CROSS TO COMMISSION | Beware: There Might Be A Judas Inside of You | MT 26:17-25 | Lonnell Williams

You may be seated in the presence of the Almighty God. My name is Launel Dawson Williams. I'm the executive pastor here at 2819 Church. And just midst the grateful for this opportunity to preach this word. Pastor Philip Anthony Mitchell is actually in South Africa, Cape Town, to be exact. Yeah, we can celebrate that. That is an amazing opportunity. When we say until all have heard, we literally mean until all the entire world. Not just Atlanta, not just those across YouTube or streaming platforms, but literally the world. And so we want to just celebrate him and I welcome all the digital disciples online and around the world who are tuning in to this holy encounter. We attempt to continue in the series that Pastor started last week, Cross to Commission. And it is my responsibility to continue that moment in that text as we continue into the book of Matthew in the 26th chapter of this book. And so I'm responsible for verses 17 through 25. And so we've got a lot to review and a little bit of time. And so I just want to just honor this moment and put what I believe God has for the house on today. And so if you can and will, I just want you to lean in just a little bit. This is not a sermon of celebration, but it is a sermon of repentance, sermon of conviction. And so it may require a little bit of you to kind of lean in to hear what's being said, but I believe that God has something for us in the house. Amen. All right. If I could pin a title on this preachment, I would call it Beware There Might Be a Judas Inside of You. Beware. There might be a Judas inside of you. It was July 7th, 2025. I distinctly remember this because this was a few days prior to me resigning from my corporate job to become full time here at 2819. And thank you. And I remember distinctly we were on our way to vacation. We were vacationing away, taking our children to Florida just for a few days. And I remember that it had rained. It had rained. And when it rained in the back of my house, it's kind of like a small hill. And because of the hill and the sediment, the water, when it rains, it does not evaporate quickly. Right? So it usually settles in the grass. And so very frustrating, but that's just the way our home is built. And so it had rained. And I noticed out of the back window on my porch that the water had not evaporated. It didn't evaporate. It had been a few days since the rain and it had not evaporated. And naturally, I didn't think anything of it. I just thought this was what was going on. And so my wife and I, we packed up, we took our kids down to Florida. And on our way, I got a phone call from the County Water Authority. The County Water Authority. And naturally, my first thought is, I know I paid this bill. So I don't know why y'all calling me. But they called me to inform me. They say, hey, Mr. Williams, we wanted to let you know. And I know this to be true because I actually have the voicemail. I listened to it this morning on that day. And it says, Mr. Williams wants to let you know there seems to be a leak at your house. That's like a leak. Well, how much leakage? And she said, right now we've got about tens of thousands of gallons of water an hour is leaking somewhere in your house. And so naturally, I'm like, wait a second. So I'm driving on the way to Florida. I cannot turn around. So I called the gentleman who had actually fixed our sprinkler head just a few days prior. And I called him and said, hey, man, I don't know if you did something, but I need you to go to my house and I need you to check the sprinkler head because they called me and said that the water is leaking. And so he went to my house. He checked everywhere. He looked outside and he called me and he informed me. He said, hey, Mr. Williams, I noticed that there's nothing wrong with the sprinkler head that I installed. But instead, there is a crack in the pipe that's underneath the ground. I said, what do you mean a crack in the pipe? He said, yeah, there's a crack underneath the pipe and it's leaking. You can't see it. You can't see the crack, but it's leaking so much that it's beginning to come up to the surface. I'm already preaching and it becomes visible and all of that leakage is coming up. And these are the things that just kind of took me out because Judas did not show up overnight. He grew quietly. And just as it is with our crack pipe in our backyard, so it is with Judas, the most dangerous Judas isn't the Judas you know. It's the Judas inside of you that you refuse to see. The first thing that you need to be aware of as you contemplate it vastly between this idea of being like a Judas, the first thing we have to be concerned about is the possibility of drifting. What do I mean when I say drift? Drifting is not dramatic. It is subtle. It happens when you stop intentionally following Jesus and before you even notice the current of life starts to carry you further from his will. Look at the text. It says this, now on the first day of the 11th bread, the