Our devotional today begins where Jesus has just healed a man who had the dropsy. And as often as it did, it had once again caused a great ruckus among the religious Pharisees and lawyers as Jesus healed someone on the Sabbath day. I want to point out a particular parable that Jesus followed with in order to communicate how those who were bidden to enter into the life of Christ would stumble over their own pride and self-righteousness to their own demise, therefore, failing to enter into that life fully. Let's read the parable and then break down some things that I believe will be enlightening and life changing.
Luke 14:15-24 (KJV)
15 And when one of the bystanders that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.
16 Then said Jesus unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many:
17 And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.
18 And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused.
19 And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.
20 And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.
21 So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.
22 And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.
23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
24 For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.
In verse (15) of this parable, we find a man who after listening to Jesus' story: heard that if you should prepare a supper you should fill it with guests that are not friends or neighbors; but rather invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind. Jesus was saying to invite those who could not repay you for your kindness shown to them. The reason for the parable was to reveal that it was the sick that needed a physician, not those who thought themselves to be whole. Therefore, if a man thinks of himself to be better than another because of his possessions or pious manners; then he is the object to which this parable speaks. We are instructed from Scriptures to open up our life for others the way Christ did unconditionally. To continue our story, the best that this man could come up with after hearing Jesus tell this parable was: "Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God." This is such a pious statement that only revealed that like most of the religious leaders of that time and even today, they had no clue of their condition or what the "bread" Jesus had referred to really represented.
It was custom to send out invitations long time in advance for a supper such as the one referenced in this parable; and before the actual day arrived there would be an extended invitation as an urgent reminder of the upcoming event. However, within this parable Jesus noted the excuses that began to come in as the invitation went out requesting their attendance. One by one they all began to decline and give an excuse for their absence. The first man said he could not attend because he had bought some land and needed to go see it. The second man in the parable presented his excuse, he had just purchased five oxen and needed to go work them to bring in the profit that they would afford him to make. Finally, Jesus points out a third man who declined to attend because he had just gotten married. In each of these cases the excuses were not really an excuse at all. They just presented an alibi to be somewhere else; to which they could use to cover up the fact that they did not really want to come to the supper.
I noticed three distractions that Jesus was pointing out in this parable that keeps people from making a timely decision for salvation once it is presented to them on the crossroad of life. The Bible teaches that "today" is the day of salvation. Yet, the first distraction that is used in this parable to excuse a person from dealing with the matter of accepting Christ as Lord is: possessions. I can't tell you how many times I have watched lives over the years that became totally consumed with the life journey of just gathering more possessions. It's maddening, but yet addictive to the degree that it has spoiled many men and women's lives throughout the generations of time here on earth. It's sad to see a person that is so driven that all they think about is how to collect more things even at the expense of everything that is really important in life. The Word teaches, 'that if a man gained the whole world, but loses his soul, what has he truly gained?'
The second distraction that Jesus' parable speaks of is: business. I realize that our society is driven by economic growth and it is a system that we all must participate in if we are to survive, yet if one is to get his piece of the pie than he must be diligent to grab his while the getting is good seems to be the tendency for most. It's programmed in all of us. Climb the latter of success and achieve all that you can so as to provide well for your family. Obtain power so you will be respected by all that come to know you. Well, doesn't it say in Scripture that if a man does not provide for his family he is worse than an infidel? So off to work we go spending 80 - 90 hours a week working two or three jobs to ensure that we can get ahead and be successful; and somehow we think that is Scriptural. Forget that it takes away from having a spiritual and intimate life with God. Forget that it keeps you away from your family and close friends. This is just way too important to attend to anything else that would keep me from growing my business, right? There is another story that I recall from the Bible that should be noted here; and that was about the man who had to build many barns to store up enough room for all of his goods from the proceeds of his business. Sadly though, the story didn't end to well; for it says that his life was later required of him, and the question was presented, now who will it be that enjoys all of this that you have stored up over the years? In other words, what good was all this time you spent building for yourself and now it all ends as someone else will benefit from it instead of you!
