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Due to the large amount of sermons and topics that appear on this site I feel it is necessary to post this disclaimer on all sermons posted. These sermons are original to the author and the leading of the Holy Spirit. While ideas and illustrations are often gleaned from many sources including those at Sermoncentral.com, any similarities and wording including sermon title, that may appear to be the same as any other sermon are purely coincidental. In instances where other minister’s wording is used, due recognition will be given. These sermons are not copyrighted and may be used or preached freely. May God richly bless you as you read these words. It is my sincere desire that all who read them may be enriched. All scriptures quoted in these sermons are copies and quoted from the Authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible.
Pastor James May
WHO IS JESUS TO YOU?
John 4:39-42, "And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did. So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days. And many more believed because of his own word; And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world."
Both history and the Bible record the fact that a man named Jesus actually walked upon the earth. What we believe about this man named Jesus and why we believe what we do concerning him will make the difference in determining our eternal destination.
Most people and religions around the world are somewhat confused about just who Jesus was. Some confess that he existed in times past and was a great prophet, a man of peace, and a great teacher. Others say that he was a high priest. Still others say that he was the reincarnation of one of the Old Testament Prophets.
In Matthew 16:13-15, Jesus had the same question for his disciples that I have presented to you this morning, “…When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elijah; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am?"
I believe that every man must face this question. Some people are blessed to have Jesus come to them time and again in an attempt to reveal himself to them. Sad to say that many don’t have so many chances to meet Christ.
There are millions who have never heard the name of Jesus and yet there is a hunger, an emptiness, in the heart of all men that search for the truth of what some call a “higher power” or “the man upstairs” or “ the supreme intelligence” or “the cosmic force”.
Mankind comes up with a lot of names for God. Some give him these generic titles out of ignorance while many do so because they don’t want to believe in the true God and confess that Jesus is the Son of God.
I want to say right now that no generic title purchased my salvation on the cross. The “man upstairs” is more than just a man. The “supreme intelligence” is far more than just a source of knowledge and understanding. The “cosmic force” is far greater than the cosmos. He is God. He is Jesus. And he is my Lord and Savior. Jesus died for me and for you and there is no other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we can be saved. It is who Jesus is to you and what he is to you that will matter in the end.
In the 4th chapter of the Book of John we find the story of the “Woman at the Well”. It is Jesus’ encounter with an adulterous woman from Samaria. Being from Samaria was bad enough in the eyes of the Jews for these Samaritans were considered as little more than dogs.
Just who were the Samaritans? The name Samaritans was given to the group of mixed people, who the king of Assyria had brought from Babylon and other places and settled in the cities in the area called Samaria. These strangers intermarried with the Jews still remaining in the land, and gradually abandoned their old idolatry and partly adopted the Jewish religion.
After the return of the Jews from the Babylonian Captivity, the Jews in Jerusalem refused to allow those of Samaria to take part in rebuilding the temple, and because of this prejudice, open hatred sprang up between them. The Samaritans then erected a rival temple on Mount Gerizim, which was destroyed by a Jewish king in 130 B.C. They then built another at Shechem. The bitter enmity between the Jews and Samaritans continued in the time of Jesus and thus the Jews had “no dealings with the Samaritans”.
Thus we can see that by merely speaking to this woman, Jesus was placing himself in the position of offending every true Jew.
It is not uncommon in our present day society to see this kind of prejudice still very prominent. Racial differences, ethnic background and even financial status have such an impact upon our society that it drives deep wedges between vast segments and has been the cause of genocide as one faction attempts of utterly wipe out another through pure hatred.
But Jesus was no respecter of persons. He knew that this woman needed a Savior, just as every other man, woman and child ever born. He didn’t care what others thought. He didn’t care what they said. He just went about performing the work that he had been born to do. Thank God that Jesus came to be the Savior of the whole world and not just the Jews, for we, as Gentiles, were considered outcasts just as much as the Samaritans.
Jesus asked the woman at the well if she knew who it was that was speaking to her.
Summarizing the story of the woman at the well, Jesus revealed to her the hidden secrets of her heart. His words cut right to the heart of the sin in her life. This was something that no man had ever been able to do for her. Undoubtedly the Lord convinced her of her sin and then cleansed her from that sin for she went away rejoicing and spreading the news of who Jesus was and what he had done for her. If there had been no change in her heart, I doubt that she would have reacted the way she did to meeting Jesus.
She ran to the city with her good news. I don’t think she cared who she spoke to. She just had to tell someone about Jesus. She had met the Messiah, the Christ, Savior of the world. She had experienced a one-on-one, face-to-face encounter with the Son of God and was forever changed.
How many of you have had this same encounter with Jesus? Has your life been changed by his word? Has your heart been cleansed by his power? That’s what is necessary if you are really going to know who Jesus is!
In the question posed to Jesus’ disciples in Matthew 16:16-17, "…Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven."
It was this same revelation, from the Father in heaven to the heart of the woman at the well, that convinced her of who Jesus was.
As she ran to tell others about meeting Jesus, this Samaritan woman began to spread the gospel in much the same fashion as new converts of our day still do. It is the same thing that each of us must do as often as possible. But, its hard to tell others about meeting the Christ, the Son of God, unless we have been changed by his power.
