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God himself was pleased to live fully in his Son. And God was pleased for him to make peace by sacrificing his blood on the cross, so that all beings in heaven and on earth would be brought back to God. You used to be far from God. Your thoughts made you his enemies, and you did evil things. But his Son became a human and died. So God made peace with you, and now he lets you stand in his presence as people who are holy and faultless and innocent. Colossians 1:19-22
taken from watching Mark Driscoll preaching at Easter 2011
1. He said He came down from heaven john 6:38-39
in other words He existed BEFORE He entranced time through His mothers womb. Jesus is God come down from Heaven. Jesus is NOT a man who became God but that God humbled Himself and came on a rescue mission and came to seek and save
2. He is more than just a good man mark 10:17-18
no one is good but God alone
He is not a good teacher, a generous man towards the poor and suffering but He is so much more
you cant reduce Jesus to “just a good man” He is The God Man
there is no one that is good, we are all sinners
Jesus alone is without sin, He alone is good
you must receive Him for who he truly is
3. Jesus performs miracles John 10:36-39
Jesus DID heal the sick, Jesus DID heal the blind, Jesus DID feed the hungry, those who were mute could sing, those who were lame could leap up and walk
Jesus unapologetically and emphatically said I AM GOD
and was accused of blasphemy
but He was not lying – HE IS GOD
Jesus is saying if you do not believe my words, then look at my WORKS – the miracles and transformation!
Jesus still works miracles
He sets addicts free, He transforms lives, He heals sick people NOW and TODAY
4. He said I AM SINLESS John 8:46
He says it plainly, openly, clearly, truthfully I AM SINLESS
this claim is without peer
we are all sinners by nature and by choice
by deeds, thoughts and motivations
none of us can say we are without sin
but Jesus can say it
no one is perfect EXCEPT FOR JESUS
no other major world religion has a leader that has made this claim
5. Jesus said that He is God John 10:30-33
I and the Father are ONE
some of you have been lied to – that Jesus never said He was God or that that was something added to His message, a myth added by His followers – BUT Jesus HIMSELF said HE IS GOD repeatedly, openly, publically, unashamedly
Jesus Christ IS God!
6. Jesus forgives sin Mark 2:5-7
each of us needs forgiveness of sin, the burden of guilt, the shame, the condemnation. the quiet moments when we all ponder the regrettable things in our life, the things we’ve done, the things we’ve said, the things we haven’t done and haven’t said… we are all sinners by nature and choice… every other religion will tell you what you can do to deal with your sin, follow this plan and do this. but Jesus says I FORGIVE YOU, I’LL TAKE CARE OF THAT. all we do is we trust Jesus. the penalty for sin is death. Jesus goes to the cross and in the most magnificent demonstration of love and justice in the history world, our God who came down from heaven, to live without sin, substituted himself, to make his enemies friends and to forgive sin.
7. Jesus says He is the ONLY way to heaven John 14:6
not only does Jesus come down from heaven, live without sin, dies for our sin, rises as our saviour, ascends into heaven, and He opens a doorway into the presence of God and the Kingdom of God and invites us to come through it, by trusting in Him. Jesus is exclusive. not all religions save, not all paths lead to eternal life, not all religions are true. there is no salvation and no forgiveness of sins, no reconciliation with God, apart from faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus is exclusive and inclusive. He invites us ALL. no matter what sin you’ve committed, Jesus invites you. no matter what race you are, Jesus invites you. no matter how old you are, jesus invites you. no matter what you’ve believed up to now, Jesus invites you. the door is open. one door. His name is Jesus Christ. everyone is welcome to pass through THAT door. all nations, all genders, all ages, all peoples.
8. Jesus said He would rise from death Mark 8:31
Jesus’ vindication is His resurrection. He said time and time again I AM GOD but his disciples and the people struggled to believe. and Jesus said WAIT AND SEE. The resurrection proves that everything He ever said is absolutely and completely TRUE. Jesus was dead, but 3 days later HE WAS ALIVE! and history has never been the same. a bunch of cowardly disciples became fearless and they didn’t even fear death because they knew that like Jesus they would rise too. the early church started worshipping on sunday, the day of Jesus resurrection. and no one visited grave. we have no idea where the grave really is, it did not become a shine or a place for holy visitation because JESUS BODY WASNT THERE. His resurrection is His vindication.
who is Jesus Christ?
maker of heaven and earth
beginning and end
the son of God
the God Man
our humble servant
man of sorrows
Good Shepherd
Prince of Peace
sinless saviour
the resurrection and the life
the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world
his love is glorious, his love is marvellous, his love is generous, his love is matchless
who do you say Jesus is?
this is the moment where you make a decision.
will you leave here as a Christian or a non Christian? will you resist the grace of God? will you reject the love of Jesus? will you reject his invitation? or will you accept His grace by turning from sin and trusting in Him?
will you give your life to Jesus?
will you repent from your sin, turning from being the god of your own life and trusting in Jesus? do you have a better plan? because there is none.
make the most important decision of your life.
if you’re feeling this in your heart, that is the Holy Spirit prompting you, compelling you, convincing you, that you need to make a change and that you need to respond.
Many of the people in the bible underwent major change between the promise and call and the outworking of that call.
Abraham called to be Father of the nations – barren and fatherless for a significant portion of his life.
Jacob the liar changed into Israel, leader of a nation.
Joseph was sold into slavery and jailed unjustly but became the saviour of a famine struck Israel.
David was called to be king but then spent his years hiding out in caves, running for his life.
Peter was called to be a disciple of Jesus but then in shame denied Him, but then rose to be one of the foundational apostles.
Lets look at a real graphic example: turn to Joshua 5
This chapter goes into the moments AFTER crossing the jordan and BEFORE attacking jerico. And it involves something I NEVER thought I’d write about.
Circumcision.
Yikes!
The israelites crossed the jordan river under the leadership of joshua in the most miraculous way. They’re living out their divine destiny. They’re embarking on the adventure of taking the promised land. But there is that one vital thing that had to happen first…
Joshua 5:2 while israel was camped at Gilgal the Lord said “Joshua, make some flint knives and circumcise the rest of the Israelite men and boys”
In the NT the same ritual takes place on a different level. God is more interested in our internal, spiritual condition. So the apostle Paul talks about a “circumcision of the heart”, one that isn’t merely “outward and physical” (Romans 2:28-29). This circumcision involves God cutting away everything in our lives that doesn’t bring glory to him. Stripping away our pride and self reliance. Removing our rebellion and tendency to choose our own preferences over His ways. Teaching us to trust in Him alone.
Before we can claim the territory for God that He has promised us – before we can live out our call to the absolute fullest that God dreams, our hearts will have to be circumcised. We have to go under the knife. We have to choose to take some costly steps of obedience to really follow Christ in real living active authentic faith.
see I AM CONSECRATED #1 HERE
see I AM CONSECRATED #2 HERE
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