Two Questions:
Have you recognized Jesus? Have you received Jesus?
Jesus Christ, God Incarnate
(in person, enfleshment,
God took upon human body – Jn 1:14)…
“Hypostatic” union – describes the
presence of both human & divine nature in Jesus (w/o sin nature)
Colossians 1:15
Christ is the visible image of the
invisible God. He
existed before God made anything at all and is supreme over all creation. NLT
John 10:30-33 30
I and the Father are
one." 31
Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, 32 but Jesus
said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which
of these do you stone me?" 33 "We are not stoning you for any
of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man,
claim to be God."
Jesus Christ, God Incarnate…
1.
Fulfilled 332
Distinct O.T Prophecies
800 years before Christ… Isaiah
7:14 Therefore the Lord
himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give
birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
Matthew 1:23
"The virgin will be with child and
will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"--which means, "God
with us."
Examples:
Seed of a woman, From Tribe of
Judah, birthplace, virgin birth, triumphal entry, rejection, betrayal for 30
pieces of silver, cast lots for garments, silent when accused,
Hands/feet pierced – Roman
crucifixion invented 1000 years after the writing of…
Psalms 22:16
Dogs have surrounded me; a band of
evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet…
resurrection, ascension…
2.
Preformed Miraculous
Signs
John 20:30-31 30
Jesus did many other
miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in
this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have
life in his name.
·
Jesus did many more
miraculous signs not recorded, 35 different miracles recorded Gospels
·
The clear purpose of
miracles was to authenticate the character of Jesus and his relationship with
his heavenly Father & to authenticate the message about Jesus.
·
“Signs”
demonstrating He was the True Messiah, the Son of God. What’s the purpose?
·
The miracles proved
who Jesus claimed to be… not in private, but in public for all to see.
·
Why were these
records of miracles written down? So we might believe… and have life!
Examples:
Great catch of fish – Lu 5:1-11,
Feeding of the multitudes – Mk 6:34-44, Walking on water – Mk 6:47-51, etc…
·
Who but God could
perform these miracles? So we can believe… commit (same Gk word)
·
Saving faith is
believing and committing my life to Him…it’s receiving Jesus into your life.
·
Jesus is the
prophesied Messiah, who preformed many miraculous sign, people will believe
3.
Healed the Hurting
Matthew 15:30-31
Great crowds
came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many
others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. 31
The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled
made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of
Israel.
Examples:
The Blind – Mk 8:22-26, The Leper
– Lu 5:12-13, The Crippled – Jn 5:1-16, The Deaf – Mk 7:31-37, etc…
·
Not only did Jesus
heal the leper, restored sight to the blind, raised up the crippled…
·
No one was
repulsive, too vile or dirty for Jesus… Great crowds came to him… truth
·
Jesus healed both
physical and spiritual… conquering the enemies of man – sin & infirmity
·
He also healed the
sinners… women taken in adultery, tax collectors & sinners – new life!
4.
Displayed Divine
Power
Matthew 17:1-2 1
After six days Jesus
took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high
mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transfigured
before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white
as the light.
·
This passage speaks
of the transfiguration of Christ… last stage in training the disciples…
·
Jesus was to bear
the sins of the world at Calvary… went up on a high mountain…
·
Jesus was
transfigured (metamorphosis) changed into another form…
·
Jesus allowed His
glory (Godly nature) to shine forth… God is Light (1Jn 1:5) God dwells in Light
which no man can approach (1Tim 6:16)
Examples:
·
Over the Spirit
World – Luke 4:33-36
33 In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil
spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, 34 "Ha! What do
you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you
are--the Holy One of God!" 35 "Be quiet!" Jesus said sternly.
"Come out of him!" Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came
out without injuring him. 36 All the people were amazed and
said to each other, "What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives
orders to evil spirits and they come out!"
·
Over Natural
Forces – Matthew 8:23-27 23
Then he got into the boat and his
disciples followed him. 24 Without warning, a furious storm
came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was
sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord,
save us! We're going to drown!" 26 He replied, "You of little
faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the
waves, and it was completely calm. 27 The men were amazed and
asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!"
·
Over Death Itself
– Jn 11:1-46… Lazarus
come forth!
John 21:25
Jesus did many other things as
well. If every one of
them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room
for the books that would be written.
·
Jesus Christ
fulfilled 332 distinct prophecies, preformed miracles, healed the hurting,
displayed Divine Supernatural Power over spirit world, natural forces, death
itself…
5.
Changes People’s
Lives Forever
2 Corinthians 5:17
What this means is that those who
become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old
life is gone. A new life has begun! NLT
·
Jesus came to seek
and to save those lost in sin (Lu 19:10)… from death to life.
·
In Christ we become
a new person… a brand new lifestyle… my old life is gone!
·
Jesus Christ changes
people’s lives now and forever.
Christianity is not a Religion
but a Relationship.
·
Jesus does not call
us to a religion but to a relationship that is real and life-changing
Now back to our text where we
started… You must recognize and receive Him
John 1:10-13 10
He was in the world,
and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.
11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not
receive him. 12 Yet to all who received him, to
those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children
of God-- 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of
human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.
Ø
Jesus Christ
Died for our sins…
Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates his own love
for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Ø
Jesus Christ
Rose from the dead…
1 Corinthians 15:3-4
“… that Christ died for our
sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was
raised on the third day…”
Ø
Jesus Christ is
the Only way to God…
John 14:6
Jesus answered, "I am the way and
the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Acts 4:12
Salvation is found in no one else,
for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be
saved."
·
Jesus came to pay a debt He didn’t
owe because we owed a debt we couldn’t pay.
Two Questions again:
Have you recognized Jesus for who He really is? Have you received Jesus Christ?
12
Yet to all who received him,
to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become
children of God
Let’s Pray
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