CONTENTS

1. Christ’s Declaration! - John 17:3

2. Christ’s Dignity - John 20:30-31

3. Christ’s Divinity - John 8:58

4. Christ’s Humanity! - John 1:14-18

5. Christ’s Perfection - John 8:29

6. Christ’s Death - Ephesians 5:12

7. Christ’s Resurrection! - John 20:28-29

8. Christ’s Exaltation and Return! - John 20:17; Psalm 110:1-7; Matthew 24:36-44

Christ’s Declaration!

John 17:3

Preparing your Heart:

•      What do you think makes people truly happy in life?

•      What would make your life a truly happy life?

•      What do you think Jesus meant when He said that He came that we may have “life… abundantly”? (cf. Joh 10:10)

•      Read Phil 3:7-8

•      Pray and ask God to prepare your heart for His truth.

Introduction:

•      I wonder what was some of your answers to those first two questions...

•      Something that is true of all people is that they desire to be happy – me too!

•      So people pursue happiness by pursuing things or people that they think would make them happy.

•      People pursue: Money; Stuff; People; Fame; Food; Hobbies; Vacations; etc...

•      All these things are amazing and good things in its place, but people tend to make this the reason and purpose of their lives – these things becomes their gods, it becomes their idols!

•      All these things are good gifts of God, but they were never given to us to satisfy us… they will never make us truly happy!

•      I want to start with this truth statement in this study that I then want to show you from the Bible:

“True happiness is found in a love relationship with Jesus Christ that is real and personal!”

•      Our focus in this study series will be on “knowing Christ” because this is what God has designed us for and what brings true happines, true joy, true fulfilment in our lives.

•      In this study we will look at “Christ’s Declaration” in Joh 17:3

•      Please read Joh 17:1-5 a few times before you continue.

Study Points:

1.  Three clarifying questions:

1.1  What is meant by “eternal life”?

•      When we think of “eternal life” most of us think of an unlimited amount of time.

•      It is true, it is about that, but much more than that.

•      All people will exist for all eternity…! (cf. Joh 5:28-29)

•      Eternal life refers to a quality of life and not just a quantity of life.

•      It is about life as God intended it to be!

•      It is a life that is available now and will keep on for all eternity – it is not just something that will happen in the future.

•      Joh 10:10 – Jesus came to give us life and that abundantly. At the very least this refers to:

•      It is a life of true and lasting peace – Joh 14:27

•      It is a life of true and lasting love – Joh 15:9

•      It is a life of true and lasting joy – Joh 15:11

•      It is a life that is completely satisfied – the perfect life, an amazing life; the life of true happiness!

1.2  What is meant by “knowing” God?

•      This is not just to know that there is a God… many people know there is a God and yet they do not know this God as their God…

•      It is the same as to know that South Africa has a president – it doesn’t mean that you know him.

•      You can know there is a God your whole life and yet never know God…!

•      It is to know there is a God and to know Him as God, as your God!

•      To fear Him and revere Him; to worship Him by bowing your will in obedience to Him; to please Him.

•      It is to understand who God is intelectually and to experience Him practically in your daily life!

•      It refers to nothing less than to havning a deep, intimate love relationship with God!

•      To be personally aquainted with Him!

•      Moses is an amazing example – Exo 33:9-11

•      The apostle Paul was clear that it is this relationship that was worth more to Him the anything else that He could achieve or that he can have in this life – Phil 3:7-11; 1:21-23

•      The life of true happiness is a life of intimate fellowship with God – the true God that can really satisfy us and make us happy! (cf. Ps 16:2, 5-6, 11)

1.3  How is it possible that we can “know” God?

•      We are sinners and God is a holy God that cannot tolerate sin or leave sin unpunished…!

•      How then is it possible for wicked sinners like us to know this holy and perfect God so intmately…?

•      It is because of the last part of Joh 17:3 namely, “…and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”

•      Jesus Christ is the One who brings us to the Father - Joh 14:6; 1 Pet 3:18; Col 1:21-23

•      It is only as we stand in a love relationship with Jesus Christ that is real and personal that we can truly know God!

•      This relationship is built upon trust – trusting in Christ alone to save you from the wrath that you deserve!

•      This relationship is initiated by God...!

•      God is the One who pursues this love relationship that is real and personal – He sent Jesus in order that He could bring us to Him! (cf. 1 Joh 4:9-10, 19)

2.  Three thoughts concerning a relationship with Jesus:

2.1  The privilege of Knowing Jesus…

•      The only way someone can know Jesus is if He reveals Himself to them… He reveals Himself to those whom He chooses…! (cf. Matt 11:27; 16:15-17)

•      When He does so, it is all of grace! It is all because of His sovereign, unmerited favour!

•      It is a privilege you and I can never deserve! (cf. Eph 2:4-9)

•      To be loved by Jesus and to know Him is the highest relationship, the highest achievment and the highest position in life!

2.2  The priority of Knowing Jesus…

•      A love relationship with Jesus Christ is more important than any other single factor in your life!

•      Paul got it and lived it! (cf. Phil 3:7-8)

•      This is what the Bible teaches us in Luk 10:41-42 is the one thing necessary!

•      It is when we realize what a great privilege it is to be saved by Jesus that it brings about living out my relationship with Jesus as my priority!

•      Mark Jones says it very well: “Put all the pleasures of life such as family, job, recreation, music, sports, entertainment, cuisine and technology in one. Oh, what excellent joys they are! Yet, such joys pale in comparison with the delight of knowing Jesus and basking in communion with His person, not just His works!”

•      Christianity, being a Christian, is about knowing and having a relationship with a person: Jesus Christ! It is about making this relationship the priority of your life!

2.3  The practise of Knowing Jesus…

•      Joh 14:15; 15:10 – we are to abide in Jesus and His love by simply obeying His commandments. By this we also proof that we love Jesus!

•      What is His commandments?

•      In Mark 12:38-30 we find the greatest command namely that we are to love Jesus with everything that we are and have!

•      We are to love Him with all of our:

▪       “Heart” – referring to our will. Every day we must choose to do what He desires! (cf. Gal 5:16-18)

▪       “Soul” – referring to affections and emotions. As we choose to do what He desires, we must enjoy doing what He desires because it pleases Him and that should bring us great joy…! (cf. Phil 1:18; 2 Cor 5:9)

▪       “Mind” – referring to our thoughts and intellect. We are to study and think about what He has revealed about Himself to us and to submit our thoughts to what pleases Him! (cf. Ps 19:14)

▪       “Strength” – referring to our whole being. We are to use our bodies and energy to do what pleases Him! (cf. 1 Cor 6:19-20)

•      The practise of knowing Christ is therefore something that needs to include the whole of our existence, where we strive to grow in making Jesus the reason and aim for everything we are doing!

•      Col 3:17 is what we are to strive for...!

•      Let’s close this study with one more thought...

3.  A mind blowing truth:

•      As you know, in John 17 we find the “High Priestly Prayer of Jesus.” Jesus is praying for the glory of His Father (v1-5), for His eleven apostles (v6-19) and for all of His disciples (v20-26) respectively.

