Who Do We Think He Is?
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Introduction
Introduction
How do you convince someone that Jesus is the answer… without offending them?
Before Jesus, you had a strong belief in something that was incorrect
Maybe you thought money would fix everything
Maybe you thought you deserve happiness above all else
Maybe you thought we all live, die and then nothing
No matter what these things were, before we knew Jesus we attached ourselves to those beliefs
We were attached philosophically, emotionally and habitually
Part of becoming a Christian is accepting difficult truths
Many of these truth’s don’t align with what the world accepts
So when we share the hope of the gospel with others...
We’re really asking them to consider making the same changes we did...
Can you accept that your eternity is at stake?
Can you accept that you are sinful and unworthy?
Can you accept that you are inferior to your creator?
In essence, can you accept that you are WRONG…?
That is a hard thing to do!
This is something that we have to be careful and gentle with
Some of us say, “I don’t want to do that, so I’ll just sit here quietly and go about my life”
“The pastor will do the evangelism, I mean, what do we pay him for?”
Of course that’s a part of my job — as a Christian, not as a pastor!
So guess what? If you’re a Christian, it’s part of your job description too!
We are supposed to go out, and ask everyone we know to change what they believe about everything!
That’s a hard thing to do - as you would imagine, that can create some conflict!
Next thing you know, as you try to love, and share, and minister to someone...
That person becomes offended and gets angry at YOU!
But I was trying to do good for you?
Again, how do you convince someone that Jesus is the answer… without offending them?
Answer? You can’t...
In our culture, it is so easy to be offended
In the old days, to criticize someone you had to say it to their face
With that came the risk of getting punched in your face!
The came cars, and you can blow your horn, give the finger, whatever...
And they’re not going to punch you - maybe tailgate you or cut you off...
But that’s it - they might kill you but that’s so rare...
Then came the internet, and you can say whatever you want to whomever you want
And there’s no repercussion! They don’t know who you are, where you live...
You’re safe to be a troll and act like a jerk!
And then, it gets encouraged by our formats!
Yelp, Amazon, Netflix, YouTube, Facebook...
What do they all have in common? Criticism...
Leave a comment, hit like, give a star rating...
Remember Siskel and Ebert?
Robert Ebert went to U of I and majored in Film Studies and worked for the Chicago-Sun Times
Gene Siskel went to Yale and studied writing under a Pulitzer winner before working for the Chicago Tribune
They had to earn their right to an opinion
Now, all you need is a laptop and a Netflix account
As people seem to be more comfortable in criticizing, they also seem to be less comfortable receiving it!
It seems like everyone is offended by something these days...
People are offended by Dr. Seuss’s books
Celine Deon’s gender neutral clothing line
And rainbow flags
The new one is that people are offended by P.O.O.P.
Not like poop, but the acronym P.O.O.P.
People offended by offended people!
It is true though, people are offended by everything!
But here’s the truth: the gospel was offensive before being offendable was cool!
For good reason: the gospel confronts people at the core of who they are
This is who Jesus is, this is who you are, this is how He can change you!
That’s a bold statement that’s bound to rub people the wrong way...
But we still have to speak that truth in love
If you believe you can be the one that found how to honor God and not offend, you’re giving yourself too much credit...
18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
For those who do not know God, the cross seems crazy!
But for those who are saved, it reveals the power of God
It’s a battle over belief and truth...
And so, this offensive Jesus...
Who is He? Who is this guy that creates change that people don’t want to talk about?
We’re going to answer that this morning
YouVersion: Who Do We Think He Is?
We’re in Ephesians 1:15-23
15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,
Paul is thankful that the saints he knew of in Ephesus loved all of Christ’s church!
Illustration: Love takes action
We just sang: Who could imagine so great a mercy, What heart could fathom such boundless grace
We sing about how Jesus is our Lord, our Master, who shows us grace and mercy and we’re expected to follow Him
It’s great to talk about God… but it’s even better to live it
One great way to live it, is to then do what Paul did: he prayed for them
How many of you prayed for someone else last night or this morning?
It’s a wonderful thing, look how Paul prays for the church in Ephesus:
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
We’re going to answer the question that is the title of the message:
Who do we think He is?
Who do we think He is?
1. He’s the provider of wisdom and knowledge
1. He’s the provider of wisdom and knowledge
Paul wants the church to seek wisdom, revelation and knowledge
Ever been challenged and you don’t know what to do?
I have, lots of times!
I feel like I’m constantly talking to God and saying, “Hey, I don’t know what to do!”
Lord, give me knowledge, give me wisdom, and help me to get out of the way
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
Sometimes we don’t ask because we don’t think we need it
What’s worse is sometimes we need it and we don’t ask
We think we got it all figured out - then we wonder why it turns to ash...
If you think you need to have all the answers, you need to back up and ask God for some help
Abraham Lincoln: “Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right.”
That is an offensive concept for some: telling someone they don’t have the right answer
But we have an obligation to share the knowledge of Christ with others
Here’s the thing about asking God for wisdom: He gives it generously without reproach - without getting mad
Illustration: Asking mom and dad to spend the night
Watch to see who was in the better mood
Mother, oh beautiful island goddess
Now that we have swept the floor and cleaned the bathroom...
Might my friend Erik stay the night, if we promise to cut the grass in the morning?