How can we tell others about Jesus as the Lord of our lives when he is not the center of our lives? How can we tell others that Jesus is the Savior of the world if we have not allowed him to be our personal savior and Lord? The kind of witness that this woman at the well had was powerful and persuasive. She had a personal experience. She had knowledge of Jesus in her heart, not just in her head.
I wonder how many of those, in the modern day church, have this heart knowledge of Jesus?
Yes, we tell the world that Jesus Saves! Yes, we tell the world that Jesus died for all men! Yes, we tell the world that Jesus will give eternal life to all who live for him and trust in him! But, are we only saying words or is Jesus’ salvation and eternal life a reality in our own heart and life?
There are many Christians that I meet who take the Lord’s name in vain so easily, who still bear such prejudice against their neighbor, who still partake of everything that the world has to offer, and who are uncommitted in their walk with the Lord, that I cannot but wonder if there is a personal experience with Christ in their heart or do they only act as parrots to repeat what others have said.
Obviously no one will want to hear the words of a hypocritical Christian. If we want our witness to be effective we must walk the walk, not just talk the talk. People can see through your façade of Christianity. It doesn’t take long for the real person on the inside to come out into the open. Matthew 12:34 says, “…out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." Numbers 32:23says, "…be sure your sin will find you out."
Abraham Lincoln’s famous quote says, “You can fool some of the people all of the time. You can fool all of the people some of the time. But, you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.”
What answer will we give, if we are not living truthfully before God and man, when the hard questions come?
What will we answer when the person we are trying to witness to sees us use the Lord’s name in vain? What will we answer when those who we are trying to get to attend church see us miss church for any reason? What will we say when we take a little sip of beer or whiskey and then try to tell others that such things are wrong in the sight of God? What will we say when we tell others that our body is the temple of the Holy Ghost and then they see the smoke of a cigarette rising from the chimney, or nose, of God’s temple, and its not the smoke of incense either. What will we answer when we try to teach our children that the Word of God is so very important and they never see us reading it? What will we say to that man or woman who catches us committing our little secret sins?
What kind of witness will you have then? How many souls will we convince to come to Christ then? There is little doubt that the modern day church has become so worldly that there is no dividing line between holiness and worldliness in the mind of most Christians anymore.
When people can live together outside of marriage, in an adulterous relationship, come to church and never hear the truth – how can they ever repent and make things right?
When people come to church and never hear sin called sin, how can they ever come to repent. We must hear the truth, preach the church, know the truth, but most of all, live the truth before we can be effective for the cause of Christ.
It has been said that most people believe what they believe because it was told to them by some source of authority.
Do you believe that the Eiffel Tower really exists in the city of Paris, France? Why do you believe it? Have you been there, touched it, saw it with your own eyes, or been to the top of that tower? I doubt that many have, and yet we believe it because the teachers told us, the news media shows us pictures and the many books and novels speak of it.
Do you believe that the earth is round? Why do you believe it? Have you circled the globe in a space capsule? Have you walked, sailed, or ridden around the world? Have you proven, like Christopher Columbus, that you don’t just go out past the horizon and fall off into oblivion? Very few of us have ever done those things and yet we believe that the earth is round. Why, because it was taught to us by our discoverers and scientists and we have seen the pictures that were taken from space. But, what it all of it were a hoax? How can you know the truth?
On the same train of thought, how can you tell others about Jesus? Who is Jesus to you? Is he a Jesus that you have heard the preacher talk about? Is he the Jesus that you have read about? Is he the Jesus that you have heard such great stories about? Is he the Jesus who you have seen pictures of hanging on the wall? Are you only parroting what others have said, others have done or others have preached?
Or, do you have that same personal, one-on-one, face-to-face, experience with Jesus as the woman at the well?
“A man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with an argument.” If you truly know the truth of who Jesus is and have experienced his power within your own heart, and you are living the true life of a Christian, your witness will have the same effect that the witness of the woman at the well had.
The people of the city where she lived responded with belief at the words that she spoke concerning Jesus. Many of them came out to meet Jesus for themselves and each one of them had their own personal encounter with Christ and the Father in heaven revealed to each of them, in his own way, in their own heart, just who Jesus was. Thus they were able to say, “…Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world."
I don’t want you to know Jesus just from the words that I preach each week. I don’t want you to know Jesus just from the testimonies of other people around you. I don’t want you to know Jesus as a second-hand knowledge.
I want you to know Jesus as your own personal Savior! I want the Father in heaven to reveal to your own heart just who Jesus is!
Once you have had that one-on-one, face-to-face, encounter with the Son of God and the Holy Spirit has entered your heart, and Jesus has truly become the Lord of your life, then your life will begin to bear the fruit that God expects from each of us.
So, in closing, the question I have for each of you is this. WHO IS JESUS TO YOU?
Do you know that Jesus is the Savior of the world, or is he YOUR savior?
Do you know that Jesus is the Son of God, or is he YOUR God?
Do you know Jesus because others have revealed him to you, or do you know him because the Father in heaven has revealed him to YOU?
Just who is Jesus to you? Only you and God can answer that question but I hope and pray that you know him in a very personal, very intimate, way.
