PRAY PRAY PRAY
Pt 1: PRAY FOR JESUS TO BE GLORIFIED
Glorified in the greek is the word doxazo meaning to magnify, extol, praise.
John 11:1 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
John 11:2 This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.
John 11:3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, "Lord, the one you love is sick."
John 11:4 When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it."
How was Jesus glorified through it?
John 11:38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance.John 11:39 "Take away the stone," he said. "But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days." John 11:40 Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" John 11:41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. John 11:42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me." John 11:43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" John 11:44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go." John 11:45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him.
How was Jesus glorified through this? He was glorified as the Jews put their faith in Him. He was glorified as the people praised Him. He was glorified, honored, extolled as the people saw that this sickness not end in death but resurrection.
This was a death, burial and a resurrection! Jesus was able to see how people would respond. He saw some praise and give glorify to God. He probably saw others faint at the sight. He saw faith increase. He saw also the hardheartedness of the leaders. Leaders that were so jealous that they would not even rejoice at a dead man coming alive! What a sad commentary on leadership when we get like this.
The heart of God is for Jesus to be glorified. That’s where our hearts should be.
Pt 2: PRAY TO BE LIKE HIM
Praying to be like Him and willing to go through the fire to be like Him is too totally different things.
Heb 5:7 During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.
Heb 5:8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered
Heb 5:9 and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him Heb 5:10 and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.
We all want to become something. We want to become better Fathers, better husbands, better at what we do, better at being single. We have our goals, our plans, it’s all before us and we are working towards it to see it happen. We also want to be like Him. The more we are like Him the more God is glorified, the Jesus is exalted and honored.
God had plans for Jesus. He wanted Jesus to become something. He wanted him to become the source of eternal salvation, he wanted him to become the perfect High Priest.
How would God accomplish this? Jesus learned obedience from what he suffered. Suffering is part of the plan.
How did Jesus suffer?
Heb 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin.
He was tempted in every way. That says a lot.
He was tempted with feeling like a nobody. Nazareth! Can anything good come from there!
He was put down because of where he was raised. How else did he suffer?
Isa 53:2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
Isa 53:3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
He was put down because of how he looked. He was tempted to feel below other people. He felt like nobody cared. He felt lonely. People despised Him. People rejected Him. He was looked over. Because of the way he looked he was not desired. Because of this and much more:
Jesus was tempted to complain. He was tempted to get into himself. He was tempted to be angry. He was tempted to prideful. He was tempted to retaliate.
And through it all God taught Him to suffer. He learned to be righteous through suffering. He learned to be giving through suffering.
If we are going to be like Him we are going to have to be willing to go through a lot of trials and learn to obey and suffer to be transformed into His likeness.
Pt 3: PRAY TO BE HUMBLE
(Isa 66:2 NIV) Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?" declares the LORD. "This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.
God loves humility. It’s hard to be humble because we are so prideful. Here are a few areas to ask yourself.
Are you humble enough to admit your wrong?
Are you humble enough to say you’re sorry?
Are you humble enough not to minimize your sin?
Are you humble enough to be embarrassed and ashamed by your sin?
Are you humble enough to be discipled by someone less talented than yourself?
Are you humble enough to be wronged and not hold a grudge?
Are you humble enough to be disrespected and overlook it?
Are you humble to look foolish for Jesus?
Are you humble enough to keep believing even though everyone else thinks your nuts?
Are you humble to initiate even though the other person should make the first move?
Are you humble enough to suffer and feel another persons pain?
Are you humble enough to be corrected by your children and ask their forgiveness?
Let us pray that Jesus is glorified not ourselves, let’s pray to be like Him no matter what we need to suffer and may God help us to be humble a little bit more like Jesus.
