WHO DO YOU SAY THAT HE IS?

PROCLAMATION

“ ‘But what about you?’ He asked.  ‘Who do you say that I am?’  Simon Peter answered, ‘You are The Messiah, The Son of The Living God.’  Jesus replied, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for that was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven.’ ”   Matthew 16:15-17 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

These words are from the gospel, the good news regarding Jesus, The Christ, according to the Apostle Matthew.  The Pharisees and the Sadducees came to Jesus to test Him by asking Him to show them a sign from heaven.  Jesus refused to give them a sign and left them. (Matthew 16:4)  He warned His disciples to guard against the teachings of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. (Matthew 16:5-12)  Then He asked His disciples, “Whom do men say that I The Son of Man am?”  After they had given Him various answers, He then asked them, “But whom say ye that I am?” (Matthew 16:13-15)  Peter said, “Thou art The Christ, The Son of The Living God. (Matthew 16:16) 

APPLICATION

Jesus, The Christ, knows who He is, and He is not seeking our validation of His existence.  It is not important to us who others think that He is.  All that matters for each of us individually is, with respect to our salvation, who is He to us.  We must believe and confess that He is who He says that He is. (John 10:36-38)  If we confess and believe, we will be saved. (Romans 10:9-10)

JESUS THE CHRIST IS THE SON OF GOD

PROCLAMATION

“As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water.  At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw The Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on Him.  And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.”  Matthew 42:16-17 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

These words are from the gospel, the good news regarding Jesus, The Christ, as recorded by the Apostle Matthew.  In the days after King Herod died, there came a man, John the baptizer, preaching in the wilderness preparing the way for Jesus, The Christ. (Matthew 3:1-3)  People from all of Judea came to him, confessing their sins, and he baptized them in the Jordan River. (Matthew 3:4-6)  He made it clear to them that he was only baptizing them with water for their repentance, but there would come another who was mightier than he, who would baptize them with The Holy Spirit and with fire. (Matthew 3:11)  Jesus, The Christ, came from Galilee to be baptized by John.  After He was baptized, as He was coming up out of the water, John saw The Holy Spirit of God descending from heaven like a dove and lighting on Him.  Then a voice from heaven said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:13-17)  

APPLICATION

Jesus, The Christ, was sinless.  He was not baptized for repentance, but He was baptized because it was appropriate to do it to fulfill all righteousness. (Matthew 3:15)  God, The Father, spoke and identified God, The Son, by sending God, The Holy Spirit, to Him as a visible sign.  Today we use the ordinance of baptism as an outwardly visible sign of an inner transformation.  We die to the control of sin and rise up as a new creature. (2 Corinthians 5:17)  When we accept Christ as our personal savior The Holy Spirit of God indwells us. (Ezekiel 36:26-27)  This gives us the capacity to keep His commandments.  All we have to do is believe, confess, and invite Him into our heart, and He will come into us. (Revelation 3:20)

THE LORD HE IS GOD

PROCLAMATION

“Then the fire of The Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.  When the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, ‘The Lord He is God!  The Lord He is God!’”  1 Kings 18:38-39 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

Three years after Elijah had told king Ahab that there would be a drought in the land of Israel, The Lord God told Elijah to go back to Ahab and tell him that He would send rain to the land. (1 Kings 18:1-2)  When Elijah met Ahab, he told him that he and his family had brought trouble to Israel by abandoning The Lord’s commands and following Baal. (1 Kings 18:16-18)  Elijah then offered Ahab, the prophets of Baal, and the people a challenge.  He suggested that two sacrifices be prepared, one to their god Baal, and one to The Lord God, and see which god would consume the sacrifice by fire. (1 Kings 18:20-24)  Then the prophets of Baal prepared their bull for sacrifice and called on the name of Baal, but there was no response.  Afterwards Elijah repaired the alter with twelve stones, arranged the wood, prepared his bull for sacrifice, dug a trench around the alter, and then had the people pour water on the offering and the wood three times until the water filled the trench. (1 Kings 18:30-35)  Then Elijah prayed to The Lord so that the people would know that The Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel was the only true God. (1 Kings 18:36-37)  The Lord God sent down fire and consumed the sacrifice. 

