I Am Jesus
Why You Need To Know Who HE Really Is
Video – Who Is Jesus? (Sermon Spice, first 3:15 of video)
(also note that whenever you see this in my notes..." [Tim...] - this is a time when i call out different people by name before I make the statement. I find that this helps people to stay involved)
Jesus’ ministry was really heating up… Luke talks about this temperature rise in the 8th and 9th chapter of His Gospel. In these chapters we see;
• Jesus teaching about a farmer sowing seed onto various types of soil… (the – hard, rocky, weedy and good soil, by the way which type of soil are you?)
• In these chapters we see Jesus - waking up from a nap to calm a violent storm
• Casting a legion of demons out of man
• Raising Jarius a synagogue ruler’s 12 year old daughter from the dead
• Healing a woman who had been sick (bleeding) for 12 years
• Feeding 5,000+ people with a young boys sack lunch
• In these chapters we see Jesus teaching about how we must deny ourselves and pick up our cross daily in order to follow Him.
• In these chapters we see Him being transfigured on a mountain, in front of Peter, James and John…They see His glory and they see Him taking with Moses and Elijah.
• We see Him responding to the pleas of a troubled father to cast the demon out of his young son
• We see Him teaching about how the greatest in His kingdom is like a little child.
• And we see an entire town refusing to welcome Him
UNDERSTAND - the great year of Jesus’ popularity was drawing to a close. Jesus was now entering the 3rd and final year of His earthy ministry -- and even now the dark storm clouds of opposition are clearly visible on the horizon... IT - was time for lines to be drawn, sides to be chosen and decisions to be made. AND - there was one central question in the minds of every one from the adoring multitudes, the frightened religious aristocracy and the still struggling disciples… “Who is this man Jesus?” Luke writes;
Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
- Luke 9:18-20 (NIV)
Prayer…
[Tim…] – throughout your life you have been and you will be asked many questions. NOW - some questions are not really that big of a deal? LIKE…
• Paper or plastic?
• Regular or decaf?
• Hot or mild?
• Smoking or non smoking?
• Medium or well done
• Coke or Pepsi
AND – other questions are pretty important, LIKE…
• Where are you going to college?
• What career to you want to pursue?
• Who are you going to marry?
• How many children are you going to have?
• Are you going to fight to restore that relationship or just give up?
ALL – pretty important questions… BUT UNDERSTAND – there is one central question that we all must; deal, wrestle and struggles with for our entire lives… IT IS – a question that was asked 2,000 years ago… AND IT IS – a question that continues to be asked today by that Galilean carpenter… “Who do you say I am?”
[Tim…] – the most important question that you will ever be asked… AND – the most important answer that you will ever give… IS – to that VERY question. Who do you say that Jesus is….?
THIS MORNING - we kick off our sermon series; I Am Jesus…
• It’s a series that we have been talking about and looking forward to for several months
• It’s a message series that is going to last all of 2005
• And it’s a message series that is going to change lives in radical and unbelievable ways… In fact it is going to transform them… something entirely different is going to emerge.
AND LISTEN - some of the lives that will be changed are in this room right now… (hey take a moment top look around this room… Listen – some of the people you just looked at will not be the same this time next year…)
AND – some of the lives this message series is going to radically transform… Have never even been in this room before. (Hey turn around and look at the chairs in the back of this room… This time next year there will be people sitting in those chairs whose lives will be changed. AND - some of those changed lives just might be; your neighbors, co-workers, family or friends…
QUESTION – how can I be so confident that lives will really be changed in this place in the year 2005? Is it because I think that I am ‘all that’ when it comes to preaching? NO – it’s because of what Jesus said during the final week of His life…When I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself… - John 12:32
NOW – Jesus was talking specifically about being lifted up on the cross… BUT LISTEN – I believe that we can still lift Jesus up today… YOU SEE – we can lift Him up in our lives… When we lift Him up in this church… (Him not our personal agendas or opinions)… AND – when we do people will be drawn to Him…
THIS MORNING - I just want to introduce the series ‘I Am Jesus’ to you… AND – I want to do that by making 2 simple statements… The first statement is;
We Don’t Really Know Him
Let me repeat that… “We don’t really know Jesus…” QUESTION – what do you think of that statement? How does it make you feel (confused, angry, offended, insecure)? Do you agree with that statement? Does it kind of tick you off that I would even say such a thing?
