Getting More Jesus – Part VI "Let Him Expose You"
Study Text – John 6
24Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor
his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in
search of Jesus. 25When they found him on the other
side of the lake, they asked him, "Rabbi, when did you get here?" 26Jesus
answered, "I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you
saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27Do
not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which
the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of
approval." 28Then they asked him, "What
must we do to do the works God requires?" 29Jesus
answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has
sent."
Many of us have "strongholds" in certain areas our lives.
Webster’s dictionary defines a stronghold as, "an area dominated or
occupied by a special group." Therefore, spiritual strongholds are
dominating things that we need to let go, but we will or can not. On many
occasions we won’t let go because of our flesh. However, there are instances
where strongholds continue to dominate us due to our ignorance of them.
This week we get to see Jesus expose a stronghold. While He and the
disciples were in Capernaum, the crowd came there looking for Him and found
Him. When Jesus saw them, he said, "You were looking for me only because
you ate and got full" (26th). It is here that Jesus exposes a stronghold,
"Greed," and tells them how to get rid of it (27th).
(1) Exposing your strongholds:
Now this is the part that people don’t like. We all want to sit in front of
the world and say, "I have no problems or strongholds. I am a complete and
whole man/woman of God." Well if you are then, Praise God, but if you
aren’t then hopefully you are a work in progress. This is more than O.K. just
as long as the work in progress progresses. Jesus reveals our strongholds not
to make us look weak or insufficient but to make us aware of them so that we
can overcome them.
(2) Admitting that you have strongholds:
After exposure, Jesus began to give more specific instructions to help the
crowd get rid of their stronghold; however, a very significant event occurred
after the exposure – admittance. In the 28th verse the crowd asked Jesus,
"What must we do to do the works God requires?" In other words they
admitted, "We have a problem; how do we get rid of it?" Remember, you
can’t get rid of something unless you acknowledge that it exists.
(3) Getting rid of your strongholds:
After the people admitted that they did have a problem and wanted help,
Jesus went on to tell them how to make the change: "believe in the one
[God] has sent." Sure, you can let the Lord expose your stronghold; you
can even admit to yourself that the stronghold exists. But until you believe in
Jesus, you won’t ever be able to get rid of it. You see, getting rid of a
stronghold requires corresponding action. In other words, it requires some
WORK!!
For instance, what if you’ve gained a few extra pounds? Saying to your
friends, "I know I need to lose weight" is not going to make the fat
disappear. Eating everything on the menu except "Thank you – please come
again," probably won’t give you the results either. To get rid of that
stronghold, you need to believe Jesus. Consult Him, and He will not only show
you what to do, but He will also give you the strength and the grace to do it.
I’m a testimony of that.
After developing a slight belly, I needed to (and still need to) slim down
my waist. As a matter of fact Veronica stated this two weeks ago: "I don’t
know which one of us is pregnant." So I knew then that I couldn’t sit at
home all day eating Hagen-Daas and pie and believe Jesus for a trimmer stomach.
I had to join a gym and sow seeds of health into my life. What we are trying to
say is this: For each stronghold to come down in your life, you are going to
have to do something!
(4) Preventing strongholds
Once we get rid of the strongholds, we don’t need to allow other ones to
crop up. In the 27th verse Jesus told the people how to perform preventive
maintenance: "Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures
to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you." In other words,
concentrate on those things of God—those things that advance the
kingdom—those things that make you a better person in Christ, not in the
world.
Whatever you are working on, put more Jesus into it so that you can attain
the result you and He desire. Proverbs 3:5 & 6 says, "Trust in the
LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all
thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." So let’s
remember, "IN ALL THY WAYS" and not just in some of them. Let’s stop
looking for Jesus to do the miraculous and to pull us out of our strongholds.
Instead, let’s let Him guide us and keep us from having strongholds; then we
can walk in victory on a daily basis.