WE FOLLOW JESUS!

The churches of Christ Greet You (Romans 16:16)

 

 

Introduction:

1.  We are the church of God (Acts 20:28).
     a.  We follow God and Him only.
     b.  But Jesus is God, so we are the church of Christ (Rom. 16:16),
     c.  and we follow Jesus and Him only.
2.  You see, we don’t follow any man other than God (Jesus).
     a.  We don’t follow the Pope,
     b.  the President of the U.S.,
     c.  Joseph Smith, John Calvin, or Billy Graham.
          1.  Remember, you don’t even follow me
          2.  (except as I follow Jesus - 1 Cor. 11:1).
3.  We don’t follow any man.
     a.  We only follow God through His Son Jesus
     b.  who has been revealed to us by the  Holy Spirit
     c.  through the Bible, the Word of God.
4.  Since we are following Jesus, wouldn’t it be wise to know who He is?
Please say a prayer…

WHO IS JESUS?

1.  Since He came into this world,
     a.  there have been those who have asked,
     b.  "Who is this man?
          1.  Is He just a man, or is He the Son of God
          2.  and the Savior of the world?"
2.  From the Scriptures we may see that Jesus is, indeed,
     a.  the Christ, the Son of the living God.

I.  In the first place, Jesus is referred to as "God" in the Bible

1.  The prophet Isaiah, in Isaiah 9:6-7, called him "the mighty God."
     a.  In John 1:1-3,14, Jesus is called "the Word" which became flesh
     b.  and dwelled among men.
2.  In Heb. 1:8 we read, "But unto the Son He saith, Thy throne, O God, is for
     ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness  is the sceptre of thy kingdom."
3.  In John 3:16, Jesus is called the "only begotten Son" of God
     a.  sent to save the world from sin.
     b.  Yes, Jesus is Divine, according to the Scriptures.
4.  He is referred to as God, as the living Word,
     a.  and as the only begotten Son of God.
     b.  He is the Christ, not just a good man or a great teacher.

II. In the second place, Jesus showed that He is God

1.  Who but God has the power to create?
     a.  Yet, in John 1:1-3, we read that all things
     b.  were created through Jesus Christ.
2.  Who is to be worshiped but God?
     a.  Scriptures such as Matthew 4:10, Revelation 19:10, and Rev. 22:9,
     b.  show that men are to worship God.
          1.  But Jesus accepted the worship of men while on earth (Matthew 8:2; 9:18).
          2.  Therefore, Jesus is God.
3.  He is eternal.
     a.  He is not a created being.
     b.  He is the author of creation.
4.  He is the living Word through whom all things were created.
     a.  The epistle to the Colossians sets forth the dignity
     b.  and the Divinity of Christ(Read Colossians 1:13-20).
     c.  Also in Philippians 2:9-11, Paul wrote (Read).
5.  Thus, Jesus Christ is more than an angel and He is more than a prophet.
     a.  Jesus Christ is Divinity.
     b.  He is the only begotten Son of the heavenly Father.
6.  Who has the right to forgive sins?
     a.  God has the right to forgive sins;
     b.  yet, while on earth, Jesus had the power to forgive sins
     c.  and to heal miraculously (Mark 2:1-12).
          1.  Only God can forgive sins.
          2.  Therefore, since Jesus forgave sins while on earth,
          3.  Jesus is Divine.
7.  Jesus is also spoken of as equal with God the Father
     a.  and with the Holy Spirit.
     b.  In Genesis 1:26 we read, "AND GOD SAID, LET US MAKE MAN
                    IN OUR IMAGE, AFTER OUR LIKENESS..."
8.  Those present were God the Father,
     a.  God the Son (known to believers as Jesus the Christ),
     b.  and God the Holy Spirit - the Godhead.
          1.  God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit worked together
          2.  in these mighty acts of creating the world (Genesis 1:1-2).

III.  In the third place, we note that Jesus was one with the Father

1.  In John 10:30, we read, "I AND MY FATHER ARE ONE."
     a.  These are the words of Jesus describing His relationship to the Father.
     b.  They are one in nature, purpose, and teaching.
          1.  Philip once said to Jesus (Read John 14:8-9).
          2.  Yes, Jesus was one with His Father.
2.  In Philippians chapter 2, there is a statement
     a.  which shows that Jesus was one with God.
     b.  The Bible says (Read Phil 2:5-8).
3.  What has been said of Jesus here
     a.  is true of no other person who has every lived.
     b.  Just as the centurion declared,
          1.  as he stood before the cross of Christ
          2.  and watched the Son of God crucified for the sins of the world..
  "TRULY THIS WAS THE SON OF GOD" (Matthew 27:54).
4.  He is the Son of God!
     a.  He is not mere man!
     b.  He is not a created being!
          1.  He is not as one of the angels!
          2.  He is above the angels!
          3.  He is the only begotten Son of God!
5.  The entire epistle to the Hebrews points out the contrast
     a.  between the old Law of Moses and the New Covenant of Christ.
     b.  It also exalts Jesus above all.
     c.  The epistle begins (Read Heb. 1:1-4).

