02 04 01 01-12 - Who is Jesus to You

Who Is Jesus to You?

John 1:1-12

Intro:

·         @ WWJD

o    What would Jesus do?

o    pins, bracelets, bumper stickers, shirts, even tattoos

o    It’s a good question...but in order to answer it correctly, what do you have to know?

§  You have to know Jesus!

·         We call ourselves Christians

o    It was first used some 15 years after Christ’s death and resurrection to describe those who followed Christ

o    If we are going to be followers of Christ, what do we have to know?

§  We have to know Jesus!

·         It is with that thought in mind that we now begin a series through John

o    I’ve preached Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Timothy, and James

o    This will be the largest book I’ve ever preached through

§  We will not cover this book in depth!

§  But hit the highlights and focus on the overall  theme

·         Intro

o    One of the few books with a clearly stated purpose

§   John 20:31 - but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

·         Evangelistic – bring people to a belief in Christ as Saviour

·         Edification – build Christians in their faith-walk with the Lord

§  What word do you see here repeated?  Believe

·         That is the key word in this book

·         98 times the Greek word for believing

o    Verb – mostly in the present tense to show that faith is to be an everyday part of our life

o    Noun – not once – faith is to be active

·         Whether it be for salvation or for daily Christian living, faith is imperative

·         Hebrews 11:6 - But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

o    Again evangelism and edification

o    For faith to be strong it must rest is something worthwhile

§  Faith in a myth (Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny) is misplaced faith

§  Faith in a man (Buddha, Confucius, Joseph Smith, Rev Sun Young Moon) is misplaced faith

§  Faith in a Messiah (Jesus Christ) is rightly place faith

o    That’s where the Gospel of John starts

§  Who exactly is this Jesus?  Can we really trust Him?

·         Prologue Structure

o    Called a chiasm

§  PowerPoint chart reflects the structure of these verses

1-2

      3

         4-5

            6-8

                  9-10

                        11

                              12

                        14

                  15

            16

         17

18

Let’s look at the truths of who Christ is as it relates to evangelism

I.         Jesus is God                                                                                                                 (1-2)

A.       His Name Shows He is God

1.        From this passage we clearly see that the Word is Jesus

2.        But why not say “In the beginning was Jesus”

a.        Jesus and Christ identify our Saviour’s earthly ministry

(1)     But these names refer to a limited part of who He is

(2)    The Word more fully expresses all that Christ is

b.       Explanation

(1)     @ What I am communicating to you is first originating in my mind as thoughts.

(a)    The thoughts are invisible to you

(b)    You only know my thoughts as I express them to you

(c)    The words are the visible expression of my thoughts.

(2)    In the same way, Jesus is the visible expression of the invisible God

(3)    This is a perfect way to introduce the concept that Jesus, God’s Son is God in the flesh.

(a)    A large concept that is not easy to understand involving truths about the Trinity

(b)    But true nonetheless

B.       His Pre-existence Shows He is God

1.        In the beginning – referring to the time before creation

2.        WAS

a.        Imperfect verb—He existed continuously in the past

b.       He never had a beginning

c.        He was no mere man

3.        Only God is described as having no beginning

a.        Psalm 90:2 - Before the mountains were born and before you created the earth and the world, you are God. You have always been, and you will always be. (NCV)

C.       His co-existence Shows He is God

1.        The phrase refers to The Word being in communication with and on the same level as God the Father

2.        Jesus is no lesser God, but is co-equal in all attributes and personality

D.       His existence Shows He is God

1.        He was (and is) God

2.        He is not a god

3.        He is not one of three gods

4.       He is God

E.       Application

1.         Having a hard time understanding all this?

a.        It’s because we as humans are trying to explain God...and that can’t be done

2.        But here’s the main point:

a.        Jesus is God

b.       He is not just a good man—or a bold leader

c.        He is not someone you can just simply dismiss

d.       He is God

II.       Jesus is the originator of the world  (3)

A.       The Extent of His Creation

1.        All things were made by Him

2.        Without Him nothing was made

3.        SO...what of creation is here by anything but the Lord?

B.       Application

1.        Therefore He is the authority of everything AND everyone

2.        What He says goes

a.        When we see that He says He is the only way to heaven, because He is the authority...we cannot disregard Him

