The Learner I - Light vs. Darkness

Primary Message: “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” John 1:1,14

Worldview: Many say, “God is the higher power of your understanding”

Evangelistic Emphasis: “For there are three that bare record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit: and these three are one.” 1 John 5:7

Many people believe that Jesus was just a man or just a prophet. Some say he’s just a crutch for the weak and faint of heart and many refuse to follow him. It was the same in the days in which he walked upon the earth, many in his day only knew him as the son of Joseph and Mary, but he was and is much more than these things.

In this chapter we talk about who Jesus really is and why it is important to confess and believe who he is and what makes him different than any other person that ever lived and walked amongst us. Jesus is more than a man, more than the son of man, more than a prophet, Jesus is God incarnate. Let’s take a look at the who, what, where, when, and why as we investigate God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

The when-was in the beginning and the when was the time of man’s need for salvation.

57 The where-was with God and with man. The who-was Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and God the Father. The what-is the creation of all things and the redemption of all humanity. The why-is salvation of all mankind for eternal life.

John 1:1-34 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

3. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.

4. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

5. And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

6. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

7. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the light, that all men through him might believe.

8. He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of that light.

9. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man which cometh into the world.

10. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

11. He came unto his own and his own received him not.

12. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.

13. Which were born, not of his blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

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.

15. John bare witness of him and cried saying, this was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.

16. And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace.

17. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

18. No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

19. And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent Priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?

20. And he confessed, and denied not, but confessed, I am not the Christ.

21. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elijah? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet, and he answered, No.

22. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? That we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?

23. He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Isaiah.

24. And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.

25. And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elijah, neither that prophet?

26. John answered them saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;

27. He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose.

28. These things were done in Bathabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.

29. The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

30. This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.

31. And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.

32. And john bare record saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.

33. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.

34. And I saw, and bare record, that this is the Son of God.”

Many people throughout history have been confused about who Jesus is, they thought that John might have been the one or at least that John might have been the prophet Elijah, but to just believe without proving things has never been a common character that man has held to.

We have always needed our questions answered to our satisfaction and have always struggled with explanations from others who are without evidence. There are some though that suddenly recognizes Jesus. How was it that John knew who he was?

John was alone with God. Some will never come to know who Jesus is and accept him for who he is until they are alone with God in a desert place, yet many need only to hear this truth from a believer and the word of it is caught up in their heart.

God uses us to testify of his word and of who Jesus is so that others may recognize him as Lord.

After reading these verses what questions do you have?

Answer the following questions: In the beginning where was Jesus and what was he?

What was the testimony of John? What did John’s two disciples do when John announced who Jesus was?

After they heard Jesus speak?

What makes Jesus different than any other man? Mohammad, Buddha, Nostradamas? Etc?

Genesis 1:1-2 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 Spirit of God has always been, was never created, and is the active force that engages and brings to life God’s will. It is the one-third equal part of God that stands ready to work out God’s intents.

When we recognize Jesus it is because the Spirit of God reveals him to us. Jesus is God as well, thus explains the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, they act together making one God and they never act apart from the other. John the Baptist was informed of who Jesus is through the actions of the Holy Spirit, the same Holy Spirit that moved about the face of the waters in the beginning before the earth was fully developed.

Just as the earth was without form and the Holy Spirit moved at God’s commands to develop the earth, so are we without knowledge about Jesus until the Holy Spirit reveals the deep hidden mysteries about how Jesus is the Son of God and how he was and is and forever will be God, the word of God, and the life of men.

So when we are recognizing the Lamb of God, Jesus, we must acknowledge how we can know this. It is revealed to us through the power of the Holy Spirit combining with God’s words of truth.

After reading these verses what questions do you have?

Answer the following questions: Who is present in the beginning according to this scripture?

John 1:1, 14, 32

John 1:1 “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.”

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.”

32. “And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.”

The idea of recognizing someone is not often something that we make a big deal of because unless they are reported to be someone famous, beautiful, or someone that has been in the news it doesn’t really spark an interest, but if that someone has changed the world for generations, has the ability to alter and change our life, and has been doing this for people since the beginning of time, then we might be, and should be very interested in knowing who this is.

Here we see that not only was Jesus a man, but he is the Son of God who does God‘s will, and he works together with God’s Holy Spirit to change lives. God sent his Son with his word to connect with the Spirit and change the world for as many as believe.

After reading these verses what questions do you have?

Answer the following questions:

Was God in the beginning? Was the word? Was the spirit? What happened to the word of God?

1John 5:7 and Revelation 19:13

1John 5:7 “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one.”

A common tragedy of today’s time is a powerless people. In Ecclesiastes it tells us “Woe to the man who stands alone.” and “A threefold chord is not easily broken.”

The idea that Jesus is not God or not a part of God is false and the idea that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are separate is false! These three are one, so when we hear of Jesus we must think God and we must think God’s Spirit because they all work together and they all are one together. There is one God! Jesus is God! Jesus is the Word!

Many stumble over this issue, but this issue is vital to recognizing who Jesus is and to understanding the power of God.

Revelation 19:13 “And he was clothed in a vesture, dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God.”

Jesus was the only one that was sent by God from heaven to be crucified (dipped in blood) for bringing to man the Word of God, Jesus is the Word that became flesh, dwelt among us, and was crucified, and his name is the only name that is called the Word of God! After reading these verses what questions do you have?

Answer the following questions:

Is there three gods or One God? Who are the three that make up One God?

Isaiah 61:1 1 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.”

How can we recognize Jesus?

We can recognize him by God’s Words, his activities, and the fruit that his deeds bring. Jesus has been producing fruit since the beginning of time, some would argue that Jesus wasn’t there in the beginning; this argument is false, as it is written,

“Let us make man in our image and likeness.” Genesis 1:26

The “us” that we read here is the Father, the Word (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit. The “us” was in heaven creating all that exists since the beginning, never have they ever been separated, they are one! And here we see again that they are not separated, “the Spirit of the Lord God was upon Jesus”

All those that argue that this is not true are merely trying to build an argument that Jesus is not God and thereby fail to recognize Jesus for who he truly is!

“Who do you say that I am?” Jesus asked Peter and he is asking you today!

Answer the following questions:

In the beginning the spirit of God moved where? Can the spirit of God also be upon man?

Hebrews 1:1-3, 8-14 1 “God, who in sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the Fathers by the prophets.

2. Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

3. Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high.”

It’s amazing to me that after reading this there are still those who question who Jesus is, however to me this seems to be more than clear.

Who is Jesus? Jesus is God, God’s Son, God’s express image, the heir of all creation, the brightness of his glory, the word of God, the creator of the worlds, and the one who sits in majesty at the throne of God.

After reading these verses what questions do you have?

Answer the following questions:

Where is Jesus seated? He is the heir to all of what? 1John1: 1-4 1 “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;

2. (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us.)

3. That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

4. And these things write we unto you that your joy may be full.”

We have talked about how Jesus has always been even from the beginning, when the worlds were created. We have looked upon Jesus in order to do so, because when you look at the Word you are looking at Jesus, our hands have handled Jesus and the words of life today, now we are in fellowship with God, Jesus (the Word), the Holy Spirit, and we are one.

Our joy may now be full with the understanding that we can recognize Jesus as God, as the Word of life, and as having the Spirit of God upon this word with the intent of bringing to every person eternal salvation and release from captivity.

Are you in Bondage?

When you recognize Jesus his truth will set you free! After reading these verses what questions do you have?

Answer the following questions: Who is our fellowship with? Who do you say Jesus is? What was his purpose? What is your purpose as a child of God and a disciple of Christ?

The following message was given at The Warren Family Mission. The message was given to bring clarity to who Jesus is and how much He means to us.

JESUS IS….(WORSHIP THE CREATOR)

Exodus 5:2 “And Pharaoh said, who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord; neither will I let Israel go!”

Romans 1:21 “Because that when they knew God they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and they’re foolish hearts were darkened.” Who is Jesus?

He is our advocate

1John 2:1 “And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” Advocate in the Greek means parakletos or comforter. Jesus is our intercessor our lawyer on our behalf.” Jesus takes our sins upon his back; he carries our burdens of guilt and shame and speaks to God as our friend seeking to pardon us for our sin.

He is the Lamb of God

John 1:29 “Behold the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world.” For your sin there is a cost, to pay for your wrong doings there must be a cost to someone. In Romans 6:23 it tells us “The wages of sin is death…” Friends you cannot pay this price yourself, there is not enough money in the world to pay for the sin against God, but God has made a way.

That way is called: “The Lamb of God.” Isaiah 53:7 “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not 67 his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.”

He said nothing. He became the sacrifice for your sins. He took away the sin for all who came to him.

Isaiah 53:11 “He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their sins.” He saw sorrow and grief to his own soul to pay the cost of our sin. He was satisfied to die for us knowing it was God’s will! He is the one that rose again and brought life to us! Jesus is the resurrection and the life!

