The Seven sayings of Christ on the Cross

Luke 23:33:
“And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.”

Christ is now brought to the place of His greatest suffering. The beatings are past but the shame and desertion by God; death, and burial ahead.
But how does He meet them?

Luke 23:34 “Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.
And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.”

The first thing He says on the Cross is: “Father, forgive them.”
He forgave them first. They did not ask for it; but He, as the greatest King, forgave the greatest debt, and He did it first.
The “them”, were those chief priests who tried Him and took Him to Pilate, the Jews who cried “Crucify Him”, and those who stood and mocked Him, even in His miserable suffering.
The people who refused to believe in Him, and the Gentiles, who under Pilate, beat and lead Him away; nailing Him to the Cross.(The Romans harshest type of death.)

As the mocking continues, the malefactors enter in. But then one speaks up for Christ:
Luke 23:40-42 “But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
And we indeed justly;…but this man hath done nothing amiss.
And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.”

Here, one is saved, by belief in the Lord; and one is not. For the second thing Jesus said on the cross was another word of forgiveness, and also blessing:

Luke 23:43 “And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be. With me in paradise.”

 

Then, looking down Jesus saw His mother, and John, the beloved disciple, who was the only one who had followed Him from the Garden to the Cross. He, alone of the disciples, stood at the foot of the cross, ready to be arrested, if necessary, to stay close to Jesus.

So Jesus speaks the third sayings:

John 19:26 “When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!”

John 19:27 “Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.”

Here, Jesus sees to His mother, committing her into the hands of John, the beloved disciple.
She was to look on him as the son she lost.
He was to look on her as his mother, and take care of her, seeing to her in her old age.
This he did, and it is said, that she went with him on his preaching tours; that her bones are buried in the wall of Ephesus.

Six hours the sun had shone down upon all of this suffering.
Luke 23:44-45 “And it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.
The sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst.”

The sun “was darkened”: The awful agony of the sin bearer, fulfilling the suffering of the wrath of God on our sin, was “darkened”. No one but God and Christ, could enter into this propitiation.
God darkened the sun, to show that this was not for view; no one would understand such suffering, and so, no one could truly view it in it’s terror. This suffering went on until He paid the price for all His.

In this time, Jesus spoke the fourth saying:
Matthew 27: 46 ” And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani ? That is to say, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
God forsaking Him was because of our sin; for God can not look upon sin, without wrath. And Jesus was “‘made sin for us”. (2 Corinthians 5:21 “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we may be made the righteousness of God in him.”)

The price paid, Jesus spoke the fifth saying:

John 19:28 “After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.”

They had offered him wine mingled with myrrh to deaden the pain, earlier; but He refused it. He would feel every moment of pain, that He would be able to pay the full debt of our sin.
Mark 15:23 “And they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not.”
But this time, they gave him vinegar.
John 19:29 “Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.”

Then, He spoke the sixth and seventh sayings:
John 19:30 ” When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.”

Luke 23:46 “And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, (That is He cried for all who would hear, to hear “It is finished”) he said, Father, into they hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.”

Jesus, having finished the work of Expiation, cried out; but then he gave his spirit unto the Father, in the last solemn moment before death.

Christ was our High Priest, who offered Himself as the Sacrifice for sin, for us. In every saying there was love, offered again and again, for those who would receive it.
He drained every drop of suffering for us. And died, was buried, and rose again to give us His Eternal Life.

Pilate

Matthew 27:22 “Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They say unto him, Let him be crucified.”

This is a question each person will answer for themselves. What will you do with Jesus who is called the Christ?

Pilate was a common politician. He cared for nothing in Israel, except political gain for himself.
His headquarters were usually in a city by the Mediterranean Sea, but because of the Passover feast and the multitudes of people which could cause problems, he came up to Jerusalem.

This put him right in the middle of Christ’s trial. (The chief priests only brought Him to Pilate, because by Roman law they could not put any prisoner to death. Only Rome had that power. (John 18:31)

Pilate knew that for envy the chief priests had brought Jesus to him. That there was nothing in their accusations.
Mark 15:10 “For he knew that the chief priests had delivered him for envy.”

And he tried three times to back out of a judgement against Jesus.

He knew Jesus was innocent of the charges brought against Him, but refused to stand with the truth; choosing rather to try and wiggle out of making a decision. (As I said, a common politician.)

1st. They brought Jesus to Pilate accusing Him of perverting the nation. They said He told them not to obey Caesar or pay taxes. And for being Christ, a king.
Luke 23:2 “And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a king.”

Pilate asks Jesus if He is a king. Jesus reply’s, “Thou sayest it.” And tells Pilate that His kingdom is not of this world. (John 18:36-38)

Pilate again asks, “Art thou a king then?”
Jesus answered, “Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, ad for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth.
Everyone that is of the truth heareth my voice.”

Pilate’s classic answer: “What is truth?”
(Certainly Pilate was not usually acquainted with the truth. Deals, flattery, and deceit were what he knew. But he was standing in front of the Truth.)

But he knew Jesus was innocent, so he went out and tells the rulers he found no fault in Him. If they wanted to take Him and beat him, they could.
But His death was what they wanted.

 

2nd. When Pilate hears that Jesus was from Galilee, he thinks to get out of a judgement by sending Jesus to Herod.
But Jesus would not even speak to Herod, so Herod sent Jesus back to Pilate.

Luke 23:7, 11 “And as soon as he knew that he belonged unto Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who himself was at Jerusalem at that time.
And Herod with his men of war set him at nought, and mocked him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate.”

Pilate can not get rid of Him.
Faced with a decision about Jesus, he again tries to release Him. (Even his wife tells him to “have nothing to do with that just man”. Matthew 27:19)

Luke 23:13-16 “And Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people,
Said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the people; and, behold, I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him:
No, nor yet Herod: for I sent you to him, and , lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him.
I will therefore chastise him, and release him.”

Jesus is then beaten, and brought again before Pilate. He thinks that if they see that Jesus was punished, they might think he had done enough.

 

3rd. When the chief priests see that Pilate might not put Jesus to death, they tell Pilate that Jesus made himself the Son of God. (John 19:7)

This frightens Pilate and he asks Jesus, “Whence art thou?”

Jesus refuses to speak, and Pilate speaks the words that will condemn him forever:

John 19:10 “Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? Knowest not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?”

Yes, he had the power; but refused to use it as he knew he should.

John 19:12-13 “And from thencefore Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If you let this man go, thou art not Caesar’s friend: Whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar.
When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and set forth down in the judgement seat….”

That was the breaking point: they told him that he was not a friend of Caesar if he released Jesus, for Jesus had made himself a king.

The politician’s heart in Pilate ruled that day.

Jesus was led out before the mob. He had been beaten and was wearing a crown of thorns and the purple robe.
Pilate cried: “What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ?”
The chief priests had persuaded the people to ask for Barabbas, instead of Jesus. (Mark 15:11)
So Jesus was rejected one last time by a mob, crying, “Crucify Him, Crucify Him.”

Three times Pilate tried to get out of the judgement of Jesus Christ, when all he had to to was do the right thing: Jesus was innocent, so release Him.

Pilate tried to persuade himself that he was innocent, and he washed his hands in front of the mob (Matthew 27:24), but Jesus’s blood will be required of him for eternity.

Mark 15:15 “And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified.”

 

We all make choices according to the ruling attitudes of our hearts and minds.
That is why it is so important for us to let Christ rule in our hearts as our King.
Then He can choose for us.

Matthew 6:10 “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”
What will we do with Jesus? Will we acknowledge Him as our King?

 

Gethsemane

Matthew 26:36 “Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto his disciples, Sit ye here while I go and pray yonder.”

Three times it is written of the battles, when our Lord Jesus faced the Adversary alone.
The first was in the temptation in the wilderness for forty days. (Matthew 4)
The second was in Gethsemane.
The third was on the cross.

Here, we will speak of Gethsemane, and the terrible mental and physical battle which was brought against Jesus, by the forces of darkness.

Jesus knew He would have to face the cross alone.
John 16:32 “Behold, the hour cometh, Yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.”

But at Gethsemane, He wanted His closest disciples to be near to Him as He wrestled against the devil’s suggestions. (I believe the devil’s suggestions were: “He would be forsaken in death, and lose everything. Everything He has done was for nothing.”)

But they slept for sorrow.
He had told them He would be leaving them, and that one of them would betray Him, so they were sad, and sleepy. (John 16:5-6, 17, 28)

At Gethsemane, a garden which Jesus often visited for times of prayer, Jesus left eight of His disciples at a small distance, and took the three closest disciples: Peter, James, and John further. Then He went a little farther on to pray.

