I want to give you a great quote.
“Preach the gospel at all times and when necessary, use words.” Saint Francis
Sam gave us that quote. If you were here last week, you heard Sam share that quote. Sam was talking about how you share Jesus with those you love. It was so helpful because Sam made clear who does what. It’s our job to plant the seed and build relationships. The Holy Spirit’s job is to move into people’s lives and convict them. And how do we do our job? Sam shared four practical ways to share Jesus. Keep it simple and be yourself. Know what you believe. Love people where they are and build a bridge to Jesus. Lastly, never lose sight of the reality that you can’t save anyone.
I think the best question Sam asked was, ‘If someone followed you around for the day, would they want to be a Christian?’
This week I want you to answer the question, ‘Who is Jesus to me?’
The Alpha video we sent in our announcements answers the question, ‘Who is Jesus?’ It addresses the evidence of who Jesus was. It answers the question, ‘How do we know original accounts about Jesus are accurate?’ It talks about how Jesus claims to be the Son of God who can forgive sins. It discusses how Jesus’ teachings are the greatest words ever spoken and is the foundation of our civilization. It even addresses how Jesus fulfilled over 300 prophecies. And lastly, His physical resurrection is the cornerstone of Christianity. I recommend to anyone with the question, ‘Who is Jesus?’ to watch the video.
Who is Jesus? Let’s be clear. Jesus is the Son of God who lived with us making Jesus fully God and fully human.
Today, I want you to answer the question, ‘Who is Jesus to me?’ I want you to answer that question because your relationship with Jesus is your relationship with God. Let that sink in for a second before we move forward. Your relationship with Jesus is your relationship with God. We know this because Jesus said this.
John 12:46-47 If you trust me, you are trusting not only me, but also God who sent me. For when you see me, you are seeing the one who sent me. I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark. NLT
So, take a moment and ask yourself, ‘Who is Jesus to me?’ This is the most important question you will ever answer because where you spend eternity depends on how you answer that. Scripture shares that our relationship with Jesus is the key to making us right with God and enjoying eternity in heaven.
Romans 3:25 God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to clear that world of sin. Having faith in him sets us in the clear. MSG
Again, your relationship with Jesus is your relationship with God. Many people think, I can just believe in God and that’s enough. And that’s not true. James, Jesus’ brother, warned us that even demons believe in God.
James 2:19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that – and shudder. NIV
Your relationship with Jesus matters. So, ask yourself, ‘Who is Jesus to me?’
I want to read for you what Jesus said when He walked with us.
John 7:37-39 Jesus shouted to the crowds, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. For the Scriptures declare that rivers of living water shall flow from the inmost being of anyone who believes in me.” (He was speaking of the Holy Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him.) TLB
Jesus promised that if we are thirsty, we can enter into a relationship with Him and He will give us the Holy Spirit so that living water will pour out of our souls. That’s a pretty big promise. But I don’t know if we interviewed Christians across America if they would say, ‘As I walk through the struggles and insecurities of life, and there are many, rivers of living water pour out of my soul.’ Why is that? As I read and reread what Jesus said, it hit me. I don’t know if Christians in North America are thirsty. Jesus said, if you are thirsty, enter into a relationship with Me. Then I will give you the Holy Spirit and rivers of living water will pour out of your soul.
What does it mean to be thirsty? It means we are honest about what is happening in our soul. And to fix what is happening in our soul, we will make any changes necessary to be in a relationship with Jesus. So, thinking through this, we have to ask ourselves a few questions. If I slowed down and asked myself the question, ‘What is really going on in my soul? What would I say? Am I angry? Depressed? Scared? Hurt? Tired? Going through the motions? Experiencing constant low self-esteem? Anxious? Etc. Am I stuffing my emotions and telling everyone, I’m fine? What is really going on in my soul?
Follow-up questions. Because my soul feels worn down, what I am turning to take the edge off and make me feel better? Gossip? Constantly staying negative and critical? Lust – that means I must have what I want now? Chasing money, success, and validation while ignoring my relationships? Alcohol? Checking out? More ‘me days’? Making poor choices while claiming I have mental health challenges? Mental health issues are real, and we want you to get the right help but many times our mental health can be a product of our bad choices.
Do you see what I am saying? If you are thirsty, if your soul is worn down, what are you turning to? Anything this world offers you will never satisfy you. Jesus didn’t say, ‘When your soul is worn down check out of life’. He didn’t say, ‘When your soul feels dry and empty, start drinking more’. Jesus said, ‘When you are thirsty, enter into a relationship with Me.’
I believe, in general, the North American Christian isn’t thirsty to be in a relationship with Jesus. Why? Because we don’t want to make any changes. We stubbornly think, how can I get through life and make the least amount of changes possible? It’s normal for us to turn to what the world has to offer us. And as we turn to the world, we are turning away from our relationship with Jesus. The Apostle John talked about this.
1 John 2:15-17 Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world – wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important – has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out – but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity. MSG
What does, ‘…love of the world squeezes out love for the Father?’ mean? It means we are passionate about wanting our own way, wanting everything for ourselves, wanting to appear important, so much so, that we don’t see our need to be in a relationship with Jesus. And in our wanting, wanting, wanting, we have very little passion for God. Our wanting leaves us lukewarm about our relationship with Jesus, the church, and the mission of God. Basically, our spiritual passion dies. A couple of indicators that we are lukewarm about our relationship with Jesus.
