The Jesus They Never Knew | Jerry Harris

Well, good morning Crossing Church.

How are you doing today? I hope you're ready to get into

the word and just let the Holy Spirit just roll over you and

reveal things to you. Because when we're in his word,

it becomes a very fertile place. For our hearts, our lives are

impacted in the world. Our purpose, the things that God

has given us, I want to welcome all of our campuses that are

joining all over this region. So thankful for each and every

one of you today, if you're inside.

Online. We're also so thankful for you

and we're in this series in John, and I was studying.

And some things started kind of rising up occurring to me.

And I'm, so I'm going to take a moment and just be transparent

with you. I've always had a bit of a

problem being positive about people who have achieved great

success in Ministry. It's probably born out of some

feelings of inadequacy or inferiority.

Probably a defense mechanism. That's just inside of me.

So in the past you know, being in little churches for much of

my Ministry was so easy to prop myself up by finding fault, with

some aspect of what some of these other churches had done,

you know, just a point out some you know, some some way that

they had done something a little less than what they should have

done, that all changed in my life in 2007.

When I was invited to go to a conference of ministers for

large churches, you see being we're being in West Central and

in Indiana where I was before here.

And then, here, this is not the same as Metro areas and things

along those lines. And so, whatever.

I had done or whatever the church had done that, I was

serving went relatively unnoticed and then all of a

sudden, it was noticed. And I was invited to this

conference and that was a very strange feeling for me because I

felt like an outsider, I felt inferior.

These people are walking around and they're like Titans to me.

They're like these larger-than-life personalities

on these big stages. And I don't know how to respond

and deep down inside my heart. You know, I knew that I'd had

these thoughts about them because, you know, of these

feelings that I have, but it was, Amazing, what happened?

They welcomed me and they encouraged me and they sat down

with me and they were real with me.

And it was a weird experience for me because I didn't know how

to deal with that. I had kind of used some of that

negativity to kind of fuel me to like I'll Stick it to the Man,

you know, I'll show you and then all of a sudden you know there

I'm the man. And is weird. and but it would

have showed me in that experience was just how

self-focused that I had been and how that had fueled a complete

misunderstanding of those people that I now know, and I have

relationships with and I cherish them And I am so thankful that

God gave me the grace of that wake-up.

Call 15 years ago to show me how wrong I was and how I was

limiting. The things that God wanted to do

in me and through me that having a network of people like that

around me that I could I could experience that.

Is that connecting with any of you that maybe you've kind of

done that as well or my just a total jerk up here.

Well, maybe I am but maybe you are too.

I don't. No.

Well how many wonderful things are there about Jesus and

following him, that we may never see because there is something

some obstacle in the way that blocks our ability to either see

him or that, which we, he would want us to see, because it would

enhance our faith. Enhance our Effectiveness for

the kingdom of God, in our families, with our friends, with

our coworkers, And I think John wants to point that out to us.

And that's really what I want to share today.

You know that John didn't write just the Book of John.

He wrote first second, third John, he wrote Revelation as

well, right. But when I you think of that

term Revelation or the revealing, I really feel like

that the Gospel of John is like a second Revelation because it's

revealing who Jesus really is. This is what I really appreciate

about John's gospel, is why I encourage People to read it

first when they're first discovering, what it means to

have an intimate personal relationship with Jesus Christ

because it is so revealing about him in so many different layers

and levels. It's so this is go back two

weeks. Two weeks ago, I discussed this

Foundation that John lays for us that that Jesus isn't just his

best friend. He's not just a Rabbi, he's not

just a great teacher, not even just a savior.

I mean he is God in human form. What a weighty concept, what a

huge concept, and he describes that by revealing, that that

Jesus is the creator that he was part of that whole creative

process that he was the author of life.

Nothing was made without him, nothing exists, without him

that. He's the glory of God, the

representation of his glory. So if you want to witness the

glory of God, you look at Jesus. And that's how you connect with

that that he's the light of the world that he gives light to, to

all the world. And and we.

