Passover Preparation Part 2

Well, it has already been mentioned, brethren, we are coming up very quickly on the Passover, just around the corner, a little more than a week away, and preparations are being made. Mr. Iams was talking about the fact that you go out in the world around us, and they're oblivious to the fact, really, of what is taking place in the season that we're approaching. But the blessing is, we're not oblivious because of what God has revealed in His Word.

So it is coming up quickly and part of the time frame that we are walking through right now as we come up to the Passover, the Bible actually gives us instructions for this time. You know, it says to examine Himself, and it's not our neighbor or our spouse or anyone else we examine. We understand that we examine ourselves personally. We look to see what's there. What is it maybe that's buried deep down inside us that is perhaps still part of that carnal nature that's in opposition to God?

Because we're called to be partakers of the divine nature, and so often, even following our baptism, there can be a war that goes on within ourselves, the carnal nature, the divine nature, and we need to be yielding to God if that divine nature is going to take hold and take charge in our life. You know, God doesn't just overrun us, we yield to Him.

So this is a time of examination of looking at ourselves. It's a time to remember our need for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, that it is a need we have that it is applied to our life, not only at a snapshot moment of our baptism, but on a continual ongoing basis. We recognize our need to live continually under that sacrifice, and it is a part of what we acknowledge as we come up to the Passover and indeed take of the symbols of the Passover themselves.

This is a time for us as well to remember the love that our Heavenly Father has for us, that God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son, that God said, I want a family, I want children for eternity, and this is a part of that plan, and we remember the love of God as we walk through these days. We also remember and reflect on the love of Jesus Christ, by the fact that He willingly lay His life down for those that He would call brethren, that we too, through His sacrifice, may live.

And He went through a brutal process, a horrific process, and it's something that's even hard to even comprehend and imagine, but He did so that you and I would live. He was that willing Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. So these are all things we need to be walking through in our mind as we're coming up to the Passover and preparing for that service. You know, Paul said, let each person examine themselves, then take of the bread and of the cub.

And as we come up to the Passover and we consider these things, and we consider specifically the sacrifice of our Savior Jesus Christ, it's important for us to reflect not only on His death, okay, that is central to the Passover, so I'm not diminishing that in any way, but it's also important, brethren, I believe that we focus on His life, and the way that He lived His life. Because for us, He is the goal. We seek to measure up to the stature of the fullness of Jesus Christ.

And so as we examine ourselves coming up to Passover, if you want to compare to somebody, again, it's not your neighbor you compare to, it is the nature of God, and it is the example that Jesus Christ set. That's where the comparison comes in. And so we really need to, as well, reflect on the life that He lived. And the life that He lived have elements that are important for us to remember at this time of the year.

So the title for the message today is Passover Preparation Part 2, Characteristics of a Sacrificial Life. Passover Preparation Part 2, Characteristics of a Sacrificial Life. I gave Part 1 back in the middle of February, tend to your own grass, there before I left on my Africa trip. But again, this is Part 2, Characteristics of a Sacrificial Life. And it's important for us, brethren, to recognize that there was indeed sacrifice contained in the life that Jesus Christ lived on the earth.

The sacrifice didn't just occur when He died or at the crucifixion, but He lived His life as He walked, as He taught, He lived it as a living sacrifice. And He set that example for us that we would do the same.

Romans 12 gives us marching orders as the people of God. And in one sense, this is in part our commission. Romans 12, if you'll turn there, we'll look at verse 1 and 2 because this is how we need to try and match up to the example that Jesus Christ said. Romans 12, verse 1 and 2, the Apostle Paul writing, and he says, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God. That you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. It's our reasonable service in light of what Jesus Christ did. He laid His life down unto death that we might live. That's not asked of us. What is asked of us is that we lay our life down in service to others of our time, of our effort, that they may be edified. That they may be our reasonable service. Verse 2, and do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

