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Who is Jesus Christ to You?
Matthew 16:13
3 important statements: “God has no
grandchildren, only children” “To be 99% sure
is 100% unacceptable” “The only thing longer
than life is eternity” Take that first statement—
Studies show that if your parents never had kids, neither will you! In
other words, just because your parents were Christians doesn’t mean you
are...no spiritual genes were passed along to you when you were born...you
must be born again! If you’ve never been born then you’re not
here...and if you’ve not been born again, then you’re not saved! Here’s a command to obey— 2 Corinthians 13:5
Philippians 2:12
Do you know that you know
that you are saved? Have you ever nailed it down 100%? If Jesus
were to ask you, “Why should I let you into heaven?” what would you say?
With fear and trembling you’d try to work it out, and word it just right.
So, how about it? Examine yourself right now before God examines you
on that day. Be honest today, because He will be just on that day!
The question is not ‘if’ you are saved, but ‘how’ you are saved. What
are you trusting in? If you say Jesus, then, who
is Jesus to you? Jesus and the disciples are
about 120 miles from
1.
Who He is
2.
What He’s going to do These are the 2 things we
all must understand—the person and work of Jesus Christ. The disciples have been
with Jesus for about 3 years, and now it’s final exam time.
He asks first who the crowd says He is, and then who the disciples
say He is. Their answer will
determine where they spend eternity...and your answer does the same.
Be careful as you take the test...you cannot afford to miss on this
question. And you must answer
not only with your head, intellectually, but with your heart, spiritually.
[With the heart man believeth, They are in Caesarea
Philippi, the center of pagan religion.
Who is Jesus Christ to You?
1. This is the
perennial question.
This question is repeated
in every age, over and over again.
There is no neutrality with this question...you cannot avoid it, you
must answer. And it doesn't
matter what you're right about, if you're wrong about Jesus.
The opinion of the
crowd v. 14
3 theories:
·
John the Baptist—because
of His preaching of repentance.
But Jesus was a far greater preacher than John, and He spoke with an
authority that was astonishing.
He not only spoke the Word of God, He IS the Word made flesh!
John only pointed to the Lamb of God, but Jesus personified the Lamb.
·
Elijah—because
of His prayers.
Elijah prayed and the heavens opened and closed, whether rain or fire.
Jesus had a powerful prayer life.
The disciples never asked Him to teach them to preach, or to work
miracles...but they DID say, teach us to pray!
They were blown away by His ability to talk to His Father, and they
were happy to learn they could easily do the same.
·
Jeremiah—because
of His ‘pathos’ = compassion.
Jeremiah was the weeping prophet, and was known for His tears.
And Jesus was known for being moved
to tears...from His view of a multitude in a crowd like sheep w/ no
shepherd, to the tomb of just one and the shortest verse in the Bible, our
Jesus wept and wept, and still today when we are hurting, He hurts right
along with us, His heart breaks for us, and our tears are a language that
our God understands! All of these opinions were
wrong, because you just can’t compare Jesus to another man.
He is unique, supreme, the Name above all names, the God We’ll never find the right
answer to the perennial question by taking a public opinion poll.
When it comes to Jesus, the big crowd is always wrong, yet many make
public opinion their main method of gaining spiritual understanding. Invite people to church or
to be saved and you’ll hear the same excuses over and over again.
This tells me 2 things:
1. The excuses all originate
from the same source...Satan, and 2.
They’ve heard it from somebody else.
“The Bible is full of
contradictions” they say, and usually they have never read it for
themselves...they are just repeating talking points. [ask them to show you one] “I can worship God
anywhere” they say, but they don’t. “You just want my money”
they say, and I reply, “but that’s not all!” Maybe we need to stop
asking them to church, and start asking them the perennial question they
need to answer, Who is Jesus Christ to You?
If they get a hold of the true answer, they’ll be saved, get into
church, and be forever changed!
2. This is a
personal question. v. 15 Jesus narrows the focus.
The opinion of the disciples Every person must answer
this question. The crowd cannot
answer it for you. You cannot
abstain or opt out from answering...you can delay, but you cannot hide
forever, you will answer someday.
There’s only 4 answers really that
you can give:
·
“He’s a legend.
