Sunday, August 10,
2014, 7:14 a.m. – the Lord Jesus put the song in mind, “Praise Be Told!” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Matthew 16 (NIV).
In Context
The Pharisees and Sadducees had just tested Jesus by asking
him to show them a sign from heaven. He told them that they knew how to
interpret the appearance of the sky, but they could not interpret the signs of
the times. In other words, they did not recognize that their Messiah had come.
He said to them, “A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none
will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” The sign of Jonah, from what I
understand, was a prefiguring of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, where
he took upon himself the sins of the entire world. “For as Jonah was three days
and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three
days and three nights in the heart of the earth,” said Jesus (See Matt. 12:40).
Jesus then left them and went away.
Then Jesus had a conversation with his disciples where he
cautioned them to be on their guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and
Sadducees. Yeast is a fungus, and a fungus causes fermentation and agitation. Fungi
“live by decomposing and absorbing the organic material in which they grow” (dictionary.com).
Fungus is mildew; decay; and rot. It is similar to a parasite. The yeast causes
fermentation. Ferment is defined as “uproar; tumult; confusion; upheaval;
chaos; disorder; and/or anarchy. To agitate is to “disturb; trouble; and/or
unrest.” Jesus was referring to the teaching of the Pharisees as that which
destroys, takes over what is good and consumes it, multiplies, confuses,
corrupts, expands, spreads, influences, impacts its surroundings, and contaminates
and pollutes what it touches. They were to guard against such teaching by
staying connected to Jesus and by listening to him.
Following this, Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do people
say the Son of Man is?” They gave several responses, to which Jesus then
replied, “But what about you? Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are
the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus told Peter he was blessed, for
this was not revealed to him by human flesh and blood, but by his Father in
heaven.
It Must Be
From
that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to
Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests
and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be
raised to life.
Peter
took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall
never happen to you!”
Jesus
turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to
me; you do not have in mind the concerns
of God, but merely human concerns.”
I think today that we live in a generation that wants only
or primarily what they consider to be upbeat, positive, happy and feel-good
messages. No one wants to hear bad news. No one wants to hear about hell and
damnation or judgment. I empathize with that. I like happy, too. No one wants
to hear that people are dying and going to hell, at least not to my knowledge. We
don’t like to hear about pain and suffering. I get that. We like to hear what
cheers our hearts and makes us feel good. Yet, we can’t avoid reality by
pretending that suffering, pain, heartache, sin, judgment, hell and damnation
don’t exist. They do.
So many people in America avoid Biblical messages that
involve teaching on repentance, obedience, conviction of sin, and living holy
lives pleasing to God. So many people in America avoid pain and suffering by
taking drugs or by escaping into TV, movies, alcohol, work, pornography, novels
or whatever other escape mechanisms might be available. The pharmaceutical
industry here must be making trillions. The solution to all pain and suffering
seems to be to take pills of some kind. I think there must be a pill for just
about everything. Pills, though, tend to mask and to treat symptoms only, and
few actually bring about true healing. The side effects of the pills, as well,
are often more troublesome or deadly than the ailment for which we take the pills,
and thus we have to take another pill, and another, etc.
Yet, God allows us to go through times of trouble,
heartache, sickness, pain and suffering. Sometimes it is because we have
forgotten about him, and he uses these times to get our attention and to draw
us back to himself. Often it is to help us to grow and to mature in Christ and
in our walks of faith - to teach us perseverance, and to develop within us
godly character. Jesus said that he disciplines those he loves. Sometimes he
allows difficulties in our lives so that he can reveal his glory in and through
us, and so that other lives may be impacted by what he does in our lives, and
by how we respond to our difficult circumstances. So, we should not try to
escape all pain and suffering, but we should yield ourselves to our heavenly
Father, trusting in him to accomplish his will and purposes in our lives, and
to bring about the healing in our lives which he so desires.
