12.13.08
Irresistible
Jesus
All
manner of folk gathered around the stable to see Jesus. There were people there representing all
walks of life. They were drawn to
Him. He was full of grace and truth;
full of purity and love. He was
absolutely irresistible!
All of
His life He was drawing people to Himself; He was constantly giving of
Himself. People were attracted to Him,
because it was obvious that He genuinely cared about them, and wanted them to
be happy.
Jesus has
never changed! He is still full of love
and kindness—He still has power to save—He still accepts us as we are. He still helps people. He still breaks the chains of despair,
addiction, and depression.
He still
invites us into a saving relationship with Him.
And so
this morning we will look at the matchless charms of Jesus.
His Matchless Charms
His amazing grace
So when they had
eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you
love Me more than these?”
He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”
He said to him, “Feed My lambs.”
John21:15
Even
after Peter had denied that he knew Jesus, Jesus was willing to forgive him,
reinstatement him, and continue to be his Savior.
The
gratitude that welled up in Peter’s heart was immense. He had done something unthinkable. He had disowned his Master, his Friend, when
his Friend was at the lowest point
in His
life. And yet, Jesus was ready to bestow
grace on Peter.
Have you
experienced the grace of Jesus? He is
just as ready to forgive today as He was then.
There is nothing that compares to the feeling of being forgiven and made
clean when we have sinned against God.
It’s the best feeling ever.
His warm acceptance
When Jesus had
raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where
are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”
She said, “No one, Lord.”
And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who
follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” John 8:10-12
Mary
Magdalene had been caught in adultery.
She was as guilty as guilty can be.
The people would have killed her on the spot, had not Jesus intervened.
Jesus
accepted Mary, though she was sinful.
His warm acceptance of Mary brought about an amazing change in her
life. The acceptance of Jesus created a
new environment in which Mary could safely live.
That’s
what Jesus’ acceptance does for us. When
everything is against us, His love and acceptance says, “You can begin
again. I can help you get through
this.” And in the context of acceptance,
we can safely begin to live in a new way.
We can trust Jesus to lead us out of our misery.
We should
never think that we are too bad or too far gone to come to Jesus. We can come and talk with Him anytime—no
matter what’s going on in our lives. His
attitude will always be one of acceptance.
So often
we think that we must change ourselves and make ourselves all better before we
can come to Christ. This is not
true. We first come to Jesus as we are,
then He begins the process of changing us into His likeness.
His penetrating convicting power
Now behold, one
came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have
eternal life?”
So He said to him, “Why do you call Me
good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you
want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
He said to Him, “Which ones?”
Jesus said, “ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You
shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother,’
and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”
The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do
I still lack?”
Jesus said to him, “If you want to be
perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have
treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had
great possessions. Matthew 19:16-22
Now, this
is an example of someone who was under the convicting power of Jesus, but who
made the wrong decision. You can tell
that he was really under conviction, because the Bible says that he went away
sorrowful. But it doesn’t have to be
that way.
Then Jesus
entered and passed through
Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods
to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I
restore fourfold.”
And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also
is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man
has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:1-9
Now,
Zacchaeus is an example of someone who was under the convicting power of Jesus,
and who responded to Jesus the correct way.
Now just think for a second about who this Zacchaeus was—he was a chief tax collector—a man who was hated
and despised by his own people. He was
considered a traitor.
So, for
Jesus to tell him that He was eating at his house was a BIG DEAL. Zacchaeus knew he was not living right. Jesus is irresistible! How can we deny Jesus the opportunity to come
and dine with us? His love and
acceptance, combined with penetrating convicting power, leads us to repentance
and a new life.
Zacchaeus,
out of gratitude to God, makes the adjustments in his lifestyle that are
necessary—but he does so in the context of acceptance and empowerment.
His selflessness
We’re
talking about the matchless charms of Jesus Christ. There are many. But we are touching on some of the more
obvious ones this morning.
Next we
have the selflessness of Jesus. This is
very attractive. Jesus was always giving
of Himself, putting Himself last, putting other people in front of Himself.
On the third day
there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited
to the wedding. And when they ran out of
wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.”
Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does
your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.”
His mother said to the servants,
“Whatever He says to you, do it.”
Now there were set there six waterpots
of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing
twenty or thirty gallons apiece. Jesus
said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the
brim. And He said to them, “Draw some
out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it. When the master of the feast had tasted the
water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants
who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. And he said to him, “Every man at the
beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk,
then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!”
This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory;
and His disciples believed in Him. John
2:1-11
Now, this
is really an incredible miracle, not only because it was Jesus’ first miracle,
but for aother reason. Jesus believed
that it was a bit early public ministry to be performing miracles—a bit risky
you might say. But He honored His mother
anyway, even though He disagreed. Jesus
remembered the commandment which says “Honor your father and your mother”, and
He willingly put His mother in front of Himself and His wishes.
