Monday, November 20, 2017

JESUS GAVE THANKS

Luke 22:17, “And he took the cup, and gave thanks.”
Luke 22:19, “And he took bread, and gave thanks.”
It is good and proper for us to give thanks for all that God provides.  Jesus Himself did the same.  But the meal referenced in these verses was no ordinary meal.  And Jesus was no ordinary man.
As a Jewish ordinance, the Passover was observed in remembrance of God’s intervention in redeeming His people from bondage in Egypt. It was given to God’s people to serve as a memorial for them for all generations (Exodus 12:14).  It both looked back, to that great deliverance, and looked forward, to the promise of a future Deliverer.
The various aspects of the Passover meal all pointed to this promised Messiah (Cf. 1 Corinthians 5:7).  What was typified in the meal was perfectly and ultimately fulfilled in Him.  It is significant that Jesus’ said, “With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer” (Verse 15).  “This” particular Passover looked forward to the “cup of suffering” Jesus was soon to drink unto Himself.  The bread symbolized His body which was to be given.  The cup spoke to His blood which was to soon be shed for forgiveness of sins.
Despite Jesus’ instructions and repeated warnings, the disciples didn’t-at-all understand what was soon to take place—they had never understood (Mark 9:32).  They didn’t-at-all appreciate the significance of that particular meal.  In loving devotion to the Father, the God-man Jesus Christ had come into the world to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15).  He was born to die.  He spoke in that Passover in terms of servanthood and suffering and death, but after the meal His disciples would argue as to which of them was the greatest (Luke 22:44).  One disciple would soon betray Him.  The others would all abandon Him.  Jesus knew all of this.  He knew full well of the gravity of the moment and the significance of the meal.  He, the “lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:19), would bear “the sin of the world” (John 1:29).  In agony He would cry out “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me” (Matthew 27:46)?  We can scarcely imagine the soul anguish Jesus experienced when He bore the sins of man!
Jesus knew all of this.  And He was alone in that understanding.  “When the time was come that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51).  Though He was well aware of all that lay ahead, He purposefully and deliberately embraced the Father’s will.  He had been tempted, accused, questioned, and conspired against.  He would soon be betrayed, arrested, false accused, unfairly tried, brutally beaten, crucified between two ordinary thieves, and mocked by His own creation.  And there was no one on earth who understood.  No one on earth to turn to.  He would be utterly forsaken.  Infinitely lonely on that cross, bearing your sins and mine.  But He did all for the “joy set before Him” (Hebrews 12:2).  He knew that spiritual triumph, through His death and resurrection, lay beyond that cross.
It is in this context that the gravity of our texts is to be understood.  Jesus’ gave thanks for a meal and a meal that spoke of His pending suffering and death. Jesus had previously said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work” (John 4:34).  He was thankful not simply for the Father’s provision of food and drink, He was thankful for the Father’s perfect will, though it meant pending suffering and death for Him.  He embraced it.  He thanked the Father for it.  He would soon pray, “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42). 
It is one thing to be thankful for those things which we “deem” to be good, things that meet our temporal wishes and are according to our limited understanding of what we suppose to be in our best interests.  It is another thing to thank God amidst our troubles…to measure our circumstances against God’s sovereignty, immeasurable love, divine power, and infinite wisdom.  To be thankful always to the God who always holds us—in any and every circumstance—as an object of His affection in Christ.  God has saved us, in Christ Jesus, to such, as we read in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 
Jesus gave thanks for a meal, though it spoke of His pending suffering and death.  Under the loving hand of God, who delivered up His Own Son for us (Romans 8:32), and who causes all things to work together for His good in our lives (Romans 8:28), we’ve abiding reasons to be ever-thankful (Colossians 2:7).  Unlike Jesus, we typically don’t know the reasons why when it comes to the trials we face.  Nor, do we know exactly what the future holds when it comes to our temporal concerns.  But we know the One who does know.  We know that He knows and that He cares.  And we know that we can trust Him!  And in this we can be ever-thankful!
Jesus gave thanks in His pending poverty so that we could be ever-thankful in the riches He has bestowed (2 Corinthians 8:9).  He has worked to save us from sins and from the sin of ingratitude (Romans 1:21).  We’ve been forgiven, redeemed, and blessed-beyond measure (Ephesians 1:3-18).  We’ve got a hope that “will surely endure after the passing of time.”  We are all doing “better than we deserve” (Lamentations 3:39).  The Spirit would have you to be ever-thankful as He is ever working to unveil to you the glory of Christ and His finished work on the cross!  God grant us all the grace to be more like Jesus, and in His capacity to give thanks!

