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Okay, so he said that we should probably talk about who we are, who we are in Christ. And I mean, yes, that's good, right? Stuff that we should talk about. But first, should we know who Jesus is before we know who we are in Him? I would say so. So we're going to look at who Jesus is. Sound cool? Cool. I mean, I can't go wrong with teaching Jesus and just reading the Bible to you guys. Okay. Not that I'm saying I go wrong. Just saying that it can't go wrong if we're talking about Jesus. Right. Unless, of course, we're talking about the wrong Jesus. But we're not doing that. We're talking about the Jesus of the Bible. Okay, so we'll start in Matthew, chapter 16, verses 13 through 15. Don't read ahead because then you spoil the whole thing. And while you're turning there, I'm going to pray. Matthew 16, 13, 15. Like I said, I will pray while you're going there. Oh, Father in heaven. Lord, we thank you and praise you for being able to come together under your name, Lord, to glorify you and to learn about who you are. Lord Jesus. Lord, we just want to ask that by your spirit, you give us wisdom and insight, Lord Lord, that you'd let no part of this message be about me or anybody else but, Lord, be about you and what you want to speak. So, spirit, we pray that you come and allow that to be what comes forth. Would you please guide our time? Would you help us to have clear minds, Lord, even though we might be struggling with something, there might be a trial we're going through. You may have said something to us while we were in our own quiet time, but Lord, will you give us right now to focus on you and you alone, Lord? And it's to your glory that we say amen. All right, so Matthew 16, 13, 15. Now, when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he was asking his disciples, saying, who do the people say that I am? And they said, some say John the Baptist and others Elijah, but still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. And he said to them, but who do you say that I am? Stop. Don't read ahead. I know everybody wants to. Most of you know what it says next. Don't go there yet, because I want to kind of go around the New Testament and see different places in which talks about Jesus and who he is. Okay, so in John 1, right, because the people are saying that, oh, he's like some reincarnation of somebody else. Somebody else come back from the dead, you know, or they're in the spirit of this person. Person. Instead of seeing who he truly is. And so I want us to see who he truly is. Right? Because I think sometimes we miss. We miss who Jesus is. Right? And I don't know if that comes down to just misunderstanding or misappropriation of Scripture or we just want to be ignorant, Right? Because if we don't know who he is, then we don't need to honor him for who he is. Okay, so looking at first John or John 1. Not first John, John 1:1 through 5 and verse 14, in the beginning was the Word. Okay, who's the Word? Oh, yeah, Jesus is the Word. Okay. And the Word was with God. And the Word was who? It doesn't say a God, says God. So this is God we're talking about. He was in the beginning with God. So you go all the way back to Genesis 1. He's there. All things came into being through Him. So through him, everything has been created. And apart from him, nothing came into being that has come into being. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. So he is the light. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it. And in verse 14. And the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory. Glory as the only begotten from the Father, for full of grace and truth. So according to that passage, who is Jesus? Okay, Son of God. Grace and truth.
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Okay.