So we have these huge concepts of God being these so big, and

Jesus being. So amazingly, large, the

vastness of the universe. And in the second week, we

discussed. How even with the vastness of

all that Jesus is just as much Lord of all the smallest of

things, the tiny things. Things that go unnoticed by

everyone else. The people that would go

unnoticed by everyone else, except for him, and it reveals

so much about the character of Jesus, about the nature of

Jesus. And most of all the love of

Jesus that he has for us. So today John is going to lead

us into some more specific context to understand who his

best friend really is and he's going to use it in words that

Jesus used to describe himself. Like he went, you know, he's

Jesus, right? The son of man, right?

But he uses these terms, these descriptive terms these

personifications in the Book of John that really helped us to

understand him better. They will reveal deeper truths

about the person that we desire to have an intimate personal

relationship with so, John reveals this in his gospel.

Butts to so many people. He's revealing a Jesus that they

never knew. They missed it and they missed

him because there was some obstacle, in the way, some, some

light that needed to be turned on a switch that needed to be

found on the wall so that they can see it.

So they could receive it. So they could receive Jesus.

But missed it. So here's the first one.

Jesus describes himself as the bread of life.

How many of you heard that before that?

Jesus is the bread of life. It's from John chapter 6,

John 6 · chapter mention

verses, 32, and following. It says, Jesus said to them very

truly. I tell you it is not Moses who

has given you the bread from Heaven.

That's that's a story of the manna that fed the nation of

Israel in the wilderness but it is my father who gives you the

true bread from heaven. For the bread of God, is the

bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the

world sir. They said, always give us this

bread. Jesus, declared I am the bread

of life. I'm the bread is what he's

saying. Whoever comes to me will never

go hungry and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

Wow, big promise. Now, Jesus spoke these words at

the end of a 24-hour, period, that was packed with emotion,

that was packed with drama. And if you take the four gospels

and you look at this period of time, like you A Harmony of the

gospels, it'll Amaze. You what happens in a day in the

life of Jesus. You know, we have so many days

that go by and there really isn't much that happens, but

just take a moment and understand a day in the life of

Jesus. So this happens in a morning.

So I want we want to go back to the previous morning, the

previous morning, Jesus is in the same town, he's in

Capernaum, and just got up, just start the day and he has

Messengers that come to him. That tell him that John the

Baptist has been beheaded How's that for a great way to start

your day at Jesus, who done Ministry with him, he was

related to him. They were cousins.

He was the herald. That announced the coming of the

king, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world in any

years that he's been beheaded. Not only does he hear that but

here's a threat that goes along with it that Herod has beheaded

John the Baptist and now he's coming for you.

How would you like to start your day that way and while he's

managing the truth of that a while back?

He's 72 out to be ambassadors to go, share the good news of the

kingdom of God, to heal to cast out demons and he gave him, this

power to be able to do that in that very same day, right?

After he hears this about John, here they come over the hills

and it's not just 72. Oh no, they brought a whole

bunch of people with them about Sent, can you imagine that?

I'm in the town of Capernaum was a town during Jesus time of

about 1,200 people. Can you imagine 20,000 people

converging on a town of 1,200? And you know what they want,

they want to see the man that they've heard about.

They want, they want to see him, do what they had seen, like,

some of that from the 72, they want to experience Jesus, and so

they drop everything, and they come all the way over to

Capernaum to see him. But, you know, Jesus is really

not in the mood. He doesn't really want to spend

a lot of time with them. He wants some time to decompress

from what he's just hurt. So he tells his Apostles, let's

get in the boat. Let's go across the lake.

Let's go across the Sea of Galilee which is like a big lake

and, and, and let's do that. And so he gets in the boat with

his disciples. They go across the lake.

They're experienced fisherman, experienced in Saline.

But, you know, those people are not going to be denied and they

walk across all the way on the shoreline very long way.

Because They want time with Jesus.

Oh, Jesus gets out of the boat on the other side of the Sea of

Galilee and there's 20,000 people there.

Great. So, instead of being able to

take a breath because of what he experienced early in the

morning, he starts teaching and healing all day.

Now, you already know this about Jesus.

John's already revealed this, that Jesus wouldn't look at a

crowd. Like, I'm looking at right now

and just go, all you are healed. He wouldn't do that.

He would go to each one. Wouldn't he?

