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you should so watch this and listen to it. its really powerful. for me. for you. jesus blood was poured out for all. that we can be free. great is his love. everlasting is his love. true is his love.
This is my blood and with it God makes his agreement with you.
It will be poured out, so that many people will have their sins forgiven.”
Matthew 26:28
I am finding using the stations of the cross as a really good springboard for drawing nearer to God and devleoping a greater appreciation (for lack of a better word!) of the cross and the sacrifice of Jesus. So often we can have a mental assent to something without really “getting it” and i want to really “get it”… I come to the cross wanting to respond more to God, to love more, to honour more, to do more, to live out more, to obey more, to devote more… My desire is transformation by the hand of God.
Station 3 – Jesus falls
Jesus emptied himself, and took the form of a slave, being born in the likeness of men. He humbled himself, to death and a Cross.
The thing that amazes me about the cross, and indeed about the whole life of Jesus which is lived not for himself but poured out for us. It amazes me the sacrifice Jesus and Father God made and the reason for it. Because I am loved and because this was the way to redeem and save me and make me clean and pure and righteous and a child of God. The love of God was so great that he didnt even hold his son back from us as the sacrifice.
John 3:14-17 But even as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him.
Hebrews 9:22-28 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood, and without shedding of blood is no remission. Therefore it was necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves were purified with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has not entered into the Holy of Holies made with hands, which are the figures of the true, but into Heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us. Nor yet that He should offer Himself often, even as the high priest enters into the Holy of Holies every year with the blood of others (for then He must have suffered often since the foundation of the world), but now once in the end of the world He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed to men once to die, but after this the judgment, so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many. And to those who look for Him He shall appear the second time without sin to salvation.
REmember as you listen to the song and as you watch it and as you read this and read your own Bibles… it was all for love. You are greately loved. God loved you so he sent his only son. That we might be acceptable and his children. JEsus made the way. He is the way.
Imagine with me. It is a hot dusty day in a hot dusty land. The wind rises, blowing hair into the eyes of a young man. All around him are the noises and smells of the market and temple. The air is filled with the bleating of sheep, the lowing of oxen and the shouting of people. Each step he takes he is bustled and pushed by those around him. They all are heading to the same destination. The temple.
The young man presents his lamb to the levite priest before him.
The priest examines the lamb thoroughly. He opens his mouth. Checks the lambs hooves. Runs his hands up and down each leg. He checks for flaws, defects.
The priest nods solemnly. Relief floods the young man’s heart. His offering was perfect. Acceptable. A weight lifts off his shoulders. He is forgiven.
Did you notice?
Did you see?
The priest didn’t look the young man up and down. He didn’t glance his shoes, look in his eyes, or ask for a record of how he spent his time in the last week. There is no third degree or scrutiny of the mans heart and character. The young man did not have to be perfect or acceptable to be forgiven.
The sacrifice needed to be perfect and acceptable. The sacrifice needed to be blemish free.
The Bible says “you must bring to the Lord as the penalty for your sin a female from the flock, either a sheep or a goat. This is a sin offering with which the priest will purify you from your sin, making you right with the Lord.” Leviticus 5:6
The Old Testament sacrificial code is a shadow and a foreshadowing. It shows us how we are forgiven. It shows us how we become acceptable with God.
Just as the young man had his sin covered by the blood of the acceptable lamb so too we come before God covered and made acceptable by an offering. The offering of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.
1 Peter 1:1-19 And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.
And just as the priest didn’t examine the young man to see if he was blemish free God doesn’t look at us, he only looks at the Lamb of God who takes away our sins. The blood of Jesus, the Lamb, covers us and makes us acceptable.
Did you see that?
Did you feel that?
We don’t need to be perfect to come to God. The perfect sacrifice was given in Jesus. When we first come to God (pre-Christian) we are totally blemished and defective because of sin. The Bible says we are dead to God. We are made acceptable by trusting in the sacrifice of Jesus. This is what faith is.
“Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.” Romans 5:1
Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence. Ephesians 3:12
Our life as Christians and right standing with God continues to depend upon this sacrifice. It is not by our own effort or goodness that we can know God. We can never measure up or become unblemished by working for it. When God looks at us He sees the righteous record of His Son. We are right now acceptable to God.
“He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.” Ephesians 1:7
We are instructed and encouraged to walk out our faith by living lives that are pleasing to God but this is a process that takes a lifetime. As we “clean our lives up” though we don’t need to feel far away from God or not good enough to know Him. . If we are a Christian there is no limitation or separation between God and us. Jesus gave His life so that we can know God and be called a child of God. We can know God.
