Today in Church out preacher preached on Romans 12:9-21. The passage begins with "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good." It goes on to list a number of things that a mature Christian should do in the way they live their life. In the message, our preacher focused on verse 16, which says: "Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited." The phrase "be willing to associate with people of low position" is also translated "be willing to do menial work," which is what our preacher focused on this morning.
Sincere love means being willing to do anything for someone. If someone tells us that they would be willing to do literally anything for us, of course we should be very thankful, we would show great gratitude towards them. While people are selfish and sinful and probably at some point would fall short of literally doing ANYTHING for us, Jesus came to earth and did exactly that. He suffered and died in order to save us from our sins. Nobody else in the history of the world has shown the love that Jesus showed us, giving not just "anything," but EVERYTHING for us. John 15:13 says: "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."
If God loves us THAT much, and sacrificed THAT much, then clearly our gratitude should be displayed in our everyday life. We should live each an every second of our life as an act of gratitude towards our Lord. One point that our preacher made was that gratitude leads to willingness. If we show gratitude for what God has done for us, then we will not be proud and we will "be willing to do menial work" (Romans 12:16). If God calls us to do something, we should do it. Sometimes the things that God calls us to are not things that bring us glory, or wealth, or fame. The things God asks us to do aren't always easy, in fact often they are not easy. Think of missionaries who leave their families, friends and the comforts of home behind to go out and spread God's word around the world, often in places where living conditions are not exactly comfortable. But it's not about us. This life is about giving God the glory and living to serve Him. To show our gratitude, we must respond to God's call with an emphatic "YES!"
It's one of the things I pray every day, that I would hear God's call and have the courage to follow, wherever it may lead.
Showing posts with label Jesus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jesus. Show all posts
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Living Our Thanksgiving
This morning in Church our pastor gave a sermon on Matthew 26. He selected a few sections to focus on in following with his recent sermon theme of "All In." He spoke of the woman anointing Jesus' head with expensive perfume, saying she was "All In." He spoke of Judas' betrayal of Jesus for a 30 pieces of silver, saying he was clearly not "All In." He spoke of how we should be "All In" in our lives.
The key image that he presented was the contrast of the Cup of Wrath and the Cup of Thanksgiving. In Isaiah 51, the prophet speaks of the Cup of the Lord's Wrath, which Israel has drunk in its sin.
Rise up, Jerusalem,
you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD
the cup of his wrath,
you who have drained to its dregs
the goblet that makes people stagger. (Isaiah 51:17)
He contrasted that image with the Cup of Thanksgiving in Matthew 26: "Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." The Cup of Thanksgiving, as the symbol of the blood of the covenant, represents our salvation from sin through Christ's sacrifice on the cross. This is prophesied in Isaiah 51:22, where it says
This is what your Sovereign LORD says,
your God, who defends his people:
“See, I have taken out of your hand
the cup that made you stagger;
from that cup, the goblet of my wrath,
you will never drink again. (Isaiah 51:22)
By offering Himself on the cross for our sins, Jesus bears the Cup of Wrath for us, so that we may never have to drink from that Cup again. Rather, we drink from the Cup of Thanksgiving, which gives us new life, as a new creation, in Christ, free from sin.
Jesus went all in for us. He drank the Cup of Wrath so that we do not have to. We are called to go all in as well. In response to Christ dying for our forgiveness, we are called to live our lives as a servant of Christ, carrying out His will each and every step of the way, and living our lives as examples and vessels of Christ's love, carrying it to all nations and all peoples.
The key image that he presented was the contrast of the Cup of Wrath and the Cup of Thanksgiving. In Isaiah 51, the prophet speaks of the Cup of the Lord's Wrath, which Israel has drunk in its sin.
Rise up, Jerusalem,
you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD
the cup of his wrath,
you who have drained to its dregs
the goblet that makes people stagger. (Isaiah 51:17)
He contrasted that image with the Cup of Thanksgiving in Matthew 26: "Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." The Cup of Thanksgiving, as the symbol of the blood of the covenant, represents our salvation from sin through Christ's sacrifice on the cross. This is prophesied in Isaiah 51:22, where it says
This is what your Sovereign LORD says,
your God, who defends his people:
“See, I have taken out of your hand
the cup that made you stagger;
from that cup, the goblet of my wrath,
you will never drink again. (Isaiah 51:22)
By offering Himself on the cross for our sins, Jesus bears the Cup of Wrath for us, so that we may never have to drink from that Cup again. Rather, we drink from the Cup of Thanksgiving, which gives us new life, as a new creation, in Christ, free from sin.
Jesus went all in for us. He drank the Cup of Wrath so that we do not have to. We are called to go all in as well. In response to Christ dying for our forgiveness, we are called to live our lives as a servant of Christ, carrying out His will each and every step of the way, and living our lives as examples and vessels of Christ's love, carrying it to all nations and all peoples.
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