Exponential Interrupted Joy
In the Christian world we can have some really crazy vocabulary—dichotomy, trichotomy, predestination, transubstantiation…and so on. But, has any one really came at you with this “How Are You?” Like really “How Are You?”…not the 180 characters or less, not the I have to have it all together How Are You…the real HOW ARE YOU? Many times when we make the decision to follow Christ we know we can’t bury our past but we then let our past bury us! And that’s not the life Christ died to give us! This can sound so basic but still remains true…How Are You?
- Jesus REWRITES our PAST
- This is one of the most talked about stories in the Bible! Let’s not miss the significance of the meaning here: Jesus is literally living out the past (in the fulfillment of the Old Testament). This story is very much like the story of Israel leaving Egypt and crossing the Jordan into the Promised Land! More importantly it serves as a reminder to us all that no matter what has happened in our past because Jesus died for our sins on the Cross we are forgiven! Our past is not what defines us any longer but actually only Christ who defines us!
- Now here is where I’ll level with you! I don’t the know the hurt of your abuse, misuse or things that honestly you’ve never shared with any one! Things in your story that only you and the person who hurt you know! But, I do know that no matter what our past, Jesus still loved us enough to come the Cross, die for our sins and rise again so that we can live the life He made us to live to the full…not one buried by the past but a life where He has buried our past!
- Jesus ENGAGES us in our PRESENT
- This story is literally God coming down in the form of Man…Jesus Christ and He is literally living out the righteousness of God by being baptized! He steps into the present and tells John He must baptize Him to fulfill what He was called to do!
- This is where we can get stuck…we forget that in the midst of whatever we are going through that Christ is right there with us in the present to say “I Know How It Feels!” He knows how it feels to be abused, mocked, betrayed, abandoned, wrongfully accused and murdered for something that He didn’t do! Yet He still loved us enough to die for our sins and leave an empty so that we may experience the life He’s called us to live. I wonder if we can walk in that today? The hardest thing for all of us is that we can’t give what we haven’t first received…and when we’ve received Christ to heal our past & walk with us in the present we can so much more easily live the life we were made to live & share the Hope of Christ with others!
- Jesus’ FUTURE is our FUTURE
- When Jesus comes up out of the water God breaks forth the very Heavens He created and tells of how proud He is of Jesus…before Jesus even goes to the Cross! Jesus’ future is to go to the Cross so that we may have a relationship with God forever! Jesus’ future is our future!
- God is well pleased because He is in Christ! When You accept Christ in your life, Christ is in you and Father sees you just the same! It isn’t your past failures, your current screw ups or your future derailments…He sees Christ in you in whom He is well pleased!
The Joy of our Salvation can be interrupted by us not being fully healed! You can’t live an exponential life if you aren’t first real with how you are! Because you can’t live in peace unless you’ve received peace! What if the one thing holding us back from our Exponential life is the answer to the question “HOW ARE YOU”…the real answer! Will we trust God enough to let it go to Him & be bold enough to share it with the people He has placed in our life to walk with us in our journey
Take Away
How Are You?
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Tyler West 