I find this thing with us, who begin a relationship with the Lord. Is we
decapitate His head from His body in our view of intimacy with God. Let me
explain, we kiss the face like Judas and call
Him friend and plunged the knife in the back of somebody's reputation, somebody's
life in the church, betray trust, gossip about other people, abuse our spouses,
hurt our children, talk trash about our parents while kissing Jesus and the
cheek. And think our relationship is always based with the kiss but where
knife goes on the back of His back doesn't matter.
And Jesus is telling Paul, He says relationship with me is relationship
with the body not with my cheeks. See we as charismatics many times we love to
spend time in His presence meaning we love His face, we just hate His body. If
you want to have a relationship with God, do not decapitate His head from His body.
Do not separate His face from the rest of His body.
That means the way you treat your wife is the way you're gonna treat Jesus. The
way you treat your kiddos my father, listen father, is the way you're treating
Jesus. The way you treat your spouse is the way you treat Jesus. You can't just
have a devotional life and talk trash about other people. You're plunging a
knife in His back while kissing His face. And Paul is saying
excuse me? Jesus is saying, I've made my people so dear to me
I actually made them a part of me. People are a part. Jesus didn't make us into
purses and toys. He made us into members of His body.
Right here, He actually has us. We are the members of His body and He is the head.
That tells me the relationship I must have with the Lord it's not just the
relationship what I learn about Jesus. And I relate to Jesus by praying,
worshiping, and reading the scriptures which is the kisses on His face. That is
so wonderful. I had this problem when we got married. I know that raising my voice
against my wife and raising my hand is completely it's wrong. It's bad it's
bad. But I found a loophole, when she would do something that brought me
discomfort and like really. And I just wanted to like scream or manifest
or do something and I knew it's wrong and I would hold myself, I did this thing.
What I would do is pinch her. I am very embarrassed to admit. I would pinch her.
And I would pinch her so hard that she would vocalize the very feelings I had inside
of me.
I'm not giving any husband's ideas right now no no no. And she would say this "Ouch
you're hurting me." and I said "No, I'm just playing with you."
She said "Excuse me?" She said "you're hurting me." But I love her but at the same time I
was pinching her side. And as I was reading these verses, I felt that. When I
am pinching Jesus yet spending time with Jesus; yet married to Jesus but the way I
treat people pinches Him. And many of us would never do what Paul did we will
never persecute and kill other people but we find a loophole. We like to pinch
Jesus. And some of your Jesus is screaming out of pain. And that's the
Jesus we need to discover this morning, it's not just the Jesus that loves you
it's Jesus you're hurting. When you hurt other people, you pinch Jesus. And it
doesn't matter how many kisses you lay on his cheek. And it doesn't matter how
much of your makeup is left on His cheeks. If you are on the side pinching
Him and stabbing Him from the back by the way you relate to your people at
your work, to the way you relate to people at your work, in the way you talk
about other people, the way you knowingly and willfully abuse other people. I want
to tell you something today. It's that your confession that you are saved and He is
your Savior is great. He will smile back at you Judas and say "yes my friend,
why did you come,? but remember the relationship that's only based on kisses
is very shallow.
We have many Judas's today who kiss Jesus publicly but stab Him privately;
pinch Him privately. If you want to know your purpose, you must understand that
the presence of God is not only the face of God; it's the body of God. And the way
I treat the body is the way I treat the face.