In Luke 4:18-19, Jesus quotes a prophetic scripture about himself. He came and was anointed to bring Good News. The gospel is good news, not news of doom and gloom.
The question I have for you is, “What happens when Jesus shows up?” “What happens when Jesus walks in the door?” I want you to know that, when Jesus walks in the door, the very atmosphere of the room changes. When Jesus walks in the door, sickness, death, poverty, and the curse have to go out!
When Jesus walks in the door, you will know that he is there. Read the first four books of the New Testament in the Bible, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. What happens when Jesus shows up? In John 10:10 (NLT), Jesus tells us, “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”
In Acts 10:38 we learn that “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.”
Here is the gospel for you. God is good. Jesus is good. God wants to bless you. Jesus wants to bless you.
In Acts 8, we see that when Philip went down to Samaria and preached Jesus to them, there was great joy in the city. When Jesus shows up, there is great joy. The people he touched went around leaping and praising God, full of joy.
When Jesus walks in the door, he meets needs. The desire of Jesus' heart was simply to meet people's needs, whatever they were, and to show that God provides for us and for every situation. A great example is in John 2. Jesus attended a wedding in Cana of Galilee and what did they need there? They’d run out of wine. His turning the water into wine was a miracle to be sure, but it wasn’t essential. Verse 11 explains, “This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed his glory. And his disciples believed in him.” He met a need of the host of the wedding and in the process, he revealed himself. He is interested in the smallest details of your life. He wants to take care of you. He wants to reveal himself to you.
He wants to meet your every need just like he did for the disciples in Mark 4. Jesus was sleeping in the back of the boat and a storm arose. The disciples were afraid and ran back to wake up Jesus. When Jesus showed up, he commanded peace and the waves and wind obeyed him. I want you to know he can calm the storms in your life today. it doesn’t matter what your storm looks like. It doesn’t matter what you're facing. Jesus still calms the storm.
When Jesus shows up, he forgives sin. When Jesus showed up in Matthew 9:2-8 NLT he forgave the sin of the paralytic and then healed him, because it’s his nature and it’s his purpose to bring healing. In Mark 5, we learn of the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years. She had spent all that she had on medical doctors and they were unable to help her. But when Jesus showed up, the woman touched the hem of his garment. The power of God and the anointing of the Holy Spirit flowed out from him to heal her and she was made whole. It does not matter what you’re facing today. You might have an incurable disease. I want you to know that I believe Jesus still heals today just like he did for the paralytic and the woman with the issue of blood.
Jesus healed then, and he heals now. Hebrews 13:8 NLT tells us that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
When Jesus shows up, he provides for us. In Matthew 14, Jesus had been followed into a desert place by multitudes of people who didn’t have anything to eat. He took a little boy's lunch, blessed it and multiplied it. Then he fed thousands with five loaves and two fishes.
Jesus shows mercy to sinners. Luke 19 tells us the story of Jesus meeting Zacchaeus, the infamous tax collector. As he walked along a road, he saw a man sitting up in a tree. Calling him by name, he said “Let’s go to your house.” You might feel stuck right now, but I want you to know that Jesus will show up and say come on down. Let’s go to your house. Believe me when you experience Jesus’ unconditional love and compassion, you will do what Zak did… drop everything and go with Jesus.
In Luke 7, Jesus came to the tomb where his dear friend Lazarus had been dead for four days. Laz’s sisters were grieving. They told Jesus if he had come earlier, Lazarus would not have died. But what happened when Jesus showed up? He said “Roll away the stone” and then he called Lazarus to come forth. Jesus raised him from the dead. When Jesus shows up, those things that are dead come to life. You might be in the middle of a situation where you have no hope. The things that you’ve been believing for look dead, buried in the tomb and stinking. But I want you to know that when Jesus shows up, he brings life.
It doesn’t matter what your circumstances are. When Jesus comes on the scene impossible situations can be turned around. It doesn’t matter what the enemy says. It doesn’t matter what other people say! When Jesus walks in the door, everything changes.There’s no more question. He is the answer. There’s no more loss of direction. He is the Way. There are no more lies. He is the Truth. When Jesus walks in the door, there’s no more death. He is Life.
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6 NLT). When you have a need, no matter how simple or how complicated it is, when Jesus shows up, he’s going to meet the need. That is the gospel. It is good news. Do you realize that all we need in our churches, all we need in America, is for Jesus to show up? When he walks in the door, he is going to make a difference. If Jesus lives in us, we can do the same things that he did. He even said that we would do greater works. All we have to do is take him at his word and believe it. When we show up, Jesus shows up, and when Jesus shows up all of heaven‘s power is on the scene to save, to heal, to deliver, and to set free.