He asked them to wait with Him in prayer. He wanted them to pray for the trials that would be coming up.
For their own faith to be strengthened, and for their courage in the face of His leaving them.
Matthew 26:38 “Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.”

They had been told many times that He was going to Jerusalem, and that the chief priests and elders would kill him and He would be raised the third day.
But they had not really heard what He said.
Luke 9:22 “Saying, the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.”

They were not prepared, as they could have been. And their sorrow at His leaving, was weighing down their hearts, and affecting their hearing.

(If you read John 15-17 , where He plainly tells them of things to come; you will understand that their “hearing” was not working right)

Jesus left them, and went and fell down to pray; His greatest comfort was the Father and Holy Spirit with Him.
But now the time for the Lamb of God to be slain for the sins of the world was very near.
Everything from the Last Supper, where Judas went out to betray Him, till He died on the cross, was one continuous piling on of sufferings.

The horror of the coming attacks, both from Judas,   the chief priests and ruling religious body,    the Roman soldiers beatings,     And the rejection of the very people who had hailed Him: “Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna to the highest.” (Matthew 21:9) a few days earlier.

And the cross. The agony of the nails, the thirst, the mocking crowds, and mostly: our sin being put upon His holy person, and the separation of the Father from Him for a time, because of this.

Sufferings He went through alone.

But here in Gethsemane the devil’s attacks mentally and emotionally were so severe: “even unto death”, Jesus said.

We are not permitted to hear what the devil says to Jesus, but the thoughts of being deserted forever:
“ God will not bring You out of the death of sin. Sin brings death, and if you go to the cross and become the sin bearer, You will forfeit God’s promise of life. It will weigh You down and You will never come out of death.”

Also the thought that with all these sufferings He would have to go through as man, that He would not be able to go through these sufferings without breaking down. Then He would fail and He would not bring salvation to the world.
The devil’s attacks were so great against the Lord, that “being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” (Luke 22:44)

The first prayer:
Matthew 26:39 “And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt.”

Mark 14:36 “ And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto Thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless, not what I will, but what Thou wilt.”

Jesus came on the basis of relationship: “O my Father” and asked that if it were possible, according to His Will, that “this cup” or salvation through the cross, might be changed.

Jesus asked because “all things are possible unto Thee”. God could come up with another way of Salvation.

But Jesus would not have God’s Will changed.

He knew the Value of The Father’s Will, and yielded to it.

His Father sent an angel unto him, “strengthening him.”(Luke 22:43)

The second and third prayers:
Matthew 26:42 “And went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, Thy will be done.”

“Thy will be done.” “Not my will, But Thine be done”

Three times Jesus prayed. Once, for conformation of God’s Promises :to find out if it were possible to change the way of salvation—the cross.
When He received His answer, God’s Will was yielded to.

The other two were prayers that the Father’s Will might be honored in His sacrifice, and resurrection.

You see, by the end of the battle at Gethsemane, Jesus was confident in His Father’s love,
in His Father’s strength to help Him go through everything,
and in His Father’s Promises, to raise Him up and save His people from their sins by this.

Even though He would be alone; He trusted in God, and His trust was honored.

He went through everything, He died on the cross for us, and was raised again the third day in Victory over every enemy.

His Salvation is a complete Salvation. Do you have Jesus as your Lord and Savior?

 

 

 

 

The Centurion’s Faith

Matthew 8:5-7 “And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him.
And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.
And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.”

(In Luke, it says that he sent the elders of the city, and then friends, which represented him to Jesus. Luke 7:1-10. He thought himself unworthy of the Lord coming to his house, for he was a gentile.
This representation was, as if he came himself)

Jesus has said he would come and heal the centurion’s servant.
And this draws a statement of faith from him, which marveled, or pleased the Lord a lot. So much so; that He speaks of it to the crowd.

Matthew 8:8-10 “The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say unto this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.
When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.”

“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)

Faith took hold in this centurion’s heart, when he heard of all that Jesus was doing, both in Capernaum, and other places.
(Capernaum was the place Jesus lived, after leaving Nazareth. It was the place he did many miracles.
Luke 4:31-32 “And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days.
And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power.”
Luke 4:36-37 “And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! For with authority and power he commanded the unclean spirits, and they come out.
And the fame of him went out into every place of the country round about.”)

