1/24/12 JESUS’ FAMILY OF FAITH
1/24/12 JESUS’ FAMILY OF FAITH
Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF Tuesday, January 24, 2011
Luke 8:16-21 Key Verse: 8:21
“He replied, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.”
Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for your great love for sinners and helping us to overcome our sinful nature. Thank you that you give us strength to get out of ruts in life and live victorious lives of faith. I pray that you may help me to follow the Holy Spirit. Help me to follow the person of Jesus. Help me to live by the truth to God. I pray for my kids to follow you independently of other people. They may do what is right before your eyes. Please help me to live as your shepherd and a servant of the word of God. Please plant your word deeply in my heart. I pray in Jesus’ holy and righteous name. Amen!
Part 1: The light shines (16-18).
Verses 16-18, “No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light. 17 For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. 18 Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they think they have will be taken from them.”
Jesus is the light in this dark world. His word planted in the heart brings light and joy and the way to repentance and holiness. We can see the truth of the kingdom of God. Without Jesus and his word, we get lost in human thinking, emotions and plain old sin. The light exposes sins and reveals God. Jesus reveals he is the Savior and King, and one day, the Judge and Eternal Ruler. We must listen carefully to Jesus and let his light shine in us and guide us.
Jesus has shone his light into my life. He has revealed that I am an incorrigible sinner who is in desperate need of a Savior. The light reveals that I am a person who tries to control people, through rules and regulations and who does not trust the Holy Spirit of God through prayer. I need Jesus’ guiding light in order to raise my kids up as disciples of Jesus Christ. I need God’s wisdom to form a fellowship of believers and a 1:1 discipleship ministry among campus students. I need the Holy Spirit to guide me in the truth of God and be able to preach the word of God to this generation. Lord, please shine your light in my life so that I can be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Part 2: Jesus’ family (19-21).
Verses 19-21, “Now Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him, but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd. 20 Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.” 21 He replied, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.”
Jesus’ family loved and missed him. They should have understood him by now. They went to visit him during his busy life of preaching the kingdom of God, but he would not stop. He really wanted his family to have Bible study together with him and follow him. Jesus spiritual family hears his word and then practices it.
I am part of the family of God and I thank God for that. When we share a common faith and a common hope and a common mission in life and common love for Jesus for what he has done for us, then we can have very close relationships that last a lifetime. I thank God for the family of faith that God has led me into in our UBF ministry. They are my friends both now and forever more. I love my family, and I can’t wait to see them each year, but we don’t share a common mission or hope etc. We are living our own lives waiting for the blessed times we can see one another. But the family of faith is different. I don’t think there is anything like it in the whole world. I pray to continue to dwell in the family of God. I pray to strengthen the ties that bind. I pray that the family of God may grow among us here in DeKalb and at NIU.
Prayer: Lord, I want to have deep Bible study so that your word and life might shine in me and through me. Help me put your word into practice today and live as a member of the family of Jesus.
One Word: Shine as a family member of Jesus
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