Will Davis Jr.'s Blog, page 36

Crushed

He was crushed for our iniquities . . . Isaiah 53:5

This is a curious word choice for Isaiah, especially since he wrote this over seven hundred years before Jesus lived. The word crushed is by no means random.

Two things happened to Jesus while on the cross that make Isaiah’s word choice significant.

First, Jesus’ diaphragm was crushed. Victims of crucifixion died terribly. They slowly suffocated. The prone vertical position with arms pulled back made it nearly impossible for the victim to breathe. The only way a victim could catch a breath was to push down on the spike in his feet, while at the same time pulling up on the spikes in is hand, thus releasing the weight off his diaphragm and enabling him breathe. Victims eventually died when their strength gave out and they could longer pull themselves up to breathe.

That’s how Jesus died. And the emotional strain and severe beatings of his previous 24 hours made Jesus’ time on the cross a mercifully short six hours. Some victims lasted for days.

Second, Jesus was crushed by the weight of our sin. While Jesus was dying–suspended between Heaven and earth as the ultimate intermediary between the two–God transferred the cumulative guilt, pain, shame, condemnation and punishment of all of history’s sin onto the Jesus.

The full weight of every human’s sin, and the pain that accompanies it, was dumped onto the Jesus. It’s hard to imagine, but the emotional and mental anguish Jesus felt on the cross was even greater than the physical agony of his crucifixion.

Jesus really was crushed for our iniquities, and Isaiah called it seven centuries before it happened.

But there is one more layer here I want you to think about: Wine. Jesus called the ministry—the Kingdom—he was ushering in “new wine.” The life of the Spirit that he gives us brings an exhilaration and lightness to life that might be compared to tasting and drinking new wine. That’s why Paul told us to be inebriated with God’s Spirit (see Eph 5:18).

So Jesus ushers in the new wine of God’s Kingdom. Any guesses on how you make wine from grapes? You crush them.

Today, walk humbly before the Savior who was crushed for your and my iniquities.

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Why Jesus Went to Jerusalem

As Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem . . . Matthew 20:17

It’s the last week of Jesus’ life. Huge history-altering events are occurring on a daily basis. But the most dramatic event of all was reserved for Friday morning. On the same Sabbath weekend that the Jews were celebrating Passover, Jesus was hung on a cross to die.

In His crucifixion, Jesus became the once-for-all Passover Lamb. What 1300 years of Passover tradition had prophesied and waited for became a reality in the person of Jesus Christ. As the blood of lambs had been spread over the doorposts of Hebrew families a millennia earlier, now the blood of Jesus was available to cover any and every person’s doorpost, without regard to heritage or ethnicity, in a one-time application that would last into eternity.

Jesus was the Lamb of God, slain from the foundation of the world. His death on the cross stands not just as the most important event in his final week, it clearly stands as the most important in all history. It is also the best demonstration of love ever shown.

Let’s remind ourselves of a critical truth: It wasn’t just the command of God that held Christ to the cross that day, although God’s command was certainly enough to keep him there. Beyond obedience to his Father was his own love–love for his Father and love for us.

Because of his love for His Father, Jesus followed his Father’s leading straight into the depths of Hell. He didn’t die just as a dutiful Son, but also as a loving one. But the greatest effect of Jesus’ love is felt by each of us.

As you contemplate his death, consider the following:

Had you been the only person on earth, Jesus would have still died to save you. He loves you that much.
Had you been the only person on earth and Jesus knew that you would reject him, he would still have died for your sin. He loves you that much.
Had God changed his mind and given Jesus the option of not dying for you, he still would have. He loves you that much.

The last week of Jesus’ life shows us many things, but above all it shows us the true meaning of unconditional love. Jesus’ death on the cross set the standard by which all love, all religions and all supposed saviors will forever be measured. He has given us simultaneously both the greatest act of love and the greatest event in human history. It makes perfect sense that they should be one and the same.

Is there any doubt as to God’s feelings for you? He altered history to bring you back to himself; and, what he wants most in return is your love. How about it? Will you love him today?

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Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead?

It is, without question, the most important question about Christianity. Was Jesus’ resurrection real?

If he rose from the dead, then his claims of deity are validated. If not, then my church has some land it wants to sell you.

My friend Jonathan Dodson, along with Brad Watson, has written a great book discussing that very question.

Raised: Finding Jesus by Doubting the Resurrection is a scholarly but still highly readable look at the historical claim that Jesus physically rose from the dead. And it’s written in a manner that openly and easily engages unbelievers and skeptics in the discussion.

The book is small and very affordable. And I’m happy to recommend that you buy about a dozen copies and give them away.

There’s also a short film and Bible study that accompany the book, so you get multiple resources with it.

Click the image below to visit the Raised web site.

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Giving to Caesar… Giving to God

Then He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.” Matthew 22:21

As I’m sure you know, today is tax day in the US. And for as much as we gripe and complain about it, it’s worth noting that both Jesus and Paul called us to be obedient to the laws of our respective governments, including paying taxes.

But it’s the second part of Jesus’ statement that I want to call your attention to. And it’s this statement that I think gets overlooked–and to God the things that are God’s.

Give to God what is God’s.

Remember that Jesus made this comment just a few days before his arrest. He knew he was in Jerusalem to die. His giving to God what was God’s was about to cost him his life.

His obedience to God was going to take a brutal turn. And so when he made the oft-quoted statement above, I don’t think Jesus was just thinking about paying taxes or obeying government leaders. He was thinking about the implications of giving to God what was due him.

We need to do the same. In this Passion Week, we need to think about the implications of giving God what is due him—praise, honor, thanksgiving, confession, the best of our time and resources, and our very lives.

Jesus was telling us that our respective Caesars may get a small piece of our earthy wealth, but God gets all of us. He gets everything.

And the sad part is sometimes Caesar gets more from us, albeit begrudgingly, than God does.

You have an opportunity this week to give to God what is God’s, and Jesus is your example of what giving to God really looks like.

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Will’s Letter to ACF, April 14, 2014

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One Day on a Donkey

The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He sat on the coats. Matthew 21:6-7

When Jesus rode into Jerusalem, it wasn’t with the typical pomp and circumstance that most political heroes or conquering kings might employ. Jesus chose to enter Jerusalem in humility rather than arrogance and pride, even though the city would be the scene of his greatest victory.

Jesus had, no doubt, spent much time meditating on the passages in his Bible, our Old Testament, that helped him define his identity. One of those passages was Isaiah 9:6:

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

And on the day he entered Jerusalem, he indeed came riding in as the prince who brought peace.

Had Jesus been intent on waging war, he might have ridden on a mighty white stallion (See 19:11). But he wasn’t there to fight. He was there to die. He was there to be a sacrifice. And by his death we would have peace.

The Prince of Peace . . . . . He is the prince who brings peace.

He still is today.

The day will come when Jesus will come riding on a white stallion, but not yet. Today, he still rides a donkey. Today, he still comes to bring peace. He was the sacrifice of God that brings us peace.

Today, let Jesus be your prince of peace. He has all authority to deal with anything that troubles you.

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Isaiah 53:5

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No Taste Test

And He said to them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.”

So they took it to him. John 2:8

I love that neither Jesus, nor Mary, nor any of the servants felt the need to test the wine before it was presented to the headwaiter. It was just scooped up and presented to him as a finished and completed product.

And you know the end of the story. The waiter was blown away by the new wine’s quality. Only moments before it was water. Now it was the finest of wines.

Welcome to what God is doing in you.

What Jesus heals, he heals completely. What he restores, he restores wholly. When Jesus forgives, he casts our sins into the depths of the sea. When he adopts, he makes you a son of the King and a joint heir with himself.

And when he transforms, he makes you new wine.

One of these days Jesus is going to present you to his Father. He won’t be concerned about your quality or if you’ll pass inspection. There won’t be any need for a taste test. He’ll just scoop you up and present you confidently and joyfully to God.

And God will receive you into his heavenly Kingdom and set you in your heavenly home, all based on the amazing work of Jesus in you.

Friends, today you and I are being prepared for our heavenly Father and for our heavenly home. We’re being made into the finest wine.

And when Jesus serves you up to his Father, you’re going to be perfect. Just perfect.

. . . so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. Ephesians 5:26-27

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How to Set Your Prayers on Fire

Here’s this week’s entry from Pray Big for Your Life.

Chapter 2

Set Your Prayers on Fire: The Power of Pinpoint Praying

This, then, is how you should pray . . . Matthew 6:9

The outer court of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, known as the Court of Gentiles, wasn’t typically a quiet or even reverent place. Designed as a place of worship for non-Jews who were seeking to align themselves with the God of the Hebrews, the outer court looked more like a busy marketplace than a place of prayer. Venders, selling animals for sacrifice for those worshippers who had traveled too far to bring their own animals with them, often set up shop right there in the midst of the court. Buying, selling, bartering, cheating, and of course, the sounds and smells of sheep, goats, rams, bulls and pigeons filled the air. Any Gentile seeking to worship in that setting had to be very determined and focused, because the environment was anything but conducive to meaningful communion with the holy God.

On one particular day, an unusual and unfamiliar cry rose up among the chants of the buyers and sellers. It was a terrifying, almost animal shriek. It was a battle cry. The voice of a man, filled with indignation and rage, drowned out and eventually silenced the calls of the vendors. Then, an amazing sight followed the sound: a young man, a well-known religious teacher, was making his way through the impromptu marketplace. He was yelling at the vendors, turning over their tables, tearing down their makeshift booths, spilling their money and releasing their animals. In one hand was a whip—an effective instrument of wrath for this indignant messenger.

As the man made his way through the outer courts, along with the sounds of shouting and chaos that he left behind, his words became more audible. This really was a man on a mission. He kept saying: How dare you?! Who do you think you are?! What do you think you’re doing? This is my father’s house! This is supposed to be a house of prayer! How dare you turn it into a den of thieves! How dare you turn it into a corrupt market!

You probably know that story. You know that the unlikely vigilante was Jesus, the carpenter-turned-prophet from Nazareth.[i] Have you ever wondered what happened to Jesus on that day? Have you ever thought about what turned the gentle teacher into an enraged warrior? I have a theory. I think it was pinpoint praying.

In John’s account of that scene, he concluded by noting that as the disciples later reflected on what Jesus had done, they recalled a well known verse from the Hebrew scriptures. In Psalm 69, a Psalm that most likely pointed to the nature of the promised Messiah, David wrote that “zeal for your house consumes me,” (Psalm 69:9). We already know that as early as age twelve Jesus had identified the Temple as his father’s house. We know that he must have developed a sense of his messianic message and mission early in his life. I believe that as Jesus heard certain messianic passages from the Hebrew Scriptures being read or taught on, his heart immediately identified with what he was hearing. We know that he heard through the reading of Isaiah God’s promise to send an anointed messenger to set captives free. We also know that Jesus realized those holy words were talking about him (See Luke 4:16-20). I believe Jesus would read or hear such passages and then pray them for his life. He’d hear the Scriptures speak of a man who would bring hope to the outcasts and healing to the land, and he would pray, “Father, do that in me. Make that true of me.”

I believe that when Jesus heard Psalm 69:9, “Zeal for your house will consume me,” he began praying that Scripture for himself. He recognized its relevance for his life mission and he prayed that he would be zealous for and passionate about the house and worship of God. So when Jesus encountered a Temple system that was a terrible mockery of the holy place of worship that God had designed, all those prayers for zeal and passion kicked in. The result was an act of righteous indignation that was so passionate, pure and breathtaking that each of the four Gospel writers felt compelled to include it in his account of Jesus’s life. What they recorded for us was the fruit of Jesus’s pinpoint praying. It’s a clear example of what happens when you pray biblically and specifically for your life.

Prayers that Pack a Punch

If you’ve read any of the previous Pray Big books,[ii] then you’re probably somewhat familiar with the concept of Pinpoint Praying. But, for those of you who are new to the concept, and even for the rest of us, a review might be helpful.

Pinpoint Praying is focused, strategic, powerful praying. It’s high-faith, high-impact prayer. The two basic characteristics of pinpoint prayers are that they are biblical and specific. They’re biblical because they base their petitions on what God has already promised to do in his Word. They’re specific because they ask with pinpoint precision for something very particular and discernable from God. Pinpoint praying is fluff-free, filler-free praying. It goes to the heart of God with biblical and precision accuracy.

