Who Do Others See in You?

Disclaimer: This post asks a lot of questions! Sometimes you just have to think!

My Pastor did it again.  He was preaching in Luke chapter six.  He said something that I can’t get out of my head. I texted him and told him that he had to know that statement was blog-worthy and asked if I could borrow it.  Plus, I mentioned that I get some of my best ideas from his sermons.  At least I’m listening!

He started his sermon with a, “What if?” What if you went to church next Sunday and Jesus was the guest speaker? Not just the pastor being led by the Holy Spirit speaking the words of Jesus, but actual Jesus in person. Wow! That is definitely a thought to wrap your mind around. What would He say? What would you expect from His message? How would you react to His message? What would you do with His message?

As a guest speaker in the Church today, what would Jesus say? I doubt that His message would have changed from what it was in the beginning.   His message was about relationship.  Look throughout all the stories in the Bible from Adam and Eve, through His interactions with the disciples and the unbelievers of His day, up through history to His relationship with us, as His modern-day disciples.  I’m pretty sure His message would be about relationship… and about love.    

What would you expect from His message? One of the things my Pastor shared in his sermon was that when Jesus was here in bodily form speaking to the people, it was God speaking into their hearts.  Jesus’ voice is the voice of God. This is no different today.  We still have the voice of God speaking to us.  Never doubt!  God still speaks today.  He speaks to us through His Word and through His Holy Spirit working in and around our lives. To get anything from His message we need to place ourselves in a position to listen.  

How would you react to His message? Would His message bring the revival that our world so desperately needs?  Would His Word affect us to the point of repentance?  Would our calloused hearts look at Him and say, “He is just another speaker.”  Or would we truly hear the message of God through His words that would lead us to true repentance? 

What would you do with His message?  If we were truly in the presence of Jesus and we allowed our lives to be changed, everything would look different.  As my Pastor said, “Every time we put our eyes on Jesus, we come away stronger.”  There is a broken and bruised world that needs the balm of Jesus applied to their cut and bleeding lives.  Take that message to heart and share it with love.

The thing that struck me so much from my Pastor’s sermon was when he was talking about Jesus attempting to minister in His own hometown, Nazareth.  He could not get through to them.  It’s true.  When you live somewhere and people know you, they can’t see you in any other way than how they have you pegged in their minds.  At one point, as Jesus was teaching, someone said, “Ain’t that Joseph’s son?” (paraphrased) Jesus was someone they knew. It is so hard to minister to, witness to those that know us best. My Pastor laughingly said, “On judgement day, wouldn’t it be funny if someone found that guy, poked him in the ribs, pointed to Jesus and said, “Ain’t that Joseph’s Son?”

Where do you stand?  Do you claim to be a Christ follower? What does the world expect from the message you proclaim and live?  How does the world react to that message that you proclaim and live? What will the world do with the message of Christ that you proclaim and live? The time is getting short.  The day is getting late.  People need to see authenticity in how you live out the message of Christ. 

Who do others see in you? Are you a true disciple?  Have you truly accepted Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God? Or, on judgement day, will you be denied because you are still living your life as if Jesus was just Joseph’s son? Will some smart aleck poke you in the ribs, point at Jesus and say, “Hey, ain’t that Joseph’s son?” as you are being cast out of the kingdom? 

(Thanks Pastor Lynn! I love it when you give me blog ideas!)

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“So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, ‘Is this not Joseph’s son?’” (Luke 4:24 NKJV)

“Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” So they were offended at Him.” (Mark 6:3 NKJV) 

“And they said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”” (John 6:42 NKJV)  

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I feel that since God has given me the gift of this platform, I must always tell you about Him.  

Do you know the God of grace? He created a perfect world. He loved His creation. Then, through the disobedience of man, God’s created beings, sin came into that perfect world. God, as the Creator, was the only One that could redeem His creation. Over two thousand years ago, a season in time came to be when Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, God in the flesh, was born as a tiny babe. (Christianity.com has a very good article about how Jesus fulfilled over 300 prophecies of the much looked for Messiah. Of course the better place to read this is in the Bible itself.) He lived a sinless life. At the age of about thirty, He began His earthly ministry. Jesus was abandoned by His followers, tortured and crucified to death. This He did deliberately, giving up His life freely. He was buried in a borrowed tomb that was heavily guarded by Roman soldiers. Then, as He had promised His followers, He arose from that grave on the third day. “Why,” you ask, “would He do this, go through this?” Ah, the reason… Love…Grace. He did it for you, His beloved creation! He did it for me also, of which I am eternally thankful. The thing is, He gave His life as redemption for the sin of the whole world. This same Jesus will come into your life. God is Spirit. You come to Him in spirit. Confess to Him that you realize you are a sinner. Tell Him that you believe that Jesus is His Son-His only Son, that He came to this earth to redeem you. Tell Him that you will turn away from a sinful life and follow the teachings of Jesus. Then find a local, Bible-believing church and become involved with the fellowship of the Church.

Here is an excellent website that can give you additional information about making Jesus Christ YOUR best Friend! PeaceWithGod.net