A 50-Day Spiritual Adventure:
“Celebrating Jesus: Discovering What Makes Him So Attractive
To So Many People”
TEXT: Various Texts
Sunday, February 10, 2002
Does anyone remember who the leader of the United States was in 1899? It was McKinley, an extremely well-loved president. Unfortunately, he was assassinated and few people remember him. Does anyone not remember John F. Kennedy, who was also a well-loved president who died in an assassination. Most people have forgotten William McKinley. I wonder if 100 years after Kennedy’s death, around 2063, whether people will remember him.
Think of another leader. He was not the president of a nation but just a pastor of a small church in the Middle East somewhere. He died long before McKinley and Kennedy, 2,000 years ago, and yet we haven’t forgotten his name. Why? What is there in Jesus that makes Him so unforgettable? What makes Him so extremely attractive to people, not only in His own day but throughout history and even today.
The church is growing in the United States, not necessarily the mainline church and definitely in the Presbyterian church, sadly. But in general, the church in America is growing very well. It is exploding on the international scene in various pockets in Argentina, different nations in African, China and Russia. There is a lot of good news today. The church is growing and people are being drawn to this Jesus, but why? What is there that makes him so magnetic to so many people?
We are going to examine this question throughout the next several weeks.
I won’t have you read all the scripture passages this morning. Even in his own day, Jesus drew people. Think through Luke 2: 8-14, the story of the shepherds and the angels. What is it about Jesus that drew this celestial attention? What would cause a group of shepherds, rough, largely irreligious men, to become transformed into a group of praising, worshiping men who would go and tell others about this Jesus?
In John 12, we read that Jesus enters Jerusalem and the places goes nuts! Even better than Eagles fans in a stadium. They go crazy over this guy, throwing down their clothes and palm branches, erupting in praise and adoration. What would cause such a thing, especially over a religious figure.
In Acts 2 we see that Peter preaches a simple sermon about this same Jesus, and 3,000 people knock on the door of the church. They can’t wait to get in. In chapter 4 you have the continual growth of the church and people are changed, so much so that they give up large possessions. What would cause people to give up the pursuit of wealth? What would cause people to give up the “ism” of me? What is there about this Jesus that causes such change in people?
The text I would like to read is from the last chapter of Acts, chapter 28: 23-30. Here’s what it has to say:
TEXT
The sect of Christianity is growing so rapidly and has caused the Jewish leaders to become very concerned that the whole Jewish world would come to Christ. The church is growing and is changing things. People are talking against it because it is so popular. I find this very true in every church that grows. There is always someone who talks against it because things change. It is the nature of growth. People want to hear about Jesus. This scripture ends with Paul turning towards the Gentiles and ends with this statement: “For two whole years, Paul stayed in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to him. Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Paul is teaching Greeks. These Greek people had every religion in the world that you could think of, every one that we have and more. In this age of pluralism, we say that people don’t need Jesus. What’s the difference as long as you believe in something. These people believed in everything. They had every physical pleasure possible that we have today and even more so. Yet, there is something about Jesus that caused these Greek people to discover that there was something missing in their lives, and they gave it all up for him. They gave their lives to him in masses, so much so that one hundred years from this recorded statement, religion became the law of the land.
What is there about this Jesus that touches even religious people’s lives so that they turn to him? What makes him so attractive? If you would like to discover that, I invite you to answer this fundamental question over the next seven weeks. Maybe you have not considered putting your faith in him. Come to church for the next seven weeks and consider doing so for the first time in your life. It may be that you have been a follower for a long time and there are times in your life when you don’t know why you follow him. You may ask questions such as, “If I was born in India, would I be a Buddhist or a Hindu?” Would I be convinced that this is God?” Or is there something fundamental about Jesus that convinces all of us about who he is. Do I follow him simply because it is part of my culture, or because he is very real and meets a very fundamental need in my life.
With this whole question comes another one, which would be my primary focus for my life personally. It is a natural application of looking at who Jesus is and what makes him so attractive. As a follower of his, what qualities in Jesus’ life that make him attractive are evident in my life? What am I doing right, and in what areas can I improve? Ever since I was 13 and became a Christian in the balcony of a church where God encountered me, it has been my hope and passion for people to know the same God who touched my life. I have always been shocked by how many people turn him down, and I became a minister as a result of that. I have only found profound benefit from knowing him.
There was a recent research study published several days ago by an international institute on religion. Of all the religions of the world, this study found that Christianity benefits people most. It listed all the benefits that Christianity produced in people’s lives in general. One that jumped out at me was social mobility, upward social mobility. This surprised me that, because of all religions, Christianity calls you to become selfless and sacrificial, to not focus upon the material but to delve into the spiritual aspect of life. Christianity is very non-materialistic and yet followers of this God find themselves prosperous. The reasoning in the report was that Christianity promotes those attitudes, behaviors and lifestyles that promote upward mobility.
In Philippians 4:19, it says, “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” There is tremendous benefit to knowing Christ in our lives and living according to his teaching. It is my desire for everyone to know that.
What gets in the way? I have been around long enough to know there are reasons why things get in the way. One of those reasons is that, although Jesus is very attractive to people, sometimes we as followers are not all that attractive. In fact, sometimes we repel people from the Christian faith. So, I need to ask what I’m doing that would repel someone from the God I serve? I hope you ask that question as well. As a church, what are we doing right, and what can we improve upon? How can we become as magnetic as Jesus was?