Pinpoint praying is the kind of praying that Jesus modeled in his own prayers and the kind that the Apostle Paul repeatedly prayed in his letters. Consider Jesus’s beautiful intercession for the Church in John 17. Listen to some of his petitions:

Father, glorify the Son that the Son may glorify you (vs. 1).
Holy Father, keep them in your name (vs. 11).
Keep them from the evil one (vs. 15).
Sanctify them in truth (vs. 17).

What do you notice about those prayers? They’re pointed, they’re powerful, they’re brief, and they were consistent with God’s will. That’s always what you find in Jesus’s praying, and it’s also what you find in Paul’s.

Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians contains some of the most beautiful prayers in the New Testament. In Chapter 1, Paul prayed that the believers in Ephesus might have increased wisdom and revelation so they would know God better (vs. 17). He also prayed that they would know the hope, riches and power that were irreversibly theirs in Christ (vs. 18-19). Paul’s prayers demonstrate the same pinpoint precision that Jesus’s did. They go right to the heart of the matter that he wanted to bring before God. They lack flowery language or a bunch of extra, theologically loaded words. What they do contain are biblical and specific petitions for God, and that’s exactly what makes pinpoint praying so effective.

[i] For the full account of this event, see John 2:13-17 and Matthew 21:12-13.

[ii] Pray Big (2007), Pray Big for Your Marriage (2008), Pray Big for Your Child (2008), all published by Revell.

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The Built-In Risk of Success

Then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel. 1 Chronicles 21:1

Sometimes checking your bank balance or the status of your portfolio isn’t always a good idea. In fact, sometimes it can be a terrible idea.

David was the most powerful man in the world. He had led Israel from national infancy to being a dominant world power, all under the guidance of the gracious hand of God. And in a moment of weakness, he decided to count his troops.

He wasn’t at war, he wasn’t being invaded and he wasn’t planning a surprise attack. David was at peace, and somehow he thought it was a good idea to see just how strong and powerful he really was.

Bad idea. Really bad idea. Actually, it was a satanic idea.

There are only 18 direct references to Satan in the Old Testament, and this is one of them. Satan decided to tempt David, and he did it by having David number his troops.

Question: What’s the big deal? Shouldn’t a leader know the size of his army? No. At least not when that leader has sworn his dependence on the Lord God.

David numbering his troops was the spiritual equivalent to his taking full credit for the powerful leader he had become. It’s what Nebuchadnezzar did when he looked at the great city of Babylon and basically said, “Hey God, look what I’ve done.”

In both cases, God ended up humbling the arrogant kings.

So what’s the danger of “numbering your troops?” Pride. Self-reliance. Self-assurance. Independence from God.

He or she who can write a check to solve just about any problem is never more than a step or two away from deciding he or she doesn’t need God.

That’s why God commands us to give, to serve and to sacrifice. It keeps us dependent.

Beware of any action on earth that has you basically telling God that you’ve got things under control. The reality is you don’t and he will be happy to remind you of that fact.

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Fill It to the Brim

Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.”

So they filled them up to the brim. John 2:7

If you’re going to give Jesus something to work with, you might as well give him all you have. There’s no sense in dabbling with Jesus. The more you make room for him to work, the more he will.

There is a clear biblical pattern in regards to Jesus using what we give him.

The miraculous oil ran out only when the last jar gathered by the widow had been filled (2 Kings 4:6). Every last ditch dug in the wilderness was filled with miraculous water (2 Kings 3:16). The little boy gave Jesus’ disciples all the food he had, and Jesus fed a multitude with it (John 6:1-14).

And as the psalmist declared, the wider you open your mouth, the more God will fill it (Ps 81:10).

So when Jesus wants to turn water into wine, it makes sense to give him a lot of water to work with. It makes no sense to give him just a little water and get a little wine back. Give him 360 gallons and get bottles and bottles of the world’s best wine in return.

The point of this is simple—when it comes to dealing with Jesus, always fill it to the brim!!!!!

Don’t skim, don’t skimp, don’t have a Plan B.

If you’re making room for God to work, then make room for him to work fully. If you’re building a runway for him to land on, then make it God-sized. If he tells you to dig ditches in in the desert, fill the desert with ditches! If he tells you to bring him jars for oil, bring him every jar you can find.

What is God asking you to do? What are you praying for God to do? How is God asking you to prepare?

Don’t go small. Whatever you’re filling up for God, fill it to the brim!

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