Tuesday, November 18, 2014
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You know, flying commercial airlines isn't as much fun as it used to be. I mean it's more of a hassle. A lot of people who have to fly seem to agree with that. There are overbooked flights, and long lines at security, and cancelled flights, and crowded flights, and equipment problems, and all kinds of frustrating delays. Now if you don't like something about the way the airline is performing, guess who usually gets all the grief? I've seen it happen in the airport over and over again. That poor ticket agent.
See, the ticket agent usually has nothing to do with causing the problem, but you can go to almost any airport, go to some desk and find an agent being besieged by people yelling, waving their arms, threatening, using various forms of unpleasant language. I want to say, "Hey, don't blame the agent! Take your complaints to someone in charge." The representative isn't the issue. You need to deal with the person in charge.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Boss Is the Issue."
Alright, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Matthew 16, beginning at verse 13. "Jesus asked His disciples, 'Who do people say the Son of Man is?' They replied, 'Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; still others say Jeremiah or one of the prophets.' 'But what about you,' He asked. 'Who do you say I am?' Then Peter replied, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.'"
Now Jesus says here the issue is "Who do you say I am? See, the issue is Me." Well you know, the issue still is Jesus. The disciples kind of give the answer in the local Gallop Survey, "35% say You are John the Baptist, 22% say You are Elijah..." Well, finally Jesus closes in and says, "Who do you say I am?" See that's the real issue. A lot of people are dealing with the representative of Jesus rather than dealing with the boss.
Jim is the son of some friends of ours, and they said that he has been really wandering from the Lord. He said to them other day, "What if I had grown up in a different family? Maybe I'd be another religion. I'm not sure I believe any of this any more." And I said, "Would you tell him that Jesus would still be who He claims He is, wherever that guy grew up. You guys get out of the middle! Don't make your faith the issue with your son. Don't make parent's religion the issue. Don't let church be the issue. Let Jim know the issue isn't his parent's beliefs. It's a Savior who's been there for 2,000 years before His parents were born, before that church existed. Jesus is the issue and He's saying, 'Who do you say I am?'"
Some other friends came to us about their son, and he had said to them, "I don't know if I believe it any more." And I said, "Well don't let him get away with that. The 'It' in Christianity is a Him-it's Jesus. I don't believe Him any more. Don't look at Christians, don't look at the church, don't look at Christian leaders, or your background, or your friends. They're just His representatives. Jesus is the issue. He said "follow Me." The only reason not to be with Jesus is something about Jesus. I remember talking to a cabbie from another religion. He said to me, "If you could only study our book with our greatest scholars, you would believe." And I said to him, "But at the end of my life, I would still not have a Savior from my sin, and I would end my life at the grave of a dead prophet instead of a risen Savior."
Listen, don't let people become the issue. Don't let religion become the issue. Go back 2,000 years before all of these things existed and there on the middle cross is the Son of God paying the price for every sin you ever committed. If you're rejecting Christianity or rebelling in some way, don't deal with smoke screens. It's God's Son, who gave His life for you, who blew the doors off of death when He walked out of the grave, He's the issue. Not His representatives, not His agent. Would you go directly to the person in charge? The issue is Jesus.
This day, in spite of a back turned to Him for many years, He waits with open arms, to welcome you into His love, expressed and proven by the price He paid on a cross for you. I want you to know this Jesus. Not His religion, Jesus. If you want to belong to Him then I would love to point you in that direction. Would you go to our website ANewStory.com and find for yourself, this Jesus who's been transforming lives for 2,000 years, and who walked out of His grave, so He could walk into your life today?