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Matt.27:46-47 - About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?" that is, "MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?" NASU
This coming Sunday is Resurrection Sunday what the world commonly calls Easter. You will probably hear a few sermons about how God turned His back on Jesus and abandoned Him on the cross. I want you to know I don't believe that theory. So I am publishing this Pump Up to share with you my belief about what Jesus was really saying on the cross. Please accept my apology for the length of this Pump Up.
God speaks to Joshua as the leader of the Israelites. He tells Joshua, "No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you." Joshua 1:5 God told Jacob and Solomon He would be with them and that He would not forsake them.
"THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?" Heb 13:5-6 Christians have the same promise made to them about God and the promise that He will NOT Ever Desert or Forsake us.
Here is my belief about what Jesus was saying on the cross. First, this is an Old Test. Quote, one must return to Psalm 22 where this quote originated and study the context of how it was used there. Once you do this I believe the answer becomes very clear. Psalm 22 is a Messianic Psalm. This means it applies to the Messiah or Jesus. Jesus is hanging on the cross when He speaks these words. The only scriptures they had at this time were the OT scriptures. The OT was not divided into chapters and verses. Therefore, Jesus couldn't say turn to Psalm 22 and you will find the answer as to what is happening to Me. The first entire Bible in which chapter and verse divisions were used was Robert Stephanus' edition of the Latin Vulgate (A.D. 1555). When Jesus quotes the first words: "My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?" He was telling His disciples to read the Psalm that begins with those words. When you read that Psalm the truth will be revealed: Ps 22:3-5 Yet You are holy, O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel. In You our fathers trusted; They trusted and You delivered them. To You they cried out and were delivered; In You they trusted and were not disappointed. Ps 22:23-24 You who fear the LORD, praise Him; All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him, And stand in awe of Him, all you descendants of Israel. For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; Nor has He hidden His face from him; But when he cried to Him for help, He heard. NASU In verses 3-5 the Psalmist is saying, God is holy, and the Israelite fathers trusted in God and were delivered. In verses 23-24 he is saying God has not hidden His face from this person who is suffering. In fact, this person cries out for help and God heard His cry. This Psalm is considered a Messianic one which means it is about the Messiah and I would agree. Therefore, Jesus is NOT saying God has forsaken Him, but the exact opposite. God had heard His cry for help and helped Him.
You and I may go through times when we feel like God has forsaken us, but our feelings are wrong as they have been before. God doesn't forsake us. God keeps His word and helps His children. Jesus tells us very clearly He is not alone during His crucifixion. He informs His disciples they will be scattered or in other words they are going to run and leave Jesus all alone, but He says I am not alone. John 16:31-32 - Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe? Behold, an hour is coming, and has already come, for you to be scattered, each to his own home, and to leave Me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me." My dear brothers and sisters in Christ if there is anything I am sure of it is this: God doesn't forsake His children. Think About This: The promises of God are certain, but they don't always mature in 90 days. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word
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Mark 5:31- And His disciples said to Him, "You see the crowd pressing in on You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'" NASU
This woman had heard about Jesus and believed that if she could just touch Him she would be made well. All she needed was to "simply touch" Him. So she started out to locate Jesus and "simply touch" Him. She found Jesus and made it happen. She positioned herself to "simply touch" Jesus. When she touched Him she was healed. Can you remember when you touched Jesus and He healed you? We may not have been unclean physically as this lady but we were unclean spiritually because we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. When Jesus forgave us of our sins it is the same as being touched by Jesus.
I came in contact with Jesus when I was baptized into Him. In my baptism I was symbolically buried with Christ and I also resurrected with Him when I was lifted out of the baptismal waters. I have been touching Him for 48 years and as this woman's life was changed so has my life been changed. I believe we have been touched by the Lord to touch other people for Him.
If you will share the Word of God with others trust me when I say the Word will be able to do the convicting and converting of a sinner's hard heart. Go ahead and touch some one today. Just remember when the woman touched Jesus she was healed. Make it easy for people to touch Jesus, be a reflector of the true light Jesus Christ. Think About These: A person's faith isn't judged by what he says about it, but by what he does about it. Living without faith is like driving in the fog. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Luke 2:15 -16 - When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us. So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger." NASU
I send this Pump Up out every year at this time for all my new subscribers. I have made some updates to it this year. May you have a very Merry Christmas.