This should give us freedom and joy and gratitude and a sense of awe – the WOW response. Let’s live like this. Let’s live in this freedom and forgiveness. Lets live responding to the grace of God.
The sacrifice has been paid. We are forgiven.
I lean towards prayer and worship and also admire the meditative lifestyles of saints of old and saints of now.
while I am not catholic or endorsing a denomination I thought I would use the stations of the cross as a springboard for my devotions. This was semi inspired by a wedding I attended in a beautiful old catholic church which had stained glass stations of the cross.
The stations of the cross follow the last hours of Jesus life from his trial to his resurrection.
Station One = Jesus Condemned
Pilate brought Jesus outside and said to the people, “Look at your king!”
At this they shouted, “Away with him! Crucify him!”
Then Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified
John 19:14-15
“Behold your King” is such a powerful declaration. Especially if you let yourself think what Jesus must of looked like at that time. Beaten. Broken. Thorny crown. Whipped. Spat on. Mocked. Strong. Surrendered. Submitted. Sacrificing. Saving. Saviour.
Throughout his trial Jesus remained committed to the will of God and the heart of God. He continued to act with grace and holiness. I was thinking today that the out working of our christianity isn’t just in the big moral decisions (adultary, stealing, murder etc) but in the day to day how we choose to act and react in our families and with our friends. Do we yell at our kids or extend grace? Are we patient or kind or do we let that unkind word slip out? Do we allow discouragement to defeat us or continue to have faith in God? In the same way Jesus made the choices to remain sinless and surrendered to God. At any point he could have lashed out and taken his life back from those he was giving it to….
John 10:17 Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I might take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down from Myself. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it again. I have received this commandment from My Father.
The thing that really strikes me is just the process of sacrifice that Jesus went through. It was a continual process of laying his life down. It wasn’t easy. And he did it for the sake of love.
1 John 4:10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation concerning our sins.
Love is demonstrated in the sacrifice of Jesus. It is demonstrated in the life of Jesus.
All that Jesus suffered was for our sake. For our redemption. For our salvation. Each whip and mock and spit was so I can be called a child of God. My sin also spat, whipped and mocked Jesus. I am responsible. And I am forgiven.
Isaiah 53:7 He was oppressed, and He was afflicted; yet He opened not His mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter; and as a sheep before its shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth.
“Today, the church is like a bear fed by tourists. It’s lost its natural ability. We need to share Christ in meaningful ways without just inviting people to a congregational event. I can just suggest one brief idea: let’s get that back by starting where people are, listening to them, building a relationship, telling them about Jesus, sharing with them the story of redemption, and bringing them to a bloody cross and an empty tomb.” from Chosen Revolution (which i dont think exists anymore sorry! but it was such an awesome quote!)
The bloody, ugly, cross of Christ is a much better place to take someone, to show them the Gospel, than a church. Even biblical churches and great pastors, are not as effective at showing someone Jesus than a single person who brings them the truth of Christ in the context of a relationship. This is the revolution. It is not a movement away from biblical churches; it is a movement to be biblical members of the church in our community. As Mark D. said, we must reach out to our community without selling out the truth of the Gospel.
The cross of Jesus is the demonstration of the Love of God towards us. It is the sacrifice that paid for our sins and made a way for us to know God and to be free and holy and new.
We try to be so seeker sensitive and forget that people want the truth and they long to be free and to be forgiven and pure and to know God. we forget that they want eternal life. so we wrap it up nicely or package it in a programme or hide it away…
it is only at the cross that we find the way, the truth and the life. and in that we find love, grace, mercy, eternity.
the cross brings hope and life and forgiveness.
the empty tomb shows the power of God and the majesty and glory and almightyness of God.
I had the privagledge of service leading on Sunday in our mornnig service. So i was nervous – i felt like peeing all morning long – but knew how to break my tension… joked about the choice of shoes been a critical factor for preparatioin for the morning – my cute pointy front detailed 1 inch heels vs my chunkier, practical 3 inch heel boots… the boots won – i told the congregation i wasnt sure if i could see over the podium without them… anyway part of doing service leading, apart from teh welcome and notices is doing the offering and communion wchih i love doing. i love offerings and i love communion! both are worship times and chances to say more I LOVE YOU JESUS and THANKS! this is the communion message i did – written post the message – ie written up more fuller for this post from the morning. I tend to get up and have a few bridge notes and trsut God that what i say is right. yesterday i felt a call to set things right with God during communion and to then commit afresh to the purposes of God…
There is a response to be made to the cross.
