Down to Reality 1980

As Jesus approached the most critical point in his ministry, his baptism of fire, a problem arose among the disciples, which actually had been there all the time, but which now came to the surface and which threatened to destroy what unity these men had. It was the Last Supper. It was the night Jesus was to be betrayed.

He was trying to prepare them for the things that were lying ahead, and he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. Likewise, the cup after supper, saying, This cup, which is poured out for you, is the new covenant in my blood.

But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table. For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed. And they began to question one another, which of them it was that would do this.

A dispute also arose among them, which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. This is their last meal before Jesus suffers. He wants it to be a foretaste of heaven, a feast of unity.

And here they go again arguing about which of them is to be regarded as the greatest. The first lesson Jesus taught these people was, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And now, after three and a half years of intimate, close contact with him, their egos are still a problem.

As we move into a time which, for the body of Christ on earth, can be compared with our Lord's final journey to the cross, a time which will be one of great trial for all of us, no matter what part of the world we're in, as well as a time of tremendous opportunity, the one thing which will blot the power of God in our individual and corporate life faster than anything else and will prevent us from fulfilling the call of this hour is this ego thing, this self-idolatry, which we not only see in our brothers and sisters, but which we are well aware of in our own hearts. For by the grace given to me, I bid everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he or she ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith which God has assigned him. For as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ and individually members one of another, having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them.

Not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, according to the measure of faith God has assigned him or her. When our view of ourself as an individual is out of proportion and not according to faith, there is no way that we can function as a body, and I'm not just talking about this congregation, I'm talking about all of us, whatever place God puts us in the body of Christ, which is one. Now we can sell everything we have and give away the money, we can make 15 covenants with each other and form a commune, and do everything else we can think of, but unless our view of who we are as individuals is real and realistic, there is no way we'll be able to fit in with each other and function under the head, Jesus, as members one of another.

Now for our view of who we are to be realistic, how can we think of ourselves in any other way, and how can we be in any other way or condition but meek and lowly of heart? If I'm realistic about who I am, what else can I see than that? If I seriously respond to Jesus' call to draw near to him, get under his yoke, and labor at his side, how can I do this unless I am willing to be taught by him to be meek and lowly of heart, and willing to continue to be taught by him till my dying day or until he comes back in glory, this lesson which I never fully learn, I have to keep learning it all the time. As I waited in the airport for the one plane that went into that city per week, I asked some of the other waiting passengers, how come a city that size has only one plane per week going in, and was told that they didn't have very much contact with the outside world, and then somebody laughed and said, besides, they couldn't get on a plane anyway. What do you mean they couldn't get on? Are they afraid? No, no, no, they wouldn't fit.

What do you mean? And they just laughed at me. After we landed and walked through the rain to the small terminal building, I understood what they meant. For as soon as we got into the terminal building, we discovered that every single citizen of that city, every citizen, carried a seven-foot pole, and on top of the pole was an image of themselves, another four or five feet high.

Everybody had one of these things, replicas of themselves, and you could immediately pick out the Christians, because their images on the pole, seven-foot pole, had pious appearances. You know, some were in a posture of prayer like this, you know, and others were in a pose of praise like this, you know, not to knock it, but that's the way they were, you know, and everybody took terrific interest, not only in their own image, but the image of other people. And they washed these things, and they dressed them, and they treated them as if they were alive.

If you wanted to really get somebody angry, all you had to do is make some nasty remark about their image, or maybe give their image a shove with your image. And there were image repair shops where you could take your image in and get a facelift for your image or a fresh pose. People would do this from time to time.

And the funeral homes provided the largest caskets you ever saw, because nobody ever thought of being buried without their image, pole and all at their side. One night after supper, as I was taking a little walk, I passed a church where they were beginning to have a prayer meeting. So I went in, and at first I thought, you know, I'd walk into the Republican or the Democratic presidential convention, you know, with these sticks going up there like that, but on top of the sticks, a set of placards and signs with these images.

Well, the singing was great, and the prayers were beautiful, marvelous prayers. And when the people got happy in that church, what they would do would be to pound on the floor with their image poles. They really got enthusiastic.

Up on the platform, the brother in charge of the meeting had his image in one hand and his Bible in the other, and he delivered the most stirring message on humility. It was marvelous. And his image was, well, you can imagine, in a pose of humility.

It was bent over, way over, you know, and his eyes were shut, and his hands were folded, and people were whispering, Brother George has the most exquisite image in the whole city. Brother George finished his talk. People started to pray, when suddenly the entire platform was ablaze with blinding light, and in the center of the light appeared a face, and then the figure of a man with a strange wooden yoke extending off to his right some distance.