What some may not know is the meaning of Bethlehem. It means "house of bread." Jesus was the Bread of Life or the Bread of God that came from the "house of bread" to give spiritual life to the world. John 6:33 - "For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world." John 6:35 - Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. John 6:41 - So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” John 6:48 - "I am the bread of life." John 6:51 - "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” Jesus was and is the Bread of Life. If you are spiritually hungry Jesus is the One who can take away all of your hunger pains. If you have been wondering - "What is my purpose in life?" Then look to Jesus for your answers. I did and have never regretted looking to Him for guidance in this life.
The sheep were offered on the altar were special as they were sheep without a blemish. When John the Baptist saw Jesus he said this about Him. John 1:29 - The next day he *saw Jesus coming to him and *said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! John saw Jesus as the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world and this Lamb was born in Bethlehem where a lot of other lambs were born and would sacrifice their blood. But only the blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus, could atone for the sins of mankind. I hope and pray you have allowed the blood of Jesus to wash away your sins.
What greater gift could anyone receive? Truly, Jesus is the Gift that keeps on giving. Think About These: The Christmas season is only as meaningful as we make it. Keeping Christmas is good, but sharing it with others is much better Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Mk 5:21-24 - When Jesus had crossed over again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around Him; and so He stayed by the seashore. 22 One of the synagogue officials named Jairus came up, and on seeing Him, fell at His feet 23 and implored Him earnestly, saying, "My little daughter is at the point of death; please come and lay Your hands on her, so that she will get well and live." 24 And He went off with him; and a large crowd was following Him and pressing in on Him. NASU
I can remember going into meetings and saying, "Hold all my calls I don't want any interruptions."
Jairus is not the only interruption that Jesus will encounter this day. While on the way to Jairus' house Jesus is faced with another interruption. This time it is a woman who is in need of Jesus' healing powers for herself. She thought, "If I just touch His garments, I will get well." She moves in and secretly touches Jesus' clothes and when she does she is immediately healed of her 12 year long illness. This is where the story gets interesting. Jesus stops, turns around and says, "Who touched My garments?" This is not going according to her plan. She wanted to touch Him be healed and slip off into the crowd. Jesus wasn't supposed to stop and turn around and question the crowd of people.
Would you get involved and speak out like this? "Alright, if you touched Him I want you to tell Him, NOW, the longer we stand here the sicker my daughter becomes." Jairus waits patiently while Jesus engages with this lady and commends her for her faith.
The lady was sick for 12 years with her illness yet she never gave up on her faith. Would we continue to pray about something if our prayer had not been answered in 12 years? Would we remain faithful to God if we hadn't received the answer to our prayer sooner than that?
Do you know that anything that doesn't help you accomplish your goals is an interruption in your life? When interruptions entered into Jesus' life He used them to Glorify God. We need to realize interruptions may come into our life and stay for years so that we can glorify God with them. Jairus is going to receive more than he asked for that day. He asked for a healing and what he is about to receive is his 12 year old daughter resurrected from the dead. Many times with God you will receive more than you ask, but you must persevere through to the end. If your life is being altered because of interruptions, be like Jairus and the woman who suffered for 12 years, put your faith in Jesus and wait for Him to answer your prayers. Think About This: Life is 10% what you make it and 90% how you take it. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Jn 5:36 - "… the very works that I do — testify about Me,…" NASU
He wasn't a hypocrite because what He preached was exactly how He lived. John the Baptist was in prison and he is having some doubts about Jesus being the Messiah so he sends some of his men to ask Jesus if He were the One that was to come or should they be looking for another. Jesus gives them this answer in Lk 7:22-23 - And He answered and said to them, "Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM." NASU Oh yeah, He is the One all right because Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would be doing exactly what Jesus said He has been doing.
I was at the bedside of a man who was going in for some major heart surgery. When we were all alone he confessed to me that he had not been living his life correctly and he would like to have a second chance to make things right at home, at work, and most importantly with the Lord. I prayed that he would come through his surgery successfully and that the Lord would allow him time to change his legacy. I learned something very important from that brother that day. It was when you are faced with the possibility that you might die you don't want to be a hypocrite.
Now is the time for some introspection. Can you say that your works testify that what you're doing matches what you think is important? If you said, "My family, my job or the Lord is important to me." Then your works should be your proof that your family, job or the Lord is really important to you. Don't say that something is important to you and then have no works to support your statement because that will make you a hypocrite and that is certainly not what you're interested in accomplishing. It was really important for Jesus to stay focused on His goals and we see Him doing exactly that staying focused on His purpose for coming to earth. That is why He says that His works testify about Him. So ask yourself this question: "What do your works say about you?" Think on These: The plain fact is that human beings are happy only when they are striving for something worthwhile. This will be a better world when the power of love replaces the love of power. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Go To www.SeragosPumpUps.com |
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