So a living sacrifice is what you and I have been called to do. It's how we're instructed to live our life on a daily basis. And that happens when it's convenient, and it also happens when it's not convenient. I don't think there was a convenient time for Jesus Christ to be crucified or to go through a number of the things that He did, but it was at the appointed time and for a specific purpose. So this is our reasonable service. This is our calling. If we're going to fulfill that requirement well, brethren, we would be well advised to look to the example that Jesus Christ said as He walked the earth, because His life of sacrifice shows us what it means to be a living sacrifice today as well. So what I'd like to do for the course of the remainder of the message, I want to look at four characteristics of a living sacrifice in which Jesus Christ set the example for us. Four ways that He demonstrated characteristics of a living sacrifice. There's far more we could cover, but four will fill us sufficiently today. As we evaluate His example, we can learn important lessons that apply to our service. So let's jump into these and see what it is that we can learn. And again, we take these things and we examine ourself, and we compare how we live up to the life and the example of Jesus Christ. First characteristic of a living sacrifice is an attitude of humility. It's an attitude of humility. The living sacrifice, in examples such as Jesus Christ left for us, is not conducted in pride or haughtiness or being elevated above others in some way. It is an attitude of humility, and it's the mindset that we must embrace as we serve as well. Let's go to Philippians chapter 2. As we begin on this point, Philippians 2, the Apostle Paul gives us a number of things that we must consider regarding Jesus Christ, the man that He was, how He lived His life, the example that was set. Philippians chapter 2, we're going to begin in verse 5. Here the Apostle Paul instructs us, saying, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. And so we're instructed to have that same mindset for ourselves, the mind of Christ, but we might ask, well, what was His mind? What was that mindset that we're to be taking on? Again, these are our marching orders. Verse 6, he expresses what that mind was. Verse 6, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bond servant and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in the appearance as a man, He humbled Himself. He became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. And so the mind and example of Jesus Christ that we see exemplified in the Scripture was one of humility. It was one who laid His life down in service to others, not only at His death, but also during His life.

Scripture tells us that Jesus Christ was God with God in the beginning. He was an eternal being of incredible power and authority, and He laid that down. One of greatest of reputations, along with the Father, became of no reputation as a helpless infant that had to be cared for and nurtured, and then grew up and lived a physical life, just as you and I live in the flesh.

Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ in His life, He hungered, just like we do in the flesh.

He thirsted. He became tired and weary after journeys. He suffered afflictions, I would suppose. Probably even in His life, He had a cold. He probably had challenges. He was tempted in all ways as we are, yet without sin, which means He never even came close to crossing that line. But the point was, then, temptations who sin was always around Him. But He had the mind of God and the Spirit of God, and the divine nature was a part of who and what He was. Therefore, He would not sin because it wasn't His character to sin. And that's the nature that we're seeking to grow into. But ultimately, He did die in a horrific way upon the stake for you and me, as essentially a condemned criminal. The Bible says, cursed is He who hangs on a tree. Jesus Christ took our sins upon Himself. The ultimate example of service and humility to humble Himself in that way. And so this is the mindset the Apostle Paul tells us that we need to let be in us, that we need to let develop in us. And we might wonder, why does He say, let? You know, let this mind be in you. Well, we have to let it because it doesn't come naturally.

It's not natural to the carnal nature to have this level of humility and self-sacrifice. We have to yield ourself to the Spirit of God in us and allow that humility and that love to be developed.

Let this mind be in you. Don't resist it. Don't fight it. Yield to God.

Jesus lived His life physically as a humble servant. We must learn to do the same because God has called us to serve just as Jesus served. Our service is as a living sacrifice.

All right? We don't go into the death, generally, as Jesus Christ did. Our service is to give of ourselves as we walk this earth in service to others as a living sacrifice. We serve in our homes, in our families, in our marriages. We serve in the church. We serve in the world. Let's not forget that. We serve in our workplace. We serve the other future children of God, those who God created with that potential. We serve as a living sacrifice. And Christ showed us what that kind of sacrificial service looks like in action. Let's go to Matthew chapter 20. As we consider, again, the example He set for us. Matthew chapter 20. It's an interesting passage because there's contention among the disciples, among the 12 that erupt here. Because in the part leading up to this, what you're going to find is that the mother of Zebedee's sons, right? Mrs. Zebedee comes to Jesus Christ and says, would you not grant that my two sons will sit, you know, one on your right hand, one on your left in the kingdom? And Christ says, well, that's not mine to give. It is my father's to give, He said. But it also shows us the other disciples became irritated. You know, the 10 were a little displeased with those two individuals and their mother because of the fact that, well, what about me? What about us? Why do they get the spot? Aren't I our nicest friend? Aren't I the one that brought him breakfast last week? And so there's this contention that's starting to erupt. Let's notice Christ's response in verse 25 of Matthew, chapter 20. It says, but Jesus called them to Himself. And He said, you know that the rulers of the Gentiles lorded over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. It's Gentile lordship and dominion. And in our modern day, you know, we would call it authoritarian leadership.

