Jesus claimed to be the Son of God... He said to the Pharisees,"I and the Father are one". Their reaction was to try to kill Him saying that Jesus was describing Himself as equal to God.
Jesus made many statements and did many things that were shocking to the people of His day. He threatened their systems...not so much by disrespecting leaders as by serving and respecting all people equally. Jesus displayed the true character of God.
God is not so interested in structures and decorum nearly as much as He is interested in the deep things of individual people. He is interested in friendship. He is interested in what wakes you up and makes your heart beat. You are not a statistic to God. The Bible says that the Good Shepherd will leave His whole flock to search for one lost lamb. This is against world systems from governmental to religious to corporate.
One reason we have such a hard time relating to God is that we are such cogs in this world. It's all about everything but you. But when it comes to God, He is all about YOU. When you are healthy, whole, and filled with joy, you shine. God's way is the only way that is good for whole countries AND individuals. He is people oriented.
There are many religious organizations that are all about a message, but not about people. They see people as things to sacrifice for a message. But if the message is never for any one person, then it is never for anybody. This doesn't make sense. The real message is best perceived in joyous, fulfilled people. That is why Jesus said to let your light shine.
That means being YOU. When a person walks with a personal God, amazing things happen. People become amazing.
This is very upsetting to those who make their livings by subduing people and using them to get things. Whether it is riches or power or status, we humans can get very upset by having these things threatened.
That is why it is so dangerous to be in ministry. We have to examine our motives constantly so that we do not stand between people and God and reap a dishonest harvest. It isn't so much that we need to get down from a pedestal, it's that we must constantly invite everyone else up there!! Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father and we are all in Him... how much higher could we possibly be??
Jesus lived and breathed people. That is why He was crucified. The murder of Jesus did not have the effect that the enemy intended. Jesus, in living a sinless life, became the perfect sacrifice for us... but it didn't end there.
Jesus did not stay dead. God is bigger than man and life is bigger than death. On the third day Jesus rose. The resurrection not only validates who Jesus is and everything He said, it demonstrates God's power and intention to raise humanity into something far beyond what we are in this material world.
We are not just forgiven, we have a hope. Our hope is not just for the future, it begins when we ask Jesus to abide in us and when we begin to abide in Him. The power of the resurrection is WORKING IN US. We have been transformed into a whole new being. We are not just creations anymore, but His offspring and inheritors of our Father's Kingdom...a Kingdom whose only law is Love.
We identify with the Cross by dying to ourselves and giving our lives to God. But we also identify with the Resurrection in that we now live a new and risen life by faith.
There have been many martyrs, but we have more than a Cross - We have a Resurrection!
Taken From Don Francisco (He's Alive) / Rocky Mountain Ministries
