Click here for the audio message of – Luke 11:1-13
This morning we will finished our study of prayer. There are a few more aspects of prayer to look at. We will look briefly at the conditions, content, and hindrances of prayer.
First, the conditions of prayer. Now when you're going to pray, how are you going to pray? Well, you ask in Christ's name. And this needs to be explained because more people get this over simplified. They think that at the end of every prayer you say "in Jesus' name, Amen," and that guarantees it.
That is not what it means in John 14:13 when it says, "If you ask anything in My name." What the word "name" means is all that Jesus is. So praying in His name is asking consistently with who He is. That's all. It is saying, "This I ask as if Christ was asking it."
Secondly, we not only ask in Christ's name, we ask in faith...we ask believing. God wants you to believe Him and then when He does respond you'll give Him praise.
Matthew 21:22, "And all things whatever you ask in prayer believing you will receive."
Do you really believe God does answer prayer in your heart? That's a condition. And what he means by that is, Do you really believe God will answer your prayer?
Thirdly, asking in God's will, consistently with God's will. Praying, "Father, this I ask in Your will." First John 5:14, "This is the confidence that we have in Him, if we ask anything according to His will He hears and does it."
So in Christ's name, asking in faith and in God's will. And if we say, "God, do this whether You like it or not," He's not going to do that. God is not up there whimsically responding to everything we ask for whether He wants to do it or not. Prayer, as I said, is lining us up with God's will.
Another thing, prayer must come from a pure heart. James 5:16, "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man..." If there's garbage in your life, the channel of prayer is really closed off.
And then the last thing is we're to ask with earnestness. God really wants what is called by the old English word "importunity." Remember the guy in Luke 11 who wanted to get the bread?
So he goes and he starts banging on the door and the guy's asleep. And he says, "Get out of here." And the guy keeps banging and banging and banging and the guy says, "Get out." Bang, bang, bang. The guy finally comes down and he says, "I want some bread."
And the Lord says, you see, he got the bread for his much knocking, so shall you for your much asking. In other words, this is seeking. This is being so intense and so desirous that you continue to seek the Lord, not endless repetition but earnestness.
The second thing to look at this morning is the content of prayer. What is prayer to be about? Well first of all as I’ve mentioned before prayer is to be about anything it is just conversation with God.
Ephesians 6:18, all kinds, any old kind...standing up, sitting down, crying out, whispering, praying in a closet, praying in public, supplication...which is asking for things, interceding...which is praying for somebody else's needs, thanksgiving...which is thanking God for what he's done, praise...which is just extolling His virtues. Any kind and all kinds of talking to God.
Now what is to be the subject of your prayers? Who do you pray about? There are really only two things, yourself and others...that's it. Pray for yourself and pray for others.
If you search through the Bible you will find a list of about 15 different specific groups that you're told to pray for. You're supposed to pray to the Lord, He'll send for laborers into His harvest, you're supposed to pray for new missionaries and teachers and preachers.
Do you ever pray for your President? You're told to pray for those in authority over you. Do you ever pray for the governor? The policeman? Yep, you should pray for your local police. There's a lot of people you're supposed to be praying for and they're all there in many places in the New Testament.
Finally, there are some hindrances to prayer. And generally speaking the hindrance is Psalm 66:18. "If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me." The hindrance to prayer is sin. Psalm 66:18, the hindrance to prayer is sin.
Now that sin can take many, many, many forms. Selfishness for example. If you ask selfishly to consume it on your own lusts, your prayers are hindered. Unconcern (Proverbs 21) would be another. You are praying for someone because you are supposed to, not because you really care.
Another would be anger at your spouse. If you're not getting along with your wife, your prayer won't be answered. Did you know that? That's kind of a heavy, isn't it? People wonder why things aren't going well in their home, well they ought to maybe get right with the wife before they get right with the Lord.
When you doubt things, James says, you're wavering, your prayers are hindered.
That is our brief look at prayer. Hopefully, each of you have gotten some better insight into prayer and are able to pray better.
Need help prayer. Ask God to clear your mind when you prayer. That is one of Satan’s tools. He tries to fill your mind with noise. Maybe it isn’t necessarily bad stuff. Maybe it is simply a shopping list, but it keeps you from talking to God and that is Satan’s goal.
Here is a simple way I teach people to pray. It has four simple parts to it.
1. Thanks
2. I’m Sorry
3. Help Me
4. Help my neighbor
That’s it. That is a simple prayer, you fill in the blanks.
Thank God for something He has done or given to you.
Confession your sins to Him, say you are sorry.
Ask Him to help you through your situation.
Finally, ask Him to help others around you.
That’s it. Try it this week. It is simple.
Closing Prayer
Lord, we thank you for our study of prayer. We know we are not experts on the subject, but we know what to do. Help us to clear our minds and our schedules to take time to communicate with you through the day.
Show us your will for our life and demonstrate your power through us so that others may come to know your saving grace.
AMEN.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Prayer - Continued
Click here for the audio message – James 5:13-18
This morning we continue to look at the topic of prayer and in particular we will look briefly at the necessity of prayer.
