Embracing God's Loyal Love Amidst Human Betrayal

"It was about 25 years ago that I had booked a flight from Pittsburgh to San Francisco, and when I got to the airport I discovered that the flight had been oversold and as a result, I was bumped. Now, the airline, in order to make up for the inconvenience that they caused me did a couple of very nice things. First of all, they refunded the entire cost of my round-trip ticket." [00:00:08]

"And I said to him at one point, I said, 'What is the number one thing that you look for in an executive for your company?' And he didn't hesitate. And he surprised me with his answer. The first thing he said was this, 'Loyalty.' And I thought, 'Boy, that's strange.' Because you know the textbooks say that you don't want to surround yourself with people who are just 'yes men'." [00:01:27]

"And that stuck with me afterwards because I thought about in many respects what a rare commodity real loyalty is. And then a few years ago I saw the movie 'Braveheart,' and it was the chronicle, Hollywood's version of William Wallace and his struggle for the Scots for independence. And I remember that poignant moment in the movie when William Wallace's trusted ally Robert de Bruce betrayed him." [00:02:25]

"I also remember many years ago reading a biography of the life of St. Augustine, and Augustine mentioned toward the end of his life that he had been betrayed so many times from his closest friends that he had come to the place -- without cynicism and I think without bitterness -- that he resolved to trust his life to Christ and to Christ alone." [00:03:43]

"Now, the reason why I'm talking about this is that one of things that the Scripture reveals about the character of God, we've seen already that the love that he displays is a love that is eternal, it is an everlasting love, it is a holy love, but we also have to understand that the love of God is a loyal love." [00:04:28]

"And this prison was nothing more than an ancient cistern that had been cut out of solid rock and it was a room about eight or nine or ten feet high and about fifteen feet across. And it was underground because it had been used originally to store water. And you had to go down steps. And I walk into this cave-like edifice -- solid stone, dark, dank, lonely." [00:06:29]

"At my first defense no one stood with me. No one stood with me, no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them. Now, before we go on from there, let's look back at what he says: 'Please come fast. Demus has forsaken me.' If you read the epistles of the Apostle Paul carefully you will see that Demus was not merely a passing acquaintance of Paul." [00:10:21]

"Everybody left, everybody bailed out at my first trial, except Jesus. He was there. He was with me. Just like he said he would be. He was loyal, and he strengthened me. And Paul now bursts forth out of his depression if you will, into a state of exaltation and of doxology where he sings praises to the glory of his Lord who strengthened him." [00:14:56]

"Jesus entering into his passion in the garden of Gethsemane. When he wrestles with the Father about the cup that has been set before him. The cup of divine judgment. And he pleads with the Father to let that cup pass from him, and he gathers his intimate friends, his disciples to himself, and he says, 'Watch with me.' He invites them to come and be with him as he goes through the agony of his struggle in Gethsemane." [00:16:11]

"And you know the rest of the story, how that when Jesus was placed under arrest, and taken to the praetorium to be judged by Pilate, the disciples who had fled and forsaken him, followed at a safe distance. The evening was cold and they found some servant maidens who had gathered outside around a fire and they came up to warm themselves in front of the fire and this maid heard Peter talking with his friends." [00:19:50]

"But then if you want to talk about betrayal, the worst experience of betrayal and a sensation of disloyalty was on the cross. When God gives that cup to drink to his beloved Son, turns his back upon him, sends Christ to hell on the cross, puts the fullness of the curse upon him, and in that horrible moment Christ screams in agony, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'" [00:22:00]

"Jesus goes through the process of forsakenness and it has a terminal point. Where he finally says, 'It's finished. Now, into thy hands I commend my spirit.' Because he knew the loyal love of the Father. That's what it means to be loved by God. He will never ultimately forsake his people." [00:24:02]