Monday, March 11,
2013, 7:30 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with the song “Servant of the Lord” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, for your
servant is listening. I read Matthew
26-28, most of which I will summarize.
Rise and Go
After Jesus prayed at Gethsemane, he went back to his
disciples, chided them for still being asleep, and then he called them to rise
and to go, because the time was near and his betrayer was now coming.
I believe Jesus Christ is giving much the same message to
his apathetic, comfortable, lazy, socially acceptable and culturally relevant
church of today. He is telling them to rise from their spiritual slumber, to
realize the nearness of the time of his return, and that our betrayer (Satan
and his antichrist) is on the way. We need to stop being consumed with the
things of this world and we need to be about the Master’s business.
Judas arrived with a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent
from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Judas gave the kiss of
betrayal, signaling that Jesus was the one to be arrested. Then the men seized
Jesus and arrested him.
Some of our greatest enemies may be from among our own
people, from our closest friends and companions, and/or from our own church and
government leadership. So, we need to be spiritually awake and discerning so
that we are not caught up in a lie, and so we don’t fall prey to the great
deceiver. We need to daily be in God’s word, seeking his face, repenting of any
known sin, asking for guidance and wisdom from above, and willing to follow our
Lord Jesus Christ in obedience and surrender to his will for our lives.
Divine Providence
Everything that happened to Jesus was a fulfillment of
scripture, for the prophets of old had prophesied that these things would take
place (ex: Is. 53). It was God’s will that Jesus should be taken away to be
crucified on a cross, because this was his plan of redemption for the people of
the world.
God has a purpose and a will for each one of our lives, too,
that he had planned for us even before he formed us in the wombs of our mothers
(see Ps. 139). Most of what he has planned for us can be found in scripture. He
has planned that we should all be given the opportunity to accept his Son, to
die to our old ways of living for self and sin, and that we should live holy
lives pleasing to God. And, in seeking his face and in being willing to obey
what he shows us, he will also reveal his specific will for each one of our
lives, too.
When Jesus was crucified, he took upon himself the sins of
the entire world. When he died, our sins died with him, and when he was raised
from the dead, he conquered death, hell, Satan and sin, triumphing over them by
the cross. He went through all of this so that you and I would no longer be
slaves to sin, but so we would be alive to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Go Quickly!
After Jesus had risen from the dead, Mary Magdalene and the “other
Mary” went to look at the tomb. An angel of the Lord spoke to them. He told
them that they were to not be afraid, and that Jesus had risen from the dead.
He invited them to look inside the empty tomb, and then he instructed them to
go quickly and tell Jesus’ disciples that he had risen from the dead. So, the
women “hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell
his disciples.” Jesus met them on their way. He told them: “Do not be afraid.
Go, and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
I believe these messages to these women are still relevant to
our lives and witness today. First of all, we should not be afraid, but we
should trust the Lord Jesus. But, even if we should feel fear, which they did,
we should go in faith and do what the Lord Jesus commands us to do, and believe
he will take away our fear. I read a book a few years back called “Feel the
Fear and Do it Anyway.” That says it!
The next thing I see in these messages is that the women,
even trembling in their boots, so to speak, did what the angel of the Lord and
what the Lord Jesus told them to do. Not only did they obey, but they obeyed
immediately and quickly (they hurried), enthusiastically (they ran to tell) and
joyfully, even though they felt fear in their hearts.
Lastly, what I get out of this section of scripture is that
they were instructed not only to not fear, to go quickly, and to tell the good
news, but they were instructed to tell where the disciples could go to meet
with or to see Jesus. What stood out to me about this is that not only are we
to tell others the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ, but we are to tell
them how they can meet Jesus.
Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must
disallow or negate his self-life, he must daily forsake (die to) sin and self,
and he must follow the Lord Jesus in obedience (see Luke 9:23-25). This is how
we find Jesus. God, speaking through Paul, said that the way in which we come to
know Christ is through dying to (forsaking; putting off) our old lives of
living for sin and self, by being transformed in heart and mind (the working of
the Spirit), and by putting on our new lives in Christ Jesus, “created to be
like God in true righteousness and holiness” (see Eph. 4:17-24). So, faith in
Jesus Christ involves both repentance (dying to sin and self) and obedience
(following Jesus Christ in holiness).
Opposition
While the women were on their way to tell the disciples,
some of the guards reported to the chief priests everything that had happened.
The chief priests and the elders met together and they concocted a lie saying
that Jesus’ disciples came during the night and stole him away while the guards
were asleep.
Satan is always working against us in opposing the gospel of
Jesus Christ, and he will devise all kinds of lies in order to lead people
astray and to try to convince them that the true gospel of Jesus Christ is a
lie. And, he often works through religious leaders, who are and who can be some
of the strongest opponents and adversaries to the true gospel of Christ. And,
we have to know that as we step out in obedience to our Lord (while we are on
our way), that opposition is going to come, yet we should allow it to strengthen
us in our resolve to keep moving forward, and not allow it to discourage and to
defeat us.
All Authority
Now the eleven
disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.
And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and
said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has
been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching
them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you
always, to the end of the age.”
We don’t have to ever be afraid to share the gospel of Jesus
Christ, because we have the authority of Jesus Christ and his word behind us if
we are teaching the true gospel. So, on the basis of the authority of Jesus
Christ – the Word – we are to “go.” Sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ has to
be a conscious decision on our part to do so, and we have to purposefully plan
for this as a part of our daily lives. We have to actively be involved in
purposeful evangelism, in other words.
Not only are we to go, and are we to share the good news,
and are we to do so immediately, enthusiastically and joyfully, but we are not
to just stop with sharing how people can come to know Jesus Christ, but we are
to teach them how to obey his commands. This is called discipleship. And, this
is what we are commanded to do, so we should all be doing it if we are true
followers of Jesus Christ ourselves. In other words, we have a responsibility
not just to evangelize, but to help new believers to grow in their faith until
they can become mature disciples of Jesus Christ. So, let’s be about the Master’s
work.
Servant
of the Lord / An Original Work / July 26, 2012
Based off
Romans 1:1-17 NIV
Servant
of the Lord;
For
the gospel you’re set apart.
Promised
through the prophets of old:
Jesus,
Son of God.
Through
Him, and for His name alone,
We
receive His grace
To
call people, Him to obey;
Coming
from their faith.
Servant
of the Lord,
For
the gospel you’re set apart.
Promised
through the prophets of old:
Jesus,
Son of God.
You
belong to Christ;
Loved
by God, and called to be saints;
Serving
God with whole heart and mind;
Preaching
Jesus Christ;
Always
praying for others’ needs;
Helping
hand to lend;
Giving
courage to others’ faith,
For
the praise of God.
You
belong to Christ;
Loved
by God, and called to be saints;
Serving
God with whole heart and mind;
Preaching
Jesus Christ.
Servant
of the Lord;
Of
the gospel, I’m not ashamed;
For
salvation, power of God
To
those who have faith.
In
the gospel find righteousness:
Being
right with God.
Turn
from sin, and trust Jesus Christ.
By
faith, live in Him.
Servant
of the Lord;
Of
the gospel, I’m not ashamed;
For
salvation, power of God
To
those who have faith.
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