Ghandi had an interesting experience. He attended church and writes about his experience:
“At their suggestion, I attended church every Sunday. The church did not make a favorable impression on me. The sermon seemed to me to be uninspiring. The congregation did not strike me as being particularly religious. They were not an assembly of devout souls. They appeared to be rather worldly-minded, going to church in conformity to custom. At times I would involuntarily doze, and I was ashamed. But some of my neighbors who were in no better a state lightened the shame. I could not go on like this and soon gave up attending the services.”
Knowing the impact of Ghandi’s life, what would have happened had his church been a little more inspiring, a little more attractive, a little more demon-strative of the attractive qualities that people find in this Jesus. Perhaps Ghandi could have impacted the world for the gospel as well as for the sake of Indians in his own country.
How can we be more attractive as a church? What can we do to demonstrate the qualities that attract people to Jesus so that they can become evident in our lives as we attract people to him? Again, I invite you over the next seven weeks to answer this fundamental question: What is it about Jesus that attracts people, and what are some things that I can do in my life so that I can be as attractive for my Lord?
What will you need to do this? Basically and honestly, you don’t need anything. All you need is to be here. It would help to have a Bible but if you look in front of you, there are Bibles provided as well. You need an open heart. The parable of the sower teaches us that God will produce growth in our lives, but we need to have our hearts soft and open so that he can plant his word into our lives.
However, if you want to experience what I call accelerated spiritual growth, I encourage you to do one more thing. That is, to journal. There is a devotional journal called “Celebrate Jesus” downstairs. It provides a daily scripture passage with questions to think through and a simple prayer to pray which is already written out for you. It won’t take very much time. It is tied to all the themes of my sermons so that after I preach next week’s message, you will read passages on being spiritually connected and how you can put that into practice in your own life. If you do these things, it should take no more than 10-15 minutes. I have been doing this for ten years, and sometimes it takes only five minutes and I feel guilty because it doesn’t seem like a devotional. Somehow, longer time spent means you have done a devotion, but that’s not true.
Do you have to write in the journal? No, but allow those questions to help you to think about the passage. I find it helpful to journal, but you don’t have to journal. If you struggle with having a devotional time, what I like about this study is that it provides structure for you. It takes 28 days to establish a new habit, and if you struggle with having devotional time, use this journal and do the best you can. Through that structure, this should help develop the habit of devotional time in your life.
Will it do much for me? Well, there is a computer cliche–Junk in, junk out. Conversely, if you put something good in, good will come out. It all depends on what you are putting in. If you are putting in God’s word, it will produce good fruit in your life. There is a farming analogy–if you work the ground, it will grow. If you work the ground of your spiritual life, you will indeed grow.
There are also some actions in these journals which I think are more exciting than the scripture passages. Here’s why. God’s word is great, but head knowledge does no good in your life. As in the illustration of soap, soap can sit on my counter and I can know what it does, but if I never put it into practice, it will never make me clean. The same thing is true of scripture–you can read all you want, but it won’t make any impact in your life until you put it into practice.
There are five practices in these journals that challenge us. One is praying with a pencil. Once a week, as you are already praying the model prayer provided, allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you about what you just prayed, and then write down whatever comes to your mind. This is meant to help you become spiritually connected, putting what you read into action.
The next action step is lighting up our streets. This is a method of sharing our faith which is very nonthreatening. Once a week, walk through your neighbor-hood and pray for your neighbors. You aren’t going to pound on their door and give them a Bible, you aren’t even going to talk to them unless they walk by and ask what you’re doing. You can tell them that you are praying for the neighbor-hood, and you will be surprised at how many people will want you to pray for them. They may give you a list of things they could use prayer for.
The third practice is to celebrate people. The journal asks you to affirm somebody every day. This will help us to get out of the bad habit of criticizing people and get us into the positive habit of saying something positive about someone. For 40 days, this puts into our minds the thought that we need to affirm someone. Hopefully, over 40 days you will develop a lifetime habit of affirming someone. You should never criticize someone unless you affirm them nine times because it takes nine positive affirmations to overcome one negative criticism.
The fourth practice is dare to care. Once a week, do an act of kindness for an unchurched person, a neighbor, a relative or someone not closely tied to a church. This is not preaching to them, but it’s doing something nice for them.
The last practice is screening our message. One time in the whole seven weeks, use the language of our culture, typically movies, books or current literature, to share a spiritual message with someone. Again, this shouldn’t be forced but should come naturally. Look for an opportunity one time in seven weeks to do this.
Do I have do all five action steps? You do not. I would do cartwheels down this aisle if you did one of them. I might bungee jump if you do two. If you do all five, obviously I will be rolling on the floor. Again, do whatever you can do. One is better than none. If you don’t do anything, you won’t grow. The same is true of the devotionals. If you take them, I want you to use them. You might forget a week and feel really guilty and want to give up. Don’t give up, just start fresh and continue on. Again, ten times in the next 40 days is better than no times in 40 days. Nothing put into your system gets you nothing. Ten times gives you at least some spiritual growth.
One thing I like about this program is the level of participation. It meets you right where you are at. If the best you can do is come to church for seven weeks, then come to church for the next seven weeks. If you can take a journal and do it part of the time, that’s great. If you want to do the whole journal and the action steps, that’s great. You may want to go deeper and join a home group to get together and discuss the readings and the action steps.
If you do take a journal, you need to read the introductory pages 3-20. You need to do the warm-up days on Friday and Saturday. We will skip week six. I will deal with this after Easter. They mention a book to read, but we won’t read the book.
On the cover of the journal, there is a fireworks display. My family loves fireworks. We see them explode and go “Oooh” and “Ahhh.” What I hope for all of us is that we become fireworks for our Lord so that when we demonstrate the qualities of Jesus, people will go “Oooh” and “Ahh.”
Let’s pray