APPLICATION

Unfortunately, some people will only believe when they see a miracle for themselves.  It is as if they are from the “show me” state of Missouri.  Like the apostle Thomas, they will only believe when they see for themselves.  However, Jesus, The Christ, said, “Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” (John 20:29)  The gospel according to the apostle John was written so that all people might believe that Jesus is The Christ, The Son of God. (John 20:31)  Jesus, The Christ is God. (John 10:30 and 1 John 5:7)  The Bible says, “In the beginning was The Word, and The Word was with God, and The Word was God.” (John 1:1)  The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. (John 1:14)  The Lord God is God.  He is the one and only true and living God. (Jeremiah 10:10)

JESUS THE CHRIST IS THE SON OF GOD

Proclamation:

“The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of The Most High will overshadow you.  So The Holy One to be born will be called The Son of God.’”  Luke 1:35 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by Luke, the physician and frequent travelling companion of the Apostle Paul.  Each of the three synoptic gospels was written to a specific audience and presented Christ in a manner which would best appeal to that audience.  The gospel of Luke was written to the Greeks and presented Christ as the perfect man.  Luke began by giving his reason for writing the account of the life of Jesus, The Christ, in light of the fact that others had already written their accounts. (Luke 1:1-4)  Then he presents the events surrounding the prediction of the birth of John, the baptizer, (Luke 1:5-25) and the prediction of birth of Jesus, The Christ. (Luke 1:26-45)  He then presents Mary’s thoughts on the events. (Luke 1:46-56)  He later recounts the birth of John, the baptizer, (Luke 1:57-66) and the reactions of his father Zachariah. (Luke 1:67-80)

Application:

Mary questioned the angel (Luke 1:34) after he told her that she was going to conceive and bare a son (Luke 1:31) but she accepted his explanation and consented. (Luke 1:38)  Her response was “I am The Lord’s servant” and “May your word to me be fulfilled.”  This should be our response to the work which The Lord God has for us.  We should respond like the prophet Isaiah did when he said, “Here am I; send me.” (Isaiah 6:8)  As believers we know that The Holy Spirit of God dwells within us. (Ezekiel 36:27)  We should take heed to what He says and follow His direction.  We know who Christ is and if we truly love Him then we should obey His Word. (John 14:15, 14:21 and 15:10)  

THERE IS POWER IN THE WORDS OF GOD

Proclamation:

“So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of solders and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees.  They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.  Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to Him, went out and asked them, ‘Who is it you want?’  ‘Jesus of Nazareth,’ they replied.  ‘I am He,’ Jesus said.  And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.  When Jesus said, ‘I am He,’ they drew back and fell to the ground.”  John 18:3-6 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were recorded by the Apostle John under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  In this chapter, John records the events which occurred in the garden by the brook of Cedron.  It documents His betrayal by Judas, His arrest, His trials, and the three times that Peter denied knowing Him.  Here, Jesus responds to the soldiers and the religious leaders who had come to arrest Him.  Jesus approached them and asked them who they were looking for, and they responded, “Jesus of Nazareth.”  When Jesus replied, “I am He,” they were all knocked backwards by His words and fell to the ground.  They were not harmed and got up, then He asked them again who they were looking for and they gave the same reply. (John 18:7)

Application:

