Introduction to Jesus in John

Secular:

Very exciting to choose a new vehicle
Research...

Ask friends
Check web
Lemon-guide

Colour… options…
Negotiate…
Close the deal…
When we go to pick-up vehicle…

Paperwork…
Licence Plates…
Then… sit through a demo of vehicle features…

We used the vehicle for months…

travelling to hockey…
long family trips…
we often brought a little dc fridge…
sat it between the kids so we could plug it in to the lighter plug…
the thing was in the way… climbed over it…around it…

Biblical:

Before we start the Series in John…
We want to know more about Christ…
The Book of John does an excellent job of that…
But I wanted to prepare our hearts for the journey ahead…
Aptly… on my two year anniversary amongst you declare Paul’s words after him…1 Corinthians 2:1 …when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
That is my desire today and through the months ahead… for us to know Jesus and to know him crucified…
To know is so important… and to know as comprehensively as we can…
So we can experience and understand our God and our Saviour more completely

Personal:

Teacher interview…
Rebekah’s lonely seat…
(What I thought)
Rebekah’s ability to know…
She cares…
If I have a tough day or a headache…

I don’t have to ask…
Rub my neck…
Love me…

Bridge:

Best relationships… about knowing…
Bring a Timmie’s

Right gift at Christmas
Sensitive…

We have an awesome Saviour…

We need to know…
Be close…
Know his nature…
Great comfort… Great challenge… Great Love
Important to know… (as we prepare to look at the Gospel of John….)

Five Points (Highlights)

Compassion

Comfort

Confidence

Courage

Charge

Body:

We often talk about… and promote the Love of God to others and amongst ourselves… but sometimes we need to stop and experience… drink deeply from the love… compassion of God.

Compassion

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

Love of God…
Oddly the perception of the world of our faith…

Rigid
About Rules
Cosmic Party Pooper

We relish the love of Christ

Cold out and you sit in front of a warm fire… absorbing the heat… (doesn’t make it any less cold outside… but warms you)
It is about knowing you are loved
It is about knowing you have value in God’s eyes…
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Unconditionally loved…

World comes crashing down
Times get tough (Husband and wife split during child’s illness)
Family Relations shift
Displaced
Lonely

God… our Saviour… Jesus Christ… meets us in the best of places… but is faithful in the worst of places in our life… real love…
Luke 19:10 "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."

Ever been overwhelmed by the love of a friend, or a spouse or child… something that just blew you away…
We can live that reality everyday in the arms of our Saviour… Jesus Christ… the Lover of our Soul…
Compassionate, Loving, Jesus

Our Compassionate Saviour also gives us incredible comfort…

Comfort

Matthew 11:28 "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. 30 "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

Ever had a really bad day and have someone come up to you and put their hand on your shoulder and let you know they will be thinking about you in your time of trial…
They walk away…

Not being constructive
Not offering to hold you up in prayer
Not offering to lend a hand
Not offering to provide for a need
Not really “comforting” you at all…

James 2:15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?
Without Christ… we are like the Emperor who strolls around his Kingdom naked… With a fine suit of foolishness on…
Before Christ we didn’t even know the comfort we needed… the hope
We lived lives that assumed true peace was accomplished in the world itself…
We meet Christ when we realized it is not true…
No matter the burden of this world…
No matter the challenges it brings…
No matter how heartless or cold…
Our Lord and Saviour loves us immensely and promises us rest…
Not 2 weeks in Grand Cayman… necessarily…
But a promise of peace and rest for our soul…
Not tortured by the measures of this world…

Success / failure
Religiosity…/ Intellect

But offering not a ladder to heaven… but a hand…
We don’t need to have it all figured out… we need to know whom to follow…
We are like a string of pre-schooler… tied to that yellow rope… heading out on a field trip…

Our teacher… who loves us is leading us…

When things get rocky… we can lean on the everlasting arms of God and He will comfort us…

Allow us to relish the hope we have in Him
The Steadfastness…
The Peace…

Our comforting, loving Saviour Jesus Christ…

With stability of love and steadfastness of support comes confidence

Confidence

Romans 8:38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I am always perplexed when I see how we react sometimes to the world around us…
How we are sometimes shaken..
How we can retrench at times…
… I remember what bullies were in school…

didn’t have problem with them…
I avoided them like the plague
Or did their math homework…
But I do remember times when I would go to the store with my dad…
And we would meet one of the “bad guys”
I remember the overwhelming sense of security… (highlighted… but always present)
No fear… no threat… I was protected…
What a GREAT FEELING!