John 11:25 “I am the resurrection and the life, he that believeth on me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.”

All too often we forget the power of God. The power of God raises the dead, heals the sick, restores sight to the blind, tears down and binds up. This power is what Paul instructed us to know.

Romans 6:5 “For if we had been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall also be in the likeness of his resurrection.”

The power that raised Jesus from the grave is the same power that changes our lives from sinners to righteous, from sickly to strengthened, from saddened to full of joy. He gives us a new life, one that we can walk in peace and joy.

John 11:43,44 “And when he had thus spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes and his face was bound about with a napkin, Jesus said unto them, Loose him and let him go.”

The power that raised Lazarus from the dead and commanded him to be loosed is the same power that can raise you out of bondage of addiction or sickness and restore you back to life again!

Jesus is the shepherd and bishop of souls

Psalm 23:1 “The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want.”

In the most materialistic nation in the world we can say I shall not want because he teaches us the vanity of earthly possessions. We can know that all that we need is taken care of as it is written:

“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus!” Philippians 4:19

As a bishop he is blameless.

Titus 1:7 “For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not self-willed, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre.” Jesus is perfect and without sin no fault can be found with him and he cares for our souls.

Ezekiel 18:4 “all souls are mine!” here Jesus can be found stepping up to the plate, taking the leadership role which many fail to do today. He shows his love for us by taking possession of us to keep us from another, the other that would love to devour our souls!

Jesus is the good shepherd

Ezekiel 34:11 “For thus saith the Lord God; Behold I, even I, will both search my sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered, so will I seek out my sheep and deliver them out of the places wherein they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.”

Friends it is the responsibility of the shepherd to seek out his sheep! Jesus came for that purpose!

Mathew 18:11 “For the son of man has come to save that which is lost.” Are you like a sheep that has lost their way? Jesus is seeking you right now!

Jesus is judge!

Psalm 7:8 “The Lord shall judge the people: judge me O Lord according to my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me.”

Too often we take it upon ourselves to judge everyone but ourselves; we constantly examine and criticize others instead of looking within our hearts. Jesus is Judge, not you or I! He judges rightly, full of grace and mercy, yet perfect in his judgment of sin!

Jesus Christ is Lord of Lords and Jesus Christ is our Lord!

2Peter 1:2 “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord.”

2Peter 1:8 “For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ”

Beloved whomsoever or whatsoever you place on the throne in your heart, that is you're Lord. Whomsoever or whatsoever you obey from your heart that is your master. In other words if you place something in your life that is more important than worshipping God; such as shopping, sports, or money then these are the things that is your Lord and Master and not Jesus. However, if you place all these things second to Jesus and worship him and exalt him above worldly things then he shall be you Lord and Master.

As it is written: “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” Jesus is Lord but you must place his throne in your heart before he can work in your life.

Joshua 22:5teaches us we must: “Love the Lord our God, and walk in his ways, and keep his commandments and cleave to him, and serve him with all our heart and with all our soul.”

Jesus was a man of sorrows Isaiah 53:3-12 “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and we hid as it were our faces; he was despised and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath born our griefs and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken and smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb before the slaughter and as a sheep before her Shearer’s is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off from the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shall make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied; by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors, and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

Jesus the man of sorrows took upon himself all your sins so that you might have a glorious future and might have peace and joy today. Are you suffering? He suffered also and how much more? 72 Jesus is the head of the church!

1Colossians 1:16 “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.”

In Gods kingdom there is an order, it is not the order that man decides, it is the order that God has created. Many times people believe that they can worship God at home and never attend church. Yet God is the head of the church, he is on the throne in the church, he established it and many believe that he isn’t there because they decide that their way is right and so they stop attending church thinking everything will be ok.

Mathew 16:18 “And I say unto you, that thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church: and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Jesus said that He will build His church. Be careful what you say about his church! Take heed to not forsake it!

As it is written: “Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”

Friends it is easy to say that we can worship God anywhere, but what will we say to him when we worship?

Father we worship you but not in the church? I want to worship you my way and not the way that you have said? Forsake not the assembling! Christ is the head of the church and he decides how we shall worship! In closing beloved it is upon us to examine our hearts.

Look inside yourself and see if you have made Jesus Lord and King of your life. If you haven’t followed his ways and would like to start tonight know that he is waiting for you to ask him in. Open your heart that he may place his throne there, that he may place his church in your heart also, and that he may lead and guide you through life’s ways.

As it is written: “That if thou shall confess with the mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shall be saved.” Roman 10:9

Chapter Five: Light vs. Darkness