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Staying Spiritually Alert: Grasping Jesus' Suffering | Weekend Service | Josiah Smith

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A message by Pastor Josiah Smith on Hebrews 2:10-13

Compass Bible Church South Valley is located in Kuna, Idaho

For more information about Compass Bible Church go to https://www.compassbiblesv.org/

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Remember Your Why

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Understanding the why behind something, really, really anything, can make all the difference in your perspective and appreciation of that thing. That's why perhaps you've heard this common sort of catchphrase before. That's why people say, remember your why. Because people want you to think about why are you doing what you're doing? And getting motivated because of the reason why you're doing what you're doing. And so we ask this question in all kinds of ways. Why do you do what you do? Or maybe even a different way to ask it, why do you do what you do in the way that you do it? Why do you speak the way you do? Why do you dress the way you do? Why do you believe what you believe? Why do you live the way that you live? This is a common question that kind of gets to the heart of the motivation behind who we are, what we do, what we value, and why we do all of those things. And then again, it can make all the difference in your perspective and appreciation of those things.

Hebrews 2 Sets The Question

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Now, as we continue in our study of Hebrews chapter two, the author is kind of asking a why question. I remember the context beginning all the way back in verse one. We must pay much closer attention to what we have heard. And he's been given, he's been giving reasons for us to pay attention. He's been giving us things to think about, to anticipate, to look forward to. And today he's going to surface kind of a why, specifically as it relates to the suffering of Jesus. The suffering of Jesus marks this entire passage. It actually even began in last week's passage in verse 9, but it's going to talk about the suffering of Jesus. And the author of Hebrews is going to tell us in no uncertain terms, this is why. This is why Jesus had to suffer. This is what this means, and this is why it is significant. And in so doing, in giving us this why, his whole aim is to encourage us, to put some wind in our sails, to keep moving forward, to run the race of faith with endurance. And so that's what that's what I hope for you today as we look at this together. So let's look at it. Hebrews chapter 2, verses 10 through 13. I'll read it for us, beginning in verse 10. It says, For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist. Now you need to kind of understand what's going on here because we're going to switch back and forth between talking about the Father and talking about the Son. So there in verse 10, it's it's the Father, for it was fitting that he, the Father, for whom and by whom all things exist, and bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder, that's Jesus, the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. For he who sanctifies, again, that's Jesus, and those who are sanctified, that's those who are in Christ, all have one source. And that is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying, I will tell of your name to my brothers. In the midst of the congregation, I will sing your praise. And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, behold I and the children God has given him. Now remember, this whole passage really is focusing on how fitting it was for Jesus to suffer. And the author of Hebrews is going to give us a lot of reasons why that is the case. And so if you look at your note sheet, we've got a lot of ground to cover today. So let's just jump right in. Point

What It Means That Jesus Suffered

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number one on your outline: know why Christ suffered. You need to understand this. You need to ask the why. Why? Why did Jesus have to suffer? Is that the means by which we are saved? Well, yes, of course, that's what the scripture says. So why? Why did it happen that way? What does this do? What does this provide? What does this give us? Now, Jesus' suffering in the scriptures is multifaceted, meaning it's talked about in different ways. Of course, in the crucifixion, he suffers beating, he suffers mocking, he suffers shame. There's many aspects of suffering, but the New Testament, and particularly in our passage in Hebrews chapter 2, puts the emphasis on Jesus' suffering as his death. Even in verse 9, if you're there, look with me. It says in verse 9 of chapter 2 that but we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. Well, death is mentioned there uh twice in verse 9, it's mentioned twice in verse 14, it's mentioned once in verse 15. So death of kind of is one of the through lines of this entire chapter, and it is connected to the suffering of Jesus. Jesus endured the suffering of death, he suffered death, he experienced death, he underwent death on the cross. And that's going to help us kind of orient us to all of the reasons that we see here in Hebrews 2 for why he had to do that. So let's start with reason number one. Here's