It's very heavy-handed, top-down, oppressive, authoritarian leadership.

And Christ says, you know, the Gentiles exercise that form of authority over men. He says, verse 26, yet it shall not be so among you. But whoever desires to be overcome great among you, let him be your servant. Whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave. Just as the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many. Jesus Christ was a king.

He was born a king. He was worshipped as a king, as a young child there, when He's now approaching the time and He's going to be crucified. He's questioned, are you a king then? And He says, well, for this cause I was born, for this cause I have come into the world. So He was a king at His first coming, but He said, I didn't come to be served, but to serve. He didn't come for His subjects to serve Him. And you'll recall, as the final Passover of which He kept on earth came up, just a few days prior, He rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, the cult of a donkey. And the people were throwing the palm branches in the streets and they were crying out, you know, Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! And they're giving Him praise, worship, and they're acknowledging His kingship. And yet He rode on a donkey, which was the sign of humility, the sign of service. And Jesus Christ in His first coming came as a sacrifice. Now He is returning and when He comes, He will make war in order to subdue this world and usher in the kingdom of God. And heavens will open and He will come on a horse, alright? That time He is coming for a period and a purpose of war. But His first coming, He was the suffering servant who laid His life down. Again, setting the example. And He said, you know, there's Gentile, lordship, and dominion and oppressive authority, but it's not to be so among you. You are to serve. You are to be a living sacrifice. One that serves without any thought of what's it going to gain for me? What's the benefit to me going to be? No, it's asking what is the benefit to my brother or sister? How will it edify and lift them up? The Bible shows us that Jesus lived, again, with the attitude of a servant right up to the end of His physical life. Wherever He went, whatever He did, He was always serving and that was His focus. And He left that example for us to follow. John 13. This takes place at the final Passover that Jesus spent with His disciples.

We have here the foot washing. We'll look at this during the Passover service that we will have here in just a little over a week. But here we're talking again about humility. John 13 and verse 12. It says, So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, sat down again, He said to them, Do you know what I have done to you? He says, You call me Teacher and Lord, and you say, Well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example that you should do as I have done to you.

Most assuredly I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is he greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

So again, not only was Christ a humble servant, He was also a teacher and a mentor.

He didn't just tell people how to live this way of life, He showed them. He sent the example, and everywhere He went, He was a teacher. He was the rabbi.

His disciples were His students who sought to live just as He lived, and Jesus Christ displayed these things in action through His example. And everywhere He went, if people had the eyes to see, they could see that God's Word was true and that it worked.

For us, brethren, the question becomes, can people say the same about us?

When they look at us as the Church of God, as the people of God, you know, do they just hear about God's Word? Do they hear us say God's way works? Or do they see it in action in our marriages and our families and the way we interact with one another in the Church of God? Indeed, we must be like Jesus Christ and display that this way works. We're called to show forth the fruits of righteousness and the fruits of this Word and God's Spirit working together. So Jesus Christ did that. In the example of the footwashing, He said, I have set the example for you. Now you go and do likewise.

So that humble service was always His example, and He set it for us to live by.

Second characteristic of a living sacrifice is a willingness to put others' needs before your own.

It's a willingness to put others' needs before your own. Jesus Christ certainly did that.

Clearly, that was the purpose and the focus of His life, to put others' needs before His own. And you know, brethren, we all have needs. We all have challenges in our life.

