NOTHING BUT CHRIST
EPHESIANS 2:6
New Years resolutions ? Some say they are nonsense...just for breaking...but I believe there may be some validity in the basic concept.
There is an old song that has a particularly special meaning. It says, "Jesus has a table spread, where the saints of God are fed. He invites His chosen people come and dine."
The table that is spoken of is in heaven...and one day many of us will be seated there. Jesus said to His disciples in Luke 22: "And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom"
Moses, Nadab and Abihu, and the elders of Israel ate at the Lord’s Table on Mt. Sinai. READ Exodus 24:9 11
What an awesome picture...74 men of God...seated with Him, eating and drinking! It was so overwhelming that no one but Moses could take it in...it was over the heads of the rest of them.
In fact, Aaron came down from that divine table and made a golden calf. Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire and were consumed by God. Somehow they didn’t realize the significance of what had taken place.
All through Scripture we can see that it was a great honor to be assigned a seat with the king. It would be kind of like you getting an invitation to go to the white house for dinner with the president...
David assigned a seat for Mephibosheth...The Queen of Sheba was left breathless when she saw the glorious feast at the table of Solomon... There she saw and heard what took place and remarked, "How happy your men must be. How happy your officials who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom."
It was at the table of the king that he opened his heart to all who were seated there...sharing the wisdom that he had.
David said, "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. (Ps. 23:5)
David was also assigned a seat at Saul’s table, but it became very risky for him to sit there when Saul became so jealous of him. David left his seat to determine whether or not Saul really wanted to kill him.
But Jonathan said, "You’ll be missed because your seat will be empty." And sure enough he was missed. Saul asked Jonathan why David wasn’t at the table either that day or the day before.
Can you see the spiritual significance of this? Saul was certainly not a type of Christ, or his table a type of the Lord’s Table. But the O.T. table of kings gives us a true picture of our Lord’s heavenly table.
In I Corinthians 5:8 Paul says to us, "Let us keep the feast." In other words, let us clearly understand that we have been assigned a seat in heaven with Christ at His table.
Paul is saying, "Show Up! Never let it be said of you, "Your seat is empty." I wonder if the Lord couldn’t say the same of us? This is something that He’s been saying to me...and I believe He may be saying the same to some of you.
This is the place where His servants see Him...and hear His wisdom... and get to know Him. This is where we are fed the Bread of Life. It is a great honor...and yet we take it so lightly.
If we could hear the Lord speaking I believe He’d say, "You run all around working for me, and talking about me...but why don’t you sit with me and learn from me? Where are you?" The truth is, we are not keeping the feast. We are too busy for His table.
I can imagine the Lord looking down at the multitudes of people who call themselves by His name...Christians, pastors, missionaries. And I ask myself...What is it that our Lord wants most of all from those who claim to be so devoted to Him?
What can we do and accomplish for His glory when He already has all the glory? The one thing our Lord seeks above all else from His people is communion at His table...
A time and place of intimacy...a continual seeking and coming to Him for spiritual food...strength...wisdom...and fellowship.
We live in a generation with a very limited revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ because so many are missing from the feast. We have such a stunted vision of Christ in the church today.
So few people have a true appreciation of intimate fellowship with the Lord. So few know the majesty and the awesome realization of such a high calling in Christ.
We wrongly get our spiritual joy out of service...not out of communion and fellowship with the Lord. We are doing more and more for a Lord we know less and less about!
We will go anywhere and do so many things for His work...but we seldom keep the feast...we so seldom go to the table to receive instruction, guidance, and fellowship. We are not serious about taking our place with Him so we can learn „ªfrom„« Him...not just about Him.
The apostle Paul speaks about three years of separation in the desert of Arabia. These were three glorious years where Christ taught Paul all he knew. You see, for Paul conversion was not enough.
A supernatural visitation was not enough...or a one time blinding vision of Christ...or a miraculous hearing of His voice from heaven. Paul experienced one of the most awesome, spiritual calls that a man of God ever received...But Paul wanted more!
Something in his soul cried out.."Oh, that I might know Him." He said about Christianity, "I am determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified."
He was saying, "Let all those who think they can be justified by their works knock themselves out. Let all those think they pass me with all their worldly wisdom...but as for me nothing but Jesus Christ.
Paul came out of Arabia with 3 great commitments, all having to do with Christ alone. I believe these are 3 commitments God seeks from each of us who call ourselves Christians.
#1 is to seek an ever increasing revelation of just how mighty and how vast and great our Lord really is.
Ever since the cross, all the spiritual giants we read about had one thing in common: they all came to the realization that they knew so little of Christ and wanted so much more knowledge of Him.