I remember as a young adult… the thoughts of death… and what it bring…
I remember that fear… it was palpable… it would keep me awake…
I also remember trusting in the love, compassion and comfort of Christ…
I remember sleeping… I remember trusting…
In life we will meet bullies…

They my not steal your lunch money anymore…
But they maybe a bad boss…
Or a feisty co-worker
And antagonistic neighbour
It may be an illness…
It may be a tragedy…

But we can gain confidence in Christ… we can be strong we can endure…
… for nothing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We have confidence in Christ!!

With an understanding of the Christ of Compassion… the Christ of Comfort… the Christ of Confidence… We can gain a true sense of Courage…

Courage

Hebrews 6:17 In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. 19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, 20 where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

God’s loving promise… gives us courage….
Not only do we have the confidence to endure… but the courage to pursue the things of God…
Are hope is rooted in God…

We went on a 4 day cruise last year…

one stop was at Catalina Island… part of California just off the coast…
they set anchor at about 6 am or so…
I now know why the rooms up by the anchor are cheaper…
Each link… bang… bang… bang…
They were huge and heavy and made an incredible sound as the dropped from the side of the ship…
But as we left the ship “bleary eyed” from a lack of sleep and jangled nerves… I had some level of confidence that chain that secured the anchor was sufficient to keep It in place till we returned.

I well placed anchor gives confidence and courage to those who are part of that voyage…
We have a great God… who has set the foundation of our faith… not in us… but in himself… expressed through Christ Jesus…
We can take hold of the hope set before us… we can live boldly declaring the love, compassion and comfort of Christ…
We know with great confidence that noting will separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus…
We can have the courage to live a life built on our relationship to Christ… our soul anchored in eternity… and our mission in this world…
Lions of Faith… in Christ Jesus… turning back the world… growing in our love and hope…
Courage to live for Christ…
2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.

The courage of Christ… given to us… anchored in the faithfulness and compassion of God…

We need to take the compassion, comfort, confidence and courage…. And live the charge given to the followers of Jesus Christ

Charge

1 Thessalonians 3:11 Now may our God and Father Himself and Jesus our Lord direct our way to you; 12 and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you; 13 so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.

In our love for God… it should be our desire to seek God to direct our paths… living lives faithful to his Word
The love of God… should spur us to love others….

The love of Jesus Christ… fills us to overflowing… we need to share it…

We need to be anchored in God and pouring out to our lost world… steadfast… in confidence and courage
We should be challenged… enabling us to live lives pleasing to God…
Directing others to God…
Revelling in the love God has shown us…
The charge from the life of Christ is one of sharing…

Sharing to meet physical needs…
Sharing to meet emotional needs…
Sharing to meet spiritual needs…

Knowing Christ spurs us onto these things…

When we understand who Jesus Christ is…

We better understand his charge to us…

Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

The Charge… of the Son of God… the Lord God Almighty…

Conclusion:

Is your heart exploding this morning…

Are you realizing for the first time… the first time today… or for the millionth time… the nature of a Saviour…

His Compassion… We are loved unconditionally…

We are never abandoned… we are never alone
We are valued by God…
We have value in Christ
We have a compassionate and loving Saviour…
Love grounds us… binds us… and holds us…
Soak up the warmth of the love of Christ… Keep it to your core…

Comfort

Nothing this world challenges you with… attacks you with… can diminish the peace that Christ offers…
When our focus changes to what we are capable of… and what this world offers… that is when we are shaken…
We can’t earn anything that will not rust, rot or depreciate…
We can take comfort in the arms of God… steadfast and loving…

Confidence

Promises from the beginning of time…
A relationship that no force in heaven, in hell or in the world can steal away…
We needn’t spend an hour in worry…
For we have confidence in the greatest gift… given in the supreme act of love… a promise that endures!!

Courage

With that kind of love, courage and confidence we can face this world with courage!!
We can be bold…
We can be strong…
We can live for Christ!
We can have courage!!

Charge

1 Peter 1:13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.