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The Word, the light. Right? So, but what's the key? The Word was God. So we're talking about Jesus is God. This is fun, huh? In John, chapter 8, verse 53 through 58, says, Surely you are not greater than our Father Abraham, who died. Right? This is the Pharisees. They're saying, you're not greater than. You're not greater than Abraham. No one's greater than Abraham. Right? Because if it's not Moses they're pointing back to, it's Abraham they're pointing back to. He says the prophets died, too. Whom do you make yourself out to be? Who are you? Jesus. Jesus answered, if I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me. So who is glorifying Jesus? God. God of whom? You say he is our God. So he right there says, God is my Father. Right? I come from God. And you have known him. Have not known him. Right? So they think they know who God is because of their rules and the things that they follow and the rituals that they do. And Just like so many people in the world today, they think that the amount of stuff I do will secure the salvation. However, that's not how that works, right? Because it is based on the work, suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ. It is by grace and grace alone. And you have not known Him. But I know Him. And if I say that I do not know Him, I. I will be a liar like you, right? Because they're saying, oh, we know God. But he's saying, you don't know him because you don't know love. You know ritual and tradition. You don't know love. But I do know him and keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. And he saw and was glad. He's saying that Abraham, right, saw the day, like was given a vision almost of the day that Christ will come. He was promised that by your seed the Messiah would come into the world, that God in flesh would be manifested into the world. And so the Jews said to him, you are not yet 50 years old and you have seen Abraham, which would have been hundreds of thousands of years already since Abraham, right? Yeah, somewhere around there. I know. Hundreds at least. And Jesus says to them, truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am, am. He uses the same terminology that God uses from the burning bush, right? Well, who do I tell the people that is sending me? And he says, tell them that I am is sending you. I am. That I am ego e mi. I am the pre existent, the all existent, the holy and anointed. I am and I have always been and always will be. There is no other greater than me. And Jesus uses the same word. And if you go further into the passage, it says that they began to pick up stones to stone him, and then he hid himself and left the temple, right? He leaves so that they can't stone him for something that he's not lying about. He's telling the truth, but they considered it blasphemy. So again, you see, he exists before everything. He's there already because he is God. He is the second person of the Trinity, right? He is the Son. He is God who comes in flesh. And to continue with the theme of him being before all things, go to Colossians chapter 1:1 15. Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. Now, don't get that twisted. That does not mean that he is a created being, is saying that he is the firstborn of all creation into the glorified body, because he has a body at this point. He has been Resurrected and is glorified. So he is the first one into the glorified resurrection body. Okay? For in him all things were created. What does all things mean again? All? Yeah. Okay. Both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things have been created through him and for Him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so. So that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For in him, all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell and through him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of his cross, through him, whether things on earth or things in heaven. So again, who is Jesus? Who is He? He's God, right? That should be exciting. He's God. He's God, right? But that's exciting, right? All the fullness of God was pleased to dwell in him, right? The fullness of God bodily dwelling in Christ. And he came for us, right? He said, you cannot do it. You cannot save yourself. You cannot do enough to make me pleased with you. You cannot be perfect. So I'll come and I'll do it for you, and then I will give you my righteousness. You understand how incredibly crazy that is, right? There's no other religion, faith system that teaches this, right? All other deities, what do they do? They put a set of rules in front of you and say, you must do, do, do, do, do, do in order to get. And we know that that's not how God does things, right? Because even before Christ came, it was still based in faith, faith in the coming Messiah. So you did the things that God wanted, right? Because of his grace. You wanted to follow. You wanted to obey, not because you had to, but because you got to, right? The laws were not burdensome. That's what the Bible tells us. They were actually meant for good things to point us to God and help us to live well. And so Jesus is saying that I'm the fulfillment of those things. He's like, I am the one who gave you those. You remember that pillar of cloud and the fire that led you in the wilderness? That was me saying, that was me. I was the one who brought you out of Egypt. He's like. He's like, I am God. And he tells it to the most unlikely people. The first person that really this is revealed to is a Samaritan woman, right? Because she says, I know Messiah is coming. And he says, he who Is speaking to you, is he? He tells her, I'm the Messiah. You're talking to him. And she runs off going, this is amazing. And tells everybody else, right? Because they understood who Messiah was. They knew that he was the Anointed One. They knew he was the one who was coming to save them from themselves and take on the wrath of God. But they had a misunderstanding of him, just like we can at times, right? Because we look at him as like the cosmic genie. You know, if I say in Jesus name, it'll be done for me, right? That's not how that works. You actually have to believe in him and trust in him and have true and full faith that he is who he says he is. Okay, so let's go on. Let's talk about it more and go back to John. I know we're doing Bible trivia today. All right, we're going to jump John 10. Going to be a verse 24 through 33. 