I MEAN – you got up this morning, you came to church, you brought your bibles, you sang about Jesus, you took communion, gave an offering… Things you have done for years… AND – then some guy up on a platform tells you,,, [Tim…Steve] – you don’t really know Jesus…
A man who had many personal encounters with Jesus Christ. A man who Jesus asked to personally represent him to the gentiles. A man who Jesus gave the power; to heal, perform miracles and even raise the dead. A man who had totally and radically given his life for Jesus. A man who was willing to go without food or water, be beaten, betrayed, whipped, stoned and put into prison… ALL - in order to live for Jesus. A man who Jesus asked to write 13 books of the N.T.. A man who said, meant and embodied the following statement… “for me to live is Christ and to die is gain…” 2,000 years ago from a prison cell, THAT MAN, the apostle Paul wrote;
whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ–the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
(Do you see what Paul is saying? He is saying that he has given up all the stuff that he used to do in his attempt to measure up to God… AND INSTEAD – he now simply accepts the righteousness that comes by faith and through knowing Christ Jesus… AND THEN – Paul continues with these words…) 10I want to know Christ - Phil 3:7-10 (NIV)
UNDERSTAND – if Paul’s life came down to one thing (and it did) knowing Christ…AND IF Paul understood that despite all that he knew… THAT - he still didn’t really know Him… How can we say that we do? I MEAN – how can our cry be ‘Christ, I already know Him!”
NOW – don’t misunderstand me… I AM NOT – saying that you don’t know anything about Jesus. AND – I am not saying that what you know about Him has not impacted and changed your life… (brought hope, peace, joy, light and purpose, where there had been none)
I MEAN – I am with you on this… I know Jesus (not fully)… BUT - what I know of Him, has changed my life… GUYS - I am not the same person today, that met Jesus on Dec 30 1979… AND - if you are a believer you are not the same person that you were the first time you met Him.… AND GUYS – all this is good.
BUT LISTEN – there is so much more to KNOWING Jesus than anyone in this room could ever imagine. GUYS – here is the bottom line of what I am trying to say… IF – you want to have this message series, ‘I Am Jesus’ impact your life in radical, unbelievable and incredible ways…THEN – you are going to have to take Jesus off the flannel board of your current understanding… AND – with intense passion search for Him once again… YES – what you know and have experienced thus far is good… BUT – there is so much more!
LAST WEEK – we talked about making the most of the year 2005… If you weren’t here I encourage you to order the tape… We talked about 4 keys that will make 2005 better then 2004…
AND - one of the things we talked about was assuming responsibility for our own life… WE – talked about being a thermostat not a thermometer in 2005. (Remember a thermometer simply measures temperature… AND - that is how most people live their lives… THEY LET – people and circumstances determine their joy, peace, hope, contentment and relationship with God)… BUT – a thermostat on the other hand, sets the temperature… A thermostat says no matter what happens this is what I will set my life too.
LISTEN – I have no idea what I am going to face in the year 2005… BUT IF – the first 9 days are any indication… Life, circumstances and people are going to do the best they can to mess me up… BUT – let me make it perfectly clear… I will not be a thermometer in 2005…. I just won’t. YOU SEE – I have already set my thermostat for 2005… AND – it is set on this one thing… ‘Knowing Jesus Better (period… exclamation mark, jump up and down on it, weld it in place, engrave it in stone baby… My thermostat is set! – I want to know Christ!”)
I’ve ordered 10 books so far from Amazon.com about Jesus, books written by people who are trying to figure out who Jesus is… I am re-reading other books like, Just Like Jesus…I am struggling through a book called the ‘Divine Conspiracy” and I am getting into another book called, “The Jesus I Never Knew”
NOW – in one of my new books written by a guy named Don Everts; called…”Jesus With Dirty Feet” - I came across these words in his introduction;
“Who was Jesus? Did he really say anything worth listening to? Is there anything to this Christian religion that He started.
Understand trying to clear answers about Jesus is a bit tricky, because everyone and their dog has a different opinion about Jesus.
Let’s see… there’s the traditional stained glass Jesus, my grandparents’ soft Jesus who blesses nice people who don’t smoke or cuss, the liberationists’ machine gun toting Jesus, the atheists’ papier-mâché Jesus, the finger waving Jesus, the limp-wristed Jesus…
You can see the problem.
Now we could just throw up our hands in frustration at all the conflicting pictures. Or I suppose we could just let others spoon-fed us some prechewed conclusions about Him. But life is too short for that. there must be a way to make up our own minds.
Understand…clarity about Jesus will come not from preconceived notions and theories about Him but from a clear, specific look at Jesus Himself. But is that even possible?
