Reconciled

Barnabas’s nephew, Mark, was the cause of a bitter separation between Paul and Barnabas. Paul took Silas as his assistant and Barnabas took Mark and they went their separate ways.

But later Paul and John Mark are reconciled and presumably Paul and Barnabas, as well.

These men must have finally realized the need to seek reconciliation because they, themselves, were reconciled to God in Christ.

Col 1:20-22 says we are reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in His sight, if you continue in the faith grounded and settled and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel…

This reconciliation of men to God and men to men is accomplished through the body of His flesh through death. The result is that we are presented before God as holy, unblameable and unreprovable in God’s sight. That is powerful language.

That is how you sit here in God’s presence, as long as you continue in the faith grounded and settled. You are reconciled. Holy. Blameless. Without reproof. This is the power of the gospel.

Taste and See

We have been talking about blindness and vision. The Scriptures encourage us to taste and see that the Lord is good. Of course, it is encouraging us to examine the Lord and His work, and to fully embrace Him, that is, taste His goodness.

In this meal, we get to taste and see that the Lord is good. In this meal, we examine the bread and wine, and we contemplate not just the work of the Lord but the work of the Lord for us, for me, for you.

The bread, the body, the wine, the blood. The life of Jesus spilled out to give you life. The Father’s love, who gave His only Son for you and His indwelling Holy Spirit, our Comforter. Taste all of the goodness and see that the Lord is good.

Full of Jesus

This meal is Christ’s bounty to you. The Father sent the Son and the Son gave His all for you. He laid Himself down, the sacrifice consumed by the Father as wholly pleasing. And if you are in Jesus, then you are wholly pleasing to the Father, as well.

Jesus promised to save you. He promised to be with you and never leave you. He sent His Holy Spirit to dwell with you that you might have life and that abundantly. His Spirit testifies that the Father is the Creator of all things and that the Son is the Savior of the World.

When you eat and drink in faith, you acknowledge the Father’s grace and mercy in His Son. As you eat and drink in faith, you are filled up with Jesus Christ, knowing that He is the Alpha and the Omega, and all points in between, for in Him is life and health and peace. Eat and drink in faith and be filled with Jesus Christ.

Well Fed

Hagar and Ismael were perishing of thirst in the wilderness within sight of the well of their salvation. They simply had to look up to see that God had provided life for them. But their circumstances were too overwhelming. All they could do was sit down in desperation to die.

Ishmael called out to God and God sent an angel to deliver them from death.

You have come to church this morning for various reasons and in various conditions. Some in despair, some in joy, some in hope, some in pain, some in doubt, some in great faith but all of you within eyesight of the well of salvation.

All of the ancient promises of God, even the promise in laughing Isaac, were pointing at Jesus. Do you see Him? Here we are again at Communion, the Son of God, given for you. Do you believe this? If so, then you are well watered, well fed. The well of Salvation has been provided for you. Eat and drink and be filled.

You Know Me

We can take this phrase two ways. The sheep know the voice of their shepherd. When we come to the Lord’s Table, it is familiar, we know the Lord Jesus has given Himself for us and we gladly do what He told us to do to remember His death and to embrace His life.

It is also a command, Know Me. It is our duty to get to know Jesus better and this regular meal informs us. We contemplate who Jesus is and what He has done. We remember that He told us to eat this memorial meal until He comes again. So, He desires that we remind ourselves again and again about who He is and what He has done and what it means for us to be in Him. This fulfills His command for us to know Him.

You do know Him and what He has done and that He extends His grace to you daily and in this meal. Embrace Christ Jesus given for you.

Tangible Signs

God is kind to us. He knows our frame, that we are but babes in many ways. That is why He gives us tangible signs, water, bread and wine.

         In the water, we see that God has washed us from sin. The water washes the body but it represents the blood that washes the soul. If your faith is weak, remember your baptism, the water and the blood.

         He also gives us bread and wine. At Communion, we feast on Jesus Christ. To some, a macabre picture. But these things are Spirit and life. We receive Jesus, His broken body of death that satisfied divine justice. We receive His blood which cleanses us from all unrighteousness. If your faith is weak, remember God’s invitation to Commune with Him in the bread and in the wine.

         The water, and the bread and the wine; tangible signs of God’s grace, mercy and kindness extended to you in Jesus Christ.

Spiritual Lasik

You heard me say before that spankings improve memory. They do. They also improving hearing. Now, seriously, I don’t mean they literally improve hearing or memory. But discipline does change your desire to do that which is right. And when you have the will to do that which is right, then obedience follows.

         Now this sort of discipline also improves vision. It enables you to see who God is and to remember to keep looking with eyes of faith. We all need spiritual lasik surgery. When the Lord disciplines us, it is so that he can heal our hearing and our vision, so that He can give us ears that hear and eyes that see that Jesus is Lord of everything.

         Use this time of confession and repentance as a spiritual discipline so that the Lord can do His spiritual lasik so that you can taste and see that the Lord is good.

Great Mercy

Dear Saints, we know that the Lord is merciful. He looks down upon us, considers our frames, and through the shed blood of Jesus, forgives our sins so that we might dwell with Him in peace. 

But He is more than merciful. He has great mercy. His mercy extends far beyond what we consider prudent or just or even wise. His mercy is lavish. It goes beyond the pale. Like the father of the prodigal, He reaches down to us and extends His kindness, love and joy to us. We may squander His lavishness but when we come to our senses and return to Him, He kills the fatted calf and throws a feast in our honor. That is great mercy.

Laugh of Unbelief

When you laugh, how do you laugh? Do you laugh in unbelief, like Sarah, when she heard she was to have a child? She thought she was beyond the blessing of God, too old, too used up, to receive the promise, even from the Almighty God. That is one temptation.

         Or, do you laugh like Sarah after the birth of Isaac, as one who cannot believe the manifold blessings of God to have actually fallen on her? She bore a child and was amazed. Why would the Lord bless her so?

         Or do you laugh like Ishmael, who thinks he has privileges over others, the most important son, who cannot see his own haughtiness? 

         Is your laugh the right kind of laugh? We should be amazed at God’s kindness to us, even in the midst of impossible circumstances. We should respond like Abraham who believed that God would do what He said He would do, namely provide the well of salvation for us in His Son, Jesus. 

         If your laughter is unbelief, or scorn, or haughtiness, then turn to Christ now in faith and look to God’s promises in Jesus.

Living Water

When we drink from the well of life, from the fount of living water, we have life in ourselves. Jesus said to the woman at the well, drink from the water that I shall give you and you shall never thirst again. What water? The water of life. The Words that He spoke to her were spiritual and life-giving. She had only to believe that Jesus was the Christ, to repent of her sins and to follow Jesus.  Drink of that water and you will have all the water you will ever need.

Believing in Jesus is the well of salvation, embracing Christ Jesus in all that He is; Lord of all, Savior of the world, the perfect sacrifice who gave His own body and blood, the author and finisher of our faith, the risen Lord, the sender of the Holy Spirit, the one coming again at the end of the age. Drink of that water and you will have all the water you will ever need.