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I don’t have time to be alone with God, I’m too busy.
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I have never prioritized my personal relationship with God in prayer and reading scripture.
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When invited into a relationship with God, I’m comfortable not making any changes.
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I give little to no reflection of God’s grace in my life.
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I have little to no gratitude for the price Jesus paid to free me.
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When presented with the choice to embrace a new life with Jesus, I conclude I can’t because it’s just the way I am, so I continue looping in a life of no change.
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If I am convicted of a sin or attitude, I blame others for who I am or I make excuses as to why I can’t change.
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I don’t do the big sins like murder, so I feel good about myself while at the same time, I make no changes to passionately follow after God.
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When presented with the opportunity to embrace a new life in Jesus, I stubbornly continue to believe God views me as a disappointment leaving me to stumble through life.
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When presented with the opportunity to embrace a new life in Jesus, I stubbornly continue to stay in my patterns of negative behaviors, negative emotions, and negative attitudes.
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I have very little passion for the mission of God to redeem people in the local church.
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I have little to no interest in serving, giving, or growing spiritually in the local church.
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Going to church for me is a battle between another ‘me day of rest’ vs. I want to worship God and encourage others in my spiritual family.
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The fruit of the Spirit like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control aren’t growing in me.
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I have little to no compassion for others.
Life is hard and our souls become thirsty, they are tired, and worn down. The question is, what is it you want? Do you want your way all the time, want everything for yourself all the time, and want to appear important all the time? Or do you want a relationship with Jesus that heals you and gives you courage?
What are you turning to?
To put it into relationship terms, it would be like being married and having an affair. In your marriage, you are supposed to be passionate about your spouse. Passionate to be with them, talk with them, and tackle life with them. No one wants to be married to someone who has little to no passion for them – right? So, imagine in your marriage, you walk through life and experience fear, loneliness, or insecurity and it leaves you feeling tired and worn down. But instead of going to your spouse, you find someone at the gym or work or social media to talk to. You think the answer to being worn down isn’t my spouse it’s this new person. You turn to the new person day after day, month after month, year after year.
What do you think happens to your passion for your spouse? What happens to your feelings for your spouse? What happens when you are supposed to celebrate their birthday, your anniversary, or Valentine’s Day? It’s very weird. You have to fake your love for them, don’t you? You get a card that says ‘I love you’ but you know you don’t mean it or care. You are only going through the motions to keep up appearances. The love, the focus, the passion you are supposed to have for your spouse has been pushed out because your real focus, your real passion is for the other person.
Then years later you discover you have no feelings for your spouse. You wonder, how did I get to this point? The answer. Through thousands of little choices.
You go to a counselor, and they say, to fall back in love, you must make choices to fight for your spouse. You have to end the affair. You have to aggressively communicate, prioritize, and care for your spouse. You have to change everything in your life to fight for your marriage. And you will have to do this for months and years to rebuild trust.
So let me ask you, ‘Who is Jesus to you?’ Are you passionately in love with Jesus? Does being with Jesus heal you and remind you just how much He loves you? Or are you having an affair? That means you are passionate about wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important. Has your affair pushed out your love and passion for Jesus? That means have stopped turning to Jesus and instead, I have turned to this world of wanting, wanting, wanting?
God said this.
Exodus 20:5 You must never bow or worship it in any way; for I, the Lord your God, am very possessive [Jealous NIV version]. I will not share your affection with any other god! TLB
Do you want to end your affair? Do you want to be passionate about Jesus? You must understand, that you got here because of thousands of little choices. And to find your love and passion for Jesus will mean you will need to fight for it. It’s not hard at all – it’s just choices.
You must end the affair. When your soul is tired and worn down, nothing in this world will give you what you are looking for. Getting your way all the time isn’t going to heal your soul. Wanting everything for yourself isn’t going to heal your soul. Wanting to appear important isn’t going to heal your soul. End the affair with this world, it will never give you what you are looking for.
You must aggressively communicate, prioritize, and care for your relationship with Jesus. You will need to spend time with Jesus. You do that when you read scripture and pray and enjoy worship. And you will need to be aggressive about this. It’s a non-negotiable. It will need to be the highest priority in your life.
You must change everything in your life to fight for your relationship with Jesus. Think about this. If you feel like you have little passion for Jesus, you got here because of your ruts and routines in life. If that’s true, you will need to look at the ruts and routines of your life and make new choices. If you don’t, your ruts, routines, and choices will lead you right back to your affair.
And you will have to do this for months. You will need to make choices to fall in love again. And it will take time.
The last thing I want to say. One of the most devastating things we can do is believe, it’s okay to have little to no passion for Jesus. That’s like saying, ‘It’s okay that I have little or no passion for my wife.’ Would you be okay if I said that about my wife? If I said that, it’s weird, isn’t it? If you believe it’s okay to have little to no passion for Jesus, it will lead you right into an affair and you won’t even see it. And your relationship with Jesus will become fake. It will be like buying a Valentine’s Day card for your spouse while you are having an affair. You would be going through the motions to keep up the appearances. Church, Jesus, the mission of God will be a burden, a struggle.
The question I want you to answer. Who is Jesus to me?
Remember what Jesus said. “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. For the Scriptures declare that rivers of living water shall flow from the inmost being of anyone who believes in me.”