It is necessary, because it is commanded. And anything that is commanded of the Christian becomes necessary. Jesus said in Luke 18:1, "I want everybody everywhere to pray and not to faint." You know what most people do when they have a problem? They faint. Jesus said, "Don't faint, do...what?...pray. I want you to pray, not faint."
You know, Peter had a problem, he was always falling asleep in prayer meetings and Jesus said to him, "You know, if you stayed awake and prayed you wouldn't be in the mess you're in. Watch and pray unless you enter into...what?...temptation." You see, Peter didn't pray so he didn't have himself ready for the temptation.
If you pray more than you'd sleep, you be better off. You know, some of us go to bed at night and we say, "Dear Lord...." and we're gone, you know. We wake up the next day and we bomb out all day. Well you know what we did? We went to sleep instead of praying, watch and pray lest you enter into temptation.
Prayer undergirds us. It's necessary to pray. It's necessary because it's commanded. It's necessary because it keeps sin away. It prepares us for what is to come.
Now it is commanded that we not only pray but it is commanded that we pray a lot. In fact as we saw last week, it says, "Praying always," in Ephesians 6:18 and in 1 Thessalonians 5 it says, "Pray without...what?...ceasing."
I used to wonder, pray without ceasing, how do you do that? It simply means that you are in an attitude of God consciousness at all times. It is commanded that you see everything in relation to God.
Secondly, prayer brings glory to God. When you pray God gets glorified because then He can answer and when He answers then you praise Him. John 14:13 says that we're to pray and He will answer for His own glory. "Whatever you will ask in My name I'll do it that the Father may be glorified." God says I answer prayer to get the glory.
So prayer is a way in which God can display His power and gain glory. And that's very important.
Thirdly, we are to pray because prayer blesses us. Blessing means it makes you happy. When you pray you get happy. Praying people are happy people. You know why? They're talking to God and it's great to talk to God. And then God answers what we ask and that makes us even happier.
Fourth, prayer is important because it works. And I'm like you, I want to do what works, right? I'm not going to waste my time doing something that doesn't have any effect. Prayer works.
James 5:16 says, "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." It works. Effectual fervent prayer from a righteous heart works. It actually activates God. It makes a difference. Sometimes He answers no, but He answers yes enough for us to know that prayer works.
First John 5:15 says, " And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him." If God hears, John says, then we know He answers. Prayer really works. It really does have an effect.
How does it work? That's a good question. First, under that, sometimes it works immediately. Have you ever noticed that? Sometimes you can't hardly believe how fast it works. Sometimes prayer works immediately.
Isaiah 65:24 says, "And it shall come to pass that before they call I will answer. And while they are yet speaking, I will hear." God's already sending the answer before we've even gotten the prayer off. It works immediately, sometimes.
Secondly, sometimes it's delayed. Sometimes we may pray for something and we have to wait because God knows a lot more than we know and He knows it's better to come later than to come now.
Luke 18:7, "And shall not God avenge His own elect who cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them?"
In other words, sometimes it's painful and you have to go through a lot of things and sometimes God's chosen people have had to suffer and suffer and suffer and suffer and it seems like it goes on and on and on but God will answer even though it takes him a long time to get his answer. And that's because He has a purpose.
So sometimes it's immediate, sometimes it's delayed, sometimes it's different than we asked for.
Sometimes He gives us even more than we ask for. Jeremiah 33:3 says, "Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.," even beyond what you know. It's kind of like Ephesians 3:20, "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we can ask." He can do more than we can ask.
No doubt many of you have experienced this. You ask God for a small simple blessing. Maybe years ago, you asked Him for a healthy family and now many years later you just don’t have a couple of sons or daughters, but you have a tremendous family of children and grand children, Sons and daughters in laws and so on. God gave you and blessed you with more than you asked for.
So prayer is necessary. It is commanded from God. It keeps us from temptation. It prepares us for the future. It brings glory to God. It blesses us. It makes us happy when God answers our prayers. And prayer works, sometimes immediately and sometimes when the time is right by God’s standards.
Let us continue to remember to talk to God daily, not only for our blessings but His glory as well.
Closing prayer
Lord, we thank you for the opportunity to come here and worship you this morning. We thank you for listening to our prayers and answering them in a way that not only helps us, but serves your purpose.
AMEN.
This morning we continue to look at the topic of prayer and in particular we will look briefly at the necessity of prayer.
It is necessary, because it is commanded. And anything that is commanded of the Christian becomes necessary. Jesus said in Luke 18:1, "I want everybody everywhere to pray and not to faint." You know what most people do when they have a problem? They faint. Jesus said, "Don't faint, do...what?...pray. I want you to pray, not faint."
You know, Peter had a problem, he was always falling asleep in prayer meetings and Jesus said to him, "You know, if you stayed awake and prayed you wouldn't be in the mess you're in. Watch and pray unless you enter into...what?...temptation." You see, Peter didn't pray so he didn't have himself ready for the temptation.
If you pray more than you'd sleep, you be better off. You know, some of us go to bed at night and we say, "Dear Lord...." and we're gone, you know. We wake up the next day and we bomb out all day. Well you know what we did? We went to sleep instead of praying, watch and pray lest you enter into temptation.
