Get Used To Different
Once you begin to follow Jesus, unexpected things are a way of life… whether it be following Jesus somewhere that you never expected to go. Forgiving someone that you never expected to forgive. No matter what it is, we all find ourselves in places and situations, that are well beyond our expectations.
Isaiah 43:18-19
18 “Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old.
19 Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it?
I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
Don't be afraid to do things different. Don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone, destroy your old religious mindset, and radically follow the God's Word and voice! Jesus’s life and birth for that matter, was not what people were expecting from the coming Savior… and that is why the Pharisees and the Sadducees believed He was from God, but did not believe Him to be the Messiah. John 3:1-2
1 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.”
But the problem was, Jesus did not act like they thought He would act!
Matthew 5:17
17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
Now we know that Jesus had to fulfill all the laws and the prophecies about Him, in order to be the perfect sacrifice, and thus make a way for us to receive forgiveness and salvation through Him.
But even though, He fulfilled all the laws and all the prophecies, they still didn’t believe He was the Messiah because He wasn’t what they expected.
If life and death, Jesus always did the unexpected…
Romans 5:6-11
6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
As we read in Romans 5, Jesus Christ in life and death did the unexpected.
He died for us before we were righteous, good, or even useful. He came in an unexpected way, to bring something we could never have done for ourselves. He sacrificed His life, for the life for others… many of whom would reject His sacrifice
When compared to the standards and expectations of the world, Jesus doesn’t just simply not meet expectations, He fails miserably.
But then again, God doesn’t grade by this world’s standards… He doesn’t go by what is seen, but by what is on the inside.
In 1 Samuel 16, the Lord sent the prophet Samuel to the house of Jesse, to anoint the next King of Israel… and while Samuel was there, the Lord had to even remind Samuel that God looks at the one’s heart.
1 Samuel 16:6-7, 10-13
6 So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him!”
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused/rejected him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
10 Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.”
11 And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” Then he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here.”
Jesse thought so little about his youngest son, that when Samuel invited Jesse and his sons, Jesse still did not call his youngest son, David
12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!”
13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.
The standards and values of this world are inadequate when compared to God. So much so, in fact, that the compassionate, slow to anger, merciful, forgiving God of the Bible does not make sense to the world.
God constantly chooses unexpected people, unexpected journeys, and unexpected redemption.
Both then and now, the solutions offered by the world to “fix things” include putting yourself first, and bringing peace through power.
Jesus, instead, modeled for us a life of unrelenting selflessness, and peace through sacrificial love. Jesus’ life, ministry, death, and resurrection were filled with love, grace, and constantly doing the unexpected.
1 Corinthians 1:27-29
27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;
28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are,
29 that no flesh should glory in His presence.
And that’s why God chose to use us…
- no matter how broken we feel, we can help others put back together their lives
- no matter how out of place we may feel, we can always help someone else feel comfortable
- no matter how little we think we have, there is always something we can give to others
Have A Blessed Day! Pastor George Finney New Life Church NewLifeKenefick@yahoo.com