disciples came to Jesus saying, will you have us prepare you to eat at the Passover? Now this is important because the Passover was a part of the Jewish calendar. It happens every single year when they celebrate and acknowledge when the death angel passed over the homes, when they were in captivity with Egypt. And the reality is because of that, they celebrate this on their calendar. Now, they remembered this yearly. And before the dinner with Jesus, they engaged in this Passover. So Passover was about God saving his people, not because of their perfection, not because of their righteousness, not because they got something right, but because they were chosen. And he says, go into the city to a certain man and say to him, the teacher says, my time is at hand. I will keep the Passover at your house. And we see that Jesus gives them instructions to the disciples and the disciples are not necessarily cognizant of what is taking place. They're asking him based on a religious calendar, how should we prepare for the Passover? But they realized, excuse me, they do not realize what is actually happening. However, this was a foreshadow to Jesus's death. Jesus sends the disciples to prepare a meal that they do not understand into a home that they did not choose. To prepare for a death they cannot yet process and they still obeyed. And that is faith at work before understanding catches up. The Bible says in Hebrews 11 verse 1 in the King James, he says, now faith is the evidence of things to hope for. It's the substance things to hope for, but the evidence of things not seen. So here's the thing, the rational thing. If I tell you to go get dinner and prepare dinner at someone's house, the rational thing that one might do is ask the questions. Well, whose house are we going to? What time does it start? What do I need to bring? Who do I need to invite? What time does it start? They could have asked the why, the how, the what, the when, but they didn't. Their compliance under confusion exposes the difference between followers and drifters. Followers obey God even when the plan is vague. And drifters delay until it makes sense. How many of us have delayed obedience until you got clarity? Well, I can't make that decision until God begins to just speak to me. I need to hear his audible voice. I need to know what he's telling me. He told you, but you refuse to obey him. The Bible says this to a certain man and he said, say to him. Now this is what's interesting. Matthew's depiction of this story, the Bible says that he is an unnamed man. Now this is important because in the Greek, what it actually is saying is that this is a person whose name is of no importance. To mention, stay with me, which means that his name and his title were unimportant. He was just ready to serve God. All right, here we go. He didn't need an introduction. He didn't need an RSVP. He didn't need a social media following. He didn't need a title. He didn't need a stage. He didn't need a certain job, a certain house. He didn't need a certain income. He didn't need a depth of spirituality. He was ready. And this is what I've learned. Your name doesn't need to be known for your obedience to matter. All right, there we go. Scripture does not celebrate his name. It highlights his posture. And that is the pattern of the kingdom. God advances his purpose through people who say yes before you ever know their name. And I wonder if I'm looking at a group of people who say you ain't got to call my name for nothing. I don't even have a title. I don't need to be propped up on nobody's TV show or podcast. All I want to do is say yes. This is the thing. Heaven isn't looking for the most visible. It's looking for the most available. And God can use a no name with a yes more than a big name with a maybe. The unnamed host models a deeper spirituality, always ready to host the presence. He kept the room prepared before the Messiah ever knocked. When I was growing up, when I was younger, living on Stanford Avenue, and I remember my mother would come into my room on Saturdays or random days, and she would say, hey, LaNelle, it's time to clean up. Somebody's coming over. Somebody's coming over. And naturally, in my mind at seven or eight, I'm playing Sega Genesis, Mortal Kombat, right? I'm doing my thing. Why in the world do I have to clean up? She would say, it's time to clean up. And I began to think and I would get frustrated because I'd be like, number one, why don't you clean up? That's just seven, right? I don't know no difference, right? Number one, why don't you clean up? Number two, why isn't the house clean already? And number three, why I got to do it? Why I got to do it? And this is the thing about Christians today. We respond to God the same way. Same way. Why I got to do it? I thought, am I not clean already? You want me to inspect the home, inspect my heart, inspect the place where you reside to see what's dirty? As long as I just push these things in the closet and close the door, isn't it okay? I can push my pride in the door and just close it, lock it. Nobody will ever