Prayer undergirds us. It's necessary to pray. It's necessary because it's commanded. It's necessary because it keeps sin away. It prepares us for what is to come.
Now it is commanded that we not only pray but it is commanded that we pray a lot. In fact as we saw last week, it says, "Praying always," in Ephesians 6:18 and in 1 Thessalonians 5 it says, "Pray without...what?...ceasing."
I used to wonder, pray without ceasing, how do you do that? It simply means that you are in an attitude of God consciousness at all times. It is commanded that you see everything in relation to God.
Secondly, prayer brings glory to God. When you pray God gets glorified because then He can answer and when He answers then you praise Him. John 14:13 says that we're to pray and He will answer for His own glory. "Whatever you will ask in My name I'll do it that the Father may be glorified." God says I answer prayer to get the glory.
So prayer is a way in which God can display His power and gain glory. And that's very important.
Thirdly, we are to pray because prayer blesses us. Blessing means it makes you happy. When you pray you get happy. Praying people are happy people. You know why? They're talking to God and it's great to talk to God. And then God answers what we ask and that makes us even happier.
Fourth, prayer is important because it works. And I'm like you, I want to do what works, right? I'm not going to waste my time doing something that doesn't have any effect. Prayer works.
James 5:16 says, "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." It works. Effectual fervent prayer from a righteous heart works. It actually activates God. It makes a difference. Sometimes He answers no, but He answers yes enough for us to know that prayer works.
First John 5:15 says, " And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him." If God hears, John says, then we know He answers. Prayer really works. It really does have an effect.
How does it work? That's a good question. First, under that, sometimes it works immediately. Have you ever noticed that? Sometimes you can't hardly believe how fast it works. Sometimes prayer works immediately.
Isaiah 65:24 says, "And it shall come to pass that before they call I will answer. And while they are yet speaking, I will hear." God's already sending the answer before we've even gotten the prayer off. It works immediately, sometimes.
Secondly, sometimes it's delayed. Sometimes we may pray for something and we have to wait because God knows a lot more than we know and He knows it's better to come later than to come now.
Luke 18:7, "And shall not God avenge His own elect who cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them?"
In other words, sometimes it's painful and you have to go through a lot of things and sometimes God's chosen people have had to suffer and suffer and suffer and suffer and it seems like it goes on and on and on but God will answer even though it takes him a long time to get his answer. And that's because He has a purpose.
So sometimes it's immediate, sometimes it's delayed, sometimes it's different than we asked for.
Sometimes He gives us even more than we ask for. Jeremiah 33:3 says, "Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.," even beyond what you know. It's kind of like Ephesians 3:20, "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we can ask." He can do more than we can ask.
No doubt many of you have experienced this. You ask God for a small simple blessing. Maybe years ago, you asked Him for a healthy family and now many years later you just don’t have a couple of sons or daughters, but you have a tremendous family of children and grand children, Sons and daughters in laws and so on. God gave you and blessed you with more than you asked for.
So prayer is necessary. It is commanded from God. It keeps us from temptation. It prepares us for the future. It brings glory to God. It blesses us. It makes us happy when God answers our prayers. And prayer works, sometimes immediately and sometimes when the time is right by God’s standards.
Let us continue to remember to talk to God daily, not only for our blessings but His glory as well.
Closing prayer
Lord, we thank you for the opportunity to come here and worship you this morning. We thank you for listening to our prayers and answering them in a way that not only helps us, but serves your purpose.
AMEN.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Praying
Click this link to listen to the audio message – Ephesians 6:10-20
We're going to talk about how to pray this morning. One of the very basic things about the Christian life is praying.
Prayer really is important. We talk a lot about prayer and we throw the word around but prayer is a tremendous power. Prayer activates the power of God. God moves in response to the prayers of His people.
And not only that, prayer lines us up properly with God. When we're told to pray, we are told to pray in the Spirit. Now what it means to pray in the Spirit is to pray consistently with the Spirit of God.
So prayer not only moves God to act but prayer is to align us with the will and purpose of God. When we pray in the will of God or in accord with God's will we are lining up with His purposes.
Prayer really does change things. Prayer is effective. We would say that prayer is simply is talking to God.
One of the things that happens when a baby comes into a family is that the first thing you want the baby to do is...what? You want to communicate with the baby, right? You want some response, and that's the same as a Christian.
The thing that happens when you become a Christian is immediately you're thrown into an environment with God when you have a tremendous desire to communicate with Him, to respond and say the things that are on your heart.
Now that's all prayer is. Prayer isn’t buying a little book and reciting whatever it says. That isn't prayer. Prayer is communing with God. It's just conversation like you talk to anybody. It isn't a whole lot of thees and thous and such, it's not a vocabulary contest to see who can say the most theological words without taking a breath. It isn't that at all.
Prayer is not vain repetition. It's not, "Please, oh do this, oh I beg You, I beg You, I beg You, you know, please do this, please." You don't need to beg like that. The Pharisees had endless repetition. Prayer isn't that either. It's not saying 48 Hail Marys in a row, the same thing over and over again. God isn't deaf and He heard you the first time.
Prayer is simply conversation.
And sometimes in your life you may say, "God, it's sure a nice day and I hope You're enjoying it like I am and I just want to thank You for it." That's a significant a prayer as if you stood up in a pulpit and said a bunch of theology because all you're doing is communing with God.
