The Irresistible Christ

At the precipice of attraction, a piece of iron begins to shake and jitter at the presence of a nearby magnet. Give that same piece of iron a nudge, and it will forget its once static and lonely position only to discover the birthing of a desire it must follow: to be joined with the origin of that force of attraction.

As small children, we were all fascinated by the action of magnets on small metal objects. There was nothing else like it. A mysterious force seemed to reach out through thin air and draw them together! It could be felt--but not seen. The very fact that we couldn't explain it was what made it so mystifying. It almost seemed other-worldly.

Jesus Christ embodies and far surpasses this magnetic quality. While a magnet produces a magnetic field of finite magnitude, the pull and charm of Christ is irresistible and without limit. The most attractive personality that ever lived, without rival, is Jesus Christ. The Lord whom we worship is captivating, compelling and alluring, having such a great influence over humanity, He is almost impossible to resist.

Biblically, after the Holy Spirit descended and rested upon Jesus, His public ministry began. As a new creation man in his Father's carpentry shop, He was obscure and unnoticed, but when the Spirit fell, suddenly multitudes were attracted to Him. Throughout the sacred pages of the four Gospels, we see the power of Christ's magnetic call exerting supernatural force upon the hearts and minds of those called to follow Him:

"And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him" (Matt 4:19-20).

Those called immediately abandon the tools of their trade—their nets, which enable them to literally scoop up their livelihood— and without reluctance, hesitance, or even making a list of pros and cons, leave the security of all that they know to follow a man they'd never met, yet couldn't resist. Many of those drawn as His disciples began as disreputable:

"As Jesus sat at meat in [Matthew's] house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him" (Mark 2:15, emphasis added).

From fishermen to tax collectors to those identified not by occupation but by the nature of their flaw, they were drawn to Him like the invalid to a doctor. How was it that they felt comfortable in His presence? Why weren't they intimidated by His holiness in contrast to their own sinfulness? They all had sordid pasts to live down; they all had evil reputations that preceded them. They all had skeletons in their closets, yet they were drawn to Him. They wanted to be around Him.

How was it that they were willing to come into the Light of His presence and tarry with Him? Could it be that the Light of His presence was a covering presence before it was an exposing one?

The publicans and sinners had no peace in the presence of the religious scribes and Pharisees who viewed them as second-class citizens, social outcasts and unworthy vagabonds. How often these poor publicans and sinners were rejected, expelled, and cast out by the so called godly. But not so with Christ: with Him, they felt accepted, loved, and forgiven. They felt a hope to rise above their present failures and deplorable conditions. They sensed their worth in spite of their guilt, defect and brokenness, making them feel unlike the religious world did.

He made them feel like they were somebody, and in so doing, they experienced a magnificent attraction to Him. They beheld a throne of mercy in the heart of Jesus, and they were drawn to the magnetic pull of His love.

The famous Messianic chapter of Isaiah 53 declares, he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. Indeed, it was not a natural magnetism that drew men to Christ, but the supernatural-drawing power of His person and His gospel. This supernatural and magnetic attraction to Christ and His gospel is still intact today. It is the irresistible force of His glorious gospel that is the hope of the harvest.

The God that made a sunrise over the waters of the Bahamas is the same God that made the gospel gloriously attractive to mankind. If sinners could ever hear the unadulterated gospel preached the way God wants it preached, they'll be riveted to the spot and listen with greater awe than they look upon a Bahamas sunrise. If we can get the right message on the lips of God's messengers, we can change the world and release the magnetic attraction of the irresistible Christ.

We have been effective in declaring what's wrong with America (abortion, no prayer in schools, same sex marriage), but we have failed to present a cosmic vision of Jesus that would prove irresistibly appealing to our nation.

In this glorious gospel message, there is no trace of condemnation or guilt. The message we have been given to preach by God is void of His anger and pregnant with His love. It is the message of forgiveness, healing, deliverance and hope for every person, regardless of their past.

The gospel is God's explosion of love and compassion throughout the earth, and so it draws the multitudes to itself with magnetic and compelling force. It is God's divine strategy in every generation for world evangelization; it is His Great Commission.

Jesus said, "If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me" (John 12:32, emphasis added). This means that while lifting Him up in holy adoration, we will release His magnetism like a great tsunami breaking on the shores of our cities, regions and nations. The worshipping Church beholding the beauty of the Lord will become the harvesting Church winning the souls of "all men" to Christ.

Isn't the Church the body of Christ in the earth today? Shouldn't the world sense and experience the same magnetic influence and attraction through us as they did through Jesus when He walked on planet earth in His Incarnation? So why, in a world saturated with churches like chain coffee shops on every corner, don't sinners of today follow after Christ as the multitudes did in scripture? Perhaps the Church desperately needs to create this same atmosphere of love, acceptance, and forgiveness that Jesus did when He welcomed sinners rather than repelling them.

