Who Is the Messiah?

And it's a great lead-off even today as we're going to be talking about who is the Messiah, you know,

because those two questions really connect to understand not just the Jesus that people think in their mind,

but who does the Word of God say that He is.

And so as you take your Bibles this morning over to Mark chapter 12.

Mark 12 · chapter mention

This morning, Mark chapter 12, as we continue with our series as we go through the Gospel of Mark here.

Mark 12 · chapter mention

And we know that Tuesday here, we're still on Tuesday of the last week before the crucifixion here,

as we find that Jesus is in the temple, and it's definitely been a busy day,

as the religious authorities had sought out Jesus' desire to, the Bible says, to catch Him in His words, you know,

seeking a way to discredit Him before the people or to cause a disruption with the government, with Caesar.

And they spent the day questioning Jesus about His authority.

You know, remember when He first came into the temple that Tuesday morning,

they questioned Him, by what authority do you do these things?

You know, that question of authority.

And we find that they started to ask all sorts of different things about,

how do we give up tribute or responsibility and accountability between Caesar,

which is the government, and with God?

How do those things balance?

Remember, Jesus said to render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's,

and unto God the things that are God's.

And He answered them well, and they had a probing question about marriage and the resurrection.

And finally, one came, as we looked last week, and asked Him the question very clearly,

you know, which is the greatest commandment?

Which commandment gives us priority, and which one sets the parameters for the rest of them?

On what are those things hung?

How do those things put together?

And Jesus skillfully replied in truth, and each one of these, He answered them with Scripture.

He gave them the Word of God, that God had declared to them.

He revealed that once again to them.

And He tells them something very important, though, as we ended last time,

that He looked at the scribe and said,

you're not far from the kingdom of God.

They agreed on all the things that had come about,

but Jesus looks at them and says,

hey, we agree intellectually on all this,

but there's a question because you're still not far from the kingdom of God.

In other words, you still haven't quite understood everything you need to understand

in order to recognize the Savior.

You know, oftentimes we can get filled with information and miss the application.

You know, to understand what's taking place, you know, what was missing in their life,

you know, how could one have the right answer and still miss?

You know, that seems contrary in our mind, doesn't it?

To be able to have all the right answers, but yet still fall short.

You know, today you might ask is,

how could one grow up in church or attend church every week and still miss salvation?

It's before them, at least in a solid church, it's before them.

All the time, how could one do everything they were instructed about God and still fall short?

You know, many do all the things that somebody tells them they need to do to be close to God,

and they still fall short.

Because they're missing one very key thing that we're going to look at here today,

that Jesus points out.

And Matthew, in his account, he tells us as he sets the stage,

Jesus asked a question of them just before this,

and we see that he looks at them after they had come to this point,

and he says,

What think ye of Christ? Whose son is he?

He's asking them a question of whose son is Christ.

In other words, who is the Messiah?

Is what he's asking.

How do those things fit together?

How are those things put together?

Because Jesus, after they say, because notice this,

they say unto him,

The son of David.

Now I want you to understand,

they had a partially correct answer.

There was nothing inaccurate about their answer.

But you know, when you were in school,

did you ever have a test sometimes

that the teacher would give you partial credit

because you got part of it right?

But yet you didn't get full credit

because you didn't get the rest of it.

Or you left it out.

The problem with their answer is not that it was inaccurate.

The problem that Jesus is going to deal with,

it wasn't complete.

Because we need to understand,

when we answer the question about who is the Messiah,

we don't need a partial answer,

we need a complete answer.

To understand fully who Jesus is.

And so if you found your Bibles this morning,

Mark chapter 12,

Mark 12 · chapter mention

let's stand together

in honor of the reading of the Word of God.

And we're going to pick up here in verse 35 here this morning.

Let's read a couple of verses.

And if you found there in verse 35,

it says,

And Jesus answered and said,

while he taught in the temple,

How say the scribes that Christ is the Son of David?

For David himself said by the Holy Ghost,

The Lord said to my Lord,

Sit thou at my right hand,

till I make thine enemies thy footstool.

David therefore himself calleth him Lord,

and once is he then his son.

And the common people heard him gladly.

Let's pray.

Heavenly Fathers,

we come before you this morning, Lord.

We're just thankful for your Word.

Lord, we're thankful for the reality of who you are.

Lord, the complete picture of who you are.