He'd hear their story? He would talk to them, he would

interact with them because he loved people that way, and then

he would heal them and he would go to another one.

And he will, you go to another one and he would.

Can you imagine doing that all day?

Can you imagine teaching in between the healing?

Can you imagine doing that all day long?

I mean, how tiring would that be especially when you started in

this deficit position and so he does that all day long.

The Sun starts going down. The apostles tell Jesus.

You need to send these people away because they need to eat.

so Jesus says, you give him something to eat and they're

like, what do you We don't have any money, there's not a

Kentucky Fried Chicken around here.

I don't know what we're going to do.

They find some kids got Five Loaves and two fishes in lunch.

They go. Here's what we found for 20,000

people. Jesus Takes Five Loaves and two

fish, and prays a prayer. And that food begins to

multiply, they start handing it out.

Everyone gets their fill, the Bible, says 5,000 men.

Doesn't take into account, all the women, all the children.

Feeds all of them and when they take up the leftovers, there are

twelve basketfuls of leftovers. Incredible.

Now it's getting really late and so Jesus tells his Apostles, why

don't you just get in the boat you go on back across over to

Capernaum. I'm just going to spend some

time here in solitude Pray to my father.

So they get in the boat but like it does on the Sea of Galilee

often. There's a storm that rises up in

a wind that rises up and even though they're experienced

fisherman and experienced in a boat and sailing, they can't

make it back to Capernaum. So it's the Third Watch of the

night, the middle of the night and they're looking out across

the waves and they see something, and it kind of freaks

them out. Of course, if you are out in the

middle of the night and there was a storm and you saw

something In the middle of a body of water that would

probably freak you out as well. And the closer that whatever

this thing is gets, they begin to recognize that.

It's not a thing. It's a person and that person Is

Jesus walking on the water. Now, now when it's storming on

the Sea of Galilee, you're really not walking on the water,

you're walking on the crest of waves.

And here he is. You have unit.

Gets close to the boat. They're trying to have a,

they're having a hard time deciding.

What should I be afraid? Should I be excited?

Should I be as what should I be? I don't know.

Well, Simon Peter that crazy dude he just says, Hey, Jesus

bid me to come on the waters. I can walk on the water with you

and Jesus was okay, come on. As long as he keeps his eyes on

Jesus. He's walking on the water that

power of Jesus emanates to him and he has this ability to walk

on water. But when he notices the wind and

the waves, he takes his eyes off.

Jesus and Jesus has to perform a water rescue.

And get him out of the water back in the boat.

Then Jesus has the ability to stop those waves and to get that

boat back to Capernaum, right? About Dawn.

And guess what's waiting for him on shore?

Twenty thousand people looking for breakfast.

Fish. And chips was great last night.

What do you do for breakfast? Jesus.

I want you to understand that in that 24 hour period, these

people were not Jesus enemies. He loved them.

He saw them as sheep without a Shepherd.

He wanted to heal them. He wanted to teach them but like

us, Jesus in his Humanity was tired.

And yet he pushes it aside to minister to them.

I just need for you to understand, they were not his

enemies. They weren't trying to hurt him

or discredit him or anything. And so then Jesus begins by

teaching this truth, from John chapter 6, which sounds great at

John 6 · chapter mention

the beginning, right? That I'm the bread of life.

If you eat this bread, you'll never be hungry.

Again, you'll never be thirsty again.

And then he starts talking about who he is.

Is and how that relates to the bread of life and it starts to

get weird. The the teaching starts to get

weird and he starts losing people.

They start looking like your dog does when you talk to them.

Like huh. And then he gets to this part

near the end of the John 6 bread of life sermon where he says

this. Unless you eat my flesh and

drink my blood, you have no life in you.

But if you eat my flesh and drink, my sounds like a great

Halloween sermon, if you eat my flesh and drink, my blood, I

will raise you up from Death to life on the last day.

And by that time, he's lost a mall.

All of them because the Bible says they all left him, 20,000

people, Who are so excited to see him in a 24-hour period.

All leave him. And mentally and emotionally the

12 leave him as well. Even the 12 now, they didn't

leave leave Because Jesus asked him are you going to leave me as

well and they go why we are where we going to go?

