Today’s Faith Workout on faith bigger than your fears was written by Kelly Barcol, our Chaplain Role Champion, Owner of CrossFit Winnersville, and Pastor at Winnersville Community Center.
I want us to answer three questions tonight.
- Who is Jesus?
- What is Life? and
- How do we respond?
Let me dive in and answer the first question, “Who is Jesus?” Well…
Before the beginning of time … Jesus was, is and always will be the Alpha and Omega!
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
Revelation 22:13
When I took my first breath in this world it’s because… He is the Supreme Creator:
By Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities– all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.…
Col. 1:16-17
When I feel alone … Jesus was my Immanuel:
…She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God with us.
Isaiah 7:14
When I fail… He’s my Advocate:
My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father–Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
1 John 2:1
Jesus is my Savior!
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
Luke 2:11
Jesus is my Great teacher!
Some of the teachers of the law responded, “Well said, teacher!”
Luke 20:39
Jesus is the Beloved Son of God:
And behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
Matt. 3:17
Jesus remains Faithful and True, because thats who He is! “
I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war.
Revelations 19:11
Jesus is the prodigal’s father!
But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
Luke 15:20
Jesus is the gift giver!
Every good and perfect gift is from t above, coming down from the Father…
James 1:17
Jesus Hope:
… Christ Jesus our hope.
1 Timothy 1:1
Jesus is a Wonderful Counselor!
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah. 9:6
Jesus is the Light of the World:
I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.
John 8:12
Jesus is the Door to walk through for eternal life!
I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved . . .
John 10:9
Jesus IS THE WAY!
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14:6
When I die … Jesus will be my Resurrection and my Life
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.
John 11:25
He’s Lord of All:
Philippians 2:9-11 He’s my Savior
Luke 2:11 Jesus is the Risen Lord
1 Corinthians 15:3-4 Whatever you need, that’s WHO HE IS!!
Question number 2: What is life?
Some will say life is the beating of a heart, life is when the blood is flowing, It’s strictly biological. Some say It’s a faraway place, like heaven, where we spend eternity. Others, like us here in Valdosta, say, “Jesus is life!”
There are a lot of ways people describe life in our culture today, but I want to zoom in on the fact that LIFE IS THE OPPOSITE OF DEATH.
The Bible says…
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23
This verse is not talking about a type of life we can have. It’s not talking about a physical, biological death. Romans 6:23 is talking about a spiritual death, and spiritual life.
The Bible is clear that Sin brings death. It’s also clear that Jesus brings life and in fact Jesus is life.
As a Christ Follower, we have life in us. Spiritual life! Jesus coming into our spirits and giving us new spiritual life. Before we met Christ, we were spiritually dead. Dead in our sin. We were separated from God which is death, because God is life. Jesus is life!
You see, we inherited this spiritual death and identity of a sinner from Adam and Eve. Just like you inherited your hair color and eye color from your parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents … all the way back to Adam and Eve… you inherited spiritual characteristics. So before Jesus comes in to our life, we are recognized as a sinner, condemned, unclean, spiritually dead, cursed … Before surrendering to Jesus these are some of the words that describe Who We Are.
The good news is, Jesus took care of your sin, and my sin, so we can have and experience life. Jesus had to take care of our sin problem in order for us to come alive spiritually. On the cross, Jesus became sin and took on the punishment for sin, which is death, that we might not be punished. This is what we call grace. God gives us grace instead of punishment for our sin when we accept Him into our lives.
As a Christ Follower, we no longer have to be punished for our sin. You’ll either die twice or live twice. There’s no punishment left! The punishment, the debt has been paid in full. We are no longer Identified by words like sinner, condemned, unclean, spiritually dead, cursed… This no longer describes Who We Are!!!
Jesus did not come to make bad people good, Jesus came to make dead people ALIVE!
The truth is… sin is big, bad, and ugly, and God was tough on it. The truth also is that he was the only one who could take care of our this problem, because the sin problem was too big and ugly for you and me. We couldn’t do anything to remedy what we inherited from Adam and Eve, which was spiritual death. It took God, Himself, climbing down the staircase of heaven, putting on skin, then climbing up on a cross and becoming sin, dying for us, and taking on the punishment of sin for us to be fully forgiven and have HIS LIFE! Not later in heaven, RIGHT NOW!
If you are not a Christ Follower, if you haven’t taken that step across the line of faith, this is vital information. You see, without Jesus, not only are you described as a sinner and have a tendency to sin, you are spiritual dead! And you can’t do anything about it.
You might think that you need to clean yourself up before you come to Jesus. The truth is… there is nothing you can do to change your identity from a sinner, to stop sinning for good, and to make yourself come to LIFE!
Only Jesus can take a spiritually dead person and give them ETERNAL LIFE which can start right here today! And the greatest news of all, this is a free gift that you or I can’t earn or deserve. It is something God wanted to offer us because of His great love for us!
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith— and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.
Ephesians 2:8
