Sunday 17 January 2016

Qualities to Draw People to Jesus



Qualities to Draw People to Jesus

Scripture: Isaiah 45 v 24:
"Surely, shall one say, In the Lord have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed."

Isaiah 66 v 2: "For all these things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word."

Christians have Jesus within them to build up their characters using Him as the prototype. He made us in His image and now wants us to reflect His glory. When we are in the Lord we immediately have His righteousness within us.

We are cleansed of sin and can enter into the presence of God because being in Jesus gives us the same right He has to be in the throne room of God.  Changing into His likeness character-wise is a lifelong process, with the promise that when we pass away, we will be like Him.

Jesus has righteousness and strength to overcome all evil as an example for us to follow. Sadly, this strength has been substituted in many ministries for psychology and teaching on how to build up your self image. Jesus does not want our self created image, He wants His image to be seen in us.

When you understand that He wants us to destroy all selfisms so that He can be seen in us, you have won a big battle. We sing "Shine Jesus Shine fill our hearts with the Father's glory" and then go to our psychology class to learn to outshine everyone. Confusion reigns and our God is not the author of confusion.

When we are in the correct balance of righteousness and strength, people will be drawn to us because Jesus will be shining through us, as He is the magnet for lost souls. He says if you lift Me up and exalt Me above yourself, I will draw all men to Myself. Jesus within you totally desires the lost to come to you to hear about His salvation and truth. 

He is looking for those who are poor of spirit, which is old English for humility. He is looking for those who are contrite, meaning sensitive to the Holy Spirit and willing to quickly repent without an argument. Plus those who tremble at His Word. When you read the Bible, which too few do, you must realise that God is talking straight to you and there are things you need to change in your life to comply with His will for you. It makes you tremble.

These qualities are in exact opposition to a lifetime of building self-esteem, popularity and becoming a ruthless over-achiever. That's why you tremble when God points a finger at some cherished worldly acclaim and demolishes its value leaving you to reassess your priorities.

I got into it with God when I decided I wanted a daughter to go with my two adorable sons. I prayed, begged, pleaded, cried to no avail. One day I heard the audible voice of God: "My Daughter I have a ministry prepared for you. I can give you a daughter but it will mean sacrificing the work I have for you to do. You have 3 days to choose which it will be."

After a wretched 3 days I chose to lay that baby on God's altar and give my trembling all to Him. That was 33 years ago and I never regretted for a moment the choice I made. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. I have walked in the high places and been privy to God's secrets. I understand why devoting time and energy to a new baby would have been impossible while being in the ministry. God is love, wisdom and strength.

When you lay something on God's altar, He alters you. He honours the sacrifice you have made. He gave me Karen Ann on 16th January 1984. She became my baby. An irreversibly comatose woman in a New Jersey hospital 12000 miles away and we could communicate with her as freely as I talk to my family. The whole story is in two parts on my blog - enter into Search "The Miracle of Karen Ann". God is faithful.

The other side of the coin is that there will be those who reject and become angry with one who lives righteously in the Lord. The Lord says they will be ashamed of their negative attitude especially when they receive the same treatment from Him. The Golden Rule applies - Do as you would be done by. Or whatever you sow you shall surely reap.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I pray that all Your children will learn and allow the character of Jesus to shine through them.    May they draw all men, women and children to the Kingdom of God through love, joy, peace, righteousness, strength, humility and submission to Your will. In Jesus' name. Amen.