Over the last few weeks, we have been applying the DTR (Define the Relationship) question to our relationship with Jesus. The DTR question is “Where is this relationship going? How serious are we about it?” There are a few additional questions in your sermon notes for today. Does your life reflect what you say you believe? Do you think you are on the right road because of what you have done? Do I know Jesus and does He know me?
I need to share something with you. As I have been listening to Pastor Rom’s messages, a few questions have been popping into my head. And if I wonder about these things, maybe other people are wondering too? The questions are: Why do we keep asking church-going people about their relationship with Jesus? Shouldn’t we be out on the streets, asking people who don’t go to church these questions? Why does it matter if I am a Fan or a Follower, as long as I go to church?
Matthew 7:21-29, explains why it matters. Jesus had just spent a lot of time and energy teaching the Sermon on the Mount, which is in Matthew 5-7, and these verses are the end of that sermon. Jesus has just laid out the framework by which we should live our lives as his disciples.
21“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’ 23Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.’ 24Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. 25The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. 26And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!” 28Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astounded at his teaching, 29for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes. – Matthew 7:21-29 (NRSV)
How can this happen? How can people say, “Lord, Lord”, but Jesus does not know them, especially people who prophesy and cast out demons in Jesus’ name? Max Lucado has a wonderful description of how this can happen; by saying these people spent their lives on the wrong bus.
I would like to read a small section of this wonderful little book that Pastor Rom and Beth use in the ET class called He Did This Just for You.
“I can remember, as a seven-year-old, going to my grandparent’s house for a week. Mom and Dad bought a ticket, gave me some spending money, put me on a Greyhound bus, and told me not to talk to strangers or get off the bus until I saw my grandma out the window. They made it very clear to me that my destiny was Ralls, Texas. God has done the same for you. He has placed you on a journey. He has a destiny for your life (and you’ll be glad to know it’s not Ralls, Texas). …
According to the Bible, God’s destiny for your life is salvation. Your intended destination is heaven. God has done exactly what my parents did. Jesus has purchased your passage. He has equipped you for the journey. Jesus loves you so much that he wants you to be with him forever.
The choice, however, is up to you. Even though Jesus stands at the door with ticket paid and pocket money for the trip… many choose to go in directions other than the one God intends. That is the problem.
Becoming a Christian is getting on board with Christ. Jesus stands at the door of the bus and says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life…” (John 14:6, NKJV). Unfortunately, not all accept his invitation. I know I didn’t the first time he invited. I spent some time on the wrong bus.
There are many buses, each of them promising to take you to happiness. There is the bus of pleasure, possessions, power, passion. I saw a bus called party and got on board. It was full of people laughing and carousing; they seemed to be enjoying a nonstop party. It was quite some time before I learned they had to be loud to cover up all the pain inside.
The word for getting on the wrong bus is sin. Sin is when we say, I’ll go my way instead of God’s way. Right in the middle of the word sin is the word I. Sin is when we say, I’ll do what I want, no matter what God says. Only God can fulfill our needs. Sin is the act of going to everyone but God for what only God can give. Am I the only one who has spent time on the wrong bus? No. Some buses are more violent than others. Some rides are more lengthy than others…
To board the wrong bus is a serious mistake. Sin breaks our relationship with God. We were intended to journey with God. But when we are on a different bus headed the wrong direction, we feel far from God. This is why life can seem so cruddy. We aren’t fulfilling our destiny.
Sin not only breaks our relationship with God, it also hampers our relationship with others. Can you imagine taking a long trip to the wrong place with a busload of people? With time, everyone gets cranky. Nobody likes the trip. The journey is miserable. We try to cope with the problems by therapy or recreation or prescriptions. But nothing helps.
Spend a life on the wrong bus headed in the wrong direction, and you’ll end up in the wrong place. You’ll end up in hell. Not because God wants you in hell. God’s plan for you is heaven. Your destiny is heaven. God will do anything to get you to heaven, with one exception. There is one thing God won’t do. God won’t force you. The decision is yours. But God has done everything else. Let me show you what I mean.
If the problem is sin and all have sinned, what can you do? Well, you can go to church, but that won’t make you a Christian. Just like going to a rodeo doesn’t make you a cowboy, going to church doesn’t make you a Christian. You could work really hard to please God. You could do a lot of good stuff and give away a lot of things . . . the only problem with that is that you don’t know how many good things you have to do. Or you could compare yourself with others: “I may be bad, but at least I’m better than Hitler.” The problem with comparisons is that other people aren’t the standard; God is!
So what are you going to do? If you aren’t saved by going to church or doing good works or by comparing yourself to others, how are you saved? The answer is simple: Go to the right bus. Go to Jesus.” Excerpt paraphrased from He Did This Just for You, by Max Lucado
This story is also my story. I spent 25 years of my life on the wrong bus. And the people in Matthew 7:23 were on the wrong bus too. Maybe they were doing the right things for the wrong reasons? Maybe it was not God’s will for them to do acts of power? Maybe they did them for their own glory? We will never know for sure.
So how do we know the difference between the wrong bus and the right bus? Here are few high-level examples of the differences, to help in our personal reflection about our relationship with Jesus and what bus we are on.
What does the “Fan” bus look and feel like?
- Does your life reflect what you say you believe? NO. The outside does not match the inside
- Do you think you are on the right road because of what you have done? YES. I am doing all these things for Jesus. Busy, busy, busy. No time to pray or study the Bible.
- Do I know Jesus and does He know me? NO. There is no passion, no excitement and no commitment. The “Fan” is complacent and self-satisfied, unaware that they are spiritually poor. The power of the Holy Spirit is absent. Moderation is the goal. They worry about what other people think if they knew about their relationship with Jesus.
What does the “Follower” bus look and feel like?
- Does your life reflect what you say you believe? YES. The outside matches the inside. These fruits of the Spirit grow stronger as time goes on. The Spirit becomes the foundation of the “Followers” life.
- Do you think you are on the right road because of what you have done? NO. The “Follower” knows that they are only saved by God’s grace.
- Do I know Jesus and does He know me? YES. The “Follower” is 100%, totally committed to Jesus. Jesus is real, present and active in their lives. Love is the ruling principle of their lives.
How do we know which bus we are on? We need to honestly examine our answers to the above questions. We need to spend some time alone with Jesus every day, in prayer and Bible study, examining and developing this relationship. Let the Spirit of God guide you during this time, making space for both talking and listening. We need to spend time with “Followers”, enjoying the bus ride together, learning and sharing and supporting each other. Our relationship with Jesus should be growing richer, stronger, deeper and more passionate as time goes on, through the gift of the Holy Spirit.
If you are listening to this and saying, “Whoa, wait a minute. My life is a mess. I can’t go on alone any longer, and I don’t have to? I can have a deep, real relationship with Jesus?” That is okay.
There are three steps from Max Lucado on how to start or strengthen your relationship with Jesus:
- Admit that God has not been first place in your life, and ask God to forgive your sins.
- Agree that Jesus died to pay for your sins and that he rose from the dead and is alive today.
- Accept God’s free gift of salvation. Don’t try to earn it.
Jesus is waiting for us, where ever we are, ready for us to follow him on our journey through life. Will you?