There's times where maybe we need even some time to ourselves. We need to be alone. We need to recover to the point that, okay, now I can go and help someone else. And those things are appropriate and right and normal. But is that the rule? Or is that the exception? You know, anytime we see someone in need, do we have an excuse? Well, it's not really convenient for me. I'm not feeling well right now. There's something else I really rather be doing. Don't bother me. Occasionally, those things legitimately come up. But is that the exception? Or is that the rule? We need to be people who follow Christ's example and put others' needs ahead of our own. Jesus Christ's example was one of doing so even when it wasn't convenient, even when there were challenges, even when He was under stress. Matthew chapter 14 is interesting to me, just to maybe in some ways read between the lines a bit. Matthew chapter 14 verse 10. This is surrounding the death of John the Baptist. And so you'll recall that Herod is having a birthday party. There's this great celebration going on. And Herodias' daughter comes out, dances for them. And it pleases Herod so much that he says, I'll give you whatever you want up to half my kingdom.

I think it must have been quite a dance. But the point is, he made this promise. And this girl says, goes to her mother, says, What shall I request? And she said, The head of John the Baptist on the platter, because she really didn't like what John had said about her marriage to Herod. That's a different story. It was inappropriate. So she asked her, the head of John the Baptist, Matthew chapter 14 and verse 10. It says, And so he sent and had John beheaded in prison. And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. Then his disciples came, took away the body, and buried it, and went and told Jesus.

And so Jesus Christ now receives word. All right, John the Baptist is dead. Who was John?

John the Baptist was the cousin of Jesus Christ. He was his close friend. They likely grew up together, played together. They were very, very close to the same age. John's ministry played an important part in introducing the ministry of Jesus Christ. Jesus was baptized by John. So this was a, you know, this was part of God's plan and purpose. John said, I must decrease, and he must increase, but the fact is this is still a sobering and a saddening event.

Verse 13, it says, and when Jesus heard it, he departed from there by boat to a deserted place by himself. He wanted to get away and be alone. He needed some time. It says, but when the multitudes heard it, they followed him on foot from the cities. And so what we have here, I would say, reading between the lines is a period of time in Jesus Christ's life where he's actually dealing with a personal loss. His cousin, his friend, we could say a fellow man in the ministry was dead.

And now he's trying to take a little time to get out on his own, to likely mourn him, to spend some time in prayer with his father, and to be strengthened again so that he could carry on. But let's just notice what happened here, right? Because the crowds showed up. Verse 13, Jesus heard it, right? He departed by boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed him on foot from the cities. So these crowds, these strongs of people show up and they're crying out to him. They're saying, Lord, heal us, teach us, nurture us. Early in his ministry, he looked at the sheep and he said, you know, the people are like sheep without shepherds and he had compassion and the people were drawn to him. And now they're, you know, heal my mother, Lord, heal my son.

And what was Jesus Christ's response? Again, he's in a time of loss himself. Verse 14, and when Jesus went out, he saw a great multitude. He was moved with compassion for them and he healed their sick. Moved with compassion. You know, he was just taken up by the fact that these people were of need and their need at this point came before his very own. Verse 15, and when it was evening, his disciples came to him saying, this is a deserted place and the hour is already late, send the multitudes away that they may go to the villages, buy food for themselves. But Jesus said to them, they did not need to go away. You give them something to eat. They said, we have nothing here. Five loaves, two fishes. And he said, bring them here to me. And he commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves, the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples and the disciples gave to the multitudes. And so then they all ate together. They were filled and they took up 12 baskets full of the fragments that remained. You know, an incredible, incredible miracle. Verse 21, now those who had eaten were about 5,000 men besides women and children. So again, Jesus Christ, at the time of his personal sorrow, was to stop and oblige to people, to care for them, to feed them, to intervene on their behalf, to comfort them out of his compassion for them.

I was speaking this week with a friend in the ministry who suffered a very close and personal loss in his life, a loss of a personal dear family member. And we were just talking, and he said, you know, I really even haven't had the time to process that because now all the disruption from the coronavirus, trying to communicate with the brethren, setting up what we need to do services, he's essentially had to put some of that on hold in order to care for the brethren. And I just, I thought of that, and I thought of this example, and I thought, you know, that's a servant's heart who says, I'm going through some grief of my own, but these are God's people, and they need cared for. And you know, it's the example that Jesus Christ said for us.

He didn't say, now's not a good time. Go away, come back another day. He put his own needs on hold, and he cared for them. There's a difference, brethren, between a servant and someone who serves.

