“The How”, in Coming to Jesus - Josiah Nicotra
“The How”, in Coming to Jesus 🕊This message is intended for every Christian in this room and for those who may, evennow, have a first-time encounter with the living God. Coming to Jesus is not a one-timeevent…He is life itself. We depend on Him daily through surrender and learning to remainin His holy will.For the way we first come to Jesus is the same way we stay with Him…humbly, needy,and surrendered.Opening Scene / Setting the FrameLet’s set the scene…The disciples, just witnessing Jesus pull his tax to give to Caesar…from the mouth of a fish,circling Him in awe, on this glowing afternoon, dust on their feet, faith in their hearts, God ontheir mind…seeing that Jesus is The Miracle Worker, that He has healed the sick, raised thedead, given words of knowledge no one will know, speaking of prophecies and in parables forwhat is to come…within this current moment…one of of them dares to ask, “Who is thegreatest in the kingdom of heaven?”Just imagine. If that was you or me in the shoes of Jesus, doing what has been done andbeing asked “Who is the greatest?” How we would fall from patience and likely respondwith rebuke…Jesus, instead of rebuking, or answering with titles or ranks, positions or gifting…Hecalls for a child. He lifts the little one into their midst and says;“Unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”First, let us qualify what the “kingdom of heaven” is. It is both where God is, the locationof heaven, and yet it is also where His Glory is, where heaven collides with earth. Forwhen Jesus did miracles, or when he charged the gospels to preach the gospel, whereyou and I preach the gospel He says then, in that moment, where the light of Christ ispresent, “THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND”….So often we have complex ideas or understandings of loops and hoops we need to jumpthrough in order to come to God…or…Maybe we don’t think there is any requirements and that “if God is good” he is without justiceor that He removes our free will in order that He would force us into communion with Him…butthat wouldn’t be in His nature. God doesn’t send anyone to hell, he gives you the liberty tochoose if you want to be with Him or not. If with Him here, you continue with Him there and ifyou desire to not be with Him now, He will let you be apart from Him there…The scriptures are clear, for it teaches us “The How” we come to God.(pause)It’s in this moment Jesus defines the doorway to the Kingdom…not through performance,pride, or position, but through humility, dependence, and trust.We come to God not to impress God but to be known by Him.Not to perform but to embrace.Not to strive but to surrender.The question today may be for some, “if” we’ll come to God,For others it’s not if we’ll come to God,but how we’ll come to Him,And for others not just how,but remaining with Him and depending on Him every moment of our lives, surrendering,dedicating, committing, every part of our being…Walking with God is more than a belief, more than church attendance, more than ministry. It isliving in step with Him….breath by breath, moment by moment, thought by thought, desire bydesire.This brings us to the three attributes of how we come to Jesus — three of many, but three thatlay the foundation for how we come to Jesus and remain in Him:1. Humble2. Needy3. Surrendered(1) (I am) Humble (nothing without)Humility is the bedrock in coming to God(tension)Here is the tension: Pride seeks recognition; humility seeks relationship.Pride says, ‘look at the good I’ve done’Humility says, ‘I am evil, and only you are good’Pride says, ‘if God is God then He would or wouldn’t do that….blah blah blah…’Humility says, ‘Oh Lord,
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