•      In Joh 17:24 we then find one of the most astounding requests of Jesus concerning all of His disciples and followers!

•      Please read this verse a few times, focusing on what Jesus desires...!

•      Mark Jones makes this mind blowing observation about Jesus’ request in this verse: “Of all the human desires that He retained as He entered His glorified state in heaven, few exceed His desire to know His people. Jesus, the Lord of glory, supremely satisfied in the love of the Father, Holy Spirit, and the elect angels, remains unsatisfied if He cannot know, love, and ultimately be with His people... In His heavenly glory, Christ meditates upon His people. He desires not only to know us, but to be with us. We must always remember that when He calls one of His beloved ones home to Himself, He has gained more than we have lost in the death of our loved one. He desires to be with us because He knows us, and that demands that one day He will call us home to be with Him. Ultimately, this happens not because of something such as disease or fatal accident, but rather because the Father has answered the prayer of His Son.”

•      Jesus desires that those whom the Father has given Him would know Him and be with Him...!

•      May that motivate us to pursue Him with everything that we have, just as He pursued us!

Conclusion:

•      What do you need to do to know Jesus?

•      Repent from all your selfish, sinful and empty pursuits and turn to Him! Seek His forgiveness for wasting your life on these empty things…!

•      Place your trust in Him alone to save you from your sin and the penalty it deserves and to give to you the true life in Him that alone can satisfy the deepest longings of your soul!

•      Jesus declared that this is eternal life: to know God and Jesus Christ whom You have sent...!

Christ’s Dignity

John 20:30-31

Preparing your Heart:

•      Have you ever felt used in a “friendship”? (Someone just being your “friend” because of what they can benefit from you…)

•      Have you ever just used someone in a “friendship”? (Be honest…)

•      What do you know about Jesus, His person? (Not what He has done…)

•      Read John 21:15-17

•      Pray and ask God to prepare your heart for His truth.

Introduction:

•      Many “friendships” and “acquaintances” in these days are shaped around what people can do for one another.

•      That is sometimes the only reason why people get to “know” one another…

•      Example: Your parents are away… have a few friends over to watch the game… you get carried away and in imitating a goal just scored and you boot the ball in the house shattering the window which, in your mind, was a good candidate for being the goal – you didn’t actually think you were going to be accurate…!

•      At that moment you are looking for someone who can help you fix it… very cheaply! You try and find someone who knows someone.

•      At that point you don’t really care who this other person is, as long as he or she can just help you with your dilemma…!

•      Stuff like that happens and its fine to find people who can help you with certain things and problems in life, but another tendency with some people is that all their “friendships” is just about what other people can do for them… how they can benefit from them.

•      Most if not all of us have experienced being used in a “friendship” and it stinks…!

•      Most if not all of us have also used other people in “friendships” and it is a shame…!

•      That is then also unfortunately true when it comes to people “knowing” Jesus as well.

•      People only want to “know” Jesus for what He can do for them.

•      The truth is that Jesus did come and do everything needed to save sinners like us and we do need Him to save us!

•      The meaning of the name “Jesus” is exactly that – “the Lord saves” … this is the name which the angel commanded Joseph to give the baby that would be born from Mary – Matt 1:21

•      But there is more to knowing Jesus just for what He can do for you…

•      One writer said it like this: “…there is something more excellent and comely than Jesus being our Saviour; the greatness of His person is more excellent than the salvation He achieved by His death… the glory of His person outweighs even the glory of His work on our behalf… We praise Him first for who He is and then for what He accomplished.”

•      This is Jesus’ concern first and foremost – that we would know Him for who He is!

•      Matt 16:13-15; Joh 21:15-17

•      Christianity, being a Christian, is about knowing a person – Jesus!

•      It is not just a list of doing things and not doing things, but rather knowing Jesus and loving Him and therefore wanting to obey and please Him!

•      May aim in this study is to just again introduce you to who Jesus is and my hope is that it would draw you to Him more and that you would desire Him and love Him more…!

•      We will just look at two verses – Joh 12:30-31 and focus on two important aspects of Jesus’ person – who He is…

•      Please read Joh 12:30-31

Study Points:

•      These verses are the purpose statement of why John wrote His Gospel.

•      “Signs” refers to the miracles of Jesus – the supernatural things that He did.

•      John only tell of seven of His miracles while he says that Jesus “did many other signs”, and He calls them “signs”.

•      Signs are something that point to something else.

•      John’s focus and desire was not to tell us everything that Jesus did – it would not be possible to write everything down! (cf. Joh 21:25) But rather His focus and desire is that we would know who Jesus is and believe in Him!

•      This is exactly what the Disciples believed about Him, cf. Matt 16:16, and Martha declared the same thing about Jesus in Joh 11:27.

•      And so, let’s look at two important aspects of Jesus’ person – who He is…

1.  He is the Christ!

•      “Christ” is the Greek word for the Hebrew word “Messiah”.

•      It means the “Anointed One” – the chosen One.

•      This is not Jesus’ surname, but rather His title – like you would say that someone is a doctor and vet, etc…

•      It refers to the One that was promised by God that He would sent to come and save His people!

•      Gen 3:15; 12:3; Deut 18:18; 2 Sam 7:16 (cf. Luk 1:31-33)

•      He is the hero that the people were waiting for!

•      He is not one of many – He is the Christ – there is only one!

•      He was the one that would save and deliver His people!

•      Like in most superhero movies, you wait for the first appearance of the movie that usually comes in very dramatic style… and some even have a theme song coming with them…!

•      And so the people waited for this hero, the Messiah, the Anointed One from God that would come…!

•      In Joh 1:29 – He was announced!

•      Andrew followed Him and called His brother with the following words – Joh 1:40-41

•      He is the Saviour that is sent to save His people!

2.  He is the Son of God!

•      He is the second person of the Trinity – God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

•      We need to note the relationship there is between the Father and the Son…

•      The Father has always, from eternity, loved the son – Isa 42:1; Joh 17:24

•      The Father also declared it while Jesus was here on earth – Matt 3:17; 17:5

•      The Son also loves the Father and that is why He wanted to obey His Father in everything

•      Joh 14:31

•      Being the Son of God, we also need to understand the identity of Jesus.

•      This teaches us that Jesus is of the same essence of the Father – He is like the Father in His character and therefore He is the unique Son of God – He is the only and eternal Son who is exactly like the Father. (cf. Joh 1:18; Col 1:19; Heb 1:3)

•      When Jesus calls Himself the Son of God, He is claiming to be equal to God! (cf. Joh 1:1; Phil 2:6)

•      That is exactly why the Pharisees wanted to stone Him – Joh 5:18

•      This would have been a great sin if it weren’t true… but it is true… Joh 14:7-11

•      Jesus is God!

•      Joh 1:1 – He is God eternal; He is God destinct; He is God equal…!

•      That is why He could have done what He has done…!

•      That is what the “signs”, the miracles, pointed to!

•      This is who Jesus is!

•      He is the one that was sent and anointed by God to come and save His people; He is God who became man – He is the God-Man…!

Conclusion:

•      Why is it important to know who Jesus is and to believe in Him?

•      It is the only way to have life!