When we read the Bible, God talks to us. When we pray, we talk to Him. And you've got to have both sides or you don't have conversation. Nobody likes a one sided conversation.
Now all Christians pray. We all talk to God sometimes. We don't all pray right. We don't all pray the way we ought to. A lot of Christians pray wrong.
In the first place, we spend a lot of time asking for stuff we don't need. Did you ever know that? "Lord, give me this, give me that, give me that," and the Lord knows if He gave it to us it would only mess us up so He doesn't.
So, prayer is simply communing with God. It’s simply talking to God. It isn't to be sophisticated, it isn't to be formal or informal, it's just anything. Paul says in Ephesians 6:18, "Praying always with all kinds of prayer." Any kind of prayer.
You could be crying out, "O God, help me" in a terrible time of stress. Or you could be saying, "Lord, this is a terrific day, I'm really happy, I just want You to know I'm checking in. Thanks!"
That's prayer. Any kind of communion with God at any point, at any level, on any subject...communion with God is prayer.
Now you don't have to close your eyes. It really doesn't matter, the Bible says you can pray with your eyes lifted up to heaven. It says you can pray with your hands lifted up. It says you can pray kneeling, you can pray bowing, you can lie down and pray, you can stand up, you can pray while you're walking, sitting, whatever.
Often times we close our eyes and teach our children to close their eyes during prayer to simply block out distractions from our surrounds. Although I must say if you are praying while driving, don’t close your eyes.
Incidentally, you can pray to anybody in the trinity you want. You can pray to God. You can pray to Christ. You can talk to the Holy Spirit. Or you can say, "I want all of You to listen here, I have something to say to all of You." So you can call them all in there.
Let me give you an illustration of how this communion with God really works.
You're going through your day and you're just minding your own business. You see something good. You see a clear day, you see a lovely little child or you hear a friend call you on the phone and you think about the love of that friend.
Or maybe you look at the person you love and you just say, "Isn't that great," so what do you do? What's your first reaction? Thank You, Lord, for that. You're seeing things in relation to God.
You see everything in relation to God and you converse with Him about it.
Or maybe you see a problem and you say, "Lord, here's a problem, deliver us from the problem, solve the problem, gain glory from the problem." You see, in other words, everything it is, good, bad, indifferent, whatever it is, you see it in the light of God.
It becomes something for which you can talk to God. That's praying. It isn't just mumbling all through the day some little words, or praying some special prayer. It's just relating everything that goes on in your life through the day to the presence of God, He's there.
You can all think of a best friend you have, maybe it's your husband or wife or boyfriend or girlfriend, or whatever. But think of the best friend. And imagine your best friend was with you today all day by your side.
You had the whole day with your best friend, or the person you love most. And that person never left your side this entire day. And you talked to that person today just as many times as you talked to Christ today.
How much conversation did you have with them? How would your friend feel if he spent the whole day with you and you never said a word and he was there the whole time? Well it would be a little ridiculous, wouldn't it?
It would probably be the start of the end of your friendship. You would at least acknowledge that they were there and you would begin to see things in the light of the presence of your friend. You'd say, "Hey, isn't that terrific? Did you see that? Isn't that too bad, you know, we ought to do something about that."
You're relating everything to the presence of your friend. That's how it is in prayer. All you're doing is relating everything to the presence of God and that's a God conscious attitude and that's praying without ceasing.
Closing Prayer
We thank you Lord for the gift and blessing of communication with You. We thank you that you are always there for us. Help us to always be there for you too.
AMEN.
We're going to talk about how to pray this morning. One of the very basic things about the Christian life is praying.
Prayer really is important. We talk a lot about prayer and we throw the word around but prayer is a tremendous power. Prayer activates the power of God. God moves in response to the prayers of His people.
And not only that, prayer lines us up properly with God. When we're told to pray, we are told to pray in the Spirit. Now what it means to pray in the Spirit is to pray consistently with the Spirit of God.
So prayer not only moves God to act but prayer is to align us with the will and purpose of God. When we pray in the will of God or in accord with God's will we are lining up with His purposes.
Prayer really does change things. Prayer is effective. We would say that prayer is simply is talking to God.
One of the things that happens when a baby comes into a family is that the first thing you want the baby to do is...what? You want to communicate with the baby, right? You want some response, and that's the same as a Christian.
The thing that happens when you become a Christian is immediately you're thrown into an environment with God when you have a tremendous desire to communicate with Him, to respond and say the things that are on your heart.
Now that's all prayer is. Prayer isn’t buying a little book and reciting whatever it says. That isn't prayer. Prayer is communing with God. It's just conversation like you talk to anybody. It isn't a whole lot of thees and thous and such, it's not a vocabulary contest to see who can say the most theological words without taking a breath. It isn't that at all.
Prayer is not vain repetition. It's not, "Please, oh do this, oh I beg You, I beg You, I beg You, you know, please do this, please." You don't need to beg like that. The Pharisees had endless repetition. Prayer isn't that either. It's not saying 48 Hail Marys in a row, the same thing over and over again. God isn't deaf and He heard you the first time.
Prayer is simply conversation.
And sometimes in your life you may say, "God, it's sure a nice day and I hope You're enjoying it like I am and I just want to thank You for it." That's a significant a prayer as if you stood up in a pulpit and said a bunch of theology because all you're doing is communing with God.
When we read the Bible, God talks to us. When we pray, we talk to Him. And you've got to have both sides or you don't have conversation. Nobody likes a one sided conversation.
Now all Christians pray. We all talk to God sometimes. We don't all pray right. We don't all pray the way we ought to. A lot of Christians pray wrong.
In the first place, we spend a lot of time asking for stuff we don't need. Did you ever know that? "Lord, give me this, give me that, give me that," and the Lord knows if He gave it to us it would only mess us up so He doesn't.
So, prayer is simply communing with God. It’s simply talking to God. It isn't to be sophisticated, it isn't to be formal or informal, it's just anything. Paul says in Ephesians 6:18, "Praying always with all kinds of prayer." Any kind of prayer.
You could be crying out, "O God, help me" in a terrible time of stress. Or you could be saying, "Lord, this is a terrific day, I'm really happy, I just want You to know I'm checking in. Thanks!"
That's prayer. Any kind of communion with God at any point, at any level, on any subject...communion with God is prayer.
Now you don't have to close your eyes. It really doesn't matter, the Bible says you can pray with your eyes lifted up to heaven. It says you can pray with your hands lifted up. It says you can pray kneeling, you can pray bowing, you can lie down and pray, you can stand up, you can pray while you're walking, sitting, whatever.
Often times we close our eyes and teach our children to close their eyes during prayer to simply block out distractions from our surrounds. Although I must say if you are praying while driving, don’t close your eyes.
Incidentally, you can pray to anybody in the trinity you want. You can pray to God. You can pray to Christ. You can talk to the Holy Spirit. Or you can say, "I want all of You to listen here, I have something to say to all of You." So you can call them all in there.
Let me give you an illustration of how this communion with God really works.
You're going through your day and you're just minding your own business. You see something good. You see a clear day, you see a lovely little child or you hear a friend call you on the phone and you think about the love of that friend.
Or maybe you look at the person you love and you just say, "Isn't that great," so what do you do? What's your first reaction? Thank You, Lord, for that. You're seeing things in relation to God.
You see everything in relation to God and you converse with Him about it.
Or maybe you see a problem and you say, "Lord, here's a problem, deliver us from the problem, solve the problem, gain glory from the problem." You see, in other words, everything it is, good, bad, indifferent, whatever it is, you see it in the light of God.
It becomes something for which you can talk to God. That's praying. It isn't just mumbling all through the day some little words, or praying some special prayer. It's just relating everything that goes on in your life through the day to the presence of God, He's there.
You can all think of a best friend you have, maybe it's your husband or wife or boyfriend or girlfriend, or whatever. But think of the best friend. And imagine your best friend was with you today all day by your side.
You had the whole day with your best friend, or the person you love most. And that person never left your side this entire day. And you talked to that person today just as many times as you talked to Christ today.
How much conversation did you have with them? How would your friend feel if he spent the whole day with you and you never said a word and he was there the whole time? Well it would be a little ridiculous, wouldn't it?
It would probably be the start of the end of your friendship. You would at least acknowledge that they were there and you would begin to see things in the light of the presence of your friend. You'd say, "Hey, isn't that terrific? Did you see that? Isn't that too bad, you know, we ought to do something about that."
You're relating everything to the presence of your friend. That's how it is in prayer. All you're doing is relating everything to the presence of God and that's a God conscious attitude and that's praying without ceasing.
Closing Prayer
We thank you Lord for the gift and blessing of communication with You. We thank you that you are always there for us. Help us to always be there for you too.
AMEN.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Seeing Christ
Click here to download the audio message of John 20: 11-18
Seeing Christ
What a wonderful Scripture reading this is on this Easter morning. There are so many things we could say about it, but this morning I want to focus on Mary Magdalene and her encounter with the risen Christ.
It had been a long morning for her already. She was up early, before dawn. Her and a few other women were on their way to the tomb to finish the burial process of placing the spices on the body.
She was determined to give her Lord a proper burial because she loved Him. Sure, Joseph of Arimathea did what he could by wrapping the body and placing it in the tomb, but Joseph didn’t have that same knowledge and love of Christ that Mary had.
So Mary and the other women make their way along the dark trail to the tomb. Their discussion is focused on how they are going to get into the tomb. The last thing they saw last night was a large stone rolled in front of the tomb and Pilate placing guards in front of it. What are they going to do to get inside?
When they arrive at the tomb their concerns about the stone are irrelevant. The stone was already moved and the guards were gone. But so was Jesus’ body. Mary is devastated. She runs off to tell Peter and John about the situation.
The three of them run back to the tomb. John and Peter ran faster than Mary, so by the time she arrives at the tomb again Peter and John are done investigating the situation and return to the town.
According to Scripture they said nothing to Mary. So there is Mary at the tomb, all alone. Filled with grief, filled with sorrow. Her stomach is in knots and her eyes are filled with tears.