And Lord, as we just ask your hand upon each heart here today,

Lord, you know those that have called upon you,

those that have recognized you,

not as just a man,

but Lord, as a Savior,

as Christ, as the Messiah,

the one that has come to deliver us from our sin.

And Lord, we pray just have your hand upon each one today,

Lord, as we look at this to understand the importance of the question.

And Lord, we just ask it all in your precious name.

Amen.

May be seated.

You know, as we find here,

the question here Jesus asked was not a trick question.

You know, up to this point,

they'd been asking Jesus mainly trick questions.

You know, trying to trick him,

trying to get him to say something that he ought not to say.

But Jesus asked the question here,

not just for information,

but for their application,

to help them understand who he is,

to understand the importance of all that he is.

Because the question about who is the Messiah

impacts everything.

The question Jesus is asking here

is still relevant today

because what somebody thinks about Jesus

when it comes to answering what Jesus is asking here

has eternal implications.

Because our very salvation is built upon the fact

that Jesus is all that he is.

Not just that he's man,

and not just that he's God,

but that he was the God-man.

You know, the fancy term theologically

that the people use

is they talk about the incarnation.

That's that connection there.

But we're going to try to stay away

from fancy terms today,

you know, like hypostolic union

and all the different things

that people refer to it as

and all the different labels.

We're going to break it down

how Jesus, I think,

would want to break it down

to where we can grab a hold of it.

You know, because you can know

all the fancy labels

and miss the point.

And I want you to not miss the point this morning

because as Jesus asked this question,

he asked about the teaching of the scribes.

You'll notice back here in verse 35,

he says this,

how say the scribes that Christ is the son of David?

In other words, he's asking the people before him,

the crowd that had gathered

had been listening to these things throughout the day,

because the common teaching of the day

that Christ or Messiah

would one day come through the lineage of David.

Now their answer we saw there in Matthew

was pretty quick and concise,

was not any disagreement among them.

Now I want you to understand,

when you see in the scripture,

Christ or Messiah,

they're referring to the same.

There's no difference.

One is a Greek reference word,

the other is a Hebrew word,

and both mean the anointed one.

You'll find Messiah used in Daniel chapter 9,

Daniel 9 · chapter mention

that this term is used there

to describe the Messiah,

the prince that was to come.

You know,

when we understand this is who

the conversation is going to be focused on,

the one that is to come.

And you know,

and when we understand the pivotal nature

of this dynamic of who Jesus is.

You know,

when we understand that David was told this

in 2 Samuel chapter 7,

2 Samuel 7 · chapter mention

in verse 12,

David was told by the Lord,

it says,

when thy days be fulfilled,

and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers,

I will set up thy seed after thee,

which shall proceed out of thy bowels,

and I will establish his kingdom.

And he shall build a house for my name,

and I will establish the thrones

of his kingdom forever.

I want you to understand,

it was clear in scripture

that the Messiah,

the Christ,

the appointed one,

was going to come

through the lineage of David.

That's the one thing

that everybody there that day agreed upon.

You know,

have you ever noticed

it's hard sometimes

to get consensus on something?

Where everybody in the room says,

yes,

we agree.

That was a point

when Jesus said,

when the scribes and Pharisees

replied that,

he's going to come through David,

he's going to be a son of David.

Nobody disagreed.

Jesus didn't disagree.

Jesus said,

yeah,

you're right,

but now we have,

you're still missing it

because you only have

a part of an answer.

You're getting partial answer here.

You know,

even Isaiah foretold,

he said this in Isaiah chapter 11

Isaiah 11 · chapter mention

in verse 1,

he says,

and there shall come forth a rod

out of the stem of Jesse

and a branch shall grow

out of his roots.

It's referring to the Messiah

that would come

through the line of David.

You know,

the scribes taught

the Messiah would be

of the line of David

and it was seen clearly.

It was very easy to see

because they were looking

for a descendant of David

that was going to come

and be a physical king,

a great military leader

that would deliver them

from all those

that oppress them.

They had this mindset,

you know,

look over to Jeremiah chapter 23.

Jeremiah 23 · chapter mention

Jeremiah 23 in verse 5

tells us this,

it says,

Behold,

the days come,

saith the Lord,

that I will raise up

unto David

a righteous branch

and a king shall reign

and prosper

and shall execute judgment

and justice

in the earth.

You know,

rightly so,

those passages,

when they're read,

it's very clear

that Christ should come

from the house of David.

