Will They See Jesus in You?

Memory Verse: James 4:10 “Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and He shall lift you up.”

You started your lesson today with an activity where you listed everything on your person and in your pockets, purses and backpacks and put a price on them. Did you know that the sum total of these things – the clothes you are wearing, jewelry, any electronic toys, your Bible, the paper and pens we used to write all this down could be worth or even exceed the average income in many Third World countries? The poorest American – even homeless – has to be considered a very rich person compared to what most Third World people have.

Is all of the stuff with you necessary? Of course you think that they are because you are thinking in a worldly way. But, in a disaster – an earthquake or a flood, or worse – would these things really be important to you? Do they help you to help and serve others

Which of the stuff on your list helps you serve others?

How about your expectations? What do you think you, as teenagers, should be allowed to own? Do your ideas about stuff affect your attitudes toward others that have more or less than you? How could your expectations or ideas of entitlement stand between you and serving God and others? How do they help you in bringing others to Christ?

These are all things that you need to think about when considering what you have been given by God. You were created unique and individual. There is no one like you. Everything you are and have comes from God in one way or another. You may think that you work and earn money to buy things, and that is true to a point. But, who made the gold that the money is based on? Who made the raw materials your electronic toys are made from? Who gave the designers of these things the knowledge how to make them and make them work the way they do. Thirty years ago some of these things did not even exist! How did we learn how to make them? God made the raw materials and gave us brains so we can learn and grow.

He does not just want you to use what He has given you to entertain yourselves. There are other uses for what He has given you. What are some of those uses? (To serve others, to help spread the gospel, to bring others to Him)

Can you have the wrong attitudes toward these things? How can they dominate your life and suffocate your relationship with God? (Spend too much time with them and neglect other, more important things) How are you to treat your stuff? What kinds of attitudes are you to have toward all this stuff you have? (It’s God’s, not mine – He has temporarily given it to me to enjoy and to use to His glory).

Jesus didn’t have a lot of stuff. Everything He had He carried with Him. He knew His time on earth was short and that He had a lot to accomplish during that time. As God He could have lived in a palace with many servants. He could have ridden into Jerusalem on a fine stallion, making a big show of who He was and what He had. All four gospels tell of His humility in entering Jerusalem.

Matthew 21:1-11 1 As Jesus and the disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the town of Bethphage on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead. 2 “Go into the village over there,” He said. “As soon as you enter it, you will see a donkey tied there, with its colt beside it. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone asks what you are doing, just say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will immediately let you take them.” 4 This took place to fulfill the prophecy that said, 5 “Tell the people of Israel, ‘Look, your King is coming to you. He is humble, riding on a donkey— riding on a donkey’s colt.’” 6 The two disciples did as Jesus commanded. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt to Him and threw their garments over the colt, and He sat on it. 8 Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD! Praise God in highest heaven!” 10 The entire city of Jerusalem was in an uproar as He entered. “Who is this?” they asked. 11 And the crowds replied, “It’s Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Mark 11:1-10 1 As Jesus and his disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead. 2 “Go into that village over there,” He told them. “As soon as you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone asks, ‘What are you doing?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it and will return it soon.’” 4 The two disciples left and found the colt standing in the street, tied outside the front door. 5 As they were untying it, some bystanders demanded, “What are you doing, untying that colt?” 6 They said what Jesus had told them to say, and they were permitted to take it. 7 Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments over it, and He sat on it. 8 Many in the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of Him, and others spread leafy branches they had cut in the fields. 9 Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around Him were shouting, “Praise God! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD! 10 Blessings on the coming Kingdom of our ancestor David! Praise God in highest heaven!”

Luke 19:28-38 28 After telling this story, Jesus went on toward Jerusalem, walking ahead of His disciples. 29 As He came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives, He sent two disciples ahead. 30 “Go into that village over there,” He told them. “As you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks, ‘Why are you untying that colt?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it.’” 32 So they went and found the colt, just as Jesus had said. 33 And sure enough, as they were untying it, the owners asked them, “Why are you untying that colt?” 34 And the disciples simply replied, “The Lord needs it.” 35 So they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments over it for Him to ride on. 36 As He rode along, the crowds spread out their garments on the road ahead of Him. 37 When He reached the place where the road started down the Mount of Olives, all of His followers began to shout and sing as they walked along, praising God for all the wonderful miracles they had seen. 38 “Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the LORD! Peace in heaven, and glory in highest heaven!”

John 12:12-19 12 The next day, the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city. A large crowd of Passover visitors 13 took palm branches and went down the road to meet him. They shouted, “Praise God! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD! Hail to the King of Israel!” 14 Jesus found a young donkey and rode on it, fulfilling the prophecy that said: 15 “Don’t be afraid, people of Jerusalem. Look, your King is coming, riding on a donkey’s colt.” 16 His disciples didn’t understand at the time that this was a fulfillment of prophecy. But after Jesus entered into His glory, they remembered what had happened and realized that these things had been written about Him. 17 Many in the crowd had seen Jesus call Lazarus from the tomb, raising him from the dead, and they were telling others about it. 18 That was the reason so many went out to meet Him—because they had heard about this miraculous sign. 19 Then the Pharisees said to each other, “There’s nothing we can do. Look, everyone has gone after Him!”

Did you know that Jesus fulfilled prophecy about Him when He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey colt?

Zech 9:9 9 Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey— riding on a donkey’s colt.

It says Jesus is their king but He is humble – riding on a donkey’s colt. Jesus displayed humility in His life. He wants you to follow His example.

Philippians 2:3-8 3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. 5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. 6 Though he was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, He gave up His divine privilege]; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form, 8 He humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

What does it mean to be humble? The dictionary defines it as not proud or haughty : not arrogant or assertive. How can you make humility a part of the stuff of your life?

You are not to be controlled by or worship your stuff. It is not to be such an important part of your life that you forget from Whom all this stuff came and neglect your relationship with Him and with others.

Exodus 20:1-6 1 Then God gave the people all these instructions: 2 “I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. 3 “You must not have any other god but me. 4 “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. 6 But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands."

Luke 12:15-21 15 Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” 16 Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. 17 He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ 18 Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. 19 And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ 20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’ 21 “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”

You can’t take your stuff with you when you die. Not a single computer, video game, Wii, Ipod, you name it, will go with you for you to use. Your stuff is left here for others. You can only take with you those things that cannot die. Can you name some of them? (A relationship with God, character, honor, integrity, values, love).

Since none of us knows when our time to die is, does it make sense to spend more time developing those things than accumulating stuff that you will have to leave here anyway?

1 Timothy 6:10 10 For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

It is not the accumulation of this stuff that is wrong, it is the love of the accumulation of these things that overpowers your life that is wrong. How can the love of accumulating and buying stuff be the root of all sorts of evil?

Matthew 6:24 24 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

It is not wrong to have stuff. It is not wrong to enjoy the stuff you have. It is wrong to love that stuff to the exclusion of all else. You must be wise and realize what is truly important in this world. You may be the only Jesus that others will ever know. Will they see Jesus in you?

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