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.
‘If I am to go on living’ We get saved and keep on living. We’re not raptured immediately after salvation. That would be nice but that’s not the way it is. We keep on living.
A) We keep on living because the Lord has a work for us to do while we are here on earth. We often hear about destiny and purpose. Luke’s destiny was to save the universe from the dark side. Our destiny and purpose is not as grand, it usually involves the ordinary things and routine of life, but we do have destiny and purpose.
1) Your destiny may not be to be a missionary or a minister or to quit your job and preach the Gospel. If we all did that then how are we going to reach people for the Lord? Our destiny is ‘To live is Christ’ and to be a witness. The Holy Spirit baptizes us so we can be a witness.
2) Christ is magnified and seen by others when I am a living witness of His love and mercy. “Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy.” Show mercy to others. We need to quit throwing stones at the unsaved and love them with the love of Christ.
B) We go on living in the body and end up experiencing some tough times. The young person says “I can’t wait to get married!” The married person says, “Lord give me strength. I didn’t sign up for this.”
(Oh yes you did, for better or for worse.)
Eg) A lot of people hate their jobs. Life stinks. Living in the body stinks, ‘Come Quickly Lord Jesus, take me in my sleep, Calgon take me away!’ I didn’t sign up for this. (Yeah ya did.) Eg – Delp – I am a lonely soul. To whoever finds this note hopefully I have committed suicide.
Eg) Living in the body, raising children only to have them turn on you, die on you, kill you in your sleep, leave home and not keep in touch. Or your growing up years was full of abuse and sorrow and now your ‘living in the body’ is one of fighting off horrible memories and depressed feelings.
Yet, to live is Christ. Christ makes a difference. He gives strength to me as I worship Him. We may have gone through the ringer but when we allow Him into our lives we can say “I’m dwelling in the shelter of the Most High, I’m resting in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD,"He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."
We can say by His stripes I am healed.
2 Cor 4:8-10 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
When people know what you have been through and see where you’re at now and see that smile on your face they say, “What are you on and where can I get some of dat!” Christ is glorified when we go through tough times because we say “Thank God” to God be the glory great things we have done.
Christ is to be exalted/magnified in our:
III. Progressing Faith
Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith
A) Progress speaks of the growth of character in our lives. Last year if someone gave you back more change at the grocery store you may have kept it but this year you have grown more in the Lord and you give back the extra change.
B) Joy speaks of how we experience our lives. I am sure the Lord does not want us to be miserable wretches who hate life and can’t wait to die. He gives us joy unspeakable and full of glory. He wants our joy to be complete.
C) We are all to grow together.