When this centurion heard of these things, he must have thought they were wonderful, for he loved Israel. BUT, until he needed Jesus’ power for himself (for his sick servant, who was dear to him), it was just information.
Good news, but it had not touched him.

Then, his servant got sick, grievously tormented, and ready to die.

Suddenly, those things he had heard about Jesus, were for him.

(How many times we are the same: we have heard Bible lessons for years, even, and they are good news, but then something happens that affects us, and “Wham”, that good news hits us where we live.
We can have this! This is real! This is for me.)

Faith has made the information real from the first. We believe it.
Then faith evidences that information within us, because we have a need that is only met by this. (By Christ Jesus)

The centurion also knew, by faith, that if Jesus heard of the need, He could meet it.
Faith reached out, through the elders, and friends, to Jesus; and stated the need.

When Jesus said He would come, the centurion’s faith reached out further by the evidence of Jesus’ coming; and said:
“Speak the word, only”
Why? Was he testing Jesus?
No. But he felt unworthy that Jesus should come into his house.

And why did he feel Jesus could do this? Was it just because of what he had heard?
No.
It was from his own experience. He was a voice of Rome, as a centurion (he had one hundred men under him).
Under all the authority of Rome, he spoke and told men what to do. And they did it.

So he knew that Jesus, was the voice of God, and had the authority to speak, and make things happen, because He spoke.
He could heal, because He was the Son of God.
This was the centurion’s faith. Wow!

Matthew 8:13 “And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.”

Believe is the action of faith. And as he believed Jesus could heal by his word, only; so it was.

What of us? We say we have faith in God. We say we believe what Jesus has said, and done for us.
Are we using this faith with God, and evidencing His authority and power in our lives, first; and in the lives of people we pray for?

The Lord honors true faith in Himself. (Not presumption, or to ask of Him, what we know is not His will). But real faith, reaches out to Him, that He will do what He wills.

Jesus’ will was to heal the sick; both sin-sick and many illnesses, while He was here on earth; as He preached that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand.
He did this to meet the need of the people, that the chief priests and scribes had discounted; and for the most part, had abandoned.

But God never abandon’s His people. Those that come unto Him, He will in no wise cast out. (John 6:37)
But it takes humbling of our hearts, to come. (As this centurion did)

John 6:40 “And this is the will of him that sent me, that everyone that seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life. And I will raise him up at the last day.”
The centurion’s faith was real. He had heard. And he came, humbly to Jesus; and honored Him.
What is our faith doing?

 

 

The Lord is my Shepherd.

Psalm 23:1 “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
(Yes, we can really come to the place in our experience that we can say that.)

I have always loved the picture of Jesus as my Shepherd.
He is holding a small lamb (and I was one of those once—yes it was a long time ago).
Beside Him is a sheep, looking up and following Him. (Now I am one of those.)

As Shepherd, He leads us out; which is to say, He wakes us up with us in the morning and leads us to work, school, or whatever chore or duty we have.
John 10:3 “To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.”

As Shepherd, He guides us. It is into circumstances where we may grow and get stronger in faith. And it is into rest, whether it is a quiet time, or peace amid our busy day. He is there, giving it to us.
Psalm 23:2-3 “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”

And when there are dangers (and there are many in this life, from others, from temptations); He will guide us away from them, or protect us through them. He does correct us when we are following a wrong way, but always in love, to bring us back to Him.
John 10:10 “The thief cometh not, but for to steel, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly.”
Psalm 23:5 “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.”

And when illness and the “shadow of death” come, (for it is a shadow for every born again one. In Death we close our eyes here, and open them in heaven with Him, forever). Then He is there (yes, I know His presence, by experience in illness, and operation).
Psalm 23:4 “Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”

He is ALWAYS there.

Yes, as His born again ones, we are blessed, and can say:
Psalm 23:6 “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

With Him before me, and goodness and mercy behind me; I am covered with His care.

 

The Joy of the Lord
Nehemiah 8:10 “And he said unto them, Go thy way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

In other words, as they experienced this joy, and yielded to this joy; they would be strengthened in His Might.
This is to “be strong in the Lord and the power of His Might.” (Ephesians 6:10)

The need was great for Israel. They were back in the land, but enemies had and would keep trying to destroy their unity, and commitment to God’s Worship.

