Jesus Series

“JESUS” Phil. 2:1-11

INTRO – When I say the name, “Jesus,” what comes to your mind? Here in this environment w/ the people around us, the response is one of adoration, worship, love, humility, & praise. In fact, let stand & sing to Him a little right now (“Holy & Anointed One” & “Shout to the Lord).

Don’t you love to do that? Don’t you love to worship Him? Don’t you love to just get lost in the wonder of who He is, what He has done, & the hope of His soon-coming return? Doesn’t it make your heart beat to consider His love for you & His faithful intercession for you right now at the right hand of the throne of God?

But it is not at all like that in the world in which we live. Mention the name “Jesus” in the world, & you find yourself immediately on the outside. You will find yourself ostracized, criticized, & scrutinized. You immediately become narrow-minded and brainwashed in the world’s estimation.

The name of Jesus – There has never been any name that has created as much impassioned response from both those who know & love Him and those who do not know Him, & therefore, have a deep hatred for Him & for those who follow Him. The world’s views on Jesus and feelings about Him are absolutely incredible & ought to cause our hearts to hurt for the lostness of millions and millions of people right here in our own country, not to mention the billions who are lost around the world. On the one hand, there are millions who sing to Him & worship Him with passion & purpose. There are the martyrs who have given their lives b/c they would not renounce His name. There are the missionaries who go to the farthest corners of the world to take His name to places & peoples who have never even heard the name.

On the other hand, say the name of “Jesus” & the world will respond in these ways:

RAGE – Say the name of “Jesus” & many in the world will respond in rage. There are tons of websites that are full of hate & rage against Jesus. Some call Him Hitler; some accuse Him of all sorts of terrible things; some simply spew forth words of hatred & anger. Some religions kill those who leave their religion to follow Jesus as Lord. Hundreds of thousands of people are martyred every year b/c they name the name of Jesus as their Savior & Lord. Millions of people rage against the name of Jesus with a burning intensity & passion. Jesus Himself told us in Matt. 10:22 – “All men will hate you b/c of me…”

RIDICULE – Say the name of “Jesus” & many in the world respond in ridicule. The satanic ridicule of our Savior in the world today is nauseating. There is a man in NYC who has developed a “dress up Jesus” – a refrigerator magnet of Jesus hanging on the cross dressed in briefs – take different costumes & dress Him up like a ballerina, a dogcatcher, a clown, or even the devil himself! The depravity of the human mind & heart is so deep! Some of the things that I saw & read this week in my research turned my stomach. Sometimes I found myself infuriated at the hellish things that are being said about my Savior; other times I found myself brokenhearted as I considered the depth of the lostness of our world; other times, I felt almost overwhelmed w/ a sense of the magnitude of our task as Christ-followers to take the Gospel of Jesus to a world that hates Him so much.

RELEGATION – word means “to assign to an obscure place, position, or condition.” Say the name of Jesus & many in the world respond in relegation. They want to assign Him to an obscure place or position, saying that He was just a good man, or a good teacher, or even a prophet, but not the one & only Savior of the world. A Unitarian website said that Jesus was a “great religious poet”& that we should not “expect or assume that He had all the answers to everything.” Even some who would call themselves Christians go as far as to say that Jesus was the greatest of all prophets, but not the Son of God, & not a part of the Trinity.

REFUSAL – Say the name of “Jesus” in the world, & many will respond in refusal – the refusal to hear anything about Him; the refusal to consider His love for them, His sacrifice for them, His desire to save them. Many will refuse to consider anything about Him, His life, His love, His ministry, His teaching, His deity. While this breaks our hearts, it is something that we ought to expect as the Scriptures teach us that many people will not want to hear the truth of the Gospel, but will “gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear” (2 Tim. 4:3).