MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER
RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
(REVISED: 2016)
TEXT: 2 Corinthians 3:18; Ephesians 5:1-2; John 13:12-17
ILL. One Sunday as they drove home from church, a little girl turned to her mother & said, "Mommy, there’s something my Sunday School teacher said that I don’t understand." The mother said, "Oh? What is it?"
The little girl replied, "Well, he said that God is bigger than we are. He said God is so big that He could hold the world in His hands. Is that true?" The mother replied, "Yes, that’s true, honey."
"But Mommy, he also said that God comes to live inside of us when we accept Jesus as our Savior. Is that true, too?" Again, the mother assured the little girl that what the teacher said was true.
With a puzzled look on her face the little girl asked, "If God is bigger than us & He lives in us, wouldn’t He show through?"
That’s the point isn’t it? If we are Christians, when people see us, Jesus ought to show through - in our homes, our offices, our community, & in every aspect of our lives.
Listen to these words by the apostle Paul found in 2 Corinthians 3:18: "And we, who…reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into His likeness…“
Now I want to call your attention to 2 ideas mentioned in that verse.
#1, we who are Christians are supposed to reflect Jesus. In other words, when people see us they should be able to see Jesus in us - in what we say & in what we do.
#2, with each passing day we ought to be more & more transformed to be like Him. And again, that is to be evident in what we do & in what we say.
So, let me ask you: "How would things be different if Jesus came & took your place? Would anything have been different this morning as you got ready to come to church? What if He took over your job at work? Teenager, what if He sat in your desk at school? Or what if He took my place in the pulpit?
Whether we realize it or not, that is exactly what He wants - to make Himself known to others through our lives.
PROP. You see, as Christians, our goal should be to introduce Jesus to others - to make Jesus known. We should want everyone who doesn’t know Him now to come to love Him, to discover the hope, joy, & power He can bring into their lives.
In short, it is God's desire that we are to look like Jesus.
I. WE ARE TO LOOK LIKE JESUS
A. Now if that is ever going to happen, people must be able to see Jesus. But the eyes of so many people today have been clouded & polluted by the trappings of this world & the moral decay that surrounds us. So how are they ever going to see Jesus?
Well, if they're going to see Jesus, they'll have to see Jesus in us. That's why Paul challenges us to reflect Jesus in our lives by being transformed into His likeness. We must look like Jesus.
But what does it mean to look like Jesus? Well, I’m sure you realize that I'm not talking about growing beards or wearing a certain kind of clothing. Instead, it means to be like Him, to imitate the character & attitudes of Jesus.
In fact, in Ephesians 5:1-2 that is exactly what the apostle Paul urged the early Christians to do: “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children & live a life of love, just as Christ loved us & gave Himself up for us …"
Be imitators of Jesus? What a bold challenge to undertake!
B. By the way, when people looked at Jesus what did they see? Well, they saw a Jesus who was generous with His time, His love, & His power. They saw one who was genuine in His care & compassion, & in His commitment to doing the will of God.
But let's pause for a moment & consider: What do people see when they look at us? Do they see us being generous in the same ways that Jesus was? Do they see us being genuine about our faith & our commitments?
People also looked at Jesus & saw Him to be incredibly receptive. He would welcome anyone who approached Him: the intelligent & the illiterate, the child-like & the childish, the prosperous & the impoverished, the dedicated & the desperate, the seeker & the sick.
He had such an open door to His heart that He is called a "friend of sinners." What better friend could anyone ever find than Jesus? And what kind of friend do sinners find in us?
SUM. Again, do we look like Jesus? Do our lives, our hearts, our nature reflect Him? Are we imitating Him? We must make Jesus known by looking like Him.
II. WE ARE TO SOUND LIKE JESUS
Secondly, if our goal is to introduce people to Jesus, then we must begin to sound like Jesus. When people heard Jesus speak & teach they were amazed.
Look at this passage from the gospel of Luke 4:36-37, just following a scene where Jesus had driven a demon out of a man in the synagogue:
“All the people were amazed & said to each other, ‘What is this teaching? With authority & power He gives orders to evil spirits & they come out!’ And the news about Him spread throughout the surrounding area."
People were talking. A modern translation, "The Message", phrases it this way: “Jesus was the talk of the town."
Anytime Jesus walked into the synagogue, or the market, or into someone’s home… people talked. His comments, His teachings, His rebukes, His words of love had people talking.
