Eric Gilmour
‘He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. ‘
– John 3:31 NKJV
You will never find a situation in which something other than Jesus is the answer. He is always what is needed.
Charles Spurgeon once said that a sermon without Christ at its beginning, middle, and end, is a mistaken conception. You must always preach Jesus. He compares leaving Jesus out to leaving the sun out of the day, the moon out of the night, the waters out of the sea, and the floods out of the river.
He who is from above is above all.
BECAUSE HE IS ABOVE ALL, HE DESERVES A LOVE ABOVE ALL
You must place God where He belongs and give Him the kind of love that He deserves. The more mature believers get in their walk with Christ, the more focused they are on Him. Things that were once important to them no longer matter.
A.W. Tozer said, “The church rises or falls altogether depending on her view of Jesus.” The church is however she looks at Christ. If He is everything, then she will be strengthened.
Is Christ the only thing you’re seeing? If your eyes are looking two different ways, you will find that there is no way you can gaze upon Christ. You can only look at Him or you can look at something else. Do everything from looking at Jesus.
If He is not first, then something else is.
Do not become so taken with things and people that you forget Him. Do not give attention to yourselves and be so self-centered that you lose the excitement of His name. When you notice that the lyrics you sing no longer feel genuine, that’s when you can tell that you have lost excitement for Him. When you are worshipping Him out of obligation rather than because He deserves it, then something is wrong.
He heals the sick. He cleanses the sinners. He leads the righteous and blesses the upright. He comforts the hurting. He mends the brokenhearted. He quickens the dead. 2 Timothy says, “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel.” Paul is urging you to remember that Christ is above all.
Ephesians 1:20-23 says, “He exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”
God grabbed Jesus and lifted Him above everything else. He is above all people. He is above all things. He is above all the miracles. He is above all sorrow. God Himself, has lifted Jesus above everything else.
Let us not be foolish to keep anything above Him. He must be above in your hearts, your minds, and your lives. The moment that you realize something has the attention of your heart and mind more than Him, then He is not above all.
BECAUSE HE IS FROM ABOVE, HE DELIGHTS THE SOUL ABOVE ALL EARTHLY THINGS
Most problems and frustrations are a result of Jesus not being placed above all. To truly believe He is above all means to place Him above your situations and worries because you know that He is greater than all of them. Placing Him above all makes your heart so content that even before or without the answers to your prayers you have joy.
A low view of Christ can be likened to an unlocked door that the devil is eagerly awaiting to jump. What would your mind be like if Jesus is placed above all? What difference would it make in your prayer life if He was placed above all?
Spoiler alert: You would feel free and skip with so much joy that every step would be buoyant with the joy of the spirit. You would be living in a constant state of thanksgiving.
To live for yourself is a very violation of the laws of creation because He created all things for Him. Colossians 1:15-18 says, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.”
You are violating God’s wonderful order when you put yourselves as the means and the end of the things that you do. Do not lose sight of yourself in seeing Him. When you look up higher and see Christ, you will see in your own heart that everything will fall into place. A thousand problems will be solved all at once when Jesus takes His proper place.
Let go of yourselves and give yourselves holy over to Him because He is also higher than your own commitment to Him. Don’t get so focused on yourself and impressed with your own performance that you end up like Job.
When your attention is fixated on Him, you will find peace and happiness. A tempest is set in motion when you put something above Christ. Let Jesus be above all.
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
How often do you focus on the means by which you experience the Lord instead of focusing on the Lord, Himself?
How often do you place your situations and problems above Him rather than focus on the one who is above?
Who has your attention and affection? Lift Jesus above your life, heart, and mind. He who is from above is above all.
