Opener:
This morning, the title of our message is “Who is Jesus?” Depending on your answer will reveal where you stand with God. What we believe will ultimately determine where we will spend our eternity. Working the God mobile over the years, I have heard many different response to this question. There are some that will say “ Jesus was a man that lived 2,000 years ago, other will say “He was a good man, a prophet, but not relevant for today. Ask a believer, and their answer will be dramatically different. So “ Who is Jesus?”
The book of Mark gives us an account where Jesus was traveling with the disciples by boat. There was a storm that kicked up and the disciples were concerned as the boat was filling up with water. During this storm, Jesus was taking a nap and so the disciples woke Him up letting Him know of the storm and inquiring if He was concerned that they were going to die? Jesus then rose up and rebuked the wind and there was a great calm. Jesus admonished the disciples and wondered where their faith was? The disciples in the boat were just astonished as you can image the bible says in Mark 4:41(NKJV) 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”
People today are still wondering who Jesus is? There has been no other person since the beginning to time that has captivated the hearts of so many. During Jesus earthly ministry, He was able to touch and change so many people. Think of the man that was blind and was begging beside the road and Jesus healed him, How about the father whose daughter died and Jesus brought her back to life. What about the man that had the incurable disease of leprosy whose skin was falling off his body and Jesus touched and healed him. All these people that encountered Jesus, their lives were never the same.
This morning we are going to look at why we need Jesus in our lives and who He said He is and close with “Who Jesus is to you?”
I. Why do we need Jesus?
A. First things first
a. This is a very important question that we need to delve into. This has been a questions that has been asked by multitudes through the ages.
b. We find our answer when life began here on the earth.
c. We understand that God created the heavens and the earth and He made the stars, He made the planets, He made the plants, animals and He made mankind after His image and likeness.
i. The first man was named Adam and His wife Eve. They lived in a beautiful garden and all was good until one day they ate from the forbidden tree.
ii. God placed a tree in the middle of the garden and informed them not to eat from the tree.
iii. God allowed this to be eaten because He wanted to give His creation a choice. He gave them free will.
iv. Let’s just talk about that moment. Remember that God made us in His image and likeness. That means that God gave us free will because He has freewill.
1. I will let you in on a clue, God always chooses good!
v. As we all know, Adam and Eve ate from the tree and caused sin to enter into the earth.
B. Sin brings death
a. The bible says in Romans 6:23(NKJV) 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
b. Sin cuts man off from God, God is a holy, God and is unable to look upon sin.
c. Sin causes a broken relationship with God, it brings spiritual death and caused us to be eternally separated from our Creator.
d. In fact, if we die without our sin being forgiven, then we will end up in hell.
C. A price to pay
a. There is a price to pay for sin. This price is not something that we can afford nor offer.
b. There is no amount of money in the world that would be able to forgive your sins.
c. You cannot make up for your sin by performing good works.
d. You cannot earn your way to heaven.
e. The bible says in Ephesians 2:8-9(NKJV) 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
f. Salvation is a gift.
D. Jesus paid the price
a. We learn from old testament scriptures that they had a sacrificial system in place.
b. The people would offer sacrifices of lambs and other animals to make up for their sins.
c. When Jesus died on the cross, He put an end to this sacrificial system as Jesus was the lamb of God who took away the sins of the world.
II. How did Jesus describe Himself?
A. The good Sheppard
a. Now that we understand a bit about why we need Jesus, we are going to explore what Jesus said about Himself. Jesus said in the book of John 10:11(NKJV) “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
b. Jesus loves and watches over us, just like a Sheppard that watches over its sheep.
c. The Sheppard provides for the needs of the flock along with protecting the sheep.
B. The bread of life
a. Jesus not only protects us, He sustains us with spiritual food.
b. John 6:35(NKJV) 35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
c. Jesus feeds us spiritually so that we can grow and become more like Him.
d. Walking in His ways and fulfilling His will for our lives.
C. The Vine
a. Jesus is the giver of life. The bible says in John 15:5(NKJV) 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
b. Notice there that we are the branches and Jesus is the vine.
c. The life is in the vine and because of that life it gives life to the branches. If the vine was dead the branches would be also.
d. Thanks be to God that the vine is alive and it is well.
When we invite Christ in our hearts, then the Holy Spirit comes in and empowers us.
D. The Way the Truth, and the Life
a. John 14:6(NKJV) 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
b. Jesus makes it clear to us that He is the only way to get to heaven. There is no other entrance, there is no secret door, there is no side entrance, there is no way to sneak in. The only way is through Jesus.
c. Jesus is the truth, He embodies truth. The truth that Jesus represents is eternal and absolute.
d. Jesus is the life, I love this declaration. Once you receive Jesus in your life, you will have eternal life.
i. Not might be, Not probably, but rather You will have eternal life.
III. Who is Jesus to you?
A. Jesus
a. Now that we learned why we need Jesus and we heard who Jesus said that He is. The question becomes, Who is Jesus to you?
b. This is a very important question to answer. This is a question that only you can answer for you. You can regurgitate others opinions, but what is your genuine answer.
B. Some thoughts
a. Some said Jesus was a lowly carpenter (Mark 6:3)
i. The people said this because they knew that Jesus worked for his father in the carpentry business.
ii. The people heard about Jesus because He lived in a small town, kind of like our small town.
iii. It amazes me that if people sneeze in our town, everyone hears about it.
b. Some said Jesus was a mad man
i. People accused Jesus of being crazy. In part they did this because they did not understand Jesus.
ii. The people went to the extent to not only call Jesus a mad man, they said that Jesus had a demon. (John 10:20)
c. Some said Jesus was a sinner (John 8:41)
i. Not only did people say He had a demon, they said that He was a sinner.
ii. They accused Jesus of being born out of fornication and that He was not a legitimate child.
d. Jesus was a good man.
i. People said that He was a good man. While this seems to be a compliment, it was stopping short of who Jesus really was.
ii. Jesus not doubt was a good person, but He was more than that. He was the Son of God.
C. Who Jesus should be to us.
a. So we close with this question, Who is Jesus?
b. Jesus should our all in all. He should be our everything. He is the bread that sustains us, He is the water that nourishes us, He is the one that lights up our path, He is the one that leads us to the truth! Amen.
c. Pastor Steve’s testimony
Closing:
As we close here this morning, the question that needs to be answered is Who is Jesus to you? Is a great leader? Is He a prophet?, Is He a wonderful human being that loved people? Who is Jesus to you? I trust that He is your Messiah, He is your Savior, He is your all in all.
I love what 2 Corinthians 5:17(NKJV) 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation. What does that mean, what does that look like? For starters it means that we are not the same as we once were. Does that me we are perfect? Hardly, what that means is that we have a new mindset. Our lives are different for the better.
