Sermon Central
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What Jesus Sees In You
Contributed by Kevin L. Jones on Jan 18, 2010 (message contributor)
Summary: A sermon examining the fact that Jesus sees in us what others may not.
What Jesus Sees In You
I want to talk to you today about a man that you probably know nothing about. In fact, I don’t know much about him myself. He is a part of a group more famous than the Beatles. But you may have never even heard his name. He did great things, but there is no in depth record of them. He helped change many lives but I can’t tell you exactly how. His name is Thaddeus and He was one of our Lord’s 12 Disciples.
We have all heard of churches such as Shadow Mountain, Bellevue, Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, First Baptist Atlanta, St. Andrews, Grace Community, and others. We know the names of pastors such as Rogers, Stanley, Jeremiah, Evans, Macarthur, and Sproul. But what about Bro. Smith at 2nd Baptist Littletown who has been faithfully shepherding the same 40 people for the last 20 years? What about Bro. Johnson that went through Seminary and has been struggling to pay his student loans for years while pastoring a congregation of 55 and working a full-time job? Are brothers Smith & Johnson unsuccessful because they do not pastor what many would describe as a “large thriving church”. I submit to you that if they are where God has placed them, doing what God has called them to do then they are successful in God’s eyes.
Paul tells us in - Colossians 3:23 "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men"
Understand this, you may be the owner of a multi-million dollar corporation and be unsuccessful in God’s eyes or you may be the janitor of that same company and be right where God wants you to be.
Many churches measure success by how big their building is, how many people attend, how large the budget may be, and how many new members and baptisms they had the previous physical year. Our society is consumed with superficial measures of success; but if you look to the Word of God you will find that God does not measure success the way that man does. The people of this world may look at you as a failure, as being worthless or as a nobody. It may be that you have heard it so much that you believe it. The enemy has whispered such negative comments in your ears for years and you have made the mistake of listening to him. If so, let me remind you that you are a child of God and you are special; You are greatly blessed and highly favored.
I want to take some time and look at Thaddeus’ life and see that Jesus sees you as somebody even when the world looks at you as a nobody! So, join me as we consider the thought “What Jesus Sees In You”.
- The first thing I would like to see is that:
I. PEOPLE MAY NOT KNOW YOUR NAME, BUT JESUS DOES
The man we are talking about today was referred to in several different ways in scripture. He is called "Lebbaeus" in Matthew 10:3, he is called “Judas brother of James” in Luke 6:16, he is called “Judas, Not Iscariot” in John 14:22. and he is called “Thaddeus” here in Mark 3:18.
It is human nature to desire a measure of recognition. People go to great lengths to stand out from the crowd and to be unique and/or different.
In England, Prince William is the heir apparent to the throne. For years his younger brother Prince Harry was referred to by some in the media as "the spare heir". Now, that William has children of his own Harry is essentially out of the equation all together. Can you imagine what it must have been like being told your whole life that you are merely a "spare" in case something tragic happens to the “chosen one”?
Obviously, no one would want to be confused with Judas Iscariot, but we still wouldn’t want to simply be referred to as “the other one”. That is basically the case for this man Thaddeus, when he is called "Judas, not Iscariot.
Throughout your Bible you will not hear Thaddeus preach a powerful sermon. You will not see him (specifically) healing some one who was sick. You will not read that he ever cast out a demon. But it is very possible, dare I say even probable that he did all of these things. Why do I say that? Because of what is recorded in - Mark 6:7 {Jesus} called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them And he power over unclean spirits; ………………12 And they went out, and preached that men should repent. 13 And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.