The earthly lineage of Jesus

is given in Matthew and Luke

and now Jesus is given

this question concerning

what David said

about the Messiah

because this brings

into a different context

that we're going to see

that Jesus brings forth.

This is what David,

if it comes through

the line of David,

what did David say?

And he presents them

with a question

that really puts their mind

into a quandary.

It begins to try to process

how does this fit together?

Because the teaching of David,

look here at verse 36,

it says,

For David himself

said by the Holy Ghost,

the Lord said to my Lord,

Sit thou on my right hand

till I make thine enemies

thy footstool.

Now,

I want you to understand

this is Psalm 110 verse 1.

Psalms 110:1

Jesus is quoting

the Old Testament,

the Psalms

that David wrote,

that David penned.

And I want you to understand

that very importantly here

because something was taking place

because David didn't just come up

with this off the top of his head.

Jesus said David spoke

by the Holy Ghost.

Scripture is not given

by men.

Look over at 2 Peter

for a moment.

2 Peter chapter 1 verse 21.

2 Peter 1:21

You know,

Jesus is teaching

a lot of different things

right here to him

and some application.

In 2 Peter,

Peter says this

in 1 21,

it says,

For the prophecy

came not of old time

by the will of man,

but holy men spake

as they were moved

by the Holy Ghost.

In other words,

Jesus is saying

what David presented

here in the Psalms

was not David's thoughts

but God's revelation to him.

That God revealed to him

something that was different

that they weren't understanding.

Because we know

that the question here

left them stunned.

They had no answer.

It left them speechless.

You know,

look at the end

of the text there

in verse 30,

or in Matthew,

I guess we'll find it

over there.

In Matthew 22, 46,

it says this,

when Matthew's given

this account,

he says,

No man was able

to ask him any word,

neither does any man

from that day forth

ask him any more questions.

In other words,

nobody was able

to answer the question,

how did David

call his son Lord?

Lord.

Now to us today

in our culture,

that's like a,

really not a big concern

in our mind mostly,

because we don't understand

what's happening

but in a culture

of the day,

when this,

even throughout history,

even in the Middle East today

or places you have kingdoms,

the king himself

would never call

one of his descendants

Lord over him.

It's an illogical thing

to say,

I'm the older,

I'm the elder,

I am the one

that produced you

and to call you Lord

would not have been logical.

In other words,

what Jesus is pointing out here,

David says

that he's calling

his descendant Lord.

Jesus is asking,

how did David

call him Lord?

They were looking at him

with that look,

you know,

you get when somebody says,

I have no idea

what you're talking about.

Sometimes it's like

the look the preacher

gets on Sunday morning.

But hopefully by the time

we finish today

it won't be,

I don't know what

you're talking about,

I understand the importance

and the reality

of what you're talking about.

Because what we're

talking about today

is critical

for your salvation.

To understand

the reality

of what's happening

because Jesus

had put before them

that the Messiah

would not merely

be a man.

He was saying

the Messiah

would not only be

man of the lineage

of David

but he would be

God.

That's a mind-blowing

statement.

That Jesus

was not just a man

but he was

God.

That there's no

distinguishing

between it.

He was God

with us.

You know,

we talk about that,

you know,

we're getting ready

to get into the Christmas season

and you sing

O come O Emmanuel.

That term means

God with us.

In other words,

I want you to understand

when Jesus Christ came

he was literally

God

with

man.

God with us.

He was fully God

and fully man.

And we're going to

understand the principle

of this

as Jesus is dealing

with this.

You know,

it's clear that

what David had penned

they could not deny it.

They believed that

Christ would be a man,

a man that did

many good things.

But they missed

the fact that

he was more

than just a man.

Because remember

the scribes taught

that he was going

to be the son

of David.

They were looking

for a human

savior.

They were looking

for one that was

going to come

and deliver them.

Now,

they were accurate

in their assessment

but they were

incomplete

in their assessment.

When we look

at this this morning

I want you to

understand

that they're not like,

they're just like

many today.

because many

today they will

believe the Bible's

record about Jesus.

You know,

people love the idea

of Christmas,

you know,

and celebrating

a babe in the manger,

you know,

and Christmas makes

them feel all warm

and fuzzy.

And I want you

to understand

it's important

that he came

as a babe

in the manger.

But he was just

not any babe.

The Bible says

he was born

of the Holy Ghost.

I want you

to understand

he was different

from anybody else

who had ever been born.

He was not just

any babe.

He wasn't just

flesh in the manger.

It was God

veiled in flesh

in the manger.

