JESUS IN THE MIDST

Sermon Notes, September 8, 2013

Rev. C.M. Pruitt

 

Pastor Pruitt’s message was titled “Jesus in the Midst,” and was based on Matthew 18:19-20.  We can’t talk about Christianity without talking about Jesus.  A Christian is someone living under the influence of Jesus.  There is more involved than labels.  “Christian” was a derogatory term when it was first used.  Martin Luther said that Christians are “little Christs.”  God is not looking for good people, but people who will let Him live through them.

Matthew 18:19-20, Jesus tells his disciples that if two of them agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for them by his Father in heaven.  “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”  He was preparing them for his death, and they were fussing over who would be the greatest in his kingdom.

Pilate’s question “What am I to do with Jesus?” is the central question for us all.  His presence and his influence is everywhere.  Whenever we write the date, it is influenced by him—He split time. We celebrate his resurrection every Sunday.  Jesus freed women—remember the woman caught in adultery: he treated her as an equal, not as property.  Jesus is in our midst, whether it’s two or three, or 50, or 5,000.  The church is not a social club; it’s not perfect but it’s the best thing going.

There are biblical examples of Jesus in the midst.  In John 20:19, the disciples are all in the upper room, with the doors locked, scared to death after Jesus’ crucifixion.  Jesus came and stood in their midst.  He gave them hope.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were thrown in the fiery furnace, but when the king looked at them, there was a fourth man in their midst, and he looked like the Son of God.

At Calvary between two thieves, in the midst of all the sin of the world, Jesus was making atonement for the sin of all of us.  He said “It is finished.”

We are not perfect, but God is saying to look to Jesus; you are not alone.  We are the glove for Jesus’ hand; Him IN us, the hope of glory.  He wants to transform us.