The day Jesus stopped...

Imagine a gift...it is in an attractive box, beautifully wrapped and decorated with a delightful ribbon. Some gifts are so beautifully and carefully wrapped it really is a delight for the receiver to discover what is in the box.

I was recently in Cambodia and I came bearing a gift.
Natural eyes could not see the gift but enlightened spiritual eyes could.
I held out the gift for people to receive because that is what you must do, isn't it? If I offered you a gift what must you do? Well, of course, you must receive the gift. So I held out the gift for people to receive.
What was the gift?
The gift was a Jesus who stopped.
Jesus is stopped today.
Oh I hear the purist Bible students saying that I have it wrong, Jesus is very active today and yes in a way they are right because the Holy Spirit is certainly active seeking, revealing Jesus and drawing people into the Kingdom of God.
But Jesus, He is stopped.
Before I say more about the stopped Jesus let me give you a little peak of what is in the box, the gift that I am holding out to you right now.
Can you see it?
If I lift the lid just a little maybe you can see inside, just a peak of the wonder of the gift of the stopped Jesus.
Now the Bible is very clear that if I tried to describe everything about Jesus, even everything that He did when He was here on earth all the libraries of the world would not have the capacity to hold them. That was John's thought in John 21: 25.
So I can't talk about everything that could be said but I want to share three...no four occasions when Jesus stopped.

• Jesus was walking and a man named Jairus came and fell at Jesus feet. Jesus stopped. Jairus entreated Jesus for his beautiful twelve year old daughter who was dying and Jesus began to go to her.
• There was a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. The law said she was unclean and she should not have been where she was but she had heard of Jesus and she was determined on a course of action even if it was illegal! The crowds were pressing upon Jesus, jostling him and the lady snuck through the crowd of people and reached out her hand and touched just the hem of the garment Jesus was wearing. Immediately she was healed! Jesus stopped. He asked who had touched Him. The disciples thought him a bit crazy as many people were jostling Him but He stopped and sought the touch of faith. The woman knew she was caught out and came and confessed all. Jesus spoke words of glory over her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace." Her faith had made her well? Was it her faith...no but it was her faith in the One before her and His blessing upon her was to 'go in peace...go in shalom.'
• Back to Jairus...a messager comes from Jarius's house saying that it was too late as the twelve year old daughter was dead. Jesus went to her and He stopped. He said that she wasn't dead , just sleeping and they all laughed. The stopped Jesus then put out His hand and took hers and lifted her up with the words "Child, arise" and she got up and ate.
•  Another day Jesus was walking and sitting by the road was a blind man. His name was Bartimaeus. There were a lot of people around and they were making quite a commotion. Bart asked what was going and and was told that Jesus, of Nazareth, was going by. Bart started calling out "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me." The crowd told him to hush but he just called out all the more. Jesus stopped. He called for Bartimaeus to be brought to Him and asked him, considering his obvious condition, a most unusual question, "What would you have Me do for you?" "Lord, That I might receive my sight." The stopped Jesus spoke words of glory over Bartimaeus as He opened his eyes to see.
• Another day there was another fellow who was vertically challenged. His name was Zaccheus. Jesus was passing by and he wanted to see Him. So Zaccheus ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree. Jesus came right to the foot of Zaccheus's tree and He stopped. He called Zaccheus down declaring that this was the day the He would came to abide at the house of Zaccheus.
• Jesus went to the cross, He bore our sin to make us righteous. Our righteousness is all His doing and none of our doing. It is on the basis of His shed blood that we are righteous. He bore the lash, the beating, the stripes for our healing and well-being. He went into the grave and rose again and entered into the holiest of holies, the presence of God and was accepted. Our representative, the man, entered into the presence of God and He stopped. He sat down.

This is Jesus...can you see Him?

So today Jesus is stopped. Ephesians 1: 20 declares this the 'He (that is God) raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in heavenly places.' Jesus is seated...stopped.
Why? And what is the significance of this for us?
When Jesus stopped in the few instances I have shared above He stopped to dispense blessing, to dispense the wonder of His grace and His stopped circumstance is no different today.
He is stopped to dispense His grace because this is the receiving day, the day of favour, the day when we, unworthy as we are, are blessed recipients of Him not because of anything we have done or do but purely because of what He did and the we are accepted totally and without doubt in Him.
Ephesians 2: 6, 7 goes on to declare that He (that is God) has 'raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, in order that in the ages to come (from the moment He stopped) He might show the supassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.'

Jesus is stopped. Receive His blessing! Stop trying to earn it. Recognise the work is finished in the person of Jesus and just receive Him. He is EVERYTHING.