Then as she looks into the tomb again, she sees two angels where Jesus’ body was laid the day before. Of course, she didn’t realize they were angels. They ask her why she is crying. See the angels don’t understand, they know that Christ is risen. They must have thought that it was strange that Mary was here crying.
But Mary responds, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” She must have thought they were the caretakers of the cemetery or gardeners or something, but not angels. That thought never crossed her mind.
Before the angels can respond to her though a man appears behind her and asks the same question, “Women, why are you crying? Who are you looking for?” Mary thinks it is the gardener, so she responds, “If you took my Lord’s body away, please tell me so I can go get it.”
But this man is not the gardener, rather it is Jesus. The reason for Mary’s failure to recognize Jesus is unclear. It could be the fact that she had been crying and just couldn’t see clearly. Sometimes that happens.
Or maybe she remembered what His body looked like the night before. It was bruised and beaten and bloody and that image was ingrained in her head no doubt. So when she sees the resurrected Jesus she failed to recognize Him because His appearance was so much different.
Or maybe the simple answer is God prevented her from seeing Christ, much like He did with the disciples on the road to Emmaus. But for whatever reason she did not recognize Jesus standing there.
Then, Jesus calls out her name, “Mary.” Now, I don’t know how He said it, maybe in a nice soft gentle tone as in “Mary” or maybe in a “Mary, it’s me” kind of voice. I don’t now. But, whatever the reason for her failure to recognize Jesus before, the moment He spoke her name she knew who He was.
There was just something about the way He spoke her name. In John 10:27, Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” What a true illustration we have of that point here with Mary.
Mary no doubt lunges forward to hug and hold Jesus at that moment. She clings to Him for dear life, because that is exactly what He is not only to her, but to all that come to Him. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” Verse 28 of John 10 continues, “and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish and no one will snatch them out of My hand.”
Jesus sends Mary away, saying “You cannot cling to me now, but go and tell My brothers about what you have seen and what I have said.”
This is significant and most people miss it. Throughout Christ’s teaching and ministry He referred to His followers mostly as slaves, as servants, and even as friends. But now, He calls us brothers. We are sons of God. We are heirs of God and joint heirs of Christ.
After Jesus said these things, Mary went on her way and announced these things to the disciples. “I have seen the Lord,” she says.
What a thrilling and mountaintop moment this must have been for Mary. But in order to have that mountain top experience, she had to first be as low as she could go. Think about it, Mary’s experience is not that much different from our own.
At times, we are down and out. Filled with sorrow, filled with tears and grief. But then Jesus appears to us. Like Mary, we can’t see Him. But then He calls to us. He calls out our name. He sends us what we need and then He sends us on our way with that same commission that He gave Mary.
That same commission He gave to all of His disciples. That is to go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel. There are still people out there who have not heard the Word of God, there are people out there that do not know He has risen from the dead, that He has conquered death for us.
This Easter – Resurrection Sunday morning let us not forget that encounter with Mary. She loved Jesus and she obeyed Him. We should do the same today. Christ has risen indeed, now tell others.
Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, be as real and present to us as you were to Mary. Open our eyes so that we may see your hand at work in our lives. Open our hearts to receive the love that you pour out on us. Give us the wisdom, the strength, and the courage to proclaim the Gospel message to all that we meet.
AMEN
Seeing Christ
What a wonderful Scripture reading this is on this Easter morning. There are so many things we could say about it, but this morning I want to focus on Mary Magdalene and her encounter with the risen Christ.
It had been a long morning for her already. She was up early, before dawn. Her and a few other women were on their way to the tomb to finish the burial process of placing the spices on the body.
She was determined to give her Lord a proper burial because she loved Him. Sure, Joseph of Arimathea did what he could by wrapping the body and placing it in the tomb, but Joseph didn’t have that same knowledge and love of Christ that Mary had.
So Mary and the other women make their way along the dark trail to the tomb. Their discussion is focused on how they are going to get into the tomb. The last thing they saw last night was a large stone rolled in front of the tomb and Pilate placing guards in front of it. What are they going to do to get inside?
When they arrive at the tomb their concerns about the stone are irrelevant. The stone was already moved and the guards were gone. But so was Jesus’ body. Mary is devastated. She runs off to tell Peter and John about the situation.
The three of them run back to the tomb. John and Peter ran faster than Mary, so by the time she arrives at the tomb again Peter and John are done investigating the situation and return to the town.
According to Scripture they said nothing to Mary. So there is Mary at the tomb, all alone. Filled with grief, filled with sorrow. Her stomach is in knots and her eyes are filled with tears.
Then as she looks into the tomb again, she sees two angels where Jesus’ body was laid the day before. Of course, she didn’t realize they were angels. They ask her why she is crying. See the angels don’t understand, they know that Christ is risen. They must have thought that it was strange that Mary was here crying.
But Mary responds, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” She must have thought they were the caretakers of the cemetery or gardeners or something, but not angels. That thought never crossed her mind.
Before the angels can respond to her though a man appears behind her and asks the same question, “Women, why are you crying? Who are you looking for?” Mary thinks it is the gardener, so she responds, “If you took my Lord’s body away, please tell me so I can go get it.”