Jesus
often did that. He constantly put
others’ needs in front of His own. Even
at the end of His life, while on the cross, He thought of His mother instead of
His own predicament.
Now there stood by
the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of
Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the
disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your
son!”
John 19:25, 26
Jesus
wanted to make sure his mother would be cared for in her old age, and He chose
His beloved disciple John for this purpose.
His insightful wisdom
There are
many examples of the insightful wisdom of Jesus in the Gospels. Even as a young boy He amazed the rabbi’s in
the
instance
was a time when the Pharisees were trying to push Him into a corner, and get
Him and His disciples in trouble.
Then they sent to
Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in His
words. When they had come, they said to
Him, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not
regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to
pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Shall we
pay, or shall we not pay?”
But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you test Me? Bring Me a
denarius that I may see it.” So
they brought it.
And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to
Him, “Caesar’s.”
And Jesus answered and said to them,
“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are
God’s.”
And they marveled at Him. Mark 12:13-17
Just
think of all the amazing parables Jesus taught, in order to express a spiritual
point without coming right out and offending the religious leaders. That way they could be engaged and think
about the real issues.
Jesus
still offers His insightful wisdom to us today.
He is willing to help us figure out our budgets, and make difficult
decisions. He is full of wisdom! And He will share it with us if we ask Him.
His sense of humor
Jesus
truly has a sense of humor. Sometimes He
used it in a creative way.
When they had come
to
He said, “Yes.”
And when he had come into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, “What do
you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes,
from their sons or from strangers?”
Peter said to Him, “From strangers.”
Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free.
Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and
take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will
find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you.”
Matthew
17:24-27
Anyone
who can make an ostrich bury its head in the sand, or create a platypus or a
dodo bird has to have a sense of humor!
And Jesus
will use His creative sense of humor to help you, and to cheer you up when you
are down. He will brighten up your day,
if you let Him.
His healing power
One of
the most noticeable charms of Jesus is His incredible healing power. Whether it be bringing the widow’s son back
to life, or healing Peter’s mother-in-law, or healing the ten lepers—Jesus was
always combining healing with His ongoing teaching ministry. He used miracles to illustrate His
message. He used healing to instill
faith in His followers.
That same
healing power is available for us today.
Jesus never changes! He still
answers prayer, and He still will provide power and protection and health when
they are needed most.
We can
rest in Christ, asking Him to bring light and joy into our lives. We are encouraged to do this:
We should weave faith into all our religious experience. We should
lift up our souls, and talk of the glory of God. How many there are who get
into a strain of sadness, and talk in a hopeless way. What is the
matter?--Satan has been misrepresenting the character of God to them. He has
cast his shadow athwart their pathway, and, instead of talking faith, they have
talked doubt. They have magnified the power of the enemy, and have become
discouraged. When you feel darkness coming upon you, why not talk of the power
of him who is the mighty God, the everlasting Father, and the Prince of peace?
Why not say, "I have a mighty Saviour. My faith is fixed on him; it is
entwined about Christ. He is my hope and righteousness;" and if you do
this, it will not be long before your lips will speak forth the praises of God. Signs of the Times, September 16, 1889
We should let the theme of God’s love absorb the whole mind and
attention. We should make a life-long effort to seek by patient continuance in
well-doing, for immortality and eternal glory. I want to receive a crown of
glory that fadeth not away, when the faithful people of God receive their
crowns of life. When we catch a little glimpse of the glory of God, our hearts
are filled with inexpressible joy. We must look away from self to Jesus, for he
has provided that we may have joy and peace in the Holy Ghost; and as we behold
the matchless charms of Christ, we shall be changed into the same image. Signs of
the Times, September 16, 1889
“When the grace of God works upon the heart, a fervent zeal, a
heavenly spirit, a melting, overflowing sympathy for souls that are impenitent,
is seen in the life. The humble follower of Christ delights to contemplate His
wondrous, surpassing beauty. He has discovered that the "Word was made
flesh, and dwelt among us," and he loves to think of the beauty and
matchless charms of Christ’s character. Day by day a transforming power is at
work upon his life and character, and is filling his soul with an inexpressible
love. He finds that the Saviour is willing to be his guide in this life, and
his portion to all eternity. His heart is won, his choice is made. He yokes up
with Christ, and has a compelling power in winning souls to the Saviour. He
cannot change the heart, but he may convince souls of the truth, which defines
their duty, and convicts of sin.”
Bible Echo, November 20, 1899
There is
hope for depression, light for darkness, power for weakness, encouragement for
despair, forgiveness for sin and shame WITH JESUS.
Jesus is
absolutely irresistible! Do you
agree? What could possibly keep you from
coming to Jesus, and sharing your life with Him?
There is
no good excuse for staying away from Jesus.
He is ready and willing today to give us a new heart, and new life, if
we will but listen to Him.
May this
Christmas season not be a mere holiday season for you. May it be a new, meaningful beginning for
you. May Jesus fill your life with His
matchless charms today, as you open yourself to Him.