What are we going to do? You have the words of life?

So the only difference between the 12 that stayed and the

20,000 that left Was that even though they didn't understood,

they weren't going to abandon Jesus, they stayed because of

what they did know about Jesus. You know what?

How does that apply to you? What is John want you to know

about you? Sometimes you're not going to

get the answers to your questions?

Are you carrying some of those right now?

Big at Big questions? That don't have answers God,

why, why did this happen to me? Why did this happen in my

family? Why is this occurring right now

in our world? Why is this happening in our

community? Maybe there are these questions

that go out and you want answers and silence?

You get no answer. Not at least right away.

Maybe we'll get it. Maybe will understand it when

we're a little older, maybe when we're more equipped to receive

it. The apostles didn't get an

answer. For the questions that rose up

in the bread of life sermon, but they got it later.

Three years later. They got it in the last

passover. So Jesus is celebrating

Passover. To Eve is before right, before

he dies on the cross, and there's bread and there's wine

that's used in the Passover meal and he lifts up the bread and he

breaks it. And he says this, this is my

body. Which is broken for you.

Take it, eat it. Do this in remembrance of me.

Don't you think some of those guys were going?

But you remember when he said, unless you eat my flesh and we

didn't get that After the meal, he lifts up the cup of wine and

he says, this is the blood of the New Covenant that I'm

shedding for you. The you're shedding your blood,

he didn't understand that. But he was calling the the wine

in the cup, his blood and he says drink all of it.

It's a new covenant. And you have to think that the

lights were coming on, like, oh, this was the thing that he told

us about, and now I'm maybe beginning to understand what he

meant, but for the 20,000 people that didn't stay with Jesus, he

was the Jesus that they never knew.

Not in this way. Only ones, only the ones who

stayed had the privilege of understanding.

I don't want Jesus and John doesn't want Jesus to be the

Jesus, you never knew. Do you know him as the bread of

life? Is he your bread of life?

Is he your daily bread? When he was being tempted by the

devil and the devil commanded him to make stone make stones

and change them into bread? He said, man shall not live by

bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of

God. Is he your word?

Is that word that proceeds from his mouth better than bread to

you? Or is he the Jesus?

You never knew. Second one living water look at

John chapter 7, verses 37 and following on the last and

John 7:37

greatest day of the festival. Jesus, stood and said, in a loud

voice. Let anyone who is thirsty?

Come to me, and drink whoever believes in me, as the scripture

has said, rivers of Living Water will flow from within, then he

calls himself The Living Water by this.

He meant the spirit whom those who believed.

Him were two later receive up to that time.

The spirit had not been given you know, if it had overshadowed

people but it never indwelt anyone.

Since Jesus had not yet been glorified which means died been

buried, and rose from the dead on hearing these words.

Some of the people said, surely this man is a prophet.

Other said, he's the Messiah still others.

How can the Messiah Come From Galilee?

I love this. It tells you how much people

didn't know about, Jesus? Does not the scripture.

Say the Messiah will come from David's, descendants, which by

the way he did, and you can read that in Matthew, 1 and Luke 3,

and from Bethlehem, the town were Jesus live, which you can

read in Luke 2, right? That's the people were divided.

They were arguing even though Jesus was from Bethlehem, they

were arguing, some wanted to seize him.

But no one laid a hand on him, this happened at the Feast of

booths or the Feast of Tabernacles.

That was a commanded feast in the Old Testament and it was

designed To help the Israelites. Remember when God was with them

in the wilderness, When they were living in tents and and

they all encamped around the Tabernacle that's makeshift

Temple. And God was there with them and

he was a pillar of fire night and he was a cloud by day.

And so you remember that that's how he provided warmth and

that's in a desert and that's how he provided shade In the

Heat of the day time. And of course the manna that

fell down from heaven, you know man.

It doesn't mean bread. It means what is it?

Did you know that? That's that I'm not kidding.

It's Hebrew for. What is it?

Mana. So they were remembering, this

Feast, you may also remember that when they were in the

wilderness when they were thirsty, God told Moses to speak

to Iraq. This is really kind of

interesting. You know, I want you to speak to

a rock really, they're thirsty. You want me talking to a rock?

