Victory Life Church

Happy Resurrection Sunday VL Fam🥳✝️🙌🏼😍

SPY WEDNESDAY
Holy Week || Wednesday || Pastor Colton

Spy Wednesday invites us into a sobering moment in Holy Week—a moment where betrayal begins to
take shape. In Luke 22, we see Judas, one of the twelve disciples, quietly arranging to hand Jesus over
to authorities. What’s striking is not just the act itself, but how ordinary it seems at first. The city is preparing for Passover, people are busy with tradition and celebration, and yet beneath the surface, a
heart has already begun to drift. Judas’ betrayal didn’t start with silver—it started with subtle
compromise.

Scripture gives us clues into that drift. Judas had been stealing (John 12:6), he loved money (Matthew
26:15), and eventually, Satan found a foothold (Luke 22:3). But this wasn’t sudden—it was gradual. A
slow turning of the heart. And that’s where this story meets us. Most of us won’t wake up and openly
reject Jesus—but we can slowly replace Him. We can begin to prioritize comfort over obedience,
success over surrender, and self over Christ. The danger isn’t always rebellion—it’s drift.

That’s why Scripture calls us to guard our hearts. In Proverbs 4, we’re told that our hearts are the
wellspring of life. Everything flows from it—our thoughts, desires, decisions, and direction. If the heart drifts, everything else follows. Judas didn’t guard his heart, and over time, it led him further than he likely ever intended to go. We live in a world where our hearts are constantly pulled in different
directions, and if we are not intentional, we will drift without even realizing it.

The deeper issue in Judas’ story is this—he was close to Jesus, but he wasn’t surrendered to Him.
Søren Kierkegaard, a Danish theologian, said:
“The admirer never makes any true sacrifices. He always plays it safe. Though in words, phrases, songs, he is inexhaustible about how highly he prizes Christ, he renounces nothing, gives up nothing, will not reconstruct his life, will not be what he admires.”
As Kierkegaard observed, Jesus calls followers, not admirers. Judas admired Jesus—he walked with
Him, listened to Him, and witnessed His power—but he never fully gave his life to Him. And the same
can be true for us. We can sing, serve, attend, and still keep parts of our lives untouched by Jesus.

Admiration is safe. Following is costly.

Spy Wednesday ultimately brings us to a question: what is Jesus worth to you? Judas traded Him for
silver—but we often trade Him for lesser things: comfort, control, reputation, or convenience. Yet unlikeJudas, we are invited to return. Peter also failed, but he came back. And so can we. Today is an
invitation—not to condemnation, but to surrender.
To stop drifting, to guard our hearts, and to move
from admiration to true, costly, life-giving discipleship.

Prayer

Father, Would you search my heart and reveal where I have begun to drift. Show me the places where I have
chosen comfort over obedience, and where I have admired You without truly following You. I don’t want
to just know about You—I want to be surrendered to You. Guard my heart, Lord. Protect it from compromise, distraction, and the subtle pull of lesser things. Give me the courage to release anything I’ve placed above You, and the faith to follow wherever You lead. Thank You that even when I fail, You invite me back. Help me to return quickly, to walk closely with You, and to live a life that is fully Yours.
In Jesus name,
Amen.