Untitled Sermon

Intro

Ever notice how as humans we seem to possess a “reverse Meidas Touch?” This phrase is came from some folklore from a Greek king back around 722 B.C. This king, named Midas, could turn anything he touched into pure gold. Now we as humans, tend to ruin everything we touch.

Take Netflix for example, remember the golden days? One streaming service, every show you could think of, all within reach through your remote control or fingertips, one low payment of around $7, no ads, you could share your account with a few friends, and it was simple. Somewhere along the way, we’ve strayed from the promised land and it’s changed a bit. Now either you’re paying the same amount WITH ads to show you life insurance commercials everytime the main character goes to take a breath, unless you want to pay over $20 to get rid of them, limited shows now that every company has a streaming service, and if you dare share your account with your mother because she wants to watch the Great British Bake-off, Netflix will execute a level 5 threat protocol where they will blow up your TV in 30 minutes unless you can verify that your mom is actually watching. What once started as “This is a service for you” has become “This is a service for us and we’ll hold your entire bloodline hostage to get our quarterly quotas.”

Exaggerations aside, we do tend to see that humanity often ruins what it touches. Things that tend to be pure, we warp and ruin. On the first Sunday of every month, we partake in Communion, a remembrance of the Last Supper before Jesus went to the Cross on our behalf. At the Last Supper, Jesus says a key phrase twice. This phrase is central to the story. He holds up the emblems and says, “This is My ______”. This phrase is about Jesus giving up all that He is for the ones He loves, His disciples, the people of Israel, and all of our world, you and me included even today. The problem is that we’ve taken that core phrase and have twisted it. We’ve flipped the meaning. Instead of "This is for you" we now say "This is MINE... and I will sacrifice your needs, your peace, and your very soul just to sustain my comfort."”

So before we really dive into it, I want us to read this passage together,

TEXT

Mark 14:22–25 ESV

And as they were eating, [Jesus] took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 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.”

Would you join me in a quick prayer?

*Pray*

Jesus gave everything He had. He used the bread and cup as symbols of just how much He was about to sacrifice. Jesus went to the Cross on our behalf, to pay the price of our sin and rebellion.

Now today, we call ourselves Christians, meaning “little Christs,” thus wanting to believe what Jesus believed, teach what Jesus taught, live like Jesis lived, and love like Jesus loved.

There’s a problem. We’re not Jesus and mess things up. Today, in remembering what Jesus gave up, I want to look at 4 different ways where the world has twisted Jesus’ central phrase, and how we can restore that which is pure.

This is MY TIME

Now before we dive into this, what I DON’T want you to come away from this is that we should always give and give and give our time. If we did that, we would be spitting in the face of the 4th Commandment which DEMANDS rest. Now some struggle with protecting time, others struggle with giving any time at all.

Now when we live by the mandate of, “Time is money,” what it really means is that, “My timeline is the priority.” “Don’t waste my time,” “I’m too busy,” “Don’t bother me,” are all very real statements in which we live by.

As Jesus had this final meal, He wasn’t just sharing some food, He was revealing to His disciples what He had given and was going to give up. He came down from perfect glory and spent 33 years of His time with us.

Now throughout Jesus’ life, we see that Jesus never minded being interrupted. When the woman with continued bleeding in Mark 5, interrupted Jesus on the way to heal Jarius’ dying daughter, He stopped and welcomed the opportunity for healing. When a bunch of children want to get close to Jesus and the disciples act like His security guards, He admonished them and welcomed them into his arms. Dr. Beesley last week shared about the paralyzed man being healed through the roof. Did Jesus mind the property destruction and sermon interruption? No! He forgave and healed the man. Even in the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus was trying to find a place to get away for some R&R. The crowd was waiting for Him. Instead of getting in a hissy fit, He taught and fed them through one of the most famous miracles.

I’m not saying to sacrifice all of your personal time or family time, however, I think when we give God our time, instead of saying what the world says like, ”I will protect myself from interruption” or “I’ll spend my time on what serves ME,” let’s view our time like Jesus did where He saw it as, “I’ll make space for God to interrupt” and “I’ll spend my time on what serves OTHERS.”

This is MY TALENT

Jesus had all kinds of skills besides being a carpenter. Being full of the Holy Spirit, He healed wherever He went. He could’ve easily become some kind of high employed physician for some rich nobility, or create His own healing business to amass riches, but instead He used it for God’s glory.

Sadly, we often see talents today as our way to “get ahead of the competition,” to beat out our co-worker for that promotion, to score that point against our opponent, to have the nicest lawn in the neighbourhood - That’s right Ned!

This is MY TREASURE

This is MY TEMPLE

Conclusion