Thursday, July 27, 2017

PRAYER IS FOR THE NEEDY

Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s biography, fittingly entitled “Bonhoeffer,” tells of an occasion in 1928, when Dietrich Bonhoeffer visited a church in France.  Making note of how there were so many “heavily burdened people,” and how they were naturally devoted to prayer, he remarked: "Nothing is so at odds with prayer as vanity." Indeed, prayer is for the needy.

It is the realization of our needs that drives us to our knees. Jesus told a parable of a Pharisee and a Publican. The self-righteous Pharisee prayed, not to God, but to himself, as he trumpeted his own superiority. But the Publican cried out to God, "God, be merciful to me, the sinner!" (Luke 18:9-14). The Pharisee erroneously supposed he had no needs and did not pray to God.  Very much aware of his needy estate, the Publican cried out to God for mercy.

God knows we are needy creatures. His many exhortations to us to pray speak to this: "But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God" (James 1:5); "Let us therefore draw near...that we...may find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:5); "casting all your anxiety (anxiety=worry about needs) upon Him, because He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:6).

It is quite possible for any of us to be misled regarding our true condition. The Laodicean church wrongly assumed themselves to be in "need of nothing" (Rev. 3:17). They would not have been a praying church. James chided the proud, "You do not have, because you do not ask" (James 4:2). A spirit of humility is essential to prayer. Humility is honestly assessing ourselves in view of God’s holiness and our own sinfulness. In humility we realize that God is perfect in all of His attributes and that we “fall short.”  In humility we esteem ourselves needy before Him and needy of Him.

Humility is not native to the sin-proud hearts of rebel sinners. It is by the Spirit alone that we are brought to the point of humble trust in Christ for salvation. It is by the Spirit that we now recognize our total dependence on Him. The believer in Christ is “already” perfect with regards to his position (Colossians 2:10), but “not yet”—and far from it—with regards to his practice (Philippians 3:12). An awareness of the dichotomy between the "already" and "not yet" is reason enough for us to pray. A Spirit-borne passion for growth in Christlikeness burdens our hearts and instructs our prayers (Romans 8:26-29; Philippians 1:9-11). A Spirit-borne compassion for others causes us to intercede on their behalf (Colossians 1:28; Romans 10:1; 2 Timothy 2:1-4).

Needs of every kind surround us and threaten--at times--to overwhelm us. We are needier than we think that we are.  The depth and tenacious nature of the sin problem is greater than we first realized (Romans 7:24-25). The spiritual opposition we face is stronger than we suppose (Ephesians 6:10-18). God’s purpose and plan for us in Christ is “exceeding abundantly” beyond all that we can imagine (Ephesians 3:19-21). Prayer is for the humble inasmuch as they alone appreciate the gravity and miraculous nature of the task at hand. They know that the things that need to be, cannot be, apart from God’s intervention (John 15:5).

Prayer is for the needy and for those having faith in God. "Faith is the assurance of things of things hoped for" (Hebrews 11:1). Prayer exercised in faith trusts in God and His readiness and ability to respond to our need. God says, "Ask and it shall be given to you" (Matthew 7:7). Asking is such a simple thing--a person in need asks of someone who is able to meet the need. God is able, more than able. The angel declared to Mary, “Nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:37). God is indeed able "to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask" (Ephesians 3:20). He is well-pleased to respond to the requests of His grace-needy children (Romans 8:32). He is glorified in His abundant provision providing both “strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.”

God exhorts us to "draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16). Needy souls need look no further. God is on the throne—and it is a throne of grace! He knows all about our troubles. He bids us to bring them to His throne—to cast them upon Him (1 Peter 5:7). From His presence, He freely dispenses both mercy and grace. His provision flows from His inexhaustible storehouse of grace and mercy—it can never be exhausted. He will not turn His children away (James 1:5). We have the freedom to come at any time in any place with requests both great and small.

I have it in my mind that the throne of grace—like a mighty river flowing through a well-populated desert region--ought to be well-attended by countless grace-thirsty souls. But in pride, the thirsty refuse to go. They wander about frantically searching for some other source of refreshment. It is sinful pride that keeps them from the obvious. But it is the Spirit who humbles them and drives them back. And they find, in Him, “rivers of living water” to satisfy their innermost longings and needs. Are you needy? If so, prayer is for you!


Pastor Jerry