Sermon Central
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Knowing Jesus
Contributed by Anthony Zibolski on Sep 4, 2015 (message contributor)
Summary: There is a difference between knowing of Jesus and knowing Jesus. When we truly know Jesus, we will not have a problem serving and loving Jesus.
Knowing Jesus
Introduction-
Last week we looked at the Potter and the clay.
We saw that the Lord was speaking to the nation of Israel, and then to us as we allow the Lord to mold and make us more in the image of God.
We saw that if you have a hard time believing that He could change a nation, you would also have a hard time believing that He cares for you and can change your life.
Today, we are going to the basics.
I want to look at another familiar verse, John chapter 1
An eternal God would come to us and redeem us from our sins.
America I believe is at such a dangerous spot, they have the freedom of speech to hear the gospel, but deaf to the reality and responsibility that comes from hearing and knowing the gospel. People say that they know Jesus, but some would not know Him if He stood next to them.
John’s responsibility was to share what he knew and what he witnessed as he was with Jesus.
He recorded the gospel to build faith and confidence in Jesus Christ so that we may believe that He truly is the Son of God.
What Jesus taught and what He did are tied in-separately to who He is- John shows Jesus as fully human and fully God although Jesus took upon Himself humanity and lived as a man, He never ceased to be eternal God. Jesus is the creator, and sustainer of all things and the source of eternal life.
This is the truth about Jesus. If we cannot or do not believe this basic truth, we will not have enough faith to trust our eternal destiny to Him.
In the beginning, before time began- God was. God had a Son Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ did not come into being when He was born because He is eternal. He (God) came to fulfill a promise that Jesus Christ would come to offer redemption for a world that was lost in sin.
John the Baptist, this wild looking locust eating man had no power or position in the Jewish political system, but he spoke with irresistible authority. People were moved by his words because he spoke the truth, challenging them to turn from their sins and baptizing them as a symbol of their repentance. They responded by the hundreds, but even as people crowded to him, he pointed beyond himself, never forgetting that his main role was to announce the coming of the savior.
Jesus was the Word, in fact, replacing the name Jesus each place you saw the word, (v1) would read “In the beginning was Jesus, and Jesus was with God, and Jesus was God. He was with God in the beginning.”
To the Jews- saying that Jesus was God was blasphemous.
To the Greeks- to say Jesus was God in the flesh was unthinkable.
To John- The Word (Jesus) was the good news of the gospel.
Can our small brains really comprehend and grasp who Jesus is?
He spoke galaxies into existence!
He sent planets into orbit and had suns circle around them.
He spoke this world (earth) into existence.
Out of nothing, He made something!
He breathed life into mankind- and when we messed up, He chose to rescue the lost and offer the gift of salvation and eternity with Him.
Illustration-
A Theological college invited a professor to their annual conference as a guest lecturer. He spoke for two and half hours establishing proofs that the resurrection never took place. The professor quoted book after book that there was no historical resurrection, and the traditions of the church were groundless. It was all emotional mumbo-jumbo, because it was based on a relationship with a risen Jesus, who, in fact never rose from the dead. After his talk, he asked if there were any questions. An elderly pastor stood up and said, I have only one question. He reached into his sack lunch and pulled out an apple and began eating it. Crunch, my question is simple, crunch, now I have never read those books you quoted, crunch, and I can’t recite the scriptures in the original Greek, crunch, I know nothing about Niebuhr and Heidegger, crunch, all I want to know is … the apple I just ate…was it bitter or sweet? The professor paused for a moment and answered in a scholarly fashion. I cannot possible answer that question, for “I haven’t tasted your apple”
The elderly pastor dropped the core of his apple in his paper bag, looked up at the professor and said calmly, “neither have you tasted of my Jesus”
Listen, it is all about Jesus! (repeat)
You want to know Jesus, His Word tells you that it will happen. If you want to listen to all the false teachers and all the doubters, you will never find that peace that only Jesus can give you.