•      1 Joh 5:12; Acts 4:12; 1 Tim 2:5

•      If you don’t know Jesus, you don’t have life and you will spend eternity in hell…

•      If you know Him, you have life, real life, eternal life…!

•      May we strive to know Jesus and to worship and love Him for who He is...!

•      He is worthy of all our honour, glory, adoration and awe!

Christianity, being a Christian, is about knowing a person – Jesus!

Christ’s Divinity

John 8:58

Preparing your Heart:

•      What is the most extreme thing you ever did?

•      What would you say is your greatest talent?

•      Jesus’ claimed to be God – do you believe Him? Why or why not?

•      Read John 1:1-5

•      Pray and ask God to prepare your heart for His truth.

Introduction:

•      If you can, please watch the video that was shared “Something more – Who is Jesus.”

•      The video ends with this great question regarding Jesus: “But was He just a man or... something more...?”

•      Jesus made some amazing claims about Himself…!

•      All of us have made some or other claims about ourselves as well. Many times we tend to exagerate things that we have done of things that we can do…

•      Some Illustrations: That big fish that you caught that just happened to get away... again! That record you “broke” in athletics but unfortunately the stopwatch stopped working... How much you can bench-press or leg-press... How amazing that desert or soup or dish is that you can make... etc, etc. You catch my drift...!

•      This is not so with Jesus... Jesus can never exagerate Himself!

•      Jesus can never claim to be bigger than He really is…!

•      Every claim Jesus made about Himself… is absolutely true!

•      When we consider all these claims of Jesus about Himself, it should cause us to ask the same question that the disciples asked when they saw how Jesus calmed the storm in Matt 8:27 namely “What sort of man is this...?”

Study Points:

1.  The claims of Jesus about Himself…

•      In the Gospel of John, we find the most amazing claims that Jesus made about Himself in the well-known “I AM” statements of Jesus.

•      This is what Jesus ultimately claimed through every one of those statements:

▪       Joh 6:35 – He will completely satisy the deepest needs and desires of those who know Him…

▪       Joh 8:12 – He will reveal and show to those who follow Him what life is truly all about…

▪       Joh 10:9 – He is the only one who can save people from the judgement of God…

▪       Joh 10:11 – He will give Himself in the place of those who deserve to die…

▪       Joh 11:25 – He will take away the fear of death and will conquer death…

▪       Joh 14:6 – He is the only way that people can know God and get to God – heaven…!

▪       Joh 15:5 – We can do nothing good apart from Him… He is the one we need to live a life that will glorify God…

2.  His claims are true because of who He is…!

•      Who is this Jesus, this man that claims all these things about Himself…?

•      Take some time and read John 8:12-59 as we want to see what we can learn about Jesus from His conversation with some Jews and Pharisees...

•      In John 8, Jesus had the Jews baffled and frustrated over who He is.

•      In Joh 8:25a, they asked Him… “Who are you?”

•      In Joh 8:53b, again they asked… “Who do you make yourself out to be?”

•      They were asking these questions because Jesus was busy making some very radical claims about Himself and He were forcing these Jews to do something with Him... to make a choice regarding Him...!

•      What claims was He busy making about Himself in this passage?

•      Joh 8:23-24: “Believe in me or die in your sins…!” He claimed that He was not from this world and that they must believe in Him or they would die in their sins…

•      Joh 8:31-32: “Do what I say and you will be free…!” If they would follow Him and obey everything that he says, they will know the truth and they would be free… free from the power of sin!

•      Joh 8:51: “Obey me and you will never see death…!” If they would obey Jesus, they will be free from the judgement of God – they will not see eternal death or hell… they will pass from this life to eternal life. Those who do not obey Him will pass from death to death…

•      Along with these claims He said some hard things to these Jews, things that got them worked up…!

▪       In Joh 8:34, He told them that they were slaves to sin... some of the Jews who were there were Pharisees and they thought themselves to be good and righteous people...!

▪       In Joh 8:44, Jesus calls these Jews children of the devil...! They were convinced that because Abraham was their father, they were all children of God. But Jesus tells them otherwise, because of how they were responding to Him and His claims.

▪       In Joh 8:55 Jesus again implied as He did in verse 44 that they are all liars...!

•      Jesus was forcing these Jews to see the truth of who they were so that they may embrace the truth of who He is...!

•      All the claims Jesus was busy making about Himself then leads up to the ultimate claim that Jesus makes about Himself...!

•      Joh 8:56-57 – They were calling themselves children of Abraham (cf. v53) and Jesus then says that Abraham was excited to see His day, the day that He would come.

•      How would Jesus be able to know what Abraham was excited about…?

•      The logical conclusion is that Jesus then claims that He must have met Abraham…

•      There is only one little problem… Abraham died more than a thousand ninehundred years before Jesus lived on earth…!

•      That would make Jesus older than 1900 years…! That’s just crazy!

•      But then Jesus makes this claim – Joh 8:58...!

•      They immediately got what Jesus was claiming… Jesus was claiming that He is God!

•      They would immediately connect Jesus’ claim of “I AM”, with Exo 3:13-14

•      With every “I AM” statement of Jesus, He was claiming the very same thing...!

•      Jesus is simply claiming that He is the great “I AM” – that He is God!

•      That is what we learn about Jesus from the very beginning of the Gospel of John…

•      John 1:1 – He is God eternal – existing from before the beginning; God destinct – the second person of the Trinity who is in an intimate relationship with the Father; He is God – God equal!

•      Since He is God, we need to understand that Jesus is eternal, unchangeable (cf. Heb 13:8), everywhere, He knows everything, can do anything and controls everything…!

•      He is fully and completely God!

•      Jesus was forcing these Jews to make a choice regarding Him – are they going to believe Him or not…?

•      They didn’t… instead of responding to Jesus in the proper way, they wanted to stone Him… they wanted to stone and kill God…!

•      Many people today, and maybe even you, don’t want to respond to Jesus in a way that is proper and by doing this, you are rejecting Jesus as God and saying by your actions that you do not really believe that Jesus is God…!

•      What should our response to Jesus be, since He is God?

1) Believe in Him... trust that He is the only one who can save you...! (Joh 10:9; 14:6)

2) Submit to Him... live in obedience to Him… (Joh 14:15)

3) Live in dependence upon Him... spend as much time as possible with Him through the Bible and in prayer… (Joh 15:5)

4) Be thankful towards Him... know that everything that you are and have is because of His grace... (Joh 1:16)

5) Worship Him... in everything you do make Him your focus…! (Joh 20:28)

•      What will everyone’s response be one day…?

•      Phil 2:9-11 is very clear about this...!

•      We know how it all will end one day – with everyone, Satan and all the demons included, bowing the knee before Jesus and proclaiming what Jesus claimed – that He is Lord...!

Conclusion:

•      CS Lewis very famously wrote: “Jesus was either a lunatic or a liar or He is Lord...!”

•      When you weigh up the evidence of the Bible and what Jesus claimed about Himself, what is your verdict...? What is your conclusion...? Was He just a man, or something more...?

•      Will you willingly bow before Jesus as Lord, or will he have to make you bow…?

•      What is your response to Jesus...?

Christ’s Humanity!

John 1:14-18

Preparing your Heart:

•      What is the most amazing gift that you have ever received?

•      What is one of the most important thing that you have ever learned?

•      Why did Jesus become a man? Why did He come?

•      Read John 1:14-18

•      Pray and ask God to prepare your heart for His truth.

Introduction:

•      Here is a question to quickly think about: I wonder what was the most embarrising and humbling thing that has ever happened to you?

•      Illustration: one of my most embarrassing moments (and yes there is quite a few...) happened when I was in Gr 4. We were in Geography class and nature decided to call... let me rephrase, nature decided to demand that I had to go to the bathroom. Unfortunately, my Geography teacher decided he had a better understanding of nature and declined my request to go to the bathroom. After he declined my request a second time, nature decided to show him, and me, who is boss... I wet my pants in front of the whole class and especially before the girl that I really liked at that stage, who were providentially sitting right in front of the class and had a front row seat to my moment of not so glory... Needless to say, my teacher’s eyes became to size of the moon and he very willingly released me to run to the bathroom to go and dry my face, for it was to late to do anything about my pants... It was a very humbling and humiliating experience for me...!

•      This happened to me without me choosing that it should happen to me.

•      But, when it comes to Jesus, He willingly humbled Himself by choosing to become flesh – to become a human, to become part of His creation…

•      Joh 1:14; Phil 2:6-7

•      In this study we will focus on this truth that “The Word became flesh…!”

•      We will look at the reality of Jesus being fully man and also at the three reasons why Jesus became man…

Study Points:

1.  The reality of Jesus being fully man…

•      Joh 1:14a

•      In becoming human, Jesus willingly limited the priviliges and rights that He had.

•      In His humanity, He is limited to everything that you and I are limited to…

•      Here are some evidences that Jesus was fully man and that He experienced the same limitations and needs that we experience:

▪       Luk 2:40, 52 – He had to grow up just like us and, in the process, He gained strength and wisdom…

▪       Luk 4:2 – After not eating for forty days, Jesus became hungry…

▪       Mark 4:38 – Jesus slept because He was tired…

▪       Joh 4:6 – When they traveled, He became tired just like us…

▪       Joh 11:35 – He cried when He was sad…

▪       Joh 19:30, 33 – When He was crucified, He died…

•      Jesus was a human just like us and He experienced all the limitations that comes from being human.

•      He even experienced temptation like we do, the only difference being that He never sinned…

•      Heb 2:18; 4:15 is so encouraging for us and part of the reason why Jesus is the perfect Mediator between us and the Father… (cf. 1 Tim 2:5-6)

•      Heb 2:14 then help us to see the great importance of Jesus becoming “flesh” – if Jesus didn’t become flesh, fully Man just like us, He would not be able to die in our place and save us from the death that we deserve...!

2.  Three reasons why Jesus became man…

•      Joh 1:14b-18

2.1.  He came to reveal grace...!

•      Grace refers to “God’s unmerited favour”.

•      It is to get what you did not and can never deserve.

•      We sinned against God and we deserve to be punished by Him. If God would send the whole world to hell, He would be right and just in doing it… all of us deserve it…

•      God is already showing His common grace to all people by letting them experience His goodness in enjoying friendship, food, fun things… (cf. Jam 1:17)

•      Even more, instead of God sending everyone to hell, He decided to reveal His saving grace in that He entered into this world to come and save sinners from what they deserve and give them what they can never deserve – heaven… eternal life with Him! (cf. Rom 6:23)

•      Jesus came to reveal the salvation of God - Joh 1:16; Tit 2:11

•      Jesus became a man in order to save man from the punishment he deserves…! (cf. 1 Tim 1:15)

•      Jesus came to reveal the saving grace of God… the plan that God had made from the very beginning…!

2.2.  He came to reveal truth…!

•      Joh 1:17

•      Truth has always been and still is a big issue…!

•      Especially in the day that we are living in where truth has become relative meaning that whatever is true for you is right and whatever is true for me is also right… we can be in complete disagreement, but it is fine – as long as you know what you believe…!

•      But we all know there must be something like absolute truths – somethings that are true, no matter what you or I say about it…

•      That is why Jesus came – He came to make known the ultimate truth namely what God says is the truth.

•      Joh 18:37-38 = NB!

•      Jesus came to reveal truth and if you want to know the truth about man and this world, about sin and salvation you need to look to Jesus and what He has revealed…!

•      It is only through knowing the truth that you can be free!

•      Joh 8:31-32

•      Ultimately, Jesus came to reveal the truth about God!

2.3.  He came to reveal God…!

•      Joh 1:18

•      Jesus is ultimately the answer to Moses’ request in Exo 33:18…

•      Jesus came so that we can have accurate knowledge of God!

•      In Joh 14:6-9, Jesus makes the following statement about Himself: If you have seen me, you have seen the Father…!

•      Jesus came so that we can have acces to God and have accurate knowledge about God.

•      He came to explain God through what He taught, how He lived and through what He did.

•      To reject Jesus is to reject the only way by which someone can come to know God…!

•      Jesus revealed God because He is God!

•      Col 1:19; 2:9; Heb 1:3

•      To know Jesus is to know God!

•      This is what life and eternal life is all about – about knowing God! (cf. Joh 17:3)

•      Jer 9:23-24; Phil 3:7-11 – this is true succes in life!

•      The only way to have this success is in knowing Christ…!

Conclusion:

•      Jesus became flesh, a real human in the fullest sense in order to reveal grace and truth and God Himself.

•      To know Jesus is to:

1) Have certainty about what the truth is… Who God is... Who we are... Who the Saviour is...!

2) Be freed from sin and its penalty… in Christ alone can we be justified before God, namely have a right standing with God where we are declared forgiven and perfect in God’s sight because of the sacrifice and righteousness of Jesus Christ...!

3) Be fulfilled in your deepest needs… forgiveness... love... acceptance... joy... peace... which are all benefits that flows from being justified...!

4) Know God!

•      If you don’t know Jesus, you cannot and will not go to heaven…!

•      Acts 4:12; 1 Joh 5:12; Joh 3:36

•      Look to Jesus and know that he became fully man in order to bring us to God, Him being our perfect Mediator...! Trust in Him alone...!

Christ’s Perfection

John 8:29

Preparing your Heart:

•      Was is the worst and the best grade you ever got on your report card?

•      In what ways do people often disobey God? (Do what is wrong…)

•      In what ways do people often fail to obey God? (Don’t do what is right…)

•      What is God’s standard (“pass rate”) for who may go to heaven? (What must someone do and be to deserve to go to heaven...?)

•      Read Matt 5:20, 48

•      Pray and ask God to prepare your heart for His truth.

Introduction:

•      It would be very interesting to hear what were some of your worst and best grades… especially those of us who are parents and how our grades match up to what our children are getting and what we expect them to get...!

•      My one friend in High School had “technical drawings” and in Grade 11 he got 1% for his third term on his report card...! Shocking...!

•      It scares me to think that the pass requirements for matric are stated as follows: “As a matric student, you need to take at least 7 subjects and at the least, you need to pass your home language at a minimum of 40%, two other subjects at 40% as well and three others at 30%, in order to obtain a higher certificate pass.”

•      You can be below average, below 50%, and still make it! And yet there are still children who don’t pas…! Again... shocking...!

•      I wonder what was your initial answer regarding God’s standard or then “pass rate” for who may go to heaven…?

•      Below average definitely won’t cut it…!

•      Most people will at least have the opinion that you must be above average – that your good must outweigh your bad… many people will even say that that is why they think they are saved and why God should allow them in to heaven.

•      But that is not the pass rate that God requires… He requires… perfection! 100%!

•      Read Matt 5:20, 48 again...

•      Only perfect people deserve to go to heaven.

•      To be perfect means that you must completely and always obey all of what God requires and commands.

•      There are two sides to the commands and requirements of God – do’s and don’ts…

•      To obey God perfectly implies that you don’t do the things He says you shouldn’t do (all the time) and that you do the things He says you should do (all the time)…

•      Illustration: Some of your house rules may include: don’t watch TV, eat sweets, put your feet on the couch, etc... do the dishes, mop the floor, give the dog food, etc…

•      To obey would mean to not do what you are not allowed to do and then to actually do what is required of you… by just sitting on the couch and not doing of the forbidden things, you are still not obeying because you are not busy doing what is required of you.

•      When it comes to obeying God, you can sit in a room and not do anything and be sinning because you are supposed to be doing something...!

•      Our problem with deserving to go to heaven is that we transgress and we sin…

•      We break God’s rules in doing what He says we shouldn’t do (called sins of commission) and we miss the mark buy not doing what He says we should do (called sins of omission)…

•      We are therefore kept out of heaven by two things:

1) Our guilt…

2) Our imperfection…

•      But... Jesus is different!

•      Read John 8:29 and just think for a moment what is the extent of what Jesus is declaring about Himself in this verse...

•      Let’s then further study this truth namely Christ’s Sinlessness & Obedience in that He fully pleased God…!

Study Points:

•      Let’s focus on two truths about Jesus’ life here on earth:

1.  He never sinned…!

•      Jesus never did anything wrong…! Not at any point in His life here on earth, not even as a baby or toddler...! He was the perfect baby, the perfect toddler, even the perfect teenager...!

•      Jesus was the perfect man who never in any way, be it in His thoughts, words or actions, sinned...!

•      Mark Jones says: “The salvation of the church, and even the order on the entire universe, depends on the sinless life of Jesus... We sin as naturally as we breathe, since we are born in sin. We sin against ourselves, others, and ultimately God. Sinning does evil to all, under any and every circumstance, and there is no such thing as and innocent or a harmless sin. There are not enough words to describe its heinousness. God, who is full of love and compassion, hates sin. Yet, in all this we know that Jesus appeared in order to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin... That truth is our hope... Our predicament is real, but so is the solution!”

•      Consider the testimony of Scripture concerning the sinlessness of Jesus:

▪       Jesus – Joh 8:46 – Jesus’ own testimony of Himself was that there was no sin in Him and that no one would be able to accuse and convict Him of sin, because there wasn’t any. When He was on trial, they had to bring in false accusations against Him (cf. Matt 26:59-60) so that even Pilate declared “I find no guilt in this man.” (Luk 23:4)

▪       Peter – 1 Pet 1:18-19; 2:21-23 – Being a close disciple of Jesus and even seeing how Jesus was led to be crucified, Peter can testify that Jesus was the “lamb without blemish or spot” and that “He committed no sin”, not even when He was reviled and suffered...!

▪       John – 1 Joh 3:5 – John states it as clearly as he can that there where no sin in Him...!

▪       The Hebrews writer - Heb 7:26 – The Hebrews writer helps us to understand that it was Jesus’ sinlessness, that He was “holy, innocent, unstained” that made Him the Perfect High Priest to represent us and plead our case before God, the Father...!

•      This then is the clear testimony of Scripture: Jesus never transgressed any of His Father’s laws and commands...!

•      But Jesus’ perfection doesn’t just include not doing sins of commission... it stretches further to include His active, perfect obedience to his Father...

2.  He perfectly obeyed God the Father…!

•      Jesus always did what was right…! Never did Jesus miss to do the things that the Father has given Him to do and what would please Him...!

•      Let’s again consider the testimony of Scripture concerning His perfect obedience:

▪       Jesus - Joh 8:29 (Cf. John 4:34; 5:30; 6:38; 14:30-31; 15:10; 17:4) – What a testimony of Jesus that He “always do the things that are pleasing to Him (His Father)...!” In all of His life, His focus was to do the will of His Father because He loved His Father and wanted the world to see how much He loved His Father so that He even died on the cross because that was what the Father willed...! Jesus obeyed the greatest commandment namely to love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength! That is why He could pray, “I glorified You on earth, having accomplished the work that You gave me to do.”

▪       The Hebrews writer – Heb 5:8-9 – Jesus walk of obedience was not an easy walk... it entailed great suffering and yet He stayed the course so that He was “made perfect” and so become the source of our salvation, our right standing before the Father!

▪       God the Father – Matt 3:17; 17:5 – No other testimony is so beautiful and so powerful as the testimony of God the Father over Jesus, His Perfect Son...! What great words to hear the Father say about Jesus: “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased...!” That is the Father’s “report card” to His Son testifying to us that He, Jesus, scored a perfect 100%...!

Conclusion:

•      Jesus is the only person who never sinned – He didn’t deserve to die…!

•      Jesus is the only person who perfectly obeyed the Father – He deserve to be in heaven…!

•      That is what make 2 Cor 5:21 such an amazing verse that teaches us such an important truth about the Gospel – the good news that there is for us…!

•      Mark Jones comments on this verse: “At the cross, Jesus Christ became the ‘greatest sinner who ever was’ by imputation. Imputation was an act of God through which He credited our sins to Christ on the cross. In this ‘glorious exchange’ of imputation, God then makes an effectual grant and donation of a real and perfect righteousness to His children. He credits – or accounts – to us the righteousness of Christ. Our sins were therefore imputed to Christ on the cross so that His perfect righteousness could be imputed to us when we receive Christ through faith... Here the mystery of the Gospel and God’s wisdom fly right in the face of human understanding. The only one who did not deserve to die ended up dying a death more spiritually brutal than any other conceivable death. God made the sinless one to ‘be sin’. Nothing is more shocking and glorious. Nothing should provide us with more awe and delight.”

•      He then makes the following statement that you and I need to hear and take to heart: “Nothing should keep our minds busier on earth than this great reality: the Holy one of God was declared unholy, so that unholy sinners might stand unblemished before a holy God.”

•      Wow...!

•      Left to ourselves, all of us must go to hell and no one will be able to get into heaven… all of us have sinned and we therefore fall short of the glory of God...! (cf. Rom 3:23)

•      You need to:

1) Be freed from the penalty of sin… (cf. Rom 6:23) to be forgiven…! (cf. Ps 32:1-5)

2) Be made perfect before God… (cf. Phil 3:7-9) to be made acceptable before God…!

•      Through faith in Jesus alone, you need to trust that Jesus fully paid the price you can never pay and perfectly lived the life you can never live…!

•      You need to keep on trusting and believing this through all of your life – your moments of disobedience and even your moments of obedience...!

•      This is the only way to be save before God when you stand before Him one day…!

•      “Our life meant His death; His death meant our life...!”

•      Those who truly “get this”, will not be able to or want to live a life of continuing in sin (cf. 1 John 1:6), but they will live a life where they strive to be obedient to God, just like Jesus was…! (cf. 1 Joh 2:6)

Christ’s Death

Ephesians 5:12

Preparing your Heart:

•      What is the most loving thing that someone has ever done for you?

•      What is the most loving thing that you have ever done for someone?

•      What words would you use to describe the love of God in Christ for sinners like us?

•      Read Rom 5:6-8

•      Pray and ask God to prepare your heart for His truth.

Introduction:

•      For this study series our theme is knowing Christ…!

•      The reason for this theme is that Joh 17:3 says this is what eternal life is all about – knowing Christ...!

•      The apostle Paul said in Phil 3:7-8 that nothing else compares to knwoing Christ Jesus as Lord.

•      God Himself says in Jer 9:23-24 that if we want to boast in anything, this is what we should boast in – knowing Him...!

•      And so in order to know Jesus, we must study Him as He is revealed and explained to us in the Bible.

•      It is to know certain truths about Him and then to know Him through a real, intimate, personal relationship…!

•      It is to know Him intelectually and then experientally.

•      Jesus is a person and we need to pursue Him for who He is in the light of what He has done for us...!

•      So, in this study, I want us to focus on the death of Christ under the following heading:

“The ultimate example of love… our ultimate ideal…!”

•      We will look at Eph 5:1-2. Please read it and spend a few moments just meditating on what these verses says.

Study Points:

•      Note the following three observations from these verses:

1.  Our aim is to imitate the God of love…

•      The ultimate aim and goal of a Christian is to become more and more like God… meaning to be conformed to His character of holiness...! (cf. 1 Pet 1:15-16)

•      In Eph 4:20, 21-24 Paul taught us that if we have “learned Christ” at all, it will become visible in that we will put off the old man, be renewed in our minds and then put on the new man who is “created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”

•      In Eph 5:1, Paul is then basically giving a summary of what he has just said about putting of the old man and putting on the new man by giving this as our ultimate aim… “imitate God…!”

•      Q: Who is the “our” that I am talking about when I say this should be “our ultimate aim”?

•      Those who are children of God – not everyone are children of God. It is only those who have been born again, who have come to faith in Jesus and accepted Him as their Lord and Saviour

•      Joh 1:12-13

•      Paul calls them God’s beloved children – the children whom He loves…!

•      This is an amazing thought – to be called God’s beloved children. (cf. 1 Thess 1:4; 2 Thess 2:13)

•      He is our Father who loves us and adopted us as His children and now His desire is that we will become like Him!

•      His love for us is the motivation for why we would want to become like Him…

•      Realizing that we deserve death and hell and yet, God chose to love us and make it possible for us to know Him and become His children, His beloved children. That should motivate us to want to become like Him…!

•      Who don’t want to follow in the footsteps of a such a loving Father…?

•      He wants us to follow His example, to imitate Him in the most important of ways, namely, to imitate Him in the example of love that He has given us…

•      Q: What is the example of love that He has given us that we must imitate…?

2.  Our example is Jesus’ love…

•      Jesus loved us and willingly sacrificed Himself in our place.

•      Jesus willingly gave Himself – He wasn’t forced to come and die on the cross but He chose to do it out of love for His Father and for us…!

•      Joh 10:17-18; 14:30-31; 15:13; Gal 1:3; 2:20

•      Jesus gave Himself – it was the greatest sacrifice He could make…!

•      He could have given money and gold and stuff, but He gave Himself!

•      1 Pet 1:18-19 – He gave His blood… His life!

•      There is no one in the history of the world who sacrificed more than Jesus when He became a man, walked on this earth, and died on the cross!

•      He gave Himself in our place – He took our place that we deserved on the cross. (cf. Joh 10:11; 15:13 – note the use of the word “for” that means “in place of” or “on behalf of”)

•      He died because we sinned...!

•      It is our sin that put Him on the cross – it is me it is you who sinned and made it necessary for Him to die in our place if we would become God’s beloved children…!

•      God saw the willing and sacrificial love of Jesus in our place and He was pleased with it – it was a fragrant offering to Him.

•      It Made Him glad to see the love of His Son for those that he has given Him, those whom He wanted to adopt as his beloved children, and He accepted the death of Jesus in their place.

•      We can be received as the beloved children of God because Jesus gave… He gave Himself in our place…!

•      Look at the cross and death of Jesus and never become complacent with the love of Jesus... never see it as commonplace... but always let it capture your heart that He loved us and therefore gave Himself for us...!

•      The aim and the example leads then to…

3.  Our call is to walk in love…

•      To imitate the God of Love is to follow the example of Jesus’ love and to walk in this same kind of love…!

•      To walk in love means that our daily lives must be characterized by this same kind of love that Jesus showed…!

•      1 Joh 4:19 – We cannot know the love of God and not become like the love of God…!

•      This is what is characteristic of a true disciple of Jesus, of beloved childen of God… they will love as they have been loved…!

•      Joh 13:34-35

•      When you were born again, God poured out His love in your heart – Rom 5:5

•      You will then start to show this love that has been poured into you.

•      The love of God is what has drawn you to God and it is as you imitate that love that other people will be drawn to Jesus as well! (cf. 1 Joh 4:11-12)

•      We must imitate His love by willingly sacrificing ourselves for God and other people!

•      Willingly sacrificing our: Time, money, houses, comfort, plans, hobbies, vacations, ambitions – everything that we are and have… for God and others!

•      This is what Jesus has done for us, what our Father has done for us…!

•      That is why He calls us to love Him with all that we are – Mark 12:30, and to love our neighbour as we love ourselves – Mark 12:31…

•      This is the kind of life that pleases the Father – when His beloved children loves Him and others as He has loved them…!

•      The death of Jesus is the ultimate example of love and therefore also our ultimate ideal that we should be striving for – to love as He loved us…!

Conclusion:

“As God’s beloved children, we are to imitate Him in loving one another, just as Christ sacrificially loved us.”

•      The question is: how can you show this kind of love even this weekend or coming week?

•      What are you willing to do and to sacrifice in order to show that you love God and other people…? Whom would you visit? Whom would you invite? Whose need can you help out with? Whose day can you brighten up? Whom could you reach out to?

•      You will only love like this if you have this love in you… if you know this God of love...!

•      If you know this God of love, you will love Christ, you will love His Word and you will love His people…!

•      Hear then the good news today that Jesus gave Himself for everyone who would come to Him and place their faith in Him!

•      If you then realize today that you deserve to die and go to hell and you have a desire to be saved from that, look to Jesus who have showed you His love by coming to die in the place of sinners like you and me, come to Him and ask Him to forgive and change you, to save you.

•      Let Him pour out His love in your heart and you will never be the same…!

•      You will then desire to love like He loved you…!

•      The ultimate example of love will become your ultimate ideal…!

Christ’s Resurrection!

John 20:28-29

Preparing your Heart:

•      We all know the saying: “seeing is believing.” What is the most unbelieveable thing you have ever seen?

•      Many people are hopeless today. What gives you hope for the future?

•      Do you believe that Jesus really rose from the dead? Why?

•      Read 1 Cor 15:1-4

•      Pray and ask God to prepare your heart for His truth.

Introduction:

•      “Hope” can be defined as “a feeling of expectation and desire for a particular thing to happen.”

•      We hope for things that would bring us joy and peace and happiness.

•      We set our hope on things or people and trust that when we have that things or gain that relationship, our peace and joy would be realized…!

•      And many times when get that thing or gain that relationship, we do experience joy and peace! We are excited because we got what we hoped for…!

•      But then, many times that thing breaks, get lost, is stolen or is not what we hoped for… that relationship falls apart and that person disappoints us… and we lose our peace and joy…

•      We very often place our hope on temporary things, the things of this world that is not meant to brings us lasting joy or peace…

•      The reality is, the Biblical truth is, that if you do not know Jesus, if you do not have God in your life, you are and will be without true hope…

•      Eph 2:12 talks about when people do not know God.

•      Knowing Christ is what brings true hope, a hope that this life is not it…!

•      A Christian’s hope for the future is that a new heaven and a new earth is coming where there will be no more sin and death!

•      Hope is that there is something better coming…!

•      They have hope in a hopeless world because of who Jesus is and what He has done…

•      Specifically, they have hope because Jesus came to die for their sins and then He rose from the dead…!

•      Hope does not come by looking at ourselves or this world…

•      It is Jesus’ resurrection that brings Christians hope in a hopeless world…!

•      Take some time and read Joh 20:1-29...

Study Points:

•      Three thoughts about the resurrection of Jesus…

1.  The fact of the Resurrection…

•      Many people today struggle to believe that Jesus really did rise from the dead.

•      There are many people who will flatly say they don’t believe that Jesus rose from the dead.

•      They are not the first sceptics about the resurrection.

•      In fact, one of the first sceptics about the reality of Jesus actually rising from the dead is one of His disciples.

•      We just read about him in Joh 20…

•      In Joh 20:1-10 we read about Mary Magdalene going to the tomb of Jesus and finding it open and empty. She tells Peter and John and they sprint to the tomb to find it as she said…

•      Then Jesus appears to Mary in verses 11-18 and Jesus sends her to go and tell the disciples that He has risen from the dead and that He is ascending, going back, to His Father…

•      In verses 19-23 we then read where the disciples were locked inside a room because they were scared of what the Jews were going to do to them now that Jesus’ body was gone…!

•      As they were standing there, Jesus all of a sudden appearded and came and stood among them…!

•      They were seeing Jesus alive and well...!

•      But one of the disciples wasn’t there – Thomas… we often call him doubting Thomas, because he reacts as most if not all of us would have reacted when the other disciples tell him that they have seen Jesus… (cf. Joh 20:25)

•      And then we read this – verse 26-29...

•      Thomas went from doubting to shouting...!

•      Thomas is the first disciple to unashamedly calls Jesus God...!

•      He helps us doubters to believe as well that Jesus really did rise from the dead…!

•      Read what 1 Cor 15:3-9 says…

•      There were many witnesses who saw Jesus after He rose from the dead – at one stage there were 500 of them together…

•      Everything in the Christian faith depends on the historical fact of the resurrection.

•      Why?

2.  The importance of the Resurrection…

•      There are at least two reasons why the resurrection is of great importance.

•      Jesus made some radical claims about Himself!

•      Maybe the most radical claim that he made was concerning what would happen to him.

•      In the Gospel according to Mark, we read that Jesus made the following claim three times…

•      Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:34

•      This claim, with all the other claims Jesus made about Himself, leaves us with what CS Lewis called the trilemma.

•      Either Jesus was a liar; or He was a lunatic; or He is exactly who He said He was namely Lord…!

•      The resurrection is important because by the resurrection:

2.1  Jesus is vindicated...!

•      Rom 1:4

•      God vindicated Jesus when He rose Him from the dead, declaring and proving that Jesus truly is the Son of God, that He is God…

•      The claims of Jesus was shown to be the truth because of the resurrection…!

•      “If He had remained in the grave, it had been reasonable to believe Him only an ordinary person, and that His death had been the just punishment of His presumption in calling Himself the Son of God.”

2.2  Our justification is secured...!

•      Rom 4:25

•      Jesus offered payment for our sin on the cross and when He rose from the dead, it showed us that the cheque cleared – that God accepted the payment Jesus made on our behalf…!

•      Joh 19:30

3.  The hope of the Resurrection… (1 Pet 1:3-5)

3.1  We have a living Saviour! (v3)

•      Job 19:23-27; Ps 18:29; Heb 13:6; Rom 8:34

•      Jesus is alive; He is our helper and He is praying for us…!

3.2  We have an eternal inheritance! (v4)

•      Ps 16:2, 5-6, 11; 73:25-26

•      God is our inheritance – being with Him and having Him as our God and Father

3.3  We wait for the final realization of our salvation! (v5)

•      2 Cor 4:14, 16-18: Because Jesus rose from the dead, our hope is that He will also raise us from the dead.

•      That is why we do not lose heart - We need to remember that this life and everything with it is temporal and is bringing about a life that will outweigh and outdo this life a million times over…!

•      Col 3:1-4: We have been raised with Christ! We already passed from death to life in Him!

•      Joh 11:25-26: The hope of the Christian is that even though he dies, he lives!

•      Phil 3:20-21: We are therefore citizens of heaven passing as pilgrims through this world to our heavenly home… we belong in heaven!

•      And all of this because Jesus rose from the dead…!

Conclusion:

•      If Jesus had not been raised, we wouldn’t have any hope… 1 Cor 15:13-20

•      But now… Jesus did rise from the dead...!

•      He is alive and He is shown and proven to be the Son of God who is the One who forgives and makes perfect and righteous everyone who believes in Him.

•      Those who believe in Him have a living Saviour that is with them through eveything that happens in this life and He has secured an eternal inheritance for them that they will receive.

•      They are waiting for His final return were their full salvation will be realized and they will enter into the eternal life that outshines the best that this life can over…!

Are you one of those who believe…?

Christ’s Exaltation and Return!

John 20:17; Psalm 110:1-7; Matthew 24:36-44

Preparing your Heart:

•      Do you believe that Jesus is really in control of everything that is happening in this world...?

•      Do you believe that Jesus is really coming back to fetch His Church and judge the world...?

•      Are you really longing for the return of Jesus...?

•      Read 2 Thess 1:5-10

•      Pray and ask God to prepare your heart for His truth.

Introduction:

•      Think about this question: are you ready...?

•      In this series, we have focused on the theme: “knowing Christ!”

•      We looked at the reality that Jesus, who is God, became a man; lived a perfect life; He died on the cross and He then rose from the dead.

•      But that is not where the story of Jesus stops...!

