The enigma of Judas is an interesting study. Judas has come to become the name for everything that is base and treacherous in the human heart. The mention of his name invokes images of betrayal and treachery. No parent would name their child Judas. No doubt the name Judas being given to children went into steep decline. Ironicaly the name Judas comes from the root word Juda which means praise. When his parents named him, Judas' parents surly had no concept of what he would eventually become or to. Bro. Hughes ask this morning: Hw can a man who was associated with such high things, fall into something so base and evil? The life of Judas is one of the most difficult to understand of any character it he bible. How could he witness all that he did, who was so close to the Lord and have such an intimate relationship still be lost? As we contemplate his life, we must not forget that Judas was chosen. He was not chose because he was evil. There was evidence of goodness that outweighed whatever evil was within him. All the disciples were human and therefore had faults. Judas was no different, but he was called to be part of the 12. When he was called, he was surly just as dedicated and moved to follow Jesus as the rest. Today's message about Judas is not for those who do not know the Lord. It is a message to saints who must know and recognize the things in life than can derail even the chosen. Jesus knew that Judas was capable of what he did, so why would Jesus choose him? The answer is the same reason that He chose any of us. We must learn to deal with those things in our life that could destroy our relationship with the Lord. Jesus did not come for the righteous. He came for the sinner so that they could be saved. There were indications along the way that Judas was moving toward his ultimate failure, yet Jesus continued to love him and reach for him. Judas' greatest fault was that he refused to take Jesus for who He was. Judas tried to make Jesus something that He was not. When those things did not work, Judas' life began to unravel. How many people come to God with their own agenda? The truth is that we have to come to God seeking His agenda. God has a purpose for our lives and we must seek to find what that is rather than trying to direct God to what our purpose for our lives.

There are four things that Bro. Hughes noticed that contributed to the downfall of Judas

First, somewhere in Judas' life, material things became for important to Judas than Jesus. Apparently he had some kind of gift for dealing with money. That gift contributed to his downfall. In the story about the alabaster box, Judas was concerned about the waste, but not because he cared. Jesus reminded him that it was an act of worship. The material had become more important than worship. If we are not careful in life, even the blessings in life we receive are not enough for us to praise Him. Secondly he never allowed Jesus to deal with the real Judas. Judas kept the real him hidden away. As close as he was, Judas never opened up to Jesus. Thirdly and perhaps the most critical point: Judas became disappointing in Jesus. He believed in the power of Jesus, but Judas was let down about the way that He operated. When Jesus did not operate as an earthly ruler, Judas became angry and disappointing. Jesus' method and time frame did not meet Judas' expectation. When our exceptions are not we see the fruits of disappointment: frustration, anger, depression, apathy. Ultimately these things attack our faith. Finally, Judas' wounded pride was his ultimate failure. Pride is the feeling that we are not getting what we deserve. If we are not careful, we can look at the life of Judas and see ourselves. How many times have we hurt someone because of wounded pride? That wounded pride is a result of disappointment that runs wild.

Some have suffered all that they think they can suffer. Some have lost all that they think they can lose. Our text tonight applies to all of us for we have all experienced storms in the path of life. Paul is in a ship on his way to Rome. He warned them, but they did not listen to the dangers that lay before them. Life was rough for Paul and the others on this ship. The storm was intense. The ship rocked and was out of control. There are times in life like that when things seem out of control and there is no place to find comfort. We might question, how can God be with us and we are still dealing with so many issues? To make matters worse, the ship they are on runs aground and begins to break apart in the heavy seas. The very thing they counted on to bring them through began to fall apart in the relentless winds of of the storm. They moved into survival mode. Many of these men surly thought that they were done for. The word of God said that they all survived. Some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship. Like Paul's journey, all of us suffer loss in our journal through life. Some have lost family members to death or divorce. Some have lost possessions, homes, or savings. Life will test us. It will test us to see how far we will go to survive. We will all experience storms. It is never comfortable in a storm. There will be times of confusion, fear and loss. There was much lost that night, but every man on the boat survived because God said that they would. We may not get to the end of life traveling in the same vessel we started in. We may only make it on a piece of the ship, but we will make it. Many of us do not have things we once had. We never envisioned that life would look like this. Despite of what may be broken up: homes, finances, families, we still have what we need to survive on the broken pieces of the ship.