1. Surrender. “give your life to Jesus” Forgiveness. Freedom. Born Again. A fresh start.
2. To live our new lives surrendered each day to Jesus – to Know Him and make Him known….
We express our christianity through things like coming to church on a Sunday, through worship, the offering, communion – they are all expressions of the inward faith – but what is more important is that we live our lives our in the real world, amoungst those who need to know Jesus – that need to know WHAT you know and WHO you know.
Communion is a chance to come and remember. Jesus said “do this in memory of me” – remember what I have done and will do on the cross and keep that as utmost importance in your life. It is a chance to behold the King of Glory, nailed on the cross, sacrificed for our sins. Behold Him. See Him – arms wide open, on the cross. See there is no rejection in his eyes for you. No matter what you have done, or will do – Jesus calls you to come and know Him and His mercy and love. Jesus died so we can have relationship with God, in this life and eternally. He will not turn you away if you come. Communion is a good place to come and put yourself right with God afresh. We all have seasons when it seems God is far away – God is always near, it is us who have distanced ourselves. Communion is a opportunity to remember what Jesus did on the cross and why he did it. For you and for me.
The cross stirs a response in us – of love and gratitude. Communion is a chance to remember what Jesus did and to be motivated by that to in turn lay our lives down and to serve God. It is a chance to say “Here I am, send me.”
So this morning when you come, come and Behold your King of Glory on the Cross. Remember His sacrifice and follow Him. Communion this morning is an opportunity to come and RECOMMIT our hearts, and to COMMIT to the plans and purposes of God.
Music playing: Cindy Ruakere “Receive” “That they Lamb, may receive, the reward of his offering, that the Lamb may receive His reward in me….”
Imagine with me. It is a hot dusty day in a hot dusty land. The wind rises, blowing hair into the eyes of a young man. All around him are the noises and smells of the market and temple. The air is filled with the bleating of sheep, the lowing of oxen and the shouting of people. Each step he takes he is bustled and pushed by those around him. They all are heading to the same destination. The temple.
The young man presents his lamb to the levite priest before him.
The priest examines the lamb thoroughly. He opens his mouth. Checks the lambs hooves. Runs his hands up and down each leg. He checks for flaws, defects.
The priest nods solemnly. Relief floods the young man’s heart. His offering was perfect. Acceptable. A weight lifts off his shoulders. He is forgiven.
Did you notice?
Did you see?
The priest didn’t look the young man up and down. He didn’t glance his shoes, look in his eyes, or ask for a record of how he spent his time in the last week. There is no third degree or scrutiny of the mans heart and character. The young man did not have to be perfect or acceptable to be forgiven.
The sacrifice needed to be perfect and acceptable. The sacrifice needed to be blemish free.
The Bible says “you must bring to the Lord as the penalty for your sin a female from the flock, either a sheep or a goat. This is a sin offering with which the priest will purify you from your sin, making you right with the Lord.” Leviticus 5:6
The Old Testament sacrificial code is a shadow and a foreshadowing. It shows us how we are forgiven. It shows us how we become acceptable with God.
Just as the young man had his sin covered by the blood of the acceptable lamb so too we come before God covered and made acceptable by an offering. The offering of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.
1 Peter 1:1-19 And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.
And just as the priest didn’t examine the young man to see if he was blemish free God doesn’t look at us, he only looks at the Lamb of God who takes away our sins. The blood of Jesus, the Lamb, covers us and makes us acceptable.
Did you see that?
Did you feel that?
We don’t need to be perfect to come to God. The perfect sacrifice was given in Jesus. When we first come to God (pre-Christian) we are totally blemished and defective because of sin. The Bible says we are dead to God. We are made acceptable by trusting in the sacrifice of Jesus. This is what faith is.
“Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.” Romans 5:1
Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence. Ephesians 3:12
Our life as Christians and right standing with God continues to depend upon this sacrifice. It is not by our own effort or goodness that we can know God. We can never measure up or become unblemished by working for it. When God looks at us He sees the righteous record of His Son. We are right now acceptable to God.
“He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.” Ephesians 1:7
We are instructed and encouraged to walk out our faith by living lives that are pleasing to God but this is a process that takes a lifetime. As we “clean our lives up” though we don’t need to feel far away from God or not good enough to know Him. . If we are a Christian there is no limitation or separation between God and us. Jesus gave His life so that we can know God and be called a child of God. We can know God.
This should give us freedom and joy and gratitude and a sense of awe – the WOW response. Let’s live like this. Let’s live in this freedom and forgiveness. Lets live responding to the grace of God.
The sacrifice has been paid. We are forgiven.
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