Testimony of Jesus

Good morning to all of you here in attendance and those watching and worshipping with us online on our website.

Winter is here and the snow lovers should be quite happy thus far. I like snow days up until 6. The school builds in 6 snow days at the end of the calendar that we will be at no matter what in May so I love snow days until that 7th day.......then it gets into making them up and that is no good.

I am very glad you are here and put God first this morning. Maybe God lead you to stay home due to the weather and therefore are with us live on our website…Praise God for that ability

Either way welcome to CCC

I do just want to say this on the topic of should I go to church or not in bad weather.

This is how I evaluate these things, the conviction that God laid upon my heart.

If I would be at work or am going somewhere else like a ball game or wrestling meet or Walmart or whatever but say the weather is too bad to go to church then I am making those things more important that God.

If I own my own business and would not close it down because of the weather but can’t come to church because of the weather then I need to have God check my motives

Again we do not come to church to be saved

We do not come to church to become righteous

We come to church to worship Jesus.

We come to church because of what Jesus did on the cross

We come to church to hear the Word of God proclaimed

We come to church to respond to conviction and seek Jesus!

We come to church to serve each other

We come to church to fellowship

If you would be somewhere else right now but can’t be at church because it is cold then I believe you need to have God check your heart.

If you are here with us and are new or just have never filled out a visitor’s card please do that and either give it to me following the service or put it in an offering plate on the way out and it will get to me

If you are watching online and would like to share your information so we can stay in contact and pray for you and pray with you then after the service please go to the Contact tab then click on please click here to contact us link and complete that form and it will come directly to me

Either way we would love to be able to be in contact with you and pray together etc.

Let’s Pray

START OBS

I always try to do my best through the Holy Spirit and scripture to bring to you what I believe to be the original intent of the Bible each and every Sunday

Today is no exception to that

Today’s scripture has been debated among theologians as to it’s meaning

I believe context matters when there are many different interpretations and commentary on scripture

IF you will remember John wrote this letter to combat false prophets, antichrists, who left the church and were preaching a different gospel and different Christ.

That is important to remember as we tackle vs 6-12 in I John 5.

Today there are many outside and even inside the church preaching a different gospel and a different Christ

We must be just as discerning today as John was urging His readers to be back then.

We need to be like the Canadian Mounties when dealing with counterfeit money. The Mounties do not study or even look at counterfeit money to try and stay ahead of the criminals.

No.....they study and know the real thing so well anything that is not real stands out like a sore thumb

You and I need to know the real thing

scripture

Christ

Holy Spirit

God the Father

so well that anything that is not truth stands out to us like a sore thumb

1 John 5:6–12

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“This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”

There is a lot going on in this section of scripture and I want to do my best to go verse by verse this morning so the Holy Spirit can teach us what God has for each of us this morning.

I want you to understand that......God has something for you

That is why it breaks my heart when you miss church

......not because you miss corporate worship....you do

......not because you miss Biblical teaching.....you do

.....not because you miss fellowship......you do

......not because you miss my wonderful preaching.

......you don’t....you miss my preaching but don’t know about wonderful.

.....no what breaks my heart is you miss what God had for you that day

......you may never get what He had for you if He had it for you right then and there only

The days you really don’t feel like being here are the days you REALLY NEED to be here because God has something for you and the enemy wants you to miss it

Back to this morning

The first thing I want to look at together is

Water and Blood

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We find this in vs 6 and I did some research and looking at different versions and commentaries and prayer and I feel confident that scripture here is pointing to the following meaning of water and blood

Water here refers to baptism

Blood refers to physical death

Both are significant because it points to Jesus being fully man.

Points to him being a physical being

living

breathing

walking

human being

Many today claim Jesus was just a human being

He was a great teacher

A great Rabbi

A Prophet

But only a man

If that were true Christianity and salvation would be meaningless

Salvation.......forgiveness of sins demand that Jesus was fully man and fully God

The false prophets of the day were claiming that Jesus was only divine.....only fully God.....only a deity from his baptism until right before he died on the cross

They claim he received the Spirit of God at His baptism and that it left him while he was on the cross right before He died

That then means when he died he died a human so there was no paying for the sins of the world and we are all doomed to hell

Of course this is not true

It isn’t backed by scripture but many believed it and were lead astray and would have went to hell because they rejected Jesus fully man and fully God

Most everyone here today believes Jesus was fully God and fully man from conception to resurrection

However many around you do not......this morning I felt lead to give you scriptures first that I want you to study and dig into for what God has for you this week.....again I list all scriptures used in the notes sheet and if you wanted a notes sheet but didn’t get one and need one see me after service and I will print you one

If you want one and didn’t grab one please feel free to get up and grab one right now

Second I felt lead to give you scriptures to stand upon as you deal with those challenging that Jesus was fully man and fully God

God asked me this question and I will ask it to you

If you were challenged on was Jesus fully man and fully God could you give scriptural proof of that belief?