Suffering Displays God’s Grace

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the first reason why Jesus had to suffer, to highlight the grace of God. To highlight the grace of God. Now, this is somewhat paradoxical. Think about this with me. Something that is horrendous. Tried, treated, and executed as a criminal, was for the purpose of displaying the grace of God. But this is what the scriptures say to highlight the grace of God. We see this in again, verse 9 of chapter 2. We see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor, because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God, by the grace of God, to highlight the grace of God, to display the grace of God, he might taste death for everyone. That's what Hebrews tells us. Now I want to give you a definition of grace, perhaps uh most familiar. You defined mercy as something that God withholds from you that you do deserve, namely punishment, and grace is something that God gives to you that you don't deserve, namely salvation. And those are helpful, simple ways of thinking about grace. But let me give you kind of another definition to help clarify this. Grace is the loving kindness of God. That kind of comes from the Old Testament, the steadfast love of the world, of the Lord. It talks about, that's translated in different ways as the loving kindness, the steadfast love of God. Grace is the loving kindness of God directed toward his people through the work of Christ. So there's an aim, there's a purpose, there's a target for his loving kindness, for his steadfast love. That's what grace is: the favor of God, the kindness of God directed toward his people through the work of Christ. And that's what we just saw in verse 9. The suffering of death Jesus endured, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. Jesus had to suffer to demonstrate the loving kindness of God that he offers to those who would believe in his son. This is perhaps uh one of the most famous verses in all of the New Testament. John 3 16, maybe you have that memorized. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever would believe in him, believe in the son, believe in Jesus, will not perish, will not die, but will have eternal life. That's the loving kindness of God demonstrated to his people through the work of Christ, through the grace on the cross, the suffering of death to display the grace of God. Even Paul in Romans 5:8 says, But God shows his love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Friends, that's the grace of God, his loving kindness, his favor towards his people, demonstrated towards his people through the work of his son. And that's what we see throughout the scripture. So the answer to the question, why did Jesus have to suffer death? Well, to display the grace of God. That's what Hebrews 2 tells us. Here's the

Suffering Reveals God’s Wisdom

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second reason that Hebrews 2 gives us to demonstrate the wisdom of God. Now, again, this feels somewhat paradoxical. It feels backwards, it feels maybe at odds with what we would sort of naturally think and understand. But according to Hebrews 2, Jesus had to suffer death to display the grace of God, to offer the grace of God to the world through his death, so that those who would believe would have eternal life. And it's to demonstrate the wisdom of God. Look at verse 10 with me. I want you to see this. Verse 10 says, Notice this, for it was, what's the word? Fitting. Think about that. It was fitting, proper, good, as it should be, according to plan, according to the purpose, the wisdom of God. It was fitting that the Father, for whom, by whom all things exist, and bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. Think about that. Grasp that. It was fitting, it was right, it was good, it was as it ought to be, that Jesus, being made the founder of our salvation, would be made the founder, would become perfect through his suffering. Now I want you to know that when it says that Jesus becomes perfect, being made perfect, that's not a change in the eternal Son of God. The eternal Son of God cannot change. That's a fundamental theological belief that you must cling to. The eternal Son of God, God does not change. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Perhaps a better translation of that word perfection is sort of qualified. Now, I'm not saying and implying that the Son of God isn't qualified as if he lacks something. And what I mean is that in the incarnation and taking on humanity, there was something that he was growing into, right? He he is uh perfecting, he is being qualified to be our savior. How? Through suffering, through his death. Again, the eternal son never changes. He he is completely perfect, but this is a sense in which the author of Hebrews is telling us that this was the reason why he had to suffer. He had to suffer to demonstrate, at least in part, the wisdom of God, to display the grace of God. This is what Paul says in Ephesians chapter 1, verses 7 through 10. It says, In him, in Jesus, we have redemption through his blood. That's the suffering of death, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace. Remember the first reason why he had to suffer to display the grace of God. We see that same thing here in Ephesians 1:7, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight, making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth in him. This is why Jesus had to suffer, to show the wisdom of God, the eternal plan of God, the definite foreknowledge of God, as it says in Acts. You delivered him according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God over to Pontius Pilate, over to the Romans to be crucified. This is the wisdom of God displayed. This is the purpose of God revealed. This is what Hebrews 1 tells us, making known to us, revealing to us the mystery of his will with all wisdom and insight, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ, as a plan, as a purpose for the fullness of time. Jesus had to suffer to demonstrate the wisdom of God. It was fitting that he should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. It was fitting for all kinds of reasons. One of which, in the Old Testament, it said that that's what the Messiah would endure, Isaiah 53, the suffering servant, the man of sorrows, the one who would be acquainted with grief with grief. It was fitting because God's word long ago, through the prophets, said that that's what would happen, and it happened that way. It's the plan and purpose of God with all wisdom and insight. This is why Jesus had to suffer.