Because you see, anybody can serve at any point of time for a period of time, somebody can serve out of a wrong motivation, out of a desire to be seen or to gain some advantage for themselves, but once the important people aren't looking, you know, the mask comes off and they go on their ways. Anybody can serve, but just because you serve does not mean you have a servant's heart. A servant out of the abundance of their heart will always be serving because that is who and what they are. That's what Jesus Christ was, and it is what you and I must learn to become as well. Again, a servant will always be serving. Christ put everyone's needs ahead of his own. He did so while he lived, and he did so unto death on the cross. The example he set for us, brethren, is one that he also instructed for us to do likewise, to live as living examples that we would put the needs of others in front of our own, even perhaps at times accepting hardship and inconvenience because it is what lifts up and edifies another. Notice Paul's words in Romans chapter 15 in verse 1. Romans chapter 15 in verse 1. It's similar instructions. He says, We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak and not to please ourselves.

It's not all about us. Now, it is partly about us, and from our perspective, it's a lot about us, but what God is doing is about a lot more people than simply us. It's about the family.

And one thing that family does is they look out for family, and they support family, and they encourage family. Verse 2, Paul says, Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification. It's about lifting him up. Even if you don't need to be lifted up in a certain way, take what you have that gives you strength and use it to lend to another to lift them up. For even Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, the reproaches of those who were reproached fell upon me. For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. And so, the second characteristic, again, of a living sacrifice is a willingness to put others' needs before your own.

Third characteristic, which might sound different, maybe, we might scratch our head over it a little bit. Third characteristic of a living sacrifice is approachability. Approachability. As someone who would lay their life down for someone else, you need to be approachable. This is an element, actually, I address in the leadership classes and the workshops that I do over in West Africa. I tell the leaders there, you need to be someone in the brethren field they can come to, that they can talk to. Someone that they feel like they can approach, even with their sins, even with their some of their deepest and darkest troubles, that they can approach you and it's not a bother.

There isn't going to be a betrayal and confidence, and it's something that they feel that they can share it with you for the hope of strength, that you can help lend to them. But you need to be approachable. If you have biblical knowledge, but you're not a people person, that's really not going to serve you well. Not if you're looking to live your life as a living sacrifice. Laying your life down for others means that you are approachable and that you have a relationship with them. They can engage you, and you're not looking for someone else more important to talk to. It's not an inconvenience on your time. No, they have your focus, and you want to hear from them.

Living sacrifice doesn't necessarily look at the caller ID on the phone and say, well, I'm not answering that because it's so-and-so.

It's a challenge sometimes, and it's maybe something we struggle with. But Christ, again, the example laid his life down not only for a select few, but for all. It's an example he has set. What's interesting about Jesus Christ is that he was approachable in a way that allowed him to reach individuals who might have been out of touch, who the door might have been shut to otherwise had he not been approachable or initiated contact himself. I want to look at a couple of well-known examples on this point, but I want to look at them from the perspective of the opportunity that was opened up because Jesus Christ was approachable. John chapter 4, in verse 5, John chapter 4, beginning in verse 5, it says, So he came to the city of Samaria, which is called Sicard, near the plot of ground, that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. He says, Now Jacob's well was there, Jesus therefore, being wearied from his journey, thus sat by the well, it was about the sixth hour. And a woven of Samaria came to draw water, Jesus said to her, Give me a drink, for his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. Then the woman of Samaria said to him, How is it that you, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman, for Jews have no dealings with Samaritans?

Now it's interesting because she is correct. You know, this is true. The Jews would have encouraged anybody, at least of the Jewish nation in persuasion there, not to interact, if necessary, with the Samaritans, avoid them if at all possible. But what we see here from Jesus Christ is he's actually initiating contact. He's opening up a dialogue with this woman. You know, man-made rules, that doesn't apply, right? This is the one who came to lay his life down, and he approached and initiated contact with this woman, and not just any woman. This was someone with quite a sordid past. So let's read on verse 10. It says, Jesus answered and said to her, If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, Give me a drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.

This woman said to him, Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Well, where then do you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock? Jesus answered and said to her, Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst, but the water I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water, springing up unto everlasting life. The woman said to him, Sir, give me some of this water that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw. Jesus said to her, Go, call your husband, and come here.

