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A Study of the Messiah
March 28, 2004 – May 2, 2004 ~ Westney Heights Baptist Church,
Adult Sunday School
all Scripture references from the New King James Version
God stepped down from heaven, took our form and nature upon Himself,
and saved us.
John 14:6-9 – Jesus said to him,
"I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the
Father except through Me. 7 If you had known Me, you would have
known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen
Him." 8 Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father,
and it is sufficient for us." 9 Jesus said to him, "Have
I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?
He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show
us the Father’?"
This work originated in a dream that I had some time ago in which
I was given a feeling for what it was to accompany Jesus as He walked
upon this earth. Through this dream I came to a small understanding
of just how incredible a person Jesus was and what a tremendous
impact He had on those whose lives were touched by His. (If I speak
in the past tense in the context of Jesus’ life it is only
out of recognition of the fact that His earthly life as a human
had its occurrence in the past, not that I believe that He no longer
lives, nor that I believe that He is no longer in human form, merely
that He is no longer in human form upon the earth.) Think of how
often we read of large crowds frequently numbering into the thousands
surrounding Him as He spoke. How many times we are told that He
was pressed upon from all sides by those eager to see Him. Those
that clamored for His attention came from all walks of life: The
sick came to Him for healing. Those condemned as sinners hung on
to His every word of forgiveness. Common, work-a-day folk took time
from their lives to spend it with Him. Rich and powerful alike fell
humbly before Him and pledged their lives to His cause. No segment
of the society in which He lived was untouched by His person. No
area of human existence has failed to feel the power of His character.
Even today, two thousand years after His feet walked upon our streets,
the echo of His steps can be heard in the steps of the countless
millions whose lives have been changed by His power and who daily
seek to follow Him. Still today those who come to Him come from
every human condition. He alone of all who have ever lived can meet
the need of every human heart, His appeal is universal, His power
is unlimited and His love is without end.
how I am able to envy you
the people of the day
He walked among you
healing your sick
raising your dead
turning your water into wine
what joy it must have been
to see Him
to touch Him
and hear Him speak
how I am able to envy you
the ones He raised to life
how it must have felt
life returning to your eyes
thrust to your blood
volume to your lungs
waking from your sleep
to tear filled eyes
suddenly dry
clouds of grief
blown aside by the wind of true joy
could life have been better
having tasted death
and knowing its defeat
seeing its Conqueror
how I am able to envy you
the seventy He sent out
His divine commission
upon your head
the power of His name
fire in your blood
you performed miracles!
in His name
what a feeling it must have been
to be His hands
and His feet
on that long ago road
and how I am able to envy you
the twelve He called His own
walking, talking, being with Him
for years on end
how I long to learn those words
the way that you learned them
you loved Him as a man
as I never can
We’ve all seen them, the pithy statements on church sign boards
and car bumper stickers such as:
“Wal-Mart isn’t the only saver.”
“My boss is a Jewish carpenter.”
“Real men love Jesus.”
“Only Jesus saves more than Curtis Joseph.”
"Honk if you love Jesus."
Jesus wasn’t given to the pithy statement and He does not
expect His followers to be His witnesses only through pithy statements.
He spoke the truth and spoke the truth directly, without hiding
behind clever words whose meanings were ambiguous. Jesus is the
most spectacular man who has ever walked this earth. This work is
intended to serve as a journal of inquiry into the character of
the one man who can truly be said to have changed history. It is
hoped that you who will one day read this will be moved to understand
even a small part of what it may have felt like to walk next to
Him and to have heard Him teach and to learn from Him that the salvation
that He offers is freely available to all and is sufficient for
all our needs.
Prior to going into the study I would just like to take a moment
and list some thoughts about Jesus that we all to often overlook.
Some may be treated more fully in this document but all are worthy
of consideration:
He is God
He is the Creator
He is The Saviour
He is as Man is
He Intercedes
He Will Return
He was less concerned about His rights than about our wrongs
He was born a Jew!
He was a fascinating individual
He is Our Creator God
He was Foretold
He Lived with Us as One of Us
He is Our Sacrifice
He Ascended into Heaven
He will Return
Pre-incarnate
Prophecy
Incarnate
Ascended
Prophecy
Returning
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