Good morning and happy Saturday. I hope that you can join us tomorrow as we begin a brand-new series talking about evangelism. Yes, I know that you have likely heard messages on evangelism before. However, I am willing to go out on a limb and say that we all need a reminder and/or additional teaching in this area.
Speaking of reminders, through the years, I have heard of people that would actually tape pictures on their mirrors or refrigerators of people that were physically fit or had other attributes they wished they could obtain. Supposedly, this was to give them motivation to not overeat and to keep up with their exercise regimen. In other situations, people would do the same with pictures of expensive cars, houses, or places they wanted to go on vacation. This visual images were to give them a reminder as to what they hoped to attain. Perhaps, that final bit of stimulus to keep striving for the goals they had set.
In our Christian walk, we should have a goal as well. In this case, our aim should be to grow in the image of Christ, to become more like Jesus in all areas of our lives. Therefore, we should continually be looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter (or completer) of our faith. He should be on our minds daily, even moment by moment, as we seek to “run this race with endurance.” Does that mean we should tape a picture of Jesus to our mirrors? Well, yes and no. I know it is a shock to some, but we really don’t have an actual picture of Jesus. The most famous one of him, revealing his light brown hair with blonde highlights, and his blue eyes, might not actually be from His high school year book. But, if that helps you start focused, go for it. However, we do have a real picture of Jesus. It is called the Bible. In it, we learn what Jesus was and is like. We begin to understand Who He truly is and how we should live in response to that. Obviously, that is why it is so important to be in His Word on a daily basis.
If you think about it, the cross really serves as a reminder to us of what Jesus has done for us. Yes, it reminds us of the incredible sacrifice that Jesus made for us. But it is also a reminder of our sin. When you see the cross, it should serve as motivation to not do the things that you once did. It should compel you to want to grow in your faith, to become more like Jesus.
One of my favorite stories in the Bible comes from Numbers 21. It is there that the people rebelled against God. Which, by the way, was a very frequent event. In this particular instance, God punished the people by sending poisonous snakes (fiery serpents) into their midst to bit them and generally cause them widespread panic. It appears that the suffering was rathe painful and then the people died. Once they came to grips with he fact that this was due to their sins, they went to Moses to confess their sins and asked him to pray for relief. God answered that prayer. As part of it, Moses had to take a pole and put a bronze snake on it to remind the people of their sin.
4 They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; 5 they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”
6 Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
8 The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.
In John 3:14-15 , Jesus refers to that incident in the wilderness. He declares that: 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
Of course, we know that Jesus was lifted up on the cross in order to die for our sins. The cross now stands as a reminder to us of what Jesus did for us and the gravity of our sins. Allow that to motivate you to live your life fully devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ.
The world behind me, the cross before me. No turning back, no turning back.
From our neighborhoods to the nations,
Larry
0 Comments