The election of Jesus Christ, part 4; Logistical grace; John 15:16.

Title: The election of Jesus Christ, part 4; Logistical grace; John 15:16.

 

Flag Day: 13 stripes - 13 original colonies; 50 stars - 50 states (Hawaii = August 21, 1959). The colors of the flag are symbolic as well: Red symbolizes Hardiness and Valor, White symbolizes Purity and Innocence and Blue represents Vigilance, Perseverance and Justice.

 

6. Jesus Christ was sustained by the Father’s logistical grace support throughout the entire first Advent.

 

Logistical grace: A military term referring to a constant supply of needed materials to the front line in battle. Beans and bullets.

 

In the plan of God, God promises to sustain the believer’s needs in time until he fulfills the plan of God. This is promised to winner and loser believers’ alike.

 

Logistical grace is also known as providence. God has provided and will provide so that all that has been decreed will come to a conclusion, all being sustained by His power.

 

The only thing that can stop this flow of needs is the sin unto death.

 

Logistical grace includes: Food, water, air, shelter, warmth, clothes, transport, GHS, a Bible, a local church, and a pastor teacher.

 

It is fruitful, in light of application to your own spiritual life, to examine the logistical grace support of the humanity of Jesus Christ so that He was able to fulfill His election.

 

Matt 2:13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise and take the Child and His mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him."

 

Matt 2:19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying,

 

Matt 2:20 "Arise and take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child's life are dead."

 

Matt 2:21 And he arose and took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.

 

Matt 2:22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he departed for the regions of Galilee,

 

Matt 2:23 and came and resided in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, "He shall be called a Nazarene."

 

Nazareth, where our Lord spent most of His life by far, was a place of contempt. The Hebrew word for reed or branch is very similar indicating the meekness, gentleness, and humiliation. This is the pattern of His election as well as ours.

 

Luke 2:40 And the Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.

 

Luke 2:41 And His parents used to go to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover.

 

Luke 2:42 And when He became twelve, they went up there according to the custom of the Feast;

 

Luke 2:43 and as they were returning, after spending the full number of days, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. And His parents were unaware of it,

 

Luke 2:44 but supposed Him to be in the caravan, and went a day's journey; and they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances.

 

Luke 2:45 And when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, looking for Him.

 

Luke 2:46 And it came about that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them, and asking them questions.

 

Luke 2:47 And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers.

 

Luke 2:48 And when they saw Him, they were astonished; and His mother said to Him, "Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You."

 

There will be misunderstanding of your mission and your destiny by family and close friends.

 

Luke 2:49 And He said to them, "Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father's house?" 

 

Luke 2:50 And they did not understand the statement which He had made to them.

 

Luke 2:51 And He went down with them, and came to Nazareth; and He continued in subjection to them; and His mother treasured all these things in her heart.

 

Luke 2:52 And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

 

Jesus was provided with teachers and the scriptures. He had to learn and grow in wisdom just like we do.

 

Matt 4:2 And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry.

 

There will be demonic attack in the form of temptation to solve problems by means of the cosmic system, yet God will always provide your needs in His perfect timing.

 

Matt 4:11 Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.

 

 

Luke 4:16 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.

 

Luke 4:17 And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book, and found the place where it was written,

 

Luke 4:18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,

Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.

He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives,

And recovery of sight to the blind,

To set free those who are downtrodden,

 

Luke 4:19 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord."

 

Luke 4:20 And He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed upon Him.

 

Luke 4:21 And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." 

 

Luke 4:22 And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, "Is this not Joseph's son?"

 

Luke 4:23 And He said to them, "No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we heard was done at Capernaum, do here in your home town as well.'" 

 

Luke 4:24 And He said, "Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his home town.

 

Luke 4:25 "But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land;

 

Luke 4:26 and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.

 

Luke 4:27 "And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian." 

 

Luke 4:28 And all in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things;

 

Luke 4:29 and they rose up and cast Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff.

 

People will actually wish you were dead:

Luke 21:12

"But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name's sake.

 

And the Lord will deliver:

Luke 4:30 But passing through their midst, He went His way.

 

John 4:30 They went out of the city, and were coming to Him.

 

John 4:31 In the meanwhile the disciples were requesting Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat."

 

John 4:32 But He said to them, "I have food to eat that you do not know about.”

 

 

John 8:59 Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself, and went out of the temple.

 

John 11:53 So from that day on they planned together to kill Him.

 

At His trials:

 

Matt 26:67 Then they spat in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him,

 

Matt 26:68 and said, "Prophesy to us, You Christ; who is the one who hit You?"

 

Matt 27:27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him.

 

Matt 27:28 And they stripped Him, and put a scarlet robe on Him.

 

Matt 27:29 And after weaving a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they kneeled down before Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!"

 

Matt 27:30 And they spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head.

 

Matt 27:31 And after they had mocked Him, they took His robe off and put His garments on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.

 

Mark 14:65 And some began to spit at Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him with their fists, and to say to Him, "Prophesy!" And the officers received Him with slaps in the face.

 

Mark 15:15 And wishing to satisfy the multitude, Pilate released Barabbas for them, and after having Jesus scourged, he delivered Him to be crucified.

 

Mark 15:23 And they tried to give Him wine mixed with myrrh [narcotic drink designed to deaden the pain]; but He did not take it.

 

Modern chemistry and pharmacology studies have proven that myrrh does decrease the sensation of physical pain. Christ refused this because it would open the door for drug and alcohol abuse as a means of dealing with problems. The believer doesn’t need unnatural stimulants or depressants, just the power of the word and the Spirit.

 

Luke 23:26 And when they led Him away, they laid hold of one Simon of Cyrene, coming in from the country, and placed on him the cross to carry behind Jesus.

 

Even the Lord got physically worn out. Even His molecularly perfect muscles ran out of ATP, glycogen, and creatine phosphate. This reveals another aspect of logistical grace support. Don’t be too proud to receive help when needed, and don’t be so weak that you constantly use others as a crutch.

 

GAL 6:2

Bear one another's burdens [heavy burden], and thus fulfill the law of Christ [GAL 5:14 - love your neighbor as yourself].

 

GAL 6:5

For each one shall bear [light burden] his own load [production of divine good].

 

John 18:22 And when He had said this, one of the officers standing by gave Jesus a blow, saying, "Is that the way You answer the high priest?"

 

John 19:1 Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged Him.

 

John 19:2 And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and arrayed Him in a purple robe;

 

John 19:3 and they began to come up to Him, and say, "Hail, King of the Jews!" and to give Him blows in the face.

 

John 19:4 And Pilate came out again, and said to them, "Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, that you may know that I find no guilt in Him."

 

John 19:5 Jesus therefore came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, "Behold, the Man!"

 

John 19:6 When therefore the chief priests and the officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, "Crucify, crucify!" Pilate said to them, "Take Him yourselves, and crucify Him, for I find no guilt in Him."

 

John 19:7 The Jews answered him, "We have a law [JC is the giver of the Law], and by that law He ought to die because He made Himself out to be the Son of God."

 

There is no such law. There are laws concerning false prophets, those who blaspheme the name of the Lord, but no specific law for claiming to be God. Who would do that?

 

There is one law that is thick with irony if it is in fact the one they are referring to:

 

Deut 13:1 “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder,

 

Deut 13:2 and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying,' Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,'

 

Deut 13:3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the Lord your God is testing you to find out if you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

 

Deut 13:4 You shall follow the Lord your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him.

 

Deut 13:5 But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has counseled rebellion against the Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to seduce you from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from among you.

 

Therefore, people will falsely apply scripture to attack you.