It’s all made up. He
never really was.” A very small
minority today believe this one.
Intellectually you cannot hold this position.
Why? Because there’s more
historical proof of the existence of Jesus Christ than of any other person
in human history. I hate it when
cable channels try to deal with Bible stories because they totally botch it
up so often. And when they
investigate who Jesus was, there’s no exception, they flaunt their ignorance
as if it were a neon sign flashing above their heads.
But I’ll tell you one thing they never even attempt to do, and that
is to deny His existence...there’s simply too much historical evidence to
even begin to go there.
·
“He was a liar.
He deceived people into thinking He was someone He was not.
He was a good teacher, a good person who did good things, but He was
not God in the flesh.” This
position is not even an option.
Why? Because He claimed
to be God, and if He wasn’t then He was a liar, and good people don’t go
around living a lie. It wasn’t a
little white lie if He was lying, He was a pathological, habitual
deceiver...is that a good person?
No! And people can see
right thru that kind of liar.
Joke—little
boy would go to school and tell some whoppers about his weekend / the
teacher would ask, what did you do? / “went fishing, caught 36 fish this
long!” / she knew he was lying / next week, “deer hunting, killed 8 ten
point bucks / she knew he was lying / next week, “played baseball, hit 16
home runs in one inning / she took him to the principal’s office / he said I
know psychology, so send him to me, I’ll tell him an even bigger lie and
show him what he looks like / said, Billy, I want to tell you about my
weekend. I was walking thru the
woods and saw a huge black bear and it started chasing me...but just then a
little
·
“He was a lunatic.
He was off in the head.
Maybe sincere, but crazy...mentally deranged.”
But again, read His words, and see how the people marveled.
They asked, where does He get His wisdom.
The most brilliant minds have studied His words for centuries and
have only scratched the surface at the depth of His wisdom!
And so, if he was not a legend, liar, or lunatic, then there’s only 1
other conclusion you can make...
·
“He is LORD!”
in V. 16 Peter got it right!
He is the long awaited, oft predicted Messiah, and study your OT and
you’ll see His coming and description are all there plain as day, when,
where, and how He would come, what He would be like, and what He would do. How long can you wait to
face the question when you know He’s not a legend, it makes no sense that He
was a liar, and it’s plain He was no lunatic.
Confess Him as Lord today, and not on this day: Philippians 2:10 On that day it will be too
late...today it’s just too simple! Then once you are saved,
make Him Lord of your life. You
see, He died to claim me as Lord, and now He lives to control me as Lord. God's throne is not a
duplex...let go of the wheel and give Him full control.
Many Christians want to serve Jesus, but only as an advisor.
If Christ is worth anything
He's worth everything. Whatever
master a man chooses will master that man.
The Bible says you cannot serve two masters, but you WILL serve one!
Once you are saved you should hang a sign around your neck that says
'Under New Management!' You can't just tip your hat
to Jesus, you must bow the knee.
Who is Jesus Christ to You?
Not only is this question the perennial
question, and a personal question...
3. This is a
providential question. v. 17 Jesus says, it’s only by
the grace, goodness, and guidance of God that any of us can ever come to the
place of answering this question correctly.
The right
answer comes by divine revelation, not by human speculation.
Only the Father in heaven can make the truth real in your heart. John 6:44 It’s no accident that you
are here today. God has arranged
the circumstances of your life so you will hear this message, and you will
be forced to answer the question, who is Jesus Christ to you?
And don’t just answer it in your head...make sure it impacts your
heart. Don’t miss heaven by 18
inches...the distance between your head and your heart.
So, what’s the difference between believing in your head and in your
heart? So, who is Jesus Christ to you?
Grace Notes Sermon Ministry:
NOTICE! Our sermons are free to download, copy and paste, edit and use as you see fit...but only our free subscribers get the newest messages, featured sermons, and some free gifts we shower on them from time to time! Help keep this service free by recommending it using the links above the sermon
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All Sermons and PowerPoint Slideshow Presentations ©Copyright Jerry Shirley and Grace Notes Ministries® unless otherwise credited. These resources are yours to use freely, but only in public worship services or private study groups and devotions. They may not be sold, republished or retransmitted in any form without written permission.