Through my eyes-Jesus in HD
Through my eyes
Jesus in HD
Intro
· You may have heard this song play on the radio or saw the video. What strikes me is the raw desire for belief the artist sings about. While it may be an upbeat and catchy song, the lyrics are powerful at identifying where a lot of people are at:
The faces all around me they don't smile they just crack
Waiting for our ship to come but our ships not coming back
We do have time like pennies in a jar
What are we saving for
So give me something to believe
Cause I am living just to breathe
And I need something more
To keep on breathing for
So give me something to believe
I am hiding from some beast
But the beast was always here
Watching without eyes
Because the beast is just my fear
That I am just nothing
Now its just what I've become
What am I waiting for
Its already done
· The artist longs for something more than what he has experienced. There’s a touch of despair even that he fears all that has been will be all there is.
· We want something to believe. We want something beyond ourselves that is worth living for. Even a lot of authors will write that there really is no God and that you just have to make the best of this life, a lot of that talk rings hollow because we want something to believe that is more than just living to breath.
· What if that someTHING, is a someone? Wouldn’t that be so much better? It’s not an impersonal belief system. It’s a relationship with a God who loves you more than you could ever imagine.
· We’ve been looking in detail at Jesus through the eyes of those He encountered on earth. Our prayer is that you have seen Jesus as someone who:
o Is comfortable with our questions and doubt because following Him is about a relationship that grows and doesn’t flat line.
o Loves those on the outside. Indeed, wants no one to be an outcast;
o Wants to be in a relationship with you versus forming a religious system that you practice.
· The last set of eyes we want to look through is ours. It’s really about this question: how do YOU see Jesus?
· In Matthew 16, one of Jesus disciples was actually confronted with this question:
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
That’s the question I want you to wrestle with today, “Who do you say Jesus is?” Because if you can say He is the Son of God, savior of us all, but you have never made a decision to follow Him, we want you to day. We want you to have that opportunity today.
Every Christ follower at some point has made this decision. They have made the decision to cross a line of faith and say that Jesus is their savior. I made that decision when I was young. But I knew in 4th grade, Jesus was the only one who could save.
Others make that decision later in life. Two friends stand out. Both happened to be named Don. Both made this decision later in life. One of the Don’s became a running partner for me and after his last child was born he knew it was time because he knew he couldn’t do life on his own any longer.
My other friend went on a mission trip to Louisiana. After that experience Jesus literally became more real than he had ever experienced. Literally the last wish of his mom before she died over 20 years ago was that he choose faith in Jesus. And he did. It took time. It took coming up empty in life. But eventually Jesus became real through the people He met on a mission trip.
1. Everyone looks for a savior.
a. We have an insatiable desire for a savior.
b. All of us reach a point where we can identify that the something or someone we need saving from is ourselves. We know in our best moments that our good intentions are tainted with selfishness. We desire to do good, yet something in us gets in the way.
c. The Bible calls this sin. And it has lasting consequences beyond this earth.
i. Just for a moment consider: If sin, the bad things that humans do has such an awful effect on our life now, doesn’t it make sense that after death it will be worse.
d. And it’s not that God is sending us anywhere, it’s that if we don’t find a way out of our sin, we accept the consequences of our sin. And the consequences are hell. Eternal pain. Eternal separation from God.
i. John 3:17-18 – Our unbelief, our refusal to place our faith in Jesus, means we accept the consequences.
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
ii. Kids’ consequences?
1. As a parent I want my kids to understand the concept of consequences. When they do something wrong, I want them to see that there are consequences for their actions. If they disobey there will be discipline so that they will learn to obey. However, there are some things I would never want them to accept the consequences for.
a. When they are young, I want them to learn to NOT touch the stove. I may let them feel how hot it is but I am not going to let them stick their face in the oven and let it burn them just so they experience the consequences.
b. One time my oldest was swinging a golf club and my daughter was too close and got whacked over the head. She felt the consequences of his inattention to what was going on around him. If I could have prevented that consequence, I would have certainly intervened.
iii. It’s the same with God. There are consequences to our actions eternally. And God desperately wants to save us from them. He has intervened. He has provided a way out of those consequences eternally. But we have to be willing to accept His help.
