Who do you see, in the mirror?
Ill. After being away on business, a man thought it would be nice to bring his wife a little gift. “How about some perfume?” he asked the cosmetics clerk.
She showed him a bottle costing $50.00. “That’s a bit much,” he said, so she returned with a smaller bottle for $30.00. “That’s still quite a bit,” he complained. Growing annoyed, the clerk brought out a tiny $15.00 bottle. “You know,” he said, “What I mean is that I’d like to see something really cheap.” The clerk handed him a mirror.
But on a more serious note this morning, when we look in the mirror, who do we see?
Do we see more of Jesus, or more of us?
2 Corinthians 3:18 NKJ
18. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
Ill. THE OLD MAN WITH THE RAGS
A beggar lived near the king’s palace. One day he saw a proclamation posted outside the palace gate. The king was giving a great dinner. Anyone dressed in royal garments are welcome.
The beggar went on his way. He looked at the rags he was wearing and sighed. Slowly an idea crept into his mind. He made his way back to the palace. He approached the guard at the gate. "Please sir, I would like to speak to the king."
"Wait here," the guard replied.
In a few minutes, he was brought before the king. "What do you want?" the king asked.
"Yes, your majesty. I want so much to attend the banquet, but I have no royal robes to wear. Please sir, if I may be so bold, may I have one of your old garments so that I, too, may come to the banquet?"
The beggar was trembling in fear of what the king might do.
"You have been wise in coming to me," the king said. He called to his son, the young prince. "Take this man to your room and array him in some of your clothes."
The prince did as he was told and soon the beggar was standing before a mirror, clothed in garments that he have never dared hope for.
"You are now eligible to attend the king’s banquet tomorrow night," said the prince. "But even more important, you will never need any other clothes. These garments will last forever."
The beggar dropped to his knees. "Oh, thank you," he cried. But as he started to leave, he looked back at his pile of dirty rags on the floor. He hesitated. What if the prince was wrong? What if he would need his old clothes again? Quickly he gathered them up.
The banquet was far greater than he had ever imagined, but he could not enjoy himself, as he should. He had made a small bundle of his old rags, but they kept falling off his lap. The food was passed quickly and the beggar missed some of the greatest delicacies.
Time proved that the prince was right. No one came to ask for the royal clothes. Still the poor beggar was doubtful, clinging on to his old rags. As time passed people seemed to forget the royal robes he was wearing. They saw only the little bundle of filthy rags that he clung to wherever he went. They even spoke of him as the old man with the rags.
Many weeks later as he lay dying, the king visited him. The beggar saw the sad look on the king’s face when he looked at the small bundle of rags by the bed. Suddenly the beggar remembered the prince’s words and he realized that his bundle of rags had cost him a lifetime of joy.
When we look in the mirror, God doesn’t want us to see what we see with our natural eyes.
Because what we see in the natural, is the drama of life, the strife around the world, the day to day going on’s around us.
You see, in the natural you may be sick, weak, broke and depressed,
yet God wants you to see yourself the way He sees you — healed, strong, blessed and whole because Christ is in you.
Colossians 1:27 NKJ
27. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
28. Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.
When you look at yourself, because of the relationship that you have with His Son.
God wants you to behold as in a mirror the glory of His Son who is in you by His Spirit.
As you do this, His Word says that you are being transformed from glory to glory — from poor to rich, sick to healed, from losing to winning!
The world, I mean the accuser, may say to you, “It can’t be that easy.
You can’t be transformed just by beholding the glory of Jesus.
Well, if it was that easy, everyone would be doing it, if it was that easy, there wouldn’t be all the problems in the world there is today!
And you know what? They’d be right! Because nothing is impossible, when you put your faith and trust in God!
Instead, they’re thinking is not so fast, now wait just a minute here,
that’s not the way its been done for the last six thousand years around here,
If your going to change things, "you" must do something about you.
If you don’t put in effort, nothing will happen. If you don’t start making changes, nothing will change.”
And when you, and that being the key word here, you make it all about self effort, the way the world thinks of it.
The world will never understand that as you are beholding the glory of the Lord, He is the successful one in you,
And you are being transformed from a failure to a success, in the process.
It's not going to get accomplished by any effort of yours to get ahead in life, but by the Spirit of the Lord!
TBS. in Zechariah 4:6 NKJ
6. So he answered and said to me:
“This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel:
‘Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit,’
Says the Lord of hosts.
7. ‘Who are you, O great mountain?
Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain!
And he shall bring forth the capstone
With shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’”
Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit,’
Says the Lord of hosts.
By your might, by your power, how much is possible?
But by His Might, By His Power, By His Spirit, is there anything that’s not possible?
Everything is possible through Him and the possibilities are unlimited with the Lord in your life!
My bible says in Phil. 4:13 NKJ
13. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Through who? Through who? Through Jesus!
Not my ability, but His Amazing, Unlimited, Never Ending, 12 baskets left running over kind of Ability!!
MSG. says it like this; Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.
When God looks at us, if we have a relationship with His Son, He sees His Son’s perfection,
He doesn’t see our imperfections, they were washed in the blood, cleansed forever, never to be remembered again.
Thus, when we look in the mirror, we should see the same thing God sees,
His Son, His Righteousness, living in us!
And because of that, He has given to us, every benefit that Jesus has available to Him, just as if He was giving them to His own son!
Praise God!
All the benefits that have been provided for us at the cross, the moment we received what Jesus did for us by dying for our sins and accepting Him as our Saviour, became ours!
Praise God, is there anybody who can give God a shout up in this place, this morning?
1 John 4:12-17 NKJ
12. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.
13. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.
14. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.
15. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
16. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
17. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.
as He is, so are we in this world,
that’s a bold statement, Do you believe it?
You should, it’s the word of God!
Its pretty straight forward isn’t it?
There is precision and clarity written there,
as He is, so are we in this world, (not as He is and if we do everything we know to do, or can ask advice from others to do, in this world)
With shouts of “Grace” we should be proclaiming these words, in and over our lives daily, because I can tell you,
this will change your life and allow Him to work in your life, like never before, when you make this amazing realization!
Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts!
As you behold the glory of the Lord who is the healthy one in your sick body, you are transformed from sickness to health.
And this is not accomplished by any effort of yours to overcome anything, but by the Spirit of the Lord!
I ask you, what can be easier than beholding the beauty of the Son and what He has done for us and made available to us?
So stop focusing on yourself and your efforts.
Look away from these things and begin to behold the glory of Jesus who is in you right now, and you will begin to behold the miracles that you need!
The late Michael Jackson sang a song that got the whole worlds attention and it went like this,
I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you want to make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself, and then make a change
It true, it all starts with the man in the mirror,
But quickly becomes about Jesus, who lives in the heart of the man, or women in the mirror.
It shifts the focus of right doing and self effort,
To right believing and complete dependence on His efforts, on His endless capabilities
God wants us to rest assured in this life that He has given us!
There is nothing that’s been left out, He thought of everything we would ever have need of and included it with His Love, He gave on Calvary.
Every promise He ever made to us, has been guaranteed by it!
The same Love that He has for His own son!
He not only Loved us enough to send His Son to us to redeem us,
but Loved us enough to give us access to everything Jesus has as well, when we established a relationship with Him!
All made possible by the finished work of Calvary.
Do you know Him today?
Are you living in His Extravagant Love Today?
Are you resting in His reflection in the mirror today, instead of your own?
Start to see, what God sees, believe that He wants His very best for you in your life
And get ready and expect it to happen as you do!
Amen?