Finally, our third distraction mentioned in the parable speaks of: natural affection. This may be the hardest to understand of all three, because we know to love our family and loved ones is a high priority that the Bible speaks of consistently; and any moral person knows that family is important. However, look with me at what verse 25 has to say along these lines regarding our relationship with Christ.
Luke 14:25-26 (KJV)
25 And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them,
26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
This great multitude mentioned was the very ones that followed Jesus and were hanging out with Him and professing to be His followers. Therefore, Jesus turned to them after telling His parable of the great supper to the Pharisees, and said you must hate all natural affections in comparison to your allegiance to me. We must understand that a believer's devotedness to Jesus should be such that, by comparison, it looks as if everything else is hated (Philippians 3:8). Jesus obviously was not teaching that we were to hate people in general, as this would be inconsistent to His nature and will, being a God of love. Jesus was revealing the deeper difference between a believer and a disciple; and there is a big difference! A believer can remain inactive and thereby excuse his participation from all Christian activities, duties and tenets of faith; but yet go around declaring that he believes in God perfectly because he knows how to say all the right things. I recall Jesus mentioned some folks like this who said in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not cast out devils in your name; and He will tell them, be gone from me for I never knew you. Whereas, on the flip side a disciple is a follower of the One who's teaching he believes in, and thereby, devotes his whole life to follow it. As we consider these things already mentioned above let us now go to a familiar passage that I wish to draw your attention to; which will afford you the opportunity to enter the life of Christ in a much more meaningful and deeper respect concerning the revelation of the communion of Christ.
1 Corinthians 11:23-30 (KJV)
23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:
24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.
27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
There are several points that I want to teach from this passage of Scripture. I shared this past Sunday with my congregation the reason that I don't initiate the communion ceremony as often as many churches do; is because of the habitual approach that we so often gravitate to when participating in something routinely, where it begins to be devalued through familiarity. It just seems to lose its meaning, and lessens its significance when it becomes a custom that is habitually performed. I am not implying that the church leaders who do this in their church regularly are wrong. I just want people to understand the magnitude of what this observance really means at the heart level and not just something that we do as a church ritual.
There are at least three important things that I believe the communion should resonate within us whenever we participate in this holy observance. (1). Commemoration: focuses on His death - which we remember that over 2000 years ago Jesus died on the cross; and it was because of our sins which had put Him there. I know it's sobering and it should be. (2). Communion: focuses on His relationship with us - which, is to identify with the present "living" Christ in us right now, not when we get to heaven. (3). Commitment: focuses on His loyalty to us even unto death - which in return, we commit our lives to him today, and every day afterwards until death. We are His and not our own!
There are many benefits to which we could draw our attention to and should, whenever we participate in taking the communion. Jesus died a horrible death for our sins which goes without saying; therefore, Jesus became God's perfect sacrifice to satisfy His wrath towards man for his disobedience to keep the Law. Salvation has been extended to us by the work of Christ who saved us from our sins once and for all, and not just ours alone, but the whole world. In addition, that word "salvation" also brings about the encapsulation of everything from eternal life, righteousness, peace, love, health, prosperity, joy, and any number of other benefits mentioned in the Word of God, as to what Christ imparted within each of us that believe on His name.
Jesus took the bread and said, take and eat, for this is my body which was broken for you: this do in remembrance of Me. In John 6:51, it says that, I am the living bread that came down from heaven: if any man eats of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. Then over in 1 Corinthians 10:17, we discover that we being many are one bread, and one body; for we are all partakers of that "One" bread. After the same manner Jesus took the cup, and when He had drank from it, He said, this cup is the New Testament in my blood: this do as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me. In 1 John 1:7 it tells us that if we walk in the light, and He is the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us of all sin. Then He goes on to say for as often as you eat this bread, and drink this cup, you do show the Lord's death until He returns. I would like to show you what should really happen when we partake of this sacred observance reserved for the church which we call the "communion of Christ." Look with me at our next passage of Scripture over in the gospel of Luke.