At our core we recognize this need for a savior and we go looking for things to save us, deliver us or rescue us. Whatever it is we deem as the “worst” for our lives, then we look to something or someone to save us from it. We look to:
· Work
· Spouse
· Approval of others
· Money
· Winning at all costs
· Alcohol or another substance
· Anything that lets us escape
On the message notes there are a lot of questions that can really help you determine where you put your faith. What you look to, to save you. Now you probably don’t look to anything to save you from something eternally, but you recognize something you don’t like in your life and you give yourself to something like work that in part helps you escape from whatever it is you deem as the worst of your life.
e. Functional savior questions.
i. What am I most afraid of?
ii. What do I long for most passionately?
iii. Where do I run for comfort?
iv. What do I complain about most?
v. What angers me most?
vi. What makes me happiest?
vii. How do I explain myself to other people?
viii. What has caused me to be angry with God?
ix. What do I brag about?
x. What do I want to have more than anything else?
xi. Who do I sacrifice the most for in my life?
xii. If I could change one thing in my life what would that be?
xiii. Whose approval am I seeking?
xiv. What do I want to control or master?
xv. What comfort do I treasure the most?
Our answers to these questions help us see where we really put our faith. It may sound odd that I talk about putting our faith in something, but we do it all the time. We create this unconscious contract with our functional saviors that say, “I will give myself to this thing and it will provide something to me in return…escape, release from stress, feeling good about ourselves, etc.
2. Only Jesus saves us from what we need most saving from:
i. Sin
ii. Eternal death
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son (John 3:16-18).
· The Bible teaches that sin has to be paid for. So it is either I pay for my own sins, or Jesus pays for my sin through his act on the cross. The gospel in a nut shell is that:
o Jesus lived a perfect life as both God and man.
o Jesus death on the cross paid for the sin of humanity.
o His resurrection conquered death for us. It would after all be pointless if our sin was paid for but we still stayed death after we die.
o He gives the free gift of salvation to anyone who wants it. Anyone willing to receive it.
o The Bible says that to receive the gift of salvation is a really simple process:
§ Place your faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior.
§ Turn from your way and turn towards God’s way. The Bible calls this repenting from sin – say to God, “Will you forgive me that I chose to live my life on my terms instead of your terms.” And through this act you are deciding to go His way.
§ And then you make that decision public. Scripture says that we do that through baptism.
· It’s a way to go public with our new faith.
· It’s a way to relate to Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection.
o Today, I invite anyone to come forward to accept Jesus as Savior.
3. Only Jesus saves us to life.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full (John 10:10).
a. I wonder sometimes how my life would be different if I was not following Jesus.
i. In some dead end job with no direction;
ii. Addicted to some substance – I have this obsessive personality.
iii. Watching TV when I am not working.
iv. And certainly I know that I would have no hope after the grave.
1. I had a good friend die last year. I know I would never see her again if it wasn’t for Jesus.
2. I know my life would be pointless.
b. But Jesus makes life worth living here and now.
c. And honestly, do you have a better option than this?
4. How do you see Jesus?
a. The most important question is not how I see Jesus or your mom saw Jesus, it’s “how do you see Jesus?”
b. If you believe that He is the Savior, then the next question is, “Why don’t you follow Him?”
c. Some of you:
i. Never made any kind of decision for Jesus. You have some church background or maybe none at all, but a decision to follow Christ has not crossed your mind that often until now. In a few moments, we want to give you the opportunity to accept God’s free gift of salvation.
ii. Grew up in church. Your parents always went so you always went. And maybe except for a few years while you were in college, you pretty much have always went to church most Sundays in a year. But, you never really made a decision to follow Jesus. You accepted what you heard. Maybe you were even confirmed in a class or program at church. But you, yourself, never said, to anyone, I want to follow Jesus. This is an invitation for you as well. You see, God asks everyone of us to make that decision and verbalize it to someone. To drive a stake in the ground and say I am giving my life to Jesus. Today is for you as well.
iii. Had at one time a faith that was white hot. You were passionate about following Jesus. But life got in the way, and faith took a back burner to other things. You sense that God is saying you need a renewal. Your back in church which is great, but what’s needed is actually saying out loud, I want to recommit myself to Christ. That’s so important because it can be such a catalyst to growing deeper once again. We invite you to come for that reason as well.
Here’s what I would ask: If God has been nudging you that it’s time to cross that line of faith and say I want to put my faith in Jesus as my savior, then I am asking you to walk down front here. We are going to play a song and during that song we want you to physically move from your spot and come down here. There will be a few of us down front to talk with you and pray with you. And that’s really all we want to do. But the experience will be life transforming.
If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9).