It is often amazing to ponder the people that God chooses to use for His purpose. If we had to choose a group of people to be disciples, likely none of us would have chosen the men that He did. One couldn't keep his foot out of his mouth and had a temper, but Peter was chosen to stand up on the day of Pentecost and deliver the most important message that anyone had ever heard. The cast of characters that God uses to accomplish His purpose is amazing. God does not make mistakes, and He has not made one with any of us. When we look at ourselves, we see flaws and limitations. God helps us through our weaknesses and strengthens us through adversity.

Solomon had been chosen to be king after David. There were other men who were more qualified to become king, but God chose him. Solomon is credited with great wisdom, but likely he did not posses that wisdom before this prayer. If we were given the opportunity to receive something from God, many would ask for power, riches, prestige, or position. Solomon was given such an opportunity. He had enough wisdom at this point in his life to not ask for those things. He realized that none of those things could do for him what needed to be done in his life and in the lives of those he would lead. If we are going to become what God had called us to be, we must seek the same thing Solomon did: An understanding heart. Solomon followed the most beloved king Israel had ever known, and he was fearful that he was not sufficient for what God had called him to do. This prayer revels a certain degree of intimidation. So Solomon prays for the kind of heart that he would need to deal with people, to deal with adversity. He prayed for an understanding heart. In the Hebrew, the phrase is a "hearing heart." This is ironic because Solomon is known for the things he said. But by having an understanding heart, he knew that he needed to listen in order to know what to say in that situation. In fact, Solomon's down fall came when he stopped listening and felt that he knew everything. It doesn't matter how long we live, we must constantly listen, learn and grow. There is an art to living well and living right. It is a way to navigate what life throws at us. There are people who are frustrated because of the things and people we have to deal with. There are some who are frustrated because they feel that they should be further along the path then they are. Bro. Hughes asks how much better off would we be if we ask God for an wise and understanding heart. We need wisdom and understanding in order to deal with people. We need a wise and understanding heart to face what is ahead of us. There will be great opportunity, but there will also be great trials. We will need a wise and understanding heart in order to live in accord with God's expectation for our life.

It is often amazing to ponder the people that God chooses to use for His purpose. If we had to choose a group of people to be disciples, likely none of us would have chosen the men that He did. One couldn't keep his foot out of his mouth and had a temper, but Peter was chosen to stand up on the day of Pentecost and deliver the most important message that anyone had ever heard. The cast of characters that God uses to accomplish His purpose is amazing. God does not make mistakes, and He has not made one with any of us. When we look at ourselves, we see flaws and limitations. God helps us through our weaknesses and strengthens us through adversity.

Solomon had been chosen to be king after David. There were other men who were more qualified to become king, but God chose him. Solomon is credited with great wisdom, but likely he did not posses that wisdom before this prayer. If we were given the opportunity to receive something from God, many would ask for power, riches, prestige, or position. Solomon was given such an opportunity. He had enough wisdom at this point in his life to not ask for those things. He realized that none of those things could do for him what needed to be done in his life and in the lives of those he would lead. If we are going to become what God had called us to be, we must seek the same thing Solomon did: An understanding heart. Solomon followed the most beloved king Israel had ever known, and he was fearful that he was not sufficient for what God had called him to do. This prayer revels a certain degree of intimidation. So Solomon prays for the kind of heart that he would need to deal with people, to deal with adversity. He prayed for an understanding heart. In the Hebrew, the phrase is a "hearing heart." This is ironic because Solomon is known for the things he said. But by having an understanding heart, he knew that he needed to listen in order to know what to say in that situation. In fact, Solomon's down fall came when he stopped listening and felt that he knew everything. It doesn't matter how long we live, we must constantly listen, learn and grow. There is an art to living well and living right. It is a way to navigate what life throws at us. There are people who are frustrated because of the things and people we have to deal with. There are some who are frustrated because they feel that they should be further along the path then they are. Bro. Hughes asks how much better off would we be if we ask God for an wise and understanding heart. We need wisdom and understanding in order to deal with people. We need a wise and understanding heart to face what is ahead of us. There will be great opportunity, but there will also be great trials. We will need a wise and understanding heart in order to live in accord with God's expectation for our life.