Suffering Brings Us To Glory

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Here's the third reason why Jesus had to suffer. To ensure a Christian's entrance to glory. To ensure a Christian's entrance to glory. Now, this goes all the way back to verse 14 of chapter 1, where it talks about the angels. They are ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation. There's a future reality to our salvation in Christ. There's something that we look forward to. There is an inheritance that is kept in heaven for us. That's what Hebrews 1:14 says. Remember that the glory of God can mean three primary things in the scriptures. It can mean the presence of God in the tabernacle or in the temple, can mean the greatness of God, how majestic is his name. And it can be this future destination that's promised by God. We're headed to glory. And it says here in Hebrews 2 that Jesus had to suffer to ensure a Christian's entrance into glory, to make it possible for us to spend eternity with the Father through the Son and by the Spirit. Let me show you this again in Hebrews 2, verse 10. For it was fitting, proper as it should be, wise, that he for whom and by whom all things exist, and bringing many sons to glory, and bringing those who were far, and not just bringing them near, but taking them across the finish line, getting them home, bringing them to their future inheritance, to the glory that awaits. It was fitting in bringing many sons to glory. So Jesus had to suffer to make it possible for you to make it to heaven with him, to spend eternal life with him, to enjoy eternal life in him. This is a reason why it says he had to suffer. It was fitting in bringing many sons to glory. It's not just the author of Hebrews that says this, the apostle Paul, or rather the apostle Peter in 1 Peter chapter 3, verse 18, says, For Christ also suffered once for sins, suffered death. He suffered once for sins. That's kind of Hebrews' language, right? It talks later in Hebrews chapter 9 that Christ is the once for all sacrifice for our sins. He is the propitiation for our sins. That's later on in chapter 2. He makes purification for our sins. 1 Peter chapter 3, verse 18. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God. Jesus suffered, he endured death so that you could be brought to God. You could make it to glory, to ensure your entrance into glory, bringing many sons and many daughters to glory, to salvation in Christ, to an inheritance that is incorruptible, unfading, and kept in heaven for you. He had to suffer for that to be possible. This is what Hebrews 2 tells us. So that's the third reason. Let me give you the fourth reason.

Our Father And Our Brother

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Why did Jesus have to suffer? Number four, to make God our Father and Jesus our brother. Jesus had to suffer to make God our Father and Jesus our brother. Again, if you're looking in Hebrews 2, I want you to look at verse 11. That's those who are the sons of glory that are mentioned in verse 10. For he who sanctifies, and those who are sanctified all have one source. Now, there's a kind of uh some confusion as to what exactly this one source is. There's two primary ways to understand this. The one source could be we have the same father. We have uh Jesus, obviously his heavenly father, is our father. So there's a sense in which we could say that we have the same father. And there's another understanding of this. It means that we share the same humanity, that the Son of God took on flesh. Now, whether you believe it's uh the humanity that we share or the father that we share, the end result is the same. Because the eternal Son of God took on flesh, because of the incarnation, because of his righteousness, his work, his accomplishments, his victory, we do have the same father. We do share in that if we are in him. So either way, uh we the end result is the same. Jesus is our brother, our father is our father because of that. So for he who sanctifies, and those who are sanctified all have one source, whether it's our shared humanity or our shared father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying, I will tell of your name to my brothers. In the midst of the congregation, I will sing your praise, and again, I will put my trust in him. And again, behold, I in the children God has given me. Now the word brothers is perhaps a non-technical term. It's a broader category that means brothers and sisters in this context. So it's saying that Jesus is not afraid to be called your brother, whether you are a sister in Christ or a brother in Christ. He's not afraid, he's not ashamed, because we all have the same source, whether it's our same humanity in that shared experience that we'll go on to talk about in verses 14 through 18, or it's our same father. Regardless, Jesus is not ashamed to call us his brother. But he had to suffer. It was fitting. For he who sanctifies, and those who are sanctified, all have one source. That is why he's not ashamed to call them brothers. Now the Gospel of John kind of fills this out for us. John chapter 1, verse 12. This is after the conversation where he says, in the beginning was the word, the word was with God, the word was God. He talks about Jesus being the light of the world, the light came into the darkness, but men rejected it. He came into his own, his own received him not, all that kind of context. And then in verse 12 of John 1, it says, But to all who did receive him, to all who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. So this is something that is given to individuals. This is something that not everyone has. Not everyone has the right to call God their father. Not everyone has the right to call Jesus their brother. John 1 12 says, Who has the right to those who received Jesus, that didn't reject him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right. Those people received the right to become children of God. This is something that is specific to those who would believe. And then later on, of course, in John 3.16, for God so loved the world that he sent his only son, that whoever believes in him will have eternal life. Whoever believes, whoever receives him, he gives the right to become children of God.

