I've started writing down my "sermon notes" from Sunday's Sermon here...both for me, and for you in case you are interested! I checked with our Pastor first to make sure it was okay to quote him or use some of his "material", and he was quite pleased and hoped that it would benefit more people than he could possibly reach each Sunday. I don't think my "congregation" is all that large, but one never knows just who needs to hear this word of encouragement or admonition or exhortation...it could be a life-line to someone teetering on the brink...God has promised that His Word would not return to Him void...
Isaiah 55:10-11
10. "For as the rain comes down,
and the snow from heaven,
and do not return there,
but water the earth,
and make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11. So shall MY Word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
but it shall accomplish what I please,
and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."
And so I will proceed to share these notes with you...they may not be in the same order that they were originally presented, and the interpretation may be per my own personal application, which could be different than how they were intended, and might also be not exactly the same as you perceive it to be...but God's Holy Spirit applies His Word to our hearts in the way that HE intends us to hear and receive it.
The Scripture reading comes from Mark 15:1-15, which is the story of Jesus standing before Pilate. After questioning Jesus, Pilate asked the crowd in verse 9 if they wanted him to release to them "The King of the Jews?"...but the "chief priests (verse 11) stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them".
In verse 12 Pilate asks them again, "What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?"
13: "So they cried out again, "Crucify Him!"...in verse 14 they cried out all the more, "Crucify Him!"...and so Pilate (15), "wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified."
Now comes the question...Am I a crowd pleaser? What would I have done if I had been in that crowd of people shouting out "Crucify Him!" Would I have had the courage to stand up against the crowd and tell Pilate to let Jesus go? Or would I have slipped away and gotten out of there as fast as I could...or would I have given into peer pressure and shouted along with them...
Obviously, as a believer in Jesus Christ, I like to think that I would have fought for Christ...that I could have had the power to resist the crowd. But too often today the tendency is to just keep quiet...don't make waves...keep my opinions to myself rather than be ridiculed and insulted by the "crowd"... I turn my head, shut my mouth and slink away, hoping no one will notice me there and force me to speak up...
But then...am I putting myself in danger of what Jesus warned in Matthew 10:33?
"But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven..."
I could rationalize my way out of this by saying that I wasn't really denying Him...I just wasn't saying anything at all...but I'm not sure this would stand up in God's court...
Jesus said in Matthew 10:32, "Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven..."
This can be difficult in today's society...we are inundated with "the crowd" all around us...if you participate in social media at all, you know how quickly you can get bombarded with negative comments if you dare to speak up for a conservative issue or stand up for Christ and Christians in general. It has caused many of us to withdraw from that crowd altogether, or to be very selective in who we communicate with and comment upon. I tend to speak my mind much more freely here in my own blog, where most of my "friends and followers" tend to be agreeable with my point of view. This is a safe space, or at least it seems to be.
But I don't want to always just be in a "safe space"... Jesus calls us to come out from among the crowd and "Follow Me". (Matthew 4:19) He exhorts us to not just be a "fan", following along on the outskirts of the true followers, but to enter into a personal relationship with Him..."be connected to Him", which means things could get difficult from time to time.
Matthew 10:34-36 says, "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter in law against her mother in law; and a man's enemies will be those in his own household."
Wow...I know we've all probably experienced this in our own families already...I don't need to elaborate here.
Jesus goes on to say in Matthew 10:38-39 "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it."
Some strong food for thought here...
1. What would I be willing to do if the "crowd pressure" is high enough?
2. Who is in my "crowd?"
3. Am I just a crowd pleaser...afraid of being rejected if I take a stand?
4. Am I just a "fan" of Jesus Christ, or am I a true "Follower"?
5. Am I willing to take up my cross and follow Christ...no matter what?
6. Am I leading others to follow Christ...or to be a crowd pleaser?
Lord, please help me to be a true follower of Christ...and not just a fan...Help me to stand strong in the face of pressure, and not be a crowd pleaser.
Forgive me, Lord, for the times I've stayed quiet or slipped away out of fear.
Give me courage and wisdom to know when to speak,
and when to stand.
Thank You, Lord, for Your loving guidance and help in a difficult world.
Amen.