There is power in the words of God.  When Jesus, The Christ, spoke and said “I am He,” all those who were against Him were knocked backwards and fell to the ground.  They did not fall forward to worship Him; they fell backwards in fear and dismay.  However, because of their disbelief, their hard hearts were not changed and they approached Him again to arrest Him.  Non-believers are not changed by acts of God.  They frequently come up with some earthly reason to explain the occurrence and continue in their non-believing sinful ways.  They do not give God credit for the things that He has done.  As believers, we need to acknowledge the presence of God in our lives (Proverbs 3:6) and give Him praise for the things which He had done. (2 Samuel 7:21, Isaiah 25:1, and 1 Chronicles 17:19)

DO YOU REALLY WANT TO GET WELL

Proclamation:

“When Jesus saw him lying there … He asked him, ‘Do you want to get well?’ … Then Jesus said to him, ‘Get up!  Pick up your mat and walk.’  At once the man was cured …”  John 5:6-9 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written by the Apostle John under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  In this chapter, John records the incident with an invalid male at the pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem.  The man had been affected for thirty-eight years when Jesus saw him and asked him if we wanted to get well.  Rather than answer the question, the man began to offer excuses regarding why he had not gotten well.  The water in the pool had healing power once it had been stirred by an angel and it would heal the first to enter it.  Jesus, told the man to get up, pick up his bed and walk and at once he was cured.  This upset the Jewish leaders because it occurred on the Sabbath and it was not lawful to work on the Sabbath. (John 5:10)  They wanted to know who told him to pick it up and walk.  Sin may have been the cause of this man’s problem because Jesus told him stop sinning or something worse may happen to him. (John 5:14)  The remainder of the chapter deals with Jesus offering His justification and authority to do what He did. (John 5:16-47)  Jesus preformed His third miracle and they wanted to kill Him for it.

Application:

First, all too often we beat around the bush instead answering a direct question.  Frequently we offer excuses for our behavior or our inability to get something done.  Jesus was questioning this man’s faith; He knew that he was sitting by the pool because he wanted to be healed.  Our faith is tested regularly.  There can be not testimony without first having a test.  Too many of us are focused on our problem or our situation and waiting for someone to help us, not realizing that faith in The Lord God is all that we need.  Jesus, The Christ, is God.  He can do anything that God, The Father, can do. (John 5:19)  He can give life to whomever He pleases. (John 5:21)  He has been given the final judgment of all mankind. (John 5:22-23) 

JESUS IS GOD

Proclamation:

"In the beginning was The Word, and The Word was with God, and The Word was God." John 1:1

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by the Apostle John, the youngest of the twelve disciples and the one who refers to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. (John 13:23)  The Book of The Bible entitled “John”, or “The Gospel According to John”, was written to believers so that they would know that Jesus is God. (John 20:31)  Here John states that in the beginning of everything was The Word.  The Word was there at the beginning with God, and in fact he states that The Word was God.  To make sure that the people understood that he was referring to Jesus, he later said that The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. (John 1:14)  This verse refers to The Son of God and His human birth via the virgin Mary.  Some Bible scholars believe that The Son of God is called “The Word” because we use our words explain our minds to others and He was sent to us to reveal the mind of God, The Father, to the world.

Application:

God is.  He exists, He is real, and He is alive.  God was, God is, and God always will be.  He existed before time began and He will exist after time ends.  He created time. (Genesis 1:14)  Everything that was made He created by speaking it into existence. (Genesis 1:3 and John 1:3)  Jesus was there with God at the very beginning.  “The Word” refers to Jesus, The Christ, The Son of God.  Jesus is God.  "For there are three that bear witness in heaven, The Father, The Word, and The Holy Ghost; and these three are one." (1 John 5:7)  Jesus said, “I and My Father are one.” (Matthew 10:30)  There exists God, The Father, The Word of God, and The Spirit of God, three attributes of one God.  As human beings we have only a limited capacity for understanding and some things about God we just don’t understand.  However, we are blessed for believing without seeing for ourselves. (John 20:29)  Jesus is God.  The Bible says it, I believe it, and that settles it!

