It’s all about Jesus

Pastor Arnie Wyllie

In our Bible, Paul the Apostle writes: “When I first came to you, dear sisters and brothers, I did not use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified.” (1 Corinthians 2:1-2) Paul is saying is that he prefers the KISS method of sharing the Good News about Jesus. “Keep It Simple S ...” The Gospel message has gotten a little vague these days with all the attention being paid to politics, family values, alternate lifestyles and culture wars. A lot of folks have lost track of the fact that “It is all about Jesus”. Take a survey of people on the street. Ask each person, “What is a Christian today?” You are likely going to have to ask a lot of people before you hear anything about Jesus or the Cross. A Christian’s message, from beginning to end, is Jesus - who He was, what He said, and what He did - and - what He is doing right now. The last recognized revival in North America was a movement primarily among young Baby Boomers in the early 1970s that was quickly dubbed the ‘Jesus Movement’. It got that name because everything was focused around Jesus. When you think about it, Jesus was the ultimate hippie: He wore long hair, sandals, and He was against the establishment. A generation of ideological kids embraced Christ, even while they rejected religion and the institutional Church. Jesus was the central figure in all of this. What is now called Christian music was originally called ‘Jesus Music’. It was familiar rock music of the day with ‘Jesus Words’. Christians were called ‘Jesus Freaks’. We do not all have to go back to tie-dyed T-shirts, bell-bottom pants, and Jesus rock, but we could learn something from this emphasis that went beyond politics and religion. The Christian’s message is all about a Person, and our mission is to share that Person with the world. God made us to belong to Him. We have wandered away. Jesus is the way back. A whole generation of young people found that out 35 years ago. Nothing has changed about the heart of the message. It is a personal message. It is non-threatening. It is all about a meaningful, personal relationship with God that is introduced to someone by way of a meaningful relationship with that person. You cannot have a genuine relationship unless you are transparent, honest and open. Your agenda will be, “It is all about Jesus!” There is not a lot of baggage here. Our main concern is to introduce ourselves to people and in doing so, to introduce them to Jesus, because, as far as we are concerned, that is who it is all about. Jesus came to save us, bring us together, and teach us to love one another. Jesus came to set us free from the temptations of the world and the lies of the devil. Jesus came to make the way to eternal life, to Heaven, available to everyone. Christians have added a lot of other stuff to this (trying to “help” God) and it is not helping us do what we are supposed to be doing. If something you do makes you more loving to your neighbour, then it is probably a good thing. If it makes you your neighbour’s enemy, then it is probably not. If “it is all about Jesus”, then it’s definitely “like, wow, eh - right on - far out, man!” A Christian’s message, from beginning to end, is Jesus - who He was, what He said, and what He did - and - what He is doing right now. Jesus Freaks of the 1970s drove Volkswagen Microbuses. Christians of this century drive 4x4 SUVs. The message is the same, but the vehicle is different. “It is all about Jesus!”