But people like

the idea

of the baby

in the manger.

Sometimes they

appreciate him

feeding the multitudes.

You know,

you'll hear people

today,

you know,

we want to be

like Jesus.

We want to help

people and do this.

And they get

caught up in the

good things that

Jesus did for people.

And those things

were essential

that he did.

had identified

who he is

in feeding the

multitude

and healing the

sick and raising

the dead

and even his

teaching of loving

and respecting

others.

You know,

some even consider

that he was

crucified on the

cross.

But the idea

that he is God

in the flesh

boggles their minds.

It hinders them

from grasping

that he is

the only way

to God.

The Bible tells us

he is our

mediator.

He is the

one that can

mediate between

God and man.

He is our

only hope of

salvation.

Like the scribes

that day,

many people who

appreciate what

Jesus has

recorded for us

in the word

about who he is

as far as the

good things he

did and all the

things that he

promoted,

they miss

the very thing

that keeps them

from salvation.

because you

can appreciate

who Jesus

is as a

man,

but if you

don't understand

that he is

God that was

veiled in the

flesh and came

and died,

took our sin

upon him,

you miss the

point.

A partial

answer gets

you not far

from the right

one.

Jesus told the

scribe before

him you're not

far from the

kingdom of God.

You have all

the right answers

to this point,

but your answer

is incomplete.

Many people

think they're

going to be okay

because they do

good things,

because Jesus

did good things.

They get a

mindset that it's

a fleshly thing,

but I want you

to understand

what the

implications of

this is here

this morning,

because salvation

is so much

more,

and we need to

understand the

importance of

all that's

taking place

here as we

look through

this this

morning.

As David was

there and

raised up

by the Spirit

of God to

declare in

Psalm 110

that he was

going to call

the one that

was come,

that the Savior

was going to

be called

Lord.

What David

penned that

day was

teaching regarding

who the Messiah

was going to

be.

I want you to

understand the

fact that the

Messiah, the

Christ, will be

seated in a

place of

authority.

Notice Psalm

110 tells us

very clearly,

take a look back

over there in

the Bible,

scripture there

with you,

let's take a

look back at

what that says

because sometimes

whenever you see

the Bible quoted

in the New

Testament, it's

always good to

go back and

look at the

Old Testament.

You know,

Psalm 110

Psalms 110:1

verse 1 says,

the Lord said

unto my Lord,

sit thou at

my right hand

till I make

thine enemies

thy footstool.

He calls him

Lord, he calls

him a position

of authority,

he declares

those things.

I want you

to understand

that Christ is

declaring that

he's going to

be put forth

in a place of

authority, an

authority that's

equal with God.

Look into the

New Testament,

look at

Philippians chapter

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

2.

Philippians chapter

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

2, look at

verse 9, look at

the scripture,

it tells us,

wherefore God

also hath highly

exalted him

and given him

a name which

is above every

name.

And at that

name of Jesus

every knee should

bow of things

in heaven and

things in earth

and things under

the earth.

what this is

describing is

Jesus being put

on equivalency

with God

himself, God

the Father.

Now I want you

to understand

there's no

distinction between

Jesus and God

when it comes to

the reality of

the Godhead.

The Bible says

they are one.

They're unified.

The Father, the

Son, and the

Holy Spirit, they're

one.

It's essential to

understand that

they are one.

But he says that

Jesus is going to

be lifted up and

placed in that

position and

authority.

And notice what

it says in verse

11 that every

tongue should

confess that

Jesus Christ is

Lord to the

glory of the

Father.

I want you to

know today that

just to know that

Jesus lived is

not enough.

To know all the

Bible stories about

Jesus are not

enough.

It's essential for

something more.

Because we're not

trusting our

salvation in a

good man.

We're trusting our

salvation in the

Messiah, the

Christ, the one

that came and

the only one who

had the ability to

take my sin and

your sin upon

himself to pay

the penalty.

Remember back in

Matthew chapter 16,

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

Jesus asked Peter a

question.

He'd ask the

disciples questions

preceding to this,

asking him, you

know, who do

others say that I

am?

And they had a good

prophet, you know,

you have all the

different things that

they listed.

And then he looks at

Peter and he says,

Peter, who do you

say that I am?

Now before we go any

farther, I want you to

grab a hold of this.

What other people say

about Jesus doesn't

matter.

Sometimes we put too

much credit in what

somebody else says.

I want you to see here,

he was asking Peter and

the disciples what the

other people think.

