When They Look At You. What do people see in you, in the good times and the bad. When you are doing well, do they see Christ in you? When you aren’t doing well, what do they see? In your home, what does your family see? In your workplace, what do your coworkers see? In your business, what do your employees see? In public, what do strangers see? In your Friend's Circles, What do they see? At Church, what do people see? When you are alone, what does the Holy Spirit See? Let's Dive in and see the importance of representing Jesus Christ so the world will see Him In You.
Kingdom Community TV Podcast
What Do They See? When They Look At You
[music] Welcome to "Relevance for Today," a show where you will be encouraged, inspired, and fed through the Word of God. You will find relevant teachings, tips, discussions, interviews, and more for both believers and even non-believers who are considering salvation through Jesus Christ. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. [music] Hey, folks. Steve Lewis. Thanks for tuning in to another episode of "Relevance for Today." Hey, it's great to have you on the show. Great to have you watching. Great to have you listening. Whether you're on a podcast app or you're watching this on Kingdom Community TV or on YouTube or on Facebook, wherever you're watching it. Thank you so much for tuning in. Truly appreciate and love you all. Thank you. So today, I'm going to be talking about something very important, as you saw from the title. What do people see in you or can they see him in you? So this is very important. In this day and age, people need to see Jesus. People need to see the Holy Spirit living within you. And I'm going to ask you some questions because I really want you to take the time to think about these questions and say, "You know, Steve?" You got to think about these questions, okay? So here's the questions. First of all, let me just tell you, what do people see in you in the good times or even in the bad? So question number one, when you're doing well, do they see Christ in you? What does that mean? Well, that means that everything's going great. When you have a steady paying job, when you're making good money, when you've got all the bells and whistles, you've got all the toys, you've got all the best stuff out there. You've got all the pampered chef kitchen gear, you've got the truck, you've got the lawn mower, you've got all these things. Do people still see Christ in you? Or is everything gained and everything done in your own working hands? Does that make sense? Do you have everything because of me, me, me, me? Or do you have everything because of him, him, him, him? Makes sense? So that's a good one. When you're doing things are going great because you know the same. A lot of times things are going great things are going fantastic. The last thing people need is the Lord, right? Or the word. They're not digging in the word looking for a scripture when it's like, Oh Lord, thank you so much. Everything is going my way. Let me find some scriptures in Psalms and read about how pleasing it is. Thank the Lord for he is good as mercy and doers forever. You know, how many people actually take the time to do that and say thank you. Most of the time, well, not most of the time, some of the time things are going so great for people that they don't even think about the Lord because hey, they're doing it all in their own hands, right? They're doing it all in their own breath, their own works of their hand. So that's one to think about. When you aren't doing well, what do they see? Huh? You know what I mean? When they're not doing well, what do they see? Somebody cuts you off. Do they see you sticking up the middle finger? Do they see you cursing and swearing and yelling and getting angry at people and being hateful? Think about it. As a Christian, do people see you when you're angry as the world sees an angry person yelling fists, pointing, cursing, swearing? Does that represent Christ? You know the answer. In your home, what does your family see? Do they see a loving individual? Do they see a forgiving individual? Do they see someone who will put themselves first over everyone else in the house? Think about that, right? Think about it. Who do they see when they wake up every morning? When you haven't had your coffee yet, who do they see? Right? Are you like, get away from me? I haven't had my coffee yet. Are you good morning? Love you guys. Thank God for a new day. You're getting into the Word. You're sitting back with your cup of coffee and you're reading the Word of God. What does your family see? What do your children see? Are you representing whether your children are grown up adults or whether they're still children? Under the age of 19 or 18, what do they see in you as a follower of Jesus Christ? And I know that's a challenging one. That's a good one. A very important one. How about in the workplace? What do your co-workers see? Do your co-workers even know you're a follower of Jesus Christ? Or do they think you're just one of the world? Are you just one of the gang when you're around them? Or are you a chameleon? You know, when you're around Christians, you're praise God. Hallelujah. Get in the Word. Yes. Amen. Have a blessed day. Love you brother. Bible's up. Or when you're around other people who are of the world, are you right there with them? Hanging out with them? Cheers. Yeah. Party on, dude. Let's have a great time. You know, you're cursing and swearing and so forth. Are you doing these things when you're around others in the workplace? Think about it. So think about the workplace. What about if you're a business owner? In your business, what do your employees see? Do they see you as a follower of Jesus Christ? Do they see and feel that you're a follower of Jesus Christ as a boss, as a supervisor? Or do they see you as a tyrant? Do they see you as, oh my gosh, this guy claims he's a Christian, but he rips us off 24/7. He doesn't cut us any slack. He just doesn't have a Christian or a Christ-like environment. How do your employees feel about you? Do they see Jesus in you? Just like I said about the workplace. Do your co-workers see Jesus in you when they're working beside you? When you're working with that hammering, you hit your thumb. Are you cursing and swearing to the point where they're like, oh my gosh, man, relax. Let's get your thumb taken care of. What do they see? Are they able to sit back and say, Frankie is a good man. No matter where he's at, he is always about the father's business. Frankie is a good man. No matter where he goes or what he does, he's always thinking about others. What do they see in you? What about in your friendship circle? Or is the same thing, like I said earlier, where you're a chameleon, where when you're around Christian friends, you're acting like a Christian. And when you're around the worldly friends, you're acting like the world. There's a fine line there, folks. There comes a time when you end up being on top of the fence. And the fence is owned by Satan. You'll be deciding what do I do? Do I act Christ-like around my friends? They may get embarrassed. They may not want to be my friend anymore. What if I don't drink around my friends? Are they going to start picking on me and thinking I'm better than they are? You know, what's it going to be? You have to decide. Are you going to be Christ-like 24/7? Or are you going to be a Christ-like chameleon? A chameleon who's Christ-like, right? The chameleon who's worldly/Christ-like. And you know who you are. You know people who act this way. One minute, they love the Lord around their friends who are Christians. The next minute, they're cursed and swearing, talking about people, blaspheming, slandering and doing all the stuff. And we'll be talking about a Bible verse here in a few minutes. But if you're on that fence and you're juggling the chameleon lifestyle, I'm warning you right now. Get out of it. Step over. Get off the fence. Get on the side with Christ. Follow Christ. Represent Christ. And do not confuse people because the way you act, like my dad and I were talking this morning and he said something good. And that is, he says a lot of things good. But this one, he said something similar to this, where sometimes the only Bible people will ever see is you. Not this, right? But you. You might be the only sermon they see. And when they see you and they heard you're a Christian, you told them out of your mouth, you're a Christian, and then you act just like they do and act like the world and you're unforgiving and you're slandering and so forth. And they can't tell the difference. There's a problem. And they may say, I don't want to be a Christian because if that's what a Christian looks like, I don't want any part of it hypocrites, right? You've heard the saying, Oh, I don't go to church. There are a bunch of hypocrites. Why would they say that unless they've been around some hypocritical part people? Remember, the world is watching you 24/7. The world's watching you, even when you don't think the world's watching you, they're watching you, just waiting for you to mess up so they can say, Hey, I thought you're supposed to love everybody, brother, I thought you're supposed to do this. I thought you're supposed to do that. Sometimes there's non-believers out there that know more about the word of God than believers do. That's scary. What about when you're alone? What does the Holy Spirit see? Does the Holy Spirit see you calling people names, slandering, cursing, swearing, and so forth? What are you doing? Think about it. And the thing is, no matter where you are or where you go, people need to see Jesus in you. They need to see who He is in you on a daily basis. And don't look at it like, well, it's not my job. Why should I have to act a certain way just so they can see Jesus? Because you're representing Him. You have the Holy Spirit living within you. When you ask Jesus Christ to your life, you are given the Holy Spirit. The comforter, the counselor, living within you so you can represent and be a Christ-like vessel for the kingdom of God on this earth. So when people see you, they'll say, Oh, wait a minute. Bertha is a Christian. I see how she's treating people. I see how she's loving on people. I see how she's kind. I see how she helps the widows and the orphans in their distress. I see how she gets in her word. I see how she talks about the word. I see how she's not afraid to pray in the restaurant. I see how she acts around her friends where she still acts Christ like regardless. Amen. They need to see Him in you. The old saying goes, when you squeeze a lemon, what comes out? Lemon juice, right? When you squeeze an orange, what's supposed to come out? Orange juice. What about when you press some apples or grapes, right? Juice comes out. Apple juice, grape juice. So what happens when a Christian gets squeezed? If a Christian gets squeezed, Jesus should come out. Amen? When the pressures of this world have you tight like a clamp and you've got