Is it possible to see Jesus without all the clichés and stereotypes that have piled up over the last 2000 years? Can we wipe away some of the gloss of 20 centuries and see Jesus tangibly and in detail, as those folks on the streets of Israel saw Him…dirty feet and all?
AND LISTEN – that is what each of us need to do in 2005… We need to get passed the clichés and stereotypes… we need to wipe away the gloss of 20 centuries and the coloring of our own past experience and see Jesus… dirty feet and all.
GUYS – I been a Christian now for 25 years. I left a 10 year career in the USN Navy to go to Bible College at the age of 28 with a wife (and 1 and 3 year old) in tow. AND - this plaque says that I graduated Summa Cum Laude and was Valedictorian at Florida Christian College in May of 1992. I won the Greek award, the preaching award…I never got less than an A during my 4+ years at College. AND – this plaque says that on June 14, 1992 I was ordained into the ministry in Lee Hall Virginia. I have been preaching full time since September of 1991. I have preached 100’s of messages, given 100’s of bible studies, read tons of books… Spent hours and hours alone with God and his Word…
AND – I’ve said all of that… TO - say this… Despite all the plagues, awards, grades, messages and time alone … I don’t really know Jesus… YES – I know Him (some)… BUT – there is STILL so much more to this; indescribable, uncontainable, untamable all powerful God. THAT IS – why I stand before you today and admit… THAT I don’t know who Jesus really is…
BUT MAN – (let me tell you) I am so ready to take Jesus off the flannel board of my current understanding and watch Him grow, expand… AND - come alive;
• before me,
• in me
• and all around me!
NOW – there is one more thing I need to mention before we go to the second statement…
IT - is a dangerous & costly thing, to believe that you have Jesus Christ all figured out… AND – if you need proof of this, you don’t need to look any further then the Pharisees of the 1st century. I MEAN – these guys missed out on so much… Jesus was right there before their very eyes… AND - they didn’t even know it… Why? because they had already carefully and in permanent marker defined the Christ, in their own minds…
I MEAN – in Luke 7 they watched as Jesus forgave the women who anointed His feet with perfume of all her sins… BUT – they refused to seek that same forgiveness… THINK ABOUT IT – they are in the very presence of the one who COULD forgive every sin in their lives and the don’t even ask Him.. WHY? Because - the Jesus on their flannel board of understanding would never consider letting a woman like that even touch Him… So he could not be the Christ…
QUESTION – have you so carefully and in permanent marker defined Christ in your own mind such that you have severely limited who He is and what He can do in and through you?
Yes it is dangerous & costly to believe that you have Jesus Christ all figured out…
Get It?
Statement #1; we don’t know who Jesus really is…
Statement #2;
Why We Need To Really Know Him
NOW - the concept for this year long message series was born on August 1, 2004. I was reading day 56 of our Summer Of One Devotional. AND – on that day our devo was from the 14th chapter of Matthew’s Gospel beginning at verse 22. IN - the verses prior Jesus had just fed 5,000+ people with a young boys sack lunch….
Right away, Jesus made his disciples get into a boat and start back across the lake. But he stayed until he had sent the crowds away. 23Then he went up on a mountain where he could be alone and pray. Later that evening, he was still there. 24By this time the boat was a long way from the shore. It was going against the wind and was being tossed around by the waves. 25A little while before morning, Jesus came walking on the water toward his disciples. 26When they saw him, they thought he was a ghost. They were terrified and started screaming.
27At once, Jesus said to them, "Don’t worry! I am Jesus. Don’t be afraid." 28Peter replied, "Lord, if it is really you, tell me to come to you on the water." 29"Come on!" Jesus said. Peter then got out of the boat and started walking on the water toward him. 30But when Peter saw how strong the wind was, he was afraid and started sinking. "Save me, Lord!" he shouted. 31Right away, Jesus reached out his hand. He helped Peter up and said, "You surely don’t have much faith. Why do you doubt?" 32When Jesus and Peter got into the boat, the wind died down. 33The men in the boat worshiped Jesus and said, "You really are the Son of God!" - Mt 14:22-33 (CEV)
QUESTION – why were the disciples terrified? Why did they scream… Why did they stay in the boat…? GUYS - I think the answer is pretty obvious…. THE REASON – they were terrified, screaming and stayed on the boat… IS – because they did not know who the guy walking on the water in the middle of those crashing waves, was?