Covenant Fatherhood Versus LDS Claims

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Now here's a question that I want to wrestle with together this morning. In what sense is God our Father? In what sense can we say that God is our father? If I can have just a brief apologetic sidebar here, uh our LDS friends that are probably a hundred yards that way right now, uh meeting in their ward, uh, they would say that God is our father in very much the same way that your earthly father is your father. They can't conceive of God being our father in any other categories than creaturely categories. Of course, there's some nuance to that, and there's some similarities and some dissimilarities, but they they would think of God our father in the sort of reproductive sense, right? Or you have children because of reproduction. That's how a father becomes a father. And they can't conceive of our father, our heavenly father, being anything else and any other kind of father, other than in that way, in that creaturely category. The fifth president of Of the the LDS Church, his name is Lorenzo Snow. He has a famous couplet that kind of talks about this. He says, As man is now, God once was. As God is now, man may be. Now, there's some actually current debate within the LDS Church as to what exactly this means. Even the whole idea of infinite regression or us becoming gods in the same way as Heavenly Father, there's a lot of internal discussions happening right now in real time as to what exactly this means and sort of a drift away from some typical teaching on this. But regardless, the whole idea is that as man is now, God once was, as God is now, man may be. So because God was once like us in the same way, in the human, just like you and I, he's a father in the same way that you and I might become a father, or you uh might become a mother in that sort of natural procreative sense. That's the understanding of the LDS church. Well, I just gotta ask, is that what the scriptures say? That our heavenly father is our heavenly father in a procreative, reproductive kind of, even if it's a spiritual kind of reproduction, is that what it means? Well, no, that's not what it means at all. The scriptures call God our Father while always promoting distinction rather than sameness, right? So the LDS church, they can't again, they have a hard time with these categories of God being anything other than what we are. He's, of course, he's he's been exalted, he's infinitely kind of progressing in a positive direction. So he's light years ahead of us, but he still is like us. And they would say the beauty of the gospel is that Heavenly Father, in his grace, allows us to become like him, to grow like him, to be exalted like him if we keep the ordinances and things like that. So we are becoming like our father because we are spiritually his offspring. We are reproductively, even heavenly mother. There's all kinds of different things that are connected to this. But the scriptures call God our Father while always promoting distinction rather than sameness. God is not my father in the same way that I am a father to my two children. There is some analogous overlap, as in we can learn things about God's fatherhood by our earthly fathers. There's some comparisons, but there is never a collapse in categories. There is a distinction rather than sameness. So, in what sense is God our father? God is our father in a sort of covenantal way, not a creaturely way. God makes covenants all the way back in the book of Genesis. If you've read Genesis, you're gonna see multiple covenants being made with people, these promises where God says, I will do this, I will be your God, I will provide, I will protect, I will demonstrate and display his goodness, his faithfulness. It's about his word, it's about him keeping his promises. That's a covenantal relationship. And in that sense, the Bible says, God 100% is our Father in a covenantal way. He provides for us, he protects us, he cares for us. We inherit through him, through his son. We are in union with Christ. Every spiritual blessing is ours in the heavenly places. So God is our father in a covenantal way, not a creaturely way. He did not reproduce in the same way that you and I do. And this is important because this is what the scriptures say. We have to keep these categories clear. And it's again, it's it's hard to conceive of a father who's not reproductively our father, I mean, outside of adoption, but I mean, even that isn't exactly the same thing. But here's what Paul says in Galatians chapter four, verses four through six. Paul says, But when the fullness of time had come, that's again kind of a comment, that's a nod to the wisdom of God. It was fitting the plan uh from of the fullness of time to unite all things in him. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the spirit of his son into our hearts, crying, Abba, the Father. So again, this is a covenantal relationship. Yes, we inherit, uh, we have a future inheritance that just just like my children, uh, the day that I don't know if you know this, some of you do, some of you don't. My my my first child, uh Ebony, is adopted. And the day that we stood before the judge, I remember so vividly the judge saying, You will inherit through her, and she will inherit through you. I mean, that's that's what we're talking about here. So we we inherit through God our Father, we receive those things, but again, he's not a father in the same way that I might be a father. We receive adoption as sons in this covenantal sense. And even in Romans 8, Paul talks about the spirit, testifies to our spirit, and bears witness that we truly are adopted. Therefore, we cry out, Abba Father. We can say rightfully and truthfully that God is our father. Again, not reproductively, but covenantally. God is our father in a covenantal way, not a creaturely way. The the scriptures maintain this creature-creator categories. And that's going to make sense of a lot of what you read in the Bible. There's never a violation or a collapse. God is never a creature in the same way. Of course, the eternal Son of God took on flesh, but again, there's we're not collapsing categories of the eternal God being a creature. No, he is the creator, and we are the creature. So God is our father in a covenantal way, not a creaturely way. So, no, it's not true, Lorenzo Snow, that as man is now, God once was, as God is now, man may be. God is not like us in an earthly father sense. There's some overlap. He does similar things. He hopefully a good father demonstrates and exemplifies our heavenly father, but nevertheless, he's our father in a covenantal way, not a creaturely way, not in a reproductive way. That's very clear in the scriptures. That's point number four. To make God our father. Not everyone has that right. Not everyone can say that. That's another thing, too, that people want to say everyone that's born, everyone that exists, regardless of whether or not they believe in Christ, they're a child of God. Well, of course, in some sense, you could say that's true, very, very broadly. But if you read the Gospel of John, it says you have to believe to be given the right, to be given the right to be called the children of God. First John chapter three, see what kind of love the Father has for us, that we should be called children of God. And so we are. But not everyone is. It's those who receive Jesus, those who believe in Jesus, they can call God Father, they can call Jesus brother, and them and them alone. We receive adoption as sons. And through that, through the path of suffering, the suffering of death, Jesus makes it so. Jesus makes it so that we can call him brother, he can call us brother, and we can call Father, Heavenly Father, Father, our Heavenly Father. And it's appropriate to pray that. Sometimes that's how we start prayers. Heavenly Father. Even Jesus, when he's teaching on praying, our Father who is in heaven. That's an appropriate thing for us to say for those who believe. Again, in a covenantal way, not a creaturely way. So that's number four. So that make God our Father and Jesus our brother.

