So Close | Week 5

This powerful Palm Sunday reflection challenges us to examine the distance between proximity and intimacy with Christ through the sobering story of Judas Iscariot. We're confronted with an uncomfortable truth: it's possible to be physically close to Jesus—witnessing miracles, serving in ministry, even casting out demons—yet remain spiritually distant from Him.

The sermon walks us through Judas's journey as one of the twelve disciples who saw every miracle, heard every teaching, and yet never truly surrendered his heart. The distinction drawn between information and revelation becomes crucial here. We can know about Jesus intellectually, apply biblical principles practically, yet miss the relational intimacy He desires.

The sermon redirects our understanding of joy, reminding us that Jesus told the seventy disciples not to rejoice in their spiritual accomplishments but in the fact that their names were written in heaven. This shifts everything—our joy cannot be rooted in what we do for God but in what He has done for us.