But here they had just had a service where the Law and books of Prophesy were read, and interpreted to the people.
They were excited to learn, but also, but saddened by the memory of their sin, which had sent them out of the land.

There is a time to repent; and a time to rejoice in the goodness of God.
Now was their time to rejoice in the goodness of God.

We are called, as Christians, to have Christ’s Kingdom come with in our hearts and lives, now.
Matthew 6:10 “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”

The inward Kingdom of Heaven is set up in the hearts of all who repent and believe the Gospel.
And that Kingdom is none other than:
Romans14:17 “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.”

Now joy is a choice instrument that God uses to work in a believing soul.

Joy and Peace are the true criteria to judge ourselves, spiritually.
When we are right with God, we have peace with God, and ourselves.
Joy follows.
Joy is a considerable help, not only to inward holiness, but also to outward holiness.
It strengthens our hands, to go on working in faith, and to labor in love.
It helps us to fight the good fight of faith; to lay hold on eternal life.

Joy is particularly designed by God to be a balance against the sufferings; inward and out; of our walk of faith.
It is meant to lift up the hands which hang down, and confirm the feeble knees (Hebrews 12:12).
There is a strengthening power in the joy of the Lord.

Therefore, whatever dampens our joy in the Lord, hinders our holiness.
The Devil would “throw water” on our joy, so that he would spoil our enjoyment of the things God gives…and if he could, the use of them too. When we get discouraged, or depressed, we begin to let down our shield of faith. The firey darts of the wicked one get through, when the shield is down.

When we get like that, we need to be exhorted to do, as Israel was told:
Nehemiah 8:10 “And he said unto them, Go thy way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Joy and Happiness are not the same.
Each springs from a totally different source.

Happiness comes from the world around me. It is measured by what is happening to me. It is bound up in either the behavior of other people, to me; or the circumstances in which I will be, or am.

Joy comes directly from the Spirit of the Living God.
This joy springs from the Presence of God in my life. It is not dependent on people, places, or the situations in which I find myself; but rather from the Presence of God with me in any circumstances. (And don’t we find it so, that knowing that the Lord is with us, is a great blessing…always.)

Joy is one of the Attributes of God, which He shares with us. Joy runs like a sparkling river of great goodwill, through His make-up. He is the God of all Joy. He is alive. He is here.
That joy was the dynamic of the early Church.
And that can be the experience of all who truly allow God’s peace to rule in your hearts. When it does, joy follows.
Colossians 3:15 “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.”
Enthusiasm and deep delight in the Lord, are the characteristics of such a person.
There is direction in their duties, no matter how mundane or menial.
There is purpose in every area of their lives.
The Holy Spirit assures me that I am right with God, and because of that, an assurance that all is well even between me and myself, comes into my spirit.

This is to know the joy of the Lord, and it becomes a force in my life to dispel darkness and despair; to energize my life in my walk with God.

The joy of the Lord is our strength. We need it, and He has it for us.

 

 

What hinders our growing in Grace?

2 Peter 3:18 “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever. Amen.”

To hinder is to throw up a roadblock, to stop the flowing of water, to put something in the way of progress.

So, again I ask: What hinders our growing in grace?

What has our Adversary, the devil, used to get us off the Way, or what has he thrown into the flowing stream of the Holy Spirit, to quench Him?

The grace of God flows easily to us, as long as there is nothing that hinders.
(Remember, grace is the unmerited favor of power for our lives, in this situation)

Perhaps the ideas of the world, or worries, or anger, have gotten in to your thoughts.
(Plainly, it is hard to remove them once they are there.)
But confession (1 John 1:9), and getting back to where you were with the Lord, is the first step to receiving more grace.

If you need direction for what is next, if you need strength to get through the day, if you need peace; God’s grace is there to “help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16)….but we can not hinder it, or we will not receive it in the fullness He wants us to have it.

Romans 6:16 “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whither of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”

To whom ye yield yourselves?
As we yield to the Holy Spirit through our new nature as born again ones, we begin to feel that “flowing water” removing all that hinders.

John 7:37-38 “In the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried saying, If any man thirst, let come unto Me, and drink.
He that believeth on Me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly (innermost character) shall flow rivers of living water.
(But this he spake of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

And we begin to know the strengthening influence of walking in the Light.
For this is what we are given: light to see honestly, light to see which way to go, light to see how to do.