10, 24 point. The Jews then gathered around him and were saying to him, how long will you keep us in suspense? Like, he's just being kind of quiet before them, not always answering their questions the way they were hoping for. Why are you keeping us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us openly. Okay? Jesus answered them. I told you and you did not believe. So I already told you. I told you who I was. I told you that God is my Father. I told you I'm the Christ. I told you I'm the Messiah. I told you that I am God in the flesh. The works that I do in my Father's name, these bear witness about me. But you do not believe because you are not of my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow me and I give them eternal life. And they will never perish, ever. And no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. And no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are what, One? They are one and the same. One is still existing and sustaining all things as God the Father. But then part of his essence is fully dwelling in the person, flesh of Christ. He is God standing in front of them. And they completely miss it, right? Because it goes on. It says, the Jews picked up stones again to stone him. And Jesus answered them, I showed you many good works from the Father. For which of them are you stoning me? Right? Could you imagine you're about to get stoned. You're like, well, what are you Stoning me for which one of these amazing things, miraculous things did you see that you want to stone me for? And the Jews answered him, for a good work. We do not stone you, but for blasphemy. And because you, being a man, make yourself God. So they knew what he was saying. And they're just like, you're like, all right, man, we're going to stone you because you just blasphemed, right? Blasphemy is claiming to be God, right? When no one is God, only God is God. There is no other God besides him, right? And so they're missing the fact that this is God in the flesh. And seeing the amazing and miraculous things that he's doing, they're still just like, yeah, we don't care. And we see that even today. We can see the miraculous things that God is doing, correct? We can see that he is taking a whole bunch of sinners and transforming their lives. I mean, each one of you sitting in here, even us, we can see the miraculous transformation that God has done, right? We can see that. That every time a child is born, that's a miracle of God because God was knitting them and he brought them forth. We see people still come out of sickness. We see people get amazing, like, miracles done. And yet we still go, eh, I don't know if that's really, really true. I don't know if that's really God. I don't know if that's Jesus, you know, I still. If he stands before me and says, hey, I'm God, then I'll believe Him. I beg to differ, because he did it right there. And they still didn't believe. Even after he resurrects, he shows up to more than 500 people and thousands still didn't believe. Today we have historical record of him having raised from the dead. And still people don't believe. Instead, they're following after the religion of self, which ultimately is worshiping the devil. And so he wants us to come to him and realize who he is, realize who this person is that is in front of us, who is in us? It is the Lord. It is God in Colossians. You don't got to turn there in Colossians 2, 9, 10. For in him, right, speaking of Jesus, all the fullness of deity dwells bodily. And in him you have been filled, who is the head over all rule and authority. You have been filled in him because he is God. He sends his spirit to dwell in you. So who is in you? The Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit. The counselor, the one who is empowering us to actually walk with Christ, right? And this is an amazing gift that God gives us because of who Jesus is, right? In John 14:6, it says, Jesus said to them, I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me, cannot come to God, but through Jesus and Him alone. As again, as Ephesians and the apostle Paul tells us is that there is no amount of good works we can do, right? You will never earn it or deserve. Is a free gift, totally 100%. There is nothing more to it than that faith in Him. That is how you receive the gift of eternal life, right? And then he, by the Spirit, empowers you to remain and abide in Him. In John 14:7, continuing the passage, it says, if you have come to me, you will know my Father also, right? Because they're the same person. From now on, you know him and have seen Him. And Philip said to him, lord, show us the Father and it will be enough for us. Show us God the Father, and that'll be enough for us to fully believe in you. It's like, dude, Philip, come on, man. And we give Thomas guff for doubting. Jesus said to him, I have been with you all so long and have you not come to know me? You've seen all this stuff and still you don't even get it, right? He who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say show us the Father? Because you're looking at Him. Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say, I do not speak from myself, but the Father abiding in me does his work. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Otherwise, believe because of the works themselves, the works of Jesus show you exactly who he is. Because only God can do these things. Only God can restore the sight. Why? Because he's the One who made your eyes, right? Only God can raise the dead because he's the One who made your body, right? Even the devil knew when he was tempting Jesus that He could alter anything into what he wanted it to be, right? He knew that him being God in the flesh, but emptying himself of some of his deity so that he could be on par with us and experience the human, the human experience without sin. You know, he knew that he could tempt Jesus into going, hey, I know you're hungry and I know you can do this. So why don't you just turn that to bread and have a Little bit of food, right? But Jesus knows better. He goes, no, you caught. You caught my first children off guard. And you deceived them, and they made their choice. You will not deceive me, and I will make the right choice because I came to redeem them, came to redeem you and me. Because the Father knew we could never make our way back to Him. And so he made a way. Made a way for us. But still, the religious elite are just like, yeah, we still don't believe it. So we're gonna put you to death now. And he's on trial. I'm gonna read you two different. Two different perspectives of the same story, okay? And as the day came, the council. So this is Luke 22, verse 66 through 71. And as the day came, the council of elders of. Of the people assembled, both chief priests and scribes, and they led him away to the Sanhedrin, saying, if you are the Christ, tell us, tell us. And again, we already know. He's told them, right? But he said to them, if I tell you, you will not believe. And if I ask a question, you will not answer, right? Jesus knows what they're doing, right? Because he knows their hearts. He proved that over and over, that he could see their thoughts in what was in their heart. But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God, right where he belongs, because that's where he's been for all eternity. That is where he left from. He got. He left the right hand of power to come to us. How amazing is that? And they all said, are you the Son of God then? And he said to them, you yourselves say that I am. And he uses the same words from the burning bush again, and you'll know that that's what he says by their reaction. Then they said, what further need do we have of testimony, right? Because they were all giving false witness. For we have heard it ourselves from his own mouth. And they said he was blaspheming again, calling himself God. Now, let's see the same thing from a different perspective in Matthew 26, verse 30, 63 through 66. But Jesus kept silent, right? He was quiet for perfect. Pretty much all of his trial and everything. And the high priest said to him, I put you under oath by the living God that you tell us whether you are the Christ, the Son of God. And Jesus said to him, you yourself said it. Nevertheless, I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of. Of power and coming on the clouds of heaven, right? This is all stuff that's been talked about in the Old Testament. He's pointing back to Old Testament going, this is what you know of the Christ. This is what you know of Messiah. And you're seeing it take place right in front of you. And when I return, I will return in greater power than I came the first time.
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And.
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And I will be on the clouds. We'll also be riding a white horse. It's going to be epic. Okay. Then the high priest tore his garments and said, he has blasphemed again. He called himself God. No one can do that. What further need do we have of witness? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy. What do you think? And they answered, he deserves death. He deserves death. Death. He doesn't deserve death. He's the only one in history who hasn't deserved death. But he came to die, right? Came to die so that we can be rescued and set free. If you're wondering, is there more places that the Bible talks about this? Oh, absolutely. Lots. Okay, let's just go through a few more here. Hebrews verses, chapter one, verses three through four. Who is the radiance of his glory? Speaking of the glory of God and Jesus and the exact representation of his nature. Exact representation. And upholds all things by the word of his power. Who, having accomplished cleansing for sins, Jesus, clergy cleanses sins, sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels as he has inherited a more excellent name than them, right? He, God, has not entrusted the sins of humanity and sentenced wrath and judgment to angels. It was only to Jesus that he. He gave that to. He didn't look at the Archangel Michael and go, all right, so I need you to go in the form of a human and go and die for them. No, he himself steps out of glory and puts himself on a cross so that you, me, Craig, Jared, everyone can be set free from the bondage of sin and death, right? He defeats it. He is our high priest. As you see, if you go through more of Hebrews, it's constantly points, right? Whoever the writer was, we don't know, but he is making the argument that Jesus is God, that Jesus is the high priest, that Jesus is the perfect sacrifice, that he for all time sets us free if we will come to him and put our faith in him and live in him. And then there are two really, really amazing pictures of Jesus in the book of Revelation. And let me tell you, these are probably some of the two most Epic views of Jesus you're ever going to read. And I can't wait to see this guy, right? So I need to be on the right side of him, right? Says that I am the Alpha and the Omega. So in Revelation 1, verse 8, I am the Alpha and the Omega. Now some of the Bibles do not have that in red letters. Some do, because it has been long debated. Is that Jesus speaking or is it God speaking? But does it matter? Because they're the same person, right? If Jesus is speaking, that means God is speaking because Jesus spoke what God spoke. I am the Alpha and the Omega says the Lord God.
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Right?
