Jesus is the Answer

There are a lot of questions swirling in our society today, and not enough answers being readily provided; at least not ones that are sufficiently satisfactory. There are questions about sexuality; is it right and ethical to change one's gender? There are questions about our financial system; what's going to happen to all of the debt that America owes and the value of the dollar? There are questions about our political system; who's going to be the next President, and is it really going to make a difference? There are questions about our criminal justice system and the role of the police in our society. All of these questions are being raised. And of course, many people have a response, but not everybody has the answer. I want to go on record today and state emphatically that Jesus is the Answer.
Not too many people, not even non-Christians, would disagree with that, but the challenge is the application. So why aren't people actively looking to Jesus to solve the problems of the world today, including in the church?

One of the first reasons why people aren't looking to Jesus to be the Answer for the world's problems is because the witness of the church has restricted the reach of Jesus. We (Christians) have made it seem like the only way to access Jesus is through the church. This is incorrect. As a matter of fact, you might have a better time finding Jesus in some of our more secular institutions than you would in many of our so-called churches. We've made Jesus religious and He is not. Jesus is not religious, He is Relational. Much of the world is anti-religious, but they are not anti-relationship. Everybody wants to be accepted relationally in society. Jesus is the Greatest Relator there is. But if people think they have to be religious and "live right" in order for Jesus to be the Answer, they're going to reject or dismiss the Answer before they even know who the Answer is. We've got to rectify this misconception that Jesus can't be found outside of the organized church.

The next challenge of people understanding that Jesus is the Answer is that Jesus's impact and influence has been restricted to the realm of salvation. Yes, Jesus is the Savior of the world (John 3), but He's also the King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19). All Power in heaven and in earth is in His hands (Matthew 28). We must not just present Jesus as the Savior, we must also present Him as The King, The King of the Universe. When we understand Jesus as the King, then we begin to understand the dynamics of His Kingdom. Salvation is for the church, but the Kingdom is for the world. Yes, Jesus died for the sins of the world, so the will of the Father is for the world to be saved (1Timothy 2, 2Peter 3). But the Kingdom of God under the emperorship of Jesus is what will solve the problems of the world; politically, financially, socially, culturally, sexually, relationally and otherwise. The answer is not in the church, the answer is in the Kingdom.

Lastly, in order for Jesus to be the Answer for the problems of the world, there has to be a spirit of repentance and reverence towards God. You're not going to respect the Rulership of Jesus if you don't reverence the God that He serves. Jesus is the Son of God, and He is God in the flesh. But let us not forget, that the One who sent the Son is The Father. Jehovah, Yahweh, IS GOD. If you don't believe in God, and reverence Him, for all intents and purposes, you won't pay any real attention to Jesus. Jesus came and died for the sins of the world to reconcile us back to God (2Corinthians 5). America is in the shape its in because we have forsaken the God for whom this country is founded. It's time to turn back to God, repent and say we're sorry for our spiritual departure. It's time to give Father God the reverence He deserves. Because He knows, with all of the love He has for us, that His Son Jesus, is the Answer.