Revelation 22:17 “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”

In the Old Testament, the Commandment was, “Go and do.”

In the New Testament (after Christ has paid the penalty for our sins, and given us His Life), the Commandment is, “Come unto Me.”

Come to be born again, and receive the Holy Spirit.
Come to be given grace.
Come to be shown My Way for you.

It is always, Come to Me.
And perhaps this is the real hinderance to our growing in grace: we have stopped coming to Him for everything.

Wherever you are in your life; you can “Come” to Christ, now.
Ask for the help you need, now; And He will answer you.

 

God’s Judgement of the First Church

Revelation 2:4 “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.”

This verse was written toward the end of the Apostolic Age of the church.

The apostles had gone forth into the whole world, preaching the good news of Christ.
Their hearts were so full of love to Him, many suffered persecution and death, to show forth Christ, to a dying world.

But time had past. Some believe the Apostolic Age to have lasted only 100 years, before it was plunged into the persecution of the the ten Caesar’s, where thousands of Christians were beaten and fed to lions, to please the bloodthirsty crowds of Rome.

But before the persecution, there was the error of putting work for Christ, ahead of love to Christ.

The Apostle Paul had warned this Church about such men that would come in and lead them away from what was really important: love to Christ.

Acts 20:28-30 “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which He hath purchased with His own blood.
For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
Also of your own selves shall men rise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.”

Notice, it is “take heed” unto yourselves.
If you love Christ; what wouldn’t you do for Him?

But if you are doing a work for Christ without great love to Him, what good does it do?
The value of any work, is that it is done out of love to Him: to please and honor Him.
1 Corinthians 13:3 “And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity (love), it profiteth me nothing.”

The Problem: Like all of us, that church had become focused on one part of our lives. (It is so easy to do)

Revelation 2:2-3 “I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear with them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:
And hast borne, and hast patience, and for My Name sake hast labored, and hast not fainted.”

They had become so busy in their responsibilities to others (so they thought), that they had set Christ aside.
He was no longer the reason they did what they did.

They had fallen short in the loving fellowship and devotion to Christ, Himself, for themselves.
And there is no bigger step out of the Way God would have us to go, than this.

Revelation 2:4 “Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.”

Jesus warns them to repent: To turn around and remember their first love; the warmness and sweetness of clinging to Christ, for themselves in everything.

If we do this, we won’t forget others; but they will be in their proper place.
Behind Christ. Christ first, everything else next.

How sweet our lives are as we are walking hand in hand, arm in arm with the “Someone” we love.
Christ calls them to repent: of placing their personal relationship with Him after others, and do “the first works”.

The very first “work” we do, is to look to Jesus, and Believe and Trust Him; opening our hearts to Him, and our lives to Him.

All our lives should be an expression of love for Him. Whatever we are, think or do; it should be out of love to Christ.

Then He promises them to eat of the Tree of Life.
Revelation 2:7 “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.”

Life is personal; you can not eat for someone else. You can have it only for yourself.
This is what Jesus is saying: Come and have as much of Me as you want. But it is personal; and I will not take second place, in your life.

When God takes our lives and puts them into His balance:
He puts in one side our love to Him,
And in the other what we do for Him.
The balance only comes out even, if the love we have to Christ is the reason we do what we do.

 

John, the Beloved Apostle, wrote to warn the church about anything which should take Christ’s place in our hearts. It is short, and inclusive:

1 John 5:21 “Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.”

 

 

 

 

 

God Would Reason with His Creatures

Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

“Come now”; don’t wait, but come to Me, and talk to Me, now.

Surely, as I have created you, you are able to respond?
This is something you are required to do.

And the first thing we need to “reason” out with our God is the reason for Him creating me…..as me.

Revelation 4:11 “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created.”

Believe it or not; God wants you to be you. Not in your rebellion, which usually begins with “Why have You made me this way?”.
But in your personality. (We are not speaking of character, which is based on habits, and likes and dislikes.)
Your personality, we believe is your soul.
That inner part of you which is the real you. It always has a place within it, which God should fill.

And when God does not fill this place, we work very, very hard to fill it with other things.

God’s Pleasure or Determination, as the original says; was that we should be here; for His honor and glory, and our blessing.

When we turn away from His honor and glory; we miss the blessing He has for us.
But we all have light as to His Presence within us.

