I have to add my voice to Pastor Cook’s comments about loving springtime in this area. I love it as well. It’s so full of all kinds of colors, like an artist’s palette. Anybody here voting in favor of yellow daffodils? I love those. Especially the ones with the orange cups inside the yellow trumpets. And the sight of yellow daffodils growing out of a bed of periwinkle vines sporting their bluish flowers is so cheering. I know because it’s right in front of my front door.
And I love the brilliant hues of creeping phlox. And before too long from now, the beautiful red tulips. And all the flowering trees that we’re blessed with around here. The bradford pears and the cherries, and soon the dogwoods. My favorite flowering tree is the redbud. It’s so vivid and refreshing; uplifting. God really knew what he was doing when he created this beautiful world. It’s as if an artist splashed colors all over the world.
Many years ago, the Divine Artist Himself splashed the color crimson red over a tree as He hung in its tormenting grip. Jesus talked about this crucifixion tree before He died. You remember reading His words to His disciples in the upper room? This is the blood of the new covenant, He said. This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Blood simply refers to the fact that He was going to die; His death. So blood and death and covenant. What do these words mean to us today as we re-affirm our faith in the God Who provided such a costly sacrifice?
For me, Jesus death is God’s way of saying, “I want you, and I want you alive.” God doesn’t want our death. He wants us around so He can relate to us. And yet today, thousands view God as a harsh, cruel despot who loves to pounce upon people as soon as they sin. But that’s not the true Bible picture. Although sin does lead to death, it’s not because God wants that to happen, or that He arbitrarily imposes it. The question is, how could a good God who predicted that sin would lead to death, be seen as true and right and still save His children?
The answer. God Himself, demonstrated in Christ with the sins of the whole world upon His shoulders that sin leads to death. So that we would not have to die. He did that because He values and loves us. Isn’t that good news? And He definitely wants a relationship with us. Hebrews eight describes how He wants to be our God and how He wants us to be His people. That’s what God wants.
It’s been now, almost 18 years since I have known my wife Becky, and we’ve been married for almost 15 years. I remember the times that we had together, getting acquainted with each other and dating. I lived in Macon, Georgia when we first met, and she lived in Calhoun, Georgia, and we met together and dated in Atlanta. And after dating awhile and coming to really know her, I realized that I want to be her husband. I wanted to be the one who would love her and be her companion. And I still feel that way.
And for me, that’s just how it is with God. He wants to be our Helper. He want to be our Companion and Friend. And to see just how personal God wants to be with us, let me take you to Mark, chapter 12, verse 26. The story actually begins with the Saducees coming to Jesus with a trick question. It’s in verses 19 and 20, about the seven brothers who were each married in turn to the one woman. I’m glad we don’t practice that in our society anymore. Anyway, “whose wife will she be in the resurrection?” they asked, since all seven of them were married to her. Well, they didn’t like Jesus’ teaching about the resurrection, which was something they didn’t believe in. And that’s when Jesus responded as He did in verse 26. “Haven’t you read where God says, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And then Jesus concludes by saying, “God is a God of the living, not of the dead.”
Alright, here’s my question. Are you with me? What is the reasoning behind this jump from God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob to God of the living and not the dead? What is the answer? Well, our God is the great I Am Who holds our lives in His safe-keeping, even if we die. And it must be that God so joyfully anticipates and values raising His children from the dead that He can relate with them, that He’s already there in His mind. It’s a present reality to Him. For Him, they’re not dead, they’re sleeping. They’re alive. He’s already there. God craves a relationship. The God of the universe craves a relationship with us that much. And to prove it, He paid for that with His own blood. And that is what we celebrate today, and re-affirm as we experience, first the ordinance of humility and then come back for the Lord’s supper.
The scripture says, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Today, we hunger and thirst for Jesus, and by partaking of these emblems of his great sacrifice, we signify our decision to have this relationship with the God of the universe, Who loves us so much that He gave His only Son. The scripture says that He took bread, gave thanks and broke it and gave it to them saying this is my Body which is given for you, do this in remembrance of Me. Likewise, He also took the cup after supper saying, this cup is the new covenant in My Blood, which is shed for you.
Hymn of Praise: #403, Let Us Break Bread Together Scripture: Hebrews 8:11,12 Hymn of Response: #462, Blessed Assurance! Jesus Is Mine!
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McDonald Road Sermon transcribed by Steve Foster 3/25/07