Lynda Switzer - Placing Christ First

Placing Christ First
By Lynda M. Switzer

There are many facets of our faith. The Apostle John wrote the Book of John to lead readers to a settled, strong, secure faith. A burden on my heart is that we who comprise His church can be involved in a lot of stuff about our faith and miss the heart and foundation of our faith – the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It’s important to consider our Savior as He reveals Himself in the Gospel of John and to focus on our Lord, to focus on who He says He is, and to focus on what He has accomplished for us. This can help us discover more clearly who we are in Christ and who we are related to.

I Corinthians 15:3, 4, states “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.” These verses are the heart of our faith. Christ was crucified for my sins, for your sins, and for the sins of the whole world. I have missed the mark of the glory of God. I am a sinner. Jesus died in my place – in your place; He was buried; He rose again to provide salvation –new life in Christ for you and me and for the whole world. This is the focus of our faith. The Church in America can get all too easily sidetracked and focused on the latest fad – whether it’s evangelism, or prosperity, or pro-life, or Christian education, or prayer, or politics, or going hi-tech, or drama, or the gifts, or healing, or prophecy, or many other church-related pursuits. All of these aspects of church life are good and have their place, but first place belongs to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the salvation that He has provided for us. What is the authentic focus of our faith every day?

As we ponder the true focus of our faith, I’m reminded of a vision my husband shared recently when our congregation gathered for prayer. The picture God gave him was of a man plowing a field. It was autumn and time for the fall plowing. He saw in the Spirit that it’s time to plow our fields. Hosea 10:12 reads, “Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.”

I grew up on a farm and my dad plowed some fields in the fall and he plowed some fields again in the spring. The fields that were plowed in the fall were ready to receive the fall rains, to soak in the blankets of winter snow; they were ready to receive the seed my dad planted in those fields. In parallel in our walk with the Lord, He gives us opportunities to let him plow the fields of our hearts, to break up the fallow, hard, neglected soils of our hearts. His plowing may be gentle or it may be severe depending upon how hard our hearts have become. But, if we will surrender our hearts to the faithful plowing of the Spirit, the faithful seed of God’s Word will take root in our lives. Our hearts will be prepared and open to receive the rain of His Spirit and to receive the seed of the Word of God fertilized by covenant relationships.

In the Book of Exodus 3:13-15, when Moses was drawn aside by the burning bush and took off his shoes in that holy place before the bush that burned, but was not consumed, God commissioned Moses to lead the people of Israel out of Egyptian captivity. Moses asked God whom should he tell the Israelites had sent him to them? God’s response was, “tell them I am that I am has sent you.” God is I AM. He continues to reveal Himself as the “I am” of our salvation. These words reveal God’s essence and speak to the focus of our faith.

Jesus in the Gospel of John speaks distinct statements of who He is. These revealing statements of our Savior are parallels to God’s covenant name by which he revealed Himself to Moses by the burning bush. I was at school subbing the other day. In one hallway there was a large poster that said, “Identify – to name and to describe.” In this article I’d like to identify the core, the central theme of our faith – to “name and describe” the lodestone, the multi-faceted diamond that is the central truth of the Word of God.
Jesus reveals the Father. He consistently pointed beyond Himself to the Father who sent him and whom He sought to glorify.

Jesus reveals Himself, “I am the bread of life” in John 6:35, 6:48, and in John 6:51, He says He is the living bread. In the Greek the word is artos, bread as raised or a loaf.
Bread is called the staff of life. We probably each have our preferences for a specific type of bread to make a sandwich. I like a dark, seedless rye. Many cultures depend upon daily bread to survive. When our Savior reveals here that He is the bread of life, He’s telling us that He’s the true, heavenly loaf. He’s our true, life sustaining power.
Anything else that we taste to try to satisfy us will be inadequate.

