Session 1:
Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus is the centerpiece of Christianity, yet Jesus is not really the centerpiece of my life as much as he deserves or requires. In the church as a whole (especially western Christianity), Jesus is no longer the centerpiece. So many ministries are submitting to political correctness and tolerance and pleasing what the masses want to hear that Christianity is diluted. Now it's about a list of morals or the value of the community or the impressiveness of the building or the charisma of the pastor, and while none of those things are inherently wrong, the person of Jesus has been pushed to the sidelines.
The young generation is a prime example. I know it first-hand. Less and less are participating in church (what is it, 3% now?... and most of those refuse to share their faith with their friends because they believe their truth doesn't apply to everyone...) and more and more are swapping out religions like ice-cream flavors because they cannot find one with substance, not even in Christianity. Why? Because they are not encountering or being introduced to the literal person of Jesus. People are leaving the church because other religions are taking their faith more seriously. But no matter how strict our moral code is or what political stance we take, if we aren't introducing people to Jesus, then we are only marketing an empty product.
Why else do our youth groups produce students who fall away in college 90% of the time? They don't know Jesus. They may know a list of values, they may even memorize a few scriptures, but we are not producing a church in love with Jesus. Instead, we are selling Jesus as a means to an end. Some preach Jesus as fire-insurance, some preach Jesus as a way to get rich, some preach Jesus as a way to be free of guilt or self-hatred, and it's all about how we can benefit from Jesus. Jesus didn't come into the world so that we could live more comfortably because of his death.
Jesus is the center of everything. Jesus is the center of history, our salvation, he is our provider, our comforter, and our deliverer, but he is not the center of our lives nor is he the center of the church (generally speaking). Praise God for the churches that are still keeping Jesus central, but they are far to few. Ask a random person outside Wal-Mart, "Are you going to heaven?" and they will likely answer according to their works. You can solve world hunger and still go to hell. We're so busy fighting poverty and fighting abortion and trying to do good that it becomes who we are and we lose our first love. I am so busy trying to reach the schools in Kansas City for Jesus that even I get distracted from my relationship with him! We forget about that moment when Jesus revealed his love to us for the first time and we recklessly gave our lives to him because we knew without a doubt that he deserves it all. Then, too often, we work up offenses in our hearts about how Jesus doesn't provide for us like we want him to, forgetting that we only deserve death...
Who knows what I'm saying anymore. . . at the onset of this class, all I can say for sure is that I need Jesus. It is helpful every once and while to take a break and get reconnected with Jesus personally, so here I go! Falling in love again!
Session 3:
The primary characteristic of Christianity is the divinity of Jesus. If Jesus is not God, then we have no Christianity. Jesus is our savior because He is God incarnate. Christianity is the only religion where God shows compassion and became man for our salvation. The divinity of Jesus sets Christians apart from the mainline Mormon and Jehovah Witness faiths, not to mention Islam. When Muslims turn to Christians and say, "Let's settle our differences, we really have more in common than in differences," the truth is that without the divinity of Jesus, we have nothing in common. Jesus is the cornerstone. No amount of morals or monotheism will save us outside the belief that Jesus is YHWH.
Any form of Christianity that deviates away from the divinity of Jesus is a delusion. History (in this age) culminates in the revelation of Jesus as YHWH at the second coming, and His divinity will be the point in question that will be forever laid to rest. That is the drama of the second coming. Satan raises up an "Antichrist," not just an "antigod." The attack and deception at the end of the age on the identity of Jesus will be against His divinity. But there will be no question when Jesus splits the sky and every eye sees Him together. The truth of His divinity is key, and any Christian rejecting this truth is in serious danger. By definition, any faith excluding the divinity of Jesus as the only way to God is not "Christian," whether they call themselves Christian or not.
I once had a conversation with a student who was a Christian and who wanted to start a campus ministry at her High School. She was a ready leader with enthusiasm in her heart to reach her friends. When I asked more about her walk with Jesus, she revealed that she did not believe that Jesus was God or the only way to God, and upon further inquiry, she didn't believe in the inerrancy of Scripture either. Yet she believed completely that she was "Christian." As I explained to her the history of the Christian faith, and the nature of Scripture, we discovered that she actually is not "Christian" at all. I told her, "You have much more faith than I do, but by definition, your faith is not Christianity." That conversation sadly ended in dismay for both of us as she was filled with new questions for her "church." What is Christianity without Jesus?
Philippians 2:1-11 is just as much about Jesus' divinity as it is about his humility. Without divinity, Jesus has no humility. Look at the climax: "Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name (YHWH), that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (YHWH), to the glory of God the Father."
At the end of this age, the great revelation across the earth will be the divinity of Jesus, because God became man and gave himself as a ransom for many. Jesus made a way for us to the Father because He is both GOD and MAN. Man could not save man, and God could not reconcile our sin apart from becoming man. Therefore, Jesus is exalted above everything and must have preeminence in our lives and in our churches. Amen.
Research Assignment:
I received a research assignment in this class to listen to the messages of 7 of America's largest churches and document how many of those messages were actually about the person of Christ. For this assignment, my goal was to document messages of which Jesus was the main subject, and not merely a mention. I listened to reviewed the notes from several messages from each church (at least 8 each) to see if I could find any messages directly about Jesus. Without naming the churches I reviewed (all very large, popular, influential churches with equally influential pastors), I found only 1 message that was actually about Jesus. And the 1 message that was about the person of Jesus was delivered by a guest missionary speaker from overseas.
What I found most common where messages about how God benefits us, and how we can thrive in trials and circumstances based on Christian values. Today the church is largely about values. Jesus was mentioned, and in some churches much more than others, but He was a sideline topic most of the time. Christianity in these churches is about values and self-help. Not to say that values and self-help are inherently bad, if I was a regular attender of one of these churches I would rarely hear a clear message about the person of Jesus. To me Jesus would be a vague value rather than a living person.
One church in particular upset me. I spent the most time on this particular church because I simply could not find anything about Jesus, not even a mention. After reviewing dozens of notes from their messages, and even going through their online bookstore, I had nearly given up when I decided to run a search in their website for the word "Jesus." My search found one web page that was an invitation on their website to receive Jesus, and when I watched the videos and read the invitation, it actually was about Jesus. It may not have been the most accurate invitation to salvation I've ever heard, but at that point I was desperate. I had not found a message about Jesus from that church in nearly a year's worth of messages. All I found was how to "make the kingdom of God work for you," or "command lessing," and other messages related to how we can benefit from God, never what we can give to God and NOTHING about having a relationship with Jesus. No Jesus.
Our churches need to get saved...
Thanks for giving us an opportunity to share in your classes. I am ready for a powerful move of the Spirit across the nation.
ReplyDeleteLove you,
Tutu