To Live Is Christ Series

Christ is to be exalted in everything we face in life.

The King James Version says Christ is to be magnified. When something is magnified it is enlarged. A telescope will make an object look bigger and closer. As believers we are to be like a telescope that brings Jesus Christ closer to people. When people see you go through a crisis and they see you respond so well in it, they see Christ in a greater way. They will gain a greater understanding of who the Lord is and hopefully be drawn to Him for salvation.

Read passage then pray.

Christ is to be exalted/magnified in our:

1) Attitudes

2) Circumstances

3) Progressing Faith

I. Christ is to be exalted in our attitudes.

Interestingly enough, attitudes was our first point last week. An attitude is the way we think and feel towards things and people. Really, the way we think and feel towards life and God. Sometimes we can have a real good attitude, positive, upbeat while other times we struggle with negativity and criticalness.

Christ wants to be exalted/magnified in our attitudes.

A) 20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed

I want you to know that this week I found out something about myself, I am a Hope Preacher. We have heard of Faith Preachers but not Hope Preachers and I feel that the Lord has called me to be a Hope Preacher.

1) So let me ask you a question, what are you hoping for? What are you expecting to receive from the Lord? The Beggar in Acts 3 came to Peter and John expecting to receive from them. He had an attitude of expectancy.

Faith is the evidence of things hoped for.

2) Eagerly expecting and hoping means to stretch the neck out in anticipation in order to see something. The Lord wants us to stretch the neck out so we can see what He is up to and what He’s going to do next. Anticipation.

When we have this attitude Christ is magnified. Christ wants us to have an attitude of faith hope and love.

i) Often we keep our heads in our shell like a scared turtle, afraid to branch out, afraid to move out into new territory, afraid to do something different, afraid to say hello to someone in church, afraid to go up and pray for another, afraid to raise your hand at the end of the service because of WWPT ‘what will people think’, afraid to get saved.

ii) GOD IS UP TO SOMETHING AND HE WANTS HIS PEOPLE TO BE EAGERLY EXPECTING AND HOPING AND NOT ASHAMED OF CHRIST AND LONGING FOR HIS RETURN AND STRETCHING OUR NECKS OUT TO SEE WHAT HE’S UP TO AND TO GET INTO THE MIDDLE OF IT.

CHURCH, STRETCH YOUR NECK OUT BEYOND YOURSELF TO SEE WHAT THE LORD HAS FOR US AND WEHAT HE WANTS US TO DO AS A BODY.

Eg) THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE IN A BAD MARRIAGE STRETCH YOUR NECK OUT BEYOND IT AND ALLOW THE LORD TO RESTORE IT.

Eg) THOSE WHO ARE STUCK IN AN ADDICTION STRETCH YOUR NECK OUT BEYOND IT TO ALLOW THE LORD TO DELIVER YOU AND DRAW YOU CLOSER TO HIM.

STRETCH YOUR NECK OUT.

B) We want to have expectation and hope but we often struggle with disappointment and despair. We don’t want to get our hopes up because we have been hurt before and we don’t want to get hurt again. We avoid developing meaningful relationships because we have been hurt in the past. The false notion is that if I get close to someone I will eventually be hurt by that person.

1) We then build a wall around us to protect us from others. We keep people out at arms length, come to church and leave. We stay in our own little world but in the end we end up hurting ourselves.

Our theme is not TO LIVE IS CHRIST AND DIE IS GAIN but more so, I just want to get out of here alive.

2) Christ wants to be magnified in our lives no matter what we have gone through or currently are facing. Yet He’s not magnified in us when we are a distant, walled off people. He’s not magnified if we are whipped, depressed and discouraged all the time.

We need to begin to let our walls down, make ourselves somewhat vulnerable again, allow ourselves to dream and hope and have an attitude of expectancy and allow the Spirit to come in a greater way in our lives so we can say TO LIVE IS CHRIST AND DIE IS GAIN.

Christ is to be exalted/magnified in our:

II. Circumstances

22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me.