so much going on in your life and you're just like, I can't take it anymore. People will still look at you and expect to see Jesus coming out of you. Yeah, you're going to slip up from time to time. Really, if you hit your thumb with a hammer, you're going to say crap or something, right? But you're not saying it in a way where you're lashing out at other people, but the point is when I'm talking about this whole squeezing thing with the pressures of the world with the craziness going on right now where you're being bombarded in your mind. Still remember who's on the throne, right? Still remember to show Jesus Christ, the hope of glory in you. Remember to show them who he is. It's very important folks. People are looking for hope. People need to see Jesus. Not just hear Jesus talking, but see him. Not just us preaching in the Bible. Love your neighbor as yourself. Amen. And then we're not living it. They want to say, Oh, the way he's acting. That's what that love is. That's what that means. Oh, okay. So he is living like a Christ like life. He is living a Christian life. Yes, I see now. And so the question is, what should we be showing the world, right? Well, how about we look at Galatians chapter five verses 16 through 26. And this is the new living translation into my Bible. It reads as a subtitle living by the spirit's power. Isn't that beautiful. So verse 16. So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. That's something I've been talking about for a long time. Allow the Holy Spirit to guide you lead on the lean on the Holy Spirit, right? The comfort, the guide, the counselor. Allow the Holy Spirit to lead. Get yourself out of the way, you know, crucifying yourself daily. Get Steve Lewis out of the way. Focus on allowing the Holy Spirit to lead me and guide me and having the heart of Christ to be a loving, living vessel in this world. And it continues on, then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves. And of course we were all born into sin. But through Christ, we're saved and we're redeemed, right? Yes. Now we're sanctified. Amen. Verse 17, the sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the spirit wants. And the spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other. So you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. Amen. So you're sitting back saying good versus evil, but when you surrender yourself and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you, allow the Holy Spirit to lead you, people are going to see Christ in you, the hope and glory. Now here we are, verse 19, when you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear. Sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the kingdom of God. Wow. That list right there. Galatians 5, verse 19, and 20 through 21, gives you a list of the things that you can do that will not get you into the kingdom. It will also destroy your testimony. Because if your testimony is, I did this, I did that, I got saved. Now I live for the Lord. I want to testify about Jesus Christ. I'm going to testify about how you change my life. I love the Lord. I'm on fire for the Lord, and you should be too, and then you're caught up in sexual immorality. You're caught up in sorcery. You're caught up in idolatry. You're caught up in hostilities, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger and so forth. When people see you, they're going to look at your testimony and go, I listen to you, man. You act just like the world. That's why we have to stay focused and we have to remember those verses. Remember, as it said, anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the kingdom of God. But wait, there's more. There's great news. And here it is. This is how we have to behave. And this is what we have to show the world so people will see Him in us, verse 22. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives, produces it. We get out of the way, produces it, remove all the rocks. It's like beautiful soil sitting there with a bunch of rocks and stuff in the way. You get all the rocks and junk out of the way, and boom, that fruit's going to grow beautifully. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to us cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit's leading in every part of our lives, let us not become conceited or provoke one another or be jealous of one another. Amen? So going back to those points, remember this is key. You want to be a testimony for the Lord. You want to be a vessel for the kingdom. You want to show people everywhere you go in the workplace in your home, around your friends, family, strangers. If you're a boss, if you're an employee, if you're a student, grandparent, wherever you are, whoever you are, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, allow the Holy Spirit to produce these things in you and let them flow out of you like a tree being grown and the leaves and the fruit start coming out. There's no way to stop that fruit from coming out unless you cut off those limbs and get in the way, but if you don't get in the way and allow that love to come out of you the love that you have for everyone, no matter who they are, even those that are in sin, you're still supposed to show them the love of Jesus Christ and then share with them about Jesus Christ in love so they can come to know who He truly is themselves and then the fish will get cleaned up. Let the Holy Spirit do that part. Your part is to live a Christ-like life, show others who Christ is, and allow Him to do a work in their