A Crucified Life - - Knows Rejection

 

    Romans 10:16

But not all of them welcomed the good news. For Isaiah says, "LORD, who has believed our Message?"

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 189

Message: inner (spiritual) hearing that goes with receiving faith from God; spiritual hearing (discerning God's voice)

From the Greek word 'akoé' (pronounced ak-o-ay'): instruction - the preaching of the gospel.

1 Peter 2:21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His footsteps.

1 Peter 4:1 Therefore, since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves with the same resolve, because anyone who has suffered in his body is done with sin.

    Not everyone will be receptive to the teachings of the gospel. The newly saved Christian needs to understand this concept just as clearly as the longer saved Christian. As has been said before, "This is not a bed of roses we walk on. This is no easy path which we have chosen to walk." 

    Many will come against us as they came against Jesus. He even tells us so. Therefore, we should not be surprised when we are rejected for what we believe. We should actually be joyful. (Acts 5:41)

    When we preach the gospel, the first thing we do is pick up our cross. The cross is heavy and awkward to carry, but it is absolutely necessary if we want to follow Christ. As He was helped to carry His cross, so He will help us. 

Ephesians 6:13 Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand.

    When we bring the good news of God's saving grace to someone, we need to be prepared in our hearts, our minds and our bodies to be attacked for what we believe and are speaking. 

 1 Peter 3:14-16

    Don't be shocked, be prepared to answer every question. Arm ourselves with the Word of God by studying it, praying it and praying over it. Always be ready to give an answer. Don't worry about it trying to memorize it. What we learn is not always at the top of our thoughts, but the Spirit draws it up out of us, as a body draws water out of a well. 

    As Christ was rejected, so, too, will His followers, His Christians. We read this in the parable of the wicked tenants (Matthew 21:33-46). First he sent his trusted servants. But they were rejected and killed. Then he sent a larger group of servants, who were also rejected and killed. Then he sent his son; but his son, too, was rejected and killed. 

    This is God sending out His prophets, whom the people rejected and killed because they refused to obey the Word which the prophets of God had brought. Then God sent His Son. But the people to whom the Son was sent, also rejected the message and killed the Son. 

    But the Son could not be kept down. He rose! He is risen! He is the living Word of God being breathed into every believer. He is our Hope of Salvation! Our Joy and Rejoicing!  He is the Light in the darkness, the shining Way to forgiveness and the redeeming grace of God the Father. 

    You think you've suffered already? Have you been rejected to the point of death? and persevered? I know I haven't. I've been ignored. I've been severed from family attachments. Friends have dropped me. I've been kicked and beaten for the Name of Christ. I'm still here. 

     However, the day is coming, and is already on the horizon, when taking a stand for the gospel of Christ will cost us our lives. Mere physical strength will not be enough to withstand the onslaught of hate coming our way.

    We need to be prayed up, filled up and studied up.  

BELIEVE THE MESSAGE 

I Know Whom I Have Believed - Redeemer Church of The Shoals

God Be Merciful to Me - Jars of Clay

In Christ Alone - Adrienne Liesching

Greater Is The Blood - Mark & Sarah Tillman

Can't Keep A Good Man Down - Newsong

Lose My Soul - TobyMac

Rise Again - Dallas Holm

Grace Wins - Matthew West

Glorious Day - Casting Crowns 

    

    

A Crucified Life - - Carries The Message of Reconciliation

 

2 Corinthians 5:19

That is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 3056

Message: a word (as embodying an idea), a statement, a speech

From the Greek word 'logos' (pronounced log'-os): preeminently used of Christ (Jn 1:1), expressing the thoughts of the Father through the Spirit.

    When we hear Jesus speaking to us in the Scriptures, we see that He said He was only speaking what the Father told Him to speak. It is God expressing Himself through His only begotten Son. 

>John 8:28

>John 5:19, 30

>John 12:49, 50

    What is the Message of Reconciliation? It's the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ. It's the Message of Hope.

It's the Message of Perfect Peace. It's the Message of Life Eternal In Christ. It's the Message of Agape: Divine Love of God from God for a world full of sinners, sinners like me. 

    It's God drawing us to Himself as a father wraps his arms around his long, lost son who has finally come home. It's God bringing us close in His embrace as a mother would comfort her fearful children. It's God bringing us into His family via our faith in the Message of The Cross.