III.     Jesus allows us to enjoy life                                                                          (4-5)

A.       He gives Life

1.         His claims

a.        John 6:35 – And Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.”

b.       John 11:25 - Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life.”

c.        John 14:6 - Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

2.        What That means

a.        Eternal life

(1)     John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

(2)    Because of that certainty, we can enjoy a....

b.       Better life now

(1)     John 10:10 - I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

(2)    We are not to just sit around a twiddle our thumbs

(3)    God made this earth – our life – to enjoy

(a)    @ Go to an art gallery and look at a painting – you might get some enjoyment out of it

i.         But if the artist is standing next to you and explaining the symbolism and pointing out little details, you are going to enjoy it so much more!

(b)    By knowing the creator and sustainer, you are going to know this life so much better

B.       He gives Light

1.        Direction in life

2.        No trying to figure out why we are here

3.        No frustration at spending so much time trying to accumulate something only to find emptiness

4.       He gives us light—lets us know why we are here and how we can fulfil our purpose

IV.     Jesus is the one to be trusted                                                                        (6-8)

A.       He was important enough to have a forerunner

1.        God sent JB

a.        so long as he communicated God’s message, he could be trusted

2.        God prophesied about JB

a.        Isaiah 40:3 - The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”

b.       No one else had a prophesy of a  forerunner

3.        JB’s purpose was to prepare people for Jesus

a.        @ Construction sites along a busy road – there will be warning signs in advance to prepare you for the change

(1)     Don’t want you to miss the change or it could be disastrous

b.       In the same way, JB was sent by God because Christ was so important that God did not want us to miss Him

(1)     Because if we miss Christ, the results will be disastrous

B.       Message  (7)

1.         Believe in Jesus

2.        Notice

a.        God sent JB——prophesied about JB——gave JB a message

3.        Don’t you think it is very important that we hear, head, and then share that same message?

V.       Jesus is not readily recognized                                                                   (9-10)

A.       The Problem

1.        Even though he was the true Light – giving direction

2.        Even though he was available to everyone

3.        Even thought he was in the world

4.       Even though he made the world

5.        The world did not recognize him

B.       Why Not?

1.         Because Jesus did not meet their “Standards.”

a.        He didn’t look right

(1)     They were expecting a king – they got a carpenter

b.       He didn’t sound right

(1)     He didn’t fall in line with the standard religious views of the day

c.        He didn’t do what they wanted

(1)     He did not come to the Jews to overthrow the Roman gov’t

d.       He had expectations on them

(1)     They wre to change their direction and follow Him

e.       Because Jesus did not meet their expectations, they missed Him

2.        Make sure you don’t fall into the same trap

a.        We want Jesus to be what we wnat Him to be

(1)     Someone who I can go to when I need Him

(a)    The passive, milk-toast caricature

i.         Holding the lambs –children on his knees

(2)    We wnat someone who will live for me but not expect me to live for him

b.       Until you realize Jesus is all we are seeing in John’s Gospel, you will only have a weak understanding and you will miss him

VI.     Jesus is not received by human means                                                          (11)

A.       His own people

1.        They had the message

2.        They had the witness

3.        They had the testimony

4.       They had the scriptures

5.        They had everything going for them

B.       But they did not naturally receive Him

1.        They didn’t get to join God’s family simply because they were Jews and had all the privileges

C.       Application

1.        We live in a Christianized nation

2.        You come to a Bible-believing church

3.        You’ve heard about Jesus and salvation

4.       BUT none of that will get you to God

VII.   Jesus is the way to god                                                                                         (12)

A.       How do you become the child of god?

1.        By receiving Christ

B.       How do you receive Christ?

1.        By believing in His name

C.       What is His Name?

1.        The Word – everything we have seen shows us who He is

D.       Salvation

1.        You must believe – put your trust in Christ –

2.        accept all this as true – submit to all this as true

3.        By doing that – and only that – you will be God’s child

Conc:

·         We have climbed this prologue mountain and have now reached the peak

o    Belief in Christ changes everything!

o    Next week we will see how Christ changes everything

·         This week –

o    have you put your trust in Christ?

o    Are you helping others know Christ so they can put their trust in Him as well?