#8 - 50 Most important Teachings of The Bible
#8-50 Most Important Teachings of the Bible • Sermon • Submitted
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Jesus is Alive and Well on Planet Earth.
Jesus is Alive and Well on Planet Earth.
12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.
12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.
13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many.
23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.
So how are we to view Jesus?
Jesus is not among the dead
5 And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?
6 He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee,
Jesus is alive. He was raised from the dead and appeared to many of His followers and disciples for the next 40 days
Jesus is not to be found in a building
They are like the ancient Greeks and Romans who believed their gods were found in temples built for them.
24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,
Jesus is to be found in the lives of His followers, His church
He was not speaking of a physical building, but a “living organism” made up of “living stones”––of believers in Christ (1 Peter 2:5).
5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Jesus reigns in the hearts of His followers through His church, of which He is the head. In the Bible, the church, which is made up of Christians, is described as the “body of Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:27).
27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
Jesus’ ministry is multiplied through His followers
He became a man who lived with human limitations. As a man, He could be in only one place at a time. He told His disciples that with His departure back to heaven, they would do “greater works” than He did (John 14:12 NASB)
12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.
He meant by “greater works” when He said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses… to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8)
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Rather, the “greater works” were the greater number of disciples who took Jesus’ message of salvation to the far corners of the world
Jesus’ life is on display in the life of His church
Jesus, as God, lived a perfect life. His character was perfect. His actions were perfect. He was the perfect man. His followers, as members of His body, the church, are to mirror His perfect life. How does this work?
When a person becomes a believer...
When a person becomes a believer, Christ’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit, comes to live in that person’s heart.
Then as that believer attempts to mirror Christ’s character and is walking “by the Spirit,” he or she will display “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Jesus will come again
He told His disciples He would go to heaven to prepare a place for them, then return to take them home with Him (John 14:3)
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:10-11).
10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes,
11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
“In the same way” means Jesus’ return will be both personal and visible (Revelation 19:11-16
11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.
12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself.
13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God.
14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses.
15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.
16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
Jesus has two purposes for returning to Earth
#1 - He is returning for His people
Jesus is returning for His people, His faithful, His church, so He can take them back home with Him.
#2 - The second reason for Jesus’ return is to bring judgment upon an unbelieving world (2 Thessalonians 1:6-9).
6 since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you,
7 and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels
8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,
Why did Jesus, the Son of God, come to Earth?
Only God can make this kind of offer: “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28)
28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
To those who have accepted His offer of eternal life, Jesus sends the Spirit, who actively works in and through their lives.
To be sure, Christians don’t always live as their Savior did. But even with their imperfections, the changes produced in their lives serve as living proof that Jesus is alive and well on planet Earth!
Jesus’ mission is not yet complete
Today God the Father is offering eternal life to all who will believe in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
But there is coming a day when Jesus will return to pour out judgment on all who refuse to believe.
What Does This Mean for You?
There is a day of judgment coming. Have you accepted Jesus’ offer of life—life everlasting, eternal life?
If so, look daily to the heavens with great anticipation.
Your Savior is coming again! And as you wait, remember that Jesus is alive and well here on Earth through the lives of His followers—through people like you.
So be active in your church and participate in a ministry.
Give to those who are in need and to your church ministries.
“Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority” (Hebrews 13:17).
17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.
And continue to look forward with joyous anticipation to the return of Jesus, your Savior, and seeing Him face-to-face.