IV. Finally, we can know that Jesus is the Son of God by the miracles He did

1.  Jesus asked the Jews, “Why do you say, concerning the one whom the
                    Father set apart as His very own and sent Him into the world, that
                  I am blaspheming because I say I am the Son of God?” (John 10:36).
2.  Notice He said, “The Father sanctified or set me apart as His very own.”
     a.  It is clear that Jesus Christ is above all others.
     b.  There has never been anybody like Jesus.
     c.  He is unique.
3.  Of all the beings in Heaven, not a single one was set apart like Jesus.
     a.  He was set apart, sanctified, assigned a mission,
     b.  sent into the world to die for us, and even now,
          1.  is at the right hand of God as our great High Priest,
          2.  as King over His spiritual kingdom, the church.
4.  How reasonable is it to believe that Jesus is the Son of God?
     a.  Listen to the rest of His words in John 10:37-38 (READ).
     b.  What Jesus said was this:
          1.  If you want to know that I am the Son of God,
          2.  just look at the miracles I have performed.
          3.  Think about that!
5.  The Gospel of Mark tells us story after story of the miracles of Jesus,
     a.  proving Him to be the Son of God.
     b.  One time He was in the village of Capernaum.
          1.  There was a man who had an evil spirit.
          2.  Jesus walked up to this man and said to the evil spirit,  “Come out of him.”
          3.  The evil spirit wrenched his  body and shrieked
          4.  as it came out of the man (Mark 1:21-27).
6.  On another occasion, there was a man who had leprosy.
     a.  His flesh was covered with sores.
     b.  He came to Jesus saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.”
          1.  Jesus reached out and touched the man.
          2.  Immediately his skin was restored to its normal condition (Mark 1:40-42).
7.  A ruler of the synagogue came to Jesus and said, “My little daughter is ill
                    and at the point of death,”
     a.  but she died before Jesus got to her.
     b.  When Jesus arrived at Jairus’ house,
          1.  He with a few others went into the room where the child was.
          2.  He took her lifeless hand and told her to get up.
          3.  Immediately she stood up and walked around the room.
               a.  The people were all amazed because
               b.  they had never seen anything like that (Mark 5:21-43).
8.  Why did Jesus do these things?
     a.  He did them to show that the Father was in Him
     b.  and He was in the Father.
          1.  He did them so that we might believe
          2.  He was the Son of God come to earth (John 20:30-31).
9.  He did many more miracles,
     a.  but the ultimate miracle was His own resurrection.
     b.  The Scripture says, “Early on the first day of the week,
                  when Jesus rose from the dead...” (Mark 16:9).
10. Loved ones, who is Jesus?
     a.  He’s the Son of God.
     b.  How can you really know Jesus is the Son of God?
     c.  You can know because He fulfilled many ancient prophecies (Luke 24:27).
11. The place of His birth was foretold (Micah 5:2).
     a.  The time of His coming was foretold (Daniel 2:44).
     b.  His virgin birth was promised (Isa. 7:14).
          1.  His divine name was predicted (Isa. 9:6).
          2.  He lived a sinless life (1 Pet. 2:21-23).
12. His enemies could not deny His miracles (Acts 4:16).
     a.  His atoning death was foretold (Isa. 53:5-12).
     b.  His crucifixion was pre-announced (Ps. 22:1-8).
          1.  His resurrection was promised (Ps. 16:10).
          2.  His resurrection is ultimate proof (Matt. 12:38-40).
13. His tomb remains empty to this day (Mark 16:4-7).
     a.  His church will never be destroyed (Matt. 16:18).
     b.  He convinced his strongest critics of His divinity (Acts 6:7; 9:1-19).
     c.   His teachings bring out the best in all (John 10:10).

Conclusion:

1.  Friend and brethren, with all of this proof
     a.  that Jesus is the Son of God,
     b.  it is important that you give your life wholly to Jesus.
2.  Your relationship with Jesus the Christ
     a.  is the most important matter you will ever be concerned with.
     b.  For the Bible says, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life,
              but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him” (John 3:36).
3.  Your relationship with Jesus is more important than marriage;
     a.  more important than having children,
     b.  more important than graduating from high school or college,
     c.  more important than landing a good job.
4.  Jesus is the most important person you will ever know.
     a.  He said (Quote John 14:6).
     b.  It would be a mistake to think you could ever be good enough
     c.  to go to Heaven on our own.
5.  Salvation is by grace, not by works of merit.
     a.  It is promised to believers, not achievers.
     b.  If you want to go to Heaven, you’ve got to go through Jesus.
6.  It is clear that through obedience to His gospel,
     a.  we may be made citizens of that spiritual kingdom,
     b.  His body over which He is Head.
          1.  Then, by continuing to live faithfully in His body,
          2.  we may one day spend eternity with Him.
7.  To be members of His church, the body of the saved,
     a.  we must come to God through Jesus,
     b.  believing in Christ as the only begotten Son of God (John 8:24).
8.  We must then repent of our sins;
     a.  that is, change our minds and then change our lives,
     b.  turning away from sin (Luke 13:3).
9.  Then we must confess Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God,
     a.  and be buried in baptism for the forgiveness of our sins (Acts 8:36-39).
     b.  It is then that we are cleansed by the blood of Christ,
          1.  and added by the Lord to the church of Christ,
          2.  which was purchased with His precious blood (Acts 2:41,47; 20:28).

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