We’ve discussed previously about having joy in Christ – and that’s a phrase that’s fairly common; there’s even songs sung about the joy of the LORD. We know as Christians, joy is something that we are supposed to have (and happiness also, even though some deny that today), yet very few people actually seem to have joy or happiness.
I have been to far too many churches and encountered far too many people who put on fake smiles, church-masks, and take on an entirely different persona when they are around others. Inside, they really are not happy. Inside they really have no joy.
And what makes it even worse is that they are afraid, ashamed and embarrassed to mention this fact to any of their Christian friends, because then the friend might look at them differently, treat them differently, or maybe even begin to gossip to other church members (more common than you might think!)
However the reality is that the friend is probably feeling the exact same way on the inside!
So, what I want to share with you today in this study, is how to receive real joy, real happiness, which only comes from Jesus Christ and His finished work. The kind of joy and happiness that lasts, and endures. The kind that can not be taken away.
Now as we begin today, I made one particular comment in the opening, that real joy and happiness only comes from Jesus Christ… and this comment manages to pop several different balloons with a single pin; because on the one-hand we have people who are looking all over the place in a grand quest to find joy and happiness… they may look to new experiences, ,new knowledge, new people, money, drugs – the standard trifecta of “wine, women and song” – but none of those can truly satisfy and give real joy and happiness that endures.
While on the other-hand, you have Christians who often get “spiritually distracted”. What I mean by that, is that they will become very busy, serving in their church, going to conferences, engaging in missions and Bible reading plans or whatever the latest trend may be… and please hear what I’m saying – don’t tune-out, because notice what the title of this study: Savor the Taste of the Finished Work. This is a bit of a spoiler-alert here, but all of that other stuff; the church-service, the missions, the bible reading, the conferences – it is possible to be doing all of those things, yet still not be savoring the finished work of Christ.
What we are highlighting today, is a very real and very subtle trap that many people fall into, and it is the trap of becoming so distracted through various means, and so busy, that we miss Christ, and we fail to savor what has actually been accomplished for us.
Often times, within the church, this takes the form of religious service, religious duty and religious tradition – and notice the common descriptor there is religious. I have spoken with many people who have admitted to me that they aren’t really doing these things because they want to… they aren’t really engaging in these activities because of the genuine outpouring of God’s love for them… no, instead they are doing these things because for some reason or another, they felt as though they must do them; either to earn God’s love and favor, or to be accepted by Him (or by the church itself). They have told me that if they didn’t do all of these things, they wouldn’t really “be a Christian” – as if being a Christian was a matter of performance and works instead of being born-again as a new creation through Christ Jesus.
You see my friend, many people get caught trying to become a new creation, when in-fact the scriptural truth of the Gospel is that Jesus Christ has already finished the work to make you a new creation, and you simply receive what He has done. Though many people do not believe this simple truth.
The danger here is that when we try to “help God” or add to what He has already done, we have already missed the point. There is in-fact a very interesting example of this in scripture, during the Exodus.
There is a record of what happened with the children of Israel, and the manna which God miraculously provided for them during their journey. Take a look at Exodus 16:31:
“And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.”
Now, as you may have heard me mention in the past, there are no insignificant details in the Bible. If the scriptures mention a detail, it is there for a reason, and that is true of this detail as well. We learn three things about the manna from God here: We see that it was like coriander seed, it was white, and it tasted like wafers made with honey.
Now, we know that Jesus Himself is the true Living Bread which came down from Heaven (John 6:32, 35, 48, 51)
Keep these facts in mind as we are about to see a very interesting development here, as we jump forward a bit to Numbers 11:4-8:
“And the mixed multitude that was among them fell lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat?
We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic:
But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.
And the manna was as coriander seed, and the color thereof as the color of bdellium.
And the people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil.”
Take a look at this! Instead of looking at the miraculous provision of God for them, The Israelites began looking elsewhere; and this carries with it a truth for us as well… because as mentioned earlier, there are many Christians today who much like the children of Israel here, have stopped savoring the provision of God for them (namely the finished work of Christ) and have begun wanting for flesh.
Are you listening? Those who have ears let them hear.
The Israelites didn’t have a taste for the manna, the bread from heaven; they wanted flesh. And there are Christians today who likewise aren’t happy with the finished work of Christ, they want to have flesh instead; their own efforts their own works.
Then we see in verses 7 and 8, that the manna began to look different to them… it was no longer white as before, but we see now it was the color of bdellium, which is an an off-white kind-of muddy color. It wasn’t the pure color that we read about in Exodus, it has now become muddied in their eyes.
Also we see that the flavor of the manna has now changed for them. It is no longer the sweet taste of wafers made with honey that we read about before in Exodus, but it now had the taste of fresh oil, which has a bitter taste.
And as we see from verse 8, the children of Israel, were grinding it in a mill, beating it in mortars, baking it in pans and making cakes of it. In other words, they were adding their own efforts to what God was providing. They were trying to make His provision taste better to them and be more palatable to them, by adding in their own works and efforts to His provision. Again, whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.
There are many Christians today doing the exact same thing. To them, the provision of Christ isn’t enough in their sight. His finished work isn’t completely pure or sweet to their taste. So they are trying to add their own works and efforts onto His finished work, to try and make it better… and all-the-while missing the point that His provision was perfect from the very start, and you are perfected by it (Hebrews 10:14)
So I encourage you today, step back from yourself, your works, your efforts, and begin truly savoring the finished work of Christ. Start realizing that you are righteous and holy right now, because of Jesus Christ alone – and He loves and accepts you right now because of Jesus Christ alone. You did not merit it, and therefore you cannot de-merit it. You did not earn it, therefore you cannot un-earn it.
It it yours as a free gift! Savor that, and you will find a banquet to feast on – and you will receive true joy and happiness in Christ.
Be blessed.