living today in light of that day

living today in light of that day

Friday, October 25, 2013

Jesus Is the Greatest Ever

I visited my friends Lem & Cindi James this past Sunday. Thankful how God ministered to me in that time, particularly through his preached word exalting Christ in my heart. Here is a near-transcription from the end of Ian McConnell's sermon at Grace Bible Church in NE Philly. It's from the first service (we were at second).

 

 
 
 
 
 
Hebrews 1:1-3
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.

You need Jesus to keep you together. …
Are you trusting Jesus to keep you together? Your marriage, your kids, your resources/finances, those you care about together? He upholds us across the board.
 
I am tempted on a daily basis to believe the lie that I hold myself up. Here’s what happens when I try to hold myself up, and when I try to hold up others that I feel I am responsible for – I do have a degree of responsibility, but I can’t do for them what only Jesus can do for them. Here’s what happens when I try to hold people up:  guess what I do? I drop things! And when I drop things, I’m tall, they break.
What are you trying to hold up right now that only Jesus can hold up? What are you trying to keep together that only Jesus can keep together? It’s all in where you depend. You say, “well, I have responsibility” yes, you do…you do have a responsibility to work hard to make your marriage work. You do have a responsibility to work hard to raise your kids and to discipline them and point them in the direction of following Jesus. You do need to work hard at your job to have money so you can provide for your needs. You do need to work, but there’s a way of working where I trust in myself and a way of working where I trust in Jesus, and they’re completely different. Psalm 127: “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.” … Here’s how we trust in him to uphold us as we commit ourselves to our responsibilities: We do our responsibilities in active trust, in conscience dependence on Jesus who holds everything together.
Here’s what you do not want. You don’t want a team of pastors here who act like it’s their ultimate responsibility to hold you together. And here’s what we don’t want. We don’t want you to trust in us to hold you together because we can’t.  But Jesus can. So what’s the greatest thing we can do for one another? What’s the greatest way we can encourage one another? What’s the greatest way we can exhort one another? Ready? Here you go: Look to Jesus. I want to point you to Jesus. I need you to point me to Jesus. I need to point others to Jesus, because he’s the one who holds us up.
Since he’s the one upholding all things and carrying everything to its intended end, I also need to trust in Jesus not just to hold me up but to take me where I should go. So he keeps me going and takes me to where I should be going. Are you actively trusting in Jesus to lead you and guide you, take you. I think sometimes we are tempted to think Jesus is messing the script up. You’re not writing the script; Jesus is. ..He’s writing the script, upholding us, and taking our lives to their God-appointed end. And here’s what we know about Jesus, He doesn’t mess up. Jesus Christ has never made a mistake upholding things, and he won’t make the first mistake in your life. You can be guaranteed of that. He will uphold you, and he will take you where he has you. Isn’t that relieving? So you can go through the dark night of your soul; you can through that suffering; you can go through that pain – it’s still painful; it still hurts; there’s still unkowns – but here’s what you can do, you can trust in the one who’s going to take you, and your family, and this church to their appointed end. He’s not going to mess it up.
(recap)
·         God is speaking to us. He’s speaking to us through Jesus
·         He’s upholding  the universe by the word of his power, and
·         What he wants us to hear is that Jesus is the sustainer and orchestrator of everything.
He’s holding us up, church. …if you feel like you’re falling. If you feel like your life is ripping apart at the seams, I have good news for you: Jesus will hold you together. He’ll hold you together. He doesn’t promise to take away all the suffering. He doesn’t promise to take away all the hurt. He doesn’t promise health, wealth, and prosperity. He promises to uphold you and take your life to its appointed end, and he won’t mess up.
You can trust in him. You can hope in him. He’s the greatest ever.
 

 
photo: evening walk on Creek Hill Road (no edit); Tue Oct 15