know. Visually, my house looks clean. But if you opened up the lock doors, you'd see how dirty it really is. And some of us have been inviting the Holy Spirit into a dark and dirty home. I know it looks pretty, but if I unlocked your pantry, what would it look like? I know you say you saved, but if I looked in your closet, what would they say? I know you say you love them, but if I looked into your basement of your heart, what would I see? What are you hiding from the King of Kings? What have you not allowed him to do and to clean up? Rather you being frustrated that he's asking you to clean? Well, babe, because he's giving you an opportunity to do it. You got to keep a room in your soul for his direction before you know the details. He didn't know. The man didn't know his name would ever be known, but he made room anyway. And this is the thing. I was reading this. I've been preparing for two weeks for this message, and Pastor Philip told me to preach. And I was reading, I was like, okay, Lord, I see what you're saying, but I need clarity. And it wasn't until Friday at 1050 a.m. in my house, I sit in my office, and the Lord revealed to me where the drift took place. Here's how subtle drifting can happen. Judas didn't wake up a traitor. He drifted into one. Watch this. Judas was with Jesus the whole time. He walked with him. He learned from him. He saw his ministry. He saw his messages. He saw his miracles. He saw all of it. And you can drift and serve Jesus at the same time. You can be serving Jesus, but no longer becoming like him. When it comes to your life, drifting is not a schedule problem. Drifting is a sincerity problem. You don't drift because you're busy. You don't drift because you're no longer broken. There was a hunger you had when you first got saved. You would chase him with reckless abandonment. And now you just get to him when you can. Drifting. I used to wake up and pray all morning. I would listen to the auctions of the Holy Spirit. When he said, serve, I'd serve. When he said, give, I'd give. When he said, love, I'd love. But now I can make excuses for his voice and call that, oh, that's just my consciousness. Business doesn't kill devotion. Comfort does. It's not that you ran out of time. It's that you ran out of hunger. We will make time for what's truly loyal to us. Our schedule never lies. Our heart does. I'm going to say that again. Your schedule does not lie. I can see what you prioritize based on what you spend the most time with. And some of us have been saying we worship and love the Lord, but you really worship Instagram and TikTok. I'm talking about I got the Bible app on my phone. You know that notification go off. You go, but I'm saying show me what your time is. You can prepare for the Passover and still be unprepared for his presence. The IRS does something called an audit and audit. And it is something where they look back at your taxes and to see if you are, if you have actually honored the IRS code, right? And paid your taxes appropriately. And some of us need to do an audit. Not of our taxes, not of our money, not of the receipts that we hold, but of our obedience. We make time for everything except auditing if our heart is right with God. We post the verse, but we ignore his voice. We prepare for the moments, but not for the man who meets us in them. And this is the danger about being a follower of Christ for so long. You can lose the hunger and the heart of repentance over time. We say things like, I'm in church. I sing the songs. I got my Bible right here. I'm serving. I'm rocking a t-shirt. I'm safe. Don't mistake being chosen for being changed. I know that you love him, but do you love him like you used to? Ah. Verse number 19. And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them. And they prepared the Passover. I love this. Matthew, who was very analytical in his writing, he uses verbs intentionally. They came, they did, they prepared. They came, they did, they prepared. No debate, no clarification, no lack of comprehension, just obedience. And the disciples were willing to move on limited information. They didn't need a million people telling them they didn't need a pat on the back. They didn't need a prophet. They didn't need a book. They didn't need a prayer show. They just needed instructions. And they said, at your word. And this is the thing about Western Christianity. All the time we've been looking for details before we ever make a move. You don't need more information. You need discipline. Stop waiting for clarity when he's already gave you a command. Here it is. The symptoms of drifting is overthinking what you used to obey. Think about it. God never asked you to understand the why. He did, though, ask you to obey the who. And how do I know? How do I know if I'm drifting? Ask yourself this. What instructions have you postponed because you didn't understand it? How about this? Do you trust God enough to obey him even when you don't like what he says? Ask yourself this. When did you start calling disobedience processing? Well, you know, I'm just, I'm processing