LIVE BEYOND THE CROWD!!! Written by:Bro Tolulope Moody Mine eyes are ever toward the LORD; for he shall pluck my feet out of the net Psalm 25:15 KJV Welcome to the Twenty-First Century! (Just in case you hadn’t been welcomed formally) The crowding-out that goes on here is pretty unprecedented. You don’t need to go at life- life gets all over you, faster than you know what to do with it. Like a jail warden, life comes at you with chains and cuffs, always wanting to chain you in something. So as not to be chained in the pressure of bills and meals, you run off to school or take a job and give yourself wholeheartedly to it. Soon enough, you recognize its camouflage chains. The career or job gives and probably pays you a lot, but locks you up even more in the process. The entanglements are everywhere. There’s always a next thing to pursue, a next target, a next acquisition, a challenge to surmount, a grade to make… Academic pursuits, work, family, commitments, and maybe even personal struggles or the entanglement from a heart crowded out with memories or experiences that hurt and haunt. Life, by default, is always going to crowd everyone out. But we can’t afford to do life in the crowd; else we’ll eventually be crowded out and away. You’ll get old before realizing you never really lived your life. You’ll loose precious moments and relationships before realizing they were once right before your eyes. There’s a profound scripture in Hosea that I think paints the picture clearly: Ephraim has mixed himself among the peoples (gotten caught up in the crowds) Ephraim is a cake unturned (His life is unbalanced). Aliens (pressures, challenges, etc.) have devoured his strength, but he does not know it; (it happened too fast for him to realize) Yes gray hairs are here and there on him (he’s getting old!) yet he does not know it (it’s happening too fast for him to realize) Hosea 7:8-9 NKJV, brackets mine Wasn’t that what Zacchaeus seemed to suddenly realize in the midst of the crowd that surrounded him. The Bible speaks of how the ‘little’ man was lost in the crowd and in the hustle. But in a flip move, that I think presents a wisdom tip, principle and precedence for all crowded people in every age- Zacchaeus ‘ran ahead’ of the crowd and climbed into a tree to see Jesus. 1. Don’t Fight the Crowd Some things are what they are. Making it through College could be a lot of stress. Having to take a job in some major hustle-bustle city could be a very demanding schedule. But telling everybody how stressed up you are doesn’t change anything. Sometimes life is just what it is. Like with Zacchaeus- Jesus was passing through town, and I think it’s understandable that there’s a crowd around. But Zacchaeus trying to fight the presence of the crowd or trying to push the crowd away would never amount to much. Maybe your heart has been hurt and your trust betrayed. Trying to fight away the memories crowding your heart really doesn’t change much. Calling your boss names at work, hurling your anger towards lecturers at College or calling them ‘wicked’ really doesn’t change much. Sometimes the crowds are just there and it’s no use trying to fight it. 2. The Priority of Seeing Jesus! Therein is the secret that Zachaeus seemed to discover about dealing with the crowds. I won’t fight the crowd. Let the crowds be. If you were hurt, let it be. If you’re under pressure, let it be. What habits or struggles entangle you? Let them be! Like Zacchaeus, look beyond all that and reach out to see Jesus. My eyes are ever towards the Lord, for He shall pluck my feet out of the net Ps 25:15 NKJV The human tendency is to look towards the nets that entangle and be drawn into labouring all we can to disentangle ourselves from them. But how hard can you try? Twenty years after the abuse, you’re still trying to untangle the nets. Really, how can you get yourself out of all you’ve been crowded into? David gives a profound age-long tip: I’ll forget about the nets my feet are in. I’ll fix my eyes on the Lord- He’ll sort the nets for me. I won’t let the nets and the crowds block me from seeing Jesus. Seeing Jesus is my priority. Whatever it takes to get the moments with the Bible and to pray… Whatever it takes! It must be a priority over the crowd of my job, or the entanglements of my tight schedules. I must be seeing Jesus, or I’m living subject to the entanglements. 3. Jesus is Nearer Than The Crowds Make It Seem He Is As Zacchaeus struggled that day trying to climb above the crowd- and yet couldn’t get a glance of Jesus, you’d probably think Jesus was so far away. But I dare to say the crowds fooled you! Jesus is closer than you think He is . In the midst of the pressing reality of the crowd, Jesus is still close by! No matter what’s putting you under so much pressure, no matter the deadlines or the struggles- Jesus is as close to you as an uncoordinated, unorthodox and unpentecostal agitated ‘Lord, help me’ prayer. It’s great when you begin a time of prayer with the seemingly theologically accurate creed-like prefixes, and you remember to remind God of the three Greek words for prayer in the New Testament… But when you’re cramping under the weight of the crowd, and all you can do is bark out between the tears to God ‘Father!!’ you’ll realize He’s always just as near. Don’t be fooled: no crowd, no pressure, no struggle, no season ever took him further away from you. For God Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. I will not, I will not, I will not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let you down (relax My hold on you)! Assuredly not! Heb 13:5 AMP 4. Maybe you’re Not what the Crowd labeled You After all! Remember who Zachhaeus was? A cheat and thug, and all of that. In fact, when the people saw Jesus hanging out with Zacchaeus, they raised dust about Jesus being with a ‘sinner’. But in that flip moment as Zacchaeus climbed to see Jesus, he suddenly began to say ‘I give half of my goods to the poor!’ and he began promising a ‘fourfold’ restoration to everyone he had cheated. Like… really? This is the same guy who just an hour ago was cheating to acquire; now without a sermon, He’s so tenderly giving. What a heart he always had without even knowing it! He wasn’t really the cheat and all. He just wasn’t seeing Jesus to know who he really was. Maybe you too are not what the crowd has labeled you. Maybe you’re not as cranky in your attitudes as the working schedule is making you look; maybe you’re not as much a failure as a course or struggle is making you seem; maybe you’re not as bitter as the memory of the abuse or hurt is making you seem; maybe you’re not as confused about life as the choking pressures weighing on you make you feel. Another sight of Jesus doesn’t make Jesus any more glorious than He already is- but it makes you so much more than you ever thought you could be. It can create peace in your storm, order in your confusion and life in your hopelessness. Quit struggling with the nets. Whatever it’s going to cost you today, make it a priority to refocus on Jesus. It changes everything ! It’s the access key to living #LifeBeyondTheCrowds. Have a blessed week ahead, living your #LifeBeyondTheCrowds
Posted on: Sun, 05 Oct 2014 08:45:59 +0000
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