Jesus, our High Priest, is a restorer and intercessor, not an accuser or rejecter. We as His body must clothe ourselves in the same magnetic role, not by pointing and shaking our fingers in condemnation but by extending our hands in acceptance and love. This is the heart of the Gospel message we now need to herald in our communities.

The sad commentary is that we, the Church, have not always represented Christ to the world as we should. In many respects, we represent an angry Messiah fed up with the sins of the world. In many circles the Church has become a repellant to sinners. They push us away, the poisoned turning down the antidote, and we blame their refusals on their sinfulness and hardheartedness. We must recapture the magnificent magnetism of Christ and His Gospel.

Never forget: religion and legalism are repugnant to the world. Is it any wonder that the scribes and Pharisees of Jesus' day were repugnant to the publicans and sinners?

Christ's magnetic force resides in us. Do we believe this? Because if we do--if we know who we are--we won't try to be what we're not. Why be a poor imitation when we can be the original article? As He is, so are we in this world, and the emergence of the New Creation man within us will be our greatest attraction to win a lost world to Jesus. In Christ's love, we'll pluck them out of the old and plant them into the new. All of creation is groaning for the manifestation of the New Humanity called the Sons of God (Rom 8:19-22). God will not fail to answer their cry!

Scripture declares that "all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD" (Num. 14:21). In another place it declares, "For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea" (Hab. 2:14). These prophetic passages present an optimistic view of the future rather than the gloom-and-doom mentality dumped on us by some. I firmly believe that God doesn't intend to destroy the earth in His wrath, but to ultimately fill it with His glory.

As modern-day believers, we have all felt the magnetic influence of His presence and glory. To the elect, His presence and glory exert an irresistible and captivating attraction. While cockroaches flee to dark corners at the flick of a light switch, that same light beckons the moth, which will straightway seek to join itself with it. So let God arise out of the vessels He has prepared to showcase His glory in this hour!

I believe that the next step in the progressive plan and purpose of God is the awakening of the beauty, majesty, and glory of Jesus, all divinely magnetic qualities, through His elect lady, the Church. This is the generation of the Esther Church that will, unlike queen Vashti, unveil her beauty and glory before the king. The Greater One that indwells us will be admired by the world through us (II Thess 1:10). As an artist puts his portraits on public display at an art gallery, so the Lord will demonstrate His artistic workmanship through the Church (1 Pet 2:9).

Though the gross darkness of this present hour seems to be enveloping the earth, the Light of His exquisite loveliness will shine through and create such a global appreciation for Jesus, that like a moth to flame, multitudes from all nations shall bow down and worship Him.

All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name. (Psa 86:9)

Such As I Have, I Give Unto Thee

I want you to imagine that behind the counter of a Health Food store is a salesman who is an emaciated, sickly individual with sunken eyes and ashen complexion. He coughs, brings up some phlegm, gasps for breath, and attempts to sell you his latest line of vitamins. In spite of his excellent sales pitch, you are completely persuaded to buy absolutely nothing from his shelves. Now imagine yourself turning around and quickly exiting the store. Why? You're no fool! His personal condition betrays the validity of his product.

I realize this is a morbidly humorous picture, but it illustrates an important point concerning the Church and her relationship to the world. How can a Church that resembles the wheezing salesman in our story make bold claims of joy, peace and fulfillment and expect the secular community to take it seriously? Can we really provoke them to embrace Christ while our attitudes resemble the book of Lamentations and our worship services are no more exciting than a television rerun? If all they see when they walk through the doors of our churches are spiritually emaciated Christians gasping for breath, then our spiritual condition betrays the validity of the Gospel.

A Church that claims the supernatural but experiences the superficial can never be effective in persuading a world seeking for deliverance that Christ is the answer. You see, it isn't enough to merely speak about a Christianity meant to be lived. A declaration of Christianity is no substitute for a demonstration of it. Herein lies the essence of hypocrisy and pretense. We talk it. but we rarely walk it. We speak heavy cream, but we're living skim milk. What a reproach we are to the One who said, "Why call ye me Lord, Lord and do not the things that I say?" (Luke 6:46)

Walt Whitman once said, "What you are speaks so loudly I can't hear what you say." Someone else put it this way, "Actions speak louder than words." The salient point is that the messenger must embody his message if it is to have any impact in the world around him.

The lives of Peter and John contained no such contradictions. As we read in the book of Acts, they had more than rhetoric the day they went up together into the temple through the gate beautiful at the hour of prayer. Fastening their eyes upon he that was lame from birth, the healing virtue of Jesus Christ flowed out of them as naturally as rain out of the sky:

Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. (Acts 3:6)

This miraculous healing led to the salvation of over 5000 souls in one day! (Acts 4:4)

It is no wonder Satan is doing all in his devious power to undermine this most glorious of institutions, the Church. It is no wonder that Satan is resisting every believer's effort to come to a full knowledge of the mission and ministry of the Church. If Satan had his way, he would extract every trace of authentic Christianity from the face of the earth and replace it with something that offends the world rather than wins it.