First scripture I want to point to is

John 1:1–5

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“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”

No question here that Jesus.....the Word was both with God…part of the trinity and present at creation....but was also God

God in three persons

Jesus....the Word made all things......in fact there was nothing made that was not made by Him

Truly God

Beyond argument that Jesus was fully God long before coming to earth

Just in case you need more here is another scriptural reference that is iron clad

Matthew 1:20–23

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“But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”

Again very clear

Jesus is God.....God with us

but also human

Conceived by the Holy Spirit inside a virgin

A living, breathing, walking, human virgin

That living, breathing, walking, human virgin then gave birth to a living, breathing, walking (eventually), human named Jesus.....Emmanuel God with us

If God had not sent Jesus

Fully man and fully God sins couldn’t have been ever paid. No human other than Jesus was ever perfect

All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God

If one sins then they are disqualified from being the sacrifice that could pay for sin

We are so far removed from the sacrificial system in the Old Testament that it is hard for some to understand why God required perfect blood to be shed

Leviticus 1:3

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“If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord.”

male without blemish

Perfect

This was costly by the way to give up a perfect male out of your herd......shows how costly sin really is

Jesus was a very high price to pay to give you the opportunity to have your sins covered in His perfect blood shed on the cross for the forgiveness of your sins

Jesus had to be fully man and fully God....fully man to live a perfect life and be the willing sacrifice for the sins of the world

Fully God so He could live a perfect life......so that He could satisfy the sin debt

Hebrews 10:11–12

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“And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;”

If Jesus was not the acceptable sacrifice.....the sin debt would have never been paid

priests standing around giving the same sacrifices…why because they were not paying for the sin......they didn’t satisfy the sin debt of you and me

IT was something to fill the gap and point to Jesus!

Jesus was the one perfect sacrifice....human....to pay for sins

He fully paid....fully satisfied your sin debt and my sin debt and the sin debt of the whole world

God with us..

the Word

Fully God

Fully man

I don’t know if someone or a few someones is struggling with Jesus being fully God and fully man or if it was just so that you and I can defend via scripture our beliefs but God wanted that brought out this morning

Vs 6 also points to another cultural thing that John’s readers would have understood

In the Old Testament for something to be true there were two or three witnesses required

Vs 6 God points to that

Holy Spirit and Jesus both testify or witness that Jesus was fully God and fully man

Vs 7-9 clearly show Jesus as God’s Son

First there are three witnesses

The Holy Ghost

God The Father

The Word all bearing record and agreeing that Jesus was God’s Son

For me that is enough but maybe you are struggling here or maybe you need to have scripture to help someone else who is struggling

The New Testament clearly points to Jesus as God’s Son.....let’s look at 4

1. Jesus’ Baptism

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Matthew 3:16–17

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“And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

When Jesus came out of the water.....His physical baptism.....He saw the heavens open and the Spirit of God descend on him like a dove

Then a voice from heaven....God saying this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased

A second witness that Jesus is God’s Son

2. Transfiguration

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Matthew 17:1–5

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“And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.”

Jesus transfigured into his Holy being.....wow

What a picture this creates in my mind......we think we know Jesus but then when you really think about it He will be so much more beautiful and perfect than we could ever imagine!

Jesus is transfigured and it is very literal here......Moses and Elias are there and Peter says Jesus.......is it cool we are here????? You are shinning like the sun and Moses and Elias are here and me and James and your bro John feel quite out of place.......we cool?

As Peter was speaking God shows up......This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased....hear ye him....

God says this is my boy........I am so pleased with Him.....listen to Him

How cool is that......clearly pointing to Jesus as the Son of God!

3. Crucifixion

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Mark 15:37–39

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“And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.”

Listen this Roman centurion knew death

He knew the cross

The Romans were torture masters....they knew exactly what human bodies could take and not take

He had probably seen hundreds die on the cross

Since this was such a big deal…Jesus....I am sure he was hand picked to be there

This was not just some guy standing by who would be caught up in the moment

He was more than likely seasoned and very comfortable with seeing people die

When Jesus cried out and gave up the ghost......we see God declaring His Son’s sacrifice was good by tearing the huge veil in the temple that separated man from the God.....separated man from the holy of holies

We have no scripture pointing to the thickness of the veil but many believe it was about 4 inches thick and two horses could not have torn it in two

It was not humanly possible to rip it in two.....God showed Jesus was enough

Back to the centurion, when Jesus cries out and dies…gives up the ghost the centurion says Truly this man was the Son of God

Again this isn’t the first person this guy has seen die........He was moved by powers stronger than him…God....the Holy Spirit to realize exactly who Jesus was

4. Resurrection

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Romans 1:3–4

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“Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:”

The fact that Jesus was resurrected and ascended back to heaven is proof beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus was God’s Son

God through His Holy Spirit.....God Himself.....and Jesus along with scriptures point very clearly to Jesus being fully man and fully God and God’s Son

This is so important for you to fully understand and believe but also to be prepared and able to testify to those around you.

Vs 9 Instructs you to truly pay attention to God Himself

Men testify

Your teachers here at CCC put hours into prayer and study to bring you what God wants them to bring to you

They do not teach the Holy Spirit teaches however....their witness is not what is powerful but God’s testimony and witness about Jesus is what is powerful

Some of you have people around you who do not believe

Pray

Speak truth when prompted by the Holy Spirit and trust that God is working

Share your testimony and pray that God speaks through it

John 14:26

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“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”

Only the Holy Spirit teaches you

God’s witness is so much greater than mans witness

If someone is lost

Pray

speak truth

love them and

watch God work!

Vs 10-12 We see again belief and salvation result in changed lives

You and I testify by how we live

You and I believe by how we live

We also testify we don’t believe by how we live

That is the witness in yourself when you accept Jesus

become saved

Confess Him true Lord over your life....and believe God raised Him from the dead you are saved!

You then receive the down payment of your inheritance....the Holy Spirit and you change

the old is dead and gone and the new is here

That is your witness to you that you are saved

The Holy Spirit

If you have Jesus you have life if you do not have Jesus you do not have life

How do you know you have Jesus and life?

The Holy Spirit

He testifies to you that you are saved and your changed life reflecting Jesus and God and the Holy Spirit testify to those around you that you are saved.......new....old dead and gone…new creature is here!

What is your testimony?

Ask God through the Holy Spirit right now to show you your heart here and respond accordingly

STOP OBS

Invitation