But this man is not the gardener, rather it is Jesus. The reason for Mary’s failure to recognize Jesus is unclear. It could be the fact that she had been crying and just couldn’t see clearly. Sometimes that happens.
Or maybe she remembered what His body looked like the night before. It was bruised and beaten and bloody and that image was ingrained in her head no doubt. So when she sees the resurrected Jesus she failed to recognize Him because His appearance was so much different.
Or maybe the simple answer is God prevented her from seeing Christ, much like He did with the disciples on the road to Emmaus. But for whatever reason she did not recognize Jesus standing there.
Then, Jesus calls out her name, “Mary.” Now, I don’t know how He said it, maybe in a nice soft gentle tone as in “Mary” or maybe in a “Mary, it’s me” kind of voice. I don’t now. But, whatever the reason for her failure to recognize Jesus before, the moment He spoke her name she knew who He was.
There was just something about the way He spoke her name. In John 10:27, Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” What a true illustration we have of that point here with Mary.
Mary no doubt lunges forward to hug and hold Jesus at that moment. She clings to Him for dear life, because that is exactly what He is not only to her, but to all that come to Him. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” Verse 28 of John 10 continues, “and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish and no one will snatch them out of My hand.”
Jesus sends Mary away, saying “You cannot cling to me now, but go and tell My brothers about what you have seen and what I have said.”
This is significant and most people miss it. Throughout Christ’s teaching and ministry He referred to His followers mostly as slaves, as servants, and even as friends. But now, He calls us brothers. We are sons of God. We are heirs of God and joint heirs of Christ.
After Jesus said these things, Mary went on her way and announced these things to the disciples. “I have seen the Lord,” she says.
What a thrilling and mountaintop moment this must have been for Mary. But in order to have that mountain top experience, she had to first be as low as she could go. Think about it, Mary’s experience is not that much different from our own.
At times, we are down and out. Filled with sorrow, filled with tears and grief. But then Jesus appears to us. Like Mary, we can’t see Him. But then He calls to us. He calls out our name. He sends us what we need and then He sends us on our way with that same commission that He gave Mary.
That same commission He gave to all of His disciples. That is to go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel. There are still people out there who have not heard the Word of God, there are people out there that do not know He has risen from the dead, that He has conquered death for us.
This Easter – Resurrection Sunday morning let us not forget that encounter with Mary. She loved Jesus and she obeyed Him. We should do the same today. Christ has risen indeed, now tell others.
Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, be as real and present to us as you were to Mary. Open our eyes so that we may see your hand at work in our lives. Open our hearts to receive the love that you pour out on us. Give us the wisdom, the strength, and the courage to proclaim the Gospel message to all that we meet.
AMEN
Thursday, April 1, 2010
The Last Passover
Click here for audio message of: Matthew 26:20-30
“The Last Passover”
No doubt we are all at least somewhat familiar with the Passover feast. Each family in Israel picks a spotless lamb and takes it to the priests to be slaughtered and then taken home and roasted. This is done in remembrance of the nation’s deliverance from Egypt.
Jesus and His disciples were celebrating the last Passover this night almost 2000 years ago. I want to take you back in time to the scene so that we can understand and feel what it was that the disciples did that night.
There were many preparations that needed to be made. Early in the day, Jesus told Peter and John to go and prepare the Upper Room. No doubt the other disciples were preparing portions of the meal. The lamb needed to be taken to the priests for the sacrifice. The unleavened bread needed to be prepared. They also needed wine and bitter herbs for the feast.
The disciples went about their business with a solemn, reverent attitude that day and probably didn’t see each other much until they gathered that night in the Upper Room. Jesus continues talking to and teaching each of His disciples that night.
When it is time for the feast, they all recline around the table which would have been low to the ground, much like a coffee table, and the feast begins. As with many traditions there was a certain way the Jewish people celebrated this meal.
A cup of wine was passed and each person would take a sip. Then there was the ceremonial washing to signify the need for moral and spiritual cleansing. It is at this point that a discussion broke out among the disciples as to which of them should be considered the greatest.
Jesus acted in true humility by washing the feet of His Disciples. After the washing, the meal continued with eating the bitter herbs. This would be a mix of parsley, endive, and other leafy greens.
The herbs were bitter to represent the harshness of Israel’s bondage in Egypt and they were eaten with the bread. The bread was dipped in a chutney like dip, made of pomegranates, apples, dates, figs, raisins, and vinegar.
The chutney was similar to the consistence of mortar mix to represent the Israelite’s slavery in Egypt when they were forced to make bricks. As each of these items were passed, the head of the house, in this case Jesus, would explain the meaning of the Passover and the stories of their ancestors.
The cup of wine was passed again and there was singing and praising God for saving them. Then the roasted lamb was served with more bread. It was at this point in the evening that Jesus spoke and said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.”
Each of the disciples were sorrowful and each asked, “Lord, is it I?” Jesus knew who it was. Jesus took some bread dipped it and handed it to Judas. After Judas took the bread, Satan entered him.
Jesus told Judas to go and do his deed quickly and Judas left. From that point on the Passover feast became the New Covenant which we know as the Lord’s Supper.
Jesus took some bread gave thanks to God for it. Then He broke it and distributed it to the disciples saying, “Take, eat; this is My body.”
