Jesus and the Last Supper

Ballard Church          8-28-11 Pastor Dave Bruskas
Tags: Communion, Fear, Horror, Love
Luke 22:1-23
Jesus and the Last Supper
What does Communion mean to Jesus?
Communion should not be about my weaknesses and my struggles it's about Jesus

The Scene
Passover arrives and the priest and the scribes are trying to initiate a plan to kill Jesus.
Jesus is taking the center stage of the Passover feast and the religious establishment is losing power and influence.  To get rid of Jesus publicly they would face a horrible PR situation
Perspective Shift - God looking into the situation, not my prespective
Satan is working in the story by taking Judas and using the situation of the Priests and Scribes
The Priests find their mole into Jesus organization in Judas
In Acts 2, Peter says that Jesus' death was part of God the Father's plan to finish the struggle
Jesus' plan is better than mine.

Pastor Bruskas' Story
His mom was an alcoholic, she started crying attends a bible study, gets saved, his dad is later saved
From 7th grade Dave prays for a  son who will change the world for God, he continues for 13 years.  He marries and has a little boy. The little one can't breath and is heaving in despiration to live.
Dave prayed asking Jesus to honor his plan to have this special son.  God responded by saying join me on my plan to change the World through his son, Jesus.
For me, I can only control a tiny part of the World and if I try to live independently, I will be perenially disappointed.

Jesus' word is more Reliable than Mine
Jesus laid out the precise plan to eat the Passover to John and it all worked out exactly
The dsiciples' words are unreliable yet everytime Jesus speaks it is always trustworth and true
My word is just like the disciples, it is unreliable
The truth is that the word of jesus keeps our relationship alive, not my word and my pledges

Pastor Bruskas' Story
After all the surgeries didn't help, he developed ulcers and started to bleed
Dave was done, he couldn't bear it any more, he could even pray.
There is no way I am strong enough to withstand the blow of a sickening and dying little one. This is my second greatest fear in life. God, if it's your will that I be married and have little ones great, your will be done. But I am afraid, just to avoid my greatest fear (the rape of my wife or my daughter and my unstoppable revenge) or my second greatest fear (the death of my child), I'd almost prefer to live at the 9% of people that never marry. Holy Spirit please help my heart.  You said fear not.  I'm trying but it's very hard.

Repentance
Don't make my relationship with God about what I have vowed, because all my vows are unreliable only his promises are dependable

His Love is Bigger than Mine
Jesus says I have "earnestly desired" to eat this meal
+Jesus is emtionally charged up, he is about to fulfill all of Passover he is eating with his men who he is about to save them from sin and connect them to the Father
+Jesus is about to shower love on his men by dying for them
+Jesus is fulfilling the promise to Abraham to bless all the families of the Earth through the coming descendents
+Jer 31 - New Covenant is coming with God's law written on their hearts, they will have their sin forgiven, God says, "I will..." God will come and change things and fix this problem

Pastor Dave's Story
His little boy died on Dec 15th. They unplugged him.
Dave's mind was still foggy and his heart was still cold.
Jesus showed up and told Dave, "I got this, this is why I came"

Jesus' Disciples
After this amazing moment of intimacy with God, they begin to argue over who is the greatest among them

Communion
What does this meal mean to Jesus?
He loves us so much that he died, he want nothing he only gives and changes us and gives us all that we need to walk is a new truely worshipful life

Where do I have a plan for my life that is not God's plan and I am holding onto instead of holding onto Jesus?