He was born in 1899 to a baptist pastor. Like his mother he became a pianist. The music in the church had a tremendous impact upon him and by age 12 he was emulating that in his music. In his late teens he left home and to make his life in music He began to play in speak easys and other outlets for the emerging jazz music scene. He made his way to Chicago. He turned away from his convictions learned in his youth. His talent took him to many places, but he could not get away from his upbringing in the church. A relative eventually contacted him and convinced him that he was wasting his talent and needed to return it to God. He would later say that he was consumed by a desire to pour himself into the kingdom of God. This opened a new style in music that included rhythm and blues and worship music. Thomas' career took off and he worked with many great artists in the world of christian music. Sadly he received the news that his young wife had died giving birth and the young child had also died. He was crushed. It silenced the music in him. He secluded himself and withdrew. he became angry at God. It felt as if God had abandoned him. A friend came to him after some time and encouraged him to take a trip to a music school. He sat down at a piano and began to play. As he played, he began to pray for the first time in a long time. He poured out the anger and bitterness and has he poured it out, God filled him with healing. There at that piano, Thomas Dorsey wrote one of the most famous woship songs ever written. From that point, he wrote over 3000 songs. All because God's hand reached out to him on that troubling night and turned his soul.

When going through trials and trouble, it is easy to become lost in the emotion and fear of the moment. Bro. Hughes reminds us that at times like this we must remember that no matter what happens, nothing can pull us out of the hand of God that is reaching for us. During times of trial, the touch of an outreached hand of a friend is comforting. How much more so it the touch of the Lord? Throughout the new testament, Jesus reached his hand out toward the failure, the misfit, the unlovable, the lost. We must be thankful for the might hand of God that reaches for each of us. Bro. Hughes shares instances in the bible where Jesus reached out to those in need. Just like then, we have a hand reaching out to us to lead us to where He wants us to be. A place of comfort, of restoration, of salvation. The hand of God can bring us from wherever we are to where we need to be.

He was born in 1899 to a baptist pastor. Like his mother he became a pianist. The music in the church had a tremendous impact upon him and by age 12 he was emulating that in his music. In his late teens he left home and to make his life in music He began to play in speak easys and other outlets for the emerging jazz music scene. He made his way to Chicago. He turned away from his convictions learned in his youth. His talent took him to many places, but he could not get away from his upbringing in the church. A relative eventually contacted him and convinced him that he was wasting his talent and needed to return it to God. He would later say that he was consumed by a desire to pour himself into the kingdom of God. This opened a new style in music that included rhythm and blues and worship music. Thomas' career took off and he worked with many great artists in the world of christian music. Sadly he received the news that his young wife had died giving birth and the young child had also died. He was crushed. It silenced the music in him. He secluded himself and withdrew. he became angry at God. It felt as if God had abandoned him. A friend came to him after some time and encouraged him to take a trip to a music school. He sat down at a piano and began to play. As he played, he began to pray for the first time in a long time. He poured out the anger and bitterness and has he poured it out, God filled him with healing. There at that piano, Thomas Dorsey wrote one of the most famous woship songs ever written. From that point, he wrote over 3000 songs. All because God's hand reached out to him on that troubling night and turned his soul.