In John 6:27 Jesus says, do not labor for the food which perishes but for the food which gives life. His disciples asked Him, “What shall we do?” Jesus says our work is to believe. In John 6:48-59, Jesus says to believe in Him is to partake of Him. We feed on Jesus the bread of life when we partake of the benefits of his death and receive His salvation.

What we believe is so important. What we believe will eventually lock us up, shut us up, bind us up, or set us free. Why is it that we treasure our locked hearts? Do you ever find yourself saying or thinking, “Or I don’t believe I could do that?” The Gospel is our bread; Jesus is our living bread.

Our identity: We are redeemed sinners with bread to give to a hungry world. I recently heard that many women in our country between the ages of 40 and 60 are committing suicide. Expansive studies will be launched to try to discover why these women are giving up. Perhaps you’re thinking, I feel like giving up, too. Jesus, our Savior, the living bread, the Gospel, is the true bread that satisfies the deepest longings on our lives. He is the lover of our souls who helps us when we feel like giving up.

Jesus reveals Himself as “I am the light of the world” in John 8:12. The setting of Jesus revealing Himself as the light of the world is the story of the woman caught in adultery. Into her dark, depraved life, Jesus said that He is the light of the world. The Greek word here is phos, to shine, to make manifest, especially by rays, luminousness in the widest application, fire, light. The world is truly dark without the light of Christ. I like the light. In my home, I like to open up the blinds and let the light come in. I like to walk in the moonlight or sit by a window when the moon is shining brightly and listen to the voice of my Lord.

However, darkness sometimes gets into our lives. What darkness are we caught up in right now? What’s in our lives that others either condemn or make their accusations at in our life? Darkness hides the size of the fears and lies in our lives. Because our Savior died on the cross on our behalf, Jesus gives us the power through the Holy Spirit’s working in our lives to bring anything hidden in our lives to the light. Whatever is hidden, the evil one will accuse us with; he’ll whip us and beat us up. But when the hidden in our lives is brought to Christ, the light of the world, Christ sets us free of any and every dark stronghold. That is our Savior, the light of the world.

When we think about Jesus, what about Him do we think about? Above all else, what is central is that He came to bring God’s light into the darkness of this world and into our darkened lives. Every day God’s Spirit will light up and enlighten the Word to us. Our identity: We are redeemed sinners with authentic light!

Jesus reveals Himself as “I am the door of the sheep,” in John 10:7-9. Our Savior is our door to a personal relationship with the Father – now and forever. The word in the Greek is thura, thoo-rah, a portal or entrance, the opening, door, or gate. Jesus as He reveals that He is the door speaks to His saving action on our behalf. He is the door to abundant life and provision. Jesus is the door – our security and safety are in Christ. He is our protection. We as sheep can go in and out – speaking of our daily goings and comings - in safety because we are protected by our Lord.

Every time we read the Word we can look for the Door, the entrance God opens to us. In Joel 2:26, 27 we read, “You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God who has dealt wondrously with you; and My people shall never be put to shame. Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel. I am the Lord your God and there is no other. My people shall never be put to shame.” II Peter 1:3 reads, “As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue.” As believers there are choices before us – believing the Gospel and receiving Christ as our Lord and Savior, going through the Door of Jesus Christ and entering into the safety of a life in Christ or flirting with the evil one who came to steal, kill, and destroy our lives. Our identity: We are redeemed sinners who’ve walked through the door of Jesus Christ.

Jesus reveals Himself as “I am the good shepherd,” John 10:11. He is the Good Shepherd with genuine concern for our lives – in stark contrast to the hireling who is interested in his self preservation. The Good Shepherd gave His own life, John 10:11, 10:15, 17 and 18. Our security lies in the true shepherd and his relationship with the Father. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep – that’s the Gospel – that’s the cross and our Savior’s great love for us. God by His Spirit will convict us when we get in that place of “cocking” an attitude toward the Lord when we blame God and place our judgment against Him for stuff that happens in our lives. In our pain we assume the worst about our loving heavenly Father.