Yeah. Speak to a rock and then I'm

going to bring water out of it. But instead of doing what God

Said, Moses took his staff and struck the Rock and then took

credit away from God. Because he said, shall I bring

water out of this rock for you? He couldn't bring.

You couldn't do that. And for that reason, God

punished him disciplined him and said, he could look into the

promised land, but he was not going to be allowed to go in.

So here in the story of Jesus Calling himself the Water of

Life, you actually see this Feast is Festival actually being

fulfilled. Jesus is God in human form.

John's already told you that and he is living with these people.

He is dwelling with these people.

God, with us Emmanuel. He's there.

Right in the wilderness of their lives.

In the thirstiness of their souls.

And he says, I'm the Living Water.

If you drink of me, you will never be thirsty again.

John further relates that Jesus was referring not just to

himself, but to the Holy Spirit, the spirit of God that was

coming. But how many of them would be

there when he was teaching this on, the Feast of booths of the

Feast of Tabernacles? How many of them would be there

at Pentecost? After Jesus had risen?

Ascended into heaven. When the Holy Spirit actually

did come down. Once again.

That would be the Jesus. They never knew.

Because intimacy with Jesus comes when we receive the Holy

Spirit, even if they heard him, talk about the Water of Life,

unless they had experienced, the reality of that coming to past,

they would never know. Him, that way only the ones who

invited the Holy Spirit to come into their life, would

understand how a River of Life could flow from them.

See, that's what the that's what Peter said in the very first

sermon. We just sang about how how the

Church of Christ was born in the spirit.

Lit, the flame. Did you hear those words?

When they all looked at Peter and the rest of the Apostles and

said, what do we do? And he said, repent and be

baptized every one of you. In the name of Jesus Christ, for

the remission of your sins and you will receive the gift of the

Holy Spirit. And 3000 said, yes.

That day. But for everyone else.

It was the Jesus. That they never knew is Jesus

your living water? Is he making the desert of your

life Bloom? Is he making the desert of your

past Bloom? Is he the fountain that washes

away your sins. Or is he the Jesus you never

knew. Third illustration, that John

gives us Jesus calls himself, the light of the world, John

John 8:12

8:12, to 14, when Jesus spoke again to the people.

He said, I am the light of the world, whoever follows me will

never walk in darkness, but will have the light of Life.

The Pharisees challenged him. Here you are appearing as your

own witness. Your testimony is not valid

basically calling him a liar. Jesus answered, even if I Fie on

my own behalf. My testimony is valid for I know

where I came from and I know where I'm going.

You see they didn't He did they didn't but you have no idea

where I came from or where I'm going.

No, they didn't know about him and they didn't know about

themselves. Jesus answered, even if I

testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid for.

I know where I came from and I know where I'm going.

You have no idea where I come from or where I'm going.

You see, Jesus is teaching and he's being challenged by the

Pharisees which was common during his ministry and he

promises this awesome thing. You'll Never Walk in darkness,

you'll have the light of life See the truth about these

Pharisees was they were walking in darkness.

They were walking in darkness and they didn't have any light

to share with anyone and they didn't have any life to share

with anyone. We go on in John 8, verse 19 to

John 8:19–20

20, and they asked him. Where is your father?

You do not know me or my father. Jesus replied.

If you knew me you would know my father also talking about the

darkness that they're walking in and the fact I have no life or

light to give he spoke these words while teaching in the

temple courts near the place where the offerings were put

yet. No one sees him because his hour

had not yet. Come look at the 27th of the

30th verse They did not understand that he was telling

them about his father. So Jesus said, when you have

lifted up the son of man, you know what?

That's referring to you, right? The cross then you'll know that

I'm, he and that I do nothing on my own but I speak just what the

father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me,

he's not left me alone. For I always do what pleases

him. Even as he spoke many believed

in him. when you get the most benefit of a light, Is it is it

when you like hold it down, maybe if you want to look at

something really close. But if you really want that

light to have an effect on the space that's around you, you

lift it up, right? And when Jesus was lifted up on

that cross, for those who believed him, he was a beacon of

light, a beacon of light of lot of life, and of hope that was

sent out into the whole world. But only received by those who

believed him for the Pharisees. This was the Jesus they never

knew. And they never knew him because

they valued the darkness that was around me.