When going through trials and trouble, it is easy to become lost in the emotion and fear of the moment. Bro. Hughes reminds us that at times like this we must remember that no matter what happens, nothing can pull us out of the hand of God that is reaching for us. During times of trial, the touch of an outreached hand of a friend is comforting. How much more so it the touch of the Lord? Throughout the new testament, Jesus reached his hand out toward the failure, the misfit, the unlovable, the lost. We must be thankful for the might hand of God that reaches for each of us. Bro. Hughes shares instances in the bible where Jesus reached out to those in need. Just like then, we have a hand reaching out to us to lead us to where He wants us to be. A place of comfort, of restoration, of salvation. The hand of God can bring us from wherever we are to where we need to be.

The worth of faith in a person's life is seen when it is subjected to the changes and challenges of life. Our text is the story of a father and a tormented son, a tortured home. It is the story of the agony of son and all that he endured with the spirits that possessed his life. The issues of the son were many, but the father too had issues. The father was a troubled man. He was a believer, but also an unbelief. Inside this man there was strength, but there was also weakness. There was conflict in his life. Jesus said that all that was necessary was belief. He did not say how much, simply that there must be belief. The father was like many of us. We believe in one breath, but in the next we question how God can do a work in our life. This father was a good man just like many of us; and like us he struggled between his faith and his unbelief. Faith and unbelief in the same heart is not illogical nor is it un-scriptiral. There is an unbelief that is wickedness, but that is not what this man had. This father's unbelief was weakness. Sometimes it is a battle to get from where we are to where God wants us to be, but battle we must. To get to a better place, many times it is a struggle and we must battle through it. Unbelief doubts the promise and power of God. It wants to keep us bound in our torment. God's power to work in our life is not limited by our unbelief. God can do a work in our life with the little amount of faith that we may have. Weak faith is better than no faith. Do not let a weak faith become an excuse for doing nothing. This story reminds us that we have the power to choose how our story ends. Will we keep struggling, or will we step out in our weakness and ask: Lord Help me.

There are times when we have to face things when we didn't know what to say. In those times, the right words can make all the difference the world. This miracle is one of the most interesting in the bible. In everything that Jesus did, there was a lesson within the miracle. When studying the miracles, we need to be mindful that there is something more than just the miracle, but there is a lesson too. Throughout the bible, men come to Jesus in different ways. Some are led, some are found and other seek Him. No matter how they get there, the important thing is that they had an encounter with Jesus. A blind man is brought to Jesus and they want Him to touch him and heal him. In this instance, Jesus does something different. Rather that just healing by touching, Jesus leads the man out of town and spits in his eyes. The first lesson is that God will not always operate in the way we think He will. We must be careful to let God have His way and not put constraints upon Him. We must not limit God in how He wants to operate in our lives. There are a lot of good people who try to play God by trying to manipulate how He operates. We try to make opportunities. We try to open doors based upon what we believe God's will. We say "God I need you to fix it this way" Bro. Hughes asks, why not just let God do it? He does not need our help to work His will. In our text, Jesus leads the man out of town. Why would He do this. Perhaps it is because some times the only way for God to have His way is to be moved out of our comfort zone. Sometimes God has to move us away from the things that we are co-dependent upon. We have to get away from those things so that the only thing we have to depend on is Him. In our text, the man was blind and was dependent upon others for guidance. By moving him out of town Jesus placed him in an atmosphere where he could only depend upon God. There are too many of us that cannot get away from our failures because we keep wallowing in it. Victory for some begins when they leave their failures behind and they go with Him to a place where He can help them. We don't have to be afraid of this because He will stay with us until He is done. This is the only progressive miracle noted in the bible. The healing was not instantaneous. At first, the blind man could not see clearly. He was partially healed, but there was more to be done. The Lord used a different method. Before the blind man felt the touch of God, he felt the spittle running down his cheeks. There will come a time when we decide that we are tired of being in our situation, and we will allow God to do whatever is necessary to resolve it. Our perspective is narrow. We can only see life from our human perspective. After the second touch, the bible tells us that Jesus made the man to look up. Many of us go through life looking down. We have to stay in a place where God can continue to work on us. When Jesus made the man look up, he saw clearly. IF we will just stay where God can keep touching us we see clearly. God is not limited by our thinking. We need to quit telling God how to do His job. We need to get ourselves into the position where God can touch us that second time and complete the work that He is trying to do in our life.