Jesus had to go to the cross. No matter how much Peter
protested, it had to be. Peter was thinking from a human standpoint. He did not
want his Lord to suffer and to die. He did not want to lose his friend. Yet,
God had greater purposes in mind. He intended to use Jesus’ death and
resurrection for the salvation of human lives. So, Jesus had to go to the
cross. And, sometimes we have to go through times of suffering and pain, too,
because Jesus has a purpose greater in mind that what our human minds can
fathom. And, we must not resist his will and his purposes for our lives, but we
must say with Jesus, “Not my will, but Thine be done.” Amen! We need to have the concerns of God in mind, and not
our own concerns.
We Must Die
Then
Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny
themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save
their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What
good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or
what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to
come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person
according to what they have done.
This teaching is all but lost in most presentations of the
gospel today here in America. Again, this goes back to Peter’s protest. We don’t
relish the idea of death. It is unpleasant to us. So, we resist it. Yet, if we
want to truly live, we must first die, not literally, but we must be crucified
with Christ to the sins which once enslaved us, and we must be turned from the
darkness of sin to the light of his salvation, and from the power of Satan and
sin over our lives to faith in Jesus Christ, so that we can be forgiven of our
sins, and so we can be among those who are made holy in Christ Jesus (See Ac.
26:16-18; Ro. 6-8; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 4:17-24).
We don’t do this in our own flesh. It is the power and
working of the Spirit of God within us which produces this transformation, as
we cooperate fully with that work of grace by submitting ourselves to the cross
of Christ in willingly putting to death our sinful lifestyles, and by now
walking in the Spirit of God in Christ’s righteousness and holiness.
Jesus said that his sheep listen to his voice, he knows
them, and they follow him (See Jn. 10). This means that we make it the practice
of our lives to spend time daily with our Lord in his word and in prayer; that
we are ever aware of and sensitive to his presence with us, and to his voice
speaking to us; and that we pay attention, take note of, give regard to, respect
and are mindful of what he says to us. We give heed to his words, and we obey
them. Jesus said “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will
love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them” (Jn. 14:23). He
also said, “Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death”
(Jn. 8:51). Added to that, John said, “We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.” “Those who obey his commands live in him, and he
in them.” “This is love for God: to obey
his commands. And his commands are not burdensome.” [See: 1 Jn. 2:3; 3:24; and 5:3.]
God’s
grace in salvation is not just an escape clause from the damnation of hell, nor
is it merely our ticket into his heaven. He did not die for our sins just so we
would escape hell and go to heaven one day when we die. He died so that we
would be free from slavery to sin on a day-to-day basis while we still walk the
face of this earth. His grace, in fact, teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness
and worldly passions and to live self-controlled and upright lives in this
present age while we wait for his return (See Tit. 2:11-14). Jesus died so we
would no longer live for ourselves, but for him who gave himself up for us (See
2 Co. 5:15). Why is this so rarely being taught in our churches anymore? So
many people see salvation merely as an escape from hell and a promise of heaven
when they die, but few realize anymore that salvation means a completely new
life in Christ, no longer lived for our own selfish and sinful desires, but we
now live holy lives pleasing to God. Amen!
Praise Be Told! /
An Original Work / December 28, 2013
Based off Various Scriptures
He was pierced for our
transgressions.
He was crushed for all
our sin.
Our chastisement was
upon Him.
By His stripes, we now
are healed.
He has witnessed all
our trials,
And the sins we choose
to wear.
Yet, while we were dead
in our sin,
Jesus died, our sins
to bear.
He himself bore all of
our sins
In His body on a
cross,
So that we might die
to our sin,
And live for His
righteousness.
By faith in the pow’r
of Jesus
And His blood shed for
our sins,
We can be forgiven our
sin,
And have life with God
in heav’n.
He will lead us and
He’ll guide us
In the way that we
should go.
He will comfort and
protect us,
Because Jesus, we do
know.
Though He disciplines
for our good,
He will heal us –
Praise be told!
Do not fear, your Lord
is with you.
Just have faith in
Christ your Lord.
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