The Open Word (Audio)

As Jesus was being prepared for trial, the soldiers took pleasure in persecuting Him. Spitting in His face, mocking Him, beating Him. Yet, He was doing this for them as much as He was for any of us. What incredible grace! As Pastor David explains in today’s message, humanity continues to spit in the face of God through their ignorance and denial of His sovereignty and loving forgiveness. There is no neutral ground. Either you are with God or you are against Him.

The message of unity being proclaimed and pushed by so many in our society is certainly appealing. It sounds like a good thing, and it can be, but as Pastor David explains in today’s message, there’s a caveat. A unity that denies the truth is bound for failure. To have lasting unity, we must be drawn together in the truth of the Gospel. True peace and unity can only be wrought from the inside out as we are transformed by the love and grace of Jesus Christ.

It is at the top of the mountain that you have the longest way to fall. When we think we are at our best, we are often at our most vulnerable. When we start seeing ourselves as spiritually strong, it’s easy to forget our desperate need for the strength found only in Jesus Christ. In today’s message, Pastor David warns us against spiritual arrogance. We must remember that we are fallen, imperfect beings, and it is only in Christ that we are made righteous in the eyes of God.

Peter didn’t know himself nearly as well as he thought he did. He just couldn’t believe that he would betray Jesus. He was ready to fight for Him! Yet, within hours of proclaiming his loyalty to Jesus, he was denying that he ever even knew Him. As Pastor David explains in today’s message, there are some places we just should not go; some situations we just need to avoid. When we place ourselves in certain circumstances, relying on our own strength, we are setting ourselves up to fail.

The love of Jesus is an unconventional love. Human reason would say that if you are being treated unjustly, you need to retaliate. As we see in the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter acted under his own human understanding and reason. His teacher and friend was being arrested, and he was ready to stand up and fight for Him. But as Pastor David points out in today’s passage, we see the grace and love of God on display as Jesus reaches out and heals the ear of the servant.

We can’t diminish the extreme agony Jesus experienced as He surrendered Himself to the will of God, resulting in His death on the cross. As a man, He was submitting Himself to unspeakable pain and physical agony. But, as Pastor David explains in today’s message, the cross was a relatively small part of the overall battle that Christ was embroiled in. In order to impart His own righteousness on mankind, He had to bear the collective guilt of all our sin, destroying His intimacy with the Father.

Many in our world would describe God as being a cruel, intolerant deity, sitting in judgment, clinging to archaic rules of law and order. That is not who God is. He is a loving, compassionate Father. As Pastor David demonstrates in today’s message, all throughout scripture, throughout God’s dealings with mankind, we see the way He speaks to His creation. Calling to us; longing for us to hear His voice and draw near to Him. His call is not a reprimand, but the call of a loving Father to His wayward children.

Jesus knew and understood His disciples better than they even knew themselves. The same is true of us. We may fool our fellow believers, even our closest friends and family members, but we cannot fool Him. As Pastor David reminds us in today’s message, He sees us at our weakest and knows the state of our heart. This should not cause fear or shame, but instead bring us comfort and hope. He sees our weakness, yet He loves us and desires to draw us close to Himself.

In one of His final moments leading up to His arrest and crucifixion, Jesus took the time to wash His disciple’s feet. Even those of His betrayer. As Pastor David explains, this act is a great example of how we should interact with our world. It exemplified God’s enduring love and patience. He looked at this world that has hated Him and rejected Him, and He loved us. He went beyond just feeling love and stepped in front of a bullet for us. We deserved eternal death, but He gave Himself so we could have eternal life.

Most of us, when asked, would probably list patience as a trait that we could use more of. Even those that are blessed with more than others, could still could use more. This is a trait that is exemplified in God throughout Scripture and in His continued dealings with humanity. As Pastor David reminds us in today’s message, God’s patience cannot be exhausted. Mankind has tried, but there is no end to His love and grace. It even extended to the point of giving His Only Son for our salvation.