A DRINK OFFERING

In 2 Timothy Paul gives us a marvelous example of integral hope in his life. Paul's life even at that difficult end was still buoyed by a higher purpose. 2 Timothy 4:1,2 reads,

“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.”

Paul challenges Timothy, and us, to preach the word. And faithful endurance in his painful situation was crucial to that encouragement. He saw his approaching death as part of his challenge and a crucial part of his worship. He encourages us in versus 6-8 by comparing his life to a drink offering.

“For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.”

A drink offering was a powerful expression of devotion in the desert middle east where water is life. The first drink offering mentioned in Scripture was made by Jacob as he met God at Bethel in Genesis 35. As he emptied his canteen onto the ground, he was trusting his life to the Lord who had appeared to him. Later when drink offerings were included in worship in the Tabernacle the vessels for it were to be of gold, befitting costly devotion.

Paul sees his final circumstance as the ultimate worship and witness for God. And he could endure it however long it would last for two reasons. First, as he wrote earlier to the Philippian Church, (Philippians 1:22-24) God might still allow him to continue his purpose on this Earth. And, he knew the reward waiting for him in the presence of God was worth whatever he had to endure.

I have terminal cancer, and I don’t know how long I will live. I believe God has called me to write. It is an extension of my call to preach. And I want to write everything He leads me to write. But I also need to see what I may not be able to complete as a drink offering. If it is God's will for me not to live long enough to finish books that I am writing, I pour them out to Him in worship.

There are other things that I put in this category. I no longer have the strength or energy to Pastor a church. And I offer that loss in worship to God. I have also had a vision of prayer in the church like we have never prayed. Well, even the small platform that I had has diminished. And I don't see God allowing me to promote this. I had an idea for a prayer retreat center with prayer rooms devoted to prayer for every people group on Earth. Everyone coming to the center would be encouraged to spend at least an hour a day in one of the prayer rooms. Of course I do not know if this is the will of God at all, although the Scripture calls us to radical prayer. But even if this is God's will it does not look like I will get to be part of bringing it about. And I pour this out as a drink offering before God.

So whether I eat or drink(1 Cor. 10:31) or write or pray, I want to pour these things out as a drink offering to God.




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FOR THIS PURPOSE

Last week I wrote about Jesus praying when His soul was troubled. In John 12:27 Jesus said something crucial about life in Him. His words were, “For this purpose.” Few things are as crucial in coping with life as getting a firm grip on the purpose of God. All hope must be bound together with purpose. The higher your purpose the more substantial your hope.

I recently heard a sermon on something Jacob in the Old Testament said. The Holman Christian Standard Bible and several other versions translate Jacob’s words in Genesis 42:36 as, “Everything happens to me!” Have you ever heard anyone say something like that? Have you ever felt that way?

The sermon I heard referred to Job who actually faced greater trials than Jacob. The book of Job demonstrates that God is it work even in terrible circumstances. The worst thing Jacob faced was the death of Joseph, his favorite son. I do not wish to minimize the heartache he endured. But Joseph had not really died. His brothers sold him into slavery. And his life was certainly harder than Jacob's, even though Jacob grieved for his son. In the end Joseph understood something that might have helped Jacob in his ordeal. And in fact, several things Jacob did say and do indicate that he understood what Joseph would so eloquently express. In Genesis 50:20 Joseph spoke to his brothers.

“You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”

The first thing we need to grasp about purpose is that it comes from God. God sees from a much broader perspective. Everything that happened to Joseph, and all that happened to Jacob, saved the lives of everyone in their family, not to mention millions of people in that part of the world.

The first principle here is that God always has a purpose. And the parallel truth is that the purposes of God do not revolve around you, your selfish interests or narrow perspective.

In Experiencing God Henry Blackaby talks about seeking the “will of God for you.” He points out that you are not the focus of God's will. God is working on a cosmic level. We don't need God to fulfil our will. We need to join God in His higher purposes.

You and I need to focus on the will of God to have perspective on the trials we face. If your purpose is your own comfort and ease, life is never going to seem right or fair. You will not see your difficulties and trials in the perspective of God's purpose.

If the purpose of a runner in marathon is to run the race without any pain, he will be overwhelmed, and will not finish the race. When Moses wrote Deuteronomy the Children of Israel had just spent 40 years in the wilderness. They were preparing to enter the Promised Land. And Moses told the people something important about the trials that God had brought them through. Deuteronomy 8:2 read's,

“And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commands.”

I believe this is a principle. Whatever you're going through, God will use it in your life. And the difficulties you face will be an opportunity to prove your faithfulness to Him. But there is another principal in Deuteronomy 8:2. And that is that God who led the children of Israel will also lead you. You can learn to discern God's leadership in your life. And life will begin to make more sense.

Difficulties become more bearable when you see them in the larger perspective of the purposes of God. If you are living for petty purposes, your life will not be satisfying. But if you see your life as part of the grand scheme of the eternal God, you will even see your difficulties and trials as meaningful. Even when you do not understand what God is doing, you know he is at work in history and eternity.


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PRAYING WHEN YOUR SOUL IS TROUBLED

How do you pray when your soul is troubled? In John 12:27,28 Jesus said His soul was troubled.

First, it is important to see that having a troubled soul is not necessarily sin. Jesus' soul was troubled. In fact, having a troubled soul may indicate spiritual sensitivity. It certainly did in the life of Jesus. His disciples couldn't see anything to be troubled about on that day. But look at these verses and see how Jesus dealt with a troubled soul.

“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name’. Then a voice came from heaven: ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again’.”

In this case Jesus did not pray for God to deliver Him from the hour of trouble. Instead He prayed for a higher purpose. We are always tempted to make comfort the primary purpose of our lives. Jesus shows us something much more important in these verses. He prayed for God to be glorified through what disturbed Him.

And after He prayed, a voice came from heaven. “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again!” This was so thundurus that the people standing around said, “An angel has spoken to him.” But Jesus told them that this voice did not come for Him but for them. When we see clearly enough to pray for God's glory, He will often give us great assurance. And it is important in that hour to recognize that God is speaking to us.

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