going through this in his mind. But your Lord, do not be far from me. Oh, my strength hasten to help me. Deliver me from the sword, my precious life, from the power of the dog. And yes, God did deliver, because he was resurrected. He did deliver, but not the way mankind would have thought. Save me from the lion's mouth, you know, was from Satan, and from the horns of the wild oxen. And what he says, You have answered me! He never doubted. There's no doubt here. It's just, he's going through a trial, a very difficult trial. Emotions are going through. It's like you going through a trial, or I go through a trial, and you're in a trial. We are going to say emotional things. God, why are you not healing me? But I know that you will answer me, God.

And he says, I will declare my name to you, brethren. And so it goes on. And then right at the end, in verse 31, he says, And they'll come and declare his righteous to a people who will be born, and that he has done this. He has done this. Now, brethren, the Hebrew for the word done is passo, which means he has accomplished it. He has finished it. He's accomplished. He's finished it. What is Christ's next words in a cross? Let's go back to John. I told you to hold the place in John. And hold the place in Psalms, please. Because we're going to come back to it. But in John 19, verse 30, so when Jesus had received the sour wine, because he says, at first they tried to put sour wine in his mouth, and when he received that, he said, it is finished.

The Greek word for there is telehō, which means, I won, I finished, I accomplished it, I succeeded, it's a victory cry. You know, quite often we think, oh, the negative side of it, oh, it's finished. It's a victory cry. Why is a victory? Because you're reading Psalms, he has done it. What has he done? He's paid for our sins. Mission accomplished. Success!

Our sins have been completely paid for. Brethren, is that encouraging?

Isn't that encouraging?

When you and I go through these deep emotional situations in a big trial, in great times of trial, you and I need to be bold. As we read, for instance, in Hebrews 10, bold, we get through the veil to thrown through Christ's sacrifice, and we get through in a new and living way.

Provided, obviously, we repented, we need to be bold. We won! Christ won for us! I think Christ's words on the cross are very encouraging to us to think about what we're thinking at that moment. He said, yeah, I'm going through this emotional thing, but you know what? You do not leave me. And at the end he says, I won. Because his next, very next words are what? Look 22 verse 46. His final statement, the seventh statement, look 23 verse 46.

And he says, and when Jesus had cried out of life, voices said, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.

So he's the spirit of man in man, the spirit of Christ, was committed to the Father until the hour of the resurrection. And he had no doubt. And you know what comes after Psalm 21? Psalm 22. I beg your pardon, Psalm 22. What comes after Psalm 22? It's Psalm 23. And what does Psalm 23 say?

The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. I can just imagine Christ then saying that. It is finished. The Lord's my shepherd. I shall not want. I shall not want. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. Father, take my spirit. Brethren, I think you and I can learn some powerful lessons from Christ's thoughts on that last day. Lessons so that we can learn from it, learn for us to control our own emotions and thoughts when things are really tough. Because Christ showed when he was going through a deep trial, he thought of others. He prayed for his disciples. He thought of the thief on the cross. He thought of his mother. He showed concern for others. And he prayed for unity. Secondly, when we go through these trials, we have to be patient and persevere because God knows better and he'll sort it out in the end. And thirdly, when we go through these deep emotional times of trial, we need to be bold because Christ paid for all our sins, and provide them, obviously, with repentance. Therefore, we can safely say, the Lord is my shepherd.