John 1:9 “That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.”

What we do with the light is what our lives are made of: run away from it, into all the other paths of temptations.
Or come, now and reason with Him about what we are to do about it.

Light does show the truth: about ourselves, and about all those things we are looking toward.

John 1:17 “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”

But when we get honest, and face the Light—the truth about what we are and who we are—grace will be applied.

Grace is the unmerited favor of Power from God.

In other words, when we face the truth He shows us, He then gives us the power to change our lives into a life of blessing.

He came to save His people from their sin—not in their sin.

Matthew 1:21 “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.”

And He does, as you confess your sin, and with your will, turn from your sin, to Him; His power is applied to you, then. Use it.

If we were drowning; and a life vest was thrown to us? Would we reach out to at least get a hold on it?
Then as we held it, to try and put it on?
The strength it gives us to stay afloat, is saving.
Would you refuse it?

God’s Light, and grace is held out to you, even today.

Come, and Reason with God; and get the blessing He has for you, in your life.

 

Lift up the Hands that Hang Down:
Hebrews 12: 12-13 “Wherefore lift up the hands that hang down, and the feeble knees;
And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.

God never intends that we go through life miserable.

It is true that we are in a battle with sin, self, and the Adversary, but it should always be a path of Light.

In this part of Hebrews, the writer has just told of heroes of faith (Hebrews 11); and concluded that we are “compassed about with a great cloud of witnesses” in our walk of faith.(Hebrews 12:1)
All those who have gone before, which are in Heaven; and those who are in the world now, are watching, to encourage us, to continue to be faithful to Christ Jesus our Lord.

He goes on to say that in every race, it is to those who lay aside every weight, who will win.
Weights are those things which we carry, which are unnecessary to our walk with the Lord. In fact, they hinder it.
These can be habits we have picked up, which need to be put aside; or acquaintance which we have let get an advantage over us; or ideas from the world which sound right, but are not.
These weights interfere with our race; and hinder our progress in grace.
So, the writer says, you need to “lay aside” these; and run with patience the race that is set before us.
A good way to do this is:
Hebrews 12: 2-3 “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
For consider him that endured such contradictions of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.”

Jesus Christ our Lord came from His glory, into humiliation for us; that we might have His joy. We are His joy, and satisfaction. (Isaiah 53:11 “He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.”)
When we think on this, can we not see how our path through this world is not as awful as we think?
That the things we go through can bring us closer to the Lord?
It is not just His suffering in death, but the “contradiction of sinners”. That was in the unbelief of the people he came to; the anger of the chief priests and Pharisees, who refused to acknowledge Jesus’ authority; and in the face of so many proofs (because He fulfilled every Old Testament prophesy concerning the Christ) rejected Him and sought to make others refuse Him as well.
Yet Christ Jesus went to the cross to die and save all who would come unto Him.

The writer also says to be prepared to be corrected, if you go astray; because your Heavenly Father loves you, and seeks to keep you safe.
The further you are from Jesus; the further out of His Light and Love you go.

Therefore He corrects us.
Hebrews 12: 6-7 “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the Father chasteneth not.”

He acknowledges that this chastening is not a joyful thing. (Chastening is to correct; to get after the wrong in us, and not let up)

Hebrews 12:11 “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless, afterward it yeildeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.”

This “exercised thereby” is like someone who really goes after the goal.
(A group of people all competing for a a role in the games, and the trainer seems to be working them hard. But those who take the bruises, or sore feet, or failures at first; and stay with it….are those that are “exercised thereby”. They go on to the goal.)

So in Spiritual Life:
Our Trainer is the Holy Spirit. He is come to us to bring us on on our Way, in grace.
But we are often slow learners; or frightened; or we plainly do not want to do it this way.
But the Holy Spirit does not give up on us; but rather seeks to point us to Christ; and keeps working in us.
It is sometimes not joyous; but don’t give up, but go on with Him.
Hebrew 12: 12-13 “Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;
And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.”

Lift up the hands which hang down in fear or tiredness.
Strengthen the knees which want to just sit down, and forget it.
Make your paths straight, by:
Trusting in the Lord.
Listening to Him.
And holding on to His love.

He is Always with us, let us stay with Him.
Ask for these to be shown to you, now; and be prepared to be strengthened by His Holy Spirit, in peace and joy.