OPEN: Steve Harvey – "Introducing Jesus"
(found on godtube at this address: http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=905620397b19c9d24978)
APPLY: When I first heard about this video I didn’t know what to expect. A comedian introducing Jesus??? I thoroughly expected him to get the audience to laugh AT Jesus. But instead of laughing at Jesus, here’s a famous comedian praising Jesus in a public performance.
Now, just as matter of full disclosure, I looked up some of Mr. Harvey’s other performances on the internet, and he probably isn’t what we’d call a Godly man. But at this point in his career, Steve Harvey stood up for Jesus, and publicly worshiped God. In fact, he finished his act in a way that brought the entire audience on its feet in applause of Christ.
The folks in his audience hadn’t come to hear a sermon.
And many of them may not have been Christian.
But there was something in what this man said that spoke to them.
There was something about the message of Jesus that made them cheer.
About 700 years before Jesus was born another speaker - the prophet Isaiah - “introduced Jesus” in much the same way.
There was something in Isaiah’s words that spoke to his people.
There was something in the message of this Child that was to be Born, this Son that was given, that gave Israel a reason to cheer.
“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6
Many in Isaiah’s audience were not Godly people.
In fact, the nation of Israel had messed up so badly, that God was bringing the nation of Assyria down upon them to punish them.
They were walking in darkness - in the shadow of death - because they’d abandoned God.
And it was to this audience (who walked in darkness) that God gave the guarantee
* of a great light
* a child of hope and promise
* a future for their people that would be a wonderful counselor, a Mighty God, an Everlasting Father, and a prince of peace.
Last week, we addressed Jesus as the “Wonderful Counselor”.
Today we’re looking at the Bible’s claim that He is "the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father."
The first thing that came into my mind as I read this part of Isaiah’s description of Jesus (and the first thing that comes into the minds of many Christians) is that these titles tell us that Jesus was divine.
That He was God.
He wasn’t just a wonderful counselor.
He wasn’t just a great teacher.
He wasn’t just a good example.
He IS the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father.
A couple of chapters before what we read this morning, in Isaiah 9 we read this: “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14b
Commenting on that prophecy, Matthew he quotes Isaiah 7 about the virgin bearing a son, and then he explains: “…they will call him Immanuel — which means, ‘GOD WITH US.’” Matthew 1:23
Isaiah’s message was plain:
A virgin was to give birth to a son, and He would be known as “God with us”. And this child that was to be born - this Son that was to be given would be called “the Mighty God, the everlasting Father.
The New Testament reinforces this:
When the angel appeared to Mary and told her that she was to be the mother of the Messiah: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the SON OF GOD.” Luke 1:35
And the Apostle John introduced Jesus this way:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the WORD WAS GOD." John 1:1
That’s what Steve Harvey was referring to when he declared:
“Jesus was the King of all Kings, Ruler of the universe.
The Alpha and Omega. The Beginning and the end.
The bright and the morning star.”
There’s no mistaking what Mr. Harvey… or what the Scriptures are trying to say:
Jesus was God who became flesh and dwelt among us.
Why is that important?
Why should it matter to me that Jesus was God?
Well 1st, it’s important because the only individual who could get us into Heaven was God
The repeated message through out Scripture is this:
No one is going to get into heaven because they’re nice people.
You can give time, money, housing, clothing, even blood to help people.
You can be as nice as you can possibly be – but you’ll still not make it into heaven just because you’ve been a “good” person.
Romans 3:23 “… all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”.
Nobody is good enough to be good enough to get into heaven.
Your sins have created a debt that must be paid.
Romans 6:23 tells us “…the wages of sin is death…”
In other words – the price of your sin is somebody’s death = either yours or somebody else’s.
Now, I CAN’T die for you.
Even if I wanted to I couldn’t do it.
I can’t even pay for my own sins… let alone yours.
But God can.
When God stepped down from Heaven and became a man He died on a cross to exchange His life for yours.
One poet put it this way:
"He paid a debt He did not owe.
I owed a debt I could not pay.
I needed someone to wash my sins away.
And now I sing a brand new song; Amazing Grace!’
Christ Jesus paid a debt that I could never pay."
That’s the most important reason why Jesus being divine is so critical for you and I.
But it means even more than this: He is the MIGHTY God.
Colossians says it this way:
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 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. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Colossians 1:15-17
He is the MIGHTY God.
He’s created everything and He holds all things together by the power of His Word.
What that means is: Jesus is big enough and powerful enough to supply us with whatever we need.
ILLUS: I read the true story of the wife of a preacher who decided to feed leftovers to her 2 boys. She gave the 6 year old the remaining portion of something called “tor-tel-lini”. Apparently it was so good the first time round, that 8 year old son wanted it too.
And that’s how the argument started.
Well the dad thought he’d try reasoning with the older son.
“Jeremy, what would Jesus do in this situation?” thinking Jeremy would say “He’d Share”.
