Mark 7:24 And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid.
Is Jesus Hidden in Your Life?
1. In Your Devotions (Personal Life)
2. In Your Daily Living (Public Life)
3. In Your Dedication (Plans in Life)
These three points are in descending order in relation to our walk with Jesus. If you think about it the first thing to always go at those times when Jesus becomes hidden in our life is our Prayer and Devotion life with our daily living and our future plans not far behind. As I preach this message my goal is twofold:
1. To challenge you to take an honest look at your walk with Jesus and determine where you’re at. In what aspect of your life is He hidden or in danger of being hid?
2. To let you know that God is a God of second, third, and fourth chances. It’s never too late to make a change with God. It’s never to late to put Jesus back into His place of prominence at the center of your heart.
James 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.
1. In Your Devotions
Neglect of private prayer is the locust that devours the strength of the church. –Spurgeon
Is Jesus hidden in your personal life. Is Jesus hidden in your prayer and devotional life? Prayer and bible reading are the foundations of a mature Christian walk. It is of first and foremost importance in the life of a believer. So important is daily communion with God that it was given a verse of it’s own when Jesus talked about it in the Lord’s Prayer:
Mt 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.
I’ve preached on this passage of scripture before, but I think it is worth repeating. The Bible says Give us this day our daily bread. Jesus isn’t talking about Easter and Christmas bread. He’s not talking about monthly bread. He’s not even talking about weekly bread. He’s talking about DAILY bread. There are so many Christians out there who, if we could see their spiritual appearance, would look like Ally McBeal. They’re starved. They’re spiritually skin and bones.
Ps 86:3 Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily.
Ps. 61 Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. 2 From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. 3 For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. 4 I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah. 5 For thou, O God, hast heard my vows: thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name. 6 Thou wilt prolong the king’s life: and his years as many generations. 7 He shall abide before God for ever: O prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him. 8 So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever, that I may daily perform my vows.
This Psalm gives us a taste of effectual and fervent prayer. Verse 2 says From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. I love that verse. In those times when our heart is overwhelmed, that is also usually the time when we stop crying out to God, right? But look at what David says: From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. He’s saying when I feel overwhelmed I cry out all the more because I know that God is that rock that is higher than i am.
Jesus wants you to cry out to Him during the hard times. He wants you to lean upon Him, as He is the Rock that is higher than us. But all to often He becomes hidden by our grief and anguish.
And so, just as physical anorexia sets in motion a process in which the internal organs begin to eat away at each other so "Spiritual Anorexia" sets in motion a process that begins to eat away at other areas of our walk.
2. In Your Daily Living
The most important thought I ever had was that of my individual responsibility toward God.
-Webster
Christians who have Jesus hidden in their personal life begin to find Jesus hidden in their public life as well.
Take the case of Adam and Eve:
Ge 3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
They had eaten of the fruit. They had disobeyed God. Their personal disobedience manifested itself outwardly in the coverings they made for themselves. And their hiding themselves from God. They felt dirty. They were ashamed and so they did all they could to cover their sin.
Kind of like us. We begin to slack in our devotions. Then Satan begins to feed us with the half truth that we’re not worthy of God. It’s half true because on our own we aren’t worthy of God, but through our faith and saving knowledge of Jesus Christ we take on His righteousness.
1Pe 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
But we begin to believe the lies because we are no longer walking in the Spirit.
Ga 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
It’s as if we’ve unplugged our connection to God. Of course we’re going to fulfill the lusts of the flesh.
You might feel unplugged right now. You might feel like you don’t deserve a second chance. To be completely honest, you’re right. But if you simply ask Him for it you’re gonna get it.
1Jo 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Don’t hide, don’t try to cover yourself in front of God. Our righteousness is like filthy rags in the eyes of God. Confess your sin and put Jesus back in His rightful place in your life.
When Christ is hidden in your personal life, your public life, finally He begins to be hidden in your plans in life.
Or
3. In Your Dedication
The mark of a saint is not perfection, but consecration. A saint is not a man without faults, but a man who has given himself without reserve to God. –Spurgeon
I want you to right now think about the plans that you have for your life. What sort of plans do you have for your family life? What sort of plans do you have for your career life? What sort of plans do you have for your Christian life? Now ask yourself, do they fit in with God’s plans for your life?
The answer to this question can be found in a truthful analysis of the other two points of this message. If your prayer life and your daily walk are in agreement with God’s Word than you probably are headed in the right direction in your plans and goals for the future. If, however, you are not talking to and walking with God, your future plans for your life probably do not coincide with God’s.
Each and every one of us as Christians had our say in what we do with our lives nailed to the cross at Calvary along with our sin debt. Because now we are new creatures, bought with a price. We are to give ourselves, ALL OF OURSELVES, as living sacrifices.
The good news is that God has a plan just for you. God has a purpose just for you. Whether or not you fulfill that purpose rests upon your shoulders. You can run away like Jonah, you can hide like Adam and Eve, or you can fall to your knees like Saul and say, “What wilt thou have me to do?” What will you do?
Let’s take a look at Samson:
Judges 13:5 For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.
This was God’s plan for Samson.
Now let’s take a look at what Samson did:
Judges 14:2 And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife. 3 Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.
Judges 14:20 But Samson’s wife was given to his companion, whom he had used as his friend.
Judges 16:1 Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in unto her.
Judges 16:21 But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.
Judges 16:30 And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.
Samson still accomplished God’s will for his life, but what an awful price to have to pay. His life, his dignity, his testimony. I bet that if you asked Samson at his wedding with Delilah what his future plans would be, I don’t think that being a great Jewish hero for the glory of God would have been one of them. But it’s kind of funny how having your eyes poked out will make you see things in a completely different manner. If you think about it, after his eyes were poked out, Samson really began to see things God’s way.
The good news for all of us is that, just like Samson, no matter how bound up and blinded you are by sin, God still loves you. God still hears you. And God can still use you. Just like that thief on the cross, no matter what your present situation is, it’s never too late. All you have to do is cry out to Him. Right here, right now, right away.