There are times when we have to face things when we didn't know what to say. In those times, the right words can make all the difference the world. This miracle is one of the most interesting in the bible. In everything that Jesus did, there was a lesson within the miracle. When studying the miracles, we need to be mindful that there is something more than just the miracle, but there is a lesson too. Throughout the bible, men come to Jesus in different ways. Some are led, some are found and other seek Him. No matter how they get there, the important thing is that they had an encounter with Jesus. A blind man is brought to Jesus and they want Him to touch him and heal him. In this instance, Jesus does something different. Rather that just healing by touching, Jesus leads the man out of town and spits in his eyes. The first lesson is that God will not always operate in the way we think He will. We must be careful to let God have His way and not put constraints upon Him. We must not limit God in how He wants to operate in our lives. There are a lot of good people who try to play God by trying to manipulate how He operates. We try to make opportunities. We try to open doors based upon what we believe God's will. We say "God I need you to fix it this way" Bro. Hughes asks, why not just let God do it? He does not need our help to work His will. In our text, Jesus leads the man out of town. Why would He do this. Perhaps it is because some times the only way for God to have His way is to be moved out of our comfort zone. Sometimes God has to move us away from the things that we are co-dependent upon. We have to get away from those things so that the only thing we have to depend on is Him. In our text, the man was blind and was dependent upon others for guidance. By moving him out of town Jesus placed him in an atmosphere where he could only depend upon God. There are too many of us that cannot get away from our failures because we keep wallowing in it. Victory for some begins when they leave their failures behind and they go with Him to a place where He can help them. We don't have to be afraid of this because He will stay with us until He is done. This is the only progressive miracle noted in the bible. The healing was not instantaneous. At first, the blind man could not see clearly. He was partially healed, but there was more to be done. The Lord used a different method. Before the blind man felt the touch of God, he felt the spittle running down his cheeks. There will come a time when we decide that we are tired of being in our situation, and we will allow God to do whatever is necessary to resolve it. Our perspective is narrow. We can only see life from our human perspective. After the second touch, the bible tells us that Jesus made the man to look up. Many of us go through life looking down. We have to stay in a place where God can continue to work on us. When Jesus made the man look up, he saw clearly. IF we will just stay where God can keep touching us we see clearly. God is not limited by our thinking. We need to quit telling God how to do His job. We need to get ourselves into the position where God can touch us that second time and complete the work that He is trying to do in our life.

The worth of faith in a person's life is seen when it is subjected to the changes and challenges of life. Our text is the story of a father and a tormented son, a tortured home. It is the story of the agony of son and all that he endured with the spirits that possessed his life. The issues of the son were many, but the father too had issues. The father was a troubled man. He was a believer, but also an unbelief. Inside this man there was strength, but there was also weakness. There was conflict in his life. Jesus said that all that was necessary was belief. He did not say how much, simply that there must be belief. The father was like many of us. We believe in one breath, but in the next we question how God can do a work in our life. This father was a good man just like many of us; and like us he struggled between his faith and his unbelief. Faith and unbelief in the same heart is not illogical nor is it un-scriptiral. There is an unbelief that is wickedness, but that is not what this man had. This father's unbelief was weakness. Sometimes it is a battle to get from where we are to where God wants us to be, but battle we must. To get to a better place, many times it is a struggle and we must battle through it. Unbelief doubts the promise and power of God. It wants to keep us bound in our torment. God's power to work in our life is not limited by our unbelief. God can do a work in our life with the little amount of faith that we may have. Weak faith is better than no faith. Do not let a weak faith become an excuse for doing nothing. This story reminds us that we have the power to choose how our story ends. Will we keep struggling, or will we step out in our weakness and ask: Lord Help me.