Instead, Jeremy looked up and said, “Oh, Dad… He’d just make more!”
(Paul Decker in “Do We Have Enough for Dinner” on www.sermoncentral.com)
That boy understood what it meant to have a Jesus who is the MIGHTY GOD. He believed Jesus was able and willing to supply him with the things that he needed.
You might say: "It’s impossible." But Jesus says: All things are possible. (Luke 18:27)
You migh say: "I’m tired." But Jesus says: “Come unto me and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
You might say: "I can’t go on." But Jesus says: “My grace will be sufficient for you.” (II Corinthians 12:9 & Psalm 91:15)
You might say: "I can’t do it." But Jesus will reply: You can. You can do all things through me because I’ll give you strength. (Philippians 4:13)
Jesus is the MIGHTY GOD
In addition, Isaiah 9 tells us Jesus is the EVERLASTING Father.
He is “everlasting”.
He is, as Steve Harvey said, “the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.”
Jesus has always been… and will always be.
He is eternal.
And He offers to share with us of that eternity.
In John 5:24 Jesus said
"I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has EVERLASTING life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.”
Once you’ve given yourself to Jesus.
Once you’ve believed in His name,
Repented of your sins,
Been buried in the waters of baptism and risen up to a new life,
Once you’ve done that, you have laid hold of eternity.
And from that day on you have the promise from the everlasting Jesus:
“I will never leave you or forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5
ILLUS: People we trust can fail and disappoint us.
The company that we work for may fire us or go out of business.
Governments and kingdoms will ultimately crumble and fall.
That’s the kind of world we live in. Nothing is permanent… except Jesus commitment to us.
Jesus will never leave us or forsake us.
He is the presence of the everlasting Father to us… and He will not walk away from us.
That’s the Jesus Steve Harvey introduced to his audience.
That said, I need to point out that Mr. Harvey did say one thing that wasn’t true in his video.
He said “Jesus needs no introduction.”
But that’s not true.
God felt it was so necessary to introduce Jesus to us that He filled the Old Testament with hundreds of introductions. Again and again throughout the pages of Scripture, God said “Somebody’s coming. Somebody’s coming.”
Over 300 prophecies told us told us
• where He would be born
• what He’d do
• what He’d say
• how He’d die
• How He would rise from the dead.
Oh yes – Jesus needed to be introduced to us so that there would be no mistake, no misunderstanding, that this Jesus was exactly who He said He was. And this Jesus has a right to claim what He claimed to be.
He is the MIGHTY GOD, the EVERLASTING FATHER.
But even more than that Jesus needs to be introduced… not just TO you, but BY you.
Romans 10 says "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in?
And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?
And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” Romans 10:13-14
And no, it isn’t just the preacher’s job to preach Jesus to others.
It’s all of our jobs.
Just this past week, one of our members told me of a friend of hers who is a prominent man in our community. If I told you his name, you’d recognize it.
In the past this man lived a rough life.
Alcohol was his god and drunken parties were his church.
But when Diane talked with him this past week he told her that he’d been sober for 6 weeks.
Then he took her over to her desk and pointed to a Bible.
He’d been going to church two or three times a week and was reading the Bible incessantly.
Why? Somebody talked to him about Jesus and it changed his life.
Whoever that was, God has a word of praise for them: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Romans 10:15)
Sharing Jesus with others is THE most important thing we can do to honor our Mighty and everlasting Savior.
CLOSE: I once read the true story of a little girl named Jana who was in a Christmas pageant.
As her mother told the story: The day of the Christmas presentation finally arrived. My young daughter, Jana, was so excited about her part that I thought she was to be one of the main characters though she had not told me what she was to do.
The parents were all there and one by one the children took their places.
I saw the shepherds fidgeting in the corner of the stage meant to represent the fields for their sheep.
Mary and Joseph stood solemnly behind the manger.
In the back three young wise men waited impatiently.
But still Jana sat quietly and confidently.
Then the teacher began: "A long time ago, Mary and Joseph had a baby and they named Him Jesus," she said. "And when Jesus was born, a bright star appeared over the stable."
At that cue, Jana got up from her chair, picked up a large tin-foil star, walked behind Mary and Joseph and held the star up high for everyone to see.
When the teacher told about the shepherds coming to see the baby, the three young shepherds came forward and Jana jiggled the star up and down excitedly to show them where to come.
When the wise men responded to their cue, she went forward a little to meet them and to lead the way, her face as alight as the real star might have been.
The playlet ended.
We had refreshments.
On the way home Jana said, with great satisfaction, "I had the main part!"
"You did?" her mother asked in surprise.
"Yes," she said, "because I showed everybody how to find Jesus!"
We serve a mighty God and an everlasting Father when we serve Jesus.
And the most important thing we can do on His behalf is show other how to find Him.
He is the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father… and He does want us to introduce Him.
