Missio Communion Meditation (November 2023)
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Missio Dei (November 2023)
Three present realities for the Believer
The present reality of Peace
The present reality of Suffering
The present reality of the Spirit
1. The present reality of Peace
1. The present reality of Peace
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Paul has been explaining that the believer -- both Jew and Gentile -- now has the gift of being justified. The believer is no longer an enemy of God. Their sins are forgiven, they are washed clean by the blood of the Lamb -- and not only that, they are declared righteous. We believers are given Jesus' righteousness so that when God sees you and me, believer, He no longer sees our sins and our failures but He sees Jesus righteousness.
And now, taking it a step further -- if we have been declared righteous, we have PEACE WITH GOD.
We are no longer at odds with Him. We no longer need to be afraid of Him. We can stop hiding, we can stop running from our past, our misatkes, our failures -- God says I don't see any of that any more -- I want and love YOU. He wraps us with His arms and embraces us and says you are my child, I love you. You are mine.
Too often this Peace with God is a mere *idea* or a concept that we know in our brains but it's not something that we can say we experience daily. Look at verse 2
Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
see those words “in which we stand” — we have grace and can rejoice now
Brothers and sisters the Word is telling you and me today that this isn't just a fact, it is a present reality -- this morning we need to be reminded that this peace with God can be a very tangible, real comfort.
The biggest problem you and I have ever faced and ever will face is our own sin. Our sin is our biggest problem, and the Gospel is the good news that sin has been dealt with at the cross of Christ once for all. IF the biggest problem you and I have ever faced and ever will face is taken care of, it's over, it's done... then what problems do we really have?
And that leads me to Suffering
2. The present reality of Suffering
2. The present reality of Suffering
it appears that Paul is mindful of the fact that all of this talk about hope and rejoicing and triumphant glory may sound a little strange to those who are suffering persecution at the hands of the Romans. And while we may not be experiencing anything like that kind of persecution today, we are all going through what James describes as 'trials of various kinds'.. Paul is aware of this.
Look at verse 3
Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
Why does he immediately transition here from standing and rejoicing in grace and peace to rejoicing in sufferings? Perhaps because we should expect that to be our experience.
We don't come to Jesus and then lose all of our pain and suffering. This world and its problems cling to us like gum on the bottom of your shoe. The residue of our sin doesn't just magically go away. We can't speak a word and *poof* it's gone. The author of Hebrews in chapter 12:1 tells us we need to ... lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us...
this race will be filled with pain, with difficulties... we must expect that to be the case... but as we run the race toward Jesus and toward our new life in heaven, the difficulties we face have a divine purpose
look at verse 4
and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,
4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,
Character and hope are the fruit of the suffering believer.
3. The present reality of the Spirit
3. The present reality of the Spirit
God has given us His Holy Spirit to comfort us and reorient our hearts back to Him as we endure, as our character is refined, and Hope is being produced in us.
and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
the present reality of the Spirit doesn’t necessarily look like flaming tongues of fire, it can be a friend sharing a word of encouragement… a brother or sister in Christ sharing a Bible verse, a friend from small group at church reminding you that they have been praying for you.. or the topic from your daily devotional in God’s Word… this is what the present reality of the Spirit can look like in our lives
As I reflected on this passage this week, I'm reminded that there are times in our journey, as believers, where we are overwhelmed.. either by our circumstances or by our own sense of unworthiness
The mere act of getting out of bed and putting one foot in front of the other, or the task of formulating sentences -- can be painful at times.
When we are at our weakest points, God steps in and reminds us that His power is perfected in your weakness.
Human weakness is God’s favorite canvas.
It’s upon the desperate, the needy, the weary, the ones well aware of their own inadequacies -- those who know they will never measure up and they can’t… those that don’t pray in public ‘Lord thanks that I’m not like those other terrible sinners’ but those that privately, in quiet, bury their heads in their hands and beat upon their breast and weep, bitterly --- ‘God have mercy on me a sinner’… THOSE are the hearts that God justifies.
perhaps this morning you are feeling the weight of your sins, the pressure and heat of guilt and shame... maybe you’re feeling crushed by the anxieties and worries of this life
maybe that’s you?
As we take communion together this morning, let's remember that we have PEACE with God.
Let's remember that our present suffering is producing within us a Christ-like Character and a hope, "preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison"
Let's remember that the Spirit is with us, and it moves through your Bible reading, in your prayers, and it moves through the love and life lived with other believers here at Missio through His Church
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The Lord's Supper is a time for believers in Jesus to remember his sacrifice on the cross — the bread symbolizes his body, the juice his blood. We eat and drink these symbols as a way to be reminded of the peace we have now with God through our faith in Jesus. If you haven't yet entered into a relationship with Jesus we'd ask that you please not leave here today without talking to someone about how you can become a part of God’s family.
Let's now pause and remember and reflect on the cross of Christ, and then we will take communion together.
(silence)
Mark 14:22–25
[22] And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.”
[23] And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. [24] And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. [25] Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” (ESV)
Let’s pray