Dancing in the Light

I John 1:7 "If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin."

Name:
Location: North Platte, Nebraska, United States

I am a christian wife, mother and grandmother. I am a licensed Social worker and a licensed Christian counselor. I am most proud of the relationships I have with God, my family and friends all over the world. I have been blessed beyond my dreams.

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

The Charisma of the Message

Consider the following verses:
Isaiah 53:2b "He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him."
Mark 1:45 "As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in the lonely places. Yet the people still came to Him from everywhere."
Mark 2:2 "So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door when He preached the word to them."
Mark 2:13 "Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to Him."
Mark3:7 "Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed."
Mark 3:20 "Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that He and His disciples were not even able to eat."

The passages which speak of large crowds and multitudes following Jesus are too numerous to list. But, just read the book of Mark, and you will be amazed at how many followed Jesus.
What makes people want to follow another? Some believe it is charisma. One of the definitions of charisma is "a magnetism that draws people in". We all know people with charisma. My brother has it oozing out of every pore. He is a terrific salesman. In fact, he has been told he "could even sell ketchup popsicles to an eskimo in a wedding dress". He is that good! Everyone who meets him is smitten by his charm. He smiles and waitresses bring free pie. He speaks and men practically beg to partner with him in business endeavors. He has always been that way, even at a young age, talking my sister and I into doing his paper route and somehow owing him for the privilege! Everyone wants to be his friend and he is never alone. He has charisma!
The verse in Isaiah makes me think Messiah did not have this same kind of charisma. It says He had nothing that we should be attracted to. And yet, crowds followed Him everywhere. There was obviously some type of charisma, some kind of magnetism that drew crowds to Him. So what was it?
I believe one of the things that drew the crowds was the evident authority in His message. Over and over again, we are told "He spoke as one having authority". There was something different about His message. There was something different about His teaching. There was more substance, more value, more genuine-ness. It came from God. He had a message of authority. And thousands of people responded to the charisma or pull of that message.
He also had a message of healing. The verses above are just a few that show that His ability to heal was a drawing point for the crowds. The message that He could and would cast out demons, restore health, restore sight, restore life, spread quickly and He was mobbed by those needed His healing. That message of healing was a type of charisma, pulling the crowds to Him.
Many also came because He offered a message of hope. For four hundred years, God had been silent, not speaking to His people. And yet, they hoped, hoped for the promised Messiah, for the rescue He would bring. They were tired of being captives in their own land, an occupied people. They were tired of living by the rules and laws of countries other than their own. They were tired of trying to please another king. Jesus brought with Him the idea that life on earth is not all there is. He brought with Him the assurance that God still has a chosen people and they will one day be the heirs to a spiritual kingdom, a kingdom with only God as king. He offered the blood that would free them from sin and punishment, free them from sin's captivity. This message of hope was just what they needed and they followed in droves. They responded to the charisma of His message.
It seems that we too, should be converting the multitudes. We too, should have a message full of charisma. The Great Commission tells us that when we make disciples, when we baptize, when we teach---we are doing so in His name or by His authority. Our message is different from the self-serving message of the entertainment industry. We have a message of authority. It is God's message, His words we share. We also have a message of healing. Where sin and it's ravages are present, we bring the cleansing and healing blood of Jesus. We bring life where death once was. We bring light where the darkness of sin once kept us stumbling and falling. We bring healing waters and the bread of life. We bring a message of healing. That makes our message charismatic. And of course, we have the message of hope. The world no longer has to die in sin. They no longer have to face eternal punishment. They no longer have to worship the prince of darkness. We have Messiah, Redeemer, Sacrificial Lamb, the propitiation of sins. We have the assurance that this life is but a breath and after that ----eternity with God. That is indeed a message of hope.
This message is still what the multitudes need. And yet, most of us can go into the city without being mobbed. Few of us have ever been so surrounded by listeners that someone had to be lowered through the roof. And seldom do we get so busy with lost people that we have no time to eat. So perhaps this message is outdated. Perhaps it does not fit in our society today. FOX News has an advertisement that says "America has problems but America is not the problem"
Brothers and sisters, the message is not the problem. The problem is the messengers. We have to speak up, share the message. We must believe we have what the world needs. We must be willing to share it everyone and anyone. We don't have to have charisma to win the world. The message will do it for us.

Peace
Neva

24 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

You are so right, we can have the same charisma because we have the same message

Good job

Dan

9:15 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

will done and ty
love you aunt

11:45 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Good post--we need to have the same confidence in our message that he had in his.

Love
Jean

12:24 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You are right. We need to live in the "RW" and get the message out. I couldn't resist.

Love you,
Tammy

12:38 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Interesting choice of words--Charisma/Charismatic are not words we use in the Church of Christ.
If you know what I mean.

