THE ACCENT OF JESUS

[SW192] 06/26/2015 message notes by
Evangelist Susan J. Wynn ©2015

“The Accent of Jesus”

Your accent reveals where you come from.

My own heart is this: that I have the accent — the words, the compassion, and the fragrance — of Jesus. If I do not, He cannot reach out through me to the world that He died for.

The words of Jesus

When Jesus had been taken away by the Jewish leaders, and was before the high priest, Peter followed from a distance, and waited in the courtyard. And this was said to him:

Matthew 26:73 A little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Surely you too are one of them; for even the way you talk gives you away.”

Peter was from Galilee, and had that region’s accent. Jesus was from Galilee, and had that region’s accent. So in the natural, Peter’s talk gave him away as being Galilean, like Jesus. Then he was afraid to be found out, so he denied Jesus the third time, just as the Lord had prophesied to him.

But later, when Peter and John were arrested for boldly proclaiming Jesus as the Christ:

Acts 4:13   Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.

Acts 4:29 “And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your bond-servants may speak Your word with all confidence,  30 while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.”  31 And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.

What a difference! What boldness! What had happened?

Pentecost! They were filled with the Holy Spirit — first the 120, and then these in Acts 4:31!

Now they didn’t just sound like Jesus because they came from the same region of the country. They spoke His words. They had the same HEAVENLY accent as Him. They were as bold as He was, warning the Jews not to reject their Christ.

But it wasn’t just His words that they had.

The compassion of Jesus

Peter and John were in trouble with the Jewish leaders because they had healed a 40-year-old man who had been born lame. Beloved, we’re all born lame. We don’t walk right. But the heart and compassion of Jesus is to say, “Silver and gold I have not,” and “In the name of Jesus, get up and walk!” Hallelujah! So the man was healed and leaped and walked and praised God.

Before Pentecost, Jesus’ disciples were so busy competing against each other that they often missed the masses who needed Jesus!

Before Pentecost, when Mary poured out the pure nard on Jesus’ feet and the fragrance filled the room (John 12:3), all the disciples complained that it was a waste of money. And Jesus rebuked them, because she was preparing Him for His death. They lacked compassion for their own Savior.

What a difference after they were filled with the Holy Spirit! Now they had His heart and His compassion. And they simply walked about and His compassion flowed from them, for His glory. They discussed among themselves who was the greatest (Matthew 9:34), and were embarrassed when Jesus asked them what they had been talking about. He already knew, of course.

The fragrance of Jesus

Did you ever smell jasmine? It has a FRAGRANCE. It’s unmistakable. There’s no other fragrance like it.

The fragrance of Christ is like no other, and it is unmistakable in those who are filled with His Holy Spirit —

2Corinthians 2:14   But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.  15 For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing;  16 to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things?

Well, Lord, I am surely not adequate, but You are! You do the manifesting, I’ll do the walking about! Make me smell good, Lord!

The disciples didn’t smell so good to God when, in Luke 9:54, they wanted to call down fire upon the Samaritan village that wouldn’t let Jesus pass through . . . Jesus rebuked them!

But after Pentecost, God manifested the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Christ through His disciples who had that sweet aroma IN them. Now they smelled good to God!  Hallelujah!

Do you see it? I most assuredly must experience a personal Pentecost to have Jesus Christ’s accent — His words, His compassion, and His fragrance.

He promised His disciples that they would be His witnesses when the Holy Ghost had come. They would have His accent, when they stayed in the city, praying and waiting to be clothed with power from on high.

He wants to do that even today, for today’s church.

Many of us know the Bible, and have even memorized verses. But do we live them?

Apart from the very love of God poured out in our hearts to overflowing by the Holy Spirit when He fills us — what does 1 Corinthians 13:1 say? — we are sounding gongs and clanging symbols.

So in His compassion for you, He is speaking to you today.

Do you have His words, spoken as He spoke them?

Do you have His compassion?

Do you have His fragrance?

Do you walk like He walked in this world (1John 2:6)? You must have a personal Pentecost to break the chains of sin in your heart, before you can ever have His accent, beloved! Do not be deceived (1Corinthians 6:9)!

Do you have His fruit (Galatians 5:22-23)?

Now is your opportunity to ask Him to change those “no” answers to “yes” answers.

If you ask your heavenly Father, He will fill you with His Holy Spirit today, and you will have the accent of Jesus.

You will sound like Him, you will be moved with His compassion that is now IN you, and you will have His fragrance about you.

His accent will be IN you, affecting all that you do.

How gracious is our God, that He would not only save us from being under His wrath, but make it possible for us to be like His Son in this world, setting us free from the power of sin and giving us His accent!

Then, just as you have freely received, you will obey His command to freely give (Matthew 10:8)!