April 1, 2007
Ministry:
Let’s turn back for a moment to the portion that our brother read earlier in Matthew 27. I’m sure it would touch our hearts afresh to see what the Lord went through. It seems to me that there are two portions to what was read. First, we have what they did to Him physically. They took off His clothes and gave Him a purple robe; they put a crown of thorns on His head; they mocked Him. We have no idea what it was for the holy, spotless Lamb of God to be mocked by his own people. It was the height of Satan’s rebellion. He went through untold agony. In Isaiah, we read of how His face was marred. We know that His back was raw because of the scourging, and that the nails ripped His hands and feet. He suffered more than any other. But then we have the next part: “Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour” (v. 45). The Light of the World was shrouded in darkness, no doubt so man could not watch him as they had been doing, v. 36. This is when He was made sin for us. We can’t imagine what this was like for Him; we can’t comprehend what it was like for God to pour out His wrath on His only begotten Son. As v. 46 tells us, God had totally forsaken Him during this time. After the judgement was over, “Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost” (v. 50). He gave His life voluntarily. After all that, turn to Isaiah 53. We get an amazing statement in v.11: “He shall see [of the fruit] of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied.” This is speaking of the travail we read about in Matthew 27. When the Lord sees all the fruit of it, He will say, “It was worth it.” Amazing! Now quickly, let’s turn to Revelation 5:9: “And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.” Here is a scene that is future. He will not be the only one satisfied; we will be satisfied as well. We will see Him face to face, and worship and praise Him, forever and ever. How good to have a few moments this morning to see these things, how precious! Our hearts should be striving to live for Him, moment by moment.
EG Hymn 346 – Jesus who lives above the sky Prayer • Last time we talked about “God is love.” I said I wanted to continue on that subject, so today we are going to look at I Corinthians 13. Now, this chapter uses the word charity, but as we go through it, I’m going to say love, because they are essentially the same thing. The chapter starts by telling us what love is not. V. 1, even if you could speak any language, even like angels, if you have no love, it all sounds like a cymbal. If you have great faith or much knowledge or can prophesy, if you don’t have any love in you, it doesn’t add up to anything, v. 2. If, v.3, you are very philanthropic, and give much away to the poor, but don’t have love, it doesn’t do you any good. Now we have a description of love, in vv. 4–8. Love:
Hebrews 13:20–25 • When we looked at v. 18, we saw that the writer, probably Paul, told his readers, “Pray for us.” In v. 20, he says, in effect, “Now I will pray for you.” That verse actually tells us whom he is praying to, and then v. 21 has the actual prayer; he does not just tell them he will pray, but says exactly what he will pray. Note v. 20 starts with, “The God of peace.” We know Him as such at the time of his resurrection. All the way though Hebrews we have seen the Lord in heaven, but here we get a glimpse of him on earth. Next, in v. 20, we have, “that great shepherd of the sheep.” The “good shepherd” speaks of the One who died for us, while the Great Shepherd is the One who lives for us. God called the Israelite leaders to be shepherds to Israel in the Old Testament, but they failed and the flock suffered for it. But our Shepherd won’t fail us. This is because of the next part of the verse, “through the blood of the everlasting covenant.” The word everlasting does not only mean “never ending,” but also, “never beginning.” This covenant is not really a covenant, as we as Christians are not under a covenant. It is through the blood of this covenant, the Lord’s blood, that we are able to be saved. In first I Peter 1:19, God inspired Peter to say that that blood is precious; if it is precious to God, how much more to us! God needed that blood to give us forgiveness. Now we come to v. 21: the prayer. “Make you perfect in every good work to do his will.” We read in the children’s meeting that “when that which is perfect is come …” Has it not come? Read Luke 13:32; did the Lord need perfecting? Let’s turn to Hebrews 2:10. We think of perfecting as improving, but it is not always that way. The Lord obviously didn’t need improvement, but He was made something that He wasn’t before. Also read Hebrews 5:8–9. The Lord became a Saviour, the Captain of our Salvation. That was His perfecting: coming to a greater sphere of glory. Perfecting can be a progression, a maturing, as in Hebrews 6:1. Read Hebrews 9:28. These are verses about the Lord in His service, and how He was perfected; but what about ourselves? Hebrews 10:14—“them that are sanctified” includes us. So perfect is the Lord and His work that those of us who receive him as Saviour are brought into that perfection. But that is our standing; our state, or moral condition, is what we are looking at here in Hebrews 13. It is what we are talking about in I Corinthians 13. One day our state and standing will be equal. The prayer here is to be perfect in every good work; just as the Lord was here to do His Father’s will, so are we. Is that possible? Yes, with God’s help. “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12 & 13). EG Hymn 108 – O Precious blood, on Calvary shed Prayer