The Well Church of the Nazarene

Jesus invites us to take his yoke upon us. To learn as He leads. But if we are "yoked"--joined or connected to something--that is anything but Jesus' easy yoke, then we are un-yoked to Him. Disconnected. Bearing a burden that is unnecessary. But Jesus invites us to more!

He wants us to dig in, get our hands dirty, and let him guide us toward loving Him and loving others according to His teaching, His Law. "For I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Matthew 11:29)

 

When we stop praising, fulfilling our purpose becomes less of a priority. When we stop fulfilling our purpose we tend to be less concerned with God’s nature. And when we stop pursuing the nature of God and participating in the divine nature, we allow the sin from which God and Christ saved us back into our lives. 

When we lose sight of our WHY, we eventually lose our WAY. But praise be to God--hallelujah--for He came that we might find our way through Him. Jesus himself will drink from the fourth cup, The Cup of Praise, with us, and heaven will be filled with the praises of His people. For God's greatest promises are discovered when we accept His invitation to the party.

We have been studying how the Old Testament promises reflected in the Passover find fulfillment in Jesus Christ in the New Testament. And because the stone was rolled away, the tomb still empty, we can live our lives from a position of victory! God keeps his promises!

But whether we recognize it or not, we spend much of our time fighting, or reliving battles that have already been decided, living outside of those promises.  Drink of the fourth cup--the cup of praise! For death has been defeated. Jesus is ALIVE!

God has a plan for you, and we discover His plans for us when we drink from the third cup. The Cup of Redemption is found when we embrace our spiritual gifts. Doing so brings about awareness and empowerment to do something you might feel inadequate about or unsure of...but 87% of those who believe never get to this cup. You have been redeemed! Restored. Perhaps it is time to drink of the third cup and see yourself the way God sees you.

The second cup, the Cup of Deliverance, helps us deal with the issues (of body, of mind, and of spirit) that keep us from participating in the divine nature of Christ. But where the first cup, the Cup of Salvation, was instant, this second cup takes work. And 87% of those who profess to be Christians get stuck somewhere between the first cup and the second. They've been taken out "of Egypt," but the "Egypt" has not yet been taken out of them.

Our understanding of the four cups of the Passover changes how we approach and receive communion. We were created to participate in the divine. 

The Biblical word for promise literally translates: "to make a future guarantee." God's promises have a purpose! And just as He brought the Israelites out from under the yoke of the Egyptians, we too have been promised salvation. We are His people--set apart. Therefore, drink from the first cup, believe and be saved!

We have talked about the gods of succcess, pleasure, entertainment, love, self... but perhaps the most dangerous idol of all is that of religion, or the church. Our strongholds become walls, walls become fences, and we become gatekeepers instead of greeters. Let us tear down the altars in our lives, the idols we serve, and let God out of the box!

Daniel 4 is one of the most unique chapters in the entire Bible. Written using "reverse chronology," we're shown the end of the story first, with the author (King Nebuchadnezzar) praising God before we get into the story and see his transformation from self-worshiper to worshiping the one true God unfold. And, if a king like Nebuchadnezzar can receive grace, we too can remove ourselves from the throne of our heart and turn our eyes toward heaven.