Jesus is ……

(click on the pic to listen to it) A little boy went up to a missionary Sunday School leader in a pagan country. The boy said, “I like what you say about the God of the Bible but I can’t see him. But if I go to the temple I can see my God.”

The missionary said to the little boy, “Listen, does your God bleed?”

The boy said, “I don’t know.”

The missionary gave him a pin and said, “Next time you go to the temple, when no one else is watching, prick him and see what happens.”

The following week the boy returned to his Sunday School class. He said to the missionary, “I did it, I did it, I pricked the idol.”

The missionary said, “And what happened?”

The boy replied, “Nothing, my god doesn’t bleed.”

Straight away the missionary said, “But my God did! He bled for me and he bled for you!”

Jesus is real

The Philistines found out he was real in I Samuel 5

After the Philistines captured the Ark of God, they took it from the battleground at Ebenezer to the town of Ashdod. 2 They carried the Ark of God into the temple of Dagon and placed it beside an idol of Dagon. 3 But when the citizens of Ashdod went to see it the next morning, Dagon had fallen with his face to the ground in front of the Ark of the LORD! So they took Dagon and put him in his place again. 4 But the next morning the same thing happened—Dagon had fallen face down before the Ark of the LORD again. This time his head and hands had broken off and were lying in the doorway.Only the trunk of his body was left intact.

Dagon was an ancient God and was regarded as the chief among the pantheon of pagan gods. He was the head over some 200 hundred deities. He held the title “lord of the gods.” He was the god who allowed the grains to flourish and rain to fall. He was , in a way, the god who gave increase. Dagon is also referred to as “a powerful and warlike protector.” He guaranteed a win when war broke out. In short – he was a god of guaranteed success. But he didn’t bleed. The temple of Dagon is most likely for the Philistines a house of idols. It was the dream team of idols. All of their idols guaranteed success in something.

Once they defeated the Israelites  they got to add to their collection of god’s by adding the ark of the covenant , they symbol of Israel’s invisible, all-powerful, redeeming God. They had to think that with Israel’s God, they had an unstoppable force that would lead to world domination – crushing anyone who got in the way. They had a dream team of god’s.

But look what happens in vs. 2-3, They carried the Ark of God into the temple of Dagon and placed it beside an idol of Dagon. But when the citizens of Ashdod went to see it the next morning, Dagon had fallen with his face to the ground in front of the Ark of the LORD! So they took Dagon and put him in his place again.

Can you imagine the looks on their faces! It was a PR nightmare for the priests of Dagon. “Who saw this happen?” “No one can know that our great god of Dagon was fallen prostrate before the God of Israel!”
“How do we do explain this to the people?”

They only thing they could do was put it back in place again. Take a look at what happens in vs. 4, But the next morning the same thing happened—Dagon had fallen face down before the Ark of the LORD again. This time his head and hands had broken off and were lying in the doorway. Only the trunk of his body was left intact.

And he didn’t bleed.

Did you see what the Philistines tried to do? The tried to include the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (the one true God we worship) in their family of gods. The wanted to make him another god.  He was just one of many gods to them. He was just another god who could help them be successful. He was just another god who could help them increase their wealth. He was just another god who could guarantee them victory.

If we are not careful we could easily do the same thing today. We could make Him another small “g” God who has ZERO power in our life. We could put Jesus on the same level with all the other gods of the world. We can make Jesus an idol and make and shape him into our own image.

The thing that makes Jesus real is that He bled.

Hebrews 4:15 reminds us that he understands our weakness and has faced everything that we face.
15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.
Hebrews 2:18 reminds us he suffered and was tested and is able to help us.
18 Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested.

This is what makes him worthy of our worship. This is what makes him different from all the other gods.
This is what makes him real.

Did I mention that He bled?

If we are not careful Jesus could just become another powerless idol. Our church culture is trying to turn him into a useless idol. We tend to be more interested in worshiping what He can do than who He is. Politics uses him to win the conservative vote. Businesses use him to sell their Christian product. Christians use Him and His word to prove their point.

Many Christians treat him like an idol. An idol is a  powerless and heartless object that makes no difference in your life. We want to be our divine rabbit’s foot instead of our resurrected Lord. We want Him to be our diving good luck charm instead of our redeemer. We want him to be our divine trump card instead of savior We want him to be our divine magician instead of the Master of our life.

He is not just another idol. He is not a powerless and heartless object that makes no difference in our life. We may want Him to make us successful. We may want Him to give us victory. We may want him to make us wealthy. We may want him to give us the perfect person in our life. We may want him to heal the person we love. We may want him to make our kids perfect. These are not things he desires for us. You will not anything of these things listed in scripture.

He desires and requires that we that we do what is right. Love mercy. And to walk humbly with Him.

Micah 6:8
No, O people, the LORD has told you what is good,
and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God.

Why does He desire and require this of us? Because those things make us real. These three things separate the sheep from the goats These three things separate the hot from the cold.
These three things separate the light of world from the dark of the world. These three things separate the salt of the earth from the bland. These three things separate the fans of Jesus from the followers of Jesus. These three things are things that the Holy Spirit can use to shape and mold us into His image.

This is how you can tell the difference between treating Jesus like an idol in our life vs. Him being real. If he is like an idol then you are molding and shaping him into your image. And that image looks just like you. That god has the same desires as you. That god isn’t willing nor can it bleed.

If He is real in your life then He is shaping you into his image.

• He is changing the way you think
• He is changing your attitude towards others
• He is changing what motivates you.
• He is changing what causes you to get up in the morning.
• He is defining your goals, dreams, and aspirations.
• He is changing your outward behaviors.

Jesus is real.  Did I mention He bled for you?

Is He real or just another idol in our life?