The woman answered and said, I have no husband. And Jesus said to her, You have well said, I have no husband. For you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband, and that you truly spoke. You spoke truly. Verse 19, The woman said to him, Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. You see this interaction here starting to open a door to a Samaritan woman, a woman of sordid past, a woman who had five husbands and living with a man now who wasn't even her husband, who everyone else would have said, Keep away from that woman.

What are you even doing talking to her? But what door was opened? Well, let's see. Carry on in verse 25. So John 4 verse 25, it says, The woman said to him, I know that Messiah is coming, who is called Christ, and when he comes, he will tell us all things. Jesus said to her, I who speak to you am he. And at this point his disciples came, and they marveled that he talked with a woman, yet no one said, What do you seek? Or why are you talking with her? The woman then left her water pot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, Come, see a man who told me all things I ever did. Could this be the Christ? Says, Then they all went out of the city and came to him. This is expanding. This is growing through this door of interaction. That Christ allowed to be open. Verse 39, And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in him because of the word of the woman who testified, he told me all that I ever did. So when the Samaritans had come to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days, and many more believed because of his own word. Then they said to the woman, Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard him, and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.

Jesus Christ was approachable. Jesus Christ initiated contact, and he did so with people that, you know, in this case, he would have been advised to avoid. Don't go there. Don't open that door. Don't you even know who they are? And yet Christ willingly opened this door, and as we see as a result, a number of people believed in him. Read through his ministry. Read through the gospel accounts. A number of times, Jesus was criticized for eating with publicans and sinners, and yet it was all a part of the service to mankind that he brought. The fact that he would lay his life down for all, not just one or two or three, or those that were living a good life at that moment. He came to serve all. Another example of Christ's approachability is found in Mark chapter 10. Let's go over there next. Mark chapter 10 and verse 13. We read this passage at least once a year. Mark chapter 10 and verse 13. But again, think about it from the perspective of approachable. Mark 10, 13 says, This is an incredibly beautiful example of the approachability of Jesus Christ.

The disciples are like, keep them back. He's a busy man. Don't you know who this is?

And Jesus says, don't rebuke them. Don't restrain them. Let the children come to me. He had the time for them. Again, these little children, he saw their potential, knew the purpose of their very existence. And he took them up in his arms and he blessed them. Darla and I have talked about this passage before and she says, you know why I think the children were drawn to Jesus Christ? Because no doubt when there were, you know, there was the 5,000 plus women and children, no doubt the children saw and heard. Why would they be drawn to Christ? Well, he told stories, didn't he? We would call them parables and they had spiritual significance. But think about a 3, 4, 5 year old child. Jesus Christ told interesting stories and he performed amazing miracles. Seeing him heal somebody and they rise up and walk. Seeing him resurrect somebody from the dead. Don't you think that would be impressive? Not only to an adult, but in the eyes of a child. And they saw him as someone that they could approach. And someone that their parents wanted to bring their children to. And so, the question for us who have been called to be a living sacrifice, brethren, is how approachable are we? How open are we to receiving even people that may be socially or on a certain scale? We might say, well, you know, you really don't want anything to do with them. Who did Christ die for? Did he not die for them, as well as you and I? How approachable are we? How willing are we to initiate contact? Jesus' example was that his personal interactions opened the door, then giving opportunity to share the gospel message. To share the incredible purpose for which he had come. And I would say, we need to be willing to do the same. We don't go door to door, as some churches do, or as some churches used to. Okay, right? That's not our mode of operation. When I'm in a village in Ghana, and every year I'm asked, can we mount loudspeakers on the outside of the church building so that we broadcast the whole village like the other churches do? I say, no, that is not the way that we do things.

All right? We don't cram this way of life down people's throat. But be an example. Be a neighbor. Be a co-worker. But be one who's always willing to engage and talk about this way of life.

Don't be afraid of opening that door. And it's not that we force it on people.

But when the conversation comes up, don't run. Don't put your light under a basket.

Indeed, God has called us to be approachable, initiate contact about this way of life, wherever the opportunity presents itself. Just popping into my mind right now, I'm thinking of Nona Hammond down in Kenwick congregation. Hello, Nona. Nona's been shut in for quite a while because she had foot surgery.