Luke 24:13-21 (KJV)
13 And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.
14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened.
15 And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.
16 But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.
I know you may remember this story if you have read your Bible. There were two certain men that had followed Jesus up to this point of time, and were now distraught at how bad things had turned out after the death of Christ who they had believed to be the Messiah. It seems that all their hopes and dreams had vanished once the religious leaders had crucified this one called Jesus to whom they had placed all their hopes in. As you probably know being familiar with this story, Jesus later on had appeared to them as they walked along the road of Emmaus. During this walk He inquired of why they were so sad, and they began to ask Him are you a stranger that you have not heard of these things that have happened? One thing that I would like for you to see here is that their eyes were blinded to the fact it was Jesus who was talking with them. This is likened to many today who certainly believe that Jesus was the Son of God and even believed He died for the sins of the whole world, yet because He is seemingly out of physical sight they tend to think He is no longer with them, and therefore, it will only be when they go to heaven will they have true fellowship with Him. In other words, Jesus is up there and they are down here. When Jesus is consistently viewed as somewhere other than here with us, we tend to lose reality of His closeness, or worse yet, we doubt His existence within our daily lives to be any value to trust our lives to. Why is this? It is because we are walking by sight rather than by faith.
These two men on the road of Emmaus had lost sight of who Jesus had pronounced Himself to be throughout the time He had been with them; therefore, they were more naturally believers in the finality of His death rather than His divinity to conquer it as He taught He would. I believe this is what the Scriptures was trying to convey to us when it said if we have Christ Jesus in this life only, then we are to be pitied of all the people of the world. What does this mean? I believe it is saying if Christ is nothing more than a mere philosophy, rather than the living God that He said He was, then we have nothing more than any other religion in this world. Now look at what happens when Jesus goes to one of these two men's house and sits down to eat with them.
Luke 24:29-32 (KJV)
29 But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.
30 And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.
31 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.
32 And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?
Did you see it? When Jesus broke the bread and gave it to them, their eyes were immediately opened and they knew Him. Now, putting this in contrast to those whom Jesus referred to in another parable we already mentioned earlier, Lord, Lord, did we not cast out devils in your name; and He will tell them to depart from me, for I never knew you! Intimacy will be a deciding factor of those that are truly His disciples and those who just pretend to be. The communion is the entrance into the very life of Christ. It is a relationship of the deepest manner of description. However, over in 1 John 1:6, it says that if we have fellowship with Christ, but walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth. Therefore, we should examine ourselves carefully before we participate in the communion of Christ, so as not to eat and drink unworthily. To do so, is why so many are sick among us and even some have died prematurely. What does this all mean? It means that if I participate in the communion of Christ and my eyes remain unopened because of my unbelief, and I am therefore, unable to see Him in my daily walk because of my disobedience to follow Him; and if my heart does not burn with excitement every time I hear His Words: then I just may be believing in vain and that could be more costly than have imagined.
1 Corinthians 15:2 (KJV)
2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
If you cannot believe or recognize that Christ is here with you right now in the good times and the challenging times! Then all rituals and customs of the Bible will be lifeless and void of their truest meaning, and quite frankly, down right boring because they will lack the significance of Him that was meant to be revealed in them. If your invitation to Him is always filled with alibi's to excuse your attendance to be with Him intimately in constant fellowship among the brethren, then it's possible to miss out on the ultimate provision of all time. What is that which I speak of? The ability to enter into the Life of Jesus Christ where there is no boundaries, limitations, lack, or distance from the love of Him who promised to never leave you or forsake you!
* This devotional is excerpts from a message by Pastor Tommy Morgan on 2/7/2010. If you would like to receive this teaching in its full content on DVD please write us at: P.O. Box 2290 Rowlett, Texas 75030 or email us at admin@potterswheel.org The cost of our teaching DVD's are $10.00 each.