Shame Removed By The Cross

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Here's the fifth reason that Jesus had to suffer. To remove the shame that separates man from God. To remove the shame that separates man from God. So again, it was it was fitting, it was proper. That he should make the founder, the author of our salvation, the sort of trailblazer of our salvation perfect through suffering. For he who sanctifies, and those who are sanctified, all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers. This is reminiscent of the garden. You remember in Genesis chapter three, uh, Adam and Eve, before they sinned, they were uncovered, and they were unashamed. And what happens when they eat of the tree that God forbid them to eat? What happens? They experience immediate shame and they immediately seek to cover themselves by sewing together fig leaves. And that shame represented in the garden and continues to a separation, a fracturing of a relationship between the creator and the creature. And so, because of the suffering of death, because Jesus did this to display the glory of God, by the grace of God, he might taste death for everyone. It says that is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers. It's also reminded me of Hebrews chapter 12, verse 2, where it's encouraging us again to run the way, run the race, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. This is what the scriptures tell us. Even Paul and Romans 10:11, for the scripture says, everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame. Why? Because he, for the joy set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame. He endured it, he suffered death. And it's through the suffering of death that our shame gets removed. And it's because of the suffering of Jesus Christ that our shame is placed on him and done away with. So that's a lot. Five reasons. And there's more, by the way, in verses 14 through 18, but I wanted to stick to the immediate context of the passage that we are in. Five reasons for us to understand why Jesus had to suffer, why Jesus had to die. I think as we look at a passage like this in chapter 2, verses 10 through 13, and we should have this response of reflection, reflecting often on Christ's suffering.

Four Results Of Remembering

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That's point number two on your outline. Reflect often on Christ's suffering. Reflect often on the suffering that Christ endured. And by the way, that's the whole purpose here in Hebrews chapter 2. Keep going, keep moving forward, pay much closer attention, lest you drift away. That's the purpose, that's the goal to reflect, to be motivated, to understand why, so that we can have a greater appreciation, a greater affection for Christ and what he accomplished for us. And there's four things that I think will happen in your life if you commit to doing this. Very simply, if you commit to reflecting often on Christ's suffering, I think there's going to be four responses that you will experience. Let's walk through them together. I think the first one is it's going to increase thankfulness. It's going to lead to thankfulness. Of course. Thinking about, meditating on what Jesus endured, the death that he died that he did not deserve, the suffering of death, the the reality that he was despised and rejected by men, that he came unto his own, and his own received him not. What other response would our hearts have than thank you, Lord? Thank you for what you have done. Thank you for dying on the cross so that I wouldn't have to. Romans 6 23, the the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. And so if you commit weekly, daily, on a consistent, regular rhythm to thinking about, reflecting on the suffering of Jesus, that he suffered death, that he endured death for you, that should lead to just the sense of thankfulness. And the New Testament authors, they talk a lot about thankfulness, that we are to give thanks in all circumstances, that we're to give thanks to the Lord, for he is good and his steadfast love endures forever. One way to do that, one way to grow in that, to increase in that is to meditate on, reflect on the suffering of Jesus. And maybe even this list that you were given, the five reasons from Hebrews chapter two, maybe maybe you spend time throughout the week praying through those things. Thank you, Lord, for the grace of God that was displayed so clearly through the suffering of our Lord. Thank you, Lord, for your wisdom, for the plan from the fullness of time that you had to unite all things together in Christ. Thank you that that happened through the suffering of our Savior. Thank you, Lord, that you made us children of God, that we have been given the rights because we believe, I believe, and it'll increase the thankfulness. Spend time meditating on these things, reflecting on these things, and it'll increase that sense of gratitude for the Lord, remembering what Christ has done. That's the first result. The second thing I think it's gonna do, it's gonna deepen your affections. It's gonna