And then Jesus turns and

looks at him and it

becomes personal.

Because it's personal,

it's what do you

understand who Jesus

is?

And notice Peter's

reply.

He answered and said,

thou art the,

what's that word?

Christ.

The son of the living

God.

I want you to understand

Peter's declaration was

a recognition that Jesus

was not just a man that

he was following, but it

was God himself he was

following.

That thou art the Christ,

thou art the anointed

one, thou art the Messiah,

thou art the one that

Daniel spoke of and

Isaiah spoke of and

Jeremiah spoke of and

David spoke of.

You're the one that was

foretold into Adam and

Eve after they sinned in

the garden that said that

one day you're going to

raise up one to crush the

head of the serpent all

the way from the very

beginning, all the way

through.

Peter was saying,

you're not just a man.

He's standing there

looking to him.

Remember, you got to

remember Peter hung out

with Jesus, ate with

Jesus, walked with

Jesus, talked with

Jesus.

He understood Jesus'

humanity, but he also

understood that Jesus

wasn't just a man.

He wasn't just a man.

He was the son of the

living God.

The son of David, but

also the son of God.

You know, in John's

gospel, John 1 in verse

34, John the Baptist,

when he's asked about

Jesus, he made this

statement.

He says, I saw and bear

record that this is the

son of God.

What a powerful connection.

Earlier there in John,

look in John chapter 1 in

John 1 · chapter mention

verse 1.

It says, in the beginning

was the word, and the word

was with God, and the word

was God.

Then down in verse 14, it

tells us this.

It says, and the word was

what?

Made flesh.

And dwelt among us.

And we beheld his glory, the

glory of the only begotten of

the Father, full of grace and

truth.

Today, I want you to

understand the importance of

this recognition.

Because oftentimes people today,

even people who claim to

follow Christ, they follow

Jesus as a man and not the

Savior.

They follow good works to say,

I want to emulate what he

does instead of the Savior.

We need to understand that

when we call upon him, we're

not calling upon a man to

save us.

We're calling upon God

himself.

The one who came and gave

himself for us.

Look a little farther in the

New Testament.

Go over to 1 John chapter 4.

1 John 4 · chapter mention

Because this is essential

because if you miss the point

of who Jesus is, you miss

salvation.

He records this.

He says, hereby we know,

hereby know ye the Spirit of

God, every spirit that

confesses that Jesus Christ is

come in the flesh is of God.

Now John here is dealing with

the opposite problem.

Because you had a whole

other group, the Gnostics,

who thought the idea of Jesus

being fully man, he couldn't

have been fully man because

flesh is evil.

He just came in the Spirit.

I want you to understand the

importance of this.

Jesus, that he came, that God

came and dwelt among us, is

essential that he was both fully

man and fully God.

There was no separation.

Jesus understood everything

physically like as we are.

I want to encourage you this

morning, I put together a little

list for you.

Or should I say I found a list

and reprinted it?

You know, why recreate the

wheel?

That you can get on the church

app there, and there's a

little blue tab there in the

front page.

That you can download all the

verses in Scripture that speak

about Jesus as a man.

Also, all the ones that speak

about him as God.

See, there you go, right there.

Take care for it this morning.

I'll give you a little clue.

There's whole college semesters

on this.

Okay?

So, I'm trying to condense this

down for you, okay?

But I do encourage you to

download that and to read those.

To grab a hold of the list and

lists of elements in the

Scripture that point to this.

And the essential nature of it.

It's a message that Peter preached

at Pentecost to those there that

day.

Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

Peter points out this very fact

that Jesus had said earlier.

Acts chapter 2 and verse 34.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

Peter's preaching and he says,

For David is not ascended into

the heavens, but he saith

himself, The Lord said unto my

Lord, Sit thou at my right hand

until I make thine enemies thy

footstool.

Therefore, let all the house of

Israel know assuredly that God

hath made that same Jesus whom

ye have crucified, both Lord and

Christ.

You know, as I was reading this

and preparing, it really made me

begin to stop and think.

Because it made me wonder, because

Peter was standing in the temple

that day when he preached this.

It makes me wonder, just a few

months earlier, about 51, 52 days,

earlier you had a group of people

listening to Jesus declare that

David called him Lord.

On the day of Pentecost, Peter

stands up and he points to him, he

says, hey, Jesus, the one you

crucified is both Lord and Christ,

the Messiah.

