2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
I mentioned at the end of yesterday’s message that Pastor Dean Nadasdy, our senior pastor at Woodbury Lutheran, gave a powerful sermon on praying a prayer of submission as Christ did in the Garden of Gethsemane. The quintessential example of that kind of prayer is found in LK 22: 42, “’Father,’ He said, ‘if you will, take this cup of suffering away from Me. Not My will, however, but Your will be done.’” No one was more aware and connected to Jehovah Shammah, the Lord is there, than Jesus Christ. What a great example of faithfulness to follow that God gave us in Him! As we have recently gone through the Lent/ Easter season, we have been wise stewards of our time if we dwelled in thought and prayer on the magnificent grace that our loving Abba has shown toward us in the work of the cross and the example of His Son’s faithfulness. We must ask ourselves: Are we willing to pray a prayer of submission as Christ was?
The demands of growing up and on our lives as adults can be confusing. On one hand we are trained to become self-reliant. Few people in today’s world can afford servants to do mundane and repetitive tasks that are necessary to our lives. Often businesses require employees to travel and to interact with competence and confidence in themselves to succeed. And yet, there is something missing from this equation-something which I believe must begin in the home and in places of worship. That something is recognition of Jehovah Shammah’s presence, His love, and His sovereign authority in our lives. JN 6: 63-66 reveals the nature of the relationship we have with God in the words of His Son. “’What gives life is God’s Spirit; man’s power is of no use at all. The words I have spoken to you bring God’s life-giving Spirit. Yet some of you do not believe.’ (Jesus knew from the very beginning who were the ones that would not believe and which one would betray Him). And He added, ‘This is the very reason I told you that no one can come to Me unless the Father makes it possible for him to do so.’ Because of this, many of Jesus’ followers turned back and would not go with Him any more.” Herein is the classic example of how people do not understand the teachings of God when they do not have the Holy Spirit to explain them. We truly are nothing and have nothing without Jehovah Shammah’s willingness to extend this grace to us.
PR 3: 5, “Trust in the Lord and do not rely on human understanding.” That wise advice was offered by King Solomon as a result of inspiration from Jehovah Shammah. This is no ego trip on God’s part; it is simply a statement of fact. Without recognizing our need to submit to God’s superior wisdom and the righteousness of His will, there can be no peace in our lives. The road taken when God’s presence and guidance is rejected is a road straight to eternal torment in the lake of fire and sulfur. I personally feel considerable relief that I do not need to think of myself as the end-all and be-all of wisdom, the way God is. That is because He has shown me through my experience studying the Scriptures, prayer, and obeying Him that I must submit to Him and depend on Him to be blessed. Our God is sufficient. He is eager to provide those who love Him with everything they need. With the weight of being the leader in my life and the judge of others off my narrow shoulders, I can place it on His wide ones. In this, there is rest and peace [MT 11: 28-30 and PHIL 4: 7, 13]. While the thought of being submissive is quiet foreign to the teachings of the world, it is a great blessing when that submission is to God. Worldly people can’t understand that there is spiritual strength in this submission. Instead, they see it as a crutch, an excuse for not taking responsibility for ourselves.
Worldly people who don’t recognize Jehovah Shammah’s presence in their lives miss out on knowing what faithful people are taught in RO 10: 3-4. “They have not know the way God puts people right with Himself and instead, they have set up their own way; and so they did not submit themselves to God’s way of putting people right. For Christ has brought the law to an end, so that everyone who believes is put right with God.” Worldly people do not know the difference between law and grace. They do not enjoy the benefit of knowing that the work of their hands or any human understanding doesn’t bring salvation. Only faith can do that. They spend their lives trying to deal with their problems without the power of God behind them. If they ever experience any forgiveness, it is not the eternal forgiveness that is the gift of God’s grace. It is ineffective and ephemeral.
Those who arrested Jesus Christ just before His crucifixion, didn’t recognize His deity. They were taking the second person of Jehovah Sabaoth, the Lord of Hosts, into custody. They had no idea what was at Christ’s disposal. MT 26: 53, “Do you not know that I could call on My Father for help, and at once He would send Me more that twelve legions of angels?” When Christ asked this question, He knew that this would frustrate the divine program and thus, would have never really done that. But, He wanted to make the point that help of a more powerful kind than any of his captors could imagine was there for Him. This is made more compelling when one realizes that 12 legions equals 36,000 to 72, 000 angels, in other words, an army of angels! No human source provides power like that. That, Dear Ones, is a sound argument for why we need to submit to Jehovah Shammah, making Him the Lord of our lives.
PRAYER: O Lord, because of Who You are and the love You have for each of us, our lives are blessed when we submit to You. This flies in the face of what we are taught in a humanistic world. By the example of Christ’s faithful obedience and submission to You, You show us the blessing of Your grace. Since we know that He was resurrected and sits at Your right hand, honored in heaven, we, too, can look forward to that kind of reward. You reminded us of that in RO 8: 17 when You told us we can be joint-heirs to the Kingdom with Him and again in RO 8: 29 when You described Him as “the First among many brothers,” giving us the hope of the resurrection. While we can weep at the thought of the pain He had to endure for us, we can rejoice in knowing that His willingness to submit to Your will opened the way for our salvation. What greater blessing can there be than to submit to a God Who is always righteous, is eager to supply us with all our needs, and Who yearns for us to spend eternity in joy and fellowship with Him? Today, we dedicate ourselves to doing just that. We pray that You will always make Your will known to us, that You will grant us the strength through Christ to be ever obedient to You, and that You will bless us abundantly. We humbly offer You our adoration, worship, loyalty, honor, glory, praise, and thanks. In Christ’s name, amen.
Jehovah Shammah has told me there are just a few more messages in this long series all about Him. Then, we will go on to other matters which He dictates. Tomorrow’s message focuses on the blessings He bestows upon those who are faithful and love Him. I never knew He would have that much for me to say about Him, but this is just one more manifestation of His gracious love for us. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn