Who Are You?
Part 2
Gtcotr/ss081405a - Second Service
Key Scripture: Acts 19:15 And the evil spirit answered and said, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?"
Last Sunday morning we began a series in efforts to teach the biblical perspective of who we are, first in the general sense as mankind, then as it pertains to being a Christian and finally as it relates to each one of us individually.
During the past several days I have been continually reminded of a scripture verse in Proverbs. Time and again my spirit has overridden the current thoughts of my natural mind and the situation at hand and given me this scripture to ponder. I have noticed it so much that I have told many of my colleagues and friends about this continual interruption of my natural thought processes.
The verse I am referring to is found in Proverbs 29:18. In the King James Version it reads:
Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
The Message version of the bible says:
If people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves.
Another reading puts it:
Where there is no firm direction, people wander aimlessly.
This is the way I have been rehearsing it to myself, over and over and over again.
Where there is no firm direction, people wander aimlessly.
There are two things it takes to have direction in life. We must:
#1. Know Where We Are
#2. Know Where We Are Going
Without either of these elements we have no firm direction.
Of these two essential elements:
* Knowing where we want to go is the easiest
* Determining where we are is the hardest and often the most important.
Where we want to go may or may not become a reality, but where we are is already a matter of fact.
I believe it is very important for us to know us, our purpose, the reason God created us, our calling, our goal, duty, our destiny and where we currently are on this journey.
For this reason I have decided to depart from the regular inspirational and motivational Sunday morning preaching format and these two or three Sundays, and focus more on spiritual education.
Since we do not currently have the space for our adult Sunday School program, I am taking a full semester of college level bible study and encapsulating it into a few short and concentrated teachings.
Last week we looked at the question:
Who Is God?
The simple answer was: Our Father.
This morning I want to pick up with the question:
Who is Jesus? And where does He fit in? Is He God too?
John 1
1 ¶ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
* Again, ‘in the beginning’, goes at least as far back as Genesis 1:1, where God began to mark time for humans to reference.
* God’s Word was with Him there in the beginning.
* The ‘Word’ of God herein, refers to Jesus. We see this in:
John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
* Jesus was with God in the beginning of revealed history.
John 1
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
* God had a Son, born or a virgin, perfect and sinless.
* Jesus, although with God in Genesis 1, has never, is not now, nor will He ever be the One true and living God.
* Jesus is the Son of God, God’s Word which took upon flesh, destined to rule God’s kingdom both in heaven and in earth.
* Everything God created was made for the Son
* Stephen said that he saw Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father. Acts
* Jesus is both Immanuel and Messiah
* We know the Son as Savior, Lord, Brother, Friend and King.
* His name is Jesus, He is Messiah, Savior of the World, Redeemer of mankind and King of the Universe for all ages to come.
This brings us to a third consideration:
Who is the Holy Spirit?
Genesis 1
1 ¶ In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
* The Holy Spirit is The
> Omnipotent
> Omniscient
> Omnipresent
presence of our Father God.
* The portion of God’s character and being which can be transferred to another.
* The agent of God’s spiritual DNA, His spiritual genes, which when received into the human heart, has power to convert and transform.
* We know Him as counselor, comforter, guide and teacher who imparts gifts, endues with power, leads men to repentance and orchestrates God’s plan in the earth.
* The Holy Spirit is not an experience, The Holy Spirit is God!
Ezekiel 2:2 “And the spirit entered into me when He spoke to me. …”
