You Are Not the Messiah

The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah

Luke 3:15

In 2014 while I was still working as a media officer for a not-for-profit organisation. My boss delegated a speaking engagement to me in Abuja, Nigeria. It was a forum for lawyers and journalists to discuss the Freedom of Information Act. My boss who was originally invited had been a professor of law for close to ten years at this time, meanwhile, I was just a fresh graduate of mass communication; just imagine the knowledge gap. 

I spent the next two weeks studying day and night every single material that I could lay my hand upon and it was never still enough; although my degree in Mass Communication gave me some background and context, I was under intense pressure because I was assuming a responsibility that I have zero capacity to take on. Eventually, I nailed the presentation and everyone had a great time, someone even noted that my boss wouldn’t have done it any better. For a moment I was starting to feel like him but the truth is that I am not him. 

John must have felt this way too. The people listened to his messages and they were cut to the heart, they fell down in repentance without an altar call and began to seek practical lifestyle changes that would enhance their new walk with God. This was unprecedented! So, The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah (Luke 3:15). The truth is, at this point, John was standing right in the middle of a big temptation. The people saw him as the messiah, claiming to be one wouldn’t be such a big deal but he refused to fall into that temptation. He knew his place and gave Christ his glory. John answered them all, “I baptise you with[b] water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptise you with[c] the Holy Spirit and fire (Luke 3:16).

There are moments in our Christian walk when God will supernaturally step into some aspect of our life and it begins to produce results that we can’t exactly logically account for. We invested efforts no doubt but if we are being truthful, the outcome is not exactly commensurate with the invested efforts. We know that a superior force is at work. When this happens, we should not be shy about expressing the truth about the real source; it is Jesus. It is always tempting to go with the flow and declare ourselves as the saviour because that narrative fits perfectly into the expectation of the crowd. But like John, we must be able to point to the ‘one who is more powerful’

Just because you are the vessel through which your family is provided for doesn’t make you the Saviour of that family; even if they insist on calling you one. We know you managed the project that eventually won your company the contract and we are not denying the many sleepless nights you invested in the presentation but remember that except the Lord builds the house, the labourers labour in vain. No matter how far God has brought you, always remember, that you are not the saviour, he is. 

PRAYER