all, you know, this is, this is a lot. I got to process what he's saying. Just, just, just give me a moment. I got to take my time because I'm processing. No, you're not processing. You're being disobedient. The longer you stall for answers, the quieter your obedience will get. The drift starts when your obedience becomes optional. And I didn't say this in the first two gatherings, what I'm going to say now, the one who keeps asking why long enough will eventually stop saying yes. Point number two, the second way that we have to beware of the Judas inside of us is to beware of our distance. I'm going to say distance, what do I mean? Distance is when your heart remains in the room with Jesus, but no longer in rhythm with Jesus. Close in appearance, but far in affection. Look at the verse number 20. It says, when it was evening, he reclined at the table with a 12. Now this is, this is so cool because Jesus shows up in a very unique way. This was two days before the crucifixion. This was just a few hours before his moment in the Garden of Get-Tamity. This is moments before he is to be betrayed. And what is Jesus doing? He's sitting back, relaxing, dominant in the back, sunroofed top. Y'all remember that? See, y'all don't know that one. Digging in the same, but the gang's the lane. Don't finish that verse. Nope, nope, nope. Don't do it. Don't do it. Look at his composure. Reclining was the posture of peace. And Jesus lies back at ease in the presence of betrayal. And this is, Jesus is the greatest example because he was calm and would make us something that would make us crumble. He reclined when others would have reacted. This is the thing. You can fake happiness, but you cannot fake peace. Peace is not pretending. It is surrendering. Many of us master the look of calm while living in chaos, smiling through battles that our soul is losing. But Jesus teaches us that real rest is not a nap. It is a confidence in knowing who he is. And when your heart is anchored in him, peace is not performed. It's produced. Watch this. John 14, 27 says, this peace I leave with you. He's referring to the Holy Spirit. My peace I give to you, not as the world does. I give it to you. Grandmothers used to say like this, this joy that I have, the world didn't give it to me. And the world can't take it away. But here's the danger. You can sit at his table and still be far from his heart. Jesus is reclining and his disciples are sitting next to him. And Judas is in his presence. And here is the conundrum. The table becomes a mirror to the distance that was in Judas' heart. The closer you sit does not mean the closer you are. I know you can quote the scripture. I know you can sing the song. I know you got the cross around your neck. But just because you can do that thing does not mean that you're closer to him. Let me just inspect the fruit. I know it looks pretty, but let me see the fruit. Jesus was very aware that Judas' heart was distant from him. Look at what he says. Look at this. Verse 21, And as they were eating, he said, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me. This is the moment. If there's two unique things happening. Number one, he reveals his sovereignty. I know it's about to happen. And yet he extends his mercy. I'm giving you a chance to come clean. Sovereignty and mercy at the same time. And this is what's due when Judas does not acknowledge this. This is where the distance creates betrayal and compromise. This truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me. And I want you to see them sitting at this table and Jesus making this command of this comment flippantly. The table, again, is more than just a table. It's a mirror. Can I ask you a question? Has the table, which is the mirror that sees who you really are, become a routine for you instead of revealing who you really are? Have you been able to sit at the table and literally cover it up and assume that you're perfect and not recognize that it's showing the flaws of who you really are? And this is the power of God's mercy. God will let you stay at the table long enough to reveal to yourself who you really are. He will expose you to save you. And some people confuse conviction with attack when really it's an invitation. This reek Travis Green had made a comment about his former college experience and all of a sudden in the comments section, there were tons of people who felt convicted by what he said, but use that opportunity to attack him for truth. Have you been with somebody? Well, you try to tell them some truth and then they become defensive and then respond back with some type of attack. You know, I wanted to let you know, well, you know, well, you said, well, what about you? When you become defensive, that means that conviction has hit you. Yeah. When you become convicted, that is proof that there's something that needs to change. And rather than lean into understanding, many of us will lean into attack because our ears are not sensitive to the Holy Spirit. All right, y'all, that's okay. That's cool. That's good. Here's the thing. How do you prevent