The Empty Cup and The Overflowing Cup (Part 2 of 2)

Yesterday we pinned down neediness and its origins of oppression, calamity, and idolatry/immoral behavior. The cup of our lives is emptied when we don't take seriously sin and its impact on individuals and the Church at large. I know its not a popular concept to consider how God might use an international pandemic to expose the idols of our heart; nor is it palatable to humbly confess that I have at times participated in the very things that lead to neediness. But here we are...

What I am saying is this, you and I are beyond needy. The world around us is needy. We were born that way. It can take something major to get our attention. Ease, plenty, and generally favorable conditions in our lives rarely cause us to RISE. Ask yourself, "When am I most responsive to the grace of Jesus?"

Jesus knew this about humanity (John 2:24-25) and offers a solution worth consideration.

HIMSELF

He shows the hyper-spiritual (Pharisees) and all-too-familiar (those living in His hometown) alike how and what He will proclaim in order to begin filling cups to OVERFLOWING!

His ministry begins this way as we read Luke 4:16-21 when He returns to his hometown to those who are familiar with Him and stands up in the synagogue with the Pharisees to make the announcement.

• "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me..." 
• this is authoritative and driven by a divine anointing
• "...to proclaim good news to the poor...liberty to captives...recovering sight to the blind...liberty to those who are oppressed" - sounds a lot like neediness is addressed here - 
• the GOSPEL is where the "have-nots" are about to become the "haves" 

Jesus, having just come from His temptation in the desert with Satan (Luke 4:1-13), models that a severe test has a way of distilling priorities to their most essential components.

The Apostle Paul picks up on this in II Cor. 8:9 when he is encouraging the church in their generosity (a thing we should be KNOWN for in times like these) by saying, "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich."

What will the current test reveal about Christ's Church today? 

Our cups overflow when we realize WHO fills us up, for WHOM we live, and by WHOSE power we share our lives and resources.