5 months ago this familiar passage hit me like never before. It was one of those defining moments. YOU KNOW – a moment ever so brief, that changes everything… On August 1, 2004 - I wrote these words in my summer of one devotional…
"Don’t worry! I am Jesus. Don’t be afraid"
"Lord, if it is really you, tell me to come to you on the water."
Father, I so need these words… I don’t want to stay in the boat. I know that there is another way to live and be. And right now I’m kind of huddled up in this boat and I feel that I am surrounded by crashing waves of; fear, doubt and uncertainty… (my ability, my sin, my doubts about my self) But hey it’s not about me anyway… it’s about Jesus!
Father I can really sense Peter’s cry – “Lord, I so want off this boat. I so want to live a different way. I so want to ignore the wind and the waves. I am so tired of just hanging on to the sides of the boat…
And father I hear you say, "Come on!"
GUYS (HEAR ME…) – I am convinced to the core of my being that we need to know who Jesus really is… WHY – because people who know who He is;
• Get out of the boat
• They walk on water
• They have no fear
• They have no worry
• And they live the life they’ve always wanted.
AGAIN – back in August of 04’ those 8 words "Don’t worry! I am Jesus. Don’t be afraid" Hit me like a ton of bricks… I MEAN - they knocked me to my knees spiritually. AND – as they did, they answered questions that I have had for quite awhile, LIKE…
• Why am I still afraid at times
• Why do I still worry
• Why do I still have doubts about my worth & value
• Why do I still have some of the same struggles
• Why hasn’t Jesus impacted the way that I think, talk and live in a greater way
• Why do I (though I hate it) choose to stay in the boat
AND [Tim…] – why do you? WHY – do you still worry? WHY – are you still afraid? WHY - do you still have the same struggles? Why do you still doubt your value and worth? WHY – hasn’t Jesus impacted how you think, talk and live in greater ways? AGAIN – the answer is obvious… we DON’T really know who the guy walking on the crashing waves of our lives, is!
THIS – past Thursday, as I hung out with God. I wrote the following in my journal… (my 1st spiral notebook of the year 2005)
Father, my goal for myself and for Central is for all of us to know more about who Jesus Christ really is… AND – to have that knowledge IMPACT; how we live think and act.
NOW – let me be straight with you… I don’t really know very much about this journey or this quest, that we are about to embark on. AGAIN – I know that the ultimate destination is knowing Christ. AND I KNOW – some of the major stops that we will make along the way in order to get there. FOR INSTANCE – in 2005, during ‘I Am Jesus’ we will talk about such things as; Jesus
• His person
• His purpose
• His teachings
• His miracles
• His friends
• His stories
• His followers
• His emotions
• His enemies
• His encounters with people
BUT – the specifics of those talks.. How wide, how long, how high and how deep they will be I really have no clue. AND – I’m okay with that… BECAUSE – in 2005, I want to go to places that I’ve never been before… I want to see new things… think new thoughts… I want to see Jesus in a different light… and through a fresh pair of lenses.
NOW OF COURSE - we will pull into some familiar ports along the way… BUT GUYS – we (you & I) need to see Jesus in a different way… IN – ways that we have never seen him before… AND LISTEN – when I speak of seeing Jesus, I am not talking about seeing Him with the eyes of your head… NO – I’m talking about seeing Him with the eyes of your heart.
QUESTION – did you know that you heart has eyes? Checkout what Paul wrote to us in Ephesians chapter 1;
18I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead… - Eph 3:18-20 (NIV)
In those verses Paul is praying that the eyes of your heart will be opened so that you can see;
• The hope to which He has called you (do you see that hope today)
• The riches of your inheritance
• And the great power available to you who believe
UNDERSTAND - there is a way of seeing, that is much greater than mere physical sight. AND – the Gospel writers make it clear that sometimes even though people saw Jesus physically, they did not really see Him. CHECKOUT – what Jesus said about some people who had just listen to Him tell them His story of the farmer and the seed… (BUT – didn’t get it!) “Though seeing, they do not see” – Mt 13:13
IN – other words…they only saw Jesus with the eyes of their head and not the eyes of their heart… I LIKE - what John Piper writes in his book; “Seeing And Savoring Jesus Christ;”
Everyone can read stories of Jesus and “see” the portraits painted by the words of those who knew Him. But not everyone sees truth and beauty and infinite value. Some see only myth. Some see foolishness. Some see offence. “Seeing they do not see.” It is as though a child should look at a Michelangelo and prefer a comic strip.
