The Confrontation
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
Good Morning River City. Today God wants your heart! Today He wants your Obedience! Today He wants to see you live like Jesus!
Jesus right before the cross turned to His disciples and uttered these words.
Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
There is no greater love than one laying down their life for someone else’s benefit.
WE often associate that statement with a physical death. But God is not just talking about physically dying. Though some instances that may be the end of it all.
But what about the single mother who decides to carry the unborn child as opposed to terminating the pregnancy. has she not selflessly given her future life to the baby. Demonstrating abiding love for that child.
Or perhaps, the father, who works endless hours then when all is done instead of resting and having his own time, he pushes through to serve his wife and play with his children. In those instances is not demonstrating a great love?
Or maybe it is the friend who is so lonely they can barely stand it and you choose to lay aside
You and I are called to a greater love
Return to the battle Lines and Fight!
Return to the battle Lines and Fight!
Each of them quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it. Then the steward proceeded to search, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest. And the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. At this, they tore their clothes. Then they all loaded their donkeys and returned to the city. Joseph was still in the house when Judah and his brothers came in, and they threw themselves to the ground before him. Joseph said to them, “What is this you have done? Don’t you know that a man like me can find things out by divination?” “What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied. “What can we say? How can we prove our innocence? God has uncovered your servants’ guilt. We are now my lord’s slaves—we ourselves and the one who was found to have the cup.” But Joseph said, “Far be it from me to do such a thing! Only the man who was found to have the cup will become my slave. The rest of you, go back to your father in peace.”
Benjamin is guilty! The favored one. The one who stole your fathers affections again. He is guilty. It was just proven at dinner that he gets more than the rest of you.
But these brothers are not the same men who betrayed Joseph. They fight Benjamin! Let us all be your slaves, let Benjamin Go. But Joseph says: Only the one with the silver cup will be my slave.. the rest of you can go in peace. Walk away your problem solved again.
Joseph is testing them to see where their hearts lie. Will they take the opportunity to be rid of another favored one. Joseph even tells them. Go in peace your problem is solved.
There is no greater love than this:
Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
“Your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons. One of them went away from me, and I said, “He has surely been torn to pieces.” And I have not seen him since. If you take this one from me too and harm comes to him, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in misery.’ “So now, if the boy is not with us when I go back to your servant my father, and if my father, whose life is closely bound up with the boy’s life, sees that the boy isn’t there, he will die. Your servants will bring the gray head of our father down to the grave in sorrow. Your servant guaranteed the boy’s safety to my father. I said, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, I will bear the blame before you, my father, all my life!’
Jacob said to Judah if I lose Benjamin I lose everything.
Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
In The Shadows of the Cross there is divine power to restore broken lives
In The Shadows of the Cross there is divine power to restore broken lives
Here is judah no longer fighting to destroy his favored brother,buit he ids working to rescue his brother for his father.
It was not a sermon that redeemed Judah and his brothers.
It was not a worship service. Not a televangelist. Not christian music.
It was crushing, the grinding, the suffering of another that brought his redemption forth.
Likewise it was not Christs good teachings, that redeemed you. It was his work at the cross. It is the cross! The nails. The thorns, the beating that brought forth redemption.
“Now then, please let your servant remain here as my lord’s slave in place of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers. How can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? No! Do not let me see the misery that would come on my father.”
We see here yet again, that through Josephs Suffering and crushing, his family was restored and redeemed. But friends it was through the cross that Christ redeemed humanity.
Notice also that Judah was willing to lay down his life so that Benjamin would know their father. So that their father could know Benjamin. Sound familiar?
Christ laid down his life so that you and I could know the father. Praise the Lord!
Jesus was Crushed so you and I could know the father
Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
Call Alyse up to sing O come to the Altar
Communion
Communion
WHen we come to the Lords table the first thing we must do is ensure that we are taking the elements in a right manner. Are you right with God? Do you harbor bitterness or envy or malice or hatred? Are there secret sins? Hidden vices? Paul says we need to examine ourselves before we partake in communion. in the remembarence of what Jesus Did.
As Alyse leads us I want you take a few minutes with God and look at your life. AM I right with God? If you are ready to take it. Seriously consider am I right. If you need to come to the altar. we will take are time. There is no rush here. Let God do what He needs to do.
Give Everyone 1 full song length
The Bread
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
The Cup
In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
You all have a blessed week
“ ‘ “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” ’
You all have a blessed week!