WE ARE IN GOD'S HANDS

Proclamation:

"My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of My hand.  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of My Father's hand.  I and The Father are one." John 10:27-30 (NIV)

Explanation:

These are the words of Jesus, The Christ, as He answered the Jews who had gathered around Him in the temple courtyard when they asked Him if He was The Messiah.   Jesus told them that they did not believe Him because they were not His followers. (John 10:25-26)  After He said that He and God, The Father, were one, they picked up stones in order to stone Him for claiming to be God.

Application:

There is safety for us by being in God and having God in us.  We may feel the ill wind as it blows past us, but we still have God's protection constantly.  Once we are in the hand of God we are protected and no one can take us out of His hand.  No matter what is happening in our life, once we are in God's hand, no real harm can come to us.  God’s permissive will may allow for us to be tested by the devil but no real harm will happen.  "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28)  So when the storms of life are raging, don't worry, God's got us.

Salvation Cannot Be Lost

"My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of My hand.  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of My Father's hand.  I and The Father are one."  John 10:27-30 (NIV)

The Apostle John recorded these words of Jesus as He spoke to the Jews who had gathered around Him in the temple in Jerusalem.   Jesus said that His followers know His voice.  He said that once a believer is in His hand, and in His Father's hand, no one can take them out of His hand. (Romans 8:38-39)  He also said that He and His Father are one and the same.

This is an affirmation of the saying "once saved, always saved."  A true believer is saved and cannot be lost. (John 6:37 and 17:11)  We may fall out of fellowship with God by our sinful back-sliding behavior, but we never fall out of the relationship with Him.  Just as our behavior may get us in trouble with our earthly parents, but we still remain their children.  As true believers we have a similar situation with our Heavenly Father.  Our salvation, once it is given to us, (Ephesians 2:8-9), is secure and no one, thing, or power, can alter that. (John 10:1, 10:8, 10:12, and 10:29)  

How To Recognize The Spirit Of God

"Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.  This is how you can recognize The Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God.  This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.  You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.  They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them.  We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us.  This is how we recognize The Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood."  1 John 4:1-6 (NIV)

The Apostle John wrote to the believers to warn them that every spirit is not from God.  He told them that every spirit which acknowledges that Jesus, The Christ, is the Son of God who put on flesh and came to earth, is a spirit from God.  Those spirits which do not acknowledge Jesus, are not from God.  Believers are children of God and will overcome those who do not believe, because He that is within every believer is greater than he who is in the world.  Those which are of this world are attracted to, and like to hear worldly points of view.  Those who are of God will recognize and listen to The Spirit of God.

The Spirit of God is within all who truly believe that Jesus Christ is The Son of God.  Every spirit that we hear is not from God.  Any spirit which speaks and says something which is contrary to The Word of God, or encourages us to do something which is contrary to The Word of God, is not from God.  The Bible is the means by which we can test what we hear.  However, we must read and study The Word of God so that we will not be led astray.  The devil does not want us to read the Bible.  A well read believer is better equipped to rightly divide The Word of God, and to recognize that which is not of God, but of an evil spirit.

MERRY CHRISTMAS Jesus Is The Reason For The Season

"In the beginning was The Word, and The Word was with God, and The Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made." ... "The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us."  John 1:1-3 & 14 (NIV)
The Apostle John testified that Jesus was there from the beginning.  He made the heavens and the earth and everything therein.  Jesus Christ was, is, and always will be God.  He put on human flesh and dwelt among men.  This was made possible by the immaculate conception. (Luke 1:30-35)

We celebrate Christmas to commemorate the day that The Son of God was born of a virgin, after being conceived by an act of The Holy Spirit.  We celebrate the day that Jesus Christ clothed Himself in human flesh and lived among mankind.  The heavenly plan was for Him to be born, to live, to teach, to die, and to be raised up from the dead in order to provide us with a chance for salvation.  If we confess our sins and believe in Him, we will be saved. (Romans 10:9-10)  We thank God for making all of this possible.