Savoring Jesus is the response to seeing Jesus with the eyes of your heart. When you see something as true and beautiful and valuable, you savor it. That is, you treasure it. You cherish and admire and prize it. Spiritual seeing and spiritual savoring are so closely connected that it would be fair to say: If you don’t savor Christ, you haven’t really seen Christ for who he is If you don’t prize Him above all things, you haven’t apprehended His true worth…
Spiritual seeing and spiritual savoring are so closely connected that it would be fair to say: If you don’t savor Christ, you haven’t really seen Christ for who he is…
LISTEN – the point that I am trying to make this morning, is that you & I have not really seen Him… Not to the degree that he wants to be seen by us… AND [Tim…] - John Piper is right seeing always presides savoring… UNDERSTAND – in a lot of ways the Jesus we see is like the Jesus on this flannel board…
• Flat
• Small
• And 2 dimensional
AND – this is not good… AND – it is not the Jesus that we need.
HEY – have you noticed that a lot of people in our society are going through an identity crisis. I MEAN - the question that a lot of people are asking is ”who am I.” AND - many in an effort to answer that question go on a journey to find themselves.. THEY – take a trip, pursue a relationship… OR - they go to a counselor all to help them answer this question as to their identity. BUT – I am convinced that this is the wrong question to be asking. AND – it always has been.
Over 3,000 years ago an 80 year old men standing on a mountain in the Sinai desert ask the same question. Moses was standing before the burning bush -- his sandals were off because he was standing on holy ground (and he was having an identity crisis. And God told Moses that he had been chosen to deliver God’s people from Egypt. "BUT MOSES SAID TO GOD, `WHO AM I THAT I SHOULD GO TO PHARAOH AND BRING THE ISRAELITES OUT OF EGYPT..’"
AND - do you know what? God did not answer Moses question as to his identity… BUT - t rather HE told Moses that the God who is (I am) will be with him. LISTEN - man’s fundamental problem (your fundamental problem) is not a "self identity crisis" -- it is a God identity crisis. IF - you want to know who you are… THEN – you need to know who God is.... UNDERSTAND – when you find out who God is -- then and only then will you know who you are...
We need to know who Jesus really is… BECAUSE THEN;
• We will know who we are
• We will walk on water
• We will finally put aside once and for all… fear, doubt and worry
• We be a new creation
• We will be content in any and every situation
• We feast on a living hope that will spoil fade or pass away
• Jesus Christ will radically impact the way we live
• We will experience fullness of life
• We will have a peace that passes understanding
• The crashing waves of this life.. will no longer keep us in the boat and off the water
• We will love one another deeply from the heart
• We will forgive each other as God has forgiven us
• We will lives that give this world a better glimpse of the glory of our Jesus
YOU KNOW – recently as I was sharing with someone about doing a year long message series about Jesus. They asked me if I would be able to preach on Jesus all year long and still be able to make it applicable to people’s daily lives…
To be honest other then saying, “yes I could” – I don’t remember how I answered the question. AND – as I reflected on it later. I don’t think I answered the question that good… AND – I think the reason why is because when they asked it… It made me wonder too. I MEAN – would just talking about Jesus be as applicable as series about; having a better marriage, overcoming our fears and restoring balance to our lives… NO – I didn’t answer it so good then…
BUT – I know how I would answer it now… OH YEAH… you better believe this series on Jesus will be applicable to your daily life… WHY? Because Jesus Christ is the most applicable thing your life will ever encounter… IN FACT – real life is found only in Him… AS – John says in the awesome preamble to His Gospel;
4Life itself was in him, and this life gives light to everyone. 5The light shines through the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. John 1:4,5 (NLT)
AGAIN - I don’t really know all that much today… I don’t know what I will be talking about the next 50 Sundays of 2005… MAYBE – I should have made more preparation for this journey before we cast off all lines and set sail… MAYBE – I should have already read a bunch of new books and thought a bunch of new thoughts…
BUT – the truth is that I’m ready to go now! I don’t want to wait. I’ve waited long enough already. It’s Time to go! AND BESIDES – I don’t want to wait until I know everything and have every detail figured out before I share this stuff with you. BECAUSE – I think most of you, like me, are ready to go now!
SO – it’s done. We off. It’s January 9, 2005… AND - we have begun our quest, together. AND IT’S – a quest as ancient as time itself… A – journey to seek the unseen!
IN FACT 2,700 years ago Jeremiah talked about this journey of knowing God to a people who were living in captivity…
11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD , "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you," declares the LORD… Jeremiah 29:11-14
MAY – the seeking begin! AND – may we never be the same!