•      Jesus said something very interesting and important to Mary after He rose from the dead and He appeared to her in Joh 20:17...

•      In Acts 1:6-11 we then read the account of the ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ to heaven.

•      What a magnificent sight it must have been and yet what an uncertain time it must have been for the disciples!

•      How they needed the words of the angels as they stood gazing into heaven!

•      Acts 1:10-11

•      In these words of the angels, we find great encouragement but also great warning...!

•      What are these...?

•      Please read Psalm 110:1-7 – we find our encouragement in the position and role that Jesus now has in heaven, namely He is the ruling King and the great High Priest, and we find the warning in what He will come to excecute, namely He will come to judge the nations...!

Study Points:

•      Three realities that flows from the exaltation of Jesus into heaven:

1.  Jesus reigns! (Ps 110:2-3)

•      He is King!

•      Matt 28:18; Eph 1:20-23; Dan 7:13-14

•      This is the position that Jesus has and it is an everlasting kingdom!

•      If you have come to salvation, He is your King under whom you must gladly submit because we know that He reigns as a good, loving, gracious, righteous and holy King!

2.  Jesus is interceding for His people! (Ps 110:4)

•      He is our High Priest!

•      Heb 7:25; 4:14-16; Rom 8:34; 1 Joh 2:1-2

•      Jesus is our Mediator, our Advocate, our High Priest who is constantly interceding for us with the Father.

•      Because Jesus is interceding for us, we have confidence to draw near to God, we have an Advocate who pleads our case, we have eternal security of our salvation...!

•      He is interceding on our behalf for His glory!

•      He knows what we need, and intercede for our needs accordingly.

•      He sees our shortcomings, our sins, and intercedes for our forgiveness.

•      If you have come to salvation, Jesus is your High Priest who is interceding for you by name with God, your Father!

3.  Jesus is coming back! (Ps 110:5-7)

•      He will come to fetch His followers and judge the world!

•      Joh 14:1-3; Joh 5:22; Rev 6:15-17

•      I want you to spend some time on Matt 24:36-44. Please read it very carefully...

•      “That day” refers back to Matt 24:29-31 namely the coming of the Son of Man...

3.1.  No one knows when – it will be unexpected...! (v 36)

•      “No one” – no human or person or natural man.

•      Acts 1:7 – it hasn’t been given to us to know the day or the hour.

•      We shouldn’t be consumed with trying to pin point when Jesus will return.

•      No angel knows, so we mustn’t give any attention to someone who says that and angel told them when Jesus will come back.

•      Jesus in His humanity was limited to what the Father revealed to Him and this is something that Jesus in His incarnation didn’t have knowledge of.

•      No human, no angels and even Jesus in His incarnation didn’t know when this will be – only the Father knew.

•      Jesus as God of course knew and still knows when He will come again, but not in His humanity.

•      This is so in order to bring about a great expectancy in our hearts, not knowing when it will be, but that it will happen!

•      The bottom line is that God did not choose to reveal to us when, what day and hour, Jesus will come back!

•      We can know the season is drawing near, but not the exact time...!

3.2.  The world will be totally unprepared – business as usual...! (v 37-39)

•      The people of this world have no expectation of Jesus’ return.

•      For them it is business as usual.

•      In the days of Noah, they saw Noah build the ark for anything between 55 to 75 years...! (https://answersingenesis.org/bible-timeline/how-long-did-it-take-for-noah-to-build-the-ark/)

•      They heard Him preach about the judgement of God (cf. 2 Pet 2:5) as He was building the ark for approximately 55 to 75 years...!

•      Yet, they ignored the truth of the coming of God’s judgement!

•      They were caught up in their personal routine and family routine – things which aren’t sin, but blinded them and distracted them to what was coming...

•      People today also live as if Jesus will never return and as if eternity will not come.

•      They are caught up in the things of this world and the routines of this world, not heeding the preaching of the Gospel and totally unprepared for the coming of Jesus...

•      The attitude of 2 Pet 3:1-7 is characteristic of them... they deliberately overlook the flood and the judgement of God that was revealed there.

•      In 2 Pet 3:8-10, Peter goes on to explain that the final judgement will come... this time not by water, but through fire!

•      The world think that this earth will exist forever and sometimes even some Christians live in this kind of way as well.

•      It will not always be business as usual, and this will catch the world totally unprepared.

•      In the days of Noah, the ark were closed and despite the hammering of many on the door and even pleading for Noah to open, they suffered the judgement of God.

•      In the day of the return of Jesus Christ, many will hammer on the door of His kingdom and they will hear the frightening words: “I never knew you, depart from me...!”

3.3.  There will be a separation – two groups of people... (v 40-41)

•      Note that these people were all busy working – the coming of Jesus should not leave us lazy and appathetic as it did the Thessalonian church (cf. 2 Thess 3:6-15)

•      Although they are busy with the same things, they aren’t the same – one is a Christian and the other one not.

•      There will be a final and eternal separation. The separation will be sudden, definite, final, and eternal. There will be no appeal of the decision, no request for a rehearing, and no possibility of repentance.

•      This is a sobering truth to consider.

•      There is ultimately just two groups of people in this world – those who know Jesus and those who don’t...!

•      There will be no second chances...!

3.4.  We need to be alert and ready – He is coming soon! (v 42-44)

•      Jesus can come at any moment and we need to be ready! We need to be prepared for when He comes!

•      I think many Christians have lost this focus that Jesus could return today, even... right now!

•      As Wayne Grudem puts it, in light of the “signs” that Jesus gave in Matt 24:3-14: “It is improbable, but possible...!”

•      There is this unconscious mindset that Jesus would return a bit later – there is still lots of time...

•      We don’t know...!

•      We need to be ready every moment of every day!

•      We need to live everyday with our eyes to the sky.

•      While we are living like this, what manner of live are we to live?

•      To be eager for the return of Jesus means to prepare for His return, knowing that everything in your live leads up to that moment: When you stand face-to-face with Jesus!

•      2 Pet 3:11-12; 1 Joh 2:28-3:3

•      Living lives of holiness and righteousness...!

•      Lives that are separated from sin and dedicated unto God in doing the things that is right before Him, things that are pleasing to Him!

(1) We must give regular attention to our spiritual lives and to the spiritual disciplines.

(2) Give regular thought to Jesus Christ as Lord and Judge and King.

(3) Recognize your own weaknesses and the dangers of sin and temptation in your own life.

(4) Keep up your guard; be alert to those things that especially draw you into spiritual dullness.

•      Acts 1:8 – lives that are involved in helping other people prepare for His coming – lives of evangelism where our desire and longing is that the one working with me in the field or the one grinding the mill with me, will go with me!

•      Lives longing that my family – father, mother, brothers, sisters – will go with me...

•      Lives longing that my friends will go with me...

•      Lives longing that my colleagues and even my boss will go with me...

•      Lives longing that total strangers that I happen to meet by ‘chance’ will go with me...

Conclusion:

•      Can I then close with the question again: are you ready for the return of Christ...?

•      Furthermore, are you excited and longing for Jesus’ return...?

•      Jesus said in Rev 21:7: “Behold, I am coming soon...!”

•      Let’s be ready...!