MSGR. CRISTOBAL E. GARCIA, SAP, HP Society of the Angel of Peace MSGR. CRISTOBAL E. GARCIA, SAP, HP

I. ECCLESIASTICUS 2:1-9 1 My son, when you come to serve the LORD, prepare yourself for trials. 2 Be sincere of heart and steadfast, undisturbed in time of adversity.

thus will your future be great. 3 ”Cling to him, forsake him not; thus will your future be great.

4 Accept whatever befalls you, in crushing misfortune be patient; 5 For in fire gold is tested, and worthy men in the crucible of humiliation.

6 Trust God and he will help you; make straight your ways and hope in him. 7 You who fear the LORD, wait for his mercy, turn not away lest you fall.

and your reward will not be lost. 8 You who fear the LORD, trust him, and your reward will not be lost. 9 You who fear the LORD, hope for good things, for lasting joy and mercy.

II. Key to old Covenant Serve God

Deuteronomy 10:12 The Lords Majesty. And now, Israel, what does the LORD, your God, ask of you but to fear the LORD, your God, and follow his ways exactly, to love and serve the LORD, your God, with all your heart and all your soul,

Key to New Covenant John 13:14-15 14 If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.

HOW SHOULD I SERVE?

Motivated by obedience (Deuteronomy 13:4) Pay no attention to the words of that prophet or that dreamer; for the LORD, your God, is testing you to learn whether you really love him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Motivated by gratitude (1 Samuel 12:24) But you must fear the LORD and worship him faithfully with your whole heart; keep in mind the great things he has done among you.

Motivated by gladness (Psalm 100:2) Worship the LORD with cries of gladness; come before him with joyful song.

Motivated by forgiveness, not guilt (Isaiah 6:6-8) 6“Then one of the seraphim flew to me, holding an ember which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 He touched my mouth with it. ”see,” he said, “now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged.” 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying,” Whom shall send? Who will go for us?” “Here I am;” I said; “send me!”

Motivated by humility (Philippians 2:3) Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather humbly regard others as more important than yourselves,

Motivated by love (Galatians 5:13;2 Corinthians 5:14-15) 13For you were called for freedom, brothers. But do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh; rather, serve one another through love. 2 It is I, Paul, who am telling you that if you have yourselves circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you.

Motivated by love (Galatians 5:13;2 Corinthians 5:14-15) 14For the love of Christ impels us, once we have come to the conviction that one died for all; therefore all have died. 15He indeed died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

CROSS

WHY SHOULD I SERVE?

To become more like Jesus Isaiah 53

Philippians 2:5-11 5 Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus, 6 Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.

7 Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, 8 He humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. 9 Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,

10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the Glory of God the Father.

ISAIAH 53

That was then the “worst” death That was then the “worst” death. Only the worst criminals could die like Jesus. And with Jesus things were worst, because not all the criminals condemned to death could receive nails on their hands and feet.

Of course, nails. Big nails Of course, nails... Big nails! Each was 15 a 20 cm long, with a point of 6 cm. Another point was sharp.

The nails were craved into the pulses, and not into the palms, as we are used to hear. In the pulse, there’s a tendon which extends till the shoulder, and when the nails were being hammered, that tendon broke, obliging Jesus to reinforce all the muscles of his back, so that he could breath as He was loosing all the air from his lungs.

In this way, He was forced to support Himself onto the nail craved in his feet, which was bigger than those craved into his pulses, for both feet were craved together. And, as his feet could not endure for long time without tearing, Jesus was forced to alternate that “cycle” so that He could breath.

Jesus endured that reality over 3 hours. Yes, over 3 hours! Long time, isn’t it? Few minutes before He died, Jesus was not bleeding anymore. He was simply pouring water from his cuts and holes.

He had no more blood to bleed, He only poured water. When we imagine Him injured, we only picture Him with injuries, but it is not enough; His wounds were true holes, made in his body. He had no more blood to bleed, He only poured water.

Human body is composed by near 3.5 litres of blood (for adult). Jesus poured all 3.5 litres of his blood; He had three nails hammered into his members; a crown of thorns on his head and, beyond that, a Roman soldier who nailed a spear into his chest.

All these without mentioning the humiliation He passed after carrying his own cross for almost 2 kilometres, while the crowd spat on his face and threw stones (the cross was almost 30 kg of weight, only for its higher part, where his hands were nailed).

Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world…..

Our servant hood in Christ invites us to his dying that we may also be one in his rising…

”Unless a gain of wheat falls to the ground and dies it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruits. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me.

“the message of the Cross is the power of God” (1cor.18)

Our covenant then is living in union with Jesus

It is living the life of Jesus, it is finding life in Jesus…

It is finding in Jesus the way, the truth, and the life…

THANK YOU VERY MUCH

THE END