    It's the Message of amazing grace through the blood which Christ shed for us. It's the power of God in action, writing His Word on our hearts, with the quill of grace. It's the Message of Someone paying our sin debts with His own Son. The Son who surrendered His own will to the will of His Father and obediently went the Way of the Cross for us.

    It's the Message of forgiveness for the iniquity into which we are born: that sinful nature that is in all of us. It's the Message of forgiveness for the sins we confess to the Father that we might be cleansed from all unrighteousness in us. It's the Message of forgiveness for the trespasses, whether we knew we were trespassing or not, we have done against God. 

    It's the Message which has withstood time and all its ravages. Though armies have tried to destroy it, the Message always wins out. Myriads of peoples in many lands and cultures across this globe are still trying to eradicate the Message of the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ. But GOD. But God can't be stopped by anyone. Ever. 

    It's the Message of authority and wisdom. The Message is Truth. It is the Light of God shining into searching hearts, hearts that are searching for the real, for the true. I went searching for the real, the true. And I found it in Christ Jesus. So can you.

    

THE MESSAGE

 The Gospel - Ryan Stevenson

O Come To The Altar - Elevation Worship

No Matter What - Ryan Stevenson

Come To The Table - Sidewalk Prophets

Mended - Matthew West

Same Power - Jeremy Camp

Start A Fire - Unspoken

Goodness of God - Bethel Music

God Is On The Move - 7eventhTime Down

Love Broke Through - Toby Mac

Point To You - We Are Messengers

Changed - Jordan Feliz

Signs & Wonders of Christ's Arrival - - Fear Not

 

Luke 2:30, 31

And the angel said to her, "Fear not, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and you will call His name JESUS."

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 5399

Fear: to put to flight, terrify, frighten; dread, reverence

From the Greek word 'phobeó' (pronounced fob-eh'-o). To be struck with fear, to be seized with alarm. The act of being startled at strange sights or occurrences.

FEAR NOT

It is this same frame of mind the shepherds were in when the angel appeared to them and "the glory of the Lord shone round about them" (Luke 2:10). In the previous verse, we learned that the angel suddenly appeared among them. This angel was not in the night skies to deliver the message from God. I'm sure I may have been just as terrified. My heart would have been racing and my breath would first be taken away and then my legs would have buckled under me. 

But they are both told to "Fear Not". Don't be afraid. Take courage. Strengthen your resolve to stay here. And listen to what God has to say to you. Fear is not from God: Peace is from God. Fear is a spirit that wants to defeat us (2 Timothy 1:7). Fear restrains and prevents a person from being fully obedient to God. But the Peace of God fills God's people with God's Love, God's Power and God's Prudence. See also John 14:27).

In Luke 1:13, the angel tells Zacharias, "Fear not". Daniel knew this fear in Daniel 10:11, for he was 'trembling' (shaking with fear, quaking) while the angel spoke with him. Both are encouraged to know that God has heard their prayers and He is answering them. Moses saw a burning bush and went towards it, but stopped in fear when he heard God's voice speaking from it (Exodus 3:6). He, too, is encouraged by God to stop and listen and hear. 

In Revelation 1:17 John knew this fear: He saw Jesus in all His glory and "fell down as dead" (fainted dead away). "And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am The First and The Last."

FAVOR WITH GOD

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 5485

Favor: grace, kindness, gratitude; a gift or blessing brought to man by Jesus Christ

From the Greek word 'charis' (pronounced khar'-ece). As the concordance states, "is preeminently used of the Lord's favor – freely extended to give Himself away to people (because He is "always leaning toward them").

Mary is not the first person to find "favor with God". In Genesis 6:8 Noah found favor: "Noah, however, found favor in the eyes of the LORD." Out of all the people populating the earth in Noah's time, he is the only one who found grace in God's eyes. The result of that being that only Noah and his family boarded the ark before God shut the door (Genesis 7:1, 16). 

To "find favor" with God is to be the man or woman who knows God's heart, God's will, and follows it. David was such a man. Even before he was king. 1 Samuel 13:14 (when the prophet Samuel rebukes King Saul), "But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought out a man after his own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.”

THE MESSAGE

The message to Moses was "Go back to Egypt and deliver God's people". The message to Noah was "Build an ark to save you and your family and the animals I have chosen". 

The message to David was shown by Samuel "anointed to be King of Israel". 

The message to Daniel was "a response from God to understand the visions he had been given". 

The message to Zacharias was "you will have a son and he will be great in the sight of the Lord, filled with the Holy Spirit in the womb, make ready a people prepared for the Lord". 

