WHO IS JESUS?
SERMON STARTER
In the year 2,000 Peter Jennings hosted a program hosted by Peter Jennings, “The Search for Jesus.” The program was a disgusting waste of airtime. I like Adrian Rodgers description of it, "I'd rather watch a group of men with a bag over their head in a cave with a jar full of lightning bugs trying to find the noonday sun, as to watch these people talk about their fruitless search for Jesus." Naturally, they never found Him in the hour and a half program. They were searching in the wrong place to find the authentic, real, genuine Son of the Living God.
Peter found him in Matthew 16:16
16 Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Several years back Bryant Gumbel was interviewing Larry King on CNN. Bryant Gumbel asked Larry King this question: “If you could ask God only one question, Larry, what would it be?” Larry King said, “I would ask Him if He had a Son.” Very interesting. Great question. My answer is: “Yes, He does, and His name is Jesus.”
Out of the 60 billion people who have walked Planet Earth,
only a handful have made a lasting impression and actually changed the world. Of that handful One stands out among the rest: JESUS. Only Jesus has had. . .
More attention,
More devotion,
More criticism,
More adoration,
More opposition than all other noteworthy persons who have ever lived and breathed. Every recorded word that He said has been more sifted, analyzed, scrutinized, debated— every word—than all of the historians and the philosophers and the scientists put together.
Yet, He was here 2,000 years ago. And, after 2,000 years, there is never one minute on this earth that millions are not studying what He said. Think about it—think about it: Here’s a person who lived in a miniscule, tiny little land two millenniums ago; and yet, His birth divides the centuries—AD, BC; Before Christ and Anno Domini, the year of our Lord.
My sermon this morning is a study in God's Word about what Jesus said about who He is.
Pastor Phil
P.S. I used this outline from a Billy Graham sermon I heard years ago, but it's still as relevant today as then.
6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6
January 13, 2019 - Sheepfold Ministries
Pastor Phil Roland <><<
WHO IS JESUS?
MATTHEW 16: 13-16; Colossians 1:13-20
"To explain Jesus Christ is impossible; to ignore Jesus Christ is disastrous; to reject Him is fatal. To know Him is to love Him; to love Him is to trust Him; to trust Him is to be radically, dramatically, eternally and forever changed, transformed by the power of His Spirit." Pastor Phil <><<
14 And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.' " Exodus 3:14
8 Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us."
9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'? John 14:8-9
INTRODUCTION:
WHO IS JESUS?
Moses took off his shoes / fell before God's Presence - Ex. 3:13-14
13 Then Moses said to God, "Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they say to me, 'What is His name?' what shall I say to them?" 14 And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.' "
1. God Himself spoke The Divine Name and commissioned Moses to use it 2. It is written in Hebrew, "Yoth-Hay-Vath-Hay" In Latin, YWHW
3. Jewish people speak, "adonoy" or "Eloheim" when reading it
4. It isn't just Jewish respect and tradition
5. The Divine Name is sacred and has power
Jesus defines Himself with Seven "I Am's in John's Gospel:"
I. I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE - John 6:35
35 And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
A. Jesus is well able to take care of HUNGER
1. Physical Hunger - Feeding of the 5,000
2. Lord's Prayer - "Give us this day our daily bread"
B. Spiritual Hunger - Bread in John 6 represents our Spiritual Life
1. Majority of U.S. walk in darkness. . .
2. Eg. Heartbreak in today's paper of a mentally ill mom who
murdered her 11 year old son and used the same 38 on herself. 3. There is so much loneliness, guilt, depression, insecurity
4. World-Wide people are hungry for something missing
5. Their spiritual hunger can only be satisfied by Jesus
WHO IS JESUS? cont. p.2
C. Jesus said He was Living Bread - John 6:33
33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life
to the world."
D. He promised Eternal Life by eating His Bread of Life
51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of
this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh,
which I shall give for the life of the world."
E. How do you receive Christ's Living Bread?
1. Open your heart and say,
"Lord Jesus, come into my heart. I'm turning from my sins and receiving you as my Savior and Lord."
2. Repent of your sins, change your mind and your direction
3. Allow Him to come with the living Bread of His Presence
4. Turn your back on willful deliberate sin for good
5. Jesus will satisfy your inner longings and hunger
Jesus defines Himself with Seven "I Am's in John's Gospel:"
II. I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD - John 8:12
12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."
A. Scientists differ on the theories of light: Particles, Pulses, Waves
1. All plant and animal light depend on light
2. Sun is 93 million miles from earth (92.96 Million miles)
3. Exact distance our we burn up or freeze out
B. JESUS' LIGHT is like the sun to our human hearts
1. He warms our cold, frozen hearts with His Love
2. He removes the hardened heart and give us a heart of flesh
26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will
take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of
flesh. Ezekiel 36:26
3. Only Jesus can turn on the light in our soul and give us joy
Jesus defines Himself with Seven "I Am's in John's Gospel:"
III. I AM THE DOOR - John 10:9
9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
A. Jesus, the carpenter from Nazareth, knew about doors
1. Every building has a door(s)
2. Every heart has a door, a place of access
B. Jesus is God's only door of access to His Kingdom - John 14:6
6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to
the Father except through Me.