And it's amazing, it says there was

about 3,000 souls that responded in

faith that believed that Jesus was

not just a man they heard earlier,

but that he is the Savior.

Today's the same thing.

We need to understand that Jesus is

not just a man.

He's fully man.

He understood all the things, the

ailments, the problems we have.

And you say, why would God send him

as a man?

Because, you know what, we relate

with people who can relate to us.

That have been through things that

we've been through.

You have a common connection.

Have you ever noticed that, that if

you find somebody else that's going

through something similar to you,

you have a connection and empathy?

Jesus became man for us to say,

I understand where you are.

I want to connect with you.

I want you to understand who I am.

But he never surrendered an ounce

of who he is.

The Bible reveals that he veiled

himself.

In other words, I want you to

understand as you read through and

study it, Jesus never surrendered a

bit of being God.

He made a choice not to exercise all

his authority as God.

Why?

For us.

Those there even heard Peter's

message on Pentecost, when they

understood who Jesus is, they sought

to know how to be saved.

You know, today, people ought to

desire to say, if Jesus did that for

me, if God came and became flesh, and

he suffered and died, he took upon my

sin, he took upon all those things.

To provide a way for me to be

redeemed, to be rescued from my sin.

I want you to understand the

importance here.

Because this is critical.

Look over in 1 John again.

1 John chapter 5.

1 John 5 · chapter mention

The apostle John, in the inspiration of

the Holy Ghost, tells us this.

It says this in verse 11.

It says, and this is the record.

In other words, he says, I want you to

make the record clear.

This is the record that God hath given

to us eternal life, and this life is in

his Son.

He that hath the Son hath life, and he

that hath not the Son of God hath not

life.

These things have I written unto you,

that believe on the name of the Son of

God, that ye may know that ye have

eternal life, and that ye may believe

on the name of the Son of God.

I want you to understand, believing on

the name of a human being is not going

to save you.

It's by acknowledging Christ came, and

the Bible says that he put his sin upon

himself.

He took my sin and your sin and carried

it to the cross.

He made payment in full, so that he might

offer salvation freely to all those who

will call upon him.

How can he give it freely?

Because he says, I already paid for it.

Contrary to popular belief, nothing is

free.

Everything has to be paid for.

You might receive it free, but somebody

else paid for it.

Your salvation is offered to you free

because Jesus paid for it.

He says, I took care of everything that is

needed.

When Jesus looked at them that day and

asked them, how is Jesus both Lord and

Son to David?

He was asking them a question of who

Christ is.

Because they had to understand that the

one before them was not just a mere man.

It was God veiled in flesh.

The reality is important.

You know, the scriptures wind down in

this way in Revelation 22.

Down in verse 16, it says, I, Jesus, have

sent mine angel to testify unto you these

things in the churches.

I am the root and the offspring of David

and the bright and morning star.

Jesus, his final testament is, I want you

to understand, I fulfilled everything that

was required to identify myself in the

lineage of David, but I never surrendered a

bit of who I am as God.

And I came and I suffered and died for you.

And I want you to know it.

I don't want you to guess.

I don't want you just to hope so.

As John wrote, that you ought to know so.

Not because of what you've done,

but because of what he has done.

You know, this morning we face the same

question when it comes to Jesus.

What will you do with Jesus?

Because how you respond determines

the life to come.

Because he will either be your savior or your

judge.

If you've never trusted Christ for salvation,

I invite you to come today and call upon the

Lord to save you.

Call upon the one who became a man to pay

for your sin.

Don't leave here today without knowing where

you stand with God.

As heads are bowed and eyes are closed this

morning, what about you today?

Are you trusting in the savior?

Are you trusting in the one who came?

Veiled as a man, fully man, fully God.

If you've never trusted him, I encourage you to

come.

Let me show you from God's word how you can

know that you're saved.

If that's a need today, I encourage you to

come.

That's the reason Christ came for you.

Heavenly fathers, we come before you this

morning.

Lord, we just thank you for the day, for the

opportunity.

Lord, you know each soul here today.

Lord, there may have been some that were

thinking of you as just a mere man.

One that did many good things and to trust

in those good things.

But Lord, if we miss the fact that you're

not just a man that came and lived a sinless

life, but you're God himself.

The very holy one.

The one above us.

The one who created us.

Lord, I pray just have your hand upon each

heart here today.

That there wouldn't be one that departs not

knowing and having confidence in who you

are as their savior.

Lord, we ask all these things in your

precious name.

Amen.