03/13/2021
We talk about wanting to be like Jesus, and this should be our greatest desire, but do we really know all that this means? We want to be righteous, a teacher, humble, and to be free of sin, but when we say we are ready to pick up our cross do we really know what awaits us? There is more to this than just shouldering a cross for a long walk to Calvary. There is more that awaits us than just physically dying.
“Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”Matthew 16:24-25 ESV
There are a number of believers who have left the church, or lost their faith, because of wrongs that occurred to them from within the church itself. If we have been associated with church life for any period of time we have either felt this ourselves, or known someone else who felt this way. These are not necessarily people who are infants in Christ, but Pastors, and lifelong Saints who have carried their crosses, and endured great physical suffering; yet couldn’t handle the separation from God that Jesus experienced...
“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?””
Matthew 27:46 ESV
Is our faith strong enough that we will be able to not only endure the physical torment in our lives, carrying the cross, and being nailed to it, as Jesus was, but also the experience of feeling separated from God that He faced? Will we reach that moment of feeling alone only to lose sight of the promise of eternity with God, and Jesus, that awaits us with our next step?
“... And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””Matthew 28:20 ESV
This is a true story of a rogue who called himself a pastor, and who started having sexual affairs with some of the women in his church who came to him for spiritual help. He was either lost, or never truly saved, and took advantage of his position of trust to prey on these ladies, but this story isn’t about him, the temptation of the women he seduced, or the terrible state of their faiths in that moment... even though theirs was most certainly a story of temptation, evil, and sin.
No, our story today is about the fallout in the church from these sins. As a result of them at least one young associate pastor lost his faith and left the church, many families were torn apart, and several more Saints also lost their faith as a result. These were believers who, like Jesus, were confronted with that moment of feeling alone. They had carried their crosses for quite some time, but found that they couldn’t overcome the feeling of separation that the sins of others had placed upon them. This is when they found that their suffering had become too much, and that they couldn’t feel their relationship with God any longer. It was here that they, like Jesus who was shouldering the sins of the world, cried out “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?”. Yet, unlike Jesus ,their faith wasn’t strong enough to overcome this ultimate trial.
I pray that such a thing will never happen to any of us, but if, or when, it does I pray that our faith will be like the faith of Jesus, and that we won’t be lost in that moment of sin born agony. You see, Jesus never denied God... He cried out because of the world’s sin that He was enduring, and because He wasn’t feeling God’s presence because of it. He continued to believe right up to His final breath when he said...
““Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.” Luke 23:46 ESV
Is our faith this strong? If we find the weight of worldly sin bearing down on us, and we reach that point where we feel separated from God, will we trust in Him enough that we too will pray for His forgiveness, and shout out “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” with our last breath? Are we prepared to overcome the world, maintain our faith, and ascend with Jesus into heaven upon His second coming? Jesus ascended following His resurrection, and will again.
“While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven.” Luke 24:51 ESV
So you see, there is more to being like Jesus than simply walking in a righteous manner... the cross we bear is spiritual as well as physical, and our suffering is more than anything that a whip or nails can ever inflict upon us. To this end, pray that your faith is strengthened so that you can endure every hardship, mortal, and spiritual, that Jesus did. Pray that if you should ever be in that place where you feel separated from God, that you will receive encouragement, strength beyond your wildest dreams, and that your faith will not fail you.
“fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Behold, all who are incensed against you shall be put to shame and confounded; those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish.”Isaiah 41:10-11 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for strengthening me in my faith so that I can walk from earth into heaven just as Jesus did. Strengthen my trust in you, and your promises, so that I will never lose my belief in you not be tempted to turn away... even when confronted by great spiritual trials. Let the mountains rumble father, and the curtains of those who torment me be ripped asunder. Give me angels to strengthen me, and ease my pain. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God who will never abandon me, and who has made a way for my sins to be forgiven, and the burden of sins put upon me by others to be born with the help of Jesus. Praised be your name for the end that comes to every temptation, and the victory I receive through my faith in Jesus Christ. In my triumph I give you all the glory, and in my victory over sin and death let all of heaven and earth see the power of Christ, and your grace. Wash me clean Father with the blood of Jesus, and accept me as a worthy son into your eternal presence.
Rich Forbes