This message was the message by the Pastor of my church this week. It fits right into what we have been talking about here in my blog, so I thought I would make it available to you. You can listen to the full audio here: I Have Decided to Follow Jesus - Pastor Bernie Powell 13OCT13
The main scripture referenced in this weeks sermon is Mark 1: 9-20. I thought it was very interesting how this came together with parts one and two of the blog, I haven't been talking with Bernie about the blog, and to me, this gives an example of the Holy Spirit working in the lives of two believers, or witnesses if you will, to confirm that a message is from God.
In Mark 1:9-20 we are looking at the Baptism and Temptation of Jesus. This is from the NLT:
One day Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and John baptized him in the Jordan River. As Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens splitting apart and the Holy Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice from heaven said, "You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy." The Spirit then compelled Jesus to go into the wilderness, where he was tempted by Satan for forty days. He was out among the wild animals, and angels took care of him. Later on, after John was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee, where he preached God's Good News. "The time promised by God has come at last!" he announced. "The Kingdom of God is Near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!"
Let's stop there for a moment and break this down a little bit. So, the NLT is a paraphrase, which, I don't generally like to use in my teaching, however, in this instance it seems to be an acceptable tool to use in conjunction with an actual translation. I recommend either KJV or NKJV. The first point that we need to touch on here is:
1) We follow Jesus because, He faced the Same Problems We Have.
One of Jesus favorite names for himself was "Son of Man" The reason, I believe for this, is because He sacrificially became Fully Human to experience humanity, that was how he linked himself forever to us, to cleanse us. What good would a sacrifice have been if Humanity was sentanced to death, and something other than a human died to try to rectify and fulfill that penalty? Hebrews 4:15 (NLT) says it this way: This High Priest of ours (Christ, Jesus) understands our weaknesses, for he faced ALL of the same testing we do, yet HE DID NOT SIN. (emphasis mine)
In Phililppians 2: 6-8 we read about Christ's devotion, and how he really gave up His Godly power: Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up His divine priviliges; He took a humble position of a slave and was born as a human beaing, He humbled Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross. We further read in Luke 2:52: He has brought down princes from their thrones and exalted the humble. Who is Mary talking about in her song of praise? Who has brought down princes from their thrones? God the Father. Who exalted the humble? God the Father. Who did He exalt? The one who chose to become humbled, humbled anted born in a lowly manger, as a human being, humbled to the point of death, even the death of a Criminal on a Cross. This verse speaks, of course of Jesus the Christ! Hallelujah! One final example which I would offer to you comes from Hebrews 5:8: Even though Jesus was God's Son, He learned obedience from the things he suffered. So we can see that Jesus, just like us, learned from suffering and trials. This should serve as a strength to us. We ARE NOT ALONE in our sufferings....... We ARE NOT ALONE in our struggles. We ARE NOT ALONE in our temptations. See also Isaiah 53:5, John 6 and 1 Corintians 10:13 for further examples of how Christ faced the same temptations that we face every day. Jesus also faced persecution like we do, see 2 Timothy 3:12, Philippians 1:29 says: For you have been given not only the privlege of trusting in Christ, but also the privlige of suffering for Him. Imagine that calling suffering a privilege? What a totally different mindset we must have as followers of Christ. Also see James 1:2-4 for further examples.
2) We follow Jesus because, He used the Same Resources We Have.
Jesus relied on the Word of God as found in 2 Peter 1:19 and Luke 16:31 What does this mean for us? Well a practical application of this weould be Daily scripture readings, how can we rely on the Word of God if we do not know what the Word of God says? Group Bible studies are another practical application of this. Not a book club mind you, it is great to use other resources as long as they are properly vetted through the lens of truth, through the Word of God. Join a Bible Study, where the Bible is studied. As believers, our life's goal should be to be students of the Bible. Another application is to memorize scripture. We saw an example of this when Christ was lead into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit, and was tempted, He quoted scripture to Satan to fight off his offers of a shortcut to the rewards that God had already promised him. He memorized scripture......
Jesus also had access to the Holy Spirit, we see examples of this in John 14:15-17 "If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all thruth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn't looking for him and doesn't recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and will later be in you." So we see here, that Jesus had access to the third person in the trinity, the Holy Spirit, and He is promising us that we have that same access to the Holy Spirit as He had.
Finally, Jesus had access to Angels. As seen in Ephesians 3:10-11, Revelation 2-3 and Daniel 10, Angels are ministers, servants, who often minister to those who are experiencing trouble. They ministered to Christ in the wilderness. They minister to us, often when we are not even aware of their presence.
3) We follow Jesus because, He took the Same Responsibilites We Have.
Jesus was not passive about living out His faith in God the Father, he followed the guidelines laid out in the Old Testament He was Baptised, He showed obedience to God the Father, and earthly authorities, See John 14:15, 21 and 1 John 2:3-4 for examples of this. He also took very seriously the responsibilites of Evangelizing and Discipiling as see in 2 Timothy 2:2: You have heard me teach the things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others. Jesus gave this command in the "Great Commission" in Matthew 28 to Go forth into all nations, proclaiming the gospel. and baptizing in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Teaching and making disciples.
This is all summed up in Just ONE Subject: The Lord Jesus, who is our life. See Colossians 3. Jesus is our life. He needs to be our life, for in Him we live and move and have our being. If you do not know Christ as your Lord and Saviour, why not turn to Him right now and trust Him with your life? It is simple to do, and it is the first step that you need to take in your path to recovery. Jesus will help you tap into the Power of God to fight addictions. Simply pray: Father God, I know that I am a sinner. I believe that you sent your son Jesus to die for my sin. I ask you to forgive me my sins, and count me as your child, I put my faith and trust in Jesus and make Him Lord of my life. In Jesus Name, Amen.
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