REVELATION 1:12-18 – Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.
THEME OF THE DAY. IS THIS OUR JESUS WE LOVE AND FOLLOW? In our Lord’s Olivet Discourse, He warns us of what will characterize last days. One of the signs in end times is false Christs appearing – And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray (Matthew 24:4-5). Now let’s not be quick to dismiss His statement because we read our Bibles and attend professing Bible-believing churches. We need to be “Berean-like” when it comes to evaluating all our intakes of the Word of God. In our reading of books by Christian authors and listening to the preaching in our churches, we need to bring all face-to-face with the objective truth of the scriptures – The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so (Acts 17:10-11). And this will be ever so important in discerning who the Jesus we claim to know and worship truly is – the Jesus of the Bible or of our own imagination and creation. C. S. Lewis once offered a prayer worthy of owning for ourselves. He said, “Lord, let me know You as You truly are and not who I think You are.” With that background, let’s ask the question . . . “What is the evidence I am encountering and walking with the Jesus of the Bible and not a Christ created more by what we think?”
In answering this question, there are at least six spiritual fruits which will be present in the person knowing and growing in the Christ of the Bible. I want to list them in bullet form, provide a scripture support of the fruit, and encourage us to study them more fully on our own.
Encounters with the Christ of the Bible will produce . . .
– A humble awareness of His holy majesty and our sinfulness (Luke 5:1-11) .
– A grateful heart of thanksgiving for His amazing love and grace (1 Timothy 1:12-17).
– An insatiable desire to know Him (Psalm 73:25).
– A passion to be like Him (1 John 3:1-3).
– An uncompromised pursuit to know Him (Philippians 3:1-14).
– An intense longing to be with Him (Philippians 1:21-23).
Beloved, we live in dangerous spiritual times with deception all around. Don’t be afraid to do some self-examination to affirm we are seeking and being changed by the One True Biblical Jesus. And in doing so, we will learn to be discerning about what we are reading and hearing to be able to know if they are bringing us to the One True Biblical Jesus.
PRAYER: “Father, help me not to be deceived in my understanding and knowledge of Your Son.”
QUOTE: “The Jesus of the Bible is not a Jesus that fits into our lives or places no demands upon our lives.”