yourself from becoming distant? Are you in the room with him, but no longer in love with him? Have you gotten used to Jesus instead of being amazed by him? When did serving God replace actually seeking God? Number three real quick, the third way to be aware of Judas inside of you is to be aware of your dialogue. Look at verse 22. And they were sorrowful and began to say to him one after another, is it I Lord? And he answered, he who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me. The first thing we have to identify is that he says he dipped his hand in with the divine disciples. At this point, it is inferred that every person has already dipped their hands into the dish. So no one can actually know who the betrayer is. Jesus strategically timed the announcement after everyone dipped, not to expose Judas, but to extend mercy before judgment. And that's the heart of God. He doesn't expose us at the moment we fail. He gives us a moment to return. He could have, but is anybody grateful that he didn't reveal what you tried to hide? This is the thing. Let's go back to verse 22. This is so interesting. He says, they say, is it I Lord? Look at the difference in the responses from the disciples. Do you see how it doesn't say specifically who said it, but it says all did. Language reveals lordship. What you call Jesus determines how you follow him. Is it I Lord? Is the sentence that pride refuses to speak? And this is why you need to audit your language. Do my words about Jesus match my obedience to him? Because it's possible to say Lord with your mouth and still live like he's optional. Can I genuinely call him Lord while telling him maybe or not yet when he asked me to well-bay? Because you can lift your hands and worship to him and still hold back your will from him. This is evidence of betrayal. Betrayal begins in the words before they ever become visible. You can see when someone is in a moment of betrayal because they start making little slight comments and you pick up. And when the betrayal happens, I know it's true because you start to reflect and say, you know, I remember when they said, you remember when they said that? I mentioned it in that moment, but it was at that moment I knew something wasn't right. Is it I Lord? The disciples could have been offended, but they weren't. Jesus, they could have said, we followed you for three years. We slept next to you. We traveled the countryside with you. How could you suggest a thing? Instead it says that they were sorrowful and searching. Jesus announces betrayal and 11 men immediately turn inward. They were very sorrowful, not defensive, not accusatory, but sorry. They didn't look around the table. They looked in their hearts. And this is called contrition. Contrition is not self-hatred. Contrition is holy suspicion of oneself. The disciples understood something that we have totally forgotten. The heart cannot be trusted to judge itself. You need Jesus to examine it. Notice the order. Sorrow came before certainty. They didn't know if they were guilty, but they were grieved by the possibility. When was the last time that you were grieved at the possibility that you offended God? That's contrition. Being more afraid of hitting sin than visible accusations. Let me help you. Real repentance is fearing the sin no one sees more than the scandal everybody will talk about. Is it I Lord? Check my soul. Is it I Lord? Check my heart. Four words that could have saved you this. But this is what contrition does. It softens your heart to be shaped. When is it I Lord disappears from your dialogue, Lordship disappears from your decisions. You do not have to leave Jesus to betray him. But you can betray him with your words sitting right next to him. Find a way to beware of your heart turning into a Judas is to beware of your desires. Desires are an unchecked appetite of the heart that if not surrendered will eventually make betrayal look like an opportunity instead of sin. Look at the verse 24, the Son of Man as it is written of him, but whoa to the man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would have been better for that man if he had not been born. Judas who would betray him answered, is it I rabbi? He said to him, you have said so. The whoa, the whoa is not necessarily a verbal review. It is expressing divine grief. Theologically, whoa is saturated grief with judgment. God's lamenting voice as a warning. He was grieved about the positioning of Judas' heart and the desires that he was looking to fulfill. We have to understand the context because the Jews at that time, they were searching for a physical king that would overthrow the Roman government. When they thought Messiah, they thought that this was actually someone who would come over and topple the Roman government. And Judas, some historians believe and some theological minds believe that Judas actually was upset because of his desires of political disappointment. Whatever the bend, his desires displaced his allegiance. And this is the thing. The desire of Jesus that he had for Jesus did not necessarily match