Oh, there were people who didn’t like to hear Jesus – but their allegiance belonged to the rulers who were desperately trying to maintain their control over the people. And there are people today who don’t want others listening to Jesus because when they do, questions are raised, & hearts & lives are changed.
In 1 Peter 2:23 the apostle Peter tells us, “When they hurled insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats.”
So our task is to help make Jesus known by sounding like Him. In 1 Corin-thians 4:12-13 the apostle Paul says, “When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we answer kindly.”
Our vocabulary, our conversations, our prayers, our stories - must all echo His love, compassion & care. Our message must be a testimony of hope & change that encourages those who know us to want to know Jesus, too.
ILL. Did you know that there has been a lot of research seeking to determine just how much patients in the operating room, who are fully sedated, are aware of what is being said around them?
In times past many doctors assumed that such patients are completely oblivious to everything around them - but no longer.
Two research groups have reported that the minds of fully sedated patients can still be aware of what is being said around them. One of the researchers reported, "What the unconscious patient's mind hears - say a remark like, ’He’s a goner’ - can have a very adverse effect on his chance for recovery."
In one study, anesthetized patients heard a taped message during surgery say that after the surgery, when they're being questioned by the doctor, they should signify having heard the message by tugging on their ears.
Later, when they were interviewed, the patients tugged on their ears, although none of them seemed to know why they were doing so.
Dr. Bennett, a psychologist at the Univ. of CA Medical School, reports that when anesthetized patients were given the suggestion during surgery that one hand was becoming warmer & the other cooler, the hands’ temperature actually did so.
APPL. And like an anesthetized patient, people in this world who have not given their lives over to God are walking around with their God-created instincts, reflexes & morals impaired by the ‘spiritual drugs’ of our day.
But God has planted among such people voices to proclaim messages of spiritual recovery & healing. Who are these voices? We are.
And they will only hear His words if we somehow begin to sound like Jesus. If they're ever going to hear the love story of Jesus, they must hear it from us.
III. WE ARE TO ACT LIKE JESUS
Last of all, if we're ever going to introduce people to Him, then we must also act like Jesus. In John 13, we see our Lord wrapping Himself in a towel, washing the feet of His disciples, demonstrating the heart & actions of a servant. Listen to what Jesus says in vs’s 12-17 as phrased in "The Message":
“After He had finished washing their feet, He took his robe, put it back on, & went back to His place at the table. Then He said, ‘Do you understand what I have done to you?
'You address me as ’Teacher’ & ’Master,’ & rightly so. That is what I am. So if I, the Master & Teacher, washed your feet, you must now wash each other’s feet.
'I’ve laid down a pattern for you. What I’ve done, you do.'
'I’m only pointing out the obvious. A servant is not ranked above his master; an employee doesn’t give orders to the employer. If you understand what I’m telling you, act like it - & live a blessed life.’”
"If you understand what I’m telling you," Jesus says, "then act like it."
We're called to act as He did - to give people God’s promises, teach them about God’s kingdom, serve people’s needs, love people with our hearts & hands, just as Jesus did.
We are to bring people into God’s presence - to help them find healing & salvation in Him by pointing them to Jesus & His sacrifice on the cross.
ILL. Some years ago I heard a story about a young boy living in Paris at the end of World War 2. He was an orphan because of the atrocities committed by the German forces. Now all alone, he had to scrounge around the city as best he could to find food, clothes & shelter.
But nearly everyone was experiencing desperate times, & most people either ignored him or had nothing to give to him.
Years before, he had heard someone talk about God & Jesus. But with the hell on earth that the war had brought into his life, he had long since lost what little faith he once had.
One cold morning, he was wandering down the street, staring into the windows of shops & cafés. He stopped outside the window of a small bakery. The smell of the fresh bread made his stomach ache with pain.
He was so absorbed by the smell & sights of the bakery that he didn’t realize an American soldier had come up & was watching him.
The boy hardly noticed it when the G.I. walked past him into the store. He did, however, notice the large bag the baker was filling for the G.I. with rolls, breads, & pastries. And the boy could hardly breathe when the soldier exited the shop, knelt down & handed him the bag.
He looked at the G.I. with astonishment & gratefulness. Finally, he asked the question that was running through his mind: “Mister, are you Jesus?”
To be mistaken for Jesus, what an audacious idea - to have our actions remind others of what Jesus is about, & what Jesus would do.
But shouldn’t that be our goal?
INVITATION:
