You know, people do not like to talk about what Jesus did. Do you know why? It is because they feel guilty, and every time they sin, it is like they want to minimize what He went through. Crucifixion is a horrific, and one of the most painful deaths known to man. It was definitely in the top ten. Jim Caviezel, the actor who played Christ in The Passion, almost died just acting the part! Just as the actor, playing the role of Jesus Christ, he literally almost died due to the physical suffering that he went through playing the part of Christ. When they did the lashes, he was accidently cut up because the guard they had in place to prevent it from making contact with his skin, failed. It was an accident, but he was injured pretty badly by the whip. Then, when they dropped Him in the hole, his shoulder was dislocated; it came completely out of the socket ripping his shoulder cuff. Sometime during film production, he had to undergo painful surgery to repair this but every time they lowered him back into that hole, he had to have medical intervention and they’d need to stop filming, so they’d press on instead. He got pneumonia because of the weather, he was struck by lightning, and even had to undergo heart surgery after the filming due to the damage done to his heart. 

The production team wanted authenticity for the film, you see. They could have filmed the scenes in a controlled environment or in front of a green screen when they filmed certain harsh weather scenes for this movie, but they didn’t. Jim wanted to retain the authenticity of what Jesus went through. It was so important to getting this message out. In fact, it is the most widely viewed R-Rated movie in history, and the only reason it was rated R was because of the violence that he endured in the crucifixion scenes. This film showed what Christ endured on His path to saving our soul, and that was just acting. Christ actually lived it. He is the Gospel message—Christ is the Gospel message. That is what Jim went through to get the Gospel message out. He said if he died, it would be the least he could do to get the message out to the masses of what his Savior did for him. Just let that sink in for a minute. 

1st Thessalonians Chapter 2 tells us how to walk worthy of the Gospel. One of those ways is to speak the Gospel, boldly. Why? Because we have been entrusted with the Gospel. We have been entrusted with the call, and in the midst of shameful treatment, suffering, and contention, we must speak the Gospel boldly! We must exhort one another without deceit, without uncleanness, without guile and with the primary intent of pleasing God—not man. 

Why? Because when we do things to please men, we do not “cut to the quick,” or in other words, we do not cut through all the garbage. Picture a small, precious piece of gold inside a big black garbage bag. One of those leaf-sized garbage bags filled with thousands of tiny, wind-blown leaves, twigs and pebbles. What you want is the precious gold, somewhere in the center of it all. The soul of that individual is the gold we’re trying to get at…it’s the quick. Everything else is the stuff we need to cut through. It’s the stuff that people pad around themselves that we feel we need to navigate in order to speak into their lives. Those leaves and gunk represent walls and barriers that have been put in place to prevent their heart from hearing the truth of the Gospel. They are blockades. The enemy puts them up, the world puts them up, school puts them up, their friends put them up—it is like a maze inside there. 

The politically correct culture is a driving force behind the chaos of that maze. We do not have time to navigate through the maze. We must cut through it with laser focus because what we want is that treasure that lies in the center and if we deliver the Gospel message in a way to “please them,” it is going to take 50 years to get through that maze. We are called to please God with our hearts, our words and our delivery of His message. If we are filled with the Spirit of Holiness, heeding His voice, we will, in fact, cut through to the quick and pierce their hearts with laser-like focus. We do not do this by pleasing the person; we do this as we are pleasing the Father. 

When we seek to please man, we are not pleasing God. We might be able to accomplish this for a few minutes. Perhaps in a wedding—the husband and wife standing before the pastor who is delivering his message while uniting them before God. Chances are the Gospel message will not be delivered there, though. 

The truth is, we cannot please both God and man, and that is part of the education process that God has us in today as He is redefining how we do “church” and redefining how His Church is supposed to run. The Church is called to be Kingdom-minded and she is far from this today. All is not lost however; He is working within her to bring about the necessary changes. Several weeks ago, we talked about what the Church is, the Beloved, people chosen by God to come out and up to Him. We are chosen, my friends! Chosen to be healed, to be cleansed and to be delivered by the death of His Son. Everything that we do should be to honor His death and resurrection. That is all that matters in this hour. 

Years ago, when I went through Evangelism Explosion, they told us, “If you were the only person alive, the only person ever to accept Christ as their Savior, He would still have died just for you!” The thought of that literally painted the sweetest picture for me. Knowing that He could love just me that much is not only a very sweet picture, it is the truth. 

It’s important that we take this truth and live out the reality of this truth. What do I mean by this? in addition to the fact that He would die for just one person, that one person, when he or she gets saved, should live for Him in a way that honors what He has done for them. We do not say the sinner's prayer and then just walk off into the pearly gates thirty years later. We must live, breathe, and represent the Gospel in holiness and purity, walking worthy of the Gospel that saved our soul from hell throughout those thirty years. 

How? Ask yourself, Do I speak the Gospel message boldly? Do I seek to please God with my whole heart? If so, the Spirit will give you the words that you need to say. Remember when Peter spoke after the lame man was healed in the book of Acts? He was direct as he spoke to the Jewish people about their part in killing the Messiah, but he also reminded them that just as it was prophesied, just as Christ Himself declared, He rose from the dead! 

Today, the PC culture has stripped us of this ability and we need to get it back. If we will take that step of faith, the Spirit will give us the wisdom and the words, and the anointing will come through to pierce the hearts of those we speak to. If we’ve prepared ourselves by studying the Word, the Spirit will bring back the scriptures we need to relay a message that will cut through the garbage and grab hold of that treasure that lies within. 

To be continued next week…

Blessings and Love,

Ricci Wilson