We Are Going Up To Jerusalem . . .

This is from The Mission blog:

"He (Jesus) said to them (His disciples), Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem..." (Luke 18:31)

Oswald Chambers writes: "Jerusalem, in the life of our Lord , represents the place where He reached the culmination of His Father's will.  Jesus said, "I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent me." (John 5:30).  The greatest thing for us to remember is that we go up to Jerusalem to fulfill God's purpose, not our own.  Remember Jesus said, "You did not choose Me, but I chose you.  (John 15:16)."

My prayer.  Dear Heavenly Father I ask you in the name of Jesus that you'd keep pushing me, pulling me, driving me to go with you to Jerusalem, to seek your compelling purpose, never allowing me to falter or turn my sights on anything else but Christ and going with Him.  I can and will do this by your great grace through faith in the accomplished work of the cross. Amen!

Comments:

Tim Shey:
 

"Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem." "Take up your cross and follow Me." When you obey the Lord, you die to self and, in my experience, you will be delivered of many demons.

Too many people go to church to fulfill some social contract. They go to church to run away from God and so that they don't have to deal with their besetting sins. They go to church, so that they don't have to go to Jerusalem--the death of the cross--dying to self--so that the Lord can be glorified in their life of self denial.

Self-willed church people have never gone to Jerusalem: dying to self is too abhorrent to them.

Traveler (Randy):

Wow, Tim I never saw it like that before, "They go to church to run away from God...They go to church, so they don't have to go to Jerusalem." So revealing and frankly it leaves me with a great impression to ponder this deeper. I tremble in fear before our Lord.... But for the grace of God go I... Dear Lord in Jesus' name please by your grace never leave me to my own will and devices... Pull me lead me, put an aul in my ear, a yoke on my neck. Lead to Jerusalem, to the cross each day. It is all about you and not about me. Be it unto me according to your will. Amen!

The Mission

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Luke 18: 31-34:  "Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.  For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on:  And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.  And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken."

"And they understood none of these things:  and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken."

It is rare for the Lord to reveal Himself (His will/wisdom/knowledge) to a vessel that is not surrendered to Christ and that does not die to self.  The rain from heaven (revelation knowledge) is gratefully soaked into fallow, humble ground--dead to self will.

I Corinthians 2: 14-16:  "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.  But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.  For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ."

To the Jews Spiritual, who are of the Seed of Abraham Spiritually