WHO IS THIS CHRIST? Who is this Christ I serve? I realize some of you who read this article may not know Him. So today, I want to tell you about Him. Adam sinned. He fell into the temptation of eating from the one and only tree which God forbade. Now mankind was doomed to death. A plan was already in place. Jesus was already on the scene. In fact, John tells us He was the Word of God in all of Creation. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being” (John 1:1-3). In truth, Jesus is found throughout the entire Old Testament of the Bible. We are not always smart enough to see it. When some who had knew Him and had seen His empty tomb were traveling, Jesus appeared to them and said, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!” (Luke 24:25). What was the plan of Jesus? To make a way of salvation and eternal life to all mankind who were doomed to the entrapment of sin and death. Again, the words of Jesus, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. 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” (John 3:1416). This points out that the serpent lifted on a pole to stop a plague in the Old Testament, pointed to Jesus. People were dying in the wilderness. This stopped it. In both Jesus’ and our day, people are dying. Jesus was lifted up on a cursed tree [cross] to stop it. Just as the Israelites had to look up to the serpent, one must look up to the sacrificial Lamb on that cross to obtain life. Jesus did not just come grant salvation with eternal life, He literally came to set us free from the power of sin, the evil inclination within us. Just look at Romans 3:9b-11, “For we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; as it is written, ‘There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seek for God.’” We were all born into sin. So, Jesus came to us. Have you ever thought about this? He came in flesh. To do so, He had to arrive as a helpless embryo in the womb of a young virgin girl. He depended upon Mary and Joseph for his sustenance as He was born and grew. Scripture makes incredible claims concerning His being human. “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bondservant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:5-8). Verse 8 has always blown my mind. Christ, the Anointed One, had to become obedient to death. He was God! Death was not even familiar to Him. So, for Him to take back authority given to the enemy by man, He had to be man. He basically had to learn what it was to be man. He had to learn to die as and for man. It did not matter. He was here for this reason. It was an incredible undertaking, but Jesus was up for the task. He was emotional as we are. He was actually at a disadvantage in that He knew where His path led. It did not matter. His Father’s and His love for all of us drove Him. So, He spent his life teaching and exemplifying who our Father God really is. He painted a picture of the One who no man had seen. He was and taught the very heart of Almighty God. So, Jesus died on a cross at the behest of the religious crowd, and the hand of Gentiles. He was falsely accused. He was spat upon. He was bullied, mocked, bruised, and beaten in such a way that His flesh was ripped from His body. Long thorns were driven into his scalp. Mind you, He is still a man. His beard was ripped from His face. That beautiful face which had forgiven prostitutes, saved adulterers, called tax collectors, made lepers whole, was the first thing the blind saw once healed, wept at the tomb of Lazarus and raised the dead was now unrecognizable. My King was stripped naked. I doubt very seriously He was left with a loin cloth as portrayed in re-enactments. He was nailed and raised on a murderous stake above the ground. Blood dripping from His hands, feet, head. His raw, ripped back rubbing against splintered wood as He struggled to lift Himself on a spike through His feet just to breathe. After all, he was a man. As you have likely heard, my Savior died there. He was taken to a tomb, buried, the tomb sealed, and a guard put there to make sure no one stole His dead body. I tell you, friends, no one can keep Almighty God from stealing a body…or rather, raising it! The Holy Spirit quickened the body of my Lord. He rose from that tomb, He walked among those on earth for forty days. He now had not just shed blood to take away our sins. He now gave us eternal life and power to overcome our sins and the evil inclination of our flesh. Sin no longer dictates to us. We are free to dictate to it by the mercies of God. Now, I look up for this same Christ who ascended in the clouds to once again descend for me. I want to know Him better. Stuff gets between us sometimes. That is why Scripture instructs us, “let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus” (Hebrews 12:1b-2a). Let us pursue a deeper relationship with Christ. If you do not know Jesus as your Savior, I challenge you to put your faith in Him. You do not have to be emotional. You do not have to be in a service. Really, you do not even have to have considered it in the past. I am telling you, if you will give Jesus a chance, He will certainly prove Himself to you. Your life will indeed change. I am not going to lead you in a predetermined prayer. I am going to give you the Truth of God’s Word. “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). If today, you choose to believe in your heart, I encourage GLAD TIDINGS 7 AUGUST 2024 Signs of Life from The King's Highway Evangelistic Ministries SARA GOLDSTEIN Salvation Prayer If you have not made Jesus Christ Savior and Lord ... pray the following prayer in faith, and Jesus will be your Lord! Heavenly Father, I come to You in the Name of Jesus. Your Word says, “Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved” and “if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Acts 2:21; Romans 10:9). You said my salvation would be the result of Your Holy Spirit giving me new birth by coming to live in me (John 3:5-6, 15-16; Romans 8:9-11) and that if I would ask, You would fill me with Your Spirit and give me the ability to speak with other tongues (Luke 11:13; Acts 2:4). I take You at Your Word, I confess that Jesus is Lord, and I believe in my heart that You raised Him from the dead. Thank You for forgiving me of my sins, for coming into my heart, for giving me Your Holy Spirit as You have promised, and for being Lord over my life. Amen.
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