1. His door isn't through $$$$, success, fame, possessions
2. His door is only through the narrow way
WHO IS JESUS? cont. p.3
Jesus defines Himself with Seven "I Am's in John's Gospel:"
IV. I AM THE TRUE VINE - John 15:1
1 "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.
A. Close to the time Jesus' death He told them - John 15:5
5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him,
bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
1. Receiving Jesus, you receive His Holy Spirit
2. God begins to develop His fruit in you. Gal. 5:22,23
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control.
Against such there is no law.
B. These gifts are supernaturally received and evidenced
Jesus defines Himself with Seven "I Am's in John's Gospel:"
V. I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD - John 10:11
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
A. Domestic sheep cannot exist w/o a Shepherd
1. Threatened by wolves, wild dogs and thieves
2. Poor eyesight, prone to wander
3. Prophet Isaiah says we are like sheep - Isaiah 53:6
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to
his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
4. Like sheep, we have strayed from God, lost from Him
B. Jesus' parable of the 1 of 99 sheep that was lost - Luke 15:4-6
6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors,
saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'
1. Are you one of His lost sheep?
2. Jesus died for the lost sheep, God loves and he's searching
3. The shepherd lives with the sheep
4. He gives them food, protection and security
5. Remember his Promises in Matt. 28:19,20?
20 . . . and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen
Jesus defines Himself with Seven "I Am's in John's Gospel:"
VI. I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE - John 11:25
25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life.
A. Jesus / Lazarus Narrative - Jesus calls the dead to life - John 11
1. Jesus can call your dead soul to life immediately
2. WE can be born again: transformed - John 3:3-7
B. Born not just into physical life, but into God's eternal life
Jesus defines Himself with Seven "I Am's in John's Gospel:"
VII. I AM THE WAY THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE - John 14:6; 6:44
6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
WHO IS JESUS: Text:
Matthew 16:13-16 (NKJV)
13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"
14 So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
16 Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Colossians 1:13-20 (NIV)
13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,
14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.
17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
ADRIAN ROGERS
He never wrote a book that we know of; and yet, library after library could be filled with the volumes, the multiplied millions of volumes, that have been written about the Lord Jesus. He never painted a picture, so far as we know; and yet, the world’s greatest art, the world’s greatest dramas, the world’s greatest music, the world’s greatest literature has Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, as its source. Jesus never raised an army, so far as we know; yet multiplied millions have died for Him. He never traveled very far from His birthplace; and yet, His testimony has gone around, and around, and around the world. He only had a handful of little followers that followed Him there, in His ministry; and yet, today, over 30% of the world’s population names His name—the largest such grouping on Earth today—Jesus of Nazareth. A ministry of only three short years—public ministry; and yet, here we are, 2,000 years later, saying, “Jesus, Your name is wonderful,” because His name is. He had no formal education. He didn’t attend the university or seminary; and yet, thousands of universities, and seminaries, colleges, and schools are built in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. And, in my estimation, in my humble but correct opinion, no one can call himself, herself, educated who does not understand Jesus Christ.
The great historian Kenneth Scott Latourette said this—listen to this quote: “Jesus has had more effect on the history of mankind than any other of His race who ever existed.” That’s not a Baptist preacher speaking that. To explain Jesus Christ is impossible; to ignore Jesus Christ is disastrous; to reject Him is fatal. Understand who Jesus Christ is: To know Him is to love Him; to love Him is to trust Him; to trust Him is to be radically, dramatically, and eternally changed, to be transformed. I’m talking about who is Jesus. Human speech is too limited to describe Him. The human mind— too small to comprehend Him; and, the human heart can never really, completely, totally absorb who Jesus Christ is.
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What we believe determines what we are. What we believe about Jesus Christ ultimately determines where we live eternally and how we live on this planet called Earth. What do you think of Jesus? If I were to ask each of you to tell me what you thought of Jesus I'm sure I would get some different answers. And I'm sure the man on the street would give us even more different answers. Some would say, ''Oh, Jesus Christ, well, that was a man who lived 2,000 years ago. He was a good man, a great preacher and prophet, but I don't think he's relevant today. Some would say, ''Oh, Jesus Christ!'' He was a revolutionary.'' Some would say, ''Jesus Christ? He's the white man's God,'' or, ''the black man's God.'' ''Jesus Christ? Oh, he was a meek man.'' You get many different kinds of answers about who Jesus Christ is. But, the Word of God tells us who Jesus Christ is. What we believe then, is that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And being the Son of God He has several unique qualities. In Lloyd Douglas' novel, The Robe, there's a very interesting little part where a boy by the name of Jonathan, who is seven years old, has been given a gift of a donkey. And he turns right around the next day and gives his donkey away. His father is thinking about this and he says, ''You know, that Jesus Christ who died a year ago, He really has left His mark on this world. It seems that He has taken the dye and hammer and stamped His image into the Galilean gold. It's too bad that a man like that couldn't live longer, because what He did in such a short time has sure made a difference.''
That's 2,000 years ago. And Jesus Christ continues to stamp His own image into the hearts and minds of men and women. We believe in Jesus Christ. We believe that Jesus Christ is very unique in that He was God and that He was man. The Gospel of John says, ''In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. And the Word became fle ...
