“Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast. Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”” John 12:20-21
By Michael Adekoya – Dear Readers, the plan, the desire and the purpose of God for us as Christians is to think, talk, behave and act like Jesus. Rom. 8:29 confirmed this simple truth; “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” Also the ultimate outcome of all our Bible studies, apostolic teachings, prophetic declaration, teachings and preachings is to make us to be like Jesus. “Till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;” Eph. 4:13. Surely, this should be the desire of every genuine born again and mature child of God.
My friend, since that’s your goal, your desire and spiritual aspiration, do you know that you can’t be like Jesus until you see Him? In other words, many wants to be like Jesus, but they don’t know Jesus or see the real Jesus that they want to be like. Therefore, they form their own imaginary Jesus and aspire to be like unreal Jesus. Unless you see Him clearly and distinctively, you can’t be like the real Jesus. Now the question is, how do I see Jesus so that I can be like Him? In the text above, there were certain Greeks who came to Philip and asked him saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus”. The Bible says, Philip told Andrew and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus. But Jesus’ answer to their request is that, “But Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.” John 12:23-24.
My friend, did you hear that? For anyone to see the real Jesus, there must be death or brokenness. The person must be willing to die to self, reputation, willing to give up your rights, privileges, ready to be misunderstood, not minding to be misconstrued, trampled upon, abused, criticised or maltreated. Until one is ready to die to flesh, one is not ready to see the real and resurrected Jesus according to the words of Jesus here. Of course, the Greeks that came to say they wanted to see Jesus would have seen Him physically at the feast but that was not the real and resurrected Jesus. They only had a superficial acquaintance with Jesus which a lot of Christians have in the Body of Christ today. No wonder, it’s been difficult for a lot of Christians to be like Him based on this peripheral distant and inaccurate knowledge of Jesus.
My friend, brokenness is what will usher you into the life, power and character of Jesus. In the same John chapter 12, the Bible says, “Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.” John 12:3. Mary, all along has been holding on to a bottle of very costly oil of spikenard, no one knew how the fragrance in the bottle smell like until it was broken. While in the bottle, it was useless, all by itself, useful to no one but when it was broken, the Bible says, “…and the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil”. My friend, when you’re not yet broken, trust me, you’re only useful or can only be a blessing to a very few people if at all, but when you’re broken, when you die to flesh, then you can see Jesus clearly, then you can be able to emulate the real Jesus and be a blessing to others like the real and resurrected Jesus did.
My friend, gifts, eloquence, Bible Knowledge, charisma, talents and God’s blessing on you are good, but to be a blessing to a lot of people around you. These virtues are not enough. You need to be broken. In Matt. 14:19, “Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes.” After the five loaves were blessed by Jesus, they still remained five loaves, but when they were broken, they became many and became sources of blessings to thousands of hungry people. The point here is, your talents, charisma, gifts or Bible knowledge can be likened to God’s blessings on you as Jesus blessed the five loaves. But to become a source of blessing to others, you need to be broken as Jesus broke the bread. Are you broken?
My friend, many Christians are still holding on to their reputation, not ready to be misunderstood, misconstrued, misinterpreted or misrepresented, holding on to their past, holding on to grudges, bitterness, not ready to stand out for Jesus among the crowd, not ready to say or live by the truth, not ready to be criticised because of their faith in Jesus, many are still minding what people will say if they lay my hands on the sick and nothing happens, if they command the cripple to walk and he doesn’t walk, if they prophesy and it doesn’t come to pass immediately, if they declare the revelation of the word of God differently from the usual religious or traditional interpretation and the list goes on.
My friend, if you’re still mindful or holding on to any of these, you’ve not yet familiar with the real and resurrected Jesus as it should be and that’s why you’re still very concerned, mindful or taking cognisance of or bothered by any of these. No wonder, a lot of Christians are average, mediocre and in spiritual prison today.
My friend, you need to “break your jar of ointment”, be sold out for Jesus, there’s a “Treasure” in you that needs to be let out. Listen to what the Bible says, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” 2 Cor. 4:7. Let go of yourself, let go of your reputation, let go of your ‘saving face’, do you have a confession to make to your husband, wife, children, friends or church members, release your burden, confess it, let the devil be put to shame, you shall become free and become a blessing to others. Do you have some money in your account that you’re holding on to, my friend you’re only blessed but you can become a blessing when you let go by sharing it with others. Do you have a gift, that’s God’s blessing on you, take off your shyness, disgrace your shame and embarrass your embarrassment, kill your fear, swallow your pride, go out there, use that gift, use that talent, use that knowledge, use that inspiration or use that godly idea to bless others, that’s brokenness.
My friend, you have been blessed already in creation (Gen. 1:28), at redemption you have also been blessed, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,” Eph. 1:3. My question is, what’s the point of your blessing or being blessed and not becoming a blessing? That’s not the complete will of God for you, we are all Abraham’s children by faith in Christ (Gal. 3:26). To be blessed is the first part of Abrahamic covenant, to become a blessing is the complete package, read Gen. 12:2, “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing.” Did you hear that? Desire as from this moment to become a blessing to your family, to your neighbours, to your community, to the Body of Christ and to your generation. You May say, Michael, I don’t have much, I don’t know anything or I need to acquire more of this or more of that.
My friend, change from that your “give, give me mentality” to “I am a already blessed mentality”. Don’t just be a “receiver” be a “giver”, desire to become God’s dispensary, treasurer, conduit or outflow today. Then you shall be surprised how your life and situations shall never remain the same. You have what it takes, what you now need is the mentality to align with who you are, what the Bible says you possess and what you carry indeed. My friend, you’re blessed already be broken and become a source of blessing. This is the way you can see the real and resurrected Jesus and the only way people around you can see the real and resurrected Jesus in you. Remember, Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.” John 12:24. Therefore, don’t settle for “a grain” but desire to become “much grain” as from today. Remain blessed!
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