Men like Paul, and Luther, and Wesley, and Whitefield, Tozer, and so many others. They cared nothing for the spectacular. They didn’t pray for "things" or for blessings...not to be used...not for anything of self...only for a fuller revelation of the vastness & the glory of their Lord.
**You know, Satan is unleashing all his fury on this generation. His strongholds are better fortified and he’s better dug in than in any past generation.
People know more about him, his power, and his kingdom, and his workings. The problem is that he is becoming better known...less feared...and more accepted. And we are in a war.
But the simple childlike knowledge of Christ most people have will not be enough in this final war. Knowing about Christ is not enough. We need to quit studying about Him and go to His table and learn from Him...letting the Holy Spirit reveal Him to us personally.
The only way you get to know Him is by spending time in His presence¡Kby hearing His voice and waiting on Him for divine wisdom. Busy, preoccupied people never get to know Him...and it doesn’t matter if you’re busy doing things in His name.
So many go for years on some kind of past experience...there’s no fresh word or new revelation of Him. You talk about Christ...but He’s not your very life.
You want victory in your life...and many of you are facing serious battles with the powers of darkness...But it is only the one who knows Christ in His fullness with ever increasing vision, that sends fear throughout hell.
If you try to face the enemy, you had better have spent time on your knees in prayer...time in the very throne room of God or you will crumble before the enemy.
God does not solve problems...He swallows them up in His greatness. And the man or woman of God with an ever increasing revelation of His glory will not be afraid of any problem...or devil¡Kor power on earth because they know Christ is bigger than them all!
God help us and forgive us for not taking advantage of the access we have to God and all that it could mean not only to us but also to a lost and dying world around us.
#2 is to share Christ with an ever increasing intensity.
Why is it that we find it so difficult to share Christ with others? I have come to believe it is largely because even though we make great claims to know Him, we have nothing worthwhile to say about Him that anyone would want to hear.
To really share Christ there must be a continual flow of revelation from the Holy Spirit. If the Holy Spirit knows the mind of God and if He is to be in us a well of living water springing up inside us...then that well of flowing water is a continual, never ending revelation of Christ.
And it awaits every one of you who are willing to simply wait on the Lord...quietly...in faith believing...trusting the Holy Spirit to show you the mind of Christ.
The church is over run with people who say "God told me" and most of it is garbage. There is so little fresh truth...so little word from the Lord. But I do know that many of God’s people are hungry and thirsty for a true revelation of God.
Christ alone is the light. And if you are not committed to sharing Him...then you are not casting out darkness. Your good works won’t dispel the darkness. All your "preaching" on social issues won’t cut the darkness...All your personal experiences won’t do it.
We need to get into the Book...get into the flow of divine revelation. Stay fresh...and let God speak to you and then take that fresh word of revelation and let that light shine in the darkness.
#3 commitment it not to get beyond the revelation we receive.
The truth we seek from the Lord is truth that must be worked out in us by the Spirit...before it is actually ours.
God does not give us more...and we shouldn’t desire more...than we are able to digest and build into our lives. It is a grievous sin to share with others something that has not worked its power in our own lives and situations.
We must come to the place where we can pray, "O God, let me speak only what I understand by the Spirit. Let it first become a part of my own nature and character before I ever preach it to others.
Paul shared a private concern in 1 Cor. 9:27. He said, "Lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway."
Paul certainly wouldn’t have doubted his security in Christ. That is not what he had in mind. The Greek word for castaway here means "unapproved’ or "not worthy."
He dreaded the thought of standing before the judgment seat of Christ, being judged for having preached a Christ he really didn’t know...or for having preached a Gospel he didn’t fully practice.
That is why you hear Paul speak so often of the "living Christ" or "Christ living in me." In his mind, anyone who preaches to others must himself be ever increasing in the knowledge and practice of Christ...or he is unapproved.
In closing, I want to ask each of you a question. You can’t go on another hour calling yourself a servant of God until you can answer it. It is the heart of this entire message.
What does Christ really mean to you? Is He really the most important thing in your life? If He is, you will spend time alone with Him... without having to be coaxed and prodded. You will go often into your "secret closet" knowing the moment you walk in you are seated at His table...
Where you can sit in His presence, not in a hurry, and love Him...and worship Him...and seek after Him with all your heart.
New Years resolutions are fleeting and seldom worth mentioning. But many places throughout Scripture it says we are to resolve...to purpose...to strive to accomplish certain goals.
If your goal is truly to serve the Lord and come to an ever increasing knowledge of Him...the Holy Spirit is here to take you on that most exciting journey...right to the throne of God...to His table where He will draw you closer to Him than you ever dreamed was possible.
