People Reflecting Jesus

Philemon 8–15 ESV

Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus— I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment. (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.) I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel, but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord. For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever,

We need to be people who reflect Jesus. What do people say when they see us? Are we men and women of integrity? Do we do whats right even when it hurts?

Genesis 39:6–9 ESV

So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.” But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my charge. He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?”

Joseph did everything right and he was stilled accused of rape.

Are we a people who are sexually pure? We live in a world full of sexual filth. Joseph could have slept with Potiphar’s wife and kept his comfortable position. It would have been easier. Why not? He could just apologize to God later and offer up a burnt offering.

This is a reasoning prominent is our church culture. If he gave in to this kind of reasoning, he may have kept his position, but his family and untold many others would have starved to death.

He made the right choice and it brought a prison sentence. Will we be people of integrity that make the right choice now, even if it seems to send us backwards and is painful?

Tapestry.

Sometimes God does not make sense. Frankly, a lot of time, God does not make sense. Do we put more faith in what we see than in God?

Hebrews 11:1 ESV

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

We love this verse and quote it quite often. ‘Faith’ is considered a church term. Sometimes we use it too casually without even thinking about it.

This means we believe in what we can not see more than what we can see. Faith is really blind. Putting it into practice is so much harder than actually saying it.

Elijah

How can we truly live out this faith if we do not know how to hear the voice of God? How can we reflect the glory of Jesus Christ and His immense sacrifice if we are not people of integrity? When people see us, what do they see? Do they see a fraud or do they see someone who is really trying to reflect the glory of Jesus Christ by our choices, our conversations, and our actions?

Maybe this morning you know you are not listening to the right voice, the Voice of truth and you want to hear this voice more clearly.

A - Acknowledge

Romans 3:23 ESV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

B - Believe

Acts 16:31 ESV

And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

C - Confess

Romans 10:9–10 ESV

because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.