Is this how you know, Jesus? Is he the light of Your World?

Is he dispelling? The darkness that's around.

You is he illuminating your path?

Is he the light that is lifted up on a cross to enable you to

see the world as it truly is and yourself as you truly are.

Or is he the Jesus you never knew.

You see what John's doing? He's helping you to understand

Jesus bread of life, living water light of the world, one

more. The Good Shepherd, we read about

this in John 10. I'm the Good Shepherd.

The Good Shepherd, lays down his life for the Sheep, so he's

prophesying about his death. The Hired Hand is not the

shepherd and does not own the Sheep.

So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons, the sheep and runs

away, then the wolf attacks in the flock, the flock, and

scatters it. The man runs away because he's a

Hired Hand cares. Nothing for the Sheep.

I'm the Good Shepherd. I know my sheep.

My sheep know me just as the father knows me.

And I know the father and I lay down my life for the Sheep.

I have other sheep that are not from this sheep in.

That's you because, you know, this ministry was to the Jews,

but he wasn't coming just for the Jews.

He was coming for the whole world Gentiles as well.

I must bring them also that should bring us to They too

will. Listen to my voice and there

shall be one flock, and one Shepherd.

And that beautiful, the reason, my father loves me, is that I

lay down my life, only to take it up again, that's powerful.

No one takes it from me. I lay it down of my own accord.

I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up.

Again, this command I received from my father, now, shepherding

was familiar, very familiar to the nation of Israel.

It was in their culture, goes all the way back 1,000 years

before this, even before that. But it was really made a part of

their culture, when David, who was a Shepherd boy, became a

king and wrote things like the Lord is my shepherd.

I shall not want. And he goes on.

So it became a symbol of God leading His People, Israel.

Now I'm Ask you a question from what position?

Does a shepherd shepherd. His sheep.

How does he lead his sheep? Some of you might think, well,

he leads from the front because he knows the way to go and the

Sheep follow aft. And if you if you say he that

the shepherd leads from the front, you're exactly right.

He does. He leads from the front.

You know why? Because the Sheep knows Shepherd

and they trust the shepherd. And so wherever he leads, they

follow because they know that he sustains them, he sustains them

with Green Pastures, he sustains them was Still Waters.

He he Them by having leading them to Safe places.

Some of you like I knew, I thought I knew that answer,

right? Some of you are like, oh man, I

thought I've seen pictures where the Sheep are in front and the

shepherd is actually behind them.

So if you thought that the shepherd leads from behind,

guess what? You're exactly right.

Because it's that way. He's able to minister to the

Sheep. When their obstinate, any

obstinate sheep in the room, any obstinance sheep and it left her

locations online or inside. Oh yeah, we can definitely be

obstinate. We can be you prideful.

We can be egocentric. We want what we want and we can

get distracted, you know, sheep or not, really, particularly

intelligent animals, they are they look down and they see

grass and they go. And then they eat and then they

move a little forward. There's some grass and they eat

and then they poop and then they eat it, some more.

And when you're, when you're living your life with your head

down all the time, it's easy to get distracted and then to get

lost, right? And so when the shepherd is

behind, he's able to watch for that.

And if the Shepherd of the sheep start going this way, or that

way, he's able to him, them back in and keep them in the

protection of the full flock, he keeps his eyes on them and he

protects them actually from themselves, right?

Some of you are really, really clever.

When I ask that question and you didn't think either in front or

behind, you know, you're that you're that like extra special

person. Who said, I think that the

shepherd is beside The Sheep. You're exactly right.

He is beside the Sheep, that's why he carries his rod and

staff, because if there's some Predator that wants to come in,

he makes he puts himself in between the predator and the

prey. Right.

And he uses that rod and staff to fight off the predator.

And because he's right there with them.

Next to them, he's reassuring them with his closeness that

they know he's willing to die for them.

You might be saying, well, wait a minute, Jerry a shipper can

only be at one place at one time, right?