And it's been a number of weeks since she could come and attend church. But up to that point, she was doing Meals on Wheels with her husband, Ron. And they were going house to house to house of the places they were assigned to take the Meals on Wheels. And we had a conversation one time about the interesting people that she met on that route during doing the Meals on Wheels. And it's not like you go on, you know, knock on the door and say, do you know the Lord? That's, again, that's not the approach. But when you come to know people and interact, and somebody brings up a comment, that's an open door. Step in. And if there's a desire to discuss these things, wonderful. And if there's not, then, you know, be on your way in that sense. But I think sometimes, brethren, we almost kind of withdraw into our shell of we are the church, and the world is out there. They do their thing, and we do our thing. But when it comes to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, this is for everyone. And we know it's not everyone's time at the same time, but seeds can be planted, and the word can go out. And we must be willing to take that opportunity into our own hands when it presents itself in a proper and in a responsible way. So I just put that there for you to consider. Be like Jesus Christ, approachable, sacrifice for all. This isn't just in the church. This is our fellow man.

Fourth and final characteristic we're going to consider today for characteristics of a living sacrifice is that one who's a living sacrifice is an encourager who recognizes the potential in others.

A living sacrifice must be an encourager who recognizes the potential in others.

And again, Jesus Christ did all these things. That was his example, his life. When Paul said, let this mind be in you, that's what we're talking about. It's not just that Christ died for me. That is huge. But where does it go from there? Where does it go from there? I have to walk just as he walked. And we're to be examining ourselves asking, am I moving more and more in that direction as time goes by? Or am I like Israel who wandered 40 years in the wilderness and go, haven't we been here before? 40 years later, passing by the way of the Red Sea. Haven't I been here before? God gives it to us to grow in these things. So be an encourager who recognized the potential in others. When Jesus Christ looked at people, he had the ability to see beyond their sin, to see beyond the circumstances that they were living in in the moment. And sometimes I think it's a challenge for us when we see somebody in a certain behavior or doing certain things. In some ways, that dominates our perspective of that person.

Jesus Christ could see and acknowledge the sin, but again, he had the ability to see beyond their circumstance of the moment, to see them and to see the potential for which they were created.

And see the fact that, yes, they could live up to that God-given potential, not on their own, but with the help of God and coming under that sacrifice. He had the ability to see who and what they could become. And so he worked with them towards that end. That's why he ate with publicans and sinners. That's why he opened the door to the Samaritan woman. That's why you and I should be willing to engage those not just in the church but in the world around us, because we see the potential for which God created them, that they are brothers and sisters potentially in the kingdom of God. God will do his part. He will call them according to his timing and purpose, but I would just say as part of the church of God, let us not be a stumbling block or a wall to what would be someone's introduction to God. See the potential.

If an individual is going to lay their life down as a living sacrifice for someone else, or even as Christ did, a dying sacrifice, if you're going to lay your life down, you need to know that the result is well worth the effort. And Jesus Christ could look around at the people, the common people, and he could know that the result of what he was doing was going to be well worth the effort for what it is that God would bring to pass ultimately for his plan and his purpose of bringing many sons to glory in the family. Christ had the ability to see the human potential, again, a son and daughter in the family of God. And brethren, you and I need to have that as well. A couple of brief scriptures on this point as we begin to wrap up. Luke chapter 23.

Again, just do you have the ability to see beyond the moment at times, see the potential someone else. Luke chapter 23 and verse 39.

Luke 23 39. Jesus Christ, this is the crucifixion. He's there on the stake and he is in agony.

Agony! He's dying. Okay. There's a criminal one on either side of him. Two criminals then who are being crucified with him. Luke chapter 23 and verse 39. Do you think Christ felt like talking?

Just the physical response to what he was going through. But he engages here as well.

Again, Luke 23 39. Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed him, saying, If you are the Christ, save yourself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Do you not even fear God, seeing that you're under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we have received the due reward of our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong. Then he said to Jesus, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And notice Jesus Christ's response. Jesus said to him, Assuredly I say to you today, you will be with me in Paradise. Now we've addressed the scripture, and it's not my point to walk through the technical merits of this verse, but I want you to bring you back again to the potential. Christ said, Assuredly I say to you today, you will be with me in Paradise.