deepen your affections because you're gonna grow in understanding of who Christ is. You're gonna understand more about who your savior is. He's not a savior that is some sort of egomania. He's not a savior that's only about building a kingdom for his own selfish desires and selfish pleasures. He's a savior that came to seek and to save the lost. He's a savior that came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. That's the kind of savior that if you trust in Christ, that you have. And so your affections for Christ, that the the knowledge and the love of Christ may abound more and more, that deepening as you reflect on the reality of the suffering of Jesus. This is what we see happening even in uh Ephesians chapter one, where it talks about Paul's praying this prayer for the church of Ephesus, that they would have the eyes of their hearts uh enlightened. Um he says in verse 16, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might, that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places. This will grow our affection for Christ, grow in our understanding of who Christ is, to reflect often on his suffering and on his death. Here's the third result. I think that's going to happen if you do this, if you can commit to this. Number three, it promotes humility. I mean, think about that. I was listening to a podcast uh intended for pastors last night, and it was talking about uh just difficulties and frustrations in ministry, maybe difficult conversations that you might have to have. And one of the things that was said that I was so encouraged by was that in those difficult conversations that you need to go in remembering why you need the gospel of Jesus Christ, why you need the forgiveness and the reconciliation and and all of those things that the gospel provides. And that's that's a that's a humbling thing. That just like the person across from you needs grace and forgiveness and reconciliation, you need the same thing just as desperately. And that promotes humility. I even thought of uh what Paul talks about in Philippians chapter two, when he's reflecting on the humility of Christ as an example for us. He talks about how Jesus did not count a quality with God, a thing to be grasped, but he emptied himself. It says, taking on the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men, and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. As we reflect on the kind of Savior that we have, the willingness was uh the suffering that he endured, that should promote a sense of humility. It should remind you of your desperate need for salvation and grace and the gospel and forgiveness. That, as it's been said over and over throughout the years, that we are all equal at the foot of the cross. We all come as beggars with open hands, crying out to the Lord for forgiveness and grace. And if we reflect on the suffering of Jesus to ensure that many sons would be brought to glory, we should have this sense of, man, I am so undeserving. Paul had this perspective. He would often write and say, uh, I am the chief of sinners. I am the I am the foremost of sinners. I am the most undeserving of saints for the salvation that I have. That's the kind of humility that we want. We want to grow in humility, recognizing the humility of our Savior, that he emptied himself, took on the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of man and enduring death on the cross. What other response than humility? That's why even Paul talks about it. If you're gonna boast, boast in the Lord. We have no reason to boast. Not many of you were wise, not many of you were of noble birth. God didn't choose you because you you you added some some extra pizzazz to the kingdom. That's not that's not the gospel. The gospel is by grace alone, through faith alone, and that promotes humility. By grace, you've been saved through faith. It's not your own doing, it is the gift of God, not of works, so that no man may boast. This is a work of Christ that's gonna promote humility in your life. Here's the fourth response and results. It's gonna sharpen your vigilance. It's gonna sharpen your vigilance. And what I mean by that is your vigilance against sin. Think about this with me. If you are struggling and actively engaged, perhaps, or giving into temptation, one of the means that God has given you to help free you from that, the escape that He has provided is to remember that Christ died for your sin. And if you keep that in the forefront of your mind, I think it's gonna be a little bit harder to engage in that temptation, to fall into that sin, because you're you're you're recognizing and remembering why would I love what my savior died for? Why would I pursue what Jesus suffered for? Why would I give myself over to the record of debt that has been nailed to the cross? Why would I be entangled by those things? Why would I love what my savior hates and that he's shed his blood to pay for? And so I think this is gonna sharpen your vigilance, it's gonna help you in your fight against sin. Remember Christ, remember his suffering on the cross. And