Jesus' fulfilled purpose. And this is why Judas never said or referenced Jesus as Lord but as rabbi. In other words, Judas had unmet expectations. It is possible that unmet expectations towards God can produce hidden resentment. What unmet expectations do you have that you have placed onto God that he has not responded to? And what is it of those unmet expectations that produce resentment in your heart? Lord, I wanted the marriage. Well, God says I might go give it to you. Not in this season. Not until your heart is ready. So now you distance yourself from him because you feel like he didn't follow through on what you said and not what he said. Unmet expectations. Listen, desire always demands a king. Either Jesus will rule your desires or your desires will attempt to rule Jesus. Betrayal is not walking away from Jesus. It's slowly replacing him. And you don't have to hate Jesus to betray him. You just have to love something more than him. Look at the verse. Look, it says it right there. Judas, who would betray him, answered, is it I, Rabbi? He said to him, you have said so. See, a Rabbi is simply just a teacher. That's it. One who, in modern day, is one who would be in the synagogue, they would unlock the scrolls and they would read from the book. Judas didn't lose his faith. He lost his reverence for God. That's dangerous because we too can be guilty of it. He calls him teacher because he wanted lessons. He didn't want lordship. And just like Judas, we will honor him with flowery titles and you're the king of kings and you're the Lord of lords and Hosanna, Hosanna, and dishonor him with our time and attempt to sanctify it based on selfishness. Does this sound familiar? Many live a Rabbi Christianity. We admire his wisdom, but we avoid his authority. We want his blessings without the boundaries. And just like Judas, we want the benefits of being near Jesus without bearing the weight of belonging to him. And we try to sanctify our selfishness. Well, spiritualize avoidance. We'll justify disobedience and still ask him to co-sign it with favor. When I told the story in the second gathering, I told them when I was growing up in the Baptist church, there was this preconceived notion it's more so me than theologically accurate. I would assume that if I did not say Lord forgive me prior to dying that I would make it to hell. That I would, if I didn't say Lord forgive me before I died, I was going to hell. So I would like wake up in the middle of the night and go Lord forgive me, Lord forgive me Jesus. And then go back to sleep. I would be driving and I would be like Lord forgive me, Lord forgive me, Lord forgive me. Because it was this fear completely inaccurate, but this fear that if I did not ask for forgiveness as a safe believer, if I didn't ask for forgiveness of my sins, if I was not completely pure going into heaven, then I would make it to hell. And it got so bad though, because I got so used to that, that I started to ask for forgiveness before I actually did sin. Yep. Knowingly sin, but ask God for forgiveness first. So the reverence that I had for him shifted. Because I was, I would acknowledge that my desires superseded my submission. I don't know about you, maybe, maybe you've never had that experience. Maybe you've, you've never known that God does not want you to do something and do it anyway. And then clouded with something called grace. We use colloquial phrases like, you know, like, well, you know, his grace is sufficient. My favorite one, he's not done with me yet. You're lucky he's not done with you yet. Because if he was done with you, you'd be on your way to hell. All right, all right, all right, we almost done. He said to him, you have said so. Jesus did not expose Judas. Judas exposed himself. His own words became his own indictment. Because desires, it doesn't break out the plan of God if it fills it. History might be spiraling, but it's submitted to God's sovereignty. But don't miss this sovereignty guarantees that God's plan will go forward. But mercy still ask, will you go with it? Before the nails, before the garden, before the trials. Jesus gives every heart at the table, including yours and mine's one last space and time to check itself. Sovereignty says the plan will not fail, but mercy says, but you do not have to be the one who fills in it. Judas was not condemned because of his selfish desires. He was condemned because mercy set across from him and he walked away. His mercy sitting at your table and you're ignoring it. Sovereignty doesn't excuse selfish desires, it exposes it and still offers you a way back. Because the same Jesus who sits at the table to reveal you is the same Jesus who hung on the cross to redeem you. I'm going to say that again. The same Jesus who sits at the table to reveal the true you is the same Jesus who hung on the cross to redeem you. I'm done. In this moment, the Lord has called us today, not to rah rah rah and high five your neighbor. He called us today for repentance. Woe unto us. If we let the traits of Judas turn us into a Judas. Woe unto us. If we stay close to