So even as Jesus Christ hung there dying, the end of his life was coming upon him, he saw the potential in this man. He didn't just see a condemned criminal subjected unto death for his deeds. All right? That is who he was at the moment. But Jesus Christ could see something in this man beyond the moment. He could see the potential that this man had by his heart, by his spirit here, to be a future child in the kingdom of God. It doesn't mean he was right here at this point, but Christ says, you will be with me in Paradise as you submit to God's calling in his timing and according to his purpose. And again, it's not my point to to walk through all of that, but simply to point out the fact, he could see this man beyond the moment. And this was the man right here. That was who he was dying for, along with everybody else. And he said, you will be with me. And he encouraged him in that perspective. Matthew 19 and verse 27.

Matthew chapter 19 and verse 27. Here we have... Make sure I'm in the right place. Yes, Matthew chapter 19 and verse 27.

Here Peter answered and he said to Jesus, see we have left all and followed you. Therefore, what shall we have? You know, all these things that we had that we left behind, job, friends, connections, and we're following you. But what's the result of that going to be? And Jesus said to them, assuredly I say to you that in the regeneration when the Son of Man sits on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also sit on 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for my name's sake shall receive a hundredfold and inherit eternal life, but many who are first will be last and the last first.

And so where the world saw uneducated fishermen, what did Jesus Christ see? He saw future apostles and people with the potential to sit on 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel in the kingdom of God. Again, everyone else looked around and said, who are these guys? Uneducated fishermen. We've seen them down by the shore, you know, tending their nets, stinking like fish. Who could they be? But Christ says, you're going to sit in this position of glory and authority in my Father's kingdom, and he could see that potential, and he worked with them and encouraged them to do that end. Again, brethren, the question is, can we do that? Can we look to others, see the potential for which God created them? Not just their struggle at the moment, not just their sin, not just something we might look at and condemn them for. No, can we see them as someone created in the image of God for the purpose of his family? And can we give of ourselves, just as Jesus Christ did, to encourage them to that end? I do believe it is what we've been called to do. We've been called to be an encourager of others, recognizing their God-given potential and purpose. I do want to conclude today in John chapter 15. John chapter 15, we would call this, once again, our marching orders. These are some of Jesus Christ's final words just before his crucifixion, last Passover with his disciples. Again, our marching orders. John chapter 15.

Pick it up in verse 9. John 15 verse 9, Jesus says, As the Father loved me, I also have loved you, abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. You are my friends if you do whatever I command you. And so Jesus Christ calls us his friends if indeed we love as he loved. His love was for the world, before the world even loved him. His Father's love was for the world. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. While we were still enemies of God, he sent his only begotten Son. Alright? So you don't wait until somebody is in a position to be lovable to love them. Maybe once they're lovable, the relationship changes a bit, but if we're emulating the living sacrifice and the way that Christ lived his life, we will love as he loved. And in doing so, Christ calls us friends. Rather than we're approaching the Passover once again this year. And so I hope you'll take time, number one, to look at and consider the sacrifice and death of Jesus Christ and what it means to your life that you may live. But also take time to examine his life, how he lived, how he walked and talked, how he interacted with those that he came in contact with all across the spectrum. Learn from that example and then examine yourself.

Ask yourself, am I living up to the stature of the fullness of Christ?

And for all of us, myself included, the areas that we see were falling short. Don't beat yourself up.

Don't become discouraged, but become committed to growing in those areas. And as you accept the bread and the blood of Jesus Christ at the Passover, if we do these things, we will have a deeper understanding and appreciation for the one who laid his life down for you and me.

Brethren, it's so wonderful to be together. I'm grateful for the technology and what it provides for us as God's people to assemble during these difficult times. Again, please know my door is open. Call anytime. Text, email, whatever it is. I had hoped to take time to really, after coming back from Africa, run the circuit, see everybody, visit in your homes, but we're somewhat restricted in that now. That time will come. But we're coming up to the Passover. Let's consider the love God has for us and that Jesus Christ has for us, and let us apply it in our love that we share for one another in the world around us.