Last week we looked at psalm 23 as a prophetic psalm revealing the faith in Jesus’ heart when he was on the cross.  

Going to keep talking about what Jesus believed when he was on the cross.  

There’s strength for us in the faith of Jesus.  

There’s a strength that came upon Jesus on the cross.  He was strengthened by grace through the faith that was in his heart.  Paul says in Ephesians 2 we are created in the image of Christ Jesus by grace through the faith that came to us in Jesus.

The nutrients that can feed us with life are contained in the faith that was revealed in Jesus.  There is nourishment for our lives.  There is tender love and care within the faith that is Jesus, that strengthens us and cultivates life in us.  

Jesus was fed with the nutrients of life as he was on the cross.  He found strength in the Father’s tender love and care.  

When Jesus saw he needed life.  When he saw the weakness and the death that was manifesting in his flesh.  He saw the compassion the Father had for him, and because he saw the Father cared for his life.  He considered the Father’s ability to cultivate life in him instead of considering the death that was upon him at the cross.  

Jesus desired to be fruitful just like you and me.  He had a desire to see life manifest in his body.  When he looked around for a sign that his desire would come to pass he didn’t consider the deadness he saw in his body on the cross.  He didnt think of the death that was all around him or the weakness of his flesh, when he thought of whether or not the strength that was needed for life to manifest was present with him or not ..... what he did was he considered the Father.  He thought of the life he shared with the father from the beginning and the strength contained in that life. 

When jesus saw the darkness surrounding him at the cross he didnt just think look at that darkness.  He saw the darkness and what he thought was there is strength in the life I share with the father to swallow darkness with light.  He didnt only think of the death that was manifesting in his flesh, he thought of the strength contained in the eternal life of the Father to overcome death in the flesh and raise mortal flesh unto immortality.  

The meditation of Jesus’ heart wasnt the death that was upon him.  The meditation of his heart was the life he shares with the Father swallows death with life.  The meditation of his heart was that nothing can keep life from manifesting in me ...... now that strengthened Jesus in the inner man with a certainty that he would bear much fruit and the death manifesting in his body would be swallowed with life.  

There’s a funny meme going around social media that says ...

People ask me if they need the Holy Spirit to get to heaven.   Bruh you need the Holy Spirit to go to Walmart.  

The idea is we need strength just to be able to navigate Walmart so of course we need strength to have eternal life.  

We need strength for this world.

John 1:16 says of Jesus’ fullness have we all received and grace for grace.  

Immediately prior to this verse John just says the life that manifested in Jesus is the light that lights up every person, and all those who grab ahold of the gift of life Jesus has in himself shall receive strength to appear as the Sons/Daughters of God.  

There is strength for us in what God has done to overcome death in the flesh of Jesus.  

There is strength for us in God and the eternal life He has in Himself.  His life is nourishment for us.  There’s a grace that comes upon us when we see we have a certainty life will manifest in us and we will bear much fruit, and that becomes the meditation of our hearts.  

We want a certainty we will see the fruit of life.  We want to see life manifest more than anything and we want a certainty that nothing can stop life from manifesting in us.  

Human beings were never created to have uncertainty about whether they will be fruitful or not or whether life will manifest in them or not.  

Gods life gives us a certainty of fruitfulness and a certainty that life will manifest in us.  Now that certainty strengthens us in the inner person with the grace of God.  The eternal life God has in Himself influences our hearts with grace by giving us a certainty that nothing can keep life from manifesting in us and nothing can keep us from being exceedingly fruitful.  

There’s a strength; a boldness; a confidence that animates our lives when we are certain we will be fruitful and nothing can keep life from manifesting in us.  

Go into Abraham received strength 

Romans 4 says Abraham received strength from faith.  It says Abraham didn’t consider the deadness in his body or the deadness in Sarah’s womb but he gave glory to God, and he received strength.

Abraham didnt consider the deadness he saw in himself and sarah when he thought of whether the strength that was needed for him to be fruitful was present with him or not but he considered the strength contained in God and His eternal life.  

You know Abraham saw the deadness in his body and in Sarah’s womb.  Its not that he ignored it or pretended as if it wasnt there.  But, when he saw the deadness he didnt just think of the death he saw there.  He considered the death he saw in himself and sarah in light of the strength God possesses in himself to raise the dead.  He considered the deadness he saw in himself in light of the eternal life God has in Himself.  He interpreted the deadness he saw in himself and in sarah through God and the eternal life God has in Himself.  