Sometimes when I’m struggling I ask God why or I tell God I’d just like to see His footprint in the midst of what’s happening. In those moments, it’s too easy for me to forget that my Savior is the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd is often pictured with a shepherd’s staff. The Psalmist David writes in Psalm 23 that “Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.” When God judges us it’s not about destruction, but about setting things right in our lives. In those moments, when we’re in the midst of hard stuff, difficult situations and circumstances, knowing Jesus is the good shepherd can bring everything into focus. Our good shepherd is so worthy of our expressing our gratitude to our Him, instead of blaming and judging His ways. Something happens when we begin to thank our good shepherd. Healing comes into our souls; we are impacted by the goodness of the Lord and are motivated to lovingly care for others.

The Psalmist, David, wrote and sang of the goodness of the Lord:
- Psalm 27:13 – “See the goodness of the Lord”
- Psalm 31:19 – “How great is thy goodness”
- Psalm 33:5 – “The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord”
- Psalm 65:11 – “You crown the year with your goodness”
- Psalm 107:8 –“Praise the Lord for his goodness”
- Psalm 107:9 – He fills the hungry soul with goodness
Our identity as redeemed sinners: we are protected and cared for by the Good Shepherd. He laid down His life to set us free so we can lay our lives down for others.

Jesus reveals Himself as “I am the resurrection and the life” in John 11:25. The setting here is Jesus with his good friends Mary and Martha as they mourn the recent death of their beloved brother and Jesus’ good friend, Lazarus. The Greek word resurrection – anastasis, standing up again, a moral recovery of spiritual truth, raised to life again, rise from the dead, rising again; to stand up, arise, lift up, raise up, stand up right. Our heavenly Father here in Jesus reveals the new order of life. John 5:21 reads “For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.” Because of our Savior’s death for us on the cross, He is our resurrection and our life.

We may be discouraged because we’re trying to live the Christian life in our own strength. Our life motto may be, “I can do this! Leave me alone!” Then sooner or later we realize, we can’t do it in our own strength. When we start to sink, God is there to rescue us. Resurrection power is resident in each of our lives.

In reflection in God’s Word, the Lord was showing me what He means when He says He is the resurrection and the life. I sensed the Lord revealing that some of us have been bowed over; we’ve been dragging; we can’t seem to get up spiritually. God by His Spirit, wants to raise us up, lift us up, change our thinking – recover our thoughts with the Gospel, the good news of our Savior, who Himself was raised up. Our identity as redeemed sinners - We are raised-up children of God! The Gospel gives us resurrection life, power, and destiny.

Jesus reveals Himself as “I am the way, the truth, and the life” in John 14:6. Jesus is the way to the Father. The Greek word here is hodos, the route, distance, journey, highway or progress on the route. Jesus reveals the truth about God. The word truth in the Greek is aletheia, true, truly, verity, as not concealing. Jesus is life. The word life in the Greek, zoe means to live, quick, lively, and vitality. Jesus reveals truth to us and gives life to us when we lose our way and find ourselves struggling. What is our answer? Our families can lose our way. Our children, our grandchildren can lose their way. Our marriage can lose its way.

One day I lost my way. I had just dropped my husband off at Reagan airport and was driving home to Maryland, but shortly after I left the airport I missed the turn to get on the George Washington Parkway. Before I knew it I was driving on the George Washington Bridge into DC. I kept going and tried not to panic, but very quickly I realized I was lost and getting more lost every minute. I was beginning to drive in some neighborhoods that I don’t think I would have felt very safe walking alone in. I just kept driving - reasoning that at some point I should discover Route 495, the beltway again. And . . . after many, many anxious minutes and miles, I began to see road signs for 495 again. Finally, I got back on the beltway and headed home. I lost my way in the natural, but we can lose our way spiritually too.