With God, you don’t have to do that when it comes to asking for wisdom
God’s like “Yes! Please! Take it!
There’s more where that came from!
The only real catch is you actually have to ask for it...
And you have to be willing to receive it
If you’re asking God for a way to convince others that you’re right… you’re not asking for wisdom
You’re asking for trouble...
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
That fear is not like “Oh no, God’s in a bad mood! He’s gonna strike me down!”
It’s about respect and authority and reverence for His power
Which is why if you want knowledge, you first empty yourself
Then you seek God and let Him fill you with wisdom because you know He knows what He’s doing
Way better than you do
But Paul asks for more in his prayer
18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
2. He is our living hope
2. He is our living hope
How does one find hope?
“...a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.”
We try to find hope all over the place!
Our sexuality, our finances, our politicians...
But those things rarely give outcomes that truly matter!
If those are the things that define you, there’s a lot of hopelessness that comes with it!
And so Paul prays that the Ephesians would have the eyes of their hearts opened to know about the hope of Jesus
Which may give us a glimpse at the mission of the enemy
He wants the eyes of our hearts to close - to be ignorant of Jesus and His hope
We often times get stuck on the idea that we need to know the outcomes of things now
Rather than trusting the outcome to God
I’m convinced that no matter how bad things get here and now...
Someday we will stand before God and say, “Oh, I see what You were doing there! Yeah, I wouldn’t change that either...”
And knowing that Jesus has carried my burden gives me hope!
Wow, it’s not about me and what I can do, it’s about Him and what He’s done!
19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might
3. He is powerful
3. He is powerful
Sometimes we forget how powerful God is
We look at ourselves and think we’re hopeless
We look at others and think God can’t do anything
We think about the universe and believe that it dictates outcomes
Totally forgetting that EVERYTHING is subject to God
Charles Spurgeon: “The very same power which raised Christ is waiting to raise the drunkard from his drunkenness, to raise the thief from his dishonesty, to raise the Pharisee from his self-righteousness, to raise the Sadducee from his unbelief.”
Look at what Paul says to describe God’s power:
20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
A lot of times when there is a lack of change in people’s lives, we ask the question, “Why?”
Illustration:
Lady named Sylvia Bloom - died in 2016 at 97
She lived in a rent controlled apartment and took the subway
Leonard Gigowski - died in 2015 at 90
He bought the cheapest shoes, even if they were too small and never took a vacation or went on a date
Grace Groner - died in 2010 at 100
She shopped at thrift stores and always chose to walk rather than drive
None of these people had anything special - all modest lifestyles
What’s interesting though, is the three of them together died worth $29 million!
Why didn’t they have fancy cars, big houses or shoes that fit?
They chose not to use what they had access to!
Why do we as Christians often miss out on God’s power?
We choose not to use what we have access to...
Quite honestly, many of us don’t experience God’s power because we never access it
What kind of power are we talking about?
Verse 20 says it’s the same power that raises Jesus from the dead!
We have access to that, and a lot of either don’t believe it or just don’t care
What if I said I put a $1,000,000 in 3 peoples bank accounts
Who’s gonna go, “Yeah, I don’t care...”
You’re all going to close you YouVersion app and flip over to Wells Fargo!
And yet, I’m telling you that God gives you the Holy Spirit to help you
Incredible power is laid out for you, and you’re thinking about what you’re going to order at La Fiesta...
I just explained that we have access to God’s power, but there is another part to that:
22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
We have access to God’s power, but we’re also under His authority
God provides the power, and also the instructions on how to use it
We don’t get to say, “Ha! Butterburger! And it appears right there...”
4. He is the head of the church
4. He is the head of the church
This might seem like a given, but I think we struggle with this more than we’d like to admit
Rather than submitting to God, we focus on what we want
Think about churches trying to win people over with trendy looks, all-star worship bands and motivational, self-help speakers
Those things can be helpful, but they should just be a method in sharing the truth
Look at Paul’s approach
4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
It all comes down to the power of God
If God wants you to read your Word every day, will you do it?
If God wants you to stop watching porn, will you listen?
If God is calling you to serve Him in ministry, will you go?
Here’s a little test: when confronted with something like that, how do you respond?
If you respond immediately by justifying what you’re already doing, you might have a problem.
If you respond by saying, “I need to go to the word and see what God says” you’re probably ok
And I don’t mean, “I already believe transgender is okay so let me find the verses that support it.”
I mean, look at Scripture, pray about it, and THEN come to a position
Our own minds are loaded with weakness!
Me and Rob train argument
We were both convinced we were right and the other was wrong
Actually we were both right and wrong
When you’re caught up in yourself, you can miss the truth!
We have to step back and say, “Ok Lord, regardless of how I feel… what is the truth?!”
This battle for authority is always going to be a matter of spirit and flesh
If you’re listening to the Spirit, Jesus will be the one in charge
The power of the resurrection places ALL THINGS under Christ’s authority
And the church is an essential component of how Jesus exercises that authority
Scripture says that we, as the church, “the fullness of Him who fills all in all!”
And so we carry that offensive gospel out into the world
Because as offensive as it is...
It’s way more powerful than it is offensive
That’s simply because of who Jesus is
He’s provider of wisdom, hope, power and authority
Prayer
Prayer
