Sermon Central
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Ambassadors For Jesus
Contributed by Sunday Adelaja on Jan 16, 2008 (message contributor)
Summary: Everyone is trying to find God – just as it was in those days, when Jesus was on the earth, so it is also in our day.
Everyone is trying to find God – just as it was in those days, when Jesus was on the earth, so it is also in our day. Some people say, there is no God, whereas others say that they do not need Him. But people’s attitude to life and behaviour testify clearly that in the heart of every person there is a longing for happiness and material well-being. People are continually striving for perfection and harmony in life, yearning for love, happiness, kindness... Some hope to find happiness in marriage and family life, others think that the sole key to well-being and future security is money, and so devote their whole life to work and their career. To have money, a family and a prosperous business is all very wonderful. But inside this person always has the feeling, that there is something very important missing. All the time he is trying to work out where the lack is. The answer to this enigma is actually very simple: without God, without Jesus, there is no true happiness. God is our Creator. It is He who created the universe and has given us life. And man will continually sense a spiritual vacuum, until he establishes a two-way relationship with his Heavenly Father, with his Creator.
Imagine an apple tree. If one of its branches is cut off, it will dry up and produce no fruit. The life of a man without God is similar to this branch. Many people struggle and suffer in a desperate attempt to change something in their lives, yet do not realise that all they need is God and His life-giving Power. That’s why it’s so important for someone to go and tell these people the truth about the Gospel. In order to find peace and happiness in their soul, they need to turn to God, confess their sins, receive forgiveness, accept the Son of God, Jesus Christ, into their hearts and become fully fledged heirs of the Kingdom of God.
You can all confirm this. Your life only changed after you came to God, because it is only when we are in harmony with our Creator that we can come to know the fullness of life that man is continually striving after.
Many people think that they can be prosperous even without God, but they are mistaken. Anyone who comes to God can tell you for sure that his former life, in contrast to the life he received when he repented, was without any real aim, without any perspective and devoid of meaning.
You can only get to know God through Jesus.
I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
"I am the way, the truth, and the life". Jesus knew that His mission was to reveal God the Father to people. He knew that people could only to come to God through him. That’s why He spent His time walking up and down the land of Israel preaching the Kingdom of God.
Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the Gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
No one has ever seen God. Jesus came to the earth in order to reveal God the Father in the flesh. He knew that people needed to be reconciled with their Creator. That’s why he went everywhere saying: "Look at me and you will see God. Believe in Me and God will come into your life." Jesus preached in this way for several years but realised that He Himself would manage to get round all the towns and villages because He only had very little time - three and a half years in all. So He chose some disciples, equipped them with His authority and sent them out to preach the Gospel.
After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go.
People have to see Jesus in each one of His disciples. This is the essence of Christianity. Why are we called Christians? Who, then, is a Christian? A Christian is someone who has accepted Christ and in whom Christ lives. The life of a Christian is a replica of the life of Jesus. The apostle Paul wrote: "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me" (Galatians 2:20). So in that case people have to be able to see Jesus in the life of every believer.
The believers were first called Christians in Antioch, where they preached about Jesus and established a big church:
But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord. And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.