This would have startled the disciples. They knew something was up. Judas had left, someone was going to betray Jesus and now Jesus breaks from the Passover tradition and does something new, something different, something out of their comfort zone.
The disciples think to themselves, what is going on here. This is My body? What is He talking about? Wait a minute, as they think back to Jesus’ ministry and teachings. Didn’t Jesus say at one point that He is the bread of life? This is it, they know it now, something really big is truly happening here.
After the bread was eaten, Jesus took the cup of wine. Again He gave thanks to God and said “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”
What? The disciples are even more stunned now. Nothing was more repulsive and disgusting to the Jews than blood, especially drinking it. Again, the disciples think back to the past 3 years of Jesus’ teaching.
They think back to all the times He spoke of His death and they knew that Jesus was not talking about literal blood, rather He was speaking of the kind of death He would have. As we know, it was a violent blood shedding that resulted in the death of Christ, but a death that would mean eternal life for us.
As the last Passover draws to a close, a new ordinance was established for the church. They sang a final hymn and the Passover meal was complete.
As we celebrate the Lord’s Supper tonight, let us remember the sacrifice Christ made for us. Let us remember, like the Israelites, what the sacrifice means for us. Christ removed the power of sin over us. He also took on the penalty of sin for us. And one day, He will take us to be with Him and remove us from the presence of sin. - AMEN
“The Last Passover”
No doubt we are all at least somewhat familiar with the Passover feast. Each family in Israel picks a spotless lamb and takes it to the priests to be slaughtered and then taken home and roasted. This is done in remembrance of the nation’s deliverance from Egypt.
Jesus and His disciples were celebrating the last Passover this night almost 2000 years ago. I want to take you back in time to the scene so that we can understand and feel what it was that the disciples did that night.
There were many preparations that needed to be made. Early in the day, Jesus told Peter and John to go and prepare the Upper Room. No doubt the other disciples were preparing portions of the meal. The lamb needed to be taken to the priests for the sacrifice. The unleavened bread needed to be prepared. They also needed wine and bitter herbs for the feast.
The disciples went about their business with a solemn, reverent attitude that day and probably didn’t see each other much until they gathered that night in the Upper Room. Jesus continues talking to and teaching each of His disciples that night.
When it is time for the feast, they all recline around the table which would have been low to the ground, much like a coffee table, and the feast begins. As with many traditions there was a certain way the Jewish people celebrated this meal.
A cup of wine was passed and each person would take a sip. Then there was the ceremonial washing to signify the need for moral and spiritual cleansing. It is at this point that a discussion broke out among the disciples as to which of them should be considered the greatest.
Jesus acted in true humility by washing the feet of His Disciples. After the washing, the meal continued with eating the bitter herbs. This would be a mix of parsley, endive, and other leafy greens.
The herbs were bitter to represent the harshness of Israel’s bondage in Egypt and they were eaten with the bread. The bread was dipped in a chutney like dip, made of pomegranates, apples, dates, figs, raisins, and vinegar.
The chutney was similar to the consistence of mortar mix to represent the Israelite’s slavery in Egypt when they were forced to make bricks. As each of these items were passed, the head of the house, in this case Jesus, would explain the meaning of the Passover and the stories of their ancestors.
The cup of wine was passed again and there was singing and praising God for saving them. Then the roasted lamb was served with more bread. It was at this point in the evening that Jesus spoke and said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.”
Each of the disciples were sorrowful and each asked, “Lord, is it I?” Jesus knew who it was. Jesus took some bread dipped it and handed it to Judas. After Judas took the bread, Satan entered him.
Jesus told Judas to go and do his deed quickly and Judas left. From that point on the Passover feast became the New Covenant which we know as the Lord’s Supper.
Jesus took some bread gave thanks to God for it. Then He broke it and distributed it to the disciples saying, “Take, eat; this is My body.”
This would have startled the disciples. They knew something was up. Judas had left, someone was going to betray Jesus and now Jesus breaks from the Passover tradition and does something new, something different, something out of their comfort zone.
The disciples think to themselves, what is going on here. This is My body? What is He talking about? Wait a minute, as they think back to Jesus’ ministry and teachings. Didn’t Jesus say at one point that He is the bread of life? This is it, they know it now, something really big is truly happening here.
After the bread was eaten, Jesus took the cup of wine. Again He gave thanks to God and said “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”
What? The disciples are even more stunned now. Nothing was more repulsive and disgusting to the Jews than blood, especially drinking it. Again, the disciples think back to the past 3 years of Jesus’ teaching.
They think back to all the times He spoke of His death and they knew that Jesus was not talking about literal blood, rather He was speaking of the kind of death He would have. As we know, it was a violent blood shedding that resulted in the death of Christ, but a death that would mean eternal life for us.
As the last Passover draws to a close, a new ordinance was established for the church. They sang a final hymn and the Passover meal was complete.
As we celebrate the Lord’s Supper tonight, let us remember the sacrifice Christ made for us. Let us remember, like the Israelites, what the sacrifice means for us. Christ removed the power of sin over us. He also took on the penalty of sin for us. And one day, He will take us to be with Him and remove us from the presence of sin. - AMEN
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