Focus: Is It I? (part 2)

Text: Mk.14:19

"And they BEGAN TO BE SORROWFUL, and say unto him one by one, IS IT I? And another said, IS IT I?"

In the first lesson we have noted that TEARS are an integral part of spiritual worship. The preaching and teaching of the word of God under the anointing of the Holy Spirit should produce tears in our eyes. The exposition of Scripture by Ezra made the Jews cry out because they saw the error of their ways (Neh.8:9).

Another lesson from our text is that the disciples, upon hearing from the Lord, were deeply touched. Individually, they were heartbroken. Each person's response was, 'Lord, is it I?' There was nothing like passing the buck, or saying, 'It's not me.' From John's own report, Peter approached John, who happened to be sitting next to the Lord, to inquire from him who the betrayer was.

They were individually willing to immediately nip it in the board. No waste of time. What is the point tolerating such an evil person in their circle?

How do you personally respond to the preached word? Do you receive it personally? Do you see God talking to you directly? One little verse of Scripture that touches me deeply is Mk.13:37: "And what I say unto you I say unto all…" God's word is for one of us as well as for all of us, and it must be personally received. "Christianity," according to Martin Luther, "is a word of personal pronoun."

Let's stop shifting the word to others. God is speaking to you, not just to them. What God says to everyone in general, He says to me in particular. It is first God's word to me before it is God's word to us.

Every word God speaks is meant to accomplish something in us as individuals. So when you hear the word, let your first response be, 'Lord, is it I?' Stop posing as a holier-than-thou. God's word has something to judge in us as well as in others. Our Lord's prayer for us is, "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth" - Jh.17:17. Allow the word to do its sanctifying work in your life. The psalmist says, "For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust" - Ps.103:14. That is what we are, dust, not deity. We have in us the potential to fail, and we are constantly in need of God's forgiveness and cleansing.

Lord, is it I? That is the right attitude to take upon hearing the word of God. Lord, help me not to deny you like Peter did, nor to betray you like Judas did, nor to forsake you like the rest of the disciples did. And in any ways I have fallen short, please Lord, forgive, deliver and restore me. Redeem and restore me back to yourself. Help me to constantly examine myself in the light of your word of truth. Amen.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter