What Most Christians Don't Know

What Most Christians Don’t Know

When I read what many Christians post on social media, it’s clear to me that many truly don’t know who they are.

A person posted a video of a gentleman singing “Jesus will fix it” on Facebook – a song I love and sang in church many years ago. One of the lyrics goes something like this: “Trouble in my way, I’ve got to cry sometimes. I can’t sleep at night but that’s all right. I know that Jesus, He will fix it after a while.” I now know, from the Bible, that this is not true.

Jesus “fixes” people so that they can “fix” the problem themselves.

Do you remember the record in 2 Corinthians 12 about Paul’s “thorn in the flesh”? Satan had sent his top gun with an assignment – do whatever you need to do to stop Paul from teaching the Gospel. The “battle” was so fierce that Paul begs the Lord three times to do something to stop the demon. Look at how the Lord responds.

“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (verse 9).

The Lord tells Paul, “Everything you need to deal with this demonic attack is found in my grace. Just access my grace. It’s all the strength and power you need to defeat this attack.” Three times Paul pleads with the Lord to “fix” his problem. Did the Lord “fix” it? No. He tells Paul what is already available to him to “fix” it – His grace! Will God tell us something different today?

We’ve been taught to diminish who we are as God’s sons and daughters. We’ve been taught to believe that if things are going to change, God will have to change them for us. No, He won’t. He has given us the grace we need to change whatever needs to be changed in our lives.

The Church has not taught us this.

And this is why many Christians are not seeking change in their lives. “If God is going to fix it, then I don’t need to do anything. I’ll just continue doing what I do, living the way I live, and wait on God.” When you live this way, you are not living the life your Heavenly Father has designed for you. Did Jesus wait on God to fix things?

It’s interesting to me how we often refer to Jesus in terms that reflect him as a “fixer”.

When we’re sick, we pray to Jesus because He’s our healer (fixer). When we’re running short of money, we pray to Jesus because He’s our provider (fixer). When we’re in situations that we can’t figure out we pray to Jesus because He’s our deliverer (fixer). You see my point.

Yes, Jesus is the “fixer” but what exactly did He fix? He fixed our brokenness and separation from God. Now we are God’s family. We are the ones for whom our He “spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all,” and because of this, “how shall he not freely give us all things (that we need in this life to live for Him)”? (Romans 8:32)

When we come to the place of understanding – and believing – that our lives should be mirror images of Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:18) we will begin to walk in this world the same way Jesus walked and do the same things Jesus did (John 14:12).

“For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, (now read this carefully), even our faith” (1 John 5:4).

We need to know who we are.

And we’ll begin in Acts 19 – one of my favorite records. Paul travels to Ephesus and meets 12 disciples who have not heard about the baptism of the Holy Ghost (verse 2). They only knew John’s baptism of repentance (verse 4). Paul baptizes them in the name of Jesus, lays hands on them and they receive the Holy Ghost and speak in tongues (verses 5 and 6).

He stays in Asia Minor for nearly two and a half years and everyone “heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks” (verse 10). Paul’s teaching and preaching are so powerful that the faith of the people grows so much that God is able to do special miracles through Paul:

“So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them” (verse 12).

I want you to see something. Paul, every day for two years and three months, taught the people the Word of God. The Bible says faith comes when we hear the Word of God again, again, and again (Romans 10:17). Because Paul faithfully taught the Word, the faith of the people grew so much that it gave God the avenue He needed to release miracles in their midst!