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But in some versions it's red letter. So it's Jesus speaking who is and who was and who is to come? The Almighty. So again here even the apostle John is saying that Jesus, the Lord God in the flesh, is speaking and saying that I am the Alpha, I am the Omega, I am the one who was, I am the one who is, and I am the one who is to come. Again, did you know that there's a part in Revelation that that part is left out? The to come part. It is left out because it is after Jesus has returned and the angels and the multitudes in heaven sing to him and say, because you've already come, right? You are the one who is and who was, who always will be. And go to verse 12. Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me, right? Because there's a voice speaking to him. And having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands. And in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like the Son of Man, clothed in a robe, reaching to the feet and girded across his chest with a golden sash. And his head, and his head and his hair were white like wool, like snow. And his eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze has been made to glow in a furnace. And his voice was like the sound of many waters. And having in his right hand the seven stars and a sharp two edged sword which comes from his mouth. And his face was like the sun shining in his power. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. And he placed his right hand on me, saying, do not fear, I am the first and the last and the living one. I was dead. And behold, I am alive forever and ever. And I have the keys of death and Hades. Tell me that's not epic Jesus, right there you're seeing a glimpse of, and maybe not literal, fully literal here, but you're seeing a Glimpse of the glorified Christ in his glory at the right hand of the Father. You're looking at him and you're going, oh, I'm dead. And he just falls down on his face. And Jesus says, no, it's okay. I set you free. I'm the one who set you free. How about you? I long for a day where Jesus grabs me by the shoulder and says, do not fear. So I'm the living one. I've set you free. And finally, in Revelation 19, At this point of the Revelation narrative, this is at the end of the tribulation. This is Jesus returning, okay? And you want to be with him at this point, not somebody who is watching him come back. Okay? Then I saw heaven open. So 1911. Then I saw heaven open, and behold a white horse. And he who sits on it is called Faithful and True. And in righteousness he judges and wages war. Faithful and true. Jesus is faithful and true, right? He is wholly faithful. He is holy, True, because he is the holy God. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on his head are many diagrams, right? These are like amazing crowns, having a name written on him which no one knows except himself, and being clothed with a garment dipped in blood. His name is also called the Word of God. So can we pretty much say that this is absolutely Jesus? We're seeing me, right? If John tells us that the Word was God, then the Word of God is Jesus. Okay? And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, that's all of us, right? Because we get to return with Christ.
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Okay,
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it could also be angels. We're not ancestor. But still, if you look through Revelation, there's a little more that leans towards the other way. That is also us following him on my horses. And from his mouth comes a sharp sword so that with it he may strike down the nations and he will rule them with a rod of iron. And he treads the winepress of the wrath of the rage of God Almighty. He has on a garment, on his garment and on his thigh a name written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Again. Jesus in power and in glory. The One who set you free from sin and death. Coming on the clouds, in power, just like he said it would, he gave us a picture of it. How awesome is that gonna be? When Jesus returns and we meet him in the clouds and we. We return with him and we get to be with him for all eternity. First on earth for a thousand years before the full and final judgment of the earth being burned and transformed into something new Just like we are transformed into something new. Right? But your transformation has already begun. Who here knows that they have been made new? Absolutely. And who here knows that it's still happening? Amen. Right. We all know it. And we all know that God is going to do it because he loves us, because he has set us free, because we are his children adopted by Him. And that's what we'll talk about next time. But I want to end with the answer to Jesus question of who do you say that I am? And Peter, because he is the oldest of the disciples. He is the one who gets to speak up because that was how they did things then. The oldest was the one who spoke by consensus. And Simon Peter answered and said, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. So ask yourself today, who do I believe Jesus to be? If you believe him to be anything other than God, come in the flesh, lived perfectly, died taking on the wrath and sin of the world and resurrecting, and now seated at the right hand of the Father and returning someday, then you are not thinking of the right Jesus. But if that is who you know and believe Jesus to be, then you are a co heir and a son of God living in him by grace and the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Is that exciting? Yo, come on. I don't ever ask this, but come on, just praise Jesus. Come on, give him a hand. All right, does anybody want to have the honor of closing us or at least this portion.
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And be thankful for this day that you've given us day. Let's rejoice in it every single way. Today we're learning about you and who you are. And I think we all know who you are and we're just thank you for this gift of salvation and the fact that you came and you did the things that you did for us and you made a way for us to meet the Father. You've bridged that gap. We thank you for your blood and we're thank you for all the things that you went through and the mighty miracles you performed in the book. Thank you for your word and who you are. And we're just blessed to have you in our lives and our hearts. We ask that you increase the Holy Spirit and the peace in our minds and give us the strength to make through the day and the discernment to decipher what's from you and what's not from you. We love you so much, Jesus name. Amen.
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Amen.