Bulletins - Fellowship Baptist Church (Madison, FL)

Heart Cry
Reign Above It All
The gospels tell how thousands would flock to see Jesus & listen to His teachings. What was it about Jesus that so many people were attracted to? What is it about Jesus that still wins the hearts of people all over the planet? The answer?
Jesus was a STUD - not how He looked, but who He was. Jesus was Strong, Tender, Unique, & Dependent. And we need to become more like Him.
Jesus was STRONG and we could spend HOURS exploring how Jesus stood when no one else would.
Jesus is OUR ULTIMATE EXAMPLE, the One whose image we are being conformed into.
The purpose of our lives is to become more like Jesus.
We are told in multiple passages that WE are to be STRONG too.
1 Corinthians 16:13 (ESV)
Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.
But LOOK at the rest of this.
1 Corinthians 16:13–14 (ESV)
Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.
Even in this part of the text we see that followers of Jesus are not only to follow His example to be STRONG, but also to be TENDER, to do everything in love.
Jesus was Strong, but He was also Tender. And WE are called to be TENDER LIKE JESUS.
For most guys this term causes us to squirm in our seat. Our minds immediately think “chick-flick” and we begin to tune out. We feel the sudden urge to watch some Rocky re-runs or other MANLY MEN kind of movies & sniff the sweaty musk of a locker room.
On the other hand, you need to know that one of the characteristics that is most attractive to the ladies is a man who can be TENDER.
Way back in kindergarten, my Caleb telling girls in class how pretty they looked. One girl asked, “Even me?” Caleb told her she looked pretty and the little girl lit up like Christmas lights.
God wants us to be Strong, but God wants us to be Tender. And once again, our example is our King. It makes sense that Jesus was STRONG but it almost seems the opposite to say that someone who is STRONG can also be TENDER - but Jesus certainly was. As a matter of fact it was this characteristic that attracted so many young families to Jesus as we’ll see right now.
When word spread that Jesus was in the area, parents were drawn to this teacher whose love of children had become known throughout the area. Jesus had healed lots of children. Jesus had held lots of children. And Jesus had raised several children from the dead. Families with young children came to see Jesus like what happens in December as children line up to see Santa. It was on one of these days that we read:
Mark 10:13a (NLT)
One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them.
The Talmud - Jewish commentaries on OT scripture - taught Jewish parents to bring their children to respected Rabbis for blessings and prayer. A father would bring his child to the synagogue and pray for the child himself. Then he would pass the child to the elders who would hold him and pray for God’s blessing on his young life. So the people bring their children to Jesus - a respected Rabbi for this loving task. But instead of welcoming children…
Mark 10:13b–15 (NLT)
But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him. When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”
Whoa…Jesus rebuked His disciples for their lack of WHAT? Tenderness.
Can you believe that? After all the times that Jesus’ disciples saw Him interact with people of all ages, they still didn’t get it. They were so busy trying to play the part of the secret service agents that they were sending the mission field away.
ILLUS Just a few weeks back, during Black Friday sales, many of your parents will be shopping for sales items. On Thanksgiving my family has a tradition of eating together, sharing what we’re thankful for, watching football, going to an evening movie, and looking through the sales flyers for the best prices of the year. The next day we get up early to hunt down that great deal. And in the process, we’ll pass right by hundreds of other items that we don’t think are anywhere near as valuable.
TRANS And that’s what was happening back in our story. Somehow the guys Jesus was training had failed to learn that all people were valuable. They had placed a higher value on some than others.
Are we guilty of that? Are popular people more valuable than the people no one knows? Are high schoolers and college students more important than middle schoolers? Are adults more important than children? Are white people more important to us than black people?
Could it be that we place a clearance price tag on them? We just want to move them out of the store so we can get the more valuable merchandise in front? Could it be that we are guilty of doing exactly what the disciples of Jesus were doing?
Are we guilty of that too? Are we familiar with the stories about Jesus yet fail to see what matters most to Him - and should matter to us too?
Are we so busy with our own interests that we walk right past those who matter most to Jesus without even noticing?
That made Jesus angry with His disciples. I really think that Jesus would be angry with ME...with you too.
Then Jesus SHOWS THEM His heart…Jesus was TENDER.
Mark 10:16 (NLT)
Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them.
We’re just like the people Paul wrote to:
Romans 2:4 (CSB)
Or do you despise the riches of his kindness, restraint, and patience, not recognizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?
It is God’s kindness - His Tenderness that led you toward Him. You realized you weren’t worthy and yet He went to the cross so you could be worthy. He loved us before we deserved to be loved. Yet you and I refuse to show that same kindness to others. While people from all walks of life were attracted to Jesus because He was tender...many of our lives aren’t attracting anybody...because we’re NOT showing that same Tenderness.
BIG TRUTH I’m most like Jesus when I’m Quick to be Kind (Tender)
We are never more like Jesus than when we are tender towards people who need a hand.
Saw a video that students took of other guys shaving the head of a young man with special.
We are never more like Jesus than when we forgive those who have harmed us.
Jesus was tender to prostitutes, tax collectors, and the diseased - the outcasts of normal society. He cared about the people that most quickly walked right past.
Romans 12:14–16 (NIV)
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
Live It!
Ask God to help you see every person through the eyes of Jesus. That happened the other day for me as I walked through Buccees - I looked at each face and remembered that this is a person Jesus LOVES.
Find one way to be kind to someone you know every day. Take their trash, hold the door, ask them to sit with you at lunch/church Find one way to be kind to one person you DON’T know this week.
BIG TRUTH I’m most like Jesus when I’m Quick to be Kind (Tender)
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BIG TRUTH I’m most like Jesus when I’m Quick to be Kind (Tender)

BIG TRUTH I’m most like Jesus when I’m Quick to be Kind (Tender)