So, maybe they move from one place to another, depending on

the circumstances and you'd be right in every case, except for

one, because our Good Shepherd can be in all three places at

once he can lead us from front, he can lead us from behind and

walk behind beside us at the same time.

But for those religious leaders, this was the Jesus.

They never knew. Jesus was leading.

But they were not going to follow.

I want to ask you today is Jesus.

The Shepherd of your soul. Is he directing your path from

before you? Is he hitting you in from behind

you. Is he protecting you from being?

Besides you does he open the gate for you so that, you know,

that you're a part of his flock? Is he the one who lays down his

life for you so that you could be saved?

Or is he the Jesus? You never knew.

Ultimately John gives you these forward pictures that Jesus

provided him so that you'll know him better.

I want you. To be my bread of life.

I want you to be the Living Water that not just flows into

me, but out of me through me and out of me to a world that's

parched with thirst. I want you to be my light, the

light of my world so that I see it and you and myself as it

truly is and I want you to be my good shepherd, Because I can't

get to my destination without you.

This is how, you know, Jesus, intimately.

And personally and I want to ask you what obstacle is in the way

of you seeing him. And following him right now so

that he can be the Jesus, you knew.

We're moving to a time, a decision.

Some of you going. That's like five chapters from

The Book of John there. Yeah, it's a lot because you

could you could do a series of sermons on a half a verse In

John, but maybe this is good for us to get the big picture.

I would imagine that. There's some people here in this

room today. That you might know about Jesus.

You might have some Notions about Jesus.

Beliefs about religion and how that should fit in your life.

so, did all of those people that never knew him They had some

presuppositions about Jesus. whether it applied to Healing,

teaching the next meal, Right, but they never really knew.

You're here today and you don't have an intimate personal

relationship with Jesus Christ. Don't let this day end.

With Jesus being the Jesus, you never knew.

Make this day that day. the day that you refuse to leave, even

if you didn't understand, even if it doesn't, all make sense to

you, The day that you say, I want to have a relationship with

you because where else am I going to go?

You have the words of Life Jesus, there's going to be

somebody right over there by that baptistry, that would love

nothing more than to talk to you about your next steps walking

with the Lord. And this day will be the most

pivotal important day of your life.

And there's only one obstacle standing in the way of you and

that outcome. And that's you So, maybe today

is the day you get yourself out of the way and let Jesus have

his way. For many of you here today

you're saying I can't, I don't I know Jesus that way.

I know him that way and I think well, that's fantastic, that's

great. But I wonder right now.

How you're actually feeling if you search your soul, are you

thirsty? Do you feel like that you're in

a dry land? Does your life feel parts right

now? Do you need to be reminded?

That he has a River of Life that he can flow into you and they

can proceed out of you. Are you hungry?

Maybe not for the things of this world and you can satisfy that

with lunch in a little bit. But I'm talking about the things

that satisfy for all time. Are you hungry?

I need something substantial. I'm not up here.

To make you feel better about yourself.

I'm not up here to give you therapy.

I'm here for one reason, and that is to tell you the word of

God, because that's the only thing that will change you.

And Jesus is the only thing that will change you.

And the Holy Spirit is the only thing that will change you.

Not me, not this church him. And that's where the power comes

from, from his word. And right now you might be

feeling hungry or thirsty or you might feel like you're stumbling

around in the darkness because you've been playing where the

darkness and the light come together a little too long and

I'm telling you come up here, you get down on your knees and

you tell the Lord, I want you to be my living bread.

I want you to be my Living Water.

I want you to light my world and he'll be your Shepherd.

He's there right now. He's with you right now in this

room right now. I want you to consider that.

Would you stand with me? Take advantage of this moment.

let this be the moment where, you know, Jesus Heavenly father,

I pray in Jesus name that you would all the obstacles.

All of the inadequacies, all the insecurities, all the ego, all

the pride. All of the stuff that we bring

into this room right now. Father, would you let it fall?

Would you tear it apart? Like you did the veil in the

temple? So that we can just see your

son. And run to him.

And let him do what only he can do in Jesus name.

Amen. And let him do what only he can

do in Jesus name. Amen.