Communion As The Gospel Seen

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today, especially, what better way to reflect on the suffering of Christ than to participate in communion together? So I'm gonna invite the ushers to come forward and to start distributing the bread and the cup. But as that's going on, I want I want to give you just some perspective as to why we do communion together, why we participate in this. Of course, this is a command from our Lord, so we want to do it in obedience and submission to Him. But there was sort of a framework that came from the Reformation that I think is helpful when we think about this. It says that preaching, which is what we we try to commit ourselves to on a Sunday morning, preaching is the gospel heard, the gospel proclaimed. Communion, on the other hand, is the gospel seen. Now, of course, uh we don't physically visibly see Christ, but that there's something tangible that's being passed out to you right now. There's something that you're literally. Going to ingest into your body. There's something that you can see, something tangible that you can touch. It's the gospel scene. It's the reminder of the suffering of death. It's the reminder of the suffering of our Savior. And this is something that Jesus Himself says as often as you do this, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. So I want to just encourage you for the next few moments spend some time between you and the Lord reflecting on the suffering of your Savior, reflecting on the death of Christ, why it needed to happen, and the results that it should produce in you. Prepare your hearts for this time together where we not only hear the gospel preached, but we see the gospel through this visible reminder of his blood and of his body. Take a few moments now to just reflect and then we'll take it together.