Note:
These are the words of Jesus!
"And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
This he said, signifying what death he should die."
It is crystal clear from the text that Jesus had reference to His death on The Cross as a means of drawing all humanity to Himself. It was His forecasting of The Cross. The central thought of these words of Jesus is that it was on The Cross that all the sins of the whole world for all time were laid up and forgiven by Him. Today, our only salvation is through looking to Him and placing our trust in Him.
He is alive and liveth forevermore.
Our communion service this morning is a memorial to Christ being lifted up drawing all men to Himself by the power of His Holy Spirit. Not a memorial to a dead Christ but to a living Christ.
He was dead - but He arose - and is alive and is coming again!
But, there is another avenue of truth in this scripture that bids our attention and it is this….We can assist Jesus in drawing others to Himself if we will lift Him up in our own hearts and lives. This is what witnessing is. However, we can not effectively do so without the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit.
How else might we lift up Jesus so that others can be drawn to Him? We can lift Him up in our conversation. We have the ability to either lift Him up or put Him down through the words we speak. Complaining, negativity, vulgarity and profanity do not edify Christ and does harm to your witness. Instead, speak words of praise, admiration, positive proclamations and you will be a witness to the power of your words.
We can also lift up Jesus by talking about Him more. The Bible says in Matthew 12:34 and
Luke 6:45 that "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." If we are really in love with Jesus we will talk to others about Him.
The things we talk about most are the things that lie nearest to our hearts.
Do you talk about Jesus? Do you talk to others about their salvation? Do you talk about the Word of God and things that have eternal value?
Another very important way that we can lift us Jesus is through our conduct. Have you ever heard that "actions speak louder than words"? The greatest sermons are the ones that are lived.
Your life is the only Bible that some people read.
It is regrettable when our actions and our conduct speak so loud that others cannot hear our witness! Nothing will lift up Jesus any more than a professing Christian to live a Christlike life…..emulating the example of Jesus in everything we do and say.
We must exhalt Him - We must lift Him up!
Christ is the One who draws others to Himself by the power of the Holy Spirit. Every act of our worship should be one of lifting up Jesus…. our singing, our meditation, our praying, our giving, our preaching, our praising and our invitation to others regarding their salvation. Like Paul in
1 Corinthians 2: 2 "For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.…… (vs 4) And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power."
As a church and as individuals, we must lift up Jesus in our communities. If we really love Him like we say we do we will be concerned about the souls of everyone. We must take Him at His word and rely on His promise that "If "I" be lifted up I will draw all men unto me." Understand also -we need the power and the anointing of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives!
Jesus was lifted up for us….Let us lift Him up for others…
in our Conversation
in our Conduct
in our Churches
in our Communities.
Lift up Jesus!
