What Will You Do With Jesus Who is Called Christ?
"Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified." -Matt 27:22 (KJV)
Friends we live in a very dysfunctional world filled with distractions, deception, chaos and evil. People are focused on things other than the seeking the face of Almighty God. Can I say that for most people, Christ is not a reality in their lives. Yes, they may know about Him but they don't know Him personally. For to know Him personally requires great faith which comes by understanding, wisdom and a rock solid knowledge of the Bible; for this is where God is found and where He is known. If the people of Jesus day would have known their scriptures and have known God intimately they would have told the chief priests and elders in the church of that time to take a hike and would have released Jesus instead of Barabbas. (Catholics, get busy and read and understand the Bible for yourselves!)
"For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us." -Isa 33:22 (KJV)
Distractions come in many forms and they are crafted by the Enemy of our souls to keep us away from knowing who Jesus Christ is. From knowing who God really is. From knowing who is God's Comforter, sent to us – the precious Holy Spirit. Certainly our Christian churches do not teach this anymore for if they did the pews might be almost empty. For the knowledge of God is truth and His Holy Spirit will convict and reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment – John 16:8. Who in our churches wants to be convicted every church day of their sin? How about the judgments yet to come…? Not many!
Deception is rampant! From our governments, to propped up and false economic statistics, to rigged election campaign results, to just about anything that affects our daily lives. Deceit and deception are rising exponentially against us, against especially Christians. Deception is the church is huge – many are not told just how important Jesus death was on the cross. Or about His shed blood. Or just how important His burial and His resurrection are to our lives right now and what eternity holds for all of us.
Chaos, wickedness and evil are growing quite intense and they fuel doubt, fear, and anxiety that result in people moving away from God instead of towards Him. For if you are not instructed in the tactics of evil, in the weapons of spiritual warfare that are used against us, how will you know what to do or who to turn to?
With all these things described above and many more, people are losing their spiritual grip and getting their eyes off their faith in Christ. They instead are turning to the world's ways for understanding and reason. They are listening to the wrong things from the wrong people. Many are starting to fall away and they cling to things they can see and feel instead of the faith of a living Savior.
Accept or Reject Him
Sooner or later you will have to accept Christ or reject Him. You will either be for Him or against Him -Matt 12:30. There are no fence sitters on this planet.
So the point of the message today is with all the "stuff" that's occurring around us – the uncertainties of the age, the fears of what's next – who or where will you turn? Who will you side with? Oh yeah, I know there are those that rely on their intellect and how knowledgeable they are in worldly ways. But what about when all those things are stripped away and the bottom falls out of their boat? Rationale thinking and worldly footholds are removed – friends gone, money and resources gone, food gone – all their previous securities vanish. What will they do then? Who will they turn to?
The crowds during the time of Jesus, when He was facing freedom or death, chose the way of the world and the advice of wicked religious leaders and shouted back to Pilate to crucify Him. You see this was easy for them to say for they were incited by the religious leaders of the day. Their minds were not founded and grounded on God and therefore they were easily swayed. The same scenarios are playing out today and perhaps even worse. For I presume that if Christ were walking our streets here in 2016 and saying and doing the same things, gangs would form, riots erupt, political correctness would reign and people would put Jesus to death just like they did 2000 years ago.
"But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus." -Matt 27:20 (KJV)
Even though we have now the complete Bible and tons of Bible resources it makes little difference for people nowadays, Christians included, spend more time in the world, talking and doing worldly things than they do seeking a Holy and Righteous God. A simple litmus test for all of us: (1) how often do we pray, and (2) how often do we read with understanding our Bible? A real Christian will be known by these things!
So what will you do with this Jesus who is called the Christ in your life? Will you accept Him and follow His ways and obey His commands or will you reject Him for His ways are too hard, or His truth too strong. Will you stand up against the crowds, against the pressures of your peers and take a stand with Him in your conversations and daily living. Living the same whether in church or out.
These are hard truths and they deserve our attention. For the crushing pressure of our world, our governments, our family and friends to steer us away from Christ and His word driving us towards more secular conformities and compromise are increasing. We must bolster our relationship and faith in Christ and choose His ways above the world's ways. We must pray hard and read His word daily – we must without excuse know Him with unceasing commitment every day.
What do you think about all these things?
"Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:" -Heb 12:25-26 (KJV)
-BPWatcher, Internet Preacher and Bible Prophecy Watchman
JESUS CHRIST – HE IS KING and HE IS LORD!