Sometimes we lose our way because God confronts us with His truth in an area of our lives, and we just begin to dance and skirt around His truth instead of embracing it. We try this detour or that. The Gospel is the way to come back to God, to acknowledge I’ve missed the mark. I miss the mark every day and need to repent and turn back to God. Jesus is the way and He made the way for me. He brings truth to my life. Jesus said we shall know the truth and the truth will set us free. God wants to set us free of things in our lives that are not His way; they’re not His truth, and they’re not His life. He is our life!
Our identity as redeemed sinners - We are people of His way, people of Biblical truth, and people filled with His life.

Jesus reveals Himself as “I am the true vine” in John 15:1. He repeats this in John 15:5. The vine and the branches describe relationship between Jesus and His disciples. Jesus came to give us life that is defined as “the simplicity and purity of enjoying a growing relationship with Him.” The word vine in the Greek is ampelos, a vine as coiling about a support; also from the grain and the chaff just threshed on the threshing floor. In Isaiah 5:1-7, Israel is compared to a vine under God’s loving care. In John 15:2 there is the fruitless branch which does not abide. God wants to do some pruning in our lives. It’s interesting how some of us keep immaculate, clutter-free homes, but we haven’t dealt with the clutter inside our souls which crowds out a deepening relationship with our Lord.

Our sin impacts our relationships; however, deeper connection with the vine releases the flow of life from our Lord and Savior that produces the sweet, attractive, delicious fruit of the spirit in our lives as listed in Galatians 5:22, 23 – love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. The true vine makes possible our abiding; Jesus invites and anticipates our abiding. When we think of our relationship, our faith as a multi-faceted diamond, it will take our entire lifetime to search out and get to know our Lord, the true vine. Even then there will be so more of our Lord yet to be revealed.

The Apostle Paul expressed his heart’s desire to continue to know his Lord and Savior in Philippians 3:10, “That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.” The people who know the Lord are the ones who are free to live and love without any agenda toward our Lord. As we read the Word, let’s look for keys to deepening our relationship with God. Some of the fruitfulness of abiding includes our prayers being effective, John 15:7; glorifying God in our fruit bearing, John 15:8; demonstrating our discipleship, John 15:9; and having fullness of joy, John 15:11. Our identity as redeemed sinners - We are believers in relationship with the true vine.

Let’s seek to align ourselves afresh with the Gospel. Jesus is our life! Let’s embrace the many opportunities we have to express our love to our Savior and to thank Him for His sufficiency. Does the life of our Savior flow out of us? Does what we do and say in our homes matter? Everything matters. God can break us free from conditions and man-made systems that rob our joy. Rules that we put on ourselves or others put on us cannot bring freedom; they only have the power to accuse. As we turn afresh to Jesus our Savior, we can leave behind the crippling effects of guilt and condemnation. The scripture in Romans 8:1 tells us that there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.

God gives fresh opportunities to stop basing our faith on how we feel at the moment, or on our emotions, or on our present circumstances. The Holy Spirit is always tuned to the Father’s goodness and love. Placing our faith in Jesus releases us to grow in gratefulness, joy, and holiness. The Apostle John confronts us with the claims of Jesus that demand a personal response of faith in Jesus the Christ, the Son of God:
Jesus is the bread of life,
the light of the world,
the door of the sheepfold – the door to approach God,
the good shepherd who sees us in Christ not on the basis of whether or not we’re measuring up each day,
the resurrection and the life as the victorious One who defeated satan,
the way, the truth, and the life now and for eternity,
and the true vine whom we’re in relationship with. Romans 8:35-39 points out that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.

The Holy Spirit reveals this Jesus to us; He opens our eyes to see who Jesus really is and what our salvation is truly about. Jesus’ message is our hope; the gospel is our bread, our door, our confidence, our assurance. Jesus gives us freedom to love, respond, and serve in every situation that we find ourselves in. Let’s exalt Jesus, His death and resurrection and fall in love afresh with the Great I Am. He’ll help us to realign our lives with the core of our faith – the Gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. “For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast,” Ephesians 2:8, 9. God wants all of us and every part of our day. As Tozer said, “God gives all of Himself to each one of His children.”