So when he desired to be fruitful, and he saw deadness in himself and sarah.   Abraham didnt think of the deadness.  What he thought of was God possesses a life within Himself that can even raise the dead.  Abraham saw the deadness but his mind wasn’t filled with the deadness it was filled with the ability God has in Himself to raise a person up out of death.  He thought of the God who can even raise the dead. That filled Abraham with a certainty he would be exceedingly fruitful, and it strengthened him with the power of God’s might.  

The temptation for us is to consider the deadness we see in the world and in or lives without thinking of the incorruptible seed of Gods life that is planted in us and in the the earth.  The temptation is for our imagination to be captivated by the deadness we see in the world instead of the life God has in Himself.  

If we look at what is going on in the world right now with the COVID.  We sit with a desire to see life manifest.  The temptation is to consider the COVID and the death we see because of the covid instead of thinking of God and the eternal life He has in Himself.  

What we consider becomes our food for life.  Contemplation; meditation; thinking on things is like chewing food.

If the meditation of your heart is the deadness you see all around you then you’ll be filled with uncertainty and weakness.  Its like eating junk food.  It doesnt have the nutrients that can make you strong.  Its like eating nothing but sugar and preservatives.  If the deadness all around you is your food for life you’ll feel weak and sickly.  If the meditation of your heart is God and the strength contained in His eternal life it will fill you with certainty and strength.  Its like eating nutrient rich foods.  It will strengthen you with life.  

Its like the difference between eating bread in the U.S and eating bread in Switzerland ........

Something I noticed about God is that he can see death and corruption and be grieved in the deepest part of his being without being overcome by the grief.  He is grieved when he sees tribulation and death and calamity but his grief is not unto despair.  His grief does not produce hopelessness in him.  

One day I asked God what is it about you that your grief is not unto despair ....... God considers the light when he sees the darkness.  When he sees the darkness he considers the darkness in light of His life.  When he thinks of the darkness his thoughts about the darkness are shaped by the knowledge of the life He has in Himself ......  when he sees darkness he doesnt just think look at that darkness.  When he sees the darkness he thinks the light of my life is swallowing the darkness.  

In the midst of feeling grief God experiences the grief knowing he has a certainty life will manifest and swallow the darkness to the uterrmost.  When God sees death and calamity.  He doesn’t just consider the death he sees.  He considers the death he sees in light of the life He has in Himself.  He sees the death that is manifesting but then He sees the life He has in Himself is consuming the death and the darkness and the calamity.  He sees there is a strength contained in His life to swallow every remnant of death with life, and make it to where death no longer exists.  

The meditation of his heart isnt the lack he sees.   Rather he sees the lack and the meditation of his heart is how the abundance that is in him on account of the eternal life he has in himself is swallowing the lack in the earth.  And that gives Him joy for sorrow; it gives Him beauty for ashes.  

We are tempted to only see the deadness.  We struggle to see the entire picture.  We see the deadness and think it is in the way of us being fruitful and seeing life manifest.  We see the deadness and we think its a sign we won’t be fruitful and we won’t see life manifest in us.  We see the deadness and think it means the deadness is overcoming life and making us barren and unfruitful.  

Example of day and night 

If we think of night and day.  When its night time we don’t just think its dark outside, we think the sun is coming out tomorrow.  We experience the darkness of night knowing it will be replaced with the light of day.  None of us look at the darkness as if it can prevent the light of day from coming forth.  We all look at the darkness of night knowing the light of day is coming and nothing can stop it.  

In the very same way when we sit with a desire to be exceedingly fruitful and to see life manifest in us and in the earth.  Let us not consider the deadness we see all around.  Let us consider the one who is Shepherding our lives.  Let us consider God and His eternal life, and the strength contained in His eternal life to bring forth light out of the midst of the darkness.  

Song “the sun will come out tomorrow”

If I think of the psalms.  The psalmist always seemed to be compassed about with tribulation.  But, there was strength for the psalmist in the midst of being compassed about with the infirmities of the world.

The psalmist saw the weakness and death surrounding him and manifesting in his life.  He saw compassion in Gods heart for him.  He said this guy cares so much for my life let me talk with Him about the concerns I have for my life.  And by the end of the psalm the psalmist was always considering God and the life God has in Himself, and he was nurtured and strengthened with the power of God’s might.  

If we look at the apostle Paul and his thorn in the flesh.  He was tormented and filled with weakness because he was all the time considering the thorn.  But, then Jesus says Paul there is a strength contained in me and the life I have in myself that is your sufficiency, and Paul received strength and was full of joy because he began to consider the strength that was contained in Christ and his life instead of considering the thorn.  Paul even says I will rejoice when I feel weakness knowing your strength will superabound over my weakness.