The Value of A False Friendship

 

MATTHEW 26:14, 15

Then one of the Twelve, the one called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?” And they set out for him thirty pieces of silver.

Note here, that the chief priests did not seek out Judas but that he came to them offering his services --- for a price. 

    Thirty pieces of silver or thirty shekels appears to be about equal to three months' wages, as there were three denarii in a shekel. For the mere love of the money he would have in hand, Judas betrayed the Teacher he had been following along with. 

Once the heart is fully committed to following Christ Jesus faithfully, there is no turning our backs on Him. But Judas' heart wa not right and therefore he sought out a buyer for his 'friend' and pondered the ways and means of how he would accomplish this betrayal. 

    The Word tells us that "the love of money is the root of all evil" ( 1 Timothy 6:10) and it was this that was already present in Judas' heart. He was not faithful from the get-go when called to follow after Jesus (John 12:6), but still Jesus loved Judas; He even called him a friend at the time of His arrest (Matthew 26:50). Though he had a purpose to fulfill, there was always room for hope of repentance after the fact; but Judas showed only remorse, not repentance ( Matthew 27:3-5). In his despair he hung himself. 

    He saw no value in what he had done. Though his feet followed after Jesus his heart did not. He could not comprehend the forgiveness that was available to him if only he had turned to God for it. For God waits for us to turn to Him for the forgiveness of our sins against Him. He waits for us to be committed and faithful in following after His heart and His Word. God is waiting for you. 

    Let us not be false friends but faithful friends. Let us adhere, stick like glue, to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As the psalmist wrote, in Psalm 63:8 "My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me." Let us know the value of True Friendship with Jesus. Let us persevere in following hard after Him, not allowing ourselves to be distracted from the course He has set before us to run and walk in.

WALK WITH ME - Jesus Culture  

The Cup of Blessing

 

The Cup of Blessing

PS 16:5

LORD, You are my Portion and my Cup of Blessing; You hold my future.

1 COR 10:16

The Cup of Blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?

What is in the Cup of Blessing that we should desire to drink of it? What was in Christ’s Cup? 

PS 116:13

I will lift the Cup of Salvation and call on the name of the LORD.

PS 23:5

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my Cup overflows.

The first sip we take is BETRAYAL. Betrayal is bitter when tasted. It dissolves loyalties and gives a false empowerment to the ones who have prepared to betray another person for whatever reason. People who have been with us will turn us into the authorities. Plus betrayal always involves some kind of reward. Judas Iscariot, the treasurer of Jesus’ following, was given thirty pieces of silver to betray The Teacher he followed. Money was more dear to him than people and greed won out over loyalty. 

Judas made the decision to betray Jesus before the Last Supper took place. But it was during the Last Supper that he followed through on his volunteering to betray Jesus. This wasn’t a random amount of money. It was an insulting value of services rendered for a prophet’s work. Zechariah 11:12,13; Matthew 27:9. 

The second portion of blessing in our cups is COMMUNION with Christ. Matthew 26:26-30; Mark 14:22-26; Luke 22:14-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-30. COMMUNION is joint partnership, a sharing in of the work that is to be done. COMMUNION is fellowship with Christ, with God and with other saints. We cannot have communion with the world and the world’s many beliefs and gods. Nor can we have communion with unbelievers. 

COMMUNION requires steadfast loyalty: no matter how tough it gets we remain in Christ and He has promised to remain in us. John 15:4. 

COMMUNION with Christ demands Faithfulness on our part. Not just blind loyalty - following because we are compelled to do so - but eyes and ears open to the hearing of The Word of God and the receiving thereof. Job 42:5; Romans 10:17. 

COMMUNION demands holy living, a righteous lifestyle in Christ through The Holy Spirit on us. 2 Corinthians 7:1; 1 Peter 1:15. 

COMMUNION demands loving obedience to The Truth. 1 Peter 1:22; 2 John 1:6; Deuteronomy 10:12,13. 

As we see the bottom of our cup, we are aware there are dregs in this cup. Dregs are the bitterest to swallow. They are the sediments or grounds left in the cup. In a societal sense dregs refers to some people as “worthless, the worst kind of people, the ‘undesirables’. This is our drink. 

We have been deemed UNDESIRABLE. For our insolence in rejecting the demands of this world, we will be hated: some of us will be arrested, judged, punished and even killed. Matthew 24:9-13; Mark 13:9-13; Luke 21:10-19. 

Jesus was an UNDESIRABLE to Israel’s religious leaders and council leaders. Isaiah 53:1-8; Matthew 26:57-68; Mark 14:53-65; John 18:19-24; 1 Peter 2:21-25. 

We will remain silent, as Christ before us remained silent in the presence of His accusers. The Lord’s Silence: Isaiah 53:7; Mark 14:61. Our Silence: Hebrews 12:3; 1 Peter 2:23; 1 Peter 3:9.   

And, yet, it is brought to our remembrance by The Holy Spirit of God that the Cup of Blessing is ours to drink by choice and affiliation. We choose to believe God. We choose to believe and obey God’s Word. We choose to follow Christ Jesus wherever He leads us. We choose to love one another the way Christ loves us: unswervingly, unconditionally, unchangingly. We choose to drink this Cup. 

For in this Cup is our salvation: Psalm 116:13. In this Cup is our redemption. In this Cup is eternal life. For in this Cup is Christ: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26. Having drunk this Cup, though our bodies cease to exist, our soul lives forever; we will not taste death. “When we draw our last breath here, we draw our first breath in heaven.” ~ Rev. Billy Graham. 

And when we drink from our cup faithfully, our cup overflows into the lives of those around us. With whomever we come into contact with the contents of our cup is made known to them. Psalm 23:5. 

It is a Joy to drink from our Cup of Blessing. For the rewards of following Christ are to be enjoyed and shared. But woe to the people who drink of this Cup unworthily! For they will be punished for their arrogance and judged by God for their unfaithfulness. 1 Corinthians 11:27-32. 

Are you ready to take hold of your Cup, lift it to your mouth and drink of your Cup of Blessing? You know your own heart. Only you can know if you are ready to drink of it. 

These songs went through me as I studied this morning:

 FILL MY CUP - Andrew Ripp (I've been singing this one since it came out)

WE ARE BLESSED - All Sons & Daughters (this one was on mental repeat)

MY PORTION - Isla Vista Worship (You must know by now how much I love this song)