The man said, Who will come up and get under this yoke with me? For two or three minutes, nobody moved. Everybody was petrified. And then finally, a young woman moved out into the aisle and started moving toward the platform with her image on the pole.

What do you have there? What are you bringing with you? said the man. Why? My image. Since my childhood, I have never been without it.

Drop it and come by yourself, said the man in the light, whereupon the woman began to weep and weep. She knew who it was who was calling her, and finally she said, Lord, I can't do it. I just can't do it.

You're asking too much, and she went back and got into her pew again, holding onto her image pole with both hands until the knuckles were white. Who will come under this yoke with me? Who will come with me? cried the man again in the light, and finally an old, old man limped out into the aisle, threw down his image, stomped on it, walked up to the platform, and got under the yoke. Then a middle-aged lady did the same thing, followed by a ten-year-old boy.

In all, seven people moved out of that congregation, got up there under the yoke. Come, said the master, and led them down the aisle and out the door, and they were never seen again. As time passed, many people in that congregation wished that they had got under that yoke, too, when they had the chance.

For by the grace given to me, I bid everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith which God has assigned him. Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am neat and lowly apart, and you will find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

We have two problems. The first problem is, what do I do with my image on the pole? Can I live without it? Can I get rid of it? And the second problem is, how can I handle my sister or brother's image on their pole that makes me sick every time I look at it? First, my image. What do I do with it? My image, my ego, my reputation, my claim to be somebody, this thing that I had been so careful to preserve and watch over all my life, and now Jesus again tells me to get rid of it? Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and what is it that causes us to labor and weighs us down and makes us so heavy laden, but this thing, our ego.

When Jesus calls us to repent, basically what is he calling for but that we repent of this evil, ugly thing, which is an idol, which is sin, and which is the source of all our problems? And when he tells us to deny ourselves, he's simply calling us to freedom from the bondage of this thing we drag around and pamper and dote over and worry about. The one lesson Jesus repeats over and over and over again is, throw down your image and get under my yoke. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

He who humbles himself will be exalted, and he who exhausts himself will be humbled. A dispute arose among them. Which of them was to be regarded as the greatest? He said to them, the kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors, but not so with you.

Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest and the leader as one who serves. For which is greater, the one who sits at table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who sits at table? But I am among you as one who serves. Consider how much of our mental energy and physical strength we dissipate trying to fight to maintain this ridiculous doll on the stick we drag around.

What a relief when we finally throw it away, get clear of it, and find that we're able to move again freely. I know who you are, Jesus said to us, and I love you. So why waste all that strength trying to maintain an image in the eyes of flesh? How can you believe who receive honor one of another and seek not the honor which comes from God only? This is not an optional thing.

This is the door to the kingdom. The only way we can possibly know and stay in union with Jesus and the only way we can function as part of a body instead of making the body function as part of us as if we were the head instead of Jesus. May God help us today throw down that image and get under the yoke with his son Jesus and find some rest and function as members one of another in some real peace, genuine harmony.

Then comes the second problem which we often get so caught up in we forget about the first which is more important but the second problem is what do I do about my sister and my brother's image that really nauseates me every time I have to look at it. The temptation of course is to walk up to my brother and say brother what are you doing with that ridiculous image on a stick seven feet tall. You know how dumb that makes you look.

Get rid of it or sister how about letting me pull the splinter out of your eye. You can't be seen very well or you wouldn't act the way you do. If I think that I have some insight into my sister or my brother's weakness or if I just absolutely can't stand to look at that blanket vanity that I think I see in them the most helpful thing that I can do for them as well as for myself is to lay aside my malice and clothe my mind again in the kindness and forgiveness of Jesus and start to pray.

Really pray and do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you with all malice and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another as God and Christ forgave you. Pray at all times in the spirit with all prayer and supplication to that end keep alert with all perseverance making supplication for all the saints and in making supplication for all the saints surely this includes praying for those things in their attitude and behavior which to me seem to be dead wrong.

It's not up to us to knock his image over and straighten out his life. Let the Lord take care of that. Our responsibility is to pray God's richest blessings on him or her.

That's all we have to do. For by the grace given to me I bid everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think but to think with sober judgment each according to the measure of faith which God has assigned him. For as in one body we have many members and all the members do not have the same function so we know many are one body in Christ and individually members one of another.

Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us let us use them. We're going to function as the body of Christ now and in the coming days of trial. And really use the gifts that have been given to us and genuinely fit in with each other.

It hinges on whether or not we are willing to come down to reality as to who we are. To think with sober judgment as to who we are according to the measure of faith which God has assigned us. May God help us by his spirit's power now again to throw down our image and get under the yoke with Jesus afresh this day.

Let's just take some time in silence to think about that and then as the spirit guides us into some prayer. Let's just take our time.