his table but far from his heart. Woe unto us. If we know the songs and we read the word and we rock the cross on our neck and the shirts on our back and we call him a teacher and not worship him as Lord. Beware of the drift. Beware of your distance. Beware of your dialogue. Beware of your desires. The plan of God will move forward. The only question left is will you? Man. There's some in this room. After hearing a message like that, you're probably asking yourself, is that me? Lord, am I guilty of carrying some traits of Judas? Have I drifted from your heart? Has my language, my dialogue placed me above you? Has my desires been that of my own and not submitted to your plans? And some of us have received a divine revelation for a need to repent. A need to say, man, I'm going to turn from my ways and never look back. Man. God has set you up for this moment and this hour to get right with him. Man. It's crazy when I started this story, I was telling you about the leak that was going on in the back of my house. And how the sprinkler man had come and he addressed it. What I didn't tell you was this. The first place that he checked was not outside of my house. The first place he checked was inside of my house. Now I have a code on my door and I wasn't there. So I had to trust him with access to a private place and let him in and do and check and search for the place where potentially a leak could have been. Now, if I was arrogant and haughty, I could have said, no, you can't come in my house, man. Check outside. No, no, you can't. You can't come in here. I'm not home. This place is private. This is, this is my space. This is, this is my closet. This is my room. These are my desires. These are my wishes. These are my hopes. These are my dreams. Lord, you can't come in here. But I had to trust the expert. Jesus. And although I didn't fully know him at that moment, watch this, but I trusted his credentials. I had seen some of his work in my neighborhood and based on what I saw in other people's homes, I could trust that he could do it in mine. Y'all, I'm, I'm, I'm telling you, you don't see it, but I'm coming around the corner. And I'll tell you this. And then I'll land the plane in my house, the water valve that shuts off the water in my home. It's in my basement. It's inside of my prayer room. So the man had to come into a very secret place. And I said, when you come in, take your shoes off. I said that there's a painting on the wall. You have to pull the painting down. You have to remove the square and then in there, if you dig in there, you turn the knob. You turn the water off. And when he called me, he was telling me about, Hey, it's not inside. It's outside. Tell me about the leak. But he said something that was so profound. He said, I can see that you are man of faith. Because he could see that I had set aside, I had prepared a place for the king, a place where I could go to repent and say, Lord, I didn't get it right today. I prioritized the work for the Lord rather than prioritizing the Lord of the works. And so in this brief moment of vulnerability, I want you to just close your eyes. Nobody's looking. No one's watching. We're going to turn the lights down low into a throne room moment. And we are going to be honest with God. You can be honest with God. My show of hands, how many people say, Lord, I might be guilty unintentionally or intentionally of drifting show of hands. Jesus, I might be guilty of using my language to dishonor you. I might be drifting away. I might be my desires may not be in line with what you called me to be and do. Man, I see your hands. You can put them down. Now for the hands that were lifted. Thank you for being honest because my hand is lifted to. I want you to repeat after me, Lord, I repent and I'm sorry. Just sitting there for a moment. His grace is sufficient. And in this moment, as he peeks over the clouds of heaven, and to look at us here at 2019, he sees a building full of hearts. They say, I surrender. I surrender my will, my way, my emotions, my thoughts. I will not look like Judas. I will only look like you. And so we're going to seal this moment with just a brief stanza. And as we sing, if your heart has been pricked, made the words of this song water your soul, and a new seed be planted of submission to him, because I surrender. I surrender. I surrender. Sing it. I surrender. I surrender. I want to know you more. I want to know you more. I surrender. I surrender. I surrender. I surrender. Everything I have. I want to know you more. I want to know you more. I surrender. I surrender. I want to know you more. I want to know you more. I want to know you more I surrender I surrender I want to know you more I want to know you more I surrender I surrender I surrender I want to know you more I want to know you more I surrender I surrender I want to know you I want to know you more I surrender I surrender I want to know you more I surrender I surrender I want to know you more If you were blessed by the word, I just want you to put your hands together. And give Jesus a handbop of grace.