lives. Show them the joy. Yes, pain and suffering come at the night, but joy comes in the morning. Yes, we may endure through trials and tribulations, but joy comes in the fact that thankful for being alive, thankful for whatever it might be, for peace, for love, for forgiveness. Peace and patience, same thing. Bring peace wherever you go. Wherever you go, let people see peace in you. Be patient, whether in a Walmart line or whatever you might line, you might be at the DMV or whatever you might be. Show patience. Show that patience. Show that kindness. Share with others what you have, but Steve, you don't understand, I don't have much. Well, then show kindness and share the love of Jesus with people. And if you do have a few extra dollars, bless people from time to time. You know, whether it's a tip at a restaurant or just giving something that you have that others don't have, whatever it might be, show that kindness, the goodness, the faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, especially best self-control. When somebody cuts you off and you just want to yell and scream at them, just to find out that you're the door-greeter at the church and the same person you're yelling and screaming at just happened to be coming in the church for the first time. And the first person they see is you and they're like, wait a minute, weren't you just cursing and swearing at me back there at the traffic light? You're the door-greeter here at this church. I don't want any part of this. I'm out. You know what I mean? Think about that. Self-control. These things are very important. So make sure in all of this, I want to make sure that you remember, and I just want to encourage you today. Let people see Jesus Christ in you. Allow the Holy Spirit to mold you and shape you so that when people come near you or they're around you, they will sit back and say, what is it about that person? I don't know what it is, but they bring peace. They bring joy. I feel so comfortable around them. Like some people say about me, Steve, you give great hugs. I don't know what it is about you, but I just feel at peace when I get a hug from you. And I'm just six foot five big guy, you know, but the bottom line is we need to stay focused. The world needs to see Jesus in us daily. And like I said before, allow the Holy Spirit to shape you, to mold you so that the world can see him so that the world will want to know who he is. Amen. And the last thing I want to share with you is the chorus of an awesome song by JJ Weeks Band. And it's called Let Them See You. I want to encourage you to look it up. Let them see you by JJ Weeks. And when you look it up, listen to it, read the lyrics. And I'm, I've said to people, this is like my motto song for me. And because that's my goal, whether I'm podcasting, or whether I'm doing the TV show, whatever it might be, I want people to see Jesus in me. And as chorus goes, let them see you in me. Let them hear you when I speak. Let them feel you when I sing. Let them see you. Let them see you in me. That's it. Right there. When I go out every day, I need to start saying this to myself. Lord, I want them to see you in me. Let them see you in me. And of course, how am I going to do that by letting them see Jesus in me. That means I'm going to have to let the Holy Spirit within me shine brighter than Steve Lewis. Make sense? I really hope this helped folks. Try and encourage everybody. In the days to come, the days ahead, you never know what's going to happen in this world. We're one day closer to the Lord's return than we were yesterday. And that's very important. Never forget that. Make sure you stay focused. Make sure you stay in the Word. Make sure you remember. Live a Christ-like life. Remember that love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Let that spill out of you no matter what situation you're in, no matter where you are. Don't be a chameleon. Live for the Lord and allow Him to shine through you in a mighty way. Amen? Let's go ahead and pray. So, Heavenly Father, I just thank You so much for being a chair. There's a message right now. I thank You for all my listeners out there and watchers. I thank You for them all. I ask You to bless them, protect them, and keep them safe. We pray for all those that are hurting and suffering. Lord, that they'll have what they need to get through each day. And You send them the right people to help them. And Lord, I just ask that You just watch over us, protect us, keep us safe. May we all have a blessed week. I thank You for all my listeners and watchers once again. In Jesus' precious holy name, I pray these things. Amen. Hey, there you have it, folks. Thanks for tuning into another episode. I truly hope you're blessed with what I share with you today. Don't forget to share with friends, family, and even a stranger. Don't forget to subscribe. Don't forget about Kingdom Community TV. Head over there. It's a free app. It's almost like Netflix. You can get on there. Some amazing programs, some amazing shows. Love for you to get over there and subscribe. Don't forget about getting over to YouTube and subscribing on my channel. Relevance for today, Stephen Lewis. Connect with me on TikTok, Facebook, wherever you want. Just look up relevance for today in Google or whatever search engine you use and everything will show up there. Hey, with that being said, I love you all represent because the world is watching you and they're watching me. Hey, love you guys. Take care of yourselves. Peace. [Music]