We remember and celebrate today, a Living Savior, who is with us even now, acknowledging with a thankful heart, all that He has accomplished for us, that we may enter the throne of grace to obtain help in our time of need. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us throw aside every weight, and the sin that clings so closely, Let us run with perseverance the race set before us, Looking unto the author and finisher of our faith, Lord Jesus, Who for the joy set before Him, endured the Cross, disregarding its shame, And has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of God. [Hebrews 12:1,2]
Consider HIM:
Consider Him, who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart. [Verse 3] You are called to consider Him, so that you may not become weary, or lose heart in your blessed pilgrimage, focusing upon what He has endured on the Cross, to be enthroned on God’s right hand, to bring enrichment in every child of God. Think out thoroughly: Christian fruitfulness comes by a renewing of your mind through the word of God, to know the gospel in all it’s glory, the physical, the suffering Servant, and the spiritual implications of it that reveal the truth of sorrow turned into joy.
1] What did Christ endure?
2] What did He accomplish by it?
3] How does He empower you to appropriate it in your life?
1. HE endured:
The prophet Isaiah on seeing a vision of God in the temple, was overwhelmed by His glory, to cover his face, realizing his own uncleanness. But on the Cross, having endured punishment and suffering to become the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, people turned their faces away from Him, for His form was not attractive. [Isaiah 53:2,3] He endured rejection, of great intensity, rejected by His own, that we may be accepted. He understands the pain of rejection, by His own people who called for His crucifixion, and the release of a traitor, Barabbas instead. It was what God pointed out to Samuel, that the people had rejected Him, and not Samuel, in asking for a king. He knows, He understands, and He empowers you to move forward.
MAN of sorrows:
He was the man of sorrows, understanding pain that went deeper than the physical, to hurt your inner being, a pain of the mind. He was acquainted with grief, the vacuum and emptiness that bereavement can cause in you. It was so visibly seen as He stood at the tomb of Lazarus, understanding the painful grief of the sisters, that led them to say, ‘Lord, if only You had been here ..’. ‘Lord, now that You are here..’ But today, in your pain, He is here, and has already been there, to reconcile and restore. He will enable you to make a paradigm shift, to be able to say, ‘Lord, now that You are here..’. For, the root of any problem is sin, that is self centered, always focusing on it’s own self, depending on oneself to resolve it, which of course is going to be futile, and lead to frustration. Your will power has it’s limitations. It is what led to the Apostle Paul describing himself to be a wretched man, doing the bad that he does not want to do, and unable to do the good that he wanted to do. It is then that he acknowledges the powerful truth of having victory through Jesus Christ. [Romans 7:24]
Not ‘you’, but Christ:
We are children of God, and we do not wage war according to the flesh. The weapons we fight with are spiritual weapons, and have divine power to demolish strongholds, taking every wrong thought captive, making it obedient unto Christ. [2 Corinthians 10:3] And life and death are in the power of the tongue, as you believe the truth to speak it forth. Remove the‘ you’, therefore, from the center of your thoughts, to make Christ the center of it all. For, you have the One who has endured it all, to be now seated enthroned at the right hand of God, and empowers you. And there is nothing that He cannot do. And the Lord Himself demonstrated it, as He prayed, ‘And now, my soul is troubled; yet what should I say..’, as He prayed unto the Father, knowing what lay ahead of Him. [John 12:27] There will always be an option, even in your life, when you will need to make the right choice, to fulfill your divine purpose. It is what the Man of Sorrows did, as He chose to go through the agony of the Cross, for it was His Father’s will, and is now enthroned to be seated at the right hand of God. Oppression, antagonism, injustice – He endured it all.
2] He accomplished:
He was sinless, but was made to be sin, to become the guilt offering for the sins of the whole world, His Blood has purchased a remission of sin, as it has been atoned for. You need not feel guilt therefore, anymore, but only an overwhelming feeling of gratefulness for what Christ has accomplished on your behalf, to make you guilt free. [Isaiah 53:5,6] And when the devil comes to remind you of it, all you need to do is to stand upon the marvelous truth, of having been bought by His Blood, to say, as the servant of God did-God said it; I believe it. And that settles it. Lord Jesus is the champion of our faith.
3] HE empowers:
Since, then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect, tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore, approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. [Hebrews 4:14-16] He knows what your suffering is, He feels it all, since He has experienced it, and He can do much more than merely exhibiting sympathy, or even empathy, concerning what you may be going through that is so troubling. For, He can turn your sorrow into joy. You can approach the throne of grace with confidence, for the One who is seated on it will help you. And one day you can come before the judgement throne with confidence, for the One on the Cross, has accomplished all that He needed to do, to be enthroned at the Father’s right hand. And He is here, even now in our midst, as the loving and living Savior. You can experience His presence, as you heed His invitation to draw near to Him in faith, not with guilt or condemnation in you, but with confidence. He will never reject you; and you will receive grace and mercy from Him, to help you in your time of need. And therefore-
Consider Lord Jesus:
He is your friend, all your sins and grief to bear; and you would be only forfeiting great peace that could be yours, the comfort and solace that He will lovingly provide, take you in His arms, to lovingly shield you, by not taking it all to Him in prayer. Father, We thank Thee for sending us Your Son, who laid down His life for us on the Cross, who endured our pain, carried our sorrows, to rise victorious from the grave, to be now enthroned in heaven, as the eternal high priest who is able to help us, whatever may be the challenge ahead us. May we find rest in Your loving embrace, blessed by Your overwhelming goodness, enjoying the privilege of being called the children of God. In the Name of Christ Jesus Amen.