Carlos

1:05 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

All we have to remember is that we have what everyone wants...the truth. We must speak boldly and with the confidence that David had when facing Goliath.
Thank you for your words.

3:56 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I was discussing this post with a beautiful woman, it seemed to be a little long. She, the beautiful woman, mentioned it was long because all the scripture it started with, and that most of "us" knew them by heart and would most likley see chapter & verse and not really read the text. Some times we over look the charisma of the word because "we" are so famillar with it. Like I am with that beautiful woman I mentioned.

and no I'm not in trouble!

Mr Neva, AKA ned

4:39 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ned, or ummm, Mr. Neva
You are very sweet. I know Neva appreciates you and your comments. We would like to hear more from you out here in blogland.

Eileen

5:21 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Amen, sister

Dean

6:29 PM  
Blogger Kathy said...

Jesus is still charismatic - we need only show Him to others.

His message is still one of hope - we need only declare it.

We are told to plant and water, not invent the seed nor make the water, just use what God has provided - His Word - His message - His charisma - His desire that none should be lost. We need only declare that love.

What a great post, Neva!!!

6:43 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ned is so cute---

Kel

6:50 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It is all about the message--

love ya

Lyndsay

8:02 PM  
Blogger The Preacher's Household: said...

Maybe we need to be charismatic.
James

9:14 PM  
Blogger The Preacher's Household: said...

Ned, um Mr Neva,

I have my charismatic beautiful woman back after her travels.I'm excited, she is snoring. Travels do that to you. Think she thinks I'm charismatic.

Raising hands,
James

9:17 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I know that most of "our" people didnt truly appreciate this post. We are so afraid of the words. But this really should have hit us where we live. We have everything we need to draw the crowds. We have everything we need to bring the lost to salvation. We have everything we need to give the world hope. We are just so afraid to be like the Pentecostals that we would rather hide it inside the covers of our bibles. Sad for us, sad for the world.
Great post--wish there were more like this one.

Interested Bystander

9:59 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Also
Dont you find it interesting that the posts that in the bloglands, the posts that get the most comments are the ones that have nothing spiritually substantial to offer? The little jokey ones and the cartoons? Yet, those of substance, like this one, have very few comments. I am sorry for that, Neva. I am afraid it shows how spiritually shallow we are.

Interested Bystander

I dont mean for this to sound so negative, just an observation on my part.

10:02 PM  
Blogger Neva said...

Interested Bystander,
Thank you for your kind words.
I appreciate your comments.
As far as other blogs, every blog and every blogger has a different purpose and personality. That's what makes blogging so great! There is as much variety in blogs as there are in readers.
Like tv and radio, we all have an option to turn off what we dont want to watch or dont want to listen to.

Peace
Neva

10:20 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I can't really tell that much difference in the number of comments on this one and the others.
Maybe it is just me
Dean

7:10 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Charisma is a rare personal quality attributed to leaders who arouse fervent popular devotion and enthusiasm.
Charismatic is a type of Christianity that emphasizes personal religious experience and divinely inspired powers, as of healing, prophecy, and the gift of tongues.

I believe you were referring to the first one, yes?
Isn't it strange that Interested Bystander assumed a Pentecostal bias? Maybe because he/she? is one of those deep spiritually minded persons who comments?

Just an observation.

But great post and very good thoughts on Jesus' ability to place his faith in the message. I just assumed he was gifted, being God and all.

11:55 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Another excellent post! There is one person who I have been praying for and have talked to, your post today has led me to believe I need to do lots more talking! Thanks,
Abby

12:10 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Good post Neva! I have been away physically on a Teen Trip. Then I was away mentally on an exhaustion trip. I'm back!

I can't help but wonder about the people that walked with Jesus, do you think they looked into His eyes and saw God?

6:40 AM  
Blogger Liz Moore said...

You are so right about the charisma being in the message. Jeff Walling did a talk at the Tulsa Workshop last year called the Messy Messiah. He talked about the genealogy of Jesus and the mess He came from. How we are mess and because of that mess we have a message. He also said, "I am a mess, but God is using me anyway." We think our lives need to be so perfect to talk about the message. The truth is, we are all a mess. It's the message that makes us clean. Great thoughts!

4:47 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Neva

I began to post a reply here, but it got long and I realized it was a message I was meant to post a few days ago. hehehe.

So I blogged it.
http://achristian.wordpress.com/2007/04/06/but-seek-first-of-all-his-kingdom-and-his-righteousness/

God bless you!
Mark.

9:34 PM  
Blogger The Preacher's Household: said...

This weekend I was described by two people I do not know well as having charisma. I think back to other times I have been told that and the explanation has been, I see something different in the twinkle of your eyes. I think Monalea is onto something about being able to see God through Jesus eyes and our goal should be that people can see Jesus through ours.
Kathy

3:13 PM  

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