He hates the local church because it is the only institution on planet earth that can dethrone his authority and tear down his stronghold in the minds and hearts of men. He is out to destroy the testimony and witness of any local church that would dare to fulfill its biblical mandate as salt and light to the world. He attempts to accomplish his devious intention by instigating schisms, divisions and compromises within her ranks. His one supreme ambition is to sponsor the funeral service of the bride of Christ and neutralize her effectiveness on earth.

As we stand upon the threshold of a new millennium, an authentic Christianity utterly committed to Christ-likeness and the embodiment of the lifestyle of Jesus is urgently required. In these desperate times our nation must see the attributes and excellencies of Christ modeled in the church. Unless America witnesses firsthand a glorious church of apostolic consecration and power within her borders, her fate will hang in the balance and be found wanting.

Our godless society has sown seeds of iniquity for over four decades and is now reaping a bitter harvest. Our young generation tragically believes there is more power in an MTV rock video than in many of our Christian Churches today. They are hoping that drugs, sex, rock and rap can divorce them from the pain, but it never does. If crack doesn't kill them, a drive by shooter will.

Even more alarming, we live in the presence of a political and medical community that tells us that abortion isn't murder. They tell us it's morally right to rip an unborn baby from its mother's womb in the first trimester of pregnancy with a powerful suction machine. If the baby is too big to fit through the cervix, they say it's politically correct to dismember the child piece by piece with medical pliers. It's an abomination.

Just as bleak, Americans spend billions of dollars on pornography, gambling, alcohol and drugs each year. No price is to dear to finance her pleasure-craving lusts. My head hangs low at the thought that an unbelieving society will give more for their dying causes than the redeemed church will give to a living Christ.

Adding insult to injury, multitudes of would-be and should-be Christians are running to New Age, psychic hotlines, TM, positive thinking, existentialism and secular humanism in a vain attempt to pull themselves up by the bootstraps. They should be running to the Church for answers--and they would be if we were living the way we were meant to be.

We are compelled to lay the blame on the doorstep of a Church filled with believers who look more like our emaciated vitamin salesman than the "city set on a hill." Sterile religion has enough Christianity to ease the conscience, but too little to make a difference in a sin-sick world. We have just enough to inoculate ourselves against the real thing, but not enough to cure the ills existing in our own ranks.

Sterile religion is killing America!

But enough of the negative! Let's accentuate the positive. There is a new courageous and bold generation rising that can't be paid off, bought off, scared off or run off from their conviction of true revival and authentic Christianity. God is building an uncommon Church today filled with a new breed of Christ-conquered people who have come through the crucible of testing and survived it.

They will be the church of Matthew 16 where Jesus promised, "I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." (Matt 16:18) They are the Church Peter wrote about in his first epistle, "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;" (I Pet 2:9) They are the Church John saw after he was caught up in the Spirit on the Lord's day.

This emerging Church in our day will make the real Jesus visible and tangible in every sphere of life. As the Moon is the glory of the Sun through the principle of reflection, so the Church is the glory of Christ. She will be the vehicle of Hisexpression in the earth and the showcase of divine things.

Jesus said, "…he that hath seen me hath seen the Father;" (John 14:9) He fulfilled His role as the earthly representation of His heavenly Father. We are now called to fulfill our role as the earthly representation of the Lord Jesus Christ. Can we dare declare that to see us is to have seen the Son?

We need to understand that God does nothing but through the Church. He moves only as we move. If Christ is to reach out in compassion and touch the world again with His healing and delivering power, it will be through the Church. If His glory is again to be revealed as it was in His earthly body 2,000 years ago, it will be through His body, the Church. We are His nail scarred hands extended in grace and truth to broken humanity. This is why I believe the local church will be at the heart of this final revival.

According to history, Napoleon Bonaparte, while speaking to his generals, ran his index finger around the vast borders of a great country on a world map. He said to them, "There lies a sleeping giant; let it sleep! Because," he continued, "if that country ever wakes up and harnesses its man power to its mineral power, it will shake the world." The country he outlined was none other than China, our most dangerous threat in the world today.

Now I want you to imagine the devil standing there in Napoleon's stead. Satan isn't running his crooked finger around a map. Oh no! He is running his finger around the Church of Jesus Christ and with fear in his eyes, and a trembling voice, he says to his hordes of hell, "There lies a sleeping giant; let it sleep! Because if this Church ever rediscovers the resurrection power of the Holy Ghost, if she ever rediscovers the superior position of authority given to her by Jesus Christ in the earth, she will rise up and shake the world to its very foundations."

The once sleeping giant, the Church, is awakening to her grand position of superiority. This awakening of the Church will prove to be the single greatest event of our time. Under the administration of the Holy Spirit, she is about to launch a massive attack against the kingdom of darkness, crash the gates of hell and plunder it of all its spoil. Those who have ears to hear are hearing it everywhere: A triumphant Church! A militant people! A glorious nation! An invincible army! The Church is finally awakening in the earth and the devil can do nothing to stop it because it was purposed, promised and prophesied by God in the sacred pages of His Holy Book!