The message to Mary was "you will conceive a Son, and you will call His name JESUS". 

Moses: Go and be the Deliverer of My people.

Noah: Build and Save My people.

David: Rule over My people.

Daniel: Warn My people.

Zacharias: Prepare My people

Mary: Your Child will Save My people.

The Lord has a message for His people today and every day given them thereafter. 

REPENT

Ezekiel 14:6

Matthew 4:17

REPENT & BE BAPTIZED

Acts 2:38

BELIEVE ON HIS NAME

Acts 16:31

1 John 3:3

1 John 5:13

RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT

John 20:22

Acts 1:8

Acts 2:1-4

PREACH THE GOSPEL

Mark 16:15

1 Corinthians 9:16

2 Timothy 4:2

TAKE UP YOUR CROSS

Matthew 16:24

Mark 8:34

1 Peter 2:21

FOLLOW ME

Matthew 4:19

Mark 1:17

REJOICE

Matthew 5:11,12

Luke 6:22, 23

1 Peter 4:12-14

The joy we are to have as God's people is the same joy experienced by the shepherds after they had seen the baby JESUS. Exultant, exuberant, loud, noisy, REJOICE: to have joy in such abundance that it cannot be contained, but must be expressed in such a way as to draw people to the sound and sight of such excitement. And to hear what caused such Joy to be felt in the first place. Let us express our Joy in the Savior every day that we might fulfill His will for us. 

FEAR NOT MY CHILD by Carman

GRACE OF GOD by Passion

GOD WITH US by MercyMe

EMMANUEL by Hannah Kerr

Signs & Wonders of Christ's Arrival - - Spreading The Gospel Message

 

Luke 2:17, 18

17. After they had seen the Child, they spread the message they had received about Him. 

18. And all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 4487

Message: a word, the spoken-word of a living voice; thing spoken

From the Greek word 'rhéma' (pronounced hray'-mah). Most commonly used in the New Testament 'for the Lord speaking His dynamic, living word in a believer to inbirth faith'.

A new King of Israel had been born. Who got the first birth announcements? Shepherds. Blue-collar laborers who worked with their hands taking care of sheep out on the hillsides. Living near the sheep, breathing the same air as the sheep, watching over their flocks in the night. And what did they do after they got over their terror from this unexpected night visit which lit up the skies? These shepherds hurried to the city of Bethlehem, searched for the newborn child and began to praise God when they saw Him. Upon which they immediately left and began to tell everyone what they had just seen and heard. 

Something amazing  and wonderful had befallen these shepherds and they couldn't wait to tell anyone and everyone all about this wonderful new King who had been born. They were excited to spread the gospel message. Even if no one else believed them, they couldn't stop talking about Him. 

And who would believe a bunch of scruffy shepherds? Men who smelled like they'd been living outdoors among animals. Who deigned to hear what a bunch of shepherds had to say? Starting rumors about the Messiah being born in a barn? That couldn't be the Messiah all of Israel had been waiting for. The shepherds were delusional. But let them rave on about their King; who's going to believe them anyway? 

Perhaps, if it had only been shepherds who saw Jesus, who heard angels, the story would have eventually faded away. But we know that didn't happen. Here it is 2022, nearly 2000 years since He first arrived in Bethlehem and people are still talking about Jesus Christ the Messiah of the whole world. People are still spreading the gospel message after receiving it. People are still hearing voices sing praises to the Most High King of Kings. 

I'm one of those people. I'm a servant, a praiser, a worshiper, a seeker, and a finder. 

I'm here to tell you about God's only begotten Son Jesus Christ, whom He sent to this earth to deliver both Jews and non-Jews from the bonds of sin and oppression. 

God's plan of salvation began in the garden of Eden and it will end when God's enemies are destroyed at the end of this world. Not a fairy tale. Not a story. Fact. 

Genesis 3:15

 "And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”

Romans 16:20

The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

John 3:16-18

16. For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. 

17. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.

18. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

And what is the prayer of we who preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified for those who have yet to believe? "Lord, save them, deliver them, bring them near to Your heart. Open their eyes to see You that they may open their hearts to receive You. As Your Word says in Revelation 3:20, You stand at the door of our hearts and knock, hoping someone will let You in. This we pray: that someone will let You into their hearts, giving You control, handing You the reins to lead and direct us, over our lives. Whatever it takes, Lord, whatever it takes. We pray Your will be done in their lives."

In Jesus' Beautiful Name,

Amen

I SPEAK JESUS by Here Be Lions