Responding to Jesus: How You Respond Says What You Believe

John 11:45-12:8

When God does something amazing, people respond. A few weeks ago we studied the miracle of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead in John 11:1-44. In this passage Jesus had just performed arguably the best miracle in his repertoire of miracles; bringing someone back from the dead. The people who were there to see it were amazed!  They saw it with their own eyes, and for some, it became this incredible moment of cementing their belief in the living Lord Jesus Christ standing among them. For others, their unbelief remained and worse yet, fed their jealousy and hatred, to the point of plotting murder.
 
A response is a reaction. That reaction is often times related to what we believe about a situation or a person. Responses to God in our day and age haven’t changed much. In a matter of seconds I can pull up on my iPhone news stories or social media posts that show peoples’ responses to stories and postings about Jesus. Likes and dislikes happen, but they are tied to our beliefs. They are rooted in our faith or lack of it. How you respond shows what you believe.
 
This Sunday as we look at people’s responses to Jesus, I hope we will all take a look at our responses to God. How you and I respond to God’s work in our lives shows what we believe. My prayer is that we will see Christ for who He is-our genuine, life-changing, healing Savior, who walked among us and now lives in the hearts of those who believe through faith. I also pray that you will be encouraged to not be fearful or angry with those who respond to God in unbelief. Rather that we would praise God for His Grace towards the unbelieving, and that our prayers would be for their hearts to turn to Him for forgiveness and healing. 
 
What is God’s response to all this… same as it ever was, Sovereign Grace.  
 
Responding In Christ,
Pastor Mike Towler

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